Rosa's Land: Western Justice - book 1 (29 page)

“Of course. Will twenty dollars do?”

“Oh no, I need a lot of money.”

Caleb had always been generous with Eileen where money was concerned, and she very seldom had to ask, for he saw to it that she had spending money at all times. “What do you want that costs so much? Some new furniture?”

“No, I’m going to Fort Smith.” Eileen smiled as the shock registered in all three men’s faces. “Faye needs to hear about this wonderful news—and I need to see him. I miss him so desperately.”

Caleb’s thinking seemed to have slowed down. He would not have been much more surprised if Eileen had said, “I’m going to the moon.” The idea of her going west never had occurred to him. “Well,” he said abruptly, “we’ll both go.”

“Let’s all of us go,” Leo said. “I’d like to see this world he’s thrown himself into full of cowboys and guns and rattlesnakes, I suppose.”

“Right,” Max said. “We need a vacation.”

Eileen was pleased, but she asked, “What about the factory? Who’ll take care of that? You can’t leave your work.”

“My manager Charles can handle it. He knows as much about the place as I do.” He stared back at the list and said, “I’d like to see these pictures.”

Eileen was pleased. “Yes, of course. All of you, come on. I’ve still got them out on display.”

“I really need to go to Forth Smith,” Hannah said.

“Why would you need to go there?” Riordan asked. The two were standing on the front porch. Riordan had come in to get something to drink, and she had joined him.

“I need to send a telegram to my superior in the church.”

“I’ll take you.”

Rosa had been standing in the doorway and had turned to leave, but then she abruptly stopped and said, “I’ll go with you. Boog Powell and Pye are going to hang for killing Blinky. I want to see it.”

Ringo had arrived to stand beside Riordan just as Rosa spoke. At once he said, “I’m going, too.”

“All you want to do is go get drunk,” Riordan smiled. “You stay home and behave yourself.”

“No, I’m going with you. I don’t think you understand Beecher, Riordan. He knows people all over the Territory are talking about how you rode right in big as life and took away one of his gang. He’s like a snake, Riordan. He may be quiet, but he’ll strike when you least expect it. Your life’s not worth a dime as long he’s alive.”

Riordan put up some argument, but Rosa said, “We’ll take Zack and Ned with us. That’ll be enough to handle Henry the Fox. I hate that name!”

“I think he sort of likes it,” Ringo said. “Takes pleasure at being seen as some kind of a hero, which he is to a lot of people.”

“A hero?” Hannah exclaimed. “Why would they admire a man like that?”

“Well, that’s the way it is out here, Miss Hannah.” Ringo shrugged. “They admire strength and courage, and you have to admit Henry’s got those two qualities.”

In the end, they took the whole crew except for two men.

They arrived in Fort Smith late Saturday afternoon. Hannah sent her telegrams and then joined Riordan and Rosa at the hotel for dinner. The hands spread out to various distractions. Rosa knew they wouldn’t be seen again until it was time to go home.

Rosa noticed that men recognized Riordan. She heard one of them whisper to a companion, “That’s Riordan. They say he’s as fast as lightning with that gun of his.”

This both pleased and disturbed Rosa, for she knew that Ringo was right. That Beecher would never rest until he got his revenge.

Rosa and Hannah shared a room. After they were ready to go to bed, Hannah said, “Are you really going to that hanging?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I don’t know why you’d want to see such a thing.”

“They killed one of my men who was liked a great deal and who had done nothing to deserve it. The poor fellow didn’t even get to live his life out. Call it what you want. I want to see justice done.”

There were three men to be hanged, and a crowd, as usual, had gathered.

Riordan stood beside Rosa and nudged her arm with his elbow. “Look up at the window on the second floor. That’s Judge Parker,” he said. “It’s a way he has, so I hear. He watches every hanging from that window.”

“Why would a man enjoy a hanging?”

“I don’t think he does. At least that’s what the marshals all say. They say he sees himself as an agent of the government dealing out justice, but he hates the hangings themselves.”

They studied Parker, who was standing still, until finally they heard a murmur run over the crowd that filled the square. They watched as George Maledon led three men with their hands tied behind their backs to the gallows. He stood there and helped steady them as they climbed the few steps and then placed them very carefully in their positions.

As for Rosa, she was already beginning to wish that she had not come. It was one thing when violence explodes and somebody’s shot unexpectedly. But this was different. These men were all alive and well and knew that in a few moments their hearts would stop, their blood would stop flowing, and they would be no more.

When the men were in place, Maledon said, “If you have anything to say, go ahead.”

The first man was small and looked sickly. Neither Pye nor Powell spoke, and Pye seemed frozen by what was happening to him. Boog, alone of the three, did not seem to be afraid. He stared arrogantly out at the crowd and said, “Some of you deserve hanging as much as I do. Now get on with it, Maledon.”

Maledon shrugged and adjusted the ropes around all three men’s necks. He stepped back and without hesitation pulled the lever. The trapdoor opened, and the three bodies shot downward. As the bodies drew the ropes taut, a sigh of some sort went over the crowd.

Riordan shook his head. “Let’s get out of here, Rosa. That’s enough of this.”

As they left, Rosa found herself shaken. She had thought herself ready for this, but now she realized she was not. She felt sickened by what she had seen.

Riordan said, “It’s too late to go home tonight. We’ll go in the morning.”

“All right. Suits me.”

Rosa got up in the morning and saw that she had overslept. She had slept very poorly, as a matter of fact, and now wished she had not come to the hanging at all.

Hannah was already up and dressed and now turned to her and said, “Let’s go get some breakfast.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Well, you can have some coffee before we leave.” She hesitated then said, “I’d like to go to church. Would you go with me?”

Rosa automatically began to frame a reason why she could not go, but later when Riordan joined her and Hannah for breakfast, he said, “What would you think about all of us attending church this morning? After witnessing the events of yesterday, I feel the need for something spiritual in my life.”

“Okay, that sounds good.” Her answer shocked even her, for she had not had any interest in being religious before. Somehow she felt the same as Riordan. She needed something like this to maybe bring peace to her heart and mind.

Beecher was sitting at the table with a bottle of whiskey in his hand. He now poured a tumbler full and drank it down. Red Lyle said “You’re worrying too much about that Riordan.”

“I’m not worrying about anything!” Henry snapped.

“Well, that’s good. You know the best thing to do is just lay back until Riordan gets off the ranch. Just shoot him in the back. Kill him out of hand. I’ll do it myself for a price if you’d like.”

“You’d have to, Red. You couldn’t beat him to the draw.”

“Well, he may have a faster draw than I do, but he ain’t faster than a thirty-thirty slug in the head.”

The two men sat there drinking until Sal Maglie entered. He took his hat off, beat the dust off of it, and then walked over. “Got all of them supplies, Henry.”

“You go to the hanging?”

“Yeah, I went. He went pretty good, Boog did, but he always did have nerve. You know Riordan was there with that woman, the Mexican, at the hanging, I mean.”

“They were? How’d he look?” Henry said, lifting his eyes.

“Well,” Sal scratched his head, “I heard some folks talkin’. They say Riordan’s sweet on the Ramirez woman.

“Can’t blame him for that,” Maglie said. “She’s a good-looking woman.”

Beecher was silent for a time. Finally he looked up, and there was a smile on his lips. “You know Riordan took something of mine. The only way I’ll feel like I beat him is if I take something of his.”

“Like what?” Red said in a puzzled tone.

Beecher knew none of the men understood him. He was a mystery. They knew he was deadly, and none would dare cross him, but he was a deeper thinker than any of the hands.

Now Red said, “I don’t understand you, Henry. What can you take of his?”

Beecher leaned forward with his smile broadening, his eyes glittering. “Here’s what we’ll do …”

A
s soon as Rosa stepped into the small wood-framed church, she felt some sort of strange pressure. Religion had played almost no part in her life. She was told that she had been baptized in the Catholic tradition when she was a baby, but as she had grown up, her life had taken a different turn. During the last year, she had been working in saloons, fighting off lustful men, and simply trying to make some sort of a life for her family.

“Come along. There are some seats,” Hannah said. She put her hand on Rosa’s arm, and for a moment Rosa resisted, but then it was too late. She walked with Hannah down the aisle between the two rows of wooden pews, which were already, for the most part, occupied.

A quick glance around revealed that the church was filled with men and women and children from all walks of life. Some of the men and women wore expensive clothing and looked well groomed. On the other hand, some of the men were wearing what looked like work clothes, overalls, and they had the look of poverty on their faces. Their wives wore the cheapest sort of gingham dresses, and the children were dressed as well as the parents could afford.

Moving into the vacant space, Rosa sat down. Hannah sat down beside her whispering, “I heard this preacher is a wonderful speaker. I know we’re going to enjoy the sermon.”

At that moment, a tall, thin man stood up and in a deep voice said, “We will now sing ‘Old One Hundred.’”

The entire congregation stood up, and not wanting to be noticed, Rosa stood up with them. They sang a song that was very simple:

The song leader smiled and said, “Now we’ll sing my favorite hymn, ‘When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.’”

There were no hymnals, but everyone seemed to know the song. Rosa listened and found herself being strangely moved by the singing. Of course, the singing itself was not exceptional. Some of the people sang off-key and some too loudly, but the words came through to her.