Chapter 9

The first ones we talked ta was the people who normally lived or worked in the house. Ta make our cover story look good, we talked ta every member of Bobby's family, though we really didn't expect ta git anythin' from them. However, Jimmy, Bobby's 7 year old brother did squirm a lot durin' the questionin'. Both Sam an' I figured that he knew somethin', but we was gonna have ta be pretty sharp ta git it out of Jimmy. We figured ta put off much talkin' ta him 'til after we had talked ta all of the ranch hands, then Jimmy would be more used ta seein' us around an' less likely ta be afeared of us.

We went through every one of the hands an' did find somebody what knew way too much ta be completely innocent. This man was a recently hired ranch hand named Butch Cody. At this point, we had not talked ta all of the employees, so we could not concentrate on Cody right away. However, nobody else seemed ta know anythin' that was not known ta everybody else, so we needed ta talk ta Jimmy an' ta Cody again.

We was stayin' in the bunkhouse an' eatin' meals with the hands while we was doin' our investigatin', so they all knew why we was there practically from the moment we showed up at the ranch. We decided that it would be stupid ta try ta keep secrets about what we was doin', so we talked openly about our investigation. Of course, we didn't tell all that we knew nor the whole truth about what we had found out. All of the hands thought highly of Bobby, or, at least, said that they did, but we knew that Butch Cody was a liar.

Finally, we had another opportunity ta talk ta Jimmy. After some general talk that was aimed at puttin' Jimmy at ease, we sprung on him our idea that Butch Cody had threatened him in some way not ta talk about what he knew of the kidnapping.

"How did ya know 'bout that?" That's when Jimmy started ta cry. We could see in Jimmy's mind a replay of the meeting between Cody an' Jimmy.

"Jimmy, I saw ya peekin' around the door last night when Bobby left with my friends. Ya better not tell anybody 'bout what ya seen or somethin' bad could happen ta Bobby. Now, promise me ya won't say nothin' ta nobody."

"I promise, but what's gonna happen ta Bobby? He looked like he didn't want ta go."

"Don't ya worry 'bout that, Jimmy. Bobby is OK, an' he'll stay that way as long as ya keep yer mouth shut."

"OK, I promise, but ya better not do nothin' ta hurt Bobby."

That scene kept rollin' around in Jimmy's head, an' he was really upset about the whole thing. We assured Jimmy that we would not do anythin' ta cause any harm ta come ta Bobby. Jimmy finally stopped cryin', an' we helped him clean up his face an' ta go back ta doin' whatever it is that 7-year-olds do.

Both Sam an' I was real pissed at Cody. We headed off ta see him next, an' he was gonna get slapped around real bad ifen he didn't cooperate.

Uh-oh, Cody was nowhere ta be found! Another hand said that he had come inta the stable an' saddled a hoss real quick afore he took off fer parts unknown. He must of seen us talkin' ta Jimmy an' panicked over the sight. Well, ifen we acted quickly, we would capture Cody an' his accomplice or accomplices sometime today. At the same time, we should free Bobby.

We saddled up an' took off in the direction the hand had seen Cody ridin'. I didn't figure that Cody was smart enough at this point ta try ta fool us by ridin' fer a while in one direction an' then changin' ta another. Undoubtedly, Cody was headin' in as straight a line as he could manage ta where his friends was hidin' with Bobby.

We was ridin' at a brisk pace, an' we was already gittin' some flashes of Cody's thoughts. It seemed like we must be catchin' up ta Cody, since his thoughts became easier ta read as time passed. We had started out with just fragments of thought from Cody, but we was now gittin' his full range of thoughts. That wasn't a hell of an improvement, 'cause Cody was in such a panic that his thoughts was almost impossible ta follow.

At least, his thoughts would flop back ta one particular theme. He was headed fer a line shack at the very edge of the Circle M range. We couldn't get a readin' on what exactly he was expectin' but he wasn't completely sure of his welcome. It seemed like there was at least four men at the shack, an' it was likely that Bobby was there, too.

The closer we got ta the line shack, the less panic Cody showed, but the more reasoned worry was breakin' through. Cody was not completely sure that he would be welcomed when he brought in the news that he was carryin'. He seemed ta be worried by fear of a man named Jason Blackwell.

Wait a minute, there! Jason Blackwell was one of the two men in our stack of wanted posters who was worth $500. His speciality was kidnappin', an' the person kidnapped often did not survive the ordeal. Shit, we was under considerable pressure, here.

Ifen Bobby was still alive, we was goin' ta have ta be careful ta time things just right in order ta git him out still in that condition. From what little we knew of Blackwell, we could discount Cody. He would probably be killed right off by Blackwell for screwin' thin's up back at the ranch house.

Butch Cody jumped off his hoss an' went blunderin' through the only door ta the shack. We knew everythin' what was said 'cause we could read their thoughts. Blackwell demanded, "What the hell are ya doin' here, Cody? I told ya ta stay at the ranch house."

"Shit, Jason, I am doin' what ya told me ta do. Ya said ta warn ya ifen things started ta git screwed up. Moody just hired two new detectives, an' they're just about ta blow the whole plot. They just talked ta Jimmy again, an' that means that they will have the whole story afore nightfall. That's what I come ta warn ya about."

"Dammit, Cody, I told ya ta git rid of that kid. Ya should of done what I said."

"But, Jason, I couldn't kill Jimmy. He's just a kid."

"Sure ya could, Cody. Ya should of done it just like this." That's when Blackwell did just exactly what I expected him ta do an' put a bullet through Cody's chest.

The other men reacted with amazement when that happened. All three turned ta Blackwell, but he stopped them afore any of them could comment. "That's what happens when somebody don't follow my orders. Y'all three yahoos better keep that in mind, too, 'cause it could sure happen ta any or all of y'all.

"OK, this scheme is blown ta hell, an' we gotta run fer it. Olsen, ya saddle the hosses. Jackson, ya make up the grub packs. Make sure there's enough fer three days fer four men. Shorty, ya come with me."

Jackson said, "Hey, boss, what about grub fer the kid?"

"Fergit 'bout him. He ain't comin' with us!"

We could tell it was time fer us ta act. Blackwell's mind was showin' that he planned ta kill Bobby right then. The boy had become too much of a liability, an' he now figured that there was no way ta git the $20,000 ransom money what he was demandin'. The other three crooks was appalled that Blackwell was gonna kill the kid, but they was too afeared of Blackwell ta say anythin'.

Sam knew as well as I did what we had ta do ifen we was gonna save Bobby's life. We knew where everybody was located within the shack, so there would be no surprises fer us on that score. We drew our guns an' figured ta go in shootin'!

I led the way by kickin' the door open an' runnin' through the door. Of course, I didn't have far ta run, since the shack wasn't that big. Fortunately, Bobby was tied up an' over in a corner, so he was well out of the way. Sam was right behind me, an' we caught the men inside completely by surprise. I started shootin' the moment I cleared the door far enough fer Sam ta git in. I took care of Blackwell, Olsen, an' Shorty. Sam put a bullet inta Jackson.

As usual, neither one of us needed more than one bullet ta account for our man, so it was over real quick-like. Sam verified that the crooks was dead while I checked on Bobby. The poor kid was scared half ta death, but he did smile when I told him that we was there ta take him home. Whoever had tied him up sure had no regard fer the boy's comfort. The knots was so tight that I had ta cut them loose, rather than untyin' them. His skin was badly chafed, an' he'd been tied so tight that it's a wonder that enough blood could flow ta his hands an' feet. The situation was so painful that Bobby cried when I cut him loose.