Charles West - Day of the Wolf

“You sayin’ we oughta quit?” Skinner responded, ready to express his disapproval.

“No,” Buck replied before Skinner had a chance to get wound up. “I’m sayin’ it’s time we played it smart instead of running around in these canyons, waitin’ for him to wave and holler, ‘Here I am, fellers. Come and get me.’ ” As he thought about what he was saying, it made even more sense to him. “Look at us. We’re about slap out of supplies,” he went on. “He’s bound to run out, too, most likely. And he must be pretty close with them whores in the Star saloon in Deadwood for one of ’em to defend him and another’n to run off with him. I’m thinkin’ that he’s gonna be back there to see ’em sooner or later. He mighta gone back there already while we’re out here chasin’ our tails.” Skinner nodded thoughtfully, thinking Buck might be making sense. Buck continued. “I’ll bet that whore ain’t likin’ livin’ out here in the woods.”

“You might be right,” Skinner said. As determined as Buck to track Wolf down, he was nevertheless ready to give up the fruitless search in the mountains and wait for the wild son of a bitch in town. “We’re just wastin’ time.”

Their decision made, they turned around and headed back to the valley trail they had first started out on. “Just one thing, though,” Skinner said. “When we get back to that place where they came down off that mountain, I wanna have another look at that trail.”

It took a full day’s ride to return to the spot where Wolf and Rose had ridden down through the pines, leaving an easy trail to follow. They stopped there to rest the horses while Skinner searched the hard dirt of the game trail that led down the middle of the valley. After a thorough examination by both men, the only tracks they could find were their own. It was only after Skinner had climbed up the side of the mountain where Wolf had come down that he stumbled upon the tracks leading back to the stream. “Damn,” he swore, realizing then that Wolf had doubled back on them. “Here’s why there ain’t no tracks down there,” he called to Buck. “The son of a bitch never rode down that valley. He musta went right back to that camp at the top of the trail, and if he ain’t there, then I’ll bet he headed back to take that whore home.” It made sense to them both, so they hurried to get back to the stream and climb back up to the little clearing where the pair they were hunting had camped. Finding no one there, they headed straight back to Deadwood.

I hope to hell that ain’t some fool looking for a ride this early in the morning, Lorena thought as she closed her robe and tied the belt around her waist. At her age, she could no longer be choosy about her customers, but it took her a little longer to get herself ready in the morning. “All right, I’m comin’,” she called out when the tapping on her door continued. “Well, for goodness’ sake!” she exclaimed when she opened the door to find Rose and Wolf standing there in the hall. Holding the door open wide then, she stepped back and said, “Come on in.” When they were inside, she closed the door and took a good look at Wolf. “You look a little better than the last time I saw you. I never woulda thought you’d be on your feet again this soon.”

“He’s strong as an ox,” Rose answered for him.

Lorena gazed at Rose for a long moment before stepping up to give her a hug. She knew what the young girl had been hoping for, and from the lack of a joyous expression on her face, she guessed that it had not happened. She wished that she could convince Rose that a future with Wolf was not in the cards. Releasing her then, she said cheerfully, “I’ll put on some coffee, and maybe we can find somethin’ to eat around here. I wish I had known you were comin’. I woulda had somethin’ cooked. I’ll go tell Billie Jean you’re back, maybe borrow a little flour from her to at least fry up some bread.” She took a dipper and filled her coffeepot with water from a bucket on the table. “Well, tell me what’s happened,” she demanded impatiently. “What about those two hooligans who were lookin’ for you?” She was accustomed to the stony reaction typical of Wolf, but she expected some indication of urgency from Rose.

“We lost them,” Rose replied, “back in the mountains.” She went on to relate what had happened since she and Wolf had fled from Deadwood.

“But why did you come back here so soon?” Lorena asked, unable to understand the reason. “If they didn’t find you out there, you know they’re still gonna be lookin’ for you. It don’t seem like the smart thing to do to come back here.”

Finally Wolf spoke. “It’ll be safer for Rose here with you and Billie Jean. I don’t want to take a chance on her gettin’ hurt with me. I’ll be leavin’ right away.”

That figures, Lorena thought. And that will probably be the last Rose or anyone of us will ever see of you. With the coffeepot charged up and on the stove, she said, “I’ll go get Billie Jean.”

“I’ll do it,” Rose volunteered, and headed for the door, leaving Lorena time to talk to Wolf alone.

“How well are you?” Lorena wanted to know. “You look a little peaked.” When Wolf shrugged indifferently, she said, “Those two fellers looked mean enough to cause you some real harm, and if you ain’t up to a run-in with ’em, I think you’re takin’ a helluva chance comin’ back here. You know, that was their brother you killed.”

“I didn’t have no choice,” Wolf replied. “I reckon if they catch up with me, it’ll just depend on which one of us is the luckiest. But I didn’t want her in the middle of it, if they do catch up with me, and like I said, I ain’t plannin’ to stay around here long. I’m goin’ back to my camp and waiting for them to come lookin’ for me.” It was his intention to wait only until he regained his full strength. Then he planned to go in search of them. He realized at this point that he was at war with an entire family, and he feared it were not going to be over until he or all of that family were dead. Since he did not know how many men were in the family, it was a strong possibility that he might be hunted from now on. Further discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Rose with an excited Billie Jean, who was carrying a sack.

As surprised as Lorena had been to find Wolf back in Deadwood, Billie Jean wanted to know all the details of his and Rose’s flight to escape an encounter with the two outlaw brothers. As she was never one to beat around the bush on any subject, her next comment caused some discomfort for Lorena as well as Rose and Wolf. “I sure wasn’t looking for you two to be coming back here. To tell you the truth, when you left here that evening, I kinda figured you’d probably hook up together for good—maybe head for some other part of the territory, find you a place to set down some roots.”

Lorena rolled her eyes toward the ceiling in disbelief, while Rose flushed, visibly embarrassed. Of the four, Wolf had no expression beyond a frown, although the comment caused a feeling of guilt, for which he had no explanation. He shifted his gaze to Rose, but she immediately looked away to avoid it. Seeking to change the subject, Lorena said to Wolf, “I don’t reckon ol’ Marvin will be happy to see you. He’s still complainin’ about the bloodstains on his floor.”

“Hell,” Billie Jean said, “I told him they add a touch of color to the place—gives his customers something to talk about while they’re swilling down his whiskey.”

“I won’t give him the chance to complain,” Wolf said. “I’m fixin’ to leave.”

“I reckon you can stay long enough to drink a cup of coffee,” Lorena said. “Set yourself down at the table.” He didn’t argue.