Dark Journey Home (19 page)

Back in her room, after bidding Maria goodnight, and
informing her traveling companion, and assistant, that she had been just a bit
overly helpful during the meal, and they had both snickered at that thought,
and Maria had gone to her own room, to await her husband, Ricardo’s, return,
from his ‘night out’ with Logan, Olivia began reading the two missives from her
brother, Garth.  Her uncle had told her that he would talk to her about what
Garth had written in the morning.

It was after midnight when Ricardo tapped lightly on
the door of his and Maria’s hotel room, at the far end of the upstairs hallway,
after he had first made sure that no one had followed him.  Clad in her
nightgown, with a light shawl thrown over her shoulders, she opened the door,
then, after Ricardo had stepped inside, Maria immediately sniffed, then looked
him over very closely, before accepting his kiss.

“Why are you checking me over like that, my love?”  He
grinned, then, “You know that I would carry no woman’s essence other than
yours.  I was with Logan at the three saloons in town, and he will agree that I
was the picture of loyalty to my wife.  Now Logan, he is another story.  The señoritas
and señoras alike would not let him be.  He would literally charm the rouge
from their lips.  But I, no, I saved all of my many charms for you, my lovely
Maria.”

“Ha!” Maria laughed, “The charm, no?  It oozes from
the pores of your skin, like sweat.  There is no control over that.  But as
long as you come home to me, I suppose this evening was for a good cause.”  She
became serious then.  “Just what did keep you so long, my husband?  Did you and
Logan find out anything about Lord Beckford’s rancho, the Triple-B?”

“Your caballero husband just may be a working man, as
of mañana, so let us get some rest, as I will need to arise early, probably
pull Logan’s weak bones out of the proverbial sack also.  The poor gringo is
not used to the strong tequila, and no doubt will be feeling a bit poorly about
this time.”  He laughed heartily at that thought.

After Ricardo had gone on ahead to the Coyote Springs
hotel, Logan made a believable showing of a drunken swagger, as he slowly made
his way across the darkened dirt road towards the picturesque two-story
building, with its various flowering pots of geraniums hugging the walkway
edges, along with red verbena plants and yellow African daisies fighting for
growing space throughout the small yard. 

The spreading branches of a nearby mesquite tree threw
a dark moonlit shadow across the entrance, as Logan opened the door, then
entered the hotel lobby.  Seeing that the desk clerk was not on duty at that
time, Logan quickly ascended the stairs, taking two at a time, then checked the
upstairs hallway, and tapped lightly on Lord Beckford’s door, which was the
next room just past his own. 

“It’s me….Logan.  Claude, are you still up?”  He said,
in a low voice, after being asked who it was at the door.  Then when the door
was opened, Logan stepped into the small room, then, shutting the door, he
nodded at the older Englishman.

“I waited up for you, Logan, as I had told you I
would.”  Lord Beckford clasped Logan’s hand, motioned him to take a seat on the
upholstered chair next to a small round table, and asked, “Did you find out
anything useful to us?”

Logan
grinned,
“Ricardo and I just may be hired on as hands at the Triple-B in the morning. 
That is, if I can sober up in time to ride out there.”

“Well, you must have put on quite a show then.” 
Claude chuckled quietly, then raised an eyebrow, “Sober up?  You?  Well, that
was the game you played, right young chap?”  At Logan’s nod, he continued with
his questions, “Just who did you and Ricardo run into in those saloons
tonight?”

Logan
muffled a yawn,
as he leaned back in the high-backed chair before answering.  “Sorry about
that, Claude, it’s been a long day……..and night.  That stuff that Ricardo
drinks like it was water, well, that goes a long ways.  Tequila…… though you
have probably never heard of it.  Let me warn you now, if you are ever offered
a snifter of it……don’t take it.”

Lord Beckford chuckled at Logan’s statement, then, “Well? 
Was it worth it?”

“Ricardo and I ended up in a dive called ‘Hank’s Red
Eye Saloon’.  Of course we pretended to have just met as we stood at the bar. 
I bought him a drink, and then he procured a bottle.  We ended up sitting at a
table near a group of fellas who were playin’ cards.  I acted like I’d been
drinkin’ a lot, but after a few swigs of that strong stuff Ricardo swears by, I
really did feel a buzz coming on.  Not so much though as I put on.”  Logan stifled another yawn, and Beckford told him, “Maybe you should turn in for the night
Logan, my boy.  Can’t handle the stuff any more, can you?”  He had seen that
the young man was having trouble staying awake.

“No, sorry.  I haven’t had a drink of alcohol for over
eight years, and over at Hank’s place, it had gotten to the point that I almost
didn’t have to pretend any more.”  Logan laughed.  “I don’t believe I’ll be a
steady customer of Hank’s, that’s for sure.  I do need to finish telling you
what we learned tonight though.  Ricardo and me, well, we, as I said, were
sitting near a table where the ‘ramrod’ of the outfit, the foreman that is, and
three of the hands were sitting, engaged in a friendly game of cards.  The
spread they work for is the ‘Triple-B’.  Sound familiar?”

At Claude’s interested nod, Logan continued, “The
foreman’s name is Jinx Holderman, and I wouldn’t bet on his being the
‘straightest’ pretzel in the jar.  In other words, he doesn’t appear to be that
upstanding of a citizen.  Tough hombre, and mean looking.  He didn’t bother to
introduce the other three men, but my bet is that they’re just honest hands
anyway.  The ranch needs a few extra hands for roundup soon.  There’s also some
mustangs that need to be broke to the saddle.  It’s been a long time since I’ve
done that kind of ridin’ but this must be my lucky week, as we told Holderman
that we’d be there in the morning.”

Lord Beckford was thoughtful a moment, then said, “Be
careful Logan, and tell Ricardo the same for him too.  No holding of mine would
be worth the loss of either one of you boys.”  At Logan’s nod, he continued,
“Anyway, try to get back here in a few days.  You shouldn’t need more than two
or three days at the most, to find out what we need to know.  The main thing is
to find out if there is someone on the property who is pretending to be the
owner, and if they are living in the house, which is supposed to be kept up by
a housekeeper only.   I’ll know what to do about the situation as soon as you
two report back to me.  It could be that they have quite a little scheme going
here, and never dreamed that I would travel all the way from England to view my property.  The attorney has been sending me monthly reports, but they
could have two sets of records too.  He has never mentioned anything about any
cattle sales either.   I didn’t think to bring my deed with, as it’s locked up
in a safe back in London.  Didn’t think I’d need it, and it would take weeks to
have it sent here.” 

He put his hand on Logan’s shoulder, and then
continued, “You get some rest, young man.  And as I have said, I’ll stay here
with my niece and Maria until you and Ricardo return.  Make up some kind of an
excuse as to why you aren’t staying on, but get back here.  Oh, and don’t break
your fool neck while riding those mustangs.” 

Logan
chuckled, then
stood and walked to the door.  Stifling another yawn, he turned and said, “You
know, Claude, if things get a little difficult, we can notify the law about
what’s going on.  Only if necessary though.”

“Yes, well, this is a nice attractive little town, on
the outside anyway, but it remains to be seen as to what is going on inside. 
The fewer folks who know who we are, the better for now.  Although Garth did
mention in his last wire that we should send a letter to the Texas Rangers’
office in Austin.  Only if we need them though.”

“Yes,” Logan offered, “I’m inclined to agree with your
nephew.  But we’ll know more in a few days.  I have a good friend who’s a
ranger, though I haven’t been in touch with him for quite a few years.  Not
sure if he still wears a badge, or not.  If you do notify the Texas Rangers,
though, you will need some kind of proof of your accusations too.”  Logan stepped into the hallway, then spoke quietly, “Well, goodnight, sir.”

“Night, Logan.  And good luck.”

Logan
was more than
ready to turn in for the night.  Though when he had stepped into the hallway,
he had noticed the light shining under Olivia’s door, which was next to her
uncle’s, and wondered if she had heard him talking to Claude.  He didn’t know
how thin the walls were.  Well, he’d missed seeing her at dinner, but then
neither he nor Ricardo were supposed to be acquainted with anyone in this town,
they needed to take care, for awhile anyway.  Olivia was a beautiful woman, and
he thought about her a lot, even dreamed of her sometimes.  But then as he had
told himself many a time, she lived in England.  He was an American.  They were
worlds apart.  What would he have to offer her?  Nothing, but a dream of owning
his own ranch someday.  Someday?  When would that be?  It seemed that lately
when he thought of his future, Olivia was always a part of those thoughts.  He
knew it was only a dream, but sometimes dreams help a man get by.    

Maybe at some point in the future, he would get to
return to Wyoming.  Home!  So far, it had been a long journey.  He’d get back
there yet.  He thought to himself, “Damn, though I’ll miss these folks when
they return to England.”  Then he glanced towards Olivia’s door again, before
walking back to his room.

<><><> 

Tired as he was, Logan had trouble sleeping that
night, and at daybreak he and Ricardo were at once in the saddle, heading out
of the picturesque town of Coyote Springs.  Only a few folks were outside, an
older man busy sweeping the wood plank porch in front of his hardware store,
and a buckboard drawn by a couple of mules was slowly creaking down the main
street, a farmer, wearing a battered straw hat, and  driving the wagon, 
appeared to be dozing,  not in any hurry to stop anywhere. 

The first rays of the morning sun had just risen over
the eastern hills, and Logan spoke to Ricardo, as they left the town behind. 
“Guess I should have had at least a cup of strong coffee before we left, but I
didn’t want to take the time.”

“Ah, amigo, I have about a fourth of a bottle of my
tequila in the saddlebags that might wake you up.”  Ricardo snickered at his
own joke.

Logan
retorted, “Very
funny.  But I don’t believe I’ll even answer that one.  You know, all those
years in captivity, all I dreamed about was being back in the saddle.  I can’t
believe I’m actually living that dream now.  I sure owe Lord Beckford and his
niece, and don’t believe I will ever be able to repay either one of them”

“Si, amigo.  I understand.  Speaking of Claude’s
niece.  She is one lovely lady, is she not?”

“I’ve noticed.”  Logan muttered.

“Well?”  Ricardo pushed the point.

“Enough, my Spaniard friend.  She is not for me.” 

Ricardo laughed, “Just a thought, amigo, just a
thought.  But I have seen you eyeing the señorita a time or two.  I won’t say
more.”

Logan
was riding tall in
the saddle on his roan horse that had the four white stockings, and Ricardo
rode his sturdy two-year old pinto, as they now followed the narrow trail to
the south and west.  They’d been told that the Triple-B was about an hour’s
steady ride from town.  The air was crisp and cool as they rode at a steady
pace, and the horses were fresh and eager to take to the trail, after a good
rest at the local stables, with plenty of oats to satisfy their hunger.  Logan
and Ricardo had insisted on good treatment for the horses.

“How’s the head, mi amigo?”  Ricardo joked.  “I should
think that a night on the town, after so many ‘dry’ years, would cause you
unending pain.”

“Actually, my sadistic friend, sorry to disappoint
you, but my head doesn’t hurt nearly as much as I would have expected.”  Logan lied, and he really hadn’t slept well either, but he would never admit it to his
friend.  He needed that cup of hot coffee, and realized that he should at least
have stopped for one cup.  He hoped they had a pot on at the ranch. 

Logan
looked over at
Ricardo, and said, “If you’ll remember, you yourself are the one who swallowed
most of that bottle last night.”