Sharpshooter Read online

  Jesus took the glasses next. “How do we sneak up on them, then?”

  “Keep moving. We have some time till sundown. I think they plan to stop at the Verde.”

  “Good.”

  They trotted their mounts from there on. All they could hope for was that the rustlers didn’t see them coming. But either way they’d soon be in range of them. Chet began to grow more confident they were about to recover the stolen horses. He saw the rustlers again on the wide sandy beach, watering men and horses.

  He slipped his Winchester out of the scabbard. The three of them were nearly under the ancient gnarled cottonwoods that lined the river. He motioned for his own armed men to spread out.

  At that point, the rustlers had only sidearms. Their rifles were in the saddle scabbards.

  One of them shouted, “Look!”

  Chet took aim, and the man never reached but six inches for his Colt when the rifle slug sent him sprawling on his back. The report spooked all the horses and they stampeded into the rustlers trying to get their guns out. Their resistance lasted only minutes and a few shots from his men. The rustlers were either shot or trying to get up after one of the scared horses collided with him.

  Off their horses and taking charge, Jesus and Cole were busy disarming the rustlers and making them get facedown in the sand. None of them offered any resistance, but they cussed a lot.

  Two of the wounded ones moaned real loud. The last man standing wore a black business suit and he told Jesus no way was he lying down in that mud. Cole busted him over the head with his pistol and he, too, lay on the sand.

  Satisfied the fight was over Jesus went to his horse for some rope to tie them up with.

  Chet, gun in his fist, stepped down off his horse and waded over to Cole. “Who is the preacher you knocked out?”

  Cole smiled and shook his head. “Damned if I know. Jesus, who is he?”

  The rustler on the ground said, “Dean Louray.”

  Chet shook his head. He’d never heard of him. “You all are under arrest for horse stealing, attempted murder, and I’ll find me some more charges up in Preskitt to keep you in jail for a long time.”

  The two wounded men were carried to the shade. One was going to die from a bullet in the chest. The other was shot in the arm but a tourniquet had stopped the bleeding. The rest had their hands tied behind their backs. They’d been disarmed and searched. The rustlers, save for Louray, had little money on them. He had over five hundred dollars on him.

  Chet had Jesus make a list in his herd book of the names they gave him. Horses were rounded up and a few hobbled to keep them close and grazing as the sun set. But before it went down two of the lesser prisoners stacked up driftwood for the night’s campfire. Jesus had found some frijoles on one of their packhorses, boiled some, and served them as supper.

  The worst wounded one died and they rolled him in a blanket to bury at dawn. The guard shift was chosen and each man had a few hours, by Big Dipper time, to oversee them.

  Cowboys didn’t invent keeping time on the Big Dipper, but Chet knew anyone who ever drove cattle herds to Kansas could use it.

  * * *

  The rest of Chet’s crew must have gotten up early and pushed hard to join them. They were smiling when they rode up the Verde bottoms with the pack train and nodded in approval at the tied-up outlaws.

  “You get them all?” Billy Bob asked, reining up his horse.

  “Every damn one we could find,” Cole teased him. “Get some coffee out. These cheap bastards didn’t have any.”

  At that, they all laughed.

  CHAPTER 8

  Five days later Chet had driven into Preskitt to talk to Tanner at the bank. He left Lisa off at the dress store and parked his rig out in front of the bank. His men, on their arrival back, had the rustlers put in jail. Cole and Jesus handled the booking and the sheriff never sent word to Chet he was pleased or unpleased about their efforts.

  When Chet walked in the lobby of the bank that morning, two ranchers leaving shook his hand and thanked him for a job well done. Standing at Tanner’s desk he saw the Miner newspaper headline read: AREA RANCHER ROUNDS UP THE HORSE RUSTLERS. He bet the editor had asked why couldn’t the Yavapai County sheriff have done the same?

  “Morning, Tanner. How is banking going?”

  “Good enough. The gem buyer wants to examine them. He will pay freight one way and look at them. He doesn’t want them, then you pay the return freight.”

  “How much will it cost?”

  “Oh, five hundred by Wells Fargo.”

  “Tell him if he takes them the bidding starts at over a hundred thousand dollars.”

  Tanner chuckled. “I doubt he’d pay that for them but I will do as you say. He wants the emeralds and he says he will pay you fifty thousand if they are that good.”

  Chet shook his head. “If he wants them and the rubies, the bidding on both of them starts at two hundred fifty thousand.”

  Tanner kind of winced. “I’ll wire him but I doubt he will pay that.”

  “Then he won’t buy them. Have you sold the gold?”

  “The gold bars gave you two hundred twenty thousand dollars. The loose gold is being smelted and may amount to more than that.”

  “My cowboys may quit me after I pay them their fifty percent.”

  Tanner looked in shock at him. “How many hands were with you?”

  “Eight men will share in half of the total.”

  “You get your prices they could earn fifty to sixty thousand dollars apiece.” Tanner shook his head.

  “They could have gotten killed by some bad men while up there, and possibly ended up being eaten by buzzards.”

  “I understand. It is a helluva lot of money. I understand, by gossip, three of those rustlers that your men brought in have bounties on their heads.”

  “Good. I’ll split that with the men if it ever gets paid.”

  “That’s Wells Fargo rewards. You will be paid that money.”

  “Anything else comes up, holler.”

  “Any more offers on the other things you found?”

  “Some rich guy is coming from Mexico. He wants to buy that armor, the swords, and the books.”

  “What are they worth?”

  “Lots. Your wife and babies doing good?”

  “Oh. Wonderful.” Tanner stood a little straighter and beamed at being asked. A man who waits till he’s forty-some years old to get married to a much younger woman and has two kids in two years out of his bride should stand tall—but Chet still didn’t trust her.

  “I better go get mine. She may be tired of trying on outfits.” He left the bank whistling and drove around to the dress store. Lisa waved to him and quickly came outside.

  “Any details on the value?”

  “Tanner says a half a million in gold when the free gold gets smelted.”

  “My heavens. What are the gems worth?”

  “Maybe a quarter million or more.”

  “You need to take more vacations.”

  “Like that, I do.”

  They drove home, laughing all the way. She was a great companion and he enjoyed her company.

  “Could I give my colts to your sons? I am not a horse breaker.”

  “They’d both probably love them.”

  “Good. I will do that.” When he set her down coming off the buckboard, she kissed him. “Thanks.”

  Things held good the next few weeks, the precious stone buyer bid him three hundred fifty thousand for both lots. He told Tanner to take it. Smelting was not completed on the raw gold, so that waited on them.

  Word was out a fortune was coming to some of his ranch hands and those on the list met in the big house living room.

  “Don’t spend a dime of your money until you know what you want to do besides take siestas,” Chet told them.

  “You will have more friends and relatives who want to borrow money and, in truth, they will never pay you back. Personally, I don’t care, but that sum of money is not endless. You
can blow it all on wild women and alcohol in a year or you can park it in a bank and only use it when out of work or to buy a place of your own.

  “Remember, folks can skin you out of your money and you’d not get any land. Hire a lawyer, a banker to do the job for you.”

  The men shook his hand and left, except for Jesus and Cole.

  “Think they will listen to me?” he asked them straight out.

  “Not good enough. They have no education and no idea what it is like to have that much money,” Cole said.

  Jesus agreed. “When I was a boy in Mexico, I saw a man who prospected in the mountains. If he found some gold he hurried to town and spent it immediately on putas, wine, and fancy clothes. Soon he was broke, hungover, and those whores wanted no part of him. I asked him why he never learned his lesson and kept some back. He said, ‘Jesus, you do not understand. The only reason I go prospecting is so I can afford to live with them for a short while like a wild man. I love to do that, and for them to snub their noses at me sends me back to find more.’”

  The three men laughed loud enough that Lisa came into the living room and asked what was so funny.

  “I will tell you later. I warned the men how they must manage the money they will receive.”

  “I can tell you right now they will all—maybe a few won’t—but most will blow it, and fast.”

  “That rich rancher’s son who hauled me to Colorado. His father sent him five hundred dollars so he would have money to escape on. He blew that in four hours gambling in a saloon. Most men are stupid—you three are excused—but my brother sold a racehorse when I was twelve. He was older than me by several years. He got a thousand dollars for him and came home that night dead broke after promising to pay our grocery bill. That is what most men do with money—blow it away as quick as they can.”

  “I hope not.” Chet shook his head.

  “They can’t help themselves. It must be in their bloodstream. The girls are counting supper plates. Are either of you staying for supper?”

  Cole shook his head. “I can’t. I promised my wife I’d be back by then.”

  Jesus said, “I’m like Cole. I better eat there. Tell them thanks for us.”

  “They’re very good girls. Work hard and always feed anyone loose around the place who needs food.”

  Chet walked them to the back door. “Take tomorrow off. We’re caught up. That prosecuting attorney never asked for any evidence on the horse stealing?”

  “We brought in six of them. Four were wanted elsewhere,” Cole said. “He must be shipping them to Texas and Colorado, where the crime is murder. Then he saves the court costs on four. Bet he’s scratching to find a place to ship the last two out of this county and slam them in someone else’s jail so he’ll save himself the work and court costs.”

  Chet shook his head and put his hands on his hips. “If they get free from those charges they can go free and steal more horses. Does anyone on the Miner know about his scheme?”

  “Damned if I know,” Cole said. “Let’s go talk to Bo tomorrow and let him put the bug in some folks’ ears.”

  “Right. I’ll have the horses hitched for when you get here tomorrow. Jesus, we can handle it if you have work you need done.”

  He shook his head. “We rode our asses off to capture them, and letting them loose will not curb the rustling. Pick me up at my house.”

  “Amen. See you two then.” He showed them to the back door and, when they were mounted, waved good-bye.

  Lisa said, “I heard most of that and could not believe my ears.”

  “Lots of folks need to learn that.”

  * * *

  In the morning, they took the buckboard to town and parked in front of Bo’s office. He met them at the door, smiling big. “What brings the three soldiers to my door?”

  “Find a chair. We have a problem you need to solve.”

  “What is that? Take a seat.”

  “Those horse thieves we arrested.”

  “Yes, what about them?”

  “The county prosecutor isn’t going to try them if he can help it. Instead he is having the other law agencies that want them take them off his hands. But when they get wherever they came from and are found not guilty they get off scot-free.”

  “He’s lazy. But I can get that changed.”

  “Good. That was all we needed.”

  “Man, you three are easy to please. Now, tell me who all gets money out of the North Rim business?”

  “I get half.”

  “Good. Who gets the rest?”

  “Cole and Jesus plus six other guys who went up there with us.”

  “Sit back down. Do I have some land deals for you two? I already have his business.”

  Chet winked at them.

  Bo said, “Talk is they will get fifty thousand each?”

  “More than that.”

  “More than that? How much are rusty old suits of armor worth, anyway?”

  “There was a water pail full of uncut rubies. Another half pail of raw emeralds, plus forty bars of gold, and that much more gold dust.”

  Bo shook his head as if impressed by the amount. “Damn, you guys really did find the Spanish gold.”

  “Yes, they did.”

  “What will those others do with their share?”

  “Lisa says most will go get drunk and spend their money on some loose-morals women.”

  Bo laughed. “Man, oh man, I had less money than that and stayed drunk all the time. Whew, am I glad that is over for me.”

  “It better be. But I will have no control after I pay them.”

  “Any of them want ranches?”

  “You can come out and talk to them.”

  “I could find them some great small ranches.”

  “When do you want to come out?” Chet asked him.

  “I’ll send word. I am going to the courthouse and straighten out this rustler deal for you. I’ll have an answer by morning. Those judges we have are all federal and they won’t let him do that.”

  “We’re going to have lunch at the Palace Bar. I’m buying. You want to join us?”

  “No, I told my wife, I’d pick up some things for her at noontime.”

  “Tell her we said howdy.”

  They drove downtown after leaving Bo’s office.

  “Bo has bought you lots of land, hasn’t he?” Cole asked.

  “It all turned out pretty good. The folks on them had all gotten deeds but there was no way to make a living out there. He bought them cheap enough. They are going to all be fenced this winter and we will cut more hay off them next year. Toby and his wife and his Mexican help can put up more hay than anyone I know. But he’s up to nearly a dozen mowing machines, rakes, beaver boards, and twice that many teams of horses. They break mustangs in the winter and use them for teams. He has hay stacked all over that country on the rim and he sells lots of it off the homesteads that Bo bought cheap.”

  “We brought that wife of his, Talley, back, too,” Cole said, shaking his head. “And your wife Elizabeth said she’d grow up. I doubted it. I know she works harder than he does now. They are a pair I couldn’t believe ever would make it running a ranch.”

  “They damn sure do it. I appreciate all my help, guys. But those two are damn sure neat at getting after it.”

  “If Bo gets this straightened, what do we need to do up here?” Cole asked.

  “I should go see Toby and Talley. Then go over east and see the Wagon Wheel.”

  “I can go with you starting next week.”

  “Jesus?”

  “I’ll be ready then, too.”

  “I don’t know Lisa’s plans but she may ride along.”

  Cole agreed, so did Jesus, and the matter was settled over lunch in the Palace Bar.

  On Thursday Bo came out to the ranch and he met with Cole and Valerie, Jesus and Anita, plus Hampt and May in Lisa’s living room

  “You folks getting this money, I want to tell you I have several ranches for sale if you are interes
ted.”

  “Bo, May and I have a new family. These two babies will need a place somewhere. We helped her sons get into what they wanted to do. And we will do the same for them.”

  “Sure, I understand.”

  “I don’t need another ranch right now. One is enough,” Jesus said. His wife agreed with a nod.

  Cole said, “I am plenty pleased to be back in the foreman business here. Val and I will bank our money, too.”

  “Thanks. All of you know who I am and what I do. Anytime I can help, call on me.”

  “We can go to the Verde Ranch tomorrow, if you can come, Bo,” Chet said.

  “Thanks. I’ll be here in the morning. Lisa, you may be wrong about half of them,” Bo teased her.

  “You haven’t heard from them all.” She laughed and spoke to Chet’s son Rocky. “Did your dad tell you I wanted to give you two colts that we brought down from the North Rim?”

  “Yes, he did. Thank you. I hope they make good horses.”

  “They will. They’re real mustangs.”

  Rocky smiled at his stepmother. “Hear that?”

  Valerie nodded and then shook her head at him. “I still say they will kick you.”

  Both women laughed.

  CHAPTER 9

  Bo gave him the report the next morning when he arrived at the ranch.

  Dear Chet,

  Two of the rustlers have already been removed from Prescott by officials from other law agencies. But officials will prosecute the remaining four. You were right. They wanted to save court costs and had not considered another court might find them not guilty and they would get off scot-free.

  Chet went on to the house while Bo stopped to talk to Chet’s foreman Vance.

  “What does it say?” Lisa asked, pouring him coffee while he read the note.

  “The four left will stand trial. Bo said the prosecutor admitted the original plan was to save the county court expenses.”

  Lisa shook her head. “You have to watch everything, don’t you?”

  “Yes. I don’t think the prosecutor wanted them loose. He figured how they’d save the cost of more trials and the rustlers would still be behind bars elsewhere.”