Showdown at Dead End Canyon (15 page)

“Eddie, you think Mr. Dorchester would take us back?” Win asked.

“I don’t know,” Eddie answered. He looked up from his pipe. “Why? Are you thinkin’ about askin’ ’im to take you back?”

“Yeah, I am,” Win admitted.

Eddie reached down to pick up a twig, then stuck it in the fire and lit it. Using the burning twig, he lit his pipe. “How long—” he started to ask, then took a couple of puffs until
the tobacco in the bowl caught. “How long you been thinkin’ about this?”

“I don’t know. At least for a week now.”

“You don’t say.”

“Come on, Eddie. You can’t tell me you ain’t thought of it a few times your ownself,” Win said.

Eddie sighed. “Yeah,” he agreed. “I admit that I have thought of it.”

“Well, what do you think? Do you think he’ll take us back?”

“I don’t know. But if I was a bettin’man, I’d say I reckon he probably would. He’s a good man, even if he does talk funny.”

“Well, I’ll tell you the truth, I’m about ready to go back. I don’t think there’s any gold at all up here.”

“Well, come on, Win, you know there has to be some gold, somewhere,” Eddie said. “Hell, somebody found gold else there wouldn’t be so many folks up here.”

“Can you tell me one person who has found gold?”

“Luke Rawlings has found gold.”

“I mean somebody other than Luke Rawlings and Percy Sheridan. And they don’t count, ’cause they’re the ones that found it in the first place.”

“I know,” Eddie said. “But they keep finding it regular. Sheridan come out the other day with a nugget that was as big as a walnut.”

“Yeah, I know people say that, but—”

“I seen it, Win,” Eddie said. “I mean, I seen that nugget with my own eyes.”

“If they’re findin’ all that gold, how come they ain’t up here all the time?” Win asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I just mean that most of the time they’re gone,” Win said. “Don’t that strike you as peculiar?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just never thought about it,” Eddie said.

“So, you want to stay up here and keep looking, or what?” Win asked.

Eddie looked over at the pile of rubble that represented the rocks they had broken up in the last week.

“We sure ain’t been broke out with luck, have we?” Eddie asked.

“So far we’ve ’bout broke our backs and we ain’t come up with so much as one ounce,” Win said, continuing to make his case. “We’re runnin’ low on food. Fact is, we ain’t got nothin’ left now but some jerky and a little coffee. And what are we going to do come winter if we ain’t found nothin’? You may recall, Mr. Dorchester kept us on all last winter, even though there wasn’t that much work to do. We had three hots and a cot. This tent’s okay for the summer. But it won’t do much for keepin’ us warm in the winter.”

“Yeah,” Eddie finally said. “Yeah, you’re right. As far as I’m concerned, we’re just wastin’ our time here. I say we go back and see if we can get our old jobs back.”

“Good. I was hopin’ you would come around to my way of thinkin’. Hey, how much money have we got left?”

“Fourteen dollars,” Eddie answered. “Why?”

“Fourteen dollars is enough,” he said. “What do you say that, before we go back and start punchin’ cows again, we go down here to the Golden Cage and have us a little fun?”

“Doin’ what?”

“Doin’ what?” Win laughed. “I tell you what, don’t worry about it. I’m willin’ to bet you’ll figure out what to do when we get there.”

The Golden Cage had been put up in only six days, and it was clearly the most impressive establishment in South Pass City. That was the case even though a couple other wooden
structures were now being erected. The Golden Cage was two stories high, with a second-story balcony that ran all the way across the front of the building. Below the balcony, at street level, was a fine wooden porch with a swing and a couple of rocking chairs.

For the first week after it was built, business was so good that Dupree thought he was going to have to bring in some more girls. But for the last couple of weeks business had been getting slower and slower.

At first Dupree wasn’t sure why business was so bad. Then, as he began questioning the girls, he learned that the men were frustrated because they weren’t finding any gold.

“None of them are?” Dupree asked.

“None that I’ve had anything to do with,” Libby answered.

The other two girls gave the same response. So far, not one of them had heard a success story.

“Maybe they’re just keeping quiet about it,” Dupree suggested.

“No, it isn’t that,” Libby replied. “Listen, the one thing men like to do more than anything else when they are with a woman is brag. If any of them had found gold, we would have heard about it.”

Dupree smiled. “You mean when a man is with one of you girls, he would rather brag than do
anything
else?”

It was a teasing comment, and the three girls laughed at its implication.

“All right,” Libby said. “Bragging is the second thing he wants to do.”

“Lookie here,” Lulu said, looking through the front window. “We’ve got a couple of customers.”

“In the middle of the day?” Dupree said. “That’s odd.”

“Get on out there and meet them, Jay,” Libby said, pushing him. “We can’t afford to lose them. As it stands now, we aren’t doing enough business to keep the doors open.”

“All right, all right, I’m going,” Dupree said, stepping out onto the front porch. He smiled at the two men as they approached. He was smoking a cigar, and as he greeted them, he tapped off the ash at the end.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen. My name is Jay Dupree, and on behalf of myself and the young ladies of the Golden Cage, I welcome you.”

“My name’s Win Woodruff, this here is Eddie Taylor.”

“This is our first time here,” Eddie said.

“I see. And you are gold miners, are you?” Dupree asked.

“Ha,” Eddie said. “I reckon you could say that, but we ain’t been doin’ a whole lot of what you would call gold minin’ so far.”

“Fact is, we ain’t done no gold minin’ at all,” Win added. “Mostly what we been doin’ is huntin’.”

“But no findin’,” Eddie said.

“Well, then it sounds to me like you two gentlemen need some relaxation,” Dupree suggested. “Come on in and get acquainted with the girls. Maybe it will bring you a change of luck.”

Inside, a dozen or so chairs and sofas were scattered about, along with several potted plants, mirrors on the walls, and a staircase rising to the second floor. Three girls were sitting in the parlor, but there were no customers anywhere to be seen.

Two of the girls got up and walked over to greet them.

“My name is Lulu,” the one who stepped up to Eddie said.

“And I’m Sue. What are your names?”

“I’m Eddie, he’s Win,” Eddie said. He looked around. “Where at’s all the men?”

“Oh, honey, don’t tell me you like men better than you do women,” Lulu asked, and she and Sue laughed.

“What?” Eddie replied in an almost explosive reaction.
“Hell no! What do you mean, do I like men better than women? Why would you ask me such a thing?”

Win laughed. “Don’t get in such a huff. They was just teasin’ you, that’s all.” Then, to the girls, he explained Eddie’s question. “What he means is, how come you ain’t got no customers?”

“Because they’re all working their claims,” Lulu replied. “We normally don’t get anyone in the middle of the day. That means you fellas have us all to yourself.”

“Well now,” Win said with a big satisfied smile. “Ain’t we the lucky ones?”

“Listen, you got a place to take a bath in this here whorehouse?” Eddie asked, rubbing the stubble on his chin. “It’s been a while since I’ve had me a proper bath.”

“Oooeee, tell me about it,” Lulu said, pinching her nose and laughing. “Come on, I’ll give you a bath.”

“You’ll give me a bath?” Eddie replied. “Well, I don’t know about that.”

“What do you mean you don’t know about that?” Win asked. “Are you crazy?”

“Well, come on, Win, I ain’t had nobody give me a bath since my mama done it when I was real young.”

“I said you would figure out what to do when you got here,” Win said, shaking his head. “I can see now that I was wrong.”

“You mean he’s a virgin?” Lulu asked Win.

Win nodded. “He’s a virgin, all right, and about as green as they come.”

“Well, then, I’ll just have to teach him, won’t I?” Lulu said in a husky voice. “And we’ll start with the bath. Honey, I’ll just bet you that your mama never gave you a bath like the one I’m going to give you.”

“Why? What’s different about it? A bath is a bath, ain’t it?”

“Jesus, Eddie, you are one dumb turd, do you know that?” Win asked in exasperation.

“Shh, don’t scold him. You have to be patient with virgins,” Lulu said, chuckling. Then, to Eddie, she said, “Here’s something your mama never did. I’ll be naked while I’m giving you this bath.”

“Oh,” Eddie replied. Then, finally understanding the implications of what she’d just said, he smiled broadly. “Oh!”

“Honey, you could use a bath too, you know,” Sue said to Win.

“That’s fine with me,” Win replied. “As long as I don’t have to share a tub with Eddie.”

The girls laughed as they led the two men away.

ON THE DAY AFTER THE FUNERAL, EVERYONE IN
town knew who was behind the Sweetwater Railroad Company, because a big sign went up on the front of Bailey McPherson’s building:

SWEETWATER RAILROAD COMPANY
BAILEY MCPHERSON, PRESIDENT

Dorchester came down to the depot to see Cindy off on her trip back East. Cindy, with $12,500 safely tucked away in the false bottom of her trunk, expressed her thanks, then waved a tearful good-bye as she got on the train.

Dorchester said nothing when he first saw the sign, but as soon as the eastbound train left the station, he walked down the street, then into the Sweetwater Railroad Company’s office.

A young woman was in the front office, seated at a desk behind the counter. When Dorchester entered, she said, “Yes, sir, may I help you?”

“I would like to talk to Miss McPherson.”

“I believe Miss McPherson is busy now.”

“Tell her to get unbusy.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Tell her Dorchester is here.”

“Sir, I told you, she is—”

“Now!” Dorchester shouted, banging his fist so hard on the counter that it caused the windows in the building to rattle.

“It’s all right, Mrs. White,” Bailey said, appearing in the door then. “I’ll talk to the gentleman.” Bailey smiled at Dorchester, though the smile was obviously forced. “It’s good to see you, Sir James,” she said.

“Sir James?” the young woman repeated.

“Oh, yes, dear. Allow me to introduce you to our resident royalty,” Bailey said. “This is Brigadier Sir James Spencer Dorchester, Earl of Preston, Viscount of Davencourt.”

“You can dispense with all of that,” Dorchester said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I want to know what is going on with this railroad business.”

“Oh, yes, exciting, isn’t it? I’m building a railroad from here up to the Sweetwater. To South Pass.”

“What in heaven’s name for? There are no settlements between here and the Sweetwater. And even South Pass is a temporary settlement, until all this gold fever passes.”

“Well then, perhaps the railroad will ensure that a real city develops there. Wouldn’t that be exciting?”

“In the meantime you are taking land away from honest ranchers and farmers. Hilliard, Miller, who else will you be getting land from?”

“What a coincidence that you would ask,” Bailey said. “You’re coming in here will save us the trouble of serving you.”

“Serving me?”

“Yes. I’m afraid we are going to be taking a five mile strip
of land all along the Green River and up the Big Sandy. That means that from you we will be taking a total of, let me see…yes, here it is. One hundred and forty-four thousand acres.”

“What?”

“I would advise you to move all your stock off that property,” Bailey said.

“We’ll see about this,” Dorchester said angrily. “This is outrageous, and one way or another I’m going to stop you.”

“I don’t think so,” Bailey said. “I have the law on my side.”

Hawke was sitting at a table in the cookhouse, drinking coffee and examining a topographic map of the area between Green River and the Sweetwater Mountains. He looked up when two men came in and stepped up to the table, their hats in their hand.

“Are you the new foreman Willie told us about?” one of the men asked. “Are you Hawke?”

“I am,” Hawke said. “What do you need?”

“Well, the thing is, Hawke, uh, Mr. Hawke, me ’n’ Eddie Taylor…” He paused in mid-sentence and pointed to the man standing beside him. “This here is Eddie Taylor, I’m Win Woodruff. And the thing is, we used to cowboy here.”

“And we was good hands too,” Eddie said. “You can ask any of the other cowboys here and they’ll tell you. We was good hands.”

“But we quit to go hunt for gold,” Win continued.

“Only we didn’t find none,” Eddie said.

“’Cause I don’t think there’s none there,” Win added.

Hawke stared at the two men. He knew that they wanted him to ask them to come back to work for the ranch, but he was determined to make them ask.

“So, uh…” Win said. He cleared his throat nervously. “Uh, so, we thought maybe…”

“Maybe we could get our old job back,” Eddie put in quickly.

“When’s the last time you two men had a good meal?” Hawke asked.

“Well, we had some jerky this mornin’,” Eddie said.

“And yesterday,” Win added. “And the day before that too.”

“But now, a real sit down and eat kind of meal,” Eddie said, “well, sir, that’s been a good while.”

“Have the cookie fix you a plate,” Hawke said. “I can’t be hiring cowboys who are so hungry they can’t work.”

Win and Eddie smiled broadly, then hurried over to the big wood-burning stove where the cook was already preparing supper. He gave them both a generous helping of some stew, left over from lunch. There was also half a pan of leftover biscuits, and the two men cleaned it out.

Bringing their food back to the table, they sat down and began eating, wolfing the food down ravenously. It wasn’t until Win had cleaned his plate and eaten the last biscuit that he happened to glance across the table to the map Hawke was studying.

“That there map ain’t exactly right,” he said casually.

“What?”

“That map,” Win said, pointing. “Accordin’ to that map, this whole area here is flatland. But that ain’t the way of it. Crowley’s Ridge is there, but this here map don’t show it.”

“Do you know how to read a map?”

“Yeah,” Win said. “’Afore I cowboyed, I worked some for the Union Pacific when they was buildin’ the railroad. I had to read maps all the time, and sometimes even drawed ’em.”

Hawke turned the map around. “Where is this ridge you were talking about?”

“Right here,” Win said, “betwixt the Big Sandy and the Pacific rivers.” He traced the location with his finger.

“Can you point out the location of the Hilliard ranch?” Hawke asked.

“Sure, it’s right here,” Win said.

“Just on the other side of Crowley’s Ridge?”

“Yes.”

“Damn,” Hawke said with a sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“There are five hundred head of cattle up here,” Hawke said, putting his hand on the Hilliard ranch, “that I need to get down here. I was trying to find the best route. But with this Crowley’s Ridge in the way…” He let the sentence hang.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Win said. “The Little Sandy River comes right through the middle of the ridge. There’s a break there that’s prob’ly a hundred yards wide or so. You could bring five hundred beeves through there easy. Me ’n’ Eddie will help bring ’em down, won’t we, Eddie?”

“Sure will,” Eddie said, mumbling around a mouth full of biscuit.

“Thanks, I can use you.”

“When you going to bring ’em down?”

“Tonight, just after dark.”

Win looked surprised. “Tonight? After dark?”

“Yes.”

“Uh, pardon my askin’ you this, but why the hell would you want to move five hundred head of cattle at night?”

“It’s probably safer that way.”

“Safer? To move a herd at night? Through a narrow pass in a high ridge?”

“I thought you said it would be easy bringing them through the pass,” Hawke said.

“Well, yeah, I did say that. But I was talkin’ about bringin’ ’em through in the daytime when you can see what the hell you are doin’.”

“There’s a full moon tonight,” Hawke said. “It will be moon bright.”

“Still in all, it’s not like bringin’ ’em through in the daylight. What do mean when you say you think it would be safer to bring ’em down in the dark?”

Hawke took the final swallow of his coffee and looked for a long, appraising moment at Win and Eddie.

“Safer, because there is less chance of us getting shot.”

“Less chance of getting shot?” Win gasped. He held out his hand and shook his head. “Wait a minute, hold it. I ain’t goin’ to have nothin’ to do with stealin’ no cows. What’s this all about, anyway? I’ve never knowed Mr. Dorchester to swing a wide loop.”

“No,” Dorchester said, “and I haven’t started now.”

None of them had heard Dorchester come into the dining hall. Now they all looked around at him.

“They’re my cows, bought and paid for,” he continued. “With a bill of sale. You boys are back, I see.”

“Yes, sir. We just talked to Hawke, and he hired us back. I hope that’s all right with you,” Win said.

“Yes, of course it is all right,” Dorchester said. “I’m happy to have you boys back. And are your saddlebags filled with gold?”

Win and Eddie shook their heads contritely.

“We didn’t find nothin’ up there,” Win said.

“Not even so much as one little flake of yellow,” Eddie added.

“Well, I’m glad you both have it out of your system and have come back. I was left pretty short-handed. I hope some of the others will come back as well.”

“Like as not, they’ll all be comin’ back sooner or later,” Win said. “Soon as they discover there ain’t no gold up there, they’ll come back wantin’ to work.”

“And I’ll hire them.”

“Mr. Dorchester, if we ain’t stealin’ them cows, why is it we’re going to get ’em at night?” Win asked. “And what did Hawke mean when he said that we might get shot at?”

“Yeah,” Eddie added. “I’m not all that anxious to get shot at.”

Dorchester told them the story of two men riding up to confiscate Roy Hilliard’s ranch. He told them how Roy tried to resist, how they shot him down and then served Mrs. Hilliard with the paper that said she no longer owned the land.

“They gave her twenty-four hours to get off her property and take her livestock with her.”

“Twenty-four hours?” Eddie said. “And her just a woman? Now, just how the hell was she s’posed to do that? Excuse my language.”

Dorchester shook his head. “No need to apologize, I feel the same way you do about it. So, I bought the cattle from Mrs. Hilliard.”

“You bought the herd while it is still up there?” Eddie asked.

“Right,” Dorchester said.

“So now you want that herd down here.”

“Right again,” Dorchester said.

“So, if you bought the herd, why don’t you just go up and get it in the broad daylight?”

“There is a question of who actually owns it,” Dorchester said. “I’m afraid that the Sweetwater Railroad Company believes they own the herd, and they probably have it guarded with orders to shoot anyone who attempts to take it.”

“Excuse me for sayin’ this, Mr. Dorchester, but that just don’t make a whole lot of sense, you buyin’ a herd that you ain’t even got yet.”

“Events may yet prove you right, Win,” Dorchester said. “But Mr. Hawke assured me it could be done, so I am putting my trust in him.”

“You still want to help me bring the herd down?” Hawke asked.

Win scratched his cheek and, after pausing for a moment, nodded in the affirmative. A broad smile spread across his face. “Always did want to try myself a little cattle rustling.”

“This isn’t exactly rustling,” Dorchester said.

“Yeah, I know. But it’s close enough. Count me in, Hawke.”

“Me too,” Eddie said.

“Thanks,” Hawke said.

“Hawke, could I speak to you for a moment? Outside?” Dorchester asked.

“Sure,” Hawke said.

“Hey, Cookie, you got ’ny coffee left?” Eddie asked, starting toward the kitchen. Win joined him as Hawke followed Dorchester out onto the front porch of the cook shack.

“Bailey McPherson is the Sweetwater Railroad,” Dorchester said when Hawke joined him outside. “I spoke to her today.”

“So she’s the one responsible for taking Hilliard’s and Miller’s land?”

“Yes. And 144,000 acres of Northumbria.”

“What?” Hawke gasped.

“That’s what she said today, and she has government papers to back her up. In addition to that, the land she is taking will leave the rest of Northumbria isolated from water. And not only Northumbria, but the entire valley. And without water, my ranch, and everyone else’s ranch—and farm in the entire valley—will be worthless.”

“Are you going to fight it?”

“Yes, of course I’m going to fight it,” Dorchester said. He took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair. “I just don’t know how to fight it.”