“Ah,” LeRoy said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I knowed all along that we could do it.”
Chapter Sixteen
It was nine o’clock on a Tuesday morning and Trent Williams was in the barbershop getting his weekly shave.
“Have you seen Jason Adams yet?” Cook asked as he applied the razor to Williams’s face.
“No, not yet,” Williams said. “But I expect to be seeing him today.”
“Yes, sir, I expect you will,” Cook said. “Jason is one happy man.”
“Well, I’m glad he is taking it so well,” Williams said. “When I first offered him the deal, he seemed a little hesitant. But as I explained to him, it is the only way he can save his ranch.”
“Hesitant? Why would he be hesitant?” Cook asked.
“Well, let’s face it. In order to keep from having his ranch go into foreclosure, he is going to have to give up his entire herd. That’s quite a sacrifice to make, but at least it will save his ranch.”
“Oh, he isn’t going to have to give up his ranch,” Cook said. He made another stroke across Williams’s face. “He isn’t going to have to give up anything. He’s coming in to pay off the loan.”
“What?” Williams shouted, sitting up so fast that Cook cut his face. “Damn it, man, you have cut me!”
“I’m sorry, sir!” Cook said, chagrined at his mistake. He began wiping off the lather to examine the cut. “You rose up so quickly that…”
“Here, give me that!” Williams shouted, grabbing the towel. He wiped off his face and examined the cut. It was very small and was barely bleeding.
“Fortunately, it doesn’t look very bad,” Cook said, reaching up to touch it.
“Just leave it alone,” Williams said irritably. Williams treated his own cut for a moment; then, when it was obvious that it wasn’t going to bleed anymore, he looked over at Cook.
“What do you mean Adams is going to pay off the loan? How the hell is he going to pay off his loan?”
“Well, after old Mr. Devaney died, Jason said it seemed like the right thing for him to do.”
“Devaney? Abner Devaney?”
“Yes, sir, that’s the one.”
“What does Devaney dying have to do with whether or not Adams pays off his note?”
“Well, sir, as I’m sure you know, Mr. Devaney was Millie Adams’s father. When he died, he left all his money to her.”
“All his money?” Williams shook his head. “What are you talking about? That old fool didn’t have any money.”
Cook chuckled. “Oh, yes, sir, he did. Turns out he had quite a bit of money. I’m surprised you didn’t know that.”
“But how could he have money? He didn’t have as much as one dime in the bank.”
“No, sir, he didn’t, but that don’t mean he didn’t have no money. He said he didn’t believe in banks. He always kept his money in a jar, buried out back of his place.”
“How much money was it?”
“According to Jason, it was a little over three thousand dollars. I don’t know how much he owes, but he says that’s enough to pay off his note.”
“Yes,” Williams said in a low, growling type voice. “Yes, that is quite enough.”
Cook smiled broadly. “Well, there you go then. I know you told me that you bought the note. You must be happy, knowing that you aren’t going to be stuck with the note.”
“Yes, very happy,” Williams replied, though the expression on his face indicated that he was anything but happy. Where would he get his cows now?
Walking Bear stood on the rock and looked far down into the valley at the two wagons moving slowly along the road that paralleled Wind River. Four soldiers rode in front of the wagons and four soldiers rode behind. One who had stripes on his sleeves rode alongside. Walking Bear knew that a soldier who had stripes on his sleeves was a soldier chief, and that could only mean one thing. Something very valuable was being carried by the wagons.
Looking behind him, Walking Bear saw twenty mounted warriors awaiting his orders. He felt a swelling of pride because so many had left the camp of Red Eagle to follow him. Red Eagle was an old man whose time had passed. Walking Bear was young and strong and unafraid of the white man. Soon, all in Red Eagle’s camp would follow him, and perhaps other camps as well. He would lead not twenty, but many times twenty, a mighty nation of warriors, and they would drive the white man away from the ancient land of the Cheyenne once and for all.
He came back down from the rock.
“What did you see, Walking Bear?” one of the warriors asked.
“Two wagons,” Walking Bear reported. “They are heavy with things the white man values.”
“Are there soldiers?”
