Coming in the fall of 2006....
To be published by Saga Books
Santa Fe
© 2005 W.R. Benton, All Rights Reserved
This manuscript may not be reproduced in any form. This manuscript is in draft form and not intended for reproduction at this time. All rights belong to the author and or publisher. All characters are from the imaginations of the author and do not represent any persons living or dead, with the exception of some characters taken from historical records. The author has used literary freedom when using historical characters and as a work of fiction they are used primarily to add a sense action to the book. The author does not intend for historical characters to be accurately portrayed, though in many cases the facts are accurate, but the dialog used is pure fiction. Times, places, and events may not be historically accurate as well and are used solely to make the story flow smoothly. Any similarities between real persons and the characters in this manuscript are coincidental, except where explained above.
CHAPTER 1
“You're going to hang Jeb Patton, because I think you're responsible for the theft of the army payroll, as well as the death of all six of my men. You can be sure, when I am able to prove you're behind this, you'll stretch hemp.” The young captain spoke as he sat behind his desk leaning forward and pointing with his right index finger.
Jeb, feeling his anger growing by the second, bit his tongue and kept his mouth shut. He'd been found with the empty payroll chest on his packhorse and a freshly minted twenty dollar gold piece in his pocket. If the guard had not been standing behind his chair with a rifle and fixed bayonet at that moment, he would have whipped the hell out of the captain for even suggesting he was a thief. Instead, he gripped the sides of his chair with both hands and looked the captain in the eyes as he said, “Look, cap'in, I'm a lot of things, but I have never stole a thing in my life.”
The captain gave a sneer and replied, “You deny the chest and coin were found in your possession?”
“No, sir, I had ‘em but fer a good reason. I found ‘em over by where your men were killed. That chest had some papers in it and while I could have rode away after findin' it, but I decided to bring the whole shootin' match to the post. And, the gold piece I found at the same place I found the chest. Look, I never tried to spend that money and if-un ya think on it a spell, I was headin' to this post when yer men met me.”
The captain stood, walked to the window and as he glanced out he said, “That is true Mister Patton, however, do I need to remind you that you're in serious trouble? I suggest you tell me where the rest of that gold is and that you tell me very quickly. You will find I am a man of little patience when it comes to army troubles.”
Jeb gave a loud laugh and replied, “Cap'in, yer a smart man, so now think on this a spell. If I was part of the group that stole that money, why in the world would I only have a single twenty dollar gold piece? I'm sure the men that just held their hosses for ‘em got more than that.”
The captain walked back to his desk, pulled the bottom drawer out, and removed a bottle of rye whiskey. Pulling out two water glasses from the same drawer, he added a good three inches to each glass and then replaced the cork in the whiskey bottle. As soon as he'd placed the bottle back in the drawer, he handed one of the glasses to Jeb and said with a crooked grin, “Alright Patton, I've thought on it. If you didn't have anything to do with taking the army payroll, then do you have any idea who did?”
“Cap'in, when I got there, I noticed the hosses used by the robbers wore shoes. Now, that don't mean it was white men that killed yer men, but I've known few Injuns with any real use for money. A Injun might kill ya fer yer hoss, hair, or gun, but money they just don't have much of a need. And, besides the dead men weren't scalped nor cut up like a Injun would do to ‘em.
As Jeb moved forward in his chair he continued, “I'm sure it was white men, because I found come cigarette butts and an empty bottle of whiskey where they waited fer your troopers. Near as I can tell, there was about ten of ‘em. One was a big man and he moved around a lot, like he was lookin' for yer boys to show up. He was an impatient kind of feller, I'd guess.”
“It remains to be seen if it was white men or not Patton, but what else did you see while you were there?”
Jeb gave a sly grin and said, “They waited for about four hours for yer boys to show up, and to me that means they knew about the money bein' with the troopers and the route yer sol'jer boys would take. I suspect somebody tipped ‘em off on all that stuff.”
The captain put his hands behind his back and slowly walked to the window once more. He was concerned about the deaths of his men, but more so about the fifty thousand dollars that was missing. Knowing the army as he did, the captain knew the whole affair would have a serious impact on his career unless he recovered the money. If this money is not be recovered, well, I'll stay a captain forever and likely spend the rest of my career stuck right here or some other Godforsaken posting, he thought as he glanced unseeing out of the window. As he thought of the words spoken by Jeb Patton, an interesting thought entered his head.
Turning abruptly from the window he asked, “Patton, would you be willing to assist the United States Army in recovering that lost payroll? Now, before you answer me, I am willing to pay you fifty dollars a month, plus a five hundred dollar reward for the safe recovery of the payroll. Additionally, I'll let you have as many men as you need to do the job.”
Jeb was uneducated, but he was not a fool by any stretch of the imagination. He knew the army well enough to know this suggestion of the captain's might have been the plan from the very beginning, or something like it. The army knew from the start he'd not stolen the money, but by placing him under arrest they thought to scare him into helping them. He gave an inner chuckle at the way the system always worked. Jeb knew Fort Hays, Kansas, was no different than any other post he'd been and he'd seen a few.
Looking the captain in the eyes, Jeb replied, “All right, suh, I'll take the job, but I only want one of yer men, Sergeant Major Armitage.”
The young officer gave a big grin and asked with a serious tone, “Why Armitage? He's as old as these mountains and about to retire in a few months.”
“I know the man and I can trust ‘em, suh. When I go after them fellers that stoled yer money, I don't need a big group of men. What I'll be needin' is one good man I can depend on, completely.”
The captain walked back to his old oak desk, pulled the chair out and sat down. Placing his hands under his chin, he glanced at Jeb as if he was considering the suggestion, then he suddenly smiled and said, “Well . . . If you want Armitage, you've got ‘em, but I think you're a fool for only taking one man.”
Jeb gave a loud laugh and said, “Suh, I've been called worse names than that and by friends and family!”
The captain smiled, got up, walked to the door of his office and as soon as he'd opened the door he commanded in a loud voice, “Orderly, go and get Sergeant Major Armitage. Tell ‘em to get over here on the double.”
The captain walked to his desk, removed Jeb's pistols from the top drawer, and handed them to the young mountain man as he said, “I suspect you'll need these.”
Jeb took the pistols and placed them in his belt. He was sure at that point he was a free man, however he'd also agreed to take on a job and he'd do the job if he could. He had little to go on, but he knew ten men with that kind of money would want to spend it and that would help him in many ways. Jeb knew cash money was hard to come by in the west and most people saw very little of it during the course of a year. Most things were traded for, bought on credit against next year's crop, or through the selling of cows or horses. No, he thought, fellers spendin' a lot of cash money will be easy to find.
At that moment there was a loud knock at the door and the Captain, who was back once again sitting behind his desk, yelled a loud, “Enter.”
Sergeant Major Armitage walked into the room, stopped about three feet from the captain's desk, and giving a sharp salute said, “Sergeant Major Armitage, reportin' as ordered, suh!”
The young captain's salute was more of a casual wave than an actual salute and he gave the old crusty sergeant a grin as he stated, “At ease, Sergeant Major, and be seated.”
The next five minutes was spent explaining to the old sergeant what had happened to the army payroll and the sign Jeb had found. The Sergeant listened closely but didn't say a word. Finally, the captain informed Armitage that he was to pack his field gear and accompany Jeb Patton to look for the men who had robbed the payroll.
“I be beggin' the captain to remember, I got me thirty years in here shortly suh. In six months I ‘tend to retire to a spot of land I saw up north, but I will do me dooty ‘til that time suh.”
The captain grinned and replied, “Armitage, you stay on the job ‘til the time comes for your retirement, or until you two catch those men. Either way, your retirement will not be delayed and I personally promise you that. You're a good soldier Armitage and the army will lose a good man the day you walk from this post. Now, do you have any questions about your mission?”
“No, suh. I know Mister Patton here, he's scouted fer us a few times in the past. If the job can be done, he'll do ‘er. He's a good man, suh.”
The captain stood and snapped a crisp salute as he said, “Dismissed sergeant, and Mister Patton, you're free to go as well.”
Jeb and Armitage had no sooner left the captain's office than they both broke into big smiles as they made their way to the livery stables. Jeb knew his horse was being kept there and the Sergeant Major wanted to cut a good horse for the trip, as well a packhorse or mule.
At the stables a young Corporal walked up and the Sergeant Major commanded in a loud voice, “White, cut that big bay for me and get Mister Patton's hoss as well! I want ‘em both saddled and ready to ride in ten minutes!”
“Shore, Sar'gent Major, I'll have ‘em outside and ready to go as soon as you get back.”
“Come with me Jeb, I got some gear to gather up and some rations to get before we leave. Ya can have a glass of whiskey while I pack.” The old sergeant spoke as he turned and quickly started walking to his quarters.
Jeb glanced around at the army post and had to admit, he was not impressed one bit by its appearance The place was made up mostly of structures with unpainted pine boarding, tents, and a couple of civilian building with false wooden fronts, one of which was the saloon and the other was the trading post.
“Nope, no whiskey for me right now Armitage. I want a clear head when we ride out of here. Ya go do yer packin' while I go to the tradin' post and get some supplies I need. I had no idea when I woke up this mornin' I'd end the day workin' for the army. I'll meet ya back at the hosses in a few minutes.”
As soon as he'd entered the trading post Jeb noticed it was typical of most western stores. It was filled with the odds and ends a person needed to survive out west, guns, ammo, beans, and bacon, but little else. Of course there were other items in some of the bigger stores, but most of them carried very little in the way of luxury items. The store owners knew a man in the west need beans and bullets to survive, not wine and silk, so they simply supplied what was in demand.
“Can I he'p ya, suh?” A rail thin man of middle age wearing gold rimmed glasses asked as he looked up from a ledger he'd been writing in.
“I need some grub and a few other goods. I want five pounds of beans, two of cornmeal, five of coffee, ten pounds of bacon, a pound of flour, five of salt pork, a pound of lead, and two pounds of powder. Oh, and throw in about two pounds of chewin' ‘bakker to go with all of that. What's a-gonna cost me?”
The thin man did some figuring on the ledger and replied, “That'll come to sixteen dollars and twenty cents. Is that cash or credit?”
“Cash, I don't use credit, if-un I can help it. I'm workin' for the army and I don't wanna have to pay ya when I get paid later.”
The clerk gave a laugh and said, “They do be slow about payin' a body, me included. And, now with that payroll missing they'll be even slower. Hell, we waited most of a year for that-un to show up and it was stolen.”
Jeb pulled out an old twenty dollar gold coin that he'd kept for emergencies and threw it down on the counter with a loud slap as he asked, “Ya gonna give me a discount for cash money?”
“Ya bet I will! I ain't seen no real spendin' money in a coon's age. I can let ya have all of this stuff for twelve dollars even.” The clerk said with a huge grin on his thin face.
“Ya got a deal. Now, how long will it take ya to get that order ready to go? I'm on official army business and need to leave as soon as I can.”
“Ya wait right heah and let me weigh yer stuff. I'll have all this for ya in less than ten minutes. Is that fast enough?”
“That's fine. I'll look this place over as ya do yer work.” Jeb replied as he turned and made his way down the first aisle of goods. He saw a plow, spurs, bridles, and a few big barrels filled with various goods, from pickles to salt pork. Jeb had always been amazed by the smells in frontier stores and loved just looking at all the goods. As he walked back to the glass counter he immediately saw a knife unlike any knife he'd ever seen before. The blade had a weaving pattern in the steel and both sides of the blade seemed to take an edge. It was the color of the steel blade that caught his eye and he knew right off he wanted the knife.
“Storekeeper, how much is this knife heah?” Jeb asked loudly so the man could hear him from the rear of the store where he was working.
The thin man walked behind the counter and asked, “Which knife are ya interested in? I got a big selection heah.”
“That one,” Jeb said as he pointed with his right index finger, “the one with the colored and wavy blade.”
The storekeeper reached in, removed the knife, and grinned as he said, “This is a fine knife and it is only made in Spain, or so I was told. I ain't seen one like it before but the steel is shore purty enough for any feller. And, ya can put a edge on this thang sharp enough to shave with.”
“Where'd ya get it from?” He asked as he took the knife from the man and felt the razor sharp edge with his thumb.
“An old boy come in heah, oh, ‘bout six months back and needed some grub. He didn't have no money, so he traded that knife. He claimed the knife was from some damn place called Damascus, or some such. I'd never hear'd of the place and told ‘em as much at the time. If-un ya want ‘er, I could let ya have it fer two dollars, ‘cause that's about all I got in it.”
Jeb grinned, put the knife in his belt, and pulled out two dollars in coin. Handing the money to the storekeeper he commented, “I don't really know if-un this knife is any good or not, but I do like the wave it has in the steel and the color. I do know, how some ever, them Spanish men and Mexicans know how to make a mighty fine knife.”
“I got most of your order ready. Let me get the chewin' ‘bakker and it's ready to go. Listen, I appreciate yer business, so I slipped a pound of hard candy wrapped in some wax paper in with yer order for free. It ain't often I get a cash payin' customer ‘round heah.”
Jeb made his way back to the livery stables a few minutes later to find Sergeant Major Armitage waiting impatiently beside his horse. The old Sergeant also had the Corporal give him a pack mule to carry their supplies, which surprised Jeb because he'd rarely had the money to afford a pack animal in the past. He also knew right then, the army was damned serious about catching those men and recovering the stolen gold, or they would never have given up a mule.
“Let me load up and we'll hit the trail Armitage. We've still got a few hours of sunlight left.” Jeb spoke as he started loading his supplies on the back of the Missouri mule.
“Where are we goin' first Jeb?” The sergeant asked as he bent over to check the cinch ring on his horse. Armitage knew it would be just like Corporal White to leave it loose so the old Sergeant Major would fall on his ass as he mounted.
Jeb walked to his horse and was adjusting the bridle as he said, “We're gonna go back to where this all happened, to see if we can pick up a trail. I know we won't find much at the site, not since yer sol'jer boys buried them dead fellers and messed the tracks all to hell and back, but we'll take us a look see and mayhap we can find somethin' I missed the first time.”
Both men mounted and walked their horse slowly from the army post, heading north as they traveled. Jeb noticed it was not even noon yet and the day had already been a rough one. Only out heah, he thought, can a man have everythin' normal one minute and then have his whole life change or end for ‘em a few seconds later.
