Chapter Twenty
Finishing their drinks, Duff, Meagan, and Elmer crossed the street and stepped into the bank. As they started into the board meeting room, however, they were stopped by someone that Duff had never seen before. Elmer recognized him, though; it was Dobbins, one of the men who had accosted Wang.
“You can’t go in there. The cattlemen is havin’ a private meetin’ this afternoon,” he said.
“Get out of the way, Dobbins, we’re Sky Meadow, and we’ve been invited,” Elmer said.
“There ain’t no women allowed,” Dobbins said. He pointed to Elmer. “And I know you ain’t no cattleman, ’cause you was with that Celestial.”
“The one I warned you about, but you wouldn’t listen,” Elmer said with a glint of humor in his eyes.
Subconsciously, Dobbins put his hand to his throat.
“Yeah, well, anyway, this here meetin’ is for cattlemen only.”
“It’s all right, Mr. Dobbins,” Houser called from just inside the room. “They may come in.”
“All three of ’em?” Dobbins called back.
“Yes, all three of them, although Captain MacCallister, I do wonder at the sagacity of your bringing Miss Parker.” He smiled at Meagan. “You are quite welcome, my dear, but as most of the conversation will be ‘men’s talk’ I fear you may find the meeting somewhat off-putting.”
“Oh, but I am very much looking forward to it, Mr. Houser,” Meagan said, returning the smile. “And I am quite comfortable with ‘men’s talk.’”
“Then by all means, my dear, please do come on in,” Houser invited. “The meeting will start in just a minute or two.”
Duff looked around at the other attendees: In addition to Brad Houser, who seemed to be in charge of the meeting, also present were Clyde Barnes, Dale Allen, David Lewis, Merlin Goodman, Webb Dakota, and Burt Rowe.
Duff knew all the ranchers, some better than others, and what he knew about them was that they were the biggest ranchers in this part of Wyoming. Not only was Percy Gaines absent, but not one of the smaller ranchers was present, not even Ethan Terrell, whose ranch, the Diamond T, the largest of the smaller ranches, was nearly of the size to be considered one of the larger ranches.
Duff responded to the greetings of some of the others as he, Meagan, and Elmer took their seats.
“So, tell me, MacCallister, have you been eatin’ any more lamb lately?” Goodman asked.
“Aye, but lamb is getting so hard to find that I’m thinking about bringing in a nice flock of say . . . oh, about a thousand of the woolly creatures. They aren’t like cattle, you know. You can sell them for meat, or you can keep them and just sell their wool. ’Twould be quite a profitable enterprise, and I hope to convince others to join me in the raising of the creatures.”
“What!” Goodman replied, gasping in displeasure. “You wouldn’t dare!”
Webb Dakota chuckled. “My dear Mr. Goodman, I do believe that Captain MacCallister was joking with you. As an Englishman, it has been my observation that Scots are like that.”
“Gentlemen, gentlemen,” Houser called, holding his arms out. “If you would, please, I would like for you to direct your attention to the front of the room, so that we can get started.”
“Mr. Houser, I thought this was a meeting of the cattlemen of Laramie County,” Barnes said.
“That, it is, Mr. Barnes.”
“Well, I don’t know what you have in mind, sir, but there certainly are not many of us here. Laramie is a damn big county, and I know we’ve got more ranchers than just those who are here.”
“That’s true, Mr. Barnes, Laramie is a very big county, but this particular meeting refers only to those of us who have ranches here in the Valley of the Chug,” Houser replied.
“Yeah, well, there are a lot more ranches in the Valley of the Chug than are here, too. Where are the other ranchers?”
“You would be talking about the small ranchers, of course.”
“Yeah, men like Prosser, Terrell, Gaines, Patterson, and ten or twelve others at least,” Barnes said. “They’re cattlemen, and they have ranches in the valley. Why is it, then, that none of them are here?”
“Yes, and I heard that Vazquez tried to get in, and he was turned away,” Burt Rowe said. “It wasn’t because he’s Mexican, is it? Vazquez used to work for me, ’n I can tell you now, that he is a damn good man.”
“No, it has nothing to do with the fact that Señor Vazquez is Mexican. He was turned away for the same reason that the other men you have mentioned were not invited.”
“And what reason is that?” Lewis asked.
“Before I answer that question, I have a question of my own,” Houser replied. “How many of you have noticed, of late, a gradual diminution of your herds?”
“A what?” Dale Allen asked.
“Have any of you have been losing cattle?”
“Yeah,” Goodman said. “I’ve lost some cattle, a hundred or more head, for sure. ’N they didn’t die on me, neither, ’cause we ain’t found no carcasses, nor even bones.”
“I must say that Kensington Place has lost quite a few as well,” Dakota added.
“I have lost several, just recently,” Lewis said resolutely. “I’m glad that’s the subject of this meeting, because I was going to bring it up myself.”
“I share that problem with you, only more so. I have now lost over three hundred head, and I suspect it’s because the rustlers realize I am new to the valley, and perhaps it has given them the mistaken idea that I am an easy victim.”
“Rustlers?” Allen asked.
“Yes, rustlers. Gentlemen, that’s precisely the problem we’re going to be talking about, a problem that, primarily, only we large ranchers have to deal with. And therein lies the answer to the question as to why the smaller ranchers were not invited to this gathering.”
“Mr. Houser, are you suggesting something about the small ranchers?” Rowe asked.
“Indeed I am, Mr. Rowe. I’m suggesting that these upstart little ranchers have been augmenting their herds with our cattle.”
“Here, now, Houser,” Lewis said. “I know that the small ranchers may be rounding up mavericks. Hell, we all do that. But I wouldn’t be callin’ that rustling. Besides which, I didn’t start losing cattle until just the last month. If it was the small ranchers, don’t you expect it would have been going on all along?”
“Eddie Webb, the small rancher adjacent to Kensington Place, has been a very good neighbor, and quite often helpful,” Dakota said. “I would have a most difficult time believing that he might be a rustler.”
“Then who is doing it?” Houser asked. “I’ve already heard from some of you that you have lost cattle.”
“But what makes you think it’s the small ranchers who are doing the rustling?” Dale Allen asked.
“Tell me this. If it was anyone else, what are they doing with the cattle? I would estimate that, by now, nearly a thousand head have been stolen. That is a significant number of cows that would have to be sold in order to make the effort worthwhile. And in this valley nobody, who isn’t a known cattleman, could do that without raising suspicion. No, sir, it has to be the smaller ranchers who could incorporate the purloined beeves within their own herds. All logic points to that inescapable fact.”
“I don’t know, you may be right,” Allen said. “Like the rest of you, I’ve been losing cattle, and they have to be going somewhere.”
“Yeah, I’ve lost a bunch, too,” Burt Rowe said. “I didn’t want to think it might be some of the smaller ranchers, but it’s like Dale says, they have to be going somewhere. And this is the first year I’ve ever actually had this problem.”
“What about you, MacCallister?” Barnes asked. “You got the biggest ranch of any of us. Have you lost ’ny cows to rustlers?”
“None to my recollection.”
“It could be, Mr. MacCallister, that Sky Meadow is so large that you are incapable of taking an accurate inventory,” Goodman suggested.
“No, gentlemen, as I have pointed out to Captain MacCallister in previous discussions with him, he is protected by the fact that he is running Angus, and as most of the rest of the cattlemen in the valley are running Herefords, it would be very difficult for any thief to hide any Angus they may have stolen from Sky Meadows, among their own cattle.”
“Yeah, that’s right, ain’t it?” Barnes said. “Thieves ain’t very likely to steal cows that can’t be hid.”
“Be that as it may, however, we can all agree that cattle are being stolen, and the purpose of this meeting is to address that problem.”
“All right, we all agree there is a problem,” Lewis said. “You called this meeting, Mr. Houser. I assume you have something in mind. So what do you propose to do about it?”
“Oh, I have already done something about it. That is, I have taken the first step. Where we go from here, is up to you.”
“What is this first step you have taken?” Rowe asked.
“Gentlemen, I have contacted the governor, and he has granted me authorization to take specific action to locate, and bring to justice, those men who are stealing cattle from us.”
“What sort of authorization?” Dale Allen asked.
“He has commissioned territorial deputies to look into the matter,” Houser replied.
“Territorial deputies? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Who are these deputies?” Allen asked.
“I am one. I will introduce the other one in a minute. By the commission he and I both hold, we are duly appointed and certified by the governor to uphold the law here, in Valley of the Chug.
“As some of you know, I have recently moved here from Texas. In Texas we have a group of lawmen who can operate all over the state, without regard to county jurisdictional lines. The Texas Rangers have been a most effective means of controlling lawlessness in the state, and if I may be permitted to make a correlation, I would say that you can compare the territorial deputies to the Texas Rangers.”
“Texas Rangers? Here? In Wyoming?” Goodman asked.
“No, Merlin, he was just sayin’ they was somethin’ like the Texas Rangers,” Clyde Barnes explained.
“Oh.”
“As special deputies, commissioned directly by the governor himself, we will have the authority to appoint more deputies,” Houser continued. “And I have no doubt but that this cadre of law officers will bring this scourge of rustling to a halt.”
“Look here, Houser, are you tellin’ us that you’ll be puttin’ on a gun ’n goin’ after the rustlers yourself ?” Barnes asked.
“No, my position will be supervisory only. The gentleman I shall shortly introduce will be the field operative in charge of the aforementioned cadre.”
“Mr. Houser,” Duff called out.
“Yes, Captain MacCallister?”
“I would nae like to see any of m’ neighbors being set upon by an angry group of men accusing them of stealing when they may be innocent,” Duff said, “even though they be authorized by the governor.”
“I assure you, Captain, it is not the innocent who should fear whatever we have in mind, but the guilty,” Houser said resolutely.
“What, exactly, is it you have in mind, Mr. Houser?” Burt Rowe asked. “How are you going to determine who is guilty and who isn’t? And how is it you’re going to make the guilty suffer? What is it you are planning to do with these men you are calling territorial deputies?”
“It is simply as I have stated, Mr. Rowe. What I have in mind is putting the territorial deputies into operation so that they may determine who, among the small ranchers, are actually guilty . . . because I don’t believe, for one moment, that all of them are. I’m quite sure that some of them, perhaps most of them, are innocent men just trying, without the slightest chance of success, to make a living as a small rancher. And in the case of the innocent small rancher, I think they couldn’t but welcome our effort to take such action as is necessary to put things right, for, no doubt, their meager herds are also at risk.”
“Yes, sir, but when you say ‘such action as is necessary’ to put things right, that’s the part that I’m wondering about. What action would that be?” Rowe asked, still not satisfied with the answer.
“I’m afraid that is not a question that can be answered with any great degree of certainty. Whatever action is necessary would, of course, have to be dictated by the situation.”
“How come you didn’t ask no local law to be here?” Barnes asked. “I mean, if we’re havin’ a meetin’ to discuss special agents to do some police work for us, don’t you think Sheriff Sharpie should have been here?”
“Mr. Barnes, for your information, sir, I have paid a visit to the sheriff’s office more times than I can count,” Houser said. “Unfortunately Laramie County is so large, and Sheriff Sharpie has but one deputy, Mr. Logan, the problem we are facing now is much greater than his ability to cope. I realized, soon, that if we were going to be able to take care of this, we would have to have help from the territorial governor. So, last week I took a trip to Cheyenne, where I discussed the problem with the governor. It was his suggestion that he grant a special commission to me, and to another, whom I will shortly introduce. This commission allows me to organize these deputies, but disabuse yourself of any idea that they will play a role in the normal policing of the county. Violations of city, county, and territorial laws will continue to be the exclusive purview of Sheriff Sharpie. The territorial deputies will be unique, in that they will be specifically dedicated to the particular problem of cattle rustling, thus avoiding any conflict with the sheriff.”
“Do you have these deputies yet?”
“No, not yet.”
“Where do you plan to get them?”
“We will populate the territorial deputies with men who are known to have experience in dealing with outlaws.”
“I’m still not sure of how, exactly, you are plannin’ on usin’ these deputies,” Barnes said. “Do you plan to use them like a posse? I suppose if they know who it is that they are goin’ after, why, it might work out. But right now, we don’t have any idea who that may be.”
“The whole purpose of this meeting, gentlemen, is so that I can alleviate any concerns you may have as to how the territorial deputies will function. I assure you, we will not be putting our trust into the hands of vigilantes. The very idea of vigilantes running unrestrained in our valley is abhorrent to me, as I’m sure it would be to anyone. But I promise you that the men I appoint will be legitimate deputies. The deputies will be composed of brave and dedicated men who will stay on the job until the violators are located and taken care of.”
“Yeah, it’s the took care of part that I’m wonderin’ about. You still ain’t said how it is that you’re a-plannin’ on takin’ care of ’em,” Goodman said.
“They will be dealt with in a way that is appropriate to their transgressions,” Houser said, still avoiding specifics.
“By ‘takin’ care’ of ’em, you don’t mean by havin’ these here deputies lynch ’em, do you?” Barnes asked. He shook his head. “’Cause if that’s what it is you are plannin’, then no, I’m sorry, but I can’t go along with nothin’ like that.”
“Surely, Mr. Barnes, you know that I am a lawyer, and as such, I am an officer of the court. I would never approve of such a thing.
“State and territorial law enforcement agencies are nothing new, gentlemen. Why, they are more established than private detective agencies, and we all know the legitimacy of private detective agencies. Railroads routinely hire private detective agencies. In fact, during the war, the United States government hired the Pinkerton Agency, and by so doing, put the imprimatur of the federal government on such agencies so that the precedent was set. And that is exactly what we have done, here.”
“So what you are saying is, these men are Pinkertons?” Allen asked.
“No, as much as I would like to, I’m afraid that the Pinkerton Agency would charge us way too much. They have established a name for themselves, you see, and they are quite willing to trade upon that name. However, fortunately for us, we don’t have to. With the governor’s authority, and the funding you grant me, these men that I shall assemble will be perfect for us.”
“What do you mean by the funding we are to give you?” Lewis asked. “You’ve been telling us for this entire meeting that these men will be territorial deputies. Now, if the governor has authorized this, won’t he also be funding it?”
Houser shook his head. “I’m afraid not, gentlemen,” he replied. “Whereas the governor was able to provide me with the legal authority to form a group to serve our needs, he is not able, as a governor, to make funding available. That, I fear, would require legislative action. And we simply do not have time for that. We are going to have to come up with the money from our own resources.”
“How much is it going to cost us?” Lewis asked.
“I think twenty-five hundred dollars apiece would get the job done,” Houser replied.
There were a couple of low whistles.
“Must the subscription be so high?” Dakota asked. “Two thousand and five hundred dollars is quite a significant amount.”
“The loss of as few as one hundred cows would cost even more, so I ask you, how much have you lost to cattle rustlers since this outbreak began?” Houser asked. “A better question might be, how many more will you lose if we don’t do whatever it takes to stop it now?”
“Yes, I suppose if you put it that way, there may be some justification in such a steep assessment,” Dakota said. “All right, I’ll go along with it.”
“I will, too,” Barnes added.
Within a moment, every rancher but Duff had made a commitment of $2,500 to what was being called the territorial deputies.
“Captain MacCallister, we haven’t heard from you, sir,” Houser said. “Am I to understand that you have no intention of contributing your fair share to the protection of our interests?”
“Aye, your understanding is correct. I’ll nae be contributing to the fund,” Duff replied.
“If you don’t pay for it, how do you expect us to provide Sky Meadow with protection against rustlers?”
“Oh, I’ll nae be looking for such protection,” Duff said. “As ye have already pointed out, ’tis unlikely anyone will be stealing m’ Angus cattle.”
“Captain MacCallister, I wish you would change your mind. Things always seem to go better when neighbors work together,” Houser said.
“Aye,” Duff agreed. “But these same wee ranchers that you’re about to make war against are also my neighbors and friends. They are nae rustlers ’n scoundrels. Most have families, ’n ’tis only their wish to make a living for themselves.”
“As I stated earlier, I’m the first to admit that not every small rancher is rustling cattle,” Houser said. “But don’t you see? That’s the purpose of putting our special agents into the field. They’ll be able to tell us who is, and who isn’t, rustling. And look at it this way. The small ranchers who are innocent will be getting the same protection as the rest of us, only they won’t have to be paying for it.”
“Why not?” Allen asked. “Why shouldn’t they pay for it?”
“It is precisely for that reason that I did not invite them to this meeting,” Houser replied. “It is called the noblesse oblige.”
“The what?”
“The obligation of the nobility to act honorably and generously to those less fortunate. We are not, strictly speaking, nobility. But, as the larger and more successful ranchers in the valley, we do carry the burden of looking out for the smaller ranchers who could ill afford the two-thousand-and-five-hundred-dollar subscription it would take to enroll them in the program. As Captain MacCallister has pointed out, and correctly, I must add, many of the small ranchers are honest people. I wouldn’t want to embarrass them by asking them for money they can ill afford, and I don’t think any of you would, either.”
“You’re a good man, Mr. Houser,” David Lewis said. “I hope the smaller ranchers realize what you are doing for them.”
“What we are doing for them,” Houser corrected.
“Mr. Houser, you have stated that the governor appointed someone special to head up this constabulary that you are forming, but you haven’t told us who he might be,” Dakota said. He pointed to Shamrock. “May I take it that the person of whom you speak is this gentleman that none of us seem to know?”
Houser smiled. “I’m glad you brought that up. Stand up, Paul,” he said.
Shamrock remained seated.
“Paul?” Houser said again, staring directly at Shamrock.
“Me?”
“Yes, Paul, you,” Houser said.
“Oh.” Shamrock stood.
“Gentlemen, this is Paul Harris. And as I stated, he holds a direct commission from Governor Morgan, as captain of the territorial law enforcement deputies. And whereas my commission is administrative, Captain Harris’s commission is operative. He will be responsible for carrying out any actual investigation and law enforcement. By the way, in as far as the cattle rustling problem is concerned, Captain Harris’s authority supersedes that of Sheriff Sharpie’s, or any other lawman in the territory. He and his deputies will end our rustling problem.”
“You have said that the constabulary is yet to be formed. Will you assemble them from among out own county citizens?” Dakota asked.
“No, they will not be local. Captain Harris needs men who have experience in dealing with law enforcement, and such men cannot be found here.”
“I have a question,” Duff said.
“All right.”
“You have recently added three new men who work for you, but who are not cowhands. Their names, I believe, are Knox, Malcolm, and Dobbins. Do they also hold a commission from the governor?”
“No, they do not.”
“If they are nae deputies nor hands, would ye be for tellin’ us their purpose?”
“I will tell you as I told my men. Misters Knox, Malcolm, and Dobbins are supernumeraries to the operation of the ranch, and they will remain as such to the territorial deputies as well.”
“You still haven’t answered Mr. MacCallister’s question,” Burt Rowe said. “What is the purpose of these three men?”
“Gentlemen, and lady,” Houser said, with a pointed reference to Meagan’s presence, “if you look around you, you would see that every one of you are wearing pistols. I don’t cite you for that—too often the continued existence of men who live here is dependent upon both their ability, and their willingness, to use a firearm. I do not wear a pistol, because I have neither the willingness, nor the ability, to do so. I also have an abhorrence to violence, especially as it may pertain to me.”
Houser forced a smile.
“Therefore I have hired Mr. Knox, Mr. Morgan, and Mr. Dobbins to perform the service of personal bodyguards to me. And as such, they will have nothing to do with the deputies. The reason I have hired them should be obvious to all of you. Now that I have initiated this effort to rid our valley of the pervasive lawlessness, I do not fool myself with the false hope that I will not become a target of those whose rustling operations will be curtailed. As long as none of you take it upon yourselves to attack me, and I’m sure none of you are harboring such intentions”—again Houser forced a smile—“none of you need concern yourselves about the presence, or the activities of my Pontificia Cohors Helvetica.”
“I am aware of some of the activities of these three men, Mr. Houser, and I would hardly call them the Swiss Papal Guard,” Duff said.
Houser clapped his hands softly. “Oh, very good, Captain MacCallister, you recognize my Latin. You are right, of course, they are hardly up to the task of guarding the Pope. I do hope you will forgive me my little private joke.”
“Yes, well, getting back to these deputies, how are we going to know who they are? I mean, will they be wearin’ badges or anything?” Barnes said.
“I will provide them with badges, which will give them all the authority they need to carry out their mission. Mark this day on your calendar, gentlemen. This is the day the war against the cattle rustlers of the Valley of the Chug began.”