Chapter Ten
Sam waited while the clerk sent his telegram. It had taken him a few moments to compose a message, saying as much as he could in as few words as he could. Basically, he asked his friend Murdock for the name of a marshal who might be willing to come to Vengeance Creek, in southern Texas, to mediate a dispute. Sam knew that Murdock had once mediated a dispute, and that was what gave him the idea. Under those circumstances they’d be able to get a marshal here without having to produce too much evidence. Maybe the presence of a federal marshal would bring the truth to the surface.
“All right, sir,” the clerk said. “It’s been acknowledged as received.”
Sam had already paid the man for the message, so he simply thanked him.
“I have a room at the hotel. Would you bring over the reply as soon as it comes in?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks again.”
The clerk nodded, and Sam turned and walked to the door. He was about three steps from it when he stopped short. He remembered the men he had seen riding by as he was entering the office, six or seven of them. It was odd for that many men to ride into a town at one time unless they had a job to do.
He moved to his left so that he could look out the window of the office. The window was dusty and he had to squint to try to see through it. He thought he saw a coupleof men across the street in a doorway, but he had no way of knowing if they were some of the same men.
He chose to believe that they were, and acted accordingly.
“What’s taking him so long?” Gary asked.
“I don’t know,” Gear said. He caught Tobin’s attention and tried to ask the same question with sign language, but Tobin shrugged.
“I don’t like this,” Gear said. “He’s caught on.”
“How?”
“How has he stayed alive this long?” Gear asked. He caught Tobin’s attention then and waved his gun frantically.
Tobin and his men started firing.
The first volley of shots shattered the dusty plate glass window, and suddenly everything was clear.
“Down!” Sam shouted to the clerk as he threw himself to the floor.
Lead continued to rain on the office, chewing large chunks from the desk and the wall, and shattering glass and other breakables.
Sam had his gun in his hand, but there was no way he could lift his head until there was a lull in the firing—if there was. If there were six or seven men out there they could take turns firing and never let up.
He scrambled across the floor so that he was beneath the shattered window. When his chance came he was going to have to seize it immediately, for it might be the only one he got.
“Jesus,” Jubal said to himself, “they’re not waiting—”
“Fire!” Evan shouted from across the street.
They could both see the men who were doing the firing, three of them across from the office. They started firing at them, and when the men became aware of the fact thatthey were being fired at, they stopped and threw themselves to the ground.
Sam McCall had heard gunfire for most of his life. For the past ten seconds or so someone had been firing into the office, but suddenly he heard other guns join in, and then the lead stopped pouring in on him. He risked a look and saw that the men across the street were being fired upon. He did not join the fray, but rather remained content to wait until he had something—or someone’to fire at. Whoever was firing now’most likely Evan and Jubal —were keeping the men pinned down.
Sam moved over to the door and cautiously stuck his head out. Suddenly, lead came in on him from left and right, and it was clear that a crossfire had been set up to ambush him. His own caution had saved him from walking right into it, and now his brothers were involved.
There had to be six or seven adversaries, but with his brothers on his side, Sam felt as if the sides were almost even.
He had to get out into the street in order to do any good.
“Damn!” Evan said.
Now there were two men to either side of the office and they were firing, keeping Sam pinned inside. He and Jubal had only their six-shooters with them, not having had time to get rifles. Evan paused to load, and heard Jubal fire his last two shots. Suddenly it was quiet as both sides took stock of the situation.
The McCalls, to Evan’s thinking, were three guns against seven—and some of the men had rifles, so that increased the odds against them.
Evan caught Jubal’s attention and tried to convey his intentions with an age-old method—sign language. He wanted Jubal to come across to his side, and tried to tell his brother to start moving when he started firing.
Evan had taken cover behind some crates, and now helooked over them and began to fire. Immediately Jubal ran across the street, firing to cover himself as he did so.
When Jubal was on his side they both ducked down behind the crates. They could still hear gunfire, and apparently Sam was trading shots now.
“Jubal, a couple of blocks down, there’s a gunsmith’s shop. The man’s name is Miller. Run back there, tell him who you are, and get us a couple of rifles.”
“Good thinking.”
“Reload and leave me your gun. I’ll try and keep them from rushing Sam until you get back.”
Jubal reloaded his gun and handed it to Evan.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ll be right back.”
Sam abandoned the idea of moving outside the office. He’d be much too vulnerable out there. Of course, remaining in here had its problems, too. Eventually they might get brave enough to rush him. Sam was going to have to count on his brothers doing something out there that would prevent that.
“W-what’s going on?”
The clerk’s voice came from behind the counter.
“Just stay down,” Sam said. “It’ll be over in no time.”
He hoped.
This was not going the way it had been planned, Mike Gear thought. Still, even if McCall’s brother were at the other end of the street, they were still outnumbered.
“What are we gonna do?” Gary asked.
“Tobin and his men are gonna have to rush him,” Gear said. “We’ll cover them.”
Gear tried to convey this to Tobin, across the street, but Tobin either couldn’t or wouldn’t understand.
“Damn it!” Gear said. He stood up and shouted, “Rush him!”
Gear felt the slug punch him in the back, and then he was falling forward…
“Jesus,” Gary said, looking around.
“Here!” Jubal said, handing Evan a rifle. “What’d I miss?”
“Nothing,” Evan said. “I think they’re trying to make up their minds what do to.”
“Look,” Jubal said.
A man on the other side of the street, between them and the telegraph office, stood up and shouted across the street, “Rush him!”
“They’re gonna rush him!” Jubal said.
“Not if we can help it.”
Evan stood up, raised the rifle and fired.
After that, everyone started firing.…
Sam was looking out the door when he saw the three men across the street stand up and prepare to rush him. He fired once, and one of the men was pushed back by the impact of the bullet. The other two seemed uncertain about what to do next.
Sam chose that moment to step out of the store.
“He’s coming out,” Jubal said.
“Let’s cover him!”
