The Brother

Chapter 2

Maxim Lemay had enjoyed his time on the river boats and made a good bit of money, but he was becoming too well known and the dealers were too wary of playing against him. The young man left the river at Memphis and headed south and west. For a while he found plenty of opportunity to make easy money in towns like Abilene, Texas where there were plenty of drovers fresh off the trail with money in their pockets and enough whisky in their bellies to soften their brains. Then there was the time when Maxim had been called out by one of those cowboys, claiming that he was cheating. His skill with the colt pistol was almost equal to his skill with the cards and he defended his name, and his winnings with relative ease. After that happened he had left Texas and headed north. He heard that there was money in the mining towns in Colorado and figured that some of it could soon belong to him.

He started off in Denver, but after a week or so he left the big city for the mining town of Idaho Springs to the west. The money seemed in endless supply and he found it reasonably easy to outwit the miners that frequented the saloons there. Eventually they became tired of his taking all their hard earned gold and banded together to chase him out of town. He decided to lay low for a while and made his way south till he found the small town of Pueblo, which was to become the location of Max's last big game. He was playing in a high stakes game with a man named Lou Gannon. He thought the man was just a dealer in hides in this remote part of the country, but soon found himself falling behind in the game. Without realizing what had happened, he found himself several thousand dollars in debt. It turned out that Gannon was more than a dealer in hides, he owned one of the biggest cattle ranches outside the state of Texas. It was located to the east of Pueblo near Fort Lyon, a desolate wide spot on the old Santa Fe Trail. Soon Max found himself doing ranch work once again, only this time it was to work off the gambling debt he owed Gannon. The other ranch hands were mostly a tough bunch of Texans and a few outlaws who for some reason became indebted to Mr. Lou Gannon. Max quickly became the center of many arguments. Fortunately his skill with the Colt Pistol saw him through but it also brought him to the notice of Lou Gannon.

The big ranch owner came to the bunkhouse one night looking for Max. As usual he had his two big bodyguards with him, but he told them to back away – that he needed to talk with Max alone.

"I've watched you with that gun, Lemay, and you are pretty fast. I have a deal to put to you. The way I figure it, it is going to take another two years for you to work off this debt you owe me, but I can offer you one simple job that will wipe the slate clean."

Needless to say the younger man was interested. He hated hard work, and if he had to work on a ranch he would rather it be the one that he and Wilton had started.

"I'm listening," he said without much enthusiasm.

"There is a little problem in Dodge City that prevents me from going there to do business and if you agree to go take care of it for me I figure it will even up the debt you owe me – then you will be free to go your own way."

"What is it you want done?"

"I'm not telling you now. In a week or so I will send you and Dragg Billings to take care of it. While you are there he will explain it to you."

Dragg was one of Gannon's bodyguards, a big bull of a man, with a temperament to match, Max didn't like him but at this point he would agree to anything to get away from Gannon's clutches.

"It sounds a fair deal to me."

After the boss had left, Max found some paper and envelope and wrote a brief note to mail to his brother. He had become friendly with one of the young girls that worked in the kitchen at the ranch house and intended to persuade her to mail it for him next time she went into town for supplies.

Several more weeks went by before Dragg Billings and Max Lemay left for Dodge. It was a ride that would take them about five or six days. Max was not thrilled at the prospect of spending so much time with Gannon's henchman, but it did not turn out to be so bad. The man was a sullen individual and conversation between the two men was minimal. Their routine varied little, they would break camp around sunup and after a basic breakfast, ride for three or four hours before stopping to give the horses a break. In the evening they would camp again and Dragg would go off to find small game, or fish from a creek for their evening meal. Meanwhile Max gathered wood and built a fire, but even sitting there, sharing food and coffee, sometimes with a little whisky, they spoke very little.

Finally on the sixth afternoon they saw Dodge City in the distance. It was late afternoon by the time the pair rode down Front Street and Max was impressed by the sheer number of cowboys and drovers just hanging around the town. There seemed to be a lot of activity in all the saloons, there was even a line of men waiting outside the Tonsorial Parlor, presumably for a haircut and shave, maybe even a bath after all those weeks on the trail.

"I guess the herds have already started arriving." Dragg told him. "I'll get us a room at the Dodge House then I'll show you around."

Dragg took care of stabling the horses and getting a room because Max had no money in his pocket, Gannon had seen to that. He wondered if Wilton ever got his note. If his older brother was here he could get him out of this mess for sure. Wilton always knew what to do.

TBC