Luke's Gold (26 page)

Kramer looked at Duncan and shrugged. Then looking back at Cade, he said, “I suppose that's the thing to do. Turn his horse in the corral and put his body in the barn overnight so the dogs or a stray coyote don't find it.”

 

Returning to the house, Kramer was met at the door by his wife and Elizabeth. “What is it, Carlton?” Cornelia Kramer asked. “What was the shooting?”

“Is Cade in trouble?” Elizabeth asked before he could answer his wife, even before there was any mention of Cade.

“Nothing for you women to worry about,” Kramer assured them. “Evidently a man who works for John Slater made an attempt on Cade's life, and Cade shot him. I'm fairly satisfied it was a case of self-defense. I'll know for sure in the morning when I talk to some of the boys who witnessed the trouble.”

“Cade wouldn't shoot anybody in cold blood,” Elizabeth insisted, her face captured by a frown.

Kramer paused for a moment while he studied the young woman's face. “You know that for a fact, do you?” he asked. When she hesitated to answer right away, he continued. “There is very little anybody knows about that young man except he has a knack for handling horses. He just showed up one day, from nowhere, heading nowhere. He seems nice enough. I like him, too. But it's about time somebody warned you to be a little more cautious in your choice of friends.”

Taken aback, because she never expected a lecture from Carlton Kramer, Elizabeth was speechless for a moment. She looked at Cornelia for support and received nothing more than raised eyebrows telling her that she agreed with her husband. “Well, I know he wouldn't hurt anybody unless he had a very good reason,” she said, then excused herself for bed.

Back in her bed, under a heavy quilt, she did not fall asleep right away. Her thoughts were of the quiet, sometimes brooding, young man who had so recently ridden into her life, and she questioned the suddenness of her interest in him. She could not rationally explain her attraction to him, and, too, she could not deny it. At times it came to her, to lie heavily upon her mind, and she would try for a while to make sense of it. Then, like this night, she would eventually give up trying to solve her weakness for Cade Hunter.
He just needs someone to take care of him,
she told herself as she finally drifted off to sleep.

 

The solid cloud cover that had moved over the valley and darkened the nights for the past week suddenly became restless. A cold wind swept down from the northwest, stirring the clouds into an unsettled state of agitation, bringing early snow flurries skipping across the Flint Creek Mountains to lightly blanket the prairie grass with silver. Cade saw it as a warning from Old Man Winter that he would be visiting the valley in earnest before long.

With Red's help, Cade lifted Ned Appling's body up across the saddle of his horse and tied his hands and feet beneath the horse's belly. “He's already a little stiff,” Red commented, “I thought we were gonna have to crease him across his behind to bend him, but he ain't board-stiff yet.” He finished tying off the body, then walked around the horse to stand by Cade while he secured a lead rope to his saddle. “Maybe I oughta ride over there with you, you know, just to keep you company. We don't know nothin' about that crew of Slater's. I ain't ever run into any of 'em, to tell you the truth. Folks say he's runnin' cattle into that stretch of land on the other side of Clark Fork, so I expect he's got a crew.”

Cade paused to give Red a patronizing look. “You mean you wanna make sure I don't get into any more trouble. Right?”

“Well . . .” Red sputtered, “you ain't had much luck in gettin' along with any of his men so far.”

“I expect Duncan would appreciate you helpin' move those cows in closer to the lower range,” Cade said. “I can take care of myself.” Red shook his head, concerned. Cade could readily see the reluctance in his friend's face. “I'll be careful,” he said, trying to reassure him, then climbed into the saddle.

“Well, lookee comin' here,” Joe Stover remarked to the other three men lolling around a fire in front of a battered old barn. As one, they turned to stare in the direction he indicated.

“Ain't that Ned's horse that feller's leadin'?” Bonner asked. A big man, he got to his feet, trying to get a better look at the stranger slow-walking a mottled gray horse toward them.

“Looks like,” Joe replied, “and I reckon that'd be Ned ridin' belly down across the saddle.”

“You'd best go get Mr. Slater,” Bonner said. “Looks like ol' Ned got hisself in a little trouble last night.”

Unaware of the special mission Slater had sent Ned Appling on, the rest of his men had assumed that Ned must have slipped off to go to town the night before. The only speculation among them had been whether or not Ned had quit, or had just decided to have a night out for himself. Slater had issued strict orders for none of the crew to visit the town except on the occasion when it was necessary to drive a wagon in for supplies. Joe maintained that the reason was because Slater was new in the valley and he didn't want the good citizens of Deer Lodge to see the rough-looking band of cowhands he had hired. In truth, there was more experience in rustling cattle in Slater's crew of misfits. Like any saddle tramps, they favored the pleasures afforded by the saloons and bawdy houses, but Slater saw to it that there was plenty of whiskey kept at the ranch. Considering the fact that there were no more than a few head of cattle to take care of, there was little reason to complain.

While Joe went to the cabin to alert Slater of the visitor, the others continued to sit and stare at the rider now crossing the tiny stream that trickled down from the hills north of the ranch. “Wonder who's gonna move up to take Ned's place?” one of them speculated aloud. They all looked toward Bonner then, thinking there was little doubt who it would be if it came to a contest of strength. Ned had been the one who seemed to have Slater's confidence, and he was sure as hell the quickest with a gun. He had been the one who hired the rest of them, and even they found it strange that they had been recruited to drive cattle for a wealthy man like John Slater. In fact, it was a common joke among them, until Ned explained that Slater was a man who wouldn't hesitate to use any means to build his cattle empire, and he needed men who were not troubled by conscience and didn't ask questions.

 

With light flurries of snow swirling around him, Cade guided Loco slowly toward the cluster of rough buildings gathered at the foot of a long, rocky ridge. No more than shacks, abandoned by the previous owner, they stood in sharp contrast to the sturdy structures of the Bar-K. Cade looked the spread over as he rode toward the fire by the barn. Evidently, Slater was slow getting started on building his ranch, he thought. There were only a few odd cattle to be seen on the place, and from the looks of the group warming by the fire, it appeared no one was working.

When still fifty yards or so from the men watching him approach, he reached down and pulled his rifle from the scabbard and rested it across his arms, just in case there were others here who, like the late Ned Appling, fancied themselves handy with a gun. No one by the fire moved to meet him as he rode up to about a dozen yards, and no one spoke, as they stoically watched him pull Loco to a stop. He scanned the impassive faces for a long moment, wondering if Slater had found the lot of them in the prison at the south end of Deer Lodge's main street.

Distracted then by the sight of John Slater emerging from the door of the cabin followed by another man, Cady reined Loco back to hold him steady while he untied the lead rope. Wearing a heavy fur coat, Slater stalked angrily across the yard toward Cade. The silent snowflakes seemed to eddy behind him as he strode forth, his long, dark hair swaying to and fro under his hat. Cade remained silent until Slater marched up to stand defiantly before Loco. Dropping the lead rope to the ground, Cade said, “I believe this belongs to you.”

His eyes blazing with anger, Slater locked his gaze on Cade. Without breaking his relentless eye contact, he ordered, “Get him down from there!” Joe and Bonner immediately stepped forward to lift the corpse from the horse and lay it on the ground.

Looking at the crusted blood on Ned's vest, Joe said, “Shot through the chest.”

Still with his eyes never leaving Cade's, Slater demanded, “Who shot him?”

“I shot him,” Cade replied evenly.

“You got your damn nerve ridin' in here with his body,” Slater growled, “after murderin' him.”

“Poor ol' Ned,” Joe lamented. “I know damn well it warn't a fair fight.”

Cade gave the man a scathing glance. “Poor ol' Ned,” he repeated sarcastically, “got a bullet in his chest, not his back. He came lookin' for trouble and he found it.” Loco stamped nervously when a gust of wind blew sparks from the campfire. Cade held the big horse steady while he locked his eyes on Slater again.

“That's your story, Hunter,” Slater growled, “but I say the day ain't come when you could take Ned Appling in a fair fight. By God, I oughta shoot you down right now.”

“You could try,” Cade replied calmly.

“Look around you,” Slater shot back. “You're a damn fool for ridin' in here like this.” His angry frown faded slowly to a wicked grin. “I make it five to one—pretty good odds that you won't make it outta here alive.”

The remark caused a perceptible change in the passive stance of Slater's men as they at once realized what their boss was threatening. A couple of them moved in a little closer, their hands dropping to rest on their gun butts. “Maybe,” Cade replied, casually swinging the muzzle of his Winchester around to level at Slater, “but I make it dead certain that you're goin' with me if the first shot is fired.”

At a standoff then, Slater held his hand up to keep his men in check, realizing that what Cade promised was very much possible. “Get off my land while you've still got the chance, Hunter,” he spat. “You're askin' for trouble comin' here in the first place. Ned Appling had a lot of friends. They ain't gonna be too happy when they find out Ned was murdered. If I was you, I'd get the hell outta this territory before one of 'em catches up with you.”

“Yeah,” Cade replied, “ol' Ned's got a lotta friends now that he's dead. How many did the back-shootin' son of a bitch have while he was still alive?” He and Slater glowered at each other for a long moment before Cade asked what he came to find out. “I had no quarrel with the man. You sent a paid gunman to call me out. Now, suppose you tell me why you sent him after me. There ain't no reason for you to be gunnin' after me, but if it's got anythin' to do with the fact that I'm a friend of Elizabeth Walker's, then you're a bigger fool than I thought—and a miserable excuse for a man.”

“Goddamn you!” Slater roared. “If you didn't have that rifle on me . . .” Enraged that Cade would bring up the girl's name to make him look foolish in front of his men, he pushed his heavy coat back to free his holster, provoked to the point of almost drawing the weapon. Thinking better of it when Cade raised the rifle, preparing to fire, he dropped his hand to his side again, his dark eyes burning with the fury surging through his body. Clenching his teeth, he growled, “Get off my land.” Another gust of wind swirled the snowflakes around the fire, and swept Slater's long, black hair from his shoulders, for a moment revealing an ear with the very tip of it missing.

The shock slammed Cade's entire system like chain lightning. Stunned almost to paralysis for a second, he could only blurt the words, “Lem Snider!” In the span of that one jarring instant, it suddenly hit him why something about Slater's looks had troubled him from the beginning. The man's appearance had fooled him—the long hair and the absence of the bushy beard, but the clipped ear was no coincidence. The look on Snider's face when his name was called verified it. He was the man who had murdered Luke Tucker, and that explained why he wanted Cade dead. Snider must have recognized him as the man he had left in the river for dead.

Though only a few seconds passed while Cade was rendered incapacitated by the face-to-face encounter with the man he had vowed to kill, it was enough time to encourage Joe Stover to act. Seeing Cade's rifle waver slightly, Stover reached for his revolver. Catching the movement out of the corner of his eye, Cade's reflexes came to his aid. He whipped the Winchester around and cut Stover down before his pistol cleared the holster. The action that followed that shot happened so fast that Cade would have difficulty remembering afterward exactly how he had escaped with his life.

When Cade had been forced to turn and deal with Stover, Snider dived inside the barn door behind him while everyone else scattered for what cover they could find, scrambling to draw their guns in the process. Bonner was able to get to his pistol and get off one shot that passed under Loco's neck, causing the horse to bolt and Cade to hang on. Another shot from the barn barely missed Cade's head as his horse took off in a gallop. Realizing the horse had more sense than he did at that explosive moment, Cade laid low on Loco's neck and retreated under a hail of gunfire.

As he bolted across the tiny stream and raced across the prairie grass, now white with a frosting of snow, he looked behind him to see one of the men jump on Ned Appling's horse—it being the only one saddled—and give chase. Looking for the right spot to wait for him, Cade picked a low swale in the prairie. Though it offered little cover, he nevertheless pulled Loco to a sliding stop and leaped from the saddle. Cocking the Winchester, he knelt on one knee, aimed at the pursuing rider, and waited for the shot. Ignoring the wild pistol shots that creased the snow on either side of him, he continued to wait until the rider was within a hundred yards. Then, without haste, he slowly pulled the trigger, knocking the man from the saddle.