William Johnstone - Snake River Slaughter

“Marcus certainly didn’t think so.”

“Yes, Mr. Gilmore told me a little about Marcus Kincaid,” Matt said. “I gather he was not all that pleased with the fact that you married the man who had been married to his mother.”

“I think that is what you would call an understatement,” Kitty replied. “I’m sure he believes that, somehow, I tricked Tommy into marriage, in order to get out of the life, and have all this,” Kitty said. “And I must confess that he is half right. I was anxious to get out of the life, and Tommy seemed like a good way of doing it. I knew Tommy, I knew that he was a very nice man, and I thought it would do no harm. But I swear to you, Matt, I didn’t really know who he was, and I knew nothing about all this until after we were married,” she said, taking in the land with a sweep of her arm. She laughed. “He told me that he didn’t want me to know about it beforehand, because he wanted to be sure that I was marrying him for him, and not for his fortune. Bless his heart, he didn’t know that I would have married him if he had been a stable hand just to get out of that situation.”

They were quiet for a long moment, then Kitty chuckled. “Now I find myself in another situation, fighting off rustlers to hang on to this ranch.”

“In your letter, you said the rustlers were taking their toll of your stock.”

“Yes. But what is worse is that they have killed two of my riders. “I would gladly give up every horse I own if I could change that.”

Kitty’s eyes welled with tears and when she began wiping them with the back of her hand, Matt gave her his handkerchief. “Thank you,” she said, dabbing at her eyes. “One of the riders was a boy named Hank. Hank was just sixteen years old. Matt, he was raised in an orphanage, just as you and I were. It kills me to think of that, and then to realize how young he was when he was killed.”

“Think of it this way, Katherine,” Matt said. “At least he was out on his own when he was killed. That means he died free and proud. And you and I, more than most, can understand that.”

Kitty nodded. “Yes,” she said. “I can understand that.”

“I understand that one of your men was a witness to the rustling.”

“Yes, Prew was out there that night, and he saw it.”

“Prew?”

“His real name is Jason Prewitt, but everyone calls him Prew.”

“I’d like to talk to him.”

“All right. He’s back in the bunkhouse now, mending from the gunshot wound in the shoulder that he got that night. He says that he is absolutely certain that the man he saw was Poke Terrell, but Marshal Sparks says that seeing him from a distance, in the dark, won’t hold up in court. Especially since Terrell has witnesses who will say he was somewhere else that night. Maybe you can find some way of proving that he is the one who has been stealing my horses.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Matt promised. “As long as you remember that I’m not a detective.”

“I’m already grateful to you, just for coming,” Kitty said. “And at the risk of your own life. Mr. Gilmore said two men tried to kill you back in American Falls.”

“Yes.”

“And again on your drive here, from Medbury?”

“Yes.”

“I would say that they tried to kill you in order to prevent you from coming here to help me,” Kitty said. “But I don’t know how that is possible.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, nobody but Mr. Gilmore knew I had sent for you. And even then, he did it by ruse.”

“Maybe it had nothing to do with my coming to work for you,” Matt said. “I have made a lot of enemies in my life. The fact that some people tried to kill me after I received the letter from you could just be a coincidence.”

“But you don’t believe that, do you?” Kitty asked. “I mean, Mr. Gilmore knew the two men, and he said they were associates of Poke Terrell.”

Matt was silent for a moment. “Yes, well, I didn’t want you to feel responsible for it,” he finally answered. “But the truth is, I think you are right. I believe they were trying to keep me from getting to you to help.”

“You say you don’t want me to feel responsible, but I do,” Kitty said. “I don’t know what I was thinking when I sent for you. I guess I was just being very selfish. I never even gave a second thought to the fact that it would put you at such risk.”

“I’ve taken risks before, Katherine.”

“A moment ago you said you weren’t a detective. You don’t have to worry about being a detective,” Kitty replied. “I have something else in mind for you, if you will do it.”

“I’ll do it.”

Kitty laughed. “You don’t even know what I’m going to be asking you to do.”

“It doesn’t matter. If you want me to do it, and I am physically capable of doing it, I’ll do it,” Matt replied. “What do you have in mind?”

“In a few weeks I will be transporting, by train, five hundred horses to the U.S. Army procurement office in Chicago. I want you to accompany me on that train to see that the horses get through. If you will do that, I will pay you ten dollars per horse.”

“Ten dollars per horse? Katherine, that’s five thousand dollars,” Matt said.

Kitty chuckled. “I know it’s five thousand dollars. I may be a woman, Matt, but I can do figures.”

“No, I didn’t mean—”

Kitty laughed, and held up her hand. “I know you didn’t mean anything. I was just teasing you. But, seriously, Matt, it is well worth ten dollars per horse to me to see them safely to their destination. I took out a twenty-five thousand dollar loan from the bank in order to start the horse farm. I have a contract with the army that will pay me a hundred dollars a head which is enough to get me out of debt, but that money is payable only on delivery in Chicago. So you can see why I must get this shipment through.”

“All right,” Matt agreed. “I’ll shepherd your horses for you.”

“Thank you,” Kitty said. “I knew I could count on you.” She stood up. “Well, shall we be getting back, then?”

“I don’t know. You aren’t going to jump that stone wall again, are you?”

“No, we’ll go back another way. I’m sure you would like to see some of the ranch.”

“As a matter of fact, I would.”

Chapter Twelve

Coventry on the Snake was mostly rolling upland grassy country. As they rode back, in the distance Matt could see mountains, dark blue at their base, and rising to majestic heights where little spindrift-like tendrils of snow trailed away from the brightly gleaming snow-covered peaks, white, against the bright blue sky. The prairie below the mountains was ablaze with a colorful profusion of wildflowers: yellow Yarrow, red Indian Paintbrush, light blue Mountain Phlox, and purple Trillum.

Just ahead of them, a jack rabbit ran along with them for a short distance until it grew tired, then it stopped and watched as the two riders passed by.

The range was divided by fences, into several different pastures, each pasture area containing a specific breed of horse.

“If I didn’t keep them separated, it would be no time at all until I had such a mixture of breeds that the horses would be practically worthless,” Kitty explained. “As you can see, I have nothing but purebreds, specific as to their purpose: draft horses, carriage horses, horses that are best for pulling stagecoaches, and saddle horses,” Kitty said.

“I see you also have a few head of cattle,” Matt said, pointing to a distant field where a rather substantial herd of cattle grazed.

“Only about five hundred head,” Kitty replied. “They are what is left from Tommy’s original cattle operation. They are also a hedge. If my note comes due and I can’t pay it, I believe I can sell off the cattle for enough money to renegotiate the loan.”