Dorothy Garlock (41 page)

“Can you prove the charges?” McCloud yelled.

“Your gawddamn right I can prove both of them or I wouldn’t be here.” Adam walked down the steps and stuck his finger in McCloud’s face. “You better back off, store keeper. I’m not goin’ to stand for meddlin’ from you.”

“If you’re agoin’ to have a trial you’re agoin’ to wait until every man, woman, and child in this town is here. You ain’t agoin’ to have ever’thing your way, Clayhill.” McCloud turned and fired his pistol in the air. “Get them horses off the street,” he yelled. “Doolie, get on that horse and spread the word fer ever’body to come, ’n if’n they can’t walk, crawl! That means that horse’s ass of a preacher and Della Clayhill, too.”

“Logan!” Rosalee whispered frantically. “What does it mean?”

“It means he’s determined to see the end of me . . . one way or the other.” Logan looked at Rosalee or kept his eyes straight ahead. He’d not yet looked at the
Wasicun.
Even the sound of his voice caused such implacable hatred to knife through him that droplets of sweat broke out on his forehead and made him gasp for air.

“Get away from the prisoners,” Shorty Banes growled and nudged Rosalee.

She glanced quickly at Logan and he moved his head slightly. She understood. She would be no help to him here. Their help would come from Mr. McCloud, or from others in the crowd that was gathering. She stepped off the porch before Shorty pushed her again and made her way to the storekeeper.

“He didn’t do it, Mr. McCloud. And Case only killed in self-defense.”

“Gawd! I know that, girl. I’m just stallin’ for time. He’s got thirty men or more and I’ve never been up against such odds.”

“Mary and Josh and Ben are on the way. I can handle a rifle. That would make five of us.”

“If we start anything he’d not wait for a trial. He’d shoot ’em on the spot. Let’s hold tight and see what happens. Gawd, but I wish Cooper Parnell was here.”

“I wish Logan’s men had gotten here,” Rosalee moaned, then added, “There’s no use wishing. Wishing doesn’t do anything but waste time. Will you lend me a gun? I can hide it in my dress pocket.”

“Come to the store. I’ve got to lock it up anyway. In all the excitement I forgot.”

Rosalee came out of the store as Mary’s buggy came careening into town. She pulled the lathered horse to a stop in front of the store. The wind had blown some of the pins from her hair and it floated around her face and stuck to her wet cheeks. Her anxious eyes searched the streets. Minnie sat on the seat beside her and Ben and Josh pulled up beside the buggy. Mary jumped down and ran the few steps to the walk.

“What’s happened?” she asked breathlessly.

“Nothing yet. Mr. McCloud is helping us all he can. He insisted that Clayhill not start anything until everyone in town is here.”

“I’m going to see Case and no one had better try and stop me,” Mary said. She put her hand in the pocket of her heavy skirt and marched down the walk.

“Ya better stay here, Minnie,” Josh said gently. “From what I hear you stirred Clayhill’s temper. Ain’t no use in gettin’ it riled more.”

“I ain’t ’fraid a that old bastard. He don’t dare lay no hands to me here in front of ever’body,” she answered saucily. “He’d better not lay no hands on Mary, neither. I got me my Colt right here under my skirt and I’ll blow his pecker off!”

“What’er we agoin’ to do, Rosalee?” Ben’s worried eyes found his sister’s. Charlie, panting from the run, fell at his feet, his tongue lolling. The dog’s eyes rolled up to gaze at Rosalee, and he wagged his tired tail; but she was too worried to notice him.

“I don’t know, Ben. I don’t know. It looks like they’re getting ready to do something.” Rosalee went down the walk, being careful to not let herself get boxed in by the crowd of people that had gathered in front of the saloon. It seemed to her that every person in town was there; women still with their work aprons tied around their waists and men who had stopped their work when the call came. Children, wide-eyed and shy, held on to their mother’s skirts.

Two men carried a table from the saloon and set it on the porch in front of Case and Logan. They placed a single chair at the end of it. Adam Clayhill came out, removed his hat, and flung it down on the table. His white hair was a startling contrast to his ruddy face. He was angry, but holding himself in check as he’d not done in years. He wasn’t as concerned with Malone as he was with the Indian. He was determined that he would swing. He’d not yet let himself really think about what the savage had done to Della. If he did, he would pull his gun and put a bullet square between the bastard’s eyes. However, the act had given him an excuse to get rid of him legally. Della would be as mad as a hornet if she had to face the crowd and tell her story, but she was tough and she’d get over it. Adam sat down at the table and motioned for one of the men to fire their gun to signal the start of the proceedings.

“You all know what we’re here for. We’ll try Malone first.” Adam held up his hand to still the murmur of voices that followed. “I’ll say what I know first. Malone was my foreman. He refused to obey orders and I fired him. He sneaked up on a bunch of my men and shot three of ’em in the foot. Another one of my men tried to get the drop on him before he killed someone and Malone shot him down. It’s a clear case of murder.”

“Adam Clayhill, you’re the biggest liar God ever let live!” Mary stood in front of the porch with her hands on her hips.

“I stated the facts. You weren’t there, so stay out of it.”

“Neither were you. Tell these people what your men were doing at the Spurlocks’ in the middle of the night.”

“They had spent the day looking for strays and had camped there.” Adam’s face flushed even more and his hamlike fists clenched and unclenched.

“That ain’t so!” The squeaky young voice was Ben’s. He pushed his way through the crowd. “That ain’t so,” he repeated. “They was aburnin’ us out, like you told ’em to do.”

“You hush up! Yo’re just a wet-eared kid!”

“I got eyes same’s anybody else. I got ears, too. You told my sister you was agoin’ to come back ’n burn us out fer helpin’ Mr. Horn.” Ben stood his ground and Rosalee wished her mother and father could hear him speaking up against the biggest landowner in the Colorado Territory. They would be as proud as she was.

“I never said any such thing!” Adam shouted. “You’re not old enough to testify, so hush up.”

“I’m old enough to have a say.” Mary turned her back on him and looked at the people in the street. “All you men who were at the Spurlock place know Case was only trying to keep you from burning it to the ground. You also heard Adam Clayhill tell Rosalee that if she didn’t let him have Logan Horn he would burn her out. Shatto was a troublemaker who turned backshooter. He shot Case first and Case almost died. Is there a man here who wouldn’t have shot back?”

There was a lot of foot shuffling and low murmurs, but no one spoke up.

“Is there a man here who thinks Case Malone should die for killing the man who shot him?” Mary insisted.

“Yo’re gawddamned right there is!” Shorty Banes swaggered forward, hitching up his britches. He came to within a few feet of Mary and shoved his face close to hers, then looked back at the crowd. “You agoin’ to stand here ’n let a whore talk ya outta hangin’ a man what ortta be hung?”

“This ignorant piece of horse dung has already been the cause of one good man’s death. When Rosalee Spurlock resisted his vile attention, his friend Shatto grabbed her. Her blind father tried to help her and was kicked to death by Shorty Banes’s horse. His opinion is less than nothing,” she said with contempt. “Is there anyone else that thinks Case is guilty?”

“Look here, by Gawd!” Adam roared. “You’re not taking over this trial!”

Mary tossed a look of defiance over her shoulder. “How many here think Case should be freed?” she shouted.

At first there was silence, then, “Let him go!” Voices rose from the back of the crowd and rolled forward.

“He ain’t guilty of nothin’.”

“He done what any man would a done.”

“What’er ya tryin’ to do, Clayhill? Railroad ’im cause he bucked ya some?” McCloud called out.

Adam looked out over the sea of faces and knew he’d have to back down on Malone. The case was weak, and he should have thought about it before he had him tressed up and brought to town. When this was over he’d figure out a way to get him out of the territory.

“All right. I’m a fair man. I may have been wrong about him. But I’m here to tell you that if any of my men were in on burning out the Spurlocks they’ll hear from me. Turn Malone loose and we’ll get on with the trial.”

“No, by Gawd!” Shorty shouted. “He ortta pay fer ruinin’ my foot.”

Adam turned on him in fury. “Shut your mouth! You can settle with him any way you please, but not here.”

Someone stepped forward and cut the rope that bound Case’s hands. When they were free, he lifted the loop from his neck. Mary was beside him and together they moved to the side of the porch.

“I’m athinkin’ we better be hangin’ ya out a shingle,” he whispered, and hugged her to him. “Ya argue a good case, sweetheart.”

“Oh, Case! I was so scared. How are we going to help Logan?”

“By stayin’ right here and waitin’ our chance. I hope that gun that’s weighin’ down yore skirt is mine.”

“All right. All right. Let’s get on with the trial,” Adam was saying. “I tell you, folks, I came close to killin’ this redskin outright.” His voice was calm and serious. “You all know I was put out when the Indian sneaked in and bought the land I’ve been using and was set to buy. Any one of you would have been the same. We don’t want the redskins movin’ in on us and takin’ up the good land. I was going to go to Denver to see what could be done about it. This mornin’ my girl came to me in distress and told me what this stinkin’ red savage had done to her. He’s a viper who’s come in among us, is what he is, and he isn’t fit to live!”

Rosalee, standing on the edge of the crowd, caught her breath. She began to work her way to the front. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something bright yellow and turned her head to see Odell, in her new yellow dress, clutching Mrs. Parnell’s hand. Hope rose in Rosalee’s heart that Cooper was also here.

“Now, folks, I can have my girl come up here and tell you what he did to her if I have to. It’s not easy for a woman to talk about such.” Adam was feeling good about the way the people were reacting. The women were terrified and the men outraged. “First I’ll ask the Indian what he’s got to say for himself,” Adam said with an exaggerated air of fairness.

Logan’s blood boiled in an agony he thought he couldn’t endure. He had the sensation of floating not in water but in a vacuum of utter loathing. He looked out over the crowd that had gathered to watch his humiliation. Most of them stared back in stony-eyed hostility. It was an old and familiar scene magnified a hundred times. He’d learned to steel himself against the animosity, but facing it with the
Wasicun
as witness caused the air to burn in his mouth and his eyes to blur with helpless rage.

In the corner of his mind that could function outside the hate Logan noted that Cooper now stood beside McCloud. Thank God, he was here. He’d be a help to Rosalee. The Clayhill woman, in her white dress, was with the preacher and his wife down by the Land Office. He couldn’t imagine what story she would make out of their meeting in the livery. It hadn’t lasted more than five minutes. Josh, Ben, and Minnie were at the back of the crowd. Mrs. Parnell and Odell had edged closer so that Odell could see. Rosalee was coming through the crowd toward him. He drank in the sight of her like a thirsty man long deprived. “Oh, my sweet woman! What have I done to you?” he groaned.

To the crowd Logan appeared stoic and unrelenting in his attitude. He stood with his feet spread, his shoulders back, and his head up. He was taller than most of the men, and from the porch he looked down on everything and everyone with an air of detachment that seemed to render him wholly untouchable.

“What do you have to say for yourself, redskin?”

For the first time Logan turned his mirror-black eyes on the
Wasicun.
Points of light flared in their depth. Inward, silent red rage pushed him beyond reason and he spat full into the face of the man he despised.

“Gawddamn you!” Adam’s fist lashed out and only the quick, instinctive movement of Logan’s head prevented it from hitting him squarely on the mouth. Instead it glanced his cheek. Adam wiped his face with his sleeve. “You sonofabitch,” he muttered so low that only those standing nearby could hear. “Your red ass’ll hang before night and the buzzards’ll have your eyes before morning.”

Adam turned to the crowd. “You see how savage the Indian is? I don’t see any need for puttin’ my girl up here—”

“I do,” Rosalee shouted. “If she’s accusing my husband I want to hear it from her own mouth. And stop calling him the savage and the Indian. His name is Logan Horn.”

“Yeah! Put ’er up there, Mr. Moneybags. Let’s hear what the twitchy-twat’s got to say,” Minnie called, and then laughed. A few of the men laughed with her.

Adam’s face was beet-red with anger. He shook his fist at Minnie and shouted, “I’ve taken all I’m goin’ to take from you. Get back to the whorehouse or you’ll be flaggin’ your skinny ass out of the territory before mornin’.”

“You don’t scare me, bugger man!” Minnie made an obscene gesture and grinned saucily. Some of the men threw her admiring glances.

“Clayhill,” McCloud called. “Horn’s entitled to hear the charges against him. If you don’t want your girl to testify, turn him loose.”

“No, by Gawd!” Adam shouted. “My word ought to stand in this town. I say he forced himself on her and he should hang!”

“No man should hang on your say. Put the woman up there to tell it.” A man with a cut down the side of his face spoke up for the first time.

Adam turned to see who was taking sides against him. The man and his partner had refused to ride with him this morning, and now he wondered what part they had to play in this.

“All right. Come on up here, Della. Come on, honey. Don’t be afraid. Just tell the folks what you told me and you can go on down to Denver and try and forget the wrong done you.” Adam’s voice gentled as if he were talking to a child.