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Authors: Deborah Camp
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to the heifer that birthed the calf we found this morning?”
They all exchanged befuddled glances, shaking their heads.
“I’ve looked for her off and on all morning,” Hollis said. “I found a trail, but it got washed out.”
“Over that rise, out by the Pitchfork foothills?” Callum asked, and Hollis nodded. “I saw that, too. Did you notice that it was the tracks of more than one cow?”
“Yep. Looked like maybe three or four.”
Callum nodded, all the while keeping his gaze shifting from Johnson to Baines and back to Johnson. “Mama cows with newborns don’t wander off with a couple of other heifers and leave their calves behind them.”
“Maybe a coyote was after her,” Baines said.
“No coyote tracks. Just cattle and horses.”
“Horses?” Hollis echoed with a scowl.
“They were mostly rubbed out by someone trailing a branch, making them hard to see. I had to get down off my horse and look real close to find a few of them.”
“Well, hell.” Eller crossed his wrists on his saddle horn. “I don’t like the sound of that, cousin.”
“Only one conclusion to make from it,” Callum said, staring hard at Johnson and watching the sweat bead on the man’s forehead under his hat’s brim and dampen his droopy black mustache. “We have some cattle thieves in our ranks.” From his periphery vision, he saw Hollis and Eller glance at each other and then direct their attention to Johnson and Baines.
“I’ve heard about Yanks roaming in these parts and stealing cattle,” Baines piped up, his dark eyes widening.
“I’ve heard that, too, but I don’t have any Yanks on my payroll.” Callum squinted one eye, taking a sharper bead on Johnson. “You took the Payne’s market money last season, didn’t you?”
“No!” Baines blurted, his eyes growing even bigger, bugging out even.
“We was robbed,” Johnson said, quietly, his face tightening.
“Yeah, I heard that story.” Callum rested his hand on the butt of his gun. “Since then Payne cattle have gone missing every few weeks – a few here and a few there. I reckon you’re in cahoots with another rancher or just hiding the stolen cattle in the brush land by the river. Letting them get fat before you drive them to market. Of course, you plan to hightail it from here before then.”
“You surely ain’t accusing us of stealing,” Johnson snarled.
“No.” Callum leaned closer. “I’m calling you thieving sonsofbitches outright and to your cowardly faces. Men are hung for what you’ve done, but I don’t have the time to catch you at your thieving and turn you over to the sheriff to be hanged. So, I’m telling you to get the hell off this land and don’t ever show yourselves to me again or I’ll put a bullet in your brain pans and not lose a wink’s sleep over it.” He stared hard at Baines and then at Johnson. “Either one of you doubt me? Say so now and I’ll demonstrate on one of you.” He tightened the ivory grip on his revolver and pulled it ever so slowly from the holster.
He could see that he’d made an instant believer out of Baines, but it took Johnson a few seconds.
“You’re plumb loco!” Baines said. “You can’t just shoot a man and get away with it.”
“I don’t see anyone who would say that what I do or don’t do isn’t right and proper.” He glanced at Hollis and Eller. Hollis looked off to the horizon and Eller gave a shrug and another grin.
Johnson stared at him before the blood slowly seeped from his face until he was pasty white. He looked away from Callum’s steady gaze and stared at Eller.
“You got anything to say about this, Hawkins?” Johnson asked.
Eller’s brows shot up. “Seems that Cal’s doing all the talking here. I’m just a bystander.”
Johnson glowered at him for a moment and then spit at the ground near Eller’s horse. “We don’t stay where we ain’t wanted. Where do we pick up our pay?”
Callum had to smirk at that. “You can pick it up in cow dung
They all exchanged befuddled glances, shaking their heads.
“I’ve looked for her off and on all morning,” Hollis said. “I found a trail, but it got washed out.”
“Over that rise, out by the Pitchfork foothills?” Callum asked, and Hollis nodded. “I saw that, too. Did you notice that it was the tracks of more than one cow?”
“Yep. Looked like maybe three or four.”
Callum nodded, all the while keeping his gaze shifting from Johnson to Baines and back to Johnson. “Mama cows with newborns don’t wander off with a couple of other heifers and leave their calves behind them.”
“Maybe a coyote was after her,” Baines said.
“No coyote tracks. Just cattle and horses.”
“Horses?” Hollis echoed with a scowl.
“They were mostly rubbed out by someone trailing a branch, making them hard to see. I had to get down off my horse and look real close to find a few of them.”
“Well, hell.” Eller crossed his wrists on his saddle horn. “I don’t like the sound of that, cousin.”
“Only one conclusion to make from it,” Callum said, staring hard at Johnson and watching the sweat bead on the man’s forehead under his hat’s brim and dampen his droopy black mustache. “We have some cattle thieves in our ranks.” From his periphery vision, he saw Hollis and Eller glance at each other and then direct their attention to Johnson and Baines.
“I’ve heard about Yanks roaming in these parts and stealing cattle,” Baines piped up, his dark eyes widening.
“I’ve heard that, too, but I don’t have any Yanks on my payroll.” Callum squinted one eye, taking a sharper bead on Johnson. “You took the Payne’s market money last season, didn’t you?”
“No!” Baines blurted, his eyes growing even bigger, bugging out even.
“We was robbed,” Johnson said, quietly, his face tightening.
“Yeah, I heard that story.” Callum rested his hand on the butt of his gun. “Since then Payne cattle have gone missing every few weeks – a few here and a few there. I reckon you’re in cahoots with another rancher or just hiding the stolen cattle in the brush land by the river. Letting them get fat before you drive them to market. Of course, you plan to hightail it from here before then.”
“You surely ain’t accusing us of stealing,” Johnson snarled.
“No.” Callum leaned closer. “I’m calling you thieving sonsofbitches outright and to your cowardly faces. Men are hung for what you’ve done, but I don’t have the time to catch you at your thieving and turn you over to the sheriff to be hanged. So, I’m telling you to get the hell off this land and don’t ever show yourselves to me again or I’ll put a bullet in your brain pans and not lose a wink’s sleep over it.” He stared hard at Baines and then at Johnson. “Either one of you doubt me? Say so now and I’ll demonstrate on one of you.” He tightened the ivory grip on his revolver and pulled it ever so slowly from the holster.
He could see that he’d made an instant believer out of Baines, but it took Johnson a few seconds.
“You’re plumb loco!” Baines said. “You can’t just shoot a man and get away with it.”
“I don’t see anyone who would say that what I do or don’t do isn’t right and proper.” He glanced at Hollis and Eller. Hollis looked off to the horizon and Eller gave a shrug and another grin.
Johnson stared at him before the blood slowly seeped from his face until he was pasty white. He looked away from Callum’s steady gaze and stared at Eller.
“You got anything to say about this, Hawkins?” Johnson asked.
Eller’s brows shot up. “Seems that Cal’s doing all the talking here. I’m just a bystander.”
Johnson glowered at him for a moment and then spit at the ground near Eller’s horse. “We don’t stay where we ain’t wanted. Where do we pick up our pay?”
Callum had to smirk at that. “You can pick it up in cow dung
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