Killer Take All

by William W. Johnstone; J. A. Johnstone

  “Vi would marry you,” Meagan said.

  “Why would Vi Winslow want to marry me?” Elmer asked. “She’s much too grand of a woman to get tied up with the likes of someone like me.”

  “Don’t put yourself down so, Elmer. You’re as fine a man as I’ve ever known,” Meagan said.

  “I, uh, had better go check on the cows,” Elmer said.

  “What did I say that upset him?” Meagan asked as he walked away, quickly disappearing in the night.

  Duff chuckled. “You dinnae upset him, lass, you embarrassed him. Someone like Elmer isn’t used to having someone say nice things about him.”

  “Well he should get used to it. I really do believe that he’s as fine a man as I’ve ever known.”

  “Aye, ’n I’ll nae be for disagreeing with you. Still, ’tis a hard thing for a man such as Elmer to be hearing people say good things about him.”

  Meagan smiled. “Yes, I can see that now. I shall try and be less effusive in the future.”

  One by one the other cowboys drifted off until only Meagan and Duff remained by the fire. A trapped gas bubble in one of the burning logs burst with a quite audible pop, and it sent some bright red sparks riding a heat wave up into the night sky to mingle with the stars.

  One of the cowboys watching the herd began to sing.

  It was early in the month of May,

  The rosebuds they were swelling;

  Little Jimmy Grooves on his deathbed lay

  For the love of Barbery Allen.

  He sent his servant into the town

  Where she’d been lately dwelling,

  Saying, “Bring to me those beautiful cheeks,

  If her name be Barbery Allen.”

  “Oh, who is that singing?” Meagan asked.

  “That would be Bill Lewis.”

  “Why, it’s beautiful. I had no idea you had someone who could sing so well.”

  For the next few minutes Duff and Meagan stared quietly into the fire as they listened to the song.

  So slowly, slowly she got up

  And slowly she came a’ nigh him

  And all she said when she got there

  Young man I believe you’re dyin’

  Oh yes I’m low, I’m very low

  And death is on me dwellin’

  No better, no better I never will be

  If I can’t get Barbery Ellen

  Chapter Four

  New York City

  The Poindexter Railroad and Maritime Corporation occupied a six-story building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street. Preston Poindexter, the founder and president of the company, was one of the wealthiest men in America. At the moment he was standing at the window of his sixth-floor office, looking down at the traffic on Fifth Avenue—carriages, freight wagons, and trolley cars. His son, Jacob Poindexter, was sitting on a leather sofa in the same office.

  Preston turned away from the window to talk to him. “Jake, would you mind telling me why in the world you want to go out west? There is plenty enough for you to do right here in New York.”

  “I’m twenty-two years old, Pa. Are you ready to put me in charge of your shipping company? Your railroad, perhaps?”

  “Well no, I couldn’t do that, Jake. I’ve got very good men in those positions, and you hardly have the experience to take on such a position of responsibility right now.”

  Instead of being defensive about such a remark as Preston thought he would be, Jake smiled.

  “Thank you, Pa, you have just made my point. I am barely qualified to keep fresh coffee in the offices. That’s why I want to take about a year to see the country and get a little experience.”

  “Why kind of experience?”

  “Life experience,” Jake said. “Pa, you started your career as a merchant mariner, you went from bosun’s mate to captain, to owning your own ship. Once you and some of your crew were shipwrecked on a deserted island where you were stranded for three months. You’ve told me that being on that island and having to fight just to stay alive taught you more than anything else you had ever experienced. And now you own a shipping line and a dozen feeder railroads, and are one of the most successful business tycoons in America.”

  “It wasn’t just me, Jake. There were eight of us on the island, and everyone filled a valuable role, especially the bosun.” Preston was silent for a moment. “Truth is, I don’t think any of us would have survived if not for the bosun.”

  “Yes, but you still profited from it. Unlike you, I’ve never had a similar experience.”

  “God in Heaven, Jake, you aren’t saying you want to be shipwrecked, are you?”

  Jake laughed. “I’m hardly saying that. But Pa, I’m starting out life as a very wealthy man. You know yourself that I have done nothing to earn this. I was born into luxury, I have never wanted for a thing, and I appreciate all you have done for me, I really do. But I want to . . . no . . . I need to do something on my own. I want to come back and work for you, but when I do come back, I want to be an asset to you, not an obligation.”

  “And you think that getting some of these . . . these life experiences you’re talking about will benefit you?” Preston asked with a stern, almost challenging expression on his face.

  “Yes, Pa, I do.”

  The stern expression on Preston’s face melted away to be replaced by a wide smile. “I believe so too, son, and I’m proud of you for thinking so. We’re going to have to convince your mother to accept the idea of you being out on your own for a while, but as long as she knows that you’ll not be moving out west for good, I’m sure that we can win her over. Where are you going, do you have any idea?”

  “I’m going to Chugwater, Wyoming.”

  “You’re going where? Chugwater, Wyoming? I’ve never even heard of the place.”

  “I had never heard of it either until I saw it on the map, way out there in Wyoming all by itself. And there was something about it, perhaps its isolation, which intrigued me. That’s where I want to go.”

  “Can you reach this place . . . this Chugwater, by railroad?”

  “No, but Cheyenne isn’t too far away. I can take a train to Cheyenne, then when I get there I’ll buy a horse and ride the rest of the way.”

  “Yes, that’s a very good idea.” Preston chuckled. “To tell you the truth, son, I envy you. I very much miss the adventures I once had. You have no idea how much I would like to get away from the boardroom, even if for no more than a few months.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Pa, don’t do that. Why, this company would collapse if you weren’t at the helm.”

  “Ha. I thank you for your vote of confidence, but there’s no real danger of that. Not as long as we have Norman Jamison. Mr. Jamison knows where all the skeletons are buried, so to speak, and as a matter of fact, he speaks for me. So while you’re gone, if you need anything—money, influence, anything at all—you just get in touch with Norman. He may well be the most competent man I’ve ever known. I pay him an exorbitant salary because when the time comes for me to retire, I will want him here to help you take over the helm.”

  “Mr. Jamison is a good man, that’s true, and he has already been very helpful to me,” Jake replied.

  “By being helpful to you, do you mean the time you got drunk and peed in the Union Club fountain and Norman kept it out of the papers?”

  “Yes, I . . . Pa, how did you know that? Did Mr. Jamison tell you? He swore that he wouldn’t.”

  “And he didn’t. It was the maître d’ of the club who told me.”

  “I’m sorry if you were embarrassed by it.”

  Preston laughed. “Son, why should I be embarrassed by it? I’m not the one who pissed in the fountain, you are. I would think you are the one who would be embarrassed.”

  Jake laughed as well. “You’re right. I was embarrassed.”

  “What do you say that we go talk to your mother now? I think if both of us discuss this with her that she’ll not oppose the idea.”

  * * *

  U
nlike Preston Poindexter, who was a self-made millionaire, his wife Emma Marie was a Culpepper. Richard Culpepper had come to America in 1643 and was one of the founders of Scituate, Massachusetts. The Culpeppers were now a wealthy family from the Brahmin caste of New England. She had upset her family by marrying beneath her class even though Preston Poindexter’s wealth was many times that of the Culpepper holdings.

  “Oh, Jacob, you aren’t serious. You actually want to go out into that godforsaken Wild West for who knows how long?”

  “Yes, Mother, I do.” At Emma’s insistence, Jake addressed her as Mother, not as Ma, Mom, or Mama.

  “It will be good for him, Emma,” Preston said. “And it isn’t as if he were going by wagon train into the great unknown. He’ll be going by train. He won’t be beyond the reach of telegraph, and I’ll make certain that he has enough money to get by.”

  “I will be fine, Mother. You don’t have to worry about me.”

  “All right. I suppose I won’t be able to stop you. But, please, Jacob, be careful,” Emma said, holding open her arms to invite an embrace from her son.

  * * *

  When Jake and Preston returned to the office, they went in to see Norman Jamison, who held the title of executive secretary of Poindexter Railroad and Maritime Corporation, or, as it was more generally called, the P R and M. Preston explained what Jake had in mind.

  “Well now, that sounds like a very exciting proposition. Even the name ‘Chugwater’ evokes a sense of mystery,” Jamison replied.

  “Yes, sir, I must say I am looking forward to it,” Jake replied.

  “Norman, I want to give him some operating money. It’s good to have an adventure, but it’s even greater to have an adventure and money.”

  Jamison laughed out. “Indeed it is, sir. Do you have a sum in mind?”

  “I was thinking in the neighborhood of twenty-five thousand dollars.”

  “Yes, that’s a very nice neighborhood. But may I make a suggestion?”

  “Of course.”

  “I would suggest that he take no more than five hundred dollars in cash, and the rest of the money can be deposited by wire in a bank in Chugwater.”

  “Yes, that’s an excellent idea,” Preston agreed.

  “First, of course, I’ll have to learn if Chugwater actually has a bank, and I can do that by sending a few telegrams. Give me some time to work on that, say, a day?”

  “Sounds fine to me,” Preston said. “You’re not in that big of a hurry, are you, Jake? You can wait a day or two until Norman has everything set up for you?”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll need to tell some of my friends good-bye anyway.”

  Goodwin Ranch

  It would take three days to drive the cattle from Sky Meadow Ranch to the railhead at Cheyenne, and while Duff and the others had spent the first two nights camped out, before leaving home they had made arrangements by telegraph to spend the third night at the Goodwin Ranch.

  When Duff turned his cattle out on Goodwin range. the group of Black Angus stood apart from the Herefords of Goodwin’s ranch. They did so not only in appearance, but also because the Sky Meadow cows tended to stay in familiar company so they remained in a cohesive group, apart from the Goodwin Ranch cattle.

  “If they stay like this, we won’t have no trouble in roundin’ ’em up when we get started out again in the mornin’,” Elmer said.

  “You dinnae have to worry about the creatures staying together,” Duff said. “Angus are a proud breed and they prefer their own company.”

  “Meagan is visiting with the Goodwins, is she?”

  “Aye. The Goodwins have invited us for dinner tonight, you, Meagan, and me.”

  “Well, I ’preciate it, but I reckon I should eat with the men tonight. If anythin’ comes up, why, I’ll be there to handle it.”

  “Tell me, Elmer, is it being there to handle anything as may come up the reason, or is it that you just dinnae want to come?”

  “You got me there, Duff. I ain’t got no doubt but that the Goodwins is just real decent folks ’n all, but they seem a little too highfalutin for me. So, iffen it’s all the same to you, well, I’d just as soon not go.”

  Duff chuckled. “All right. Dinnae you be worryin’, lad, I’ll be for comin’ up with some excuse for you.”

  “Yeah, I figured you could do that.”

  * * *

  “It’s too bad Elmer can’t come,” John said at dinner. “That old man has some of the most fascinating tales to tell. He fought in the war, he was a fur trapper, he lived with the Indians. And to look at him, you would never know that he’s been all over world.”

  “Aye, for he was a sailor.”

  “Ha. I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere he hadn’t been a pirate.”

  Duff laughed as well, and though he didn’t share it with John, Duff knew that while Elmer had never been a pirate on the high seas, he had actually ridden the outlaw trail for a while.

  “Meagan, I hope you’ll find the bed comfortable tonight,” Edna said.

  “Edna, I spent the last two nights on the ground under the hoodlum wagon,” Meagan replied with a little chuckle. “Believe me, I’ll be quite comfortable.” She had been given the spare bedroom for the night.

  Duff would be spending the night in the bunkhouse, though Elmer, Wang, and the others would be sleeping in the barn where there was plenty of straw to pad their sleeping rolls.

  “Have you had any trouble moving your cows?” John asked.

  “Nae, ’tis been an easy drive so far,” Duff said.

  “I’ll be taking my own cows down to Cheyenne soon,” Goodwin said. “It’s too bad we don’t have a railhead here. It would be so easy to just take them down to the track and put them on the train.”

  “Aye, but ’tis only one day for you to make such a drive, ’n but four days from Sky Meadow, so I can nae complain.”

  “That’s true,” Goodwin agreed. “A one-day drive, or even a four-day drive, is nothing. I didn’t start here, you know. After the war many stray cows wandered around down in Texas belonging to whoever had the energy to lay claim to them. A few friends and I rounded them up and drove a herd of five thousand from Texas, intending to take them all the way to Missouri. When we got there we found out Missouri had a quarantine against all cows coming from Texas because of the tick fever. None of our cows were infected, but we had to take them to Abilene to get them on a train, and by the time we were finished, we’d been on the trail for two months.” He made a scoffing sound. “And here I am, complaining about a one-day drive to the railhead in Cheyenne.”

  “Och, ’tis nae complaining, ’tis only discussing. When I first came here to start my own ranch I chose your ranch ’n the Davis ranch as the models for Sky Meadow.”

  Those two ranches were large enough that they’d appeared on all the maps of Wyoming when Duff first arrived in America. Now Sky Meadow was listed as well.

  “Tell me, Duff, have you got your cows booked?” Goodwin asked.

  “Aye, ’tis a buyer waiting for them.”

  “What are you getting for them, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “Eighty-seven dollars a head,” Meagan replied proudly, answering before Duff could.

  “Eighty-seven dollars? That is a very good price. I’m only getting sixty-five dollars a head for my Herefords.”

  “Sure ’n haven’t I been for telling you to switch to Angus?”

  “Duff is on a one-man crusade to get every rancher in America to switch to Angus,” Meagan said.

  “Nae, lass, for if everyone would switch to raising Angus, we would lose the advantage we have. ’Tis only m’ friends I’m trying to bring around.”

  “Then I consider it a compliment that you’ve asked me,” John said with a smile.

  Lula Belle and her daughter brought the meal in then and began setting the plates before the diners.

  “It’s lamb chops,” Edna said. “I know that John considers me a traitor for eating lamb, but I love it so”

 
“Well John, you can call me a traitor or a heathen if you wish, but I love lamb as well,” Duff said as he looked at his plate with eager anticipation.

  Chapter Five

  Poindexter Building

  “My boy, I have been talking over your situation with Norman this morning, and he has come up with an idea,” Preston said when Jake showed up in the office the next day. “Do you think Norman and I could interest you into turning your personal adventure into a business venture?”

  “Well, yes, I suppose so. But what do you have in mind?”

  “I would like for you to build a railroad.”

  “What?” Jake replied, shocked by his father’s answer.

  Preston glanced toward his Executive Secretary. “Norman, would you like to tell him what you told me?”

  “I’ll be glad to. Jake, come into the operations room and take a look at the map with your father and me, and I’ll show what we have come up with,” Norman invited.

  Jake followed the men into the operations room, which was the largest room on the floor. It had long planning tables and maps of all the sea routes, as well as maps covering every Poindexter Railroad operation.

  Poindexter owned no long-distance railroads; rather he owned a dozen local railroads called spur lines that generally connected to track systems belonging to other companies. He had to pay a connection fee to the main line in order to operate them, not only when the connection was made, but also a commission on the traffic that was generated as a result of the connection.

  In some places the Poindexter Railroads didn’t connect to any other railroad right-of-way but merely connected a few of the towns in more remote areas. Making a medium or large town the hub meant it could deal with towns that may be separated by as many as a hundred miles. Although Poindexter didn’t have to pay commissions because they were not connected to the larger railroads, they weren’t as profitable.

  “Look, you are going here, to Chugwater.”