[Texas Rangers 03] - The Way of the Coyote (30 page)

She said, "They're over at Shanty's place. Our boys, too. They're puttin' up a new cabin for him."

"Takin' a chance, aren't they? Some of the hotheads around here will burn it down like before."

"Not likely. Tom and our boys paid a visit to Fowler Gaskin and everybody else they thought might have such notions. Put the fear of God into them. Ain't heard a word out of Fowler since, nor anybody else."

"What about Jeremiah Brackett and his son, Farley?"

"Farley's got himself in real bad trouble. He's run the law ragged tryin' to catch him, so they've been campin' on his daddy's doorstep. The old man's got too much grief on his plate to bedevil Shanty or anybody else."

Rusty and the others watered their horses. He told Mrs. Blessing, "We'll ride on over to Shanty's. I need to talk to Tom."

She warned, "Keep a sharp eye out for the Oldhams and their state police. They came back mighty sore over not bein' able to arrest you. Tom says Buddy's gone a little crazy."

"He always did seem about three aces shy of a full deck. I'll watch out for him."

Shanty's crop of corn had been cut and set up in shocks across the field. His dog came trotting out to meet the visitors. Hearing him bark, Shanty put aside an ax with which he had been trimming a log. He stared a moment until he was sure, then hobbled toward Rusty. Beyond him Rusty could see that the cabin walls were almost finished.

"Mr. Rusty," Shanty shouted, "welcome home. And you, Mr. Tanner, and Andy."

Rusty stepped down and grasped Shanty's hand. "It's good to see you. You been gettin' along all right?"

"Fine as frog hair. I wisht you'd look at the cabin the Blessings are helpin' me build. It'll be bigger than the old one was."

"I'm glad, Shanty."

"It'll feel good to stay at my own place and take care of my own land, just me and my old dog. Hope it don't rain before we get done."

Rusty saw no sign of a rain cloud. "Doesn't appear likely."

Shanty's enthusiasm gave way to concern. "You looked as much dead as alive last time we seen you."

"I've healed up pretty good. Don't have a lot of strength in that shoulder, but it'll get better."

"Them Oldhams don't mean to just wound you in the shoulder next time. They'll aim for your heart."

Tom Blessing strode out to greet Rusty and the others. He still had a crushing handshake. "Been expectin' you," he said, "even though I hoped you wouldn't come. Things have turned off real mean around here."

"I thought they already were."

"They've got worse. The Oldhams and a bunch of state police made a wild sashay after Farley Brackett. He shot one of them dead and wounded two more before he got away."

"I don't suppose Buddy or Clyde were hit."

"No such luck. Now there's hell to pay. Governor Davis is threatenin' martial law."

"Maybe they're too busy to be worryin' about me."

"The Oldhams ain't forgot you. They've added some new charges. Fleein' to avoid prosecution, refusal to submit to arrest. Also attempted murder. They claim you fired on Clyde up at the Monahan place."

Tanner protested, "That was me, not Rusty."

"Doesn't matter. They say it was Rusty, and the carpetbag judge we've got will take their word for it. He's hell on any old rebel that gets brought before his bench."

Rusty said, "I've thought some about givin' myself up. Not to the Oldhams but to the court."

"You'd better get over that notion. The judge would turn you over to the Oldhams anyway. Remember what they did to you the last time."

Rusty rubbed his shoulder. "What can I do?"

"Smart thing would be to quit this part of the country and not show yourself again 'til the government changes. It will, when all the old Texans finally get a chance to vote."

"But Clyde Oldham stole my farm. I want it back."

"Be patient. The land ain't goin' anywhere."

Rusty, Tanner, and Andy pitched in to help with the cabin raising. They finished the walls awhile before sundown. Tom Blessing stepped back to gaze on the work, smiling in satisfaction. "Me and the boys all got our chores to see after before dark. We'll start on the roof in the mornin'."

Shanty bowed to all of them in the subservient manner cultivated during long years of slavery. "I'm much obliged to all of you." He stood beside Rusty as the Blessings rode away. He said, "I ain't got no money, but I've got somethin' better. I've got friends."

Rusty nodded. "That's somethin' you couldn't buy if you had all the money in the world. But I'm afraid you've still got some enemies, too."

"Been a long time since they bothered me. Mr. Tom and his boys put the Indian sign on them, and lately the state police been chasin' them around some, too. They ain't had time to mess with old Shanty." He walked to an outdoor fire pit and stirred the coals until they glowed, then added small pieces of dry wood to coax a flame. "You-all are goin' to stay the night here, ain't you?"

Rusty said, "I'm anxious to take a look at my own place."

Shanty warned, "You'll be safer stayin'. Them police don't mess around here, but the Oldhams'll expect you to show up at your farm sooner or later."

Rusty reconsidered. "We'll impose on your hospitality, then. But it'd be a good idea if we sleep a little ways out yonder, just in case."

Shanty said, "That old dog of mine'll warn you if anybody comes snoopin' around. He don't let nothin' bigger than a rabbit come close without he raises a ruckus."

Andy had told Rusty about the night Fowler Gaskin broke into the smokehouse without arousing the dog. But he said, "He's a good one, all right."

Shanty said, "Hope you-all like catfish. I caught me a big one down in that deep hole."

Tanner grinned. "Sounds like a feast to me."

They sat around the campfire after a supper of catfish and corn bread. Rusty recounted Andy's rescue of Billy. Shanty enlarged on what Tom Blessing had told about Farley Brackett's scrap with the state police. "They thought they had him, but it was the other way around. Folks say Clyde Oldham turned tail and run like a scalded dog. Buddy stayed 'til he was out of cartridges. Got to give him credit for guts. He's just shy on sense."

Shanty punched at the fire. "Ain't hardly nobody likes the Oldhams except a few people in the courthouse. They help one another steal everything that ain't nailed down tight."

Tanner said, "There'll be a big comeuppance someday."

Eventually Shanty yawned. The day's work had been hard. He said, "Tonight I'm goin' to sleep in my own house."

Tanner pointed out, "It's got no roof yet."

"Don't matter. It's got walls, so I'll be sleepin' indoors."

Rusty was up long before daylight. He roused Andy and Tanner from their blankets. "We don't want to ride up to the farm in broad daylight. Let's go while it's still dark."

He knew where the Oldhams had posted guards in the timber along the river to watch his farm when they had been looking for him before. He thought he might find some of them there, but a careful search turned up no one. He said, "If it was a good place for them to watch from, I reckon it'll do for us. Let's wait here a spell and see if there's any sign of life."

He watched the chimney in particular. If anyone was staying in the cabin, there should soon be smoke. But none appeared.

As the sun came up and spilled strong morning light across the farm, he could see the field and the garden. He winced in disappointment. "There's weeds out there tall as the corn. And that corn ought to've already been cut. It's dryin' up."

Tanner pointed out, "Clyde and Buddy didn't take this place because they wanted to farm it. They took it to spite you."

After an hour he still saw no sign that anyone was in or around the cabin. Andy volunteered, "I'll go see for sure. Nobody's lookin' for me."

Tanner said, "Even if they was, they wouldn't know you. You don't look Indian anymore with your hair cut."

Andy rode up to the cabin, circling it first, then entering. Shortly he reappeared and waved for Rusty and Tanner to come on. He waited for them at the dog run. "Rusty," he said, "you won't like what you see. It's a boar's nest in there."

Rusty knew Tom Blessing had hauled away everything that could be moved so the Oldhams would not get it. Someone had brought in a broken backed table and a couple of wooden boxes that evidently served in place of chairs. Two iron pots and a tin bucket sat on the cold hearth, smelling of spoiled meat, grease, and congealed beans. Coffee grounds had been spilled across the floor between the hearth and the table. Two tin plates held remnants of the last meal someone had eaten here. A piece of corn bread had molded almost to the color of gray ash.

Tanner said, "Somebody's mother sure didn't teach them much."

Rusty replied, "Looks like the time I was gone to the rangers and Fowler Gaskin moved in. Took lye soap and lots of water to get the stink out."

Andy said, "We can throw all this stuff away and at least sweep out a little." He looked for a broom but did not find one.

Rusty said, "Never mind. It'd just tell the Oldhams that somebody had been here. They'd figure it was me." He felt resentful, remembering how hard Mother Dora had worked to keep the cabin clean. "Let's shut the door behind us and leave things the way they are. I've got a visit to make."

Tanner said, "There ain't nobody left to see."

Rusty did not answer him. He rode to the small rock-fenced plot that served as the Shannon family cemetery. Tanner and Andy trailed. Stepping down from the saddle, Rusty handed the reins to Andy and opened the wooden gate. He stopped before the stone markers and took off his hat. For a long time he stood, staring, remembering.

Andy's voice broke into his consciousness. "Rusty, there's a rider comin' this way. We'd better be movin' down to the timber."

Rusty tried to see him but could not. Andy's eyes were sharper than his own. He hoped they were sharper than those of the oncoming horseman. Turning again to the stones, he said, "Daddy Mike, Mother Dora, they've stole this place from us for now. But I swear to you we'll get it back."

From their place of concealment Rusty and the others watched the horseman ride up to the cabin and draw a bucket of water from the well. After a fast drink he moved on. Andy was the first to identify him. "Farley Brackett."

Tanner said, "He's sure pushin' on them bridle reins."

Andy pointed. "He's got reason. Looky yonder."

Half a dozen horsemen followed along in Brackett's tracks. Rusty asked, "Do they look like soldiers?"

Andy squinted. "State police would be my guess. They're after Farley."

Tanner observed, "Don't look like they're really wantin' to get close to him. They're probably thinkin' about the last time they did it."

Andy said, "The Oldham brothers must be with them. I see a man with just one arm."

Rusty pulled the skin at the corners of his eyes to sharpen his vision. "That's Buddy, all right, and Clyde just behind him."

Tanner said, "Sounds like Clyde. If there's to be any shootin', he'll be behind somebody." He looked down at his rifle but did not reach for it. "I believe I could pick off both of them from here. Nobody would ever know who done it."

Rusty replied, "Somebody else would take up the warrant they put out against me. And I need them alive if I'm ever to get my farm back. Dead men don't sign deeds."

Tanner shrugged. "If Farley had any brains, he'd be halfway to California by now instead of wearin' out posses around here. And that's what you ought to do, Rusty, get away 'til Texas has a new government."

"No tellin' how long that'll be."

They remained hidden in the timber by the river until dusk, then made their way back to Shanty's farm. The dog greeted them two hundred yards from the cabin and barked at them the rest of the way in.

Rusty did not want to cause anxiety to Shanty. He shouted, "It's just us. We're comin' in."

The rising moon revealed that the roof had been added during the day and partially shingled. Rusty felt a fleeting guilt for not having remained here to help with the work.

Shanty emerged from the darkness of the log walls. "You-all come on in. I'll stir up the fire and fix you somethin' to eat."

"We brought venison." Rusty had decided to take a chance and shoot a deer so they would not burden Shanty's food supply. He dismounted and eased the carcass down from Alamo's back.

The dog sniffed eagerly at it. Shanty shooed him away. "You'll get your share by and by. Git!" He carried the deer to a crude bench set beside what would be the front door when the cabin was finished. He fetched a butcher knife and cut a generous portion of backstrap.

He asked Rusty, "Get a look at your farm?"

"Doesn't appear like anybody's done a lick of work. They're lettin' the crops go.

"I know. And after all the sweat we put in plowin' and plantin'. The Lord can't abide slothful ways. He'll sooner or later fix them Oldham boys."

Tanner declared, "But He generally needs some help. "That's what I keep tryin' to tell Rusty."

Shanty said, "If the Lord needs help, it'll come. He'll send out a call, and the right man will hear. He's got mysterious ways."

Rusty had been asleep a short time when the dog set up a racket. From out in the darkness someone yelled, "Hello the house!"

Shanty's voice answered from one of the open windows that as yet had no glass. "Who's out yonder?"

"Farley Brackett. All right if I come in?"

"Come ahead. Ain't no police here."

Rusty sensed reluctance in Shanty's voice. Neither Farley nor his father had shown him any respect.

Farley led his horse up to the dying embers of Shanty's outdoor fire. "You got anything a starved-out man could eat? Them state police been houndin' me so bad I ain't et since the day before yesterday."

Rusty said, "There's still some venison."

Farley whirled in surprise, drawing his pistol. "Who in the hell? . .

"Rusty Shannon. You don't need the gun."

Farley holstered the weapon. "I come mighty close to shootin' you. Ain't good manners to walk up behind a man in the dark. Bad for the health, too."

"We saw you stop for a drink of water at my place. Saw the posse that was after you."