Lawman without a Gun Page 7

  ‘Sure thing, Sheriff.’ The owner seemed anxious to please. ‘Funny how things turn out. Guess none of us knew who you really were. You aimin’ to bring Hawkins in for trial?’

  ‘That’s right. Then I mean to find out who’s been passing information along to that outlaw gang. Somehow, I’ve got the feelin’ he’s the big man behind this outfit.’

  ‘You got any idea who he is?’

  ‘Some,’ Frank responded. He knew that this conversation would reach Bellamy before the day was out. It might put him on his guard. On the other hand, it might force the banker to show his hand.

  Buckling on the heavy gunbelt, he loaded shells into the chambers of the Colts and thrust them into the holsters. There was no sign of Everley and Anne when he came out, but Sheldon was still there, standing on the opposite boardwalk. The oldster bit off a wad of tobacco as Frank approached, chewing on it methodically.

  He nodded in approval as he noticed the gunbelt. ‘Now I reckon we got ourselves a proper sheriff,’ he said laconically. ‘You goin’ after those hombres?’

  ‘Guess I will take a look around yon hills,’ Frank replied. ‘This time, I’ll be ready for ’em.’

  ‘Just watch yourself,’ Ben warned. ‘There are a hundred places in those hills where they can hide out.’

  Seething with anger and frustration, Clive Hawkins raked spurs cruelly along his mount’s flanks as he took the trail out of Condor. The previous night it had seemed nothing could go wrong with the plan he had worked out with Bellamy. Everything had gone exactly as he had expected. With Kelsey safely locked up in jail and the men Bellamy had chosen sitting as jury, it seemed they had got rid of the two most dangerous men in town.

  He had never reckoned on Ivers recognizing Kelsey, or that the other had been Marshal of Dodge. Conflicting ideas raced through his mind as he rode towards the south. How far he could trust Bellamy to keep his mouth shut, he didn’t know.

  His first priority, however, was to get some men behind him, men fast with their guns, before Kelsey managed to get anyone in Condor on his side. He doubted if Kelsey would try anything on his own, but where a man like that was concerned, it was necessary to be sure.

  It was a long ride across the arid wilderness and by the time he reached the trees fringing the lower slopes of the hills, his temper had not improved. A few moments later, he came upon the narrow trail leading deeper into the brush. Bending to avoid the low branches which overhung the track, he put the horse to the steep upgrade.

  Reaching the top, he came upon a level stretch where the trees thinned out and broad overhangs of rock faced him. Just as he began edging his mount along them, a dark figure stepped into view a few yards away. The half-breed held a rifle in his hand.

  ‘Hold it right there and keep your hands where I can see ’em,’ the man grated.

  Hawkins moistened his lips. ‘It’s me – Hawkins,’ he called.

  The Mexican stepped forward, then lowered the rifle. ‘You look as though you’ve ridden in a hurry, Señor Hawkins. Somethin’ wrong?’

  Swinging from the saddle, Hawkins snarled, ‘Everythin’ has gone wrong. We didn’t manage to hang Kelsey and now he’s the goddamned sheriff.’

  The man rubbed his chin for a moment. ‘Cranton ain’t going to like this,’ he muttered finally. ‘Reckon you’d better step in and tell him what’s happened.’

  Moving behind him, Hawkins passed into the large cave set in the hillside. There was a fire burning in the middle and the wood smoke caught at the back of his throat. Ed Cranton was seated on a flat slab of rock some distance from the fire.

  He was a big man, broad, but not with fat. Small eyes set beneath beetling brows regarded Hawkins with a hard stare.

  ‘I guess you ain’t here to bring news of another shipment comin’ into Condor,’ he said roughly. ‘So what’s the trouble? That damnfool of a sheriff still alive?’

  Hawkins shook his head. ‘He’s dead all right and I framed that fellow Kelsey for the killin’ just like we planned.’

  ‘So?’

  ‘We brought Judge Ivers in to try Kelsey. What we hadn’t figured on was Ivers recognizin’ Kelsey. Seems he was Marshal o’ Dodge until a couple o’ weeks ago. Ivers forced us to set him free. He took away my badge and made Kelsey sheriff.’

  ‘He did what?’ For a moment, Cranton’s ham-like fist was on the point of lashing out at Hawkins. It was only with a supreme effort that he succeeded in controlling himself. He swung his gaze slowly to where Jeth Sanders sat beside Miguel Sandez and Slim Forrester.

  Sinking down on the rock, he said tightly, ‘The three o’ you ride into town and meet up with this hombre but when you get the chance, you let him live?’

  ‘What would you do with two Colts levelled at us and a shotgun in our backs?’ Forrester muttered.

  ‘You’re supposed to be fast with your guns. That yeller-livered barkeep would have been shakin’ enough to drop. He’d never have hit you, even from that range.’

  He gave vent to a snort of anger. ‘I guess this changes our plans.’

  ‘There’s no reason why it should,’ Hawkins cut in. ‘Kelsey is only one man. Nobody else in Condor will side with him against us.’

  ‘Ain’t you forgettin’ Ivers?’ Cranton snarled viciously. ‘Once he gets back to Denver, he’ll see to it that there are federal marshals swarmin’ all over this territory.’

  Hawkins’s lips curled into a sneering grimace.

  ‘Then we just have to see to it that this judge doesn’t get back. He’ll have to take the stage and that’s when we’ll get him. With him out o’ the way, we’ve nothin’ to worry about. As for Kelsey, I’ll take care of him.’

  ‘You reckon so?’ Slim Forrester’s tone held a derisive note. ‘I’ve heard o’ this hombre. If he’s the man I’m thinkin’ about, they reckon he’s the fastest gun this side o’ the Mississippi.’

  Hawkins spun on him. ‘I got McDonald, didn’t I? And he never knew what hit him. Kelsey will go the same way.’ He looked to Cranton for approval of his plan.

  Finally, the other man nodded. ‘We’ll go along with you, Hawkins. Just find out when that judge is leavin’ Condor and we’ll do the rest. But no more mistakes, or you’ll go the same way as McDonald.’

  ‘There’ll be no more mistakes,’ Hawkins said through his teeth. ‘I underestimated Kelsey once, I won’t do it again.’

  Frank swung off the trail towards its western end where the hills began less than a mile away. He knew he would pick up no sign of Hawkins’s tracks here. The deputy would have stayed with the track until he reached the buttes and would then cut straight across the alkali.

  As he rode, he gave his thoughts a prolonged study, turning over various ideas in his mind, rejecting most of them immediately. Since Ivers had come into town so many things had changed. Somehow, without wishing it, he now found himself back in the old ways.

  Back in Dodge City he had had two deputies, men he could trust implicitly. He had been known throughout the town, could count on the backing of the majority of the citizens. Here, in Condor, it was completely different. Apart from Sheldon, Everley and his daughter there was no one he could trust.

  Half an hour later he came to the end of the flats. Here the hills rose tall and steep, bare at their crests. But lower down the trees crowded together, the undergrowth between them thick and tangled. Hosts of tiny flies hung in swarms above the coarse vegetation, settling around him in irritating waves. Brushing them away from his face, he swung the stallion through the trees.

  Half a mile further on, a narrow creek ran down from the upper slopes and he paused to give his mount a drink, squatting by the rocky bank, listening intently for any sound. He reckoned that Hawkins would have ridden straight to that outlaw gang, probably thinking that Frank would not dare to follow him alone.

  Everything was quiet. The only sound to disturb the stillness was the rush of the water over the stony bed of the creek. Then, far off, he picked out a faint sound. Slowly, he pulled himself uprigh
t, straining to identify it. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he waited. After a couple of minutes, he recognized the snapping of twigs and swish of a horse moving through the brush.

  By the sound, he judged there was only one rider who was pushing his way through the trees some distance below him rather than taking the easier passage at the foot of the hills. Without making a sound, he swung up into the saddle.

  Gently, he eased the stallion forward, angling to his left, his keen gaze stabbing through the deep shadows under the trees. The man came into view a few moments later less than five yards away.

  Frank recognized Hawkins instantly. Either he had already met up with that outlaw band and, for some reason, was headed back into town, or those killers were lurking somewhere close by and he was still searching for them. He knew he had to make a quick decision.

  If he made the wrong move, and the gang was only a short distance away, they could have him pinned down within minutes. Swiftly, he made up his mind. Very slowly, he gigged his mount forward through the trees.

  He saw Hawkins whirl sharply in the saddle at the sudden movement. An expression of shocked surprise flashed across his features.

  ‘If you want to make a play for your guns, go right ahead,’ Frank said softly. ‘I’m takin’ you back to town, dead or alive. It makes no difference to me.’

  Hawkins’s tongue flicked out to lick his dry lips. Forcing confidence into his voice, he rasped, ‘You know you daren’t make a move, Kelsey. Shoot me and there’ll be four men here within a minute.’

  Frank shook his head. ‘You’re bluffin’, Hawkins. You forget I was followin’ that trail the day you bushwhacked me. Those friends o’ yours are several miles away to the south. Even if they hear a shot, they won’t be here before I get you into town.’

  He noticed the flicker of fear in the man’s eyes. ‘Now I’m goin’ to give you an even chance which is more than you gave McDonald. Either draw, if you think you’re good enough, or shuck that gunbelt and ride in front o’ me back to town.’

  Indecision passed through Hawkins’s mind. Shooting the sheriff in the back had been easy, but he knew he needed an edge against the man who now faced him. This tall lawman had a reputation and was far faster with a gun than he was.

  He decided to try a ruse which almost worked. ‘All right, Kelsey, you win.’ Reaching down, he made to unfasten the gunbelt at his waist. Then, a second later, his right shoulder went down a fraction and he struck for his Colt.

  The weapon was still not clear of leather when the gun appeared like magic in Frank’s hand. The single shot rang out, echoes chasing themselves among the trees. Swaying, Hawkins threw up a hand towards his right shoulder.

  He stared down in surprise at the blood oozing between his clenched fingers. ‘Damn you, Kelsey,’ he grated through tightly clenched teeth. ‘You’ll pay for this.’

  ‘It’s just a flesh wound,’ Frank told him. ‘If I’d wanted to kill you, you’d be dead by now.’

  Riding up to him, Frank unbuckled the gunbelt and tossed it into the bushes. ‘Now ride ahead o’ me back to Condor. Make any move I don’t like and the next bullet will drop you.’

  Awkwardly, Hawkins turned his mount. Keeping a close eye on him, Frank followed him through the trees and out into the open. He knew the sound of that shot might have carried to where Hawkins’s friends were holed up but, somehow, he doubted if they would have the audacity to ride into the town.

  Forcing the other to move at a rapid pace, he headed back along the trail. Once at the jail, he signalled Hawkins to get down. Ivers had seen him ride in and came hurrying over.

  ‘I see it didn’t take you long to get this critter,’ he said soberly.

  ‘Once he’s locked away in a cell, I’ll get Doc Pearson to take a look at his shoulder. Then I want the answers to some questions.’

  ‘You’ll get nothin’ out o’ me,’ Hawkins snarled. ‘You may think you’re runnin’ this town now but you ain’t goin’ to last long.’

  ‘We’ll see about that.’ Keeping him covered, Frank took him into the jail, thrusting him into the cell he himself had previously occupied. Locking the door, he said, ‘The doctor will be along in a few minutes.’

  Glaring at him through the bars, Hawkins said thickly, ‘I want to see Sefton.’

  Frank stared at him. ‘Sefton? Who the hell is he?’

  ‘The goddamned lawyer. I got a right to see him.’

  Frank smiled grimly. ‘You can see him when I’m good and ready.’

  CHAPTER VI

  KELSEY STRIKES BACK

  Seated behind the table in the office, Frank looked across at the man who sat facing him. Joshua Sefton was a thin, sallow-faced man with small eyes that bored into Frank. His thin lips were pressed into a hard line and he fiddled nervously with his hands where they rested on the table.

  ‘So you’re Sefton,’ Frank said levelly. ‘They tell me you’re the lawyer in this town.’

  ‘That is correct, Sheriff. I believe the man you have prisoner here has asked to see me.’

  Rolling a smoke, Frank deliberately took his time, studying the man closely. He had had dealings with lawyers before and this one seemed no different from others he had come up against. If there was any loophole in the law they would exploit it to the limit.

  ‘Well, I guess every man is entitled to a fair trial,’ he said at length. There was a trace of sarcasm in his voice as he added, ‘Not that I would have got one here if the circuit judge hadn’t arrived when he did.’

  ‘That was no doing of mine, I can assure you.’

  ‘No, I guess not.’ Lighting the cigarette, Frank blew the smoke towards the ceiling. Getting up, he said thinly, ‘I guess you’ve no objection if I make sure you’re carryin’ no weapons.’

  For a moment, he thought the lawyer intended to refuse, his expression indicating that this was a question which should not have been asked. Then he shook his head. ‘If you’re suggesting I mean to slip a gun to the prisoner, you’re mistaken, Sheriff.’

  ‘I’ve known it happen,’ Frank retorted drily. After ensuring that there was no weapon on him, he led the way along the short passage. Hawkins sat slumped on the bunk, the white bandage across his shoulder standing out against his skin.

  Unlocking the door, Frank stood on one side to allow the lawyer to enter. ‘You’ve got fifteen minutes,’ he said harshly, closing and locking the door. Turning, he went back into the office.

  Seating himself on the other end of the bunk, Sefton said in a low voice, ‘How the hell did this happen?’

  ‘Kelsey jumped me as I was on my way back here to see Bellamy.’

  Sefton sucked in his lips. ‘That was a damnfool thing to do. You could’ve got clear away, across the border.’

  ‘I went to see Cranton and the others. Do you think I’d have risked comin’ back here in broad daylight if it wasn’t important?’

  Sefton spread his hands in a gesture of resignation. ‘This is getting too risky for my liking. We’ve all got enough from those hold-ups to last us for the rest of our lives. Why go on with it?’

  ‘Don’t go soft on us now, Sefton.’ There was a distinct note of menace in Hawkins’s tone. ‘We’re all in this together.’

  ‘But with this former marshal as sheriff and Ivers on our backs, we—’

  Hawkins shifted himself into a more comfortable position, wincing as pain lanced through his injured shoulder. ‘Kelsey and Ivers ain’t going to be around for long. Take my word for that. Now listen to what I’m sayin’.’

  Getting unsteadily to his feet, holding onto the wall for support, Hawkins moved to the door and threw a searching glance along the passage. Satisfied they could not be overheard, he came back.

  ‘The next stage will be leavin’ Condor within two or three days. I want you to find out when. Ivers is sure to be on it, headin’ back for Denver. Once you get that information, you ride out to the hills. The only trail into ’em is about three miles from this end o’ the range. Follow it all the way.
>
  ‘Cranton will be waitin’ there, expectin’ word. Pass him that information and then get back here. And make sure no one follows you.’

  Sefton looked uncertain. ‘I’m not at all sure this is a good idea. That sheriff back there is already suspicious and—’

  ‘He won’t suspect you. If he’s watchin’ anyone at all, it’s Bellamy.’

  Sefton ran the back of his hand across his lips. ‘But killing a circuit judge. Damnation, all hell will break loose if that happens.’

  ‘You turnin’ yeller, Sefton? I didn’t hear you bleatin’ when we first proposed this deal. Once we get Kelsey and that judge out o’ the way, there ain’t nothin’ to stop us. Bellamy has this all figured out. He reckons the railroad will soon be comin’ to Condor.

  ‘You know what that means. He holds the mortgages on all o’ the small ranchers in the territory. We buy up their land at rock-bottom prices. Any o’ the bigger spreads wantin’ to send their beef by the railroad will have to pay for it – and pay any price we ask.’

  He could see the greed on the lawyer’s face and in that moment, he knew the other would do anything he was told. ‘Now just find out when that stage is due to leave and get that information to Cranton.’

  Sefton still hesitated. After a moment, he said, ‘There’s just one thing Bellamy ain’t counted on.’

  Hawkins’s face stiffened. ‘And what might that be?’

  ‘I’ve seen how the townsfolk are acting now they know just who Kelsey is. My guess is they’ll back him and Cranton has only three men with him. That ain’t enough against the whole town. Already Everley is stirring everyone up, spreading rumours. If enough folk believe him, we could find ourselves in trouble.’

  Hawkins’s lips curled in a contemptuous smile. ‘Seems you ain’t got all that much faith in Bellamy. He’s reckoned on some o’ these ranchers startin’ a fight.’