Chapter 3

The sheriff had saddlebags too and we distributed the weight evenly as we left town. It meant we were carrying about forty pounds of gold apiece for extra weight. Both the sheriff and I were done soon after we arrived at the Wells Fargo Office and the money I sent to Surcingle would arrive in the office not far from my ranch. It was only a few miles from my ranch to where I would collect it. Guaranteed and insured arrival ... ten days. What a relief!

“You laying over tonight?”

“Nope, I’m buying some jerky, bread, coffee and any cooked beef I can find. I’m stocking up on an extra blanket, coffee pot and a bait of oats to keep my horse moving. By this time next week I’ll be sleeping in my own bed.”

“Yes, and when you come back, you’ll be sleeping in Mrs. Pierson’s.”

“I hope to, but you never know. I’ve got so I don’t always believe things come out right for a person. I make plans anyway and keep hoping.”

“That’s all you can do. So when will you be back in town?”

“There again, not certain, but a month from now. Snow should hold off that long. When I show up, I’m asking you as sheriff to dispossess Bricknell.”

“I know and shouldn’t be a problem. See you, I’m headed home. Nice knowing you.”

“So long, Sheriff.” When I was in the store picking up what I needed I said I was headed for Surcingle Valley.

“Hey, I’ve been there. Do you know the trail?”

“Nope, can you sketch me out a map?”

“Sure. Going from here, there’s only rough in one spot that where you might get turned around. That’s about sixty miles out. You have to go up and through a pass between two peaks. If you miss it, you’ll have to backtrack and lose some hours. I’ll make it as plain as I can.”

I was liberal with my mounts rest and pushed him in between the rest stops. Six days later I rode into the ranch. The horse was fresher than I was. Too bad he had been cut or I’d pay to have colts out of him. I put Old Ugly into the corral after giving him a rub down and a scoop of corn. The only puncher around had to be Slim since his was the only mount in the corral. I went inside and to bed.

Slim was coming out of the bunkhouse when I washed up on the stoop. “Hey, Boss, we’uns thought you was dead. You’re three weeks late.”

“I had some problems. Most of it because of that gold I was bringing down for the other ranchers.

“Yeah, they been over here about every day. They think you took off with it. They’s calling you thief. They’s been to the law too.”

“Piss on them. I lost my pack horse, my best mount, I got gored in the belly and had to shoot a sidewinder. I was laid up a whole week getting well so I could ride. I’ll give it right back to them. They promised me a hundred dollars. It should’ve been a thousand.” I cooled down. “Where’s the boys”

“They herded the cows that belonged to Smith over to his place.”

“Roundup is all over, then?”

“Yep. We got some real fine stock. Next year will be a bumper crop going to Kansas.

“We’ll see.”

That stopped Slim in his tracks. I kind of gave him a half-way grin and turned to the house. “Any eggs on the place? I ain’t facing another piece of jerky in this life time.”

I looked at the tally book. It was up to date and we had had a decent increase. We had cleared out a nest of wolves a couple years ago and bear had never been a problem. The answer to my success was the deeded water I held. This year I had fenced it off for about a month from the cattle of my neighbors. That pissed them off.

I held deed to the headquarter buildings, and I had the boys keeping the line shacks in good shape. Dad had built them as they became necessary and had filed a deed to them. The remainder of my grazing land was open range, but situated so I could legally keep my neighbors from moving cows onto my grass. For the last few years we had trailed north to the railroad in Kansas. Someday there would be rails in this part of the country.

I hated to leave the home territory, but I could see a fight shaping up. I was the smallest of the four ranchers in the valley. They were of a mind to bring cows in and turn them loose and collect the profit when trailed north as three and four-year-olds. They didn’t think about when the rains didn’t come in the spring after a low snow fall in the winter. My father taught me to read the signs. It was much easier than to have crises of some kind year after year

That Bricknell property was way under grazed and there was so much more of it than I had here. It wouldn’t have any other ranches crowding me either. I would make sure it stayed that way too. I hadn’t ridden over it, but the banker, Montana, and even the sheriff said it was an apple ready to be picked and no one so far had recognized it.

I should get twice the money for my ranch here than what I had paid down up north. Maybe I was a dreamer. I didn’t want to get rich just to be rich, but I did want to make things better and it damned was sure easier if you had more than two coins to rub together.

What I was intending to do was make the other ranchers think they needed this ranch and would pay top dollar for it. As I told Slim, “we’ll see.”

It was midmorning when my three other punchers rode into the yard. I was sitting on the stoop and they totally ignored me. Slim shouted, “Hey men, the boss is back.”

“So, what else is new?”

“He said he had trouble.”

“Can’t be, he always tells us to keep out of trouble.”

“Randy, cried a whole long list of troubles. The thought just came to me he must have found his self a woman.”

I answered this, “I might as well tell you. I did meet a widow and she’s the one who sewed me up when I got gored.” I pulled my shirt out of my jeans so they could look at it. “Then when she put two bullets into a bastard and got shot, I crawled off my sick bed and shot him right between the eyes. I didn’t think that would kill him because he was a mean son-na-ofa-bitch, but it did. And I ain’t telling you a damned thing more other than she showed how grateful she was about me saving her life.

I turned and headed into the house, before turning back with more. “The nurse I found to keep the widow from death’s door has three beautiful daughters and she’s a widow too and already thinking about how to keep warm this winter. A puncher has been coming around after the coffee she pours and I imagine they’re walking out together already. I kinda’ like that country up there.” I slammed the door behind me.

Tony eased the door open and peered in at me. I got there first, “I understand you men got sick of doing your own cooking while I was gone. I also heard she sings good. Can she ride?”

“I might have known you’d find out about Kate before I got a chance to tell you. Why’d you ask could she ride?”

“Do’no, might be you’d be going somewhere and we have to drag her along with us. That is if she can really cook.”

“She’ll be here later to ask for a job.”

“I’ll meet her. Bring the men in, we have to talk.” I went on to tell the punchers that I had already bought another ranch and I was hoping to sell out here and get up there by the end of the month.”

“Boss, we can’t gather the cattle and get a chuck wagon ready or get very far before we might get caught in a snow storm.”

“We ain’t taking the cattle, they stay with the ranch. On that ranch up north, there are as many or more cows than I have here. There wasn’t a roundup this year and the puncher that’s on the place says some of the steers will be five come spring. The cattle aren’t bunched and the land looks almost empty. It is a big ranch and the cattle have been allowed to run free and are all spread to hell. We’ll have our work cut out for us.”

Slim asked, “Who you going to sell this place to?”

“The three other ranchers here in the valley want me out of here so they can get my water. Over time they intend to push me out and I’d have to fight like hell to hold it. But they know too, if I put up a fight, it will cost them. I think they will pay top dollar for the land and the cattle if they can get rid of me that easily.”

“What about the hosses? I’d hate to give up my string.”

“They’ll go with us. I have those two horses that are brother to the one I lost, sired by the same stud and dam. He was the best horse I ever owned. I lost him and it was my fault. He was packing me and my outfit along with eighty-seven extra pounds of gold. It was too much for any horse.”

“Good, horses traveling over the trail won’t be a problem. What else we taking?”

“Everything that can be carried on the horses we ain’t riding. That means all the horse tack, ropes, etc. We can’t take a wagon from here to there, but we will take what we can pack. Get that new cook in here and have her help decide what goes out of the house.”

“Ah, Boss, that new cook is now Mrs. Slim Rogers. She’s in town in the room we rent, but town is close enough so I can see her.”

“I heard that, Slim. Okay, what I just told you is to be kept under cover until I get this place sold and the money in my jeans. I suspect the three of them ranchers will be coming around looking for the money I was supposed to have with me. Actually, it ain’t here yet. I hired a sheriff to carry it a ways and he found someone to pack it the rest of the way. I’m sweating it some though, and it is a lot of money. They promised to have it here within the week. I think that’s good. The rancher’s minds will be on the missing money and not what I’m up to.”

I guess my new cook spread the word that I was back, or maybe someone saw me ride through town. The three ranch owners came pounding into the yard just as I suspected they would as soon as they heard I was home.

“Palmer, where’s our money?”

“I ain’t got it right to hand, but it will show up in a few days. Get down and we’ll have a drink. How was your trip east to see the bright lights?”

“You don’t need to know. Tell us where our money is?”

“I said I’d have it in a few days. No need to worry about it. You guys kind of put me to getting your money here just for a few pennies. I had severe expenses, lost my pack animal that was carrying it and lost my mount in a gully washer. I got laid up and had to lie over to get well. I did save the money and as I say it should arrive sometime next week.”

“Sounds like bullshit to us. You’re at least three weeks over due and you don’t have the money to hand over.” Sam, the rancher that was blustering, was getting a full head of steam.

“My word is good, you know that.”

“We don’t know that, not anymore anyway. Comes down to it, we decided we want you out of the valley.”

“You’ll play hell making it happen. My men can put up a hell of a fight.”

“Whoa, we don’t want a shootin’ war. We was figuring on making you an offer.”

“I don’t know as I would sell. My pappy got this place when I was a youngster and he and my ma are buried here. I’ve got forty acres where the water comes up out of the ground, plus some deeded water that can be fenced. There is thirty acres all with ranch buildings and all in good shape. The four line shacks are livable.

“One of my men just tied the knot and will be living in the one closest to town. That’s a hundred and fifty acres all under deed. You can’t do much with the open range if I keep you off the deeded land. Given that, I have the best grass in the valley, but it is pretty much worthless to anyone without water.”

“We know all that and we’ll be willing to pay. Probably not what you think it is worth, but we could get an appraiser to figure out a good price. You know that money of ours you say is coming, we don’t believe you. We think you lost it.”

“Well, I was going into town and talk to Banker Williams tomorrow. Remember that was your money and you have to bear some risk if I lost it, but I did give my word.”

“Then what are you seeing Williams for.”

“None of your business.”

“I thought so. The bank will never give you fifteen thousand on this place. We talked this over and we can come up with $7,500 apiece and then you won’t have to humiliate yourself asking for a loan. This offer includes the cattle.

“Not good enough. I can easily sell off the cattle for $25,000 and that’s a big portion of what I’d be asking for the ranch and the cattle. Sure you don’t want to have that drink?”

“Give us a minute?” The three got their heads together and finally broke up and faced me again.

“If you sell off the cattle, we can come in and claim the land that isn’t under deed if there is no cattle on it. Final offer, we’ll come up with $30,000 for everything. No, we’ll skip the drink we never mix business with pleasure. Tell you what, you go talk to the banker tomorrow and we’ll be back to get your word by six in the afternoon.” They wheeled out of the yard and were gone.

My men had heard this exchange. They looked worried for me and maybe some for themselves. “Men, I think I have them right where I want them. If you go into town, look as worried as you look right now. Tell you what, drinks are on me. Head for Castro’s dive and spend some of the money those bastards want to do me out of. Here’s a ten dollar coin that ought to be enough to cry in your beer and let the town know how bad it is out at the Palmer ranch.”

“Boss, I think you should save your money.”

“Take it. Things are bad and let them know how bad.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Slim, bring that wife of yours home with you and sleep in one of the bedrooms here in the house. You shouldn’t be paying rent in town. I may not be here when you come in. I’m going for a ride. I grew up here and I’m going to miss the place. I’ll look around so I don’t forget it.”

“Boss, I’m sad for you. What about that place you’se was telling us about?”

“We’ll see how tomorrow goes before we talk about that again. Take off and I’ll see you in the morning.” I was giving mixed signals to everyone including my own hands.

I waited until the men left and then I saddled up. I still got a good-sized twinge when I lifted the saddle on but nothing like what it was when I left Sheila. I headed cross lots and came in behind the place where the Wells Fargo agent lived. We were sometime friends, congenial, anyway.

He came out and sat on a bench in his yard. His wife was getting his supper so I didn’t have long to talk to him. “Grady, you don’t know it, but there is a package coming into the office from a Wells Fargo office up north a ways. I want you to hang onto it and don’t say anything that you have something for me. I’m going to redirect it out of here, but I don’t want anyone to know that either. Can you do that for me?”

“Sure, no problem. What’s going on?”

“I don’t want to say anything now but after it comes and goes out again, I’ll tell you all about it. You’ll get a kick out of what I’m doing.”

“You’ll have to pay another fee you, know.”

“Glad to.” Just then Grady’s wife came to the door telling him his supper was ready. I waved and turned my horse.

I had to go around the town to come in behind the banker’s house. I left my horse back in a grove and came to the back door. I knocked, “Who is it?”

“Randy Palmer, can I speak to you?”

“I guess. I don’t do bank business outside of hours.”

“I know that. I want to get an appointment to discuss some things. I also I wanted to make sure that the other three ranches didn’t know what we were going to talk about during the appointment.”

“Rest assured they won’t know. What’s this all about?”

“You just said you didn’t do business outside of you banking hours.”

“Come in, Randy, bank is open.” I had to laugh. This wasn’t the first time Mr. Williams had opened the bank for me. I told Mr. Williams everything except where the money was that the ranchers figured I didn’t have. I said I was hoping it would get here, but was losing faith that it would. I also laid it on heavy about the three pushing me out of Surcingle.

Williams offered, “They have been in several times asking about you and your accounts. Of course, I haven’t told them a thing. You know you are more solvent than anyone else here in Surcingle connected to the cattle business. It is too bad the other cattlemen aren’t as good in the business as you. You do have a good balance in your accounts and you could cover their loss over time. They are squandering their land and what is on it.”

“I’ve tried to tell them that. I guess I’ll take what is offered. They are trying to get me out of here so they can take over my range. For your information, I’m going to let them, but it will be on my terms. I’m going to see if they will forget that I was carrying their money and that it really is lost. I’ll be okay if they do push me out.”

“That’s a crime what they are doing to you.”

“Mr. Williams, they are going to offer me less than they think my ranch is really worth but I’m going to take it. Within the last month I’ve met a woman and I’m going to make my home with her. I’ll explain why I’m telling you this. What I want you to do is to turn me down when I apply for a loan tomorrow, but have you okay a personal loan of about $1,000 against my horse herd. This, I want to get out around town and I need my horses.”

“I can do that. I don’t suppose you have told me everything. You might fill me in the day you leave town.”

“I can do that when I pay back what I borrowed the day I leave town. I hate to do this to you, but I’ll be taking what’s in my account with me as well.”

“I would expect so. Don’t worry about the bank. It will do alright. Borrowing rates might be going up a little, but that’s business.” I thanked Mr. Williams. I had known him all my life. We respected each other, but weren’t close personally. Time I went home.

I heard the men pull in later. The bunkhouse door slammed. Slim and his wife stumbled into the extra bed room. I went to sleep with the rattling of the bed. No more than I expected when they picked that room. It only held a single-sized bed.

I had a breakfast fit for a king. Slim’s wife, Kate, was in her late twenties, a couple years older than Slim. “Mr. Palmer, thanks for letting me come home with Slim. I’ll make you the best cookie you ever did have.”

“Randy is the name and the breakfast was perfect. Is twenty dollars a month satisfactory? If you have to handle a chuck wagon, you get a hand’s wages of thirty. With what I pay Slim, you two should make out fine.”

“We will for certain. Will you be able to pay that much when you get shoved out of here?”

“Yes, I can afford the wages.” I didn’t elaborate.

I went out to give orders. “Tony, you and the rest bring all the horses up into the corral here by the barn. Figure out what we will need for packs for them to carry what we have. We’ll take all we can.”

“You’re really giving up, Boss?”

“Yeah, let them think they are driving me out, but I planned on leaving anyway. I’m just suckering them into giving me as much as I can get. When you see that country where we’re headed, you’re going to think I’m pretty damned smart.”

“When’s this move all taking place?”

“I have a feeling they will have the sale papers with them tonight. If not they will by tomorrow. We will start packing as soon as they are signed. Slim, you tell Kate to do some planning on what we can take from the house. I’d like to be out of here in eight days if I can.”

“Damn it, Boss, we still don’t know what-all is going on. Some time you have to tell us everything.”

“I will. Now I’m going into town to the bank. Is that list of bills you ran up while I was gone for the three months everything?”

“Absolutely.”

“Okay, see you in a bit.”

The word around town that I was being pushed off my land because I lost the money the others had paid me to bring money home for them. The General store, the livery stable, and the gunsmith were tickled that I was paying my bills. “Thank Mr. Williams, he’s lent me some money to pay you what I owe.”

“They’re holding you to it, losing the money I mean?”

“I keep telling them I arranged to have someone else bringing it. They won’t wait and don’t believe me. I can’t see where it is any benefit to try and keep ranching next to them that don’t trust my word.”

“Don’t blame you. What’re you going to do if you’ve lost your land?”

“I met a homestead woman, who is some took with me. I’m going up there and see if she will have me. The boys will be alright, there are three-four ranches in the other end of the valley where they can maybe get on. They are some pissed about all this and wouldn’t work here if their wages were doubled.”

“I don’t blame them.”

I was home for the noon meal. It was beef and beans, the same as always. I don’t know how Kate did it, but you could chew the beef and the beans were more than little hard pebbles.