Longarm Meets Blackbeard by Tabor Evans

Author:Tabor Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

Chapter 21

When Longarm woke to a new dawn, Ben Waters was still sitting beside young Harry Bannister, but now the boy’s hands were crossed on his belly and his eyes had been covered with pennies.

“When’d he go?” Longarm asked.

“Couple hours ago. Something like that. I didn’t see no reason to wake you.”

“D’you want me to make another cup of coffee?”

“Thanks but I’d rather get on back to town now. I need to see to the burying and notify the foreman out at the Jazzy. Maybe they know how to reach Harry’s folks, wherever they are.”

“Want me to write the letter to them? After all, I’m the one as killed their boy.”

Waters shook his head. “That won’t be necessary, Longarm. I’ll take care of it.”

“Whatever you think.”

Longarm walked away from the rocks and hazed the horses in. He had hobbled them and turned them loose to find whatever graze they could. Now he used his hat to carry water to each of them, emptying the seep in the process.

“It’s a good thing we aren’t trying to make coffee now,” Waters said.

“Yeah, ain’t it.”

The town marshal continued to sit beside the dead boy, so Longarm saddled all three horses, then helped Ben load Bannister belly-down over his mount. They looped his belt over the saddle horn and ran a piggin string under the horse’s belly securing his hands and feet in place. The body would flop around some but probably not fall off.

“Ready?”

“Yeah. Dammit.”

Waters took the reins to lead Bannister’s horse, and Longarm mounted the hammerhead. He only had to whack the horse in the nose twice to get it to stand without biting.

The ride back to Grandview was completed in silence except for the soughing of a west wind and the clop of the horses’ hoofs on hard earth.

They reached town before noon. “I’ll take the boy over to Jimmy Sligh. He does whatever laying out needs to be done around here,” Waters said.

“Me, I’m heading for the café. I want that coffee we didn’t take time for this morning.” Longarm smiled. “And enough grub for breakfast and the supper we didn’t get around to last night. Join me if you like. I’ll buy.”

“Thanks but I think not. I have a lot to do.” Waters’s expression hardened. “Including talking with Charlie Jones. Him and that loose daughter of his are the ones who caused Harry’s death. I intend to make sure the preacherman understands that.”

“Good luck with it, but if I had to lay money it would be on the side of him denying his little angel could do such a thing.”

“Harry was right, you know. That girl will spread her knees for any boy that wants her. Spread her knees or drop onto them, whichever the boy wants. Or so I hear tell. That isn’t a voice of experience, understand.”

“It never crossed my mind,” Longarm said. “But tell me something, Ben. Back there when you seen who our fugitive was . . . if I hadn’t been along with you, you would’ve turned around an’ headed back to town, wouldn’t you?”

Ben nodded.

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