up to Jud and his army of hired guns. If the cattlemen in the area wouldn’t, then maybe the farmers would shame them into joining diem.
“All right, Chester. Here’s what you do: when you see Walt and Alice leave, you and the others follow them. I’ll tell Walt that you boys are with us.”
Chester smiled. “I put rifles in the wagon. The wife can shoot nearabouts as good as I can.”
“Good man!” Smoke gripped his arm and walked on. They stood a chance if he could just get Doreen out.
Smoke declined a glass of champagne being offered by the German gunfighter, Jaeger, who was minus the top part of an ear, thanks to Smoke. The German glared pure hate at Smoke.
“I ought to take off the other ear, Jaeger,” Smoke told him. “So you’d have a matched set. But then you’d have a hell of a time wearing a hat, wouldn’t you?”
Jaeger growled something at Smoke in German and moved on, toting his tray of drinks.
Smoke moved over to stand by Sheriff Brady’s side. The sheriff gave him a curious look.
“Have you decided whether this is in your county, or not, Sheriff?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t come here to arrest anyone. I didn’t bring any men with me. Why? Are you planning on starting something?”
“Me?” Smoke managed a shocked look. “Heavens no. Sheriff. I’m just here to have a good time.”
“Right,” the lawman’s reply was drily given. “Sure, you are.”
“Have you seen Jud, Sheriff?”
A pained look passed over the sheriff’s face. “Yes, unfortunately. But there is no law against a man wearing a fur robe and a jeweled crown.”
“Oh, I never said there was, Sheriff. But it might make a person question Jud’s sanity—right?”
“Like I said, Jensen: I’m not here in any official capacity.”
“Enjoy yourself, Sheriff.” Smoke moved on, snaking his way through the growing crowd. Somewhere in the house, a clock chimed six o’clock.
He caught the eyes of several fanners; they gave him a slight nod and a wink. Chester had done his part; the men were with him. Smoke returned the nods and found a place next to a wall. Rusty soon joined him and with their backs to the wall, they waited.
At ten after the hour, the bugler started tooting, the guitar player started strumming, and the fiddler started sawing.
“Sounds like a cat fight to me,” Rusty said.
Then Doreen made her entrance, and the crowd oohhed and aahhed. She was dressed to the nines, all done up in silks and satins. She was playing her part to the hilt, acting like a queen as she moved through the crowd, smiling and offering her hand to the folks.
Jud stood to one side, a big grin on his big face. He looked like a damned idiot.
Walt and Alice offered their congratulations to Doreen and then Walt glanced at Smoke. Smoke nodded his head. The old rancher and his wife slipped unnoticed out the front door and climbed into their buggy, heading back toward Box T range.
In pairs, the farmers and their wives began slipping out of the mansion. At a quarter to the hour, all those who were on Smoke’s side had left. Smoke found Rusty.
“Start staying close to the Pecos Kid, Rusty. When I make my move, you grab his guns and watch my back.”
The cowboy nodded and moved off into the milling crowds.
The band was doing their best to play a tune that Smoke could but vaguely recognize. Sounded to him like they were all in different keys.
Smoke moved over to a table near the hallway where the grandfather clock was located and took a glass of champagne just as the chimes donged out seven o’clock. He finished the glass then walked up to Jud and Doreen, jerked both Jud’s guns out of leather and placed the muzzle of one in the man’s ear. Jud’s bodyguards froze, not knowing what to do.
The band stopped playing; the milling crowds were still as the word spread throughout the ground floor of the mansion.
Rusty had clobbered the Pecos Kid with a silver platter of fried chicken and grabbed his guns. The Kid lay on the floor, his head on a pile of chicken.
Smoke said, “Tell your men to start tossing their guns out the windows, Jud. If just one of them tries anything, I’ll kill you where you stand.”
“See that they do it, Jason,” Jud managed the words out of his fricasseed brain and past his anger.
Six guns began sailing out the open windows.
“Get horses out front for Doreen and King Vale,” Smoke ordered.
Jason nodded at one of the bodyguards.
“Make your speech, Doreen,” Smoke told her.
Doreen spun around to face the crowd. “Jud Vale kidnapped me and brought me here against my will. I’ve been a prisoner in this house.” She looked straight at Sheriff Brady. “Do you hear me, Sheriff?”
“I hear you, girl.”
