CHAPTER 11
“Why look who we found, boys. If it ain’t one of them land-grabbing buzzards from Kerrville. The Indian brother.”
“State your business or get the hell off this ranch,” Long said, coming out on the porch and closing the front door behind himself.
“Well, O’Malley, you don’t own this place yet, so you can’t order me anywhere.” The big man was rocking his large Mexican wooden saddle horn.
“Well I’m buying this place. So I have some say-so in who stops here.”
“Boys, we’ve done come too late to tell the old man not to sell it to them land grabbers.”
They nodded their heads and moaned like they were hurting.
“Now leave.”
A Winchester action clacked. The horse-mounted men caught their reins and drew them up.
“You don’t scare me.”
“You should be scared, because my men have orders to shoot you first. Ready to die? Just what in the hell are you here for anyway? To threaten us? Well load up and go home and stay there, because we will shoot you on sight if you intend to trespass and are intent on threatening us.”
“We will have lawyers in Texas court that will bar your taking this rangeland from the rightful users.”
“Well do that in Austin. The sale was legally made and we own it. Period. If I report that you are threatening me on my own land, the state police and black soldiers will be at your house shortly to take you to that prison camp they have ready for you.”
“You’re talking big here. You won’t be doing that when our lawyers have you evicted. Let’s go, men. He will see who this land belongs to when the Texas Supreme Court tells him to go packing.”
“Wait. My name is Long O’Malley. I didn’t catch yours?”
“Albert Newman. Why?”
“Albert, if you ever come back and threaten me or my men again I’m going to kill you, and I want your mother to know you’re dead so she don’t pine over your being missing.”
“Ha.”
“You won’t think that when I get through with you. You have till the count of five and my men start shooting. One . . . two . . .”
The open window beside the door showed a black shotgun barrel sticking out from between the curtains. He hoped she wouldn’t use it until they were far enough away to only sting them or their horses. The three of them would be hard pressed to fight them. This would not happen again. He’d have a force to back whoever was here until this was all settled . . .
They left, and Long eased down some.
Late afternoon Oscar and his men rode in and Jan had supper ready for all of them.
“How was your day?” Oscar asked, straining his back against the hands on his hips.
“We had company. Albert Newman and some hired guns came by to tell us they are challenging Harp’s land deal in court. Told us that the Supreme Court of Texas will trash our purchase when his lawyers get us in court.”
Oscar frowned at him. “Can they really do that?”
Long shook his head. “Texas sold us that land to pay some bills they did not have money for. The government didn’t have the money to do it.”
Jan went by with some food on a tray and asked Oscar if his back was hurting him.
“Oh, some.”
“If you can stand a massage I can loosen it,” she said.
“I can stand a lot. When you get time I’d appreciate it.”
“Eat your supper while it is hot. I can fix your back so you can sleep.”
“Thanks.”
“She can do it, too,” Long told him when they sat down.
“I figured she can. They threaten you?” Oscar asked.
“Some. Anthony had his rifle and she had her shotgun; I wore my gun.”
“How many were there?”
Anthony said, “Nine counting him.”
“Oh, he had plenty of help.”
Long nodded. “They left after the threat he gave me.”
Her eyes like slits, Jan said, “Oscar, I wanted to fill his backside with my birdshot.”
They all laughed at her words.
“As well as you shoot quail, you’d have him standing in the saddle to ride his horse home.”
His ranch hands laughed over that, too.
“They weren’t sure how many men I had or we’d had our hands full with that many gun hands. Anthony cracked his Winchester open and shut it. They weren’t sure how many more were coming with him.”
“You know this man?” Oscar asked.
“No. But I could see he’s tough and those men were not kids. We will need more guards down here until things settle down.”
“Legally can they do anything?” Oscar asked again.
Long chuckled about the notion. “No. Texas spent that money.”
“Who do you think hired him?”
“That’s a good question. I doubt even all the landowners inside the area could afford his services. I think someone wants this ranch and wants the O’Malley brothers off it and will try anything to get it done including hiring Albert Newman. I think they heard about our state land purchase too late to stop our man and Harp from closing the deal down there and now are trying to run us off or have a court intervene.”
“It won’t mess up our deal will it?” the older man asked.
“No. Nor will his shouting in court. They have no real claim.”
Oscar smiled. “I am going to enjoy being retired. Thanks.”
“I sure hope so. If you want to live here we can fix that for you at no cost to do that.”
“I am pleased. I know how short Texans are on money, and it won’t get any better fast, either. You two have done many things right and will continue to build on your ranch.”
Long agreed and hugged Jan’s waist as she came to stand by him. “I told him he could live here if he wanted to live here after the sale.”
“Why not?”
“There is no reason for him not to.”
“I will get your back feeling better after you eat,” she promised the older man.
“I’ll be ready, Jan.”
* * *
Before dawn, Harp arrived and woke Long up. Jan joined them in the lighted kitchen and made coffee while they talked things over.
Long explained how he settled the ranch buyout from Oscar Beatles, and Harper agreed that was super. Then Long told him about Albert Newman and his hired hands. How Newman said he had lawyers to void the sale in court and get the land back for the state.
“I will have our real estate man immediately contact the lawyers in Austin who did this. They are a top law firm. I really checked them out because we’d be dealing with a carpetbag government and I trust the men who recommended them, though they are outside government because of federal rules. We will have this all checked out. But I am satisfied that everything is good. Who was this Newman?”
“I think he’s the chief hired gun and has eight hired gun men to back him. He says he works for landowners around here, but none of them have that kind of money. I think someone rich came along after you made the land deal and closed it, that he wants it for himself.”
“Wonder who that could be?” Harp shook his head. “But I don’t doubt it. Money is flowing down there to get things done. Our purchase was all done in a very open and legal way.”
“Newman said his lawyers would get it set aside.”
Harp shook his head. “No way. There are lots of shady deals going on. We were not involved in any. The government needed that money and badly.”
Long lowered his voice. “I told Oscar he could live here if he wants to, after he sells to us.”
“Why sure. I’ll inform our agent and the lawyer in town writing the deed, mortgage, and the will of his desires. I can arrange a large down payment if he needs it.”
“Tomorrow, with armed guards, take him into town and get it all arranged and settled. We will have to protect all our operations. This guy intends to bust up our ranch for his boss, and he won’t care who gets hurt or killed.”
Eye to eye, Harp agreed. “But we won’t stand for it. We’ve fought Comanche. He wouldn’t make a wart on a Comanche’s ass.” Then Harp chuckled and shook his head at Jan. “That’s pretty raw for me to say with you around.”
She shook her head. “No, that S-O-B was in the yard out there and I had my twenty-gauge pointed right at him.”
“I’m sorry he put you through that.”
“No, don’t be sorry about anything. We are family and families stick together regardless if they are men or women. He isn’t getting anything we own.”
“Thanks, Jan.”
“Don’t ever tiptoe around me. I am a big old girl and I’m ready to fight.”
Long winked at his wife, then told Harp, “You better get a few hours’ sleep, Harp. If you really want, I can take him into town, but you know all about the deal to do it legal. I’d prefer to stay here.”
“You may need to send word to the others that we may be under attack,” Harp said, shaking his head. “I’ll take him to town with some guards. The men for the cattle count will be here before I leave tomorrow.”
Jan gave Harp some blankets and told him he could sleep in the second bedroom upstairs.
He thanked her and went upstairs to catch some sleep.
After they went back to their bed she said, “Harp sounds sure enough about the title.”
“Oh, I am sure it is good, but no telling what they will do to try to stop us. Newman hadn’t been out here long enough to know how few hands we had to support us today or he’d pushed his hand harder, but it saved us and worked this time. We will go armed and ready from here on.”
He kissed her and they went back to sleep.
In the morning, while eating breakfast with Oscar and the others, Long felt hungover. He told Oscar that Harp came the night before and would soon be up.
“I have never met him,” Oscar said.
“He’s just another O’Malley.” They both laughed. “Except he has no Cherokee in him.”
“Like I said, I heard lots about the good things you two have done for many ranchers delivering cattle. No one could believe that two boys drove that first cattle herd clear to Missouri before the war even ended. I know I was amazed when I first heard that you two’d done it. I knew you two weren’t boys . . . you had met some strong forces and won, and that’s why I want to leave it all to both of you.”
“Thanks, Oscar. We’re going to show Newman and his bunch how damn tough we can be about owning this ranch.”
“Him and his bunch wouldn’t have given wooden nickels for my ranch two years ago. You boys cut a trail everyone is now taking, and suddenly cattle have a market.”
“We aren’t the only ones made a run, but yes, it changed lots of things.”
“Are you and Jan going to live down here?”
“I am going to be honest. We have a huge outfit, the Diamond Ranch, to run for two older women closer to Kerrville and besides, we have many other ranches. I think we need to live closer to Kerrville because of that. But hey come by, put your boots up, and stay with us there wherever we land. We will always have a room for you.”
“I’ll consider it. I think your wife is an angel for all the things she does. If I were forty years younger I’d steal her from you. She fixed my back and it hasn’t felt this good in years.”
They both laughed.
“I bet you’d try.”
“Yes, I’d definitely steal her.” A mischievous smile spread over the old man’s face, and Long decided that Oscar might really have tried back then. He really liked the old man. He only wished they had less trouble over the purchase of his ranch. He had to figure a way to get rid of that damn Newman once and all. Whatever it required to do that, he’d get it done.
“What are you working on so hard this morning?” Jan asked, bringing him some fresh coffee. “I can tell when you’re deep thinking.”
He pushed his chair back and hugged her to him. “This whole Newman business needs to be stopped.”
“It sure does. But don’t worry. My husband’s working on it. I know him and he’ll figure it out.”
“I wish I was as confident of my own skills as that.”
She hugged his head. “You will.”