Confessions of a Gunfighter (4 page)

Chapter eight

“They’re coming over that hill behind us,” Pa told us. “They’re probably following the wagon tracks, so they’ll find us real quick.”

Pa let it sink in, and then he continued.

“Elliot, I want you to stay here with me. Rondo, I want you to climb up on Slim and ride for the wagon train. Tell ’em what’s happened, and see if any of them will come back and help. We’ll be holding ’em off ’til you get here.”

“None of ’em care anything about us, and you know it, Pa,” I protested. 

“When they hear we’re in trouble they’ll change their minds,” Pa said.

Pa pulled me to my feet, and he never stopped talking. 

“If things go wrong and we don’t make it, then I want you to stay with Karen. She’s a good woman, and she’ll be good to you. You mind her now, you hear?”

“Yes, Pa,” I said.

Pa had already saddled Slim, so I took a-hold of the reins and swung on.

Pa reached up and patted me on my back. 

“Remember all I’ve taught you.”

I tried to reply, but suddenly I was all choked up. I nodded at Pa and looked over at Elliot, and then Pa slapped Slim on the rump. 

***

We rode hard for about fifteen minutes, and then I slowed Slim to a trot so he wouldn’t wear himself out.    

Suddenly, I heard the distant boom of a rifle shot.

I pulled up Slim, and I heard several more rifle shots, followed by silence.

It stayed quiet for a long time, but then there was another burst of gun fire. There was more silence after that, followed by another round of rifle shots.

Suddenly, without thinking, I wheeled Slim around and headed back in a dead run. Pa and Elliot were putting up a fight, and I wanted to be with them.

A lot can happen in fifteen minutes. 

I was getting back just as fast as I could, but when I was only about halfway back all the shooting stopped. 

A few minutes later I topped out on a hill, and in one glance I saw all I needed to.

Two bodies lay near the wagon. The Injuns must have already left, because I didn’t see any of them. 

I gripped my six-shooter as I rode down the hill. 

As we got closer Slim started to snort and throw a fit. So, I dismounted and tied him to a tree branch, and then I went on alone. 

Our horses were gone, and I could also tell that the Injuns had looted through the wagon.

Pa and Elliot were dead. They had been scalped, and they had also been stripped of all their clothes.

It was real hard to see Pa and Elliot laying there that a-way, and it took me a long while to get myself pulled back together.

I finally went over to the wagon and hunted up Pa’s shovel. It took most the day, but I managed to dig two graves.

As it was getting dark I got them buried, and the whole time I worked I cried like a little kid. I was sure ashamed for carrying on like that, but looking back now, I don’t blame myself.

After that I just didn’t have the strength to do anything more.

I was wearing one of Pa’s old coats. I took the coat off and wrapped it around me, and I settled down beside the tree that Pa had chopped down and drifted off to sleep. Never before had I been so alone, and that night I felt real low.

I awoke early, and the first thing I did was to check on ol’ Slim.

He was still tied to the tree branch where I had left him, and he wasn’t very happy about it. 

I hurried back to the wagon and poured him some water from the water barrel. He drank eagerly, and then I unsaddled and picketed him so he could graze.

After that I turned my attention to the wagon.

Almost everything useful had been taken by the Injuns. But I did find a canteen, and I filled it with water from the barrel and looped it over my saddle-horn.

The false bottom was also still intact, so I broke it open and took out the eight dollars that Pa had hid there. It wasn’t much, but at least I could buy some grub if I needed to.

It was near noon, so I rested in the shade and chewed some shredded jerky that I had in my saddlebags.

As I sat there I mulled over my current situation. 

There wasn’t anything else I could do here. So, even though I hated to leave Pa and Elliot, it was time to go. I had enough grub to last a couple of days, and by then I planned on being back with the wagon train. 

Catching that wagon train was the only thing on my mind. That, and seeing Tom Benson again. 

Because of him, Pa and Elliot were dead.

I didn’t know how, but I was going to see that Tom Benson paid for that, one way or the other.  

Chapter nine

I took one last look at Pa and Elliot’s graves, and then I took out in a brisk trot, going west.

Injuns were real fresh on my mind, and I kept a wary eye out for them. But to my relief I didn’t see any sign of them. 

The afternoon passed by fast.

Luckily the wind hadn’t blown much, and the wagon tracks were still real easy to follow. I had no idea how old the tracks were, for I hadn’t become a good tracker yet.

Along towards sundown I saw a deer.

I thought about shooting him for the meat, but then I decided against it. The sound of a shot might attract unwanted visitors.

So instead, I found a little hidden gully to stop at for the night. 

I unsaddled and picketed Slim, and then I made a dark camp.

I didn’t want to risk the light of a fire. Besides, I couldn’t have started a fire anyway. Pa had always used matches, but I didn’t have any.

It was then that I thought a frightening thought. Pa had taught me how to hunt and skin out a deer, and I had done it many a time. But that would do me no good, because I couldn’t cook the meat! 

I had heard Pa talk before of starting a fire with flint and a knife, but I had neither.

I suddenly realized that I still had a lot to learn. Pa had taught me a lot, and for a boy of fourteen I reckon I did know more than most my age. But, when it came down to survival skills, I was still real green.

I was miserable as I shuddered under Pa’s old coat. The land around me seemed real big, and I felt real small in it. I cried a lot, and I was real sore at myself for still carrying on like that, but I just couldn’t help it. 

The sun woke me the next morning, and I was aggravated for sleeping so late. I took a long swig from my canteen, and then I saddled up Slim and pulled out going west again. 

The wind was blowing a little, and I was afraid that I would lose those wagon tracks. 

I rode across a little stream near midday. 

I let Slim water out, and I poured out the old water from my canteen and refilled it with fresh, cool water.

I climbed back on Slim, and we pushed onward into the late afternoon. 

I rode until it got so dark that I couldn’t see no more, and then I stopped in a little draw that offered good cover. 

I hardly slept at all that night. I kept having nightmares about Pa and Elliot being scalped and all, and the next morning I was restless and ready to move out.  

To me it seemed that the wagon tracks looked fresher, and I was hopeful I would catch them sometime during the day. 

The morning passed by uneventful, and by mid-afternoon I was getting worried. My stomach was growling, but by now all my grub was gone. 

I finally rode out onto a ridge and saw them down below me. They were strung out in a long line, going forward steadily.

It was then that the feeling came flooding over me. Suddenly I was fighting mad, and all I could think about was Pa and Elliot being buried behind me when they should be here, alive and well.

I had a good view of the wagon train, and I looked it over carefully.

I was looking for someone in particular, and I finally found him. 

Tom Benson was riding way up in front. He was alone, and that suited me just fine.

I pulled out my ivory handled six-shooter and made sure it was loaded right. I returned it to my holster, and then I kicked up Slim. He took off in a trot, and we rode down the ridge.

Chapter ten

I avoided the wagons and rode straight towards Tom Benson. 

He saw me coming from a long ways off, and he pulled up his horse and looked curiously at me.

When I got closer he recognized me, and he was both irritated and surprised. Apparently, Benson had thought that he would never see any of us alive again.    

“Where’s your Pa?” He asked roughly as I rode up.

“He’s dead, and so’s Elliot,” I said bitterly.

“What happened?”

“You killed ’em!” I replied sharply.

Benson was took back by my remark.

“What do you mean by that?” 

“You sabotaged our wagon so you could have Mrs. Day all to yourself!” I said angrily.

“I did no such thing!” Benson declared, and his anger was starting to build. “You’d better get your facts straight boy, or else you’ll have me to answer to!”

“You mean I’d best have my facts straight before the wagon train catches up!” I shot back. 

“You watch your mouth!” Benson snarled. “Or else I’ll teach you some manners!”

I looked at Benson boldly, and my hand hovered over my gun handle. 

“You try it and see just how far you get,” I said.

I was in trouble, but the feeling was pushing me on, and I just didn’t care. 

“Soon as I can I’ll tell everybody what you did, and you’ll be facing a lynching party before suppertime.”  

“I’ll kill you first!” Benson growled.

Benson and I stared hard at each other, and suddenly I saw a flicker in Benson's eyes. His hand flew toward his gun, and I grabbed for my six-shooter.

Benson was a seasoned gunfighter, and he had his gun out and was firing away before I even had my six-shooter out of my holster.

I should have been shot dead. But, luckily Benson's sudden movements startled Slim, and Slim snorted and jumped sideways right as Benson fired. 

I heard the sharp whip of a bullet as it flew by my ear, and then I had my Colt up and firing.

My first shot took Benson in the belly, and my second shot hit him dead center in the chest. 

Benson’s face went wild with terror as the bullets’ impact threw him backwards. He hit the ground, and just like that he was dead.           

The wagons pulled up behind us.

“What happened?” One of the men asked as several of them rushed up. 

They took a look at Benson, and then they looked up at me.

“Why’d you kill him? Who drew first?” They asked.

I didn’t answer. It was starting to sink in that I had just killed a man, and I kept looking down in disbelief at Benson.

Everybody was still excited and demanding answers, but suddenly all I wanted was to get away. 

I holstered my pistol, and then I turned Slim around and left.

Chapter eleven

I rode back towards the wagons, and the first wagon I passed was the Jones’ wagon.

Jones was sitting in the seat, and he gave me a sour look.

“Did you kill Benson?” He demanded to know.

“I did.”

Jones scowled.

“You must think that you’re really something now.”

“No,” I replied curtly. “I only did what I had to do.”

“You messed things up, boy. You’ll pay for that.”

I didn’t understand what he meant, and I wasn’t in the mood to ask. So, I didn’t reply as I rode on.

I heard Mrs. Day calling out to me. I rode over to her wagon, and she asked me where Pa was.

“He’s dead, and so is Elliot,” I told her. “And, I just killed Tom Benson.”

“Oh no, Rondo!” She exclaimed, and her face filled with worry. “You’re so young!”

“Yes, ma’am,” I agreed. “But I’m not sorry I did it. Pa and Elliot are dead because of Benson.”

Mrs. Day was shocked and upset.

“I can’t believe it,” she kept saying. “I just can’t believe it!”

“Mrs. Day, Pa said if anything was to happen that I was to join up with you,” I said suddenly. “You reckon that’d be all right?”

“Of course you can, Rondo,” Mrs. Day said replied. “You’re too young to be out on your own.”

So that’s how it was. I tied Slim to the back of the wagon, and then I climbed up onto the seat and took the reins from Mrs. Day. 

“I’ll earn my keep too,” I told her. “I’m a good shot, and I can hunt for us if you’d like.”

“That sounds fine,” Mrs. Day said. “We’ll get along, you and me. I’m glad to have the company.”

“It’s what Pa wanted,” I replied.

Folks from the wagon train were digging a grave for Benson, but I didn’t help none.

Mrs. Day wanted to know what had happened. So, I sat there and told Mrs. Day everything, ’cept I left out the part about Pa and Elliot being scalped and about how I cried both nights.

Mrs. Day listened real close, and afterwards she shook her head sadly.

“I just knew something bad had happened after ya’ll didn’t show up yesterday,” she said. “I asked Benson about it, but he just shrugged and said he reckoned that ya’ll must have gone on to Midway. But I knew better, ’cause your Pa would have said something to me. I tried hard to tell everybody that, but nobody would listen.”

Mrs. Day had tears in her eyes. I tried to think of something comforting to say, but I couldn’t come up with anything.   

Soon they were through burying Benson.

As folks returned to their wagons I caught a few disapproving looks. In fact, a few of them even looked downright hateful.

We made a few more miles before we camped.

I was near starved, but I didn’t say anything. I figured we would eat soon after we stopped.

Nobody but Mrs. Day said anything to me, and I got the feeling that everybody was taking a real big disliking to me. But that didn’t bother me, for I was used to that.

Mrs. Day felt it too, and she suggested that it might be a good idea if I stayed close to the wagon after we made camp. I agreed with her.

I wanted to show Mrs. Day that I was worth having around, so I made myself real busy when we finally did stop. 

Mrs. Day started a fire, and while she cooked supper I unsaddled and picketed Slim and Mrs. Day’s team of horses.

Soon as supper was ready, we sat around the campfire and ate. Mrs. Day was a fine cook, and it was the best meal I’d had in days.

We finished supper, and then Mrs. Day brought me some blankets. 

“You look tired, Rondo. Why don’t you get some sleep? You can bed down under the wagon if you want.”

“Thanks, I reckon I am pretty near done in,” I told her as I gratefully took the blankets.

I bedded down, and soon as my head hit the ground I was sleeping hard. But, it seemed like no time at all when I suddenly felt Mrs. Day a-shaking me severely. 

“Wake up, Rondo,
quick
!”

I opened my eyes and saw that it was still dark. 

“Yes, ma’am? What is it, Mrs. Day?”

“You have to leave now!” She spoke low and urgent. “That Jones fellow is doing a lot of talking, and he’s saying you murdered Tom Benson. Everybody wants to hang you, so you have to go now!”

“Hang me!” I was suddenly wide awake. “But it was a fair fight! He even drew first!”

“It’s your word against his, and he was a friend of theirs,” she hastily explained. 

I was careful not to make much noise as I crawled out from underneath the wagon.

I saw a huge campfire burning near the center of the wagons, and a big crowd had gathered around it. I could hear them talking, and it didn’t sound good.

“What are you going to do?” I asked Mrs. Day.

“Don’t you worry about me; I can take care of myself,” Mrs. Day said real hush like. “Now listen. I already saddled your horse, and I put some extra food in your saddlebags. Your canteen is full, so you’d best be going.”

I stayed in the darkness beside the wagon as I buckled my gun belt and pulled on my boots.

Mrs. Day rushed me to Slim. 

“I don’t think they’ll follow you, but I would keep going for a while anyway,” she instructed me. “And make sure and keep your eye out for Indians. They’re still about, you know.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said as I climbed up onto Slim.

“Go back east, Rondo, and maybe somebody can help you there,” Mrs. Day said, still trying to help me as best as she could.

There wasn’t much time. Loud voices from the campfire were fast approaching, so I looked down at Mrs. Day. 

“Thanks for everything, Mrs. Day. I sure hope you find what you’re looking for in California.”

“You take care of yourself, Rondo,” Mrs. Day said, and her face was real worried looking. “Now go!”

I turned Slim around and trotted out.

As soon as I reached the outskirts of camp I heard a shout from behind, and a second later there was a thundering boom.

A bullet flew by my head, and I ducked as Slim raced forward. A few more shots were fired in desperation, but they were way off target. 

Slim was spooked, and we ran wild for a long time. The lights of the campfires became smaller, and finally we were alone, swallowed up in the darkness.   

It was one of those clear, summer nights, and the moon was full. Slim was full of energy and wanting to travel, so I gave him his head and we put some distance between us and the wagon train.

As we rode I gave my current situation some serious thought. 

Before I’d had the hope of joining up with Mrs. Day. But now, I had nothing.

That made me feel low. But, I forced myself not to cry about it, for that wouldn’t help the matter none.

Mrs. Day had told me to go back east. But, the more I thought about that, the more I started deciding against it. I had always wanted to come out west, and now that I was here I saw no need to go back. 

My dream had always been to get a ranch job breaking broncs, and that’s what I decided to try and do now. Somehow, I would get over to Midway and see if I could get a job with J.T. Tussle. If he was going to give a job to Pa then why not me?

The first problem I had was that I had no idea where Midway was at. All Pa had ever said was that it was out west on the Texas Plains.

That was a lot of country. What I needed were directions.        

I remembered then the frontier settlement that we had passed a few days back.

I figured my best bet would be to ride back to that settlement and ask for directions. Then, I would buy enough grub to last the trip and ride on to Midway. 

All that might have sounded easy, but I knew that it was going to be a lot harder than it sounded.