Ralph Compton Whiskey River (18 page)

At that point, Wilder stepped out of the shadows. “He ain't told you all of it. He brought back the gold he took to pay for the whiskey, and besides that, a sackful of bills. Thousands and thousands there, I reckon. Now we just need Estrello's word that he aims to divide all that money and gold, fair and square, once we're back in the Territory.”

“That's exactly what I'm planning to do,” Estrello said. “The bastard I had to shoot over the whiskey had a safe full of money. What was I supposed to do, just leave it?”

“Hell, no,” said Wilder. “You can't hang but once. We ain't against what you done. We just want to be damn sure you ain't forgot who your friends are when it's time to divide the loot. Now you just mind your business, and don't get no funny ideas about a double cross.”

 

Captain Jenks's steamboat, the
Star
, had turned around and had now become the leader.

“What in tarnation's he doin' that for?” Bill wondered.

“Who knows?” said Mark. “It's hard to see by starlight, but it looks like the other three steamboats are turning around. Ours will be first in line.”

“This will hurt our chances of jumping ship just before we reach Fort Smith,” Vernon said. “If we run this steamboat aground, with the other three behind us, they'll know what we aim to do before we can escape.”

“That's a chance we'll have to take,” said Nick.

“Something must have happened, causing this change,” Amanda said.

“I think you're right,” said Mark, “and it may mean big trouble for Estrello.”

“It may mean big trouble for us all,” Ed said. “At least one of those Gatling guns has a cylinder it takes ten shells to fully load. In practice it's been evaluated and is supposed to fire four hundred times a minute. Enough hits could sink us.”

“That, or explode the boilers,” said Nick. “In either case, we're finished.”

“Well, it hasn't happened yet,” Bill said, “and if this bunch from St. Louis comes after us, we'll still have three steamboats between us and them.”

“We'll need them,” said Lee, “but until they get closer, our Winchesters won't be of any use.”

“You're right,” Todd said. “We'll just have to pray that Estrello has men who can operate the gun, and enough ammunition to feed it. Five volleys, if it's the big Gatling, and there's two thousand shells.”

 

Burt Wills eventually found ten additional men to join in the chase. It took longer than he had expected, because he finally had to tell them of the robbery and murder of Taylor Laird. Some of them were difficult to convince.

“Look,” said Wills, “I know this business backward and forward, as well as sideways and upside-down. I can operate it as well as Laird did, but we can't do it broke. We
need
the cash and the gold that Estrello took, and we need to teach that varmint a lesson. Now, who's got the sand to go after them?”

The ten men stepped forward, and, mounting his horse, Wills led out. As expected, the four loaded steamboats were gone. In their place was the black-and-gold stern-wheeler that had belonged to Laird. It was an impressive sight, reassuring them that Wills could do exactly what he planned to do. Didn't he have control of Laird's steamboat, a fancy craft that few of them had ever seen, and that some didn't know existed?

The steamboat already had up steam, smoke boiling from its twin stacks. The nine men Wills had sent on ahead waited on the upper deck, and he noted with approval they all had a Sharps .50 buffalo gun, as did the ten men he had brought with him. Wills hurried to the pilothouse, where Captain Tyndall waited. Tyndall had not been told the purpose of this expedition, and without beating around the bush, Wills told him the truth.

“If we don't catch up to this bunch of thieves and killers,” Wills concluded, “then we'll be broke and out of business.”

“I don't know if we can catch them or not,” said Tyndall, “since they have a considerable head start. Suppose we
are
able to catch up to them? What do you intend to do?”

“There are twenty of us armed with Sharps .50 buffalo guns,” Wills said. “We can stay out of Winchester range and give them hell. These big guns can cut their pilothouses down to the bare deck. I aim to take up where Laird left off, and I'll begin by making an example of these varmints that done the killing and robbery.”

“You're the boss, then,” said Tyndall. “Let's get started.”

Within minutes, the black-and-gold steamboat was on its way south, traveling at top speed. Grimly, twenty men lined its upper deck, shading their eyes, hoping to see the quarry somewhere ahead.

 

Not quite a hundred miles south of St. Louis, the four steamboats bearing the Estrello outfit were forced to stop and take on wood. Men from the fourth steamboat—now Estrello's—quickly went ashore, supposedly to stretch their legs. One of these men was Drew Wilder.

“Where the hell you been, Wilder?” Gabe Haddock asked. “You was supposed to be on the
Goose,
and I ain't seen you since before we left, last night.”

“I been on the Aztec, talking turkey with our
amigo,
Estrello,” said Wilder. “Get the others over here from the second, third, and fourth boats. This is something you all need to hear.”

Except for McCarty and McLean, the men gathered to hear what Wilder had to say. Before he finished, there were shouts of anger. Elgin Kendrick said what all of them were thinking. “Damn it, now there won't be any more whiskey, no more easy money.”

“There may not be any money at all if they have a steamboat and catch up to us,” said Wilder. “Estrello cleaned out the safe, and there must be hundreds of thousands, besides the gold we saved by not payin' for the whiskey. I saw the money and the gold Estrello put in his locker. We'll all have to watch Estrello if we aim to keep him honest. If there's no other way, shoot the varmint. We can manage without him if we have to.”

Bert Hamby laughed. “Keepin' Wolf Estrello honest is like teachin' a rattler to behave like a salamander.”

“From here on to Fort Smith,” Wilder said. “I'll be on the
Aztec
, watching Estrello. He'd kill us all for that pile of money and gold he brought back.”

“Not if we kill him first,” said Burrell Hedgepith.

“Only if there's no other way,” Wilder said. “He
did
what he should have done, bringin' back the gold and the stolen money. So he gets a chance to share it with the rest of us. But at the first sign of a double cross, he's fair game.”

Shouts of approval erupted as the men again boarded the steamboats.

“I need to talk to the other captains,” said Captain Savage, aboard the
Aztec.

“You ain't talkin' to nobody,” McCarty said. “Far as they know, they're follerin' your orders, and it's gonna stay that way.”

At the military outpost in St. Louis, Sergeant Ember knocked on the post commander's door and was bid enter. He saluted, had it returned, and then presented Captain Hailey with a lengthy telegram. Quickly, Hailey read the telegram.

“By the Eternal,” said Captain Hailey, slamming his fist down on the desk, “we've been right about Taylor Laird and this whiskey running, but there was never any conclusive evidence. Now it's startin' to add up. I want you to detail men to search
all
Laird's warehouses, destroying any illegal whiskey.”

“Yes, sir,” said Sergeant Ember, “but what about the killers? Two days ago, those four steamboats were seen headin' south, without running lights. Don't you reckon those whiskey runners have a load of the stuff aboard?”

“I'm sure they do,” Captain Hailey said, “but with a two-day start, there's no way we can catch up to them from here. They're on their way to Indian Territory.”

“You could telegraph Fort Smith,” said Sergeant Ember.

“Good idea,” Captain Hailey said, “except it's a small post with a handful of troops, and most of the lawmen in the area are deputies, out somewhere in the Territory with their tumbleweed wagoris.”
²

“Maybe there's a better way, sir,” said Sergeant Ember. “Remember, a month or so ago when you got a letter from Captain Ferguson at Fort Worth? He had sent two men to try to join Estrello's outfit.”

“Sergeant, that's classified, and you're not supposed to know,” Captain Hailey said. “Consider yourself reprimanded.”

“Yes, sir,” said Sergeant Embler. “What I was about to say is that if Estrello and his outfit are bound for Indian Territory with loaded wagons, Captain Ferguson could send a company of soldiers to head them off. Soldiers from Fort Worth could be there in not more than three days.”

“Soldier,” Captain Hailey said, “that's good thinking. Of course, it'll be up to Captain Ferguson as to whether or not he wants to send soldiers in the hope of destroying the Estrello gang. We don't know for
sure
they're involved. It could be a wild-goose chase.”

“Yes, sir,” said Sergeant Ember, “but suppose it's not. Suppose there's a genuine chance to put the Estrello gang out of business permanently. Whatever Captain Ferguson decides to do with the information, doesn't he still need to know?”

“I suppose you're right,” Captain Hailey said. “I can telegraph him as much as we know, and let him decide how far he wants to take it. Give me a few minutes, and you can take the message to the telegrapher.”

“If it pans out, sir, you could receive a promotion for this,” said Sergeant Ember.

“Soldier,” Captain Hailey said, “with the ranks frozen, neither of us will live long enough for promotion. Now get this telegram on the wire as soon as I finish it.”

 

Aboard Captain Savage's steamboat, the
Aztec
, he was constantly under guard. Not having been allowed to speak to captains of the other steamboats, he felt reasonably sure that none of them had been told about possible pursuit and use of the Gatling gun on the deck of the
Aztec
. The armed outlaws kept an around-the-clock watch on Savage, and he realized he wouldn't have a chance to warn his companions on the other steamboats before they reached the landing at Fort Smith. Savage, Lytle, Stock, and Jenks were useful to the outlaws only until they reached Fort Smith. After that, the steamboats would not be needed. What was going to happen to the steamboat captains and their crews? Captain Savage shuddered at the possibilities.

 

Aboard what was now the first steamboat in line, the
Star
, Amanda had just gone to the lower deck, and, not wishing to reveal her presence at the makeshift outhouse, she felt her way, leaving the lantern hanging by the hatch that led to the upper deck. At first she thought she had been followed, until one of the men laughed. They didn't know she was there! Quickly, Amanda got as far away as she could, where the dim rays of the lantern wouldn't reach. There she hunched, trembling, and what she heard set her heart to pounding with excitement. Mark had come with her, and she had no idea how he had managed to conceal himself. Irvin and Suggs were discussing a murder and robbery involving Wolf Estrello!

“I got to give the varmint credit,” said Irvin. “He could have just gunned down old man Laird and took the gold that was to be paid for the whiskey, but he robbed the damn safe. Besides the gold, Wilder says there may be thousands of dollars in greenbacks. A big sack full of it.”

“Wilder's got the right idea,” Suggs said. “If Estrello had got all that aboard without any of us knowin'it, he'd double-cross the hell out of us. We still may have to kill the greedy son-of-a-bitch when we get back to the Territory.”

The duo headed back down the narrow corridor that led to the overhead hatch to the upper deck. Amanda stayed where she was until Mark spoke.

“Go ahead and use that thing, and let's get out of here before that pair of varmints start wonderin' where we are.”

“I think I just had it scared out of me,” Amanda said. “Let's go back and tell the others.”

They reached the upper deck without seeing Irvin or Suggs. As had become their custom, they joined their companions who shared their predicament. Quietly and quickly, Mark and Amanda repeated what they had heard.

“Thank God,” Betsy cried, “that's the split we were hoping for.”

“Yeah,” said Bill, “but it may not work out to our advantage. With so much at stake, the whole damn gang may line up against Estrello. He's just one man, and we're still outgunned.”

“A lot depends on what they decide to do about the stolen gold,” Ed said. “If they decide to forget the gold and go with what they have, then Amanda and Betsy are in big trouble.”

“I think Estrello will insist on going after that hidden gold,” said Nick. “It's likely all that'll keep him alive.”

“It's all that will save Amanda and me,” Betsy said, “but I don't believe they'll forget the gold. Not after they've fought over it for five years, and they believe Amanda and me know where it is.”

“You mean you
don't
know?” Bill asked.

“I didn't say that,” Betsy snapped. “Who knows if we can find it again? Because of it, Amanda and me have survived five years in this damn outlaw camp.”

Mark was looking at Amanda, and her eyes failed to meet his. He tilted her chin, and at the corners of her eyes was the beginning of tears.

“I don't know if we can find it again,” said Amanda. “I just don't know.”