The Stranger from Abilene

Chapter 27

Marshal Nook Kelly stood outside his office, smoking his last cigar of the day. The town was quiet and the street was deserted. A few lights burned in the windows of the houses beyond the church, and over at John Whipple’s gun and rod store, his little calico cat explored the night.

Despite the quiet, Kelly was uneasy. Where the hell was Clayton? He should have returned from the spur by now.

The marshal admitted to himself that he liked the man from Abilene. Clayton was a cattleman, not a gunfighter, and he’d found himself out of his depth as a bounty hunter.

When this whole thing with Park Southwell’s wife blew over, and it looked as if it had because Kelly had not seen the old man or Shad Vestal either, then he’d send Clayton on home. The man he was looking for was not in Bighorn Point or he’d have revealed himself by now.

Park Southwell didn’t shape up as much of a human being, and probably had started his ranch with stolen cattle, but he’d been a colonel in the war, not a guerilla fighter like Lissome Terry.

As far as Kelly was concerned, Southwell was in the clear.

But that didn’t answer the question—where was Cage Clayton?

There were outlaws aplenty up here in the Nations, and a few bronco Apaches who hadn’t gotten the word about Geronimo. It was a dangerous place for a pilgrim, especially one wearing a lawman’s star on his shirt.

Kelly drew deeply on his cigar. Clayton was handy enough with a gun, but a bullet in the back has a way of canceling out that advantage. The marshal shook his head. Hell, he’d sent Clayton out to the spur, and he was responsible for his safety. But then, Cage was a grown man and could take care of himself. And he knew what . . .

“Damn it!” Kelly swore aloud.

The bottom line was he’d sent the man out to the spur and it was his duty as a peace officer to make sure he wasn’t in danger.

The marshal pitched his cigar into the street. He stepped into his office, grabbed his rifle from the rack, and blew out the oil lamp.

On his way to the livery stable, Kelly suddenly realized what was at the root of his decision to find Clayton.

“Nook Kelly,” he told himself, “you’re just too damned softhearted for your own good.”