I'm Off to Montana for to Throw the Hoolihan (Code of the West) (2 page)

A man with bushy gray sideburns dropped his reins on his black horse’s neck. He leaned with both hands on the narrow rawhide-wrapped sa
ddle horn. “Howdy, folks. Looks like you all are movin’.”

Tap’s right hand rested on the receiver of his rifle. “Yep.”

“You movin’ in or out of this country?”

“We’re moving in,” Pepper announced.

Tap studied the eyes of each man. He figured at least two had been drinking. They were the ones ready to make a play for their guns. “I reckon you boys are headed back to the ranch. What outfit you ride for?”

“Where we work ain’t none of your business, mister.” The clean-shaven spokesman stared at Pepper. “You folks must have made a wrong turn at the river. There ain’t no farmin’ land up this way.”

“We didn’t make any mistake. We’ve got a place up the trail a piece,” Tap insisted.

The oldest of the four men who looked about forty spat a wad of tobacco juice over the top of his chestnut horse’s head. “Maybe you farmers don’t understand. We don’t want you up in this country. There ain’t no farmland available. You come up here and try to stake a claim on ranch country, you’ll get you
rself hurt. We’re just tryin’ to help you. So turn the wagon around and mosey on up the river. Maybe there’s some farmland left down there near Billings.”

“This here gray gelding is a fine-lookin’ horse,” the fourth man called out. “Ain’t no farm horse. I’ll buy him from you for ten cash dollars, mister.”

“The horses aren’t for sale.” Tap’s brown eyes met Angelita’s dark brown ones. He nodded slightly toward the back of the wagon.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me,” the man at the rear of the wagon began. “I said I was goin’ to—”

“Angelita,” Tap interrupted in a loud, commanding voice, “if he touches either horse of mine, aim that Greener at his belly and pull the trigger.”

She stood up. The blanket dropped. The shotgun pointed at the man. The man with the bushy gray sideburns went for his revolver, but Tap’s cocked rifle slammed into the man’s wrist and rested in his ribs.

“Don’t think for a minute she won’t pull the trigger. And I can shoot you at this range even if I’m dead,” Tap growled. “You boys want to have it out, let’s do it right now. Mister, you and your horse-stealin’ buddy in the back are dead the minute the first shot is fired. So what’s it going to be?”

Pepper now pointed Tap's revolver at the clean-shaven man wea
ring wide suspenders. “I believe three of them are dead. Gentlemen, I do not intend to lose my baby’s father.”

Tap kept talking but he studied each man's position. “You caught us on a bad day, boys. We’re tired, sore, and a little short of patience. We just don’t feel like playin’ games. So if you’d like to go down in history as the gang wiped out by a man in a wagon, a woman about to go into labor, and a kid with a shotgun, be my guest.”

“Whoa, folks. We ain’t talkin’ about shootin’ anyone. No, sir,” sideburns explained.

“Oh, really?” Pepper let the hammer down slowly on Tap’s .44 and forced a smile.

“Oh, yeah, we wasn’t goin’ to shoot you or nothin’. Why, no, ma’am. Jist figured on scarin’ you out like the others.”

“Isn’t that nice, dear? They aren’t goin’ to kill us after all.” Tap raised the rifle until it was aimed at the man’s neck. “Boys, you’re liquored up and actin’ crazy. Now ride ahead of us, and remember this rifle and peep sight are good to at least 600 yards. You turn back or fire a shot, and I’ll drop you dead on the prairie quicker than you can say, ‘Texas fever.’ I don’t have much patience with men who go around threatenin’ women and children, so don’t push me.”

“Look, mister, you’re gettin’ in over your head. You don’t know who you’re dealin’ with,” one man growled.

“Tap,” Pepper sighed, “I’m really tired. Let’s just shoot ’em all now and go on to the ranch.”

“Tap?” the older man exclaimed. “You ain’t that there Tapadera Andrews, are you?”

Tap’s rifle was now aimed at the man’s head.

The thin, dark-skinned man cleared his throat. “You the one that cleaned out Cabe and Banner down in Wyomin’?”

“Yeah, me and Odessa. I suppose you’re going to tell me you’re a relative of theirs?”

“Shoot, no,” the man replied. “Cabe cheated me at cards once in El Paso, and we ended up in a knife fight. Relax, boys. This here is none other than Tap Andrews. I’m called Tennessee.”

“I’m Donnie-Bill,” the rear rider introduced himself. “I heard you stopped fifty men at the depot in Cheyenne City.”

“Me and Pepper and Angelita stopped ’em. But there weren’t fifty.”

“Did she say you were goin’ to a ranch?” Tennessee asked.

“Yeah, me and a friend are taking over the Slash-Bar-4.”

“You don’t say. We’re stayin’, I mean, workin’, the Po
thook-H just a little bit north of your range. We owe you all an apology. We had no business harassin’ our new neighbors, did we, Cow Town?”

“No, sir,” the clean-shaven man in the soiled black coat r
eplied. “We been into, eh, Miles City on a tear and ain’t thinkin’ real good. Now we’re headed to the ranch. Probably won’t get back down to town until spring.”

“We figured you for some more farmers,” Tennessee admi
tted.

“More farmers?” Tap asked.

“Some Quakers moved in at Badger Canyon. That’s up past your place. But don’t you worry about them none. Their crops burned mysterious-like a couple weeks ago. We figure they won’t last the winter.”

“Shoot, boys, this is a great day for ranchin’,” Donnie-Bill e
xclaimed. “when a gunslinger the likes of Tap Andrews moves in. Yes, sir, ought to stop any visitors from comin’ up from the south.”

Tap returned his rifle to his lap and took up the reins. “I didn’t say I was goin’ to stop any pilgrims. I aim to get along with all my neighbors, especially the God-fearin’ kind.”

“Even the sodbusters?”

“As long as it’s their land they’re bustin’. Now you boys ride on up there and keep out of our way. My wife needs some rest, and I don’t plan on any more delays.”

“Yes, sir," said Donnie-Bill.

They heard them muttering up ahead of them.

"Well, I’ll be.”

“Tapadera Andrews ranchin’ in Montana."

"Wait ’til I tell the others.”

Their voices started to fade when one mumbled, “It ain’t that big a deal. Ain’t like the Earp boys or Stuart Brannon was moving in on the range.”

Pepper chuckled. “Take me to my new home, Mr. Not-so-famous Gunman.”

Tap gazed at the departing men like a marshal studying a “wanted” poster. He steered the wagon onto the trail. “Those four don’t know beans about being drovers. Did you notice their saddle horns have never had any ropes tied to them, let alone dallied?”

“I guess I missed that.”

“They haven’t been to Miles City either. It’s too far away. No one could stay drunk that long, and no cowboy would have the patience to save his liquor to drink on the trail back to the ranch.”

“Tell me again about that featherbed that’s waitin’ for me,” Pepper replied.

“Tell us what our house is like,” Angelita pleaded.

“We’ve been over all that before,” Tap said.

“Please,” Angelita begged.

“I was only there one night. Lorenzo and me drove those 500 head into the headquarters around noon, and I left to come get you two by sunup the next day. But as I remember, there’s a nice wide veranda on all four sides, a front room about the size of our house in Pine Bluffs, and a big, long kitchen across the back.

"Stack has it completely furnished like some lodge for Eur
opean nobility. There’s a good-sized, well-stocked pantry and another fairly nice-sized room downstairs. I suppose it was the cook’s room or the maid’s room, something like that.”

“Do I get that room? All to myself?” Angelita pressed.

“Sorry, kid. You have to stay upstairs with the rest of the family.” Tap winked at Angelita. “I had Stack put a big oak table in the downstairs room so I can use it for an office.”

“Which upstairs bedroom do I get?”

“The big one at the front is for me, Mama, and the baby. You get your pick of the other three. One of ’em has a wardrobe closet big enough to corral a steer.”

“All I want to know about is the featherbed.” Pepper pulled her coat down over her shoulders and fanned her face with her hand. “Is it getting warmer?”

“Nope.”

“You should have let me swim across the Yellowstone. That would have cooled me off.”

“It wasn’t nearly deep enough.”

She pulled his revolver out and shoved it in his ribs. “And  what do you mean by that?”

“It wasn’t deep enough for anyone to do much swimming. Don’t take it personal.”

“When you look as big as a chuck wagon, you take ever
ything personal.”

“Tell us about the other buildings at the headquarters,” A
ngelita persisted.

“Again?”

“You haven’t told us since last night.”

“There’s a barn as big as the livery in Pine Bluffs. A blac
ksmith’s shop. A smokehouse. A bunkhouse that will accommodate a dozen men. A cook shack. And a cottage with a white picket fence around the backyard.”

“Is that where Mr. Odessa and Miss Selena live?”

“Lorenzo’s there now, but Selena is stayin' in Billings until their weddin’.”

“It’s hard to believe those two are gettin’ married.” Pepper pulled her coat back up to her neck. “They’ll make a lovely couple, provi
ding they don’t kill each other.”

“The ranch sounds like a whole town,” Angelita pondered.

“Our own little town where everything’s peaceful and safe. It does sound wonderful,” Pepper sighed.

“There’ll be plenty of hard work for all of us,” Tap ca
utioned.

“Mr. Andrews, if—and I do say if—I survive this pre
gnancy, I do believe I can survive anything.”

“I surely hope the rest of the kids don’t give their Mama this much trouble.”

“At this particular moment in history, it is beyond my wildest imagination I would ever go through this again.”

“Oh, you’ll change your mind.”

She laced her gloved fingers into his callused ones. “I have a horrible, sinking feeling you’re probably right. But at the moment, I just want to go home. Let me go to sleep in a soft, clean bed, and wake me up when Lil’ Tap is about six years old.”

“You’ll get some rest soon, Mama. We’ll be there in a couple of hours.”

“Rest? I need more than rest. I’m sitting on a hardwood bench with your son doing the splits and kicking me on both sides at the same time. I just can’t do anything with this child of yours.”

Tap waved his finger. “Young man, you settle down and mind your Mama right now.”

“Do babies hear anything when they’re in their mommies’ tummies?” Angelita asked.

“Probably not. But he did stop kicking.”

For several miles Tap had the collar of his canvas jacket turned up. Pepper pulled her coat down again and fanned herself. Angelita kept the wool blanket over her head to ward off the cold, mosquitoes, and dust.

The muffled, blanketed voice of Angelita broke the s
ilence. “I have another question.”

“What’s that, honey?” Pepper replied.

“Mr. Andrews calls you Mama already.”

“Yes?”

“And when little Tap or little Tapina gets big enough to talk, he’ll call you Mama, right?”

“I suppose.”

“In order to avoid a lot of confusion . . . I was just thinking . . . maybe it would make it simpler if I just called you Mama, too.”

Pepper wiped a sudden stab of tears. “I’d be honored to have you call me Mama, if that’s your dec
ision.”

“We all know you aren’t my mother,” Angelita quickly added. “My mama’s dead. But I just thought it might make things easier.”

“That’s mighty nice of you,” Tap responded.

“Thank you,” came the muffled reply.

Pepper slipped her arm around Angelita and drew her close. Angelita’s small brown hand reached out from under the Hudson’s Bay Company wool covering and rested on Pepper’s stomach.

“I’ve been waiting my entire life to have this kind of setup. When I was working the dance halls, I used to dream of this kind of life.”

“Darlin’, the Lord has done some wonderful things for you and me. Like savin’ us, allowin’ us to get married, bringin’ Angelita into our family, and givin’ us a friend like Stack Lowery with enough money from his gold mine to buy this ranch." He paused. "You see those boulders up there at the pass?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the beginnin' of the Slash-Bar-4.”

“You mean we’re almost there?” Angelita emerged from her wool cocoon.

“It’s quite a ways to the headquarters, but the rest of the journey will be on our place.”

The buildings at the Slash-Bar-4 stood on a knoll that sep
arated the mountain grazing land from the Yellowstone River basin. From it one could see the top of the Bull Mountains in the north and almost to the river in the south.