Confessions of a Gunfighter (8 page)

Chapter twenty

He was a salty looking character.

I could just tell that he was up to no good. I also noticed that his right hand rested on the butt of his Henry repeating rifle.

I hunkered behind the pole corrals. My eyes searched for Kinrich, but I didn’t see him.

The man sat still on his horse for a long time, and I didn’t dare move.

He finally seemed satisfied, and he made his way down into the valley and rode towards the shack. 

Where is Kinrich
? I wondered.

And then I saw him. He had his back to me, and there was no way I could get his attention without me being seen. 

Kinrich was sitting in the shade beside the shack, cleaning his guns. That was bad, because that meant his guns were probably unloaded.

The man on the horse saw Kinrich too, and he rode straight towards him.

Kinrich was looking down at his guns and didn’t bother to look up.

“Where have you been, Button?” Kinrich called out while he worked. “I was starting to wonder what had happened to you.”

The stranger didn’t answer. Instead, he dismounted and faced up to him.

“Cat got your tongue?” Kinrich called out again. “You sure are being quiet, Button.”

The stranger’s voice was hard and calloused. 

“I ain’t no ‘Button', Kinrich.”

Kinrich looked up sharply, and the shock in his face was obvious.

“Harris! What are you doing here? We ain’t supposed to meet up yet for another three weeks!”

Harris smiled a mean, wicked smile. 

“I know, Ben. But, only one of us is going to make it to that meeting.”

“How do you figure?” Kinrich spoke calmly, and he stood and faced him.

“I’m taking over things,” Harris declared boldly. 

“Is that right?” Kinrich asked softly.

“We’ve been playing it too safe under you, Kinrich,” Harris explained. “You always pass up on the simple and better paying jobs. Instead, you always go after them Yankees, and sometimes it’s not even worth the trouble.”  

Kinrich didn’t like what he was hearing, and he frowned irritably. 

“The South has had enough troubles for a while. I figure we’ve been settling a few scores,” Kinrich said.

“We ain’t fighting a war no more, Kinrich,” Harris fired back. “There ain’t nothing noble or righteous in what we do. All we’re doing this for is for the money, ’cept for you, and that’s why I’m taking over. There’s real money out there to be had, and I aim to see that we get in on some of it.”

“I ain’t never lost a man neither, Harris. That’s something to think about,” Kinrich said.

“That’s ’cause you’re scared to take on the bigger jobs,” Harris snarled. “Well, I ain’t yellow… me being here proves that.”

“How ’bout the rest of the boys; how do they feel ’bout it?” Kinrich wanted to know.

“They ain’t said nothing, but I figure when I show up and you don’t that they’ll decide to follow me,” Harris said smugly.

“So that’s it, is it?” Kinrich asked softly.

“That’s the way it is, Ben,” Harris grinned wolfishly.

Kinrich started stalling for time.

“Tell me, how’d you find me?”

“It weren’t easy,” Harris admitted. “And, it sure took a lot of doing. Finding you has been on my mind for a long while now, and this ain’t the first time I’ve tried. But, one thing I am is patient. Nobody can hide forever, including you, Kinrich.”

While they talked I eased around the corner of the pole corrals, and neither one of them saw me.

“I ain’t got a gun, Harris,” Kinrich was saying.

Harris smiled wickedly. 

“I know; this is going to be easier than I thought.”

It was time to make my presence known.

“Think again!” I called out as I stepped out into the open.

Harris jumped with surprise. But he was also a professional, and he didn’t panic.  

Harris kept an eye on Kinrich while he turned slightly and faced me. 

“Well now, I take it you’re Button.”

“That’s what Kinrich calls me,” I replied.

Before Harris could respond, Kinrich shot me a dark look. 

“Button, you stay outta this. You ain’t ready yet,” Kinrich said, and then he turned to Harris. “Harris, this here is between me and you. You let me get my gun, and then we’ll settle things, just the two of us.”

“I ain’t stupid, Kinrich,” Harris sneered. “I didn’t come here to have a fair fight, and you know it.”

“Just leave the kid out of it.”

“Not while he’s wearing that fancy gun,” Harris eyed my six-shooter. 

I ignored Kinrich as I looked boldly at Harris. 

“I’ve got a gun, all right, and if you don’t get on your horse and high-tail it outta here I’m going to use it,” I spoke calmly.

The feeling was starting to come over me, and I felt a strange confidence that I had never felt before.

Harris wasn’t impressed. He had faced up to a lot of fellers that looked tougher than I did, and he wasn’t worried.

“Talks big, don’t he?” Harris sneered. 

I was staring straight at Harris, and soon as he said that I saw a flicker in his eyes, just like I’d seen in Tom Benson’s eyes. 

We both grabbed for our six-shooters.

I made the straightest and smoothest draw that I had ever made, and my six-shooter was out and firing before Harris even had his six-shooter out of his holster. 

From my hip I fired three shots in rapid fashion, and as Harris flew backwards he managed to fire one shot harmlessly into the ground. 

Harris hit the ground hard, and just like that he was dead.

Chapter twenty-one

As I walked forward I discarded my empty shells and put new ones back in. I holstered my six-shooter and looked at Kinrich. 

Kinrich was just standing there, looking at me as if he was seeing me for the first time.

“Well, Button, I didn’t figure you had it in you,” Kinrich said softly. “Do you know who you just killed?”

I didn’t reply, so Kinrich answered his own question.

“You just killed Glen Harris, the Colorado gunfighter!”

“I reckon he should have stayed in Colorado,” I replied bluntly as I turned towards the shack. “I’ll go get a shovel. We’d best bury him before dark.”

I rummaged through the shack, and when I returned Kinrich was knelt down beside Harris.

“Three shots, Button, and all three straight through the heart!”

I was irritated and didn’t feel like talking. 

“He should have left when he had the chance,” I said curtly. “Where do you want to bury him?”

Kinrich showed me, and I got busy digging a grave. 

While I worked I thought the situation over, and I wasn’t very happy about it.

Killing Harris didn’t bother me much, for it had to be done. But I had killed him with no hesitation, and I sure didn’t like the feeling it had given me. 

I had heard that killers often killed just for the pleasure of killing, and that’s what I felt like for a split second. It was what Pa had always warned me about, and for the first time I was scared of myself. Here I was only fifteen, and already I’d killed two men.

I was quiet during supper, and Kinrich noticed it. 

“Button, I’m not much on saying thanks, but I appreciate what you did,” Kinrich said earnestly. “You pulled me out of a jam for sure.”

“Don’t mention it,” I replied.

Kinrich stood and refilled his cup with coffee, and then he sat back down. 

“Been doing some thinking,” Kinrich said.  

I filled my own cup with coffee and leaned back. 

“Oh?” I asked.

“You keep telling me that you want to get yourself a ranch job. Well, I have a better idea.”

“What’s that?” I took a sip of coffee.

Kinrich looked at me over the rim of his cup. 

“Now that Harris is dead, I’m short a man. So, I’d like you to join up with us.”

I was surprised, and I burnt my tongue on the coffee. 

“You mean become an outlaw?”

“You’re young, but you’ve learned fast,” Kinrich replied. “And especially with that gun of yours. You’re good, Button, real good. Remember when you asked if you could be as fast as me?”

I nodded.

“Well you ain’t yet, but you’re real close,” Kinrich said. “And that’s saying a lot, Button.”

I scratched my chin as I thought it over. 

“I never figured on becoming an outlaw. Pa wouldn’t have liked it.”

“Your Pa’s dead; you ain’t,” Kinrich responded.

I frowned thoughtfully. 

“I don’t know, Kinrich. I just don’t know.”

Kinrich pressed on.

“Tell you what, Button; here’s what we’ll do. You ride with me a few years, and during that time we’ll both save up some cash. Now, you heard what Harris said ’bout us not making much money, but he was wrong. We do all right, and I figure after ’bout three or four years that we should have a pretty good poke stashed away. After that you and me can quit, and we’ll get ourselves an outfit put together and start ranching. And we’ll do it honest too.”    

“That sounds fine, but I still don’t like the idea of becoming an outlaw,” I answered.

“Listen, Button, being an outlaw ain’t as bad as you think,” Kinrich replied patently. “Ever since the war most banks have been mighty hard on us poor ol’ Southerners, and most folks in the South don’t mind it much when a Union bank gets robbed.

“Now you heard Harris say that I always play it safe, and I do. I plan all my jobs in advance, and I always plan ’em so there’ll be no killing if possible.”

I was tempted, but I was also hesitant. If I became an outlaw I would be going against Pa, and I told Kinrich just that.

“Tell you what, Button,” Kinrich said as he finished his coffee. “There’s no need for you to decide tonight. We’ve still got three weeks before I have to meet up with the rest of the boys, so you take some time and think it over good.”

I nodded.

“I’ll think on it,” I said.

“Good,” Kinrich replied.

It was silent, and then Kinrich looked back up.

“By the way; tomorrow I’ve got to be leaving for a few days, but I want you to stay here. Be a good chance for you to think things over.”

“Where are you going?” I asked curiously.

“Scouting trip,” Kinrich explained. “Between every job I have to go and set up the next job, that way I can tell the boys where to meet up again. Now, how ’bout a game of poker before we bed down?”

So that’s how it was. The next morning Kinrich saddled up and rode out, and for the next few days I fought with my conscience. 

I knew Pa would have been against it, and deep down I knew better. But, I really didn’t have any other options to choose from. 

I now knew how to live off the land, so I wasn’t scared of dying and such like I’d been before.

Yet Kinrich had already explained how hard it would be for a youngster like myself to find a ranch job. Ever since the war the price of beef in Texas had fallen drastically, and most ranchers in Texas were broke. And, those very few ranchers that were looking to hire somebody were looking for seasoned cow-hands only. At the time I didn’t know a thing about punching cows, and most outfits wouldn’t take the time to teach me.  

But then, if I joined up with Kinrich I would already be a part of something. And if Kinrich was true to his word, then in just four years’ time we would quit and get our own outfit. That sounded better to me than anything, because Kinrich was the only friend I had.  

As for the stealing and robbing part, I did know that it was the wrong thing to do. However, Kinrich had already explained that he mainly just stole from the Northerners, and even Pa didn’t like them Yankees none.

Kinrich rode back in a few days later, just before dark. He tended to his horse, and then we sat round the fire and cooked supper.

“Well, Button, have you decided if you want to join us?” Kinrich asked.

I swallowed hard and nodded. 

“It’s been on my mind.”

“And?” Kinrich asked.

“I reckon it’s the only thing I can do,” I replied.

“Good boy!” Kinrich smiled, and even in the darkness I could see his white teeth shining. “You’ll like it, Button, you really will. One other thing ’bout it is that you’ll get to see the country, that’s for sure. You wait and see.”

I’d made Kinrich happy, and he talked for the rest of the night as he told me of all the adventures that were to come.

I tried to look excited, but deep down I was sad. Becoming an outlaw still didn’t thrill me, and I hoped wherever Pa was that he didn’t know about it.

Four years
, I told myself
, and then we quit
.  

But even as I thought it, I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.