After all, theirs wasn’t a love match on her part. He had to admit she was justified about her right to keep him safe. She had promised she could be fierce when her temper was roused. Well, so could he and those two miners would learn not to mess with him.
His mood hadn’t improved by the time he reached town. He went straight to the sheriff’s office at the jail. The sheriff was upstairs having breakfast.
Sheriff and Mrs. Cornelius lived on the second floor, which must be awful when there were loud drunks in the cells. Mrs. Cornelius provided meals for prisoners and she was reported to be a fine cook. Which meant a few in the county made sure to get arrested when they were down on their luck and hungry.
Austin cooled his heels in the office while the lawman finished his meal. The longer he waited, the more impatient he became. His ire had him ready to leave when the sheriff came into his office.
Sheriff Cornelius didn’t appear happy to see Austin waiting. “You ought to be home with your new bride. I don’t have any news for you and the others right now.”
Austin’s anger rose. “Surely you can do something. They’re going to ruin all of us if they’re not stopped.”
“Look, I’ll tell you the same thing I told the other five ranchers who came in yesterday and the one today before breakfast—I can’t arrest men for doing something on property they’ve leased and have a legal right to be doing. Stop hounding me.”
“Hounding you? Sheriff, if you don’t stop those two, you won’t be able to protect them. I’m barely reeling in my temper but some hotter head than mine is going to go hunting them.”
The sheriff held his hands as if pushing Austin away. “Personally, I side with you ranchers and farmers. But, I’m sworn to uphold the law and that’s what I’ll do—no matter who it makes angry. I’ve talked with David Jenkins and Bert Kennedy. They haven’t been able to come up with a legal way I can stop those two men from mining for gold.”
Austin pointed at Sheriff Cornelius. “When someone is killed, his blood will be on your hands.” He stomped out and got on his horse.
Weren’t the laws supposed to protect honest, hard-working people? Why weren’t they protecting the ranchers? He stopped in the law office to see Bert.
The clerk informed Austin that Bert was in Weatherford for a client’s trial. Just as well, because Austin didn’t need to see his friend while his temper was this riled. Disgusted with the results of his trip to town, he climbed back on Thunder and headed for his ranch.
He went home a different way and stopped atop a ridge to watch the miners through his spyglass. There were a lot of caves in the area. The one they worked went only about twenty feet into the mountain. The cave’s nickname was Robber’s Roost but he doubted robbers had ever used the site.
Austin had read about the gold found in Presidio in far West Texas and that found in South Central Texas near Llano. As far as he knew no other genuine mines existed in the state. He’d talked to men who’d searched for the lost San Saba mine and he had concluded that strike was only a myth.
While he watched, Ferguson and Davis struggled to set up the monitor. Neither man appeared to be handy with machinery. The large nozzle was attached to a canvas hose. Austin had no idea how the water coming from the nozzle was regulated.
He was positive strength was required to control the blast of water and direct it to the right spot in the mine site. Perhaps the two were stronger than they looked. Davis was stocky and looked halfway fit. Perhaps they planned to guide the monitor together.
Ferguson was a lean, short man who looked almost feeble. The man had the posture of a monkey. He was also the one who’d threatened Austin with a shotgun.
Uh oh, Ferguson had spotted him. A bullet pinged off a rock nearby, sending pieces of stone and dust into the air. Austin shoved his spyglass into his saddlebag and turned his horse for home. Another bullet pinged too close for comfort.
He urged Thunder into a gallop. After a mile, he slowed his horse to a comfortable lope.
That Ferguson had his nerve. You couldn’t go around shooting at people who aren’t doing anything but looking. He was on his own land, not theirs. Those two idiots probably thought he intended to steal some of the gold they were never going to find.
He reached home and rode to the barn.
Buck was in a stall with the medicine chest doctoring a heifer. “Any joy in town?”
Austin unsaddled Thunder. “Not a word of encouragement. What happened here?” He reached for the curry comb.
“Heard her bawling and caught a coyote nipping her back leg so I shot the coyote. This one had gotten near here all by her lonesome. Reckon with a little care she’ll be fine. She sure had trouble limping to the barn though. Too large for me to carry so I was afraid I’d have to get for the wagon and haul her.”
“Lucky you got the coyote when you did. What’d you do with the carcass?” Austin picked Thunder’s hooves to clear any pebbles.
“Hung it on the fence like you always do. Maybe warn off a few of the critters.”
“Hope so. Glad you rescued her.” He gave Thunder a scoop of grain. “I don’t know about you but
