Longarm and the Train Robbers (12 page)

"Clarence
Huntington was extremely upset when you had him
jailed."

"He was out in
four hours."

"No matter.  His
honor had been besmirched.  Huntington has some very high-placed
friends in Wyoming, and he'll attempt to use them against you,
Deputy."

"Who are these
friends?"

"Well, one of them
happens to be the district circuit judge.  Another is no less
than the governor."

Longarm scowled. 
"I've always had a way of getting on the wrong side of powerful
people, but I don't see how I could have acted differently. 
Milly is evidence that Blake Huntington was not what he
appeared."

"It was probably
not a wise idea to have Clarence jailed," the doctor said, trying
hard to be diplomatic.

"Probably not,"
Longarm agreed.  "But he attempted to shoot me.  And his nephew
was part of the same gang that derailed that train at Laramie
Pass."

The doctor
frowned.  "You've gone on record as stating that, but where is
your evidence?"

Longarm had the
newspaper page he'd found in the wastebasket but knew that it was
insufficient to use in any court of law.  "I'd rather not reveal
it right now.  But something I found tells me Blake was part of
that gang."

The doctor walked
over to the window and stared down at the street where the angry
crowd was milling.  "Deputy, I'm afraid that we've got quite a
problem.  I'll do whatever I can to calm them down."

"That would be
appreciated," Longarm said.

Wilson turned away
from the window and it was clear that something was bothering
him.

"Speak up,"
Longarm said.  "I can tell that you have something on your
mind."

"All right," the
doctor said, "You know the law better than I do.  So you
understand that if it hadn't been for Milly getting so badly
beaten, you'd be charged with murder and very likely facing
prison, maybe worse."

"Blake Huntington
helped to derail that train."

"So you keep
saying" the doctor replied, "but he and his rich uncle were also
quite popular here.  They had plans to invest in Laramie and
people looked up to them both.  Now you come along, and all of a
sudden Blake is dead, and some of the people below see a chance
for some big investments flying out the window just like
Blake."

"Blake had no
money," Longarm said.  "I'm sure of that."

"Maybe not, but
his uncle did and they were a team."  Wilson raised his
eyebrows.  "I think that our sheriff was very much indebted to
them both."

"What are you
trying to say?"

"I wouldn't trust
Ike Cotton with my back," the doctor said bluntly. "That's what
I'm trying to tell you."

"Thanks for the
warning."  Longarm had already reached the same troubling
conclusion.

"Also," the doctor
added, "I should warn you that Clarence Huntington has made it
public that he is doing everything possible to have you arrested
and tried for murder."

"He
is?"

"That's right." 
Doctor Wilson gave Milly some powders for the pain in her head. 
"You stay in bed, young lady."

"I will," Milly
promised, winking at Longarm.

"By yourself!" 
the doctor ordered sternly.

Milly tried to
giggle, but it was too painful.  It hurt Longarm to see Milly in
pain.  He should have acted quicker.

"What's wrong?"
she asked.

"The bald truth of
the matter is that I've completely messed things up. First I lost
Eli Wheat; then I shot one of the gang instead of arresting him
and getting a handle on the others; then finally, I couldn't
climb out from under a bed fast enough to save you from a
beating."

"No one could have
known that they were going to derail a train to free Eli Wheat
and rob the mail car," Milly argued.  "And you saved a lot of
people that otherwise would have died on that su-"

"Maybe so,"
Longarm said, knowing it was the truth.

"There is no maybe
about that," Dr. Wilson said.  "I heard what you did after the
train wreck.  That's why I know that you would not have thrown
Blake Huntington through that window to his death on
purpose."

"Thanks," Longarm
said.

Doctor Wilson
smiled.  "Milly, I'll return tomorrow to see how you are
feeling."

When they were
alone again, Longarm moved back to the window.  He did not open
the shade, but lifted it slightly and peered down at the angry
crowd.  He saw the doctor emerge and then begin to try to argue
with the crowd, only to be met with a good deal of anger and
resistance.  Some of it was coming from none other than Sheriff
Ike Cotton.

Reaching a
decision, Longarm turned back to the room and said, "Milly, you
haven't been just kidding me in the past about having money, have
you?"

Milly was clearly
taken aback by the abrupt question.  "I wouldn't kid about that. 
So why do you ask?  Are you thinking about marrying me or
something?"

Longarm noted the
mirth in her eyes and grinned.  "No," he said, "I just wanted to
make sure that you are going to be all right."

She reached out
and took his hand.  "You sound like a man who is about to leave
town."

"I've just decided
to remove myself from this case," Longarm admitted. "I've done
everything wrong."

"No you
haven't!"

"Sure I have.  I
had two members of the gang identified and I killed them
both."

"In self-defense! 
Custis, what else could you have done short of getting yourself
shot or brained by a water pitcher?"

"I should have
been able to anticipate and capture them alive," Longarm
replied.  "If I had I'd now have other suspects, and this case
might already have been broken open and resulted in the arrest of
Eli Wheat and that gang-"

"You're much too
hard on yourself," Milly said gently.

"Back in Denver,
Billy Vail is probably catching hell right now from Clarence
Huntington's powerful friends.  Billy is not only my boss, but a
good friend.  This leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  I should have
handled things better."

Milly took his
hand.  "Listen," she said gently, "you saved lives on Laramie
Summit.  Maybe more lives that one night than you've saved over
the entire span of your fine career."

"I did what needed
doing."

Milly wasn't
listening.  "And I might have been killed or beaten senseless by
Blake if you hadn't been hiding under his bed.  You were brave to
be there instead of taking off before we arrived."

"You both caught
me by surprise," Longarm confessed.  "I didn't think you would be
coming up so soon."

"Blake wanted me
before we had lunch.  I tried to talk him into waiting but the
more I resisted, the angrier and more passionate he became. 
Finally, there was no choice.  I just prayed that you were in and
out by the time we arrived.  As it turned out, it's a good thing
you weren't."

"I'm sorry he
broke his damned neck, and I'm at a dead end in this case again,
Milly."

Longarm shook his
head and continued.  "Now I've got to wire Billy and tell him I
think it is best that I resign from this case and report back to
Denver."

"Do you have to
leave right away?  I was hoping you could stay with me for a
while.  If not here in Laramie, then somewhere else."

"I'll ask for a
week without pay," Longarm said.  "But I can't make any
promises."

"And I'm not
asking for any."  Milly straightened the covers over her and
said, "Go on.  Send that telegram and then come back and tell me
when you get an answer."

Longarm nodded and
headed for the telegraph office.

Longarm received a
reply from Billy Vail in less than three hours.  It
read:

TO HELL WITH
CLARENCE HUNTINGTON STOP DERAILMENT AT DONNER PASS CALIFORNIA
STOP SEVENTEEN DEAD THIRTY-EIGHT INJURED STOP PROCEED WEST AT
ONCE STOP CAPTURE NOT KILL FUTURE WITNESSES STOP GOOD HUNTING
STOP

Longarm looked up
at the telegraph operator.  "That's it, huh?"

"That's it,
Deputy.  Do you think that it's the same gang that derailed our
train?"

Longarm studied
his telegram.  "I can't say for sure, but from the tone of this
message, I think that Marshal Vail believes that there might be a
connection."

"Donner Pass is
what?  A thousand miles from here?"

"Close to it.  Do
you know when the next westbound train passes through
Laramie?"

The telegraph
operator looked up at a big wall clock with a swinging pendulum. 
"Next train is coming through in about eight hours."

"Are you sure?" 
Longarm's luck had been so rotten lately that he found it
difficult to believe.

"Would I risk
givin' wrong information to someone who fought and killed two
tough men in less than an hour?"

Longarm had to
grin.  "I hope not."

"Damn right I
wouldn't."

The telegraph
operator, a skinny man in his forties with wire-rimmed glasses
and a scraggly beard, spat tobacco juice on the floor and said,
"You want me to telegraph your boss and ask for some more travel
money?"

"Sure," he said,
"why not?  I can't be in any more disfavor than I am
already."

"Then stop on by
before you climb aboard that train," the telegraph operator
suggested.  "Mr. Vail might even surprise you."

"He can do that,"
Longarm said on his way out the door.

Longarm returned
directly to the Outpost Hotel.  The moment he walked into his
room and saw Milly, he knew that something was amiss.

"Custis!" she
cried in alarm.  "They came here wanting to arrest
you!"

"Who?"

"Sheriff Cotton! 
He's got a couple of men and they're looking to put you behind
bars."

Longarm didn't
wait to figure out the whats or the whys, He was pretty sure that
Clarence Huntington must have paid a judge to get an order for
his arrest.  Whether it was legal or binding meant nothing. 
Longarm knew that Cotton was just fool enough to try to arrest
him and that the more people involved, the more likely people
would be killed.

"What are you
going to do?" Milly asked.

"If I stay and get
arrested, I'm cooked," Longarm decided out loud.  "I can't catch
Eli Wheat and I can't do my job."

"Then you should
go."

"I hate the idea
of leaving you alone."

"Who said that
I'll be alone?" Milly replied, with a wink of her long
eyelashes.

"You'd get a man
in here after-"

"No, silly!  Not
at first anyway.  I've got a lot of girlfriends that owe me
favors for one thing or another.  It might even surprise you to
know that I've got some respectable women as close
friends."

"Nothing you say
or do surprises me," Longarm confessed.

He kissed her
cheek and then grabbed his Winchester rifle and bags. "I'll be
back again when all this blows over and I've brought the outlaws
to justice."

"Don't get
caught!" she pleaded.  "Now hurry up and go!"

Longarm guessed
that he had better scoot.  He'd killed two men already in this
town, and he sure didn't want to spill the blood of a couple more
fools.

CHAPTER
10

With Ike Cotton
and a group of deputies looking to arrest him, Longarm knew that
the railroad depot would be covered and that there was no chance
of escaping on the train.  That meant that he needed to reclaim
his horse from Jimmie and leave on the run.

Longarm kept to
the alleys most of the way to the livery, hoping to avoid any
confrontation.  When he saw Jimmie working with a pen of horses,
Longarm hurried over to the man.

"Jimmie, I need my
sorrel gelding saddled in a hurry."

"You're running
from the likes of Sheriff Ike Cotton?" Jimmie asked with
surprise.

"I'll be back. 
But I can't do a damned thing in jail and I don't want to have to
gun down the sheriff or any of his fool deputies."

"Where are you
going?"

"Better you don't
ask."

"Ned Rowe climbed
on his horse about an hour ago."

This offhand
remark caught Longarm cold.  "He left town?"

"That's right.  I
watched him galloping northwest on his Palomino.  He sure was in
a hurry and he wasn't heading for Cheyenne."

Longarm studied
the man.  "You're still convinced that Ned is caught up in all
this, aren't you?"

"I didn't say
that," Jimmie replied.  "But nothing that Ned does would surprise
me."

Longarm followed
Jimmie into the barn and helped him bring out and saddle the
sorrel.  "Any idea where Ned is going?"