blood.
“Is he dead?” Corbett asked.
“Yeah, he’s dead.”
Corbett went over to the window and tried to raise it.
“What are you doin’?”
“Killin’ a judge like we done, maybe we ought to go out this way before somebody comes after us,” Corbett said.
Pardeen laughed. “Who’s goin’ to come after us, Corbett? I killed the sheriff last week, the deputy and the judge tonight. They ain’t nobody left to come after us.”
Corbett thought for a moment, then laughed out loud.
“Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, there ain’t nobody left to come after us.”
Chapter Ten
Smoke was surprised when he saw several head of cattle being pushed onto Sugarloaf. Riding out to see what was going on, he found a small, wiry young man, whistling and shouting as he drove the herd. He was riding one horse, and leading another.
When the young man saw Smoke, he rode toward him, touching the brim of his hat as he reached him. The hat was oversized, with a particularly high crown, almost as if the boy was trying to use it to make up for his small stature.
“You Smoke Jensen?” he asked.
“I am.”
The boy smiled and stuck out his hand. “Mr. Jensen, I heard you was plannin’ on makin’ a big cattle drive up north.”
“That’s right.”
“Well, these here is your cows that was way down on the south range. I reckon you would’a got around to ’em in time, but I thought I’d save you the trouble. The name’s Sanders. Jules Sanders. I come to join you on your drive, if you’ll have me.”
“Jules, don’t get the wrong idea here, but how old are you?” Smoke asked.
“Tell me how old you want me to be and I’ll accommodate you,” Jules said.
Smoke chuckled. “That’s not what I asked,” he said. “I’ll be honest with you, you don’t look a day over fifteen.”
Jules didn’t answer. “Where you want me to put these cows?”
“You say you drove them up from the south range?” Smoke asked.
“Yes.”
“That’s twelve miles from here. You brought—how many are there?”
“Sixty-three head,” Jules said.
“You brought sixty-three head up from the south range all by yourself?”
“Yes.”
Smoke stroked his chin. “That’s a pretty good drive for someone to make all by themselves, no matter how old they might be. You knew we’d be coming down there to get them, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir,” Jules said. “I knew you’d be comin’ for ’em.”
“Then why didn’t you just leave them there for us?”
“I wanted to impress you,” Jules said.
“Well, I must confess, you did do that.”
“Mr. Jensen, I need the job,” Jules said.
“Jules, this is going to be one difficult drive. It’s late in the year and we’ve got a long way to go. We’ll be gone for some time. How would your mom and dad feel about that?”
“They’re the reason I need to do it,” Jules said. “My ma is bringin’ in washin’ and sech, all the while she’s doin’ for my dad. My dad is laid up with what the doc calls the cancer. I got to do somethin’ to help out, Mr. Jensen.”
Smoke was quiet for a moment, then he nodded. “All right, Jules. I reckon if you can bring this many head this far all by yourself, then you’re man enough to do the job.”
A big smile spread across Jules’s face, and he stuck out his hand. “Thanks, Mr. Jensen,” he said. “I can’t tell you what this means to me.”
Smoke shook Jules’s hand. “One thing, though, Jules.”
“Yes, sir, anything.”
“We’re sort of one big family here. I’m Smoke to all the men.”
