Regency Ranch
A half hour had passed by the time they got their horses off-loaded and rode out to Hanson's ranch. Everyone had gathered in the large keeping room. Melissa and another woman had obviously been crying, and Megan hurried over to embrace her sister.
Melissa wiped her eyes. “Megan, this is Jennie Garrison. Her son Ethan was with Timmy when they were taken by those evil men.”
Megan embraced Jennie. “Have you heard anything else about them? Do you know where they are?”
“Yes, they are in Shumla,” Melissa said.
“Duff, it was good of you to come,” Hanson said. “I've two men I would like you to meet. They are out in the bunkhouse with Mr. Taylor.”
“They would be the defectors Jason spoke of?”
“Yes. You have met them before.”
“I have?”
“Yes. Ah, here they are. I told them to come up to the house when they saw you arrive.”
Duff looked toward the two who were arriving, and remembered, at once, where he had seen them before. “
Och
, you would be the two men who attempted to rob Mr. Hanson now, would you?”
“Yeah, we're awful sorry 'bout that,” one of the men said. “He's Crump, I'm Forney.”
“You are a long way from your territory, aren't ye now? 'Twas thinkin', I was, that you were in Wyoming.”
“Yes sir, well, that's where we mostly was, but we decided it would be better for us if we left Wyomin' an' come to Texas,” Crump said.
“Which is how we come to join up with Jaco. Only, we seen our mistake soon as we joined up,” Forney explained.
“Jaco? What is Jaco?” Duff asked.
“Jaco is a who, not a what,” Jason said. “His name is A. M. Jaco. He and an albino by the name of Blue Putt were about to be hung over in New Mexico, but they managed to escape the night before they were to hang. I've got paper on both of them. According to Crump and Forney here, Jaco and Putt are heading up the Kingdom Come Gang.”
“And they're the ones who have the two boys?” Duff asked, to clarify.
“Yes.”
“Tell me about this other boy, the one who was with Timmy when they were taken. There's
nae
chance he's mixed up in it, is there?”
“No chance at all,” Hanson said. “His mother works for me, and they live here on the ranch.” He explained that Ethan's father had been killed, most likely by the Kingdom Come Gang. “I needed help and Mrs. Garrison needed a job,” he concluded. “That's how they wound up here.”
“And you two”âDuff wagged a finger at Forney and Crumpâ“how did you two wind up here?”
“Look, Mr. MacCallister, me 'n Forney ain't goin' to lie to you. We ain't exactly led what you would call decent, law a-fearin' lives. Only we ain't never done nothin' like what Jaco 'n his men are doin'. We ain't neither one of us ever actual kilt anyone, 'n soon as we seen what this here gang was like, we know'd we'd made us a big mistake.”
Forney told about the bank robbery in New Fountain. “Only, it warn't like no bank robbery I ever heard o' before. You'd think that all you would want to do is take the money 'n git, 'n if you can do it without no shootin', the better it be. But not these men. When we first rode into New Fountain, well Jaco, he told us to commence a-shootin'. It was real crazy.”
“Not so crazy. I can see that. By discharging your weapons into the air, it would generate a degree of shock, enough to divert people's attention,” Duff said.
“No, it warn't nothin' like that a-tall,” Crump said. “What Jaco told us to do was to start shootin'
people
. Men, women, even little children. If they was out on the street, we was s'posed to shoot 'em. 'Cept me 'n Forney, we didn't do none of that.”
“How did you avoid it?” Jason asked.
“We just commenced to shootin', but we wasn't shootin' at nobody in particular,” Forney said.
“Then, what we done,” Crump continued, “is we made up our mind that soon as we got our share of the money, we was goin' to quit the gang 'n ride back up to Wyomin'. I mean, me 'n Forney, we'd done a little robbin', but we ain't never kilt no one a-fore.'
“When we brung in them two kids, we didn't want no part of that, so we decided we wasn't goin' to even wait around for our cut,” Forney said. “We was goin' to go right back to Wyomin'.”
“Only you came to my office,” Jason said.
“Yeah, we come there.”
“Why?
“We come there when we larn't that one o' them two kids belonged to Mr. Hanson,” Crump said.
“He was real good to us, if you remember,” Forney said. “I mean, here, we tried to rob 'im, 'n what does he do? He gave us money.”
“So we decided to tell the sheriff what we knew,” Crump said.
“You did the right thing,” Duff said.
“Yeah, well, truth is, even if it hadn't been for the kid belongin' to Mr. Hanson 'n all, we woulda prob'ly done the same thing, anyway. There wouldn't nobody in their right mind want to be around Jaco,” Forney said.
“That's how it is. I mean, nobody around him is in their right mind. 'Cause Jaco 'n near 'bout ever'one with 'im is crazy,” Crump added.
“Who are some of the people with him, do you know?” Duff asked.
“Well, sir, there's Jaco and Putt. They're the two leaders of the gang,” Crump said. “Jaco, he's some kind of a breed, half Mex or half Injun, I don't know which. And Putt, he's one of them people that ain't got no color. All white, you know.”
“An albino,” Duff suggested.
“And Manny Dingo. You ever a-heered o' him?” Forney asked.
“He's a young gunslinger,” Jason said, interrupting the conversation. “He's fast with a gun. I mean he is really fast, and he likes to use it.”
“Then there's a feller by the name of Johnny Dane. He's kinda funny,” Crump said.
“Funny? How is he funny?” Hanson asked.
“I don't mean funny so's he does things to make you laugh. I mean he's funny 'cause he's odd. He likes little girls.”
“And when Crump says little girls, that means real little girls, like maybe thirteen or fourteen years old,” Forney added.
“What you are saying is, he is a pedophile,” Hanson suggested.
Crump frowned. “I don't know what that word means. I just know that he likes real young girls.”
“Then there's a couple men that I think are brothers. Can't recall their names though. Do you, Crump?”
“I think one of 'em is Larry or Lenny. Somethin' like that. Oh, and there's Mattoon. He's sort of an odd duck, too.”
“Mattoon? Wyatt Mattoon?” Jason asked.
“You've heard of him?” Duff asked.
“Yeah, he was a peace officer once. People like him give anyone who has ever worn a badge a bad name.”
“The only other name I recall is the one called Cyr. He's the oldest of the lot, and damn well may be the meanest.”
“Cyr?” Elmer asked, speaking up for the first time. “Would that be Val Cyr?”
“I don't know. I never heard his first name spoke,” Forney said.
“Well, let me ask you this. What about his right ear? Is there a piece of it missing?”
Forney nodded. “Yeah. Now that you mention it, he is missin' 'bout half his right ear.”
“Elmer, how is it that you knew that?” Duff asked.
“I know it, 'cause I'm the one that bit it off.”
“My word, you bit off half his ear?” Hanson exclaimed.
“Yeah, I done it when we was kids.”
“You and Cyr knew each other when you were children?” Duff asked.
“Val Cyr is my first cousin. We joined up with Quantrill together, 'n some later, when I first come back from the sea, we rode the outlaw trail together for a while.”
“You heard the way Forney and Crump have been describing this gang of brigands as thieves and murderers. And you say this fellow is your kinsman. Do you think he is capable of such a thing?” Duff had a lot of faith in his foreman.
“Yeah,” Elmer said with a single nod of his head. “Yeah, I do.”
“What about the townsmen?” Duff asked. “Does Jaco enjoy their support?”
“I'm not sure I know what you mean by that,” Forney admitted. “He enjoys the soiled doves that work in the saloon.”
“I mean, do the townspeople support Jaco? If it came down to a battle between Jaco and someone from outside, would everyone in the town fight for Jaco?”
Forney shook his head. “No, I don't think they would. Most of the folks that was in town left when Jaco took over. The ones that stayed thought they'd be makin' a lot of money, and I s'pose they are. Folks that's come to town since then done it just 'cause it is a outlaw town. Onliest thing is, it's costin' them a lot just to live there. Plus, Jaco is collectin' what he calls a tax.”
“Forney's right. I âspect more 'n half of the ones that stayed would just as soon Jaco move on.”
“That's good to know,” Duff said.
“But that don't mean he don't have a lot who would fight for him.”
“How many?” Duff asked immediately.
“At least twenty. Maybe a few more,” Crump said.
“But that ain't all of it,” Forney said. “I know that he plans to use them two kids as a way to keep anyone from comin' after 'em.”
“We can't just let those boys stay there,” Jason said. “We've got to get them out, one way or another.”
Wang spoke for the first time. “You know this town,” he said to Forney and Crump. “Are there any Chinese people there?”
“Any Chinamen? No, I don't think so,” Crump said.
“Yeah, there are,” Forney said. “The laundry is run by some Chinamen, don't you remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot about them.”
“That is good,” Wang said.
Duff turned to his cook. “Wang, you have an idea?”
“Yes. I will go into town and get the two young Americans out.”
Frustrated, Jason asked, “How are you going to do that?”
“No one will see me.”
“Ha!” Forney said. “Believe me, Jaco will be keeping an eye on those two boys.”
“I will be invisible,” Wang said.
“What do you mean, you'll be invisible?” Forney asked. “Somethin' else I don't understand.”
“I do,” Duff said. “Remember, Mr. Crump didn't even know there were Chinese in the town.”
“Yes, I, too, am aware of the phenomenon,” Hanson said. “The ubiquitous servant is often invisible because of his lack of standing in the perceived social order of the elite.”
Forney and Crump looked at each other and shrugged. Hanson's explanation offered no help in understanding.
“All right, Wang. So you can get into Shumla without being seen. Then what?” Jason asked.
“I will find a way to save Timmy and his friend.”
“You can't do this all by yourself,” Jason said.
“I have seen Wang in action,” Duff said. “I believe he can do it.”
“How long will you need?” Jason asked.
“Two days.”
Jason nodded.