the Iron Marshall (1979) (24 page)

"She kept Holstrum at arm's length, and that made him admire her all the more. It seems to have been painfully easy to win him over. He had told her she must not come to town when the money arrived because Vince Patterson and his men might actually try to burn the town. It was she who suggested that somebody might take that chance to steal the money ... and who would know the difference? She had George standing by and he had recruited McBride and the others." "Mrs. Carpenter had heard of the shipment from her husband. Some of the money, but only a small amount, would be his, By this time she wanted no more of Carpenter or the town.

"She had seen the blonde woman in town, and she had seen George in deep conversation with Holstrum, and she was no fool. She is a woman who trusts no one, who suspects everyone. Knowing about the shipment, she became suspicious. She talked to Burt about the gold, when it would arrive and what would be done with it. How long it would be on the platform, and if it were stolen how the thieves could get away with it.

"Burt was scared. But she kept after him. She kept after him with her questions and asked, finally, why the gold had to leave the train at all? If they were going to steal it, why not just change the delivery directions and reship it? And the more he thought of it, the better it looked. "Burt swears he wouldn't have gone into it at all but for the fact that he started thinking about the others stealing it, if that was what was planned. Unloading at the water tank at Holstrum had not occurred to him, and he got the idea that if they stole it they would have to kill him." Tom Shanaghy walked to the door of the car. The station ahead was only a boxcar dismounted from its wheels, with a plank platform in front of it. He could see several horses with saddles and others with packsaddles. There was only one man in sight, standing alone on the platform. Beside him were several boxes, stacked neatly. Evidently they had not discovered they had been tricked. The man moved forward as the train came to a stop. "Open up!" he shouted. "We've got some express!"

Nothing happened. Impatiently, he stepped closer. "Hey, in there! Open up!" Tom Shanaghy glanced at the freight car. Only one man could come out of that door at once, and he saw but one window.

"Josh," he said over his shoulder, "if shooting starts put a bullet through that window."

He stepped down on the platform. "Something I can do for you?" he asked. Sunlight struck the badge and the man went for his gun. Instantly, another man loomed in the door. It was George Alcott.

Shanaghy drew and fired in the same instant, shooting at George, whom he suspected of being the best shot. He fired, a second time, at the man beside the boxes.

Josh dropped to the platform, shooting into the window. There was a cry from within, and as quickly as it had begun it was over. George was down in the doorway. The man beside the boxes was clutching a bloody arm, his gun on the platform at his feet.

Tom Shanaghy walked toward the door and said, "All of you inside there, step outside, hands in the air."

There was a moment of hesitation and then Shanaghy said, just loud enough, "If you imagine those walls are shelter, let me tell you this. A forty-four or forty-five bullet will go through six inches of pine ... You've got about an inch. Come out, hands up, or we are going to shoot that car so full of holes it will look like a sieve."

They came out-another stranger first, then the girl, and lastly, Pin McBride.

"Where's Holstrum?" he asked.

Nobody said anything. The blonde girl's face was drawn and her lips were compressed. She was staring at him, frightened and angry. As she stepped around George's body, she shrank from him, holding her skirts away. She did not look at the man seated on the boxes. He was holding his wqunded arm and cursing in a low, monotonous voice. Shanaghy walked to McBride and took a pistol from him. McBride glared at him.

"Damn you! I should have killed you!"

"You might have," Shanaghy replied, "makin' me jump that way. If it will give you any pleasure, you might as well know that making me jump off that train and then throwing that gear after me was what blew up your show." "What d'you mean?"

"First, you made me mad. Second, those duds you threw after me belonged to Rig Barrett. His guns were in the bedroll. " He smiled. "You see? It was your own pigheaded attitude that brought you to this."

The girl's eyes were furious. "Just what do you think you're doing?" she demanded. "I was just waiting for the train-!"

"Good!" He smiled at her. "Because it's right here, waiting for you. Before we put you aboard, we'd better have a look at these nice little boxes you have here.

"Now, these boxes should contain about twelve thousand twenty-dollar gold pieces, and about ten thousand dollars in silver." From the engineer Shanaghy borrowed a hammer and knocked loose a couple of boards. He lifted the boards and tore loose the sacking inside the boxes. "All of you ... have a look."

McBride swung around, angrily. "You don't have to show me ... !" His voice broke off and he stared, his face slowly turning pale. The boxes were filled with nuts, bolts and screws.

Chapter
Twenty-One.

At his expression the blonde girl turned her head. When she saw the boxes Shanaghy thought for a moment she was going to cry. Then her face took on a hard, ugly look.

"The trouble with being a crook," Shanaghy said mildly, "is that you have to associate with so many dishonest people."

"Who did that?" McBride demanded. "How the devil-?" "Looks like you boys have been played for suckers," Shanaghy continued. He turned to Josh. "You an' Joel hogtie this lot, including the lady. If you take my advice you'll watch her most of all."

She kept glancing at the train, and clutching her handbag in her left hand. He reached over and took the handbag from her. She started to pull it away but he took it with a quick jerk. When he opened it he found a .44 Derringer. He showed it to Joel Strong and Josh. "Can't be too careful," he added. "What happened to that gold?" McBride demanded. "If it gets into the papers, you can read about it there," Shanaghy said. He turned to Josh. "Take 'em aboard now."

"Where are we going?" Judge McBane asked from the doorway.

"Back to town," he said. "I'll speak to the engineer." The train started to back up the track. Shanaghy walked forward to the express car. When he opened the door the express messenger shook his head. "Man, they had me running scared there, for a minute, with that shootin' and all." "Don't let it worry you. I think it's all over." He glanced at the shipment, then walked back to the car where the prisoners rode. Despite their mild objections, McBane had moved the other passengers into the other coach, so they had the prisoners and themselves in the car alone. Josh had taken a seat at one end of the car facing the prisoners, and Joel Strong at the other. Two of the prisoners were seated together. McBride sat alone as did the girl.

Shanaghy was tired. He was feeling the letdown from days of thinking and worry. He paused by McBride. "Are you the one who shot an old prospector's burro out by the water tank?"

McBride looked up. "You going to arrest me for that, too?" "No," Shanaghy said. "I think with trying to steal the gold shipment and the murder of Holstrum, we've got enough on you. Then there's the attack on Rig Barrett, resisting an officer and a good deal more. Take my advice, though. If you get a chance to escape, don't take it."

"What's that mean?"

"That old man whose burro you killed. He'd like nothing better than to get a shot at you. And if you do escape I am not even going to look for you. He'll take care of it."

"That old blister? Hell, I should've shot him as well as his burro."

"Well, you didn't, and that's a mighty hard old man. And he loved that burro.

He's taking it mighty bad."

Greenwood was at the station when the train backed in and he watched the prisoners get off. He also watched the body of George taken from the train. "Holstrum?" he asked.

"I think they killed him. They aren't talking about him, so I'll have to ride out that way and have a look. Anyway, he didn't show up here." Shanaghy himself helped unload the boxes containing the gold. "There it is, Greenie," he said. "Now you can supply the money to pay off those cowhands." Greenwood looked at the boxes and shook his head. "Tom, I'm damned if I know what to say. You've saved the town and our money, too, and mighty poor treatment you've had for it."

"Fix me up with a room at the hotel again, and I'll ask for nothing more." "No problem. They all know who killed Carp now, and most of them are sorry for the way they acted." He paused. "By the way, you've some friends in town ... at least they were asking for you."

"Friends? I don't know anybody in this part of the country." Greenwood lit a cigar. "Don't appear to be from around here. I'd say they were easterners. There's four of them."

Easterners? Who- Suddenly he remembered the letter from John Morrissey. He felt in his pockets for it, then opened it.

Dear Tom:

No need for you to come back unless you wish to. What you started when you left worked out fine and the Childers people are gone ... cleaned out. However, if I were in your boots I would keep a sharp eye out. The Childers are still around and you were the one they wanted most of all.

Lochlin is well, and sends regards.

My advice is stay west. You are too good a man for this, and you could make a place for yourself in that new country like I did when I landed in New York. The letter was signed with a flourish, John Morrissey.

Greenwood was watching him as he read. "What is it? Bad news?" Shanaghy folded the letter and put it in his pocket. The Childers family had come from someplace in the west or midwest, and so might know this country. Finding him would not be difficult, especially if they had somebody keeping an eye on Morrissey's mail. This letter was probably written the same day Morrissey received his note. Even without that, there were only two rail lines into the west and this was the logical one.

"It could be trouble," he admitted. "Those men you spoke of could be some old enemies, from New York."

His eyes on the street, he explained, briefly. The thoroughfare was busy now, the people coming and going about their shopping, for this was a Saturday, always a big day in town.

"If it's who I think it is," Shanaghy said, "this is my affair. They are hunting me and nobody else."

"You're our town marshal," Greenwood objected, gently. "And we don't like outsiders meddling in our affairs." He grinned. "Meaning no offense." "You know," Shanaghy said, "the only one of them I have any sympathy for is Holstrum. He had a dream. Maybe it was foolish, maybe not. Seems that was all he wanted from life."

"We'll miss Carp. He was a good man."

"Aye," Shanaghy was watching the hotel. Where were they? Did they know he was back in town? He looked around, taking his time. Judge McBane walked over. "We've locked up your prisoners. That young woman wants to talk to you."

"All right." He walked away, following Strong.

She had been locked in another storeroom at Holstrum's, the place where he kept sacks of flour, sugar, and seed. It was a temporary place at best. She was sitting up when he came into the room, and she got quickly to her feet.

"Marshal, you can help me. I've got to get out of this!"

"What do you mean?"

"All this. I never intended ... I mean I never meant for this to happen! It's

impossible! I mean, my family, my friends-"

"You should have thought of that before."

"How could I? I never expected-"

"You never expected to get caught, is that it? You never expected to have to go to prison, to have a trial, to be in court as a person on trial for robbery and murder."

"Murder?" she gasped. "You can't believe I had anything to do with thatl" "You started it all, ma'am. You were the instigator, and as such you're the most guilty of all. The truth of the matter is, ma'am, that nobody would commit a crime if they expected to get caught. Every criminal believes he is going to get away with it."

"But I never did anything like this before! Marshal, it was my first offense, and believe me it will be my last. Doesn't that count for anything?" "I will do as much for you as you will for Holstrum."

"But he's deadl"

"That's right, ma'am. So is Mr. Carpenter. All because a greedy, selfish girl wanted more than she had. When you can bring them back to life, ma'am, you come and ask me for help. Every man and woman should consider the consequences of his or her actions, and those actions should be considered beforehand, not after. I've no use for crybabies, ma'am, male or female." The pleading, woebegone look was gone from her eyes. What Shanaghy saw now was pure hatred, but he wasn't talking any more and he wasn't listening any more. When he closed the door behind him, he didn't feel any better. Suddenly all he wanted was to be finished with it all. He wanted to sit down to a quiet meal and a cup of coffee, and most of all he wanted to see Jan. They would be taken east somewhere for trial. No doubt he would be called upon to testify, as would Greenwood, Judge McBane and others. And Burt ... who had turned state's evidence.

When Shanaghy came out of Holstrum's store, Josh Lundy was standing in front of Greenwood's with Joel Strong and Judge McBane. Greenwood came out as Shanaghy appeared.