Three
The town of Rio Duelo occupied both sides of a small river in a helter-skelter arrangement of buildings that ranged from solid adobe and rickety frame to a few faded, patched tents. It had a look of desolate desperation, not unlike a mangy old coyote worried into a corner by baying dogs. Its very appearance announced a dearth of hope or optimism in the future. The place might have started out with high expectations and confidence, but all that had been whisked away long before by bad luck and missed opportunities.
Morgan and Anna Lee had come to Rio Duelo because the trail of the cattle had once again come to a stop. And, as before, there were signs that several horses had galloped off to other parts. Following those hoof prints led Morgan Barlow and Anna Lee Pickett to the dying settlement. It was impossible to tell if everyone who’d left the herd had returned, so Morgan decided to investigate to see if one or more of the rustlers had stayed in the town. If they had, Anna Lee was sure to spot them.
Morgan’s idea of a shoot-out was changed with the idea that finding one or more of the wandering outlaws would give him a chance to question them on the exact destination of the herd. Knowing where they were headed would cut down some of the tracking time.
Anna Lee gazed at the hamlet that lay before them. Even in the haze of dancing heat, its homeliness showed through. “Now if that ain’t a den of evil, I’ve never seen one,” she said.
“How many have you seen, Anna Lee?” Morgan asked displaying a slight grin.
“Just ’cause a body sees something for the first time don’t mean they don’t know what they’re looking at,” Anna Lee said. “That place’d look awful to a three-year-old child.” She frowned at him. “You take ever’thing so literal! “
“I’m a practical man and believe in talking short and to the point,” Morgan retorted. “Now you just wait here while I ride on into that—that den of evil for a look-see.”
“Don’t you go in there and get drunk, hear?”
“What makes you think I’m gonna do that?” Morgan asked. He shrugged. “I might have a drink while I’m looking around.” He paused. “If it’s alright with you, that is.”
“It ain’t alright with me,” Anna Lee said. “You stay away from drinking altogether and don’t go dallying with no painted ladies.”
“Good God Almighty!” Morgan exclaimed. “Now what do you know about painted ladies?”
“We lived in a town afore we went out to that dirt farm,” Anna Lee said. “I seen things and had ’em explained to me when I was of a mind to ask about ’em.”
“You speak plain, girl, and so will I,” Morgan said. “I didn’t have no plans on getting drunk or keeping some quick company with a saloon gal. But let me tell you something. You ain’t ramrodding this here little outfit of ours.”
“We’re sharing the load,” Anna Lee said.
Morgan continued. “I ain’t married to you and I ain’t intended toward you. So don’t nag me.”
“Unchristianlike behavior will doom even the noblest of causes,” Anna Lee said.
“What?”
“You heard me,” she said.
“Now where’d you pick up fancy speech like that?”
“I’ve been to church,” Anna Lee said.
“Anyhow, you wait here.”
“I won’t,” the girl said.
“You will,” Morgan insisted. “If I see anybody that looks suspicious, I’ll see you get a chance to look at him.”
“That’s a waste of time and you know it,” Anna Lee argued. “You might miss one anyhow. I can take a look for ’em when we go in there.” She paused. “Or are you planning on marching ever’ fellow in town out here so’s I can take a gander at him?”
“You won’t mind going into them saloons, will you?” Morgan asked. “You keep reminding me that you’re a Texas lady.”
“And I am that,” Anna Lee said. “But there’s a job to be done. Now do we stay here talking ’til the world comes to an end, or are we going into that town?”
“It’s named Rio Duelo, in case you might be interested,” Morgan said.
“You’ve been here before?”
“Yeah. But I don’t remember much about it. C’mon. Like you said, there’s a job to be done,” Morgan said.
They rode into Rio Duelo finding it even worse than it had appeared from a distance. Most of the buildings were in need of repair, and no one had ever bothered to clean the horse droppings from in front of the buildings. A couple of abandoned outhouses had been tipped over, and the roofs on three buildings had collapsed into the interiors. Several of the men on the street looked as forlorn and useless as the town.
“This place smells worser than a barnyard!” Anna Lee said in a loud, disapproving tone.
“Why don’t you just let ever’body know you think their town stinks?” Morgan remarked under his breath. “This ain’t a game. Keep your voice down. In a situation like this, we don’t want to attract no more attention than is necessary. Particularly if what’s said makes somebody mad.”
Anna Lee knew Morgan was right. She also realized he was much more experienced in these sorts of situations. The girl decided to follow Morgan’s lead in whatever he did. She quieted down and kept her eyes open to see if she could spot any of the rustlers.
“We might as well start right here,” Morgan said coming to a halt in front of the first saloon.
They dismounted and, after tying their horses to the hitching rail, went inside carrying their long guns. The interior, with its dirt floor, was dark, dank, and smelled even fouler than the street outside. A drunk inside got to his feet and staggered off to one side of the room to urinate against the wall.
“See anybody familiar?” Morgan asked Anna Lee. He was embarrassed by the man’s action.
The girl, who was familiar with the way the male sex relieved themselves, didn’t pay much mind to the drunk. She just looked around. “No. Let’s get outta here.”
The bartender, standing behind some crates he used as a bar, hollered, “Hey! You fellers want a drink?”
“No, thanks. We’re just looking for somebody,” Morgan said.
Anna Lee was incensed. “Hey, mister, I ain’t—”
Morgan grabbed her and hauled the girl outside.
“Let me explain something to you, Texas Lady. It’ll be real smart if you don’t let on you’re a girl when they don’t think you’re one.”
“If you say so,” Anna Lee said.
“I do. Let’s get to the next place.” He grinned in spite of himself. “I told you that you’d be a sight prettier in a dress anyhow.”
“It’s for sure I can’t wear one now, can I?” Anna Lee said testily.
“I’ll allow you that, Texas Lady,” Morgan said. “You just watch yourself now.
They walked their horses down a couple of more buildings and once more took advantage of a hitching rail. As before, they found a foul-smelling place, but this time Morgan bellied up to the bar. He pulled Anna Lee with him.
The barkeep, a greasy individual with droopy eyelids, asked, “What’s your pleasure, mister?”
“Whiskey,” Morgan answered. “Nothing for my li’l brother here.”
“Yeah,” the bartender said pouring out a shot in a tin cup. “He don’t look like he could stand anything too strong.” He glanced back at Morgan. “Pay up before you drink up.”
“Sure,” Morgan said shoving a coin forward.
Anna Lee lowered her voice a couple of octaves. “Gimme a whiskey too.”
“Your big brother said you couldn’t have none,” the man said.
“Go on then, if he wants one, let him enjoy hisself,” Morgan said. He paid again.
Anna Lee was served. She picked up the cup and took a deep swallow. Her eyes opened wide and watered as she gasped. After a moment she spoke in a hoarse whisper, “That was mighty good.”
“It was?” the barkeep asked. “Want another?”
“Nope,” Anna Lee answered. “I reckon that’ll keep me for awhile.”
Morgan knocked his drink off and shoved the cup forward for more. “This is the first time I been through here for quite a spell. It appears like ol’ Rio Duelo is fading away,” he remarked.
“Sure is,” the barkeep said. “As soon as I sell all the likker I got in this place, I’m pulling stakes myself.” He waited for another coin before pouring.
“Not too many folks pass through no more, do they?” Morgan remarked.
“Nope. A coupla days ago about a half dozen showed up,” the barkeep said. “They got drunk and poked a coupla o’ the gals down to the El Dorado.” He laughed. “To tell you the truth, them bawds’d have to pay me to upstairs with ’em. But I reckon them boys had been away from women for a long while.”
“Any of them boys still around?” Morgan asked.
The barkeep shrugged. “I don’t know. If they are, they’re down to the El Dorado. It’s on the end o’ the street here.”
Morgan downed his drink. “Much obliged.” He grabbed Anna Lee by the arm and hauled her toward the door.
When they got outside, she wrestled free, shifting her Henry rifle to her left hand while she wiped her mouth with the right. “That whiskey was horrible!”
“Any time a bartender insists on getting his money before you taste his wares means he’s got nothing but rotgut,” Morgan said. “And that son of a bitch is down to the bottom of even that particular barrel.”
They walked their horses down to a place that had the words EL DORADO painted on a plank that was nailed over the door. They went inside. The El Dorado seemed to be the most popular place in Rio Duelo.
There were several drinkers sitting around and even three card players at a table.
Anna Lee raised the Henry and squeezed the trigger. The bullet smashed into the head of one of the gamblers, knocking him out of his chair like he’d been kicked by a mule.
“He’s one of ’em,” she announced.
The other two men at the table immediately returned fire, their faces showing expressions of fear mixed with anger. The reports of their pistols created a deafening noise in the barroom.
The other customers hit the floor in shocked surprise at the unexpected explosion of gunfire.
“Goddamn it!” Morgan bellowed in shocked rage as he made an awkward shot with the Colt rifle. The ball plowed into the far wall as he backtracked. Anna Lee moved with him, working the lever on the Henry. She fired again, but missed.
Now the pistoleros took more careful aim. Bullets cut the air around Morgan and Anna Lee as they went back out the door. “Follow me!” he yelled and raced around the side of the building. Then he stopped. “Watch that way,” he said breathlessly pointing to the front of the El Dorado. He took up vigilance in the opposite direction.
Now there was silence except for some confused shouting in the town. Anna Lee was angry. “We left our horses out in front.”
“Well, we couldn’t just hop on ’em, could we?” Morgan said angrily. “They might’ve had more friends out in the street or they could’ve rushed out and gunned us down when—”
A man appeared around the back and Morgan fired. The bullet struck the fellow’s shoulder spinning him completely around before dumping him into the dirt.
Anna Lee once more shot the Henry. Her target was the other gunman coming around the front of the saloon. Her bullet also hit true, staggering the man backward until he went down. He rolled over and got on his hands and knees, his face a pale mask of shock. He tried to raise his pistol, but Morgan used his own to end that last effort. Satisfied the man was dead, the ex-Confederate walked over to the first man he’d shot and found that he’d bled to death quickly with a large chunk of his shoulder blown away.
“Well,” Morgan said, keeping a wary eye open. “That’s three of ’em.”
Anna Lee shook her head. “Nope. These last two wasn’t in the gang. The one I shot was.”
“Oh, God!” Morgan moaned. “Let’s get to the horses.”
They went to the front of the saloon. A crowd had begun to gather but no one made any overt moves one way or the other. The affair had been so quick and unexpected, they didn’t know what to make of it.
Anna Lee looked at Morgan. “Well? Now what?”
“Ride out first, I’ll follow,” Morgan said as they both got into their saddles. He spoke loud to the townspeople. “We settled a personal argument. A fair fight.”
A voice from the crowd hollered out, “There ain’t no law here, so it don’t matter.”
“Well, the first one o’ you that looks even a trifle unfriendly, gets it,” Morgan warned them. “Now clear back.” He rode rapidly away, going after Anna Lee. When he reached her, he called out, “Let’s ride!”
The two galloped out of Rio Duelo, heading into the open prairie as fast as their horses could carry them. A few glances back showed they weren’t being followed. They slowed down and Morgan said nothing as they rode back to where the herd had been held. He didn’t speak again until they were back following the trail south.
Finally, Morgan looked at her and shouted, “What the hell is the matter with you, girl?”
“What are you riled about?” she asked.
Morgan was so mad he couldn’t speak for another few moments. Finally he said, “You don’t just haul off and shoot somebody without letting me know what you’re gonna do.”
“He was one of the rustlers,” Anna Lee said. “I seen him real good when they was at our farm. Fact is, I’m sure he’s the one that killed my uncle.”
“Whether he was or not don’t mean nothing,” Morgan said. “You should’ve pointed him out to me and we could have decided what to do.”
“We’re gonna kill them sons of bitches, ain’t we?” Anna Lee asked.
“I’d like a chance to ask one or more of ’em some questions when we catch ’em split up like that,” Morgan said. “You can’t find out nothing from a dead man.”
“Oh, stop your complaining and let’s get on with the job,” Anna Lee said. She spurred her horse and got a ways ahead.
Morgan watched her, shaking his head. “Missy, you’re the goddamndest critter I’ve ever run across.”
“Hey!” she hollered back. “I’m a Texas lady, Morgan Barlow. And don’t you forget it!”
“Some lady,” he muttered to himself. “Shoot a card-playing man right out of his chair. Oh, yeah. That’s ladylike alright.” He spurred his horse to catch up with the girl.