Texas trails book 3, p.4
Texas Trails Book 3, page 4
Then all was quiet except for hissing of escaping steam from safety valves.
More activity broke out in the vicinity as a depot clerk wheeled a baggage cart out to collect cargo. The train wasn’t scheduled to tarry long before heading out for points to the southwest. Passengers with tickets hurried to get aboard while the people just arriving began to step down wearily from the cars, displaying that stiffness that all travelers have after being confined aboard cars for a length of time.
“There he is,” Charlie said.
Guy looked and could see the large figure Of Gideon Magee clump down from a passenger car’s step. Gideon looked around, then spotted them. He walked toward them in his lumbering style, carrying a carpetbag valise with him.
Charlie offered his hand. “Glad to see you, Gideon.”
“Same here, Charlie,” Gideon said. He looked at Guy Tyrone. “Are you with Charlie or does he have you under arrest?”
Guy grinned. “I’m with him.” He also shook hands with the big man. “I'm a Texas Ranger,” he added in a whisper.
Gideon looked at him, then at Charlie. “Is that right?”
“Yeah,” Charlie answered.
“Damn!” Gideon said. He abruptly changed the subject. “Where we going from here?” Gideon asked.
“The Windsor Hotel,” Charlie answered. “We can chew the fat once we’re there.”
“I don’t want to do no visiting ’til I’m settled in a room and had a hot bath. I been moving day and night since I left Fort Smith. So after I’m soaked and unstiffened, it’s down to the bar to cut five days’ travel outta my throat with good whiskey.”
“C’mon then,” Charlie Delano said. “We’ll head for the Windsor.”
“The Windsor, huh?” Gideon Magee remarked. “Then the State o’ Texas must be paying the bill.”
“You got it right,” Charlie said. “But I gotta warn you. We ain’t gonna be staying there long.” They went down a short set of stairs that led from the platform to the ground. Charlie and Guy
took Gideon over to a hitching rail where three horses stood waiting.
“The middle one’s yours,” Guy said.
Gideon unlooped the reins, stepped into the left stirrup, and pulled himself into the saddle while holding onto the valise in one hand. “Let’s go,” he said. “My ass ain’t taking to this saddle any better’n it did a train seat.” Since he knew his way around Dallas, he didn’t wait for the others. Gideon rode off for the business section and the Windsor Hotel.
“Hey!” Charlie yelled out. “We ain’t taking the horses to the room. There’s a livery stable on the street behind the hotel.”
“I know which one it is,” Gideon Magee called back. He kicked the horse into a canter and went on with his friends following.
By the time Charlie Delano and Guy Tyrone arrived, Gideon already had the horse in a stable and was pulling the saddle off to set it on the stall wall. “What’s taking you two so long?” he asked.
“I’ll take care o’ the horses,” Guy said. “Take him up to the room and get him that damn bath or he ain’t gonna be fit company to be with.”
Charlie and Gideon walked out of the large barn and crossed the street. They strolled rapidly around to the other side of the block with Gideon a couple of steps ahead. They went straight into the lobby, and Charlie came to an abrupt halt.
Gideon Magee stopped and turned around. “What the hell’re you waiting for?”
“I just want to see what room you’re fixing to charge into,” Charlie said. “Are you gonna just take one that suits you, or go to ours?”
“I ain’t in no mood for joking. I told you I wanted a hot bath then down to the bar,” Gideon said. “And I want it in a hurry. So just tell me where we’re bunking.”
“We’re on the third floor,” Captain Charlie Delano said now leading the way. He passed the desk and signaled to the clerk. “We’ll take hot water for a bath in 304.”
“Right away, Captain!”
Gideon, now in a slightly better mood, followed. When they reached the room, he went to the bed indicated as his and set his valise down. He treated himself to a bone-cracking stretch and a loud yawn as Charlie settled down in a chair by the window.
Guy came through the door and noted Gideon standing there. “Make yourself comfortable, Gideon.”
“I’m fixing to make myself comfortable in a tub o’ hot water,” Gideon Magee said testily.
Guy went over to his bed and sat down on it. “They got good service in this hotel.”
As if to prove him right, there was a knock on the door. Charlie opened and admitted five bellboys. Two wrestled with a copper tub, another carried two pails of hot water, the fourth had one pail of hot water and one pail of cold water, and the fifth had soap and a towel. Rapidly and efficiently, they set the bath up in the corner of the room in a matter of minutes. Charlie tipped them while Gideon stripped off his clothes and tested the water.
“Perfect!” Gideon said, settling in.
Charlie went to his bedstand and poured a glassful of Kentucky bourbon. He took it over to Gideon. “You might as well start cutting them five days’ travel right now.”
“I’ll agree with that,” Gideon Magee said. He took the tumbler and drained it in three swallows. “Would one o’ you fetch my pipe outta that valise?”
Charlie Delano retrieved the pipe while Guy Tyrone came over with a match. Within moments, Gideon was washing vigorously and smoking as he soaped down. When he was clean, he settled back to soak a bit. “Can I have another o’ your bourbons, Charlie?”
“Sure,” Charlie said. He fixed the drink. “Don’t take all night. We got to go to work tomorrow.”
“Will we be able to talk in the hotel bar?” Gideon asked. He finished off the bourbon. “Your telegram made some strong hints about being quiet about this thing we're going into.”
“We can sit in a corner and not be bothered by nobody,” Guy told him.
Gideon looked at his companions and sensed their impatience. “Aw, hell!” He stood up and grabbed the towel, rubbing himself dry. After dressing quickly, he brushed his hair. “That’s it, boys. I’m anxious to hear what you’ve got to say.”
The trio of lawmen went down to the lobby and crossed it to the establishment’s saloon. They went to the back of the room and placed their orders with a waiter. None bothered to talk much until they’d been served and left alone.
Gideon Magee looked at Charlie. “So? How’s come you dragged me all the way down here, Charlie?”
Charlie was efficient with his words as he told of Ace Erickson and his criminal headquarters in Stavanger. The Ranger captain didn’t leave out the crooked lawyer Maxwell Banter or Sheriff Gustavo Fairweather.
“Fairweather!” Gideon exclaimed. “I thought that son of a bitch was in the territorial prison in Montana.”
“He escaped,” Charlie Delano said.
“Then let’s send him back,” Gideon said. Then he added, “Or shoot him.”
“That is one of the things we’re planning on doing,” Charlie said. Then he delved into the nastier parts of the job. He told Gideon Magee that if any of than were caught and taken to trial, the governor and his office would not help them a bit. He concluded with, “And I’m gonna swear you into the Rangers. At least you’ll get paid that way.”
“I’m still a deputy U.S. marshal,” Gideon Magee pointed out. “I only took a leave of absence from Judge Parker’s court.”
Guy laughed. “When the time comes to pack a star, you can pin two of ’em on your vest.”
“I’ll just do that,” Gideon said. He turned back to Charlie. “So what’re we gonna do, Charlie? Move into Stavanger and call out this Ace Erickson?”
Charlie shook his head. “Nope. This is one time when we kill the snake by going for his body ’stead of his head.”
Guy frowned in puzzlement. “Why? Wouldn’t it wrap things up right quick if we got Erickson?”
“Wouldn’t solve nothing much,” Charlie Delano said. “That’d leave the lawyer Banter and Fairweather alive and kicking. And if we got them two, then that’d leave a whole bandit gang running loose.”
“I see what you’re driving at, Charlie,” Gideon said. “If we knock off the gang, then Erickson and his top dogs won’t have their army no more.”
“That’s right,” Charlie said. “Then we move in on them for the final showdown.”
“The gang don’t stay in Stavanger, does it?” Guy Tyrone remarked. “That means we’ll be spending a lot o’ time in the open country.”
“That’s where they hide out,” Charlie said. “And that’s where we’ll have to go to find ’em.”
“Well, hell, Charlie!” Gideon said in exasperation. “We can’t just ride out into the wide open spaces and start looking for ’em. We might never find them owlhoots.”
“I got us a place to start,” Charlie said. “The gang holes up at a ranch between jobs. They only go into Stavanger to split the take or for a little relaxation now and then.”
“Where’s this ranch?” Guy asked.
“In southwest Denton County,” Charlie Delano explained. “It’s owned by a feller name o’ T. J. Grogan.”
“I know Grogan,” Guy said. “The last time I heard, he was rustling cattle down around Reynosa. He always liked to keep moving. How’s come he’s got a ranch now?”
“I think he’s probably got backing from Erickson,” Charlie said. “But I don’t know for sure. At any rate, he’s still knowed to use a running iron when it suits him.”
“I been meaning to ask,” Gideon Magee said. “Just how many is in this here gang?”
“I figger a dozen from what I been told,” Charlie said. “But Erickson can hire more pistoleros if he’s ever of a mind.”
Gideon did some quick figuring. “That’s about four of ’em for each of us to start out with.”
“Only for a while, I’ll bet!” Tyrone exclaimed.
“No matter, they’re good boys,” Charlie said. “I hate to say it, but it’s God’s truth. Erickson pays top dollar and he’s got top guns.”
“I’m a practical son of a bitch,” Gideon said. “Why don’t we grab a few more Rangers? If nothing else, we can use ’em for backups.”
Captain Charlie Delano shook his head. “This here is something I don’t want to drag no more’n I have to into. And if there’s too many of us, then any sneaky, underhanded stuff we do is gonna come out in the open. The governor don’t want that. He’ll leave us high and dry.”
“I could use another drink,” Gideon said. Charlie turned and signaled the waiter. “Got some dry fellers here.”
The man came over. “What’ll it be, gents? More o’ the same?”
“Bring us a bottle,” Charlie Said. “Any Kentucky bourbon you got.”
The trio of lawmen made small talk until they were served again. Charlie poured out generous glassfuls of the liquor. “Drink up, boys.”
Gideon Magee swallowed his rapidly. He sat the glass down. “Now let me get this straight. We’re gonna go after a big gang o’ murdering thieves that’s run by some son of a bitch that’s got high connections through a fast-talking lawyer. And we’re expected to bend or break the law or anything else it takes to get ’em. And this Erickson and his bunch are so well-placed that if we get caught, there ain’t a politician in Texas that’ll come out and back us up.”
“That’s right,” Charlie Delano said. “Do you agree to that?”
“Do you two?” Gideon asked.
“Sure,” Guy said.
Gideon poured himself another drink. He raised the glass. “Here’s to three o’ the bravest men in Texas.”
“Or the dumbest,” Guy Tyrone added with a chuckle.
“Who might end up the deadest,” Guy added.
Gideon Magee grinned. “Hell! I’ll drink to anything.”
Chapter Five
A gentle breeze wafted across the top of the hill, barely stirring the bushes that hid Guy Tyrone. He studied the ramshackle ranch house through his field glasses, making careful mental notes of the activity around the place.
A large corral and a barn, which appeared to be constructed better than the house, made up the layout. It was easy for Guy to see that the place was designed to accommodate quite a few residents or visitors. But only five horses stood idly in the corral that could have held three times that many.
Guy, feeling a twinge in his back, stretched a little to get the kinks out. He, Captain Charlie Delano, and Gideon Magee had taken a circuitous route from Dallas out into Denton County. The trip took them four days of continuous riding with only brief stops and early morning starts. They hadn’t taken much time to eat, either. The young man was tired, cross, and hungry. Now he and his companions were spread out around T. J. Grogan’s ranch to do a couple of hours of observation.
Guy pulled his pocket watch from his vest.
“Damn!” Another half hour was left to go until the return to the rendezvous point to meet up with Charlie and Gideon. Tense and irritable, he, went back to spying.
The five men staying at the place moved around only a bit. A couple tended to feeding the horses while a third watered them. They went back in the house and another came out to sit outside on a rickety chair. He stared off in space, then whittled a bit. The fifth man finally joined him and they chatted awhile. Then they went inside to join the other three.
Guy recognized three of them. His patchy career of moving in and out of the law had garnered him a few questionable companions and acquaintances.
He checked his watch again. Another fifteen minutes to go. He continued watching, but everyone stayed inside. The time dragged on and on, it seemed to Guy. But the two hours came to a close. Feeling better, he left the bushes and walked down the far side of the hill where his horse was tied to a tree. He mounted up and rode back toward the wooded bend in the creek where Charlie had instructed them to meet.
When Guy arrived at the spot he found Charlie waiting. The Ranger captain looked up from where he was filling his canteen. “Gideon oughta be here directly,” he said.
Guy hobbled his horse next to Charlie’s, then sat down beside him on the bank. “I always liked this part o’ the country,” he remarked.
“Yeah,” Charlie agreed. “I reckon I’ll settle on a homestead around here sometime when I grow too old to pack a star.”
“You gonna farm, Charlie?” Guy asked.
“Hell, no! I’m gonna sit on my wrinkled old ass and drink Kentucky bourbon ever’ day ’til I fall off my rocking chair,” Charlie said.
Guy chuckled. “That sounds nice. But the onliest way I’ll quit is if they shoot me dead.”
“Maybe they’ll shoot your leg off and you can use that billy club o’ yours for a pegleg,” Charlie said.
Gideon Magee interrupted them by coming through the brush. He reined in and slipped out of the saddle. “Looks like you two worked a little faster’n me,” he greeted the other two.
“Howdy, Gideon,” Guy said. “Did you enjoy watching that ranch house?”
“I was just doing something like that in the Cherokee Nation a while back,” he remarked. “I had three fellers in an old shack at the bottom of a draw. O’ course I was all alone. That’s the way us marshals have to work out o’ Judge Parker’s court.”
“Just the same, I bet them owlhoots never saw the sun set on that day, Gideon,” Guy remarked.
“You’re right about that,” Gideon said.
“Did you two see anybody you knowed down there?” Charlie asked.
“I know three,” Guy said. “T. J. Grogan, Ned Williams, and Jack Blunt. All of ’em are real mean cusses.”
“One of ’em was Ozzie Young,” Gideon said. “He’s in good comp’ny ’cause he’ll shoot another feller on a bet.”
“And I know T.J. and the last man Bob Orley,” Charlie said. “Orley ain’t the friendly sort. And ail that adds up to the fact that we ain’t gonna he able to sashay in there and casually ask questions. Any one or two of ’em is gonna know we’re lawmen and would be happy as hogs in shit to put bullets in us.”
“Do you reckon they’re all part o’ Ace Erickson’s gang?” Guy asked.
“Naw,” Charlie said. “I know they ain’t. Them boys stay permanent on the ranch. They prob’ly rustle cattle for TJ.”
“Then we’d better make any moves we’re planning on damn quick,” Gideon said. “If Erickson’s men show up, that’ll mean even more of the meanest bastards in Texas is gonna be down there.”
Guy looked at Charlie. “What’re we gonna do, Charlie?”
“Well,” Charlie said slowly, “I been thinking on that. We’re gonna have to move in on than boys and see what they can tell us about Erickson and his gang.”
“What makes you think they know anything, Charlie?” Guy asked.
“You can bet that Erickson’s men talk plenty while they’re hanging around between jobs,” Charlie said. “T.J. and them pistoleros of his hear a lot about what they’re doing.”
“From the way you’re talking, I reckon we’re gonna have to get one or two of ’em alive, ain’t we?” Gideon remarked.
“Can’t be helped,” Charlie said.
“That makes it more dangerous,” Guy said. “Yeah,” Gideon chimed in. “I don’t like the idea of raising my fire on any o’ them down there.”
“Boys, we’re in a predicament,” Charlie explained. “If we shoot them five, we could lay an ambush for Erickson’s gang. But we’d never be able to shoot ’em all up when they showed up.
And we wouldn’t know where they were headed or gonna do.”
Guy shook his head. “Do you really have any kind o’ plan, Charlie?”
“Let me lay it all out,” Charlie said. “I want to get what information we can outta Grogan and his boys. Then I want to make a coupla moves against Erickson’s men just to keep ’em nervous. That way we can learn all the ins and outs of what they do and where they go to hide.”
