Chapter 9

Butch Kramer appeared on top of the wall, wondering why his sentries hadn’t notified them. He had no way of knowing all three were currently tied up back in camp. They weren’t very good sentries. “Sorry, boys. No stolen cattle here. We’re just private citizens on our own land, minding our business.”

“Really? I thought Zeke Walters owned this spread.”

“He doesn’t need it all, so we lease some of it from him.”

“He know that? He told us you were trespassing and he wanted you gone. You got a lease agreement?”

“It a gentlemen’s agreement. We didn’t think paperwork necessary.”

“Well, we’ll have to sort that out. Open the gates, please. If you have nothing to hide we’ll leave you in peace.”

Kramer frowned. Damn those Walters brothers! He’d had a good thing going for quite a while before Buck got stupid over a whore and got himself dead. Every time his men went up against them they got the short end of the stick. Even his women outfought him, and he didn’t even want to think about what two litle girls did to Preacher’s crew. Between them they had lost a bunch of men, and all they had to show for it was a little blond hellcat that cussed them better than any hand he’d ever seen. He had to admire her, though. She fought them to a standstill, standing over her downed sister at the end. He was surprised to hear that she intended her last bullet to be hers, and if that little gun hadn’t malfunctioned she would be dead right now. That crazy preacher keeps insisting she was his blood daughter, and it’s his right to flog her. It was all Butch could do to keep him away from her. If he lost, he needed her to be in good shape, to trade for his life and freedom.

He grinned, remembering how she bit the ear off a new member of his gang. He was a youngster, and Butch knew he’d end up dead somewhere pretty soon, he didn’t have the sand or the smarts to make it. The only reason he tolerated him was he gave them good information on the locals. He heard a lot, being the only son of the biggest store owner in his town. And he had a pretty hard grudge against the girl. He was taunting her, telling her what he was going to do to her when the Preacher was through, and got a little too close. Even tied up, she lunged at him, locking down on his ear and not letting go. They pulled her off him and when they did she smiled, spitting his earlobe out. She looked him in the eye, blood dripping from her mouth. “Just like I thought, you taste like shit.”

The boy screamed in pain, ranting until one of the older outlaws slapped him. “Shut the hell up, boy. Get Doc to look at that ear, and maybe he can stop the bleeding. Damn, she’s more of a man right now than you’ll ever be.” The others laughed and he slunk off, looking for Doc. This wasn’t going the way he firgured, not at all. Lucas thought it would be a grand adventure. he was tired of stocking shelves, listening to women whine and berate him over the price of their goods and his service. So he made contact with the outlaws, trading information to become part of the gang. He knew Butch Kramer thought he couldn’t cut it, but he’d show them, by God!

When he found out about the drive, he waited until his parents were asleep, going into the store and taking a new rifle and a pair of Peacemakers his father had gotten in trade. He also took as much as he could carry and all the cash from the moneybox. He wished he could see the look on his father’s face when he discovered it the next morning. Slipping into the livery stable, he took the two best horses. After all he was an outlaw now, he needed something to show for it.

Lucas swapped mounts, and was far away before the robbery was discovered. It didn’t take the Marshall or his father long to figure out who did it, and the Marshall sighed. “I could let him slide on what he took from the store, Henry, but he stole two horses, and there ain’t much I can do about that. If I catch him, he’ll hang or go to prison for ten years, depending on the Judge and his mood at the time. The good news is by now he’s probably out of my jurisdiction and I won’t go after him. The bad news is I have to send a wanted poster out with his description, along with a description of the hosses he stole and their brands. I hope for all our sakes he’s a long ways away and won’t come back.”

Henry quietly tried to pay for the two horses, but one owner refused. “I raised that hoss from a colt, got him trained just right. Your boy has a good eye for horseflesh, I never rode a smarter or faster horse. You ain’t got enought money to buy him, even if I was inclined to sell. Besides, if I sell him to you, then the boy gets away with it. I’m sorry mister, but if they catch him you can bet I’ll be at his hanging.”

Lucas wasn’t exactly welcome in camp, most recognized him for a tenderfoot who could get them killed if they didn’t watch him close. They tolerated him though, especially when they found out he was flush. They talked him into a few ‘friendly’ poker games, and he soon lost all his money and one horse. He thought they might have cheated him, but he was smart enough to not call them on it.

They wouldn’t let him go on the raid to the ranch, making him stay with a skeleton crew and watch over the cattle and prisoners. Preacher had four women and eight children as hostages. Lucas wanted one of the women, but was surprised when he mentioned it.

“You want a woman, go to town and get you a whore. We’re criminals, but most of us ain’t that stupid. You touch one of those women and word gets out, we’re through. People will tolerate a lot, but soil one of their women and hell will come aknockin’.”

He grinned, thinking about the raid. He hoped instead of killing the women they brought them back, especially the little blond. He had a score to settle with that one. Maybe he could talk Butch into letting him have her.

The whole gang was shocked when the crew rode back in. Less than a third returned, and a lot of them were shot up. All they had to show for the whole thing was Jessica, and that’s only because her pistol malfunctioned. Doc spent most of the day patching them up, and Butch nearly bit the stick in is mouth in two when Doc pulled the bullet out, pouring a liberal dose of whiskey over the wound before stitching it back up. “You’re lucky it didn’t get infected,” he told Butch, looking over at an outlaw unconcious on another table. “Bert’s a goner. He’s got Gangrene, but he won’t let us take his leg. Prob’ly wouldn’t do no good now, it’s gone too far. I got some heroin I picked up for toothaches and such. I’ll most likely use that to make his passing bearable.”

So Butch Kramer wasn’t in the best of moods when the Army came calling. He knew he had no choice. As soon as he solved his problem witht he Army, he’d have to pull up stakes and move on. Not before he robbed the bank at Big Bend, though. He’d been a fool to trust Buck with his money. He knew he wouldn’t cheat him, and it seemed safer to have the money in the bank than lying around the camp tempting his crew. He never thought he’d be stupid enough to get himself killed.

He had about thirty men in the stronghold. He knew that though there were a few more soldiers, he had superior firepower. Maybe he could just scare them off, or at least make them retreat long enough for them to get away. He had no doubt his men would fight. it was either that or get hung, especially after they found the hostages. Damn Preacher anyway!

Making a decision, he hailed the officer. “Give us an hour to get our affairs in order, and we’ll leave. You can look around all you want then. Hell, you can have the place.”

The lieutenant knew he was lying but it was worth a try. “All right. But if you’re not coming out when the hour is up, we’re coming in.”

Butch grinned. “Not with what you got you ain’t” he thought as he watched them ride away. Lucas was on the wall with him and thought it would be fun to hurry them along, so he put three shots from his Wichester right behind them, making the horses jump before they all broke into a gallop. Butch turned in a rage, intending to throw the youngster over the wall, when the man beside him flew off the catwalk, followed two seconds later by the boom of a buffalo rifle.

“You stupid little shit! You probably just got us all killed! All we had to do was pack everything up in the hour they’d given us, make a break for it, and you do this shit. No way in hell they’ll let us go now!”

He backhanded Lucas so hard he did fall off the wall, only to be kicked by the first two outlaws that reached him. One pulled him up by his collar. “When we make a break for it, you’re ridin’ in front! Understand, asshole?”

Lucas quailed, knowing the first one through the gate would probably the first to die. He scrabbled until he was away from his tormentors before getting to his feet and running. Laughter followed him as he got away.