The Brother

Chapter 5

Max Lemay and Dragg Billings followed the same trail that Matt and Kitty had ridden about an hour before. Max was tempted to call his companion out, and have a gunfight right there on the prairie – but Billings never let his guard down and the opportunity never arose. Eventually they came to the place where the buggy had pulled off the trail.

"We'll leave the horses here," Dragg declared as he dismounted and tied his mount to a tree. Max did as he was told, but all the time he was looking for a way out of this. The pair moved quietly forward, keeping low, until they could see the couple they'd been following finishing up their picnic. They watched as Dillon got up to tend the fishing lines.

Billings reached out and grabbed Max by the arm.

"Now's our chance, just one shot and you are free Lemay, don't mess it up. Come on up here, I'm gonna take the Marshal and you take the woman, got it?"

Reluctantly Max Lemay took up his position and aimed his gun. Maybe if he closed his eyes for a second he could do it.

"Are you ready? - we'll only get one go at this."

Billings had his rifle raised and in position.

"Now!" he grunted.

The instant the shell left Billings' rifle he became aware that Lemay had not fired, he had half expected it. He saw the big Marshal dive to the ground and thought he had hit him, almost immediately he worked the lever on the Winchester to feed a fresh cartridge into the barrel and let off a second shot, this time aimed at the woman. He was hampered because the lawman's body was shielding her, but he figured he might get lucky. He knew all along that if necessary he could take care of the job by himself, he never did understand why Mr. Gannon had enlisted the help of Lemay anyway. He kept watching for movement from the two bodies downstream, feeling hopeful that he had finished the job, at the same time he reloaded the rifle just in case it was needed again.

-()-()-()-

Wilton and Jerry Jackson left Dodge behind them and took the trail in the direction that Lemay had seen the other riders take.

"I was just so certain that the man I saw was Max, now maybe I'm beginning to doubt it."

"It won't take us long to catch them up then we'll know for sure." Jackson told him.

Lemay had a great deal of confidence in his trail boss. The man was rough and not well educated, for sure, but he had a confidence about him that came from many years of driving men and animals alike along endless miles of trail. He was well able to handle any situation thrown at him.

The trail was fairly easy to follow – although Wilton had to admit that he would not have found it quite so readily. Jackson studied the ground and as he got back on his horse he looked towards his boss. "I think they are following the tracks of a buggy."

Lemay was none to sure how the man could tell that, but had enough confidence to believe his words. They rode in silence for almost an hour, Jackson would rein in his horse now and again and lean from the saddle to make sure they were still following the right tracks, finally he dismounted and studied the ground again.

"Looks like that buggy and the two riders turned off the trail here Mr. Lemay. You want to keep following?"
"We've come this far, let's keep going."

The tracks were harder to follow through the grass but at last they could see the buggy parked in a stand of cottonwoods not far from a slow flowing creek. Both men got off their horses and secured them to some bushes. Lemay let his eyes wander carefully along the creek bank. He saw them, "It's the Marshal and Miss Kitty from the Long Branch," he said – he had felt all along that there was something more than a casual friendship between the two. He was about to call out and go down to visit when Jackson pulled on his arm, "Quiet," he warned, "there is someone else hiding over there in the bushes."

The words were hardly out of his mouth before a rifle shot split the air, followed closely by another and then a woman's scream.

They became aware of a scuffle and the sound of punches being thrown coming from the bushes that Jackson had pointed out. Wilton was certain he could here Max's voice now, and it sounded as though he was involved in a fierce fight.

Jackson drew his gun and ran through the undergrowth towards the source of the noise. Wilton Lemay was not carrying a gun but followed closely in Jackson's wake.

The cattleman arrived on the scene in time to see his brother being struck over the head with a rifle butt by a much bigger man.

"You coward," the bigger man yelled. "Just wait till Mr. Gannon hears what you did. It would probably be better for you if I killed you right here."

Max fell to the ground and a long bloody slash on the side of his head became visible.

"That's my brother," Wilton told his trail boss.

Jackson ran forward gun in hand.

"Drop that rifle and back away from him, before I shoot," the cowboy yelled.
Billings was still holding the weapon but seemed uncertain about what to do with it. He didn't know this man. Although Jackson was a much smaller man, he was toughened by the many years he had spent surviving the hardships of cattle drives, and Billings could see a look in the man's eyes that told him whoever this stranger was, he would shoot if he needed to. He was holding the rifle by the barrel – having just slugged Max with it and he knew this newcomer could get off a shot easily before he would have time to turn it round and fire.

"Who are you Mister?" Billings asked, carefully backing away so as to consider his options. He was not a brave man and usually relied on his size to intimidate. Obviously that was not going to work this time.

Wilton knelt down beside his brother.

"Max, what is going here?" The boy had been stunned by the vicious blow to the head but he seemed to recognize Wilton. He reached out his hand and grasped his brother's arm.

"Am I glad to see you?" After he uttered those words he closed his eyes once more.

Jackson took a moment to spare the two brothers a glance. Then he looked at his boss.

"Mr. Lemay, go get the rope off my saddle for me."

TBC