Close Call Read online

  “What’s the law done about my father’s murder?” Lassiter demanded, letting his cold gaze switch to the silent deputy’s face.

  “They ain’t bothered none about it,” Logan retorted before Boswell could speak. “They’ve only been concerned with catching you, Dane. Mebbe this trouble was started just to give them the chance to nail you!”

  “If you’ve got any savvy at all you’ll get out of this county fast as you can,” Boswell said thinly. “When I get back to town I’m gonna turn out every able bodied man I can lay my hands on. You won’t be able to hide out in any part of the range. We’ll get you, Lassiter.”

  “I wouldn’t come too close,” Lassiter retorted. “I’m through shooting to scare men off. My father’s death changes all that. I’m gonna find out what’s been happening behind the scenes around here, and I’ll kill every last man in on it.”

  “What we gonna do about him?” Logan prompted. “Shall I shoot him and bury him?”

  Boswell’s arrogance faded a little in the face of the threat, and his dark gaze lifted to Lassiter’s hard face. Lassiter shook his head slowly.

  “I’m not a murderer,” he said. “I won’t start cold blooded killing now. But we can’t let him go or he’ll turn out a posse for me before I get the chance to go into this trouble. Bring him along to the ranch, Charlie. I’ll know better what to do after I’ve seen Frank.”

  “I’ve warned you about Frank,” Logan said.

  Lassiter climbed back into his saddle and pushed the bay up the hill. He collected his rifle and continued over the crest without looking at the fresh grave again, and his mind was blank, under strict control. He tightened his lips when he saw the ranch house and yard before him, and let the bay make its own way down the slope. He could not accept that he was the cause of the trouble here. He had not murdered Buck Beutel. The gambler had accused him of cheating and had pulled his gun. The fact that Dane Lassiter was the fastest gun in the county saved his life, but the tag of murderer had been applied to him, and he didn’t know who was responsible for the lie. But now his father was dead, murdered in revenge for Beutel’s killing, and that heaped more blame upon the head of Dane Lassiter.

  He rode around the back of the house and reined up in front of the porch. The place hadn’t changed at all in eight months, he noticed, and saw a figure in the doorway of the barn. It was Pete Shirlton, the other Cross L rider, and when he was recognised, Shirlton came out of the barn and hurried across the yard towards the house.

  “Dane, I’m sure glad to see you! Now maybe we’ll get something done around here!” Shirlton was around twenty-five, medium, fleshy, and normally a cheerful man, but now his heavy face was set and harsh.

  “Howdy, Pete. I’m glad to see you again. Is Frank around?”

  “He’s in the house!” Shirlton paused and glanced around when he heard hoofs, and a startled expression came to his face when Boswell, then Charlie Logan showed from around the side of the house. “What the hell?” he demanded, when he saw the gun in Logan’s hand.

  “Everything is under control, Pete,” Logan rasped. “You just stay out of this. I’ve laid myself open to five years jail for helping Dane. There ain’t no need for you to get involved.”

  “Shirlton, I’m an officer of the law being held against his will, and Lassiter was under arrest. I’m calling on you to help me. If you don’t, then you’ll be breaking the law.”

  Pete Shirlton smiled thinly, and he shook his head. “You’re barking up the wrong tree, Boswell, calling on me to help you. I don’t class you as an officer of the law, as you called yourself. I figure you and the other two so-called lawmen are nothing better than small-time crooks. I never seen lawmen like you three. You’ve got a nerve to hunt down a man like Dane Lassiter, when none of you are fit to clean his boots.”

  Boswell started cursing, and Charlie Logan grinned in his tight-lipped way. Lassiter took a deep breath and then sighed heavily, relieved that he did have some friends in the county. He turned to enter the house to see his brother, but paused when the front door was jerked open. The next moment his brother Frank stepped outside, staring at him as if looking at a stranger, and no welcoming expression touched his heavy face.

  “What the hell did you come back for?” Frank Lassiter demanded jerkily. He was thirty-four, tough and surly, and he had never been a friendly type. But he was hard working and serious minded, and Dane knew his wildness and high-spirited way of life had always grated on his brother’s nerves. But he hadn’t been prepared for this icy welcome.

  “Why the hell do you think I’ve come back?” he demanded. “I want to get to the bottom of this trouble.”

  “You’re the one who started it! But for you none of this would have happened. Pa would still be alive if you hadn’t gone around raising hell and gambling. You’ve brought all this trouble upon us, and I hold you responsible for Pa’s death, just as if you pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger yourself!”

  Dane stared into his brother’s hard face, and felt emotion go quickly through him, surging like a flash flood. He clenched his teeth as agony hit him. He wasn’t to blame for all this, and he was aware of it. Someone had selected him for the victim of these circumstances, and with a very good reason in mind. He was too tough to be pushed around. He was to be feared when he lifted his gun. That had to be the reason for what had happened, and he knew he had to stand up to this alone. Frank would never help him. Frank blamed him.

  As if in answer to his thoughts, his brother stepped forward a pace and swung a heavy fist, smashing his knuckles into Dane’s mouth. Dane fell down under the blow, and rolled off the porch into the dust. He was shocked, but now he knew where he stood. He was down as low as he could go. From this moment onwards he would begin to fight back!

  CHAPTER TWO

  “YOU’VE got the right attitude, Lassiter,” Boswell declared as Dane started groggily to his feet. “Now show me what you’re really made of by getting this fool Logan to put away his gun.”

  Frank Lassiter came to the edge of the porch and stared at Logan. His pale eyes were glittering. He was breathless, his shoulders rising and falling as if he were under great pressure.

  “What the hell are you playing at, Charlie?” he demanded, ignoring Dane, who was on his feet and brushing the dust from his clothes. “Put that gun away right now. We’re in enough trouble here without you adding to it.”

  “I can’t do that, Frank,” Logan retorted firmly. “Boswell arrested Dane, and was taking him to town. I had to step in.”

  “I’m not interested in Dane. He’s no brother of mine after what happened. He’s responsible for my father’s death. He’s never had any interest in the ranch or in working here. He got himself into trouble and he can get out of it with his own efforts. Now put that gun away.”

  “That I won’t do,” the older man retorted harshly. “I’m no fool, Frank. I’m in trouble with the law now, and I’m on Dane’s side. He ain’t done anything to deserve this. The trouble that’s come to Cross L started the day he was framed with murder. All this other business comes from that. If you took the time to lift your nose from the grindstone now and again you’d see which way the wind was blowing. You’re making a big mistake by not taking Dane’s side in this.”

  Frank Lassiter smiled grimly, and let his eyes take in his brother’s motionless figure. He shook his head slowly.

  “You better get on your hoss and ride out of here,” he said through his teeth. “Get to hell and gone. There’s nothing for you here. You’re through, all washed up, and if I see your face around this yard again I’ll take a gun to you.”

  “You’ve got a right to your opinion, Frank,” Dane said slowly, in trembling tones. “Okay. You do what you figure is right. But listen to this. I never started this trouble. Someone else did, and for a reason I ain’t got hold of yet. But I will find out, and when I do I’ll come back here and ram the truth down your throat.”

  They stared at one another for long moments, and Frank said
nothing and did not move. Dane moistened his lips, running his tongue over the bruised area where Frank’s fist had caught him. He was filled with bitterness, but held it in check, and he turned away, suppressing a sigh, to climb into his saddle.

  “I’ll take over now, Charlie,” he said tightly. “You’ve got into this, but you can get out before too much happens. I’ll take the blame for what you did.”

  “He’ll stand up in court to face a charge of his own,” Boswell retorted. “You can’t get him out of this, Lassiter.” He let his dark gaze touch Frank Lassiter’s face. “You’re gonna be in trouble too if you let your brother ride out of this yard without trying to stop him taking me along as a prisoner. I represent the law!”

  Dane lifted his sixgun and held it negligently. “Don’t try anything, Frank,” he warned. “I mean to find out what happened to Pa, and if you ain’t gonna help then I’ll go it alone.”

  “Not alone,” Charlie Logan rasped. “I’m with you, Dane.”

  “Me too!” Pete Shirlton rapped. “Give me a couple of minutes to get saddled up, Dane.”

  “I don’t want you along,” Dane retorted. “You’ll make bad trouble for yourselves by tying in with me. I’d rather fight this alone.”

  “I never heard you talk foolish before, Dane,” Logan retorted, grinning harshly. “I reckon you don’t have any choice in this. I’ve been waiting for you to come back. It’s about time something was done about this trouble. It took your father’s life, and far from being your fault, I figure it’s Frank should take the blame because he didn’t step in when there was time for something to be done.”

  Frank’s face mottled with anger, and he clenched his big hands and drew a sharp breath.

  “Damn you, Logan,” he rasped. “I won’t have you talking that way. My father was good to you. Is this the way you repay him? He ain’t hardly cold in his grave.”

  “He was real good to you too, Frank,” Logan retorted. “Mebbe you should think about that once in a while. Mebbe you ought to have done more when you had the chance, huh?”

  “How come you let my brother ride in here and scatter your wits?” Frank demanded. “But it’s okay with me if that’s the way you want it, Charlie. Just turn your hoss around and get out of here. Don’t show your face in the yard again. You’re through.”

  “That suits me fine,” Logan retorted heavily. “What about you, Pete?”

  “Just give me time to saddle up,” Shirlton replied, moving away. “We’ll ride out together.”

  They moved across to the corral, and sat watching Boswell while Shirlton saddled up. Dane glanced across at the house and saw his brother standing there, unmoving, and there was pain in Dane’s mind while he considered. He wanted Frank on his side. But he could understand his brother’s bitterness. Frank figured there was some truth in the stories that had gone the rounds about Dane Lassiter, and being the hard-working type that he was he couldn’t accept his brother’s high spirits and wildness.

  But all that was gone now, Dane reflected, holding his gun on Boswell. He had grown up quickly and suddenly under the pressures of the past months. The murder that had been flung at him had given him a bad shock. He had fled to save his neck, and in his absence someone had lied about the shooting and fixed it so he couldn’t return to his home.

  Pete Shirlton saddled up and mounted, and they rode out of the yard with Boswell leading them. Logan glanced back, but Dane did not, and when they hit the range and followed the trail that led to Pommel, Charlie Logan asked what their plans were.

  “What are we gonna do with Boswell?” Shirlton demanded, and the unarmed deputy twisted in his saddle and stared at them.

  “The boot will soon be on the other foot,” Boswell declared. “Just wait till I get to town and rouse out the posse.”

  “You ain’t shot of us yet,” Logan retorted. “Better watch your mouth and hope that I don’t pull my trigger on you, Deputy. I never did cotton to you. When you came into this county and took that star you started throwing your weight about.”

  “A man’s got to get tough where this sort of thing is happening,” Boswell retorted. “None of you have got any respect for the law.”

  “Who swore the statement that I drew first against Buck Beutel?” Lassiter demanded.

  “I don’t know anything about it. I wasn’t around when that happened. If you want any dope on it then ride into Pommel and have a talk with the sheriff.”

  “I might just do that,” Lassiter retorted. “Okay, Boswell, you’re on your own now. Get to hell out of here and don’t stop riding till you get to town. And don’t cross my trail again. The next time you won’t get the drop on me, and I won’t treat you as a lawman. This time you’ve got the benefit of the doubt.”

  For a moment Boswell remained staring at him. There was calculation in the deputy’s eyes. Then Logan chuckled harshly.

  “There’s suspicion in your face, Boswell,” he remarked. “You figure we might shoot you in the back. Well you ain’t far wrong, friend. You better think on that until you’re out of gun range. Now beat it.”

  The deputy faced his front and stiffened his body. He gigged his mount and started away from them, slowly at first, then faster as he put distance between them. When the man was twenty yards away, Logan chuckled harshly and drew his gun. Lassiter felt a momentary pang as he watched, afraid that Logan was going to shoot the deputy. But Logan merely fired the gun skywards, and Boswell glanced back across his shoulder in startled fashion, then urged his mount to greater effort.

  “That dog!” There was contempt in Shirlton’s voice. “He ain’t worth much, Dane. There’s a mess of cold blooded crookedness in this county, and it’s been spreading for a long time. You don’t know the half of it!”

  “Well I’m ready to listen to anything you’ve got to say,” Lassiter retorted.

  “That’s the whole trouble, Dane,” Logan told him sourly. “We can’t put our fingers on anything specific. There just ain’t anything more than suspicions.”

  “They’ll do to start with! I’ve got nothing to work on. All I know is that Beutel pulled his gun on me. He accused me of cheating, but I never cheated in my life. He figured he could take me, I guess, and wanted an excuse to do so. If he’d killed me I wouldn’t have been in a position to deny his accusation. But I got him. That changed matters a great deal.”

  “What happened that night?” Logan demanded. “We only know what we were told, and the truth was hard to separate from the lies.”

  “I told you. Beutel forced it, and I killed him. I ducked out while the shouting was going on afterwards, and by the time I was saddled up and ready to ride, the sheriff was looking for me to hang murder on me. I had to run for it. If I’d stayed behind to protest my innocence they would have put me in jail, and most like I would have had my neck stretched by now.”

  “We spoke to the other men at that card table,” Shirlton said. “No one saw who drew first.”

  “No one saw who drew first?” Lassiter shook his head. “Someone said it was me, so someone must have seen something.”

  “You mean someone said he’d seen something, and if you didn’t draw first then he’s lying. I reckon if we can get hold of that witness we might start something that’ll bring it all out, Dane.”

  “I was thinking along those lines myself, but where do we start looking?” Lassiter looked at the receding figure of the deputy, who was still riding fast towards Pommel. “We ain’t gonna have a lot of time. There will be posses out soon as Boswell hits town. I wish you two hadn’t gotten into this.”

  “I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Logan retorted pugnaciously. “Your father has been murdered, Dane, and like Frank said, Walt Lassiter was a good friend to me.

  “On top of that you got a raw deal eight months ago,” Shirlton said grimly. “We’d be poor men if we didn’t stand up with you, Dane.”

  Lassiter thinned his lips, feeling pain where his brother had hit him, and his eyes clouded for a moment, glinting palely. He fel
t at a loss how to proceed, and grief tried to blur his thoughts. He thought of his sister, and moistened his lips.

  “What about Mary?” he demanded. “How does she feel about me?”

  “That’s hard to say. When Frank had a lot of nasty things to say about you she kept silent. She didn’t commit herself either way, Dane. I guess you’ll have to see her to find out what she’s got in mind.” Logan shook his head. “This is the hell of a business. There wasn’t a better family than the Lassiters in this county. Now look what’s come to them.”

  “I can’t ride into town,” Lassiter said slowly. “The law will expect me to do just that. But I’ve got to find out who stated I drew first against Beutel.”

  “There is a way,” Shirlton said thoughtfully, and Lassiter and Logan turned their eyes to him.

  “You got a hunch about something, Pete?” Logan demanded.

  “Yeah. The law department will know the man who swore Dane drew first.”

  “How’s that gonna help? We know that, but they ain’t likely to tell us,” Logan retorted.

  “Someone had to swear out a warrant, and Judge Hendrik will know about that,” Shirlton said.

  “The Judge!” Logan stared at Lassiter. “What do you think, Dane? Could you get any help from the Judge?”

  “I wasn’t thinking of the Judge himself,” Shirlton retorted. “What about his daughter Paula? Ain’t she alius been kind of sweet on you, Dane?”

  Lassiter narrowed his eyes as he considered. He thought of Paula Hendrik, and remembered the time when he had been sweet on her. But they had seemed to drift apart. A Judge’s daughter didn’t look too kindly upon a young man who was wild and high spirited! He smiled wryly as the memories came back.

  “She was sweet on me all right, Pete, but I doubt if she’d acknowledge me after what’s happened. Yancey Clark kind of stepped in after I drifted from Paula.” “Yancey Clark!” There was contempt in Logan’s voice. “That four-flusher! He’s gone from bad to worse since you left the county, Dane.”