Slocum's Revenge Trail Read online

  “Mr. Slocum?” she asked.

  “I’d appreciate it if you’d drop the mister, ma’am,” said Slocum.

  “I’ll do that if you’ll drop the ma’am. My name’s Julie.”

  Slocum smiled. “All right, Julie,” he said. “What is it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You were about to say something to me.”

  “Oh, yes,” she said, blushing slightly. “I was just going to ask you if you really believe they’ll attack us right away.”

  “I only believe that they’ll attack us. It could be right away, and it could be several days from now. We got to stay ready, whenever it comes.”

  “I see. How strong do you think they are? I mean, how are we matched?”

  “Judging from what I’ve seen so far, I’d say we’re about even. We could be in for a long war, if that’s what you’re asking me.”

  “Yes,” she said. “I was afraid of that.”

  “I ain’t sure either, ma’am—uh, Julie, how bad we hurt them this morning. That’ll have a lot to do with how quick they come back at us.”

  “Well, we’ll be ready for them,” said Townsend. “They’re going to get more fight than they ever counted on.”

  “That’s for sure,” said Monkey. “We’ll wipe them out.”

  A rider came fast toward the porch, coming in from the north. As he came in close enough, he shouted, “They’re coming down the north pass.”

  Everyone jumped to their feet. Townsend called out to the rider, “Change your horse and get back out there.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Let’s go, men,” said Townsend.

  “Hold on, boss,” said Slocum. “We can’t all of us go on this one. Remember our plans. What if they split their force? Someone has to be here to go with the second crew.”

  “Slocum’s right,” said Cash. “You and Slocum stay here. Me and Monkey will go out with this first bunch.”

  “But I—”

  Slocum shrugged and sat back down. “Guess we’ll sit this one out, Mr. Townsend. I haven’t finished my coffee anyhow.”

  “Damn it to hell,” Townsend grumbled as he sat back down. Cash and Monkey hurried for their horses. Other hands came out from the bunkhouse, and soon about half of the ranch crew was headed out for the north pass ready to fight. Cash rode in the lead. Monkey rode beside him. Shotgun Stone was right there with them.

  “Don’t worry about them, Mr. Townsend,” Slocum said. “I’ve never known an abler man than that Cash. The rest of your crew is good too. He’ll lead them through this okay.”

  The north pass was just what its name implied. It was a narrow pass between steep hills on both sides. The lookouts had been posted high with spyglasses so that they could get word back to the ranch house in time to get men back to the pass once any attackers had been spotted. Cash and his crew arrived in time. They got up into the hills on both sides of the pass. Cash had given his instructions that no one was to fire until he did. The White Hat riders were getting close.

  Cash waited, perched behind a boulder, his Henry rifle ready. The riders came closer. Still, he waited. Then, when the White Hat crew was almost directly below them, he fired. His whole crew began firing. Three White Hat hands dropped from their horses. Others dismounted and quickly ran for cover. A few fired from horseback, but they were soon picked off by the men on the hillsides. From his perch, Monkey was thrilled. He had already knocked three men out of their saddles. His score was now four men killed. The blood raced through his veins.

  From Cash’s location, he could see Monkey, and though he was busy with his own killing, he managed to watch the young man, and he smiled at what he saw. The kid was doing all right for himself. Two of Townsend’s men were hit, but the battle was one-sided. The White Hat men down below began watching for chances to get back on their mounts and get away. A couple of them were killed in the attempt. Several escaped. At last the fight was over. Cash stood up and called for a cease-fire. There was no one left below to shoot at.

  “They’re coming through the front gate,” shouted the rider approaching the house.

  Slocum, Townsend, and others mounted up quickly and headed for the front gate. They arrived at their ambush spot in the nick of time. Earlier preparations had placed wagons and bales of hay on both sides of the road. Everything around was flat. The riders dismounted and hid behind the makeshift barrier as quickly as they could. Slocum was to Townsend’s right behind the stacks of hay. In another moment, the White Hat riders came barreling down the road. The Townsend outfit waited until they were close enough for the shots to count. Then they opened fire.

  Several White Hat riders fell at the first volley. It was an unfair situation. The White Hat riders had no cover. They fired back for a few moments. Then they turned and fled the scene. Slocum stood up and watched them go.

  “That was too easy, Slocum,” Townsend said.

  “We caught them by surprise,” said Slocum. “Next time could be way different.”

  “I can’t see how,” Townsend said. “We hit them hard this morning. Now, when they come back at us, we hit them hard again.”

  “They’ll be more careful next time,” Slocum said. “And we don’t know yet how Cash and them made out.”

  They left a couple of lookouts to guard the way again, and the bulk of the crew went back to the ranch house. When they got there, Cash and Monkey were already sitting on the porch. Julie was serving coffee again. Slocum took his Appaloosa and Townsend’s mount and put them away. Then he returned to the porch to join the others there. When he sat down, Julie said, “Coffee?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Thank you.”

  She served him a cup and then sat down facing him.

  “Uncle says you drove them off without a single loss,” she said.

  “We did,” said Slocum. He looked over at Cash. “How’d you boys do?”

  “Two wounded,” Cash said. “None killed.”

  “And the other side?”

  “Hell, I lost count. We peppered them good. You should a seen the kid here. He got at least three of them. Or was it more than that, kid?”

  Monkey looked down at the boards in the porch, showing modesty and a little embarrassment, but also a tremendous amount of pride. “No, Cash,” he said, “it was just them three. That’s all.”

  “Hell, kid, I only knocked four of them down myself. You’re doing real good. You’re going to be first-rate. I can tell you that right now.”

  “Thanks, Cash.”

  “How many did you get, Slocum?” Cash asked.

  “I don’t know,” Slocum said. “I don’t keep count of such things.”

  “Well, you oughta, Slocum,” said Monkey. “I mean, how else you going to build up your reputation?”

  “Kid,” said Slocum, “I generally don’t give lectures, so I’m just going to say this to you one time. The only thing a reputation like that is good for is to get you killed while you’re still young. The more men that you’re known to have killed, the more men will come around gunning for you. One of them’s going to get you one of these days.”

  Cash sipped the last of his coffee and put down the cup. He slapped Monkey on the shoulder and said, “Come on, kid.”

  The two men left the porch and walked toward the bunkhouse. Julie broke the uneasy silence by standing up to get the coffeepot. “Refill, Slocum?”

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “That was an unusual lecture you gave Monkey,” she said. “It’s not what one would expect from a gunfighter.”

  “I don’t call myself a gunfighter, Julie. If you recall, I came here to work as a cowhand. That’s all.”

  “But when trouble started,” she said, “you were right out in front.”

  “I don’t look for trouble, but when it finds me, I don’t run from it either.”

  “I’m not criticizing you,” she said. “I’m glad you’re here, and I’m glad that you’re on our side. I just can’t quite figure you out. That’s all.”


  “I been trying to do that for myself for most of my life.”

  “I’m just glad to have you and Cash with me,” said Townsend. “And young Monkey. Cash’s bringing him along right well. And right now, we need all the gunfighting help we can get.”

  Slocum sipped his coffee. He had several things he wanted to say, but he decided that they were best left unsaid. He finished what he had in the cup and set it down. Standing, he said, “I don’t think we’ll be hit again today. I’m going on over to the bunkhouse and try to get some sleep.”

  He touched the brim of his hat and left the porch. Walking slowly, he went past the corral and on over to the bunkhouse. Inside, he found Cash and Monkey sitting together on the edge of a bunk. Monkey was cutting notches into the handle of his six-gun. Slocum gave him a disapproving look as he walked by on the way to his own bunk. He took off his gun belt and hung it on the wall beside his bunk. Then, he sat down and pulled off his boots. Lying back, he tilted his hat to cover his face, and soon he was asleep.

  Monkey finished his carving and held the gun out to look at it. He looked up at Cash with pride in his expression. “How’s that?”

  “Looks good, kid,” Cash said. “Hey, let’s get out of here.”

  “Where we going, Cash?”

  “To town, boy. Whiskey and women.”

  “All right.”

  They saddled their horses, and were in town at the saloon in a short while. They sauntered inside and bellied up to the bar. “Whiskey,” Cash called out. The barkeep poured them a couple of shots, and Cash took hold of the bottle. “Leave it,” he said.

  “Wonder where Honey Pot is at,” said Monkey.

  “It’s a little early in the day,” said Cash, “but she’ll be around. Don’t worry, kid.”

  “Aw, I ain’t worried. Hell. We got us a good bottle of whiskey here, ain’t we?”

  “Yeah. You’re catching on.”

  The doors swung open, and two cowboys walked in. Cash punched Monkey on the shoulder. In a low voice, he said, “See that?”

  “What?” asked Monkey. “Them two that just came in?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What about them?”

  “They’re White Hatters, boy.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yeah. Be ready for trouble, kid.”

  “I’m always ready. They want any trouble, I’m right here.”

  He said that last in a loud enough voice to be heard. The two White Hat men turned to face Monkey and Cash. They walked slowly toward them. Drawing closer, one of them took note of the freshly carved notches on Monkey’s six-gun handle.

  “Hey, you,” he said.

  Monkey turned to face the men. “You talking to me?”

  “Them notches all come from shooting White Hat men from ambush?”

  “I got room for two more,” said Monkey.

  “You think you can take the two of us?”

  Cash stepped out to stand beside Monkey. “It’s two against two,” he said. “Make your play.”

  “Keep out of this, Cash,” Monkey said. “He asked me can I take the two of them. Well, I can.”

  “You sure, kid?”

  “Stay out of it.”

  Cash held his hands up and backed away. “Have it your way. I’m out of it. Unless they kill you. Then I’ll take my turn.”

  “That’s fair enough. Well, you two. You gonna make a play or stand there with your thumbs up your asses?”

  Both White Hat men went for their guns at once, but the kid was fast. His first shot shattered the sternum of the man on the right. His second tore into the other’s shoulder. The first man dropped to the floor. The second yelled out in pain and anger and raised his revolver. The kid fired a third shot, which struck the man in the forehead. He stood there for a moment, marveling at his own work, not quite believing what he had done or what he had become. Casually, he ejected the empty shells from the chambers of his Colt, and he reloaded. Then he put the six-gun away. Cash stepped up to him and threw an arm around his shoulders.

  “Kid, that was fast. As fast as I’ve seen. You took them both, and you took them fair. They drew first. Both of them.” He looked around the room. “You all seen it, didn’t you?”

  “We did,” said a man at a table. “It was self-defense all right.”

  Several other voices joined his in defending Monkey. In another minute, Sheriff Corman came into the saloon, but all who were present backed up Monkey. “I’ll just get someone to clean up,” Corman said.

  Cash poured out two more drinks, and the kid drank his down in a hurry and poured again. “Kid,” said Cash, “you got two more notches to carve now.”

  “Yeah,” said Monkey.

  “And kid, these two are different. These two are for men you took out fair, while they was facing you. There won’t be any question now. You’ve become a top gun, kid. A real gunfighter.”

  9

  Several days passed without much happening, and Slocum went back to working as a cowhand. He hoped that the war was over. He wasn’t damn fool enough to quite believe it, though. He stayed alert, and old Townsend did keep the lookouts posted. Slocum could tell that Cash and Monkey were getting restless. They were longing for more action. Neither of them had chosen to go back to cowboy work. They were happy being paid as gunfighters. Slocum tried to put them out of his mind, but he was worried about young Monkey.

  While Slocum was riding the range, Cash and Monkey passed the hours checking at the various lookout stations, practicing with their weapons, or drinking and looking for fights in town. One quiet afternoon, Cash proposed to Monkey that they take a ride.

  “Where we going, Cash?” Monkey asked.

  “Just come along with me,” Cash said.

  They rode out of the Townsend ranch and onto the road. Monkey thought that they would be going to town, and that was all right with him. However, it soon became apparent that they were heading elsewhere.

  “Hey, Cash, are we going to the White Hat?”

  “You figured it, kid.”

  “We gonna shoot the place up some?”

  “Not today. I got something else in mind.”

  “Well,” Monkey said, “you gonna tell me about it?”

  “The White Hat ain’t come back at us, have they?”

  “No.”

  “I think we hit them bad. I don’t think they can come back at us.”

  “You mean we whipped them?”

  “Damn near. But I think if they had a chance to hire on a couple or three good gunslingers, they’d jump at it, and they’d pay better’n ole Townsend too, on account a they’re desperate. You follow me?”

  “You mean—us?”

  “Sure. Slocum too, if he’s a mind.”

  “He won’t be.”

  “Well, that’s his problem. What do you say, kid?”

  “Quit ole Townsend and go to work for the White Hat,” Monkey mused.

  “There ain’t nothing happening right now, is there? And the money’d be better.”

  “How do we know the money’d be better?”

  “Well, if it ain’t, we don’t do it. So what do you say?”

  “We might have to face down Slocum, Cash.”

  “Does that worry you, kid?”

  “It don’t worry me, but I thought he was your pard.”

  “Hey, we rode together awhile, but you’re my pard. Don’t forget that.”

  “Well, hell, Cash, in that case, I’m with you. All the way. Let’s ride on in there and talk to ole Amos.”

  They moved on, and when they came to the gateway to the White Hat, they found a guard there.

  “Hold it,” he said.

  “We wanta talk with your boss,” Cash said.

  “I ain’t sure about that,” said the guard.

  “You want to shoot it out?” asked Monkey.

  “Well, there’s just the two of you,” said the guard. “Ride on in. I’ll ride along with you.”

  At the ranch house, Bob Amos had heard the horses ap
proaching. He stepped out the front door. He recognized Cash and Monkey immediately. “What do you want here?” he said.

  “Don’t get hostile, Amos. We didn’t come to fight, and we didn’t come to make no demands. We just come to have a little chat. That’s all. Can we get down?”

  “You got a lot of balls riding in here like this,” Amos said. “I know you’re fast, but you’re way outnumbered. I could have you shot down easy.”

  “I could kill you before I dropped,” said Monkey.

  “Yeah, well, climb on down and talk,” said Amos.

  Cash swung down out of the saddle, and Monkey followed him. They hitched their horses to the rail in front of the ranch house, and Amos opened the front door. “Come on in,” he said. They stepped into Amos’s large front room, and he indicated some easy chairs. Cash and Monkey took seats. Amos got a box of cigars and passed it around. Each man took a cigar and lit it. Then Amos sat directly across from Cash. “Now,” Amos said, “what’s on your mind?”

  “We’ve been waiting for a counterattack,” said Cash. “None’s come.”

  “You come here to gloat?” asked Amos. “I could have you killed easy enough.”

  “We done went over that,” said Monkey. “Likely you’d go with us.”

  “Yeah. Well. You talk. I’m listening.”

  “It’s been several days now, Amos,” said Cash. “How come you ain’t hit us back yet? Could it be you’re shorthanded? We killed too many of your men?”

  “Say that was the case,” said Amos. “What makes you think I’d tell you?”

  “We ain’t here to spy on you,” Cash said. “Me and Monkey here, we’re professional gunfighters. It’s beginning to look like there ain’t no more work for us around here. We’re just wondering if we have to pull up stakes and move on.”

  “Has Townsend cut you loose?” asked Amos, his eyes opening wide.

  “Well, he seems to think he’s gone past our kind of work. Thinks there won’t be no more need of gunfighters.”

  “What are you getting at?” asked Amos. “Are you getting at what I think you’re getting at?”

  “We’re just a couple of gunfighters looking for action, Mr. Amos,” said Cash. “That’s all. Nothing very complicated.”