Seeking Justice by C. M. Wendelboe

Author:C. M. Wendelboe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gale, Cengage Learning
Published: 2018-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

Justice had just run a cleaning rod through the bore of his rifle when the sound of hoofbeats, fast and desperate, approached. He whistled at Gall. “Get up on the roof of that shed.”

Gall slung his rifle over his shoulder and climbed a ladder leaning against the Swede’s shack. The shed lay miles to the east of the Swede’s house, and he’d apparently used it during calving season by the look of the tack and branding irons hanging on an inside wall. It was an excellent place to fire down on someone.

Justice squatted behind the water-well head and levered a round into his Winchester.

Henny rode toward them on the trail the Swede long ago constructed to get into Hellion, wildly slapping his horse’s neck with the reins, looking back as if he were being pursued by the devil himself. He skidded to a stop beside the well and dismounted. He bent over as he caught his breath, his wind coming in painful gasps.

Gall scrambled down from the barn and walked to the water well.

“Someone after you?” Justice said. He stood and moved to keep an eye on the road as he talked to his brother. “And where’s Elias?”

“Dead,” Henny sputtered. He held his stomach and sucked in air. “Gunned down in town.”

“Dead? That can’t be. Nobody could take Elias.” Justice long ago figured no one would ever suspect Elias of riding the trail with the likes of the Cauthers. He had gotten them out of scrapes far worse than they’d see in the territory by being so ordinary looking. Justice grabbed Henny by his lapels and stood him erect. “What the hell happened?”

“Ashley,” Henny breathed. “Ashley. Shot and killed Elias.”

Justice swayed, and he grabbed onto the well. Elias Gates was his oldest living friend, as least as much of a friend as Justice could ever develop. Elias had impressed Justice from that first time he saw him in the North’s Elmira prison camp, stealing from other prisoners too weak or too cowardly to resist. His ruthlessness had impressed Justice so much, he brought the Norwegian into his gang the moment he decided to form one after slipping past the Pinkertons at Boston port. “Just tell us what happened to Elias,” Justice ordered.

Henny dipped the water ladle into the bucket sitting on the well and slurped. “Like I said, Ashley beat him to the draw—”

“Not like Elias to give a man an even chance,” Justice said. Elias had always been more concerned with winning a fight than fair rules—something Justice admired.

“Just tell us how it went down,” Gall pressed. He took the ladle from Henny and dropped it back into the bucket. “Elias wasn’t slow on the draw, even if he was”—he looked at Justice—“a back-shooter.”

“All right,” Henny began, “it went down like this: Elias had Ashley dead to rights. I thought he was going to shoot him. Why he even talked to Ashley first is beyond me—”

“Professional courtesy,” Gall said. “One killer to another.” Gall slid his rifle back into his scabbard.

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