Hell on the Prairie (25 page)

“
Let’s go, Cholla,” Ben ordered, as he
swung into the saddle. “Gotta put these hombres where no one’ll
ever find them.”

With the three dead Chinese dragging behind,
Ben stuck to the brush, heading for Blue Hole. Having to avoid the
main trail took extra time, so it was mid-afternoon before he
reached the sheer rock ledge.

“
No way to get these three through
that crevice, Cholla,” Ben said. “Reckon I’ll toss ’em over right
here.”

Ben dismounted, slashed the reins binding
the dead men, and shoved the bodies over the cliff, along with
their gear. He took the borrowed saddle and bridle off Cholla and
tossed those over the edge, also.

“
That takes care of ’em. Cover our
trail, and no one’ll ever find ’em,” Ben said to Cholla. “Looks
like it may rain later tonight. That’ll help wash away any sign
too.”

Ben climbed onto Cholla’s back and put him
into a trot. “Y’know, horse,” he said. “You could’ve saved me a lot
of trouble if you’d been payin’ attention and let me know sooner
those Chinese were sneakin’ up. Guess you were too busy nuzzlin’ up
to Josie.” Cholla snorted. “Yeah, you’re right, pard. I wasn’t
exactly keepin’ my eyes open either. You think mebbe Edith
Pettigrew set me up? Wonder if she knew Tsu Chiao had sent his men
after her, and hoped things would turn out just the way they did?
Reckon that’s why she made sure I wore my guns? We might just have
to try and find out. We’d also better hope she keeps her mouth
shut, even though it was self-defense. Smarter thing would have
been to take the bodies back to town and tell the sheriff just
that, but that’d only make more trouble. Better to keep Tsu Chiao
guessin’ as to what happened.”

Ben knew how to cover a track as well as any
Comanche, and he did just than on the way back to the ambush site.
By the time he completely erased all hoof prints and buggy tracks
there, he left no sign anyone had ever been at that grove. He
checked the area one last time, then hit the main road and put
Cholla into a long-reaching lope. They pulled up in front of Ben’s
stable an hour before sunset. Dickie Dildine was seated on a barrel
out front, waiting for them.

“
Ben. There you are,” he
said.

“
Howdy, Dickie. You see Mrs.
Pettigrew?”

“
Yeah, I seen her.”

“
She tell you she bought
Josie?”

“
Yeah. Yeah, she did that.”

Ben knew he had to be patient with the
mentally challenged man, or Dickie would clam up and not say a word
for two days.

“
Did you feed and groom Josie for
her?”

“
Yeah. Yeah. Cleaned the buggy and put
it away, too.”

“
What about Mrs.
Pettigrew?”

“
Mrs. Pettigrew? She’s a fine lady.
Always gives me a dollar when I fetch her medicine.”

“
But what about this
afternoon?”

“
This afternoon? Oh, yeah. She gave me
two dollars for takin’ care of Josie. Two whole
dollars.”

“
Two dollars? That’s great, Dickie.
She gone home?”

“
I guess. You want some help with
Cholla?”

“
No, but I’m obliged, Dickie. You can
head on home.”

“
All right, Ben. Oh, wait, I forgot.
There’s one other thing.”

“
What’s that, Dickie?”

“
Lemme think. Oh yeah. Deputy Croy’s
been lookin’ all over for you. Says if I see you I should tell you
to find him right quick.”

“
Deputy Croy?”

“
Yeah, Deputy Croy.”

“
All right, Dickie. I’ll head for the
marshal’s office and see if I can find Quint.”

“
You want me to watch the barn until
you come back?”

“
No, you’ve been a big help already.
Just head on home, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“
All right, Ben.”

Ben waited until Dickie left, then
pulled off his gunbelt and tossed it inside the stable before
heading into town.
Wonder what Quint Croy
wants me for,
Ben thought, as he walked an exhausted
Cholla down North Street. He could think of only one thing. Edith
Pettigrew must have let slip what had happened earlier that
day.

***

Just about everyone in Wolf Creek was used
to seeing Ben ride his big paint saddleless and bridleless, so no
one gave him a second glance as he rode along South Street toward
the marshal’s office. Quint Croy met him about two blocks from the
place.

“
Ben. ’Bout time you showed up. I’ve
been turnin’ the town upside down tryin’ to find you. Dickie
Dildine tell you that?”

“
Yeah, Quint, he said you wanted to
see me, pronto. What’s this all about?”

“
You’ll find out in a couple of
minutes, soon as we reach the office. Meantime, you should probably
know that Edith Pettigrew stopped by to see Marshal Gardner a
little bit ago. Her usual complaint. She spotted you not wearin’ a
shirt again.”

“
I’ve gotta plead guilty as charged.”
Ben said, with a chuckle. Edith Pettigrew had just a short while
ago seen him wearing much less than a shirt. He also sighed with
relief. So far, she had kept quiet about the ambush, and had even
been clever enough to come up with a small ruse. “You gonna lock me
up?”

“
Nah,” Quint replied, with a chuckle
of his own. “If I did, that woman would only be hangin’ around your
cell window, tryin’ to see if you were wearin’ your shirt, or more
likely hopin’ you weren’t. Well, here we are.”

They nosed their horses to the rail and
dismounted, Quint looping his dun’s reins over it. Cholla would
stand there untied for hours if need be, patiently awaiting Ben’s
return.

Two people were waiting in the office when
they stepped inside. One was a man in his late fifties, who had
thick burnsides framing a florid face, and dark hair carefully
pomaded in place. He was dressed in an expensive business suit. Ben
stopped in his tracks at sight of the second. That was a boy, about
eight years old. The youngster had flaming red hair, light green
eyes the color of jade, and a smattering of freckles across his
nose.

“
Sorry it took me so long to find Ben,
Mr. Higginbotham,” Quint said. “Finally tracked him
down.”

“
That’s quite all right, Deputy,”
Higginbotham said. “Mr. Tolliver, allow me to introduce myself. I
am Phineas T. Higginbotham, of the law firm of Dowd, Higginbotham,
Bedard, and Bove of Austin, Texas. We have had quite the time
trying to locate you, sir. This young man with me is Daniel… Daniel
Tolliver, your son.”

“
My… son?” Ben repeated. The boy
clearly was the image of Madelaine, but Ben’s son?

“
Yes, your son,” Higginbotham said.
“This letter will explain.” He removed a folded sheet of paper from
his inside jacket pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Ben. It
carried the letterhead of Higginbotham’s firm.

Mr. Tolliver,

Eight years ago, you were informed that your
wife, Madelaine Colraine Tolliver, had died in childbirth, and that
the child was stillborn. The truth of the matter is the child, a
boy, survived, and your wife’s last wish was that he be placed in
you, his father’s, care to be raised. However, Madelaine’s parents
and sister felt that you, as an itinerant horse wrangler and
sometime Texas Ranger, would not have been a suitable parent for
the child. Therefore, the decision was made to tell you both mother
and son had died. The infant was removed to the Colraine’s home in
San Antonio before you were informed of your wife’s untimely
passing. He was with them until five months ago, when both were
taken by cholera. The same illness also claimed Natalie,
Madelaine’s sister. The only surviving Colraines, a niece and two
nephews, have no interest in raising a child not their own.
Therefore, the family retained our firm to locate you and remand
Daniel James Tolliver to your custody and care. Once you agree and
sign the necessary papers, you will have full custody of your
son.

The letter was signed by Phineas T.
Higginbotham, for the firm.

“
My son,” Ben said yet again. He
looked at the boy, who gave him a shy grin.

“
Yes,” Higginbotham said. “I have the
papers right here. All you need do is sign them. If you don’t, then
Daniel will be placed in a San Antonio orphanage.”

“
We sure can’t have that,” Ben said.
“Quint, you got a pen and ink?”

Quint pointed to a pen and inkwell on Sam
Gardner’s desk.

“
Been sittin’ there waitin’ for
you.”

“
How about it, son?” Ben asked the
boy. “Looks like you and me’ve got a lot of gettin’ acquainted
ahead. You want to live in Kansas?”

“
I reckon,” Daniel said, with a
shrug.

“
Good.”

Ben and Higginbotham signed the papers, with
Quint Croy as witness. The deputy had a smile a mile wide across
his face when they finished.

“
Ben, you don’t know how hard it was
keepin’ quiet until I got you in the office,” he said.
“Congratulations, pardner. Looks like you’ve got a fine boy
there.”

“
If he’s anything at all like his ma,
he sure is,” Ben said. “Mr. Higginbotham, I thank you for
everything, especially for your hard work in tracking me
down.”

“
All part of the job,” Higginbotham
said.

“
Nevertheless, I’m obliged,” Ben
answered. “Can I buy you supper for your trouble?”

“
Thank you, but no,” Higginbotham
answered. “I have to meet a, um, client at Abby Potter’s Boarding
House. Then I’ll be catching the next outbound train.”

“
I understand,” Ben said. “How about
you, Danny? Or do you prefer Dan? I’ll bet you’re hungry. When’d
you eat last?”

“
Danny.”

“
I got him a bite at Joe’s Whistlestop
when we got off the train,” Higginbotham said. “However, that was
several hours ago.”

“
Then we’d better head for Ma’s,” Ben
said. “C’mon, Danny.”

The boy picked up a small carpetbag as Ben
opened the door and stepped outside. Cholla nickered a
greeting.

“
This here’s Cholla, my horse,” Ben
said. “Cholla, this is Danny.”

Cholla nuzzled Danny’s chest. Danny patted
the big paint’s nose.

“
I see you two’ll get along just
fine,” Ben said. “Danny, step over here and I’ll put you on
Cholla.”

Ben lifted the boy onto Cholla’s back, then
climbed up behind him. Ma’s Café was diagonally across Fourth
Street from the marshal’s office, so it was only a moment before
they reached the restaurant, headed inside, and settled at a corner
table.

“
Ben! Who have you got with you?” “Ma”
Adams, the proprietor, fairly shouted.

“
This is Danny, my son,” Ben
answered.

“
Your son? He gonna be visitin’ for a
spell?”

“
He’s gonna be stayin’ with me
permanently,” Ben said.

“
He is? Well, Danny, you’re a lucky
boy to have Ben for a dad. How about some vittles. You
hungry?”

“
I sure am, Ma’am,” Danny
said.

“
Then a big bowl of my beef stew and
some homemade bread will fill you right up,” Ma said. “Bet I can
scare up a glass of milk and a nice chunk of apple pie, too. Same
for you, Ben?”

“
That’ll be fine, Ma.”

While they were waiting for their meal, Clay
Dillard, the Wolf Creek stationmaster for the Atchison, Topeka, and
Santa Fe, stopped in for his usual supper.

“
Ben. See that lawyer fella found
you,” he said. “So this is your boy?”

“
Word spreads fast, Clay,” Ben
answered. “Yeah, this is Danny.”

“
Good to meet you, boy,” Dillard said.
“Mebbe you’ll be just what Ben needs. Ben, good luck to you
both.”

“
Thanks, Clay.”

***

After supper, Ben took Danny home to his
stable.

“
You want to help me with the horses,
Danny, or just watch?” he asked.

“
Dunno,” Danny said.

“
Tell you what then. You just watch
for tonight, then decide what you’d like to do to help when you
can,” Ben said. “All right?”

“
All right.”

After caring for the horses, Ben, with Danny
in tow, headed for the small room that served as his living
quarters.

“
Time to hit the sack, Danny,” Bed
said. “We’ll both have to squeeze into the same bed tonight.
Tomorrow, we’ll go to Pratt’s Mercantile to buy you your own bed.
After that we’ll stop at Birdie’s General Store to get you some
good boots and a proper hat. How’s that sound?”

“
All right,” Danny said. He looked up
at Ben with wide eyes.

“
Mr. Tolliver, sir?”

“
Whoa, none of that. I’m your
father.”

“
That’s what I want to ask. Are you
really my pa?”

Ben grabbed the boy and squeezed him in a
bear hug.

“
I sure am, Danny. And you don’t ever
have to worry about that again, you understand. In fact, I’m also
gonna have to buy you a horse, so I can teach you to ride. Can’t
have a boy of mine not knowin’ how to ride a bronc, can
we?”

“
No, I guess not… pa,” Danny said,
smiling, but with tears rolling down his cheeks.