Conagher (1969) Read online

  The trail of the stolen cattle lay under it.

  He plodded on, holding a hand over hi s nose, trying to keep his scarf across hi s face. Once again the horse fell, slipping o n an icy rock beneath the snow, and agai n Conagher got it up. Now he could see th e low black line of the hills, with a sta r hanging low in the sky.

  A star? No, it was a light. It had to be a light, as low as that. He closed his eyes , took two steps forward and opened them.

  The light was still there. He was no t dreaming.

  Evie was serving hot soup to th e children when something fell against th e door. Putting the soup down hastily, sh e went to the door, hesitated a moment, the n opened it.

  A snow-blurred, half-frozen man topple d into the room, fell to his knees, the n struggled up.

  My horse, he mumbled , my horse i s out there .

  I'll get him, Laban said, and went fo r his coat and mittens . I'll put him up .

  You'd better have some soup , Evi e said practically, and guided him to a plac e on a bench, not bothering to remove hi s outer clothing. Let him get warm first.

  Her floor had been wet from melting sno w before this, and on a dirt floor it would be a trouble only briefly.

  She put soup into a bowl and spoone d some of it into his mouth. After about th e third spoonful, he stopped her an d struggled to get off his gloves and his fu r cap.

  Why, you're Mr. Conagher ! sh e exclaimed.

  I reckon so, ma'am. . . . That sou p surely tastes good . He started to rise.

  Got to take care of my horse .

  Let Laban do it. He's very good wit h animals, and he'll like doing it .

  After a while Conagher stood up an d removed his sheepskin coat, and then sa t down again to finish the soup.

  Two days, he said . It's the first I'v e eaten in two days. My grub played out , but I had coffee until this morning. Trie d to make some, but the wind blew out m y fire, blew my coffee into the snow .

  Where did you come from ?

  Ranch south of here. Away dow n yonder .

  Laban came in while Conagher was o n his second bowl of soup . I rubbed you r horse down, sir. I am sorry we have n o grain .

  Conagher looked up and grinned . Yo u feed that mustang grain and he'd recko n you was tryin' to poison him. Thank you , son. That horse has come a far piece .

  It is bad weather to ride in .

  I was folio win' some rustled cattle.

  Lost the trail in the snow .

  Evie looked at Laban, and Conaghe r caught her glance . You seen any cows ? h e asked.

  Yes, sir, I saw some. I think they'r e being held in a corral over back of us, bac k in the mountains a few miles .

  How many men?

  I don't know, sir. Maybe only a couple, but there might have bee n more .

  We could send word by the nex t stage , Evie suggested , and the sherif f could ride over from the Plaza .

  Ma'am, those cattle would be clea n gone out of the country by that time. No , ma'am, I figure the sheriff has a-plenty t o do without me causing him trouble. I'l l just mosey up there and start those cattl e back home .

  She was silent for a few minutes an d then she said , If you could wait w e might get some help for you. It woul d only?

  Mrs. Teale, a man who has to ask fo r help better not start out in the firs t place .

  The heat was beginning to drive th e cold from his flesh, slowly sinking deepe r into his body, and as it did so he felt a vas t comfort and a sense of ease and wellbein g come over him.

  Even as he began to grow sleepy h e became aware of the neatness of the cabin , the good manners of the children, and th e quiet sense of security.

  Evie Teale brought him a plate of bee f and beans, and some baking-powde r biscuits, and he ate, almost falling aslee p in the process. When he had finishe d eating, Evie suggested that he unroll hi s blankets on the floor and sleep.

  She stepped around him as she worked.

  He was a lean, powerful man, taller bu t not much heavier than Jacob. How blac k his stubble of beard showed against hi s face!

  This was the man who had given Kiow a Staples that awful beating, but he did no t look like a brutal man.

  In the last hours of the night, she awok e suddenly and for an instant she lay quiet , wondering what had wakened her. Sh e thought she had felt a cold draft. . . she sa t up and looked toward where Conagher's bed had been.

  It was gone, and Conagher was gone.

  She lay down again, feeling a strang e sense of loss, of loneliness . . . but that wa s foolish. He was nothing to herjust a strange, lonely, violent man, and sh e would not be likely to see him again.

  CONN CONAGHER rode out in the J m orning, still tired though he ha d slept the night through on the dir t floor in the pleasantly warm cabin. But i t had been almost too com fortable for him.

  When a man gets used to sleepin g wherever he can spread himself, he soon ' g ets to like it. When he left in the earl y hours before daylight he rode out becaus e he sim ply felt more comfortable in a saddle than in a house.

  It was cold. The gelding had humped it s back against the saddle, liking the shelte r of the shed, flimsy as it was, but Conaghe r knew what he had to do. Before he got u p into the saddle he took out his pistol an d gave the cylinder a spin or two and trie d the action. So metimes the oil will stiffe n up when a gun has been out in the cold.

  He tied his scarf around his face, tucked I n his ears unde r the earlaps, and rode int o the trees. There was deep snow excep t where the wind had swept the hillsid e clear, and he was not expecting an eas y time of it. But nobody likes to roll out a t daybreak on a cold morning, and outlaw s were even less likely to do it than workin g cowhands.

  It took him two hours to struggl e through the heavy snow to where he coul d look into the basin. He saw a hollow wher e the wide-spreading branches of a couple o f big twin pines had kept the snow away an d formed a sort of shelter. He swung dow n and left the horse there while he went ou t on a point and bellied down among th e rocks.

  With his field glass he studied the cabi n below.

  The cattle were there. At that distanc e he couldn't make out the brands, but a cowman soon learns to recognize individua l cattle, just as a politician wil l recognize certain people in a crowd. Thes e were Seaborn Tay's cattle.

  Conagher studied the ground. As nea r as he could make out, there had been littl e movement around the dugout. A thi n column of smoke came from the stovepip e that did for a chimney.

  It seemed to be growing colder. The n Conagher realized that the wind wa s rising, coming right out of the north again.

  Well, that was good. This outfit wasn't likely to go anywhere with those cattle i n this snow with a north wind rising.

  He looked at the cabin again. He had n o sympathy for those men down there. The y were men not very unlike himself, but the y had chosen to steal rather than to work , and Conagher was a worker who believe d in an honest day for an honest dollar. He was going to take those cattle back to th e ranch, and that was all there was to it.

  He got up and went back to his horse.

  He considered a minute and then sai d aloud , The hell with it , and swung int o the leather.

  He turned the gelding on angle dow n the slope, keeping on the blind side of th e dugout. He hoped there were no cracks i n the walls, but it was likely that they had al l been stopped up to keep out the cold.

  He was feeling tough and mean with th e cold weather and the hard travel. He wasn't hunting trouble, but he just didn't give a damn. Bringing a few branches fro m a cedar, he rode up to the cabin close to th e chimney, which stuck out the side. Whe n he came alongside the dugout he spok e softly to his horse and stood up on th e saddle.

  The gelding was well trained, and coul d be climbed on or over. Standing on th e saddle, Conagher stuffed greenery into th e stovepipe, then filled any spaces with som e extra tufts of the cedar.

  He dropped down to the saddle, move d to the corner of the dugout, and wait
ed.

  Suddenly there was an explosion o f swearing and the door burst open, lettin g out a man in undershirt and pants wit h one boot on, the other in his hand. Th e other men piled out after him, coughin g and swearing, driven from their war m beds by the smoke, all of them angry, non e of them armed. Only one man had boot s on.

  All right! Conagher called. He put a bullet into the ground at their feet an d charged his horse between them and th e door of the cabin. One man, struck by th e shoulder of the horse, went sprawling int o the snow.

  Back up! Conagher ordered. He hel d the rifle in one hand and with the geldin g herded them back. One man made a dar t to get around him, and Conn struck him a back-hand blow with the rifle barrel tha t stretched him out in the snow . Get ou t there and take down the bars ! he said.

  I'll be damned if I will ! one ma n answered.

  You'll be damned if you don't !

  Conagher cocked the Winchester . Yo u call it. I've had a damn long, cold ride, an d I'd just as soon leave the three of you her e for the wolves. Get on with it !

  One of the men started to move slowly , after a quick glance at the others, and th e rest spread back, away from him.

  Conagher turned his horse and rode a t the gate, just in time to see a man throw u p a Winchester to take aim. He had bee n sleeping in the lean-to.

  Conagher, holding low, let go with hi s rifle. His first shot burned the man an d turned him, and Conagher fired again. He saw the rifle drop and, wheeling, he sho t again, this time using both hands, and th e man went plunging into the cabin door.

  He fell across the threshold, slowl y drawing up one leg, and then he lay still.

  Quietly Conagher said , You boy s better take down the bars .

  And they did.

  With his rifle he indicated one of th e men . You haze them out, then stan d back .

  When the cattle were outside, he tol d the men to line up, facing the pole corral , and had them put their hands against th e top rail. He swung down then and went u p to the wounded man in the corral an d collected his guns.

  A bullet had glanced off the lean-t o doorpost and gone through the man's forearm, going in above the wrist an d emerging near the elbow. His right han d was out of action, and was bleeding badly.

  Get out! Conagher booted him in th e rear and sent him out with the others. He thrust the man's six-shooter into his ow n waistband and put his Winchester into hi s saddle scabbard.

  You goin' to let me bleed to death ? t he man pleaded . For God's sake, man !

  You fool around with the band wagon , son , Conagher told him , and you'r e liable to get hit with the horn. You get u p against the fence and be glad I don't gutshoo t you .

  He backed off, and with a side swin g knocked in the glass in the window of th e shack. Most of the smoke from the fire wa s out by now, but he looked around, sa w (there was nobody inside, and collected th e guns.

  He threw their boots out into the snow.

  Get 'em on, he said. To one of the me n he said , You help the man with th e bloody arm. Better fix that arm up for him , too. A man bleeding like that's liable t o freeze to death .

  What you doing to us ?

  Don't hurry me. I might decide just t o shoot you instead of hangin' you, and I might turn you loose. I ain't made up m y mind .

  He glanced at the man who lay sprawle d in the doorway. He had never seen hi m before. He had never seen any of thes e men, but three of them rode Ladder Fiv e horses.

  After making sure there were no mor e weapons, he threw their coats to them.

  Then he gave a look around the cabin , keeping the men in his line of fire.

  There was a sack of canned goods , several slabs of bacon, and a sack of flour.

  He gathered them up and carried the m outside away from the door; then he wen t inside and kicked the coals from the fir e out into the room, and quickly steppe d out. In a moment the cabin had caugh t fire.

  What in hell you tryin' to do ? Th e one who yelled at Conagher was a blackjawe d man with a deep scar over one eye.

  This here place has been a hide-out fo r thieves long enough. I'm burnin' it out .

  What about our outfits ?

  The hell with you! You were fre e enough to steal ST cows. Get your outfit s where you got your orders .

  Smoke will kill you for this/' th e black-jawed man said , if I don't do i t first .

  You open your mouth again until I tel l you to , Conagher said mildly , an d you'll have a scar over the other eye .

  He pointed to another of the men . Yo u saddle up for all of you, and be fast about it .

  When the horses were saddled he tol d them to get on their horses and ride out.

  The sheriff in the Plaza is just a-waitin' f or you , he lied , so your best bet i s east .

  East? There ain't a town or place fo r fifty miles !

  Tough, ain't it? Well, that's the life of i an outlaw. You never know what's goin' t o happen next. As a matter of fact, there's a couple of sta ge stations, but I'd fight sh y of them, i f I were you. All of them kno w that brand you ride for .

  He gathered up their guns as they rod e out and put t hem in a sack, then he put th e supplie s into another sack and loade d them on the dead man's horse.

  Then he rode out, starting south , driving the cattle.

  When the small herd came down th e slope back of the Teale cabin, Evie , followed by Ruthie and Laban, came ou t to watch. The cattle gathered at the wate r hole and at the trough, and he rode up t o the cabin. He swung down and took th e bag of supplies from the back of the horse.

  Here's a couple of slabs of bacon, Mrs.

  Teale, and you can split the canned good s with me, and the coffee. You divide it up.

  I'll take one third to get me into th e Plaza .

  This is very nice of you, Mr.

  Conagher, but I am afraid we can't pay?

  Didn't ask you to. These here supplie s were the wages of sin, ma'am, an' th e woebegone sinners who pursued th e path of Satan have seen the error of thei r ways. You take that grub and be glad .

  He drew a six-shooter from the sack.

  You keep this, too, you might have us e for it .

  What happened, Mr. Conagher ?

  Nothing to speak of. Those sinner s came upon evil times, but if they're wis e they are headed east now, and makin' goo d time .

  He looked at her . You got any of tha t soup left, Mrs. Teale? I'm a right hungr y man .

  After he had eaten, watching the roa d through the windows, just in case, h e looked at Laban . Boy, how'd you like t o make a couple of dollars and a free ride o n the stage ?

  Laban glanced at Evie . Well, sir, I'd like it. But what would I have to do ?

  Help me drive this herd to the Plaza.

  I'll pay you two or three dollars and you r fare back on the stage .

  Is it all right, ma? Can I go ?

  Yes. Yes, you can. You'll take goo d care of him, Mr. Conagher ?

  Likely he'll take care of me. That's a fine, strong boy, Mrs. Teale, and he'l l make a good hand .

  When they reached the Plaza the y bunched the cattle at the stockyards an d put them in a pen.

  At the livery stable the hostler looke d sharply at the Ladder Five brand on th e horse that Laban rode . Now, see here? h e began.

  You see here, Conagher said . I'm leavin' that horse for any Ladder Fiv e rustler to pick up. And you can tell the m that was the way I put it. The rider ain't likely to show up to claim it, and if he doe s you can go down to the saloon and tel l those loafers you've seen a real honest-toAbe-Lincol n ghost .

  You penned some cattle .

  Those are ST cows and I'm an ST r ider, and in a few minutes I'm going t o sell those cattle, give the buyer a bill o f sale, and take a receipt. I'll be damned i f I'll drive them all the way back to th e ranch in this weather. Money is a whole lo t easier to carry .

  Conagher and Laban went across to th e saloon, which like all such saloons was a club house, an exchange for t
rail information, an auction or sales room, o r whatever. At the door Conagher paused , glanced around, and saw Mahler sittin g across the room. He walked in, and said t o Laban , You keep shy of me until w e leave. A saloon is no place for a boy, bu t we've got business to do .

  At the bar a squarely built man in a leather coat was watching them. Mahle r looked up, his face stiffening into har d lines as he recognized Conagher.

  Conagher approached the man at th e bar . Are you torn Webb ?

  I am.

  I ride for the ST. I've got twentyseve n head of good stock down at the pen s I'd like to sell. I'll give you a bill of sal e and I'll want a receipt .

  Webb hesitated . I can use the cattle.

  But isn't this an odd time to sell ?

  This here, Conagher spoke roughly , and not quietly , is recovered stolen stock.

  It's too far a piece to drive it back to th e outfit .

  Kris Mahler sat very still, starin g into his beer glass. His face was drawn an d cold. Conagher pointedly ignore d him.

  What happened? somebody asked.

  Conagher shrugged. His sheepskin coa t was unbuttoned and his gun hand wa s warm enough, warm as it would ever be.

  He did not want a shooting, but he jus t didn't care. He had ridden too far in th e cold, he had been caused some roug h work, and weariness had eaten into ever y bone and sinew.

  Trailed the cattle to a shack north o f Mrs. Teale's place. I recovered the cattle , burned the shack, and drove the stoc k here .

  You trailed them? In this snow ?

  Conagher looked at the speaker and sai d quietly , I trailed 'em. Happens I kne w about that shack, so when I lost the trail I knew they'd probably have to hole u p there .

  Nobody spoke for a few minutes, an d then Webb said , I'll walk over and look a t the cattle .

  Any idea who the men were ? one ma n asked.

  Well, they were ridin' Ladder Fiv e horses , Conagher said.

  Kris Mahler shoved back his chair an d got up. For a moment he stood, hand s resting on the table, staring down. The n he turned abruptly and strode from th e room.

  WITH the coming of spring th e wind blew cold and raw acros s the brown plains. Evie looke d at the stock with fear in her eyes, fo r both horses and cattle were painfull y thin. The past months had been hard.