Part 16 (1/2)
”But I've got to defend my ranch. If people know I'm good, they'll stay away.”
”Some will, others won't. It's the ones who don't care that you got to worry about. They'll come even though they know one of you is going to die.”
”I gotta be good,” Sydney insisted. He began putting more bullets in his gun. ”I gotta help Tom.” ”You put that up for today, and I'll give you a few pointers tomorrow.”
Sydney looked undecided. Chet wasn't sure what he would have done, but their discussion was forgotten when Speers shouted.
”It's Tom and the fellas! I can see them.”
So could Chet. He could also see that someone was being carried across a saddle. Several others appeared to be nursing wounds.
”Run tell your sister somebody's hurt,” Chet said to Neill. ”I'll see if I can help.”
Long before the men reached the corral, Chet could tell that the man across the saddle was dead. He could also tell that the man was Tom Neland. That angered Chet. It puzzled him as well. He couldn't see any reason why Lantz would resort to killing to get the ranch. It was too easy to run off horses, rustle cows, foul water holes, drive off cowhands, even pressure merchants into refusing to sell the ranch supplies. He had the men to do it, and no one could stop him. But a death would mean the sheriff and an official investigation.
”Tom's dead,” Curly Green said unnecessarily. ”A couple of the boys are shot up a bit, but they'll be okay.”
”What happened?” Chet asked.
”It was an ambush,” Curly said. ”They took those horses just so we'd follow and they could shoot us to pieces. They had them back in a branch canyon. Tom made the rest of us wait while he went in first. They'd have gotten most of us if we'd gone in together like we wanted.”
”Who was it?”
”Blade Royal,” Curly said. ”No mistake about it. He didn't even try to hide.” ”Cut him loose,” Chet said. ”We'll lay him out in the shed, then take care of the others. Just make sure you don't let the women see him.”
They were too late. Melody came hurrying from the house, Belle right behind her. Neill danced around both of them like a frisky puppy. Melody blanched when she saw Tom's body, but she didn't lose her composure.
”What happened?”
”They ambushed Tom.”
”Are you sure he's”
”Yes.”
Belle reached them, took one look at Tom, and started to wail. ”Lantz said something terrible would happen if you refused him,” she told Melody.
”I can't believe Lantz would do this,” Melody said.
”It was Blade that done it,” Curly told her. ”I saw him.”
The men had begun to dismount. Some helped the two wounded men to the bunkhouse. The others stood around, waiting, anger and dejection apparent in their faces.
”But why?” Melody asked.
”He told you he'd ruin us if you didn't marry him,” Belle cried, near hysterics. ”He's keeping his promise.”
”See if you can get her inside,” Chet said to Melody.
”I need to see to the men.”
”They'll all be a lot better if they don't have to listen to her.”
Bernice had come outside. She helped Melody lead Belle back to the house. Melody returned by the time Chet had gotten Tom's body into the shed.
”Is there anything I can do?”
”You can help me bandage their wounds. I can do it, but they'll like it a lot better if somebody pretty does it.”
”You sound like every other man I know, thinking women are just for being pretty and bandaging up the wounded.”
”Every man appreciates a woman's attention, no matter what she looks like. It puts him on his mettle, and things don't hurt so bad. But that isn't all. These men got hurt working for you. You're going to need their loyalty if you want to keep this place. They'll give it a lot more readily if you're not too proud to get your hands dirty.”
”I'm not like that.”
”I didn't think you were. I was just explaining why you should help.”
They went into the bunk house, and she poured hot water into a basin. Chet started ripping a sheet into bandage strips.
”You're going to have to take off that s.h.i.+rt so I can clean the wound,” she said to Peak Larson. ”I'll send for the doctor to get the bullet out.”
”No need, ma'am. It's nothing but a flesh wound. Milt don't have no bullet in him neither.”
”We still have to make certain it doesn't get infected.”
Chet was proud of the way Melody handled the men. She didn't have as much experience as he did with wounds. She kept up a steady flow of talk while he did most of the work.
”Is it too tight?” she asked Milt.
”It's fine,” he said. ”I'll be back in the saddle by tomorrow.” ”Absolutely not. You're to stay here until you're completely well.”
”Begging your pardon, ma'am, but I don't see how Peak and me can do that. With four of us down, them Royals could run off nearbout every cow on the place.”
”Toby and me can ride,” Speers said. ”We only stayed because Tom wouldn't let us go.” He looked over at the bunk that would be vacant tonight. ”Now I wish I'd gone anyway.”
”What's done can't be changed,” Melody said. ”You're going to have to help take care of Milt and Peak. What is it?” Melody asked when he kept staring at her.
”We gotta get the horses back,” he said.
”I'll send some of the boys tomorrow.”
”You can't wait that long. Somebody's got to go now.”
”Whom do you suggest I send?”
”It's not a question of who to send, ma'am. It's a question of who's going to lead them.”
”What do you mean?”
”We're all just cowhands. We're no good with guns, and we'd be no good at giving orders. You gotta get somebody to take Tom's place.”