Ralph Compton - Death Rides a Chestnut Mare

“Kid, where in tarnation did you learn to shoot like that?”

“My pa was a gunsmith in St. Joe, and he taught me,” Danielle said. “He was robbed and hanged in Indian Territory last April. Seven of the coyotes that killed him are alive somewhere, and I’m after them.”

“I reckon you got some way of knowin’ who they are, then,” Stubbs Potter said.

“I have their names,” said Danielle. “At least the names they were using.”

“Name them,” Cass Herring said. “We might be of some help to you. We been down to Laredo, where we got into a disagreement over the ownership of some horses.”

Danielle named the men on her death list.

“One of them hombres I’ve heard of,” said Herring. “This Snakehead Kalpana has been down to Brownsville, driving Mex horses across the border into Texas.”

“Yeah,” Stubbs Potter said. “The damn Spaniard loused up everything by gunning down a Texas lawman. They’ll overlook a gent picking up a few Mex horses, but when he kills a man behind the star, he’s in trouble.”

“I’m obliged,” said Danielle.

At that point, Leroy returned, leading Sundown. Without a word, he passed the reins to Danielle.

“We’re bound for North Texas, kid,” Cass Herring said, “and you’re welcome to ride with us. It ain’t safe for a man alone, here in Indian Territory.”

“I’m obliged, and I’ll join you,” said Danielle. “Does that suit you, Leroy?”

“Hell, no,” Leroy snarled. “You humiliated me, and I owe you for that.”

“When you’re ready,” said Danielle. “I’ll give you a head start.”

Chapter 15

Danielle allowed the five men to lead out, for she didn’t trust Leroy behind her out of her sight. She didn’t like the way he had cut down on her with a Winchester, not knowing if she was friend or foe. The other four men seemed of a more even temperament.

“I figure we’re maybe two hundred and fifty miles north of Fort Worth,” Cass Herring said when they had made camp for the night.

“You’re bound for Fort Worth, then,” said Danielle.

“Yeah,” Herring replied. “For the time being, anyway. It gets God-awful cold here in the Territory when them snowstorms blow down from the high plains.”

“Hell, it snows in Texas, too,” said Leroy sullenly.

“Not near as much as it does to the north,” Herring replied. “If it gets bad enough, we can always ride farther south.”

“I don’t like south Texas,” said Leroy. “Too damn many rangers there.”

“You can always strike off on your own and go any place you damn please,” Herring said, “but if you get gun-happy in Texas and get us in trouble with the rangers, then I’ll personally gut-shoot you.”

While none of them had admitted it, Danielle believed they had been in Laredo—on the Mexican border—rustling Mexican horses and selling them in Texas. They had then rode into Indian Territory to avoid any retribution for the lawman who had been shot. Danielle wondered if Leroy had done the killing, but there was no way of finding out unless she asked. For her own well-being, she couldn’t afford to show too much interest in these men, who were undoubtedly on the dodge.

“We used the last of our coffee this morning,” Cass Herring said. “How are you fixed for grub, kid?”

“I have enough coffee to see us through to Fort Worth,” said Danielle. “I’ve got some jerked beef, bacon, and hardtack I’ll share.” 12

“That’s generous of you,” Jarvis Brooking said. “We’re near ’bout out of everything.”

They rode on, stopping only to rest their horses, making night camp near a spring or a stream. At the end of the second day, Danielle estimated they were within fifty miles of Fort Worth. She had no reason for returning to the fort, since Captain Ferguson—the post commander—had refused her any help. Still, the sutler’s store would be the nearest source of supplies, and sharing with her five companions had all but emptied her saddlebags. With much of the frontier still unsettled, civilians were allowed to buy supplies and goods from a military outpost’s store.

Fort Worth, Texas. December 4, 1870.

In back of the sutler’s store was a saloon, and Danielle’s five companions went there first. Danielle had no intention of remaining at the fort overnight and, in the sutler’s store, began replenishing her supplies. The very last person she wished to see was Captain Ferguson, but she soon heard footsteps behind her, and there he was. His manner was different, and when he spoke, there was some friendliness in his voice.

“You’ve been busy, young man. I received the Kansas City newspaper that told of the killing of a Kansas-Pacific railroad man. He refused to cooperate with you, didn’t he?”

“Yes,” Danielle said. “He didn’t want any bad publicity for the railroad, but he got it anyway. One of the men on my list is Chancy Burke, and I was told by Alan Steele that Burke didn’t work for the railroad. Steele confronted Burke himself, and after he shot and killed Steele, Burke escaped.”

“I suppose I owe you an apology,” said Ferguson. “If you had gone to Kansas City knowing Burke was with the railroad and feeding information to his outlaw friends, Steele might be alive today. I’m sorry I didn’t make some effort to get that list of railroad men for you.”

“We all make mistakes, Captain,” Danielle said. “Your apology is accepted. Now I want to ask you something. Did you know Rufe Gaddis, Julius Byler, and Chancy Burke are all from Waco, and that they have families there?”

“No,” said Ferguson. “It’s news to me. Perhaps that’s where they are now.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Danielle said, “but a lot of good it’ll do me. I visited the Gaddis, Byler, and Burke families, and was ordered out of town. I couldn’t stable my horse, buy a meal, or rent a room.”

“Waco has an elected sheriff,” said Ferguson. “You got no help there?”

“None, and no promise of any,” Danielle said. “The sheriff’s concerned only with the next election, and it was him that told the town I was looking for Gaddis, Byler, and Burke. He also made it a point to warn the families of the three outlaws, and their kin were waiting for me with guns.”

“I can’t promise you any help,” said Captain Ferguson. “I suspect there are outlaws all over Texas, but there’s nothing the military can do. We’re already undermanned, and with Quanah Parker and his Coman che followers raising hell, local lawmen and the rangers will have to deal with the outlaws.”

“I understand,” Danielle said, “but even the rangers have failed in Waco.”

Shaking his head in frustration, Captain Ferguson walked away. When Danielle had her purchases bought and wrapped, she took them outside and stowed them in her saddlebags. She tied a sack of grain for Sundown to her bedroll behind the saddle. Feeling that she at least owed her five companions an adios, she went looking for them in the saloon behind the store. They did, after all, tell her that Snakehead Kalpana had been in south Texas, running horses across the border. If he had killed someone, especially a lawman, he might be long gone. She found all five of the men were gathered around a table, playing poker.

“I’m ridin’ out,” Danielle announced. “I just came to say adios. ”

“Watch your back, kid,” said Cass Herring. It was an underhanded compliment, for no man was likely to face her down when she drew with blinding speed. Potter, Brooking, and Slacker had words of farewell. Leroy Lomax glared at her murderously, for he was a big loser, having few chips before him.

“Don’t expect nothin” from Leroy,” Stubbs Potter said. “His ma weaned him on sour pickles, and he’s went downhill from there.”