Blood on Mcallister (12 page)

He turned back to McAllister and saw a man go up to him and start speaking. It was a small shock to see that it was Billy Gage. He knew then that Billy was telling McAllister what had happened out on the trail. Still, no harm done. McAllister wouldn't be lasting long after he had beaten Gage.

A cheer went up at the sight of the champion. Billy turned and grinned at them, waving a hand above his head. Then he went back to talking earnestly to McAllister who listened gravely with bent head.

Shultz's eyes shifted through the crowd, found Rigby and his daughter. There was a filly for you …

Billy Gage was saying: ‘So now I know you was telling the truth, Rem. It was Shultz attacked you in the hotel. But I swear I don't know who the other man was.'

McAllister raised his head and looked at him.

‘You goin' to throw it, Billy?'

‘No, I'm not. I'm going to beat you. Then I'm packing this game in.' McAllister raised his eyebrows. ‘I'm going to marry Pat Rigby and I'm going into the cattle business.'

McAllister whistled and said: ‘By God, that was quick work.'

‘Oh,' Billy said, ‘she don't know yet.'

McAllister laughed and Rosa smiled. Then McAllister sobered and said: ‘I want you to promise me one thing, Billy. If you win, you an' me stay together till Shultz leaves town. I think he'll kill you like he says. An' there won't be just him. There's somebody else in cahoots with him we don't know.'

Billy slapped McAllister on the arm and said: ‘That's a deal.' He walked across the open space and Shultz walked to meet him, all smiles for the sake of the crowd. They met out of earshot of the people and Shultz, still smiling, said:
‘You do like I say or I'll kill you like I said, boy. I mean it, don't fool yourself I don't.'

Billy looked him in the eye.

‘I know you mean it,' he said. ‘Just the same, to hell with you.'

Shultz continued to grin like a maniac. He was sweating now. Seeing all that money going down the drain. If they had been alone his rage would have driven him to draw his gun and cut the boy down right there and then.

‘I'll plant the lead in your guts,' he said through his teeth. ‘It'll be slow and hard.'

Billy walked away from him to the edge of the crowd and started to peel off his outer clothing.

Martin Krantz paced slowly around the outskirts of the crowd, nodding here, speaking there, his sharp eyes assessing the mood of the day. The people were good-humored enough now and not much liquor had been drunk, but later when money had been lost and won things could change.

He noticed Carl Brenell and three of his men, which meant that the majority of the outfit was still out on the range. Mart didn't like that. This would be a good time to start real trouble. Another fact that worried him was that Cal Clancy, Carl's foreman, had ridden out of town thirty minutes ago.

He pushed his way through the crowd and came to the space that had been roped off for the contestants. In the center of this were two posts some fifteen feet apart with a light wand joining them. This was for the first contest, the standing jump. Little more than a warming up.

The judge and the mayor came forward dressed in their best, the mayor strutting importantly as usual. The mayor held up his hands for silence when the crowd gave him a half-ironic cheer and the hubbub died away to a murmur. The mayor then made a speech that was several times too long, welcoming the contestants and the crowd started to get restless. When the mayor finished, he was booed and cheered. Not far from Mart a cowhand yipped and fired a gun in the air. Mart moved quickly, reached the man and suggested that firearms be kept where they ought to be on an occasion like this. The man complied with a poor grace. Mart drifted away, hearing the drone of the judge's speech as the
old man told the listening crowd the rules. In this contest, it had been agreed between the participants that each man should jump until one failed to do so. He would be then allowed two more attempts before he was declared beaten.

McAllister and Billy Gage walked forward and shook hands. There wasn't much to choose between them as they stood there, grinning faintly at each other, shaking hands. McAllister's body gleamed darkly, lean and hard, narrow in the waist, broad in the shoulder, contrasting with Billy Gage's fairness. McAllister stood maybe an inch taller and his reach was a mite longer. Billy looked bulkier, the muscles of his torso and arms showed massively, but there was not much to chose between the two of them. Everybody reckoned they were going to have a good contest Bets were still being shouted.

McAllister gestured for Billy to make the first jump. The fair man walked forward, stood squarely in front of the jump, feet together. The crowd went quiet as he concentrated, bracing his muscles and suddenly bunching his body up and then exploding into the leap. He cleared the jump by several inches and a sigh went through the crowd. They cheered him and he grinned. McAllister came forward, the knife wound showing lividly on his body, took up the same position as his opponent and made the jump. He tipped the wand as he went over, the crowd held its breath as they thought the wand would fall but it did not. They cheered, but the people who had bet on him started their first frowns. A man who couldn't do better than that at a first attempt was a doubtful from the start.

The wand was raised an inch. Billy came forward, made his jump easily and got another cheer. McAllister approached the jump, made it and just cleared it. He looked like he was sweating profusely now. People were starting to talk about the scar on his side. Those that had bet on him hadn't known about that, they said. By God, how could an injured man hope to win a contest like this? The betting started to go against him at once.

The jump was raised again. Billy made it with the same ease as before. McAllister knocked it down this time. There were sounds of disgust all round. The judge came forward and declared that McAllister might make three more
tries. McAllister made two more and failed them all. They could see now that he was bathed in sweat. The judge declared that McAllister had one last chance and if he failed, this part of the contest would go to Billy Gage.

McAllister came forward and stood before the wand. His face was wooden. He braced himself, crouched his body for the leap and snapped into the air.

There was a dead silence.

He landed with both feet on the wand and snapped it. The crowd roared, men laughed, cursed and cheered. Billy Gage was dancing around waving both hands above his head and laughing.

McAllister grinned wryly. The jump was taken away and a large rock was brought into the arena. The sheriff was busy clearing the people back from the southern end of the open space. Betting was furious now.

Billy went up to McAllister and said: ‘You go first this time, Rem.'

McAllister told him: ‘No, you first, I never did this before in my life. I want to see how it's done.'

Billy looked surprised and walked to the rock, hefted it with one hand and braced it against his shoulder. McAllister watched each move carefully, trying not to miss a single point. With the rock in his right hand, Billy curved his body back to the right and started to circle within a circle which had been drawn in the dust. Then he swung quickly around, seemed to give a little skip and straightened his right arm. The rock shot away like a shot out of a catapult. McAllister was impressed. Billy's feet hadn't crossed the line of the drawn circle.

A man ran and put a peg in the ground where the rock
had fallen. He picked the rock up in both hands and brought it back to McAllister.

‘Beat that,' he said with a grin.

McAllister wondered if he could. His side was aching furiously from the effort put into the jumping and he didn't feel so good. He knew that Rosa was looking at him anxiously and he thought:
Damn all women. They fuss so.
He seemed to bring out the mother in them.

He took the stone in his right hand in the way he had seen Billy do and did his best to imitate Billy's actions. He made a good follow through with his right arm and hurled the rock into space. It landed a foot further on than Billy's. The crowd went crazy again and those who had bet against McAllister started to worry. Rosa, he could see, was jumping up and down and slapping her hands together. Pat Rigby made a face at him.

Billy came forward for his second effort and this time he lobbed the rock another foot on from McAllister's throw. McAllister put a supreme effort into his next throw and was successful. The rock fell a yard beyond Billy's throw. The crowd was frantic now; men were throwing their hats in the air and several shots were fired into the air. Billy came forward and just beat McAllister by a matter of inches. McAllister was a little worried now, guessing that he had reached his capacity already and could not out-do himself. He was right. When he threw this time, the rock fell short of his previous throw. He made three unsuccessful attempts to beat his own shot, but failed more miserably each time and by now his side was pretty uncomfortable. The crowd was beside itself. Billy came and slapped him on the back, pleased with himself. Pat Rigby was dancing on tiptoe and cheering. Rosa looked like she was ready to cry. McAllister didn't feel too bad about it; there were three to go yet.

The mayor came bustling up.

‘Well, how do you feel, boys. Fisticuffs before or after noon?'

McAllister and Billy looked at each other. Billy shrugged.

‘Now,' said McAllister.

The fourth side of the open space quickly filled with people again. Ropes were put up to form a square ring. Rosa was at the front, watching McAllister anxiously. Pat Rigby was
on the other side of the ring bestowing bright smiles on Billy Gage.

The judge came forward.

‘You understand the rules, boys. There's not much to ‘em. You win by a knockout or a knockdown for a count of ten. No kicking, gouging, biting or holding. I ain't goin' to stand no nonsense. I want to see a good clean fight.'

The contestants shook hands. The crowd shouted and the two men squared off. McAllister decided to fight south-paw so that he could keep his injured side away from Billy. Straight off, even as they circled each other, he saw that the stance worried the other man. While McAllister was conscious of an unaccustomed tiredness, he saw that Billy was full of ginger and go. He knew that he would have to finish this quickly or he wouldn't finish it at all. He could hear Mart Krantz circling the ring, telling people to keep back. Over Billy's shoulder, he glimpsed Rosa's anxious face. This time, he'd show ‘em.

Billy feinted twice with the left and then jabbed the same fist at McAllister's face. He rode away from the punch easily and slammed his left into Billy's side. The fair boy fell back from this, but not far or fast enough, for McAllister snapped the same fist up into his face and rocked him on his heels. Before he could recover from this sudden onslaught, McAllister hit him one-two-three with left and right hard in the belly and over the heart. Billy managed to counter with a left to the face and McAllister retreated.

The crowd was suddenly beside itself with excitement now and were baying like hounds at the scent of blood.

Billy had been warned and he became more cautious. McAllister's speed and ferocity had obviously shaken him. They sparred and exchanged ineffectual blows for maybe two or three minutes when Billy thought he saw an opening and tried to break through it. McAllister sidestepped adroitly and hit Billy hard over the kidney as he went past him. The fair man fell to one knee, hurt, and the crowd howled.

‘Get up, Billy. Get up an' kill him.'

‘Finish him, McAllister.'

McAllister stood back, allowing the other man to rise, then sparred up and took the attack to him, pressing him hard with a pistoning right. Billy managed to get under this and drove
several good blows into McAllister's ribs and belly. Then they were in a clench and the judge was yelling for them to break. They pushed each other clear and Billy, hair over his eyes now and blood on his face, clipped McAllister lightly on the temple. McAllister brushed the fist aside with his right and swung a long left into Billy's belly. The blow knocked the wind out of the fair man, staggering him back, guard down completely for a moment. This was an opportunity McAllister couldn't afford to lose and he went in. He landed a couple of blows to the heart, but Billy covered quickly, managed to hold on and come back vigorously. In doing so he hit McAllister with his right on the knife wound. Pain flooded through McAllister and, for one terrible moment, he thought he would faint. He drifted back out of the fight, parrying blows and sidestepping, using his feet to save himself. Billy persisted, sensing that the mood of the fight had suddenly changed, and battered McAllister about the face and body.

McAllister fell forward against his opponent and they were in a clench again. The judge howled for them to break and both pushed each other clear. Billy danced on his toes, circling McAllister, still full of go, getting McAllister into a corner. McAllister countered this, got into the clear and darted into the attack again. He knew that he wouldn't last much longer and must finish it now.

Billy came in, feinted with the left and swung a hard right for McAllister's jaw. Had it contacted, it would have finished the fight. But McAllister moved his head the needed couple of inches to the left, caught Billy open and hit him hard with the right under the ribs. Billy gasped and leaned on him, but this time, McAllister didn't allow the clench. He stepped back and hit Billy one-two-three again, belly, heart and head.

The fair man staggered back, guard down, utterly demoralised suddenly, a dazed look in his eyes. McAllister jumped in, flat-footed and aimed for the jaw. It contacted and Billy hit the ground on his shoulders.

The judge started to count. The crowd jumped and roared.

Billy got to his hands and knees; the judge reached six and Billy was on his feet. He looked a mess, but he was ready to fight.