Triumph of the Mountain Man

12

Another five minutes and they would be as dead as King Sol, Smoke Jensen thought to himself as the fresh wave of bandits rolled toward them. He took time to aim carefully and knocked another outlaw from the saddle. Still they came. Around him, the vaqueros from Rancho de la Gloria made the switch from a near victory to furious defense with smooth unconcern. Their expressions did not change as they pumped round after round into the advancing gang members.

Truth was, Smoke realized, they seemed to enjoy it. With a violent forward surge by the gang, little more than two dozen yards separated the contending forces. Any time now Smoke and the vaqueros would have to break and run or be annihilated. The outlaw leader sensed it also.

With a triumphant whoop, he urged his men on. They closed the gap by five yards. Suddenly a stutter of shots erupted behind them. It rapidly grew to a ragged volley. Confused, fully half of the bandits turned about. Smoke Jensen seized the moment to charge.

“At them! ¡Cuchillos y machettes!” he yelled, calling for knives and the deadly long blades used for chopping jungle and high grass.

“Yiiiiiiii!” several vaqueros shouted in unison.

With bared blades in one hand, revolvers in the other, reins between their teeth or looped over the large, flat pommels of their saddles, the Mexican cowboys broke clear and thundered down on the astonished Anglo outlaws. The appearance of keen-edged steel unnerved many among the gang. They would gladly face down four or more blazing six-guns, but the thought of deep, gaping wounds, of severed limbs, or decapitation filled them with dread. Pressed from both sides, they abandoned all effort at resistance and fled in panicked disarray.

In no time, the posse led by Sheriff Banner and the vaqueros joined up. The field had been abandoned by Quinn’s rogues so swiftly that the wounded had been left behind. Smoke and the sheriff rode among them. None of them appeared capable of further fight.

“It’s over,” the sheriff opined.

Smoke did not share Banner’s confidence. “For now.”

* * *

Back in the sheriff’s office, Banner showed surprise to find Santan Tossa waiting. “It is good to see you, Santan. May I ask what brings you to Taos?”

“I wanted to check in. See what is going on in town.”

Banner sensed the young Tua policeman’s hesitation and decided to change the subject. “Oh, by the way, this is a very famous man among my people. His name is Smoke Jensen. Smoke, Santan Tossa, one of the Tua tribal police.”

A smile bloomed on the dark copper face of Santan Tossa. To Smoke’s surprise, he spoke excellent English. “Smoke Jensen. I have heard much about you. You have fought our brothers among the Kiowa, the Cheyenne, the Sioux, Blackfeet and Shoshone. But you were always fair. You’ve had a lot of run-ins with white men also. I had some of your exploits read to me by one of our people who understands English better than I do.”

Smoke gave him a deprecating grin. “All lies, Santan. If I had shot at, let alone killed, as many men as the dime novels say, there would be an ammunition shortage in the country to this day.”

They laughed together. When the sheriff joined them, the tension eased some. Banner decided to get to the point. “Now, what is it that brought you here?”

“We have had some thefts at the pueblo. Religious articles.” He went on to explain about the stolen objects, and the desecration. He did not reveal the possibility of an uprising.

“Do you have any suspects?”

Tossa shook his head, looking unhappy. “Yes, I do. It had to be one of our own who entered the kiva. No Mexican or white man could get away with it. The one I think took the relics is Dohatsa. I think he stole them for a man named Clifton Satterlee.”

“But why?”

“To cause trouble between our two people. I think he wants us to do something that will result in our being driven out. Satterlee wants the land. The trees most of all.”

Smoke, who had listened with intense concentration to the conversation, looked up then and spoke what was on his mind. “I suggest that it might be time for me and this young man to pay a visit to Satterlee’s hacienda in Santa Fe. Who knows what we might spook him into doing?”

Sheriff Banner snorted and shook his head. “That’s it exactly. Who knows? I don’t like it. There’s too much can go wrong. But, I suppose there’s no other choice. Be careful, Smoke.”

Smoke gave him a curt nod. “Now that I will do.”

* * *

Rapid, strident notes shivered brassily from the bell of a sliver-plated trumpet. The short, thin, dapper mariachi who played it had a pencil line of mustache that writhed above the mouthpiece as he articulated each tone. To his right, a big man with a huge bass guitar plucked the strings with gusto, rhythmic vibrations that directly strummed the heart. To the trumpeter’s left, a standard guitar and two violins played out the melody. Under their wide-brimmed charro sombreros, three of the quartet sang lustily. The song was “Sonora Querrida.” Clifton Satterlee looked with pride over the milling guests at his hacienda outside Santa Fe. Seated at the table on the palm frond shaded dais with him, his three partners and several of his eastern connections ate and drank to their hearts’ content.

Across the patio, on which some of the guests danced to the music, two small, barefoot boys, dressed in loosely fitted white cotton shirts and knee-length pants, turned a spit over a large bed of oak and piñon coals. Their eyes shone with the excitement generated by the fiesta that swirled around them. Steam and smoke rose from the fat and juices that dripped off the split side of beef the youngsters tended. The aroma of the roasting flesh kept everyone in a constant state of hunger. Large, glazed clay bowls of beans were emptied and promptly refilled. Others of delicate saffron rice, mixed with onions, green peas and tomatoes, suffered deep inroads. Mountains of freshly made tortillas, both flour and corn, disappeared with regularity. Beer, tequila and bourbon flowed freely. The happy laughter of women tinkled from every quarter.

Obviously enjoying all of this, one huge-bellied, overdressed man with pink pate showing through thinning hair leaned toward Satterlee and patted him on the forearm. “I have to hand it to you, Cliff, you know how to throw a party. All of this must cost a fortune.”

“Not at all, Findley. Labor is cheap. Back when the Spanish, then the Mexicans, ruled this land, the law had it that when a man owned the ground, he owned everything on it. That included villages and the people in them. Of course, he was required to provide a livelihood for the peons, see that they had a roof over their heads, food to eat, even paid a small amount of money. The patron had responsibility for their well-being, but to all intent and purpose, they were his property. When I took over, they had nowhere else to go, so they stayed. I provide and maintain their houses in the village, employ them to run the stores and the cantina. I even support their church, although it is the Popish Roman rite.”

“Rather like slavery,” Findley Ashbrook said with a chuckle.

Satterlee affected shock and abhorrence. “Heaven forbid, Findley. They are nothing of the sort. After all, they get paid. Ten dollars a month is tops.”

“You crafty devil,” burbled Quinton Damerest, a burly man with a hang-dog face seated beside Findley Ashbrook. “You’ve gotten around that demagog Lincoln and his emancipation, damned if you haven’t. I admire you for it. Is that how you intend to log out lumber way out here, ship it all the way back east and sell at a profit?”

Satterlee nodded, sipping from a clay mug of beer. “Precisely, Quinton. Once we have the workers living in company houses, buying only from the company store, getting their work clothes from the company commissary, just like my peons here at Santa Fe, then we wait until they are deeply in debt to the company and cut their wages by half, then half again. Before long, they’ll also be making only ten dollars a month, like these Mexican peons.”

Findley Ashbrook spoke up next. “What says they have to stay here?”

“The law, Ashbrook my friend, the law. We’ll be their employer, and also the local law. If they try to get away from here, we’ll take them in front of our tame justice of the peace, get an easy conviction for some trumped-up charge, then slap them and their whole family into jail. A little of that and they’ll see the light, have no fear.”

“What about the unions?” Findley asked darkly.

Satterlee smirked. “They’ll never get a start here. If they try, or if they organize a strike, we have Paddy Quinn and his men to take care of such annoyances.” He nodded to a slender, young, boyish-faced individual at one of the trestle tables, helping himself to another plate of carnitas de puerco, carne de res barbacóa and all the fixings. “You see that one over there? He is a prime example of what I’m talking about. He looks like a baby, but Patrick Quinn assures me he is one of the fastest, most accurate gunhands he has ever witnessed.”

Eyes wide, his cheeks gone pale, Quinton Damerest spoke in an awed tone. “Is that William Bonney?”

Satterlee chuckled indulgently. “Not at all, Quinton. He calls himself Mac. A Texas boy named MacGreggor. But he’s hell-fire with a six-gun. I’ve seen him in action.”

* * *

Unaware that he had become the topic of conversation on the dais, Ian MacGreggor went about filling his plate. He had grown up on the spicy foods of the Southwest. The barbecued beef, with its hot, sweet, red sauce and the carnitas with the wide variety of condiments were among his favorites. He had consumed two plates so far. He could eat at least that much more.

“A growing boy,” his mother had often said in mock irritation.

Well, it was true. For the last two years he had always felt hungry. At least being with the Quinn gang had that advantage. The food was good and plentiful. It had surprised Ian when he had been told he would be going along with a part of the gang to act as bodyguards at a fancy do put on by the Big Boss, Clifton Satterlee. The prospect excited him. He would get a chance for a closeup study of the man. He might also overhear something useful to Smoke Jensen. His plate loaded, Mac picked up a squatty clay pot of jugo de tamarindo, the savory extract of tamarind pods sweetened with honey and cut with water.

He could have had all the beer he wanted. No one would have questioned him. But he felt it wiser to remain alert and sober. His wisdom proved itself fifteen minutes later when Cole Granger rode in on a lathered, foaming-mouthed horse. Granger knocked the dust from his clothing and came directly to where Mac sat chewing industriously at his meal.

“Where’s the boss?”

“Mr. Quinn? He’s over there with the ‘important’ people on that platform,” Ian responded between bites.

Granger was abrupt. “Thanks.”

Mac sensed something important came with Granger. “Hey, what’s up?”

Cole Granger made an all-encompassing gesture. “Big trouble. You’ll find out soon enough.”

With a sigh and a regretful backward glance at his abandoned plate, Ian MacGreggor drifted along behind Cole Granger. The latter stopped at the bottom of the three steps that led to the dais. There he waited to catch the eye of Paddy Quinn. Mac held back and turned away to avoid recognition. At last Paddy looked up and saw the agitated Granger standing on the edge of the tile patio.

“Sure an’ what is it ye are lookin’ so exercised over, Cole, me lad?”

“We’ve got some big trouble up in Taos, Paddy.”

“Ouch, now, that’s such fresh news, it is.” Paddy had been hitting the tequila heavily. It showed clearly to an attentive Mac.

“No, really. We had the roadblocks busted up by a posse and some vaqueros who work for Diego Alvarado. About nine of the guys dead, some others near to death. Shot all to doll rags. An’ I—well, I recognized someone fighting with the Mezkin cowboys.”

“An’ who might that be?”

“Maybe we ought to move away a bit before I tell you?” Cole Granger suggested, as he cut his eyes nervously to Clifton Satterlee and his partners.

Grumbling under his breath, Paddy Quinn grabbed a fresh shot of tequila and a lime wedge from the tray of a waiter and climbed from the platform. Ian MacGreggor had moved off, though not out of hearing. Granger led Paddy over by a palo verde. There he spoke in a low tone.

“It was none other than Smoke Jensen.”

Shock and surprise registered on the face of Paddy Quinn. “Th’ hell. I thought him to be dead and buried long ago.”

“Not so. He’s taken a hand in what’s goin’ on in Taos.”

Quinn looked grim. “I’ll have to tell Mr. Satterlee.”

He went at once to where Satterlee sat and asked to speak alone with him. Off the dais, the head of C.S. Enterprises listened while Quinn explained. From the thunderous expression that shaped Satterlee’s face, Mac could tell he liked the news even less. At last, Satterlee spoke in a low tone.

“The presence of Smoke Jensen could prove a major threat. Quinn, I want you to select some men and do something about Jensen. And do it fast.”

* * *

Riding side by side, Smoke Jensen and Santan Tossa felt the warm sun on their right cheeks and shoulders. Santa Fe remained a full thirty-five miles away. They would not reach the bustling territorial capital until the next morning. As they neared a steep saddle, Smoke noted a large red-tailed hawk, its wings extended, tips down-curved, riding stationary on the strong breeze that blew through the opening.

Abruptly a shrill squeal came from a small, young rabbit crouched on the ground. Frightened beyond endurance by the hawk that hovered above it, it broke cover and sent spurts of red dust from under its hind feet. Instantly, the hawk folded its wings and dived like an arrow. Legs suddenly extended, claws flexed, the red-tail snatched the tiny creature from the earth and soared away toward its lair. The pitiful cry of its victim faded as it gained distance. Smoke Jensen watched unperturbed. He never forgot that nature was indeed a harsh mistress.

Santan Tossa nodded toward the dwindling silhouette of the hawk. “The young of the red-tail will eat well today.”

“That is so,” Smoke allowed. “Tell me, Santan, how long have you been a policeman?”

Tossa smiled, his chin lifted somewhat in pride. “Four years now. Although I will admit that this is the first real crime I have had to investigate. Most of the time I deal with a few drunks, or a dispute over ownership of a horse. What about yourself?”

Smoke had no need to search memory. “I’ve worn a badge, off and on, for well over fifteen years. I’ve fought outlaws and cleaned the riffraff out of towns, protected people in the government, even looked into the murder of friends and a few strangers.”

Tossa looked expectant of Smoke’s answer. “Do you like it?”

Smoke gave a snort of laughter. “A whole lot better than bein’ on the other side of the law. I’ve not run into many Indian policemen. The Sioux and Cheyenne don’t have them.”

Tossa shrugged. “They are still controlled by the soldiers and the Indian agents. We are on our own. We’re. . . pacified.” The word sounded bitter to his mouth.

That decided Smoke to change the subject. “Do you have a woman? A family?”

“I am too young to raise children. At least that is the way we Tua believe. The padres of the iglesia católica want us to marry young and have many children.”

“But that is not the Tua way.”

A broad grin spread across Tossa’s face. “No. And in that way, we mystify them. A Tua man usually takes a wife when he has twenty-six summers—er—years. He is through with war and breaking wild horses by then. Ready to settle down, hunt and plant and provide for a family. It is a good way.”

“I agree,” Smoke conceded.

They rode along making infrequent and idle conversation. They came down out of the Sangre de Cristo at Española and rode on a ways. The sun slanted far to the west and highlighted red plumes to their backs. Smoke Jensen had kept notice of them for some five miles when he reigned up.

“Someone is following us.”

Tossa nodded. “I noticed it, too.”

Smoke cut his level, gold-flecked gaze to Tossa. “What do you think we should do about it?”

The Tua shrugged. “Find out who they are.”

* * *

Cole Granger and the four men Paddy Quinn sent with him rode hard and fast out of Santa Fe, in an effort to reach the halfway point between the Satterlee hacienda and Taos before nightfall. As it happened, they arrived in Española only minutes before Smoke Jensen and Santan Tossa passed through. Granger, who had been the one to recognize Smoke in the first place, spotted the tall, broad-shouldered, firmly erect figure as Smoke walked his mount down the main street. In spite of three hundred years of settlement, roads remained sparse in this part of New Mexico. It did not require great genius for Cole Granger to figure out where Smoke Jensen might be headed.

“Him an’ that Injun are on the way to Satterlee’s.”

Pete Stringer eyed him dubiously. “How you know?”

“Where else would he be going? He’s in a dust-up with us and right off, he heads south. He’s goin’ to call out the big boss.”

Stringer eagerly went for the obvious solution. “Then, let’s take him out right here an’ now.”

Granger shook his head. “Not likely. The marshal here’s hell on killings in his town. Even if we let Jensen draw first—which would be a terrible mistake—we’d wind up in jail, most likely charged with murder. We’re gonna follow along. Pick our spot, then jump the two of them.”

“What does the Injun have to do with it?” another of the hard cases asked.

With a squint-eyed stare, Granger spat on the ground. “Who cares? He’ll be only another dead Injun.”

At Granger’s suggestion, they gave Smoke and Tossa time enough to cover five miles, then rode out, retracing their hurried route to the small mountain town. The outlaws pulled into sight twenty minutes later. To their right, the sun floated over the western arm of the Sangre de Cristo range. Long shafts of orange and magenta light cast their features in unnatural colors. Dark, elongated shadows of horses and riders kept pace with them. Their quarry dipped below the horizon, where the road descended yet another three hundred feet to the more open desert land that stretched to Santa Fe.

When Granger and his henchmen reached the grade, the outlaw leader immediately discovered that the men they hunted had disappeared. The first cold, portentous inklings of extreme danger clutched the spine of Cole Granger.