Ralph Compton Death Along the Cimarron (30 page)

“The fact is,” Danielle said to Ellen, “we were on our way to try to find you this morning and see if we could sneak you away from Earl and his men. We weren't about to hit the gang nose to nose until we knew you were safely out of our line of fire.” Danielle looked at Tuck and nodded, then looked back at Ellen. “Now that we know you're all right, ma'am, there's nothing to keep us from hitting them as hard and as fast as we can.”

“Now you're talking, Danny,” said Tuck. Together they reached down and helped Ellen to her feet, holding her between them.

“I don't want to hold you up from getting to them,” Ellen said. “Help me up onto the horse. I'll go with you.”

“No, ma'am,” said Danielle. “That's out of the question. Tuck and I both have more experience at this sort of thing. Let us handle it.”

“Why, Mr. Duggin?” Ellen asked. “Because I'm a woman?”

“No, ma‘am, that's not it at all,” said Danielle, thinking how ironic it was that Ellen Waddell should think such a thing.
If you only knew,
Danielle thought. But all she could say was, “Ma'am, it's not because you're a woman that we can't take you with us. Tuck and I just know about how one another works is all.”

“Mr. Duggin, I want you to realize what this animal has done to me,” said Ellen. “To be honest with you, now that I know how to fire this rifle ... I want to kill him. I know that doesn't sound very ladylike, but it's—”

“Ma'am,” Danielle said, interrupting her, “you've taken a hard lick on the head. We can't afford to take you out there and find out you're hurt worse than we thought. I hope you understand that.”

Ellen relented and said with a trace of regret, “All right, Mr. Duggin, you win. I'll go to town and see the doctor.”

Danielle and Tuck escorted Ellen Waddell immediately to the doctor's office and waited in an adjoining room while the young doctor examined her. While they waited, Tuck walked to the front window, pulled back a curtain, and looked out along the main street. “There was a lot of townsfolk watching us ride in. They'll be having questions about who she is and what happened to her. Do you suppose I ought to let a few of them know what we're expecting here?”

Danielle walked over and looked out with him. “Now that the woman is safe and we know where to look for Earl and his men, go ahead and tell them before we leave town. It was important to keep this a secret before. But now it's better that these people be prepared in case Earl manages to get around us and hit the town while we're not here.”

Tuck nodded in agreement, then said, “Before leaving town, we might just as well round up Buck Hite and his boys. Once we throw them in the slammer, we'll have that much less to deal with.”

Staring out along the street to the north, Danielle saw the large green and red express wagon come lumbering into town, flanked on either side by a horseman riding guard. each carrying a rifle across his lap. “Uh-oh,” she said. “I think the silver exchange money is arriving right now!”

Now Tuck Carlyle saw the wagon. “That's it, all right. I wish Sheriff Wright was back. We're going to get spread awfully thin here if we ain't careful.”

“This changes our plans,” said Danielle. “We can't run the risk of going after Cherokee Earl and leaving the money or this town unguarded.” They watched the wagon stop out front of the bank. The two guards and the wagon driver stepped down and began opening a steel security box that stood bolted to the floor of the wagon.

“Right,” said Tuck. “The first thing I better do now is let the townsmen know we've got trouble coming.”

“You do that,” said Danielle. “I'll go tell the wagon guards and driver the same thing.” As Danielle and Tuck turned from the window and headed for the door, she said, “There's three more guns on our side.” They stepped out onto the boardwalk outside of the doctor's office, and Tuck closed the door behind them.

In the other room of the doctor's office, Ellen Waddell heard the front door close. She sat halfway up, seeming startled, and said, “Doctor, was that Mr. Duggin and the deputy leaving? Where are they going?” Her eyes went to the rifle she'd clung to throughout her ordeal. “Hand me that, please,” she said, struggling to raise herself the rest of the way up from the cot. “I've got to get up from here and get busy.”

Out front, Tuck said to Danielle, “I'll hurry, Danny. As soon as I tell them there's outlaws coming, I'll—”

“Save yourself the trouble, Tuck,” Danielle said, nodding toward Avery McRoy, who stood in his long riding duster and leaned against the front of a building. “The outlaws are here already.”

“How in the world ... ?” Tuck's voice trailed as the two of them sidestepped along the boardwalk, then down into the shelter of a narrow alley.

“Cherokee Earl and his men must have doubled back along a side trail in the night,” said Danielle, scanning the street now for any other familiar outlaw faces. There's Eddie Ray Moon,” she added, gesturing toward a stack of nail kegs out front of the town mercantile store across the street from where Avery McRoy stood with his head bowed, trying to go unnoticed. ”Earl and his men must've gotten them up right after we left this morning.”

“He's gotten ahead of us on knowing the money was arriving today,” said Tuck. “But how?”

“I don't know,” said Danielle. “But any minute now this street is going to turn into a battlefield.” As she spoke, they both saw Fat Cyrus and Clifford Reed stepping down from their horses at the edge of an alley that ran between the mercantile store and the barbershop. “Why didn't they hit the wagon while it was on its way here?” Danielle asked.

“Because they're greedy,” said Tuck. “This way they hit the bank and get the money plus the silver.”

Danielle nodded. “Then it will be their greed that causes their downfall.”

“Let's hope so,” Tuck said. He looked back and forth quickly, taking in the street. Then he said, “You stay here. I'll circle around behind the buildings, get to the guards and let them know what's about to happen.”

“Go ahead,” said Danielle. “I'll keep watch from here. As soon as I can get to my saddle without tipping our hand, I'll get my rifle and keep this end of town covered.”

“Be careful here, Danny,” Tuck said. Danielle only nodded as he turned and hurried away along the alley.

“You too, Tuck,” Danielle whispered under her breath, scanning the street like a hawk. “I don't want to lose you again.”

Running in a crouch, keeping close to the side of the building, Tuck hurried to the long alley running behind the town. As soon as he knew there was little chance of being stopped from the street, he came out of the crouch and ran faster, his Colt in his hand. At the rear door of the bank, he pounded hard until he heard the voice of the bank manager say, “Who goes there?”

“Mr. Scally! It's me, Deputy Tuck Carlyle! Open the door, quick!”

“Now see here, Deputy,” said the manager's gruff voice. “I never open this door unless it is an extreme emergency!”

“This is an extreme emergency!” Tuck said, trying to keep from shouting. “There's a robbery about to take place!”

“A robbery?” The manager's voice sounded suddenly hushed and anxious. “One second, sir!” He shakily turned a key in the lock, then threw back a heavy steel door latch and swung the door open a few inches. “Now what are you talking about?” He stood blocking the door with his square, portly chest.

“I'm coming in, Mr. Scally.” Tuck shoved the man back out of his way and stepped inside. On the other side of the room, the two guards stood holding their rifles at port arms. Upon seeing Tuck shove his way inside, they both leveled their rifles at him. “Easy, fellows, I'm on your side,” Tuck said, raising his hands chest high and at the same time nodding at the badge on his chest.

“What's going on, Deputy?” the bank manager asked.

“There's a gang in town, Mr. Scally,” said Tuck. “Don't ask me how, but they knew the money was arriving today.” He looked at the two guards. “They'll be coming any minute. I've got a man covering the other end of the street. He'll move this way once the shooting starts.”

“The shooting? Oh, my!” said the bank manager as if the possibility of getting shot had just crossed his mind. “What on earth shall I do?”

“Get a gun,” Tuck said flatly.

“I have no stomach for this sort of thing, Deputy,” said the manager. He placed a hand to his sweat-beaded forehead in anguish and terror.

“Then take cover and stay out of our way,” Tuck said. “These guards and me will have our hands full.”

“That's right, mister,” said one of the guards, a tall raw-boned man with a sandy-red mustache. “We won't have time to wet-nurse you.” As he spoke, he stepped over beside Tuck and looked out through the empty bank lobby to where the wagon driver stood staring out the front window. “Fred? How do things look out there?” the guard asked.

“So far, so good,” said the wagon driver, a grizzled old teamster with a tobacco-stained beard.

“All right then,” said the guard. He gave Tuck a smile of confidence and nodded. “Everything is under control.” But as he turned to step back over beside the other guard, his free hand snatched Tuck's Colt from his holster. Before Tuck could react, the guard swung a hard blow with the pistol barrel and cracked Tuck across the side of his head, sending him to the floor.

“Damn, Roy!” the other guard shouted. “What the hell are you doing?” As he asked, he swung his rifle barrel and pointed it at him. His thumb went across the hammer, ready to cock it.

“Sorry, Smitty,” said guard Roy Sadler to the man who had been his partner for the past year. “You just got put out of work.” The rifle bucked in his hand. Smitty slammed backward against the door of the big vault, then slid down to the floor.

“My God! Help!” the bank manager shrieked, throwing his hands up and cowering back against the vault door. His plea was directed at the wagon driver in the other room. “We're being robbed!”

“Is that the truth?” the old wagon driver called out, a slight chuckle to his voice.

“Yep. It's the truth, so help me,” Sadler replied, smoke curling up from his rifle barrel.

The wagon driver called out. “What the hell happened back there? You wasn't supposed to do any shooting until everybody got in here.”

“I know it,” said Sadler, “but Smitty here had more guts than I thought. He was all set to cock and fire on me. I had to kill the idiot.”

“Damn it, that rushes everything up too much,” said the wagon driver. “You could have slugged him. Why did you have to pull that damn trigger?”

“It couldn't be helped,” said Sadler. “I don't like slugging a person. It's bad on a gun barrel. Now wave Earl and the others in here, Fred.... Let's get this damn thing done and clear out of town.” He turned to the terrified bank manager. “Old buddy, you better get that safe open like your life depends on it. Because it
does.”
He jammed the tip of his rifle into Scally's big belly.

“Oh dear, oh dear!” said the frightened bank manager, his trouser legs shaking along with his trembling knees. “My mind has gone blank on me. I'm too scared to remember the combination!”

“Then you better take a few deep breaths, count to ten, and start remembering. Otherwise, I can't think of any reason not to kill you right now.” He cocked the rifle. “I'll even count to ten with you.” He pointed the rifle into Scally's round belly. “One ... two ... three ...”

“Wait! Please! Just give me a moment!” Scally pleaded. “It's coming to me.... Yes, I think I remember now.” He turned to the vault and began quickly turning the combination dial. His fingers shook violently. Then he stopped twisting the dial, turned the steel door lever, and swung the big door open with both hands.

Sadler grinned, looking inside the vault at stacks of silver bars in the middle of the floor and stacks of cash on shelves reaching almost to the ceiling. “I find that looking down a rifle barrel always jogs the memory.” He shoved the manager inside the large vault and into an empty corner. “Now, you sit your scared-to-death ass down and don't open your mouth,
comprende?”

“Yes, sir,” the bank manager said shakily, covering his face with his forearms.

At the far end of the street, when Danielle had heard the rifle shot, she immediately ran to her saddle and snatched her rifle from its boot. Now, as she turned toward the bank, she saw Avery McRoy and Frisco Bonham hurrying through the door. “Tuck!” she said aloud to herself, the rifle shot having conjured up all sorts of dark possibilities. Down the street she saw Buck Hite, Cherokee Earl, Fat Cyrus, and Clifford Reed, all four mounted, wearing long dusters, converging on the bank with their pistols blazing in every direction.

Townsfolk scattered and sought shelter where they could from the barrage of gunfire. At the wagon, Eddie Ray leaped forward and grabbed the reins to the team of horses to keep them from spooking and bolting away. Instead of dismounting, the men rode their horses right inside the bank building, leaving Eddie Ray Moon standing outside as a lookout. Danielle saw Eddie Ray pull a double-barreled shotgun from under his duster. In a flash it came to Danielle that the key to breaking up this raid and saving Tuck Carlyle—if he was still alive—was to take control of the wagon. Without the wagon, the silver ingots weren't going anywhere. Turning, Danielle swung up atop Sundown and heeled the mare straight toward Eddie Ray Moon.