Mankiller, Colorado

CHAPTER 28

Bo and Scratch weren’t the only ones who had seen the Deverys coming. Several people in the crowd had noticed them as well and started calling out in alarm. That spread quickly. Frightened, angry cries overwhelmed the cheering and clapping. A feeling of panic jolted through the gathering.

“Colonel, settle the folks down!” Bo called up to Macauley. “We’ll see what the Deverys want.”

He hoped they weren’t coming down the hill for a showdown. If bullets started to fly, it was a certainty that innocent people would be hurt and probably killed. Not to mention the fact that the Texans were outnumbered ten to one and wouldn’t stand much of a chance, either. Bo hadn’t realized that Pa Devery could put together such a formidable force. Obviously, there were a lot of cousins and hangers-on that he hadn’t heard about yet.

Bo and Scratch hurried along the boardwalk until they were past the crowd and then cut into the street, blocking the path of the advancing Deverys. Jackson Devery was right out front, of course, striding along arrogantly. He had a gun belt strapped around his waist and carried a Henry rifle. A black Stetson was crammed down on his shock of long white hair.

Luke and Edgar followed Devery, one to each side and a step back. The rest of the bunch spread out from there until it almost filled the street from one side to the other.

Bo and Scratch planted their feet in the dirt of Main Street. Bo raised his voice and ordered, “Hold it right there, Devery!”

Jackson Devery came to a stop and glared at the Texans. The others followed suit. Devery said, “Get the hell out of the way, Creel! This is a public street, and you can’t stop us from walkin’ on it!”

“We can stop you from disrupting that political rally behind us, though,” Bo said. “That would be disturbing the peace, and that’s against the law.”

Devery sneered at him. “Nobody said nothin’ about disruptin’ the rally. Hell, we came to join in, didn’t we, boys?”

Shouts of agreement came from the men behind him.

Bo frowned. “What do you mean, join in?”

Devery nodded toward the speakers’ platform, where Colonel Macauley had succeeded in quieting down the citizens. The colonel and the other candidates stood there watching anxiously as Bo and Scratch confronted the Deverys.

“They’re makin’ speeches about how folks ought to vote for them, aren’t they?” Devery asked.

“That’s right.”

“Well, don’t the ones of us who’re runnin’ for office have a right to do the same thing?”

The question took Bo by surprise. “You want to make a speech and ask people to vote for you?”

“They’ll be a lot better off if they do,” Devery declared, “and I think I got a right to tell ’em that.”

Bo looked over at Scratch, who shrugged. “It’s a free country, I reckon,” the silver-haired Texan said. “And I can’t think of any law against makin’ speeches. If there was, all them blasted politicians back in Washington’d be behind bars. You know, come to think of it, that ain’t such a bad idea.”

Bo looked at the platform and called, “Colonel, you’re our legal expert.”

Macauley spread his hands. “Mr. Devery is correct. He has a right to speak. However, this is a private rally. If Mr. Devery wishes to stage a rally of his own, no one can stop him.”

Lucinda suddenly moved to the edge of the platform. “No,” she said, her voice carrying clearly. “He can speak here if he wants to.” She looked directly at Jackson Devery. “We’re not frightened of you any longer, Mr. Devery. That’s the biggest reason that Mankiller is about to change. The courage of these citizens is the reason.” She swept her hand toward the crowd. “And once we’ve elected a legitimate government, you and the others from your family will face justice for the crimes you’ve committed! You won’t be able to run roughshod over everyone in the area and extort so much money from them that they can’t even make a decent living, no matter how hard they work!” Her voice shook a little from the outrage she obviously felt. “Your day is done, Mr. Devery. Done. But…if you wish to speak…come up here. Tell the people you’ve oppressed whatever it is you want to say.”

Devery looked so mad he was ready to pop again. But he controlled it and started to stalk past Bo.

Bo moved, getting in Devery’s way and resting the barrel of his Winchester at a slant against Devery’s chest. “The lady invited you to talk, that’s all. If you start any trouble, you’ll be the first one I ventilate.”

“Get the hell out of my way,” Devery growled.

Bo stepped aside. Devery headed for the platform. Scratch pointed his rifle at the rest of the bunch.

“You hombres stay back,” he ordered.

Luke pointed at the platform and said, “Edgar and Granville and me got a right to be up there. We’re runnin’ for office, too, ain’t we?”

Bo shrugged and told his old friend, “Let them pass, I guess.” He lifted his voice. “The rest of you stay put. You can see and hear all right from where you are.”

Luke, Edgar, and a younger Devery who had to be Granville followed Jackson Devery to the platform. They climbed up the steps. The four Deverys gathered at one end, the six other candidates at the other end.

Colonel Macauley stepped to the pulpit. “All right,” he boomed to the crowd, “we’ll hear from the town council candidates first.”

Bo and Scratch stayed where they were, between the Deverys and the rest of the crowd, as the speeches began. The Texans had attended other political rallies, and what was said tonight in Mankiller wasn’t much different from the things they had heard before. One by one, Dr. Weathers, Wallace Kane, Sam Bradfield, and Harlan Green trooped up to the pulpit and promised that if they were elected, they would do their very best to serve the interests of everyone in Mankiller.

Then it was Luke’s turn. He stood there looking uncomfortable and said, “If you folks know what’s good for you, you’ll vote for me and my kin. There wouldn’t be no town here if not for us! We’ll run it right, the same way we always have!”

Then he turned the pulpit over to his cousin Granville, who looked even more nervous about speaking in front of the crowd. “Uh, you should, uh, vote for us because…because there’ll be trouble if you don’t.”

Luke gave him a sharp poke in the side and frowned at him.

Granville hurried on, “I mean, we’ll take care of all the troublemakers who come into our town and think they can get away with anything.” He turned his head to glower at Bo and Scratch. “There won’t be no more phony lawmen killin’ people right and left. Yes, sir, things’ll go back to bein’ just the way they were before, only, uh, better. Yeah, that’s it. Things’ll be better.”

Luke took hold of Granville’s collar and pulled him away from the pulpit. “That’s enough. You said your piece. Now it’s Pa’s turn.”

“Not yet,” Macauley said as he stepped forward. “First we’ll hear from the judicial candidates, starting with myself. Friends, you know my record! You know about my exemplary background as a practicing attorney in Virginia, and you know about my sterling service to the Old Dominion during the War of Northern Aggression!”

That drew a few frowns and jeers from the crowd, which included both former Confederate and Union soldiers.

“But that’s all in the past!” Macauley hurried on. “What matters is right here and now in Mankiller, Colorado, the place that all of us have chosen to call home! The place that has a chance to grow into a decent community if you good people will seize the opportunity to elect me and my companions to lead you! You have my solemn oath that should you elect me as your judge, I will see to it that the law is enforced fairly, justifiably, and honorably! I know the law, and before God, I am an honest and humble man! No more can be asked of a jurist!”

Bo wasn’t so sure about that humble business, but he figured Macauley was honest enough.

“Now,” the colonel went on, “we’ll hear from my opponent.” He motioned Edgar forward without giving him any more introduction than that.

The liveryman shuffled up to the pulpit and peered out at the crowd. “You folks know me, too,” he said. “I ain’t loud, and I don’t carry on much. But fair is fair, and I know it when I see it and I ain’t afraid to say so. I reckon you can’t ask for much more than that from a judge, neither.” He nodded and stepped back.

Bo actually thought that was a fairly impressive speech, despite its brevity. Edgar struck him as being basically honest, but he had lived in the shadow of his brother Jackson for so long and done everything that Jackson demanded of him, that he couldn’t be trusted. That was a shame, because under different circumstances, Edgar might have made a decent town councilman. Not a judge, though. He just wasn’t qualified for that.

“That just leaves the two candidates for mayor,” Macauley said. He turned to look at Devery, who jerked his head toward Lucinda.

“I don’t care what you people think of me,” Devery snapped. “I was raised to let ladies go first.”

“Such chivalry,” Macauley muttered. “A shame the other honorable virtues were not enculcated along with it.” Before Devery could make any retort, the colonel held out his hand to Lucinda. “Mrs. Bonner?”

Lucinda had lost her nervousness during her earlier outburst, and it hadn’t come back to bother her. She looked very calm and self-possessed as she stepped up.

“I’ve already said what I have to say. Now it’s up to you citizens to make the real difference. Vote tomorrow with the courage of your convictions. Thank you.”

The simple speech drew more cheers and applause than any of the others. It went on for a couple of minutes before Jackson Devery stepped forward and silenced the crowd with a glare.

“These people—” He flung a hand toward the candidates at the other end of the platform. “These people been talkin’ to your hearts. I’m gonna talk to your brains and your guts. You’re all smart enough to know that it ain’t wise to vote against me and my kin.”

“Is that a threat?” Colonel Macauley demanded.

Devery’s head snapped toward him. “I didn’t interrupt you, you old blowhard, so keep your trap shut while I’m talkin’! And no, it ain’t a threat. It’s a fact.” He pointed toward the crowd. “And ever’ one of those folks know it. They know it in their head, and they know it in their gut.” He took a moment to sweep his gaze over the crowd, dragging it out as if he were studying the face of everyone there so that he could remember them. Then he said, “You know what you better do.”

With that, he turned and walked off the platform, taking Luke, Edgar, and Granville with him. The crowd stood there quietly. The buzz of conversation didn’t start up again until all the Deverys went back up the hill to the old house that had disgorged them.

“The son of a bitch put it plain enough,” Scratch said to Bo. “What I can’t figure out is why he’s goin’ to this much trouble. Why’s he want to win this election instead of just grabbin’ power with all the guns on his side?”

“Because in the long run, guns aren’t enough,” Bo said. “Santa Anna had a lot more guns than we did, but in the end that didn’t stop us from booting him out. Same thing was true of King George and the American colonists a hundred years ago. Devery’s trying to scare folks into supporting him, and that won’t work, either. People have to believe in their leaders, like we believed in Sam Houston.”

“Well, I reckon they can believe in Lucinda, after those speeches she made.”

Bo nodded. “They were pretty good, all right.”

He and Scratch went to the back of the platform, where Lucinda and the other candidates were coming down the steps. Callie and Tess greeted their mother with hugs. Now that it was all over, Lucinda looked nervous again.

She turned to Bo and Scratch and asked, “Did I do all right?”

“You did more’n all right,” Scratch assured her. “You said just the right things, and anybody with a lick of sense is gonna vote for you.”

She shook her head doubtfully. “I’m not sure. Jackson Devery pretty much came right out and said that if he and the others aren’t elected, they’ll take revenge on the town.”

“Let him try it,” Colonel Macauley said. “Let him just try it, and he’ll see what happens then!”

“What will happen then?” Lucinda asked. “You all saw, he had at least twenty men with him. Twenty well-armed men who are used to violence and who’ll do whatever he tells them to do. What do we have in answer to that threat?”

Everyone’s eyes swung to Bo and Scratch.

Scratch grinned and shrugged. “Ten-to-one odds,” he said. “Nothin’ to worry about.”

But Bo knew from their worried expressions that no one here tonight believed that.