The Bounty Hunters

5

Standing in the doorway, Lieutenant Lamas Duro scratched his bare stomach and smacked his lips disgustedly. The taste of mescal was stale in his mouth. A feeling of faintness came on him, then passed just as suddenly and left him wide awake. He swallowed again as his tongue searched the inside of his mouth. And finally Lieutenant Duro decided that he did not feel too badly considering the mescal and the few hours sleep. Perhaps the mescal had not worn off completely. That was it.

He looked at the corporal, who smiled at him showing bad teeth, and he thought: If he is as frightened as I know he is, why should he smile? Why should he curl his diseased mouth which makes me despise him all the more? He shrugged to himself as his hands felt the flatness of his pockets. Then he moved the few steps from the sleeping-room doorway into the front room, and drew a cigar from a packet on the cluttered desk.

The corporal, who was a small man, watched him with wide-open eyes and nervously fingered into his pocket for a match; but when he scratched it against the adobe wall it broke in his hand, unlighted.

Lieutenant Lamas Duro, chief of rurales, took a match from the desk, shaking his head faintly, and scratched it across the scarred surface of the desk. Holding it to the cigar, he looked at the corporal and the corporal's eyes shifted quickly from his own.

He moved his hand idly over the hair of his stomach and chest and the hint of an amused smile played about the corners of his sensitive mouth. The corporal, a cartridge bandoleer crossing his faded gray jacket, stood at a rigid but stoop-shouldered attention, his eyes focussed now somewhere beyond the lieutenant, seeing nothing.

"You have a good reason for hammering my door at this hour?" The lieutenant spoke calmly, yet his words seemed edged with a threat.

"Teniente, the execution," the corporal said with his eyes still on the wall beyond.

"What execution?"

"The Indian who was taken yesterday, Teniente. The one who accompanies the American."

"Oh…" There was disappointment in his voice.

The day before, an American had wandered into Soyopa with a glittering display of goods-kitchen utensils, cutlery, leather goods, hats, even suits of clothes. The boxes filled his Conestoga to such capacity that many of the pots and pans hung from racks along the sides. And with him was the Aravaipa Apache boy.

The boy was perhaps thirteen, certainly not older, but still an Apache. Lieutenant Duro's duty was to rid this territory of banditry, and this included Apaches. They were simple instructions with few qualifications. No exceptions. If the Apache was foolish enough to enter Soyopa, so be it. Let him make his grace with God. His scalp was worth one hundred pesos.

The trader was escorted far out of sight of the pueblo and sent on his way, after protests. The Territorial Commission would hear about this. But Lieutenant Duro could make no exceptions. It pained him that the villagers would have no opportunity to make purchases, but he must think of their protection and welfare first. He had told this to Hilario, the alcalde. Often the upholding of the law is unpleasant. One must often act against his heart.

"Why there are even things I wanted to buy," he told the alcalde, "but I could not." And while he said it, he thought of the law of compensation. The good are rewarded. He still had the Apache boy.

"Also, Teniente…"

"Yes!" He bellowed the word and glared, and now smiled only within himself, watching the frightened corporal. What excuses for men I have, he thought. What a magnificently stupid son of the great whore this one is.

"It is the alcalde. He desires to speak with you."

"What did you tell him?"

The corporal stammered, "I told him I would present his request."

"Have you presented it now?"

"Yes, Teniente."

"Then what keeps you here?" The corporal turned with an eagerness to be out, but Duro brought him up sharply. "Corporal!"

"Yes, Teniente."

"Corporal…" He spoke softly moving back toward the sleeping room, still idly rubbing his stomach, and nodded into the room. "…when you go, take that cow of a woman with you…"

The west wall of the courtyard was bullet-riddled from one end to the other, though the pockmarks were scattered at the extreme ends. Toward the center they were more clustered and in some few places the bullet holes formed gouges-scarred patches from which the adobe had crumbled, leaving hollows.

And it appeared that the wearing away of the wall was a concern of Sergeant Santana's. He varied the position of his riflemen with a calculated deliberateness which argued reason, moving them along the wall with each execution.

At one time, perhaps the appearance of the wall had been his concern, but it had become lost in routine; so that now he moved his riflemen back and forth simply because he was able to do so. He knew that bullets would never probe completely through the thick adobe-not in his lifetime; nor did he care if they ever would.

This morning, Sergeant Santana measured the paces from the line of six riflemen to the wall. He counted twelve in time with his strides, then raised the quirt which was attached to his wrist and waved it in an indolent, sweeping motion toward the rear door of the adobe building. He lighted a cigar, leisurely, and when he looked at the door again they were bringing out the Apache boy.

Walking into the yard now, two men in front of him, two behind and one on each side, he seemed very small. Pathetically small. Santana shrugged and blew smoke out slowly. An Apache was an Apache. He had heard even the teniente say that.

They placed him close to the wall where Santana indicated with his quirt, and a rurale remained on either side of him holding his arms, though his hands were tied behind his back. The others moved away to join the line of men along the back of the house.

Santana's eyes followed them then shifted to the back door, expecting it to open, but it remained closed and again he turned to the Apache who was looking about with little show of concern.

His trousers were too large, bunched at the waist and tucked into moccasins rolled beneath his knees. His shirt was dirty, faded blue, and only his moccasins and headband indicated that he was Apache. The two rurales, in their dove-gray uniforms and crossed bandoleers, were a half-head taller than the boy who would move his chin from one shoulder to the other to look at them, studying the leather cartridge belts and the silver buttons on the soft gray jackets. And all about the courtyard were these men with their guns and so many bullets that they must have special belts to hang them over their shoulders. The boy was aware that he was going to die, but there were so many things of interest to see. He hoped they might delay it for a little while longer.

Two Americans came in through the gateway in the east wall. They strolled leisurely, smoking cigarettes, and as they approached Santana one of them called, "You better get closer, that boy's kinda small."

Both of them laughed, but Santana ignored them and looked toward the house's rear door.

They were gaunt-faced men, both needed a shave, and they wore their hats low on their foreheads against the morning sun. They stood with their thumbs in low-slung gun belts watching Santana and the rifleman. Now the one who had spoken before said, "Hey, Santy! We'll lay you even, three of the six don't hit the boy!"

They grinned, waiting for the sergeant to answer. Santana said with contempt, "Listen to the great killers of Indians."

One of the Americans said, "Well?" but Santana had turned his back to them.

Through the gateway now came a group of men dressed in white peon clothes and straw sombreros. There were six in all, but five of them walked close together, a few strides behind the older man with the bronzed face and white mustache. Hilario Esteban, the alcalde of Soyopa, walked with more dignity than the others who seemed purposely holding back, as if reluctant to enter the courtyard.

And at that moment, Lieutenant Duro came out of the back door of the adobe building. He was hatless, his jacket open, and a white scarf draped loosely about his neck. A cigar was in the corner of his mouth. Drawing on it, he glanced at Hilario Esteban who was only a few paces away. But when he saw the old man about to speak, he turned his head quickly toward Santana who was coming over from the rifle squad.

Lieutenant Duro then looked about the courtyard leisurely, from the riflemen to the Apache, then to the two Americans and the rest of his rurales in the narrow shade of the house. He ignored Hilario and his delegation of villagers. He was sick of their wide-eyed hesitancy, their halfhearted pleading on matters of no importance as they twisted the brims of their sombreros with nervous fingers. Hilario was different, he admitted to himself. But he was of the other extreme. Hilario had been with Juarez at Queretaro and had witnessed the execution of Maximilian and he retained strange ideas concerning rights. Hilario would have to be shown his place.

Santana stood before him now, idly slapping the quirt against the booted calf of his leg. Lieutenant Duro eyed the cigar in the sergeant's mouth. He took a long, sucking draw on his own then dropped it to the ground. He looked directly at the sergeant, exhaling the smoke slowly.

The sound of the quirt slapping against leather stopped.

Santana returned the lieutenant's stare, his cigar clenched in the corner of his mouth, but only for a moment. He dropped the cigar and ground it into the hard-packed sand.

Duro smiled faintly. "We are ready now?" he said.

Santana mumbled, "Ready," and turned to go back to the firing squad.

"Sergeant!"

Santana turned slowly.

"Listen. Ask your marksmen to aim lower than the head."

"Yes, Teniente."

"And take his hair neatly when it is over."

Santana nodded toward the two Americans who were watching with interest. "Perhaps one of those should do that."

Duro smiled again. "You would debate the matter?"

"I was only talking."

"Talk to your marksmen," Lieutenant Duro said.

As Santana moved off, Hilario Esteban approached Duro.

"May I ask a question, Senor Duro?"

The lieutenant's eyes followed Santana. "What is it?"

"I would ask by what right you kill this Apache boy."

"You answer your own question. He is Apache."

"He is a peaceful Apache. The American merchant told us that he is Aravaipa, which have seldom been at war, and when they were, it was long ago. Besides, he is only a boy."

Duro looked at him with his faint smile. "Boys grow into men. Let's call these bullets the ounces of prevention."

"Senor Duro, this American will go back and tell his government…"

"What, that we have shot an Apache?"

Hilario shook his head and the lines of age in his face seemed more deeply etched. "Senor Duro, this one is at peace. He assists in the selling of the merchant's wares and entertains no thoughts common to the Apache. The American will tell his government what we have done and there will be ill feeling."

"Ill feeling! Old man, stop…"

"Senor, I am responsible for the welfare of travelers who visit Soyopa as well as our own people. I have a trust…"

"Do you really believe that?" Duro looked at the old man closely.

"With all certainty."

"You believe your office to be one of honor, which involves the bearing of grave responsibilities?"

"Senor Duro." Hilario's tone lost respect. "We are discussing the life of a boy. One who has done nothing hostile to any of us!"

"You actually believe the alcalde resides in a seat of honor?" The lieutenant's voice remained calm.

"Senor Duro…"

The lieutenant interrupted him. "Corporal!" And as the corporal hurried toward him, he said, "Since your office is of such magnitude, perhaps you should remain close to it. Sit at your desk, Alcalde, in your seat of honor, and contemplate your grave responsibilities." And then to the corporal, "Take your men and escort our alcalde to his office…and Corporal…if he puts his head out of the door…shoot him."

He waited until they had taken Hilario out of the courtyard-a rurale on each arm and others behind with their rifles at ready-the five of the peon delegation hurrying out ahead of them. Then he turned back to the firing squad. Santana was looking toward the gateway.

"Sergeant!" the lieutenant called, just loud enough to be heard. "If you please…" And he thought to himself: Lamas, you are an animal. But his mind shrugged it off, because it was a long way to Mexico City, and now he watched intently as the squad raised their rifles.

The two rurales moved away from the Apache boy. His eyes followed one of them as the dove-gray uniform moved off toward the house. The bullets go even all the way down the back! He heard a command in Spanish. One word. And there are so many of them; each man has two belts, and who knows, there might even be more stored in that great jacale. Another Spanish word broke the sudden stillness of the courtyard. Would it not be fine to have a belt with so many bullets. He heard the last command clearly…"Fire!"

Hilario Esteban, crossing the square, passing the slender obelisk of stone, heard the rifle fire. A short roll, a sharp, high-pitched echo that carried away to nothing. His shoulders hunched as if by reflex, then relaxed, and he sighed. A rifle barrel jabbed against his spine and only then did he realize that he had hesitated.