Riding for the Brand (Ss) (1986) (11 page)

"Son, there's more'n one kind of courage, I say. I seen many a dog stand up to a grizzly that would hightail it from a skunk. Back yonder they say you're yella. Me, I don't figure it so."

"Thanks, Cat"... Rock replied simply, miserably.

"Thanks a lot, but you're wrong. I am yellow."

"Reckon it takes pretty much of a man to say that, son. But from what I hear you sure didn't act it against Pete an' his riders. You walloped the tar out of them!"

"With my hands it's different. It's it's guns."

McLeod was silent. He poked a twig into the fire and relighted his pipe.

"Ever kill a man, son?" His eyes probed Rock's, and he saw the young rider's head nod slowly. "Who was it? How'd it happen?"

"It was "he looked up, his face drawn and pale. "I killed my brother, Cat."

McLeod was shocked. His old eyes went wide.

"You killed your brother? Your own brother?"

Rock Casady nodded. "Yeah"... He said bitterly, my own brother. The one person in this world that really mattered to me!"

Cat stared, and then slowly his brow puckered.

"Son"... He said, "why don't you tell me about it?

Get it out of your system, like."

For a long while Rock was silent. Then he started to speak.

"It was down in Texas. We had a little spread down there, Jack and me. He was only a shade older, but always protectin' me, although I sure didn't need it. The finest man who ever walked, he was.

"Well, we had us a mite of trouble, an' this here Ben Kerr was the ringleader. I had trouble with Ben, and he swore to shoot me on sight. I was a hand with a gun, like you know, an' I was ready enough to fight, them days. One of the hands told me, an' without a word to Jack, I lit into the saddle an' headed for town.

"Kerr was a gunslick, but I wasn't worried.

I knew that I didn't have scarcely a friend in town an' that his whole outfit would be there. It was every against them, an' I went into town with two guns an' sure enough on the prod.

"It was gettin' late when I hit town. A man I knowed told me Ben was around with his outfit and that nobody was goin' to back me one bit, them all bein' scared of Ben's boys. He told me, too, that Ben Kerr would shoot me in the back as soon as not, he bein' that kind.

"I went huntin' him. Kid like, an' never in no fight before, I was jumpy, mighty jumpy. The light was bad. All of a sudden, I saw one of Ben's boys step out of a door ahead of me. He called out, "Here he is, Ben! Take him!" Then I heard runnin' feet behind me, heard "em slide to a halt, an" I wheeled, drawin' as I turned, an' fired."... His voice sank to a whisper.

Cat, leaning forward, said, "You shot? An' then . . . ?"

"It was Jack. It was my own brother. He'd heard I was in town alone, an' he come runnin' to back me up. I drilled him dead center!"

Cat McLeod stared up at the young man, utterly appalled. In his kindly old heart he could only guess at the horror that must have filled Casady, then scarcely more than a boy, when he had looked down into that still, dead face and seen his brother.

"Gosh, son."... He shook his head in amazed sympathy. "It ain't no wonder you hate gunfights!

It sure ain't! But... ""He scowled. "I still don't see.... His voice trailed away.

Rock drew a deep breath. "I sold out then and left the country. Went to ridin' for an outfit near El Paso. One night I come into town with the other hands, an' who do I run into but Ben Kerr? He thought I'd run because I was afraid of him, an' he got tough. He called me right in front of the outfit. I was goin' to draw, but all I could see there in front of me was Jack, with that blue hole between his eyes! I turned and ran."

Cat McLeod stared at Rock and then into the fire. It was no wonder, he reflected. He probably would have run, too. If he had drawn he would have been firing on the image of the brother. It would have been like killing him over again.

"Son"... He said slowly, "I know how you feel, but stop a minute an' think about Jack, this brother of yours. He always protected you, you say. He always stood up for you. Now don't you suppose he'd understand? You thought you was all alone in that town. You'd every right in the world to think that was Ben Kerr behind you. I would have thought so, an' I wouldn't have wasted no time shootin', neither.

"You can't run away from yourself. You can't run no further. Someday you got to stand an' face it, an' it might as well be now. Look at it like this: Would your brother want you livin' like this?

Hunted an' scared? He sure wouldn't! Son, ever' man has to pay his own debt an' live his own life.

Nobody can do it for you, but if I was you, I'd sort of figure my brother was dead because of Ben Kerr, an' I'd stop runnin'!"

Rock looked up slowly. "Yeah"... He agreed, "I meet him, still look up an see Jack's face again?"

His eyes dark with horror. Rock Casady turned and plunged downstream, stumbling, swearing in his fear and loneliness and sorrow.

At daylight, old Cat McLeod opened his eyes.

For an instant, he lay still. Then he realized where he was and what he had come for, and he turned his head. Rock Casady, his gear and horse, were gone. Stumbling to his feet, McLeod slipped on his boots and walked out in his red flannels to look at the trail.

It headed south, away from Three Lakes, and away from Ben Kerr. Rock Casady was running again.

The trail south to the canyon was rough and rugged. The palouse was surefooted and had a liking for the mountains, yet seemed undecided, as though the feeling persisted that he was going the wrong way.

Casady stared bleakly ahead, but he saw little of the orange and red of the sandstone cliffs. He was seeing again Frank Stockman's strong, kindly face and remembering his welcome at the Three Spoke. He was remembering Sue's hand on his sleeve and her quick smile, and old tom Bell, gnarled and worn with handling cattle and men. He drew up suddenly and turned the horse on the narrow trail. He was going back.

"Jack"... He said suddenly aloud, "stick with me, boy. I'm sure goin' to need you now!"

Sandy Kane, grim lipped and white of face, dismounted behind the store. Beside him was Sue Landon.

"Miss Sue"... He said, "you get that buyin' done fast. Don't let none of that Vorys crowd see you.

They've sure taken this town over since they shot the boss."

"All right, Sandy."... She looked at him bravely and then squeezed the older man's hand. "We'll make it, all right."... Her blue eyes darkened. "I wish I'd been a man, Sandy. Then the boys would come in and clean up this outfit!"

"Miss Sue"... He said gently, "don't fret none.

Our boys are just honest cowhands. We don't have a gunfighter in the lot, nobody who could stand up to Kerr or Vorys. No man minds a scrap, but it would be plain suicide!"

The girl started to enter the store, but then caught the cowhand's hand.

"Sandy"... She said faintly, "look!"

A tall man with broad shoulders had swung down before the store. He tied his horse with a slipknot and hitched his guns into place. Rock Casady, his hard young face bleak and desperate, stared carefully along the street.

It was only three blocks long, this street. It was dusty and warm with the noonday sun. The gray-fronted buildings looked upon the dusty canal that separated them, and a few saddled horses stamped lazily, flicking their tails at casual flies. It was like that other street, so long ago.

Casady pulled the flat brim of his black hat a little lower over his eyes. Inside he felt sick and faint. His mouth was dry. His tongue trembled when it touched his lips. Up the street a man saw him and got slowly to his feet, staring as if hypnotized.

The man backed away and then dove into the Hackamore Saloon.

Rock Casady took a deep breath, drew his shoulders back, and started slowly down the walk. He seemed in a trance where only the sun was warm and the air was still. Voices murmured.

He heard a gasp of astonishment, for these people remembered that he had whipped Pete Vorys, and they knew what he had come for.

He wore two guns now, having dug the other gun and belt from his saddlebags to join the one he had only worn in the mountains. A door slammed somewhere.

Ben Kerr stared at the face of the man in the door of the saloon.

"Ben, here comes that yellow-backed Casady!

And he's wearin' a gun!"

"He is, is he?" Kerr tossed off his drink.

"Fill that up, Jim! I'll be right back. This will only take a minute!"

He stepped out into the street. "Come to get it this time?" He shouted tauntingly. "Or are you runnin' again?"

Rock Casady made no reply. His footsteps echoed hollowly on the boardwalk, and he strode slowly, finishing his walk at the intersecting alley, stepping into the dust and then up on the walk again.

Ben Kerr's eyes narrowed slightly. Some sixth sense warned him that the man who faced him had subtly changed. He lifted his head a little and stared. Then he shrugged off the feeling and stepped out from the building.

"All right, yellabelly! If you want it"... His hand swept down in a flashing arc and his gun came up.

Rock Casady stared down the street at the face of Ben Kerr, and it was only the face of Kerr. In his ear was Jack's voice: "Go ahead, kid! Have at it!"

Kerr's gun roared and he felt the hot breath of it bite at his face. And then suddenly, Rock Casady laughed! Within him all was light and easy, and it was almost carelessly that he stepped forward. Suddenly the .44 began to roar and buck in his hand, leaping like a live thing within his grasp. Kerr's gun flew high in the air, his knees buckled, and he fell forward on his face in the dust.

Rock Casady turned quickly toward the Hackamore. Pete Vorys stood in the door, shocked to stillness.

"All right, Pete! Do you want it or are you leavin' town?"

Vorys stared from Kerr's riddled body to the man holding the gun.

"Why, I'm leavin' town"... Vorys said. "That's my roan, right there. I'll just... As though stunned, he started to mount, and Rock's voice arrested him.

"No, Pete. You walk. You hoof it. And start now!"

The bully of Three Lakes wet his lips and stared. Then his eyes shifted to the body in the street.

"Sure, Rock"... He said, taking a step back.

"I'll hoof it."... Turning, stumbling a little, he started to walk. As he moved, his walk grew swifter and swifter as though something followed in his tracks.

Rock turned and looked up, and Sue Landon was standing on the boardwalk.

"Oh, Rock! You came back!"

"Don't reckon I ever really left, Sue"... He said slowly. "My heart's been right here all the time!"

She caught his arm, and the smile in her eyes and on her lips was bright. He looked down at her.

Then he said aloud, "Thanks, Jack!"

She looked up quickly. "What did you say?"

He grinned at her. "Sue"... He said, "did I ever tell you about my brother? He was one grand hombre! Someday, I'll tell you."... They walked back toward the horses, her hand on his arm.

*

Author's Note.

So much has been written of the wild, roistering, gunfighting west that many have a distorted idea of just who came west and why. As a matter-of fact most young men at the time had grown up attending church, of one denomination or another, and many of the organized companies heading for California banned drinking, gambling, and swearing. Also, they were committed to resting on the Sabbath wherever and whenever that was practical.

Many of the companies so organized had their own uniforms and a semi-military arrangement.

Often they paraded in the streets of Boston or wherever their point of origin was, making a fine show before heading west.

Stores offered supplies and equipment for the western journey to such an extent that many were over equipped with useless material that had to be discarded before covering the worst of the trail.

As most of these men kept diaries or wrote letters home, there is no doubt as to their feelings beside the trail.

*

A Strong Land Growing.

At eight o'clock Marshal Fitz Moore left his house and walked one block west to Card's Saloon.

It was already open, and Fitz could hear Gard's swamper sweeping up the debris from the previous night.

Crossing the street, the marshal paused at the edge of the boardwalk to rub out his cigar on top of the hitching rail. As he did, he turned his eyes but not his head, glancing swiftly up the narrow street alongside the saloon. The gray horse was gone.

Fitz Moore hesitated, considering this, estimating time and probabilities. Only then did he turn and enter the Eating House just ahead of him.

The Fred Henry gang of outlaws had been operating in this corner of the territory for more than two years, but this town of Sentinel had so far escaped their attentions. Fitz Moore, who had been marshal of Sentinel for more than half of that time, had taken particular care to study the methods of the Henry outfit. He had wanted to be ready for them and now there was also a matter of self-protection. In several of the recent raids the town marshal had been slain, and in the last three the slaying had occurred within seconds after the raid had begun.