Lovell's Prize Page 10

  They nodded agreement.

  "We need to go in on foot. Do you have a spot picked for the horses?" Syle asked.

  "Yes, I will take you there," Ned Bells said.

  They rode to the spot, dismounted and secured the horses. Syle and Reeves pulled their shotguns and loaded them with heavy buckshot rounds.

  "You can stay with the horses, Ned," Syle said. "Or go along with us. As far as I'm concerned your duty is finished."

  Ned shook his head. "No, this time I want to be there. I want to see these men taken."

  Syle nodded and turned to Lovell. "What about that hand, Don? Are you up to this?"

  Lovell nodded and worked the lever on his Winchester. "You boys work them shotguns. I'll back you up with this. My hand'll work alright."

  They crept to the camp and watched carefully. Four men were sitting around the fire. Trace Nodine and Thug Yates were talking. Yancy Parks was playing solitaire on his blanket and another man was resting by the fire.

  Bass Reeves crawled close to Syle. "What do you want to do about the outrider?" he whispered.

  "I'm more interested in taking Nodine, Parks and Yates. I think they are our men. They're together now. Let's take them and not worry about the outrider."

  "How do you want this done?" Lovell asked.

  "They're all in the open. Let's just go in and make the arrest from here. We'll have the drop on them before they can react."

  "Alright, let's do it," Lovell said.

  They stood in a line and walked directly toward the campfire. "Federal marshals," Syle called loudly. "You're under arrest."

  Nodine started for his holstered revolver, hesitated and raised his hands. Yates followed suit. The unknown man jumped and acted surprised but did not resist. Yancy Parks started to slip away from his blanket.

  "I wouldn't try that, Parks," Syle ordered. "We'll shoot you down if you run."

  Parks hesitated then shrugged his shoulders. He turned and reluctantly raised his good arm.

  The marshals stepped into the campfire light, their guns trained on Nodine and Yates.

  "Call your man in," Syle ordered the unknown cowboy as he stepped past.

  "I don't know what this is about," the man whined.

  "Call your man in," Syle repeated more slowly.

  The cowboy nodded. "Cal, can you hear me?" he called.

  "Yeah, what's up?" the rider called back from a distance.

  "Come in. We got a problem," the cowboy called.

  Syle nodded. "What's your name, son?"

  "Orin Dent. I live in Muskogee."

  "Who's your friend?"

  "Cal Jessup. We ride together when there's work."

  "Is he armed?"

  "Yes, but we don't know what this is about."

  "You are all under arrest for horse theft, murder, rape and kidnapping," Syle said.

  Dent lowered his head and wept. "Oh, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus."

  Lovell pointed his Winchester at Nodine and their eyes met. Nodine was calm. "Unbuckle that gunbelt," Lovell said.

  Nodine nodded slowly and with one hand unfastened his belt and allowed it to drop back.

  Lovell glanced at Yates. "You, too."

  Yates did as he was told.

  "Now stand and step back from them gunbelts. Keep those hands raised," Lovell ordered.

  As they did, Cal Jessup rode into camp. He sighed and shook his head when he recognized the marshal badges. "Gott damn, Orin. I told you we ought'n ride with no nigger. Now, we're in for it."

  "Step down from your horse, son, and drop your gunbelt," Pete Syle ordered.

  "What's the charge?" Cal asked as he followed orders.

  "Murder, kidnapping, horse stealing and rape," Orin said.

  "Gott dammit, Orin. Now we're in for it. Listen, Marshal, we're just working for these guys. We didn't know these horses were stolen."

  "That's not for me to decide, son. Judge Parker will have to decide about that," Pete Syle said.

  "Shit, we'll hang for sure," Orin whined.

  "Maybe not," Bass Reeves said. "He's a fair man."

  "You boys will hang, dat's for sure," Trace Nodine said in a deep, calm voice. "Old Judge Parker, he hangs 'em all. There ain't no mercy from dat man, dat's for sure." He cut his eyes to Lovell and grinned. "You gonna shoots me?"

  Lovell nodded. "For any reason at all. Just waiting for the opportunity."

  Nodine grinned coldly. "I bets you are. You just gots that look in your eye."

  "Let's get the manacles on them," Pete Syle said. "You want to do that, Bass?"

  "Yes, sir," Bass said as he went for the horses. He handed his shotgun to Ned Bells.

  Nodine smiled as he saw Ned Bells walk into the light. "Is zat you, Ned Bells? I ain't seen you since we was little. How's your momma?"

  "She died of the flu."

  "She did? I'm right sorry to hear dat, I shore iz. She shore made good cornbread."

  "Gather up those guns," Pete Syle said to Ned. "Pile them behind me."

  "I knows Marshal Reeves and Marshal Syle but I don't think I ever saw you before," Nodine said to Lovell.

  "I'm Don Lovell."

  "Yeah, I heard of ya. You don't usually ride in these parts. You generally works down south."

  "Why'd you kill the woman and those kids that way?" Lovell asked.

  "What woman and kids? I don't know what you're talking about. I bought dese horses from ole Mitchell at Black Fork."

  Syle nodded. "And you've got a bill of sale."

  "Shore nuff, right here in my pocket." Nodine started to reach for it.

  Syle shook his head. "Save it. You'll need it for later."

  "But I was thinking dat if we could clear dat up here and now, we could ride on."

  "It won't happen that way, Nodine. We have so many papers against you that these horses don't mean anything."

  "What about us?" Orin Dent asked. "We ain't done nothing."

  "Do you know who this man is?" Pete Syle asked.

  "Well, yeah, he's Trace Nodine," Dent said.

  "And you never knew who Trace Nodine was?"

  "Well, yeah, we heard of him."

  "And you rode with him, anyhow?"

  "Well, yeah."

  "Get over there with the rest and keep your mouth shut. I don't want to hear any more from you. Any man who rides with Trace Nodine knows what he's getting into."

  "But—"

  "Get!" Syle was angry.

  "You gonna hang for sure, dat's a fact," Nodine taunted as Orin stepped to them.

  Bass Reeves returned with five sets of handcuffs. "I had to get one of your pair, Lovell. Pete and I only brought two sets apiece."

  Orin Dent shook his head and backed away. "You ain't going to put those things on me. I won't have it. You hear? I won't have it."

  Bass threw down the cuffs in front of Dent and took his shotgun from Ned Bells. He pointed it at Dent and cocked the hammers. "Put on those manacles."

  Dent hesitated, swallowed and calmed himself. "But I ain't done nothing."

  Bass lowered the point of the gun's sight on Dent's chin and drew a deep breath.

  "I'll do it. I'll do it. Don't shoot." Dent whined as he found a set and put them on his wrists.

  Bass tossed the shotgun back to Ned Bells and stepped to Dent to make sure the cuffs were secure. He cuffed Cal Jennings, then Yancy Parks, then Thug Yates and finally Trace Nodine. As he did Lovell searched them and piled their pocket knives and boot knives by the fire.

  The prisoners were bedded down as a group under the watchful eyes of the marshals through the night, each taking a turn at guard with Bass Reeves' ten-gauge in his lap. Lovell's turn came last. He thought of Leah and her children as he sat by the fire staring at the sleeping men, waiting for dawn and his chance to be on the trail. He had hoped Nodine would try something so he could have killed him but Nodine was too smart for that. Now they would have to go through a court hearing and a trial. Nodine would eventually be found guilty of one of the crimes, mostly likely the
Harper robbery, but Lovell wanted him to swing for their murder. His mind drifted to imagining the rape of Rosie lying on the ground beside her mother. He remembered how innocent she really was and imagined how terrified she must have been during the rape and murder. He thought of Levi, barely six years old, and wondered how a man could kill a child with a shotgun. What kind of terror did Levi feel just before they pulled the trigger on him? He thought of Rance Banford and remembered how he had been willing to allow Bass Reeves to have sex with Rosie for a price. What kind of men were these? What kind of a woman would live with such men? What kind of a woman would sacrifice her children to stay with such men when the only justification she had was that there was food and a roof over their heads? Why didn't she jump at the offer he had made to protect her and her children? She could have had it all but now there was nothing.

  Yates rolled over and Lovell's attention shifted to the prisoners. He waited and watched for a moment before realizing that all were sound asleep. He placed the shotgun against a log, freshened the fire, and poured himself another cup of coffee. He had been a deputy marshal for eight years. The only marshal in service with more time was Bass Reeves who joined before there was an Indian Territory court. He had made hundreds of arrests, brought in hundreds of prisoners and witnesses, and served more papers than he could remember. He had killed thirteen men in those eight years making arrests and preventing escapes. In all that time he had never seen anything rivaling the murder of Leah and her children.

  He remembered Bass Reeves' words when they buried them—"Sometimes this job gets to be more than a man can handle." Maybe it was time to get out. Do something else. Find a decent line of work. Was that the prize that Bonny Black was talking about?

  He'd look into it after he got this bunch back to Fort Smith and tracked down Chauncy Lightfoot. He smiled. That's always the way it was. One more job, one more arrest, one more hearing and he would call it quits. But there was always another and another. And hell, what would he do if he wasn't a deputy marshal? What was he fit for?

  He looked into his coffee and swirled the cup. No, he was better suited for this job. These men would be punished for this crime. All of them would do time and a few would hang. Nodine would hang for sure and other women and children would be safe. He had a part in that by doing his duty as a marshal and his reward was far greater than just the money.

  John Black had said, "There's a lot of accountability pinned with that badge." Lovell wondered what the exact meaning of "accountability" was. Did it mean "trap"? Did it mean "choice"? Was it something else?

  The sun broke the horizon with an orange sliver of light. He poured himself another coffee and waited for the others to wake.

  Chapter 14

  It took five days to get the horse herd and prisoners to Fort Smith. The prisoners gave them no trouble. Throughout the trip Nodine seemed calm and fatalistic. He was completely cooperative. After the prisoners were turned over for trial and the horses placed in Joe Coble's care, Syle, Reeves and Lovell reported to Evett Nix's office.

  Nix smiled when they stepped into his office. "Well, I never thought you boys would wrap this case up so quickly. Nice work!"

  Syle pointed to the coffeepot.

  "Sure! Have some coffee. I wish I had something stronger," Nix said.

  "What now?" Lovell asked.

  "Bass needs to get on the circuit and get back to transferring prisoners. I'm going to leave Pete on this case. We need depositions from witnesses and we're going to need several witnesses transported into Fort Smith for the trial. We'll have to have witnesses from Black Fork and Harper. They're quite a distance apart."

  "What about me?" Lovell asked.

  "I want you to take a week off, Don. Get healed up. Hell, look at yourself. You had no business making this ride with those fingers and your ribs in that condition. Word is you can't even handle a handgun. You've got to use that Winchester instead. You three are among my best deputy marshals, maybe my best. I don't want any of you getting killed and, Lovell, unless you take some time off that's exactly what could happen to you."

  "I really need to be working. I've got that hundred dollar advance to work off."

  "The government owes you many times that. Don't worry about that hundred just now. The reward money on Nodine, Parks and Yates will more than make up for it. Rest up, take it easy. That's an order. Go see Sadie and enjoy life a little bit."

  "You do look like hell," Pete Syle said with a smile.

  "Fine. I'll be down at the Rogers Hotel if you need me."

  "The Rogers! Surely you can do better than that," Nix said.

  "Alright, I'll see if there's any extra rooms at Miss Lilly's."

  "Better make it the Rogers. The judge wouldn't be too happy to have one of his marshals spending that much time in a whorehouse."

  "The Rogers," Lovell said.

  "Well, that's it. I want a written report from Pete on the whole affair. I'll want Bass and Don to sign the report as witnesses. You men did a good job. You brought in the most notorious man in the Indian Territory within three weeks of getting the assignment. That is excellent work. I believe there are some expense checks downstairs for all three of you."

  They left the office together and picked up their checks. As they left the courthouse, Pete turned to Lovell. "There's room at my place for you, Don. I didn't realize that you weren't staying at Sadie's anymore."

  "No, I'd rather stay in the Hotel. Thanks anyway. I need to get some of my clothes, especially some of my shirts. I've got them stored in a trunk at the Rogers. If you need some help, get a hold of me. I'm healing up alright."

  "It won't hurt you to do some light duty for a while. Hell, the rest of us have pulled it when we've been hurt."

  "I know. I'll take my week and do some fishing down on the river. You boys take care of yourselves."

  "How about dinner tonight? What about it, Bass?"

  "No, I ain't seen my wife and young'uns for a month. I need to be getting home. Thanks the same."

  "Well, Don. You up to a steak dinner at my house?"

  "Pete, that young wife of yours needs to be with you and not having to cook for me. I'll pass, but thanks. I need to get checked in, take a bath, get something to eat in the hotel and go to bed. Maybe later in the week."

  "Alright, I'll look you up later in the week."

  They went their separate ways. Lovell took his horse to the Big Bear Stable and then walked to the Rogers Hotel. He checked in, had his trunk delivered to his room, shaved and took a long bath. He removed the bandages and splints from his fingers. He dug out his suit and dressed for dinner.

  He was being seated at a table at seven that evening when he saw Bonny Black approaching him from another table across the room. Another woman was sitting at her table.

  "My friend Cora and I are having dinner here tonight," she smiled. "Would you like to join us?"

  He stood. "Well, I don't know. What about your husband?"

  "He's not staying at the house." She hesitated, uncomfortable with the subject. She smiled. "Join us for dinner, Marshal. Believe me, it isn't going to make any difference. I'll explain later."

  "Alright, I'd be pleased to."

  He followed her to the table. Bonny introduced an attractive young woman with auburn hair as Cora Waters. She smiled and gave Bonny a knowing look of approval.

  "I want to apologize for my appearance. I'm sure I don't make a very pleasant dinner companion," Lovell said as he sat.

  Bonny smiled. "I don't know. What do you think, Cora? I think his nose has a bit of character now that it didn't have before."

  "I've never met the marshal before but I believe he is a very striking man. He has character."

  "Yes, Marshal. You have character. I can't think of a better way of putting it."

  Lovell smiled. "If that's another way of saying I'm not too ugly to be seen with, I'll take it as a compliment."

  The waiter stepped to the table with a glass of red wine.

  "We're having
leg of lamb tonight," Bonny said. "Would you like that or something else?"

  Lovell turned to the waiter. "Ground beef steak, well done. I'm not much for lamb, under any circumstances."

  The waiter nodded and left.

  "I heard about your injuries from John. I was worried about you but you seem to be getting on and improving," Bonny said.

  "Now you know why I wasn't too keen on you being by yourself in the Territory," Lovell said.

  "I do," Bonny said. "Allow me to explain the situation. Cora is an old and dear friend of mine. We worked together in John's store and we've been close for years. John decided that Cora was a bad influence on me because she wasn't married and he didn't believe it was proper for a married woman to be friends with an unmarried one. Therefore I was not allowed to have her at the house or to meet her at any time."

  "But you are with her tonight," Lovell said.

  "That is because John has moved out of the house and has taken a room at the Magnolia Hotel. We are separated and I expect him to file for a divorce."

  "I'm sorry to hear that, Bonny. I was hoping you could work things out with him. John has a lot to offer."

  "A lot of what?" Bonny asked curtly.

  "He is a prosperous man."

  "Is that all there is for you men? Money?"

  Lovell smiled. "I guess it is when you don't have much."

  "There are other things that are just as important. You know about that."

  "We've had this conversation before and went nowhere with it. Let's talk about something more pleasant," Lovell said.

  Cora smiled. "Ooh, a diplomat. I believe he is a bit intimidated by you, Bonny."

  "Is that so? Are you intimidated by me, Marshal Lovell?" Bonny batted her eyes in jest.

  Damn right he was but like hell would he admit it. "I believe there are topics best left to other situations. I don't get the chance to have dinner with two lovely ladies and I don't want to spoil it arguing about John Black."

  "Bravo!" Bonny laughed. "You are a diplomat!"

  They ate a leisurely dinner and retired to the lobby. Cora excused herself but Bonny held back. "I really would like to talk to you tonight. Is there somewhere private?"

  "There's my room but appearances—"

  "Your room would be fine," she answered quickly.