They Rode Together (10 page)

Chapter thirty-one

Everybody sat out on the front porch that evening after supper. Jessica sat as far away from Lee as possible, and the talk was mostly pleasant.

The sun was going down when they spotted a rider trotting towards headquarters.

Nobody said anything. However, everyone shifted in their chairs so that their six-shooters were more accessible if need be. 

He came up by the corrals, passed the bunkhouse, and pulled up in front of the main house.

It was silent as everybody studied him. He was an older man, probably close to Brian Clark’s age.

“Howdy,” he finally said.

“Looking for something?” Tussle spoke frankly.

The older man smiled and nodded.

“Was hoping for a job.”

Tussle looked intrigued.

“Ever punch cows before?”

“Sure.”

“Been on any cattle drives?”

“Some.”

“We’re leaving on a cattle drive in a few days,” Tussle said. “Going to Fort Worth.”

“Sounds fine.”

Tussle had a few more questions.

“Where you from?”

“East.”

“What’d you do back east?” Tussle prompted.

The man shrugged.

“A little bit of everything.”

“Ever been in these parts before?”

“Nope.”

“What are you doing here now?”

“Riding the grub line, looking for work,” he said. He smiled and asked, “Anymore questions?”

“Sure. What’s your name?”

“Sim. Sim Haine.”

Tussle nodded and introduced everyone, and Sim’s eyes grew wider with each name.

“I’ve heard of all you fellas,” he said. He looked at Tussle and asked, “You expecting trouble?”

“Mebbe.”

“Well, I’d say you’re prepared for it.”

Tussle grunted in response and gestured at the bunkhouse.

“You can sleep in there,” he said. “Put your horse up in the barn, and you can pick out a string in the morning. You had supper?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. We’ll be leaving out at first light.”

“I’ll be ready,” Sim said, and he nodded at everyone and turned his horse toward the barn.

Soon as he was out of earshot, Cooper turned to Yancy and murmured, “He doesn’t talk much.”

Yancy nodded.

“That’s what I like about him,” he replied.

Chapter thirty-two

They rode out the next morning.

Rondo led the drive. He spread everybody out, and they gathered the country to the north. 

Tussle and Wyatt stayed at headquarters. They pulled the old chuck wagon out of the barn and gave it a good going over.

First, they cleared out all the cobwebs in the cupboard drawers. They greased the wheels, mended the tarp, replaced split boards, and tar-caulked the bottom.

Tussle took his time. This was an important job, because the chuck wagon was going be their home until the cattle drive was over. 

Once the supplies were loaded, they hitched up the team and left headquarters. They could see a herd coming together in the distance, and they went to a lakebed that was close by and made camp.

Tussle sent Wyatt after some firewood, and he gathered a big pile of mesquite wood. Tussle built a fire, and soon he had coals ready to cook with.

They drifted in that evening, except for Sim and Rondo. They were with the herd, and they wouldn’t come in until they were relieved.

“Get it while it’s hot,” Tussle called out.

Everybody looked somber as they formed a line.

Tussle stood beside the chuck wagon, and his face was harsh as he waited for somebody to say something.

“What’s for supper?” Cooper asked.

“Eat it and find out,” Tussle replied gruffly. “And you can pour your own coffee.”

Everybody filed past Tussle, and they filled their tin plates with a ladle full of beans.

“No meat?” Cooper scowled.

“No, and you boys can wash your own plates too.”

Cooper looked around, but spotted no washtub.

“With what?”

“Just rub your plates out with sand. That’s what I do.”

Cooper didn’t reply. He walked over and sat beside Yancy and murmured, “Some furlough we’ve decided to take.”

“You can sure pick ’em,” Yancy replied. “Going to the mountains, and now this.”

Cooper grunted his response.

Night settled over the camp as they ate their beans. Afterwards, Lee and Brian rode out to relieve Rondo and Sim.

“How many head you figure we gathered today?” Tussle asked as he served Rondo a plate full of beans.

Rondo studied his plate with a thoughtful frown.

“I’d say a little over a thousand. We got lucky and found some big bunches today.”

“Good,” Tussle nodded. “If we can gather that many tomorrow, then we can head out.”

Rondo nodded. He walked over and sat beside Cooper, and then somberly started in on his beans.

Jessica and Josie sat together, away from the men.

They had worked hard and were exhausted. However, neither one would admit it.

“Long day,” Jessica started a conversation.

“Yes,” Josie replied, and added, “But, there will be longer.”

“I’d better get accustomed to it then,” Jessica said, and her eyes twinkled.

Josie nodded and smiled politely.

“We’ve never had the opportunity to talk much,” Jessica said, and added, “You sure have been through a lot this past year.”

“So have you.”

“I guess I have,” Jessica agreed. It was silent, and then she asked, “So, how do you like being married to a Landon?”

Josie thought for a moment.

“Better than being married to an Indian.”

“Yes, I imagine so,” Jessica smiled.

“Cooper is a good man,” Josie declared, and added, “So is Yancy.”

“Yes, they are,” Jessica agreed, and then she asked nonchalantly, “Do you know Yancy very well?”

“He doesn’t talk much. Neither do I or Wyatt.”

“But Cooper likes to talk.”

“He does.”

“So Cooper does the talking for everybody?”

“Pretty much.”

Jessica frowned as she thought on that.

“I guess I like to talk,” she admitted, and added, “That is, except for whenever I’m around Yancy. I can’t seem to think straight, and he never says anything either.”

“Silence is Yancy’s friend.”

Jessica grunted and looked across the camp at him.

“Well, I hope they’re happy together,” she pouted.

Chapter thirty-three

Wyatt rode out with the men the next morning. Tussle stayed in camp, and Jessica and Josie stayed with the herd.

Rondo led the drive again. They went west several miles, and they scattered out and rode back towards the herd.

By noon they had gathered another big bunch of yearlings. They drove them back to the herd, and then everybody but Yancy and Cooper rode to camp.

Tussle had more beans prepared, and this time nobody said anything as they filled their plates.

“Roughly speaking, I’d say we have close to two thousand head,” Rondo told Tussle.

Tussle nodded, pleased.

“That’s good enough,” he declared. He paused and added, “I sure hate to leave headquarters deserted.”

“What other choices are there?” Rondo replied.

“I reckon there aren’t any,” Tussle said, and then he changed the subject. “Do you know the country between here and Fort Worth?”

“Some.”

“You’ll be our scout then,” Tussle decided. “You’ve done it before, and you know what to do.”

Rondo nodded, and his face looked thoughtful.

“We’ll pass by Big Spring, Sweetwater, and Abilene. We can get supplies at any of those towns.”

“It depends on how many beans you boys eat,” Tussle grunted.

“Much rain as we’ve had this spring, the grass should be good all the way,” Rondo continued. “As for water, there should be plenty of full lakebeds and a few streams.”

“What about Indians?” Jessica spoke up. “Do you think we’ll run into any?”

Rondo looked at her, and she seemed more curious than frightened.

“It’s possible,” he said.

“There’s also the bunch that attacked us,” Tussle reminded. “They could show back up.”

Sim glanced up from across the camp, and there was a hint of a smile on his face. But it disappeared when he noticed Rondo watching him. 

“It’s possible,” Rondo said again.

Chapter thirty-four

Yancy liked to practice with his six-shooter every few weeks. It kept him sharp and prepared.

Rondo and Brian were with the herd that afternoon, and everybody else was lounging around camp, mending any gear that needed it.

“I’ll be back in a while,” Yancy told Tussle, and he climbed on his horse.

Lee watched him ride out and glanced at Cooper.

“Where’s he going?”

Cooper explained, and Lee nodded and stood.

“Think I’ll go have a talk with him.”

“He likes to practice alone,” Cooper warned.

“He’ll get over it,” Lee smiled.

He walked over to his horse, mounted up, and trotted out.

Lee could see Yancy in the distance. He wasn’t in any hurry, and Lee trotted slowly as he followed.

Yancy rode a few miles and pulled up at a cluster of trees. Lee trotted up as he was hobbling his horse.

Yancy straightened back up, and it was silent as they looked at each other.

Lee didn’t say anything. He just waited.

Finally, Yancy said, “I came out here to shoot.”

“I know.”

“You followed me,” Yancy said, and it sounded more like a statement than a question.

“I did, yes.”

“Weren’t being very sneaky about it,” Yancy frowned. “I spotted you right off.”

“I wasn’t trying to be sneaky. I came out here to talk.”

“You’re always wanting to talk.”

Lee chuckled softly at that.

“I always irritate you, don’t I.”

“Mostly.”

“Good,” Lee grinned.

Yancy grunted. A few seconds passed, and then he sighed.

“Care to join me?”

“What are we going to use as targets?” Lee asked wryly.

“What do you want to use?” Yancy played along.

“We already tried each other,” Lee reminded.

“I was thinking we could shoot at them,” Yancy nodded at the cluster of trees.

“I’ll agree to that,” Lee said.

He dismounted, hobbled his horse, and walked up beside Yancy.

“You go first,” Lee offered.

Yancy shook his head.

“You don’t trust me?” Lee tried to look insulted.

“You really want me to answer that?”

Lee smiled, and said, “Let’s shoot together then.”

“All right.”

They stood side by side, facing the trees, and several seconds passed.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, they palmed their Colts, and their shots blended together as they fired in rapid fashion.

Afterwards, they were silent. They reloaded their Colts, holstered them, and walked over to the trees.

Both spreads were as small as a clenched fist.

“We’re good,” Lee observed.

“We are,” Yancy agreed.

“Nice, how you held your Colt sideways.”

“I’ve been working on that.”

“You only fired five shots,” Lee said wryly.

“So did you.”

“Never hurts to be careful.”

“It doesn’t,” Yancy agreed.

Lee smiled at that and walked forward. He rested his hand on a tree as he looked at the far horizon.

“I need to talk to Jessica,” he said plainly.

Yancy frowned and studied Lee for several moments.

“We already discussed this.”

“We have,” Lee nodded.

Yancy took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“What’s it all about?”

“That’s between me and her. And Brian.”

“I know you lost her money.”

Lee was surprised. He turned from the tree and looked at Yancy.

“She didn’t want anybody to know about that.”

“Well, she told me.”

“I didn’t lose it on purpose,” Lee said. “It just happened, and it’s been eating at me ever since.”

“Well, that’s all in the past. There’s no use talking about it anymore.”

“But I got the hotel back,” Lee explained. “Or, at least Jessica’s part of it.”

“Hotel? What hotel?”

Lee narrowed his eyes.

“I thought you said you knew.”

“I knew about the money.”

Lee sighed, and Yancy waited.

“We invested her money into a hotel,” Lee explained. “A very fancy hotel. You’ve heard of The Palace Hotel in Empty-lake?”

Yancy nodded.

“Me, Brian, and Jessica were the owners until I lost it in a poker game. But then, I got Jessica’s half back. Jeremiah Wisdom owns the other half.”

“Jeremiah?” Yancy’s eyes grew wide. “What’s he got to do with this?”

“Plenty,” Lee grumbled. “Anyhow, that’s why we’re here, is to tell Jessica.”

“What’s in it for you and Brian?”

“Nothing. Soon as Jessica knows, we’re out of it.”

Yancy looked displeased as he thought on it.

“I’ll tell her,” he said.

“I was hoping you would.” 

“Well, we’d best be getting back,” Yancy said abruptly.

Lee nodded. They walked over to their horses, untied them, climbed on, and took out in a trot.

It was obvious that Yancy was irritated, but Lee still had one more matter to discuss.

“I almost forgot,” Lee said.

Yancy glanced sideways at him.

“Yes?”

“My pardon.”

“What about it?”

“Me and Brian held up our end of the agreement,” Lee reminded.

“I know that.”

“Well then?”

“You’ll get your pardons soon enough.”

“How soon?”

“Soon as I see Judge Parker.”

“And when will that be?” Lee pressed.

“Soon as the cattle drive is over.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Lee nodded, and no more words were spoken as they rode back.