HELL HATH NO FURY (A Jess Williams western novel) (2 page)

             
“Sheriff, I’m only going to tell you one more time to let our friend you got locked up go free,” hollered Rob Mitchell, and he had two tough looking men with him.

             
“I told you already that I ain’t letting him out and if you even try to get off those horses, I’ll open up with this double-barrel on you,” the sheriff hollered in return. Jess removed his hammer strap and walked over and behind the three men.

             
“Hey, why don’t you three men leave town and forget your friend in the jail there?” asked Jess.

             
The three men turned around to face Jess. One of the other two men recognized him. He leaned over and said something to Rob Mitchell about it. Mitchell moved his horse forward a few feet toward Jess.

             
“I wouldn’t get any closer if I were you,” said Jess.

             
“Why not?” asked Mitchell.

             
“Because your horse would be in my line of fire and I like horses. I surely would hate to be the one who killed your horse,” replied Jess.

             
“Are you telling me that you’re planning on opening up on us? Maybe you can’t count, but there are three of us and only one of you,” retorted Mitchell.

             
“I can count just fine, and yes, I plan on opening up on you boys if you decide to continue on this course of action,” replied Jess, now smiling as he often did at a time like this.

             
“My partner there told me that you’re Jess Williams, is that right?”

             
“Your partner is correct about that.”

             
“Well, that don’t matter to me, it’s still three to one and I think you’re the one who should reconsider your course of action,” sneered Mitchell.

             
Jess cocked his head a little. “You can’t say I didn’t warn you. Sheriff Davies, did you hear me warn these men and tell them to leave,” Jess hollered into the jail cell.

             
“I heard you just fine, but these three are pretty stubborn and probably don’t have enough sense between the three of them to figure out when it’s time to back off,” replied Davies.

             
“I’m getting used to that kind of thinking, Sheriff,” replied Jess. Jess looked deep into Mitchell’s eyes. “I’m going to count to three and if you men don’t leave, I’m going to draw my pistol and start shooting. Now I have to tell you, I rarely miss what I’m aiming at.”

             
Jess counted to three in his head and then he slicked his pistol out and put a slug into all three men. The two men with Mitchell fell off their horses, but Mitchell still had his left hand on the horn of his saddle. Jess hit him in the left lung and Mitchell was still trying to lift his pistol and shoot at him when Jess fanned two more shots, one hitting Mitchell in the chest and the second shot right between the eyes. Mitchell slumped over and then fell off his horse.

             
Jess was replacing the spent cartridges in his pistol when Sheriff Davies finally unlocked the door to the jail and walked out, still holding the double-barreled shotgun in his hands. He looked at the three dead men lying in the street and then looked at Jess.

             
“I have to tell you, I never thought I say that I’m sure glad you were here in town,” said Sheriff Davies.

             
“Well Sheriff, I know I said that I would try not killing anyone before I left town tomorrow, but I did try to talk those three into leaving. They really didn’t give me much choice except let them start shooting and watch from the saloon over across the street,” replied Jess.

             
“No need to apologize, Mr. Williams. I’m just glad you interceded on my behalf.”

             
“Sheriff, don’t you have any deputies working with you?”

             
“I have two, but they are both out trying to round up some cattle thieves out west of town and they probably won’t be back here until tomorrow.”

             
Jess holstered his pistol and looked up at the sheriff and smiled. “Well, I’ll be in town until they return so if you need any more help, just let me know,” said Jess, as he walked back to the saloon he was in before rescuing Sheriff Davies.

             
The barkeep, walked over to Jess and poured him another glass of the good whiskey. “This one’s on the house, Mr. Williams. Sheriff Davies is a good friend of mine and I appreciate you helping him out,” said Hayes.

             
“Why thank you, barkeep. And as for helping out the sheriff, it was nothing,” replied Jess.

             
“I wouldn’t call what you just did nothing,” replied Hayes, “I ain’t ever saw shootin’ quite like that before and I’ve seen plenty of gunfights in the saloon here.”

             
Jess spent a few more hours hanging around the saloon, but no one who looked like they had a bounty on their heads showed up. He paid for his drinks and headed down the street to his hotel room, where he would sleep like a baby tonight. In the morning, he went to a little café and ordered breakfast and a pot of coffee. After he finished up, he paid his bill and headed for one of the general stores in town. He loaded up on supplies and ammunition and went to the livery and packed his saddlebags with his supplies and saddled up his two horses. Then he headed for the sheriff’s office and found Sheriff Davies sitting behind his desk. When Jess walked in, he looked up and smiled.

             
“I have to thank you again, Mr. Williams. I might have got one or two of those men yesterday, but they probably would’ve got me by the time it was over.”

             
“I was more than happy to help you out Sheriff. When are your deputies going to be back?” asked Jess.

             
“I figure they should show up in a few hours or so, why?”

             
“I figured I’d stick around until they return in case you run into any more trouble,” replied Jess.

             
“That’s mighty nice of you and I would appreciate it, especially since I still have that one locked up in here. Hell, it might take two weeks or longer before a judge gets to town for a trial.”

             
Jess looked over at the man. “What are his offenses if you don’t mind me asking?”

             
“One of the ranchers in the area caught him stealing a dozen or so cattle and when the rancher tried to stop him, he went and killed the him,” replied Sheriff Davies.

             
Jess cocked his head and grinned. “Well Sheriff, you could let him out and I’ll give him a little head start and take care of that problem for you real simple.” The man in the jail cell stood up and he looked a little nervous, wondering if the sheriff would actually do it.

             
“That’s a mighty tempting offer, but no, I can’t do it or I’d lose my job. You did have me thinking about it for a minute there,” replied Sheriff Davies.

             
“Well, if you change your mind before I leave town, you let me know. I’m going over to the saloon and have a little more coffee until your deputies show up and then I’ll be heading straight for Buckley.”

             
Jess walked out of the sheriff’s office and headed for the saloon. The barkeep brought Jess a hot cup of coffee. There were only a few locals in the saloon since it was still pretty early. Jess was on his second cup of coffee when he watched a lone rider ride up to the saloon. The man got off his horse, looked around and then slowly walked into the saloon. Jess immediately removed his hammer strap and watched the man carefully as the man sidled up to the bar and ordered a cup of hot coffee. Jess could tell right off that the man was a gunslinger because of the way the man handled himself; and especially the way the man wore his pistol, low and tied down tight. They exchanged glances and after a few moments, the man turned to the barkeep.

             
“Hey barkeep, do you happen to know a man by the name of Jess Williams?” The barkeep shot a look down at Jess and that was dead giveaway. The man looked back over at Jess. “Are you Jess Williams?”

             
“Yes, and I’m only going to tell you once; the ten thousand dollars of blood bounty on my head has been cancelled,” replied Jess.

             
“I don’t know anything about that and I don’t really care either,” replied the man. “My name is Matt Landry and I heard you were the one what killed my brother Sulley Landry. He worked as a hired gun for Manny Welch,” replied the man.

             
“I didn’t start that fight, but I finished it. Your brother was one of a bunch of hired guns working for Manny Welch and he got exactly what he deserved; a bullet.”

             
“Well, now it’s time for you to get what you deserve, Mr. Williams,” retorted Landry, as he slowly removed his hammer strap.

             
Just at that moment, Sheriff Davies walked into the saloon with both of his deputies and they were all carrying double-barreled shotguns. Davies walked up to Landry.

             
“There ain’t going to be any gun fighting in town unless it’s me letting one of these two barrels here go off,” said Sheriff Davies.

             
“But this man here killed my brother, Sheriff,” exclaimed Landry.

             
“That ain’t my concern, Mister,” replied Sheriff Davies.

             
“Well then Sheriff, if you won’t let me have my revenge here and now, I’ll just wait for him to leave town and kill him then, but I do aim to kill him one way or another for killing my brother,” exclaimed Matt Landry.

             
“That’s another matter and still none of my concern,” said Sheriff Davies.

             
Jess, who had up to now simply listened to the banter, finally spoke up. “Sheriff, I did you a favor yesterday so why don’t you do me one now?”

             
The Sheriff looked over at Jess. “What might the favor be?”

             
“Let Mr. Landry take his shot at revenge. He’s telling the truth about waiting for me outside of town and he’ll probably try to take me out with a rifle from behind a tree or on a hill. I’d rather just get it over with and move on,” replied Jess.

             
The sheriff thought about it for a moment. “Well, you did probably save my life yesterday, so if that’s really what you want, I guess I’m okay with it. Are you sure you can take him though?”

             
“I have no doubt about it, Sheriff,” replied Jess.

             
“You think you’re pretty certain about that, Mr. Williams, but you ain’t seen me draw before,” retorted Landry.

             
“Yeah, and when this is over, I still won’t have seen you draw,” replied Jess, a sarcastic tone in his voice now.

             
“I don’t know exactly what that means, but I’m done talking, Mister, so fill your hand.”

             
Jess readied himself and watched Matt Landry, staring into his eyes. He saw it, that look a man almost always has a split second before he reaches for the butt of his pistol. Landry only got his hand on the butt of his gun before a slug from Jess’ pistol tore through his chest. Landry had a surprised look on his face as he looked at the hole in his chest and then at Jess.

             
“I think I finally got the drift about not seeing me draw my pistol,” said Landry, blood now forming around his lips.

             
“Too bad you didn’t get it a few minutes ago when I tried to warn you,” replied Jess, as Matt Landry fell to his knees and then face down on the floor.

CHAPTER THREE

              Jess headed for Buckley, Kansas to find Darin Lovett. He made camp next to a cluster of trees by a small river. He decided to catch some fish and he cleaned them and fried them up. They were delicious. He made a pot of coffee and listened to the peaceful quite of the evening. Before retiring for the evening, he went around and placed his cans with rocks in them in bushes around his camp. He laid back on his bedroll and was almost dozing off to sleep when he heard one of the cans fall to the ground and the small rocks in the can rattled just enough to wake him. He sat straight up and already had his pistol cocked and pointed in the direction of the noise he heard.

             
“Don’t shoot, Mister, I don’t mean no harm,” said a voice and strangely enough, it was a woman’s voice.

             
“Walk into camp real slow and I better not see a gun in your hand,” replied Jess, as he stood up.

             
“I holstered it, Mister,” the voice said.

             
Jess could see the outline of the person walking toward his camp and as the person got closer to the dim light of the campfire, Jess could see the outline of a woman’s body. She walked up to the campfire, her hands lifted up just a little so as not to spook whoever she was facing. Jess looked her over and while she looked a little rugged for wear, she was quite a handsome woman. She had quite a nice figure and he couldn’t help but notice that she had not been shortchanged in the breast area. He quickly pushed that thought from his mind. What he did pay attention to though was the fact that this woman was wearing a very nice pistol and holster and it was tied down low. She looked like any other gunslinger except for the fact that she was a woman.