Return of the Mountain Man

10

1867. Emmett Jensen’s horses had been picketed close to the base of Zenobia Peak. His gear was by his grave, covered with a ground sheet and secured with rocks. The letter from his pa, given him by the old mountain man, Grizzly, was in Smoke’s pocket.

“You read them words on that paper your pa left you?” Preacher asked.

“Not yet.”

“I’ll go set up camp at the Hole. I reckon you’ll be along directly.”

“Tomorrow. ’Bout noon.”

“See you then.” Preacher headed north. He would cross Vermillion Creek, then cut west into the Hole. Smoke would find him when he felt ready for human company. But for now, the young man needed to be alone with his pa.

Smoke unsaddled his horse, Seven, and allowed him to roll. He stripped the gear from the pack animals, setting them grazing. Taking a small hammer and a miner’s spike from his gear, Smoke began the job of chiseling his father’s name into a large, flat rock. He could not remember exactly when his pa was born, but he thought it about 1815.

Headstone in place, secured by rocks, Smoke built a small fire, put coffee on to boil in the blackened pot, then sat down to read the letter from his pa.

Son,

I found some of the men who killed your brother Luke and stolt the gold that belonged to the Gray. Theys more of them than I first thought. I killed two of the men work for them, but they got led in me and I had to hitail it out. Came here. Not goin to make it. Son, you dont owe nuttin to the Cause of the Gray. So dont get it in your mind you do. Make yoursalf a good life and look to my final restin place if you need help.

Preacher kin tell you some of what happen, but not all. Remember—look to my grave if you need help.

I allso got word that your sis Janey leff that gambler and has took up with an outlaw down in Airyzona. Place called Tooson. I woodn fret much about her. She is mine, but I think she is trash. Dont know where she got that streek from.

I am gettin tared and seein is hard. Lite fadin. I love you Kirby-Smoke.

Pa

Smoke reread the letter. Look to my grave. He could not understand that part. He pulled up his knees and put his head on them, feeling he ought to cry, or something. But no tears came.

Now he was alone. He had no other kin, and he did not count his sister as kin. He had his guns, his horses, a bit of gold, and his friend, Preacher.

He was eighteen years old.

Now, five years later, it all came back to him. Sure, he thought. His pa had dug his own grave, put the gold in the bottom, and then crawled in on top of it to die. The old mountain man, Grizzly, had buried him.

Well, the gold could just stay there. Damned if he’d dig up his pa’s grave for it.

“Where else you been lookin’ for this Smoke?” McNeil asked.

“Name someplace. I thought I had him cornered over near Pagosa Springs, but he gave me the slip. I drifted down into New Mexico Territory after him. But he was always one jump ahead of me. He’s slick.”

“He’ll screw up,” Long said.

“When he does I’m gonna be there,” Buck said. And he noticed out of the corner of his eyes that the men seemed to relax. He had passed their test.

Buck prowled the area about Bury for two days, planting a permanent map in his brain. He would remember the trails and roads and landmarks. They would come in handy when Buck made his move and sought his escape.

And he learned from the PSR gunhands about the townspeople of Bury. They were a pretty scummy lot, according to the riders. There were men who had skipped out on partners back east: men who were wanted for everything from petty crimes to murder. In exchange for loyalty, the Big Three had offered them sanctuary and a chance to bury their past. After twenty years, the businesses they ran for the Big Three would revert to the shopkeepers. Free and clear.

So Buck could expect no help from them.

In a way, that knowledge made it easier.

The saddlebags handed to Buck by MacGregor were heavy. The canvas and leather saddlebags were flap-secured by padlocks. Buck did not ask what was in the bags; the sour little Scotsman did not volunteer that information.

“It’s about a sixty-five-mile ride,” Buck was told. “Head out east to the Lemhi River and follow it down. Little mining operation down in the Lemhi Valley. Town ain’t got no name. So it’s called No Name. Be a man there waitin’ for you. Name is Rex. Give the saddlebags to him, wait ’til he checks them out, and he’ll give you a receipt. Come back here.”

The Scotsman turned away and stumped back to his rolltop desk, leaving Buck with the heavy bags. Buck smiled. “Gimme some expense money, friend.”

The Scotsman sighed and reached into a tin box, pulling out a thin sheaf of bills. He made Buck sign for them. “Bring back anything that’s left. Not that I think there will be anything left, that is.”

Buck rode out at nine that morning. He stopped by Sally’s place and found her sitting on the front porch. Drinking that damnable tea. “Be back in about three days.” He smiled. “I’ll bring you back a couple of pounds of coffee.” He wheeled Drifter and was gone.

Staying close to the timber, with the flats to his left, Buck let Drifter pick his own pace. About ten miles out of town he reined up and sat his horse. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. Was that an elf up ahead, sitting on a spotted pony? Buck walked Drifter slowly toward the sight. Sure looked like an elf.

“Since I care nothing for life in caves or other subterranean dwellings, I can assure you that I am not a troll,” the little man said, when Buck was within earshot.

“A what?”

“Never mind, young man. My name is Audie. I, along with others of our vanishing breed, have made our meager camp just to the west of where we are now engaged in this somewhat less than loquacious confabulation.”

Buck blinked. “Huh?”

Audie sighed. “Very well.” He took a deep breath. “Me and them there other ol’ boys who was pards with Preacher is a-camped over yonder.” He jerked his thumb.

“Oh. All right. For a little fellow you got a smart mouth, you know that?”

Audie jerked out a .44 with the barrel sawed off short. “But I carry a very large friend, do I not?”

“I’d say so. An’ quick with it, too.”

“Did you think I might be an elf?” Audie smiled after the question.

“Well, sir. Ah…yeah!”

“How quaint,” the remark was very drily given. “But…given the fact that elves are rumored to engage in somewhat capricious interference in human affairs, and are usually represented in diminutive human form, I suppose your first impression might be forgiven. But I cannot, for the life of me, envision Greybull as an elf.”

“Mister Audie, I don’t even know what it is you just said.”

“We’re watching you,” Audie plunged onward, undaunted. “We’ll be there when you need us.” He wheeled his pony around and trotted off.

Buck watched him disappear from view. Buck removed his hat and scratched his head. “I’ve seen the seasons change, the birthing of human life, and been in love. But I ain’t never seen nothin’ like that!”

At No Name, Buck tied up in front of a building with the name PSR on the false front. Rex Augsman was painted on the door. Buck pushed open the door and stepped inside, pausing for a moment to allow his eyes to adjust to the dimmer light.

“You Rex Augsman?” Buck asked the man who was rising from behind his desk.

“That’s me.”

“You got some proof of that?”

He pointed to a diploma hanging on the wall. Mining engineer. Rex M. Augsman.

“I’m from PSR headquarters up in Bury.” He held out the saddlebags. “I’m supposed to give this to you.”

“You look like you might just have some sense,” Rex said. “A definite improvement over the others.” He opened the padlocks and looked inside. He smiled and said, “Welcome to the team. You passed the final test.”

“What do you mean?” Buck asked.

The engineer dumped the contents of the heavy saddlebags onto the counter. The bags had been filled with cut-up pieces of newspaper and lots of rocks.

“The young man is not exactly a paragon of intelligence,” Audie said. “But there is something about him that suggests there might be a glimmer of hope.”

“Smart as a whip, you dwarf!” Preacher fired at the former schoolteacher. Halfway to the Divide, Preacher had run into a band of friendly Flatheads. Yes, they had been into Bury many times to trade. Yes, they would keep their eyes and ears open and report back to Preacher. Preacher had returned to the base camp.

“No doubt you speak nonprejudicially,” Audie said.

“Don’t you cuss me!” Preacher warned. “I’ll rap you upside the head.”

Audie reached for the sawed-off .44. Preacher reached for his Colt.

Lobo suddenly growled like a wolf and the two old friends settled down, dropping their hands from the butts of pistols.

“Sorry ’bout that, little friend,” Preacher said.

“I, too, offer my sincere apologies, Preacher,” Audie said. “It’s the tension of waiting for the unknown.”

Dupre grinned and walked to his bedroll. He pulled two clay jugs out of the blankets. “I tink perhaps we have a drink or three,” he said.

“Right good idee,” Greybull said.

“I could stand a taste myself,” Matt said. “How ’bout you, Nighthawk?”

“Ummm.”

Buck had asked for a receipt for the newspapers and rocks. Back in Bury, he solemnly presented it to MacGregor. The Scotsman looked at Buck, then the receipt, and a sour smile slowly formed on his lips.

“You’re a damn fool for staying, boy,” MacGregor said. “I told Richards you were an honest man. That impressed him. But honest men won’t last long in a town filled with scalawags and hooligans. Tell him I said it, if you wish—but you won’t. You’ve stepped into a snake pit, young man. There isn’t a handful of people—men and women—in this town and surrounding area that is worth spit. Oh, I know why you’re here, Mr. Kirby Jensen, aka Smoke, aka Buck West. You’re here to avenge your wife, your son, your father, your friend Preacher. You’re so full of hate it’s consuming you, eating you alive. If you let it, boy, it will destroy you.”

“How many others know who I am?” Buck asked, keeping his voice calm.

“I think the red-haired gunman, Sam, probably knows. Sam is quite like you. An honest man. The schoolteacher you’ve been sparking about, Sally. She probably suspects. Don’t worry about me, Buck. I am a federal marshal.”