[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
soldier.
The bartender moved over to us, polishing a glass."Rye," I said, "and some
information."
He filled our glasses,then squinted through the cigarette smoke, resting both
hands on the bar. "What do you want to know?" he asked.
"We're expecting a herd of cattle ... a small herd. A man namedTarlton will
probably bring them."
"Cattle?We haven't seen a herd of cattle, not since I've been on the post.
Only cattle I've seenwas driven in here for our own use."
One of the men at the bar, a stocky man in buckskins, turned half
around."Tarlton?The cattle buyer fromAbilene ? He rode out ofAbilene before I
did that's a month ago."
Corbin tossed off his drink. "We've got troubles, Chancy," he said. "He
should have been here before this."
Page 50
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"Any Indian trouble?"I asked.
"None to speak of," the man in buckskins answered. "Of course, you know how
it is with Indians, if they get notional. Where were the cattle headed?"
Well, I hesitated. I knew the army looked with no favor on cattlemen moving
into Indian country. "Up the country," I said finally.
"You'd better have your own army then. The Sioux don't take to the white-eyes
moving in amongst them."
"I thought that wasCheyenne country."
"Sioux, Cheyenne, it makes no difference. They'll have your hair if you try
to live in that country." He paused. "A man might make peace with theCheyennes
, although they are great fighters when given cause. But I don't believe the
devil himself, northe good Lord, for that matter, could make peace with the
Sioux. They live to fight, and believe me, friend, they fight well."
Of their fighting ability I had no doubt, but I hoped to live among them in
peace. The buffalo were going, anybody could see that, and maybe we could
trade with the Indians maybe even get them to ranching on shares.
What worried me right now wasTarlton . He should have arrived nearFortLaramie
by now, or he should have gone on north, and we had cut no trail coming south.
We went outside. It was pleasantly warm in the sunshine, cool in the shade. I
glanced at the sky, and it gave promise of fair weather. But I had no idea
what to do. Seems to me a lot of folks want to be leaders, but almighty few of
them realize that decisions don't come easy. We could wait here, hopingTarlton
would show up, or we could scout towardNebraska , or even send out a man to
ride west and try to cut any trail they might have made.
Finally I decided to sit tight and keep my boys together. Meanwhile I would
try to find out if any patrols or army details had been sent out, and to learn
what they knew. That meant caution, for if the army had to notice us
officially, we'd be in the soup for sure.
I couldn't stop thinking ofTarlton . He was a good man, but he was a city
man. I had no idea who he had with him, or how good they were, and I knew a
good part of my own success had been because of the men I'd had with
me.Especially because of the uncanny skill of JimBigbear and the steadiness of
Tom Hacker. But every man had done his share.
Also, the more I heard of the Sioux and theCheyennes , the more worried I
became for the herd and the men left with it. I not only wanted to findTarlton
, but I wanted to be back with the outfit. The Indians would surely know where
they were, and might come down upon them at any time.
We went back into thesutler's store and bought what we could, letting him
hold it for us until we decided to leave. To the other things, we added
ammunition. I had no idea how much we'd need, but I bought a thousand rounds.
Thesutler stared. "You figuringon starting a war?"
"Buffalohuntin'," I lied. "I heard therewas a big lot of them over west and
to the south."
Probably he didn't believe me, but he let us have what we wanted.
Page 51
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
We stayed at the post for two full days, checking every rumor we heard,
talking to the soldiers who returned from the routine patrols. But all the
while we heard nothing.
When the news came it was bad very bad.
I was sitting with Corbin at a table in thesutler's saloon when Cotton came
in. He crossed right over to the table and pulled back a chair. "Chancy" he
spoke in a low tone, but I could see the others watching, guessing something
was in the wind "I seen a cowhidehangin ' on a fence yonder." He jerked his
head to indicate the direction ofHogTown . "It'scarryin ' a Lazy TC!"
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]