Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove

"Howdy," he said, and the men shook hands, though none of them had yet said anything. The surprise of his appearance had evidently left them speechless.

"Well, here we are," Augustus said. "I'm Augustus McCrae and I'm after an outlaw named Blue Duck. Have you seen any sign of the man?

"No, we just got here," one of the men said.

"I know about him, though," July said. "My name is July Johnson. I'm sheriff from Fort Smith, Arkansas, and this is my deputy, Roscoe Brown."

"July Johnson?" Augustus asked.

"Yes," July said.

"By God, that's a good one," Augustus said. "We were expecting you down in Lonesome Dove, and here you are practically in Kansas. If you're still after Jake Spoon, you've missed him by about three hundred miles."

"I have more urgent business," July said rather solemnly.

To Augustus he seemed young, although it was hard to tell in the dark. Mainly it was his voice that seemed young.

"I see you brought family," Augustus said. "Most lawmen don't travel with their children. Or did you pick up these two sprats along the way?"

Nobody answered. They simply stood, as if the question was too complicated for an answer.

"Did the Indians kill your horse?" July asked.

"No, I killed him," Augustus said. "Used him for a fort. There ain't much to hide behind on these plains. I heard shooting. Did you kill any more of them bucks?"

"Don't think so," July said. "I might have hit the buffalo hunter. We never expected to find Indians."

"I killed six this afternoon," Augustus said. "I think there was twelve to begin with, not counting the buffalo hunter. I expect they work for Blue Duck. He stole a woman and I'm after him. I think he sent them bucks to slow me down."

"I hope there ain't too much of a bunch," Roscoe said. "I never kilt one before."

In fact he had never killed anyone before, or even given the possibility much thought. Sudden death was not unknown in Fort Smith, but it was not common, either. It had been a big shock when the Indians turned their guns on them and began to shoot at them. Not until he saw July draw his rifle and start firing did it dawn on him that they were under attack. He had hastily drawn his pistol and shot several times-it had not affected the Indians but it angered July.

"You're just wasting bullets, they're way out of pistol range," he said. But then the Indians ran, so it didn't matter so much.

"What's your plan, Mr. Johnson?" Augustus asked politely. "If your business is urgent you might not want to slow down long enough to help me catch this Blue Duck."

That was true. July didn't want to slow down at all until he found Elmira. If he had been alone, he would have traveled twenty hours a day and rested four. But he was hardly alone. Roscoe was nervous as a cat and spent all day talking about his worries. Joe didn't complain, but the hard traveling had worn him out and he rode along in a doze most of the time and slept like a dead thing when they stopped.

The only one who didn't suffer from the pace was Janey, who mainly walked. July had to admit that she was unusually helpful. When they stopped, she did whatever chores there were to do without being asked. And she was always up and ready to leave when he was, whereas Joe and Roscoe were so sluggish in the morning that it took them half an hour just to get their horses saddled.

Now, out of the blue, a Texas Ranger had showed up-one of the very ones who had partnered with Jake Spoon. He was afoot and a long way from help, and they couldn't just ride off and leave him. Besides, there were hostile Indians around, which made the whole situation more worrisome.

"I haven't planned, very much," July said honestly. "Seems like every time I make a plan something happens to change it."

"Well, life's a twisting stream," Augustus said. "Speaking of which, the Canadian river ain't but a short way to the north. Them bucks are probably camped somewhere on it."

"What would you advise?" July asked. "You know the country."

"It's a steep-banked river," Augustus said. "If we have to fight Indians we'd be in a lot better position there than out on this plain."

"You say the man stole a woman?" July asked.

"Yes," Augustus said. "A girl who was traveling with us."

"We best go on to the river, I guess," July said. "You can ride with me and Roscoe can tote your saddle."

"If this boy ain't armed, maybe he'd like a rifle," Augustus said. "One of them bucks I shot had a pretty good Winchester, and this boy looks old enough to shoot."

He handed the rifle to Joe, who was so stunned by the gift that he could barely say thank you. "Is it loaded already?" he asked, rubbing the smooth stock with one hand.

"You dern right it's loaded," Augustus said. "Just make sure you shoot one of them, and not one of us."

He climbed up behind July and they all rode north. Joe felt intensely proud, now that he was armed. He kept one hand on the stock of the rifle, expecting that any minute the Indians might attack.

But the ride to the river was uneventful. It seemed they had not been riding long before they saw the silver band of the river in the moonlight. July stopped so abruptly that Joe almost bumped into his horse. He and Mr. McCrae were looking at something downriver. At first Joe couldn't see anything to look at, but then he noticed a tiny flame of light, far downriver.

"That'd be them," Augustus said. "I guess they ain't worried about us, or they wouldn't be so bold with their campfire. They don't know it, but the wrath of the Lord is about to descend upon them. I dislike bold criminals of whatever race, and I believe I'll go see that they pay their debts."

"I'd best go with you," July said. "You don't know how many there are."

"Let's go make camp," Augustus said. "Then we'll think it out."

They rode upriver a mile, stopping where the mouth of a canyon sloped down to the riverbed.

"This is as good as we'll get," Augustus said. "What I'd like is the loan of a horse for the night. I'll have him back by breakfast, and maybe a few others to boot."

"You want to go at them alone?" July asked.

"It's my job," Augustus said. "I doubt there's many of them. I just hope Blue Duck is there."

Roscoe could not believe what he was hearing. He felt very scared as it was, and yet this stranger was preparing to ride off by himself.

"Why, there could be ten of them," he said. "Do you think you could kill ten men?"

"They're easier to scare at night," Augustus said. "I expect I'll just run most of them off. But I do intend to kill Mr. Duck if I see him. He's stole his last woman."

"I think I ought to go," July said. "I could be of some help. Roscoe can stay here with the young ones."

"No, I'd rather you stay with your party, Mr. Johnson," Augustus said. "I'd feel better about it in my mind. You've got an inexperienced deputy and two young people to think about. Besides, you said you had urgent business. These things are chancy. You might stop a bullet and never get your business finished."

"I think I ought to go," July said. It was in his mind that Ellie could even be in the camp. Somebody could have stolen her as easily as the Texas woman. The whiskey traders wouldn't have put up much fight. Of course, it wasn't likely she was there, but then what was likely anymore? He felt he ought to have a look, at least.

In any case, the man could use help, and it should be no great risk to leave Roscoe and the young ones in camp for a few hours. They all needed the rest.

Augustus realized he could probably use help, since he didn't know how many men he was facing. However, he didn't have a high opinion of the average man's ability as a fighter. The majority of men couldn't fight at all and even most outlaws were the merest amateurs when it came to battle. Few could shoot well, and even fewer had any mind for strategy.