god's gunslinger
mexican raiders rode rampant across the
south-west in a savage campaign to win back
former mexican territory ceded to the united
states. hezekiah horn, sheriff of eden
county, arizona, had both this and a bank robbery
to worry about. a former saddle-mate of
hezekiah's, apache joe, offered to combine his
forces with those of the sheriff. they had a task
ahead of them that would test to the limit both their
friendship and fighting powers.
,,,,,,,,,,,,
special message to readers
this book is published under the auspices of
the ulverscroft foundation (registered charity
no. 264873 uk) established in 1972
to provide funds for research, diagnosis and
treatment of eye diseases. examples of
contributions made are:--

a new children's assessment unit at
moorfield's hospital, london.
twin operating theatres at the western
ophthalmic hospital, london.
a chair of ophthalmology at the
university of leicester.
the establishment of a royal australian
collete of ophthalmologists "fellow-
ship".
you can help further the work of the foundation by making
a donation or leaving a legacy. every contri-
bution, no matter how small, is received
with gratitude. please write for details
to:
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telephone: (0116) 236ble4325
in australia write to:


the ulverscroft foundation,
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,,,,,,,,,,,,
other titles in the
linford western library
top hand
wade everett
the broken t was big. but no ranch is big
enough to let a man hide from himself.
gun wolves of lobo basin
lee floren
the feud was a blood debt. when smoke
talbot found the outlaws who gunned down his
folks he aimed to nail their hide to the barn
door.
shotgun sharkey
marshall grover
the westbound coach carrying the indomitable

larry and stretch headed for a shooting showdown.
::::::::::::













general contents
the braille edition is divided as follows:
volume 1: p1-79
volume 2: p80-162
volume 3: p163-249
::::::::::::












contents
braille page
note to braille edition
1. wolf pack -----------------1
2. slade and the gambler ------------ 20
3. strangers in town ------------- 37
4. hezekiah and the hook ---------- 53
5. shadows in the night ------------ 73
::::::::::::












note to braille edition
this title has been kindly produced for the
national library for the blind by the volunteers
service of royal national institute for the blind.
the library is glad to add this book and others
to stock in its efforts to widen the range of
titles available. the library was not concerned in
its production and it has not been proofread,
therefore it may depart from our usual practice
or standards.
::::::::::::








1

god's gunslinger
::::::::::::
.cc1
1
wolf pack
sheriff hezekiah horn had seen the wisp
of smoke still rising about a mile away and he
knew there was no sense in hurrying the pinto.
when he arrived there he got down a trifle
awkwardly off the lean, powerful horse, left
leg not as flexible from the knee down as the other.
he let the pinto's reins hang down and
slowly limped around. the two-room home-
steaders' house was a charred ruin and the barn
demolished. whatever horses and cattle had
been around had been run off.
as he limped about he suddenly came across the
women, the mother and the girl. their clothes were
disarranged in a way that made him scowl.

2 1. wolf pack
.cc2
their eyes still had a frozen look of horror
and the gaping red slash across their throats told
how they had finally died.
as he stared at them, the black patch across
one eye blank and expressionless, his one good
eye, the left, glittered for a moment with silent
rage. he kept walking and finally found the
man. his corpse was headless. hezekiah
focused his cyclopean eye on the body. he
said aloud, "big knife benito. probably
kept the head to kick around at a campfire.
show what he thinks of the thieving gringos who
stole his people's land."
in the barn he found a spade with part of the
handle burned away. he dug graves in the
hard earth with effort and sweat and lowered each
body in gently. then he took off his stetson
and offered a prayer.
when he got back to the horse he picked

3 1. wolf pack
up the reins deftly with the hook that had
replaced the hand that had been at the end of his right
arm. he had got adept at doing things
.cc3
with the curved piece of steel. as he got back
on the horse he muttered, "romero's
raiders came our way. now we got more than
apaches to worry about."
when he got back to davenport he rode
straight to his office. tommy turner, his
deputy, looked up as he came in. the little
baldheaded man with the long straggly moustache
squinted one eye at him. "well, watcha
see? injuns on the prowl?"
hezekiah limped across to his desk and sat
down. he touched the black-bound book on his
desk with the hook. "i just saw something that told
me luis romero is abroad in the land and, like
jehu in the good book, he has the blood of
war on his girdle."

4 1. wolf pack
the deputy squinted his eyes a little more and
shifted the chaw of tobacco from one cheek to the
other. he thought of spitting on the floor and then
checked himself as he saw the look in
hezekiah's good eye. he said, "as if we
ain't got enough trouble with them
.ccbled
scalp-huntin' apaches. that martindale
family okay?"
hezekiah said flatly, "as dead as davy
crockett. the mother and girl raped and their
throats cut, the father beheaded. my hunch was
right. romero has moved in our direction."
the little deputy swore profanely, face
twisted with fury. hezekiah said, "cussin'
never helped nothin'. we have a mighty
dangerous enemy on our hands." he scratched
his chin thoughtfully with the hook. "luis romero
has never forgotten the treaty of guadalupe
hidalgo of 1848 and the gadsen purchase six

5 1. wolf pack
years after. they are what gained all those
mexican lands for this united states. romero
thinks both were unjust." he mused, "he was a
blueblood, more than a hidalgo, a grandee.
his family had estates bigger than you could
ride across in a couple of days. he aims
to try and get it all back even if he has
to stir up all the united states in doing it."
tommy turner said, "looks like
.cc5
that big knife benito still his chief loo-
tenant."
hezekiah nodded. "his work, all right, out
at the martindale place."
there was a frantic scratching at the back
door. hezekiah got up and went to open it.
a little dog scrambled in, a tiny, delight-
l, squirming mass of silky hair.
hezekiah bent down and picked him up with his
good hand, the dog frantically licking his face

6 1. wolf pack
with a tongue of affectionate worship.
hezekiah grinned, "little mister short-
tail. you been guardin' the place since i
been gone?"
tommy turner grunted, "ain't enough of him
to guard nothin'."
hezekiah put the tiny dog down, pulled
out a drawer in his desk and fed him a cookie.
mister short-tail attacked and with energy.
the deputy said suddenly, "hey, they's a
new gambler come to town. settled into the four
aces saloon. been playin' there a night or
two. looks like he ain't no tinhorn.
classy dresser an'
.cc6
talks like a college professer. name of
myron merrill." he squinted his eyes again.
"but i gotta tell you there's somethin' about him i
jest don't fancy. somethin' sort of--i
jest don't know--somethin' in the eyes--was

7 1. wolf pack
hezekiah said evenly, "i better get
down and take a look at this jasper later.
meantime i've got to get an entry in the
report book about what i've seen today. and
let folk here in town know about the martindales.
they were a good family and they had friends."
* * *
around about supper time hezekiah looked across
at his deputy. "well, you comin'?" he
appraised the little deputy, a flicker of
humour at the corner of his mouth. "i don't
know why emily took on feedin' you as well as
me, you ever-hungry critter, but she's done it
so let's go call on her."
tommy turner looked sarcastically at his
boss. "well, rightly speakin'
.cc7
there's only half of you to feed, the rest of you
is blown away. but you have an appetite that could
eat a roasted steer sandwiched between two

7 1. wolf pack
bakeries." hezekiah grinned. "just thinkin' of
what emily might have waitin' on her table right
now puts an edge on that appetite you're
speakin' of."
they closed the office and walked on down the
main street, turning about midway down into a
side street. they finally opened the front
gate to a neat white cottage with a garden in
front entirely free of weeds andwitha blazing
variety of blooms.
emily anderson met them at the door. she was
a tallish woman, almost matching in height
hezekiah who was not a very big man although lean
and hard with a suggestion of muscle that could move
into powerful action.
emily's eyes were wide-spaced, open and
kindly. she wore her soft brown hair parted
in the middle to end up at the nape of her neck
in a full knot of gleaming hair. she had a
rich red

8 1. wolf pack
.cc8
mouth and below it a cleft in the chin that receded but
had a touch of attractive, yielding
femininity about it.
she said, looking at the deputy, "so you
brought your gluttonous partner with you again,
hezekiah. seems like instead of eating here we
ought to take you both down to my store. maybe
there's enough on the shelves there to keep you both
busy."
tommy turner swept off his hat, his bald
head shining in the lamplight. "well, now,
ma'am, ain't nothin' in that store that can
equal what you put on the table before us. you have a
touch with vittles that would turn a scrub
turkey into somethin' fit for a king."
emily anderson smiled. "come on in, you
smooth-talking old flatterer. let's see
if we can really fill you up tonight."
inside hezekiah removed his hat. in the

9 1. wolf pack
closeness of the glowing lamplight his one eye
shone blue and clear. his moustache, less long
and flamboyant
.cc9
than his deputy's, was starting to grey as was his
thinning hair. but somehow there was an air about him
of alertness and vigour, anything but that of
decreasing energy. he and tommy turner looked
at the table appreciatively.
there was a great bowl of fatback, that thick
strip from the back of a hog, festooned with the
crisp green leaves of dandelions; freshly
baked biscuits, a plum pie, a jar of
blueberry jam and a bowl of rich cream.
tommy licked his lips. he looked
sidewise at the other two. "am i still gunna
git invited here to eat when them weddin' bells
ring out for you two?"
emily said firmly, "as i've told
hezekiah several times, wedding bells will not be

10 1. wolf pack
ringing for him and me until he takes up a
less-hazardous occupation than being a
lawman."
hezekiah cleared his throat. "now,
emily, i don't figure i ever found anything
more hazardous than being a miner. you will recall that
i got all
.cc10
these injuries of mine down a mine."
emily nodded. "well, that's so but a
bullet can do even more damage than that. you
only have to receive one in the right place in your job
and you are dead." she gave him a steady look.
"i was married to a lawman once, remember,
and he died trying to apprehend a killer who
shot first."
"the time," murmured hezekiah, "when i
let an outlaw do that to me will not come. when i first
tried for a lawman's job after that accident in
the mine they said i couldn't handle it. well, i

11 1. wolf pack
went away and i taught my left hand to do with a
gun what my right hand could never do. that's when they
took me on."
after they had eaten, the two men heaving
satisfied sighs, hezekiah motioned tommy
to stay in the room.
"you being two-handed, you usually help emily
with the dishes. but i'll do it tonight. i want
to talk to her about today."
.cc11
in the kitchen, hands plunged into the soapy
water, emily faced the sheriff, her gaze
grave. "what did you want to tell me?"
hezekiah slipped the end of his hook through the
handle of a cup and hung it neatly in its
place. emily smiled and nodded. heze-
kiah's face grew serious. "you heard about
what i saw today. it's only the first sign
of what could turn into a lot worse. this romero
is a man with a mission to kill every american he

12 1. wolf pack
sees until he gains mastery of the south-west.
he wants to see all this country back under the
rule of mexico. he is a grandee with grand
ideas. and what is more he is a guerilla
fighter who leads a wolf pack."
emily was silent. she stared out the window a
moment into the darkness. she could see aram anderson
again as they brought him in, the bullet lodged in
his back. she shivered a little and washed another
plate clean.
after they had left emily's house heze-
kiah and tommy turner went
.cc12
back to the office.
tommy clumped over and took hold of his
beloved scattergun, tucking it under his arm.
hezekiah said mildly, "one day you are going
to blast a transgressor with that and they'll be
picking him up all over davenport."
when they went out on the street, hezekiah

13 1. wolf pack
now with the little dog at his heels, the sheriff
clipped out, "you go south tonight, i'll go north.
if there's any trouble, like always fire one
shot."
tommy grunted, "after i've salivated the
hombre who started the trouble."
hezekiah was passing an alley that ran
along between two of the stores when mister short-
tail stopped, hair bristling, and growled. in
a flash hezekiah ducked behind the corner of
one building, the little dog scuttling alongside
him. he could hear a voice down the alley
muttering and the movement of unsteady footsteps.
the sheriff waited, crouched back against the
building. a figure came
.cc13
into view. it was lurching a little and waving a
pistol in one hand. hezekiah moved out to where the
figure could see him.
the man blinked and began to lift his gun

14 1. wolf pack
to point it at the sheriff. hezekiah's gun
lept into his left hand as if catapulted
by some unseen force. he had it pointed
directly at the other man's chest before the other
could bring his own weapon fully upright.
hezekiah said smoothly, "now, just who are
you gunning for, charley hicks?"
"that new feller in town--that merrill--
he cheated me in a card game--was
hezekiah ruminated, "so he relieved you
of most of your poke and you pulled out of the game
and drank yourself into th mood, huh?"
the cowboy nodded owlishly. "thash about the
size of it."
hezekiah surveyed him. "well, now, you
ain't in the best condition to accuse anyone of
anything, charley,
.cc14
but we'll go down and see this merrill all the
same." he moved in the direction of the

14 1. wolf pack
saloon, the little dog giving two sharp barks and
following. charley hicks swayed along behind
them.
inside the saloon hezekiah looked around.
he saw his man immediately. the gambler sat at a
table down in a corner with his back to a wall.
a flicker of a smile creased hezekiah's
face. men who lived chancy lives never
wanted to get shot in the back.
merrill was fashionably dressed and had the
look of someone who had known more genteel
surroundings. he was as dark and handsome as a lead
actor in a travelling show. his hands were slim
and well cared for. they moved in the handling of the
cards with the practised ease of an expert
pianist playing some difficult @etude.
there were several other men in the game, one the
sheriff recognised as a successful hotel-
keeper in the town, shane wartman, a well-
dressed, honest

15 1. wolf pack
.cc15
man. at sight of one of the other players
hezekiah frowned a little. he was a thin,
undersized fellow with a sallow face and shifty
eyes called dick amiss. it was said he had
been involved in several card games when cheating
had been involved and he had been put out of them
both.
hezekiah limped up to the table, the little dog
at his heels. by now the unsteady figure of
charley hicks had joined them. hezekiah
looked straight at the gambler. "i'm the
sheriff of eden county and the law in this town of
davenport. charley hicks here says you cheated
him in a game of cards."
the gambler looked up slowly. his eyes
widened a little at sight of a sheriff with one eye
and a hook where his right hand should have been. a smile
with a touch of mockery in it flitted across his
face.

16 1. wolf pack
he finished dealing the cards. his voice was
mellow, pleasant. "that man standing alongside
you, sheriff, is not
.cc16
capable of making any assertion that could be taken
seriously."
hezekiah said softly, "charley hicks is
an honest man. not much of a card flayer.
played a lot of games in this saloon and lost
a lot of money here. but this is the first time he
ever accused anyone of cheating."
the gambler sat back in his chair. he
quietly joined his hands together across his lap. he
said evenly, "what do you intend to do about it,
sheriff?"
hezekiah looked around at the other members
in the game. nobody said anything. the sheriff
looked back at the gambler. "don't intend
to do anything right now, mister. ain't no one here
backing up charley. maybe he saw something they

17 1. wolf pack
didn't. but i want to tell you right now that if
you are ever caught manipulating cards for your
dishonest advantage you will go out of this town quicker
than a man being chased by a crazy chinaman with a
hatchet."
he turned to go. he looked back
.cc17
and pointed a finger at dick amiss. "and i'd
watch who i invite into a game, if i were you.
for a few bucks amiss there would collude with
anyone to help cheat someone else."
amiss shot a venomous look at heze-
kiah but the sheriff was limping out of the saloon
now, mister short-tail giving a bark of
defiance, the grumbling charley hicks stumbling
in the sheriff's wake, mumbling protests.
the gambler took up his hand. he said
lightly, "so that's your sheriff? where's the other
half of him? still, this isn't a very big town,
is it?"
19 2. slade and the gambler
he pushed a couple of chips across the table.
"what does he keep that dog for--running
down buffalo?"
there was silence around the table. shane wartman,
the well-dressed townsman, carefully took
the cheroot out of his mouth. he said drily, "just
one word of advice, merrill. don't say
anything like that within the sheriff's hearing. it would not
be too healthy."
.cc18
merrill stared at him. his smile spread to a
mocking gleam in his eyes. "well, well. i
must be very sure to steer clear of your dangerous
lawman."
::::::::::::
2
slade and the gambler
.cc19
that evening john slade came riding into town.
he was a tall, solemn-faced man in the

20 2. slade and the gambler
early thirties, good-looking in a dark sort
of way with a mop of indian-black hair.
he worked a farm some miles out of town with the
same care and attention he paid to everything he
did. slade was the sort of man that hezekiah
had long since noted would be a handy ally in a
tight corner. he was one of the first men in town the
sheriff would have pinned a deputy's badge on
in time of trouble.
john slade had ridden into town to pay
court. the object of his affection was the
schoolmarm, rachel jones. rachel was a
slender young woman in her mid-thirties whose
addiction to her
.cc20
task as a teacher was the main reason she was not
married as yet. one look at her with her fine
white brow topped by a crown of light brown
hair fastidiously groomed, and facial
features that would have gained her a job as a

21 2. slade and the gambler
model was enough to tell that she must have had beaux
a-plenty.
john slade was not the sort of professional
man, doctor or lawyer, who would have been
considered most likely to have the front running in
a bid for her hand but he was a man who farmed very
well.
he had built himself a home that stood strong
and roomy on a choice piece of land that was
well-watered and grew crops that were the equal
of any in the county. the banker jason
carstairs was the only man who knew the extent
of john slade's savings but he had once
confided to a friend that it was a tidy sum, indeed.
when john slade took home a wife she would
never want for fancy ribbons for her sunday
bonnet.
slade rode into the main street
.cc21
slowly, headed in the direction of the cottage

21 2. slade and the gambler
rented by rachel jones, but first he stopped his
horse at the sheriff's office and dismounted.
as he came in hezekiah looked up, his
good eye flashing a brief sign of welcome.
the sheriff never overdid anything.
slade said casually, "had a little trouble with
some mex raiders. a couple of 'em tried
to run off one or two of my horses. drove
'em off. peppered their tails with a little shot."
hezekiah asked, "you figure a couple of
romero's raiders?"
"yeah, wearin' them white shirts and
britches. sombreros big enough to shade an
elephant. bandoliers holding enough to shoot up a
whole town slung cross-wise over their
shoulders."
hezekiah stared thoughtfully at the young farmer.
"you're in a pretty lonely spot out there,
john. if you ever feel like coming into town and
hanging around a while--was

22 2. slade and the gambler
slade said, "if ever i need help to
.cc22
handle a mangy pack of mex outlaws i'll
come into town and take on running a livery or
something equally peaceable."
hezekiah flickered his eyes over the
farmer's neat and clean attire. "come seein'
the schoolmarm?"
john slade nodded. "yup. it would greatly
delight me if that young lady could see her way
clear to give up teachin' school to take to being
a farmer's wife."
hezekiah got to his feet. "time for me and
tommy to take a little walk around the town. go and
do your courting, john."
* * *
when john slade left the sheriff's office
he made straight for rachel jones'
cottage. the schoolteacher answered his knock,
looking, he thought, as pretty as an ox-eye

23 2. slade and the gambler
daisy.
they were a good-looking pair and, as emily
anderson had commented,
.cc23
together would make a fine couple for any preacher
to look upon as he joined them together in holy
matrimony.
rachel had taken slade inside and they had
been talking together for a time when suddenly john
slade said hesitantly, "i hear you've been
having another gentleman caller."
rachel half smiled. "why, yes. he's
only been in town a short while. he called
to see me one evening. he's a great reader and
he wanted to know if i as the most likely
person in town, as he put it, would have a copy
of charles dickens' great expectations. said
it's one of his favourite books and he wanted
to read it again."
she halted a moment and then, still with the half-

24 2. slade and the gambler
smile, continued. "he stayed talking for a while
about books. he knows a great deal about them. i
found him very pleasant company. i told him he
could call again."
john slade cleared his throat. "is
this--gentleman--a gambler called
merrill?" rachel stiffened a little. "i
.cc24
don't believe his manner of making a living
is important."
slade said slowly, "no, i guess that
maybe ain't important. but gamblers generally
ain't noted for being the most honest of men."
rachel gently corrected, "are not noted for
being the most honest of men." she shook her head
with a touch of stubbornness. "i don't really know
how honest this gambler is, john, but he is
providing me with the most stimulating conversation about
literary things i have ever had since i came to this
town."

25 2. slade and the gambler
slade interjected, "rachel, i don't
think you ought--was
the schoolteacher lifted her head defiant-
ly. "john slade, we have no understanding between us
other than that we have found each other's company
agreeable. you are free to keep on calling on
me if you choose. but let me say i am also
free to have myron merrill doing the same thing
if he wishes to."
.cc25
john slade cleared his throat again. rachel
raised her hand. "it's getting late, john.
i suggest i get us both a cup of coffee and
after that we say goodnight."
slade watched her going into the kitchen. this was
an independent lady sure enough but he felt
uneasy about this new association of hers and he
knew it wasn't all just jealousy. he wished
he'd done more book learning.
* * *

26 2. slade and the gambler
on his nightly prowl hezekiah found himself
in the four aces, the little dog at his heels.
mister short-tail was a common sight on
hezekiah's patrol of the town at night. one
or two hands stretched out to pat the little animal
as he went past, amused smiles on the
faces of some.
hezekiah had only been in the saloon a
couple of minutes when he saw the girl,
another new arrival. he blinked his eye a
little at the sight.
.cc26
she wore a beaded frock of a flaming
scarlet that would have made a desert sunset
look drab. there was a scarlet ribbon about her
throat and other pieces threaded through her hair.
the brilliant yellow of her hair obviously
owed its dazzling shade to a pot of dye. she
wore black silk stockings that clung to her
shapely legs like the hands of an ardent lover and

27 2. slade and the gambler
as she walked her high heels gave her hips
a voluptuous quiver. her wide, full mouth
matched the scarlet of her frock and her eyes
were a deep lustrous brown. already men were staring
at her with blatant admiration.
but there was one man who looked at her more
intently than the others. it was the gambler,
merrill. he made a sign for her to come across
to the table at which he was playing. hezekiah
watched closely. he saw the girl note
merrill's gesture and a look almost of disdain
came across her face. then, smiling a little
crooked smile, she walked across the room
.cc27
to the gambler, her body a swaying aphro-
disiac.
when she reached the gambler he grinned
familiarly at her and spoke. the girl
answered him, no.ing, one hand playing easily
at the ribbon about her throat. through his narrowed

28 2. slade and the gambler
eye hezekiah could see pretty plainly that
the two were far from strangers.
after a minute or two the girl moved off from
the gambler's table. almost immediately a man
approached her, offering to buy her a drink. the
girl looked at him coolly, sized him up
and nodded.
hezekiah seized the opportunity. he
limped across and sat down next to merrill, the
little dog trotting alongside him and then lying
at his feet.
idly shuffling the cards with swift, deft
fingers, the gambler made no pretence about his
non-appreciation of dogs, especially when
brought indoors. he said drily, "i take it
your animal is entirely free of fleas,
sheriff?"
hezekiah said easily, "not absolutely,
.cc28
although i do my best for him. but i would sooner

28 2. slade and the gambler
lie down alongside mister short-tail here
than with some men i know." merrill, hands still
playing with the cards, smiled. "does that
particularly go for gamblers?"
hezekiah shook his head. "i got nothin'
against gamblers as a whole. not unless they deal from
the bottom of the deck."
merrill asked blandly, "what card would you like
to have dealt to you if you already held a deuce, a
three, a four and a five?"
hezekiah said slowly, "obviously an
ace or a six." the gambler shuffled the deck
thoroughly and then made a deft movement. the
ace of clubs flashed across the table to heze-
kiah, face up, followed the next instant
by a six of diamonds. merrill said softly,
"there's your straight with either card." he smiled.
"but, mind you, i only do that on rare
occasions."
"like," said hezekiah steadily, "when you

29 2. slade and the gambler
intend to fleece a sucker and you're
.cc29
dealing to yf?"
merrill reached across and picked up the two
cards he had flicked across to the sheriff.
"riverboat gamblers might do that with those wealthy
planters. but i'm just a small-time player
matching my skill against that of others who like
to play cards for money."
hezekiah changed the subject. "that girl
you were just talking to--who is she?"
merrill looked at him directly, an
amused smile on his lips. "i can see that
even your limited sight has revealed her to you
as a woman of unusual good looks." he
skimmed a few cards across the table and gathered
them in again. "her name is sheree brodie. she and
i had what you might call an acquaintance in
another town at another time. i was surprised
to see her turn up here."

30 2. slade and the gambler
hezekiah ventured. "this going to change your
mind about calling on the schoolmarm?"
merrill's voice froze, his face
suddenly
.cc30
icy. "i don't see what my private
affairs have to do with you, sheriff horn, but for your
information what sheree brodie and i had between us is
in the past. i have found rachel jones to be a
most attractive young lady with an excellent
mind and a sound knowledge of good literature. i will
continue to see her."
hezekiah said comfortably, "just askin'.
funny how tangled affairs of the heart can
sometimes cause trouble in a town. i aim to have as
little trouble in this town as possible."
merrill murmured, "noting your certain--
ah--physical handicaps, i have no doubt
that's how you feel, sheriff."
hezekiah fixed him steadily with his one

31 2. slade and the gambler
eye. it had suddenly attained a steely glint
like that at the point of a bowie knife. the sheriff
got up to leave the table. he looked down at
the cards in the hands of the gambler. he said
conversationally, "you and me are gunna get along
fine, gambling man, if
.cc31
you stick to the rules laid down by mr edmond
hoyle."
he limped away from the table, the little dog
immediately jumping to his feet and following. the
gambler's eyes followed the sheriff across the
saloon, a growing look of animosity in their
poker-faced depths.
the batwing doors had scarcely closed behind
hezekiah when the girl was suddenly alongside
him. it was the blonde in the scarlet gown. she
touched his arm. hezekiah turned to face her,
his eye fixing her steadily.
the girl's voice was throaty but pleasant.

32 2. slade and the gambler
it belied her showy, almost gaudy appearance. she
said quickly, "you're hezekiah horn. i heard
about you in a couple of other towns. you are an
honest lawman."
her eyes suddenly lost the brazen look of
anybody's girl. for a moment she was young and
tired and searching for some sort of help. her
fingers tightened on his arm. "look, sheriff,
i've seen a lot of towns and a lot of
.cc32
shady saloons. i want to settle down
somewhere. maybe get an honest job, earn
money that hasn't come out of some woman-crazy
cowhand's pocket. a lot of townspeople
don't like saloon girls. they're always
looking for a chance to run us out of town."
her voice was pleading now. "if there's any
trouble in the four aces it won't come from me,
sheriff. just give me a break and let me see
what i can do to get to being something better than a

33 2. slade and the gambler
well-dressed floozie."
hezekiah stared at her, his one eye a
disconcerting glittering probe. the girl
returned his gaze without flinching. hezekiah
relaxed. he nodded back at the saloon. "you
been friends with merrill before?"
sheree brodie gave a crooked grin. "more
than friends. but myron has a habit of taking
a lot more than he ever gives." the grin
changed to a knowing smile. "i've been in and
around this state for nearly a year but this is the first
time myron't ever been in arizona
.cc33
territory. he hasn't heard about you yet."
a touch of humour lightened one corner of her
mouth. "i don't know why i ask this. maybe
it's just for the times he seemed a better man
than he really is. you won't hurt him too
bad if he steps out of line, will you?"
hezekiah gave her a thoughtful look.

34 3. strangers in town
"all depends if your old flame decides
to cross the line. if he stays on the law's
side of it, won't be no trouble."
the girl bent down to the little dog to pat it.
mister short-tail sniffed her hand and then
licked it. hezekiah said, "you just passed the
best test i know for being a talker of truth.
don't believe me and mister short-tail are
gunna have a lot of trouble with you."
he went off into the dark, the little dog again his
shadow. the girl smiled after them, something apart from
the mascara making her eyes look brighter.
::::::::::::
3
strangers in town
.cc34
tommy turner came into the office, eager
to say something. hezekiah blinked his eye at
him. "well, what is it, old man, that you're
bustin' to tell me?"

35 3. strangers in town
the little deputy burst out, "coupla queer
jiggers just rode in. they is down at henry
porter's store right now. idea seems to be
they want to buy a new shirt apiece. at
least, that's what henry thinks they mean."
hezekiah narrowed his eyes. "thinks they
mean? why in tarnation doesn't he know what
they mean?"
"ah." tommy turner sucked in a breath,
delighted at what he was going to say next.
"looks like they are both dummies. can't
talk, neither of them. looks like they are also
brothers."
.cc35
hezekiah got to his feet, more interested.
"what do you mean--looks like they're brothers?"
tommy turner let out a whoop and cackled.
"hezekiah, you jist gotta see 'em. they
ain't men--they is mountains. never seen so
much blubber 'cept on a giant hog. but for

36 3. strangers in town
all that they both look like they gotta lot of
muscle beneath the fat. tell you, i wouldn't
fancy ginttin' one of those boys riled at
me."
he shot an excited grin at the sheriff.
"anyway, henry wants you to come down and help
him out with these dummies. figured you might know
a little about that finger talk they been usin'. they
been flyin' it about like their fingers was gunna fly
right off their hands."
hezekiah grumbled, "a little injun sign
language that apache joe taught me when we
were scouts together is all the finger talk i know.
won't help much with these dummies. but let's
go see them, anyway."
.cc36
when they got to the store and walked inside
hezekiah could hear the raised voice of the
storekeeper. it held a note of exasperation,
"now, i don't know exactly what you boys

37 3. strangers in town
want, how you're gunna pay for it, what in
all we're gunna--was his voice trailed
off as he saw the sheriff.
henry porter was a thin, scrawny man with
battered spectacles perched on a bony,
buzzard-like beak. he came forward, hands held
out pleadingly to the sheriff. "hezekiah, maybe
you can help out here--was
the sheriff switched his gaze to the two men
standing facing the owner of the dry goods store. his
eye flickered a little as it rested on them. they
were immense, two great bears of men, all
flesh, rough hair and brute strength. they had
two almost identical faces, flat-nosed,
thick-lipped and low-browed. the two looked as
if they belonged in some long-ago stone age,
strangling sabre-toothed tigers with their bare
hands.
.cc37
their clothes were dirty, tattered and frayed.

38 3. strangers in town
obviously they had come to the store to buy a new
rig apiece and henry was having trouble with the
purchases.
the two turned their gaze towards heze-
kiah. their eyes were aloof and cold, as if they
had lived on the fringe of mankind and were
distrusted by men. hezekiah could understand that. he
thought he had better make some move.
he dove his hand into his pocket and pulled
out a couple of dollars. he pointed to their
pockets with an inquiring look. the men nodded,
thrust hands like thick-knuckled clubs into theirthe
pockets and each pulled out a handful of money.
hezekiah said, "well, you ain't got any
trouble about their paying you, henry. they've been
working some place." one of the two, just slightly
taller than the fatter one, made an
impatient gesture. he walked over to a heap
of clothing, picking up a shirt
.cc38

38 3. strangers in town
and a pair of pants he might just have been able
to struggle into. he motioned to the other man to do
the same. holding the articles in their massive
hands, they fronted henry porter at his counter,
holding out money in their free hands.
tommy turner cackled, "see, henry,
nice an' easy, warn't it? you didn't need
the sheriff, after all."
the storekeeper, muttering and grumbling,
picked the amount of money to pay for the clothes out
of the two dirty paws holding it and began
to wrap up the items. the fatter giant of the
two leered at hezekiah and made the motion of
holding a glass up to his lips and drinking
down the contents.
the sheriff murmured, "wash the trail dust
out of the mouth." he pointed out the front window
of the store in the direction of the four aces
saloon. the fat one nodded and the taller one
grinned, licking thick lips in anticipation

39 3. strangers in town
of the whisky.
.cc39
as the sheriff and tommy left the store,
hezekiah clipped out at the deputy,
"better keep an eye on those two. go up
to the four aces after them. if they get likkered
up after what looks like may have been a long
dry for them they could do a lot of damage. either
one of them could push the four aces over with one
hand."
when tommy turner came back to the office
he was full of further excitement. he burst
out, "here's somethin' for you, sheriff. them two
lee-viathans went right up to the four aces and
downed four whiskies apiece like they was
afraid they was gunna be a ban put on
drinkin' the very next minute. they just slid their
money over the bar, so no trouble there. but when the
barkeep started askin' them questions they couldn't
answer they started to git a little riled up. then

40 3. strangers in town
about that time that gambler merill, he showed up. and
you know somethin'?"
the little man's eyes sparkled with
.ccbledj
relish at what he was going to say next. "he
turned out to be a dab hand at that finger talk.
them two whales, they near fell on his neck
with pleasure and there was more fingers workin' overtime
than females at a quiltin' party. i heard
merrill say to someone who asked him about it that
he once had a deaf mute partner he learned
the lingo from. anyway, he finished up buyin'
them two another coupla drinks and sittin' there
talkin' with 'em."
he concluded, "tell you somethin', boss. them
two outsize hombres look like it would take
more liquor than davenport can supply to get
them drunk. but i don't figure they've got
any idees of goin' on the prod."
hezekiah screwed up his eye. "well, not
41 3. strangers in town
right now maybe. but if ever they did this town would
suffer." he sat back in his chair and looked
up at the ceiling. he opined, "strong drink
taken in over-large quantities ain't no
friend to man." he touched the black-bound volume
on his desk with the steel tip
.ccbleda
of his hook. "the good book says, it biteth like
a serpent and stingeth like an adder."
tommy turner's eyes held a pro-
vocative glint. he cackled, "i ain't no
bible-readin' man, like you, hezekiah, but i do
believe the good book says somethin' else about
likker. it says somewhere, don't it, that it
makes glad the heart of man?"
hezekiah said, "it don't make glad the
heart of them that have got to go lookin' for mad
dogs all likkered up that go shootin' their
pistols off at all and sundry." he went
back to his books. "keep an eye on them,

42 3. strangers in town
tommy. it don't seem right that two men that
size and with those looks don't pack away
inside them a heap of malice that might just
break out and do some damage."
it was two days later that tommy turner
came bustling into the office from a round of the town.
"them two lee-viathans, they both got themselves
jobs right here in town. accordin'
.ccbledb
to merrill the gambler, them two is brothers
all right. the taller one he calls big bart
and the other one is fat freddie. seems like that's
what they allus been known as." he went on.
"well, looks like freddie been trained as a
blacksmith. seems he's gunna take over
the forge that ole hector varden left behind when
he died a while ago. the town been needin' a
good man to shoe our horseflesh."
hezekiah prompted, "and the other one?"
tommy took up his narrative. "well,

43 3. strangers in town
him, the one they call big bart, seems like he
worked for a time as assistant to a wheelwright
fixin' an' makin' wagons, buggies,
buckboards an' all. ole jim mason said
he'd take him on to help him out. said with
shoulders like that he oughta be able to do the liftin' of
wheels an' axles that jim ain't too handy
at pickin' up any more."
* * *
.ccbledc
myron merrill clicked the little wicket
gate behind him and walked up the neat path
to rachel jones' front door. he was a
regular caller now. rachel met him at the
door, smiling.
merrill stepped inside and took the book from
underneath his arm to hand it to her. "it was certainly a
pleasure to read it again ... old miss
havisham with her decaying bridal feast laid
out on the table, pip with his hopeless love for

44 3. strangers in town
estella, miss havisham with her undying hate
for the man who jilted her, estella and her
fatal marriage--was
he stopped, smiling ruefully. "you know,
miss jones, that book in a way is full of
thwarted romance." he gave her a side-long
glance. "i trust your heart is not entirely
shut out to the pleasantries of courtship."
rachel gave him a quick look, smiling a
little. "not entirely, mr merrill. i suppose
i am as vulnerable to cupid's dart as the next
woman."
"ah." merrill was brisk. "now, isn't it
time we stopped this formal mister
.ccbledd
and miss business? can't it just be myron and
rachel?"
the girl nodded her head. "of course. we
haven't known each other for long but in a way it
seems--was

45 3. strangers in town
"much longer," merrill finished for her. she
nodded again. she said, giving him a kind glance,
"and it's good to note that we share the same
feelings about helping others. i taught in a
special school for deaf mutes for a year or
two. i only gave it up when this post here
offered itself where i could be a real help
to frontier children who otherwise might know no
schooling."
merrill's eyes flickered with a surprise
that held the slightest touch of discomfort about it.
he laughed.
"and here am i thinking that everything i say to those
big overgrown oafs is strictly confi-
dential between them and me."
it was late when he left. john slade,
watching from the back of his horse under some trees
some distance away, rode off in a state of
black depression.
.ccblede

45 3. strangers in town
it looked as if he would need to seek out a
different bride to carry across the threshold of his
waiting cabin.
* * *
tommy turner swung into the sheriff's
office, grumbling aloud. hezekiah cocked
his head. "what's your beef this time, old-
timer?"
the little deputy spluttered, "this here town is
bein' invaded by furriners. couple saddle-
tramps rode in today aimin' to hang about for a
while until they spend what they were paid off with
at the end of a trail drive. ornery-lookin'
customers. said if they like the place and there's
ranch work around might settle down here a
while. tired of travellin' on, they said."
hezekiah creased his brow above the one eye.
"mebbe so i better look these couple over. the
population around here seems to be going up without
adding anything of real class to its numbers.

46 3. strangers in town
guess i'll find them at the
.ccbledf
four aces or some other saloon."
hezekiah left the office and sauntered
over to the saloon. he picked up the two
wandering cowhands tommy had talked about as soon
as he went in. they were standing drinking at the other
end of the bar.
hezekiah ordered his usual sarsaparilla
and stood at the bar slowly drinking it and
unobtrusively studying the two cowhands. they
wore range-battered clothes, no better
nor worse than other bunkhouse companions,
and they were lean and sun-bitten like all their
breed.
but hezekiah also noted there was a sullen,
morose look about them that he had not seen in the
faces and eyes of other cowpunchers.
he said conversationally, "you boys spending a time
in town?"

47 3. strangers in town
one, with heavily-squinted eyes, spoke
first. "that's about the size of it, sheriff. we
earned our pay hard but now we want to spend it
easy."
hezekiah nodded. "that won't be too hard
to do in here. the only way
.ccbledg
you'd go out of here with more money than when you came
in would be if you clubbed the barkeep and robbed the
till."
the other cowboy, smaller and a little younger than
the other one, grinned fiercely. "now, that might
not be a bad idee if it wasn't you that put it
to us, sheriff."
hezekiah asked, "what are your moni-
kers?" the first cowhand had pulled a sack of
tobacco from his pocket and was rolling a smoke.
he jerked a thumb. "this here is hank smith and
i'm 4# phillips."
hezekiah fastened his one eye on them.

48 4. hezekiah and the hook
"well, now, ed, you and hank have your fun but
don't be too noisy about it. and if you're
plannin' on a longer stay there's ranches
around that might need hands. but," his eyes fixed
them with a gorgon-like stare, "none of them are
lookin' for hands who might leave in the night
without thankin' the cook for his tender, loving
care."
::::::::::::
4
hezekiah and the hook
.ccbledh
john slade rode into town. he was wearing his
sunday g-to-meeting suit of black serge,
white cotton shirt and tie of black
ribbon. it was the garb he wore when calling on
rachel jones but tonight he was headed for a different
destination.
riding up the main street, he dismounted and
hitched his horse outside the four aces

49 4. hezekiah and the hook
saloon. slade was a man who felt himself
to be crossed in love and he was intent on
finding some degree of solace in alcohol.
normally a man of solemn disposition, he was
at this time plunged into a state of depression.
he walked into the saloon, ordered a
bottle and a glass from the barkeep and sat at
a table alone. he started
.ccbledi
thinking about the disparities between the gambler merrill
and himself. the man, although he worked at what was
generally considered a disreputable trade, had much
that john slade lacked.
merrill dressed with elegance, had manners
to match and in addition was a well-read man. a
cloud of despair came over john slade's
thoughts as he pondered upon these things. how could a
woman of rachel jones' breeding, refinement and
education prefer a common dirt-farmer to a well
travelled man of the world who had developed a

50 4. hezekiah and the hook
sense of etiquette and had the knowledge of things that
loomed large in a teacher's mind?
he gloomily poured himself a stiff shot of
whisky and drank it down. he was getting set
to have for himself a drink-sodden evening.
suddenly a whiff of perfume trickled up
his nose and he was aware of a female body right
next to him. he looked up and his eyes
widened. the
.cc50
girls of the saloon were mostly scrawny or
over-weight with a strong touch of the slattern about
them.
this one was different. she was dressed in a
sky-blue frock with earrings and necklace
to match. she wore stockings that were a blue-
black sheen against the slim curves of her
legs and dainty blue slippers encased her
equally shapely feet.
her hair was a mass of blonde waves,

51 4. hezekiah and the hook
expertly tinted, and the startling blue of her
eyes was emphasised by delicate touches of the
mascara that the other girls usually applied in
grotesque blobs. there was a smile about the
friendly curve of her mouth. john slade was
too enchanted at the sight of her to notice the
faint look of weary distaste at the back of
her eyes.
the girl said, "evening, stranger. why drink
alone when you can have company?"
at that moment as he looked at this houri
seemingly conjured up by some incredible genie out
of the normal
.cc51
shabby background of the saloon, john
slade's ever-present vision of the elegant
rachel jones receded a little from his mind. the
farmer got awkwardly to his feet. he had
never had time for saloon girls before but this one was
different.

52 4. hezekiah and the hook
he blurted, "i'll get another glass from
the bar." when he came back the girl was seated
at his table as if she belonged there. once again
he missed the glance of mockery at the back of
her eyes as she watched the awkward movements
of the farmer.
john slade poured a generous portion of
whisky into her glass. the girl murmured, "that
will do me for the rest of the evening. unless, of
course, you're planning to get me drunk with
something else in mind?"
slade blushed. he mumbled, "i ain't no
woman-hungry cowhand. i'm just pleased to have a
little feminine company."
the girl shot a quick look at him,
surprised. she took a sip at her
.cc52
drink. she said conversationally, "you a farmer, i
guess?"
slade nodded, a note of enthusiasm coming

52 4. hezekiah and the hook
into his voice. "i got me a farm a few
miles out that just can't be beat in eden county. i
worked it up until it's paying me right well.
and i've built on it a farmhouse that any
woman would find to her taste."
the girl smiled a little at the proud
naivete of the farmer. she said lightly, "then i
take it you are an unmarried man looking for a
bride?"
at her words a picture of rachel jones
came flooding back into john slade's mind.
he said unhappily, "i guess so. but don't
seem that i'm lucky in love." sheree
brodie looked at him calculatingly. "you
had a lady love turn you down?"
"sort of." slade lapsed into silence. the
girl said, smiling. "you got a rival?"
john slade looked up at her thoughtfully.
he felt like telling someone. he somehow felt this
girl might listen and

53 4. hezekiah and the hook
.cc53
maybe understand. he began slowly. "you see i
ain't had much book learnin'. folks died when
i was young and i had to forget 'bout schoolin' and
battle to try to save our farm. lost that one but
i got a job with another farmer and kept saving
till i could buy me a little land. i worked that up
until i could buy a bigger piece of land and i
did the same with it. then i finally got me the
piece of land i have now and it suits me fine."
"so," offered the girl, "you are still a young
man, you've got a successful farm and you are
looking for a good woman to help you raise a
family?"
a slow smile came over the farmer's
face. "that is it." the girl went on, "but the
girl you had in mind is maybe a bit beyond your
reach?"
john slade nodded, his heart warming towards
this girl. "you look to be sort of readin' my

54 4. hezekiah and the hook
mind." he waved his hands a little. "like i told
you, i ain't had no book learnin'. this girl,
she's had heaps. and the feller she is taking
.cc54
a shine to is a real dandy. talks in a fine
way and it would appear he has read most
everything that them famous writers have written. i
jest feel sorta--sorta just like a poor
dumb dirt-farmer." he hung his head a little.
the girl's eyes softened. she reached across the
table and rested a gentle hand on his arm. "there's
no shame in being an honest, hardworking man who
has made a success of his profession." her
eyes hardened a little. "let me tell you,
i've had some experience with dandies with soft
talk and knowledge of books. one of them treated me
really bad one time."
she patted his arm. "listen, my name's sheree
brodie. let's just sit and talk and pretend
for a while i'm that girl you seem to have lost.

55 4. hezekiah and the hook
maybe you haven't lost her, after all." she
said emphatically, "all you need do is to bring
her attention to the fact that smooth-talking
dudes are not always the best choice for a girl."
.cc55
she looked at him out of the corner of one
smiling blue eye. "and maybe if she still
doesn't see it your way let her know there's
plenty of other pebbles on the beach." she
smiled more widely, "and you've met one of those
pebbles tonight."
john slade stared back at her and suddenly
a smile creased his dark, solemn face. he
was glad he had come to the four aces tonight and it
had nothing to do with the saloon's liquor
supply.
* * *
tommy turner was doing his patrol of his part
of the town. the scattergun was cradled under his arm
as usual. now and then in former days when he was more

56 4. hezekiah and the hook
lively he had cracked the butt against the
skulls of drunken, noisy nuisances,
rarely if ever shooting at anyone.
but today he simply carried the gun out of
habit, a threat that he
.cc56
never really put into practice. still, it looked
fearsome and young roisterers respected the peppery
little lawman and his weapon.
it was when tommy had rounded the corner of one
of the stores, coming out of a dark alleyway he had
wandered down that he heard the footsteps. it was the
heavy tread of more than one man--and big
men, at that.
he looked around quickly but it was dark and the
shadows could have hidden an elephant. he
walked on, tensed a little now, aware of the same
movement behind him. he stopped suddenly
alongside a horse-trough. he turned and
looked back again. he called, "hey, who's

57 4. hezekiah and the hook
trackin' me? come on out and let me see
yuh. i got a gun here that can talk mighty
loud if you're up to no good."
there was dead silence. then suddenly there emerged
out of the shadows two huge shapes, the deaf
mute brothers, big bart and fat freddie.
they were grinning all over
.cc57
their squat, thick-lipped faces, as ugly as
some menacing heathen idol.
tommy peered at them and then relaxed. he
thought of what were probably the tiny minds
encased in those thick, low-browed skulls and he
figured this was the sort of prank that in their
infantile way they would think to be funny. he
called, "all right, boys, you've had your
fun. now, be on your way." he wished he had
the finger talk to make it plain to them.
the two giants came closer to him. they were
still grinning but as they drew near tommy could see

58 4. hezekiah and the hook
there was not a lot of humour in their expressions.
there was something in their eyes that spoke of far
less jocular intent. a little alarmed, he
began to bring the scattergun upright.
but already big bart had moved with a speed no
onlooker could have thought he possessed. one great
splay-fingered hand had closed around the barrel
of the gun and wrenched it free of tommy's
grasp as if a baby were
.cc58
holding the other end of it. the giant tossed the
gun into the middle of the street.
tommy spluttered with indignation and began
to scuttle after his weapon but already the other
giant, fat freddie, had grabbed him. the little
deputy struggled in the big man's grasp but
the hands fastened around him were like the jaws of some
mighty steel pincers.
fat freddie lifted tommy in the air,
holding him aloft. with one mighty downward

59 4. hezekiah and the hook
movement, he plunged tommy into the horse-
trough, the little man's wildly kicking legs
frothing up the water. fat freddie released his
hold and immediately big bart took over.
as the little lawman suddenly surfaced,
gasping frantically for breath, big bart
grabbed him and pushed him under again, holding him
down despite the deputy's frenzied
struggles.
big bart finally dragged tommy up out of the
water, weak and sodden, eyes bulging now, his
struggles weaker. fat
.cc59
freddie took over again and once more pushed the
deputy under.
tommy's short legs had stopped kicking
now and he rolled over in the trough, weak and
half-drowned.
after a while he clawed his way weakly out
of the trough. he fell over the side and out,

60 4. hezekiah and the hook
fighting for breath, a saturated wreck, eyes
still bulged, his face blue from the near-drowning.
he collapsed against the side of the trough and lay
there sprawled out for some time.
then slowly helping himself up against the legs
of the trough, he staggered to his feet. when he
got upright he reeled over towards his
scattergun, bent down to pick it up, almost
falling headlong in the effort, and swayed off
down the street, heading for the sheriff's office.
hezekiah mouthed, "what in hades--was
tommy said, his voice a weak whisper, "them
two lee-viathans ... they jumped me and
tossed me in a horse
.cc60
trough. they evidently don't like the law--was
hezekiah's eye gleamed like a diamond-
back rattlesnake poised to strike. he
rapped out, "get them clothes off and get some
blankets around you. we'll start the stove up

61 4. hezekiah and the hook
and you sit by it."
the little deputn protested weakly but
hezekiah was already ripping the clothes off him.
in a few minutes hezekiah had tommy
wrapped in blankets and sitting in front of a
warming stove with coffee on the boil.
hezekiah pointed to the stove. "when that coffee
boils, pour a mug full and lace it with
whisky. and then stay right where you are till i
get back."
hezekiah went out, mister short-tail
trotting at his heels. when he entered the four
aces, the little dog still with him, there was a crowd
there. hezekiah spotted the gambler first. he
wanted him as an interpreter. he went over
to the table and snapped at the gambler,
.cc61
"merrill, i want you to come with me right now."
the gambler looked up, a defiant look
on his face. "sheriff, i am in the middle of a

62 4. hezekiah and the hook
game."
hezekiah said flatly, "put the cards
down and come with me or i'll hammer you across the
skull with my colt right now."
the other men at the table all looked uneasy.
one pushed his chair back and moved away.
the gambler narrowed his eyes, opened his mouth
to say something and thought better of it. he threw his
cards down on the table and got up. he gave
the sheriff an ugly glance. "what now, mr
high-and-mighty lawman?"
hezekiah gestured towards where he could see
the two giants at the bar, grinning as they
drank together. "we are going to ask a question of those
two freaks over there. i want you to talk to them
for me."
when they reached the bar the two
.cc62
big brothers turned to face them, still grinning.
"ask them," said hezekiah evenly, "if

62 4. hezekiah and the hook
they dumped my deputy in a horse-trough
earlier tonight and damn near left him for dead."
a flicker passed over merrill's face and
he flashed his fingers at the two brothers. in
reply big bart worked his big thick fingers with a
flourish. the brothers stood there calmly,
confident in their own massive strength, grinning
more openly than ever.
a dead quiet had descended on the
saloon. card-players had dropped their
cards, drinkers had turned aside from their
glasses. everyone stared at that corner of the bar.
merrill said coolly, "they say they did
what you said they did. they say it was just a big
joke."
big bart's fingers moved fast again.
hezekiah spoke again, his voice cold and
flat. "what did he say that time?"
merrill grinned. "he said you ought to get a
bigger deputy." he looked
63 4. hezekiah and the hook
.cc63
around expectantly but there was no snigger from
anyone in the crowd. merrill shrugged and kept
grinning. mister short-tail was sniffing around
big bart's boots. as he did so he
growled.
the giant looked down, lifted one boot
casually and kicked the little dog against the bar.
mister short-tail yelped as his tiny body
hit the brass rail.
hezekiah's hook streaked through the air, a
fork of steel lightening. big bart stared open-
mouthed at his chest and stomach where the hook had
torn a long, jagged, slash right down through the
flesh. the hook stopped at the buckle of his
belt.
with one movement, hezekiah jerked the man
towards him and at the same time slipped his own
hat off his head with his left hand. as big bart
was jerked forward at hezekiah's powerful tug

64 4. hezekiah and the hook
the sheriff slammed the crown of his head into the
giant's shocked face, the broken nose
instantly pouring blood. hezekiah released
the hook, stood back
.cc64
and kicked the big man in the jaw with the toe of his
right boot.
big bart, a bleeding ruin, crashed to the
floor. merrill was already sprawling there,
knocked down by the force of the sheriff's
explosive attack.
fat freddie, mouthing incoherent grunts,
lumbered at hezekiah, swinging one leg in a
mighty lunging kick. the hook flashed again,
sinking into the calf of the lashing leg. fat
freddie's face twisted with agonising pain.
hezekiah's left hand streaked down to the
holster at his hip, coming up with the colt ,44 in
his hand. he smashed the barrel against the right side
of the giant's head.

65 4. hezekiah and the hook
there was the sound of breaking bone, the splinters
daubed with blood. as the huge man fell
backwards there was the ripping sound of flesh as the
weight of his body tore hezekiah's hook
free.
merrill was getting to his feet, stark
incredulity on his bulge-eyed face.
hezekiah pointed the index finger of
.cc65
his left hand at the gambler. he said, voice
stiff with ice, "i do not tolerate unkindness
shown to an animal, a small man, a woman
or a child. only cowardly skunks ever hurt
them."
he pointed at the two mountainous heaps on
the floor. "when those two brainless hulks come
around you tell them that if they try anything again like
they did tonight i will really hurt them." he
turned and limped away, picking up the little


66 5. shadows in the night
dog as he went.
::::::::::::
5
shadows in the night
.cc66
hezekiah sat alone in the office in
front of the jailhouse as he often did even
when there was no one in the cells. little mister
short-tail growled before the light tap came
at the door, almost the sound of a ghost in the
night.
he opened the door and a figure slid past
him with the quietness of a wraith risen from the
grave. it stood clear of the lamplight in
case some late passerby happened to glance in
the window. hezekiah breathed, "apache
joe--what in hades--was
the man smiled, showing an array of glittering
teeth that would have looked at home in the mouth of a
wolf. mister short-tail strangely had

67 5. shadows in the night
stopped growling. the shadow bent
.cc67
down to pat him and the little dog licked his hand and
went back to where he had been curled up.
the man who had made the entrance was of short
stature in the manner of his tribe and had the
bow-legs of one almost constantly in the saddle.
but there was a quivering alertness about him, a sense
of physical strength well above the ordinary,
the impression of a lithe-muscled cougar dressed
up as a man. he wore the usual head-band
of the males of his people, keeping flowing hair out of
his eyes, a beaded buckskin shirt, matching
trousers and knee-length moccasins obviously
made for him by a loving squaw.
he said, "hola, hezekiah. how is my
old friend, chief one-eye, the one with the hand of
steel?"
hezekiah stared at him. "you got your nerve
joe, comin' in here like this. anyone seen you they'd

68 5. shadows in the night
have raised all hell. probaby took a shot
at you, too. you apaches ain't our loving
friends--was
.cc68
the indian nodded, still smiling. "that is why i
came late at night, walking in the shadows."
he looked under thick black brows at the
lawman. "the memory of company b and the
indian scouts is still with you, my friend?"
hezekiah scowled, "of course it is,
joe. we had many good rides together until you
decided to go back to your tribe and i decided
to give up leading the scouts and go mining where i
got all this." he gestured to the patch over one
eye and the steel claw at the end of his arm.
he went on grimly, "but we ain't riding
together these days, joe--not since you took up
that netdahe life. "death to all intruders
..." that's what that word means, doesn't it,
joe?"

69 5. shadows in the night
the indian nodded his head. hezekiah
pressed on. "and we're the intruders, ain't
we, joe--the pinda-lick-o-ye, the white
eyes, the palefaces?"
apache joe stopped smiling. "we
.cc69
have other intrudths. the nakai-ye."
hezekiah said curtly, "the mexicans? but
you've had them longer than you've had us."
the indian said shortly, "not this kind.
romero's riders. they are wolves. they come with
gun and knife and they raid us. they wait
until our warriors are out on the hunt or
riding with a war party and they attack the
rancheria. they have raped our women, killed our
children--was
hezekiah stared. "but you are apaches, great
warriors, deadly fighters--was
apache joe scowled. "these are not the soft-
bellied, cowardly nakai-ye we have fought and

70 5. shadows in the night
domolished before. that romero, he is a demon,
a devil, an evil-doer, a snake, a
witch--he has nothing but death on his mind.
and when men like this have such a purpose they are hard
to resist."
hezekiah fixed him with a long look. "so?"
the indian returned his gaze steadily. "i
have come with an offer, my friend.
.cc70
it is this. let us fight together--we apaches
and you, the people of this town and country. let us conquer
these raiders and send them back deep
into mexico where they belong. if this is done, if
you will fight with us, i give you my solemn
pledge that never again will an apache make a
raid on your eden county."
hezekiah thought for a moment. he said sharply,
"what does your shaman say about all this? you
are the chief but it is the word of the medicine man
that counts in the end."

71 5. shadows in the night
apache joe nodded. "that is so. he is one
with me in this thought."
hezekiah snapped, "what about blue
jacket?"
the indian shrugged his shoulders, a tight
smile creasing his face for a moment. "as with all
things, he opposes me. but he is only a
sub-chief. i am the true leader."
the sheriff pondered. "he is a dangerous
man. one night he will sneak up on you and you will
feel
.cc71
the steel in your back."
apache joe smiled. "my favourite
squaw is the best watch-dog i know. she would
skewer him in the doing of it."
hezekiah thought again. he said pensively,
"you have given me a strong thought, my friend.
maybe we can come to terms. romero's raiders
are the real curse of the south-west. if we can

72 5. shadows in the night
destroy him and you keep your word this part of the
territory at least will know peace."
the indian's brows raised themselves high.
"keep my word? have you ever known me when i went
back on it?"
hezekiah shook his head. "my apolo-
gies, old friend. not only were you the best
tracker i ever had among my scouts but you were the
one who never spoke with a crooked tongue." he
pursed his lips. "what you ask will be a little
difficult to arrange from my end." he shook his
head. "my people here still remember your apache
cry--cat-ra-ra ata un' innaa not' un'
nakai-ye!
.cc72
death and destruction to all whites and mexicans
..."
apache joe nodded and smiled. "inform them that
if they fall in with us that cry will no longer
include you blancos in this county."

73 5. shadows in the night
he moved to the door. he glanced back at
hezekiah and a look of affection flashed quickly
across his face. "as the nakai-ye say,
adios. let's hope that when we meet again it
will be in agreement." he vanished through the door
like something hezekiah had only imagined.
the sheriff stared after him. maybe this bizarre
request could work ...
* * *
the older one of the two cowpunchers, 4#
phillips, went to the door of the battered cabin
and opened it. myron merrill stepped in, the
two hulking shapes behind him looming up like
nightmares out of the dark.
the five men seated themselves
.cc73
around the room, three on rickety chairs, the
two cowpunchers on one of the bunks against one
wall.
phillips growled, "well, boss, any more

73 5. shadows in the night
movement?"
merrill spread his hands. "it takes time."
he looked around at the other four with a touch of
sarcasm on his face. "it takes brains and
thought. and all that comes back to me."
the other cowboy, hank smith, objected.
"don't pair us up with them two brainless
hulks sittin' next yuh."
big bart, broken nose now adding further
to his grotesque looks, growled like a
battered bear. merrill grinned. "watch what
you say. big bart does a little lip-reading."
he gestured at the two monsters sitting on the
chairs that creaked under their slightest movement.
"these two are for muscle power. no matter where
we go and what we do they are going to be
useful."
he leaned forward and rested his arms on the
rickety table he was sitting at. "now, let
me tell you there's plenty

74 5. shadows in the night
.cc74
of loot in that bank. i made a point of
putting in a hefty deposit and the banker has
been glad to see me. i've called on him
several times and i've learned a lot about their
procedures and just where all the money and gold
is stashed."
he said reflectively, "he's a nice
guy, jason carstairs. i just hope we
don't have to plug him."
4# phillips' face became a cold
mask. "i'd plug a dozen bankers to get
at their dough."
merrill snapped, "you've always been
trigger-happy, ed. good thing that what you've done
before has been in other states far removed from
arizona territory or the sheriff here would know
about you. we don't want any trouble until the
day we raid the bank. we want everything to go
along nice and easy with no suspicion

75 5. shadows in the night
directed at any of us until then. it's got
to go right, every step of the way." he leaned forward.
"now listen ..." the other four craned
.cc75
their heads towards him the thought of the coming coup
making them lick their lips.
* * *
john slade had ridden into town again. he
headed for the four aces saloon, hitched his
horse outside and went in. as he did his
gaze travelled around the saloon, looking for the
girl. at the same moment that he saw her she
looked towards him and smiled.
she pointed to an empty table. slade nodded
and went to the bar to order drinks. when he reached
her sheree brodie gave him a warm look.
"back again so soon? you must find something here
attractive."
slade gave her his slow farmer's smile.
"well, let me tell you it ain't the

76 5. shadows in the night
liquor. i never did care for it all that much.
and it ain't the card playin'. that's just a good
way of losing money to some hombre who's had more
time to study it than farmers got time to do.
.cc76
and it ain't the cowboys who come in here."
he drew a breath. "they smell too much of
sweat and cow-muck."
sheree smiled and her voice dropped a little.
she leaned forward impulsively and touched his
arm. "look, i don't believe you've had much
to do with saloon girls. we are a funny
race. we--we move around a lot. men know
we are only vagrants and so--well, they
treat us like that." her eyes drew his in an
honest stare.
john slade cleared his throat. "maybe
what you're saying is all true. but i don't
think a woman has necessarily got to be a
housewife to be what you might call a good

77 5. shadows in the night
woman. there's other things."
sheree smiled wryly. "like hanging around
saloons and encouraging men to drink so the house
makes a profit?"
slade shook his head. "you got me wrong."
he gave her a solemn straightforward look.
"you look to me like a girl who ain't out
to deliberately
.cc77
cheat a man of the money it might have cost him a
lot of sweat to earn. i think you are an honest
woman. and a mighty good-lookin' one."
sheree was silent a moment. then she pointed
to the bottle on the table. "pour me a small
one. i don't drink much but what you just said is
worth drinking to."
slade reached for the bottle, his slow smile
breaking across his face. it was going to be a
pleasant evening.
he had left the saloon later and on an

78 5. shadows in the night
impulse he turned his mount in the direction of
rachel jones' cottage.
when he got there the light was still on in what
he knew to be rachel's living-room and he
could see the outline of two people against the shades.
his heart dropping, he stayed, watching.
after a while the front door opened and
merrill came out. slade heard rachel's
voice saying goodnight and then the gambler came
down the path to the front gate.
slade kneed his horse to move off.
.cc78
at the sound merrill turned towards him in a
flash. a gun had come up in his hand from a
holster at his hip at a speed that made the
farmer suck in his breath.
merrill, tense, poised on the balls of his
feet, peered closer. then suddenly he gave
a mocking laugh. "ah, the displaced lover. i
hope you tend your farm better than you court

79 5. shadows in the night
women, slade. maybe you just lack the
chivalrous touch." the gambler re-holstered his
gun in one quick movement and turned to walk
back to the main street.
slade watched him go, face twisted a little
with anger. then he moved his horse back
towards the centre of the town.
passing the sheriff's office he saw a
light, hitched his horse and knocked on the
door.
hezekiah opened it. "john slade,
what--his"
slade said soberly, "i just ran into myron
merrill up the road apiece. i
.cc79
surprised him a mite. he pulled a gun
on me that fast i could see he acted like a man
who's had plenty of trouble and shot his way out of
it. watch him, hezekiah."


79 5. shadows in the night
he went back to his horse and rode off.
:
6
tangle of hearts
hezekiah always felt a little cramped in the
grey serge suit with the celluloid shirt
collar and the black string tie but it was his sunday
g-to-meeting regalia and he donned it each
sabbath.
as he went out on the street from the quiet of
ma cassidy's respectable boarding housh he
saw tommy turner coming to meet him.
tommy turner glared at him. "you got me
into th, you--you preacher with a pistol. i don't
know iff'n it's worth all this jist to git one
of them home-cooked meals later off'n
emily."
hezekiah allowed a flicker of a smile

81 3. tangle of hearts
to pass across his face. "now, you know, tommy,
that once you get into church and you're standing
alongside
.cc81
the widow wilson and she's casting them big
husband-hungry eyes at you you're gunna
start singin' them hymns like a skylark."
tommy fumed, "ain't enough that i gotta get
dressed up like some dude of a whisky drummer
but i gotta face up to that man-dee-vouring
woman at the same time. wore out two
husbands already and lookin' for a third."
hezekiah patted his shoulder. "gunna
make a better man of you, tommy." again the
smile flickered across his face. "that's if the
widow wilson don't beat me to it." he
walked off, the deputy following, mumbling
to himself.
down at the meeting house emily anderson was
waiting for them. she was elegant in a blue

82 6. tangle of hearts
satin gown and fancy blue bonnet that set
her off like a figure stepped out of a frame of
something painted by gainsborough.
hezekiah looked at her admiringly.
"emily, you look mighty good to me any day but
in your sunday g-to-meetin' clothes you look
like--like
.cc82
he groped for words--"l a cactus flower."
emily smiled. "i'll take that as a
compliment, hezekiah." she looked at the little
deputy straggling up behind the sheriff. "i see
you're making tommy do his weekly penance before
he comes around with you to eat at my place."
hezekiah grinned. "tell you truth, emily,
he's coming along right well. caught him
peekin' in my bible the other day."
the little deputy heard him. he snapped,
"only to see if they is a special
punishment in hell for a man who would do this to a

83 6. tangle of hearts
feller law officer."
a huge woman with a hawk nose and a gleaming
eye suddenly descended upon the deputy.
"thomas turner, i do declare you are a faithful
man. never a meeting do you miss. i'll be
delighted to sit alongside you." she had hold
of the little man's arm and was steering him into the chapel
before he could protest.
.cc83
as the other two followed them in hezekiah
murmured against emily's ear, "his cup
runneth over ..."
* * *
later around the abundant table at emily's
place once again the two men sat back,
replete, satisfied. tommy let out a sigh
of contentment.
emily got up from the table, picking up some
used plates. hezekiah joined her in helping
clear the table. he said to the deputy, "go and

84 6. tangle of hearts
smoke your pipe or bite on a chaw some
place. you're probably too over-loaded
to be any help in the kitchen, anyway."
out in the kitchen, emily, hands in the wash-up
bowl, again looked with an admiring smile at
hezekiah as he expertly slipped the end of
his hook through the handle of a cup to hold it while
he dried it before slipping it up on its place
in the open cupboard. she said, "you do make do
a lot better than a lot of men with two
hands."
.cc84
hezekiah turned to look at her, strong
affection in his gaze. "i'd make do a whole
lot better if i had you to wife."
emily looked down at the suds between her
fingers. she said pensively, "what do you read in
the good book about taking a wife, hezekiah?"
he said instantly, "that solomon, that old
wisehead, he says, "whoso findeth a

85 6. tangle of hearts
wife findeth a good thing."" emily stared out the
window. she said quietly, "and whoso findeth a
dead husband findeth a bad thing."
"that your only reason for not takin' me up
on that offer i am always makin' you--that i'm a
lawman who could get shot dead in carryin' out
his duty?"
emily nodded. "my most important
reason. but it's a mighty big one, to me, at
any rate." hezekiah cocked his eye at
her. "any other reason?"
emily turned her gaze fully upon him and
looked him over carefully. hezekiah said
roughly, "well, you ain't
.cc85
lookin' at much--half a man, some say."
emily was silent a moment. then she said
slowly, "you're not half a man, hezekiah.
a hand and an eye don't count for much. it's a
heart and a mind and grit and honesty and a

86 6. tangle of hearts
god-fearing outlook that count. you're twice the
man of any other i know."
hezekiah coughed. "in that case, when you
gunna say yes?"
emily picked up another plate to run it
through the suds. "when you unpin that star from your
chest."
hezekiah went on drying the dishes. this was
a mighty stubborn woman.
* * *
slade had ridden in the next morning and met
the girl on the boardwalk outside the four
aces saloon. he said appreciatively,
"you sure do look good no matter what you're
wearing."
sheree brodie looked down at her
.cc86
prim gingham gown and the no-nonsense shoes she
was wearing. she smiled, "do i fit the picture
of an honest, hard-working girl?"

86 6. tangle of hearts
john slade gave his slow smile. "i
figure that the man i am taking you to see will be
impressed." he said briskly, "well,
let's get down to henry porter's store. i
didn't ride in today just to stand here talking
to you--nice as that is."
as they entered the store the scrawny little man
with the spectacles stared warily at sheree. he
asked in a shrill voice, "this the young-er-lady
you told me about, john?" slade nodded.
"yes, henry. she's had experience sellin' in
stores before."
the storekeeper sniffed, and holding his body,
rose a little higher. "had experience in
saloons, too, i hear tell." he looked
hard at sheree. "what do you know about dry goods,
miss?"
sheree looked at him confidently. "well,
now, mr porter, what kind of dry goods do you
mean?" she started

87 6. tangle of hearts
.cc87
listing off the fabrics, the threads, the ribbons
and laces, the men's garments, giving them trade
names and the prices they usually sold at.
henry porter, eyes widening behind his old
spectacles, held up a hand. "i see
you're familiar with the goods we sell. but how about
getting them off our hands, selling them? you good
at that?"
sheree looked around the store and spotted a
woman at the far end. she said, "that lady
looks like she might be going to buy a dress.
let me persuade her." in a moment she had
left the two men and was approaching the
surprised woman with a smile. in a few
minutes she had taken a dress off a hook
and was wrapping it up for the woman.
sheree came back to the storekeeper with the
money in her hand. she said, "i took the
liberty of reducing the article by ten per cent,

88 6. tangle of hearts
mr porter. it made up her mind for her."
henry porter, mouth gaping wide, took the
money from her. he said
.cc88
incredulously, "that woman was marcy rogers.
spinster. comes in and looks at everything, handles
it, but seldom buys. that's the biggest
purchase she's made here in a mule's
age."
slade said, "looks like you've got yourself a
new sales-woman, henry. sheree is finished
with the saloons and she wants to hold down a
job like this."
henry porter nodded a still dazed head.
"well, she's got one right here. she can start
tomorrow."
as they left the store, sheree looked at the
farmer admiringly. "john slade, you are no
slowcoach farmer. you are a fast worker."
slade said with a grin, "all depends on

89 6. tangle of hearts
what you're selling. you ain't hard to sell,
sheree. now what we've got to do is get you
some lodgings away from that saloon. we'll go
see the banker, jason carstairs. he and his
wife put up people in their home--a school
teacher from time to time, once or twice a young
lawyer. got
.cc89
no youngsters of their own and seem to like to give
decent young folks a helping hand and to enjoy
having them around."
jason carstairs was big and fat and genial.
his eyes had the steady look about them of a man
who was honest and decent from the crown of his balding
head to the plump toes filling out his shiny,
well-polished boots. he looked at the
girl and his face creased into a well-fleshed
smile. "so this is sheree?"
sheree flashed a glance at slade. "i've
just heard henry porter say that. have you told

90 6. tangle of hearts
half the town about me?"
slade said confidently, "only a few people
who really matter." he looked back at the
banker. "jason, you know i'm not a man to do
rash things."
the banker's smile grew deeper. "that you
are not, john. you are a young man with an account
with us that says a lot about good, sensible, sober
living."
.cc90
slade nodded. "well, now, sheree is fed
up with working and living in saloons. henry
porter is taking her on to work in his store and
now she's looking for somewhere to live and eat.
she'll pay good board."
jason carstairs chuckled. "you know, john,
you came at just the right time. amelia's been like
a female cat lately looking for a lost
kitten. seems like she'd dearly love to see
another young face around our home again. and for that

91 6. tangle of hearts
matter, so would i." he chuckled again, looking
at sheree. "and that's a face that would bring cheer
to any home. go round and see amelia. she'll
fix that young lady up with a room right away."
when they left the banker, sheree stared at the
farmer. "this is incredible. and all through your coming
into the four aces one night and telling me you
guessed you had lost the girl you really loved."
a quick shadow passed over the farmer's face.
the girl took note of it.
.cc91
she touched his arm gently. "maybe we can do
something together to make up for that." she slipped her
hand into his. "let's go get a cup of coffee
some place. i'll pay. you've done enough for me
today." slade protested but then smiled and
nodded. they went off up the main street together.
* * *
later that day in the afternoon the gambler merrill was
talking together in front of the blacksmith's forge

92 6. tangle of hearts
with the giant brother called fat freddie.
a graceful figure came down the
boardwalk towards them holding a dainty
parasol over her head. it was rachel jones, the
schoolteacher, having just dismissed her classes
for the day. merrill saw her coming and swung
aside, sweeping his hat from his well-brushed
head.
rachel stopped, smiling. she nodded at the
sweating and grimy giant, great chest bared showing
hair like the pelt
.cc92
of a grizzly. she said to merrill, "this
obviously is one of those brothers you told me
about."
merrill nodded. "yes. i do what i can
to help them."
fat freddie was staring at rachel, eyes
running greedily over her finely curved
feminine form. a great tongue pushed itself out between

93 6. tangle of hearts
his lips and began to roam around them lasci-
viously. his fingers worked rapidly as he
passed a comment to merrill on them.
rachel's eyes widened in shocked disbe-
lief. a crimson flush swept up from her
throat to her cheeks. she said almost incoherent-
ly, "why, that's--that's disgusting--was
merrill, eyes blazing with sudden rage,
turned on the giant, his own fingers working like
fury. fat freddie's eyes held a glint
of alarm at what the gambler was saying to him. he
backed off, with another sidelong silent leer
at the schoolteacher, and disappeared into the forge.
.cc93
merrill turned to rachel, all swift
apology. "you must do your best to overlook that.
it won't happen again. these two brothers, i
am afraid, have lived pretty rough lives,
some of it quite disreputable. the women they have
encountered have usually been of a low type."

94 6. tangle of hearts
he darted a quick baleful look into the forge.
"and what's more, of course, he didn't
realise you can read the sign language."
rachel was recovering herself a little, her flush
beginning to recede. "i--i didn't realise
men made those sort of comments about women's
bodies." her face registered extreme
distaste. "and being made by a deaf mute it
seemed doubly ugly--was
merrill took her arm, all gentle
consideration. "come along, i'll see you home."
he looked back at the forge angrily. "and
i'll see you are never insulted in that way
again." he said, with a touch of upright asperity,
"i'm afraid these two are good workmen but
.cc94
they have a lot to learn about gallantry towards
ladies."
mollified a little, rachel let him take
her arm. but as they continued on up the boardwalk

95 6. tangle of hearts
she looked back at the forge and a slight shudder
of repugnance passed through her.
* * *
merrill later that night found himself back in
the four aces, the thought of the incident between rachel
and fat freddie still rankling in his mind. he
thought savagely, i'll have to keep those two on
a tighter leash. they could have all the women they
wanted after the bank raid and the money was theirs and
they were free of the town.
but until then it was good policy for all his
group to be taken for law-abiding, honest,
morally decent men.
there was no one at his table but there was a crowd
gathering at a table a little further off.
the main centre of attraction in the
.cc95
game being played was a young ranch hand, a boy
with the face of a cherub and a mop of curls
to match. his eyes were alight with excitement and

96 6. tangle of hearts
he let out a whoop as he scooped his further
winnings across the table.
an older cowhand grunted, "young lonnie
purvis of the rocking z has struck a lucky
streak tonight. that's the most he's ever cleaned up
in his young life."
merrill strolled over and watched the game
for a while. the boy swooped on further
winnings, whooping again as he did so. merrill
shook his head. if the kid had been playing at
his table he would have soon brought his streak to an
end. but then, he thought sardonically, here the boy
must have been in an honest game.
he turned and walked away. he had more things
to do than watching some dumb kid win at
cards--things like planning further for the raid
on the bank.
another man stood on the fringe
.cc96
of the crowd around the table. he was a non-

96 6. tangle of hearts
descript character, looking a mixture of breeds
with mexican or indian dominating. his eyes
looked sleepy but in actuality they were darting
everywhere, noting every item about the boy's winnings,
totting it all up in the mind.
later, the game ended, the excited and happy
lonnie purvis began to gather all his winnings
together.
a voice called, "hey, lonnie, you
riding out alone to the rocking z tonight with all that
money? better stay in town till tomorrow, kid."
the boy flashed a grin. "you talkin' 'bout
bushwhackers? man, i got me a rifle and a
sixgun. anyone tries to rob me gunna
get a slug where it hurts most. anyway,
ain't no raiders or apaches around right now.
ain't seen hide nor hair on 'em for a
week or two."
the man of the mixed breeds who had been
watching silently slipped away. when he got

97 6. tangle of hearts
outside he swung
.cc97
aboard his horse and galloped off in a
flurry of hoofbeats. inside the saloon the
grinning boy was just preparing to leave, pockets
bulging with his loot ...
* * *
it was midway through the next morning when
tommy turner came stomping into the sheriff's
office, face grim.
hezekiah, about to leave on another errand,
stopped halfway across the room, staring at the
deputy.
tommy burst out, "didn't get far in that
ride to scout out what's happenin' at apache
joe's rancheria. found lonnie purvis.
lyin' there, robbed of every cent he won last
night at the four aces. throat cut from ear
to ear. big knife benito, you bet."
hezekiah ruminated, "must have had some spy

99 7. hezekiah holed up
in here yesterday, lookin' out the strength of the
town. saw the kid
.cc98
and his winnings and let the raiders know." he
frowned. "that 'breed that runs that little goat farm
out of town could be their man. needs watching."
::::::::::::
.cc99
7
hezekiah holed up
hezekiah finished filling up the saddle-
bags and let them hang down. his rifle was
already in the boot, belts of ammunition of
,44 slugs to fit both rifle and colt
revolver strapped around his waist and slung
across each shoulder.
he swung himself up on to the back of his
pinto, pete. he looked down at tommy
turner affectionately. "just keep that
blunderbuss of yrs handy and make sure there

100 7. hezekiah holed up
ain't no trouble in the town. i'll be gone just
maybe a day or two."
he kneed the pinto and rode off, tommy
turner shaking his head as he watched. but, thought
the deputy, once the sheriff made up his mind
he followed his course of action like
.cc100
a hound trailing an escaped prisoner.
as he turned tommy almost bumped into myron
merrill coming along the boardwalk. the gambler
waved a hand in the direction of the departing
hezekiah. "the sheriff looks to have a little
business on hand. well armed for it, too, it
seems."
tommy spat into the street again. he growled,
"he's gone out scoutin' up them mexican
raiders. figgers that if he finds out a little more
about where they are an' what they is up to it'll
give him a better chance of protectin' the people
of this town--includin' no-account gamblers and
101 7. hezekiah holed up
their dummy friends." he spat again and went on
into the sheriff's office.
merrill grinned coldly at the deputy's
back and then gazed thoughtfully after the vanishing
sheriff. he speeded up his walk and moved
quickly out to the edge of town. when he came to the
dilapidated shanty he went in without
knocking. 4# phillips and hank smith raised
their heads from the table where
.cc101
they had been emptying two plates of bacon
and beans and two steaming cups of coffee.
merrill said urgently, "i've just seen the
sheriff heading out on a reconnaissance trip,
hunting on his own signs of those mexican
raiders." his eyes gleamed. "i want you two
boys to fork your broncs right now and trail him.
somewhere up a gulch out there you can catch him up and
let him have a slug in the back. everyone will think
it was the raiders. or maybe the apaches."

102 7. hezekiah holed up 24
4# phillips blinked for a moment and then a
cold-eyed grin spread across his face.
"gotcha, boss. this will be a pleasure." hank
smith was already getting to his feet, a
reflection of the other man's grin on his own
thin-lipped face.
after an hour's ride hezekiah found himself
in the mountains, the great gaping barrancas, the
canyons, opening up before him. the pinto was
sure-footed moving across the rock-strewn
.cc102
ground that more and more looked like dangerous marbles the
devil himself had tossed in their way. they came
suddenly to a canyon that looked a little more
hospitable than the others.
as hezekiah rode cautiously into the
canyon, easing the rifle a little out of its
scabbard, he saw that the cliff face on either
side was pitted with caves, a number of which could
provide shelter for a group of men. the sheriff

103 7. hezekiah holed up 25
drew the pinto to a halt, got down and began
walking up the cliff face on one side
towards what looked the most likely caves
to be used, rifle now in hand.
it was in the third cave he entered that he saw
the heap at one end. he limped closer. it was
a big supply of food and ammunition. he
had found at least one lair of the raiders.
the sheriff rode out of the canyon. he had
found a good deal of what he wanted to know. as the
pinto picked his way between the devilish rocks
hezekiah suddenly saw the horsemen
approaching him in the distance. if
.cc103
he rode on he would meet them headlong. he
turned the pinto to his right, heading up another
canyon that might lead him around the oncoming
riders.
behind him he heard a faint cry. he had
been seen by the other horsemen. he urged the

104 7. hezekiah holed up 26
pinto on. and then he saw his mistake, he was
in a box canyon, closed at the far end.
he kneed the horse on, dismounted, and led the
pinto behind some rocks out of the line of fire. he
walked back and got behind a boulder he could
see around. he levelled his rifle across it,
holding the barrel in line with the hook, lining up
the sights with his good left eye.
the following horsemen came into view. they were
mexicans, all right, big sombreros,
cartridge belts crossed over shoulders,
saddles ornamented with silver.
there were six of them. they slid off their
horses like lightning when they caught the glint
off the barrel
.cc104
of hezekiah's rifle but one was not quick enough.
he finished his slide from the saddle with blood
splashing his chest where the sheriff's slug had
torn its bloody way through the flesh.

105 7. hezekiah holed up 27
five left, thought hezekiah. wish i had
tommy here with his scattergun.
the raiders had raced for cover, rifles in
hand. next moment a fusillade of shots
hummed over hezekiah's head, one or two
ricocheting off the boulder in front of him. he
ducked down and then came up quickly and let off
a couple of rounds in quick reply. as he
ducked his head back again he saw that two of the
raiders, scuttling behind rocks, had drawn a
little closer to him. it would be hard to keep the
whole five of them pinned down. he kept on
firing, hoping he could figure out something.
* * *
back on the trail hezekiah had taken,
4# phillips and hank smith had lost
.cc105
the sheriff's tracks. not used to the maze of
canyons and ravines studded with fearsome rocks
that hezekiah knew so well, they were wandering,

106 7. hezekiah holed up 28
at a loss.
4# phillips reined in his horse, cursing.
"ain't no good. that one-armed sheriff's just
plumb disappeared."
hank smith said tightly, "we got
company."
4# phillips spun his head around. to their right
he saw the group of figures on horse-
back. they had long hair with head-bands to keep
it out of their eyes, wore kabuns or thigh-
length moccasins and armas or soft calf-leather
skirts protecting the riders' legs and feet
and the belly of their horses from high cacti and
prickly brush. they were mounted on ponies that
looked as if they could out-run a deer.
in their lead was a rider in the blue jacket
with gold buttons of an officer in the udds.
cavalry, obviously scalped to obtain it.
4# phillips rasped, "apaches--better
.cc106

106 7. hezekiah holed up 29
run for it--was he swung his horse around and
dug his heels into xs flanks. hank smith
followed at a gallop, both men now crouched
over their mounts' necks to provide a smaller
target.
behind them blue jacket waved his arm and
screeched at his riders to follow. in a moment
they were racing after the two white men, ponies
at the full gallop, the riders' hair
streaming in the wind.
suddenly 4# phillips' horse stumbled over
a rock and half fell. hank smith, without
looing to either side, swept past him. cursing,
4# phillips jerked his horse's head up and
whipped it on. but the stumble had enabled the
apaches to get within range.
a bronco buck threw a carbine to his
shoulder and fired. phillips slumped in the
saddle and fell. his body dropped and hit the
ground, one foot still entangled in the stirrup.

107 7. hezekiah holed up 30
the horse, frightened, galloped on madly,
dragging the man's bouncing body for a few
yards. then the dead man's foot
.cc107
came loose and the horse galloped on without
him. phillips lying on the trail with a
bloody hole between his shoulder blades.
the apaches pulled up for a moment and the one who
had fired the shot leapt from his mount, scalping
knife ready. as he remounted, scalp in hand,
the others cheered wildly.
by now hank smith had stretched out a long
lead and was whipping his horse on frantically.
blue jacket threw his hand aloft and pulled
up his riders. no sense in chasing a man they
couldn't catch until they were on the verge of the
town he was heading for.
the little group turned and headed back the way
they had come, jubilant. they had gone out
hunting and were delighted to have picked up on the

108 7. hezekiah holed up 31
way the scalp of one of the hated pinda-lick-
o-ye, a detested white-eye.
* * *
.cc108
back in the box canyon where he was holed
up hezekiah was blazing away at his
besiegers, still managing to hold them off.
another raider had shown a little too much of
himself and hezekiah, looking through the sight of the
rifle, had picked him off with precise
accuracy.
the man now lay sprawled on his back,
gazing up at the sky with wide-open eyes that
saw nothing any more. but the others were persistent in
drawing closer, their fire keeping hezekiah
pinned down while his own fire could not hope
to keep them back much longer.
behind hezekiah the pinto had come up a little
closer, as if anxious about the fate of his
master. hezekiah peered around his rock and saw

109 7. hezekiah holed up 32
one of the raiders trying to draw a bead on the
horse. unmounted, the sheriff would have had
absolutely no hope of escape.
hezekiah lined up the marksman and had the
satisfaction of hearing the man screech with
pain. he caught a faint
.cc109
glimpse of the raider vanishing from sight, left
eye almost torn out by the sliver that hezekiah's
shot had driven from the rock the raider crouched
behind.
hezekiah waved to the horse to go back.
pinto pete, ever obedient to his master, ambled
back out of sight. the wound the sheriff had given
the raider brought an answering hail of lead from
the others.
hezekiah looked back at the pinto and
wondered about the chances of getting to the horse and
re-mounting. but then where would he go? the canyon was
blocked off at that end and if he rode forward

110 7. hezekiah holed up 33
he would be cut down in a storm of lead.
out of the corner of his eye he saw another
raider scuttle from behind a rock to another one
that brought him almost side-on to the sheriff.
hezekiah thought grimly. he would now have
to answer fire from two very different directions
and, what was more, that man's new position had
.cc110
hezekiah's body much more exposed to him. as
if to prove it the raider who had made the
advance let off a shot at the sheriff that almost
hit the rifle held in hezekiah's grasp.
he heard the man's yell and high-pitched
laugh. the sheriff wondered how many of them he
could pick off before they moved in on him in a
final onslaught.
and then suddenly the raider who was the farthest
back from hezekiah let out a warning yell.
"mansos! mansos!" the sheriff sat up,
pricking his ears. that was a spanish name for the

111 7. hezekiah holed up 34
apaches given them long ago by a jesuit
priest.
suddenly he saw the four raiders, one
moaning and holding his eye, running from their
cover. they were heading for their horses in a
hurry. next moment they were wheeling their
horses, mounted in a flash, to race out of the
canyon. as they galloped out the entrance and
turned their mounts to race headlong from the place
a group of apaches came into view, heading after
.cc111
the mexicans, whooping and yelling.
hezekiah stood and watched. he breathed out
loud, "apache joe in the lead--how in
hades--was
he limped back, calling the horse. as the
pinto came up, whinnying, hezekiah patted
him and climbed on board. as he rode out of the
canyon riders were coming back towards him.
apache joe was in front. the chief rode

112 4. hezekiah holed up 35
up, his leathery face creased in a grin,
holding up his arm in a salute. "greetings,
chief one-eye. looks like we picked a good
time to ride by. those nakai-ye had you pretty
near buffaloed in there." he looked over at the
two dead bodies lying where hezekiah's
slugs had put them. "although seems they
didn't have it all their way." his grin
deepened. "that other four sure were keen to live
to fight another day. running after them would have been
like chasing a jack-rabbit on foot."
the bronco braves with the chief did not share
his smiling recognition of the sheriff. they were
looking at hezekiah
.cc112
with the baleful stare they gave to all the
blancos, the white-eyes, but not daring to make
a move contrary to their chief's wishes.
hezekiah looked keenly at apache joe.
"how come you just happened to be in this here

113 7. hezekiah holed up 36
vicinity?"
the indian kept smiling. "we've got a
couple of hunting parties out. need some meat for the
rancheria. blue jacket's heading another
party. lucky we were on the scene, huh?"
hezekiah nodded. "i owe you, joe."
the chief nodded back, his eyes gleaming. "you
sure do. does this clinch that bargain i tried
to make with you that night i called on you in your
town?"
hezekiah looked thoughtful. he said slowly,
"i guess it does, chief. although some of my
townspeople ain't gunna take too kindly
to it."
apache joe smiled. "well, we'll leave
it to you to fix that side of it, hezekiah. but we
can take it the deal is made?"
hezekiah nodded. there was the
.cc113
sound of swift approaching hoofbeats. he

113 7. hezekiah holed up 37
turned his head quickly. from another direction
another group of head-banded warriors appeared,
their leader blue jacket. the sub-chief rode
up, glaring at hezekiah. he looked at
apache joe and started to jabber at him in an
angry staccato, stabbing a fierce stare at the
sheriff.
apache joe, smile replaced by a black
frown, growled at the other indian, eyes
glittering with anger. blue jacket kept
protesting, riding his horse insultingly up
alongside the sheriff, almost jostling pinto
pete. the pinto whinnied, shaking his head.
apache joe was now snarling at blue
jacket. the sub-chief finally stopped his
barrage of protest and turned back to join his
own group, warriors whom he could evidently
call his own followers. looking back at
apache joe, eyes blazing, he spat
straight in the direction of hezekiah and then,

114 7. hezekiah holed up 38
wheeling his horse, he led his band off at a
gallop back along the way they had come.
.cc114
apache joe, still smouldering with rage,
snarled, "that blue jacket ... wanted to know
why i didn't take your head. said he and his
group saw you ride in here and were going to trail
you when they ran across two other whites. they
chased them and scalped one and were coming back for you
when they found i had caught up with you."
hezekiah said drily, "i got the gist of
it. if he'd-a known you also saved me from them
mex raiders i guess he would-a choked on his
own spit." he mused, "two other white
riders in here huh? wonder what they mighta
been lookin' for? seems like one of them ain't
never gunna find it."
he gestured after blue jacket. "you
figure you can keep that fire-eater in line?"
apache joe's face hardened. "that i'll do

115 7. hezekiah holed up 39
even if i have to put my knife in his heart."
he turned to his warriors and raised his arm.
they moved off, the chief giving hezekiah one
final
.cc115
wave. the sheriff turned pinto pete's head
back to davenport.
* * *
later back in the town, myron merrill
finished talking with a white-faced hank smith
recently dismounted from a hard-breathing, sweat-
soaked horse. all the luck seemed to be
going the law's way.
well, he thought, viciously, that was all
going to change the day they took every last cent out
of that bank.
::::::::::::

117 8. the stick-up 40
.cc116
8
the stick-up
merrill looked around at the other three,
hank smith and the two man-mountain brothers.
he said sharply, "well, now there's only four
of us. losing 4# lost us a handy gun and a man
who's pulled off jobs like this before. but now
we've got to do it with one man less."
he stood up from his chair in the ramshackle
cabin. he said pointedly, "we've got to get
every detail right. first, we've got to try
to make sure that one-eyed sheriff and his deputy
are not around. if there's no reason for them to be
out of town on the day, we've got to make one
for them."
hank smith offered, "they're gettin' kinda
concerned about the safety of farmers and their
families in the
.cc117

117 8. the stick-up 41
county now that them raiders are movin' around so
much. hear tell they burned down another
farmhouse the other day and slit a couple more
throats. the sheriff and his deputy will be riding
out to the farms more often."
merrill nodded. "well, we've got
to make our strike while they're doing it." he
took a couple of paces across the loose
boards of the floor and turned back to face them
all. the same time he spoke aloud to smith
he was also flashing his fingers for the mutes.
"we'll move in well after noon. that's a
quiet time in the bank when the whole town's
having a sort of siesta. there's two tellers
as well as the banker and a skinny old book-
keeper who works out back. none of them ought to be
much trouble, although i hear tell there was a raid
on this bank by some drifters a few years ago
and the banker carstairs showed some spunk."
hank smith agreed. "yeah. i hear

118 8. the stick-mp 42
.cc118
he foiled the raid and winged one of the drifters.
he's a man it might just take a slug
to stop."
merrill said slowly, "we don't want
any shooting if we can avoid it. but if it's
going to take a bullet to stop him, he's going
to get it." the brute faces of big bart and
fat freddie brightened up at the thought of hurting
someone. merrill went on: "freddie will wait
out the back with the horses. hank, you'll take
care of the tellers. bart will attend to the book-
keeper and i'll personally see to jason
carstairs. we'll get the tellers to open the
safes and they'll hand over the cash and gold.
hank and bart will give them a hand to make it
quicker." he looked at bart and flashed a
message to him on his fingers, saying it aloud for
smith. "i'm looking to you to put your man out of
action very quickly."

119 8. the stick-up 43
bart grinned, something approximating to the
snarl of a wolf sighting a lame deer.
merrill added, "carstairs won't get a chance
to wing one of us. if he
.cc119
tries it, his company will be looking for a new
banker."
hank smith spoke up. "hey, that saloon
girl you used to know one time, that sheree, she's
been boardin' with carstairs and his wife ever
since she gave up workin' at the four aces and
took up that job in that store. maybe she could
be a help, livin' with the carstairs and knowin'
somethin' of what the banker's up to.
maybe--was
merrill cut in. "i've thought about it. if
sheree could see it our way we could cut her in
on a share." he stroked his chin reminis-
cently, a gleam in his eyes. "she was some
girl. i had some high times with her. even thought

120 8. the stick-up 44
of taking up with her again but i dumped her once
in st louis and took up with a fancy creole,
and she doesn't remember that too kindly. i
think we'd better just go ahead with it the way
we've planned and leave the thinking about women
until after it's done."
.cc120
* * *
hezekiah and tommy turner jogged along,
the farmhouse just coming into sight. tommy sniffed
appreciatively as he surveyed a waving
crop. "that's them coopers, all right.
sodbusters that sure know what they're doin'.
everything about their place looks good and healthy
--crops, cows, horses, chickens. be a
bad thing to see them raiders put a torch
to it."
hezekiah grunted, "guess that's what
we're out here tryin' to see they don't do."
there was a man ploughing in a field on their

121 8. the stick-up 45
left. they swung their horses over towards
him. as they drew near he whoa-ed the plough
horse and walked over to them. tommy called,
"howdy, nathan." the farmer nodded. "what
brings you two law officers out this way?"
hezekiah eased himself in the saddle. "seen
anything of them mex raiders nathan?" the farmer
shook his head.
.cc121
"nary a sign, hezekiah. don't mean they
ain't around, though."
hezekiah was emphatic. (dang right. they
are around and they are a bloody bunch. feller
called luis romero headin' them up.
figures he can win back for mexico the land
they lost to the united states. an' one way he
figures he can do it is to wipe out all the
gringos he comes across. watch out for your
family, nathan."
tommy turner added, "anytime you might

122 8. the stick-up 46
feel you may be in real danger, nathan,
hezekiah says you better pack up an'
skedaddle into town."
the farmer looked disturbed. "well, now that's
some problem. i got good crops comin' on an'
i gotta git 'em in. can't let 'em jest
rot in the ground. an' there is stock to be fed
and watered--was
hezekiah cut in, "best save the lives
of your family before all else, nathan.
anyway, think about it. we can't do much for you
while you're out here.
.cc122
but if things start to look real bad best forgit
about your crops and bring your stock into davenport
with your family until we can call a halt
to these killer raids."
the farmer shook his head. "a mite easier
said than done, sheriff, but i'll sure bear
what you said in mind."

123 8. the stick-up 47
as they turned their horses away, tommy
muttered to the sheriff, "that feller got two of the
prettiest young daughters in the county. hate
to see them raiders git their hands on them."
hezekiah clipped out, "we can't make them
come in, deputy. if they want to hold on out
here not much we can do about it."
they had ridden in another direction for half
an hour when they saw the small group
approaching. as they drew closer hezekiah
said shortly, "that's young luther schultz riding
in front of the wagon. looks like old herman
drivin' the wagon with heidi alongside
him--was he and tommy moved their horses
to meet the group.
.cc123
the young man on the saddle horse saluted
them. he was big, full of the german bulk and
strength of his parents in the wagon but he had a
smoke-blackened face and his clothes were singed and

124 8. the stick-up 48
burnt. before the lawmen could speak he burst
out, "raiders, sheriff. run off our stock.
left our farmhouse and barn burnin' down when
they rode off. we finally drove them off but were
lucky to do it." the muscles of his jaw
knotted. "killed ole gramps. granny's
in the back of the wagon with a bad leg. got a
slug in it."
hezekiah clipped, "romero's mexi-
cans?" the young man said bitterly, "they
wasn't christy's minstrels, that's for sure.
would have cut our throats if they'd got inside
the house. but maybe they wanted the stock for
meat more than they wanted us. mighta thought too,
the flames an smoke would get us, anyway."
hezekiah bit out, "we'll get back with
you into town in case they are
.cc124
still around. gotta get that old lady to the doc."
he turned his horse. he was thinking, romero

125 8. the stick-up 49
has got to be a big problem.
* * *
back in davenport the four riders had gone
around to the back of the bank. three dismounted,
leaving one huge fat man in charge of the
horses and the pack mule.
merrill said briskly, "we'll go in the
back way." they forced their way through the door.
the first person they saw was the old book-
keeper, scrawny and pale-faced, sitting on
the high stool. he turned a startled face
towards them.
big bart lunged across the room and smashed the
barrel of his colt across the old man's head.
the man fell from the stool like a puppet
disengaged from its strings, eyes closed and a
bloody wound where the giant had hit him.
they moved on into the bank proper.
.cc125
the two tellers spun around at the noise behind

126 8. the stick-up 50
them to find themselves looking down the barrels of
three pistols. the tellers backed off,
white-faced. merrill handed them the canvas
sacks he had in his hand. he said, his voice
deadly, "open those safes and put everything in
there into ^the bags." hank and big bart prodded
the men with their guns as the two tellers, sweating
with fright, moved to obey.
there was only one customer on the other side
of the tellers' cages, a middle-aged woman
staring at them with eyes as big as an owl's with
fright. merrill whipped around her side of the
counter. he said silkily, "don't move,
lady, and you'll live." the woman stood
fixed to the spot as if a great magnet held
her there.
the tellers were opening the safes, fingers
fumbling with fright, keeping an apprehensive
eye on the guns. suddenly a door opened and
jason carstairs appeared, staring at the scene

126 8. the stick-up 51
in disbelief. the banker turned quickly
.cc126
back into his office, slamming the door behind
him.
hank smith's gun went off. the cowboy was
blinking nervously, one side of his face
twitching. his shot had smashed a small hole
in the door, splintering the wood. there was a
heavy thud from the other side of the door.
merrill snapped, "keep an eye on this
woman," and moved quickly to the slammed door,
wrenching it open. inside the banker was sprawled
face down on the floor, a hole in his back
oozing blood. he had never reached the desk in
which merrill knew there would have been a weapon. the
gambler thought, the banker had spunk, all right,
but it hadn't done him much good this time.
he went back into the other part of the bank where
the tellers were now terrifiedly shovelling money
and gold into the sacks he had given them. he

127 8. the stick-up 52
glared at smith, "we could have done without that,
cowboy." he glanced
.cc127
over at the woman. she had fainted and was
crumpled up on the floor.
merrill gestured at hank smith. "help
them get that money into ^th sacks. i'll keep
the pistol on them." the cowboy moved jerkily
towards the safes, big bart already helping
to drag out their contents.
as they finished emptying the safes, running
footsteps and voices sounded outside.
merrill gestured to the back door and they ran
out through it. they pushed the canvas sacks into the
saddlebags on the pack mule and, leaping on
their mounts, whipped them into action. fat freddie
dragged the pack mule alongside him at a
gallop.
behind them there were yells and shouting. once a
stray bullet passed over their heads from someone

128 8. the stick-up 53
who carried a side-arm. but then they were gone out
of sight up the main street, heading for the
mountains ...
they had slowed down now, picking their way through
the fierce rubble of the canyon of savage
rock. hank
.cc128
muttered to merrill, "you sure this is the
shortest way to mexico?"
merrill said curtly, "i've been through this
country before. it's the devil's playground and it
stretches from here all the way east clear over
to texas. it's the badlands and no one hurries
through it. it will slow up any posse after us and
they'll be hard put to find the trail and know just
what canyons we passed through."
the two mutes sat on their horses, stone-
faced, indifferent to the hard travelling but eyes
flickering every now and again with a look of greed to the
pack-mule loaded with provisions and with their

129 8. the stick-up 54
golden haul.
smith complained, "you didn't give me a
straight answer."
merrill snapped, "it's the quickest way
to sonora because it's the hardest way and the best
way to cover up our trail. now, let's stop
jawing and keep travelling."
hank smith sank into the sort of silence that
was natural to the two
.cc129
mutes. they rode on for another hour or
two, the horses gingerly moving across the rock-
stubbled ground until shadows started to fall.
merrill said suddenly, "we'll make camp
here." the two giants slid off their horses
with pleased looks as he gave them the sign,
hank smith dismounting in surly acquiescence.
the cowboy would have preferred riding night hawk
on an unruly herd to travelling across country
like this but he could see they had no choice,

130 8. the stick-up 55
merrill knowing how to thread their way for them through the
canyons.
as he unsaddled his horse, smith was
wondering what had brought merrill through this sort
of country before, whether it was here in arizona
territory or as far over as texas.
probably, he thought, fleeing some lawman. it
seemed like merrill had been a rascal in many
sorts of ways.
the gambler had set them to take guard in
turn and it was when it was
.cc130
fat freddie's turn that merrill found a great
paw placed over his mouth and woke up to find the
giant kneeling alongside him, eyes gleaming
a warning in the dark.
merrill sat up quickly and the fat man's
fingers flashed off a message. merrill
grunted, "riders in the night, probably
sneaking up on us--was he got to his feet,

131 8. the stick-up 56
grabbing up the rifle by his side and thankful
that the big man's affliction didn't extend
to his ears and eyes.
the giant led him back to the point he had
been watching from, moving quickly and silently for
all his bulk, and jabbed a thick finger into the
darkness.
merrill could see the dim outline of horses
tethered down the entrance to the canyon and he could
pick up an odd figure or two flitting
from one piece of cover to another as they came
closer.
merrill tried a shot. one figure jumped
behind a rock, cursing aloud in
.cc131
spanish, merrill snapped, "mex raiders
--they'll try to kill us just for the heck of
it--was
hank smith and big bart came stumbling up
out of their blankets, grabbing up their rifles

132 8. the stick-up 57
as they came.
merrill said briskly, "spread out." he
motioned freddie to start shooting from where he was and
big bart to go out to the left of his brother. he
said against hank smith's ear, "line up next
to freddie. i'll take the right flank." then
he was gone, crouching low as he scuttled across
the ground.
firing from the raiders had already broken out.
merrill, listening to the sound and knowing that it was a
heavy hail of bullets figured quickly that there
must be at least a dozen raiders out there. he
thought, that's mighty poor odds for us--three
to one. he pumped a few shots in the direction
of the raiders and ducked down again. he called
to the others, "keep firing. give 'em hell.
we'll drive
.cc132
those greasers off."
he was moving backwards as he spoke,

133 8. the stick-up 58
ducking behind one rocky spur after another,
firing shot after shot as he went. reaching the
spot, he scuttled down to where he had used his
saddle for a pillow. he grabbed up the saddle
and ran quickly to where they had left their horses.
behind him he could hear the three he had left
keeping up their fire.
quickly he saddled his mount and rounded up the
pack-mule tethered closer to where they had been
sleeping, the saddlebags still hanging from its
back. dragging the pack-mule behind him, he
set the two animals off at a gallop for the
other end of the canyon.
hank smith heard the sound of the hoofbeats and
gathered what was happening. in a sudden rage he
stood up, yelling at merrill, and fired a
shot after him. almost as soon as the cowboy stood
erect a raider's slug took him in the
back. hank smith tumbled
.cc133

133 8. the stick-up 59
over, never to spend his share of the haul from the
bank.
the raiders began to make a rush, scram-
bling over the rocks. a man in the lead with big
black moustaches, the bandy legs of a former
vaquero, andwitha frantic gleam in the eyes of a
man afflicted with mania sanguinis, a mad
lust for blood, reached big bart first. but the
giant was staring sightlessly into the night, a neat
hole through his head just above the nose. the ex-
vaquero cursed, waving vainly the knife almost
as long as a sword he carried in one hand.
fat freddie had got up and was lumbering as
fast as he could towards where his horse was tethered
with the others. the man with the knife took after him,
his bandy legs carrying him at a surprising
speed.
as he felt the man gaining on him, freddie
turned and fired a desperate shot. it flew
over the pursuer's head. as freddie turned and

135 9. the chase 60
fired he stumbled and fell. the man chasing him
was on
.cc134
him like a jaguar coming down from a rocky ledge
on top of a deer.
freddie turned a frantic face upwards
but already big knife benito's weapon was
slicing deep into his throat.
::::::::::::
.cc135
9
the chase
merrill was making the best progress he could
over the rocky floor of the canyon, dragging the
pack-mule alongside. but he could hear behind
him the hoofbeats of the raiders still coming, evi-
dently intent on catching up with him and finishing
their bloody work.
when his own mount and the mule both stumbled once
more and almost fell merrill pulled both

136 9. the chase 61
animals to a halt. he slid off his horse
and went quickly to the side of the mule. moving with the
utmost speed, he transferred the banknotes
and the gold from the mule's saddlebags to his
own. he had to toss away some of his provisions
to make room for the loot.
he left the provisions in the mule's
.cc136
saddlebags because there was no room in his own for
them and he did not want his pursuers to have any
suspicion that the mule might have been carrying
anything other than food. he grimaced and
hoped there would be enough game on the trail to add
to his scanty provisions.
he remounted his horse and drove it on
fast, leaving the mule behind. he couldn't hope
to make the best time over this terrain but he knew
that the raiders would also be slowed down. he hoped
they would settle for the mule. if he kept
riding on through the night they would probably

137 9. the chase 62
tire of the chase.
* * *
back in davenport hezekiah faced one
of the bank tellers, his eyes narrowed down to a
hard slit. he held up the hook for the man
to slow down. he said, "tell it to me quiet-
like."
the man recounted all the details of the
stick-up. hezekiah listened, eye
.cc137
gleaming. he broke in, "who was it killed
jason?"
the teller jabbered, "the skinny guy. looked
like a cowpuncher. shot him in the back. jason
must have been going back for a gun."
hezekiah said, "uh-huh. that was one of the
best men this town ever saw. we'll get them for
this if we have to chase them down to the south pole.
that's if them mex raiders or the apache under that
crazy blue jacket don't get them first."

138 9. the chase 63
he jerked out at tommy, "we gotta get
a posse together. and don't forget your scatter-
gun. blastin' that skinny cowpoke with it ought
to be right to your fancy."
he moved out of the bank and went along to the
doctor's surgery, passing groups of
excited and angry citizens on the way.
amelia carstairs was in the surgery, still looking
down at the body of her husband on the table they
had placed him on, the doctor having finished
his examination and standing
.cc138
by her comfortingly.
the wife of the banker was a handsome, upright
woman, face drawn and pale but dry-eyed.
i guess, thought hezekiah, she will cry later
in the privacy of her home and they will be genuine
tears of regret and loss. she is a noble
lady.
amelia carstairs turned her head to him as

139 9. the chase 64
he came in. she said quietly, "when you
catch up with them, hezekiah, no shooting
to kill unless you positively have to. i want
to see them brought back and put on trial for
this. we've had enough rough justice in this land. let
the law take its proper course."
hezekiah touched his hat. "i will do what i
can to bring that about, amelia. but jason was awful
well liked. i don't guarantee to control
all the itchy trigger fingers." he turned to go.
"but i tell you this. we'll track 'em down
if it takes from now until the day the lord brings
all sinners before the judgment bar."
.cc139
* * *
merrill, confident he had thrown off the
raiders, rode on. it was dawn now and he had
taken the chance to snatch a couple of hours'
sleep.
in the light it was easier to pick one's way

140 9. the chase 65
along the rock-bound trail with the jagged pinons
often standing up as tall as a man, almost lined
up like grim soldiers doing their best to keep out
invaders.
it was getting towards the end of the day when
suddenly merrill's mount began to limp. he
decided to make camp there and then. maybe after
a few hours' rest the lameness would go. after
downing the coffee and cold beans he rolled
himself up in his blanket.
but in the early dawn the horse was just as
lame. merrill cursed his luck again. he
took a look around. somehow he had a
vaguely uneasy feeling that there were other riders
in the vicinity.
.cc140
he swung down off the lame horse and
climbed up the side of the cliff face to get
a better view. it was a peculiar place,
different to all the other craggy heights he had

141 9. the chase 66
passed.
it was pitted with caves and it had the overall
look of a skull with the bony forehead on top,
eyes in the form of two great caves placed in
line with each other, a gaping slash in the cliff
face that suggested a mouth and a gathering of rock
beneath it that resembled a jaw. if he ever had
to, he thought, he would know this place again without
a doubt.
he kept going and stood up, looking back,
the telescope in his hand he had taken out of a
saddlebag. as he stared even without the aid of the
telescope he could pick up tiny figures
some miles in his rear. he put the telescope
to his eye and picked them up clearly. after a
minute or two he took the instrument away from
his eye, cursing luridly.
it hadn't taken that one-eyed, one-handed
sheriff any time at all to get
.cc141

141 9. the chase 67
hot on his trail with a posse. with a lame
horse it was only a matter of time until they
caught him. merrill stood thinking. then
suddenly he made up his mind and scrambled
back down to the waiting horse.
quickly he pulled the small canvas sacks
out of the saddlebags and, lumping them in his arms,
he climbed slowly back up the cliff face
again. he entered one of the caves that resembled an
eye in the skull face of the cliff and went
down its full length. down at the far end he
found a heap of rubble that had fallen down from the
wall of the cave at some time.
he dug deep into the pile, scooping out great
handfuls. then he placed the sacks in the hole
and went back for the others. when he had buried
them all under the rubble he went back to the
horse, taking a final look at the cliff
face in the shape of a human skull. he had
it imprinted on his mind as if he had taken a

142 9. the chase 68
photograph of it.
he mounted the horse and rode on
.cc142
slowly, the animal still limping. he knew that the
posse was bound to catch him up, the sheriff knowing
these canyons so well, but he banked on
hezekiah not being the lynching type.
when the posse came in sight merrill put
up his hands. hezekiah rode up. he said
abruptly, "found your three friends back there.
looks like big knife benito been at work on
one big fat brother. other two with bullet
holes in 'em. the mex raiders, huh?"
merrill nodded. "couldn't hold 'em off.
we all made a break for it but i'm the only
one that got away."
hezekiah said curtly, "didn't look
to me like the other three was makin' a break for it
when they got chopped down. seem to me like you
run out on 'em."

143 9. the chase 69
merrill shrugged. the posse had circled him
now, fixing the gambler with ugly looks, one
man tentatively fingering the rope on his
saddle horn.
hezekiah shot a warning look at the
rider. "you got better uses for your
.cc143
rope than this hombre's miserable neck, cy.
we're takin' him in to stand trial. anyone
thinks otherwise got me to deal with."
there were some discomfited rumblings but nobody
fancied crossing their iron-hard sheriff.
hezekiah fixed his eye sternly on the
gambler. "folks said you rode off with a pack-
mule. what happened to it?"
merrill said coolly, "the raiders picked
it up, with the other horses. and everything in its
saddlebags."
hezekiah said evenly, "you tellin' me them
mex raiders got everything you stole from the

144 9. the chase 70
bank?"
merrill said flatly, "that's about the size of
it, sheriff."
hezekiah stared at him in silence. finally
he said slowly, "well, easy seen you ain't
got it now. you ain't buried it somewhere--on
the trail by any chance?"
merrill threw his hand in a circle. "in this
wilderness where everything looks the same? how would
i ever find it
.cc144
again, sheriff? look, when those raiders caught
us up and outnumbered us three to one there was only
one thought left to any of us--staying alive.
when your life is in the balance, sheriff, you are
not interested in hanging on to gold."
hezekiah narrowed his eye a little more into a
speculative squint. "an' you made sure
that yrs was gunna be one life that the raiders
didn't take? but maybe you'd done better

145 9. the chase 71
to stay and die with your friends. 'cos looks like one
way or another you're gunna end up hangin'
or spending the rest of your life behind bars."
* * *
john slade was seated in rachel jones'
sitting room, eyes fixed on the school-
teacher.
rachel sat facing him, hands folded, a
slight flush on her cheeks. she said almost
inaudibly andwitha touch of awkwardness, "i am
so pleased you
.cc145
called, john. it seems that i have scarcely
conducted myself as a s-called educated woman
in all of this." a wry smile flickered at
one corner of her mouth. "i had thought i was
something of a judge of character. evidently in that area
i am more of a fool."
slade spread out his big rough hands, moved
by her self-castigation. "rachel, merrill is

146 9. the chase 72
a man with a tongue smooth as butter and a style
to match. combined with that he is a right smart
dresser and got all the gallant ways of one
of them southern planters. it ain't any wonder
he got you all fired up--was
the girl smiled a little shamefacedly and the
schoolteacher in her couldn't help saying, "it
isn't any wonder, john." a little frown
creased her forehead. "but i wonder about that. why
should it be no wonder that he could so--so
intrigue me and yet i couldn't see what he
really was?"
slade said patiently, "happens like those
kind of men are expert at seeming
.cc146
to be someone else. it's like they put on a
mask. didn't they do that in them old greek
plays long back? ole teacher in my school-
days tole me about it once. didn't get much
schoolin' but i always remember what he tole

147 9. the chase 73
us that day. sorta stuck in the mind. he said those
oletime actors way long ago used to put on
a mask when they wanted to look mean, another
one when they wanted to 'pear kind and good, another
one for somethin' else. myron merrill's that
kind of man."
rachel looked at him as if seeing him
clearly for the first time. "you said that well, john.
if you had been in one of my classes i would have
given you top marks for knowing that about ancient
greek drama."
john slade shook his head. "ain't much i
know about things like that but i do know i would never start
pretendin' i was somethin' else other than what
i am."
rachel stared at him appraisingly. "no, i
am sure you wouldn't, john.
.cc147
you are a very honest man." she got to her feet.
"i'll make us some coffee while you stay and

148 9. the chase 74
we talk a little more."
as she left to go to the kitchen john slade's
eyes followed her admiringly. things were getting
to where they used to be before myron merrill's
cavalier-like presence had appeared on the
stage. slade felt a new confidence about himself
and this girl whom he knew no other could
displace in his life.
when he finally left to go and rachel had said
her goodnight at the door he climbed on his
horse and rode down into the town. he stopped
at the home of the carstairs, dismounted and went up
to the front door. sheree opened it, staring in
surprise at him. "why, john, what--was
slade said shortly, "sheree, i called
to personally express my sympathy to miz
carstairs and also to speak a word with you, if that's
okay."
sheree looked at him more closely,
.cc148

148 9. the chase 75
a question in her eyes. "yes, john, of course.
come through and see amelia." the banker's widow
rose as they came into the sitting room. "why,
john slade, this is nice."
the farmer inclined his head. he said with his
usual directness, "jest came, miz
carstairs, to say how i feel about your losing
jason. your man was as straight as a gun
barrel and the sort of citizen every town needs
to build on for the future. glad to know them
varmints got caught up with one way and
another. if i had been in town when that posse
was called together i'd have been first man to join it.
but failin' that all i can say is your jason was
a loss to us all."
amelia carstairs nodded and smiled. "thank
you, john." she nodded at the girl. "sheree
has been a great help--almost like having my
own daughter. let me tell you, john,
anyone who gets her is going to be a very

149 9. the chase 76
lucky man.
slade winced. he cleared his throat. "i
guess your right, ma'am. as a
.cc149
matter of fact, i meant to have a word with sheree,
too."
amelia carstairs smiled at them both.
"well, i'll just leave you two to have your chat."
she nodded to sheree. "i guess you and john have a
few things to say to each other."
when she had gone, sheree looked at him
directly. "what is it, john?"
slade cleared his throat again. this, he
knew, would not be easy. "sheree, now that
merrill's been brought back by hezekiah things
have changed a little."
the girl's eyes searched his unswervingly.
"in what way, john?"
slade raised his big hands a little help-
sly. he said haltingly, "well, i figure

150 9. the chase 77
that rachel's eyes have been opened. i've just
been to see her--was
sheree raised her voice a little. "oh,
yes?"
slade faltered a little more. "well, you see,
i guess she was just fooled a little by him--was
.cc150
the girl raised her eyebrows sarcastically.
"a real bright schoolmarm fooled by that faker?"
slade blundered on, "i guess she ain't
been around like you have, sheree."
she said fiercely, "what's that supposed
to mean? that i've just been a saloon floozie
and she's been a prim and proper lady?"
john slade winced. "sheree, you are a fine
girl. but i guess there's only one i ever
really wanted to make my wife an' it's still
rachel." he dropped his hands helplessly. "you
see, sheree, i just, well, i just plain love
her."

151 9. the chase 78
sheree's face, hardened by what he had had
to say, softened a little. she said briskly,
"well, you've said what you came to say,
john. it wasn't exactly what i was dying
to hear but it's been said." she went to the front
door and opened it. "you'd better go, john."
* * *
.cc151
in her sitting room emily anderson said
slowly to hezekiah, "you know, what merrill
has done has changed a lot of things. it's
made amelia a widow, rachel jones has
been sadly disillusioned and john slade who was
sort of taking up with that girl sheree is bound
to leave her and go back to rachel."
hezekiah squinted at her. "why is john
gunna do that?"
emily said, raising her eyebrows, "because he
really loves rachel, t't why."
::::::::::::

153 10. a knife for apache joe 79
.cc152
10
a knife for apache joe
in the wickiup juanita was working on the
jacket. apache joe looked lovingly at his
favourite squaw. "that is a beautiful
jacket you are making for me."
the girl looked back at him, eyes
flashing. "it will far outshine the gringo cavalry-
man's coat that blue jacket wears, my
husband."
apache joe frowned a little. "he speaks
nothing but war to our young bronco bucks."
the chief got up from the cougar skin where he
had been squatting cross-legged and moved across
to the girl. he gently rested a hand on her
gleaming braided hair that was as black as an
indian's.
a figure moved through the entrance
.cc153

153 10. a knife for apache joe 80
of the pole and brush hut. apache joe turned
to look. it was blue jacket. he said
surlily, "i come to talk."
apache joe faced him angrily. "your
talk is always of war. you would bring the world down
upon us until we are destroyed. there is time for
other things than war--was
blue jacket thundered, "dead chiefs don't
give orders!" his knife flashed in the air,
glittering death. apache joe staggered back,
mouth open with shock, a great bloody gash where
the weapon had torn into his chest. blood
rushed out of his mouth and he fell, his eyes
closing.
blue jacket glared at the prostrate
chief and without a word stalked out of the wickiup.
the girl, struck dumb with fear and shock,
rushed across to apache joe. what she did then was
purely by instinct. she put her hands under the
arms of the apparently lifeless chief, blood still

154 10. a knife for apache joe 81
pouring from his wound, and dragged him to the entrance of
.cc154
the hut. she ran into another squaw about to enter,
mouth hanging loose as she also took in the
scene.
juanita gabbled something at the newcomer and
ran. the squaw stayed by the chief, making quick
use of her clothing to help staunch the blood.
shortly the girl returned. she was leading two
horses, a roan mustang mare and a dun
pony. between them, she and the other squaw got the
body of the chief across the back of the roan mare,
the horse rearing a little at the smell of
blood.
juanita leapt on the back of the dun-
coloured pony and trotted off leading the mare
carrying the body of the chief. the path she took
was wild and rocky, apparently leading nowhere.
after a few miles her destination came in
sight. it was a broken-down ranch-house,

155 10. a knife for apache joe 82
obviously abandoned by its original owner.
a tall man with shoulder-length white hair
and wearing a high-crowned black hat came out
to the front of
.cc155
the house, calling the dogs back. juanita
slid down off her mount. she called,
"jacobo, great chief, help me--was
the tall man, old as he was, even
ancient, had a long, free stride. as he
joined the girl she said, breathing hard, "it is
the work of blue jacket. he wants to be
numero uno--was
the tall man grunted. he swung the body
of apache joe over his shoulders and carried him
to the ranch house as if he was a child. inside he
laid the chief gently on a ramshackle bed
and began stripping off his clothes to get at the
wound. he and the girl worked quickly to clean and
bandage the great gash, not speaking in their

156 10. a knife for apache joe 83
concentration. the tall man with hands gentle as a
woman laid the white-faced, unconscious
chief back on the bed and they left the room
quietly.
the girl said tensely, "i brought him to you because
if blue jacket thought he was not dead he would
have come back and--finito. and then you
.cc156
are the great chief who left the tribe finally
after many years of leadership to come and commune here
alone with the spirits. i knew he would be safe here.
first, because you are the great one whom my people the
mexicans called jacobo and lived in fear of
your name and also because you talk with the spirits and the
bronco braves are afraid that if they
cross you in any way you may cast a death
spell on them."
the old chief looked sombre. he said, his
voice deep and dignified, "he will take time
to heal. but i can speed that with herbs i know of.

157 10. a knife for apache joe 84
let the tribe know that if any come to harm him
while he is laid low the curse of usen will
fall upon them."
juanita shivered a little at the name of the
almighty apache god. she moved to the door.
* * *
.cc157
in davenport tommy turner was hustling before
him a little thin, narrow-shouldered man wearing
sandals, loose-fitting shirt and trousers andwitha
blanket slung over one shoulder mexican
style.
reaching the sheriff's office, tommy snapped
at the man he was escorting, "inside,
miguel. let's see what the sheriff thinks of
you." the thin little man shrugged his shoulders and
shuffled through the open door.
hezekiah looked up from his desk. the
deputy nodded at the man he had brought in.
"this here hombre says his name is miguel

158 10. a knife for apache joe 85
montez." he frowned a little. "how come so many
of these greasers got that moniker miguel?"
"spanish for michael," said hezekiah.
"guess we got a few michaels, too."
tommy went on, giving the mexican a
suspicious look. "says he's one of them
peons. romero raided a village and took
a few people, men and women, to work for him. this little
greaser says he never worked so hard
.cc158
in his life. only got the leavin's of the food.
anytime he didn't do anything right got whipped
with a quirt."
hezekiah eyed the little mexican ap-
praisingly. he rattled off a torrent in
spanish at him. the man's eyes brightened as
he joined in rapid fire conversation with the
sheriff. finally hezekiah abruptly cut off
the talk.
he turned his gaze back on the deputy,

159 10. a knife for apache joe 86
tommy looking piqued at not being able to follow
the conversation with his sparse knowledge of spanish.
hezekiah smiled his rare smile. "this here
maid of all work been havin' a hard time. far
as i can see, tommy, what he told you
seems to square up with what i asked him.
tell you something. get him a bed for the night some
place and i'll talk with him again in the morning.
this little greaser should be able to tell us a few
interesting things about romero and his doin's."
tommy turner grunted. he nodded
.cc159
at the skinny little mexican to follow him and the
other man fell in behind him like a docile dog,
flashing a grateful look at the sheriff as he
went.
that night hezekiah with his usual custom was
reading from the big black-bound book. merrill's
voice came from his cell. "would you put out that
light, sheriff? i'd like to get some sleep."

160 10. a knife for apache joe 87
hezekiah glanced back at the cell.
"readin' from the good book, merrill. somethin' you
shoulda done. kept you out of where you are right now."
then he heard the creaking step on the boardwalk
outside.
he stood up and moved fast away from the
window where his upper body was throwing a shadow
against the shade. the creaking sound had stopped
instantly. hezekiah spoke again in a
normal tone but listening with the ear of an animal
aware it is being hunted. he said loudly,
"yeah, that's what you should have done, merrill.
.cc160
shoulda read what it says in that book of
proverbs. says that in the long run there ain't
no reward for the man who plans to rob and kill
others. it says the expectation of the wicked shall
perish."
merrill's voice called, "spare me the
holy rhetoric, sheriff. i heard a preacher

161 10. a knife for apache joe 88
talking like that once. he had on a suit with
patches in the pants. i was wearing something made
by the best tailor in st louis. i thought to myself,
well, if that's how much your god allows you for
clothes he hasn't got an awful lot of
dress sense."
hezekiah said loudly, "the best-dressed people
often end up in the worst place; like hell, for
instance."
he raised his voice, speaking very slowly and
emphasising each word. "i am going to take a
look outside to make sure all is quiet
in the town. then i'm gunna close up for the
night, merrill, and you can get your shut-eye."
he said, raising his voice a little more, "i'll just
take a peek
.cc161
out the door and then we can rest easy."
merrill's voice started to say, "i'd be
obliged if you'd just do it, sheriff, and not give

162 10. a knife for apache joe 89
me the details. i am just wanting--was
hezekiah had reached the door and turned the
knob. as he did so he threw himself to one
side.
the colt thundered from outside and hezekiah
almost felt the wind as the slug passed him.
gun already in his left hand, he fired three
shots so fast they almost ran into one sound.
the figure standing outside swayed as if hit
by a big wind and then fell in a heap on the
boardwalk. hezekiah moved across and looked
down.
it was miguel, the gunman posing as a
refugee from romero's camp. he was as dead as
an ancient aztec.
merrill's voice rang out, "what in hell
was all that?" hezekiah called, "a message
from luis romero that never got delivered."
as he went to pick up the dead
.cc162

162 10. a knife for apache joe 90
mexican, he was thinking, romero must think i
am important to the defence of this town. one thing
for sure--looks like he is really headed this
way.

11
sheree takes a hand
sheree brodie looked across the supper table
at amelia carstairs, gauging what would be the
older woman's response before she spoke. the
girl said abruptly, "i've been thinking about
paying a visit to myron merrill." amelia
gave her a surprised look. "what on earth
for, my dear?"
sheree said slowly, "we had a relationship
once. he wasn't always what he turned out
to be here in davenport. there were times when
he----well, we got along pretty well.
i'd like to see if there's anything left in him of
those days. at times he was decent and honest. it

164 11. sheree takes a hand
would be a good thing at the trial if he decided
to be open about it all---comfftell how it all
.cc164
happened without lying and trying to cover up."
amelia looked at her keenly. "you know, of
course, if he did that he could possibly
lose a chance of receiveg a lighter sentence. it
would all depend how the judge looked at it."
the girl nodded. "i understand that. but, just for old
times sake, i would like to see him end up like a
man----not like some cheap hold-up thief who
added murder to his crime."
amelia said slowly, "well, of course, the
tellers both told us that it was the other man, that
ex-cowboy, who shot and killed jason."
sheree nodded again. "yes, but myron might as
well have pulled the trigger. i'd like to see if
he has any remorse."
"i doubt it, my dear. but if he has any
feelings of regret for what he has done it

165 11. sheree takes a hand
would be something in his favour." she smiled at the
girl. "if you feel this way i suppose a
visit from you would not be out of the way."
sheree said decisively, "i'll call on
.cc165
him tonight." after the meal she put on a shoulder
cape and bonnet and went out, heading for the
jailhouse.
at her knock she heard the little dog bark as
hezekiah came to the door. his one eye stared
surprisedly at her. sheree asked, "can i
see your prisoner?" hezekiah kept staring.
"well, i guess so." he looked down at the
handbag she carried. "you ain't got a file in
that, have you?"
sheree shook her head, smiling faintly.
"no. myron and i had an association before we
both came to davenport, as i told you before. i
just want to talk to him about what he's done and
maybe encourage him to be as honest as possible

166 11. sheree takes a hand
at the trial."
hezekiah touched the hook to his chin
to scratch it gently. "well, now, that trial
don't look like comin' off for a while.
judges, it seems, are pretty busy people and
also travelling down in these parts ain't the most
healthy thing to be doing right now."
he said soberly, "but if you can get
.cc166
merrill to open up at the trial it would sure
help proceedings and might even give him a
better chance of cheating the hangman."
he took her down to the cell door, the little
dog with them growling through the bars at the
prisoner, and left her there. merrill, sitting
on the edge of his bunk, stared unbelievingly
at the girl. "sheree----i never thought----was
he came across to the bars and already he was
adopting his customary polished manner.
"well, you are certainly an improvement on

167 11. sheree takes a hand
the faces of that one-eyed sheriff and his sawn-off
deputy. what brings you here? dare i ask, for
old times sake?"
the girl took hold of the bars in her two
gloved hands. "all my memories of that are not
bad, myron. you had a way of spending money
on a woman and also of courting her in a way that
was not unattractive."
the gambler grinned. "most of my ladies
thought it was damn attractive. especially that
creole. that's what
.cc167
really turned you against me, wasn't it? my
taking up with her."
sheree said with a flash of anger, "dropping me
like you did and paying court to that half-breed,
beautiful as she was, would have got you a knife
in the back from a lot of women."
merrill touched one of her hands on the bars.
he said urgently, "she was the most expensive

168 11. sheree takes a hand
disaster i ever got caught up with. less than a
month after i picked her up she took off with a
planter who had more money than midas, the king
whose touch turned everything to gold." he grinned.
"only no one's touch could do that with that coloured
woman. she was genuine lead from top to bottom.
you were the gold i threw away, sheree."
the girl said cuttingly, "then why did you
pick up with that schoolteacher, that rachel
jones?"
merrill gave his easy, half-mocking
smile. "she is a very good-looking woman and i
am a man who must have some feminine interest in his
life.
.cc168
besides, it gave me a chance to show her the difference
between that farmer she had calling on her and a man
who knew his way around the world."
sheree said with a touch of malice, "she's gone
back to that farmer now and her view of you is

169 11. sheree takes a hand
considerably less than it was." merrill
shrugged. he shot a satirical glance at
her. "and doesn't that also mean that the farmer had
left you to take up with her again?"
sheree said shortly, "we all make our
mistakes." she dropped her hands from the bars and
stepped back a little. she eyed him sharply.
"when the trial comes how you going to handle your
side of it?"
merrill lowered his voice. "as defensively
as i can. i am going to do everything to get the
lightest sentence possible. one reason is that i
can point out that hank smith and not me shot
jason carstairs." he paused a moment. "and
i have another very special reason."
hezekiah came limping towards them.
.cc169
"i figure you two have done enough talkin' over
old times." he nodded at the girl. "if you
want to see the prisoner again, come another time.

170 11. sheree takes a hand
this man looks like having folks come to call on
him in jail for a long time."
sheree stepped aside. she looked strange-
ly at merrill. she said quickly, "maybe
you'll tell me what that other special reason
is next time i come."
hezekiah said, "next time maybe my
deputy will be on duty. don't mind his
scattergun. he'll only use it if
merrill tries to break loose. in that case,
tommy will make it hard for you to talk to more than
one piece of the prisoner at a time."
when sheree walked back to the carstairs home
she was thinking, maybe next time merrill would
tell her that second special reason he had
for trying to get a light sentence.
when sheree called to visit merrill again
tommy turner let her in. he said to her in his
blunt little deputy
.cc170

170 11. sheree takes a hand
manner. "shoulda thought a good-lookin' gal like you
woulda had better ways to fill in her evenin's
than callin' on a bank-robber."
sheree muttered something about having known
merrill a long time as tommy led her to the
cell. the little deputy snorted, "shoulda taught
you that once a coyote always a coyote." he
went back to his chair in the office.
merrill came over to the cell door, all
smiling welcome. sheree said immediately, "you
told me you had two reasons for wanting to get
a light sentence and the second one was very
special. what is it?"
merrill surveyed her carefully. he said
slowly, "what would you say to taking a long
trip with me----around the world maybe in the best
of style?"
she gave him a withering look. "you crazy?
here you are locked up and maybe facing even a
life sentence and you talk like that!"

171 11. sheree takes a hand
merrill insisted, "if what i said was
possible, would you come with me?
.cc171
you always said you wanted to see places like venice
and rome, london and paris."
sheree stared. "what are you talking about?"
merrill shot a glance through the bars at
tommy turner. the deputy was far enough away not
to hear them clearly but near enough to see their every
move. the little deputy evidently was more concerned
with what may have looked like unlawful action than
he was with conversation.
merrill lowered his voice. he reached through the
bars and touched sheree's arm. "listen, kid,
what's for you in a town like this? nothing. that farmer
guy you thought was sweet on you has gone back
to his schoolmarm lady love. all you'll end
up doing here is working in that dry goods store the
rest of your life. if you listen to me and show a
little sense i can promise you to see the taj

172 11. sheree takes a hand
mahal, the fountains of rome, buckingham
palace, the islands of the south seas----was
.cc172
sheree broke in. "and how long do i have
to wait before you can give me all this?"
merrill's face took on a sharp, tense
edge. "if you're smart, not very long at all."
"and where," asked the girl mockingly, "is
all the money coming from?"
merrill lowered his voice a little. "you'd be
surprised how much money was in that bank."
sheree stared at him silently for a moment. "you
mean----was
merrill hissed, "help me get out of here
and we split it fifty-fifty."
the little deputy stared across at them. "cut out
that whisperin', you two. don't sound right."
merrill raised his voice. "okay, deputy.
but sometimes it's nice to talk about things that are
private matters."

173 11. sheree takes a hand
"ain't nothin' private in the hoosegow,"
grumbled tommy. merrill agreed. "you're so
right, deputy." he lowered his voice again just a
fraction, speaking out of the corner of his mouth.
"i've let you in on something, sheree,
.cc173
because i've taken a chance on you. you've got
two choices. one is, tell what i've
told you to the sheriff. if you do, i'll deny it
to his face. say that you are a disappointed
lover who is trying to get back at me. the
other choice is, help me get out of here and
your dreams about seeing the world can be as real and
beautiful as sunrise in hawaii."
the girl stood staring at him, turning it all
over in her mind.
tommy turner stumped towards them, voice
gruff and impatient. "this ain't a public
meetin' place. you better git movin',
girlie. we got sorta visitin' hours here

174 11. sheree takes a hand
and your time is up."
back in her room at amelia carstairs'
home that night sheree had a dream. it was of
sands crashing on white beaches, the velvet
glamour of nights in spain, the glittering
slopes of snow-clad alps, the bridges of
paris ... the dream woke her up and had her
staring into the night, wondering.
.cc174
* * *
a couple of evenings later hezekiah
lifted a table napkin to his mouth and dabbed it
there with satisfaction. "emily, if you were
to take a notion to runnin' a hotel in this town
and kept on serving up grub like that you would be a
rich woman in no time at all."
emily anderson said flatly, "feeding you and
occasionally that hungry deputy of yrs is enough
time in the kitchen for me. i would sooner keep
on selling canned food across the counter of my

175 11. sheree takes a hand
store." she asked soberly, "hezekiah,
what do you make of sheree calling on myron
merrill so often?"
the sheriff looked thoughtful. "i figure they
must have been pretty close in the past. people that
live the way they have are nacherally drawn to each
other. that gal has talked about merrill being
all sorts of a double-crossing man earlier in
her life but when the chips are down people who have
lived around
.cc175
saloons always seem to wind up in each other's
company."
emily demurred, "but sheree strikes me as
being an honest girl."
hezekiah shrugged. "maybe so. but she and
merrill would have as much in common their way as you and
me have in our way."
"do you think she is really sympathetic to him?
i can hardly believe that, because in the short time

176 11. sheree takes a hand
she was with them before jason got killed she was very
close with the carstairs."
the sheriff nodded. "yeah. well, changed
she might have been but you can't wipe out in a
short time what you might have shared together over a
long time." he grinned. "also maybe she's
taking the chance while he's cooped up there
to tell him clear and plain what she thinks of
him for having run out on her before they both
finished up here. john slade said that girl
told him about that one night."
emily shook her head. "i'm glad nothing
really came of her and slade.
.cc176
i feel, as i said, that sheree is a good honest
girl but rachel has always been the one for
john." the sheriff kept grinning. "like they say
about you and me."
emily said grimly, "i've given you my
answer to that, hezekiah. if you ever want my

177 11. sheree takes a hand
hand you'd better pass in your badge first." a
little frown creased her forehead. "but i certainly
hope for sheree's sake she is not falling under
that suave man's spell again."
hezekiah said comfortably, "well, he's
fixed so he can't do her any harm and after the
judge comes he'll be able to do her even
less."
emily said quietly, "i hope you're right.
but i just feel a little uneasy about it ..."
* * *
sheree pulled the horses up behind the
jailhouse. she got off her mount and let the
reins of the other saddlehorse and the packhorse
trail. she walked
.cc177
around to the front of the jailhouse and knocked.
tommy turner shambled to the door, mumbling
something about dang-busted callers in the night.
he opened the door growling, "now, listen here,

178 11. sheree takes a hand
young lady----was but stopped short as he found
himself staring down the barrel of the colt sheree
held firmly on him. she said tersely,
"move back in, deputy, and don't make
a sound."
tommy, staring unbelievingly, backed into the
office. sheree moved in, quickly, shutting the
door behind her. she snapped, "get the keys.
we're letting your prisoner loose."
tommy was still struggling with what was happening.
he moved as if in a dream back to where he had
been sitting and took the keys to the cell door
from the big hook they hung on. still unable to find
words and staring as if hypnotised at the gun
held on him by the girl he went across and
unlocked the cell for a grinning merrill to step
out.
the gambler said exultantly, "that's
.cc178
my girl. that's the sheree i used to know." he

178 11. sheree takes a hand
had brought a blanket out with him and already he was
tearing it into strips. sheree gestured with the gun for
tommy to go into the cell. the deputy found
voice. "why, you skulkin', double-crossin'
pair----was his hand crept towards the gun
holstered at his hip but merrill slapped his hand
down and unbuckled the gun belt around the
deputy's waist to strap it around his own.
merrill pushed the deputy back on to the
bunk and in a moment or two had tied his hands
behind his back and his ankles together. before the
deputy could say another word the gambler had
tied a gag tightly about his mouth as he lay
on the bunk.
sheree and merrill stepped out through the cell
door, locking it behind them and throwing the keys on
the floor. merrill stayed to take a rifle out
of a rack of weapons in the sheriff's office and
to find and pocket a couple of boxes of
shells.

179 11. sheree takes a hand
.cc179
moving fast, the two went out the back door
of the jail to the horses waiting outside. they
mounted swiftly and went off at a swift
trot, merrill leading the packhorse behind. a
hoot-owl cried out somewhere but otherwise all was
quiet.
merrill followed the same trail he had
taken on a former occasion with the two deaf mutes
and hank smith. they covered the early ground at
speed, driving the horses on, putting as much
ground between them and the inevitable pursuing posse
while the going was good. with luck, merrill thought,
back in davenport they wouldn't find out about the
break for hours. he and the girl would have put a
lot of miles behind them by then. he looked across
at sheree riding beside him and thought, why i ever
took up with that creole when i had this girl beside
me i'll never know.
sheree was silent, staring determinedly ahead as

180 11. sheree takes a hand
she rode. merrill thought, she's thinking of the
money and those
.cc180
places of glamour and beauty she's going
to see. he exulted, and i'll show her every last
one of them.
an hour or so later they ran into the badlands
and they slowed down. later still, before dawn,
merrill signalled to sheree to pull up. as they
got down off their mounts he said briefly,
"we'll rest up a while. don't want
to kill the horses. then we'll push on."
the girl, still silent, nodded. merrill thought,
that's what i like. a woman who does things
instead of talking.
when the light came they went on, making the
best time they could over the brutal ground.
hours later they made another halt.
merrill was scanning the ground keenly. it was
almost the identical trail he and the others had

181 11. sheree takes a hand
followed on their earlier ride. hot mug of
coffee in hand, he grinned across at sheree.
"we're making good time. just hope we don't
run into raiders. but luck's been with us so far.
i feel we're on a winning streak."
.cc181
the girl, sipping her coffee, regarded him
steadily. "money means a lot to you, doesn't
it, myron?" he asked, "doesn't it to you?"
the girl looked off into the distance, conjuring up
other thoughts. "well, when it's a means of
seeing those places i've always dreamed of going
to i guess it does."
"right, kid, and you're going to see them all."
he got to his feet, tossing away the dregs
of his coffee and stamping out their small fire.
he said briskly, "let's hit this horror
trail again. guess it's just as much unholy
travelling to whoever is following us and maybe
getting further behind."

182 11. sheree takes a hand
when they finally came to the place, merrill's
eyes glittered with expectancy. it was the
skull's head that he had implanted deep in
his mind.
his gaze went directly to the hole in the
cliff that formed one of the eyes, the one in which he
had dug down and secreted the loot. as he
got off his horse he signalled to sheree to also
dismount. he said briefly, "we'll take
.cc182
the packhorse as far as he can climb. then
we'll go ahead on foot."
when they had got down to the farthermost recess
of the cave merrill got to his knees and
began scratching furiously, shovelling up the
dirt like a gopher burrowing out a subterannean
runway.
when the first little canvas sack appeared he
let out a whoop and held it aloft. "and there's
more----was he started digging again, eyes only for the

183 11. sheree takes a hand
loot.
he hardly noticed sheree drop down beside
him. but when she pulled the gun out of the holster
at his hip he swung his head around, startled.
"hey, what----was
the gun roared twice in the cave, the sound like
thunder in the narrow confines. merrill fell
back, his face a bloody, blasted ruin. his
body twitched once and the canvas sack fell
out of his hand.
sheree looked down at him. she said
quietly, "jason carstairs was the sort of
.cc183
man you could never be."
she turned to scratching out the rest of the bags.
when she had them all out she started taking them
down to the packhorse.
* * *
hezekiah saw the rider coming towards them,
leading the other two horses and he put up the

184 12. blue jacket rides out
hook to halt the posse. when sheree reached them
she looked steadily at the sheriff. she said,
"everything merrill and the others took from the bank
is on that packhorse. if you want myron
merrill he's back there in the cave where he
buried it all last time. but he won't be able
to tell you anything."
::::::::::::
.cc184
12
blue jacket rides out
there was turmoil and action in the rancheria as
there had been since apache joe had gone and
blue jacket had taken over the leadership.
put aside were the tasks of tanning hides,
even hunting. the air was all for war.
blue jacket yelled, "this day we will ride
and kill. there is cattle to be taken,
horses to be driven off, ranch houses to be
destroyed, men and women to die----was he

185 12. blue jacket rides out
lifted his voice higher. "their young ones must
die also. when the white-eyes cavalry have
raided our camps they have slain our children. they have
said, "kill the nits for they will grow up
to breed further lice." let us turn this
back upon their own heads." he raised his
voice
.cc185
even higher. "enju! i have spoken!"
the roar came again, "shis-inday!" blue
jacket wheeled his pony again and set his heels
to its sides. the yelling company of bronco
braves took off after him in a thundering cloud of
dust and hoofbeats.
the old shaman, the medicine man, shambled out
of his wickiup and stared after them through bleary
eyes, shaking his head, juanita, passing by,
stopped at his side. she said anxiously,
"old man, can't you stop this madness?"
the shaman again sourly shook his head. "blue

186 12. blue jacket rides out
jacket has found a potion that is stronger than
mine. it is a thing of blood and war. it rouses
them to a great fury."
his eyes took on a look of apprehension.
"but it can only mean one thing. the nakai-ye and the
white-eyes are like the locusts that come sometimes and
devour everything. there is no end to them. we are
but a small people. if we provoke these our
enemies too greatly it will end in our
.cc186
destruction." he shot an appealing look at
her. "you go to see your husband again soon? tell
him to get well and come back before blue
jacket brings death upon us all." he shambled
back into the wickiup.
juanita's eyes flashed with sudden fire.
yes, apache joe was responding more every day
to jacobo's special ministrations. she would
ride over that very day and see him. she looked
around the rancheria with anxious eyes. apache

187 12. blue jacket rides out
joe would want to see it kept alive, not
brought to know death and ruin.
* * *
that night in davenport emily anderson
welcomed hezekiah as he stepped through her
front door, little dog at his heels.
hezekiah looked at her questioningly. "why did
you ask me to specially bring little mister short-
tail along with me tonight?"
emily bent down to pat the tiny dog
.cc187
who licked her hand with affection as an old friend.
she straightened up. "you'll see. i also did
not ask you to bring tommy with you because i have invited
two other guests."
hezekiah sat down, the little dog curling
up at his feet. "and who might they be?"
emily looked at him solemnly. "rachel
jones and sheree brodie." hezekiah stared,
surprised. "hey, is that wise? ain't john

188 12. blue jacket rides out
slade been courtin' 'em both? far as i know,
that always tends to spark a certain amount of enmity
between young ladies." he looked reminiscent.
"y'know, in the good book it says king david
had seventeen wives. that's as i counted 'em,
anyways. an' i often thought to myself, seventeen
women scrappin' over one man. how'd he ever
keep 'em in order?"
emily said firmly, "i don't think
there'll be any scrapping here tonight with these two."
she looked at him appealingly. "hezekiah,
i've brought
.cc188
them together because i think they are two fine girls
who need to be friends. now, i want you to help
me bring that about." she added, "incidentally, neither
of them knows i asked the other one here tonight."
hezekiah cleared his throat. "seems like
my helpin' out will have to be pretty fancy."
he looked down at the little dog. "an' how

189 12. blue jacket rides out
does mister short-tail figure in all this?"
emily nodded confidently. "you'll see."
there was a knock at the door. she said
briskly, "there's the first of the girls now." she
came back with rachel jones. the schoolteacher
looked surprisedly at the sheriff, no.ing
greetings. then her eyes wandered to the little dog
who had come to his feet at her arrival. a
look of pleasure came across rachel's
face.
"what a dear little fellow----was she bent
straight down to fondle the little creature, all
smiles. mister short-tail responded to her
happily. hezekiah said, "that's a big
plus for you, missy.
.cc189
that little critter can smell out the good from the bad
quicker than a thirsty cow can smell water in a
dry land."
the girl, smiling, put the little dog down, still

190 12. blue jacket rides out
patting him. emily excused herself, going out to the
kitchen to put the finishing touches to the meal. when
she came back there was another knock at the
door. emily went off and came back with
sheree brodie.
when the two girls' eyes met they stiffened.
sheree said coldly, "oh, i didn't know----
if i had i wouldn't have----was the little dog came
across to her, sniffing her shoe. sheree looked
down and immediately her face softened. she bent
down and scooped the little dog up in her arms.
he let her lift him unprotesting licking her
face as she drew him up closer.
hezekiah stared. "last time i saw someone do
that to him apart from here tonight he bit their finger nigh
to the bone. he is really a sorta one-man
dog but he seems to have found a
.cc190
coupla new friends right here." emily bustled
around. "i've set a place for mister short-

191 12. blue jacket rides out
tail in the kitchen and after he's eaten he can
come back and join us."
it was after the meal and everything cleared away that
emily looked directly at the two girls.
"i asked you both here tonight because i want to see you
become friends."
both girls opened their mouths to say something but
emily held up her hand to silence them. she
went on quickly, "you are both fine young women.
i don't care what sheree may have done before but
what she did about jason and the stolen money was
something only a woman with real spunk and a
capacity for loyalty to a fine man and his
wife could have done. and you, rachel, you are a
boon to the children of this town and our hope is that you
will marry a certain young farmer and settle down
here for good."
she looked back at the other girl. "and
there's plenty of other young
.cc191

191 12. blue jacket rides out
men who would line up to make you the same offer,
sheree." she finished with a burst. "and i'm sure
that little mister short-tail there backs up
everything i've said." the little dog, as if in
response to her words, got to his feet and
gave two sharp, happy barks.
"that," said hezekiah, "is prob'ly the
veal you fed him talkin' but he sure said it at
the right time."
the two girls, faces softening and as if
acting on the one impulse, dropped to their
knees to reach out towards the little dog. as their
hands met they smiled at each other, mister
short-tail wriggling good-temeredly in their
grasp.
later when he was leaving, following the two
girls who had gone out together, hezekiah
stopped at the door. he said, "y'know,
emily, you didn't invite me here tonight. you
invited mister short-tail."

192 12. blue jacket rides out
"and," said emily, contented, "he did what
my old aunt sophia would have called a right
smart job."
.cc192
* * *
at jacobo's ranch with the saguaro cactus
standing up like prickly sentinels before the house
juanita got off her pony. as she went up
to the house the old chief came to meet her. his
usually sombre face was alive, smiling.
"your man, your chief, he is finding health
and strength again. i have not forgotten my arts since
i came here. he will be well and strong and he will
lead the tribe again."
juanita's eyes darkened. "it will be
difficult, old one. blue jacket has the
warriors blood-crazy. they ride out every day
to kill and plunder. they cut down everyone ...
mexicans, whites, anyone they see as the
enemy. to regain control of them again will be hard,

193 12. blue jacket rides out
very hard, for my husband to do."
jacobo said bluntly, "he is a strong
man, a lion. blue jacket is a mad
coyote. a mountain lion can overcoce a
coyote any time."
.cc193
juanita murmured, "it was the coyote who
brought down the lion last time." jacobo
frowned. "that was treachery. a chief does not
expect naked treachery from one who should be his
loyal follower." he brightened. "but come and see
your husband. he grows stronger every day."
when he took her inside the girl saw
apache joe walking about, a little stiff-gaited
but obviousln well on the mend. she ran to him
with a small cry and he took her gently
into his arms. he released her to look at her,
smiling. "i have a fine healer, my wife. he
gives me medicine that brings tears to my eyes
and foulness to my mouth but it puts life into my

194 12. blue jacket rides out
bones again." he asked anxiously, "how goes
the rancheria?"
juanita grew tense. "badly, my
husband. blue jacket rides out day after day,
leading the warriors. always they come back with
blood on their hands and a missing rider or
two. but they keep following him. he has cast
.cc194
a spell over them, a dream of great
victory, of driving out all the whites and the
mexicans simply by killing them all----was
apache joe said fiercely, "i must go
back. another few days and i will be even
stronger. it will come to a duel. if i can win
back the leadership in hand to hand combat i will lead
them as they should be led."
* * *
blue jacket's band was advancing through the
canyon towards the white-eyes' farm they
knew lay immediately beyond when the two scouts

195 12. blue jacket rides out
came galloping back.
one raced straight up to the chief, breathless.
he gasped, "back there----romero's
raiders, coming towards us----a big force. they
saw us and some are in pursuit----was
blue jacket's eyes flashed. "these are
our great enemies----maybe even worse than
the blancos. they want to take all
.cc195
our land. they say they have a great claim because their
ancestors came here many moons ago." there was
blazing hate in his eyes. "but our people were here before
their ancestors, before time itself----was
he turned on the warriors behind him, waving
his carbine in an almost insane spirit of defiance.
"this is our chance to wipe out these nakai-ye, these
invaders, led by this terrible grandee."
he lifted himself up on the back of his pony
and screamed, "curses and destruction on all
nakai-ye!" the warriors galloped after him,

196 12. blue jacket rides out
whooping and yelling. it was when they rounded the next
bend that they met the hail of bullets like a
sudden blinding thunderstorm on the prairie.
two braves dropped from their saddles, cut
down by the withering blast. blue jacket led the
return of fire but soon all the indians were
sliding off their ponies and scrambling for cover
behind the rocks.
.cc196
one of the scouts got alongside blue
jacket. he shouted above the roar of gunfire,
"they are not as many as i thought. we can match
them----was
blue jacket smiled grimly. "we can do
more----we can send them to the big sleep, every last
cursed one of them!"
the raiders were also dismounting and were sheltering behind
rocks as they kept up a steady fire. blue
jacket caught a glimpse of romero, a
tall striking figure with a huge black

197 12. blue jacket rides out
sombrero decorated with silver pesos.
blue jacket fired a couple of shots at
him but the raiders' leader, as always seemed
to bear a charmed life. the indian cursed and
directed his fire elsewhere.
one of the raiders, lacking caution, came
into view around a boulder. a bronco buck,
taking careful aim, shot him through the head and the
man flopped back, dead. the indians whooped
with delight.
.cc197
but suddenly they noticed something else.
gunfire was coming at them from a different
direction. heads turned quickly and they could see
more raiders coming down on them from the top of the
canyon behind them. it dawned on blue jacket
what had happened.
romero, after sighting the apaches, had sent
some of his troops up along a trail on top
of the canyon to get past the indians and to come in

198 12. blue jacket rides out
on them from behind. that was why the scout had thought he
had been mistaken about their number.
blue jacket gritted his teeth. they were
caught between two fires now and had no chance of
returning both effectively. he could see the
only thing to do was to retreat. even as the thought
flashed through his mind it was reinforced by the sight of
one of his braves, bullet-ridden, sliding
down a boulder which had been his shelter until the
attack came from behind.
.cc198
blue jacket, raging inside, but with no
choice, gave the signal to his braves
to run for their horses and escape. even as they
ran two more braves fell, cut down by the
raking double fire.
they scrambled on their ponies and, lying low
on their necks, raced back towards the end of the
canyon through which they had entered it.
as they rode, blue jacket suddenly felt

199 12. blue jacket rides out
a streak of fire drive into his back like a
javelin hurled from the hand of a giant. that was the
last thing he ever knew.
* * *
two nights later apache joe limped into the
rancheria to speak to a disheartened, diminished band
of warriors, something less than those who had
gone out a couple of days before whooping for
blood. the shaman stood alongside him. the
old man seemed to have grown in both physical
and emotional stature.
.cc199
the shaman bit out to the gathered warriors, "you
chose to follow a madman. he led you into a
trap that meant death for some of you----more than we
can afford to lose. you turned your back on your
lawful chief and followed one whose dreams were
vain and unreal."
he stabbed a finger at apache joe. "this is
your true chief. he comes back to you still a little

200 13. a call on slade
weak from that treacherous attack but he is gathering
strength day by day. he led you well in the past and
he will lead you that way again. follow him, even
if it means joining up with the blancos of
davenport to help drive out those raiders who
not only kill the old and the weak but rape our
women. listen to him! enju!"
apache joe stood up before them, looking
around. he could see rows of chastened faces
expressing regret and a fresh obedience.
inwardly thanking usen for a faithful wife and a
healer like jacobo, he began to speak.
::::::::::::
.cc200
13
a call on slade
there was great excitement in the town of san
cristobal, the largest in that area of the state of
sonora, just over the border from arizona
territory. the great luis romero, leader of the

201 13. a call on slade
famous raiders and maybe a prime candi-
date for the presidency of the nation of mexico,
had come to speak to them.
the people, in tattered pants, worn sandals and
thread-bare serapes, crowded into the city hall,
amongst them numbers of half-breeds,
mestizos of mixed spanish and indian blood,
the word meaning mongrel, also goatherds,
simple farming peasants, people also of substance and
wealth sitting up front separated from the
hoi-polloi.
in the town's main building on
.cc201
a platform at one end there sat the alcalde,
the mayor, and other dignitaries. luis
romero emerged on the stage, a magnificent
figure in beautifully embroidered jacket,
tight-fitting velvet trousers flared at the
ends, frilled white shirt and silver
ornamentation all over.

202 13. a call on slade
he was a stunningly impressive man with
hair that shone like jet polished to a high gleam.
a fine black moustache decked his upper lip
and he had the hawk-like handsomeness of a conquista-
dor.
but his eyes were the eyes of a renegade wolf.
at his appearance there burst forth a storm of
applause, led by his own raiders and the menacing
rurales.
romero looked around him. he shouted,
"fellow countrymen, we have a great task before
us. our aim is to repossess, to take hold
again of the land stolen from us by the americans."
cheering, again led by the raiders and the rurales,
broke out.
.cc202
romero, eyes flashing, went on. "in
1848 in that treacherous agreement with the united
states called the treaty of hidalgo we lost
nearly half the land that properly belonged

203 13. a call on slade
to mexico. and then again six years later our own
government betrayed us further by selling more land
to the united states to put their cursed rail-
road through. yet in that land lies buried
copper, silver and gold that is rightfully
ours."
his voice rose higher. "we must take it
back and in doing so also obliterate the indian
scum that still inhabits much of it." he raised a
fist and shook it. "all true mexicans must
stand with me and help me build a force that will
take me to the presidency and better times for
all!"
by now even the docile members of the crowd had
caught something of his fervour and were beginning to rise
to their feet and shout with excitement. the raiders
and rurales were literally thundering their approval,
.cc203
wolves howling for blood, stirred up by a
leader with a purpose that had become a mania with

204 13. a call on slade
him which he was transmitting to them.
* * *
a few days after the meeting led by romero in
san cristobal, hezekiah and tommy turner
were heading once more to the outlying farms and ranches
of the county. with the custom of horsemen on a long
ride they had not spoken much but suddenly
hezekiah broke the silence. "this maybe
gotta be our last warning, deputy."
tommy grunted agreement. "yeah. if they
don't wanta pack up and come into the town
ain't much more we can do."
hezekiah nodded towards the northeast.
"john slade is the furthest out. john is a
mighty plucky man and a rare good shot but one
man on his own ain't gunna hold off a
pack of raiders with benito dyin' to get his
big knife
.cc204
at someone's throat. let's ride out that

204 13. a call on slade
way."
tommy grunted again and turned his horse in
the same direction. it was when they had drawn
within sight of the farmhouse that they heard the shots.
hezekiah muttered, "the lord msta given me
a nudge in this direction."
tommy turner shook his head. "you sure
git them visions or whatever, hezekiah." he
dug his heels into his mount. "let's git up
thar an' see what's doin'."
riding at a gallop they could see a few
men in their familiar sombreros, white garments
and bandoliers crossed over the shoulders in the
manner of the raiders. they were crouched down in
various positions around the farmhouse, some behind a
corral, a couple more behind a nearby barn.
hezekiah jerked out, "looks like maybe
six-seven of 'em. just a party split off from the
main group and gone lookin' for an easy mark.
.cc205

205 13. a call on slade
judging from that gunsmoke coming from slade's
direction in the house they have got a tiger by the
tail."
he ran his eye over the whole situation. he
snapped, "they ain't seen us yet, tommy.
let's get up behind them and pepper them some."
they took a wide detour, hidden by an
outbreak of brush some distance behind the farmhouse and
walked the horses in closer. dismounting they tied
their mounts, hezekiah's pinto and tommy's
stocky little dun behind them and went on on foot,
rifle and scattergun taken from their saddle
boots in hand.
hezekiah said, "here's where we give them
hell-raising, throat-cutting killers a little
surprise." he sighted along the barrel of his
rifle with his eye and squeezed the trigger with his
left forefinger. a raider, shot through the back
of the head, fell forward as if he had just dozed
off.

206 13. a call on slade
at the same moment tommy's shotgun
boomed. another raider in
.cc206
the very act of firing his carbine at the farmhouse
let out a cry of pain and dropped the gun from a
shattered right shoulder.
both hezekiah and the deputy began pumping
lead as fast as their trigger fingers could work. at
the sound of the new barrage slade's firing from the
house seemed to gain new vigour.
the raiders, totally surprised and unaware
of the size of the force now behind them, started running
for their horses. they leapt into theirthe saddles and
headed away at full gallop from the combined
fire of slade and the two lawmen. as one of them
drew further away he stood up in the
stirrups and looked back. the sunlight
flashed like fire off a great knife he slashed
through the air in the direction of the two lawmen.
with a lightning movement he passed the blunt

207 13. a call on slade
side of the blade across his throat in a threatening
gesture. then with a defiant roar he galloped
off.
hezekiah came out of the brush with the deputy
and stared after the
.cc207
departing raiders. "that," he said flatly,
"was big knife benito, tommy, i think
we just saved john slade's head from parting
company with his shoulders."
they went back for the horses and trotted up
to the house. john slade came out to meet them,
smoke still drifting from the muzzle of his hot
rifle.
hezekiah said amiably, "john, you still
fixing to keep running your farm with these varmints
closing in closer every day?"
slade shook his head. "looks like you're
right, sheriff. guess i'll have to do what others
are doing. forget about my crops and bring my

208 13. a call on slade
stock in closer to the town, maybe right into town.
maybe have to corral them, feed them on hay,
water them from troughs. but how long can a thing like that
last?"
hezekiah squinted his eye. "depends on
just how long romero sets up a siege."
slade offered, "or is kept out." he stared
unblinkingly at the sheriff.
.cc208
"and just how long do you think he can be kept out?"
hezekiah pondered a moment. "don't know.
all i know is we've got to look to the army for
help and every manjack in town has got to be
prepared to fight as fierce as ole beelzebub
himself to keep the raiders out."
john slade looked around at his farm. he
said bitterly, "don't see why i've got
to leave all this to fall into the hands of a blood-
thirsty greaser who dresses up fancy and
sees himself as the next president of

209 13. a call on slade
mexico."
tommy turner spat on the ground. "finish
up he'll get nowhere fast. them greasers
change their presidents faster than womenfolk
change their minds."
"and meantime," said slade gloomily, "we
have got to do as best we can while these murderin'
cut-throats ride like crazy men over our
land."
"over romero's land," corrected
hezekiah. "that's what he figures it is."
he looked across at a corral where
.cc209
a few fine head of horses were milling around,
still disturbed by the gunfire. "lucky you didn't
get them run off, john. maybe if you're
gunna start shifting things we oughta give you a
hand right now to move those good-lookin' mustangs
somewheres safer."
john slade nodded and began to walk towards

210 13. a call on slade
the barn to get a saddle for one of the horses he
would ride. tommy turner grumbled, "bad day
when we gotta run away from these mangy
coyotes."
hezekiah said, "come on, we got work
to do."
* * *
back in davenport after having seen john
slade's horses taken care of, hezekiah
set out on a tour of the town, calling in on
community leaders, storekeepers and owners of
hotels and saloons. he explained to shane
wartman, owner of the town's best hotel, "i'm
sending to a couple of
.cc210
the nearest army outposts for whatever troopers
they can spare. i have a feelin' it just might get
to be their problem pretty soon."
the well-dressed hotel-keeper in the
fancy vest and striped trousers flicked the ash

211 13. a call on slade
off his cigar and asked doubtfully, "is this a
genuine threat, hezekiah? to run off some
cattle and horses from ranches and farms, even
to kill a few people is one thing, but to take on a
whole town----was
the sheriff said carefully, "if i was a
gamblin' man and had a pokeful of gold dust
i would bet it, my horse and my gun on
luis romero doing exactly what he has
given every clear sign of attemptin' to do----
to run every american off all the land that he
claims is mexican territory by right. and if
we ain't prepared to go----which he knows we
ain't----he figures the only way is
to drown us in our own blood."
shane wartman blinked. "i have a rifle and a
colt ,44 if they might be needed but really
----was
.cc211
hezekiah made to move on to make his

211 13. a call on slade
next call. "check 'em both over, shane.
make sure they're in good working order and stuff
'em full of cartridges. you'll need 'em."
in henry porter's store the skinny
proprietor with the battered spectacles
protested, "well, now, looky here, i ain't
no fightin' man, hezekiah. never done much
huntin' and besides my eyes ain't too
good----was
the sheriff patted his arm. "you got a gun,
henry?"
"well, yeah, who ain't? an ole
blunderbuss my daddy handed on to me. kicks like
a mule." he rubbed a skinny shoulder in
painful memory.
hezekiah said solemnly, "you look like
gettin' a mite bruised again, henry, but
we're gunna need your gun."
down further along the boardwalk the bulky
widow wilson stormed up to the sheriff.

212 13. a call on slade
"hezekiah horn, what is this thing you are
running around telling the whole town about? this
cock-and-bull story about davenport
.cc212
being besieged?"
hezekiah said patiently, "if you'll
notice, rebecca, i ain't been runnin'.
got a gimpy leg that don't take kindly
to that. but what i've been tellin' people is as
true as that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow and
set in the west unless, the almighty is
plannin' to change things around a bit. we are
going to be attacked by a horde of blood-
thirsty mexicans."
the big woman sniffed loudly, "they had
better not try it but if they do i've got a
gun that will blow them to kingdom come. my first dear
departed husband was a buffalo hunter and i can
use that weapon as good as he did."
hezekiah gave her one of his occasional

213 14. gun thunder
grins. "good for you, rebecca. i got no doubt
you will pepper those varmints. never been no truer
weapon than that gun of yrs with its drop
block action. keep it handy, gal."
he kept going on his calls. the town had
to be prepared and his message was getting through.
::::::::::::
.cc213
14
gun thunder
tommy turner came galloping in, the
fastest hezekiah had ever seen him move the
little dun gelding. through the window of his office
hezekiah watched the little man pull his sweating
mount to a halt and climb down from the saddle. the
sheriff thought, little and old as he was there was no
better scout around. seemed like the deputy had
something important to tell him.
tommy came through the door with a clump of
fast-moving feet. he scowled at the sheriff,

214 14. gun thunder
"you better git them fort-tee-fications in
place right smart. if that romero and his raiders
ain't fixin' right now to head for this town with war
on their mind then i am a long-necked turkey
gobbler."
.cc214
hezekiah nodded, getting to his feet. "you
see apache joe?"
"sure did." the deputy's scowl grew
deeper. "but lemme tell you he don't look
a pitcher of rosy-cheeked health as yet. an'
also he's having some trouble talkin' some of his
bronco braves into jo*' up with us. but, one
thing, he's got the shaman backin' him up."
hezekiah, heading for the door turned back.
"that's good. that old man has a lot of sway
with that tribe." he gave his occasional fleeting
grin. "the old feller sprinkle you with his
magic dust so that bullets will bounce off you?"
"tell you somethin', sheriff," growled

215 14. gun thunder
tommy. "we're gunna need some of that apache
magic before we are through."
"guess you're right. meantime get your little
dun unsaddled and watered. looks like he needs
a drink bad. and then get up the north end of
town and see the folks start putting up the
barricades. i'll take the south end."
.cc215
hezekiah limped off, heading up the main
street, putting his head into doorways and
calling out, motioning to passers-by in the street,
stopping here and there to talk urgently to both men
and women.
people began moving about quickly. at the south end of
town soon there was piled up right across the street
a motley collection of over-turned
buckboards, barrels, logs, sacks filled
with sand, anything that would help to provide a
defensive wall. the pile mounted higher into a
barrier of considerable strength.

216 14. gun thunder
hezekiah looked up the other end of town.
directed by tommy the same thing was happening up
there. the sheriff turned to shane wartman who was
standing by, looking disbelievingly at what was
happening. "shane, watch that this barricade
keeps gettin' put up, will you? i wanna
talk with tommy."
the hotel-keeper moved out on the street,
shaking his head. "this could be a heap of foolish-
s, hezekiah." the sheriff said flatly,
"better to be foolish
.cc216
than dead." he moved off to pick up the
deputy. tommy saw him and came to meet
him. hezekiah asked, "what's the size of
romero's force and what time do you figure
he'll get here?"
the deputy squinted his eyes. "got a good
look at 'em through my tellyscope from the top
of a canyon i found 'em camped in.

217 14. gun thunder
hezekiah, that mex raider got a whole
army. he's been pickin' up new followers
all over. a lot of rurales have joined him.
it's like he was that one they talk about in that good
book you're always readin'----the mess----
somethin' or other----was
hezekiah prompted, "the messiah?"
tommy nodded. "yeah. a messiah come
to lead 'em to a promised land. i tell you,
hezekiah, i don't scare easy but a look
at that horde----was
"hm." hezekiah turned away again.
"get the ammo out at your end. i'll attend
to mine. i figure they'll hit us from the south
end first. when they do, keep a small force up
your end just in case some of the raiders double
.cc217
back up that end but send the main body of your people
down my end. we want to have as much concentrated
fire power as we can get. that was a policy of

218 14. gun thunder
napoleon bonaparte. don't spread your
fire too wide. concentrate on a point where
it will do most harm."
tommy grunted, "you git them two riders
off to the forts?" hezekiah nodded. "yup. one
north to fort sheridan, one east to fort bayliss.
sent that fat cowboy, charley hicks, one way
and a bartender from one of the saloons who offered
to go on the other."
he frowned. "wish charley would have picked
another horse than that big white gelding of
his. see it miles off. and that barkeep was
wearin' a red shirt that showed up like a prairie
fire. but they laughed when i told them they
looked too conspicuous. anyway let's
hope they get back with some troops."
people were pouring out into the street now, moving to the
barricades at
.cc218
either end, men as marksmen, women to reload the

218 14. gun thunder
guns. ammunition was carted out in boxes and
weapons were on full display. hezekiah
moved around, advising, directing, encouraging.
he saw someone with a shotgun and approved.
"hey, that's a choke bore. fine new gun.
can't miss with that at close range."
a bewhiskered old fellow came past
trailing a weapon with a mile-long barrel.
hezekiah smiled. a kentucky rifle.
"get a raider in your sights at a hundred
yards, pa, and he'll be a dead 'un."
the widow wilson had joined the men as a
shooter, carrying a big heavy gun. she said
loudly, "i need a tripod for this sharps.
carries the shot further. only trouble is got
to stand up to shoot it that way."
hezekiah cautioned, "better not stand up,
rebecca. there's a lot of you they couldn't
miss." the widow bridled, "you commenting on my
bulk, sheriff?" hezekiah gave his once in

219 14. gun thunder
a
.cc219
while smile. "no, rebecca, only oy your
true grit." he kept on moving around,
talking, boosting, backing up, offering
suggestions.
it was perhaps three hours later that the first
horsemen came into view. they came up from the
south end of the street, lined up as if to make a
cavalry charge, six abreast, line after line.
shane wartman, holding a rifle as if it
was a foolish thing to do, stared, mouth agape.
"my god, you were right----was hezekiah nearby
said drily, "he generally is." someone,
tensed-up and nervous, fired the first shot from behind
the barricade.
one of the raider horsemen yelped and grabbed
an arm, blood beginning to soak the white
sleeve. in a moment the riders wheeled their
horses and dismounted, whipping carbines out of their

220 14. gun thunder
saddle boots as they left the backs of their
mounts.
hezekiah could hear a voice barking
orders. romero, he figured. the riders
.cc220
scattered, taking what cover they could find and
romero's voice was heard again. instantly there
began a fusillade of deadly fire, ordered
and co-ordinated, unending streams of lead being
poured into the barricade. hezekiah went flat
on the ground, yelling at all the other
defenders to get down.
the withering fire kept up, drenching the air
with lead, splinters of wood, driven by the
bullets, flying from the barricade in showers. it
seemed as if the whole world had become one
unceasing roar of gunfire. hezekiah thought
quickly, it's like the devastating union artillery
fire at gettysburg. when the ears seemingly
couldn't stand it any longer, it suddenly stopped.

221 14. gun thunder
hezekiah looked quickly up and down the line
of defenders. the old fellow with the kentucky
rifle had never fired it. he was lying there, a
raider's bullet through his head, just as if he
had dozed off in his rocking chair. there was a
woman hastily binding up the bleeding arm of her
husband.
.cc221
a boy, hardly into his teens, had crept out
with a gun and had dropped it in fear at the
furious fusillade and was now crouched over,
weeping with shock. at the far end of heze-
kiah's left a woman was wailing over a
man's still body.
he caught a glimpse of the widow wilson
crouching down and determinedly reloading her
buffalo gun. he nodded at the sight. if she
ever corraled tommy turner the little deputy
might not be getting a looker but certainly a
lady with a lot of spunk.

222 14. gun thunder
hezekiah, keeping down low, moved along
the line of defenders, talking to each one as he
went, supporting, encouraging.
suddenly there was a stir on the raiders'
side. a voice called a greeting in
spanish and there came into view a figure on
horseback carrying a white flag.
it was luis romero himself, no less
impressive in fighting regalia than he was
when wearing the elaborate attire of a great
patron of the hacienda.
.cc222
someone behind the barricade muttered something and
raised a rifle but hezekiah barked out an
order not to shoot. the rifle was lowered
reluctantly.
luis romero, mounted on a great black
horse with shining flanks and presenting an
awesome figure, rode up to the barricade.
he shouted, "yrs is a hopeless task. throw

223 14. gun thunder
down your arms. persistence is useless. a
jack-rabbit on the prairie would have more chance
against a wolf pack. surrender and we will be
merciful."
hezekiah, still crouched down, called, "as
merciful as you were to those families whose throats
you slit? if you want us, romero, you've got
to come in and get us."
luis romero stood up in his stirrups.
"is that you, sheriff one-eye? stand up so i can
see you."
hezekiah called, "an' get my head
blown off? i know that flag of truce don't
mean anything to your rifle men if any of us is
crazy enough to show ourselves."
.cc223
romero was silent a moment and then he called
again, "i want to show you something." he reached
into one of his saddlebags and, drawing out a
small bundle, threw it over the top of the

224 14. gun thunder
barricade. it was a piece of red cloth that
fluttered as it fell.
romero's voice held a touch of sadistic
triumph. "that is the shirt of the rider you sent
in the direction of fort bayliss."
he turned in the saddle and shouted something to the
men behind him. one rode forward leading a big
white horse. romero turned back again
to face the barricade. he called contemp-
tuously, "you will recognise the mount of the rider
you sent towards fort sheridan. unfortunately,
neither of the riders have survived. so, you see,
military aid is out of the question."
there was silence from behind the barricade.
hezekiah looked quickly along the line. the
face of every defender suddenly had a de-
pressed, almost hopeless appearance. hezekiah
.cc224
lifted his voice. "never saw the day when a
bunch of americans couldn't beat the tar out of a

224 14. gun thunder
pack of lowdown greasers, romero. turn your
horse and skedaddle back to your troops before
someone forgets that's a flag of truce you're
holdin' up and puts some lead into yr belly."
romero's contemptuous smile turned to a
snarl. he called in fury, "i intended to show
mercy but now every last gringo's throat will be
cut----man, woman and child." he turned his
horse and galloped back to his troops.
almost instantly the same fusillade of rifle
fire started up again.
all along the barricade defenders ducked
down, every now and then taking a quick snap shot in
reply. after a while the firing from the raiders
died away. hezekiah thought, they're going to do
that in bursts. can't keep it up all day. run
out of ammo.
he moved down the line, alerting the
defenders, instructing some to fall back and get
some rest before taking on

225 14. gun thunder
.cc225
night guard duty. as he went down the line
suddenly he came across sheree brodie. she was
armed with a pistol. she said grimly, "this is the
gun i took off myron merrill. really
belongs to tommy turner. but i didn't think
your deputy would mind. it's another pistol
against romero."
hezekiah gave her his very occasional
smile. "good for you, girlie. this town is
sure glad you came here." she flashed a
grateful smile at him and turned back
to looking steadily through a small gap in the
barricade.
further on hezekiah found john slade with
rachel jones beside him keeping a spare gun
loaded for the farmer. she smiled apologetically
at the sheriff. "i am no marksman but i can
at least do this and help any who might get
hurt." hezekiah patted her shoulder.

226 14. gun thunder
"you're doin' fine, teacher. just fine."
at the end of the line hezekiah found himself
looking at emily anderson. he said quickly,
"now, emily, there ain't
.cc226
no call for you----was
she said grimly, "there is every call for me
to be here, hezekiah." she patted the weapon
in her hand. "aram taught me how to shoot this. i
didn't want to learn but he taught me just the
same. and now i'm putting that to some use." she
looked at him intently. "things are not good, are
they?"
hezekiah touched the hook to his chin. "now,
emily, i would judge that remark to have some real
degree of accuracy. here we are with half an
army against us, our two riders going for help
waylaid and killed, barricades that if the
enemy likes to risk a cavalry charge could be
trampled underfoot and a lot of our fighting force

227 14. gun thunder
women and girls instead of men. we jest ain't
holdin' too many aces." he fixed his eye
steadily on her. "an awful lot like the
alamo, ain't it?"
emily smiled at him. "just as well you're
not married to that teacher girl. you use an awful
lot of "ain'ts", don't you, hezekiah?"
the sheriff nodded.
.cc227
"well, they were sort of required there,
emily. but let me tell you something. our
throats have not yet been cut and before romero can
lay a knife to any one of them he is going
to find himself and his troops bleeding quite a bit."
he leaned forward suddenly and kissed her on
the cheek. "an' i'll do my dangedest to make
sure that ain't the last time i do that."
she smiled and touched her fingers to his lips.
he moved off, very glad she was there. he went
back to slade. "john, you be in charge of the

228 14. gun thunder
ammo. make sure it's kept up to everybody
in the line."
the farmer asked soberly, "how long's it
gunna last us?"
hezekiah said curtly, "long enough. we
ain't gunna pull the barricade down and let
romero in. he'll have to fight every inch of the way
and he's gunna be covered with blood before he
gets past us----if ever he does."
he looked up at the sky. night was starting
to come on. he moved
.cc228
about, getting the night guards on duty, warning
them about the probably stealthy attacks in the
dark. he clipped out, "slippery as the
apaches, only while the injuns won't fight
at night these critters do."
with nightfall the firing on both sides had
stopped apart from an odd shot now and then.
hezekiah sought a spot removed from the

229 14. gun thunder
barricade and dozed off for an hour.
he woke up to hear the scuffle. a couple
of the raiders had wormed their way up to the
barricade. john slade and another man
hezekiah recognised even in the dark as
shane wartman were wrestling with the raiders.
hezekiah sped across to them. one raider
turned as he heard him come, knife in hand,
leaving wartman. hezekiah with a chain-lightning
movement kicked the knife out of the man's hand and
at the same moment shane wartman shot the man
through the head with his colt ,44. the raider fell
almost on top of the sheriff. hezekiah
.cc229
threw his body off and turned to slade.
the man the farmer was wrestling with had already
slashed slade across the arm and the wound was showing
up, wet and ugly. sheree brodie had
suddenly appeared, pistol in hand, aiming it at
the raider tangling with slade.

230 14. gun thunder
another raider, unseen by any of them,
squirmed up out of the dust, knife in hand.
seeing the girl with pistol cocked he threw the
knife. it thudded into sheree's chest almost to the
hilt. as she fell hezekiah's gun roared
from his left hand and the raider who had thrown the
knife fell forward on to the barricade,
blood pouring from his dying mouth.
slade with a mighty effort threw off the
raider he was struggling withand at the same moment
hezekiah and shane wartman blasted the man with
two thundering shots.
slade, bleeding, was already on his knees beside
sheree. he lifted her
.cc230
head but already the death glaze was in her eyes.
her voice came faintly to him. "you and rachel
----if you have a girl child think about calling her
sheree----was slade lowered her gently to the

231 15. end outhe day
ground.
::::::::::::
.cc231
15
end of the day
there had been no more activity through the night.
with the daylight hezekiah began stirring all the
defenders. he figured the raiders would begin
another fusillade as soon as it lightened.
but there was only an odd shot. it seemed that
all romero had firing were his snipers. high
noon came and passed and still no sign of
attack from the raiders. late in the afternoon
hezekiah conferred with john slade, shane
wartman and tommy turner whom he had called
down from the barricade at the other end of the town.
he said abruptly, "what's his game? what
does romero figure on doing? starving us out?
but if he's gunna go on with his campaign after
davenport

232 15. end of the day
.cc232
he's not gunna help his cause by wasting time."
tommy turner growled, "i sorta figure
he might be waitin' for somethin', i dunno
what."
hezekiah snapped, "waitin' for what?
he's got all the troops he needs right now
to take this town. he ain't waiting on orders
from anyone because he is a law to himself."
"maybe," offered shane wartman, "it's a
war of nerves he's playing." john slade
added, "yeah, and knowin' the ways of these mex
raiders he's maybe toyin' with us like a cat
playin' with a mouse."
"yeah," admitted hezekiah, "could be that
but i figure romero to be a pretty smart
tactician and it don't seem good tactics
to hang around waitin' when he's really got us
on a hook." he looked around at the others.
"well, we better get back to our posts.

233 15. end of the day
don't want him jumpin' us when we ain't
ready."
the afternoon wore on and the
.cc233
evening came. throughout the day there had only been
desultory firing from the raiders, an odd
short burst now and again that seemed more to keep the
defenders on edge than anything else.
hezekiah again talked to the other three. he
shook his head. "can't figure it out. why is
he holding back like this?" the others shook their
heads in turn. tommy turner said doggedly,
"i still think he's waitin' for somethin'."
hezekiah grunted, "well, whatever it is
we've got no way of tellin'. but what
we've got to do right now is put on extra
night guards. maybe he's plannin' a
mass night attack with big knife benito in
the lead."
shane wartman shivered a little at the thought.

234 15. end of the day
they broke up, a couple to snatch some
sleep, the other two to join others on night
guard.
slowly the night wore away but there was no
action from the raiders. in the early light
hezekiah was a study in bewilderment. he
talked to john slade,
.cc234
"can't make head nor tail of it. it's like
you've put on boxin' gloves in a ring and the
other feller won't come out of his corner. it's
mighty peculiar and it don't smell good."
slade nodded. "got me beat, too,
hezekiah." the sheriff moved off to confer with
others.
an hour or two later there was a sudden shout
from the direction of the raiders. it turned into a
frantic gabble of sound, cries of ex-
citement, shouts and yells almost as if they had
already conquered the town. the defenders behind the

235 15. end of the day
barricade stared at one another, puzzled and
uncomprehending.
suddenly there was another movement from the
raiders' position. luis romero again emerged
on his big black horse, holding the same
white flag. john slade muttered to the
sheriff, "whatever he's askin' us to do,
hezekiah, don't agree to it."
the sheriff gave him a quick glance and then
looked back inquiringly in
.cc235
the direction of the lone rider. romero came up
close to the barricade. he shouted, "sheriff
one-eye, are you there?"
hezekiah called back, "still here, romero,
an' my one eye can still see you as good as ever."
romero called, "that is good, senor sheriff,
for i have something i would like you to feast that eye of yrs
upon." he turned back to the raiders behind him and
slashed his arm down in a signal. immediately there

236 15. end of the day
was movement in the brush and something, handled by a
group of men, rolled into view. it was a huge
black steel cylinder mounted on wheels, its
great black mouth yawning hideously at them.
hezekiah breathed, "a cannon ..." the
people behind the barricade stared, dumbfounded. tommy
turner had been right. this was what romero had
been waiting for.
romero called again, "i hope you will see how
much your resistance is worth. i can destroy your
barricade in a
.cc236
matter of minutes and, if you continue to resist,
your whole town within an hour. i shall not immediately
give the order to fire. i would like to grant you a
little time to think it over. if you are then still in the
mood to resist, we will commence firing." he
returned and rode back to his troops.
hezekiah kept staring for a moment or two and
then he moved to call the others together----

237 15. end of the day
slade, wartman, tommy and a few other men
dominant in town leadership. he moved them
across into one of the stores and looked around at them.
someone said, "looks like he's got us over a
barrel."
a couple of others nodded. hezekiah cut
in fiercely, "you know what he's tellin' us,
don't you? let me in so i can cut all your
throats----kids included." someone pro-
tested, "now, maybe he was only bluffin' about
that----was
hezekiah snapped, "romero doesn't
bluff. but what he does think is that with that
big pop-gun out there he can scare us into laying
down our arms and
.cc237
coming in and doing whatever he wants with us,
including raping our women and girls. that's a
favourite past-time with these mangy wolves he
calls his raiders."

238 15. end of the day
someone else tried to offer another protest but
hezekiah held up his steel claw
impatiently. "i'm tellin' you what that cut-
throat grandee will do if we lie down an'
let him do it. now, what we've gotta do is
this. everyone leave the barricade and come back
to get inside the stores, the hotels and
saloons. then when romero blasts that
barricade he'll knock it down but no one will
get hurt. as his troops pour in we'll be
under cover and they won't. what we'll have to do
is pour as much lead into them as we can until they
run for cover. then it'll just be fightin' house
to house."
someone said, "he ain't gunna keep that big
gun quiet. he's gunna start aimin' it at
our buildings."
hezekiah said, "you gotta point there but if
we keep scattered he's not gunna
.cc238

238 15. end of the day
be able to blast us all at the same time. besides,
his troops will be in the town and he won't want
to hit them." he added a little lamely, "an'
maybe some of us can get to it and spike that
gun."
there was a wall of silence and then suddenly
shane wartman spoke up. his voice was
calm. "maybe, just maybe, we're all due
to meet our maker soon, out-manned and
out-gunned as we are. but if we are let's go
out like americans, like men, not like runaways----
let's fight 'em to a standstill!"
john slade boomed, "amen, brother!" and
waved his gun aloft. hezekiah looked around
at them all. wartman's short speech had
clinched it. the people would continue resisting. he went
out with the men to tell the others. the people silently
left the barricade and trooped into the
buildings.
after a while, watching from one of the stores,

239 15. end of the day
hezekiah saw romero again come forward on the
black horse. he came near to the bar-
ricade and called
.cc239
out. there was no answer. he called again and then
realised the defenders had vacated their
positions. scowling, he turned and galloped
to where the gun stood, its mouth pointed ominously
at the barrier. from horseback he gave a
sharp order.
the gun crew brought the mouth of the cannon a
little lower and sighted it directly at the centre
of the barricade. there were some shouted orders, a
moment of silence and then a tremendous roar. the
centre part of the barricade flew into the air,
cartwheels, barrels, bodies of the buck-
boards blown to pieces.
a great gaping hole appeared in the defence
barrier. the gun was loaded and fired again.
another big section of the barricade disappeared

240 15. end of the day
in smoke, littering the ground with shattered
fragments.
again the gun spoke with its thundering roar. the
barricade was next to demolished. luis
romero, roused to a war-like frenzy, roared a
.cc240
command and galloped forward on his big black
horse, a terrible rider straight out of the
apocalypse. he had a sword in one hand, a
glittering gold-mounted thing, obviously a
family heirloom.
there was a tremendous drumming of hoofbeats
behind him as a big section of the raiders
galloped in after him. the thundering cavalry tore
across the ground, leaping over the remnants of the
destroyed barrier, surging into the town, an
irresistible horde.
all the people in the buildings started firing but
already the raiders were dismounting and letting their
horses run while they sought cover from which

241 15. end of the day
to shoot back. they were taking care to remain
clear of certain buildings and, looking out,
hezekiah could see the cannon being trundled
forward to be pointed at the first building occupied
by townspeople.
as they brought the cannon closer the crew
quickly reloaded it and prepared to fire. but even
as they did there was a shout from their rear and the sound
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of fresh shooting. the gun crew swung around,
startled.
hezekiah's ears, attuned to such a sound,
could hear the scream that he knew was a war cry
of the apaches. joe had kept his word.
the raiders out in the street had picked up the
sound and seemed to be uncertain what to do next.
romero, still on his big horse, had also swung
around at the sound. there was heavy fighting back
there now and he seemed undecided as to where
to direct the troops he had with him in the town.

242 15. end of the day
hezekiah exulted. there was nothing more
demoralising to any force than to be caught between
two fires.
romero had made up his mind. he motioned his
troops in the town to get their horses and
follow him back to deal with the apaches before they
came across his prized possession, the big
gun, and either turned it on his own troops or
put it out of action. he knew the apaches could
not be a very large force and would probably
succumb to
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the raiders' numbers.
the same thoughts were flashing through hezekiah's
mind. he banged the store door open and moved
out on to the boardwalk. romero was galloping right
past the door. as he saw the one-eyed sheriff
standing there in a gunman's crouch he yelled and
as he came sweeping past made a savage
thrust with the sword.

243 15. end of the day
hezekiah ducked under the blade and slashed
with the hook. the steel caught in romero's
jacket and jerked him out of the saddle.
hezekiah winced with the pain that shot like fire
up the length of his arm but already his colt was in his
left hand. romero crashed to the ground, winded.
he made a weak effort to clutch at the pistol
holstered at his side but hezekiah's colt
had already thundered in his face. the grandee with
plans of glory sank back, his head a
mass of gore.
hezekiah disengagthe the hook and let the
body of the raiders' leader drop
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to the boardwalk. he caught a glimpse of a
face ugly as satan with huge black
moustaches and blazing eyes galloping past and as
it did its owner thundered a shot at him. the
slug spanged off hezekiah's hook,
ricocheting into the wall behind him.

244 15. end of the day
hezekiah thought, big knife benito.
he'll probably take command. already the sheriff
was rousting the townsmen out of their hiding places,
yelling at them to get horses and follow him.
if they could get there in time they could at least
help to even up the forces engaged, the raiders
he knew being much superior in numbers to the
apaches.
he had gone straight to his own pinto in the
corral near the jail and he quickly saddled and
mounted him. as he galloped back up the
street, other horsemen beginning to follow, he
saw the gun crew around the cannon uncertain
of what to do. he could see clearly they were not
ordinary raiders. they were artillerymen picked
up by
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romero from the lord knew where, specialists who
knew nothing of guerilla fighting.
they quaked at the sight of the sheriff's

245 15. end of the day
menacing rifle as he whipped it out of his saddle
boot and pointed it at them. hezekiah was
aware of the little dun gelding coming up alongside
him with tommy turner aboard. the deputy already
had his scattergun levelled at the gun
crew.
hezekiah rapped, "take these hombres
down to the hoosegow an' lock 'em up.
they'll be the only ones who know how to handle this
thing." the deputy nodded and the scared men broke
into a shambling run as he headed them back down
into the town.
hezekiah moved on. up ahead the apaches
were making their presence felt but already some of their
saddles had been emptied. the raiders generally
were fierce, savage fighters, miles apart from
the soldiers of the regular mexican army who
often broke ranks and ran wildly in
panic.
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245 15. end of the day
and then hezekiah heard something that made his
heart leap. it was the brazen call of an army
bugle. he looked over to his right and saw the
blue-clad cavalry of the united states army
in the distance galloping towards the milling force of
embattled apache warriors and mexican
raiders. the raiders had heard the sound and were
already breaking ranks.
a horseman, screaming defiance, hurtled
past him, heading towards the other end of the town and
escape. it was big knife benito. he leapt
his horse over the broken barricade and tore
up the main street, heading straight towards
tommy turner and the captives walking ahead of
him.
tommy turned quickly at the sound of the
galloping hoofbeats. benito, yelling abuse,
raced up to him, flashing the big knife. he
struck once with it as he passed the deputy,
the blade sinking deep into tommy's left

246 15. end of the day
shoulder. almost as if triggered off by the blow the
deputy's shotgun exploded.
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benito swayed in the saddle, his middle cut
in half with buckshot. he fell from the
horse's back, one foot still caught in the
stirrup. the frightened horse, still galloping,
dragged him for yards before his foot fell loose
and his body came to a halt, as still and quiet as
he had rendered scores of others with his deadly
knife.
several of the women left back in the town
came running out of one of the buildings to tend to the
wounded deputy. as they got him down off his
pony hezekiah smiled as he saw that one of the
women was the widow wilson. she had grabbed
hold of tommy's scattergun, reloaded it
in a flash and she and another woman holding a
pistol were herding the captured gun crew on
down to the jail, tommy yelling instructions as

247 15. end of the day
they went. hezekiah thought, the little guy can't be
hurt that bad.
up ahead the udds. cavalry was sweeping
in. the raiders were scattering, running, caught
between several fires
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and totally in disarray. the cavalry and the apaches
took off after them, doing a deadly work on the
retreating, leaderless mob.
hezekiah pulled up. he would leave it to the
army and the indians who owed the raiders a good
deal of bloody repayment.
he rode back to the town slowly. tomorrow would
see a different dawn over davenport.
later the captain commanding the cavalry talked
to hezekiah and apache joe. he nodded at the
indian. "the chief sent word to us at fort
sheridan about romero and where he was headed. the
colonel detailed me and the troop to come and
help out. we're going to keep chasing up these

248 15. end of the day
troublemakers. romero had the sort of dream a
lot of would-be dictators have. we're going
to do our best to dissuade any others from going down
the same trail."
after he was gone, hezekiah turned to apache
joe, putting out his hand.
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"you were a great scout, joe, and you're a good
chief."
apache joe smiled. "you know, chief
one-eye, there's a song in an apache wedding
ceremony that ought to suit us two fine. it goes
like this: "now for you there is no weather; for one is
shelter to the other. now for you there is no fear; for
one is protection to the other.""
as hezekiah watched the indians ride off,
emily came over to him. she nodded at rachel
jones, tenderly rebandaging john slade's
arm; "there'll be wedding bells for those two
soon." hezekiah raised his eyebrow at her.

249 15. end of the day 96
"and maybe for us?"
emily smiled and patted his arm. "who
knows?" hezekiah grinned and wandered off to see
how tommy was making out. the little deputy moved
his arm under the wrappings. "that benito's aim was
a little off for once." hezekiah was thinking of
something else. he said aloud, "it's gunna be
quiet around here. no apache uprisings, no
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mexican raiders to trail."
tommy growled, "there's always someone like
myron merrill driftin' in." hezekiah
nodded. "i guess you're right." he went out and
got back up on pinto pete again, holding the
reins with his hook and cradling the little dog in his
good arm.
he would take a turn around a few square
miles of eden county. it was his territory and he
intended to do his best to keep it like it said in the

249 15. end of the day 97
old hymn, when peace like a river should flow.