Vigilante Law Page 4

  Suddenly her grief turned to unbridled anger, mingled with frustration. A bunched fist slammed down on the table, making the cups rattle. The feeling of helplessness threatening to bubble over was writ large on every line of her face. ‘And there’s nobody willing or able to challenge him. My father tried; look what happened to him. Chico Lafferty would have gone down the same road if’n you hadn’t stumbled on their drumhead court.’

  Ben wanted desperately to reach across and comfort her, but he sensed this was not the time for such displays of affection, which might well be misconstrued. All he could offer were resolute words of support. ‘With your help, I’m going to run the Jaybird until such time as this land grabber can be brought to heel.’ The promises of retribution that emerged seemed trite, banal under the circumstances.

  ‘But you’re just a man alone,’ Elsa protested. ‘How can you go up against the S Bar 7?’

  ‘I can try.’ Blue Creek Ben Chisum had thrown his hat into the ring and there was no going back. ‘That’s what I do. And I have a personal angle in this now.’ He held the girl’s questioning regard. ‘Did you witness Rizzo gun down your pa?’

  The sudden outburst of emotion was quickly stifled as Elsa’s lovely features dissolved into a rictus of hate. Her tiny fists bunched, the knuckles blanching. She shook her head. ‘They made sure he was alone before murdering him. But I know it was Rizzo. Steiger was bragging about it when he came by later and told me the land was now up for grabs, and he wanted me out.’

  ‘I might have known Squint Rizzo would be involved.’ Ben’s eyes narrowed to thin slits, promising terminal reprisal. ‘He and I used to be partners until the rat did the dirty on me down in Mexico. So you see, I’m in this as deep as you now.’

  He was about to elucidate further when the sound of approaching horses saw both of them lurching to their feet. ‘That must be Steiger now. Come to issue his final warning to quit the spread.’

  A grating voice penetrated the cabin walls. ‘I know you’re in there, Blue Creek. My boys spotted you in Maverick asking after Amos Durham. This ain’t no place for you. Best you pull out while you’re able. I won’t be asking a second time.’

  Ben was about to open the door when Elsa stayed his hand. ‘Let me handle this, Ben. You go out there now and he’ll gun you down for sure.’

  Loath as he was to back down, the girl was already opening the door, forcing him to remain hidden. ‘This is my land now, Steiger. Just ’cos you shot down my father don’t change anything.’

  ‘Amos had no signed legal claim to this land. He was shot while resisting arrest for rustling,’ the gang leader snapped out, ‘just like anyone else around here that bucks the rule of law. You have forty-eight hours to leave the valley.’

  ‘Pure cold-blooded murder, that’s all it was,’ Elsa retorted angrily. Legs akimbo and hands on hips, she brazenly faced off this arrogant land-grabber and his bunch of lackeys. ‘Your version of the law is ruled by greed and nothing else. So you can go whistle if’n you think I’m shipping out anytime soon.’

  ‘And I’m here to back her play.’ The blunt declaration came from a man standing to one side of the house. Ben had seen the way things were heading and quickly scuttled out the back door and round the side of the house to confront the unwelcome deputation from a position of strength behind a wagon. ‘I’m in partnership with Chico Lafferty. We’ve signed a legally binding agreement for me to run the Jaybird while he’s away, and there’ll be more land claim registrations being made in the near future.’

  Steiger laughed out loud. ‘Who you trying to fool, mister? Lafferty is dead. He was put on trial and found guilty. And I have it on good authority he was hanged as a common horse thief.’

  ‘Well, I’m telling you, mister: Lafferty is alive, if not exactly in the best of health since you left him dangling on the end of that rope. Lucky for him that I happened along, but not so lucky for you.’ That unwelcome announcement was a shock that momentarily found Steiger lost for a response. ‘And seeing as I now have a vested interest in the Nueces Valley, you can expect big trouble if’n any attempt is made to stop me working the land.’

  Notwithstanding, Steiger quickly recovered from the stunning revelation that his plan to snatch the Jaybird had been thwarted. He leaned over the neck of his horse. ‘There are five of us here and I gotten plenty more guys on the payroll. You’re just one man. So any threats you make are worthless, fella.’ Nonetheless, this upstart had rattled the vigilante leader. ‘That reputation of your’n ain’t gonna do you no good down here in south Texas. I make the law around here, and you’d do well to remember that.’

  Ben was in no way overawed by the vigilante leader’s threats. ‘I don’t see Squint Rizzo. He afraid to face me after that stunt he pulled down in Zaragoza?’

  ‘He’s carrying out more important work, exercising his particular skills to show Abe Tewksbury the best course of action for his continued good health. I’m sure the stubborn critter will reach the right decision. Squint is mighty persuasive in that direction, as I’m sure you know. He’s promised to shoot you down on sight.’

  ‘In the back if’n I’m any judge of character,’ Ben scowled.

  Steiger’s face hardened, his back stiffening. The time for talk had run out, and this guy needed removing. ‘You’ve had your warning, Chisum. And it looks like you’re gonna ignore it. Too bad. Take him, boys!’

  The four men accompanying Steiger reached for their guns immediately. Five to one were poor odds, but Ben had positioned himself well behind the wagon. His opponents were in the open, sat astride horses likely to be spooked by loud gunfire. Hot lead flew, chewing slivers of wood from the wagon sides. Ben ducked down, hustling to the back where he leaned out beside the wheel. A couple of well-placed slugs took out one of the gunmen.

  As expected, the skittish mounts prevented any accurate shooting from their riders, enabling Ben to remove another man from the fracas. The victim screamed, throwing up his arms and joining his buddy in the dirt. That was enough for the remaining combatants, who threw down their guns and raised their hands.

  Ben’s gun hand swung to cover Web Steiger, who had backed his horse away from the line of fire. ‘Looks like your boys have seen the error of their ways. How about you, Steiger?’ His voice was steely hard, almost a hiss as he slipped his gun back into its holster. ‘Feeling lucky, scumbag?’

  Steiger’s face had turned a darker shade of grey. This was not how he had expected his visit to the Durham spread to pan out. Two men down and having to eat humble pie to a hired gunslinger he would dearly love to have on his side. When he finally found his voice, it harboured a wheedling tone as he made Ben an offer. ‘I could use a gun like your’n on my side. I’ll pay top dollar and even give you a slice of the action. Why go up against my organization when you can be a part of making big bucks once the valley is in my hands?’

  Ben hesitated as if considering the offer. ‘What about Rizzo? He won’t be too please having me around, seeing as it’s my intention to kill the treacherous rat.’

  ‘You leave Rizzo to me. I’ll make sure he don’t cause you no trouble. So, is it a deal?’ Steiger leaned forward, offering a hand to clinch the agreement.

  Ben’s smile was icy cold, failing to reach his eyes. ‘I’d rather shake hands with the Devil.’ He stepped forward, six-gun palmed, and jabbed at the odious vigilante. ‘I’m coming into Uvalde tomorrow to deliver my contract with Chico Lafferty to the bank for safekeeping. In Texas law that makes me a legal partner. And if’n anybody tries to stop me . . .’ He left the rest of the threat unspoken, instead snapping back the Army Colt to full cock. ‘Now, pick up your dead and skedaddle before I add to the total.’

  Steiger growled out an epithet, gesturing for his remaining lackeys to sling the dead bodies over their mounts. ‘Make no mistake, Chisum, you’re gonna regret going up against me. You ain’t heard the last of this, not by a long chalk. Round one may have gone your way, but there ain’t no magic wand to wave down here in the Nueces.
It’s a week’s ride to the capital in Austin, which makes me the law.’ He wagged a finger, intended to add credence to his threat of intimidation. ‘After what you’ve done today, your days are numbered, Blue Creek. And that’s a pledge I mean to keep.’

  Ben sniggered. ‘Empty promises ain’t worth a dime to me, hangman.’ He stepped away from the wagon, joining the shaking figure of Elsa Durham on the cabin veranda. A comforting arm rested on her shoulder. His gun hand, however, wavered not a jot as Web Steiger and his sorry deputation departed. ‘Now, sling your hook before I get really angry.’

  The gang leader snarled, but he had much to think on. The hero of Blue Creek had made sure of that.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Dark Side of the Moon

  Ben had stayed longer than intended at the Durham homestead. ‘Guess I’d better be going,’ he proposed somewhat regretfully, getting to his feet. In truth he was loath to leave this luscious creature, and not just because she was now alone with ruthless predators itching to get their dirty hands on her property. ‘It’s a long ride to the Jaybird and I want to get there before dark.’

  Elsa cast a glance at the clock ticking on the wall. ‘No chance of that now. It’s further than you might think, and a person who has never been there could easily get lost.’ Ben shuffled his feet, a heavily charged silence separating them. It was Elsa who broke the impasse. ‘You could stay here and use my father’s old room.’ She looked away, not wishing to appear too brazen.

  The tentative suggestion was initially rejected. He figured there was still enough time to reach the Jaybird to make a cursory inspection of the holding if’n he left straight away. It was the girl’s poignant observation that Steiger and his gang would likely expect that and be lying in wait to ambush him that was the clincher persuading him to accept her invitation.

  In truth, it had not been a tough decision. Keeping company with this winsome girl was simplicity itself. Leaving the next morning to head for Uvalde and a confrontation with the vigilantes was going to be the hard part. She made him the best home-cooked meal he had enjoyed in a coon’s age, after which business reluctantly needed to be tackled.

  ‘Guess I better get down to examining the books your pa kept on the Jaybird,’ he said, wiping the crumbs of a delicious apple pie from his lips. ‘Maybe one more cup of coffee will help me concentrate.’ Their eyes locked as she poured it out. Elsa quickly dragged her gaze away as the hot liquid spilled onto the table. Her embarrassment at this unfamiliar show of feeling was covered by fussing with a dishcloth. The moment passed as the two resumed their mundane chores.

  It was around midnight when the horses could be heard snickering outside. Ben was about to go see what had disturbed them when Elsa appeared. Her hair was all of a tangle. And with an old shawl wrapped around her nightgown, she looked pretty as a picture. An unqualified gawp went unheeded by the innocent temptress.

  ‘I’ll go see what’s disturbed them,’ she said picking up a shotgun and heading for the door. ‘It might be a wandering coyote hoping for easy pickings. Best you stay here, seeing as you don’t know the spread like I do.’

  Outside, the silver disc had just emerged from hiding. Nothing seemed to be amiss. Nevertheless, Elsa circled around, her eyes searching the shadowy recesses for any sign of unwelcome scavengers. Just when she was about to return to the cabin, a heavily calloused hand covered her mouth, effectively cutting off a scream. Her assailant’s other hand snatched away the shotgun.

  ‘Try calling out and your days on this earth are numbered,’ a gruff voice scored by too much hard liquor hissed in her ear. ‘Understand my drift, sister?’ A fearful nod, and the hand was removed slowly.

  ‘What are you doing here, Rizzo?’ she asked, although the answer to her query was clear as the moon. ‘Your old buddy is down there now if’n you want to draw him out into the open. Then again, maybe he already knows you’re here and his gun is trained on you at this very moment.’

  ‘Cut the smart cracks, lady,’ Rizzo snarled, extracting the cartridges from the lethal scattergun. ‘I’m holding all the aces where you’re concerned. He tries any funny business and you’re the one in the firing line.’ And to prove his point, he held the girl in a tight grip, using her as a shield.

  But Elsa Durham was no meek-and-mild wallflower. Her initial terror at being waylaid soon dissipated, enabling her to play on the fear of all bushwhackers. ‘Guess you didn’t expect to encounter any opposition sneaking up after dark,’ she rasped in his ear. ‘Too bad the horses spooked your cheap stunt.’

  ‘It don’t matter none,’ Rizzo growled, squeezing off the retort. ‘There’ll be other times to finish him off.’ Then he raised his voice, sufficient for Ben to hear. ‘Mistress Luck and your lady friend here have saved your bacon this time, old buddy. But I’ll be waiting in Uvalde tomorrow. Don’t disappoint me by playing chicken. You hear me, Blue Creek?’

  Only the sighing of the night wind in a clump of cottonwoods disturbed the silence. The moon chose that moment to sidle back into the comforting seclusion of a bank of cloud, allowing Rizzo to disappear behind the barn where his horse was tied. Elsa returned to the cabin to be met on the veranda by her houseguest. ‘I heard him,’ Ben averred. ‘And before you try dissuading me, I have every intention of going in there tomorrow and lodging that agreement with the bank.’

  ‘But you heard what he said, Ben,’ the girl pleaded, gripping his arms. ‘The skunk will be waiting to gun you down. If’n they return with more men, we could always hide in the secret tunnel Pa built to escape from Indian raiders.’ She lifted a rug to reveal the hidden trapdoor.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ was the measured and somewhat choked reply. This girl really appeared to be concerned for his safety. ‘I need to do this my way. No skulking like a rat in a hole.’ At that moment they were very close. He could have kissed her and knew in his heart she would have responded. And he almost did. But there was too much at stake. Allowing unfettered emotions to blur his resolve would only bring complications he could well do without, so he gently eased her away.

  Yet, deep down, both of them knew that a line had been crossed. Never before had the tough Ben Chisum allowed a woman to pluck at his heartstrings. Elsa Durham had unwittingly strayed into that private domain and upset the apple cart. The unsettling moment was brusquely pushed aside with some reluctance.

  ‘Steiger won’t try any gunplay on the streets of Uvalde,’ he said, reasserting a more businesslike manner. ‘Even he wouldn’t be stupid enough to think he could get away with cold-blooded murder in front of all those witnesses. He needs to maintain the illusion, however feeble, that he’s upholding the law.’ A slack smile went some way to appeasing his reserved stance. ‘Now, let’s get some shuteye. I, for one, need a clear head for what needs to be done tomorrow.’

  But sleep evaded him. Ben couldn’t settle knowing he would soon be entering the lion’s den. He would need all his courage and nerves of steel to face down Web Steiger and his crew. Not to mention the treacherous Squint Rizzo. Yet, somehow, tiredness managed to claim him and he finally nodded off, helped by tremulous visions of a flaxon-haired angel.

  The next thing he knew, a rooster was vigorously announcing the arrival of the new day. An early morning sun beamed in through the window. In any other circumstances it would have heralded an idyllic future. His thoughts focused on movement in the other room.

  Elsa was already outside. Daisy the cow still needed milking and the hens needed feeding. She made sure the inner man was satisfied, at least, by cooking him a hearty breakfast. Newly laid eggs and home-cured bacon made him fully cognisant of where his future lay. No two-bit land-grabber was going to force this delectable woman from her land.

  Further attempts to warn him off making any rash decisions fell accordingly on deaf ears. Ben Chisum was now more determined than ever to carry out his mission, come hell or high water. A peck on the cheek as he was mounting up almost changed his mind, reminding him of the acute peril he would soon be facing. The hesi
tant musing immediately caught the attention of Old Nick himself. A fawning voice, laced with sycophantic flattery, whispered silently in his ear. Why risk everything on the whim of fate when you could so easily ride away in the company of this pretty girl? Only heartache and death lie at the end of the road to Uvalde. He quickly shrugged off the tempter’s weaselling inducements. That was not the Blue Creek way.

  A curled lip spoke of the need for justice and right. And then there was his promise to Chico Lafferty, not to mention that unfinished business with Squint Rizzo. He had to see this through to the bitter end, no matter how it turned out. He would never be able to live with himself otherwise. The beguiling lure of the horned demon had challenged him before and he had come away unscathed. And so it would be this time as well. The words of the Good Book immediately came to mind: Get thee behind me, Satan!

  He threw a kiss to the girl of his dreams and rode away, heading into unknown waters without looking back. Had he done so, Elsa Durham’s beseeching regard might well have been too much even for the stoically resourceful Blue Creek Ben Chisum to resist.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Unexpected Box of Tricks

  Uvalde was a busy township; a focus for commerce in the Nueces Valley, and Web Steiger wanted to be in control. He already owned various premises in the town, including the Burning Bush saloon, outside which he was standing. A half-dozen of his men ranged idly on either side. All eyes were turned towards the southern end of town, the direction from which Ben Chisum was expected.

  Squint Rizzo drew his pistol and checked the load. He spun the trigger guard on his middle finger expertly, before dropping the gun back into its holster. It was a flamboyant piece of showmanship intended to impress.

  Steiger merely scowled. ‘Fancy stage-acting like that don’t impress me,’ he rapped out. ‘You had your chance last night and you blew it. There’ll be no gunplay in Uvalde unless Chisum starts it,’ was the boss’s curt order.