CHAPTER 8
By the time the train pulled into Helena two days later, Mackey, Billy, and Josh were well rested and ready for the second leg of their journey.
But James Grant and Al Brenner had not weathered the journey well. Both men had been fed hardtack and powdered milk that Billy had brought along for them, while they watched the lawmen eat three meals a day from silver trays the porters brought them at station stops.
At each stop, when the lawmen mucked out the stalls and laid down fresh hay, the men were doused with two buckets of water to keep the stench of their own mess down to a manageable foulness. Refusing to allow them to relieve themselves with dignity was part of Mackey’s plan to keep them humble. The terror of Adair trampling them to death had served to keep them quiet.
When Grant gave Billy a hateful glare, the deputy said, “Don’t worry. You’ll be in hell in a week, and this will seem like paradise.”
They had just doused the prisoners with two more buckets of water when someone pounded three times on the stock car door.
“Inside the car,” came a booming voice from outside. “This is Marshal Sean Lynch. We’re here to escort you and the prisoners to the courthouse.”
“Is that so?” Mackey yelled back, waiting for the password he had telegraphed Lynch the day before they had left Dover Station.
“Oh, yeah. I almost forgot.” Lynch cleared his throat and yelled, “Mr. Rice sends his regards.”
Mackey threw open the latch and Josh helped Billy slide the door open.
The man he took for Lynch was of medium height, but barnyard strong. It was clear he was bald beneath the black Plainsman he wore and sported a full reddish moustache. The Winchester he held on his hip glinted in the sunlight and appeared to be kept in fine working order. Mackey began to feel better already.
The deputy U.S. Marshal did not waste time with pleasantries. “We’ve got a wagon right here at the back of the train to take the prisoners to the courthouse.”
Mackey was glad to hear it. “Come take them, then.”
Two of his men boarded the car, grabbed Brenner and Grant by the arms and crab-walked them off the car. It took a few steps for one of them to gag, then the other.
By then, Lynch had caught wind of them, too. “God in heaven, those boys are ripe. What happened to them?”
“Spent the whole ride in the stall with my horse. Didn’t let them use the privy, either. Didn’t want to take any chances after what happened at the station before we left.”
Lynch gagged as he stepped back from the car and motioned for his men to get the prisoners loaded up. “Make sure you boys stay upwind from them on the wagon. Have Harry put the strap to them mules. Air those men out a bit before we bring them inside.”
Mackey stepped out on to the platform and saw an even bigger crowd had formed here in Helena than in Dover Station. He did not look for Katherine or Pappy because he had already wired ahead and told them to wait for him at the Hotel Helena where they were staying. He did not want them caught up in any action that might pop off during Grant and Brenner’s arrival.
Unlike the chaos at Dover Station, Lynch’s men were doing a good job of keeping them penned in a good distance away from the stock car. “Looks like you have things well in hand here, Lynch.”
Lynch cleared his throat of the stench and spat on the platform. “That supposed to be a compliment?”
Mackey did not like his tone. “It was, but it doesn’t have to be, Deputy.”
Lynch wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Once we get these prisoners settled, you and me are going to have ourselves a talk, Mackey. About how you treated these prisoners and about a lot of other things, too.”
Billy quietly stepped between them, forcing Lynch to take a couple of steps back. “You will mind that tone when talking to the marshal, son. You’re a deputy, same as me.”
“I ain’t your son.” Lynch sneered as he looked Billy up and down. “You must be Billy Sunday. Inside of that car is dark. Guess I didn’t see you coming.”
Billy took a step closer. This time, Lynch didn’t back off. “Didn’t hear me coming, either. You’ll have a harder time seeing me after I lay you out on that platform.”
Before Mackey could intervene, Joshua led Adair out of the car, already saddled. The black Arabian’s coat shined in the morning sun.
“Here you go, boss.” Josh handed the reins to Mackey. “Figured you’d be anxious to ride behind the prisoners.” He clearly sensed the tension in the air and nudged Billy. “Anxious. That’s another one of those fancy words I learned on the ride down here.”
Then Josh Sandborne smiled at Lynch, who was still scowling at Billy. “Did I hear right that you’re Marshal Sean Lynch? Out of Butte? The man who brought in Ed Kurtz alive?”
Lynch glanced at the young man. “Barely alive.”
“I’ve read all about you, sir,” Joshua gushed. “As much as I could read, anyway, on account of that I’m just learning how.” He held out his hand to Lynch. “I’d be honored to shake your hand.”
“Pleasure.” Lynch begrudgingly shook young Sandborne’s hand but kept glaring at Billy. “Nice to see someone in this outfit has sense enough to know their betters.”
Mackey climbed into the saddle and brought Adair around. “You bring your own mount, Lynch, or did you ride the wagon?”
Lynch looked almost insulted. “I ride on my own everywhere I go.”
“So do I,” Mackey said. “Let’s get you mounted and have that talk you mentioned. No sense in putting it off for later when we can settle it right now.”
Lynch gave Billy a final glare as he went off to get his horse. “Suits me fine.”
Billy went to go back inside to get his own roan, but Mackey angled Adair to block him. “I’d appreciate it if you’d head over to the hotel and check on Katherine and Pappy for me.”
The deputy watched Lynch walk away. “Don’t worry, Aaron. I won’t kill him. Yet.”
“Let’s hope you won’t have to do it at all,” Mackey said. “We’re going to need all the friends we’ve got. But after everything that’s happened, I’d feel a whole lot better if you looked in on Katherine and Pappy for me.” Billy looked at the platform and toed it with his boot. “You working me, Aaron?”
“Lynch is just marking his territory,” Mackey told him. “It’s my job to handle him, not yours. Besides, knowing Katherine and Pappy are safe is more important than watching you and Lynch circle each other.”
Whatever anger Billy had been holding onto seemed to evaporate as he patted Adair’s flank. “In that case, it’ll be my pleasure.”
Mackey slapped him on the shoulder and set Adair moving. To Joshua, he said, “That was a sound tactical maneuver back there, Deputy. I’m impressed.”
Mackey could almost feel the young man blush as Mackey rode away. Youth was not often good for much, but in this instance, he had put it to good use. He heard young Sandborne ask Billy, “Say, what’s an ‘ego’?”
* * *
As Mackey rode alongside Lynch behind the prison wagon, the marshal liked how Lynch did things. The prisoners were guarded by four men with rifles. Every rooftop had at least one rifleman looking down at the street and, Mackey imagined, at all the windows, too.
“Fine setup, Lynch,” Mackey complimented him. “I’m impressed.”
“Thanks.”
Mackey realized the deputy would be a tougher nut to crack than he had thought. “What street are we riding on now?”
“Broadway. The big brown building up ahead is the courthouse. The smaller white building across from it is the jail. A tunnel underneath links the two. We’ll be keeping the prisoners there until trial.”
He decided to try to soften up Lynch a bit with small talk. “Where are you from, Lynch?”
“Iowa. Place called Ames.”
“I served with some good men from Iowa when I was in the cavalry. You in the army, Lynch?”
“Nope. Always been a lawman. My daddy was the town marshal back home. All my family were lawmen. My grandma even filled in as one once when my granddad came down with the fever.”
“Sounds like tin runs in your blood. How’d you wind up in Montana?”
“On a horse.”
Mackey shook his head. This was going to be harder than he thought. “You don’t like me too much, do you, Lynch?”
“Let’s get one thing straight right now,” Lynch said. “I’m not a kid like that Sandborne boy back there. I know how to transport a prisoner and I know how to jail one, and I’ve gone up against more killers than you ever will, so you can stick your compliments where you’re sitting. And I don’t buy into that whole ‘Hero of Adobe Flats’ or ‘Savior of Dover Station’ business, either. Dover Station’s a shitheel burg in the middle of nowhere, and you’re not half the lawman I am. You’ve made your name shooting Indians and buffaloing drunk saddle tramps. You’ve only got this job because the papers think you’re pretty, and you’ve got some rich friends back east who like you.”
Mackey could see Lynch was in the mood to do more than just mark his territory. “Been waiting a long time to say that, haven’t you?”
“Damned right I have,” Lynch shot back. “Six whole months. Wouldn’t have had to say it at all if you’d been here where you belong instead of hanging your hat in that hellhole you call home. You’re responsible for an entire territory now, not just carrying out some vendetta you’ve got against one man.” He pointed at the marshal star on Mackey’s duster. “That star is supposed to mean more than that.”
“And you don’t think I know that?”
“Don’t seem to,” Lynch told him. “You should’ve come here to Helena as soon as you got your appointment instead of waiting for the right time to nab Grant on personal business. Your job is here, and I’ve been doing it for you for almost half a year.”
Mackey was trying to keep hold of his temper, but Lynch was making it awfully difficult. “I’ve been reading your reports and sending you orders, Lynch. You’ve been getting my telegrams and my orders by post. Me being in Dover Station hasn’t hurt this office one bit.”
“A man’s got to be at his job in order to do his job,” Lynch said, “especially one like this. Can’t do it by post or telegram. It’s about time you learn that.”
“Sounds like you think you should be wearing this star instead of me.”
“Then I guess I’m not making myself clear enough, because that’s exactly what I think. I don’t care if you don’t like it, either. I was lined up for that job until your Mr. Rice stepped in and took it from me. I lost out on something I’d waited ten years to get because of politics. Lousy politics.”
Mackey may not have liked the tone, but he was glad everything was finally out in the open. “If you’ve been doing this job for ten years, Lynch, then you know most of law work is nothing but politics. Mr. Rice may have talked to some people on my behalf, but the man who decided to put me in this job is the president of the United States. He could’ve made me a deputy marshal under you, but he didn’t. A wise man would realize that says something about me.” He looked at Lynch. “Says something about you, too.”
Lynch pulled up his horse short.
Mackey brought Adair around in a half circle so he could face him.
Lynch’s left eye twitched. “I’ll be damned if I’ll have my ability questioned by some hick with a name.”
“And it sounds to me like you need to grow up. You’re doing a hell of a job, Lynch. I mean that. My compliments might not hold much water with you, but you’ve got them anyway. You’ve kept my family safe for weeks, and for that, I’m personally grateful.”
“You’ve got no call to thank me for that,” Lynch said. “I’d have done that for anyone.”
“But you did it for me, and I owe you. I’ve got plenty of faults, but ingratitude isn’t one of them.”
Lynch looked away.
Mackey didn’t want to hold the point any longer and took a moment to look back at the prison wagon. It had stopped in front of a squat, white granite building with a turret that Mackey knew was the famous jail he had heard so much about. It looked like drawings he had seen of medieval dungeons and knew Grant and Brenner would not be enjoying their stay there.
He saw Lynch’s men had pulled the prisoners off the wagon, and ten riflemen walked them in through a side door. They were well trained and put Chief Edison’s men to shame.
The courthouse was directly across the street and resembled more of a church. The brown stonework and ornate cornices reminded Mackey of some of the town houses he had seen long ago when he had been assigned to a general’s staff in Boston and New York. A massive clock tower rose high into the clear blue sky, and he could see it was now half-past ten in the morning.
It was too pretty a morning for such an ugly conversation, but it was a conversation that needed to be had.
Lynch surprised him by saying, “I won’t work for you, Mackey. I resign my commission as of today.”
“And I reject your resignation.”
Lynch’s eyes narrowed. “After everything I’ve just said?”
“You just aired six months of resentment,” Mackey told him. “You’re disappointed and angry, and you’ve got a right to be bitter about it. You don’t respect me—yet—but I learned a long time ago respect has to be earned if it’s going to mean anything. I would’ve thought ill of you if you weren’t at least a bit sore about what happened and how it happened. You’ve done a fine job here, and I want you to keep on doing it. Not for me, but for this territory.”
Mackey looked around at the bustling town. “Statehood’s coming, and it’s coming soon. A lot of people think that’ll make our lives easier out here, but it won’t. If anything, it’ll make it harder, at least for a while. I’m going to need good men to help me keep order when things change. Good men like you. That’s why I’m refusing your resignation. And it’s why I think you’re man enough to at least give me the chance to earn your respect.”
Mackey held out his hand to Lynch. “Are you with me? Are you with Montana?”
Lynch looked at the hand for a long while before he shook it. “I’ll give you a month, Marshal. One month and then we’ll see.”
“A month’s more than I’ll need.”
The two men resumed their ride to the courthouse together.
Lynch said, “Judge Forester is anxious to see you. Said he wants to see you in his chambers after you get the prisoners settled. I wouldn’t expect him to be friendly, though. He likes you even less than I do.”
“He’s a judge,” Mackey said. “That’s his right.”
“Since it looks like I’ll be sticking around for a while,” Lynch said, “what’s your first order, Marshal?”
“My first order is for you to keep doing the excellent job you’ve been doing, Lynch. If Judge Forester is the kind of man I’ve heard about, I’m sure he’ll agree.”
“And your second order?” Lynch asked.
“Loyalty,” Mackey said without looking at him. “Absolute loyalty. If you’ve got a question, ask it. If you’ve got a better way of doing something, suggest it, but the decision is ultimately mine and mine alone. You can take credit for the good and blame me for the bad. I don’t care either way.”
He saw Lynch stiffen in the saddle. “Anything else.”
“Just one thing. Everything you just said to me and about me stays out here. But if you ever talk to me like that again or run me down to anyone behind my back, especially to the men, I’ll beat you to death. Wherever you are, no matter how many men you have with you, I’ll leave you where I find you. Is that clear, Deputy?”
Lynch smiled. “It’s clear you’ll try.”
“I don’t try, mister. I do.” He heeled Adair into a trot toward the courthouse.
Lynch followed.