Chaparral Range War (9781101619049) (25 page)

“No nerve, no damn nerve at all. Somehow the legend of you being an ex–Texas Ranger scared them all.”

“They were right to be scared. Rangers are a tough bunch. Now start coming down or I'm finishing you off for all those God-fearing folks that you and your grubby bunch hurt and ran off. I don't really care if I shoot you or not. Right now my trigger finger is kinda itching to send you directly to hell.”

“I'm coming.”

Guthrey went to meet him, and when they got back to the house, Noble had the disarmed outlaws handcuffed. Both men sat on the ground. Whitmore came with his suit coat and pants floured in light-colored dirt. His hands held high, he shook his head when he finally arrived at the side of the house. Guthrey cuffed his wrists behind his back and shoved him to the ground beside the others.

“Now, why don't you snap your fingers,” Guthrey said to him, “and have me killed.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

W
HEN THEY WERE
back at the jail at last, Doc had looked at the wounded man. The other prisoner and Whitmore had joined the rest in the barbed wire cell.

Noble, who had recovered remarkably in Guthrey's eyes, was telling his part of the capture at the Whitmore Ranch.

“No one got shot. But Whitmore wasn't there at his ranch. We couldn't find him. Best we know, he'd gone to Mexico. We've got that blustering Hampton and over a dozen prisoners that the law clerk said were to be charged as felons.”

“They offer any resistance?” Guthrey asked, busy listening to him.

Noble smiled. “Your Ranger Chuck went in there, fired off a few shots in the air, and told them the Crook County sheriff's officers had them surrounded. And we did.”

“Todd coming?” someone asked.

One of the posse men said, “Yeah, he's got that raping bastard too. They have maybe a dozen prisoners with them.”

Guthrey said to Noble, “Why don't you go down to Doc's and get some sleep. Kathryn will give you a bed to sleep in, and you can get some rest. You look plumb tuckered out.”

“I'll do that,” Noble agreed.

Guthrey paced the office. The only ones left not accounted for were the crew with Gus and his rancher friends Kelly and Ute plus a dozen more over in the Chiricahuas. They might cross the county bounds, but Guthrey didn't care. The men on that list were wanted for committing crimes.

Jory and the other law clerks came by with a list. “We have seven men willing to turn over evidence for shortened sentences already. I think we will have to go out and look for others they have named.”

“Do you know a fancy lawyer named Bentson?” he asked the young law clerk.

“Oh, he's high priced. Where did you meet him?”

“He offered me a large ranch up on the Verde if I'd leave this part of Arizona.”

“They couldn't scare you, so they tried to bribe you?”

“Yes. Who does he represent?” Guthrey asked.

“He does lots of law work for a larger Tucson group. I imagine he will represent Whitmore and that rapist Curt Slegal.” The other law clerks nodded in agreement.

“I wanted Whitmore to answer for all this raiding that he ordered done.” Guthrey could never have stood for Whitmore to have gotten away from his sweep. He was glad they had brought justice to Whitmore so swiftly. That, and he missed Cally, who'd become so much a part of his life in such a comparatively short time.

“Your raids will break down this bunch,” McCall said. He was still there despite Guthrey's suggestion to him earlier that he go to bed. “We're all beholden to you for all that you've done for every one of us. Your bride was in the middle of that assassination attempt at the dance. You stopped and challenged them at a community gathering and disarmed them. Arresting people when there was no backup from the ones in charge. You sure need to be proud of this recall and today's efforts to wind this reign of terror down.”

The men lingering around the office murmured agreement. “Oh, I am grateful one of the main leaders is behind bars tonight as well,” Guthrey said to them. Then he turned to McCall, who had led the effort. “These three men I asked to come will need to be paid.”

“How much do we owe them?”

“I'd say five hundred apiece for their expenses and all.”

“I'm certain we can pay them that amount. It was good to have such experienced men in charge of these widespread raids. When will you go home and file for what you need for all your work?”

“I won't take money for that. I'll meet with the county committee and see that my extra jailers who have been working around the clock are paid.”

“I'll be back and help you.” McCall rose wearily.

Guthrey clapped him on the shoulder. “You and Brown have sure helped me. Let me know what I can do for either of you.”

“Nice to be a winner for once in this town,” McCall said as he started to go home.

With everything winding down, Guthrey considered that he might go find another bed at the doc's for himself. Everyone acted like they were stoned from all the lack of sleep and the events of the day. It was the end of the terrorizing ring. Jory came by looking equally worn down. “Two of us talked to the man with the ruby ring. Todd made him give it up as evidence.”

“Good. I have some women who I think will identify that he was their attacker. Did Todd turn it in as evidence? He won't steal it.”

Jory quickly agreed. “I know that. But I heard you talk about this man. I hope the women will testify against him. Your man Noble said they needed to castrate him.”

Amused, Guthrey laughed. “How is your offer for lower sentences if they give up information working?”

“Quite well.”

“Can you find a place to sleep?”

“Don't worry about me. You've done a helluva big job here. I never thought you could do this whole thing in one sweep. You proved me wrong.” Jory shook his hand. “Oh, one more thing. I have a pocket watch taken from one of the raiders.” He reached in his pocket and gave him the watch. “It says To Harold Bridges.”

“Who had this?” He looked at the inscription in the cover.

“A guy in the barbed wire prison named Horace Woodward. We made them empty their pockets when we arrested them. Each man's things were in a bag with his name on it. One of us found his bag before we interviewed him and discovered the watch. When we interrogated him, we asked him how he had a dead man's stolen watch. He said he won it from another guy in a card game. The man told him to hold it and he'd pay him fifty dollars to get it back in two days.”

“You believe him?”

Jory nodded. “He was really scared; I think he told us the truth.”

“Did he describe the seller?”

“Said he had not seen him but the once. Past forty, tall, and he wore knee-high hiking boots. Woodward thought the guy was a prospector.”

“I have been investigating this matter.”

Jory nodded. “That was Miss Cally's father's watch, wasn't it?”

“Yes. How much did you say he paid for it?”

Jory repeated his story. “He won it in a card game last week and the man was to buy it back for fifty.”

“Since the gold strike, I've been working on finding someone who had wanted to buy the Bridges Ranch. I asked the local banker if anyone had talked to him about buying the ranch, and he told me there was a man who wanted to buy it. Guess he slipped up pawning the watch and our roundup cut him off from recovering it. His name is Jim Burroughs. A former mine superintendent. Noble and I will go arrest him in the morning. Thank you. My wife and her brother will be very grateful for your help in finding the watch and apprehending their father's killer.”

“This guy will swear in court against the one who gave him the watch, once you get him.”

“Don't say a word. He will get to meet Burroughs when he joins him in jail.”

“I'd sure like to work with you some when you get settled. You're a helluva lawman.”

* * *

E
ARLY THE NEXT
morning, Guthrey and Noble rode back to Steward's Crossing. They came through the chaparral to a frame house under the small elm trees on the side of West Mountain. They left their horses and came up from behind an adobe barn. His Colt in his fist, Guthrey could hear someone grunting while lifting things and then hooking them on packsaddle trees. Hearing the grumbling and cussing of the animal, Guthrey went around the building. He could see the tall man's back and the knee-high hiking boots he had on.

“You leaving this country, Jim?”

“No. Just going prospecting. Oh, you're the Texas Ranger I've been hearing so much about. Noble, how are you doing? What can I do for you?”

“You know a ranch hand named Horace Woodward?”

“Oh, I don't think so. Why?”

“When we arrested him yesterday he had in his possession a watch he said he won off you at cards. Maybe you can recall that watch if I showed it to you.”

“I don't know anything about losin' a watch.”

“Noble, take his pistol. I think you know all about the watch I have in my pocket. I imagine you have been hurrying around fixin' to get forty miles south of here across the Mexican border this morning. Being that word was out we had all these tough guys in jail over in Soda Springs, you knew you'd made one mistake staying in a poker hand and betting a dead man's watch. I don't know how a man kills another man he called his friend in cold blood and then ignores the act.”

“I have nothing to say.”

“You will before they hang you. Put the cuffs on him behind his back, Noble.”

“Jim? Jim, are you ready to leave?” The dark brunette in a divided riding skirt came into view.

“Jim has other plans, Steffany.”

“Oh,” she said. “It's you, ah, Guthrey. Jim, what's going on here? You said—”

Burroughs shook his head, looking crestfallen.

“Jim's going to jail for killing Harold Bridges. He'll probably be hung. You better take one of his horses, a bedroll, canteen, and some food and go the other way. We don't need you here anymore in Crook County.”

“I swear to God, Guthrey, I never knew he killed Dan's father. I swear—”

“I'm telling you what you must do. Don't stop and tell a soul. Just ride east.”

Tears began to stream down her full cheeks. “I will. I will. I just need my things from the house.”

She ran off to the back door. He trusted she understood that she was a person not wanted in this county.

“Noble, can you deliver him to the Crook County jail and look up the law clerk Jory Wisdom? Have Wisdom file first-degree murder charges against him. I'll be back up there in the morning. Tonight is my wife's night.”

“I savvy that fine, Sheriff. I'll handle the matter, and you tell Miss Cally I sure miss her good cooking.”

“I will, Noble McCoy, chief deputy for my outfit.”

“Makes me feel young again, and I wouldn't mind except having to ride back over there with this worthless piece of shit is almost too much to ask.”

“I'll sure think about giving you a raise for doing this for me.” After the two loaded the prisoner in the saddle, Guthrey used a pair of leg irons under the horse's belly to lock Burroughs in the saddle. Noble rode off, leading his prisoner's horse.

There would be lots to tell Cally and Dan about the man who shot their father. He'd never mention to Dan that Steffany was set to leave with Burroughs. Another dove had left Steward's Crossing. Who could blame her? That kind of girl had no roots.

* * *

A
N HOUR LATER,
he had ridden Lobo hard and they went under the crossbar of the 87T Ranch in a cloud of dust. He slid the gelding to a stiff-legged stop and swung down to run over, sweep his wonderful bride in the air, and swing her around until they were both dizzy. Then he set her on her feet.

“We have your father's killer. We have solid evidence. He's on his way to jail, and he will hang. I have, I believe, every criminal in Crook County in jail tonight. Except the pair who Gus and his posse went to find over there in the Chiricahua Mountains and he'll bring them in the next few days.”

He smothered her to his chest. He couldn't get enough of her in his arms. She pulled down his face for the longest kiss of his life. Then he swept her up and carried her in his arms to the house.
By damn, we've done it.

* * *

Click here for more books by this author.

Berkley titles by Dusty Richards

THE HORSE CREEK INCIDENT

MONTANA REVENGE

THE SUNDOWN CHASER

WULF'S TRACKS

CHAPARRAL RANGE WAR