Read .44 Caliber Man Online

Authors: J.T. Edson

Tags: #texas, #old west, #us civil war, #gunfighters, #outlaws, #western pulp fiction, #jt edson, #the floating outfit, #44 caliber kill, #the ysabel kid

.44 Caliber Man (18 page)

BOOK: .44 Caliber Man
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You just lost your chance,’ she stated. ‘Felix, you’re
segundo. Get the blocks off the horses’ heads and fit the sarprimas
properly.’


Stay where you are!’ Cijar snarled as the man Jeanie named
started to rise. ‘Who are you giving orders to, little
girl?’


I’m running things until my mother gets here!’ Jeanie
answered.


Not Kenny?’ Cijar inquired with a mocking leer.


He’ll be along!’


Maybe he will. Or maybe he got shot in Fort Sawyer. If he did,
you’ve no man with you. We mesteneros won’t take orders from a
woman.’


Does that go for all of you?’ Jeanie asked.


They’ll do what I say,’ Cijar growled. ‘Now you get on your
horse and go back to your mother. Tell her that we’re working for
ourselves.’

Instead of
going, Jeanie turned her attention to the men around the fire. She
saw worry, indecision, a little fear and concern on their faces. If
there was only some way she could deal with Cijar, the men would
follow her. Forgetting Colin’s presence, Jeanie prepared to force a
showdown with the surly troublemaker.


You’re fired, Cijar!’ she spat out. ‘So get out of our
ca—’

Before the
words ended, Cijar caught her by the shoulder. His powerful fingers
sank into her flesh, bringing a gasp of pain. ‘I think maybe I’ll
teach you—’

Coming around
the wagon, Colin took one quick look then moved forward. The men
about the fire had been so interested in Jeanie’s arrival, that
they had overlooked the fact that she had a companion. After
fastening the horses to the corral’s top rail, Colin had followed
the girl. While he did not understand the conversation, he could
tell what Cijar meant by the man’s attitude. Colin needed to know
no more.


Get your hands off her!’ the Scot roared, catching Cijar by
the left arm and swinging him around.

Bunching his
left fist, Colin drove it into Cijar’s face. The force of the blow
split open the man’s lip and he crashed into the wagon. Spitting
out a curse, Cijar grabbed at his revolver and started to draw it.
As the gun cleared leather, Colin bounded forward. Up lashed his
left leg, the brogan smashing into the bottom of Cijar’s hand and
sending the gun spinning from it. With an almost animal-like
screech, the mestenero grabbed for his knife with the left hand.
Gliding in, Colin ripped a punch into Cijar’s belly and knotted him
over on to the other hand as it drove up. Hard knuckles slammed
into the man’s face and he lifted erect. Again Colin struck,
crashing a blow to the side of Cijar’s jaw. Pitching sideways, the
man sprawled face down at Fernàn’s feet. Colin walked forward and
jerked the knife from its sheath.


¡Hijo de yegua!’ the cook gasped, staring from Cijar to Colin.
‘For a man who wears a skirt, you’re plenty tough,
señor.’


This’s Colin Farquharson,’ Jeanie told the men after
translating Fernàn’s compliment. ‘Is he man enough to help us until
Kenny can ride again?’

A mutter of
assent rose from the men. Collecting a bucket of water from the
side of the fire, Ferndn emptied it over Cijar’s head. For a moment
the man continued to lie still, then his body writhed. Slowly he
forced himself on to his hands and knees. After shaking his head,
he turned over and sat on the grass. His eyes focused on Colin and
he spat out a curse. Grabbing at his right side, Cijar found an
empty holster. From it, he grabbed for where his knife should be
and found it too had gone.


That’s gone as well,’ Fernàn commented unnecessarily. ‘And I
wouldn’t try to take it back. He’s one tough hombre no matter how
he dresses.’

Slowly Cijar
dragged himself upright. Wiping the blood from his lip, he glared
his hatred at the Scot. However, Cijar did not intend to take the
matter further right then. One taste of Colin’s hard fists had
warned him of the other’s potential in that line of fighting. Cijar
decided he could wait for his revenge until a better chance
presented itself.


How did you know about Kenny?’ Jeanie demanded, moving to
Colin’s side and looking at Cijar.


He rode out two days after you left,’ Fernàn supplied when the
mestenero did not answer. ‘Came back on a half-dead horse three
days ago. Told us that Kenny was killed and how he’d found Raoul
dead.’


What about Raoul?’ the girl asked.


Like Cijar said, his horse fell and rolled on him,’ the cook
answered. ‘Cijar said you wouldn’t be coming back, senorita and
that he was boss. He’s a bad hombre and we waited to see if he
spoke the truth.’


I’ll get you for this, fat man!’ Cijar spat out.


You’ll get out of our camp!’ Jeanie corrected. ‘All right,
Felix, get the men to work. I want the sarprimas put right and the
blocks taken off.’


They’re coming with me,’ Cijar snarled. ‘They won’t take
orders from a woman.’


I don’t go,’ Fernàn stated. ‘And anybody else who does is a
fool.’


Which is it, mestenero, si,’ Jeanie went on. ‘Go with him, or
to the corral. Make your choice, pronto.’

For a moment
none of the men moved. Then the short, leathery Felix rose and
tossed his plate into the dish of water placed for that
purpose.


Let’s get to work!’ he ordered.

Man after man
followed the new segundo’s lead. Cijar glared at them, but to no
avail. After being beaten by the Scot, he had lost his hold on the
mesteneros and knew they would not obey him.

Watching the
rage which played on Cijar’s face, Jeanie knew that they could
expect further trouble from him should he remain in the vicinity.
However she figured that she could move him on.


You know Cabrito?’ she asked.


¡Si! Cijar answered sullenly; no great surprise, for the
Ysabel Kid’s fame covered the border country.


He’s coming with my mother. When he gets here, I’m going to
ask him to ride out to the place where Raoul died and see what can
be learned. Maybe he’ll want to see you when he gets
back.’

Slowly concern
wiped the anger from Cijar’s face and Jeanie knew her point had
been taken. Everybody along the bloody border had heard of
Cabrito’s almost uncanny ability to read sign. Worry worked on
Cijar’s face. Maybe the Kid would find something Cijar’s presence
had caused the other mesteneros to miss. If so, the man had no wish
to be interviewed on the subject; especially by the black-dressed
Tejano called Cabrito.


I’m going now,’ Cijar muttered. ‘You give me my gun and
knife?’


Aye,’ Colin agreed when Jeanie explained the request. ‘Only
I’ll take the percussion caps off the revolver first.’

While that was
being done, Cijar gathered his belongings and collected his horse.
On the return of his weapons, he swung into the saddle and rode
away from the camp. Colin stood watch, holding the double-barreled
rifle—which he had left leaning on the rear of the wagon when
dealing with Cijar— until the man passed out of sight. Then the
young Scot joined •the girl as she supervised the improvements to
the horse’s conditions.

By the time the
wagon arrived, Jeanie had everything to her satisfaction. She told
her mother and the Texans of Raoul’s death and Cijar’s
behavior.


Get one of the mesteneros to show you where it happened, Lon,’
Dusty ordered. ‘Way that feller took off could mean he knows how
the hoss happened to fall.’


What’ll I do happen it wasn’t an accident?’ asked the
Kid.


Bring Cijar back here,’ Dusty replied. ‘Likely we’ll think of
something.’


You choosy how he comes back?’ drawled the Kid.


If he killed Raoul, bring him in any way you have to,’ Dusty
answered and Ma Schell nodded her approval.

Going out to
the place where the segundo had died, the Kid made a thorough
examination of the area. He failed to find anything to say how the
horse came to fall, but decided that Dusty would want definite
evidence before having Cijar fetched in. Despite all his sterling
qualities, Dusty possessed what the Kid considered too high a
regard for the sanctity of human life. So the Kid returned to the
camp and reported his findings. After some discussion, it was
decided to let Cijar go and count it as good riddance to a
worthless trouble-causer.

That night the
whole party held a celebration in honor of the remount contract and
the birth of Fernàn’s eighth child. Dawn found them making
preparations for beginning the hunts. During a council of war held
around the breakfast fire, Colin learned something of the way the
hunts would be run. To his surprise, he found that they would not
attempt to break any of the horses captured. Instead they were to
let the mustangs settle down, then introduce them to a bunch of
gentle mares—which had been range-grazing away from the camp on
Colin’s arrival—and rely on herd instinct to hold them all
together. Stallions would be gelded when captured, to prevent them
fighting among themselves or trying to scatter with the mares.

The thirty or
so horses already captured had been taken in corrals de espiar, spy
or night pens. Simple to construct, being no more than a pole
corral around a known watering place, they were left with the gates
open. A hidden man kept watch until the mustangs entered to drink,
then closed the entrance. However there had been a couple of days
with heavy rain which made corrals de espiar practically useless.
The mustangs could find water easily and no longer needed to rely
upon the regular, always productive holes.

From then on,
the mustangers would rely on corridas, driving the mestenas, into
large, stoutly made wing corrals. After discussing the situation
with Felix and the mesteneros, Jeanie decided that they would make
their first corrida using a corral about a mile from their present
camp. With a calm efficiency that delighted Colin, the girl took
command and gave her orders. Sending the Kid and Felix out to scout
the mestenas and select the best route to make the corrida, she led
the rest of the men to see what repairs needed making to the
corral.

Colin expected
to see an ordinary circular pole corral, with triple bars running
horizontally between upright supports. Instead he found himself
confronted with a large palisade of logs. Looking down the steep
side of a canyon, he could see that one wing extended to each side
of its lower end and that the wall of the corral formed a spiral
rather than a circle.


It’s a caracol pen,’ Jeanie explained. ‘That means “snail”.
Once the hosses get inside, they can’t double back.’


Suppose they won’t come down this valley?’ Colin
inquired.


We’ll tend to that,’ the girl promised. ‘Let me go see what
the fence wants doing to it first though. It’s no use making the
corrida and then have the hosses break through the side of the
corral.’


I see that,’ Colin admitted.


With luck, there’ll be two to three hundred head inside,’
Jeanie went on. ‘The corral has to be strong. We haven’t used this
one for three years, it’ll likely need plenty of
fixing.’

Which comment
showed that the girl possessed good judgment. In the course of her
examination, Jeanie discovered and pointed out a number of faults
which needed attention before a corrida could be brought to a
successful conclusion.


That gate needs clearing so it’ll close,’ she announced. ‘See
to the hinges while you’re at it.’


I’ll tend to it, Jeanie,’ Mark offered and the girl nodded her
agreement.

These posts
want replacing,’ Jeanie went on, indicating some of the wall’s
supports after assigning men to help Mark. ‘Will you tend to it,
Dusty?’


You’re the boss,’ Dusty answered.


Lend him a hand, Colin,’ the girl ordered. ‘Then we’ll start
re-roping the uprights, that raw-hide don’t look any too
strong.’

Work on the
corral continued through the day and next morning Colin found
himself handed a shovel. Other of the men collected picks and
shovels from the family wagon and Jeanie took them on to the open
range by the outer mouth of the canyon. While riding there, the
girl explained what had to be done next.


You boys have to clear a yard-wide strip of earth for a
distance of half a mile on each side of the canyon, starting from
its mouth. I mean clear it, grass, bushes, everything. Widen the
other end so you’re maybe half a mile apart when you’ve
done.’


And then put up a fence?’ Colin asked.


Nope. Just the furrows,’ Jeanie replied. The mustangs’d see a
fence as we haze them in. They’ll not see the furrows until they’re
right on them.’


Won’t they just run across?’


They never have yet. Don’t ask me why, but they’ll not try to
cross the black strip of open ground.’

Having decided
that Jeanie knew what she was doing, Colin set to work without
further debate. Although he had done little digging, he threw
himself into the task whole-heartedly and drew grins of admiration
from his work-party. Already the mesteneros had grown accustomed to
his kilt and his handling of Cijar prevented any adverse comments
on it. By nightfall they had one strip completed and the other half
cut. Nothing could have given the young Scot greater pleasure than
when Jeanie told him he had done real well.

BOOK: .44 Caliber Man
8.69Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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