[Texas Rangers 06] - Jericho's Road (12 page)

Andy turned his attention southward. “Looks like those Mexicans are comin’ across to finish the job.”

The man’s eyes widened as he saw riders moving into the river. “Let us have our guns back.”

Len shook his head. “No, the best thing you-all can do is see if them horses of yours are faster than what the Mexicans are ridin’.” He waved the muzzle of the rifle, pointing it northward.

The man protested, “Them guns cost us good money.”

“
If you don’t hightail it you ain’t goin’ to have no use for money. And tell Jericho the Rangers said howdy.”

The raiders’ reluctance to leave without weapons was quickly surpassed by their fear of the angry-looking Mexicans coming across the river. Andy watched the men move away in a lope. He said, “We ought to’ve arrested them and taken them back to camp.”

Len said, “We’d’ve lost half of them between here and there. Anyway, whatever they done on the other side, that’s Mexico’s business. They didn’t break no Texas law. Wasn’t nothin’ we could charge them for.”

Andy asked, “How do you know they’re Jericho’s men?”

“
I’m just guessin’. Jericho runs most of the contraband business along this stretch of the river, just like Lupe Chavez runs it on the other side.” Len dismounted and began picking up the weapons. “Let’s wrap these in a blanket and tie them on the pack mule. Them Mexicans have got guns enough already.”

Andy unrolled his blanket on the ground. “Do you think you can bluff them like you bluffed the others?”

“
What makes you think I was bluffin’?”

Andy counted ten horsemen coming across the river. Several more had remained with the cattle. Len squinted, studying them. “I don’t see Lupe Chavez, but you can lay odds that these are some of his men.” He remounted and again brandished his rifle. Andy and Farley followed his example. As the riders came up to face them Len said, “You boys are on the wrong side of the river.”

A lean young man pushed forward, a challenge in his dark eyes and the set of his shoulders. “There was a time when the river didn’t mean nothin’. South side, north side, it was all part of Mexico.” He was dressed like a Mexican vaquero, but he spoke with little or no Mexican accent that Andy could discern.

Len said, “There’s been two wars fought over that. If you ain’t careful you’ll start another.” He softened. “I’m bettin” you’d be Big Jim McCawley’s boy Tony. I heard you was ridin’ with Lupe Chavez. Where’s he at?”

The young man ignored the question. “I’m Antonio Villarreal. I’m Lupe Chavez’s nephew, but I’m not McCawley’s boy. Who are you to be blockin’ the way?”

“
We’re Rangers.” Len pointed to the handmade badge on his shirt.

The young man’s face twisted. “Damned
rinches.
”

Andy had learned that
rinches
was a term the Mexicans applied to the Rangers, and not in a complimentary manner.

Villarreal said, “If you’ll give us the road we’ll take care of your job for you. We’ll fix them so they’ll never come again.”

“
Like you said, that’s
our
job. You did yours when you saved your cattle.”

“
I know you Rangers won’t do anything about those thieves. If
we
don’t, they’ll be back.”

“
Catch them on your side of the river and you can feel free to shoot them all.”

The young man’s voice bespoke contempt. “Maybe someday we’ll catch you
rinches
on the other side.”

Andy studied the face. He thought he saw some resemblance to Tony’s mother and half sister. He said, “We met your folks.”

That seemed to pique Tony’s interest in a negative way. “I guess they told you all about me?”

“
They said mighty little, just enough to give us a notion you jumped the traces.”

“
My stepfather is a gringo.”

“
Everybody says he is a good man.”

“
He is still a gringo. When I was a boy I had to accept him as a father. Now I am a man, and he is not my father anymore.”

Andy did not know whether to feel sorry for the young rebel or to be angry at him. He said, “I’d give anything I own to have a father.”

“
You can have mine. And next time you side with Jericho’s thieves we’ll run over you like a freight train.”

Farley spoke up. “You’ll find the Rangers harder to bring down than that man you killed over there.”

“
He was a bandit. Anyway, he was just wounded. He’s not dead yet.”

Andy heard two shots echo from across the river. He winced. “I guess he is now.”

Tony said coldly, “One less gringo bandit. The world is better off.” He jerked his head as a signal and rode back into the river. The other men followed him.

Andy said, “He doesn’t know how lucky he is. At least he’s
got
a father. Stepfather, anyway.”

Len said, “Too bad, but that’s how it is down here. Most people choose sides accordin’ to whether they’re light-skinned or dark. That boy has set his eggs down on the Mexican side.”

Andy pointed northward. The raiders had faded into the distance, swallowed up by the mesquite and other brush. “We could follow them and find out where they came from.”

Len said, “They came from Jericho’s little kingdom. Ain’t much doubt about that.”

Andy was intrigued. “Kingdom?”

“
He runs it like he was a king. Nothin’ happens in there without his say-so. Nobody pokes his nose onto Jericho’s ranch unless he says it’s all right.”

“
Not even the Rangers?”

“
We go now and again, but he sees to it that we don’t find anything or anybody we’re lookin’ for. If an outlaw needs a hidin’ place, Jericho gives him one. They go out and do their devilment, then come back and give him a cut. He’s built him a bank with stolen money, but he’s managed to keep his hands clean. Even if the law was to bring him to trial, you couldn’t gather up twelve men with guts enough to convict him.”

Andy declared, “I’d like to see what he looks like. Have you ever met him?”

“
Yep. And I’d pay money to buy back my introduction.”

“
What about that man they killed? Are we just goin’ to go off and leave him over there?”

Farley said, “His friends did,” and started north, following the raiders.

CHAPTER SIX

F
ollowing the trail was easy. The raiders made no effort to hide it. Though crossing with Mexican cattle was illegal unless properly cleared through customs, they had returned without contraband. They had little reason to fear the law once they were north of the Rio Grande. Andy carried the blanket into which the men’s weapons had been piled. He had to tie the ends together and lash the bundle onto the mule. It was an unwieldy load.

He said, “These guns may not ride this way very long.”

Farley grabbed a handful of the blanket and tugged to get a sense of the weight. “I don’t see where we owe it to them renegades to deliver their weaponry back to them. We ought to’ve thrown it all in the river.”

Len said, “Jericho’s got lawyers up in San Antonio that raise hell every time we even wink in his direction. There’s a little store at the crossroads. We’ll leave the guns there.”

Andy asked, “You think they’ll come back and get them?”

“
I would if the guns was mine. A man appreciates things when he has to pay out his own good money for them.”

They came to a plain-looking building, a nondescript mix of stone and picket construction. Len said, “That’s the store. The owner sells stuff to Jericho’s men and buys their stolen goods. He’ll treat us friendly enough, but don’t believe his smile. It’s all show.”

Farley said, “If he deals with Jericho’s thieves, why don’t we arrest him?”

“
A jury that won’t convict Jericho won’t convict his friends either. I’d about as soon stand in front of a Mexican firin’ squad as face Jericho’s lawyers.”

Andy grinned at a sudden thought. “If we can’t put those border jumpers in jail, we can at least aggravate them a little.”

Len brightened with curiosity. “How?”

“
Let’s stop in the shade of that tree yonder.” Andy dismounted and lifted the heavy bundle from the mule. He laid it in the shade and untied the corners that held it together. The rifles and pistols slipped and slid, clattering against one another. “Let’s take these guns apart. Puttin’ them back together will give those boys somethin’ to do besides play cards and drink whiskey.”

Len was always enthusiastic over a chance for harmless mischief. “I’d love to stay and listen to them cuss a blue streak.”

Farley was not smiling. “I still wish we’d dumped the whole shebang in the river and let them swim for it.”

They removed barrels and cylinders from the pistols and field-stripped the rifles. It took a while, but Len never stopped talking, laughing as he pictured their reaction. When they were done Andy mixed the pieces as if he were shuffling dominoes.

Len said, “I’d give a pretty penny to watch them sort out all this mess. By the time they put everything back together, they’ll be wantin’ to use them on us.”

Farley said, “Let them come.”

Andy retied the bundle and attached it to his saddle horn. It still weighed the same but seemed less of a burden now. A middle-aged man came to the door, a smudged apron tied around his dough belly. He recognized Len. “Howdy, Ranger. Somethin’ you-all need?”

“
A little smokin’ tobacco for me and Farley. Maybe a little
pan dulce
for the young’un here if you got any.”

“
Tobacco I got. He’ll have to find the sweetenin’ someplace else. I don’t cater to the Mexican trade. Let them people in here and they’ll be pilferin’ stuff when I ain’t watchin’.”

Andy said, “Speakin’ of pilferin’, did you see a bunch of riders pass by a little while ago?”

The tracks indicated that the men had stopped here, but the storekeeper claimed no knowledge of them. “Ain’t seen hardly anybody all day.”

“
They were tryin’ to get away with some cattle on the other side of the river, but the owners caught up with them. They came back to this side in a considerable hurry.”

“
You don’t say!”

Len said, “Anyhow, we’ve got some stuff that belongs to them. Reckon you can keep it till they come back?”

“
Sure enough.”

Andy brought the blanket inside and spilled its contents on the floor. A couple of cylinders rolled across the room. One disappeared behind some heavy-looking boxes. The storekeeper started to object but choked it off.

Andy said, “I hope you’ve got an empty box to put all this stuff in. I’ll be needin’ my blanket.” He folded it and laid it across his arm.

The storekeeper grunted. “You won’t want to be here when they see you’ve took their guns apart.”

Cheerfully Len said, “They’re welcome to come callin’ at their convenience.”

Farley said, “Tell them my name’s Farley Brackett, and they can come see me if they ain’t satisfied. I ain’t had a decent fight since I left Austin.”

The storekeeper gave Farley a quizzical look. “Brackett? Seems to me like I’ve heard that name.”

“
Lots of people have. Be sure you give it to them.”

The three rode on. After a time Andy inquired, “Where does Jericho’s land start?”

Len said, “We’re already on it. He’s got a six-shooter claim, at least. He says he bought out a bunch of Mexican owners. Ran them off is more like it, or he got a court to throw out the old grants like he tried to do with the Chavez family. Then he bought the land dirt cheap off of the county tax office.”

The tracks led them eventually to a point where the trail forked. Andy saw a sign: THIS IS JERICHO’S ROAD. TAKE THE OTHER. “You ever been up this road?”

Len nodded. “Me and some other Rangers was trailin’ stock headin’ north. Jericho came out to meet us. Claimed the cattle belonged to him, and his men had just got them back from Lupe Chavez’s ranch across the river. Even showed us some cattle with his brand on them. They wasn’t the same ones we’d been followin’, but we couldn’t prove he’d pulled a switch on us. Sergeant Donahue wasn’t anxious about it anyway. He said the more cattle that get stole out of Mexico, the better.”