William Johnstone - Battle of the Mountain Man

“Take two wagons,” Chisum said. “Tell Sheriff Romero they came gunning for us, and that I’ll ride in tomorrow and give him a full report”

“Yessir,” the young cowboy replied, wheeling his horse for a ride back to the ranch.

Chisum was staring at Smoke now. “Ten men,” he said. “You killed ten of Dolan’s gunmen without a lick of help from us, in a manner of speaking. I still have trouble believing it… how just one man could do all of that.”

Smoke didn’t care to talk about it, how easy it had been to send ten careless gunmen to early graves. “That oughta be about two hundred head, give or take. Let’s drive ’em back to the ranch and I’ll pay you for ’em, and for the bulls. We can get a final count while we’re drivin’ ’em to the corrals.”

“After all you’ve done for me, I’m tossing in ten extra head to help account for losses on the trail. You’ve been a good man to have backing me during all this trouble, and it’s my way of showing gratitude.“

“No need for that,” Smoke argued. “I did what I did because my friends and neighbors were in the line of fire. This ain’t our fight, but when it spilled over, an’ bullets started flyin’ in our direction, those boys had me to reckon with. We rode all this way to conduct an honest business transaction, an’ I damn sure won’t stand for nobody gettin’ in the way of it, not for no reason.”

“I understand,” Chisum told him. “All the same, I benefited from it, and I’m giving you ten extra heifers. No reason to talk about it anymore. It’s done.”

Smoke found he was liking Chisum and his honesty more and more. Chisum would make a good neighbor, and a solid friend a man could count on when the going got tough. “It’s your decision, Mr. Chisum,” he said, “only I want it understood I never expected payment for what I did.”

Chisum didn’t answer, swinging off to beckon to one of his men riding herd with Smoke’s heifers. “Go back and pick out ten good long-backed heifers to add to this bunch,” he said. “Tell Shorty to help you. Bring them up along with this bunch as quick as you can, only make damn sure none of them are cripples. They’ll be headed to Colorado Territory in the morning.” Twenty-seven

Pearlie shoveled refried beans and salsa into his mouth with a tin spoon, until his cheeks were bulging. They sat at a long oak table in John Chisum’s dining room eating Maria’s spicy hot Mexican food, their faces outlined by coal oil lamps overhead.

“I’m gonna miss this cookin’,” Cal said around a mouthful of flank steak seasoned with hot sauce, folding a tortilla over a piece of meat heavily coated with salsa picante . “We’ll be eatin’ beans an’ jerky plumb to Big Rock, an’ I’ll be rememberin’ what this tastes like.”

Bob Williams was sweating from the chili peppers in his food, and he sleeved perspiration from his brow. “This is sure fine eatin’, if a man’s stomach is made of iron. I’m gonna eat it even if it kills me.”

“It’ll put hair on your chest,” Cletus promised.

“Already got enough hair there the way things is. What I need is another glass of water.”

Duke Smith nodded. “Can’t put enough water in a man’s belly to put this fire out. If it was snowin’ outside, I’d run out an’ eat a fistful, just to cool my tongue.”

Chisum grinned. “Mexican food is supposed to be hot. It isn’t any good otherwise.”

Pearlie eyed his plate. “If hot’s got anythin’ to do with it bein’ good, this has gotta be the best I ever tasted.”

Cal was too busy chewing to offer an opinion at the moment, and he merely nodded, beads of sweat on his forehead, cheeks, and neck.

Cletus lifted the bandanna tied around his neck and wiped away a trickle of perspiration coming from his hatband while he chewed methodically on a bite of steak, “I’ve never seen fire on a plate, afore tonight,” he said. “Come mornin’ there’ll be a line at the outhouse half a mile long. That Maria can make fire taste mighty delicious.”

“She fixed flan custard to cool everybody off,” Chisum said. “That’s for dessert.”

Smoke listened to all the banter, but his mind was on the ride they would undertake at dawn. He was almost sure Jessie Evans and his gang hadn’t had enough of a lesson last night to convince them of their folly. “I want two men riding point on this herd,” he said. “I’ll be scouting what lies ahead, but in case there’s trouble, I want Pearlie and Duke guiding this bunch of cattle until we’re well north of Lincoln County.”

“You expect trouble,” Chisum observed.

“I always expect it. That way, I’m pleasantly surprised if it don’t show up.”

“It usually does,” Pearlie muttered, again filling his mouth with Maria’s cooking. “But if any outfit between here’n Big Rock can handle it, it’ll be the Sugarloaf crew. Hell-fire, I wouldn’t know what to do if somebody wasn’t shootin’ at us half the time. I’d figure I was with the wrong bunch if we wasn’t duckin’ lead.”

Chisum seemed puzzled. He looked over at Smoke.

“You said you were in the ranching business now, however, your men act like they expect problems.”

Smoke thought about it a while as he was chewing. “I guess I’ve got too many old enemies who won’t leave things alone. Now and then a batch of ’em shows up to try an’ settle old scores.”

The rancher appeared to be mildly amused. “Looks like after awhile word would spread that you’re the wrong man to be trifled with.”

Pearlie chuckled. “There’s been times when dead bodies did sorta stack up ’round the place. It’s been quieter lately, so maybe like you say, word got out that Sugarloaf is the wrong spot to come lookin’ for a little bit of excitement.”

Smoke finished cleaning his plate. “That egg custard does sound nice,” he said, changing the subject. Down deep he felt sure there would be excitement enough driving their cattle back up the trails to Big Rock country.

“One more thing,” Chisum said as he got up to tell Maria to bring the flan, “I asked one of my hands to send a telegram to Fort Stanton while he was in Roswell delivering those bodies to Sheriff Romero. I told him to ask Colonel Dudley to meet you along the trail up to Fort Sumner somewhere with a squad of his soldiers, as an escort just in case Evans and Dolan try to rustle any of your cattle. I doubt if Dudley will agree. He’s hand in glove with Tom Catron and his Santa Fe Ring when it comes to this beef contract business. I find I’m not only pitted against a gang of paid guns in this range war, but I’m also at odds with the most powerful politicians in the territory. They’ll do all they can to put me out of business.” He looked down at Smoke. “That’s one reason I wish you’d reconsider staying on here for a while, Mr. Jensen. I have a feeling I’ll need all the help I can get… men who know their way around a gun.”

“Sorry, but I’m not interested. I’ve got a wife waitin’ for me up in Colorado an’ a ranch to run. If things were different, I’d stay. As to those soldiers from Fort Stanton, I don’t reckon we’ll need ’em. I try to make a habit out of handlin’ my own affairs.”

Chisum nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. Smoke saw a frown on Bob’s face.

“After what happened last night, I sure wouldn’t mind havin’ a soldier escort,” Bob said,

“Me either,” Cletus added, toying with a spoon. “Wouldn’t be no disgrace to have a company of soldiers ridin’ with us part of the way.”

“If they show up, we won’t send ’em back,” Smoke said, more to comfort his friends than anything else. “But you heard Mr. Chisum say it ain’t likely they’ll show. Apparently the army is backing the other side in this conflict. I never had much high regard for soldiers or politicians.”