Brimstone

57

THERE WAS A NEW LOOKOUT at Pike’s Palace, a tall, thin guy with striped pants and a shotgun on his lap. I went and stood against the wall near him with the eight-gauge while Virgil went to talk with Pike at the bar. The lookout wasn’t happy about me standing there. He looked at Pike. Pike shrugged faintly, and the lookout settled back.

“Why the heavy ordnance, Virgil,” Pike said.

“Oh, Everett’s forgetful,” Virgil said. “Afraid if he lays that thing down, he’ll forget where he put it.”

“Beer?” Pike said.

“Sure thing,” Virgil said.

Pike looked at me. I shook my head. The bartender set a beer in front of Virgil, and one for Pike.

“This a social call?” Pike said.

Virgil sipped his beer and put it down.

“Chance for a free beer, mostly,” Virgil said.

“Anytime, Virgil,” Pike said.

He was wearing a dark suit and a red tie, and carried a Colt.

“Who’s the new lookout,” Virgil said.

“Abner Noonan,” Pike said. “Was with me in the Army.”

“Hearda him,” Virgil said. “Was in Laredo for a while.”

“Good memory,” Pike said. “Yep, that’s Abner.”

“Replacing Kirby and J.D.,” Virgil said.

“Yes,” Pike said.

Virgil looked absently around the room.

“Got some other new faces,” Virgil said.

Pike grinned.

“Just keeping the staff up to level,” he said.

“Too bad ’bout Kirby and J.D.,” Virgil said.

“Was,” Pike said.

“You know, Pike,” Virgil said. “I was thinking ’bout that Indian killed them.”

I smiled to myself. Virgil could be as direct as anyone alive, or he could, for his own reasons, go around the Gulf of Mexico and come in the back way when he felt like it. This was going to be the back way.

“What were you thinking?” Pike said.

“What was that boy’s name,” Virgil said. “Buffalo Calf.”

“They all got names,” Pike said.

“Well, you know, it don’t matter,” Virgil said. “But there musta been something between you two.”

“Me and the Indian?” Pike said. “Why do you care?”

“Just a curious fella,” Virgil said. “Hate to know half a thing. I know it don’t matter, and it ain’t official or anything, and Buffalo Calf been disposed of. But… I keep thinking on it.”

Pike grinned.

“Like an itch you can’t scratch,” Pike said.

“That’s what it’s like,” Virgil said.

He sipped some more beer.

“Oh, hell, Virgil,” Pike said. “I was a lieutenant trying to make captain. Everett over there probably knows what that’s like.”

“I do,” I said. “One reason I quit.”

“I had a patrol out, me, a sergeant, and twelve troopers. Caught some Apaches out in the open. They were moving camp, had stuff on travois, mostly women and children, a few bucks, and we cleaned them out. We were still using the breech loaders, and it was slow, so I told the troopers to use their sabers. It was a bloody mess, but it went faster and we killed them all.”

Pike drank some beer.

“So I’m surveying the mess.” Pike grinned. “And thinking about my second bar, and something hits me on the shoulder and falls to the ground. I look and it’s a toy arrow, and another one hits me, and I see this little Indian kid, maybe nine, ten, covered with blood, kneeling behind some dead squaw, shooting at me with his toy bow and arrow. One of the troopers goes and grabs him and is gonna cut his throat, and the little bastard was so mean and so brave, I say, ‘Don’t kill him.’ Sergeant looks at me like I’m crazy, but we drag him along with us back to Tucson, and I put him into the Indian school there. All the ride back to Tucson, he looks at me, and when I checked on him every once in a while at the school, he don’t say nothing, just looks at me. Does good at the school. Speaks English good, read, write, all that shit. And the day he’s eighteen he’s gone and no one sees him again. Then ten years later, that steer shows up dead with the toy arrow.”

“That why you gave us Pony to track?”

“Felt bad ’bout them women,” Pike said. “Sorta felt a little responsible, I suppose.”

“Sure,” Virgil said.

“Last break I ever gave anybody,” Pike said. “And that was one too many.”

“Thank you, Pike,” Virgil said. “I’ll sleep better.”

“Sure thing,” Pike said.

“You expecting trouble with Percival?” Virgil said.

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Pike said.

“But you’re expecting some.”

“Percival’s crazy,” Pike said. “I won’t let him close me down.”

“Hey, Everett,” Virgil said. “What’s that thing where you attack first to stop somebody from attacking you.”

“Preemptive strike,” I said.

“You ain’t thinking ’bout any preemptive strikes,” Virgil said.

“He tries to close me down,” Pike said. “And I’ll do what’s needed.”

“Probably can’t prevent the trouble,” Virgil said. “But I’d like to contain it.”

“How you gonna contain it?” Pike said.

“Just don’t do more than is needed,” Virgil said.

“Who’s going to decide that?” Pike said.

“That would be me,” Virgil said. “And Everett.”