Ralph Compton Death Rides a Chestnut Mare (34 page)

“I don't think so, Sheriff,” said Danielle. “Would you have jailed McCandless if I'd let him back-shoot me?”

It was a question Sheriff Sam Duro dared not answer. Red-faced, he started up the boardwalk toward his office. But as he rounded a corner and, out of sight of those who had witnessed the gunfight, he headed straight for the town's bank and the office of old Simon McCandless. Somebody had to tell McCandless that his cowardly son had been gunned down while trying to shoot another man in the back. Sheriff Duro sighed. Hell was about to break loose, with the lid off and all the fires lit, and there was nothing he could do.

Chapter 17

Nobody spoke to Danielle after Reece McCandless had tried to shoot her in the back and had been gunned down. It was an undeniable case of self-defense, for McCandless had fired three times before Danielle had gotten off a shot. Nobody followed Danielle, and she had no idea what to expect. She stopped across the street, watching the house where she hoped there were two outlaws who might lead her to Snakehead Kalpana.

 

Sheriff Duro had no stomach for what lay ahead, but he had little choice. Somebody had to tell Simon McCandless that his gutless son had been gunned down after he'd tried to shoot another man in the back. Duro knocked on the door.

“Who is it?” McCandless asked.

“Sheriff Duro.”

“Come on in,” said McCandless gruffly as Duro closed the door behind him. “Now whatever you have to say, speak up. Don't waste my time with trivial things you could have taken care of yourself.”

“Some things I don't do,” Sheriff Duro said, “and standin' between two
hombres
with guns is one of 'em. That loudmouth boy of yours just got himself shot dead after he tried to shoot another man in the back.”

Simon McCandless's expression didn't change. He was overweight, with gray eyebrows, gray hair, and a ruddy complexion. Kicking back his chair, he got up and walked to the window. For a long moment he looked out, seething, and when he again turned to Sheriff Duro, his face was white with rage.

“Just where the hell were
you
when this was taking place?” he thundered.

“Watching Reece go up against the fastest gun I've ever seen,” said Sheriff Duro. “He started it, and besides being a damned fool, he was a coward too.”

“Nobody guns down my boy and lives to talk about it,” McCandless shouted. “Nobody. Do you understand that?”

“I understand that it was a more than a fair fight,” said Sheriff Duro. “Reece had a mad on because when he was stripping a girl in a saloon, this young gunfighter buffaloed him. It didn't do a hell of a lot for the McCandless image. Since then, the saloon girl has had her throat cut, and I think we have the brave Reece McCandless to thank for that.”

“Are you done?” McCandless asked in a low, dangerous voice.

“For the time being,” said Sheriff Duro. “I put up with a lot in this damn town, but I won't side with a yellow, back-shootin' coward, even if he is a McCandless.”

“Then you just tell me who this young gun-thrower is,” McCandless said, “and I'll see that he pays.”

“His name is Daniel Strange,” said Sheriff Duro. “He's after the outlaws who murdered his pa in Indian Territory. Snakehead Kalpana's one of them.”

“Kalpana's the gun-happy bastard who shot a ranger in Laredo,” McCandless said, “and you let him hang around here?”

“Hell, I didn't know about the ranger in Laredo,” said Sheriff Duro. “You ain't in the habit of checking references on none of these owlhoots. Why should Kalpana be that much different from the others?”

“He shot a ranger, and the rest of them will trail Kalpana all the way to hell and then go in after him,” McCandless said. “Where is he now?”

“Across the river,” said Sheriff Duro. “Dirk and Malo, a couple of his
amigos,
have a room here in town. I reckon they'll know where he is.”

“Then get them,” McCandless said, “and see that they take a message to Kalpana. Tell him there's a gunfighter in town looking for him, and unless he gets rid of this troublesome kid, he'll get no protection from me.”

“Suppose the kid, Daniel Strange, guns down Kalpana?”

“Then you can report to the rangers that Snakehead Kalpana's dead,” McCandless said, “and that ought to keep the law off our backs.”

“And if Kalpana guns down this Daniel Strange?”

“He will have paid for murdering my son,” said McCandless, “and I'll see that Snakehead Kalpana is put where his reputation won't harm us.”

“So either Snakehead Kalpana or Daniel Strange is to die in a gunfight,” Sheriff Duro said, “and you aim to take care of the survivor.”

“In my own way,” said McCandless. “If this Daniel Strange survives a shoot-out with Snakehead Kalpana, he
still
must pay for killing my son. As long as Kalpana's alive, we're up against the possibility the rangers will come looking for him. I'm sure they'll be asking some embarrassing questions. It'll be better for us if Daniel Strange guns Kalpana down. It'll take ranger eyes off us, and I can still see that Daniel Strange pays. Now get out of here and find those men who have been riding with Kalpana.”

 

All Danielle's suspicions of Sheriff Duro were confirmed when she saw the lawman mount the outside stairs of the boardinghouse she was watching. Sheriff Duro knocked on the door, it opened, and he entered. Danielle would have given all her worth to hear what was being said. Sheriff Duro wasted no time.

“One or both of you have to ride across the river and find Snakehead Kalpana. You do know where he is, don't you?”

“Maybe,” said Dirk cautiously.

“Damn it,” Duro shouted, “you either know or you don't. Which is it?”

“All right,” said Dirk, “we can find him, but he ain't the kind to spook easy. What do we tell him?”

“Tell him there's a young gunfighter in town, gunning for him,” Sheriff Duro said. “If Kalpana don't shut this kid up, we'll have the rangers after us. McCandless said if Kalpana don't ride over here and cut the kid's string, that he can stay in Mexico until he croaks because he won't get protection from us. You knew Kalpana killed a ranger in Laredo.”

“Well . . . uh . . . yes,” said Malo, “but that's a long ways from here.”

“Not when it concerns the death of a ranger,” Sheriff Duro said. “Now get going. We want Kalpana on this side of the river when he faces Daniel Strange.”

“That ain't hard to figure out,” said Dirk. “You figure this young gunslinger can take Kalpana. Then you'll turn his carcass over to the rangers so's they don't show up here.”

“Don't do too much thinking,” Sheriff Duro said. “You ain't equipped for it. Just tell Kalpana this kid's got vengeance on his mind, and a draw as quick as a rattler. Kalpana's finished here unless he guns down this troublesome kid.”

With that, Sheriff Duro stepped out the door, closing it behind him. He had no doubts that Dirk and Malo could find Kalpana, for they had ridden with him from Laredo after Kalpana had gunned down the ranger.

“What you reckon we ought to do?” Malo asked after Sheriff Duro had gone.

“We got to find Kalpana,” said Dirk. “He's a marked man. If he can gun down this Daniel Strange, we can hide out here awhile longer.”

 

Danielle watched Sheriff Duro descend the stairs, mount his horse, and ride away. Sundown was picketed nearby, and Danielle led the chestnut mare back to her vantage point, where she could see the outside stairs. Sheriff Duro had been gone only a few minutes when the two men she had been watching descended the stairs. Danielle watched them go to the nearest livery, which was two blocks away. When they rode out, she followed, keeping them in sight, but far enough behind that they wouldn't grow suspicious. The duo kept to side streets, and it soon became apparent they were headed for the river. Danielle followed them, convinced they were on their way to warn Snakehead Kalpana. Having the rangers after him, as well as a vindictive gunfighter, might convince him to remain in old Mexico, and Danielle couldn't abide that. She was breaking the law just crossing the border, and a gunfight with Kalpana could get her thrown into a Mexican prison. Still, she followed, not sure as to how she would get past the border sentries. But there were no sentries, and no evidence there ever had been. It seemed the border was open to Mexican and American outlaws, the alliance being sanctioned by corrupt officials on both sides of the border.

In less than an hour the two men Danielle was trailing reined up before a crude cabin. A tendril of smoke trailed from the mud-and-stick chimney. A single horse stood outside on a picket rope. One of the two men pounded on the door.

“Who is there?” demanded a voice from inside.

“Dirk and Malo,” said one of the men, loud enough for Danielle to hear. “We got a message for you.”

The door was opened, and Dirk and Malo entered. They wasted no time.

“There's a young gunfighter, Daniel Strange, looking for you,” Dirk said. “Sheriff Duro brought the word from old man McCandless that if you don't silence this damn kid, you'll be stuck in Mexico for the rest of your life.”

“Perhaps it is a trap to lure me into the hands of the rangers,” Kalpana said. “Could this Daniel Strange be one of them?”

“No,” said Dirk. “This kid ain't even old enough to shave. He told Sheriff Duro you're one of a bunch of outlaws that robbed and hanged his pa in Indian Territory.”

Kalpana laughed. “And he seeks revenge. Well, my
amigos,
he will have his chance. Then you can bury him.”

Dirk and Malo shuddered, for they had seen Snakehead Kalpana in action. He carried two thonged down revolvers and could draw and shoot with either hand. He was as fast as the serpent whose name he had taken.

“Then saddle up and let's ride,” said Dirk. “I always get the feeling these
Mejicanos
are watching us. It gives me the creeps.”

Kalpana took his saddlebags, and the trio went out. Dirk and Malo waited until Kalpana had saddled his horse. Mounting, the three of them rode north. Following, Danielle sighed with relief. She had every reason to believe the third man was Snakehead Kalpana, and it appeared, for whatever reason, that he was riding back across the border into Texas. She would have gunned down Kalpana south of the border, had there been no other way, but the threat of Mexican prison was very real. Now Danielle concerned herself with where Kalpana would go once he reached Brownsville.

“What do you aim to do first?” Malo asked Kalpana.

“I aim to have me a talk with old man McCandless,” said Kalpana. “I ain't takin' orders from that old buzzard.”

“Then you ride on over to the bank and have it out with him,” Dirk said. “We already locked horns with him once.”

The three outlaws separated, Dirk and Malo riding back toward their rooming house. Virtually certain the third man was Kalpana, Danielle followed him. He reined up outside the bank, tied his horse to the hitch rail, and went inside. When he reached McCandless's office, he didn't bother knocking. Closing the door behind him, his cold, hard eyes met those of Simon McCandless.

“Don't you
ever
again walk into my office without knocking,” McCandless hissed.

Kalpana laughed. “You scare the hell out of me, old man.”

McCandless struggled to control himself. However arrogant and disagreeable Kalpana was, McCandless had need of him. He swallowed hard, managing to speak in a near-normal tone of voice.

“There's a loudmouth kid gunning for you. Not only does he have a damn good reason, but he's seen fit to tell others why he's after you. Now you got two choices. You can gun down this Daniel Strange, or you can ride out of Brownsville and keep going.”

“You wasn't so high and mighty when Malo, Dirk, and me rode in,” said Kalpana. “You was only too glad to take a cut from the horses we sold after running 'em across the river from Mexico.”

“That was before I learned you had killed a ranger in Laredo,” McCandless said. “That put a considerable price on your head, and one way or another, this Daniel Strange knows you're here. If he keeps shootin' off his mouth about you and what you done in Indian Territory, we'll have the rangers in here. I don't aim for that to happen. Now you can silence this Daniel Strange, or you can get the hell out of here. What's it gonna be?”

“I got a feeling Dirk and Malo didn't tell me everything,” Kalpana said. “Why don't you tell me the
real
reason you want me to cut this gun-thrower's string?”

“Besides spreading the word about you—a ranger killer and first-class bastard—are in town, he shot and killed Reece, my only son.”

Kalpana laughed. “Why? Was your kid playin' with his marbles, or did he stand up on his hind legs like the big boys do?”

Again McCandless struggled to control his temper. Lying would gain him nothing, for Kalpana would learn the truth. Finally, he spoke.

“Reece got into a quarrel with this Daniel Strange, and pulled a gun,” McCandless said. “The kid carries two guns, and he's fast as greased lightning.”

“There's a chance he might be faster than me, then,” said Kalpana. “I don't aim to risk my neck just to avenge your idiot son, and I can't see it's to my advantage to silence this Daniel Strange. If the town ends up neck-deep in rangers, I can just ride on. It'll be you and your pet sheriff that gets kicked off your thrones.”

Things weren't going right at all. Snakehead Kalpana had stayed alive by always being a cut above the average outlaw. McCandless sighed and spoke.