Ralph Compton - Death Rides a Chestnut Mare

“Just where the hell were you when this was taking place?” he thundered.

“Watching Reece go up against the fastest gun I’ve ever seen,” said Sheriff Duro. “He started it, and besides being a damned fool, he was a coward too.”

“Nobody guns down my boy and lives to talk about it,” McCandless shouted. “Nobody. Do you understand that?”

“I understand that it was a more than a fair fight,” said Sheriff Duro. “Reece had a mad on because when he was stripping a girl in a saloon, this young gunfighter buffaloed him. It didn’t do a hell of a lot for the McCandless image. Since then, the saloon girl has had her throat cut, and I think we have the brave Reece McCandless to thank for that.”

“Are you done?” McCandless asked in a low, dangerous voice.

“For the time being,” said Sheriff Duro. “I put up with a lot in this damn town, but I won’t side with a yellow, back-shootin’ coward, even if he is a McCandless.”

“Then you just tell me who this young gun-thrower is,” McCandless said, “and I’ll see that he pays.”

“His name is Daniel Strange,” said Sheriff Duro. “He’s after the outlaws who murdered his pa in Indian Territory. Snakehead Kalpana’s one of them.”

“Kalpana’s the gun-happy bastard who shot a ranger in Laredo,” McCandless said, “and you let him hang around here?”

“Hell, I didn’t know about the ranger in Laredo,” said Sheriff Duro. “You ain’t in the habit of checking references on none of these owlhoots. Why should Kalpana be that much different from the others?”

“He shot a ranger, and the rest of them will trail Kalpana all the way to hell and then go in after him,” McCandless said. “Where is he now?”

“Across the river,” said Sheriff Duro. “Dirk and Malo, a couple of his amigos, have a room here in town. I reckon they’ll know where he is.”

“Then get them,” McCandless said, “and see that they take a message to Kalpana. Tell him there’s a gunfighter in town looking for him, and unless he gets rid of this troublesome kid, he’ll get no protection from me.”

“Suppose the kid, Daniel Strange, guns down Kalpana?”

“Then you can report to the rangers that Snakehead Kalpana’s dead,” McCandless said, “and that ought to keep the law off our backs.”

“And if Kalpana guns down this Daniel Strange?”

“He will have paid for murdering my son,” said McCandless, “and I’ll see that Snakehead Kalpana is put where his reputation won’t harm us.”

“So either Snakehead Kalpana or Daniel Strange is to die in a gunfight,” Sheriff Duro said, “and you aim to take care of the survivor.”

“In my own way,” said McCandless. “If this Daniel Strange survives a shoot-out with Snakehead Kalpana, he still must pay for killing my son. As long as Kalpana’s alive, we’re up against the possibility the rangers will come looking for him. I’m sure they’ll be asking some embarrassing questions. It’ll be better for us if Daniel Strange guns Kalpana down. It’ll take ranger eyes off us, and I can still see that Daniel Strange pays. Now get out of here and find those men who have been riding with Kalpana.”

All Danielle’s suspicions of Sheriff Duro were confirmed when she saw the lawman mount the outside stairs of the boardinghouse she was watching. Sheriff Duro knocked on the door, it opened, and he entered. Danielle would have given all her worth to hear what was being said. Sheriff Duro wasted no time.

“One or both of you have to ride across the river and find Snakehead Kalpana. You do know where he is, don’t you?”

“Maybe,” said Dirk cautiously.

“Damn it,” Duro shouted, “you either know or you don’t. Which is it?”

“All right,” said Dirk, “we can find him, but he ain’t the kind to spook easy. What do we tell him?”

“Tell him there’s a young gunfighter in town, gunning for him,” Sheriff Duro said. “If Kalpana don’t shut this kid up, we’ll have the rangers after us. McCandless said if Kalpana don’t ride over here and cut the kid’s string, that he can stay in Mexico until he croaks because he won’t get protection from us. You knew Kalpana killed a ranger in Laredo.”

“Well . . . uh . . . yes,” said Malo, “but that’s a long ways from here.”

“Not when it concerns the death of a ranger,” Sheriff Duro said. “Now get going. We want Kalpana on this side of the river when he faces Daniel Strange.”

“That ain’t hard to figure out,” said Dirk. “You figure this young gunslinger can take Kalpana. Then you’ll turn his carcass over to the rangers so’s they don’t show up here.”

“Don’t do too much thinking,” Sheriff Duro said. “You ain’t equipped for it. Just tell Kalpana this kid’s got vengeance on his mind, and a draw as quick as a rattler. Kalpana’s finished here unless he guns down this troublesome kid.”

With that, Sheriff Duro stepped out the door, closing it behind him. He had no doubts that Dirk and Malo could find Kalpana, for they had ridden with him from Laredo after Kalpana had gunned down the ranger.

“What you reckon we ought to do?” Malo asked after Sheriff Duro had gone.

“We got to find Kalpana,” said Dirk. “He’s a marked man. If he can gun down this Daniel Strange, we can hide out here awhile longer.”

Danielle watched Sheriff Duro descend the stairs, mount his horse, and ride away. Sundown was picketed nearby, and Danielle led the chestnut mare back to her vantage point, where she could see the outside stairs. Sheriff Duro had been gone only a few minutes when the two men she had been watching descended the stairs. Danielle watched them go to the nearest livery, which was two blocks away. When they rode out, she followed, keeping them in sight, but far enough behind that they wouldn’t grow suspicious. The duo kept to side streets, and it soon became apparent they were headed for the river. Danielle followed them, convinced they were on their way to warn Snakehead Kalpana. Having the rangers after him, as well as a vindictive gunfighter, might convince him to remain in old Mexico, and Danielle couldn’t abide that. She was breaking the law just crossing the border, and a gunfight with Kalpana could get her thrown into a Mexican prison. Still, she followed, not sure as to how she would get past the border sentries. But there were no sentries, and no evidence there ever had been. It seemed the border was open to Mexican and American outlaws, the alliance being sanctioned by corrupt officials on both sides of the border.

In less than an hour the two men Danielle was trailing reined up before a crude cabin. A tendril of smoke trailed from the mud-and-stick chimney. A single horse stood outside on a picket rope. One of the two men pounded on the door.

“Who is there?” demanded a voice from inside.

“Dirk and Malo,” said one of the men, loud enough for Danielle to hear. “We got a message for you.”

The door was opened, and Dirk and Malo entered. They wasted no time.

“There’s a young gunfighter, Daniel Strange, looking for you,” Dirk said. “Sheriff Duro brought the word from old man McCandless that if you don’t silence this damn kid, you’ll be stuck in Mexico for the rest of your life.”

“Perhaps it is a trap to lure me into the hands of the rangers,” Kalpana said. “Could this Daniel Strange be one of them?”

“No,” said Dirk. “This kid ain’t even old enough to shave. He told Sheriff Duro you’re one of a bunch of outlaws that robbed and hanged his pa in Indian Territory.”

Kalpana laughed. “And he seeks revenge. Well, my amigos, he will have his chance. Then you can bury him.”

Dirk and Malo shuddered, for they had seen Snakehead Kalpana in action. He carried two thonged down revolvers and could draw and shoot with either hand. He was as fast as the serpent whose name he had taken.