Trouble At Nathan's Ford

  Trouble at Nathan’s Ford

  When a planned bank robbery in Drystone City results in the death of the owner’s wife, Cage turns his back on lawlessness and heads home. But when he arrives in the border town of Nathan’s Ford, he has been followed by his nemesis and rides into tragedy. With his family’s ranch burned to the ground, and his parents and brother murdered by Mexican rustlers, Cage – aided by childhood friend Velvet Goodwine and reluctant bank owner Milton Guthrie – sets off in pursuit of the killers.

  A confrontation with the rustlers leads to the unmasking of the man behind the deaths, and a bloody finale, which leaves Cage fighting desperately for his life and the lives of the only friends he has left.

  By the same author

  Brazos Guns

  Midnight Hawk

  Bury Him Deep, in Tombstone

  The Man From the Staked Plains

  Incident at Powder River

  Black Day at Hangdog

  Kid Kantrell

  Starlight

  Billy Sundown

  The Killing at Circle C

  The Last Water-hole

  The Chicanery of Paco Ibañez

  The Hunting of Lope Gamboa

  Outlaw Canyon

  Trouble at Nathan’s Ford

  Jack Sheriff

  ROBERT HALE

  © Jack Sheriff 2013

  First published in Great Britain 2013

  ISBN 978-0-7198-2285-8

  The Crowood Press

  The Stable Block

  Crowood Lane

  Ramsbury

  Marlborough

  Wiltshire SN8 2HR

  www.bhwesterns.com

  This e-book first published in 2017

  Robert Hale is an imprint of The Crowood Press

  The right of Jack Sheriff to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him

  in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  Chapter One

  They broke camp soon after midnight, the ’breed, Ramos, kicking damp earth over the fire’s dying embers, Cage prowling restlessly, gazing through the trees and off to the west, his mind and his nerves grappling with what lay ahead. Last chance, or a new beginning? Who could say? But if things went badly wrong, this time there would be no long prison sentence. Instead there would be the raw smell of fresh-sawn timber, the sound of six-inch nails being hammered into wood to construct the gallows from which long hemp ropes would be hung to stretch both their necks.

  He saw Ramos watching him, dark eyes glinting, teeth white against his swarthy skin as he grinned and, with a surge of anger, Cage sent his cigarette hissing into the damp grass and walked to the horses. A soft whicker greeted him. Metal jingled as the roan turned its head, and leather creaked as Cage swung into the saddle.

  They rode out from under the trees and down to the river in pale moonlight softened by a thin mist floating like smoke across the flat water, then turned their horses to the west and rode without haste along the grassy bank. They were, Cage reckoned, five miles from the one main street of Drystone City, a sprawl of dwellings and business premises on the Texas plains. More to the point, they were a mile closer to the white mansion built by Milton Guthrie, the owner of the Drystone Citizens’ Bank.

  Four miles to Guthrie’s place. A half-hour’s easy ride.

  ‘You want I threaten him with the knife?’ Ramos said. ‘Or what? Put fear into his wife, maybe?’ Again the flash of white teeth as he grinned. ‘She is young, old – or what? You think if I tell him I rape his wife he will give them to us, los llaves, the keys?’

  ‘We want him, and his keys,’ Cage said. ‘The keys open the doors. The safe will have a combination lock. To open that we need Guthrie.’

  ‘Nevertheless,’ Ramos said happily, ‘we must threaten. I anticipate with relish. If he has red blood in his veins, he will fight, there will be violence.’

  ‘Forget it. A man startled out of his sleep in the early hours, dragged out of bed in his nightshirt,’ Cage said, ‘is a pale shadow.’

  ‘You think?’

  ‘I spent two years thinking, in a hot, roach-infested cell in a Texas penitentiary. Realized that what put me there was another man’s folly, my own stupidity: I went along with him when he said there were easy pickings to be had from robbing banks in broad daylight.’

  ‘It has been done, many times.’

  ‘And men have died.’

  ‘So now. . . ?’

  ‘Dead of night. Street deserted. We open the door with keys, walk in the bank like we own the place. The safe’s opened for us. We walk out, very rich.’

  ‘You think?’

  Cage flashed him a look.

  ‘I know.’

  They rode the rest of the way in silence. From time to time Ramos slid the big knife he carried out of its worn leather sheath. The blade glinted in the moonlight. Once he held the knife by clamping the blade between his white teeth, glanced across at Cage. Took it out, with one flick sent it spinning into the air to catch it deftly by the hilt.

  Cage shook his head in disbelief. For the first of his years inside he’d had a skinny lizard for company, staring unblinkingly from the hot stone wall. Ramos had been his cell mate for most of the second year. The ’breed, Cage estimated, was in his late twenties – a few years younger than Cage – and his actions at the best of times suggested he was halfway to loco. Cage had to admit that if Guthrie proved stubborn, a man with the menace that Ramos exuded like a skunk exuded stink could tip the scales their way.

  They came upon the mansion suddenly, riding away from where the river looped, then around a stand of dusty cottonwoods that had been hiding the big house from view. That brought them close to the trail into Drystone City. Guthrie had erected his mansion there, set back fifty feet. The banker had planted trees along one side of the house as a windbreak. The white house stood out in stark contrast to the dark trees. No lights showed in its windows. The night was warm. There was no movement in the air, no breath of wind.

  ‘Maybe he has dogs,’ Ramos said.

  ‘Soon find out,’ Cage said.

  He rode across the trail to the trees. Swung down. Loose-tied the roan to a low branch. Ramos left his horse to graze on the grass, ground-tethered. He strutted towards the picket fence, slim in his flared Mex’ pants, his shirt with its loose sleeves. The knife in its sheath was at his left hip, the hilt jutting. The holster carrying an ancient six-gun was strapped to his right thigh with a rawhide thong.

  He tipped back his fringed black and gold sombrero, glanced at Cage.

  ‘No dogs yapping, waking the dead. But there are stables behind the house. Perhaps they are there, sleeping. You think?’

  ‘Ramos, will you for Christ’s sake quit asking me what I think?’

  The ’breed grinned. ‘What I think is, you are the man with knowledge. I value your opinion. For example, this way of acquiring wealth is muy ingenioso, it—’

  Cage opened the gate and started up the path. In the stillness his boots crunched. He stepped on to the grass, moved silently through the glistening dew. He eyed the windows, the solid oak front door. Guthrie would have the keys to the bank. But first they had to get into the house without – what had Ramos said, waking the dead? But Guthrie wasn’t dead, just sleeping. Though, before the night was over. . . .

  Ramos went past him with a whisper of sound. The ’breed pivoted, a matador playing the bull, stepped gracefully up to the front door and tried the handle. The door swung open on oiled hinges.

  ‘The bedrooms,’ Ramos said softly. ‘Upstairs, and at the front of the house – you think?’

  Cage grunted. He stepped into a hallway, clicked the door shut. For a moment he leant back against the warm panels. He could feel his Colt hanging heavy against his thigh. It was a comforting presence, but one he had no intention of using. Unless . . . unless. . . .

  The stairs were directly ahead, wide, carpeted. Ramos was already halfway up, light on his feet, a dark ghost in the gloom. Then there was movement at his hip, a faint swish and the flash of steel. Cage knew the ’breed had drawn his knife.

  ‘No,’ he said softly.

  He caught up with the man, grasped his arm, held him still.

  Listened.

  To a man snoring.

  Ramos lifted a hand and pointed left, turned his head. The sombrero’s fringes danced, the looped neck cord swung one way, then back, and again Cage thought of hemp, of rope. He released the ’breed’s arm, nodded, yes, that way. They crept along the landing, flat against the wall. The snoring was coming from behind the first door. It was ajar. Ramos shrugged, pushed it open and slipped inside.

  Behind him, Cage saw the big four-poster bed, the white frilled drapes held back by cords, the man and woman lying asleep beneath rumpled covers, a brightly coloured patchwork quilt. The man was closest to them. He was lying on his back, his mouth open.

  Cage pointed to the woman. Her hair was dark, spread across the plump pillow. Ramos grinned, went around the bed.

  The snoring broke off with a strangled sound as Cage slapped a hand on the man’s shoulder. His eyes started open. He blinked, then came fully awake with a jerk and his head shot around as he stared at Cage.

  ‘Time to get up, Guthrie,’ Cage said. ‘A couple of your valued customers want to make a large withdrawal.’

  The banker tried to clear his throat, choked, struggled to rise.

  ‘What the . . . what the. . . ?’

  Cage tightened his grip, took hold of a handful of hair
and jerked the man out from under the covers. He hit the floor on his naked backside. His teeth clicked. He moaned softly.

  Cage used both hands to yank him to his feet by the front of his nightshirt, slammed him back against one of the bed’s uprights.

  ‘When I let go, put your pants on. Tuck the shirt in. Put on a pair of boots. Then get the keys to the bank.’

  ‘That’s not possible.’

  Cage hit him. His fist travelled six inches. He split the banker’s lip. Guthrie’s head cracked against the timber. From the other side of the bed there came a soft sound, swiftly stifled. When Cage glanced across, the woman was staring at her husband. Ramos had his hand clamped across her mouth. The big knife’s blade was pressed to the soft flesh of her throat.

  ‘The keys are held by the town marshal,’ Guthrie croaked wetly. Blood was trickling down his chin, staining the white shirt. ‘You see, we find that’s the safest—’

  ‘I don’t believe you.’

  ‘But it’s true, we always anticipated—’

  ‘I don’t believe you, but I might believe your wife.’

  ‘My wife?’

  ‘My friend with the knife is going to ask her if you are telling the truth.’

  ‘No.’ Despite the knife held against her throat, Guthrie’s wife shook her head violently. That one word, muffled by Ramos’s hand, was clear in its meaning.

  ‘Let her speak,’ Cage said.

  Ramos removed his hand. His dark eyes shone in the gloom. The knife’s blade remained at the woman’s throat, the razor-sharp edge drawing a tiny bead of blood.

  She said, ‘Milt, don’t be a fool, give them the keys.’

  ‘You know I can’t do that.’

  ‘Then I’m going to die, but of course you’d like that, wouldn’t you?’

  Guthrie actually sneered. ‘Surely it’s the other way round—’

  ‘I don’t know what we’ve walked into here,’ Cage said to the woman, ‘but that’s not what we’d like. We want those keys, but on their own they’re not enough. He has to ride with us into town.’

  ‘Then that’s what he’ll do,’ she said, and suddenly there was something different in the woman’s voice; a scathing, waspish tone to it when she spoke to her husband. ‘You hear me, Milt Guthrie. You do as you’re damn well told. Put on your pants, if you can find them and they still fit, then go downstairs and get those keys.’

  Across the four-poster bed, the banker’s eyes met those of his wife. A silent message passed between them. What Cage saw was a burning hatred. It seemed mutual. At the same time, Milt Guthrie visibly relaxed, and slowly nodded his head as if a decision had been reached.

  ‘Yes,’ Guthrie said. ‘All right, I’ll do that. At least, that way. . . .’

  He was a big man, dark haired, perhaps in his forties. Cage stood back and watched for the few moments it took Guthrie to dress. Then, clearly understanding that the keys were but a part of it and for the rest they needed him alive, Guthrie led the way out of the room and down the stairs.

  ‘Wait here,’ he said, heading for the rear of the house.

  ‘If you come back with a gun,’ Cage said, ‘your wife will be the first to die.’

  The threat was treated with an amused stare. Then the banker was gone. Within seconds he was back, a big bunch of keys jingling in his hand. He brushed past Cage, grabbed his hat from a peg and strode out of the house.

  ‘I’ll saddle up,’ he said, and was gone, making for the stables.

  There was no sign of the ’breed.

  ‘Ramos,’ Cage called, ‘we’re done here, let’s move out.’

  Without waiting for a reply he walked easily down the path. He was in the saddle and waiting when Guthrie rode around the side of the house on a fine palomino. He joined Cage. Both of them looked back at the house.

  ‘Where is he, your . . . friend?’

  Guthrie said nothing.

  The front door was wide open. There was no movement in the shadowy interior.

  Guthrie said softly, ‘It would be in my wife’s character to say something to him, something that might enrage—’

  And then whatever he was about to say was cut short as Ramos came jogging out of the house holding aloft a bottle of amber liquid.

  ‘He found your liquor store,’ Cage said, almost sagging in the saddle so intense was his relief.

  ‘Then let’s get this over with,’ Milton Guthrie said, and he spat blood into the dust before turning the big palomino and spurring away from them.

  Chapter Two

  Drystone City consisted of one wide main street that curved to the right as it followed the land’s gently undulating contours. The tall false-fronted buildings – unlit, coated in the dust of ages – gave the impression that the three men were riding into an isolated, deserted ghost town. That feeling was dispelled as they drew nearer, rode in. Several lanterns hung from rusting iron brackets, casting a glow over the warped boards of the plankwalks. Some way ahead of them, where the street curved, a light shone in the window of a single-storey building built from local sandstone.

  ‘Someone’s up late,’ Cage said. And he cast a glance to his left and drew rein.

  ‘Or early,’ Ramos said. The half-empty bottle clinked against his teeth.

  ‘Dave Eyke’s marriage is on the rocks,’ Guthrie said, folding his hands on the saddle horn.

  Cage squinted down the street. ‘That where he lives?’

  ‘Where he works.’

  ‘So if that’s his office, where does he sleep?’

  ‘If he manages any sleep at all,’ Guthrie said, ‘it’ll be in one of the empty cells.’ He caught Cage’s swift look, and said, ‘Dave Eyke’s the town marshal. That’s the jail you’re looking at.’

  ‘Jail is of no importance,’ Ramos said grandly. ‘Your bank, however, is muy importante and, as such, I estimate it will be a tall building, a very fine establishment.’ He looked at Cage, and grinned. ‘You think?’

  ‘I think it’ll be the building over there, the one bearing the name Drystone Citizen’s Bank,’ Cage said, dismounting.

  Guthrie slid from the saddle.

  ‘You need these,’ he said, and he tossed the bunch of keys to Cage.

  ‘We need you,’ Cage said, ‘to open the safe.’

  ‘I intend to do as little as possible to help. You are about to rob me and the ranchers and other businessmen who entrust me with their money. You want to go in, open the doors yourself.’

  Why not? Cage thought. He’d spent most of his adult life drifting, the last two years in jail. Yet here he was, standing in front of a bank, the keys in his hand.

  He shook his head in disbelief, walked past the hitch rail to the big building with its double doors, high, secured windows. Looks like a jail itself, he thought, and was vaguely aware of the sound of the horses as the two men followed him.

  Then he was at the door, jingling the keys, looking for the right one.

  But, right away, he could see that there was no right one. No key on the ring was even close to being large enough to fit into the big keyhole without rattling around like a dry stone in a tin can.

  He swung around.

  Guthrie was standing by the hitch rail. Ramos was still on his horse, the empty whiskey bottle dangling from his hand.

  ‘They’re my house keys,’ Guthrie said. ‘I told you, but you wouldn’t believe me: I leave the bank’s keys with Dave Eyke, he locks them in his safe.’

  ‘And, if it is of any importance,’ Ramos said, tossing the bottle in the general direction of the alley separating the bank from the next block, ‘there is a man now walking up the street from the jail. He has seen Guthrie. No doubt he will be bringing the keys to allow the man to enter his place of business. You think?’

  ‘At three in the morning?’ Cage said. ‘Think again, Ramos.’

  ‘If it is trouble, that is no problem. I am friendly with trouble, trouble is my constant companion—’

  ‘You got a problem up there, Milt?’

  Cage couldn’t hold back a broad grin.

  ‘You should ask my friend, not Guthrie,’ he called to the approaching lawman. ‘He has a wonderful way with words.’

  ‘I’ll ask you instead: what the hell’s going on?’