“Yeah. When I was telling these friends about Raoul and Raymond they asked me if the San Diegos had a gringo friend, and then they described Jasper White. You said that Caster saw signs of tick fever in your cattle? Well, he sees that in about ten percent of all herds. Either that or about that many die. Only that ain’t the case. Them cattle are being herded back to Mexico. These friends of mine have bought many a one from the San Diego brothers and Jasper White. Paid around four dollars a head. And then turned around and sold them to contractors like me for six and seven dollars. A very nice little business. One of them, Jose Quinto, said there was one old yellow steer that he personally bought and sold at least four times.”
Longarm just shook his head. “You’d think one crooked sideline would be enough for Caster. No wonder he got nervous when Raoul disappeared. He knew all of Caster’s secrets.”
“How are we going to play it tomorrow?”
Longarm shrugged. “Fast and loose I would reckon. Bareback. All I can say is just keep one eye on me and be ready to jump one way or the other.” He held up his hand as Davis opened his mouth to speak. “I know. They’re your birds by right and I’ll make damn sure you’re in at the kill. One thing—I’m going to insist that Caster release the cattle before he gets any more money. I don’t know how we’re going to swap the money for the trail papers, but you get as close as you dare to that.”
Davis looked tired. “Well,” he said, “I hope we get lucky. This has been a long trail. I guess I better get a room and a bath.”
Longarm stood up. “Let me get out of here first. I’ll probably stay out a while tonight, maybe get in a poker game. I reckon you’ll be busy with hiring vaqueros.”
It was a little after ten o’clock that night when Longarm came back into the hotel. He went to the desk to collect his key and was surprised to see the day clerk on duty. The young man said he was pulling a double shift. “The night man had some business. At least that is what he say. I theenk maybe the monkey business.”
Longarm nodded and turned away. He’d gone only a few steps when the clerk called to him, and turned back. “Oh, by the way,” the young man said, “Senor Mull has checked in.”
Longarm felt his excitement rise. “Yeah?” he said.
“Yes. He is in room one ten. That is four doors down from where you are.”
Longarm nodded, trying to conceal a smile. “Thanks, amigo. Be sure and not let on you told me and I’ll see you get taken care of.”
The clerk waved his hand. “Oh, no, no. You have already been most generous, Senor Long.”
“We’ll see,” Longarm said. He was smiling to himself as he walked down the hall. If he got the chance, he was going to be especially generous to Mister James Mull. He was going to see that he got a lot of years in a small place to think about his sins.
Chapter 12
Longarm sat his horse just by the release gate where the cattle were coming out of the last quarantine pen. On the other side, Austin Davis was on horseback with a tally sheet in his hand. Which seemed unnecessary, since Jay Caster had already told him he would be getting 940 cattle. The rest, Longarm thought wryly, were probably already on their way to Mexico. Caster had said they’d die and Longarm didn’t doubt that 1 could have happened. The cattle that were coming by him were poor and looked like they’d lost considerable flesh. They didn’t look at all like the cattle he’d observed the night before and the night before that. Also, some of them seemed to have brands, and Longarm found that fairly interesting since they were supposedly all from Mexico. But if he asked, he was sure that Caster would tell him that his contractor, Austin Davis, had probably bought some stolen U.S. cattle that had been taken to Mexico, and that was none of Caster’s doing. The customs inspector had an answer for everything.
Then Longarm saw what he’d been looking for. All of the cattle were splotched with green paint, though it looked old and faded. And now he caught sight of one of his “key” cows, a brindle-colored steer with a twisted horn. He had a big splotch of bright green paint on his side, but a little trace of the original red was showing. As the steer exited the pen Longarm rode alongside the animal and leaned down and wiped his fingers across the smear of red that was showing. He straightened back up and looked at the red substance on his fingers. With his thumb he rubbed it back and forth and then smiled slightly. He said, half aloud, “So that’s how he does it.”
Just then he saw Caster riding toward him and he quickly wiped his fingers on his jeans. The red stain came off easily. He turned his horse to meet the customs official.
“You ‘bout ready to wind this up?” Caster asked sourly. “I want you and them damn cattle out of town quick as possible.”
Longarm looked over the pens. There appeared to be about a hundred cattle yet to go. “Let’s let them get clear of the corral and in the hands of my drovers. I want word from Davis on the tally.”
“The tally is going to be whatever it is,” Caster bristled. “And you better not have no ideas of that Davis tagging along with us. I don’t like that feller’s looks.”
Longarm smiled. “I’ll tell him you said that. I’ll be ready in just a moment, Mister Caster. This ought not to take long.”
“You got the money?”
Longarm turned in the saddle and slapped his saddlebags. “Got it right in here.” Though the money, in fact, was still in his mattress. “You ain’t told me how you want me to get it to you. Or who? Raymond San Diego?”
“In a moment we will ride to the hotel. I’ll tell you then.”
Longarm glanced around at Caster. It was hard to tell, since the man was so unfriendly at his best, but this morning there seemed to be a special edge to him. Then again, Longarm reflected, maybe he was just imagining it, worried as he was about Dulcima making it back and telling the interested parties what had really happened to Raoul.
He could see Austin Davis watching them across the stream of cattle, and Longarm dipped his hat brim just a fraction to let his partner know that things were still going along all right. Actually they were better than that. He now knew what he was going to arrest Caster for, and in fact, could have arrested him at that second. But he had the feeling that another fish was going to swim into his net, so he planned on being patient.
Then the last of the cattle were out of the corral, and the drovers Austin Davis had hired, fell in on the sides and behind the herd and started moving them toward the east. They’d take them in that direction until they were
