Range War Along the Pecos, by John Theron Crow

Range War Along the Pecos

CHAPTER TEN

 
Charley's thoughts were brought back to the present by the sound of Emily's voice. "No girl, I do trust you, but I surely wish you wouldn't carry on like that. You should have at least had the decency to cover your eyes." she was saying.
"Oh aunt Em, I grew up swimmin' that way with my brother, so I know all about what men look like. And I'm certainly not in a family way either. For one thing, I'm upset about what happened last night. Poor Mr. Bolton. Losing his only son like that. And where was Jesse when this happened?! They say he was at the saloon, but nobody saw 'em after the shootin' started. It ain't like him to just stay out of somethin' like that." Charlene said.
"Isn't, not ain't. My goodness but your English is atrocious!" Emily scolded. "Well, if you ask me, I'd say he probably decided to mind his own business. No sense in getting killed over something that is none of your affair." she went on.
"Aunt Em, Jesse would have never stood around and allowed somethin' like that to happen without trying to stop it somehow. He must be hurt or somethin', but no one has seen him since just before the shooting started."
"Don't worry, Charlene, he'll turn up. If he were hurt, surely we'd have heard about it." Emily Cunningham replied reassuringly. "What else is bothering you? You said it was `A couple of things.'" Emily prodded.
"Well, yesterday, I got a letter from Johnny. You heard that he'd been pardoned, now he says he's comin' to town." Charlene answered shakily.
"Good Lord NO! Heaven help us, that's all we need right now." Emily replied, genuinely upset now.
Charlene said, "I only hope he doesn't decide to hire on with Tanner. It may depend on how we treat 'em after all this time."
"Treat HIM," Emily said incredulously, "its because of him that my husband is dead!"
Exasperated, Charlene said, "Aunt Em, you know that he wasn't the one that shot yer husband. One of the gang that was caught, cleared em on that charge. It was Cole Younger that killed Uncle Nelson, and you know it, too."
"Well, YOUR brother was certainly in on it and I just cannot find it in my heart to overlook that fact." Emily said stubbornly. "You'll feel the same way as I do when he ends up gunning down your friend Jesse Logan. Yes, then you'll know how I feel." Emily said quietly.
Charlene's body went cold with fear, and she was barely able to suppress a shudder. She silently prayed that Emily's words would not turn out to be prophetic. The problem was, it certainly could happen that way-- if Jesse wasn't dead already.
Johnny already had enemies around Olsen's Falls, two of them worked for Moose Murdoch. They were brothers, Tommy and Joshua Mason. They had sworn vengeance against Lancer some years back after Johnny had killed their older brother Will in a gunfight in Piedras Negras, Mexico.
Lancer along with an outlaw friend named Billy Barnes, had recently robbed the stage that ran between San Antonio and Laredo, making off with over $3,000.oo. When the Rangers were notified, Will Mason, was the ranger who was sent to capture the two since he was in Laredo at the time.
Lancer and Barnes had decided to split up, and meet again in Eagle Pass. Lancer was going there directly, but Barnes wished to go to Uvalde to see his Mexican sweetheart for a couple of days. Ranger Mason knew Billy Barnes, and consequently, also knew of his love interest in Uvalde. He figured that both outlaws would naturally head there first before going anywhere else. Mason caught up with Barnes two days later in a saloon in Uvalde. He braced him, and Barnes elected to go for his gun rather than surrender. It was his last mistake.
After killing Barnes, and collecting his half of the ill-gotten-gains, Ranger Mason had found Barnes' girlfriend and interrogated her as to her knowledge of Lancer's whereabouts. It had turned out that Barnes had had a loose lips and had bragged all about the robbery to his girlfriend. Fortunately for Ranger Mason, she had no qualms about revealing what she knew. Mason immediately set out for Eagle Pass.
Prior to his arrival though, a man who was friendly to Johnny, and who knew Mason's identity, had informed Lancer of the ranger's impending arrival. Lancer immediately crossed the border into Piedras Negras where he assumed he would be out of the ranger's jurisdiction. Technically, he was. But ranger Mason was not a man to be put off by mere technicalities.
Lancer was already a wanted man, and already somewhat notorious. Besides, Mason was to be married in Laredo in just over two weeks and he had no intention of waiting until Johnny Lancer had decided to cross back over the border. Thus, Will Mason too, crossed over into Mexico. Mason found Lancer in a little cantina flirting with one of the Mexican girls who frequented the establishment.
He merely walked up and said, "Alright, Lancer, I know who you are and what you did. I'm Will Mason, of the Texas Rangers and I'm here to take you back to Laredo. Now I'm due to be married in a couple of weeks so I haven't got time to wait until you decide to amble on back to Texas. So we can do this one of two ways. You can drop your guns and come along peaceably, or I can shoot you and carry you back draped across your horse. Which will it be? Your pardner Barnes went for his gun. He's dead. What's yer choice?"
Lancer replied, "Well, there is one other choice, Will. You can forget about me and maybe you'll live long enough to get married after all. I knew your brothers when I was younger, and they are friends of mine."
Mason drawled, "That may well be mister, but I've a job to do, and I aim to get it done."
Johnny then stepped away from the bar, pushed his hat back on his head, and said ominously, "Well then ranger Mason, you can pull that pistol or kiss my ass, but I ain't goin' nowhere with you!"
The two stared at each other for a moment, eye to eye. The older, seasoned man catcher and the audacious, teenage outlaw, then they went for their guns. Lancer fired two Colt 44s simultaneously into Mason's heart before Mason had leveled his own pistol.
Afterwards, Lancer had relieved the Ranger of Barnes' half of the holdup money, he then paid for the ranger's body to be shipped back to Laredo. Johnny had not personally known Will Mason but he had met and formed a close friendship with his younger brothers Tommy and Josh a few years back when his sister and him had visited the Murdoch ranch while they were youngsters.
Will Mason had been a ranger even back then, and his brothers had bragged on him almost incessantly. It had given Johnny no pleasure to kill him, but knowing the man, he knew that he would have had little if any chance of escape should he have surrendered himself to him. And without the opportunity of escape, only the certainty of death at the end of a noose awaited him. It was a killing he had deeply regretted, but like many that would follow, it seemed at the time, completely unavoidable.
That he might have lost the gunfight, never even entered his mind. He was unbelievably fast and accurate with a pistol as well as an excellent shot with a rifle. His father had spent years teaching him how to shoot both, and he had a natural ability to go along with it, much as a musician often has a natural talent for an instrument. He could draw and shoot far faster with either hand (or both at the same time) than anyone he'd ever known. In fact, from the age of ten, when his dad first showed him how to use a pistol, he'd been virtually an instantaneous expert. As with many musicians with an instrument, he had a natural ability with a gun. However, he still practiced whenever he had the chance, spending a great deal of the money he'd stolen on ammunition forever sharpening abilities that were already far beyond those of most gunmen.
After making arrangements for Will Mason's body, and after much contemplation, Lancer wrote a letter to Josh and Tommy describing what happened along with what he felt to be a sincere apology. He knew it would not be enough. It wasn't.
Tommy and Josh Mason had been friends with Charlene and both of them genuinely liked her. But after receiving Johnny's letter, both gave her the cold shoulder for the next two weeks speaking to her only when absolutely necessary. Before, they were always cutting up with her and playing little pranks on her. After she finally cornered them one day, they told her what had happened. She was shocked and barely able to hold back the tears.
They made it clear to her that they were not angry with her at all. The reason they had been avoiding her though was that they had both sworn to avenge Will's death if they ever got the chance. Soon afterwards, they had quit Murdoch and had set out looking for Lancer. They were gone almost eight months but were never able to get close to him. They finally returned to work for Murdoch, but had never gotten over their desire to avenge their brother.
Both, even now, frequently practiced with their pistols in the eventuality that they should ever meet Johnny face to face. Both were also aware, that as good as they had become, it was unlikely that they were good enough singly to face Lancer and had thus planned to face him together, should the opportunity ever present itself.
Charlene was still fond of both of them and they were of her as well. After all, she was not responsible for her brother's behavior. But still, deep down inside, she loved Johnny more than she cared to admit. Growing up together, they had been almost inseparable. Johnny had always treated her well and protected her as an older brother should. If he tormented her, it was only in good natured teasing, and never out of anger or mean spiritedness. They had been best friends as children, besides being brother and sister. To make matters worse, the Mason brothers were close friends of Jesse Logan as well. If anyone were to harm them, that person would have Jesse to reckon with. Life for Charlene was getting complicated and worrisome of late. For that matter, what had happened to Jesse anyhow, she wondered again? Just then, the door to the cafe swung open.
* * * * * * * As Jesse was walking toward Ma Cunningham's Boardinghouse and Cafe, he saw Morgan Tanner coming out the door and heading in his direction. As Tanner approached, he recognized Jesse and for an instant, his eyes held a startled look. Jesse said, "Mornin' Tanner. You look as if you'd seen a ghost."
Tanner, quickly regaining his composure smirked and replied sarcastically, "The way the story was related to me, you certainly behaved like one last night, when the trouble started that is."
Jesse narrowed his eyes and asked, "About that trouble Tanner, you wouldn't know much about it now, would you?"
Tanner said, "Only that some of Bolton's men were found to be cheating my men at cards and were called to account for their actions."
"Sure, Tanner, and my horse shits golden apples. I suppose Dan Bolton got uppity and insulted another of your men and got himself killed in the process as well. Seems mighty convenient to me, the way things are shaping up for you Tanner." Logan said icily.
"Just what is that supposed to mean Logan?" Tanner asked.
"I reckon you've been wanting the BAR-O spread for some time now, and it looks as though old Joe Bolton is beginning to run mighty low on hands to work it, much less having an heir to leave it to now, it seems. Also, I didn't disappear simply by accident either pardner. Otherwise, you'd have a few less hands working for you as well. Do you like my hat? If you'll take a good look, you'll notice that it's brand new. Seems my old one got a hole put in it last night while my head was still in it. Fact is someone took a shot at me through the side window of the Boar's Head last night. They grazed me, but I was able to haul my tail out the back door and get away until I had my wits about me again. Of course, you wouldn't know anything about that would you?" Jesse said sarcastically.
"No, I wouldn't, and I strongly resent the implication you seem to be making Logan. I have no quarrel with you that I am aware of." Replied Tanner.
"We'll see about that when I find the fellow that shot me. When I find him, I aim to plug him. And should I find out he was hired, I'm gonna catch the rascal that hired him and ram the barrel of my pistol up his ass and pull the trigger. And if somehow, Joe Bolton ends up like his son, I believe you will have more of a quarrel with me than you can handle Mr. Tanner." Jesse warned ominously.
"Logan, your reputation means little to me, and likewise, your threats. I've no idea who shot you, and most assuredly, could care less. No doubt a man such as yourself has accumulated a large number of adversaries by now. Perhaps you should be searching for your man among their number rather than troubling me with your petty suspicions and ludicrous innuendos. I'm a busy man and have better things to do than carrying on a pointless conversation with a two-bit cowhand and gunslinger. Good day Mr. Logan."
"We'll be seein' more of each other Tanner. Of that I'm sure." Logan replied as he walked away.

Top of This Page | Front Page | Next Chapter