The Only Man I Can Trust
Chapter 12
Chester sat quietly by the window, watching the trail that came to an abrupt end at the edge of the clearing, about fifty feet in front of him. He was certain that the rest of Carp's men would be headed this way soon.
Before he'd sent Hugh Tebbers back to Great Bend, Chester reorganized his prisoners. Carp was now here in the shack, tied to a chair. At one point, he got up and put a gag in the man's mouth because his useless threats and insults began to get on his nerves. The other two were secured under a small lean-to shed at the back of the old farmhouse. He was keeping a close eye on Rico because many of Carp's threats had been directed at the young man, and Chester feared that the boy might take them seriously. Rico, for his part seemed to ignore his ex-boss. He even volunteered to go back to the river and see if he could catch some fish, so they would have something to eat. Chester didn't trust him - or the influence of Carp's men - as far as that, but he had to admit the boy seemed to be trying to help.
It seemed like he'd been sitting here for hours. He nearly nodded off once or twice, but the distant sound of horses approaching, and then men's voices brought him quickly back to the present. It had to be the rest of Carp's men coming to look for their boss.
"What's happening, Chester?" Mr. Dillon was calling to him from the far corner of the room.
"I reckon the rest of Carp's men are here a'lookin fer their no-account boss." He turned his rifle towards Carp who was struggling to loosen his bonds, "Any racket outta you, and I'll enjoy pullin this here trigger." Apparently, Carp could see the cold sober look in the jailer's eyes because he immediately quieted down.
Dillon, with Rico's help, was already on his feet. There was only one window in this old nester's shack, but many of the boards making up the walls had rotted through, and there were plenty of gaps big enough to see through. He had found one that gave him a clear view of the trail and was already aiming his six-gun through the space.
Three men were clearly visible now. It seemed they weren't sure what was going on, because, as yet, they hadn't drawn their guns. One of them swung down from his horse and was tying it to one of the posts outside.
Dillon looked at Chester, and nodded towards Carp. "Get him to his feet and bring him over here."
Chester cut the ropes binding the man to the chair and hauled him up as directed. "You jest remember, mister," Chester whispered in the man's ear as he swapped his rifle for Dillon's Colt. "One peep outta you and yer a dead man. I promise ya' that."
Carp's man was just about to climb up on to the porch of the shack. He was visibly startled when the door flung open, and the man with the stiff leg was standing there holding Carp. He had a gun aimed at the self-proclaimed sheriff's head.
Chester called out to the men, "You sinners, just throw yer guns over here, and git down off yer horses. Any one of ya tries anything a'tall, and yer boss here will get a dose of lead in 'is ear."
The man who'd already tied his horse to the post, decided that this lame cripple wasn't much of a threat. His right hand reached for his gun, and he started to raise it to fire. He had no time to pull the trigger before a rifle blast shattered the air, and he fell from his horse. Chester realized that Mr. Dillon had been keeping an eye on him from the window. The two remaining men hurriedly dropped their guns to the dirt and carefully dismounted.
"Keep yer hands up where I can see 'em!" Chester made his voice as strong and his tone as no-nonsense as possible. He'd watched Mr. Dillon control big crowds of angry Texas trail hands and knew the secret was to keep them believing that he was a force to be reckoned with. Trouble was Chester knew he wasn't quite as much of a force as his boss.
"Bring 'em all in here, Chester," Dillon called from the other side of the door.
Chester pointed his gun in the direction he wanted them to move. At the same time he kept a tight hold on Carp.
"You heard Mr. Dillon," he growled at the men while giving Carp an extra prod to get him moving. "Get inside."
()()()
Chester looked around at the total count of Carp's men - two outside tied up in the lean-to, Carp once more secured to his chair, and two men now trussed up by the front door. They had already buried the one who had tried to fire his gun, and Dillon had sent Rico to check on the two men out back.
"You trust him, Mr. Dillon?" the assistant inquired referring to the young man.
"I think so, Chester. He has better prospects with us than anything Carp has to offer. I think he just got caught up with them when he had nothing else to do. We'll keep an eye on him just to make sure."
Dillon was still seated on the chair by the window, not because they were expecting any more arrivals, but because he knew he needed help to get up and didn't want to show any weakness in front of Carp
"We need to get back to Great Bend," he told his assistant. I think Spike Holcombe will be arriving any time now, and I need to stop him before he can bring more harm to the town."
Chester looked at his boss. "You sure yer up to that, Mr. Dillon?" he asked quietly.
Dillon thought for a moment. "I'll need your help."
"Yessir." Chester responded quickly. He was serious. It wouldn't occur to him to question anything his boss asked him to do.
Dillon had to smile. Chester was the most loyal man he knew. It didn't matter what the situation, or how dangerous it was, his assistant was always ready to stand beside him. The marshal thought himself lucky to have someone he could trust like that.
Matt eased himself into a more comfortable position. The old chair seemed to put pressure on all the wrong places in his back. He inhaled quickly through clenched teeth, then tried to relax a little so the fire in his ribs would subside. Chester waited patiently - he would offer to help but knew that wasn't what his boss wanted right now. Matt took another shallower breath before speaking. "We have to go back to town and take Carp with us."
"What about all these other characters, Mr. Dillon?" Chester nodded his head towards the pitiful group tied up in the corner. They hadn't put up much of a fight so far, but out on the trail four men was a lot to keep under control.
"Do you think that you and Rico can handle them if I take care of Carp?"
"I think we can, Sir." Chester looked at his boss. He wasn't convinced that Mr. Dillon would be able to take care of Carp or anyone else in his present condition, but he wasn't about to tell him so. He also wasn't sure about Rico. He was hardly more than a boy, and he had been working for Carp for a while. Could he trust him? On the other hand, if they could get Carp and his men locked in the jail in Great Bend, life would be a lot easier. "You want to leave at first light, Mister Dillon?"
Dillon wasn't looking forward to the ride, but it was the best way to deal with the situation. As best he could remember from the ride out here, they were about two hours from town. He wanted to see that Carp stood trial for the murder of John Hicks and his deputy, but he also wanted to meet with Spike Holcombe. If he was going to have to take him down, he'd rather do it in a place where no one else would get hurt in the process. Of course, he knew that Spike Holcombe probably wanted an audience to witness him taking down a US Marshal in a fair gunfight. It would do a lot to bolster his reputation and keep other lawmen from coming after him. Matt guessed he might have to deal with that, too, when the time came. "No, Chester. I want to leave tonight. That trail along by the Arkansas will be easy to follow, even in the dark, and no one will be looking for us to arrive before morning. Any of Carp's men left awake will probably be too drunk to put up much of a fight by the time we get to town."
"Are you sure yer gonna be able to ride, Mr. Dillon?"
Matt turned around a little on the chair where he was sitting, checking out how far he could move without the sharp pain that kept reminding him of the broken ribs. He knew it would be an uncomfortable ride, but staying here was no pleasure either. "I'll be fine," was his reply. "You just go get the horses ready and everyone mounted up. Leave Carp in here till last. I'll keep an eye on him."
Chester never liked to tell his boss what to do, but he was a little worried. "Ya' know, Mr. Dillon, Doc always says you should take it easy with broken ribs."
"I know what Doc says - but he's not here." Matt moved again, trying to find a position that didn't hurt too bad. "Go and get those men on their horses with their hands tied. I don't think they'll give you any trouble while I've got Carp in here." He paused again. "Besides I don't want Spike Holcombe arriving in town and fixing up some other crooked scheme with his brother."
Chester wholeheartedly agreed, "Yessir, Mister Dillon, I think we've got enough trouble already fer a whole entire month of Sundays."
TBC
