Longarm and the Bandit Queen Page 10

  "Go on," he urged Taylor. "Swallow it on down."

  Taylor finally managed to get his vision under control. He looked up at Longarm. "Who're you?" he asked. His voice was thin, almost inaudible.

  "He's the man who helped us get here," the girl answered before Longarm could speak.

  Taylor turned his eyes to look at her. "Susie. You got me here, didn't you?"

  "Yes. But you're hurt real bad, Lonnie. You just lay back now and try to rest. You'll be all right, I know you will!"

  "Hey! He's come around!" Floyd exclaimed. He stepped up to the table, followed by Steed and Bobby. They jostled against Longarm, and he stepped away to give them room.

  "Said-I'd-be-here," Taylor said in a series of gasping whispers.

  "Lonnie! Don't talk now. Save your strength!" the girl urged.

  Belle drew Longarm away from the table. "I don't know about him. That bullet took him in a bad place."

  "I know," Longarm agreed. "I've seen men hit high in the belly there before. Mostly, they hang on and you think they're going to get over it, but then they just fade off."

  "Why'd you decide to sleep in the barn?" Belle asked.

  "I didn't like those windows up above the bunks in that cabin. Not with Floyd just a little ways off."

  "Don't worry about Floyd. He'll do what I tell him to," she assured him.

  "Well, we'll just have to wait and see how things turn out."

  Sam Starr came up frowning, carrying steaming coffee cups. "I don't like this a bit, Belle. Somebody might have been trailing that fellow. He could have led a posse right up to our door."

  "I'd have heard them, if there was anybody behind him," Longarm told Sam. "There wasn't."

  "How in hell do you know, Windy?" Starr asked. His voice was somewhat uncertain, despite the bluster in his words. "They might be tracking him, five or ten miles behind."

  "That's the most sensible thing you've said in a long time, Sam," Belle told her husband. She called. "Steed! Bobby! Come here!"

  When the two outlaws got to her side, Belle said, "Get your rifles and stand watch up at the gully. We don't know there isn't a posse tracking your friend. It damned sure wasn't any friends of his who shot him."

  "They'd have got here by now, if they was after him," Steed objected.

  "Not if they were waiting for daylight to pick up his tracks," Belle said. She gave Sam no credit for having been the first to come up with the idea. "Now, you stay at the gully until about noon. I'll get Yazoo to bring you some breakfast after while."

  Steed looked as though he wanted to object still further, but Belle's black look kept him silent. He shrugged and said, "Come on, Bobby. Belle just might have an idea there."

  Longarm went back to the table to look at Taylor. Floyd was still standing there. The girl, too, still stood on the other side of the wounded man. Taylor's eyes were closed, and his chest was rising and falling irregularly.

  Floyd asked Longarm, "How's he look to you?"

  "I've seen shot men who looked better. He had to wait too long to get those holes plugged up."

  "How many holes has he got in him, for Christ's sake?" Floyd asked.

  "I saw two, but I didn't go over him too good. I was too busy getting that real bad one stopped up."

  "We'd better look him over, then," Belle said. She'd come up to the table, following Longarm.

  They searched Taylor's prone form, and did find a third wound, a shallow graze, high on one side, almost in his armpit. It was no more than a scratch, raw but not bleeding now. They agreed that it would be better to leave it alone rather than to disturb Taylor by moving him to get a bandage on it.

  "Whoever it was chasing him, they sure did intend to stop him," Floyd commented. He looked at the girl, who hadn't moved while they were making their examination. "You feel like telling us what happened, lady? There's not a hell of a lot we can do for Taylor right now. Not until he gets better--or worse."

  "You're right, Floyd," Belle agreed. She raised her voice. "Sam!

  Come watch Taylor while the rest of us go out on the porch. We need a breath of fresh air. You can start breakfast when we get back."

  "Sure, Belle." Sam moved obediently to the table, pulled up a chair, and sat down. "If he comes around again, I'll call you."

  "We'd better take care of Taylor's horse," Belle said when she saw the animal still standing in front of the house. "I'll get Sam to take care of it as soon as he has time."

  "Never mind, Belle. I'll lead it into the barn and unsaddle it," Longarm told her. "I need to get my vest, anyhow. It's got my cigars in the pocket."

  He led the animal into the barn, took off its saddlebags and tossed them in a corner, then loosened the cinch and lifted the saddle off. He set it beside the saddlebags, then he went up to the loft, slid his arms into his vest, and arranged his watch chain in its usual style, draped across from the pocket holding his watch to the opposite pocket, in which his derringer nestled, clipped to the other end of the chain. He took enough time to down a swallow of his own Maryland rye, and walked on outside before lighting his cheroot.

  In the east, the sky was beginning to show the gray of false dawn, but it was still dark on the porch except for the patch of light from the open house door.

  "Well," the girl was saying, "I guess I don't quite know how to start out."

  "You might start out by telling us who you are," Belle suggested, "and how you came to hook up with Taylor."

  Longarm suddenly realized that things had moved so swiftly since he'd first responded to the girl's cries that everyone's attention had been focused so completely on Taylor--that nobody had learned the girl's name.

  She said, "My name-my name's Dolly Varden.

  Belle interrupted her with a laugh, a raucous, sneering chortle. "You'll have to do better than that, missy. I know where that name comes from. You must think we're all ignorant around here, but let me tell you something: I went to the Carthage Female Academy, and I learned how to read books. And that name's right out of a book by an Englishman called Charles Dickens. He made it up a long time ago."

  "Really?" the girl asked. Her eyes widened in surprise. "You mean it's just a made-up name?"

  "That's what it is," Belle told her. "Now, suppose you come down off your high horse and tell us your real name."

  "Oh, hell!" the girl sighed. "I didn't know Dolly Varden wasn't real--that is, I didn't know it was made up such a long time back. And I wasn't trying to fool you. I've just called myself that for so long that I'd almost forgotten what my own name is. Until I ran into Lonnie about two weeks ago." She sighed again and went on, "My real name's Susanna. Susanna Mudgett. Everybody just called me Sue, back home. But when Lonnie began calling me Sue, I almost didn't answer him half the time."

  "Come on, Dolly or Sue or whoever you are," Floyd said impatiently. "We want to hear about Lon Taylor, not about you."

  "Appears to me we'll have to hear about both of them, if we want to know what happened to Taylor," Longarm pointed out. He went up the porch steps and sat down on the bench beside Susanna. "You take your time, now. Start wherever you feel like it, and just tell us whatever comes to your mind first. We'll sort it all out."

  "All right," she said nodding. "You see, I hadn't seen Lonnie for a long time--five or six years, I guess. Then he stopped in the place where I was working..." She hesitated, shook her head angrily, and blurted, "Oh, hell! You'll know sooner or later. I was a saloon girl over in Texarkana, on the Arkansas side of town. Lonnie came in, and I didn't even recognize him right off. He spotted me, though. And then we got to talking. We-we used to be what we called sweethearts, back home. Of course, that was before we really knew what being sweethearts means."

  Longarm interrupted, "Back home, you say. That'd be up in Kansas?"

  "Yes. Up at Yates Center. Then Lonnie left home, and I... well, I did too, later on. And we didn't see each other again until he came into the saloon, there in Texarkana. Lonnie asked me would I come along with him and be his girl, and I sa
id I would."

  "All right, Susan or Dolly or whichever you want us to call you--what happened with Lon?" Floyd asked impatiently, after the girl had sat silently for several moments.

  "Well, Lonnie said he had to come up here into the Cherokee Nation, to meet some men. I guess you'd be one of them?" she asked Longarm.

  He shook his head. "No. He was talking about Floyd and Steed."

  "This is Floyd," Belle told her, pointing. "Steed's up watching the gully you came through getting here."

  Susanna spoke directly to Floyd now. "He said he was in with you on some kind of job. I didn't understand what it really was until we got to Dequeen. We stayed there awhile--about a week, I guess. It was while we were there that Lonnie told me how he'd-he'd turned outlaw. And he wouldn't tell me what he was going to meet you for, Floyd, but it was some kind of robbery or something. Is that right?"

  "Never mind," Floyd said brusquely. "That's not any of your affair. What else did Lon tell you about me?"

  She frowned. "Nothing, really. Oh, he talked about you and the others a lot, but he didn't really say anything, if you take my meaning. All I ever did know was that he was supposed to meet you at a place called Younger's Bend. I guess that's here, isn't it?"

  "It is," Belle said. "Go on. Get on down to where you ran into the law."

  "How'd you know it was the law that shot Lonnie?"

  "Hmph. Couldn't have been much else," Belle replied. "I could just about tell your story for you. You got to this place where you stopped--Dequeen?" Susanna nodded, and Belle went on, "Taylor told you he was running short of cash and needed some more, so he went out and came back with a bundle. But there was a posse of some kind chasing him, and you two stayed ahead of them for a while, but they caught up with you. Hell, I know what happened, girl. Am I right?"

  "Almost, but not exactly," Susanna said. "It was in Dequeen that Lonnie began to run short of money. He'd had to buy me a horse and saddle, you see, when I said I'd go with him. I didn't have those, or any of the kind of clothes I'd need for traveling that way. So when he said he was coming up broke, I gave him what cash I had, which wasn't much. It was enough for us to travel on a ways, though. We cut over into the Indian Nation, and came to a little place called Poteau. We really did run out of money there. We had enough to buy some groceries, though, so Lonnie took me to a place he knew about from when he'd been there before, a cave out west from Poteau. He left me there and said he was going to go raise some money. I guess I knew what he meant, but I just didn't let myself think about it."

  "Shit!" Floyd snorted. "Nobody could be that innocent! I think you're stringing us a pack of lies, girl! Now, you tell us exactly what happened, or you'll be in trouble!"

  "I'm telling you exactly what happened!" Susanna insisted. "I don't remember things like what Lonnie said to me or I said to him, but it's all true, what I've said so far!"

  "Let her tell things her own way, Floyd," Longarm told the outlaw. "We can sort it out after we've heard all of it."

  "You keep out of this, Windy!" Floyd shot back. "This ain't your affair!"

  "Both of you roosters keep quiet and let the girl finish!" Belle commanded.

  Longarm patted Susanna's hand. "Go on, tell us what happened next. Tell it just the way it was, though."

  "Ah, right, Windy, I'll do the best I can, but everything that started then was--well, it all happened so fast, I might get mixed up." She frowned, trying to remember where she'd left off, then continued, "I stayed in the cave, let's see--the first night, with Lonnie, then he rode off the next morning and said he'd be gone a day, two days at the most. He didn't come back that night, but he rode up the next morning, real early. He said we had to hurry and get out of there, that they were after him."

  "Who was after him?" Floyd asked.

  "y, the sheriff and his deputies," Susanna replied. "I didn't find that out until later on, though. Not until they caught up with us late that afternoon. We'd been pushing our horses real hard, riding around whatever towns we saw ahead of us. I guess that slowed us down a little bit. Anyhow, they got close to us and started shooting. They killed my horse, the one Lonnie'd just bought for me. And he took me up in front of him. But then we couldn't go as fast, of course. That's when they shot Lonnie."

  Susanna stopped and pressed her hands over her face. Even Floyd stayed quiet until she was able to go on with her story. "It was lucky that Lonnie knew the country better than the posse did. He rode up a little creekbed and over a hill and doubled back and went over two or three more hills, zigzagging all the time. And I didn't see the men who were chasing us again. Lonnie'd been hurt right bad, though. But you know that. So we changed places. I got back of him in the saddle so I could hold him on, and he told me which way to go. He'd told me where we were heading for, right after we shook off the posse. And then I turned in at the place he'd said to look for, and then Windy came up just when the horse was about to give out. And that's really how it all happened."

  "Where was this place that Lon went for money?" Floyd asked.

  Susanna shook her head. "I don't really know, Floyd. Lonnie didn't tell me where he'd been, or what happened. Oh, I knew he'd done something that was against the law. I knew what was in his mind when he set out from the cave, even if he didn't tell me. And when he came back, I was sure. He never did say where he'd been or what he'd done, though."

  "It was likely a stagecoach or a bank job," Belle said thoughtfully. "I know that cave west of Poteau. He could've gone into Poteau, but if he was smart, he'd have gone all the way back to Arkansas. It's not too far, just an hour of hard riding. There are two or three towns there he could've hit, Hartford or Greenwood or Waldon. I don't see that it makes any difference, though. Your job's north of there."

  "We'll find out from Lon when he comes around," Floyd said. "He didn't know too much about what we've been figuring to do. All I said when I sent word to him was to get here to Younger's Bend as fast as he could ride. Told him who he'd be riding with, of course. He'd known Mckee and Steed from earlier. He didn't know Bobby, but that wouldn't have worried him. Lon trusts me."

  "He was on his way here, of course. You'd told him how to find the place, judging from what he told Susanna," Belle said thoughtfully.

  "You remember, though, Belle, he didn't even tell Susanna until he'd been shot, and he knew she'd need to be able to find her way here," Floyd pointed out.

  "Hell, Floyd, I never have made any secret of where Younger's Bend is. There isn't any need to, as long as my treaty with the Cherokees holds good."

  Starr called from inside the house, "Belle! Taylor's coming around!

  He keeps calling for some girl, Sue's her name. Would that be th-"

  Susanna hurried inside, followed by the others. Taylor's eyes were open and he was looking around the room. He saw Susanna and tried to sit up, but lacked the strength. She hurried to the table and took his hand.

  "I guess you got me here in time," he whispered. His voice was weak and raspy in his throat. "I feel pretty good right now."

  "That's fine, Lonnie. You'll be looked after. Everybody's going to help," she said.

  Taylor saw Floyd, who'd come up to the table. "I'll be riding with you on that job, Floyd. Just don't plan on starting it until I feel a little stronger."

  "Don't worry, Lon. I'll wait till you heal up," Floyd assured him.

  Taylor smiled weakly. "That-that's good."

  Floyd saw the whiskey bottle sitting in the chair. He said, "We'll just have a drink on that, by God!" and walked around the table, picked up the bottle, and selected two glasses.

  "I'm sure glad you feel better, Lonnie," Susanna said.

  Taylor looked at her and smiled. He started to say something, but the words that formed in his mouth failed to come out. His throat pulsed convulsively for a moment, then his eyes rolled upward, the pupils going out of sight even though the eyelids remained wide open. His head fell back and his body seemed to shrink a tiny amount as it went limp.

  Susanna stared at
him, realization growing in her eyes. "Oh, God!" she gasped. "I-I think he's dead!"

  CHAPTER 9

  "Dead?" Floyd whirled around, still holding the two shots of whiskey he'd poured. "How in hell could he be? He just said he was feeling a lot better!"

  "I don't know how he could!" Susanna retorted. "He started to say something, then all of a sudden he died! That's all!"

  Longarm came up, took Susanna's arms, and led her away from the table. She was trembling but not crying. He took her outside to the porch and sat her down on the bench. In the house, he heard Floyd say to Belle and Sam, "By God, he's dead, all right."

  "Too bad," Belle said. "Damned if you're not having rough luck, Floyd. Maybe we'd just better call off that job we figured on. Seems to me like there's a jinx on it."

  "No, by God!" Floyd replied angrily. "We're not calling off anything, Belle! I'm holding you to your word! We'll find somebody to fill in for Mckee and Lonnie, even if you and Sam have to take their places."

  "Now that's something to think about," Belle said slowly. "I've dressed like a man before; I don't see why I couldn't do it again. Borrow a pair of Bobby's pants and a shirt, paste on a false horsetail mustache. I guess I could still carry it off." Sam said quietly, "I don't think you could, Belle. You've got pretty big in the ass lately."

  "Well, damn you, Sam!"

  There was the sound of a slap, and Sam came running out the door, clattered across the porch, and disappeared into the barn. Belle came to the door after him.

  "Where'd he go?" she asked Longarm. "No husband of mine is going to make snide remarks about my figure! You think it's all right, don't you, Windy? You don't think my butt's too big?"

  "You look just fine to me, Belle," Longarm said. He thought he might divert her from pursuing the luckless Sam. "Of course, I never did see you before just recently, so I don't know what you used to look like."

  "Well, I haven't changed all that much," Belle snapped. She pulled her skirt tightly around her hips and swayed in front of Longarm. "See?"