Wanted! Belle Starr! (2 page)

“
I dunno,” “Cousin Henry”
growled, making no attempt to point out that the money was far from
hard earned and had been spent legitimately in the saloon. “Could
be we can sort of talk her into acting all friendly without getting
paid nothing for it!”

“
By golly, yes!” agreed
the shortest, but no more prepossessing, member of the trio. “I
reckon we might at that!”

“
We won’t never know
’less’n we give it a whirl,” “Cousin Bert” supported. “So let’s
give her a whirl!”

“
Lordy lord!” Belle Starr
thought, studying the three men with range-wise eyes and listening
to the remarks they were exchanging with no suggestion of wishing
to avoid her hearing. She liked nothing of what she saw, or heard.
Not only was she able to form a pretty accurate estimation of the
kind they were, but she could also guess something of the reason
for their comments. “When will I learn not to go visiting dressed
this way?”

Tallish, lean, with long and straggly mouse
brown hair, there was a family likeness about the hollow cheeked,
unshaven and surly, drink suffused features of the trio. Their
attire might have led a person less knowing in Western matters to
assume they were cowhands. Having grown up in the Indian Nations of
Oklahoma, Belle had spent much of her life around ‘cow towns’ and
those which, like Newton, had come into being chiefly as shipping
points from which the great trails herds out of Texas could be
taken to the meat-hungry cities of the East. She knew such was not
their occupation. The conclusion went beyond their Illinois
accents. Other indications informed her they were unlikely to take
any kind of employment requiring hard work, such as that of a
cowhand. In all probability they earned their living via a
willingness if not exceptional skill in making use of the low tied
Colt Peacemaker each was wearing. While they might not be rated
among the top hands of that specialized field, she felt sure they
could prove sufficiently dangerous under the prevailing
conditions.

As a result of the deductions she had formed
regarding the men, the lady outlaw was regretting the way in which
she herself was behaving!

If there should be unwanted trouble, which
seemed highly likely, Belle was ready to admit she had done much to
bring it upon herself!

In spite of having become
involved in a similar situation while she was visiting Ellsworth a
few years earlier, Belle was dressed much as she had been then and
she looked as if she could be a suitable candidate for being
accosted in the manner which was intended by the three men!
^iv

The bright orange-red shade of the hair
visible beneath the lady outlaw’s wide brimmed and
feather-decorated hat was not a color which would be sought by any
‘good’ woman. Nor was the excessive make-up she had applied to her
beautiful features, or the garish and by the standards of the day
revealing clothing she had on, likely to be worn by a female member
of the community unless she was employed in the cheaper varieties
of the theatrical profession, a saloon, dance hall, or brothel.

Believing one or another such category was
the status of their intended victim, the three men clearly
considered she was offering a reasonably safe target to vent the
animosity which had been aroused by their having been justifiably
evicted from the saloon. However, Belle was willing to concede they
might not have behaved in a different fashion if she had presented
an impression of frigid and righteous respectability. In their
present state of drunken truculence, they were ripe for mischief
without giving any thought to the possible consequences of their
actions.

Unfortunately, the lady outlaw told herself
as she was watching the trio spreading out to adopt a loose
arrowhead formation across the width of the alley, there was no
easy way to avoid their unwanted attentions!

Attempting verbal dissuasion would almost
certainly prove a waste of time!

Too much noise was coming from the saloon to
allow a scream for help to be heard before it was silenced by the
men!

If Belle turned back, the trio would follow
her into an even more deserted area than the alley!

The lady outlaw had a
short-barreled Manhattan Navy revolver in the reticule which her
left hand was grasping,
^v
but she felt sure
the mere sight of it would not be sufficient to frighten the men
away. They had reached the state of intoxication when good sense
and caution were forgotten. If she bought it out, she would almost
certainly have to use it. While she would not have had any
compunction over doing so as a last resource, this was a measure
she had no desire to have forced upon her. Not only were the odds
against her, three to one, but each was a professional gunfighter
although they might fall short of being in the first string. Even
if she should survive a shoot out with them, unlikely as this was,
she could cause the local peace officers to take a far greater
interest in her than was desirable.

In fact, being in Newton as part of a tour
of the trail end towns in Kansas she was making with a small gang,
carrying out a succession of lucrative confidence tricks, Belle was
disinclined to create the kind of commotion which might bring the
marshal or some of his deputies to investigate.

“
Did you hear what Cousin
Bert said, fancy-gal?” Jubal demanded, rather than merely inquired,
glancing over his shoulder to ensure nobody was watching from the
street at the front end of the alley. “How do you feel about
getting all friendly with us good old boys when you ain’t going to
get paid?”

“
Why I surely can’t think
of anything I’d like to be doing more, sir,” the lady outlaw lied,
speaking with the accent of a well-educated Southron which was her
normal voice.

She noticed that, although Henry had halted
a short distance in front of her, the speaker and Bert were
continuing to advance until on either side and just out of reaching
distance. Showing no sign of her growing concern, she went on,
“Only I have a previous engagement with another gentleman of
quality and just have to keep it.”

“
So you ‘just have to’, do you?”
Henry challenged, mimicking Belle’s way of speaking, his whole
bearing redolent of menace as he stood with hands on hips and feet
spread apart. Resuming his normal half-snarling, half-whining tone,
he continued. “Well me ’n’ my cousins just don’t see it that way,
you ‘mother something’,
^vi
high-faluting,
pecker wood tail-peddler!”
^vii

“
You, sir,” Belle said,
with a mildness she was far from feeling. “Are no gentleman to be
using such language!”

While delivering the sentiment, the lady
outlaw was taking hold of and drawing the front of her skirt to
above knee level. Doing so did not exhibit the kind of
underclothing which might have been expected to supplement such
garish and revealing outer garments. High heeled and comparatively
dainty though they might be, the black riding boots she was
displaying were clearly functional rather than decorative. Nor were
the figure hugging white riding breeches tucked into their Hessian
legs any more conventional attire.

Before any of the trio could draw
conclusions from what was being exposed to their gaze, in the light
of the lantern hanging above the side door of the saloon, Belle’s
shapely right leg rose swiftly!

Henry could hardly have selected a posture
better suited to the purpose of the lady outlaw. In fact, due to
the speed with which the kick was delivered and the impediment to
her movements created by the rucked up skirt, he might have
considered himself fortunate that she was prevented from employing
her full strength. Not that he devoted any thought to the matter
when the foot reached its intended target. Taken at the most
vulnerable point of the masculine anatomy, he could do nothing more
constructive than let out a strangled gasp of agony and stumble
away from his assailant with both hands going to the stricken
area.

Bringing down her foot, Belle
used it as a pivot upon which to turn towards Bert. Grasping the
reticule in both hands, she swung it so as to use the revolver it
concealed as an improvised club. Already springing towards her with
hands rising to reach and grab hold, he walked into the blow.
Unfortunately for her, circumstances were against her being able to
produce the full effects with her, of necessity, hurried movements.
While the attack landed sufficiently hard to hurt and cause the
approaching fingers to miss their selected target, it failed to
render him even close to
hors de combat
as she had intended.

Caught just as unawares by the speed and
skill with which their proposed victim was responding, Jubal
nevertheless had started acting in a way which helped his second
cousin. With his right hand catching her by the shoulder as she was
turning, his left sank into the top of the wide brimmed hat. While
he failed to stop the blow with the reticule being delivered, he
had helped to reduce its impact somewhat.

Just as he was commencing to
haul Belle away from Bert, Jubal felt the hat coming off in his
grasp. Much to his further amazement, he found he was removing the
orange red ‘hair’ at the same time. Startled by the discovery that
he was apparently scalping his captive without first having even
used a knife to sever the skin around the head, he could not
prevent her from snatching free her shoulder. A moment later, her
left elbow was rammed into his solar plexus with some force. Giving
vent to a grunt of pain, he was driven backwards with the hat and
well-made wig falling from his hands. Swinging around, her
excessively made up face appearing incongruous when taken with the
exposure of her short cropped brunette hair,
^viii
her right fist landed a hard punch to
his jaw.

Once again, the lady outlaw was not allowed
to make the most of the advantage she had gained!

Halting the involuntary stagger caused by
the blow from the reticule, Bert sprang forward to wrap his arms
around Belle. Caught from the rear, with hands pinioned to her
sides, she knew her position was rapidly becoming desperate. Face
darkened and made even more ugly by rage, Henry was starting to
advance. It was obvious to her that, even if at first he might have
been gentler with her because she was woman, now he would not be
deterred from delivering a brutal attack by considerations of her
sex.

Struggling against the encircling arms of
the man behind her, unable to force them apart by sheer strength,
the lady outlaw tried to escape by driving the back of her
close-cropped head into his face. Prevented from achieving this by
the brim of his hat, she also prepared to try and kick away the
other attacker as he was already approaching. She did not hold out
much hope for her chances when she made the attempt.

All in all, Belle considered she was in as
dire a strait as at almost any other time in her eventful young
life!

Before either Belle Starr or Henry could put
their respective intentions into effect, there was an
interruption!

Having been passing the front entrance to
the alley between the Sunbird Saloon and the gunsmith’s shop next
door the latter already closed for the night a tall, well built,
blond haired and good looking young man was attracted by the
commotion. Clad in a tan colored flat cloth cap, gray Norfolk
jacket, white shirt with an attachable celluloid collar, dark green
and blue striped necktie, knickerbocker trousers, tartan woolen
socks and untanned walking boots, but showing no sign of being
armed, he was more likely to be from the East than a Westerner.
Seeing what was happening, he immediately turned to the rescue.

“
Hey!” the blond shouted,
as he started to run along the alley. His accent proved to be that
of a well-educated New Englander as he went on, “Take your hands
off that young woman!”

Well intentioned though the motives of the
newcomer undoubtedly were and most welcome, the lady outlaw
considered he was ill advised to have announced his presence in
such a fashion!

For all that, aided by the speed at which he
was moving, the blond achieved some success, in spite of having
deprived his arrival of the element of surprise!

Grabbing Henry by the shoulders
before he could turn, the Easterner flung him aside. Jubal, on the
point of returning to help deal with the beautiful young woman held
by Bert, had his attention attracted by the indiscreet demand. He
changed direction and lunged forward. Adopting the posture of a
participant in the fast developing sport of boxing with gloves and
timed rounds, instead of fighting barehanded until one combatant
was knocked down, the blond met the attack competently enough.
Deftly blocking the blow being swung at him with his left hand, he
sent the right in a stylish jab to the face. Bringing a trickle of
blood from the top lip and snapping back the head, the punch caused
its recipient to retreat a few hurried steps and his assailant went
after him with the intention of delivering a
coup de grace.

Effective as such methods might have been in
the boxing ring of an Eastern sporting club against another amateur
opponent engaged in a friendly bout, they proved to be less
efficacious for a roughhouse brawl in a Kansas trail end town with
more than one antagonist involved.

Hurling Belle so that she collided with the
wall of the gunsmith’s shop and was momentarily stunned, Bert
sprang at and trapped the young man in the same manner he had
employed to reduce her ability to fight back. Snarling curses, the
other cousins Henry having recovered sufficiently from the kick to
join in diverted their rage from her to the newcomer and converged
with the intention of venting it upon him.