Gone west, p.1
Gone West!, page 1
Gone West!
Kansas in 1857 is a dangerous place to live. Lee Madden, tired of the relentless cycle of violence, joins a westward bound wagon train led by his old army friend, Jake Twelvetrees. Good with a gun, it is Lee’s job to protect the settlers on their journey to Oregon from the hostile tribes along the famous Platte River Road. Unfortunately for him, they will not be the only threat. His past catches up with him in the brutal shape of Deacon Swain, a ‘border ruffian’ out to avenge the killing, back in Kansas, of his younger brother. There are compensations though. After a vicious clash with Pawnee Indians, Lee finds himself increasingly attracted to the newly widowed Martha. The question is, can their relationship survive both his deadly feud with Swain and a determined assault on the wagon train by Sioux Indians in the foothills of the Rockies?
By the same author
Blood on the Land
The Devil's Work
The Iron Horse
Pistolero
The Lawmen
The Outlaw Trail
Terror in Tombstone
The Deadly Shadow
Gone West!
Paul Bedford
ROBERT HALE
© Paul Bedford 2016
First published in Great Britain 2016
ISBN 978-0-7198-2176-9
The Crowood Press
The Stable Block
Crowood Lane
Ramsbury
Marlborough
Wiltshire SN8 2HR
www.crowood.com
Robert Hale is an imprint of The Crowood Press
The right of Paul Bedford to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him
in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Chapter One
Jake Twelvetrees wasn’t used to being pressed on his decisions and it didn’t sit well. ‘You want me, you got him too,’ he barked.
Ten pairs of resentful eyes switched from him to the subject of their ire and then back again. One man, bolder than the rest, wasn’t prepared to leave it there. ‘Well I say he’s got no right coming along. Every one of us has paid good cash money to join this wagon train, but we ain’t seen a dime of his yet,’ complained Rufus Barlow. ‘And why did he wait ’til Nebraska? Everyone knows Independence, Missouri’s the starting point?’
‘What the hell does that matter?’ Jake protested. ‘He’s here now, isn’t he?’
‘Yeah, but is he?’ responded the other man quizzically. ‘We’re supposed to be heading west aren’t we? Yet he spends most of his time gazing south to Kansas? What’s that all about, huh?’
There were grunts of agreement from his companions, causing Jake to sigh impatiently. He was a bluff, broad shouldered ex-soldier who had been hired to get a job done. ‘I haven’t got time for all this. We’re burning daylight and Bent’s going to think we’ve bust an axle or run into the Pawnee or some such.’ Gesturing over towards Lee Madden’s unhelpfully silent figure, he said firmly, ‘I’ve known this man for more years than I care to think on. He’s got hidden talents that you folks might just be glad of on the journey ahead. So I’ll say this one more time. Unless you want me to head on back to Independence to lead another train, he stays!’
Some of the cooler heads amongst the group had the sense to realize that if he wasn’t bluffing, then they would effectively find themselves without a leader and that thought didn’t appeal. ‘C’mon Rufus,’ muttered one of them. ‘No good will come of this and who knows, this fella might just turn out to be a “snake oil” salesman. Then you could buy a bottle of elixir and lubricate that sour tongue of yours.’
That drew a few laughs and the tension seemed to drain out of the atmosphere. Barlow huffed and puffed, but he knew he’d lost his audience. He turned back towards his wagon, but not before casting a dark glance in Madden’s direction.
Finally left alone with his friend, Jake gave vent to a little frustration. ‘Great help you turned out to be. You might at least have said something in your defence!’
Lee Madden favoured him with a strangely sad smile. ‘You seemed to be doing all right without me. Besides, they’re right. I haven’t put up any money.’
Jake returned the smile, although with considerably more vigour. ‘And so long as I’m captain of this train, you won’t have to. Since the forty-niners and all the other riff-raff that headed for California stirred up the Indians, settlers have to travel in large parties for protection. I’ve got forty prairie schooners to look after, so I’m surely entitled to a deputy. I’m mighty glad that you happened upon us, although I’ve got to admit I’m curious as to just what brings you out here.’
A cloud seemed to fall over Lee Madden’s broad face. ‘Let’s just leave that for another time. I’m grateful for your support, Jake. I really am. But I ain’t in the mood to answer questions right now and in any case these folks seem anxious to be on the move.’ With that, he heaved his solid frame up into his saddle and motioned his horse well out on to the south flank of the westward-headed wagon train. He had no intention of eating other people’s dust for the 2,000 miles that he’d heard they would need to travel to reach Oregon Territory.
As he gazed along the line of creaking wagons making their way across the seemingly endless plains, Lee wondered just how many of the hopeful pioneers would actually reach that far-off destination. Hell, on a clear night, even the moon seemed nearer than the west coast. To attempt such a journey with young children and even a few elderly relatives seemed hopelessly optimistic, especially now that many of the wild tribes were known to be hostile to the overlanders. But then violence was something that Lee knew plenty about and the colour of a man’s skin really didn’t alter the nature of conflict.
As the miles passed, his body settled into the rhythm of his animal’s steady walk and his mind began that unavoidable drift back into the recent past. The bleak memories seemed to haunt his every waking moment, but maybe . . . just maybe with the passing of time and distance they might begin to dim. The question permanently gnawing at him was would he be left in peace to start his new life?
In that year of 1857, the residents of Topeka were sadly used to outbreaks of violence in their community. As ‘free soilers’, bitterly opposed to the spread of slavery, they were constantly on the watch for marauding gangs of pro-slavery supporters. The widespread festering conflict had led to the territory being dubbed ‘Bleeding Kansas’ by New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley. Located on a ferry crossing traversing the Kansas River, the town also received frequent, but far more peaceful visits from passing wagon trains heading west. It was through here that Jake Twelvetrees and his party had passed some two weeks earlier.
The gang of ‘border ruffians’ that reined in amongst a grove of trees located just beyond the outermost buildings was different from the usual bands of trouble causers. The seven men arrived in the dead of night and weren’t interested in random violence and property damage. All their thoughts were focused on one particular house. After handing the reins to the youngest of the group, six of them padded silently towards the darkened streets. Like many of their ilk, they favoured fearsome broadswords for intimidation and carried ‘cap and ball’ revolvers for self-defence.
Their leader believed that he knew exactly where he was going. He was a large unkempt brute with an excessive fondness for corn whiskey. His name was Deacon Swain and behind his wild eyes there lurked a dangerously unbalanced intellect. As a native of South Carolina, he felt himself to be in enemy territory, but there was an unusually pressing reason for his presence in Topeka.
They were in amongst the simple timber buildings when Swain suddenly motioned the others to a halt. As his companions nervously fingered their weapons, he peered around at the darkened houses in an attempt to get his bearings. He had only been to the town once before and that had been in daylight. Damn, but things looked so different at night!
As his eyes desperately swivelled about, they alighted on a window in the nearest property and his heart abruptly jumped with shock. There, staring back in abject terror was the ghostly face of a young girl. As though swaying on trembling feet, her nose suddenly pressed up against a pane of distorted, poorly manufactured glass. Probably just using the piss pot, he surmised, but there was no denying she had given him a jolt. And the question was, would she scream?
Swain slowly raised his right forefinger to his lips and nodded encouragingly. The girl’s eyes widened like saucers and then her face abruptly disappeared. He stood like a statue for what seemed an age, but mercifully the silence remained unbroken. Quite probably she had padded back to bed, to recollect the strange sighting as a bad dream the next morning.
Lucky for her, he decided. If they had been hindered in their purpose, he would doubtless have slaughtered the child and all her family and felt justified in doing so . . . until remorse set in later, as had happened so often in his life. Leading the others away, he heaved a great sigh of relief and then by immense good fortune suddenly saw exactly what he was looking for. An off-white picket fence showed up dully against the darker single storey structure behind it.
‘Remember,’ hissed Swain. ‘No noise and no killing until I say so. It’s answers I need, first.’
With exaggerated care, he opened the gate and led his five thugs over to the front door of the simple dwelling. As expected in such lawless times it was locked, but they had come prepared. A crowbar split the poorly seasoned wood and then they were crowding into the parlour.
At least one of the occupants was a light sleeper and a male voice cried out from the back room, ‘Who is it? What do you want?’
Swain gestured for his men to surround the door and when it was flung open they rushed into the room with drawn swords. There was a brief struggle, followed by a female’s high-pitched scream that was immediately curtailed. As their leader watched, the men dragged a solidly built individual out of the bedroom.
‘Who all else is in there?’ Swain demanded.
‘Just the lady of the house,’ replied one of his men with a snigger. ‘She’s chewing on my kerchief at the minute.’
Now the thought of that tickled Deacon Swain. ‘Then God help her,’ he guffawed. ‘That verminous rag hasn’t seen a wash tub in many a long year. Just you keep her in there, while I find out how helpful her man is going to be.’ He switched his attention to one of the others. ‘Joe, get that lamp to working. I want to take a better look at this son of a bitch.’
As that man did as instructed, the others forced their prisoner down into a solid looking rocking chair. As a lucifer flared up, followed by the lamp itself, the sudden illumination caused all of them to blink. As their captive gazed around at the menacing intruders, his shocked expression changed to one of real fear.
‘Take anything you want,’ he blurted out. ‘Just don’t harm my wife!’
Swain took a good long look at him before responding. He noted the solid, chunky physique and the strong jaw under a luxuriant moustache. He decided that they might well have to beat on him for an awful long time, in order to extract any useful information. Conveniently, there happened to be an alternative.
‘It’s funny you should say that,’ he finally responded. ‘Because if you don’t tell me what I want to know, that’s exactly what we’ll do. And there’s various ways to do hurt to a female. Savvy?’
Liam Madden gazed up at his tormentor in horrified silence, before again taking in the border ruffians and their vicious looking broadswords. Then a look of resignation spread across his features as he posed the question that, in truth, he already knew the answer to. ‘What do you want?’
Swain favoured him with a broad smile that completely failed to reach his eyes. ‘You don’t look like a halfwit to me, so I reckon this won’t come as a surprise. Where’s your brother?’
Liam’s heart sank, but he made a mighty good job of concealing it. ‘I haven’t seen Lee in years. There’s a lot of things we don’t agree on.’
The other man’s smile slipped and he shook his head sadly. ‘And there was me thinking we could avoid any carnage.’ He jerked his head towards the bedroom door. ‘Brady, pull that rag out of the bitch’s mouth and saw a finger off. Nice and slow like.’
‘Which one, boss?’ came the improbable response.
Swain shook his head in apparent despair. ‘I don’t care, you moron. Pick one. Any one. It’s your treat.’
In the bedroom, Brady tingled with anticipation. He was a buck-toothed rancid individual, who took pleasure in dispensing pain to others. Clambering on to the bed, he straddled the terrified woman and abruptly yanked the foul kerchief from her mouth. As he seized her right hand, she emitted a piercing scream, which of course was exactly the reaction that Swain had anticipated.
‘He’s gone west,’ yelled Liam in desperation.
‘Where west?’ demanded his persecutor stridently.
‘Oregon. Well away from this madness. He’s had enough of it all.’
‘Well we haven’t had enough of him. He killed my kid brother and us Swains live by the feud.’ Anger and bitterness coloured his words, but then he exhibited one of his lightning mercurial mood swings and nodded with apparent satisfaction. Backing off, Deacon Swain theatrically sauntered into the bedroom. ‘Thank you, ma’am,’ he announced with mock civility. ‘We’ve got what we came for, so we’ll be taking our leave.’ Strangely, he then snatched one of the pillows, which only added to the woman’s alarm.
‘How’s about I slice her up anyway?’ asked Brady hopefully.
Swain glanced at him bleakly. ‘I reckon not. Butchering some female ain’t going to help our cause any. But, we do need to make an example.’ So saying, he swept back into the parlour, placed the pillow over Liam’s face and pulled out his Colt Navy. ‘Hold him tight, boys.’
‘Why don’t you use your sword?’ asked Joe hopefully.
There was an ominous metallic double-click, as the hammer was retracted on the revolver. ‘ ’Cause I don’t want to be wiping pieces of him off me for the rest of the night. That’s why,’ replied Swain sharply and then he squeezed the trigger.
Chapter Two
The gunshot, one amongst an intermittent barrage, went completely unnoticed. It was the resulting high-pitched scream that suddenly cut through him like a razor. Jerked out of his reverie, Lee Madden urged his mount over towards the head of the wagon train. Fifty yards or so in front of the lead vehicle, a young man lay on the ground. His features were contorted in agony as he clutched his left thigh. By his side was a smoking revolver. It was immediately apparent what had happened. Yet another firearms accident!
As the travellers had advanced across the plains on the north bank of the Little Blue River, they had been amazed and frightened at the number of snakes that they had encountered. With their oxen plodding along in front of the wagons, numerous serpents slithered away from the animals’ hooves. Against the advice of their guide, the wagoners relentlessly killed the creatures with their guns and whips, as though seeking to exterminate the whole species. The crackle of musketry had become an almost ever-present feature of the journey, along with the relentless creak of wood and leather. Unfortunately, so many firearms in inexperienced hands had led to a rash of accidents.
As the boy’s family rushed over, his mother wailed piteously, ‘Sweet Jesus, Thad’s like to die from this!’
As calmer heads viewed the injury, one man stated, ‘It’s just a flesh wound, is all. The ball’s missed bone and gone straight through. It just needs binding up.’
Lee, mindful of his precarious position in the train, had kept his distance until his practised eye spotted something that could not be ignored. Dismounting, he shouldered his way through the throng. ‘If that’s all you do, it’ll likely infect and he’ll die,’ he stated flatly.
‘What the hell would you know about any of it?’ barked out Rufus Barlow belligerently. That man obviously still hadn’t accepted Lee’s continued presence amongst them.
The newcomer eyed him coldly. He was minded to turn away and leave them to it, but in all conscience he couldn’t just leave young Thad to a ghastly death.
‘Mister, if you had half a brain, you’d know that with this kind of injury it’s not the ball that’s dangerous, but whatever might have been carried into the body with it. Believe me, I’ve seen more than enough gunshot wounds.’
Barlow bristled with anger at the other man’s scathing attitude and therefore missed the apparent reference to Lee’s violent past. ‘Just what are you saying, Madden?’
‘What I’m saying, is that if you look closely you’ll see there’s a piece of his pants leg missing. I’d lay odds that it’s still in the wound and needs fetching out, pronto!’
The boy’s father was on the point of cutting the material away and he momentarily froze with the shock of recognition. ‘By God, this fella’s right.’ Turning to his nearest neighbour, he instructed, ‘Here, help me lift Thad to our wagon. And somebody light a fire. We’re going to need hot water when we probe his leg.’
With blood flowing from the wound and the boy’s mother fussing around, there were plenty of willing hands to help out. As Lee backed off to leave them to it, he called out, ‘And some whiskey wouldn’t hurt. On the wound and down the throat.’ Snatching a glance at the sour-faced Rufus Barlow, he flippantly added, ‘And tell any Temperance Movement that happens by that it’s purely medicinal!’
He looked up as Jake Twelvetrees arrived from the rear of the long column. ‘So another would-be hunter’s blown a hole in himself,’ that man observed sadly. ‘I keep telling them to leave the goddamned snakes alone. There’s more folk getting shot than bit.’ The wagon train leader glanced down at Thad’s discarded Colt Dragoon. Shaking his head, he remarked, ‘And what the hell is a young lad doing with a horse pistol like that? His pa ought to know better. The recoil alone’s enough to put him on his back!’
