Luke's Gold (24 page)

John Slater paused when his eye caught sight of the two young people just approaching the far corner of the smaller corral. The sight of Cade and Elizabeth riding together served to displease him. Why, he wondered, was the man still here? He had remembered her telling him that Hunter was only there to see that she got to Deer Lodge safely. He should have been gone by now.

Slater had already made up his mind to possess Elizabeth Walker, having been obsessed with her ever since he first saw her in Butte. Willing to try wooing her with his rakish charm and obvious wealth, he didn't rule out taking her by force if it came to that. Whatever the means necessary, he intended to have her. When he learned that she was held in such high affection by Carlton Kramer, it made her all that more desirable—and the presence of Cade Hunter all the more intolerable. He could already feel the anger building inside him. The problem of the young cowhand would have to be resolved.

Realizing then that he had allowed a rather lengthy void to occur in the conversation, he brought his attention back to the question just asked him by Mr. Kramer. “You ask what my plans are for the property I just acquired next to yours,” he said. “Well, I plan to raise a few cattle, some horses, pretty much the same as you. There's nothin' on the land right now but a barn and a couple of shacks. I'm fixin' to start buildin' a proper ranch house and bunkhouse.” He didn't express his intentions to eventually drive Kramer out of the valley. “I just wanted to let you know that I plan to be a good neighbor. Maybe we could help each other out. With talk of the railroad comin' this way before long, there oughta be a call for a lot of beef to be shipped back east.”

Carlton Kramer considered himself a fair judge of men, and this man, Slater, struck him as an opportunist that one should be cautious in dealing with. Although he came proclaiming a desire to establish a state of cooperation between the two of them, Carlton thought it best to alert Ralph Duncan to keep his eye on any stock left to graze near the south property line. As far as the man who accompanied Slater, introduced as Ned Appling, he looked the part of a common thug, and never uttered a word during the entire conversation. In spite of his impression of his visitors, however, Kramer was a polite and reasonable man, so he told himself that first impressions were not always accurate. “I appreciate your dropping by to meet me, Mr. Slater. And of course I wish you success in your cattle business.”

“Before I go,” Slater said, taking Kramer's outstretched hand, “it would be impolite not to say hello to your niece. Elizabeth and I are acquaintances from Butte.”

“Elizabeth is not actually my niece,” Kramer replied, somewhat surprised that Elizabeth had any knowledge of John Slater, “but my wife and I have been like aunt and uncle to her since she was a small child.” His initial thought after Slater's remark was hope that Elizabeth was not overly fond of the man.

Slater took his leave, annoyed that he had not been invited in for dinner.
The son of a bitch thinks he's too good to break bread with me,
he thought.
Give me a year, and he'll be singing a different tune.
He and the sullen man accompanying him led their horses toward the corral to meet the young lady. Letting Cade take Glory's reins, Elizabeth started toward the house while he went to the barn to unsaddle the horses.

“Take a good look at that feller,” Slater said to Ned Appling. “I wanna make damn sure you remember him, 'cause you might be payin' him a visit later on.” Slater handed his reins to Appling. “Now, you go on over by the corral and wait for me.”

“Well, Mr. Slater,” Elizabeth called out, “you show up everywhere.”

“Afternoon, Elizabeth,” Slater said, removing his hat to reveal his dark hair, parted down the middle, and brushing the dust that had settled upon the shoulders of his coat. “I swear, you get prettier every time I see you.”

“Why, Mr. Slater, you're gonna have me blushing again. What brings you up this way? I thought you told me you would not be in Deer Lodge until next week.”

“I changed my mind. Like I told you the other day, I bought some property over on the other side of the mountain. There's only a couple of cabins on it now, but I'm gonna start a cattle ranch, and I'm gonna build the finest house in Montana, a house fit for a queen. The woman that lives in that house will live like a queen, too. Not like a woman who marries a down-on-his-luck cowhand.” He glanced toward the barn after the comment.

“My,” Elizabeth responded, “that sounds romantic. I didn't know you were married.”

“I ain't. But I aim to be, and I'm a man who gets what he aims at.” His dark, brooding eyes locked on hers, leaving no question as to who that person might be. He nodded toward the barn. “How long is your pa's hired hand gonna hang around?”

“Uncle Carlton asked him to stay and help break some horses,” she replied. Lowering her gaze from that of the outspoken man, Elizabeth preferred to remain coy, pretending not to recognize his obvious attempts to charm her. “Well, you sound very confident. I wish you luck in finding a wife.”

“Oh, I already found her. She just don't know it yet.”

“My, you
are
confident,” Elizabeth said, mildly shocked by the man's brazen persistence. Headstrong in her own fashion, she was not prone to be picked off the shelf like a can of peaches. Deciding it best to cut the meeting short, she said, “Well, Aunt Cornelia is waiting for me to help with dinner, and you're probably anxious to get back. It was nice to see you again.” With that, she turned and left him standing there to look after her as she walked away.

You little bitch,
he thought, his eyes focused on her slender body.
You might think you're too good for John Slater, but we'll see about that.
Turning to look at Ned Appling slouching by the corral, he ordered, “Come on, let's get the hell offa this place.”

At that moment, Cade walked out of the barn, on his way back to the horses in the other corral. His appearance in the barn door caused both men to stop, clearly measuring each other. A smug grin crossed Ned's face as he openly stared at Cade, sending a silent promise that there would be more between them. Although taking the measure of the man, Cade had no idea why he was being challenged, but the feeling in his gut told him that he definitely was.
Maybe he just doesn't like my looks,
he thought. Then, glancing from Appling to Slater, he thought,
Or maybe there's another reason.
Whatever, he had a feeling that he hadn't seen the last of Appling.

Oblivious to the sinister standoff behind her, Elizabeth ascended the porch steps to find a disapproving White Moon waiting for her at the top. “You play with fire,” the Indian woman scolded. “That man, Slater, has evil in his eye.”

Elizabeth laughed at her stern guardian. “He is kinda interesting in a rakish way,” she said, just to inflame White Moon. It served its purpose.

“That man is no good for you,” White Moon retorted sternly. She had not been really concerned about John Slater before, because she believed that Elizabeth was just being her impish self, and not really interested in the man. She had even teased her about the rich miner. Now she wanted to make sure that her young charge had her head on straight. “You'll get yourself in trouble if you keep wagging your tail in front of him.” Warmed up to the subject, she launched an attack on a second front. “Where did you go with Cade Hunter? You were gone a long time.”

Elizabeth grinned mischievously. “I took him to my secret place,” she answered coyly. “It was a beautiful morning for a ride.”

Exasperated, White Moon followed the precocious young lady into the house. “I'm going to tie you up and take you to your father,” she mumbled, causing Elizabeth to laugh. “Too much trouble for me,” White Moon said.

His stay of a couple of days stretched into one of several weeks, as Cade continued to work with the horses, and eventually take over most of the responsibility for breaking difficult animals. It suited Cade fine because it kept his day occupied with the horses, a task he always enjoyed. It also exempted him from performing the other chores delegated to a cowhand at the home ranch. Unlike herding cattle on the open range, there were many chores done while not in the saddle—mending fences, milking, tending chickens, repairing buildings, working the garden, and so on—chores that most cowhands didn't care for. There were some advantages, however—sleeping in a warm bunkhouse with a kitchen, and the town of Deer Lodge, with its saloons and bawdy houses within walking distance.

The Deer Lodge Valley was a land of lush grass and plenty of water, which made it suitable for raising cattle. Surrounded by mountains that protected the valley from much of the harsh weather, Cade could appreciate why Carlton Kramer had settled here. Life was peaceful for him again. He was seeing Beth at least once every day, and while he took this as happenstance, Ralph Duncan was astute enough to notice the various excuses the young lady found to warrant her presence at the horse ring. He made no comment, finding it amusing and harmless that the two young folks seemed to enjoy each other's company.

The Bar-K crew was a laid-back group of men, the best that Cade had ever worked with, no bullies and no malcontents. He had made one good friend that he would occasionally go into town with to have a glass of beer. Red Reynolds was close to Cade's age. A red-haired man from Nebraska, he earned the nickname Skunk when a wayward skunk wandered into the outhouse while Red was performing his morning ritual. The uninvited guest prompted Red to evacuate the outhouse while still in the process of evacuating his bowels, much to the entertainment of the rest of the crew. Ralph Duncan, in a fit of laughter, suggested that since the outhouse was a “two-holer,” they could have easily shared the toilet. An easygoing, good-natured man, Red took the japing without complaint, insisting the only reason he fled was because he thought it was a female skunk. Cade enjoyed the man's sense of humor, and the two young men became friends almost from the first day. It was a natural friendship, since they were the only really young men in Duncan's crew.

For the first time in a while, Cade felt that he had found a home base. Working in a well-operated organization, he was content to do his job every day without complications, save that of the unexplained feeling of uncertainty caused by his encounters with Beth Walker. The young lady was troubling to the extent that he wasn't really sure what their relationship was. She often called upon him to ride with her in the evenings, giving as excuse White Moon's concern for her safety. She never gave any sign of affection for him beyond that of a friend, and there was never a repeat of the kiss she had given him on their first ride to her “secret place.” Red rode him unmercifully about the evening rides, convinced that there was a reason she never went with anyone else. “You better watch your step, boy,” Red teased. “That gal might be shakin' out a noose for your neck.”

Cade, in his quiet, imperturbable way, ignored the teasing, which usually frustrated Red. He spent considerable time, however, trying to make sense of Elizabeth Walker, but in the end, he always had to conclude that she was just being her lighthearted self, and that she felt safe with him. Content for the time being, he nevertheless thought about his dream of someday raising horses on his own. Those thoughts always brought back the image of the green, grassy prairie between the Yellowstone and the Crazy Mountains. That, in turn, revived more serious memories and his unfulfilled vow to Luke Tucker. He issued a silent apology to his old friend for the contentment he now felt. He could not avoid a feeling of guilt for this peaceful time of his life. It would not last.

 

“Is he dead?” was the simple question John Slater asked when he stepped off the porch to meet the rider walking his horse slowly up to the house.

“Hell, he don't never leave the place,” Ned Appling complained, “except when he's ridin' with that girl. And you told me not to shoot him if she was around.”

“Dammit,” Slater cursed, “you oughta be able to get a shot at him when he's workin' the herd.”

Ned shrugged. “He don't never drive cattle. He don't do nothin' but break horses. I could get a shot at him, but I'd have to be too damn close to the ranch to do it.”

Slater was not happy with the lack of results. “Dammit, Ned, you're supposed to be the best gun hand I've got. Am I gonna have to send one of the other boys to do this one damn simple job?”

“That's up to you, I reckon,” Ned replied evenly. He thought about the problem for a minute while they glowered at each other, then said, “Since bushwhackin' don't seem to be workin', maybe I can just call him out—you know, in a fair fight. The way he wears that Colt, it don't look like he uses it for anythin' but killin' snakes.”

“That might be the best way to do it at that,” Slater said, nodding slowly as he thought about it. He had never seen anyone faster with a gun than Ned Appling. “You can't go to the ranch to do it, though. That would be too obvious. He's bound to go into town sometime. You go on back to Deer Lodge and wait for him, but dammit, I ain't payin' for you to get drunk every night in the saloon.”

“Don't worry. I aim to be sober when I'm workin'.” He stepped up in the saddle again, and turned his horse toward the barn. “I'll start back first thing in the mornin'.” He could not understand Slater's obsession with the Walker girl, but it was immaterial to him. He had killed men over smaller prizes, and it was the killing he enjoyed. There didn't have to be a reason.

 

“Come on, Cade,” Red sang out when Cade walked in the bunkhouse door. “Let's go to Sullivan's and get us a drink of whiskey. It's payday, and I don't want no glass of beer—at least until after I've had my drink of whiskey.”