Texas Blood Feud (24 page)

The night before they left, he and Dale Allen went over the list of cattle. They had five hundred steers from the ranch, five hundred from Mexico, Hodges’s one hundred, Morgan’s two hundred, Jenks’s one hundred, and Kathren’s one hundred.

“That makes the count,” Chet said.

“Fifteen hundred head.”

“Yes, that’s plenty. Enough that we can pay expenses off the five hundred if we can sell them all right and still make those folks some money,” Chet said. “Get some sleep. You won’t get much from here on.”

Dale Allen would need all the sleep he could get.

On a cloudy morning in mid-March, Dale Allen and his crew started off for Kansas. Heck rode in the chuck wagon with Matt as the cook’s helper. Whip Malloy was the horse wrangler. Sammy and Reg were the swing riders, and they guided the direction and the speed of the herd. They tried a big six-year-old black steer called Midnight as the bell leader. In a few hours they’d know about his leadership abilities. In no time they learned that the black steer was well chosen for the role of
His Majesty
.

Chet rode north with them the first day. The two younger boys rode double on their pony as far as the north end of the horse pasture. At mid-afternoon, the drive stopped at Cedar Creek, and the point riders threaded the cattle along the bank to drink and then let them graze the rest of the afternoon.

One busted cinch, and the unseated cowboy named Bailey had a headache after falling off his horse turning back an errant steer. The rest went smoothly. Chet played a quiet role, letting Dale Allen handle the operation.

“Good day,” Chet said. “There’s always some fighting the first few days of the cattle drive, even though they were thrown together a few weeks ago. Who’s the boss is name of the game.”

“And there’s always some steers that are troublemakers,” Dale Allen said.

“Eat them.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“I’ve even shot them and left them for the buzzards. Troublemakers aren’t worth two cents.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“You have things in order. A schedule to ride herd tonight. Good luck.”

“You leaving?”

“I figure you can handle it.”

Dale Allen nodded. “I’ll do my damnedest.”

“That’s all I can ask.”

Chet rode back toward the ranch in the twilight, relying on Roan to get him there because with the cloud cover, it would be a dark night. Not taking the herd made him feel guilty, but it would be good for Dale Allen. His brother needed to take care of something—he’d do fine.

Past midnight, bone tired, he fell in his bunk, and slept hard until the morning bell rang. Bleary-eyed, he washed his face and headed for the main house.

“How was the herd and crew?” Susie asked at his entry.

“Ready to fight a bear. First day went well.”

His ranch hands Rip and Toby, the shorter one, came in and smiled at the sight of him.

“Them boys get along okay yesterday?” Rip asked, straddling a chair to sit down.

“Doing good.”

“Late yesterday, me and Toby patched a break in the lower oat field fence. There were twenty cows and calves in there that we drove out.”

“Can’t blame ’em. Those oats are doing good since the rain began. Keep an eye on those fields. We’ll need that hay.”

“Yes, sir.”

May, looking a little red-eyed, and the baby came in to join them. She asked about her husband and Chet assured her he was fine.

“I’ll sure miss him,” she said, and forced a smile.

“He’ll be back in late summer all tanned and relaxed.”

“Yes, I imagine he will be.”

Chet cradled a cup of steaming coffee in his hands. He regretted that he hadn’t signed on more cattle to take north, but the fifteen hundred would be enough for Dale Allen’s first trip. He better saddle up and go check on his corn-planting operation after breakfast.

He was close to the bottomland where he expected to find them planting when he heard what he thought was crows fighting. But when he rode over the ridge, he could see three riders herding his white-clothed farmhands with their hands high out of the field. What in the hell were they doing?

He slipped off Sam Bass, slid the Sharps and the cross sticks out of his scabbard. Those three had their nerve chousing his help. He set the sight and studied the thick-set one on horseback ordering them around in the circle. The first trigger set, he squeezed off a shot with the second one. The man, his arms outstretched, flew off his horse, and the other two, trying to hold their mounts, looked wide-eyed in his direction.

Chet deliberately reloaded and took aim, but they were already on the run, whipping and driving to race across the plowed ground. He put the rifle on safety, then stowed it, and rode up to the Mexican men.

“What were they doing?” he asked Pepe as he dismounted.

“
Señor
, they were driving us like cattle. Telling us we had to leave here. Threatening us with our lives.”

Chet nodded and went over to the man lying facedown in the dirt. Fresh blood came from his vest where the bullet must have entered him.

“Who is he?” Pepe asked.

“Frank Dutton, he’s Earl Reynolds brother-in-law.”

“Why did he want us to leave?”

“So I couldn’t get any corn planted.”

“Who were the others?” Pepe asked as the tension on the men’s faces around them began to relax.

“One I think was his son, Garland. The other fella I’m not sure.”

“What will we do with him?”

“Sheriff Trent has a deputy in Mayfield. I’ll take Dutton to him.”

“Will they come back?”

“I don’t think so.” He raised his voice. “I don’t think they’ll be back. I’ll keep an eye on you.”

They began to talk among themselves and thanked him. He assured them they’d be safe and told them to go back to planting corn.

He rode into Mayfield with Dutton’s corpse belly-down over his horse. His appearance with his burden in the village soon had several curious folks coming out to see what he would do next.

At Casey’s, he dismounted, hitched the horses, and went inside.

“That deputy around?” he asked Casey.

“No. He went to see about a stolen horse.”

“Where’s Gunner?”

“What happened?” Casey asked, drawing him a beer.

“Dutton, his son, and another galoot were threatening my farming crew with pistols when I rode up. Telling them to leave or else. I took out Dutton and the other two fled.”

“What’s going on?” Gunner asked, coming in the saloon’s doors.

Chet shook his head. He’d go through this story several times before the day was over.

It was near dark when he rode in. Skirt in her hands, Susie ran out. “You all right? Astria’s friend Maria came and told us about all the trouble you had this morning at the fields and shooting a man.”

“Frank Dutton, Earl’s brother-in-law. Frank, Garland, and some hand were herding the men out of the field at gunpoint.”

“Is he dead?”

“Dead as a rock.”

She shook her head in dismay. “I have supper in the oven.”

“Good, I haven’t eaten a thing since breakfast.” He looked around. With Heck gone, he’d have to put up his own damn horse. It wouldn’t hurt him.

Four weeks went by without another incident. Their wedding plans were in place for the following Saturday. Nothing had happened since the hearing about Frank Dutton’s death when it was ruled a justifiable homicide. Kathren had agreed to a small ceremony at the ranch—Susie, Louise, and May planned to embellish it somehow.

Chet was in the blacksmith shop tacking shoes on Strawberry when Susie came screaming. “Oh, Chet, where are you? They’ve killed Dale Allen!”

Dale Allen? Killed? His heart stopped and he dropped the hoof he held in his lap.

Out of breath, she collapsed against a post in the building. “Heck’s here. He’s exhausted to death, rode day and night, he said, they attacked the crew.” She swallowed hard. “Dale Allen is dead. Oh, my God—” She collapsed sobbing in his arms. “What will we do?”

“Where are they?”

“Across the Red River, he said.”

“Those sonsabitches waited till they were out of Texas.”

“What does that mean?”

“There’s not much law up in the Nations.”

“You better talk to Heck. What will we do?”

“I’ll need to go up there and see what I can do about the cattle and the men.”

“But your marriage—”

“Kathren will wait. She’ll understand.”

“Oh, Chet, why, oh, why have they done this?”

“Revenge. Cold-blooded revenge.” And he’d answer them with more of their own poison.

After he talked to the worn-out youth and learned the killers had also taken the horses, he knew he had more problems. Roan was saddled and he rode fast for Kathren’s. She needed to know what had happened and what he had to do.

At the sight and sound of him coming so hard, she rushed out. “What’s wrong?”

He piled off the hard-breathing horse and ran up to hug her. “They’ve raided the cattle drive. They killed Dale Allen, shot Matt, killed Pinky and another cowboy, and took the horses.”

“The Reynolds men?”

“Yes. Heck said Shelby, Earl, and Kenny were the leaders. I know we have plans, but I must go help those boys and get those cattle to Kansas.”

“I know that. I’ll still be here, Chester Byrnes. You take care and come back to me.”

“I will. I promise.”

He kissed her good-bye, then leaped on the roan and raced back for the ranch. With all that time during his ride, since he had Kathren taken care of, he began laying plans. Hire some more hands, find some horses and have them sent up there. He couldn’t wait for them. Whoever was left with the herd would need him as soon as he could get there.

Heck rushed out of the house when he rode in. Sleep had helped the boy. He looked rested anyway.

“What do I need to do?” he asked.

“Pick us out three horses apiece, so we can ride them in relays—what’s wrong?”

“I better let you choose your horses. You know them better than I do.”

“I can do that.”

“How is she?” Susie asked.

“She’s fine. Understands. I need you to go find Jim Crammer. Have him buy me about thirty horses and find some good help to deliver those horses to me in the Nation.”

“What are your plans?”

“That crew needs me. Heck and I are going to relay three horses apiece and get up there. I can hire some hands around Doan’s store, and buy some horses up there, too.”

“I’ll go see Jim Crammer in the morning.”

“Good.”

“What will you need?”

“Jerky to chew on. We’re going light.”

She agreed.

“How’s May?” he asked, realizing she had lost a husband.

Susie shook her head like she didn’t want to explain the whole thing. “I sedated her. She’s sleeping. What about his body?”

“Somehow I’ll try to bring it back when I come home. I can’t promise I can do it. I’ll try to.”

“Oh, Chet, I hate all this that’s been piled on you.”

“Susie, we’ll survive it all.” Then he hugged her tight with a knot in his throat he couldn’t swallow.

Heck was saddling his choice of horses.

“How did it all happen?” Chet asked.

“We were in camp that night. Things had been going good. Dale Allen kept saying we’d have stampedes and for all of us to be ready—but—the cattle were all right for the most part. He did like you said. We ate the worst spooks in the herd before we crossed the Red River.

“I was in bed when hell broke loose. They rode in and went to shooting. They shot down Dad—I mean he didn’t even have a gun. Matt got one of them with a shotgun, but they shot him several times. Sam emptied his pistol at them. Reg shot one of their horses and thinks he wounded Shelby, but we didn’t know. They also killed Pinky and Arnold, that boy from Kerrville. It was bad, and then they ran off the horses. Them night herders somehow held the cattle. Sam left to track the horses. Reg sent me right away down here to get you.”

Chet nodded. “I know it’s been tough. You did a man’s job.”

“I owe a man for the horse I traded for mine for up on the Colorado River.”

“We’ll see he gets paid.”

“That horse I had was so tuckered out he’d not’ve gone a step more.”

“We’ll pay him maybe on the way back.”

“Good. You ain’t riding that Bugger horse, are you?” Heck asked as Chet led Bugger out of the stall.

“Yeah, I think he’s the toughest horse I’ve ever seen, and I may need one that stout before this is over.”

He choose Dun and Roan besides. He’d like to have taken Strawberry, but the ride over to her place and back had taken some of the edge off him that he would need to make this relay ride work.

Susie came with jerky wrapped in butcher paper for each of them. “When do they need to cut the oats?”

“When the oats are in the milk stage.”

“And they need to keep the grass and weeds out of the corn, right?”

“Pepe and those men are reliable farmers.”

“I know but—”

“I agree, I wish I could leave someone who could oversee it all.”

“Chet, we can handle it. Go on.”

She tied a canvas ground cloth and blanket on the back of his saddle while sidestepping the dun’s footwork—as if he sensed the excitement.

Heck took his roll, which she had for him, and did the same. Chet jammed the Sharps in his own scabbard and a .44/40 in Heck’s.

“I need to get five hundred dollars out of the safe and put it in a money belt,” Chet said.

She nodded. “I’ll go do that while you finish here.”

Each one had two saddled horses and a spare animal to ride later. When they rode to the house, Louise came out. She shielded her eyes against the sun.

“God be with you two.” She shook her head in disbelief.

“He will be,” Chet said and dismounted, handing Heck his reins and leads. He about bumped into Susie coming out the front door with the canvas belt in her hands. “It’s all in there.”

Unbuttoning his shirt, he threaded the belt on, and re-buttoned the shirt. “You all take care. I will be back.”

He swung in the saddle—no time for more words.

They short-loped north. “Crowd that Bugger horse, he don’t lead as well as I’d like.”