“There’s a woman involved … I think.”
“A woman?”
“Yes, sir. And the one thing that may be in our favor is that she thinks we are all a pack of fools.”
“Maybe we are,” Patterson muttered. “Maybe we are.”
“Sir? I’m not going to let them get that money. Not one red cent of it.”
“You said you wanted my help … In what way?”
“This is good grass. The grass around town, and west or east of town, is no way as good as this. I want you to hold off … let your cattle fatten while I get this thing worked out. All I need is a couple of days.” “I think,” Shanaghy added, “they’ve got a schedule figured out. I think they know when you’re coming in, or about when. I think they have it all set to start, quickly, quietly, efficiently, as soon as you come busting into town to take it apart. While you and the town are busy, they’ll get the money and get out … Then they’ll be gone and we’ll be left holding the sack … “If you hold back, three things happen. Your cattle get fatter, their timing is thrown off, and I get a chance to work on the situation before it develops. Personally, I think if their timing is thrown off, something is going to come unglued.”
Patterson refilled their cups. “How did you get involved in all this?” “Well, Drake’s son and some others were fixing to hang Josh Lundy. They decided to include me. I persuaded them not to. And, of course, somebody had to take Rig’s place.”
“Where’s Hank Drako now?”
“On his ranch, I expect. Your business with Drako is none of mine. He strikes me as part coyote and part weasel. I think he will kill anything that’s helpless or seems so, but if you move against him, don’t do it in town.” “You laying down the law?”
“Yes, sir. You lay down the law on your ranch. I do it in town. What you do outside of town is your business and not mine. I wasn’t hired to protect the whole state of Kansas, just this town.”
Vince Patterson finished his coffee and glanced at his cattle. Some were already lying down, most were still grazing. A few of his men were riding toward the fire. It would be sundown in a little while.
“You staying with us tonight?” Patterson asked.
“With your permission, sir.”
Patterson stared at him. “Are you always this respectful?” Shanaghy grinned. “No, sir. But you’re a gentleman, sir, and this is one argument I can’t win with my fists or a gun.”
Patterson stared for a minute, then chuckled. “All right, damn you, stay the night. I’ll sleep on it.” He held out his hand. “No promises, mind you, but damn it, Shanaghy, I like you.”
TEN
Slowly the hands drifted up to the fire, some of them to bed down, some to catch a quick supper and return to riding herd on the cattle. As they came in they regarded Shanaghy thoughtfully, noticing the badge first, then the derby. One redheaded cowpuncher looked across the fire at him and said, “That there hat’s a temptation. Anybody ever shoot it off you?” Shanaghy pushed the derby back a little and grinned cheerfully. “Not yet. Maybe that’s because they figured I wouldn’t know if they were shooting at the derby or me.”
He dipped into the stew. “Anyway, it seems a waste of lead. I didn’t buy my gun for shooting hats.”
He ate in silence for a moment and then said, “The way I figure it, the marshal of a town should be measured by the trouble he keeps clear of town rather than the gunfights he wins. The first thing I did when I took over,” he spoke in a low, conversational tone, “was to study the arms situation and the shooters. “First off I found the town has thirty-seven shotguns, and folks who can use them. We have nine Big Fifty Buffalo guns, two Berdan sharpshooting rifles, five Winchesters, and seven Spencer fifty-six-calibers. We have fourteen assorted rifles from the Hawken to the Ballard, and every man in town and most of the women have pistols. “Next thing, I looked over what kind of people we had to do the shooting. Five of the men in town were sharpshooters during the Civil War, one side or the other. Nine others fought in the war. We’ve got one old mountain man, and six veterans of Indian battles. There’s only two men in town who haven’t been in battle, but they’re just a frettin’ and a fumin’ to prove themselves as good as the others.
“Long before I ever saw the place, they figured sometime there might be an Indian raid, so they built the town without any blind spots, front or back. The rifles and shotguns are kept loaded lest there be unexpected trouble, and they are stashed around town easy to hand.
“Most of the folks there want no trouble. They figure outfits like yours will have money to spend, and they’re anxious to help. They want to do business with you, the cattle bosses and whoever comes up the trail. They are right friendly folks, but they love their town.
“Me, I’m just a driftin’ stranger, and I don’t quite see what they like about it but they know. When you boys ride into town I want every one of you to hang up his gun in Greenwood’s place.”
The redhead laughed, somewhat grimly. “Mister, you’ve got to be jokin’. I hang up my gun for no man.”
“All right,” Shanaghy replied cheerfully. “I was just telling you so’s you’d know. You see, what worries me isn’t you boys at all. It’s two or three of the townspeople who are trigger-happy. A couple of those sharpshooters, for example, I’ve been having trouble convincing them this isn’t an all-out war. “They’ve agreed to hold their fire and sit tight, but if somebody should in the fullness of his spirits suddenly decide to discharge his piece into the air, that street would turn into a bloodbath.
“All those boys and girls with guns are going to be hunkered down behind log walls or brick walls, and they are going to be shooting into an open street without cover.”
Tom Shanaghy shook his head woefully. “Of course, the street’s dusty this time of year, and it soaks up blood real fast.”
Nobody had anything more to say, and Shanaghy simply finished his meal. After throwing the grounds from his cup, he walked to where his bedroll lay. Vince Patterson had sat over at one side and heard it all. He struck a match on the side of his pants, lit a cigar, and approached Shanaghy. “Was that Rig’s idea?” he asked mildly.
“Can’t blame it on him. Folks there needed a little organization, but they’ll go about their business like always unless trouble starts.” “You could be running a bluff.”
“Yes, sir. That I could. Be mighty expensive, though, if it was called and I proved to be holdin’ the pat hand I’ve told ‘em about. “Also,” Shanaghy added, “I had to have a diversion.”
“A diversion?”
“Something to trim the odds, sort of. You’ve got some loyal hands there. If trouble started in town and then something happened to your herd, I figure about half your men would cut and run to protect the cows.” “What could go wrong with my herd?”
Shanaghy shrugged. “Well, a few days ago some Kiowas showed up. Least that’s what the old-timers said they were. I don’t know one Indian from another. “Well, these Kiowas had been raiding Pawnees up the country a bit, they caught the short end of the stick, and they were sore. “We fed ‘em, and I sort of suggested they stay around and keep out of sight. I also suggested that it might be worth a bunch of presents if they sort of listened for gunfire.”
Patterson was looking at him. “Gunfire?”
“Uh-huh. If they heard gunfire from town, they were to stampede your herd.”
Patterson swore.
“Stampede ‘em, and scatter them all over the prairie.” Patterson swore again, and then he said, “But we have you, Marshal. What about that?”
“You would lose a man or two taking me, Mr. Patterson, but it would change nothing. You see, the way that plan of mine is set up, it works without anybody saying anything. They don’t need me at all now. “Things been pretty dull around town lately. No fights to speak of, and the boys are kind of restless, kind of keyed up, if you know what I mean.” “You seem to have thought of everything.”
“I’ve tried. You see, I’ve heard your boys ride for the brand. Well, that town is my brand. They hired me to do a job, and I’m doing it the best way I know how.”
Later, Shanaghy lay in his blankets staring up at the stars. He had lied, of course. His plans were not nearly so thorough as he had implied. Nonetheless, they were good plans and he planned to put them into execution as soon as he got back … if he got back.