Read The Rattlesnake Season Online
Authors: Larry D. Sweazy
The Rattlesnake Season (35 page)
Josiah stared at Willis and tried to remember if he’d served in the Brigade, but he was certain that he hadn’t. Josiah would have recognized him long before now. McClure said he was from Kentucky, and Willis probably was, too. Brigades mixed, met up at different times. It was entirely possible that Willis knew Langdon and would not have known Josiah.
“So, Patterson,” Willis continued, “wouldn’t sit at the same table with the Mexican. ’Bout that time, ole Charlie Langdon pulls off a bank robbery across the street from the saloon in Refugio, and everybody heads out after him. We were State Police after all, no matter what anybody thought of us. Anyway, Charlie got away, mainly ’cause I let him, once I realized it was him, after cornering him behind the saloon by myself. When we headed back to the saloon, all the money from our table was missin’. Patterson blamed the Mexican, got into a big row with Fikes, and that pretty much set the stage for their feud, since the captain always took the Mexican’s side.”
There was a reason the captain trusted the Mexican; they were blood, and the captain knew Juan Carlos was no thief. Josiah wasn’t going to tell Sam Willis that, though. “But the Mexican, Juan Carlos, didn’t steal Patterson’s money, did he?”
Willis shook his head no. “You ever drive cattle, Wolfe? Spend day after day downwind of those foul creatures, knowin’ your life ain’t going to get any better? I joined up with the State Police, and it wasn’t much better, and didn’t pay worth a darn. Besides, once I met up with Charlie again, he thought it was a good idea to have a man inside, and I could make twice the money. Especially after Fikes tapped McClure and me to join up with the Rangers.”
“You were a traitor.”
“Not the only one. A fellow named O’Reilly was a deputy for Patterson. That’s how I got the key to let Charlie loose. There was more than him, too. Fellas that served with Charlie one way or another.”
“What about McClure?” Josiah asked.
“McClure? He didn’t know nothin’. Nothin’ except he was startin’ to question what I was up to. McClure always had high ideals, big dreams. I suppose it was because of how he was raised, but money never seemed to matter to him like it did to me.”
“So the shot that killed the captain came from your gun?”
“Yes. I didn’t plan for McClure to take the blame, but when I saw it happen that way, I thought it was perfect to let that snot-nosed Elliot scream after everybody that McClure had killed Fikes. Now, if you don’t want to be joinin’ your captain in the great beyond, I’d suggest you toss that boot to the ground and put your hands behind your head. We need to get you to Charlie so you two can reminisce about old times.”
Josiah dropped the boot softly. It landed on its heel and stayed standing up. “Why is Patterson dead?”
“He was with a posse of men who were more loyal to Charlie Langdon than they were to him. I guess Charlie got tired of carrying him around. Found out everything he wanted to know.”
“What’s that?”
“Hell if I know. You can ask him yourself, but I wouldn’t count on gettin’ an answer.”
Josiah stared at Sam Willis and exhaled loudly. McClure was innocent, and Josiah had even questioned if a man like Pete Feders could be guilty of murder. Maybe he wanted him to be . . . so Feders would leave Pearl to herself, to him, if he survived. Rage boiled from the tips of his fingers all the way to his toes, and he knew that if he was going to save himself, it was now or never.
CHAPTER 30
Josiah did not break eye contact with Sam Willis as he grabbed up the boot, dove to the muddy ground in a roll, and caught the knife Suzanne del Toro had given him, wrapped in her white handkerchief as a parting gift, as it fell from inside the boot.
Clipper reared up when Sam fired a shot. The bullet thudded into the wet ground inches from Josiah’s feet. The horse then spun around and effectively put itself in between Josiah and Sam, just long enough for Josiah to get a solid grip on the knife, aim it, and throw it at Sam as hard and directly as he could.
The knife spiraled through the air and hit its target dead-on, the blade piercing Sam’s pant leg just under his knee. A loud yell was followed by another shot from Sam’s gun, this one going wild, straight up in the air, as he reacted to being stabbed just under the kneecap.
Clipper hustled out of the way, the gunshots sending the horse skittering off, until it came to a stop just beyond the southern red oak.
The carbine was more than thirty yards from Josiah’s grasp.
He quickly scanned the ground for his Peacemaker. He was standing ten feet from it and ten feet from Sam Willis, who was still sitting on his horse, grabbing his knee and in the process of pulling the knife, cussing like the wounded soldier that he was.
Josiah had about ten seconds to decide what to do next. It didn’t take him that long. He ran as fast as he could toward Sam and dove sideways, slamming his body as hard as he could against Sam’s wounded leg.
Willis was either too flustered or in too much pain to get off a decent shot. Another wild shot exploded from his gun, close to Josiah’s ear, and Josiah suddenly felt like he was in a deep well; he could hardly hear anything, and he could smell only gunpowder and carbon.
He bounced off the horse, tumbling to the ground in a thud, and Sam Willis toppled off the side, screaming, yelling, cussing. Neither man moved for a second or two, but Josiah was up first, and grabbed his Peacemaker, cocked the hammer, and aimed the gun at Sam Willis.
Willis had lost his grip, and his gun lay half a foot from his grasp.
“Leave it,” Josiah commanded, shielding himself at the rear of Willis’s horse. “Or you’re a dead man.”
“You ain’t got the guts to shoot me, Wolfe. Charlie said you was soft, and he’s usually right about things like that.” Willis grimaced, stretching his hand for his gun, ignoring Josiah.
“I’m serious, Willis.”
Willis grabbed the butt of his gun, pulled it into his grip, and then in a sudden burst of energy swung the barrel toward Josiah, pulled the trigger, and fanned the hammer.
Josiah saw what was coming and reacted. The first bullet hit Willis just above the belt, square in the stomach. The second bullet hit Willis in the chest just under the heart. The man bounced on the muddy ground, a combination of convulsions caused by being shot and his body finishing out the motion of shooting at Josiah. The third and final shot caught Willis just under his right eye. An explosion of blood and bone and a quick, final gasp were followed by the stillness of the swift hand of death.
Josiah walked over to Sam Willis, and the reality of his actions was quickly apparent. “I’ll only kill a man when I have to, Sam. I bet Charlie Langdon forgot to tell you that part of the story about me,” he said, rolling the man over with a solid push of his foot, so he wouldn’t have to see his face ever again.
Horse hooves approached from behind Josiah, coming up the trail at great speed. He didn’t have time to hide in the bushes, and turned around just in time to see two horses coming around the bend. He relaxed his finger on the trigger of the Peacemaker. It was Feders and Elliot.
“Wolfe,” Feders said, bringing his horse to a halting stop in front of Josiah. “We heard shooting and feared the worst.”
Scrap Elliot brought his horse to a stop next to Feders. “Damn, Wolfe. Is that Patterson?”
“It is,” Josiah answered. “And that’s Sam Willis there. He’s the one that shot the captain.”
Feders nodded. “I’m not surprised. There’s no time for recounting things, Wolfe. We need to get back to the cabin. We got there before you and took out two of Charlie Langdon’s lookouts. We’ve got the cabin surrounded with six Rangers from our company that we gathered up in Austin. Charlie’s inside with three other men, claims if we come one step closer he’s going to shoot the boy and the Mexican woman.”
“He will,” Josiah said. His hands trembled at the thought. “You were supposed to wait for me.”
“Come on, Wolfe. That’s your son in there. Your emotions could have sparked a showdown and left all of us dead. I wasn’t going to let that happen. I was always going to get here ahead of you,” Feders said. “But I do have another plan.”
Josiah stared up at Feders. He looked no different than he had riding out of San Antonio at the side of Captain Hiram Fikes. Same hat, same horse, same riding clothes, as far as Josiah could tell. Rangers wore no insignia to set themselves apart in rank. You just knew who was who, and what was what.
“That’s good to hear, Captain Feders,” Josiah said, locking eyes with Feders, a slight smile flashing on both men’s faces. “Because I’m about all wrung out.”
The cabin sat in a slight valley. A two-stall barn sat off to the north, about twenty yards from the front door. A weedy, unplowed field and meadow sat behind the barn, rolling down to a creek that was skirted by a shallow bayou and piney woods. Josiah could see his entire plot of land from the vantage point he, Feders, and Elliot were crouched upon. It took all Josiah had in him to ignore the cemetery edged up along the woods.
“You’re sure you’re up to this, Wolfe?” Feders asked.
Josiah nodded that he was, staring at the cabin, not seeing anything moving inside.
A thin coil of smoke rising into the air from the chimney was the only sign of life. The pine smoke smelled good, reminding Josiah, along with all of the smells of the land, that he was finally home.
“There’s a man in the barn. One behind the wood stack. One there in the field, lying prone.” Feders pointed to the right of the cabin. It took Josiah a minute to see the man, but he did.
Scrap was on the other side of Josiah. “I’ll be behind you.”
“You sure about that, Captain?”
Scrap gritted his teeth and glared at Josiah.
“The kid’s a crack shot, Wolfe. You’re going to have to trust us.”
Josiah nodded again, and sighed. “All right.”
Feders turned his attention back to the cabin. “There’s three more Rangers scattered about at the edge of the woods and the bayou, standing watch just in case Langdon has reinforcements coming in, or tries to make a run for it.”
“You sure this is going to work?” Josiah asked.
Feders shrugged. “I’m not sure that we have any other choices. But I don’t really think Charlie Langdon wants to kill a child in cold blood. The Mexican? She might already be dead. We haven’t seen her since we surrounded the cabin. There was some shooting when we took out the lookouts and let Charlie know that he was trapped.”
“You don’t know Charlie Langdon like I do. He planned for this. He’s got an escape route figured out . . . always has.”
“I’ve known plenty of devils like him, Wolfe. Don’t worry. He won’t be expecting you to do what you’re about to. And, we’ve got your back—this has to work.”
“All right. Let’s do it.”
Josiah dismounted from Clipper about fifty yards from the cabin. He immediately raised both arms over his head. “Langdon. It’s me, Wolfe. I got an offer for you.”
His voice carried on a soft breeze. The sun was bright overhead, staring down from the center of a cloudless sky. There were no sounds other than grass brushing against grass in the slight wind. No screeching hawks, no horses whinnying, no vultures flapping their giant wings to stay aloft—those birds were probably feasting four miles away. There was nothing but silence, nothing but the heartbeat of a man, intent on saving his son’s life.
He stood there staring at the cabin—his Peacemaker left behind, his belt empty, his saddle sheath vacant of the Sharps carbine. He held no weapons, not even a knife hidden in his boot. Feders had insisted, and Josiah had reluctantly agreed with him.
There was no word from inside the cabin. Not even a flutter of the curtain in the window next to the front door.
“You hear me, Langdon? I got an offer. A trade. Me for the boy and the Mexican woman. We ride out of here then.”
The front door cracked open. “How stupid do you think I am, Wolfe? There’s Rangers all around this place. You think I’m gonna risk gettin’ my head blown off by a buffalo gun, thinkin’ I’m a free man on my way to nowhere?”
Josiah heard Lyle squeal inside the cabin. He couldn’t tell whether the boy had been hurt or was playing happily.
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