It was mid-afternoon the next day when Kyler rode up to the front door of the Yates house. He stopped Nipper, but did not get a chance to dismount.
‘What do you want, Mr Gunman?’ a frigid voice asked.
Kyler turned in the saddle far enough to see that Jessie had come from the barn. She had evidently been doing some chores, as she was wearing work clothes and had on a pair of buckskin gloves.
‘Good afternoon, Jessie.’
‘I warned you about using my first name,’ she replied sternly. ‘Do you want Mike to give you another lesson in manners?’
Kyler raised both hands in a sign of defeat.
‘No, ma’am – Miss Yates,’ he rephrased the greeting.
‘Matter of fact, Mike is the one I was looking for.’
‘He’s on the stage run today. Jeff had some trouble with the supply wagon …’ She glowered at him. ‘He ended up broke down for several hours! He made a thorough check of his wagon before it was loaded, but someone removed the ring pin on the rear hub when his back was turned. The wheel worked itself off and he lost half of his load!’
Kyler lowered his hands and shook his head.
‘I don’t suppose he saw anyone near his wagon?’
‘Huxton and his men are like an icy wind, Mr Dane. You don’t have to be able to see it blowing to feel its bite.’
‘Remember what I said about proof?’
‘We’re too busy trying to keep from going broke to dig up any proof. That’s why I’m here working at the ranch. Mike thinks it’s too dangerous for me to be out driving one of our rigs.’
‘I want you to tell Mike not to retaliate against Huxton.’
‘So you are finally showing your true colors!’ she snapped. ‘You’ve come here to threaten us on Huxton’s behalf!’
Kyler sighed. The more he tried to reason with the girl, the more she turned against him. Winning her over was about as hard as trying to swim up a waterfall.
‘It isn’t a threat, Miss Yates.’
‘Just a friendly warning, is that it?’
‘You can’t win again Huxton. He’s got too many guns on his payroll.’
‘So where do you stand, Mr Dane?’ she wanted to
know. ‘Did you stop Skinny and Mugs from burning our barn?’
He didn’t reply to the question.
‘I’m only asking you to give me a little time.’
‘Time for what?’ she demanded to know.
‘If I can find evidence linking Huxton to these crimes, we can haul him before a judge and send him to prison.’
Jessie frowned. ‘Who are you, Dane? Just what kind of game are you playing?’
‘I assure you, it’s no game.’
‘Are you working for Huxton or not?’ she asked bluntly.
‘Yes and no.’
‘What does that mean?’
Kyler didn’t dare explain any further.
‘It means I need for you to trust me. Ask Mike and your brothers to stay shed of any trouble for a few more days. Huxton is ready to turn loose his guns on your family. Don’t let them draw you into a fighting war.’
Jessie appeared to think about what he was saying.
‘I don’t want another of my brothers to be killed like Cory, but we can’t take a beating for ever and not fight back.’
‘Just give me a few more days.’
‘Why should we give you anything?’
‘Because I’m on your side,’ he told her. ‘You have to trust me.’
At last Jessie appeared to relent.
‘I’ll speak to Mike.’
‘I’ll be seeing you again,’ he promised.
‘Yes,’ she said wearily, ‘I’m sure of it.’
Kyler turned Nipper and headed back the way he had come. As he put the encounter with Jessie behind him, he thought how God must have a great sense of humor.
Bet he spends a lot of time laughing at us poor saps, whilst we are trying to figure out how to please a woman!
Kyler arrived at the livery and heard an angry voice from inside the barn.
‘I know you’ve been snooping around for
someone
, old man!’ It sounded like Strap doing the
talking
. There came the sound of someone being struck with a fist, then, ‘Tell me! Who’s in this with you?’
‘I told you,’ Nat ranted back, ‘I was on my way to buy a chaw of tobacca. I didn’t hear nothing!’
Kyler tied off Nipper and started toward the barn door.
‘I’d wager you spilled your guts about Mugs and Skinny!’ Strap sounded furious. ‘You told someone they were going to burn down the Yates’s supply shed. Who was it, old man? Who did you tell?’
‘Go suck on an egg, Adere!’ Nat growled back. ‘I ain’t telling you nothing!’
Kyler moved inside the barn in time to see Strap hit Nat again. This time the old man crumbled on to the floor in an unconscious heap. The gunman drew back a foot to kick him.
‘I wouldn’t!’ Kyler’s icy warning stopped him.
Strap looked back over his shoulder at Kyler.
‘Yeah, makes all the sense in the world!’ he stated. ‘It’s you and the old wart here. The two of you are in this together!’
Kyler took up a stance, ready for a fight, whether it be with a gun or fists.
Strap turned round slowly to square up to Kyler. ‘You’re the big man,’ he sneered. ‘Huxton’s tough guy teamster.’ He spat on to the straw-strewn floor. ‘Well, you don’t impress me none, Mr Teamster.’
‘You’re a pretty tough
hombre
yourself, Strap.’ Kyler’s tone oozed sarcasm. ‘Takes a big man to knock around a guy who’s pushing sixty years of age.’
Strap’s hand was poised over his gun. ‘I aim to show you tough, Dane. You best toss your gun on to the ground and march over to Huxton with me. We’ll see how he feels about you working for the Yates bunch.’
‘You’re the one who better toss away your gun,’ Kyler advised. ‘You’re going to confess that Huxton has put you up to robberies and acts of sabotage against the Yates Freight Company. With luck you won’t get more than a couple years in prison.’
Strap scoffed at the idea.
‘Huxton was impressed by you being a wanted man and a bad man with a gun, but I ain’t seen you draw down on no one. I’m betting it’s all talk.’
‘You willing to bet your life on that, Strap?’
The man’s eyes were aglow. His body tensed, his breathing stopped. Kyler knew the signs all too well. The man was going to draw!
Strap’s hand streaked downward and yanked his
gun free. His action was smooth and practiced. His thumb caught the hammer of the pistol, as it came out of the holster, cocked, ready for use …
Kyler felt the gun buck in his hand. Strap was fast, too fast for him to take special aim to try and wound him. The round hit him on the left side of his chest and Strap’s gun flew from his fist.
In less time than a single blink of an eye, a life was extinguished. Strap sprawled on to his face without so much as a groan. He was dead.
Kyler started to walk over and check on both him and Nat, but a cool voice spoke up from behind him.
‘Don’t turn around!’
Kyler cocked his head enough to see that Skinny and Mugs had come into the barn. They both had their guns trained on him.
‘Looks like Dane has chosen his side,’ Mugs said.
‘Yeah, and it sure ain’t working for Huxton,’ Skinny agreed. ‘I guess we know who it was who got the drop on us up at the Yates spread. What do we do with him?’
‘Strap went for his gun,’ Kyler said. ‘I didn’t have any choice.’
‘Drop your iron and step aside,’ Skinny ordered.
Kyler did as he was told. While Mugs kept him under his gun, Skinny walked over to Strap. He knelt down and checked his lifeless body. Satisfied he was dead, he picked up Strap’s gun and stuck it back into its holster.
‘Looks like murder to me,’ he said, showing his yellow, tobacco-stained teeth in a sinister grin. ‘How did it look to you, Mugs?’
‘Never gave him a chance,’ Mugs concurred. ‘Too bad we arrived too late to stop him from killing Strap in cold blood.’
Skinny chuckled. ‘Reckon you’re going to hang for murder, Dane.’
Nat was stirring, but he hadn’t seen the fight. Kyler had no one to back up his claim. As he was herded over to a storage shed to be locked up, he wondered how he could prove his innocence.
Kenny arrived at the Yates ranch a few minutes after dark. Jessie, Mike and Jeff were still at the dinner table when he entered the house.
‘You ain’t going to believe it!’ he said, out of breath from his haste. ‘That teamster fella, Dane – he killed Strap Adere in a gunfight! There’s going to be a hearing in town tomorrow.’
Jessie was struck numb by the news. She felt a darkness cover her world that had nothing to do with the coming of nightfall.
‘Kyler killed Strap?’ Jeff was equally incredulous. ‘What happened?’
‘I talked to Nat, but he was pretty fuzzy about the details. He said Strap caught him eavesdropping and dragged him over to the livery to question him. His face had a couple bruises, so I guess Strap was asking questions with his fists.’
‘Then what happened?’ Jessie wanted to know.
‘He was knocked unconscious. When he woke up, Strap was dead on the ground with a bullet through his heart. He said Strap’s gun was still in its holster.’
‘That’s not possible!’ Jessie cried, finding her
voice. ‘Kyler wouldn’t kill a man without giving him a chance!’
‘Skinny and Mugs claimed to have arrived in time to see the teamster draw down on Strap. They figured Dane was only going to stop Strap from
questioning
the old hostler. Instead, he up and pulls the trigger and kills Strap right before their eyes.’
‘Those two would lie about having a mother,’ Mike said tightly. ‘I fought with Dane and he didn’t hit me with one cheap shot. He isn’t the kind to shoot a man down in cold blood.’
‘What are we going to do?’ Jessie was seriously worried.
‘You say the trial is tomorrow?’ Mike asked Kenny.
‘Going to be one of those hearing-type trials,’ his brother replied. ‘The retired judge, Buck Taylor, is going to preside over it and determine if there is to be an actual trial. At least he’s an honest man.’
‘Yes, but he has to find a reason not to believe two of Huxton’s men,’ Mike said.
‘That might be hard to do, considering all four men are supposedly working for Huxton,’ Jeff surmised. ‘What reason would they have to lie?’
‘I told you what Kyler said!’ Jessie reminded Mike.
‘He came out here to warn us to not fight back for a few days. He was up to something. I’m sure he has been working on a way to help us.’
‘I’d say Huxton’s men must have figured that out too,’ Jeff put in. ‘They decided the teamster was working against Huxton and made up a murder charge against him. This here will sure enough take
him out of the picture.’
‘We can’t let him be sent to prison or hanged for taking our side,’ Jessie said. ‘We have to do
something
to help!’
All eyes went to Mike, awaiting his decision.
‘We’ll hold off on any runs tomorrow,’ he said. ‘Round up every man we have working for us and have them in town for the hearing. We’ll try to make sure Kyler gets a chance to tell his side of the story. It’s about all we can do for the time being.’
The sturdy blockhouse was used for storing ice, so the walls were thick. Kyler’s jailers provided him with a cot to sleep on, a small table with a candle, a pitcher of water and a pan for washing. It was a cell without bars or windows.
Nat arrived about dark with his evening meal. It was not a prisoner’s usual plate of beans, but steak and potatoes, with a wedge of currant-pie.
Kyler wasn’t hungry, but he ate a fair portion of the meal.
‘I’m getting old,’ Nat said when he finished eating. ‘I can’t imagine getting myself knocked out by a punch from a weasel like Strap.’
Kyler shrugged. ‘It’s not your fault, Nat. I asked you to find out their plans.’
‘Yeah, and I got myself caught like some
six-year-old
kid in a candy store!’
‘They haven’t proved me guilty yet,’ Kyler replied. ‘Didn’t you say Judge Taylor is an honest man.’
‘He’ll give you a fair shake, but you’re playing a game of poker with the deck stacked against you.’
‘I might have a card or two up my sleeve to even the table.’
‘Oh, I brung you something to pass the time,’ Nat said, pulling a book from inside his shirt. ‘It’s the only reading material you had in your room.’
Kyler had to smile.
‘Yeah, I could use a little Tennyson right now.’
‘Never figured your sort to read a book about …’ he squinted at the title. ‘It says: “The Collected Works of the World’s Best Poets.” He gave his head a shake. ‘Somehow, it don’t quite seem like something a man like you would read.’
‘Who’s on the door?’ Kyler asked, turning the subject to something else.
‘The Monger boys are taking turns. It wouldn’t be a good idea to try anything with either of them. They would be happy to shoot you for having two feet.’
‘I appreciate your bringing me a meal, Nat.’ He lifted up the book. ‘And thanks for this too.’
Nat lowered his voice, careful not to be overheard.
‘You want me to send off a telegraph message to Judge Tate?’
‘There will be time enough for that if I end up having to go to trial.’
Nat frowned. ‘I thought this here was a trial.’
‘Only a hearing,’ Kyler replied. ‘I’m told this judge does things like they do back East. He has a hearing to determine whether a trial is warranted.’
‘So he won’t sentence you to hang tomorrow morning?’
‘No, but he can order a trial as soon as he wants, should he decide to have one. If that comes about,
then I might need you to contact Tate.’
‘All right, son,’ Nat replied. ‘You’re the one who has his neck on the chopping-block. I’ll follow your lead … until the ax drops. Then I’m picking up my chips and getting out of the game.’
Kyler thanked him for his support and Nat took the empty plate and left.
The single candle didn’t put off enough light to do much reading. Besides which, Kyler had too much on his mind to try and decipher the often
cryptic
messages which were written in poet lingo. He set aside the book, extinguished the candle and lay back on his cot. He doubted he would be able to sleep, but he could close his eyes and hope for a little rest. For his defense he was going to need to be sharp.
Huxton was more than surprised by the visitor, he was shocked down to his socks. There, framed in the doorway. was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen!
‘Jessie.’ He managed to breathe her name. ‘You look stunning.’
Jessie fidgeted nervously. Huxton had never
bothered
to get a house, only the best room at the hotel. She was embarrassed and uncomfortable, but
steadfast
in her resolve. ‘Won’t you come in?’
‘No.’ she was breathless in her reply. ‘It wouldn’t be proper.’
He smiled. ‘Would you like to go have something to eat or drink?’
‘I’m here to discuss the proposal you made, about a joining of our two companies.’
The light of understanding began to overshadow the dazzling beauty of the girl before him. Huxton was instantly angered at the notion.
‘You’re here to save that killer’s hide!’ he growled. ‘He’s been working for you all along!’
‘No, he has not!’ she countered at once. ‘I don’t know what all goes on in Kyler Dane’s tiny,
sun-parched
mind, but it isn’t any of our doing.’
‘Yet you are ready to volunteer yourself up as a sacrifice to save his hide,’ Huxton sneered. ‘Why would you do that? If he isn’t working for you, why would you offer yourself to save him?’
‘You’re the one who asked me about a possible arrangement, remember?’ She tried to turn the tables on him. ‘You made the overture to me! I only came to discuss the possibilities of working together.’
Huxton hated the idea that Jessie would surrender herself for Kyler Dane. She had flatly refused his offer, but now … she was willing to barter herself to save Dane!
‘That deal is no longer on the table,’ he said curtly. ‘You had your chance to save your family’s company and you dismissed me. Well, now it’s your turn. Nothing you can do is going to change Dane’s fate. Once Mugs and Skinny tell the judge what they saw, your pal will be held over for a trial. He’s going to hang.’
Jessie’s hackles bristled.
‘Kyler might be smarter than you think, Mr Huxton. You and your lying pals haven’t won your case yet.’
‘The man hasn’t got a prayer.’ There was a cruel
resonance in his voice. ‘Even with you being willing to give yourself up for him, he’s as good as dead.’
Jessie didn’t reply. She spun about, swirling the skirts of her gown. Then she was gone from sight, striding smartly down the hallway.
Huxton swallowed his passion. It occurred to him that he might have been too hasty. Perhaps he should have let the girl throw herself at him and beg mercy for Kyler. He could have enjoyed holding her close and kissing those wondrously marvelous lips.
And, when he spurned her, Big Mike would have come to settle for the insult. With Phoenix on the job he would have been rid of Mike Yates. Without him, their freight and stage operation would have been done for.
However, he chose to think he had played it right. Once the Yates company was broke and the entire family was trying to scratch out a living on their pitifully small ranch, he might offer Jessie a second chance to come to him. If she wanted to save her family she could be his bride and he would allow her brothers to work for him. It would be a much better arrangement, and Kyler Dane would not be a part of it in any way!
When the Monger boys opened the door to take Kyler to the hearing, he was awake and sitting in the gloom. He stuck his book into his shirt and went without objection.
The saloon was full of spectators. Kyler spied the Yates clan in the mix, but wasn’t able to make
eye-contact
with Jessie. For some reason she appeared
subdued, almost ashamed. He wondered about her mood. He had figured she would have been full of fire and ready to either take his side or demand he be burned at the stake!