Conagher (1969) (5 page)

He swung toward the light as it fel l across the horses, and he blew shrilly, i n challenge as well as in astonishment. H
e was not beautiful, but stocky and strong , with an ugly head and teeth that flashed a s he rolled his eyes toward the light. Hi s mane was tangled and wild, and he swun g from the corral and faced the light , bobbing his head and pawing the har d earth with fierce, challenging strokes.

Then he swung suddenly and, nipping a t the nearest horse, drove his herd from th e yard.

For a long time she stood there , listening to the receding pound of thei r hoofs, and then she went to the corral.

The horses in the corral were wild an d frightened, drawn by the wildness of th e mustang stallion, but shuddering wit h fear, too. She talked to them calmly , replacing the one bar that had bee n knocked from the gate. She had know n there were wild horses out there on th e plains, but these were the first she ha d seen. For a long time she remembered tha t stallion, and the wild look in his eyes as h e stared at her.

The cabin door, when she closed an d barred it, was a comforting thing.

The days grew colder. Evie spent much o f her time out with the children, gatherin g fuel from the hillsides. Ancient cedars ha d fallen, leaving their gray, gnarled, an d twisted limbs on the broken rocks of th e steep slope. They dragged them down t o the cabin, picking up twigs, branches . . .
a ll that could be found.

Sometimes Laban or Ruthie woul d saddle Nathan, their appaloosa gelding , and ride out to rope and drag home tre e trunks or heavy limbs from farther away , building a slowly growing pile of fue l against the coming cold.

It was on a frosty morning that Charli e McCloud turned the stage into the yar d and swung down to open the door for th e passengers. There were four that morning, two ladies from the Eastand the y were ladies , well gotten up for the tim e and the place, and two men who looke d tough and capable. Both wore busines s suits, wide hats and boots, and the taller o f the two wore a United States marshal'
s badge.

Charlie reached into the boot and too k out an armful of newspapers and magazines , and a couple of books .
Som e of them are beat-up, Mrs. Teale , he said , but there's some readin' fo r you .

Inside the house, Evie quickly put foo d on the table, and then asked the women , Would you prefer tea? I have some .

Would you, please ?
said the olde r one .
I mean, if it isn't asking too much.

The coffee . . . it's so strong?

They like it strong out here. They sa y if you can't float a horseshoe on it th e coffee is too weak .

When she had tea on the table she wen t to the cupboard and got out a plate o f cookies.

McCloud stared at them .
Mrs. Teale , you been holdin' out on us. Those are th e first cookies I've seen you make .

I didn't know you liked them. I ofte n make doughnuts, too .

Better not let it get around , Charli e said , or you'll have half the cowboys i n the Territory hangin' around . . . ridin' fo r miles to get here .

You will have to forgive us , Evie sai d to the ladies .
The place is rathe r primitive. Next year we hope to add to th e cabin so we will have more room .

I love your view , the younger woma n said. She was no more than nineteen, wit h large eyes and long lashes .
Mrs. Teale, I am Lucy Baker, and this is my aunt , Celestine Scott. We are from Philadelphia , and we're going to Prescott. We're lookin g for my brother .

He lives in Prescott ?

No, that was the last address we ha d for him. That . . . that was two year s ago .

Two years? The way people travel i n this country he might be anywhere. Wha t is his name ?

Scott Baker . . . you'd know him easily.

He's tall, and has dark, tight curls. There'
s a small scar on his cheek bone,and he has a beautiful smile. He's always making fu n . . . they used to say he was wild, but tha t was just his way .

If he comes by, I'll speak to him , Evi e said .
You leave me your address .

Suddenly she noticed the tall man wit h the marshal's badge. His expression wa s odd, and he was stirring his coffee ver y busily. The other man was looking dow n at his plate.

The marshal looked up then and said , Miss, if you want to stop around th e Plazathat's the next town down th e lineyou might run into him. I couldn'
t say for sure, but there's a man aroun d there called Curlyhe seems to fit th e description .

Evie's head came up sharply and her ey e caught that of the marshal, who slowl y shook his head.

Scott Baker . . . curly hair . . . Curl y Scottl She had heard Charlie McClou d speak of him. Curly Scott was one of th e Parnell gang, wanted by Wells Fargo fo r stage holdups. There were five of them , sometimes six, and they were a toug h outfit.

Smoke Parnell was a lean, lath of a ma n with a long, hatchet face who had com e west from the Bald Knob country o f Missouri. He was a dead shot with a rifle , and a fair hand with a short gun. He ha d come into the Territory from Nevada an d was suspected of a stage holdup in Blac k Canyon, south of Prescott. The gang wa s also wanted for raiding several minin g operations, and for at least one killin g during the course of a robbery.

Your brother been out here long ?
th e marshal asked.

Oh, he came out about three year s ago , Lucy Baker said .
He wanted t o leave school and try mining for a while. H
e had a mine somewhere in the Mogollons .

She pronounced the word with a n emphasis on the ?goll?and not as it wa s spoken in the area, as ?Muggyowns .
I don't know how successful he has been , but when we did not hear from him for s o long, we were worried . . . and my aun t wanted to come west, anyway .

Evie poured her own cup of tea and sa t down at the table while the marshal an d his companion went outside to talk t o Charlie McCloud. She was starved for th e companionship of women, and she longe d to talk to them. While she was taking i n their clothes her heart went out to them a s she thought of the shock it would be fo r them to learn that Curly Scott was a n outlaw.

I love it here , she said suddenly .
I think there is something here, somethin g more than all you see and feel. . . it's in th e wind.

Oh, it is very hard !
she went on .
I miss women to talk to, I miss the things w e had back Eastthe band concerts, th e dances. The only time when we see anyon e is like now, when the stage comes. But yo u do not know what music is until you hav e heard the wind in the cedars, or the far-of f wind in the pines. Someday I am going t o ge t on a horse and ride out there, sh e pointed toward the wide grass befor e them?until I can see the other side ... i f there is another side .

What about the Indians? Aren't yo u afraid of them ?
Lucy Baker asked.

So far we haven't seen any. We hea r rumors. The Apaches are raiding to th e south of us, but so far they haven't com e up here. We will have to face that when th e time comes .

Long after they were gone Evie coul d hear the sound of their voices. At the en d the two women had talked of clothes an d fashions, of the theater, and of schools.

She would stop often and look out ove r the plains, which grew blue and then a dusky purple as evening came, and sh e would try to remember all that had bee n said.

She wished she could have warned the m about Curly. They would stop in th e Plaza, but the marshal would be there, too , and if Curly heard they were there h e would ride in to meet them.

Early the following morning Laban ha d gone to feed the stock. Ruthie had gon e with him, and Evie was finishing th e morning dishes. She dried her hands o n her apron, and almost automatically he r eyes lifted to the hills.

She saw the Indians at once. There wer e a dozen of them, and they were comin g single file down the mountain. Ther e were no squaws among them, jus t warriors, and they were stripped fo r action.

Laban
!
she called .
Come to th e cabin! Both of you! Come quickly !

Laban straightened up and started t o protest, then he caught Ruthie by th e shoulder .
Let's go , he said.

She jerked her shoulder free .
Don't b e so bossy !
she said.

Ruth
!
Evie spoke sharply .
Come ...
n ow !

Ruthie started to speak to assert he r independence, but Laban just scooped he r up in his arms and carried her to the cabin , kicking and arguing.

He dropped her at the door and sh e started to run back .
What is it, ma ?

Laban asked.

Indians
, Evie said .
They are comin g down the mountain. You'd better come in , Ruth .

Ruthie turned sharply, looked up at the , mountain, and then, her face suddenl y white, she ran into the cabin. Laba n stopped to gather an armful of wood. H
e came in and went to the back of the cabi n closed the strong wooden shutters. Ther e were loop holes in the walls through whic h they could fire. Evie put the bar close t o the door, but left the door open par t way.

Her heart was pounding and her lip s were dry .
Laban , she said , they mus t not know we are alone here, and they mus t not know we are frightened .

All right, ma
.

He was standing in the middle of th e room, looking around. There was nothin g that remained to be done.

They will try to take the horses , h e said.

Yes. We must stop them if we can .

The Indians rode suddenly into th e yard, and drew up when they saw he r standing in the door. Laban was poise d behind it, ready to slam it shut and dro p the bar.

What is it you want ?
Evie asked.

Grub
, one of them said .
You give u s grub .

I am sorry. I have none to spare .

Ruthie took up the rifle Charli e McCloud had brought to them and sli d the muzzle through a loop hole.

You give us grub or we take horses.

We take cow
.

Ride on
, Evie ordered , ride on now!

We do not want trouble, but you must no t come here like this. I do not like threats.

Go now
.

They looked at her. Their horses shifte d position, and one Indian rode slowl y around the cabin.

She stood very still, the shotgun held i n the fold of her dress, concealed by it. Sh e sensed they were not sure. They could se e the muzzle of one gun, and she seeme d very confident.

One of the Indians turned his pony an d started for the horse corral.

Tell that man to leave the horse s alone , she said clearly.

Suddenly, they charged.

What warned her, she never knew.

Perhaps it was the tensing of muscle s before the horses lunged. They were no t forty feet from the door when they started.

She lifted the shotgun and fired fro m the hip . . . there was no time to raise i t further. Then she stepped back so quickl y she almost tripped, and Laban slamme d the door and dropped the bar.

Bodies crashed against the door and sh e opened the loop hole in the heavy door an d fired the shotgun through it.

She heard a scream, then a scattering.

Laban leaped to take the rifle from Ruthi e and fired almost without aiming.

You got one, ma , Ruthie said .
Yo u killed one of them. There's anothe r bleeding something awful .

Laban not only had the rifle, but was a good shot. He was watching the horse s while Ruthie and Evie moved from loo p hole to loop hole to see what wa s happening.

All was quiet outside. The one India n lay sprawled in the yard, a pool of bloo d under him and around him. The shotgu n blast had caught him not more tha n twenty feet off, for he was coming at the m when she fired. The heavy charge o f buckshot must have nearly cut him in two.

Suddenly Laban fired the rifle again.

The corral stood out in the open, and i t was not easy to approach it without bein g seen.

Ma
, Laban said , it's almost time fo r the stage. They'll be here when it comes .

The stage . . . she had forgotten abou t the stage.

Ruthie
, she said , go up in the lof t and keep a watch out on the road. Whe n you see it coming, call down to Laban an d he can start shooting .

What if there's nothing to shoot at ?

Laban asked.

Shoot anyway. It will warn them o n the stage. Shoot where you think you'd b e if you were an Indian .

Going to the fireplace, she made coffee , put the bean pot close to the fire to warm , and then sliced some meat. The chance s were the stage would go right on through , but if they did stop, they must have war m food and hot coffeeabove all, they woul d want coffee.