Those Jensen Boys! (14 page)

“Not for lack of trying,” Ace said.

“Here now!” Kaiser said sharply. “Watch your mouth, Jensen.”

Tanner turned and waved the hand holding the cigarillo. “That's all right, Marshal. The young man's bravado doesn't bother me.” He looked back at Ace. “There's not a damn thing he can do to hurt me now.”

Tanner was taunting him, Ace realized, with his words and with that stogie. Ace was more sure than ever that the surveyor was the one who had tried to kill him and Chance.

And he thought that he finally had a pretty good idea why.

True to her word, Emily left the pursuers from Bleak Creek far behind as she angled to the west, back into the foothills of the mountain range that divided the broad flats where the settlement was located from the valley beyond.

She was riding one of the draft horses, so it wasn't very fast, but the animal was strong enough to carry double without getting worn out. She seemed to know all the narrow, twisting trails, too, which certainly helped them elude the posse.

“How did you learn your way around this country?” Chance asked as they rode along the foot of a towering bluff.

“We came to Palisade right after Eagleton founded the town several years ago. Not much was there then, just a couple tent saloons and a little store that didn't have much in the way of supplies. If we wanted meat, somebody had to hunt it. I was always a good shot with a rifle and a decent rider, so I roamed all over this part of the country looking for game. Pa said it wasn't very ladylike for me to be doing that”—she snorted—“but hell, he'd given up on that a long time ago.”

“So you never grew out of being a tomboy.”

“I reckon not. Anything wrong with that?”

Chance shook his head. “Nope, not as far as I'm concerned. Who'd you shoot back there in Bleak Creek to start such a ruckus?”

“I didn't shoot anybody. Do you think I'm loco? I just fired in the air, and that was enough to start folks running around and yelling. That was all I wanted, just something to distract Kaiser and his deputies.”

“You did a good job of that. How did you know they were going to arrest us?”

“I didn't. But when I rode into town the first thing I spotted was the marshal with his gun in Ace's back, and I knew things had gone to hell.” She turned her head to look back at Chance. “Did you at least deliver the mail pouch from Palisade before the deputies threw down on you?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. I had just given it to the stationmaster when those star-packers moved up on either side of me and stuck guns in my ribs. So half the job was finished.” His eyes narrowed. “You wouldn't happen to be thinking the same thing I'm thinking, would you?”

“The pouch going to Palisade must still be in the train station,” Emily said. “If we could get our hands on it and take it back with us . . .”

“I'm more interested in getting Ace out of jail,” Chance said sharply.

“Maybe we can do both.”

“Maybe,” he allowed but thought that if it came down to choosing, he was going free his brother before he worried about delivering the mail pouch to Palisade.

Of course, if they went back to Bleak Creek for either of those things, there was a good likelihood he and Emily would wind up behind bars, too.

That was a risk they would just have to run.

 

 

Ace sat on the bunk in the cell, hands clasped between his knees, and listened as the afternoon waned. Through the window in the door between the cell block and the marshal's office, he could hear at least some of what was being said in there.

He listened as Marshal Kaiser talked to the editor of the local newspaper, bragging about how he and his deputies had captured the notorious bushwhacker Ace Jensen and would soon have the other Jensen brother behind bars, too.

It was the first time he had heard himself described as
notorious
and didn't care for it. He and Chance had always tried to be law-abiding. They didn't quite make it all the time, but they came close. The few scrapes they'd had in the past had been minor, usually the result of some overambitious lawman trying to lock them up for something they hadn't done.

The trouble in Bleak Creek was one more example of that, but it was more serious. He really had punched Marshal Kaiser a couple times. The judge would likely send him to prison for that.

Ace didn't know if he could stand that. He was certain Chance couldn't.

Confident that his brother would come back for him, Ace clenched his hands into fists as he listened to the marshal's boasting. Kaiser was mighty pleased with himself, but it might not stay that way.

As evening settled down, Ace heard a lot of horses come into town. A few minutes later, the door of the marshal's office opened, and heavy, booted footsteps entered, spurs chinging.

“Well?” Kaiser demanded. “Where is he?”

Ace figured the marshal was talking about Chance. The newcomers had to be the deputies, returning to Bleak Creek with the posse.

“He got away, Marshal,” one of them reported.

Relief flooded through Ace as he heard that confirmation of what he had hoped.

Kaiser didn't take the news so well. He roared, “Got away? Damn it! A dozen of you can't catch one man?”

“Jensen had help, Marshal, and we saw who it was—one of those Corcoran girls from Palisade. The blond one.”

Emily, Ace thought. He was surprised to hear that she'd been in Bleak Creek, but he was glad that she had helped Chance get away.

“Hell, I know that,” Kaiser snapped. “I got descriptions of her from witnesses who saw her riding around shooting that shotgun of hers. That's what caused all the commotion when we were trying to arrest those two. She's gonna be mighty sorry she stuck her pretty little nose in our business.”

“Anyway,” the deputy said with a sigh, “they gave us the slip up in the foothills. We lost and found the trail half a dozen times, then finally lost it for good. When it started gettin' dark, we figured we might as well turn around and come back in. Even if we hadn't lost the trail, we couldn't track at night.”

Kaiser let out a few more bitter curses, then said disgustedly, “All right. But you'll be out again at first light in the morning trying to find them, you hear?”

“Sure, Marshal.” The deputy's resigned tone made it clear that he didn't think the effort would do much good.

A few minutes later, Kaiser opened the door, stalked into the cell block, and glared at Ace through the bars. “Looks like your brother has deserted you, boy. If you were hoping he'd come back to bust you out of here, you can forget it. He's long gone.”

“I hope you're right, Marshal. This is my problem, not Chance's.”

“Not anymore. He walloped one of my deputies. He's just as guilty of resisting arrest as you are. Maybe the warden will put you in the same cell at the territorial prison, but I wouldn't count on it.” Kaiser paused, then continued, “You know, the judge might go a little easier on you if you'd confess the reason you and your brother tried to kill Mr. Tanner.”

Ace didn't answer the question directly. “Folks around here think pretty highly of Tanner, don't they?”

“Well, why wouldn't they?” Kaiser barked. “He's responsible for bringing the railroad here. Bleak Creek wouldn't amount to much without it.”

“I reckon he must be in charge of all the spur lines in this part of the territory.”

“That's right.” The marshal's eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Now I understand! You and your brother have something against the railroad, don't you? You're outlaws, like that Jesse James. Damn train robbers!”

Ace didn't say anything, just smiled as he sat on the bunk. Let the marshal think whatever he wanted.

Kaiser pointed at him through the bars. “I'm gonna go through all my wanted posters again. I'll bet there's a reward out for you boys!”

Ace chuckled as the marshal hurried out of the cell block and slammed the door behind him. Kaiser was going to be disappointed if he thought he was going to cash in on his prisoner. As far as Ace knew, there was no paper out on him or his brother.

Of course, that would probably change if Chance succeeded in breaking him out of the jail....

 

 

Chance and Emily waited until well after dark before approaching Bleak Creek again. They followed the town's namesake creek, keeping to the deep shadows under the aspens and cottonwoods that lined the stream's banks. The moon wasn't up yet, and the thick darkness helped conceal them.

“We're going to have to steal at least one horse,” Chance said quietly as they neared the settlement. “I don't cotton to the idea of horse thievery, but even this big fella of yours can't carry all three of us.”

“He won't have to, and we won't have to steal any horses. The stage line has half a dozen in one of the stables. I'll get a couple for you and Ace. I reckon you can ride bareback?”

“If we have to. I didn't think about the fact that you'd keep an extra team here.”

“Then it's a good thing you've got me along to do the thinking, isn't it?”

He didn't answer that. She really was an exceptionally good ally, but he wasn't going to give her a swelled head by admitting it.

Still, there was no denying that Emily Corcoran was smart, beautiful, and plenty tough. He had no interest in getting hitched and settling down, as he had gibed at Ace about doing, but if he ever decided to attempt such a far-fetched thing, it would have to be with a woman like Emily. . . .

She reined in. “All right. We'll go the rest of the way on foot.”

Chance slid off the horse's back and Emily swung down from the saddle, bringing the coach gun with her. They were in the trees across the creek from the settlement.

She pointed and whispered, “There's the jail. Take the horse with you. I'll head for the depot and get that mail pouch, then I'll go to the stable and pick out a couple horses. When I make a commotion, you be ready for Kaiser to rush out of the marshal's office. You can jump him and get the key to let Ace out of jail.”

“Sounds pretty risky for both of us,” Chance commented.

“What? You don't want to live up to your name?”

“I never said that. I reckon what I'm trying to say is . . . be careful, Emily. I don't want anything to happen to you just because my brother and I can't stay out of trouble.”

“The two of you wouldn't
be
in trouble if you hadn't been trying to help my family,” she pointed out. “The Corcorans owe you this, Chance.”

“Well, if there's a debt to collect—”

Before she realized what he was doing, he put his right hand behind her neck, sliding his fingers under the thick blond curls, and brought his mouth to hers in an eager kiss. She stiffened in surprise, then he felt her lips soften in response.

It lasted only a moment before she jabbed the shotgun's twin barrels into his midriff hard enough to make him gasp as he broke the kiss.

“Damn you,” Emily whispered. “What'd you have to go and do that for?”

“There's a chance . . . something might happen . . . to one or both of us,” Chance said as he tried to catch his breath. “I didn't want to spend the rest of my life . . . wondering what kissing you would be like.”

“And now that you know?”

“All the more good reason to stay alive”—he grinned in the darkness—“on the remote possibility I might get to do it again someday.”

“Maybe not all that remote . . .” she muttered. Her tone grew more brisk and businesslike as she went on. “But there's no time for such foolishness now, understand? You'd better have your brother loose by the time I get there with the horses, or I'll just have to leave you. That mail pouch has got to make it back to Palisade.”

“I understand. We'll be ready.”

“All right. Good luck.”

He hoped for a second that her wishing him luck might mean she would kiss him again, but that didn't happen. She vanished soundlessly into the shadows.

Chance led the horse and headed for the back of the building she had pointed out as the jail.

Night had fallen and the cell block was dimly lit by a single lantern before one of the deputies brought Ace any supper. The man carried in a tray with a plate and cup on it and handed it to Ace through the slot in the bars designed for that. The plate held a steak that more resembled a chunk of charred leather, a half-raw potato, and a piece of stale bread. The coffee in the cup was bitter and watery.

“The town doesn't believe in feeding prisoners very well, I see,” Ace commented.

The deputy glared at him. The man had a bruise on his jaw where Chance had punched him. “As far as I'm concerned, you're lucky to get anything at all, mister. The marshal says you and your brother are train robbers. You'll probably be in prison before too much longer.”

“He didn't find any reward posters on us, though, did he?”

“That don't matter,” the deputy said sullenly. “You're still guilty as hell.” He stalked out and left Ace to enjoy the dubious pleasures of the meal.

The food was better than nothing, Ace decided . . . but not by much.

He had just downed the last of the coffee when he heard a voice at the window, hissing his name.

Ace set the tray aside and stood up on the bunk. He still wasn't high enough to see out the barred window, but he was able to whisper through it, “Chance? Is that you?”

“Yeah. Are you all right, Ace?”

“I'm fine,” Ace answered honestly. The headache he'd had when he first regained consciousness had faded to nothing. “How about you?”

“Same here,” Chance replied. “We've come to get you out of here.”

“We?” Ace repeated. “Who else is out there?”

“Well, she's not here right now, but Emily's the one who helped me get away this afternoon. She's gone to the railroad station to fetch the mail pouch bound for Palisade.”

The knowledge that Emily was in Bleak Creek came as a surprise to Ace, but not much of one. She was just as reckless and impulsive as his brother was, he thought.

Of course, he was a fine one to talk, he reminded himself. He was the one behind bars at the moment.

“I'll tell you all about it later,” Chance went on. “The important thing right now is we gotta get you out of there. Just sit tight. Is the marshal in his office?”

“I don't think so. I believe he went home or went to eat supper and left one of the deputies on duty.”

“Just one?”

“As far as I know. I haven't heard him talking to anybody, and it sounds like there's only one man moving around in there.”

“That'll do,” Chance said. “Be ready to go. I'll see you in a few minutes.”

Ace heard soft footsteps receding outside the jail. He had no idea what Chance's plan was, but as he stepped down from the bunk and picked up his hat—the only thing he had in here—he hoped this rescue wouldn't backfire and leave both of them in jail . . . or worse, dead.

 

 

Chance led the horse along the alley next to the squat stone building that housed the marshal's office and jail. It was black as sin in there, which was fine with him. Anybody passing by in the street wasn't likely to spot him lurking there.

He left the horse's reins dangling and hoped the animal was smart enough to stay ground-hitched. Keeping close to the wall, he edged along it until he reached the front corner. He wasn't sure what Emily planned to do to raise a ruckus that would draw the deputy out of the office—but whatever it was, he figured it would be spectacular.

At least fifteen minutes had passed since they'd split up on the other side of the creek and his mind was turning. Had she gotten the mail pouch from the railroad station yet? Would the stationmaster, if he was still there, just hand it over to her? She had a right to it, since her family held the mail contract from the government and she was a Corcoran.

If she'd been recognized during the ruckus that afternoon, the marshal might have already filed charges against her. The stationmaster might refuse to turn over the mail.

In that case, Chance had no doubt that she would take it at gunpoint if she had to.

He stood still, breathing shallowly and listening. So far, he hadn't heard anything except the normal noises of a town at night—some rinky-dink player piano music from one of the saloons, men and women talking and laughing, wagon wheels squeaking as a buckboard rolled slowly down the street, the clip-clop of hoofbeats as a few riders came and went. Bleak Creek seemed to be a mighty peaceful place at the moment.

That peace was abruptly shattered by a loud, strident clanging. Chance stiffened as he recognized the racket as the ringing of a fire bell. Frontier towns lived in terror of any uncontrolled blaze. The flames could spread and burn the whole settlement to the ground in less time than it took to talk about it.

Swift, heavy footsteps slapped the floorboards in the marshal's office.

Chance darted onto the boardwalk, sliding his hand under his coat. It emerged with the Lightning from the shoulder holster. He reversed the .38 as he neared the door, which was flung open violently. The deputy, hatless and fumbling to buckle on a gun belt, charged out of the office.

Chance struck with the speed of a rattlesnake, smacking the gun butt into the deputy's balding head just behind his right ear. He hit the man hard enough to knock him out for a few minutes, without busting his skull and killing him.

He'd judged the blow correctly. The deputy pitched forward on his face, out cold. Chance flipped the Lightning around again in case he needed to use it, then knelt to check the deputy's pockets for the keys to the cell block and the cells.

Nothing. Chance grimaced as he realized the man wasn't carrying the keys. It was going to be a real problem if Marshal Kaiser had taken them with him when he left the office. Chance left the unconscious deputy sprawled where he was and dashed into the building.

Relief flooded through him as he spotted a ring of keys hanging on a nail in the wall behind the desk. He snatched them off the nail and began trying keys in the lock on the cell block door. From the corner of his eye, he darted glances toward the deputy, who he could see lying on the boardwalk.

The third key he tried turned the lock. He swung the door back and charged into the cell block.

Ace stood at the door of the first cell on the left, his hat on, ready to go. “What's going on out there? Is that the fire bell I hear?”

“Yeah,” Chance replied as he tried one after another of the keys in the lock. “But I'm pretty sure there's not really a fire. It's just Emily's way of creating a diversion.”

“It worked,” Ace said. “The whole town's going to be in an uproar.”

“That means they won't be paying attention to us.” Chance grunted in satisfaction as the key in his hand clicked over in the lock. “That's it! Come on!” He yanked the door open and Ace hurried out.

“I don't suppose you saw my gun belt anywhere in the office?”

“Nope, but maybe you can check Kaiser's desk,” Chance suggested. “Just don't take too long about it. If we're not out there when Emily gets here with the other horses, she's liable to ride off and leave us. Especially if she's got that mail pouch. Delivering that mail on time is more important to her than we are, I'm afraid.” He moved to the left of the door, keeping watch outside while Ace searched for his gun.

“I don't blame her for feeling that way.” Ace started opening the drawers in Kaiser's battered old desk. He reached into the bottom one on the right side and brought out his coiled shell belt and holstered Colt.

Marshal Kaiser suddenly charged up to the door carrying a shotgun. “Jensen!” Kaiser yelled as he swung the weapon toward Ace. “I'll blow you to hell!”

The marshal hadn't noticed Chance, who lowered his head and launched himself through the door in a diving tackle. He caught Kaiser around the waist and drove him backward. The lawman whooped in surprise and jerked both of the Greener's triggers as he toppled off the boardwalk. The shotgun went off with a thunderous roar and spewed both loads of buckshot toward the heavens as flame spouted from its twin barrels.

Chance had managed to hang on to his revolver during the collision, lifted it, and brought it down in a slashing blow to Kaiser's head. The marshal went limp and dropped the empty shotgun.

Rapid hoofbeats thudded close by in the street. Chance looked up, ready to use the Lightning, and saw Emily reining one horse to a stop. She was leading another mount. Both horses wore simple hackamores with reins attached to them but no saddles.

“Well?” Emily demanded as she looked down at Chance. “Are we getting out of here or do you plan on wallowing around in the street all night like a hog?”

He scrambled to his feet, biting back the angry retort that wanted to spring to his lips. Ace was out of the marshal's office and had paused on the boardwalk to buckle the gun belt around his hips.

People were shouting and running around all over town, panicking because of the alarm bell, which had gone silent. They were all looking for the fire and not paying attention to what was going on in front of the marshal's office. Not even the shotgun's blast had been enough to distract them from their fear of a devastating conflagration.

“The other horse is in the alley,” Chance said.

“You'd better ride it,” Emily snapped. “I figure a dude like you needs a saddle more than Ace or I do.”

Under other circumstances he might have defended himself and argued with her, but there wasn't time for that. As he ran toward the alley, he wondered why the hell she seemed so irritated with him. As far as he could tell, the plan was working just fine. He had even spotted the mail pouch hanging by its strap over her shoulder.

There was only one explanation, he realized. Her prickly attitude had to be because of that kiss he had stolen earlier.

He would ponder that later. He grabbed the horse's reins, led it into the street, and swung up onto its back. Ace was already mounted on the third horse.

Emily called, “Follow me!” and kicked her horse into a run.

The Jensen brothers were right behind her as she galloped out of Bleak Creek. Chance wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a few gunshots popping behind them. Maybe some of the townspeople had realized there wasn't a fire and figured out that a jailbreak was going on.

If anybody was shooting at them, none of the bullets came anywhere close. The three riders raced on into the night and soon left the settlement behind.

 

 

Emily didn't slow down until they had passed through Shoshone Gap and ridden a mile or so into the valley beyond. When they stopped, Ace listened intently but didn't hear any hoofbeats pursuing them.

The horses' sweat-flecked sides heaved from the hard run.

As the animals rested and tried to catch their breath, Chance asked Emily, “Did you have any trouble getting the mail pouch?”

“No. No one was on duty in the station except one ticket clerk named Jeff Ramsey. I've known him for a while. He unlocked the cabinet the pouch was in and gave it to me.”

“Just like that?” Chance asked in astonishment.

“Well,” Emily said matter-of-factly, “Jeff's been smitten with me ever since we moved to this part of the country. He was glad to do me a favor.”

“Even though it's probably going to cost him his job?” Chance asked. “Did the poor varmint at least steal a kiss in return for that favor?”

“No,” Emily replied coldly. “Although maybe I wouldn't have minded if he had.”

Ace sensed some tension between them and wondered what had happened. He had a hunch that Chance had given in to an impulse and done something to offend her. Actually, Ace was a little surprised something like that hadn't already happened.

At the moment, he didn't really care. “You've got a right to have that mail pouch in your possession, since your father's company has the government contract, so nobody can claim there's anything wrong about that. Marshal Kaiser will be pretty upset about you ringing that fire bell and helping us escape, though.”

Emily laughed. “I don't think anybody saw me do it, so he can't prove anything. And I didn't steal these horses, either. They belong to the Corcoran Stage Line.”

“So you're in the clear,” Chance said. “That's good. Ace and I may have to hide out, though. I wouldn't put it past Kaiser to bring a posse over to Palisade and try to arrest us.”

“Neither would I,” Ace agreed. “I figure Eagleton's pet marshal would be inclined to help him do it, too.”

“You're right about that,” Emily said. “You can't expect any help from Claude Wheeler.”

“And your stagecoach is still in Bleak Creek,” Ace said.

Emily shrugged. “That's not a problem. Bess and I can ride over and claim it tomorrow.”

“That puts you right back at risk from Eagleton's men,” Chance pointed out. “He still wants to put your father's operation out of business.”

“You're not telling me anything I don't already know.” She hefted the mail pouch. “But tonight we won. We've got this, and that means we beat Eagleton again. I don't know how, but I'm convinced he had something to do with causing this whole damn mess.”

Ace was convinced of that, as well. He could have explained his suspicions to Emily but decided he would keep them to himself for the time being . . . until he figured out what to do with them.

She was right. They had won this round, and as the three of them rode toward the mountain road, Timberline Pass, and Palisade beyond that, Ace told himself to just enjoy the feeling of not being behind bars anymore.