The Trailsman #294

The three men made more noise than the grizzly had, so Fargo was expecting them to emerge from the alley. He just wasn’t expecting them to attack him.

The first man to reach him had a knife in his right hand, holding it low, with the point up, as if he knew what he was doing.

When the man made an upward jab, Fargo slipped to the side and grabbed the man’s wrist, twisting it and bringing the arm up behind the man’s back.

There was a sharp crack, followed by a scream, and the knife fell from the man’s fingers. Fargo put his foot on the man’s rear, gave a hard shove, and sent him sprawling in the dust of the street.

The other two men hesitated when they saw what had happened to their friend, but not for long. After all, there were two of them and only one of him.

Together they lunged at Fargo, who kicked one in the knee and slammed the other on the side of the head with his cupped hand. The first man dropped like a stone, and Fargo grabbed the other’s ear and tried to tear it off.

It didn’t quite detach, so Fargo slung the man away from him. He staggered sideways, holding both hands to his ear, his eyes squeezed shut in pain.

The kicked man was trying to get up, so Fargo kicked him again, in the ribs this time, and sent him flipping over onto his back.

He and the one with the bad knee stayed down, but the third man came at Fargo again. His mouth was open as if he were screaming, but no sound came out. Fargo saw that his ear was hanging at an odd angle and decided to tear it the rest of the way off.

But the man ducked down and tried to ram Fargo in the stomach with the top of his head. Fargo grabbed the man’s shoulders and ran backward a few steps before dropping down on his back, planting his foot in the man’s groin, and giving a good hard shove.

Fargo released his grip on his attacker’s shoulders, and the man flipped ass over elbows, landing hard on his back in the street.

Fargo got to his feet and drew his pistol in case any of the three were ready for more, but none of the men moved. They stayed where they were, watching the Trailsman warily.

“What I’d like to know,” he said, “is why you three decided to jump me.”

Nobody answered. It was so quiet in the street that Fargo could hear the men’s heavy breathing.

“Maybe you just didn’t like my looks,” he said. “Or maybe you thought I had a little money you could steal. Is that what it was?”

The man whose knee Fargo had kicked said, “Yeah. That’s it. Money. We thought you’d be easy pickings, being all by yourself. We were wrong. Big mistake. We’re sorry we tried it, but no hard feelings. You go your way, we go ours.”

Fargo grinned. “That sounds mighty good. I don’t see but one problem with it.”

No one asked what the problem was. The men looked at him expectantly.

“The problem is,” Fargo said, “I don’t believe you.”

The men remained silent, and Fargo thumbed back the hammer of his .45. He said, “What I think is that somebody sent you to get me. And I want to know who it was.”

He thought it was most likely Mike Sorrel, who certainly might have thought he had reason enough to want Fargo beaten. But Fargo wanted to be sure.

The man whose ear was about halfway ripped off was trying to sit up. Blood ran down the side of his head and dripped off his chin.

Fargo walked over to him and put the pistol to his forehead. With his left hand, Fargo took hold of the ear.

“Now,” he said, “I can just pull this thing the rest of the way off and feed it to a dog, or you can tell me who sent you after me.”

From behind Fargo, the man with the banged-up knee said, “We never said anybody sent us.”

Fargo didn’t bother to turn around. “You didn’t have to. I said it for you. And I wasn’t talking to you, anyway. It’s your friend here who’s going to lose an ear if he doesn’t tell me what I want to know.”

“Shit,” the man said. “It ain’t worth losing an ear over. The son of a bitch didn’t tell us what you was like.”

“Who is the son of a bitch you’re talking about?” Fargo said.

Now that the man had started talking, he seemed to want to get it over with. The words spilled out of him.

“His name’s Albert Tomlin. He comes around the billiard hall sometimes and gambles. He paid us to rough you up and tell you to mind your own business.”

So Tomlin already knows I’m in town, Fargo thought. To the men he said, “I always mind my own business. Tomlin is my business. You go back and tell him that for me.”

The man got to his feet and walked over and helped the man with the bad knee get up. They both went to the man whose arm Fargo had snapped. He sat in the street rocking gently back and forth as if to keep from crying out.

“Take him to a doctor if you can find one,” Fargo said.

The man with the loose ear started to pick up the knife, but Fargo got there first and put his foot on it.

“I don’t think you’d better take that. It could get you into trouble.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” the man said, and he helped the third man rise.

All three of them hobbled away, and Fargo holstered his .45 before picking up the knife. It wasn’t nearly as good as his own, but you never knew when you’d need a spare. He stuck it in his belt and started back toward Sally’s.

He was going in the door when Stink called his name. Fargo waited on the boardwalk, and Stink hurried to meet him.

“I been wanting to talk to you,” Stink said. “Something I need to tell you.”

Kansas Kate was busy with one of her regular customers, but the other women were sitting in the parlor.

“No more free samples, Stink,” Sally said when the two men walked in. “From now on you’ll have to pay your way.”

“I was just looking to have a talk with Fargo,” Stink said, removing his unsightly hat in the presence of the ladies. “It’s kind of personal.”

“You can go in the kitchen,” Sally said. “Vangie can come out here and join us.”

Fargo and Stink went back to the kitchen, where Vangie was sitting at the table. She was knitting something, but Fargo couldn’t tell what it was.

“Sally said you could sit out front,” Fargo told her. “Stink and I are about to have a little private talk.”

“Maybe the light’s better out there,” Vangie said, gathering up her knitting.

When she had left the room, Fargo and Stink sat at the table. Fargo rolled a cigarette and said, “Let’s have it, Stink.”

He lit the cigarette with a lucifer, and Stink started to talk. He explained his arrangement with Tomlin. “He wanted to know all about you, but I didn’t know much to tell. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

Fargo had already figured out that Stink might have been the one who’d told Tomlin about him.

“I hope not,” Stink said and went on to say that he was starting to regret ever getting involved with Tomlin.

“I didn’t see any harm in it to start off with, though,” he said, “but now I’m starting to think that Tomlin might be up to no good.”

“You know that the Bryans claimed he was in on the robbery, don’t you?” Fargo said.

“Yeah, but nobody believed them. They were just trying to get out of what they did.”

Stink looked at him. “You been on the level with me, Fargo, about why you’re here in town?”

Fargo ignored the question. He said, “Three men just came out of an alley and tried to beat some sense into me. They told me Albert Tomlin sent them.”

“Damn. That was because of me, I guess. I sure didn’t mean you any harm, Fargo. I’m not going to tell Tomlin a damn thing anymore.” He paused. “You never did answer me about whether you leveled with me on the reason you’re here.”

Fargo decided that maybe he had to trust somebody, and he might as well start with Stink, who seemed to be telling the truth about Tomlin.

He told Stink about the bear and about how the Bryans had saved him and cared for him.

“Hell, I know where they are, then,” Stink said. “I been in those woods a few times more than most. I should’ve thought of that old cabin before.” He caught Fargo’s look. “But I ain’t gonna tell anybody. You can trust me, Fargo.”

Fargo hoped so. He said, “I believe the Bryans are telling the truth. I think Tomlin, Judge Lawrence, and Jonathan Orcutt were in on the robbery.”

“Be hard to prove. Besides, it was the Bryans that killed the guard.”

“I don’t know yet,” Fargo told him. “But I’m planning to find out.”