The Dodge City Trail Page 4

  “You’ll have money at the end of the drive,” Silas said. “Pay me then.”

  Adeline and Lenore had seen them coming, and when Dan dismounted, he was embarrassed when Adeline threw her arms around him. He pulled away from her while Denny and Lenore laughed.

  “I’m sorry,” Adeline apologized, “but you seem like one of the family.”

  Dan grinned, “I feel that way Myself, but I wish I was returning under happier circumstances. But I don’t think you’ll need to drive around to the ranches. Those who can be trusted will quietly be given the word. Denny and me took care of that last night.”

  Dan told them of Silas Hamby’s support, of the proposed circle star trail brand, and of the plan to hire extra riders.

  “You may have trouble finding riders,” Adeline said. “So many went to war and never returned.”

  “We could sneak across the border and find Chato,” Denny said. “He’s a Mex Injun. Him and his amigos ain’t scared of nothin’.”

  “You’ll do no such thing,” Adeline said. “The border’s patrolled by the Mexican soldiers.”

  “That don’t make a damn to Chato and his pards,” Denny said. “They come and go as they please.”

  “Denny DeVoe,” Adeline said, “the next time I hear you use a swear word, I’m going to take your trousers down and switch your bare backside.”

  Denny turned red, while Dan and Lenore laughed. Then Dan got serious.

  “Denny and me are going to make us a circle star iron, and tomorrow we’ll start branding these Texas mavericks for the trail. Come dark, we’ll sleep with our guns handy. I figure it’s just a matter of time until Burton Ledoux gets word of our gather, and if he can learn that much, he’ll soon know I’m behind it. When that time comes, I’ll move out into the brush. I won’t put the rest of you in the line of fire.”

  “Then why don’t we all move into the brush and set up camp?” Denny asked. “Long as we’re here, they can ride in anytime and surround us.”

  “Good thinking,” Dan said, “but you’re moving too fast. Once we have a large enough herd to set up an armed camp, then we’ll all go there. For now, you’re as safe here as you’d be anywhere. We’ll let Ledoux make .the next move. He’s gone this far, and he’ll come calling again.”

  Ledoux did come, and it was in the early afternoon while Dan and Denny were down river, branding cows. Adeline heard a horse coming, and by the time she and Lenore reached the porch, Ledoux was dismounting.

  “I heard about your husband,” he said suavely, “and came by to pay my condolences.”

  “You hypocrite,” Adeline said bitterly. “It was you who had him killed.”

  “Those are harsh words, Mrs. DeVoe, and you can prove nothing.”

  “I have all the proof I need,” Adeline said. “I’ve heard of you, and I’ve heard what happens to those who can’t pay your impossibly high taxes.”

  “Speaking of taxes,” said Ledoux, “yours will be due July first. Two hundred dollars, I believe.”

  “We can’t pay,” said Adeline, “and you know it. But that’s the idea, isn’t it? You want to drive us out, to take the land and what little we have.”

  “Now, Mrs. DeVoe, I’m not one to take advantage of the less fortunate. I’m sure we can work something out that will be satisfactory to the both of us. I am quite taken by your beautiful daughter, and I have much to offer a woman. If she looked favorably on me, you could just forget about the taxes. What have you to say, my dear?” He was speaking directly to Lenore.

  He was just near enough for Lenore to slap him, and she did. He almost fell, and his hat went reeling.

  “You murdering beast,” Lenore hissed, “I wouldn’t spit on you if you were on fire.”

  Ledoux recovered his hat, and when he spoke, it was to Adeline.

  “You are going to be very, very sorry, Mrs. DeVoe, and this little hellcat of yours is going to be even sorrier. Good day.”

  When Ledoux had ridden away, Lenore said, “I’m sorry, Mama, but I just couldn’t stand it. I’d rather be dead than … with him.”

  “If you hadn’t hit him, I would have,” Adeline said.

  It had been a shameful proposition, and Adeline avoided telling Dan. She finally did, but it was almost a week after the incident, and it came about in a way she hadn’t expected. Daniel Ember often sat on the porch long after the others had gone to bed, and Adeline often wondered what he thought about as he sat out there alone. One night when she thought Lenore was asleep, she got up and slipped out to the porch, wearing only her long gown. Dan sat on the steps, and she could see him in the starlight. She sat down beside him, and he said nothing.

  “You smell like sweat and cows,” she said.

  “Did you come out here to tell me that?”

  “No,” she said, laughing. “It was just the first thing that came to mind.”

  “Somethin’ I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said. “What did Ledoux have to say?”

  “How did you—”

  “I read sign,” he said. “Tracks. I couldn’t think of anybody else who would have come calling.”

  She told him of Ledoux’s impossible tax demand, of his shameful proposal to Lenore, and of the girl slapping him. She concluded with the threat Ledoux had made.

  “Just some more reasons for me to kill the sonofa-bitch,” Dan growled.

  “Do you really think killing him will solve anything? You would become an outlaw with a price on your head, and Washington would appoint another man, maybe worse than Ledoux.”

  “Would it bother you if I were outlawed, on the dodge?”

  “It would,” Adeline said. “You’re too good a man to throw your life away. Don’t you want something better than being shot, hiding out long enough to heal, and then being shot again?”

  “I reckon you’ve got a pretty good handle on it,” he said. “The Yankees got lead in me twice, and I’d just managed to heal when Ledoux’s bunch of lobos gunned me down.”

  “You didn’t answer my question,” Adeline said. “Don’t you want more from life than that of a wanderer, of shooting and being shot?”

  “You mean put the gun away, swap it for a woman and a place of my own.”

  “That’s what I mean.”

  “When the time comes I can put the gun away, I will. Until then, I’d want a woman who understood the need for the gun. Do you understand that need, Adeline DeVoe?”

  The moon had risen, and like an inquisitive bird, she cocked her head just enough to see his face. When she spoke, it was in a whisper.

  “I understand the need, Dan, but that doesn’t stop my being afraid for you.”

  He reached for her and their lips met. For just a moment she drew away, then went to him again. When they eventually parted, they sat there in silence for a while. It was Dan who finally spoke.

  “Have I answered your questions?”

  “One of them,” she said, “but you’ve raised another that disturbs me even more.”

  “I reckon you’re about to tell me what that is,” he said dryly.

  “You know how I feel about you, Daniel Ember, and I believe you have some feeling for me. You could have taken me just now. You wanted to, and you knew I wanted you to, but you didn’t. Why?”

  “Because this is not the time or the place,” he said. “You know there’s something I have to do before I can put the gun away. If I had taken you now, you would have become a part of me. So much a part of me that every time I’d pull the gun, you’d be standing in the way. I aim to finish what I’ve set out to do. Then, if I’m still alive and you’ll have me, we’ll do it legal and proper.”

  “Damn you, Daniel Ember,” she sighed, “I suppose I’ll have to wait. I’ll try not to tempt you too much, but I’ll tempt you some, just so you don’t forget.”

  “I won’t forget,” he said, “and I reckon I can handle some temptation. Let’s try a little more.”

  3

  After a week of wrassling longhorns out of the brush, Dan gav
e up on the mules. Neither of them had cow savvy.

  “If Denny aims to be a cowboy,” Dan said, “he needs a cow horse and a Texas saddle. Maybe Silas can help us again. It’s time I was talking to him, anyhow, to see if we’re gathering any support.”

  Dan found Silas still enthusiastic but a little disappointed.

  “I got word to twelve of ‘em,” Silas said, “and they’re all interested, but they want a meeting. They need to hear what you’ve told me, but they need to hear it from you. Damn it, I’m an old galoot that’s so used up, a good day of cowboying would kill me stone dead. All these hombres is just as fed up as I am, and mad as hell, but they’re all followers. They need a gent with sand and a fast gun to lead ‘em.”

  “Set up a meeting here at your place,” Dan said, “and I’ll talk to them. I’ll see you again a week from today. One more thing. Can you spare me a saddle and a cow horse for Denny? The boy means well, and he can drop a loop as well as I can, but that mule ain’t worth a damn for ridin’ backup.”

  Dan returned to the DeVoe place leading a bay horse with a double-rigged Texas saddle. He told them of the meeting Silas had requested, and Adeline was against it.

  “When you speak to them more than one at a time, Dan, there’s a chance a traitor may slip in and report back to Burton Ledoux.”

  “I’ve thought of that,” Dan replied, “but getting them together in a group is the best way. It’s the kind of thing where each man’s willingness may depend on the support of his neighbor. It has nothing to do with courage or the lack of it. Only a fool jumps into a fight where everybody’s shootin’ at him. That’s why I’m willing to meet with these ranchers who should be ready, willing, and able to join us in the fight against Burton Ledoux. Like you say, there may be a Judas in the bunch, but it’s a chance we’ll have to take. We’ll face that when and if we have to. Besides, we have plenty to do right here and right now. Denny has a cow horse, a Texas saddle, and we aim to rope and brand some longhorn cows.”

  Eagle Pass, Texas. April 2, 1870.

  “I think we should go with you to that meeting at Silas’s place,” Adeline said. “Most of the men you’re going to meet will know us.”

  “All the more reason why you’re not going,” Dan replied. “If word gets back to Ledoux, besides having his bunch of killers after me, I’d have to worry about them gunning down the rest of you. I’ll be going alone.”

  It was Saturday night, and Dan purposely reached Silas Hamby’s ranch after dark. Even if Ledoux hadn’t infiltrated their ranks, he could have been told of the meeting, and by having the house watched, know who attended. The men Dan were to meet hadn’t been as cautious, for they were all waiting for him, some of them impatiently. Surprisingly, they were all younger than Silas, and Dan quickly decided they had avoided the war. That, or they had come through it in remarkably good condition. Their lack of participation might become a sore point, if anybody pushed it. His place had been taken from him while he had been at war, while the men he was about to meet had remained in Texas and had lost nothing. But they were about to, and they knew it, and he had that in his favor. Silas had brought in ladder-back chairs, and the visitors were lined up along one wall of Silas’s big living room. Some of them smoked, one near the fireplace chewed, while the rest just waited. Silas wasted no time, beginning the introductions the moment Dan stepped through the door.

  “Gents, this is Daniel Ember, and he’s got some talkin’ to do. Dan, these hombres, startin’ nearest the fireplace, is Wolf Bowdre, Boyce Trevino, Tobe Barnfield, Rufe Keeler, Spence Wilder, Ward McNelly, Rux Carper, Duncan Kilgore, Skull Kimbrough, Palo Elfego, Monte Walsh, and Aubin Chambers. They represent Maverick, Kinney, Uvalde, and Zavala counties. I’m hopin’, after you’ve had your say, they’ll talk to their neighbors.”

  The men nodded to Dan, and that’s all the greeting he got. Silas said no more. The rest of it depended entirely on Dan Ember, and it was a while before he spoke. He began with Wolf Bowdre and concluded with Aubin Chambers, allowing his hard blue eyes to meet theirs. In several there was shock, in several more doubt, but in more than two-thirds of them he saw approval. To a man they focused on the butt-forward, tied-down Colt on his left hip. Finally Dan Ember spoke.

  “I reckon Silas told you Burton Ledoux took my ranch for taxes, and I’d say those of you with the savvy God gave a paisano know he plans to take yours the same way he took mine.”

  “Before you go on,” Skull Kimbrough said, “answer me one question. If Ledoux has already took your spread, what’s your stake in this fight?”

  “This,” Ember said. He unbuttoned his shirt, shrugged out of it, and turned his back.

  “Sangre de Cristo,” Palo Elfego said. Even Silas Hamby hadn’t seen the terrible result of the beating, and he swore along with the rest.

  “That’s just part of it,” Dan said, turning to face them. “See these holes? They put three slugs in me before the bastard with the whip took over.”

  “You got reason enough to kill the sonofabitch three times over,” Rux Carper said. “I ain’t denyin’ that. But he’s got the damn army sidin’ him. They took your spread, just like they aim to take ours, and there ain’t one damn thing we can do to stop ‘em. The best we can expect is a dose of what they give you.”

  “You’re right,” Dan said. “I can’t recover my ranch and we can’t stop Ledoux from taking yours, but by the Eternal, we don’t have to sit here on our hunkers while he takes our cows. I’m suggesting we brand our cows with a circled star, gather them in a common herd, and drive them north to market. The Chisholm Trail is glutted with cattle, and graze is already a problem. The railroad is moving west, and it should reach Fort Dodge late next year. A town’s being planned, and I aim to have a herd there to meet the rails.”

  “All we got is your word,” Duncan Kilgore said. “I ain’t heard nothin’ about the railroad comin’ to Fort Dodge or a town bein’ built.”

  “I was in New Orleans last fall,” Dan said, “and I read about it in a St. Louis newspaper. By driving north to the rails, you have a chance of coming out of this with a stake, something besides the clothes on your backs. Stand pat, and I can guarantee you a busted flush. Burton Ledoux will pluck all of you clean as Christmas geese, and if you resist, you’ll end up like I did. I’m alive by the grace of God, and because some good people found me in time. The rest of you may not be so fortunate.”

  “Count me in,” Silas Hamby said, “if they ain’t nobody but me and you. By God, I can see the handwritin’ on the wall, and I’m readin’ it just like you have.”

  “I’ll go,” Wolf Bowdre said, “but what do we do if we get there ahead of the railroad? These things always take longer than anybody expects.”

  “Western Kansas is virtually unsettled,” Dan said, “and the buffalo are being slaughtered. It’s still free range. We’ll put our herd out to graze, watch them get fat, and gather the natural increase.”

  “Something’s still botherin’ me,” Tobe Barnfield said. “How do you aim to get these cows out of Texas?”

  “By appealing to the Union army commander at San Antonio,” Dan replied, “if it comes to that. Like I’ve told you, I can’t stop Ledoux from taking your land for whatever tax he chooses to slap on it, and if all your cows are wearing your brand, then he’ll take them too. But with the war going on, and with the Yankee occupation, how many of you have bothered branding your herds at all?”

  “Hell, none of us,” Boyce Trevino said. “Couldn’t none of us afford the drive to market, and if we could, we was scared to leave our range and our womenfolk. Them new taxes has been hangin’ over our heads like an ax for four damn years. I’m goin’, whatever it takes, but we’ll be almighty short on provisions.”

  “I’ll clean out the store,” Silas said, “and we’ll use that as long as it lasts. I’ll figure what it’s worth, and when we sell the herd, each of you can kick in a percentage.”

  “That’s damn decent, Silas,” Monte Walsh said, “and we can always eat be
ef. I’m in the game, win, lose, or draw.”

  One by one the others shouted their approval, and Daniel Ember shook their hands.

  “Two things we ain’t talked about,” Silas said. “We need to get word to the other ranchers, and we need to hire some riders with fast guns and the sand to use ‘em.”

  “We’re going to talk about those things before we* leave this room,” Dan said. “Now that you’re committed to this drive, I want each of you to do two things. Silas, we’ll need a pencil and paper for this.”

  “I thought of that,” Silas said. “There’s pencil and paper on the mantel.”

  “Now,” Dan said, “I want each of you to think of at least one neighbor who stands to lose his spread to Burton Ledoux for taxes. These people must be trustworthy, with the courage to make the commitment you’ve just made. I want you to talk to them, tell them what we aim to do, and ask them to join us. I’ll speak to them as I’ve spoken to you, and I’ll do it a week from tonight. Is there any who can’t think of at least one other man who might throw in with us?”

  Dan looked for a sign, some negative word, but there was none. On the sheet of paper, Dan quickly wrote the names of the men to whom he had just spoken. Finished, he turned to them.

  “Speak to these men you have in mind. If they won’t come willingly, let it go, and be here yourself. I’m counting on your judgment in avoiding those who aren’t strong enough to stay to the finish, or who might spill their guts to Burton Ledoux. One more thing. We’re talking about an eventual herd that could number more than twenty thousand head. Figurin’ one cowboy for every four hundred cows, we’ll need at least fifty riders. Including yourselves and members of your families, how many riders can each of you account for? Wolf Bowdre, I’ll start with you.”

  “Just me and my woman,” said Bowdre.

  Dan nodded to Boyce Trevino. “Three,” Trevino said.

  “Two,” Tobe Barnfield said, without being prompted.