range.”
“I’ve done the same thing myself. We’ve got no railheads within two hundred miles, so I have to make damn sure what I raise can be driven to market.“
“We’re in the same boat. Denver is the closest railyard for us, an’ that’s a considerable drive through mountain country most of the way.”
A cowboy from ranch headquarters came riding up as they were picking the last of the heifers. He pulled his horse to a stop and spoke to Chisum.
“We found six bodies in them hills, Mr. Chisum. With the four we got already, makes ten. Them first four is already startin’ to stink. It’ll take two wagons to carry ’em all the way to Roswell so they can be buried proper. Trouble is, they wasn’t carryin’ no papers savin’ who they was, so I reckon the undertaker’ll have to bury ’em without no name on the marker.”
“Take two wagons,” Chisum said. “Tell Sheriff Romero they came gunning for us, and that I’ll ride in tomorrow and give him a full report”
“Yessir,” the young cowboy replied, wheeling his horse for a ride back to the ranch.
Chisum was staring at Smoke now. “Ten men,” he said. “You killed ten of Dolan’s gunmen without a lick of help from us, in a manner of speaking. I still have trouble believing it… how just one man could do all of that.”
Smoke didn’t care to talk about it, how easy it had been to send ten careless gunmen to early graves. “That oughta be about two hundred head, give or take. Let’s drive ’em back to the ranch and I’ll pay you for ’em, and for the bulls. We can get a final count while we’re drivin’ ’em to the corrals.”
“After all you’ve done for me, I’m tossing in ten extra head to help account for losses on the trail. You’ve been a good man to have backing me during all this trouble, and it’s my way of showing gratitude.“
“No need for that,” Smoke argued. “I did what I did because my friends and neighbors were in the line of fire. This ain’t our fight, but when it spilled over, an’ bullets started flyin’ in our direction, those boys had me to reckon with. We rode all this way to conduct an honest business transaction, an’ I damn sure won’t stand for nobody gettin’ in the way of it, not for no reason.”
“I understand,” Chisum told him. “All the same, I benefited from it, and I’m giving you ten extra heifers. No reason to talk about it anymore. It’s done.”
Smoke found he was liking Chisum and his honesty more and more. Chisum would make a good neighbor, and a solid friend a man could count on when the going got tough. “It’s your decision, Mr. Chisum,” he said, “only I want it understood I never expected payment for what I did.”
Chisum didn’t answer, swinging off to beckon to one of his men riding herd with Smoke’s heifers. “Go back and pick out ten good long-backed heifers to add to this bunch,” he said. “Tell Shorty to help you. Bring them up along with this bunch as quick as you can, only make damn sure none of them are cripples. They’ll be headed to Colorado Territory in the morning.”Twenty-seven
Pearlie shoveled refried beans and salsa into his mouth with a tin spoon, until his cheeks were bulging. They sat at a long oak table in John Chisum’s dining room eating Maria’s spicy hot Mexican food, their faces outlined by coal oil lamps overhead.
“I’m gonna miss this cookin’,” Cal said around a mouthful of flank steak seasoned with hot sauce, folding a tortilla over a piece of meat heavily coated with
Bob Williams was sweating from the chili peppers in his food, and he sleeved perspiration from his brow. “This is sure fine eatin’, if a man’s stomach is made of iron. I’m gonna eat it even if it kills me.”
“It’ll put hair on your chest,” Cletus promised.
“Already got enough hair there the way things is. What I need is another glass of water.”
Duke Smith nodded. “Can’t put enough water in a man’s belly to put this fire out. If it was snowin’ outside, I’d run out an’ eat a fistful, just to cool my tongue.”
Chisum grinned. “Mexican food is supposed to be hot. It isn’t any good otherwise.”
Pearlie eyed his plate. “If hot’s got anythin’ to do with it bein’ good, this has gotta be the best I ever tasted.”
Cal was too busy chewing to offer an opinion at the moment, and he merely nodded, beads of sweat on his forehead, cheeks, and neck.
Cletus lifted the bandanna tied around his neck and wiped away a trickle of perspiration coming from his hatband while he chewed methodically on a bite of steak, “I’ve never seen fire on a plate, afore tonight,” he said. “Come mornin’ there’ll be a line at the outhouse half a mile long. That Maria can make fire taste mighty delicious.”
“She fixed flan custard to cool everybody off,” Chisum said. “That’s for dessert.”
Smoke listened to all the banter, but his mind was on the ride they would undertake at dawn. He was almost sure Jessie Evans and his gang hadn’t had enough of a lesson last night to convince them of their folly. “I want two men riding point on this herd,” he said. “I’ll be scouting what lies ahead, but in case there’s trouble, I want Pearlie and Duke guiding this bunch of cattle until we’re well north of Lincoln County.”
“You expect trouble,” Chisum observed.
“I always expect it. That way, I’m pleasantly surprised if it don’t show up.”
“It usually does,” Pearlie muttered, again filling his mouth with Maria’s cooking. “But if any outfit between here’n Big Rock can handle it, it’ll be the Sugarloaf crew. Hell-fire, I wouldn’t know what to do if somebody wasn’t shootin’ at us half the time. I’d figure I was with the wrong bunch if we wasn’t duckin’ lead.”
Chisum seemed puzzled. He looked over at Smoke.
“You said you were in the ranching business now, however, your men act like they expect problems.”
Smoke thought about it a while as he was chewing. “I guess I’ve got too many old enemies who won’t leave
