Texas Standoff by Elmer Kelton

Author:Elmer Kelton
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781429945400
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

Regaining consciousness, Andy realized he was lying on a cot in the jail. He raised a hand to the place where his head throbbed most and felt a thick bandage. Blinking, he recognized the doctor leaning over him.

“Don’t make any sudden moves,” the physician warned. “Your brain may be like scrambled eggs after the blows you took.”

Daggett’s coarse voice penetrated Andy’s pain. “I doubt that. There couldn’t be more than a spoonful.”

Andy struggled to remember what had happened. It came back to him in fragments. “They didn’t let us get very far.”

Daggett said, “They were layin’ for you.”

“But we didn’t tell anybody.”

“This is a tough town to keep a secret in.”

Andy knew but had to ask anyway. “What about Bigelow?”

“He’s about the deadest man you ever saw.”

Andy felt crushed by the heavy weight of failure.

Daggett said, “The minute you found out who he was, he was a danger to the others. They figured he’d break. What they did to him and to Callender is a warnin’ to anybody else who might know more than is good for him.”

Andy lamented, “It’ll be extra hard now to get people to talk to us.”

The sheriff and his deputy came along in a while. Seymour said, “Me and Salty went over every inch of the ground out there. Never found even a cartridge shell.”

Daggett asked, “What about horse tracks?”

“They’re all over the place, and they all look about the same.”

Daggett said, “Even if we could find the right ones, they’d probably lead us in a circle and scatter. Whoever shot Bigelow may never have left town.”

Andy said, “So we have to suspect everybody we see?”

Daggett nodded. “I’ve been doin’ that all along. As far as I know, Pickard, you’re the only honest man in town besides me, and I’ve even got some doubts about you.” A tentative smile flickered and was quickly gone.

Andy had difficulty in keeping his concentration. He said, “Soon as this headache lets up, I’m ridin’ out to see August Hawkins. I’ll try to talk him into waitin’ a while on his fence. The mob may not warn him anymore. They’re liable to just shoot him.”

Dubious, the sheriff said, “He’s a hardheaded man.”

“So am I, when I have to be.”

Daggett said, “Yeah, or they’d have busted your skull like a watermelon.”

Andy raised up a little, then dropped back onto the pillow. He felt as if a blacksmith were using his head for an anvil. “After I talk to Hawkins, I think I’ll pay a visit to the Teals and the McIntoshes. They might let somethin’ drop.”

Daggett said, “The Teal family came to town yesterday evenin’, all but the old man. They’re still here. I’ll go talk to them.”

Andy blinked. “They were here when Bigelow was shot?”

“You’re always tellin’ me not to jump to conclusions. Lots of folks were in town last night.”

Andy said dryly, “I suppose you’ll question Carrie.”

“I like to be thorough.”

“Maybe I ought to go help you.”

“I can handle this without help. You stay here and rest, or your brain is liable to go to clabber.

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