[Texas Rangers 05] - Texas Vendetta (29 page)

Even with the light from the fire, Andy could see no faces he could swear to in court. A large figure arose from a squatting position and ran hard, disappearing around the corner while bullets whispered around him. Andy was almost certain he had seen Big’un Hopper.

A plaintive voice cried, “We give up. Don’t shoot no more.”

Andy sensed that Rusty was out of the fight. He took it upon himself to shout, “Everybody hold your fire. You Hoppers, raise your hands and stand up where we can see you.”

The voice said, “I’m the only one still able to stand. Don’t shoot.”

The man who had fired from the other side of the fence climbed over, rifle in his hand. He had a shuffling gait. Andy recognized Lige Tennyson. Lige called anxiously, “Scooter! Where you at, boy?”

“Pa?” Scooter pushed to his feet and leaned against the well to steady himself. “Is that you, Pa?”

“It’s me. Are you all right? They didn’t hit you?”

“No, sir. Andy wouldn’t let them.” Scooter and his father hugged each other fiercely. Scooter cried, “What you doin’ here, Pa? They’ll put you in jail.”

“I had to know if you’re all right.” A section of the jail wall fell inward. A shower of sparks lifted high into the air, then fell. “Don’t look like they’ve got a jail to put me in.”

Andy said, “You got here awful fast.”

“I didn’t have to come very far. Did Mrs. Landon deliver my message?”

“She did. But none of us expected fire.”

The jail began caving in, sending waves of blistering heat rolling across the yard. The townspeople set up a bucket brigade. It was too late to save the jail, but they worked to keep the adjacent courthouse from catching fire.

Farley limped badly. In the flickering light of the flames Andy saw that one trousers leg was bloody. “Looks like you didn’t dodge quick enough,” he said.

“Like I keep tellin’ you, Badger Boy, you’re a damned jinx. Every time you’re around, somethin’ happens to me. You better take a look at Rusty. I think he’s harder hit.”

Rusty lay twisted on the ground, his right hand gripping a bleeding left shoulder. He swore under his breath, fighting against the pain.

Andy dropped to his knees beside him. “How bad is it?”

“Busted the shoulder, I think. Big’un done it before he turned and ran.”

In a flash of anger Andy said, “I’ll catch him. I’ll make him wish he never got out of bed this mornin’.”

“What about the Hoppers? Big’un was the only one I saw leave.”

Andy made a quick survey. One Hopper was dead and one dying. Another had an arm bloody and dangling uselessly. The only one on his feet identified himself as Jaybo. The one with the bad arm refused to answer any questions beyond admitting that he was called Harp. He said, “I want a lawyer. And if I don’t get a doctor, I’ll bleed to death.”

Andy knew that under these circumstances some Rangers would simply put another bullet into him. He was tempted. “The doctor’ll see to Rusty first. He can look at you later if you’re still alive.”

“You’d let me sit here and die?”

Farley said angrily, “Why not? You’d’ve let us burn to death.”

Jaybo whined, “I didn’t want to come here in the first place, but Big’un—”

Harp hissed, “Shut up. Don’t tell them a damned thing.”

Andy said, “You’re lucky you’re not facin’ a murder charge.” He looked around. “Where’s Jayce?” His eyes widened. “Anybody seen Jayce?”

His gaze swept the yard. For a moment he thought Jayce might have fallen to the Hoppers’ guns.

Farley put the obvious truth into words. “I told you. He’s took to the tulies, just like I said he would.”

A woman’s voice cried, “Jayce!” Flora Landon held her long skirt up clear of the ground as she ran across the yard to the Rangers. “Did Jayce get out?”

Andy said, “He got out, and then he lit out.”

It took her a moment to absorb what Andy said. She began laughing and crying at the same time. “He got away?”

Farley said, “Slicker than a greased pig.”

Solemnly Andy told her, “You know we’ll have to go after him again. He’s still got a murder to answer for.”

“A justified killin’.”

“Murder is never justified.”

“A good killin’ isn’t always murder.” Flora looked around to see who might be able to overhear. She lowered her voice. “You know what Big’un tried to do to me in Oscar Truscott’s jail?”

“I heard. They said he didn’t get it done.”

“But he did get it done once before. Him and his brother Ned caught me alone at home. I couldn’t fight off two of them.” She looked at the ground. “I was too ashamed to tell about it, but I was so bruised up that Jayce knew by lookin’ at me. That’s why he killed Ned. He’d’ve killed Big’un too, but you Rangers never gave him the chance.”

Andy thought about it. “Then it’s more than just the feud. Big’un has had an extra reason for wantin’ to see Jayce dead.”

Flora nodded. “As long as Jayce is alive, Big’un has to be afraid he’ll get the same thing Ned got.”

Andy mused, “I wonder if Big’un knows Jayce is on the loose again, and it’s his own doin’.”

Farley pulled his trousers leg up to examine his wound. “We ought to stand back and let Jayce have him. We could arrest Jayce later and charge him for two killin’s instead of one.”

Andy shook his head. “That wouldn’t be accordin’ to law.”

“Law ain’t always justice. There’s some things they never wrote in that book.”

Andy rarely found himself agreeing with Farley, but in this instance he thought Farley made sense. The Comanches would never fret over piddling technicalities.

The doctor had come and was examining Rusty’s wounded shoulder. “How does it feel?”

Rusty sucked in a painful breath. “It hurts, damn it! How do you think it feels?”

The doctor shouted, “Somebody bring a wagon. We’ve got to get this man over to my house.”

The wounded Harp Hopper whimpered, “I’m bleedin’ to death.”

The doctor said without sympathy, “I’ll probably have to take your arm off. Don’t be in such a hurry to part with it.”

Rusty looked up at Andy. “We have to see if we can find Big’un before Jayce does.”

The doctor said, “You’re not going to do anything, not for a while. That shoulder looks bad.”

Rusty told Andy, “Then it’s up to you and Farley.”

“Farley’s wounded too. Not as bad as you, but he won’t be ridin’ for a while.”

Rusty fretted, “It’s too much for you to handle by yourself.”

Andy put on an air of confidence to cover his doubts. “I can do it. One thing bothers me, though. I can’t charge him with murderin’ Sheriff Truscott. The only witnesses were Scooter and his daddy. You’ve already said no court would take their testimony.”

“But you can charge him with attempted murder of peace officers and with malicious destruction of this jailhouse. That should put him away for a few years.”

Farley grunted. “Bury him six feet under and he’ll never be a bother to anybody again.”

Tom Blessing had been busy with the bucket brigade. The jail finally collapsed into a blistering-hot pile of charred wood and glowing coals. Only its two stone chimneys remained, standing like markers in a graveyard. When the courthouse was out of danger Tom walked over to join the Rangers. He checked on Rusty and Farley, then said, “Your prisoner sure made a mess out of my jail.”

Rusty tried to smile but could not quite bring it off. “You’ve been wantin’ a new one for a long time.”

“I can already hear the taxpayers holler. They’ll say the town is peaceful and we don’t keep enough prisoners here to justify the cost.”

“That’ll change. The town’s growin’.”

Blessing mused, “It’s just as well that Jayce got away. I have no jail to put him in now. The best I could do would be to chain him to a tree.”

Flora protested, “He’s a man, not an animal. He deserves a chance.”

Andy said, “He had a chance, and he took it. You have any idea where he went?”

“I expect I do. Wherever Big’un goes, that’s where Jayce’ll go. If you want Big’un you’d better find him before Jayce does.”

“I intend to try.” Andy turned away from her. He found Lige standing beside the well, his arm around Scooter’s shoulder. Andy said, “You know there’s paper out on you.”

“It’d be a wonder on earth if there wasn’t. You fixin’ to put me under arrest?”

Andy was aware that Lige’s rifle had helped shorten the fight. “There’s just one of me. I’ve got two wounded Rangers and two other fugitives to worry about. So far as I know the only legitimate charges against you are from Kerrville. Your take from that bank didn’t amount to more than petty larceny.”

“It sure wasn’t what I expected. I never thought I’d be robbed by a bank teller.”

“Do you suppose if I turned my back on you for a while you could disappear without causin’ any commotion about it?”

“I’d bet you a hundred dollars on it, if I had that much.”

“You have anyplace to go?”

“Maybe. Me and my boy talked about it some.”

Scooter asked, “You takin’ me with you, Pa?”

Lige bent down and hugged his son again. “I’ve done aplenty of thinkin’. You’re a good boy. You’ve got a good future if you’ll stay away from the likes of me. These Rangers can find a place for you where you’ll grow up straight and strong and never see a jailhouse from the inside.”

“Don’t go without me, Pa.”

“It’s best this way. You may not see me again for a while, but if you ever need me I’ll come runnin’. That’s a promise.”

Scooter cried, “I love you, Pa.”

“And I … hell, son, you’re a man almost. Men don’t say things like that.” He blinked a few times. “Men don’t have to.”

Walking toward the courthouse, Big’un tipped his hat to Aunt Maudie, mother of his cousin Wilbur. Her lips pinched, and her eyes flashed resentment. He wondered what kind of story her son must have told her. Damn Wilbur anyway, for deserting when he was needed most!

The reception from his aunt shook him a little. He sensed that the one awaiting him from Uncle Judd might be worse. He paused at the open door to the judge’s office, summoning courage. He had imagined the scene over and over during the ride home alone. He and his cousins had managed to burn the jailhouse, but so far as he had been able to tell they had not even touched Jayce Landon or the Tennyson kid. He had seen a Ranger go down. He did not know if he was killed. The only casualties he could swear to had been on the Hopper side.

His uncle’s attitude was every bit as blistering as Big’un had envisioned. Judd Hopper pushed up behind his desk and scowled like a screeching hawk about to attack. “So you’re back. Why aren’t you dead?”

Big’un hunched a little, bringing his arms up as if to defend himself. He was not accustomed to having to explain anything. “I done the best I could. Things just didn’t work out.”

“You ran off and left two cousins dead, another wounded, and one taken prisoner. If that’s the best you can do, you’re not worth hanging with a secondhand rope.”

Big’un puzzled, “How come you already know about it?”

“The telegraph, for one thing. The word’s already gone out to Rangers and local sheriffs. They’ll be on the lookout for you.”

“I didn’t think anybody would recognize me.”

“It appears they did. And by now the cousins they took prisoner have probably spilled everything they know.”

“I’m not sure who they caught. I hope it’s not Jaybo. He hasn’t got the guts of a jackrabbit.”

The judge’s eyebrows arched. “Then you shouldn’t have taken him along. And the others who deserted you before the fight started, they came dragging into town during the night with their tails between their legs.”

“Damned cowards. I ain’t real proud of this family right now.”

“And most of this family is not proud of you, taking your kin out on a fool’s mission. Do you know which one got killed?”

“I seen a couple of them go down. I couldn’t tell which they was.”

“So you ran off and left them.”

“The Rangers came out shootin’, and everybody ducked. They even gave Jayce Landon a gun. Can you imagine that, givin’ a gun to that killer? And then some of the people from town joined in. Wasn’t nothin’ left but to get out of there.”

“So you abandoned your kin to face it alone.”

“They was of damned little use anyway. I could’ve done better by myself.”

The judge bit the tip from a cigar and spat it halfway across the room. He lighted the cigar, his severe gaze never leaving Big’un’s face. “There’s one more thing I learned from the telegraph. During the excitement, Jayce got away.”

Big’un was slow to grasp the significance. “Then maybe I’ll get another shot at him.”

“More likely he’ll get one at you. You tried to burn him to death. My guess is that he’s already back here among his kin. And he’ll be comin’ to get you if you don’t get him first.”

Big’un shrugged off the warning. “There’s more of us Hoppers than there is of the Landons. My kinfolks won’t let him come that close.”

“Don’t depend on your kin. You’ve lorded it over them for years. Now this last wild sashay … Everybody around here is sick and tired of that old feud. You’re on your own, Big’un.”

The impact began to soak in. Big’un protested, “Mostly I’ve just done what you told me to. You’re the one who wanted me wearin’ a badge in the first place.”