“Yeah,” Shamrock said.
Chapter Twenty-six
Buckhorn, Colorado
Abe Sobel was having his supper in the dining room of the Dunn Hotel, reading the Buckhorn Herald newspaper.
Chugwater, Wyoming, Deals With Rustlers
(special to the BUCKHORN HERALD) The Cattlemen’s Association of the Valley of the Chug met on the fifth, instant, to discuss the problem of cattle rustling. The chairman of the organization put forth a proposal that the problem facing the ranchers may be met by a group of territorial deputies. The deputies mentioned have received a special commission of the governor of the territory as their authorization to work as lawmen.
By a majority vote, the deputies, headed by Captain Paul Harris, were given full authority to conduct their investigation, and bring the rustlers to justice. Brad Houser, who owns the Twin Peaks Ranch, is chairman of the organization, and has expressed the opinion that the herds of the larger cattlemen are being raided by the small ranchers, so that the purloined cattle may be added to their own herds. As such, he reports that the small ranchers will be the immediate targets of the investigation.
The name Brad Houser literally leaped from the page as Abe read the story. Brad Houser was the person who had set up the bank robbery in Sulphur Springs, and Sobel had learned during the robbery that Houser and Shamrock were brothers. If Sobel could find Houser, he figured there would be a good chance that he would be able to find Shamrock. Houser wouldn’t be suspicious of him, as Abe had taken part, with him, in the Sulphur Springs robbery.
It was a fairly long ride to Chugwater, but there would be a nice reward at the end of the ride.
Twin Peaks Ranch
When Abe Sobel rode up to the ranch three days later, he was met by a tall, lean man with dark hair and piercing black eyes.
“The name’s Turley,” the man said. “I’m foreman of the place. What can I do for you?”
“Yes, I’m looking for an old friend, who may be here. His name is Sid Shamrock.”
“Shamrock?” Turley shook his head. “No, sir, I don’t know nobody named Shamrock. You sure you’ve come to the right place?”
“No, I’m not sure that Shamrock would be here. But I believe his brother owns the place. Brad Houser?”
“Houser? Yes, sir, he owns the place, all right, ’n he does have a brother here, but his brother’s name isn’t Shamrock.”
“I see. Well, would you tell him that Abe Sobel is here to see him? He knows me.”
“All right, wait here, I’ll tell ’im.”
Houser was writing figures in a ledger when Turley spoke to him.
“Sobel? Yes, I know him,” Houser said when Turley told him of his visitor. “Tell him I’ll see him in a few minutes. But before I see him, please ask Mr. Knox to come to the office.”
“Yes, sir.”
When Turley stepped back outside, Sobel was watering his horse at the trough.
“What did he say?” Sobel asked. “Will he see me?”
“Yeah, but he asked that you wait for a minute—he has some ranch business to take care of first. If you’d like some coffee, go on into the cookhouse there ’n tell the cook that I sent you.”
“Thanks,” Sobel replied. “A cup of coffee would go real good right now.”
Turley stepped into the bunkhouse, where he found Knox playing poker with three of the deputies.
“Knox, Mr. Houser wants to see you.”
“May as well go see ’im, I ain’t doin’ no good in this game,” Knox said, getting up from the table. “What’s he want to see me about?”
“Houser don’t share nothin’ with me that has anything to do with you bodyguards or deputies,” Turley said.
Knox chuckled. “No, I don’t reckon he does, does he?”
When Knox stepped into the ranch office, Houser was standing at the window.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Yes, there is a man here named Sobel. He is here to look for my brother.”
“You mean Cap’n Harris?”
“Yes, but Mr. Sobel knew him as Sid Shamrock. I’m going to send you with Sobel out into the Pine Flats.”
“What for? Cap’n Harris ain’t there. He’s back in the bunkhouse. I just seen ’im.”
“You don’t understand. I don’t want Mr. Sobel to find my brother; it could mean trouble for him, and for me. He is one of the reasons I hired you in the first place, to protect me from men like him. When you get Sobel out to the Pine Flats, I want you to take care of him in the same way you took care Slim and Dooley.”
“You mean you want me to take him out there and kill ’im?”
“That is exactly what I mean.” Houser opened a drawer on his desk, then took out some money. “Here is two hundred and fifty dollars. Once the job is done, wait there until my brother comes out there to meet you. He’ll have another two hundred and fifty dollars for you, and he’ll help you bury Sobel. I don’t want any trace of him ever found.”
“Yes, sir, don’t you worry none, I’ll take care of Sobel for you.” Knox cracked an evil smile. “I told you there’d be times when you needed me to do things like this for you. You know, if we was partners, you wouldn’t have to pay me nothin’ extra to do things like this.”
“Partners? In Twin Peaks?”
“Yeah, well, we wouldn’t have to be full partners. I’m talkin’ about somethin’ like maybe thirty or forty percent.”
“We’ll discuss it when you get back,” Houser said. “Now, wait here until Sobel comes.”
When Sobel came into the office a few minutes later, Houser greeted him effusively.
“Mr. Sobel, it has been quite a while since the little adventure we shared.”
“Yeah, it has,” Sobel said. “I see that you done pretty good by it.”
“I did indeed. Mr. Turley tells me that you are looking for my brother.”
“Yes, I would like to see
