My Foot's in the Stirrup . . . My Pony Won't Stand (Code of the West) (20 page)

“At the Railroad Hotel,” Angelita replied. “But you don’t have to worry about that Texas herd. I heard Mr. Slaughter say he was going over there to check them out.”

Tap spun around to Pepper. “Tom went out there by himself?”

“As far as I know. He wasn’t expectin' trouble.”

“He’s sure going to find it. Snatch your coffee, Lorenzo. We’re hittin' the trail.”

“You got extra cartridges?”

“Grab a couple boxes from that desk by the door.” Tap leaned close to Pepper. “Darlin’, you’re absolutely right. I’m tired of this, too. But I’ve got to take care of Banner and Cabe and a stolen herd of Texas beef.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s my job.”

“Your job to get yourself killed?”

“My job to see that some very wicked men get stopped.”

“Why you? You’re just one person.”

“There's two of us. Maybe three if Tom’s still alive.”

“You can’t go up against a whole gang.”

“Sure, we can. We’re on the right side.”

Pepper felt her throat tighten, her heart race. “But don't take so many chances. You think the Lord appointed you to do away with all wickedness?”

“No,” he said quietly. “Just this specific wickedness.”

She peered through the flickering lantern light at his deep brown eyes.

He can’t help himself. No matter what job he has, he’ll be driven to situations like this. I suspect I’ll be a young widow. I don’t think I can take that. It’s like running down a steep hill. I know the danger is ahead, but there’s nothing in the world I can do to stop it.

“We’ve got to get on the trail, darlin’.”

“I know.”

“Angelita, you take good care of my Pepper.”

“I will.”

Pepper wrapped her arms around him and didn't mind the damp shirt.

“Darlin’,” he whispered, “I, eh, hope you don’t mind lookin’ after Selena until we get back. I should have asked, but I just didn’t know what else to do.”

“Of course I’ll take care of her. I would have been insulted if you had made any other arrangements.”

His lips were cold and chapped as always, but Pepper still felt the fire that warmed her heart and kept her nights from ever being too lonely.

“Now go on, capture your rustlers. Earn your three do
llars a day.”

Angelita handed him a small tin. “Here’s some ham and cold bi
scuits.”

“You’re a sweetheart.” He stooped down and gave her a tight squeeze.

“That’s obvious to all who have met me,” she quipped.

Pepper walked the men to the front door with Angelita trai
ling behind. Selena still slumped on the edge of the sofa. “Lorenzo, look after my Tap. He’s got a lot waiting for him at home.” She patted her well-rounded stomach and tried to smile.

“Yes, ma’am, I truly will. We both have a lot to come back for.” He tipped his hat and glanced into the living room. “Goo
dbye, Miss Selena.”

The saddle was rain-drenched when Tap swung up on Roun
dhouse’s back. He was grateful that neither horse bucked. Both seemed restrained by the thunder, lightning, and warm rain. Except for being soaked, they didn’t find it that unpleasant. The occasional flashes of lightning lit the horizon ahead of them, reassuring Tap that they were on the right trail. They followed the railroad tracks east, crossed Spring Creek at the Nebraska line, and arrived at Bushnell Siding about daybreak.

The rain stopped abruptly, as if the heavenly canteen was empty. The wind began to pick up, driving off the clouds and chilling them in their water-soaked clothing.

“How far north do you think they are?” Odessa called out.

“If they were at the siding when I telegraphed, they could be an
ywhere between here and the North Platte.”

“You reckon Cabe and Banner have reached them a
lready?”

“Yep.”

“What are we goin’ to do when we find them?”

“Take the herd away and let you drive ’em back to Texas.”

“I get Banner, Tap. He’s goin’ to pay for what he did to Miss Selena.”

“Is this all just righteous indignation, or is there some r
omantic interest here?”

“Maybe some of both, partner. Men like Banner and Cabe are cow dung caked on the boot heel of society. The quicker they’re scraped off, the better everyone’s life.”

“And?” Tap pressed.

“Shoot, under those bruises, she’s one purdy woman. What do you know about her?”

“She’s a lot tougher than you imagine. She’s fiery and won’t hesitate to use her tongue, her knife, or her sneak gun if she’s given a chance. She worked the dance halls with Pepper and—”

“Your Pepper worked the hurdy-gurdies?”

“So what?” Tap challenged.

“No insult intended. I just figured she was from back east, the way she carries herself.”

“She’s changed a lot since she brought the Lord into her life.”

“So have you, my friend.”

“Maybe it’s your turn now.”

“You might be closer to the truth than you realize. But first I’m going to take care of Banner.”

Even the previous night’s downpour couldn’t erase the tracks of 1,720 cattle. Since most herds were driven or shipped in and out of Pine Bluffs, Tap was confident they had found the right trail. The western Nebraska prairie consisted of rolling brown grass-covered hills with no bushes, trees, rocks, or houses, just a sea of short grass laid almost flat by the rain.

Clouds sailed above them, racing shadows on the sunny prairie that soon became sultry, steamy. Tap’s wet clothing dried a bit, then soaked with sweat. Lorenzo Odessa reached the top of a large knoll before Tap and si
gnaled him forward.

“What’s up?”

“A rider comin’ this way.”

“Where?” Tap stared at the horizon.

“To the north. He’ll come over that third hill in a minute.”

“Soldier? Lawman? Indian?”

“Couldn’t tell. But by the way he was clutchin’ leather, I can tell you one thing. He’s definitely wounded.”

9

Y
ou hear that?” Odessa turned in the saddle and stared at Tap. His blond hair curled out from under his hat and over his ears.

The distant muted sound of gunfire filtered toward them as they waited for the rider to reappear.

“I reckon that means that Banner and Cabe caught up with the herd,” Tap suggested. He pulled a couple of cartridges from his bullet belt and crammed them into the breech-loading magazine of the ’73 rifle.

A black horse thundered south. The wet prairie offered no dust. The hatless rider leaned over the horse’s neck, both hands clutching the saddle horn. Blood clotted thick on his shirt under his right arm.

Tap rode Roundhouse across the trail, blocking the rider. “Whoa, partner. You look like you need some help.”

The thin man, with wide, drooping mustache and shaggy, dirty brown hair, jerked back on the reins and stopped the horse between Tap and Odessa. His left suspender had been ripped, cut, or shot, and it tailed out across his duc
kings.

“What’s happening up there?” Odessa rode over and held the r
eins for the man, who again slumped forward in the saddle trying to catch his breath.

“It’s a massacre,” the man muttered.

Tap handed him a canteen. “Are you with that Texas herd?”

“Yeah.”

Tap pulled off his red bandanna, folded it up, and then handed it to the man. “Press this up against that wound with your underarm.”

“Thanks, mister.”

“You need to get to a doc in Pine Bluffs. Can you make it? You want one of us to take you to town?”

“I’ll make it. I’ve got to get help for the others.”

“What’s going on?”

“We was movin’ ’em on up to the North Platte when two dozen men came ridin’ into camp at daybreak shootin’ at an
ything that moved. We dove for refuge in some rocks just to save our lives, reckonin’ that we didn’t have much chance of keepin’ the herd. But they came right at us. It was crazy. They acted like they wanted to kill ever’ one of us. I don’t even know who they are.”

“How many of your men are left?”

“I don’t know. . . . I saw a couple go down, but I don’t know if they’re dead. They’ll be all right in the rocks until they run out of bullets.”

“We’ll go see if we can help out. Are you sure you can make it to town?”

“I’ll make it.”

“There’s a U.S. Marshal staying at the Railroad Hotel. Tell him what’s happened, and then tell him that Tap Andrews and Lorenzo Odessa went on out to help.”

“You boys be careful. Don’t get yourselves killed.”

“We’ll try not to, partner,” Tap assured him.

“I’m much obliged for your help.”

“You didn’t see Tom Slaughter, did you?”

“Yeah. He rode up right before the shootin’ started. I think he’s one of the ones who took some lead.”

“Go take care of yourself. We’ll even the odds a little.” Lorenzo handed the reins back to the man.

He and Tap spurred their horses north toward the sound of gunfire. Pulling up on a knoll, they peered across a smoke-filled basin.

“Do you think they’re actually trying to kill them all off?” Odessa questioned.

“It looks that way. Didn’t you say that’s what they tried in Texas?”

“They’re crazy.”

Tap glanced over at Odessa. “Kind of sounds demonic.”

“Even the devil ain’t that nasty.”

“Don’t underestimate him, my friend.”

“Andrews, you sound like you figure ever’ fight is a spiritual ba
ttle. I should have seen it comin’.”

“Seen what comin'?”

“You gettin’ religion. All those years we raised cain down on the border. You never were all that comfortable with sinnin’.”

“Is anybody?”

Odessa rubbed the thin, blond stubble of his beard. “None but the likes of Banner and Cabe. How do you figure we’ll do this?”

Tap searched the horizon. “We can’t ride down there and join those in the rocks. They’re surrounded.”

“How about sittin’ up there on that bluff to the west and catching a few in the cross-fire?”

“That might work. If we can do a little damage, maybe they’ll just ride off with the herd and leave the Texicans alone.”

Odessa stared Tap down. “Do you believe that?”

“No, not really. You’re right about the likes of Cabe and Ba
nner. They seem to be kill-crazy. They won’t stop until they’re dead. Or we are.”

“I get Banner. You promised. I’m goin’ to kill him.”

“Partner, there’s no room for mistakes today. Unbridled revenge has laid many a good man beneath the soil.”

Odessa threw back his head and took a deep breath. “We can’t sneak up on that bluff with the horses. They’ll see us for sure.”

“There isn’t a tree for miles. Let’s hobble ’em and leave ’em here. Take all the bullets you can carry.”

They hiked halfway up the bluff and then crawled on their hands and knees the rest of the way. Tap’s chaps slid across the dead prairie grass as he dragged his left leg b
ehind him. The bluff turned out to be an escarpment, with the south side a gentle grassy slope and the north a steep sandstone promontory.

Reaching the top, they peered through the smoke. Eight or nine cowboys were pinned down in rocks and boulders that weren’t more than three feet high. Scattered around them, a dozen or more gunmen, finding cover where they could, pumped bullets into the rocks with such persuasion that the men under fire spent most of their time hunkered down, ho
ping to avoid a ricochet.

“Which ones are Banner and Cabe?” Odessa asked as he lay flat on his stomach.

“Can’t tell. You see that bunch down there in that draw?”

“Yep.”

“Let’s try to flush them out. It might give those in the rocks a break.” Tap checked the lever on his rifle, then flipped up the long-range sight, and began to raise the vertical adjustment.

“This carbine of mine won’t do the damage that your rifle and peep sight can.”

Propped up on his elbows, Tap pushed his hat to his back and took aim at the men on horseback in the draw, who were shooting into the rocks. “Shoot the horses.”

Lying flat on the bluff, thirty feet above and two hundred yards away from the battle, Tap and Lorenzo opened fire. Twelve quick shots sounded before the smoke got so thick they had to cease firing.

A horse collapsed beneath the lead rider.

A second man tumbled from his mount.

A gray horse reared, bucked off its rider.

Another man slumped in the saddle.

The gunmen in the draw fled to the open prairie to face heavy shooting from the cowboys in the rocks.