Tabor Evans - Longarm on the Border

Longarm knew better than to respond to Luis's insults either with words or with action. In that particular crowd, whatever he did could be wrong. The people would help Luis if it came to a fight, whether Luis attacked him or he struck the Mexican youth first. He felt a surge of relief when Lefty appeared from nowhere.

"All right!" the deputy called. "Ningunes hace maleza!"

His shout quieted the angry murmurs that were rising, and those nearest shoved back a bit. The spectators in the rear, who hadn't heard Lefty, and knew only that trouble was brewing, kept pushing in, though, trying to see what was going on.

Longarm said quickly, "Look, Lefty, this ain't no fight I picked. All of a sudden, this girl begun yelling, and slapping at me. Said I'd insulted her."

"He call me puta! " Tina said loudly.

Her voice low and angry, Lita spat, "You are puta! "

Longarm thought Lita was even prettier when she got mad than when she was just having fun.

Lefty asked him, "That right, Custis? You call this girl a whore, right here in front of her friends?"

"I never called her anything!"

"Mientrador!" Luis shouted. "I hear him say it! You get out of my way, Lefty! I wan' to fight him!"

"That's a pretty serious thing to do in these parts, Custis, insult a young lady. Looks to me like I got to do what Luis says, git outa the way and leave you two go at it."

Longarm had seen the setup coming. He wasn't worried about a fight with Luis, but he knew what Luis's friends would do — and, he thought, those friends include Lefty. I can put Luis down with a punch or two, but the minute we start mixing it up, his friends start closing in and out come the knives. Then Lefty can play it any way he wants. He can let 'em carve me, or he can shoot me and say he had to do it, or it was an accident while he was trying to break up the mob. And if I draw on this bunch, five shots won't stop 'em.

He said to Lefty, "You guarantee to stand by, see it's a fair fight? Just Luis and me, none of his compadres buttin' in?"

"Don't worry, Custis. You know these Mexicans ain't no good with their fists. I'd say you can put him down with one punch, and that'll be it. But if I don't let him have a chance at you, this crowd's gonna git outa hand. Hell, you can see that yourself."

"All right. I'll take him on."

"You'll have to shed that gunbelt first. They wouldn't figure it was a fair scrap if I let you keep it on."

"Figured I'd have to do that." Longarm opened his frock coat and unbuckled his gunbelt. He handed the belt and holstered Colt to the deputy. "You take care of it for me."

"Sure. I won't let nobody grab it. The fight won't last but a minute anyhow, if you're the man I take you to be."

When Longarm shed his pistol, the tone of the crowd's rumbling changed. It was no longer as angry and threatening as it had been. There was a sudden jostling in the circle that enclosed Longarm and the others. He looked around to see several very sullen-faced men shoving into the front ranks of the onlookers. If Longarm had any doubt left that the deputy had set him up, it vanished at that point.

Oh-oh, he said to himself, here come the knife hands.

Aloud, he said to Lefty, "Guess I better skin out of this monkey coat, too. If I'm going to fight, I'll do it in style."

Slipping out of the sleeves of his Prince Albert, he folded the coat into a neat square. When he pushed it at Lefty, the deputy instinctively held out the hand with which he wasn't holding Longarm's gunbelt. Longarm shoved the coat against Lefty's chest, forcing him without seeming to into bringing up his entire arm to clasp the coat securely.

"What about your vest?" Lefty asked.

"Oh, I'll just keep it on. But I'll ask you to look after my watch. Don't want it to get busted."

He lifted the watch out of its pocket and ran his fingers along the chain to the pocket on the opposite side. Lefty's eyes were caught by the glitter of the watch. He didn't see the derringer until it was in Longarm's hand. Before the deputy could free his own loaded hands, the muzzle of the ugly little double-barreled derringer was pushing, cold and menacing, into his temple.

"There's two .44 slugs in this little thing." Longarm's voice was low, almost a whisper. "One of 'em will blow whatever you use for brains right outa that ugly skull of yours."

"You don't have to shoot me!" Lefty said. "I'll do just what you tell me to!"

"Good." Raising his voice, Longarm said, "Lita! Get over here, quick!" The girl ran to stand beside him. Longarm said, "Take his gun out and hand it to me. Soon as you do that, strap my gunbelt on me."

Lita moved without hesitating to follow instructions. He held out his free hand and she slid Lefty's pistol into it, butt-first. Then she relieved the deputy of Longarm's gunbelt.

Events had moved so swiftly that the crowd hadn't had time to grasp exactly what had happened. Those closest to the action were frozen into silent motionlessness, their eyes trying to follow everything. The angry mutterings from the more distant spectators began to subside as mob instinct transmitted the feeling that something was going on that should be heeded. In the momentary silence, Lita got Longarm's gunbelt around his waist. The pressure of her soft body, the warm scent that wafted up from the valley between her breasts, all registered on Longarm, but he put them out of his mind and concentrated on the job at hand.

He replaced the watch and derringer in their pockets and settled the gunbelt to his liking. He looked at Luis and said, "I don't like people that lie to me, Luis. I know this hombre here put you up to trying to get me. You better tell me about it."

Luis was eager to talk. "Si, senor. It was hees idea. He say so soon you and me start to fight, then my companeros they help out, with they knives."

"About what I figured. You ready to tell the sheriff that?" "Eljefe? Senor Tucker?" Luis hesitated only a moment. "Si. I tell him, just like I say it to you."

"Good." Longarm turned to Lita. "You better come along, too. This crowd's going to be upset. After I'm gone, they might take their mad out on you."

"I go where you say to, with you, Coos-tees."

"Now, then." Longarm looked sternly at Lefty. "You're going to walk in front of me and Lita, and shoo people outa our way. If you got an idea I'm too good to backshoot a man, you're right, but I don't count rats like you as men. Now, march!"

With the deputy leading the way, motioning the onlookers aside, a path opened like magic. Longarm kept Lefty in front, Lita on his right, Luis and Tina on his left, as they moved quickly through the crowd of silent spectators, around the saloon, and into the sheriff's office.

Chapter 9

As Longarm had suspected he would be, Sheriff Tucker was still in bed with Wahonta. Tucker came in from the ell in response to Longarm's call, tugging his trousers up over his longjohns. His eyes snapped open wider than anyone had ever seen them do before when he saw the little group.

"Just what in billy-blue-hell's this all about?" he demanded.

"It ain't very important, Sheriff," Longarm answered. He took his Prince Albert from Lefty and slid his arms into the sleeves as he was talking. "Just figured you might want to explain to this deputy of yours that he can go to jail on charges of attempted murder and stirring up a riot, if I feel like pushing charges on him."

"Lefty?" Tucker was incredulous.

"He's the only deputy of yours I see here."

"Now, damn it, Custis, I let it pass by when you begun a ruckus with my men yesterday. I ain't so sure I'm of a mind to be as easy on you, if you're tryin' the same stunt again."

"Maybe you better listen to what this young fellow here's got to say, before you blame me for starting anything," Longarm suggested.