CANVAS
“Life
is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can.”
-
Danny
Kaye
1881
Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry stood at the closed
double doors of the large trading post and paused. Despite being soaked to the skin and having
been in the saddle for nearly 10 hours neither made a move to enter the only
lighted building and shelter for a hundred miles.
Behind them the storm was just coming
into its own and the rising water licking at the wooden porch steps clearly
showed they had few options.
"That river is gonna crest before
"Yea and this is the only
"Heyes at this point I'll share
it with the bear, I just wanna get dry," Kid said irritable.
"It ain't the bears I'm worried
about," Heyes grimaced and they opened the doors.
Pushed in with a gust of wet wind they
were suddenly engulfed in darkness.
"Shut the door ya idiot!"
came a southern snarl and the two ex-outlaws quickly obliged as around them
matches were found and the lamps lashed to the two great wagon wheels hoisted
above the floor relit.
The trading post and stopping station
was the only ‘civilization’ in this rugged part of
A long, rough, wooden plank supported
by two barrels was acting as a makeshift bar and a lean black man was pouring
drinks with a bored expression.
Stairs to the right of the front doors
led up onto a second landing, which revealed a row of doors leading to rooms
available for travelers staying over for the night. It was clear the storm had brought in more
customers than the establishment could deal with comfortably and the smell of
damp clothes, alcohol and tobacco permeated the room.
"Libby how many times I gotta
tell you to get new glass for them lamps!"
Slurred a dark handsome cowboy at the bar supported by a world weary red
headed woman who looked like she didn’t come with the place, but was still
managing to pry her trade.
"When you fellas at the Double R
quit shooting them out!" an older woman of perhaps 60 with a deep north
eastern accent replied as she stomped up from the back of the room where she
had been stirring a huge pot of stew over a large fire. She looked competent and fit in men’s
trousers and a soft lavender silk shirt. Her white hair piled neatly on her head showed
her pronounced cheek bones to an advantage and she knew it. The instant impression was femininity
tolerated as long as it was comfortable.
Facing them boldly she met their eyes
and seemed satisfied when they didn’t flinch at her scrutiny. The men in the room watched interested, an
odd assortment of drummers, trappers and miners they were prepared to come to
her aid if there was trouble, but clearly none thought she would need it.
"Well look what the cat dragged
in Jeremiah," she said to the tall thin black man shining glasses behind
the bar. "You boys look like you
swam up river."
"Darn close ma'am," Kid said
pulling off his hat and looking apologetic as the water splattered everywhere.
"Get the mop Jeremiah," the
woman sighed disgusted and turning.
"Ah ma'am?" Heyes said pleasantly. "My partner and I were wondering if you
might have a room for rent tonight."
She smiled at him, "Jeremiah
these boys got them some fine pretty manners, even if they do look like drowned
rats. You boys looking for a room to
yourselves or do you want company?”
"Lenora is with me!" the
cowboy said straightening looking suddenly far sober than he had on their
entry.
"Now Paul don't get all worked
up," the girl smiled coaxing him back, but not before giving both Heyes
and Curry a wink. "Course I'm all
yours."
"Better be!" the cowboy
growled allowing her to pour him another drink.
“Damn straight she’s with you boy
cause I ain’t running no whore house,” the owner Libby growled dangerously and
Heyes finally placed the accent as coming north of
"No ma’am were fine just having a
place to get dry," Kid said quickly.
"Well I got one room left, kinda
small, but it does have a fine pot belly stove that will dry you out real fine,
ten dollars a night."
They stared at her.
"Ah ma'am isn't that a bit
steep?" Heyes asked politely.
"In advance; unless you wanna take
your chances with the flooding? Last
time it got this bad we were an island up on this hill. Being so far out in the middle of nowhere to
service the stagecoach means the rest of the world is underwater and I'm high
and dry."
The two outlaws sighed and dug in
their pockets and came up with the money.
"This room it include
supper?" Kid asked clearly cynical.
"Nope, that's 3 dollars. Names
Libby Cromwell, Libby to paying guests."
Kid rolled his eyes and Heyes had to
grin at the woman's business sense.
"Well Libby I'll give you this
you sure know how to play your hand, speaking of which the poker doesn’t have a
charge does it?" Heyes said giving her his best smile and only partly
joking.
She gave him a withering look, but the
effect was lost when a small smile escaped. "No I figure such things keep
you yahoos occupied and save me having to keep you in line…or it better.” The warning was not lost on them or anyone in
the room as Jeremiah cocked back a shotgun for effect.
"Well then maybe this isn't going
to be such a long night after all," Heyes said quietly to his partner as
Kid paid the bartender for a bottle and the two men trudged up the stairs,
neither missing the way the man stared after them with something far too
interested to be mere curiosity.
**************************************
The room was little more than a closet
and had probably been used to house supplies in the past, which explained the
luxury of a stove. Winters there were harsh and provisions and animals were
given more care than their human owners.
Stripping down the two men laid their
clothes to dry and aired out the damp ones in their saddle bags. The warmth along with the whiskey soon
improved both their moods enough to dig out shaving equipment to make an
attempt to look respectable and downplay any suspicion about them.
"Heyes you see the way that
barkeep looked at us, he's thinking too hard," Kid said moodily as he
pulled on a dry shirt from off the back of a chair next to the pot belly.
"Kid the way we looked coming out
of that storm I would have been skeptical of us," Heyes said turning away
from the mirror, which in all honesty was just a sliver from a broken looking
glass and only allowed a man to see a small portion of his face at a time. "We'll just go down there and get some
supper and put their minds at ease. Then when we see an opening we’ll ease into
one of those poker games going on."
"Can we afford supper? I mean that Libby is probably charging for
the forks and plates too."
Heyes laughed pulling on his vest,
"Don't give her ideas."
“Seriously Heyes this room just about
took all the money we have on us, we can’t afford another night if we want to
keep eating. We gotta find some work or
you gotta win real good tonight.”
“I’ll do my best,” Heyes said smiled
at his friend’s confidence in his skill.
Truth was Kid was no slouch at poker himself, but always deferred the
game to Heyes if there was only one seat. “And let’s worry about tomorrow when it gets
here. We got a room and food tonight and
most importantly were not out there!”
Kid had to nod secretly happy to let
his partner’s optimistic nature buoy his own more practical one, "You got
a point and I have to admit I’m kinda grateful were on the second floor,"
Kid said looking out the window.
"Though by morning that might not hold as true."
“Yea the last thing we want to do is
get stranded here,” Heyes said. “Can you
imagine how much this room would be if the ground floor was under water!?”
***********************************
Heyes and Curry descended the stairs
to see the room had swelled by four more men who sat in the back corner looking
wet and miserable and bringing the aroma of damp clothing to an uncomfortable
level.
“Them the fellas that took our room?”
one of them said loud enough to Libby as she passed so the whole room could
hear.
Libby turned back from placing plates
of hot food down and looked at the four.
“I told you I gave the last room up 3
hours ago your welcome to sleep in here if you don’t cause any trouble.”
“Me and my boys don’t cause trouble
ma’am,” the older of the four said standing up. He was near thirty and wore his two guns
facing in. A
“You boys got names?” Libby said
attempting to ease the tension in the room.
“Why we surely do ma’am,” the man
replied giving his friends an amused laugh.
“That small one shivering in the corner is Mountain Bill; he may look
small, but well hell I guess he is. This
fella on my right is Dandy Joe Cummings, finest knife thrower ever walked. The fella on my left with that mean scar and
funny tick is Michael Denby, he don’t talk much seeing as how that got him the
scar. And me? Well I’m Arkansas Johnson and I know about
that scar for a fact cause I gave it to him.”
“Fine way to treat your friends,”
Libby said disapprovingly.
“You should see how I treat them what ain’t
my friends,” he grinned smoothing down his mustache. “Which brings me to the little problem of our
room…?”
He never got to finish as the front doors
suddenly burst open and a large burly figure stumbled in carrying a second man
clearly in bad shape.
“Libby! I need
bandages!” the man bellowed as a third figure, a young boy of no more
than 16 hurried to shut the door and lug in the gear he had been carrying. Quickly the lamps were once more relit as the
demands of the four were forgotten over more pressing needs.
“Who is it Hoover?” Libby asked
clearing a table for him to lay the unconscious man down only to fall back and
gasp with the rest of the room at the state of the man. He was blood soaked with flesh torn out of
his left leg and side, not to mention a stump that was all that remained of his
left arm.
“Miner, found him down along by
“Whiskey,” the man begged.
“You got it son,” Libby said
comfortingly to the man and hurried to the bar to scoop up a glass.
“Ma’am I’m no doctor, but with
bleeding like that I don’t think whiskey is going to…” Heyes said softly to
her.
“I know, but he ain’t got but another
five breaths left in him, least I can do is give him comfort,” the woman
whispered back.
Heyes nodded and watched as the tough
innkeeper gently helped the dying man sip the hard liquor in grateful gulps
under soft words of hope.
A minute later he was dead.
“Hell and damnation after all that
work getting him here the least he could have done was live!”
“You and Charlie look done in, go back
to my room and clean up and rummage for some dry clothes,” Libby said putting a
comforting hand on his shoulder.
The man nodded, “Let me settle him out
back first, no point in anyone else getting wet and blood soaked.”
“Wait a minute lady I thought you said
you had no more rooms?” Johnson said annoyed he was no longer the center of
attention.
“That there is my room and I only let
friends use it,” Libby said coldly having clearly given up any hope of staying
civil with the strangers.
“Well I think we just became your best
friends,” Johnson said with a smirk. “My
boys can have those fellas room and I’ll take yours.”
“You go to hell you scallywag!” Libby
said hands on her hips as Jake slowly rose to his feet and made a move for his
rifle.
“Don’t be trying nothing mister,”
Denby said backing up his friend as all four strangers stood when Jake growled
and turned to face them. “Or your gonna
be wearing your own blood to match his.”
“Uh excuse me don’t you think you
should be discussing these room arrangements with us?” Heyes said quietly from
the bar. He had turned slightly to allow
Kid a clear shot, but had unhooked his own weapon as well. Just as his cousin rated his gambling skills
higher, Heyes did the same to his partner’s ability with a gun, but it didn’t
mean he couldn’t hold his own and then some push come to shove.
“Mister you are gonna sleep out in the
rain with that dead fella if you give us any problem,” Johnson said spitting
and looking hungry for a fight.
“After you,” Kid said turning to face
him.
The knife came from out of no where,
but Kid was ready his first bullet deflecting it and his second hitting the
thrower dead center as he moved to release a second knife.
“Ain’t nobody that fast,” Dandy Joe
whispered and dropped hard.
But it was the third and fourth
bullets that even surprised Heyes. They
came so fast it was as if they had been shot simultaneously and for a moment
Heyes wasn’t sure what his partner had been aiming at until the giant wagon
wheel and the candles it held lit crashed down onto the three remaining men
under it.
One of the men groaned and still tried
to paw for his gun only to have Heyes click his revolver back in his face.
“Ah uh,” Heyes said firmly. “First off
I don’t like being evicted from a room I all ready paid for and second people
trying to kill me before supper just leaves a bad taste in my mouth so let it
be or we’ll finish it.”
Heyes’s voice was husky with anger and
his eyes flashed dangerously. The room
was instantly convinced these were not just two trail bums to be pushed around.
“Hell he shot that rope straight
threw!”
“Get their guns,” Kid told Hoover who
with a hearty laugh collected them and passed them off to the teen Charlie who
was staring at Heyes and Curry as if trying to engrave them forever in his
memory.
“What you wanna do with them Libby?”
Jake Hoover asked Libby who had stood back watching.
“Put them in the tack house in the
stable; got a good lock on the door.
We’ll leave them there to morning and then decide.”
“You can’t stick us out there we’ll drown,”
Mountain Bill said angrily.
“Son you better be grateful we don’t
just hang you now and save us the bother of finding dry rope in the morning,”
“You think maybe the law has paper on
them?” Libby said always the business woman.
“Hell no we ain’t wanted! We’re bounty
hunters!” Johnson spat.
“Yea well tonight you’re gonna be cold
and wet ones!” Paul the cowboy laughed.
It took very little time to get the 3
men and their wounded friend out to the tack room. Kid had volunteered to go along wanting to be
sure the men were not going to have any chance of coming back and bushwhacking
him and Heyes in the middle of the night.
He was relieved to find Libby had
taken extra care to protect the stage lines property and the door and lock on
the windowless room would not allow any chance for escape, especially after Kid
tied them all firmly with leather strips.
“What about our friend? He’s gut shot,
he needs a doctor,” Denby whined.
“I don’t reckon he’ll see morning even
with a doctor,”
“Didn’t have much time for that
reason,” Kid said still regretting he had been forced to shoot to kill.
“You done right by all of us, man has
a right to protect himself, even the Bible tells ya that,”
“Thaddeus Jones.”
“Well let’s get back Mr. Jones and see
about something hot and solid to fill our bellies. Damn I’m sick of water.”
Returning to the trading post
“How’s it look?” Heyes asked quietly.
“They aren’t going anywhere and there
are just three of them now,” Kid replied simply.
Heyes nodded, he knew better than to
take his partner’s unemotional summation as callous. Kid did not take having to draw to kill
lightly, but the man had given him no choice; faced with killing to save
himself or his partner, Kid never wavered.
“Libby was real grateful you handling
things,” Heyes said quietly.
“Dinner free?” Kid asked surprised.
“No,” Heyes said straight faced. “But she didn’t charge us for the plates.”
Kid sighed clearly annoyed it had come
to this, “She’ll probably charge me for the wagon wheel’s rope then.” And picking up his fork he began to eat with
little enthusiasm.
“How the hell did you think of that?”
Heyes asked sincerely impressed and attempting to lighten the mood.
“I read I did it in a dime novel
once,” Kid said. “I remembered it when I
saw the way the lights were held up; wondered if it might come in useful when
we came down and saw those four.”
“Kid, let it go, you could have just as
easily and justifiably killed them all,” Heyes said seriously.
Curry sighed and finally looked
up. “I just didn’t have time Heyes, not
with him being that good with a knife.”
“Yea,” Heyes nodded sadly. “Age is slowing you down, did all that in under
3 seconds. Why I remember a time…”
Kid looked up sharply and Heyes gave
him a grin. It was the same smile that
had brought him back every time he had been forced to shoot to kill.
Kid felt some of the tension in his
shoulders slip away and the knot in his stomach begin to release.
“Thought you boys might like some
pie,” Libby said suddenly at their back and placing two large slices next to
them. “And don’t worry boys,” she said
fighting a smile. “It’s on the house.”
She walked away without another word,
but her simple act was enough.
“You think she’s grateful enough to
allow seconds for free?” Kid said suddenly hungry again.
“Yea, but she’s still gonna charge you
for the rope.”
*********************************
Jeremiah Hillstone moved quietly out
the back door and made his way cautiously through the mud and rain. Miss Cromwell would not miss him if he was
quick and he couldn’t sit still thinking on the fortune that was his if he was
brave enough to act on it.
When them two outlaws first walked in
he had thought about taking them in himself, but after that one called Curry
drew his gun he knew he wouldn’t have a chance.
But those men, those bounty hunters, were up to the job and splitting
$20,000 four ways was better than nothing.
But he would have to be careful. No white man was gonna give up $5,000 to him
without a little leverage. He shifted
the weight of his rifle; he would just have to make sure he kept it.
*********************************
Seeing a seat opening up at a game
Heyes spooned up the last of his food and with his cousin’s blessing ambled
over to join it.
Poker was better when it was being
played to pass time and not for survival Curry felt, but knew Heyes thrived on
a challenge that meant ensuring they would eat the next day.
Getting up he wandered over to fill up
his coffee cup too on edge to consider anymore alcohol for the night. Reaching the pot he glanced over to see the
teen Charlie over by the fire sketching away on paper as if his life depended
on it.
Curious he wandered over and let out a
low whistle. It was a crude charcoal
drawing done on the back of a bill of lading, but there was no doubt he had
captured the action and deadliness of the shootout. All the figures seemed fluid and in motion
and Kid had to exhale relieved the boy had not the means to sharpen the images
to recognizable figures.
“You’re good,” Kid said simply pulling
up a chair next to him and studying the drawing. “Looks like its alive, most folks can’t draw people
like that.”
Charlie grinned, he was a skinny teen
of perhaps 16 who could have used a few more good meals, but his eyes were
bright and intelligent.
“Thank you!” he said flushing at the
compliment. “Never seen anything like
how you and your partner handled yourselves.”
“A man tends to get worked up about
giving up a dry place to sleep on a night like this,” Kid said brushing it off.
“You moved faster than my eye could
follow, you always been that good with a gun?”
“You always been that good with a pencil?”
Kid turned it back.
“Just do this for fun, I came out west
to be a cowboy, ceptin I’m not having the best of luck, if Jake hadn’t of took
me in I would have starved by now.”
“Ain’t easy a man getting a stake out
here and keeping it,” Kid said and Charlie flushed at compliment of being
called a man. “Where you from?”
“
Kid laughed, “Wait till you try and
turn a cow.” He got up seeing an opening
at another table presenting itself.
“Mr. Jones you think I could ever be
as good as you with that gun?”
Kid looked the boy dead in the eye,
“Son if I had your talent I would never have slapped a holster on. You got a real gift there.”
“Won’t keep me alive,” the boy
replied.
“Nope, but neither will this forever.”
********************************
It was ten the next morning before the
sun put in an appearance and neither Heyes or his cousin made any great effort
to rise early to wait for it. Poker had
been penny ante and despite being the big winners of the night they had little
more in their pocket than when they started.
They needed work and quickly if they were going to continue to eat as
they headed south.
Climbing down the stairs they realized
they weren’t the only later risers, everyone being held in check until they
were sure the rain had let up. With
Jeremiah clearly having his hands full supplying breakfast they stepped outside
to survey the damage and wait for a chance to eat.
“What a mess,” Kid said shaking his
head at the mud stretched out before them.
Across the compound the cowboy, severely hung over, was mounting up
along side a group or miners also moving out while the weather held.
When Kid received no reply from his
partner he turned to find Heyes studying a hand written flyer tacked to the
makeshift bulletin board next to the door.
Glancing over his partner’s shoulder
he read:
REWARD!!!
$500 Bounty
For Bear terrorizing
See Jake Hoover
Kid grimaced at the thought and was
about to turn away when he realized his partner was still studying it.
“You are not seriously thinking of
taking that job are you?” Kid said incredulously making sure he emphasized the ‘you’
part as he did.
“$500, Kid,” Heyes said, but didn’t
look at him.
“Heyes that bear has killed 6
men! And those are the ones he left
enough to count!”
“They didn’t have any experience with
that kind of hunting.”
“And we do?”
“Did pretty good at the Carlson’s.”
“Heyes you got jumped by a cat and in
the end nearly killed.”
“Bear that big can’t sneak up on you.”
“Yea I bet the fella they are burying
out back thought the same thing.”
“Nothing too it. Remember when Grandpa Curry used to tell us
about taking just one shot to bring down that 12 foot grizzly...”
“Yea and he also told us about how he
used to drink whiskey with the little people!”
“Our Pa’s killed that big one,
remember them coming home with it? Your
Ma sure cried a lot for them you think it had killed them.”
Kid gave him a hard look.
“Anyway what I’m getting at is bear
killing is in our blood!”
“Oh there will be blood all right.”
“Five hundred dollars Kid!”
“I can’t spend it in a bear’s belly!”
Kid growled.
“You boys interested?” Jake Hoover
said coming up. “Miners and ranchers
these parts are paying a fine bounty for that critter. Lost too many men all ready this summer and
it is only gonna get worse as the autumn creeps in. Beast is a man killer and he ain’t gonna be
discriminating on how he packs on fat for hibernating.”
“I don’t know, just 500? Not much for a killer,” Heyes negotiated and
Kid turned away disgusted.
“Plus you can keep the fur or sell it
for another $100.”
“$600 for one bear!” Kid said turning
back now totally convinced he did not want the job.
“Must be some bear,” Heyes said poker
faced.
“You saw that fella last night, that’s
more than we’ve found of men who went after him previous,” Jake said.
“Thanks, but we prefer work where we
don’t have a chance of being eaten,” Kid said firmly.
Heyes paused still considering the
money. It would easily tide them over
for a few months and summer would not last forever. Work was hard to find once the season changed
and sleeping out of doors out of the question.
“Well let me know if you change your
mind. I’m heading back to my ranch and
you could go with me and I could show you where he’s been spotted.”
The man walked away and Kid just
stared at his partner.
“No Heyes.”
Heyes finally squinted and gave him a
smile, “Your fault Kid, I just got too much confidence in you and your aim. Why
one good shot through the eye and he’d drop down…”
“Yea well when the bear ties on a gun
and wants to meet me in the street we’ll talk.”
Heyes laughed and followed his friend
in for breakfast. The truth was he did
have an unshakeable faith in his partner in any situation that required a
gun. Kid was a hell of a tracker too. But he understood his reluctance and had to
agree they were smarter to try and find work that while may not pay as much
would at least leave them un-mauled at the end of the day.
“Jake didn’t talk you into hunting
down that bear did he?” Libby said
coming over with hot coffee.
“No last night convinced us we can
find work that is less likely to eat us,” Kid said firmly.
“You boys heading out this
morning? Trail is gonna be real muddy
and the river has overrun its banks.”
“Yea, but we have a friend expecting
us,” Heyes smiled.
“Sure?
The room drops considerable when it isn’t raining!”
“We’ll keep that in mind for next
time,” Kid smiled as she handed them over a full plate each for breakfast.
“Well then eat up gonna be a ways
before you all see another place to hide up.”
Tucking into their meals they ate
enthusiastically as Libby wandered away yelling for Jeremiah who had let the
fire die down.
“You still think Jeremiah knows us?”
Heyes asked softly.
“Yea,” Kid said simply. “You?”
“He knows,” Heyes said quietly. “But I don’t think he’ll brace you after
seeing you in action, but he’s got himself three bounty hunters locked up who
might if he cut them in.”
“You think he’s stupid enough to trust
them to do that?” Kid asked.
“I think he’s greedy enough to think
he has a plan to…”
As if in confirmation of Heyes’s
prediction gunshots suddenly rang out and leaping to their feet the two men hit
the door and out onto the porch just in time to see Jeremiah drop face first
into the muddy street. Behind him one of
the bounty hunters, Mountain Bill, had a shotgun which was still smoking.
“Now nobody move or we’ll take off
this kid’s head!” Johnson yelled as
Denby pushed Charlie forward a peacemaker at his throat.
“What the hell do you think you are
doing…?” Libby started to say and suddenly found herself pinned in front of
Johnson.
“Shut up old woman, we want them two,
anyone else tries anything we’ll kill you with the boy understand?”
For a moment the courtyard was
silent. From where they stood both
ex-outlaws had a good chance of getting off a shot and maybe reaching their
horses, but to do so would mean shooting through both the boy and the woman.
The other men looked at one another no
one knowing what to do or wanting to take a chance of killing the innocent or
being one of those innocent.
“Any chance,” Heyes hissed.
“Not without a blood bath,” Kid said
with a sigh. “All right, all right let
them go.”
“Bill git their guns,” Johnson said
with a sneer. “Seems Hannibal Heyes and
Kid Curry ain’t so big and tough after all!”
***********************************
“Can they do that?” Charlie said
horrified as the three men pulled out hand irons and bound the two cousin’s
hands behind them.
“If’n they are who they say they are I
reckon,”
“You just back off mister or I’ll
plant you like that bartender! That damn
fool told us who they were and then thought we would split the reward with
him! Hell I wouldn’t have split it with
a white man let alone…”
Heyes suddenly tripped and went down
on one knee. Roughly Denby pulled him to
his feet.
“Look Mr. Outlaw near as I reckon your
wanted dead or alive and while dead is easier the smell plum gets on my nerves
when I got this long a trip ahead of me so you just mind your manners and we’ll
bring you in alive!”
Heyes nodded complacently and Kid knew
he had gotten the lock pick from his boot. It was a lucky break them using
irons instead of ropes. Knots took time,
locks…well Heyes had yet to meet one he couldn’t coerce into cooperating.
Heyes meanwhile, lock pick securely in
hand frowned trying to think of something to give them a distraction. Even with the chains unlocked they were still
unarmed and outnumbered. With the mud
and rain damage they were looking at least a four day ride to the nearest
sheriff and that meant time to find a way to escape.
And then he saw it. Libby and
As the man with him waited for the
horses to be brought up Heyes pretended to pause at Jeremiah’s body as if
fascinated by the hole blown through the man; even to the point of leaning
forward and appearing to pick at.
Frowning Kid watched this, but knowing
his partner gave him a momentary distraction by stopping stubbornly and forcing
his guard to run into him causing a few terse remarks and everyone’s attention
to turn on him.
Heyes took advantage of it and quickly
balled the blood soaked bandana into his hand.
“Come on boy or you gonna look the
same,” Johnson growled pushing Kid over to the horses and pulling Heyes
likewise.
Quickly Heyes tucked the cloth into
the man’s saddlebag and then innocently got aboard his horse, but not before
wiping the blood from his hand on a second bounty hunter’s horse’s flank.
Kid caught the motion and gave him a
puzzled look until he thought it out and stared at Heyes in shock. It was a crazy imaginative idea that just
might backfire on them, but he had to grin at his partner’s audacity.
“You see what he did?” sharp eyed
Charlie whispered to
“Sure did,”
“You think he’s crazy?” Charlie asked.
*******************************
The storm had left a wake of debris in
the form of downed trees and combined with the mud what little trail was left
was slow going at best. Both outlaws
bided their time knowing any delay worked in their favor and the more
frustrated their captors became the greater chance of them making a mistake
they could capitalize on.
Surrendering after going only 10 miles
the group stopped to make camp next to the river flanked on one side by a large
pile of boulders and the other dense black forest.
The two prisoners were chained
together to a tree, much to Heyes’s delight, and ignored.
“Hey what about supper?” Kid attempted
after the men had settled down next to the fire grumbling the river was moving
too fast to cross and would slow them down even further.
“Ain’t wasting supplies on you two,”
Johnson spat spooning out his beans. “Besides figure you two will be a lot
easier to deal with hungry and thirsty!”
“Real charmer isn’t he,” Kid said
softly.
“We’ll wait till they bed down then split
up. I’ll head up over the rocks. You
head into the woods,” Heyes said quietly.
“We’ll meet at the river fork once we’ve lost them.”
“I’ll see if I can get us a horse
while I’m at it,” Kid agreed.
It was well after
The uncomfortable cold night in the
barn along with the hard journey had left the three remaining bounty hunters
too tired to even consider a sentry as long as they had the iron handcuffs to
reassure them.
Slowly the outlaws silently rose to
their feet and waited for a reaction; when none came Heyes quietly slipped over
to the rocks and began to make his escape.
Kid moved the other direction and as
he did spotted his holster discarded next to the men’s saddle bags.
For a moment he was severely tempted,
but then deciding it was not worth the chance he reached the edge of the camp
and melted into the trees unseen.
And then their luck gave out.
Something stirred Johnson, perhaps a
six sense or just the moon coming out from behind the clouds and he sat up
groggily just as Heyes reached mid way up the rocks.
With a yell he grabbed his gun and
roused his companions who scooped up theirs and all turned to fire on Heyes
trapped without cover.
One man got off a shot and Heyes
dodged it just missing him all too aware of how exposed his back was. A second
shot chipped the rock next to his leg as he tried to scramble to safety.
Kid was in the clear when he heard the
first shot. He had managed to free a
horse and was scattering the others when he realized his partner had been spotted. Without hesitating he abandoned his escape
and ran back.
Heyes was hanging precariously now on the rock and
without pausing Curry dived back into camp and for his gun. Startled the men leapt for cover as Kid
pinned them down giving his cousin the precious seconds he needed to reach the
top and disappear out of range.
His gun clicked on an empty chamber
and sighing Kid leaned back as the three men warily got up and surrounded him
guns drawn.
“Damn it!” Johnson swore kicking him viciously in the
leg. “I thought we chained them up!”
“Must have picked them,” Denby said
scooping up his rifle. “I’ll get the other one.”
“I’m gonna kill you right now boy!”
Johnson roared clicking his gun back at Curry.
“Dang Johnson don’t be getting all
crazy we need him!” Denby said pushing his arm down. “If’n his partner thinks he’s still alive
he’s not gonna go too far hopin’ to get him clear too.”
Johnson considered this, “Yea you
might be right, heard these two were family. Bill you go with Denby,” Johnson
said still furious. “Help me tie this fella up and then I’m gonna make sure he
ain’t got no strength to be trying nuthin else.”
***************************
Heyes reached the back of the rocks
knowing full the sacrifice his partner had made. It would do nothing to dwell on it or even
consider guilt since both knew had the circumstances been reversed he would
have done the same. Well I wouldn’t have
gotten caught, Heyes corrected himself.
Determined not to let his partner’s surrender
be in vain he moved quickly through the woods knowing Johnson would have the
others after him as soon as Kid was secured.
He tried not to think about how they
would take out their frustration on his cousin, but instead turned his energy
to getting away. Once they thought they
had lost him he would have time to think about rescues AND payback.
It wasn’t long before he heard the men
behind him crashing through the trees.
For bounty hunters they possessed little skill as woodsmen and Heyes was
easily able to move away from them unnoticed.
He and Kid had entered too many banks successfully in the dead of night
not to have learned the art of moving silently and it held him in good stead
now.
“Aw hell we ain’t never gonna be able
to track him in the dark,” Denby yelled finally. “This mud gonna leave some fine tracks come
morning, lets go back and git our horses.
He ain’t gonna get far on foot.”
Bill seemed to agree for Heyes heard
them moving away and slowly exhaled.
Figuring he had just a few hours to work
with he took off and hoped a plan would find him.
A moment later he stopped dead having
nearly tripped over an object in his path.
It only took a moment longer to
realize it was a body.
Or what was left of one.
***************************
Kid was pulled to his feet painfully two
hours later. The bounty hunters had
indeed taken their anger out on him and the beating had been a thorough one. Aching with sore ribs, one eye puffy and
bruised, and with his lip swollen with dried blood he looked like hell and felt
near the same. It was gonna be a long
ride if Heyes didn’t come up with something soon.
Doubt that his partner, unarmed,
without a horse in the middle of nowhere would figure out a way to save him
never crossed his mind. Heyes was
predictable in only one way. He loved
doing the impossible.
It took help getting him on his horse
and Kid closed his one good eye trying to fight the nausea threatening to send
him right back off it.
The men quickly picked up Heyes’s
trail, but it was fully light before they found the body.
It consisted of only the upper torso
and the right arm and it lay in a mangled heap on the trail.
Johnson slipped off his horse to
investigate as a hush fell over the group.
“Damn there ain’t nuthin but the top
left…” Bill swallowed.
“What happened to his head?” Denby whispered as
Johnson picked up a discarded and all too familiar black hat.
“Hell, damn bear didn’t give us enough
to collect the reward on,” Johnson said disgusted.
Kid stared his face expressionless. The hat was his partner’s and he recognized
the fragment of shirt, it had been his. Heyes had borrowed it since it was dry
first.
“Looks like your partner didn’t do too
good,” Johnson smirked at Kid hoping for a reaction.
Kid didn’t give him the satisfaction
just stared back at him concentrating on where he was going to put the first
bullet when he got free.
“Lets ride that bear might still be
around,” Denby said uneasily.
Kid tried to put the memory of the
body out of his head. Yea it was Heyes’s
clothing, but. He let out a breath
trying to fight down his fear. He had to
believe it was a trick. Heyes wouldn’t
lose that easy, not this way.
“Keep your guns ready boys,” Johnson
said looking around clearly spooked.
“That bear done gone and ate $10,000 and I don’t want it to add one of
us as well.”
**********************************
Heyes reached the perimeter of the
small ranch and crouched down planning his next move. He had hoped the trail he had stumbled across
would lead to the ranch
Shivering he shrugged off the cold. Leaving his jacket, shirt and hat behind had been a small sacrifice to get his pursuers off his trail. He had stumbled on the remains of the poor cowboy from the trading post in the dark and despite his horror at the poor man’s fate