Broken Star (2006) Page 4

  ‘The only difference it makes,’ Klugg said, surprising her by replying to her query, ‘is that we take Sheriff Harker out before we hit the bank. The kid can take care of Harker.’

  Gloria was startled then, as Klugg turned his upper body, drawing his gun as he did so. In the stillness the sound when he fired the peacemaker was ear-splitting. Klugg had returned his gun to its holster in a fluid movement when Gloria turned her head to look over her shoulder. A gopher that had been innocently sneaking past some yards behind them, was now splattered bloodily over the grass, completely shattered by Klugg’s bullet. Impressed by Klugg’s speed, Gloria was astounded by the fact that in a split second he had either heard or sensed the small creature behind him, and had known its exact position. It was a frightening reminder of what a dangerous man Ken Klugg was.

  ‘Just keeping the eye and the hand in,’ he smilingly explained, patting his holstered gun.

  Worried by the thought of Richie Deere, a complex but nevertheless likeable kid, going up against a sheriff renowned for his fast draw, Gloria said, ‘Obviously you could face this George Harker, Ken, but surely young Richie isn’t up to it?’

  ‘Face Harker?’ Klugg chuckled. ‘I’m not going to ask the kid to face the sheriff, Gloria. I can’t risk losing Deere before hitting the bank.’

  Getting the message, that Richie would simply wait in the shadows to dry gulch the sheriff, Gloria said, ‘That’s a relief. Yancey is a lively place, Ken, and it will take all of us to pull off the raid.’

  ‘That’s why I need to know more about the place before I send the kid to get Harker.’

  ‘Sounds to me that I’ll soon be riding back into Yancey all on my lonesome,’ Gloria commented drily.

  Taking Gloria’s sketch of the layout of Yancey’s bank from his pocket, Klugg studied it before saying, ‘You did fine with this, Gloria, and meeting the sheriff’s girl sure was lucky. Go back to Yancey and make some excuse to see that girl. Find out from her how many deputies Harker can call on, and if Vejar will be backing the sheriff.’

  ‘I’ll ride out at first light,’ Gloria told him, but Klugg shook his head.

  ‘You’ll leave for Yancey right now,’ he ordered. ‘If Vejar’s warned the town that we’re coming, then we have to hit them before they can organize a defence. You ride out now, and be back here before sundown tomorrow with a full report.’

  Stretched out on a cot in the cell that had become his home, a cut and bruised Vejar winced as Raya gently bathed his battered face. As George Harker had stayed with them since he’d brought her in to tend his wounds, Vejar and Raya had had little chance of any real conversation. The reunion between him and the girl had been a non-event, with Raya embarrassed and strangely detached. Every word that they spoke to each other was self-censored due to Harker being present. If the sheriff sensed the strange atmosphere, he certainly didn’t show it.

  The three of them were the sole occupants of the jailhouse. Not wanting to tie himself down with prisoners at such a time, Harker had not arrested the Poole brothers. After helping the badly beaten Vejar from the saloon to the jailhouse the previous night, a disappointed George Harker reported that the Lazy J ranch was busy with a roundup ready for a trail drive, and the owner could spare him only six men.

  ‘That’s not enough, George,’ Vejar had warned.

  ‘It’s all I’ve got,’ the sheriff had replied resignedly. ‘There would be no problem if you were with me, Fallon.’

  ‘That’s not possible, George. I’ll stick around long enough to see you set up right to take care of Klugg, then I’ll be riding out.’

  ‘The way you spoke had me real certain that you owed Klugg no loyalty.’

  ‘I don’t,’ had been Vejar’s response. He saw no reason to explain that he couldn’t draw his gun against Gloria Malone or against Richie Deere, a hero-worshipping kid who had become his friend.

  The sheriff brought up the subject of Gloria now, as Raya’s first aid came to an end. Holding the bowl of water in which Raya had constantly rinsed the cloth she was using, he said, ‘I reckon as how you were mistaken about that woman, Fallon. Hiram says some woman did open an account yesterday, but her name was Carmel Morrow.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Raya agreed. ‘I met her yesterday. Carmel and her brother are looking to buy a place around here. She seems a very nice person.’

  ‘I’m sure that the woman I saw coming out of the bank was Gloria Malone,’ Vejar protested.

  ‘It couldn’t have been her, Fallon.’ Harker was adamant. ‘Hiram required certain documentation before he would agree to opening an account, and the paperwork produced by the woman was in the names of her and her brother, Carmel and Alan Morrow.’

  ‘That’s the way Klugg works,’ Vejar sighed. ‘He plans every job meticulously. The time Gloria would have spent doing that business in the bank, means she took every detail of the place away with her.’

  Packing her utensils into a bag, Raya enquired, ‘Is there something going on that I don’t know about?’

  ‘Nothing that you need to know, Raya,’ Harker assured her. ‘It’s something Fallon mentioned that I felt that I should keep an eye on.’

  Satisfied by this, Raya shyly bade Vejar farewell. Thanking her for tending his injuries, he turned away to avoid seeing her raise up on tiptoe to kiss Harker on the cheek. Closing the door behind her, Harker returned to stand looking down at Vejar.

  ‘In a couple of days you’ll have recovered, be fighting fit,’ the sheriff predicted. ‘You’re sure that you won’t stay in Yancey to help me and my six cowboys fix that band of outlaws real good?’

  Causing himself pain by shaking his head, Vejar said, ‘Sorry, amigo, That’s something I just can’t do.’

  It was late afternoon and the sun had lost its ferocity as Raya Kennedy made her way home from the jailhouse. Welcoming the new coolness, breathing fresh air deeply, she was paying little attention to her surroundings until her name was called.

  ‘Raya! We meet again.’

  Smiling delightedly, Carmel Morrow had opened the door of Wu Chua’s staid little teahouse from the inside and was standing in the doorway.

  ‘Carmel, it’s good to see you back in town,’ Raya responded, walking towards her recently acquired friend. ‘Have you and your brother found a place?’

  ‘Not exactly. Let me get you a cup of tea, and I’ll tell you all about it.’

  Accepting the invitation, Raya went in and the smiling Chinese proprietor pulled out a chair for her to be seated across a little table from Carmel, It surprised Raya that, up close, Carmel’s beauty was based on the irregularity of her features. She had a high-bridged nose, cheekbones that were too pronounced, a mouth that was exceptionally wide, too long white teeth, and lips that were provocatively but unusually thick. But this was a stunning combination.

  ‘How are you, Missy Raya?’ the Chinese man enquired.

  ‘I’m very well, Mr Chua, thank you,’ Raya answered. ‘And how is your good self.’

  ‘Mighty fine, Missy Raya, mighty fine.’ The Chinaman used an Americanism in reply as he left to fill the new order placed by Carmel.

  She smiled across the table at Raya. ‘You are obviously well known and very respected in Yancey.’

  ‘As I said, Carmel, I have lived here all my life,’

  ‘Nothing to do with being betrothed to the sheriff?’ Carmel questioned, with a twinkle of amusement in her dark-brown eyes. She was a fun person. ‘After all, he must be an important person in a thriving town like Yancey.’

  This time it was Raya who chuckled. ‘Hardly. Possibly because of George’s reputation, the town has very little crime. He runs things single-handed, unless his only deputy, a frail old man, is taken into account.’

  ‘Nevertheless, he can surely call on volunteers in the unlikely event of something serious happening,’ Carmel suggested.

  The naïvety of what Carmel had said brought a sweet smile to Raya’s face. ‘The people of Yancey are business folk, not gunfighters, Carmel
. Anyway, nothing that George can’t take care of will ever happen.’

  ‘Of course not,’ Carmel agreed.

  They fell silent for a few moments as Mr Chua returned with a tray and poured tea for them from an intricately decorated teapot. Carmel restarted the conversation by holding her cup ready to clink it against Raya’s, saying ‘Let’s drink to our friendship.’

  Giggling, Raya responded with, ‘To a long friendship. Have you found a ranch that you’d like to buy?’

  ‘There is one place that we are going to look at tomorrow,’ Carmel replied. ‘I’m undecided about it, so I intend to let my brother make the final decision.’

  ‘Probably wise,’ Raya agreed.

  ‘We could have settled it today, but Alan is busy with branding the stock at the ranch of a friend we are staying with.’ Carmel explained. ‘My brother puts work above all else, but he has promised to take time off tomorrow so that we can see our prospective new home together.’

  There was a pause in their conversation then. Wu Chua, who was clearing cups and saucers from a table close to them, took advantage of it. ‘Excuse me, Missy Raya. I saw you coming from the jail, and wondered if that man was badly hurt in the saloon fight last night?’

  ‘No, thank the Lord,’ Raya replied. ‘Just some cuts and bruises that I treated as best I could. He’ll soon be up and about again.’

  ‘I am very glad, Missy Raya,’ the Chinaman said, moving off with a loaded tray.

  Curiosity creasing her brow, Carmel asked, ‘Are you a nurse, Raya?’

  ‘Good heavens, no,’ Raya said, with a self-conscious laugh. ‘I’m not capable of something like that. I’m a dressmaker. My friend Mary and I are partners in a little business of our own.’

  ‘That’s nice,’ Carmel said. ‘You’ll definitely have a new customer once I’ve settled. We haven’t known each other long enough for me to ask a personal question, so forgive me if I am overstepping the mark. Why would a dressmaker be tending the wounds of a man in jail?’

  ‘It’s complicated,’ Raya said awkwardly.

  ‘Then say no more. I had no right to pry, Raya.’

  Raya contemplatively studied the pattern on her cup. ‘I don’t mind at all, but it is difficult to explain. You see, Fallon, the man who was hurt, is not in jail. He is a friend of George and myself, who has just come back into town.’

  ‘A friend who is going to replace the ancient deputy sheriff you told me about?’

  ‘Oh dear no,’ Raya responded, blushing a deep red. ‘This embarrasses me. You see, this man, Fallon and I were once to have been married. Things went wrong and he left town. The situation is such that he could never work with George.’

  ‘I can understand why,’ Carmel said. She pouted exaggeratedly, chiding Raya playfully. ‘You are a dark horse, Raya. So much romance in your life.’

  ‘You must think me awful,’ Raya said, ruefully.

  ‘Of course not. It’s because you are such a pretty girl,’ Carmel complimented her. ‘Now, I must be on my way, as I want to get back to the ranch before dark.’

  ‘I’ll see you again?’ Raya queried worriedly.

  ‘You can count on it, Raya. I’ve got this feeling that we are going to be good friends.’

  ‘I really do hope so, Carmel.’

  *

  ‘How many outlaws are there in this gang, George?’ Walter Randall asked.

  ‘Six including Ken Klugg, the leader,’ the sheriff replied, from where he sat on a sackful of alfalfa.

  The impromptu meeting of the town council was being held in the rear room of Randall’s general store. Harker had called the councillors together to tell them of the planned raid on the bank, and to explain how he intended to protect the town.

  ‘Just one point, George.’ A frowning Hiram Anstey raised a hand to stop the three other councillors, all of whom were trying to speak at once. ‘Am I right in thinking that all the information you have about this planned raid on my bank came from Fallon Vejar.’

  ‘That is correct, Hiram.’

  ‘Vejar is hardly a model citizen,’ complained Henry Drake, who owned Yancey’s livery stables.

  John Thurston, the town’s doctor, went further in condemnation of Vejar. ‘That man is nothing but a damned outlaw himself, Harker.’

  ‘That is true, Doc,’ Harker conceded. ‘In fact, up to a few days ago he was riding with the Klugg gang.’

  ‘What?’ the doctor snorted in disgust. ‘Where is the damned fellow now?’

  ‘In the jail,’ Harker said.

  ‘Best place for that scoundrel,’ Walter Randall opined, and the other councillors voiced their agreement enthusiastically.

  ‘He’s not a prisoner,’ Harker informed them. ‘He’s just sleeping in the jail because Ma Cousin’s place is closed.’

  ‘Hogwash! There are rooms vacant at my hotel,’ Joseph Behm pointed out.

  ‘I reckon Fallon didn’t want to pay your tariffs, Joe,’ the sheriff commented wryly.

  Picking up a claw hammer, Walter Randall banged it on the table like a judge with his gavel. ‘I call this meeting to order.’

  ‘You sceered me half to death with that racket, Walter,’ Henuy Drake protested.

  ‘It’s this whole caboodle that has me afeared,’ Randall countered. ‘Tell me, Sheriff Harker, how do we know that this Vejar isn’t in town to set up the raid?’

  ‘Because I say he’s not,’ Harker replied.

  ‘That’s good enough for me,’ Hiram Anstey said.

  ‘And me,’ Henry Drake agreed. ‘George deserves our backing on this.’

  ‘And I’ll go along with you, providing Vejar doesn’t play any part in protecting our town,’ Walter Randall stipulated.

  Harker shocked them with an announcement. ‘I asked Vejar to do so, but he won’t. Yancey could well do with a man like Fallon Vejar right now.’

  ‘I can’t agree with that,’ Dr Thurston said firmly.

  ‘Neither can I,’ Randall muttered grumpily. ‘You have your deputy, Dan Matthews, Sheriff, so what is your plan.’

  ‘You don’t pay old Dan enough for me to let him risk his life, Walter,’ Harker answered. ‘Dan will be a lookout at Macadam Point. He’ll be able to ride back in and warn me that Klugg is on his way to town, then Dan will take himself home and stay there. That will allow me at least half an hour to prepare for the gang’s arrival. I’m borrowing six men off Jim Reynard out at the Lazy J. That’s all Jim can spare me this time of year. All I can do is have three of them under cover at each end of the street.’

  ‘And you’ll be at the bank, George?’ Hiram Anstey checked nervously.

  ‘I won’t let you down, Hiram.’

  ‘You don’t have to tell me that, George.’

  ‘Is there anything that we can do to help, George?’ Henry Drake enquired.

  ‘Thanks for the offer, Henry,’ Harker said. ‘But I want all four of you to keep yourselves and everyone else out of harm’s way. As soon as I give the warning that Klugg and his band are heading for town, take all the women and children and put them in the school.’

  ‘Is it likely to be that bad?’ Randall asked tremulously.

  ‘Where Klugg’s concerned it would be foolish not to expect the very worst,’ Harker advised.

  ‘I must say that this business has me worried, George,’ Hiram Anstey admitted.

  ‘You are not on your own in that, Hiram,’ Sheriff George Harker confessed.

  FIVE

  The five of them sat round the shack’s crude table eating bacon and beans that Gloria had prepared reluctantly. As the only woman among the outlaws she was expected to cook for the others and clean the dirty dishes afterwards. That was something she resented. Except for Klugg himself, she was the fastest gun and a better shot than any of them. That being so, she objected to having to do such menial chores. However, it would be plumb crazy to take a head-on protest to Ken Klugg. Maybe after the bank job at Yancey she would make a stand, somehow establish her rights as Klugg’s second-in-command. Nerves
wouldn’t be so strained then as they were now, and the outlaw boss might well be swayed by her quiet rebellion.

  Finishing his meal, Klugg took out and studied a pocket watch that he stolen from a passenger during a train hold-up. First sucking noisily on his teeth, he then said to Richie Deere, ‘You head off once you’ve cleared that plate, kid. It will be dark by the time you ride into Yancey. That’ll give you the whole evening to set up what you have to do.’

  The kid raised his head of black curls, his youthful, good-looking face expressionless as he stared unafraid at the intimidating outlaw boss and said, ‘It ain’t my way to go sneaking about in the darkness, Klugg, shooting a man without warning. You wouldn’t ask Fallon Vejar to shoot a man down like a dog.’

  ‘Vejar isn’t here, so I’m not asking him, and I sure as hell aren’t asking you, kid. I’m telling you. Now, eat up and hightail it out of here.’

  With the kid appearing ready to argue further, fear for his safety made Gloria intervene. ‘It’s got to be done, Richie. There isn’t one of us here who doesn’t badly need that money in the bank at Yancey. With Harker out of the way the town will be wide open.’

  ‘I knows that,’ the kid acknowledged, ‘but I can face that sheriff or anyone else man-to-man, Gloria.’

  ‘Nobody doubts that, Richie, but there’s too much at stake for any of us to take risks,’ Gloria pointed out. Being aware of the hero worship problem the kid had, she added, ‘Fallon knows that you would want to call the sheriff out, Richie, and that you got what it takes to beat George Harker to the draw.’

  Close to being pacified by this, the kid had one final question for her. ‘Are you right sure that Fallon will understand when he hears about it?’

  ‘I’m absolutely certain that he will, Richie.’