Whispering Pines Page 24

  Reuben glanced at Stevie. “Are you making plans to rob the bank?”

  Stevie shook his head. “This is Frank’s idea.”

  Reuben took his time responding as he settled his glasses on his nose. “I don’t think I’m interested in robbing the bank. I would be inside at the time, and that sounds very dangerous. It’s not like planning a stagecoach robbery out in the middle of nowhere. We have a sheriff and deputies, and I am told they are quite accurate shots.”

  Frank felt like laughing. “No one would know you are in on it. We would point a gun at you like we would the others. All you need to do is tell me what would be the best day to rob. The day the vault is full.”

  “And what would be in it for me?”

  There was the question Frank had been expecting. “I’m sure you understand that it can’t be the same deal you had with Stevie. We have too many men and we all will split it equally.”

  “That would not make it worth my time,” Reuben said.

  Frank dismounted and walked toward the buggy. Reuben slid back in the seat. Frank leaned close to him and spoke in a low tone. “Let’s put it this way. If you don’t, we’ll shoot you when we rob the bank, because we are going to rob it one way or the other.”

  Reuben’s eyes widened. Frank had the coldest blue eyes he’d ever seen. He felt as though he was looking into the depths of a soulless creature. “I could tell the sheriff what you are planning.”

  Frank grinned. “Yeah, you could. But then I reckon someone could inform the sheriff how you robbed the stagecoach.”

  “But I didn’t rob the stagecoach,” Reuben said.

  “You had a hand in it. Oh, you might not get as many years in the territorial prison since you didn’t rob it yourself. But how do you think you would do in prison for five years or so?” If Frank wasn’t mistaken, Reuben paled a bit.

  “I guess I see your point.”

  Smiling wide at him, Frank said, “I thought you would. Now why don’t you tell me about the next shipment the bank is expecting?”

  Reuben stared at him a minute, then said, “We are expecting a large shipment by Friday and the money will be at the bank for ten days.”

  Frank and Stevie listened as Reuben explained the details of the shipment.

  “Frankie, our take would be enough money so that we will never have to pull another robbery,” Stevie said.

  Frank slapped his brother on the back. “Stevie, you may be right. Now let’s plan how we can pull this off.”

  They sat for two hours discussing how and when to rob the Denver bank. Reuben was impressed with Frank’s devious mind and his thorough planning. He was not a stupid man, but Frank had weaknesses. Reuben thought two of those weaknesses would eventually destroy him: his greed, and his hatred for Morgan LeMasters.

  * * *

  They were riding back to the cabin when Frankie told Stevie of his plans to rustle cattle tonight.

  “I already told the boys not to drink too much because we’re going to have a long ride after we get those cows. We’re going to drive them down to New Mexico Territory to sell. That’ll give us some money to tide us over.”

  Stevie had hoped Frankie was going to change his mind about rustling on Morgan’s ranch. He hadn’t forgotten what had happened to Smiley. Sometimes he still had dreams about the screams they’d heard the last time they rustled on Whispering Pines. He knew the other men felt the same way about riding on LeMasters’s land.

  “Frankie, we can use some of the stagecoach money. There’s more than enough to get what we need. If the bank holdup don’t pan out, we will still have enough to make a start somewhere else.”

  “Stevie, I want us to keep that money just in case we can’t pull off this bank job. I’ll be in Denver watching Reuben for a few days. I want to make sure your friend can be trusted.”

  “Reuben can be trusted,” Stevie insisted.

  “As long as you were the one actually robbing, he didn’t have much at stake. If you got caught and said he was involved, it would have been your word against his.”

  Stevie didn’t comment, but he thought Frank was being paranoid.

  “But tonight we are going rustling. LeMasters needs to know he will never be safe from me.” Knowing Stevie was probably thinking about Smiley, Frank grinned and said, “Don’t worry about no spooks. We’ll ride in from the cabin after midnight. We won’t be in the pines that long if we go in from that direction.”

  “Can I go with you to sell the cattle?” Stevie asked.

  “I don’t plan on going with the boys to sell them. I’m going to stay here with you and Walt. If I decide to rob the bank, the three of us can handle it. They won’t have more than three employees there at any one time. You heard what Reuben said, Mr. Rivers isn’t hiring extra guards. I want you to stay around the farm until we decide when we are going to rob the bank.”

  “What happens after the holdup?” Stevie asked.

  “I’m going to tell the boys we’ll meet them in New Mexico territory. A town called Las Vegas. You remember I told you about that town. The men want some female company, and there’s no better place to get what you want than in that wild town. But don’t slip up and talk about robbing the bank. We ain’t sharing that money.”

  Stevie remembered the stories about the lawless town where every outlaw in the West hid out in plain sight. He’d been wanting to go to Las Vegas and meet some of the fast guns. Maybe he could even call one of them out to see who was the fastest. “I can’t wait to see that town.”

  “You’ll see it soon enough,” Frank promised.

  “Frankie, we should rustle in the morning,” Stevie said.

  Frank gave his brother a hard look. “You wanting to run the show now, little brother?”

  “No, I was just saying we should wait until tomorrow morning because Morgan said they were all going to church. They invited me to go along. A lot of his men go to church, so I figured they’d be shorthanded. I’d bet no one would be on that west range if we strike before dawn.”

  “Well, that’s good to know. Pretty smart thinking, little brother. Maybe the boys won’t be as skittish as little girls, riding through those pines in the morning. We can ride out a lot faster in daylight hours.”

  * * *

  “It’s a rustler’s moon tonight,” Deke said when Frank and Stevie arrived at the cabin.

  “It’s a good night to be seen,” Corbin grumbled.

  Frank looked at them and snorted. “Stevie had a good idea. Tomorrow is Sunday, and Stevie said most of the ranch hands go to church, so that’s when we are going to hit them. They’ll be shorthanded. And you girls may not be as scared to ride through the pines in the daylight.”

  “Makes sense,” Walt said.

  “Sounds good to me,” Dutch said.

  “Okay, gather around, we’ll lay out the plan for tomorrow.” After Frank planned the rustle, he told them he would be meeting up with them later in Las Vegas. “You know where to sell the cattle, and I figure you boys deserve a rest. I know how you love that town.”

  “What do you mean? You usually handle the sale of the cattle,” Deke said.

  “I won’t be leaving with you. Me, Walt, Stevie, and Corbin are going to stay behind,” Frank said.

  “Why are the four of you staying behind? That don’t sound like a smart thing to do,” Reb said.

  “When the time is right we’re going to take care of LeMasters and that Sioux. I know you men don’t have nothing personal against LeMasters. So I trust you to sell the cattle and take the money to Las Vegas. You understand how important it is for Joseph Longbow not to testify against us?” He looked from man to man as they all nodded in unison. “Well, I’m going to make sure he don’t.”

  “Why can’t I go with the boys to sell the cattle?” Corbin asked. “I ain’t got nothing against LeMasters.”

  “I’m going to need you for a diversion when I go after LeMasters and Longbow.” Frank figured Corbin was the most expendable man in the gang. He wasn’t a good s
hot, and he was stupid enough to believe anything Frank told him. Frank needed someone he could sacrifice, and he nominated Corbin.

  “How many cows are we going to take?” Deke asked.

  “I’m hoping we can get at least fifty head,” Frank said. “Now I trust you boys not to spend all that money on whiskey and women. We’re going to need some of that money to get us to Mexico when the time comes.” He slapped Stevie on the back. “And Stevie will want to spend some of it when he gets there. He’s never been to Las Vegas, so find him a good-looking woman.”

  The four men laughed. They were all relieved they wouldn’t be involved in killing LeMasters or Longbow.

  “Sometimes the women ain’t bad looking,” Mason said.

  “Yeah, especially after that first bottle,” Reb joked.

  “How long should we wait?” Dutch asked.

  Frank turned his eyes on Dutch. “You don’t expect us to be killed, do you, Dutch?”

  “You never know. If we get down there and wait two or three weeks, more than likely you won’t be coming,” Dutch replied.

  “Dutch, I thought you knew me better than that. I told you boys it’ll take more than these locals to do me in. We’ll be there. But if you boys get nervous after ten days, then take off to Mexico if you want.”

  Dutch looked at Walt and Stevie. They were both quiet . . . too quiet. Dutch had a feeling something else was going on. He’d never trusted Frank, and he thought he could smell a double cross a mile away. But since they would have the money from the sale of the cattle, it was hard to figure out what Frank was plotting. “You ain’t planning on robbing a stagecoach without us, are you, Frank?”

  Frank should have known it would be Dutch who would question him. “Why would you think that? If I was planning something like that, every man would be needed.”

  Dutch saw the look exchanged between Stevie and Frank. “We’ll wait ten days, no more.”

  “We’ll plan our next move when we get to Las Vegas,” Frank said. “Now let’s get some shut-eye. We’ll be pulling out early in the morning.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Frank led the way through the dense pine trees with the cattle and men following in a single line. This rustling job had gone much easier than he’d expected. He was disappointed he hadn’t had the opportunity to take another shot at Joseph Longbow, but he’d have his chance. The next time he planned on being more accurate. Frank wasn’t worried about anyone picking up their trail when they noticed cattle were missing, because he’d chosen a route that was difficult to maneuver with cattle. And if they got lucky it would be days before Morgan’s men took a head count.

  Now all he had to do was concentrate on driving the nervous cattle through the pines. The eerie sounds were spooking them, and the men were doing their best to keep them from bolting. Just like the last time they rustled on Morgan’s land, the sounds in the pines started when they rode into the trees before dawn. Frank always heard whispers when he rode into the pines, and today was no different. It almost sounded like people were surrounding them, whispering loudly. But now, the deeper they rode into the pines with the cattle, the sounds had changed to screams. Just like the night that Smiley went missing. Before long, the spine-chilling shrieks were deafening. The men were as spooked as the cattle. Frank didn’t laugh this time. His heart was racing, and he kept looking back to make sure no one was coming after him. He wanted to ride like the Devil was on his heels to get out of those trees, but it was slow going as they snaked their way to the clearing.

  When Frank rode through the western boundary out of the trees, he breathed a sigh of relief. Just a few feet from the boundary, he no longer heard anything but the panicked bawls of the cattle. After twenty head appeared through the trees, Stevie and Walt emerged behind them.

  “I ain’t never heard anything like that in all my life,” Walt said, sounding out of breath.

  “Me neither,” Stevie said, wiping the sweat from his face. “What do you make of that, Frankie?”

  “I don’t know what to think.” Frank didn’t bother to deny he’d heard the same thing they had. The night Smiley was with them was fresh on his mind. He’d laughed at the men for getting so frightened that night. He’d laughed until Smiley didn’t ride through the trees.

  Deke and Dutch came riding out behind another twenty head of cattle. Neither man said a word, but their tense expressions said they were as terrified as the other men.

  More cattle appeared through the clearing before Reb rode out. “I ain’t never going back in there. Did you hear those screams?”

  The men nodded.

  “Scariest thing I ever heard,” Reb continued. “Who was that screaming?”

  No one had an answer.

  “Let’s count how many we have,” Frank said, trying to think of something other than the mind-numbing fear he’d felt moments earlier. His heart was still pounding as though he’d been chased by renegade Indians.

  A few more cows scurried from the trees, but there was no sign of the remaining two men, Corbin and Mason.

  “I count sixty-seven,” Frank said.

  “Yeah,” Walt said.

  Stevie nodded. “Me too.”

  Corbin emerged from the trees with his pistol drawn, looking behind him. “Mason was right behind me, but I don’t see him now. I stopped to wait, but he didn’t show.”

  No one responded; their eyes remained fixed on the eerily silent forest before them.

  They waited for several minutes for Mason to appear, but Frank started getting antsy. He pointed to Dutch, Deke, and Reb. “You three go ahead, we can’t waste more time. We’ll wait here for a few more minutes.”

  “What if he don’t show up?” Deke asked.

  “I ain’t going back in there to look for him,” Reb said. “That was worse than the night Smiley was ridin’ with us. And no one has seen him since that night. I figure Mason’s a goner.”

  “If he don’t show up, then he don’t show up. You’ve got sixty-seven head right there to sell, and you know where to go,” Frank said.

  “What if it was him screaming?” Stevie said.

  “We can’t do nothing for him now,” Frank countered. “We ain’t got time to go back in there.”

  Deke and Dutch glanced at each other, both wondering if it was one of them left in there, if anyone would go back to find them. They looked one more time into the trees before they started moving the cattle.

  “Stevie, you go on back home and get your horse in the stable. If they stop by on the way home from church, I want you to be there,” Frank said.

  “I don’t feel right about leaving Mason. If he’s found by Morgan’s men, they will figure out it was you rustling,” Stevie said.

  “Smiley was never found,” Frank replied.

  Stevie looked at Walt. “What do you think?”

  “If you want to ride back in there, I’ll go with you,” Walt said. He didn’t care much about Mason, but he figured he’d want someone to go back for him if he was the one who was missing.

  Frank moved his horse to face them. “I give the orders around here, and I’m telling you to go home, Stevie.” He glared at Walt. “We need to get back to the cabin right now.”

  When neither man moved, Frank added, “You know I’m right. We can’t take a chance on getting caught.”

  Stevie looked back at the trees before he turned his horse toward the farm. Frank and Walt rode in the opposite direction without looking back.

  * * *

  Three days later, Murph found Morgan repairing one of the railings surrounding the paddock. “We got about seventy head missing.”

  Morgan stopped what he was doing and gave Murph his attention. “What range?”

  “West. They could have been rustled days ago. We didn’t find a trail.”

  Morgan didn’t figure it was Indians. If they rustled, it was generally only one or two cows. While he didn’t like people stealing, he understood they were starving, so he was apt to forgive that theft. This was some
one rustling to sell what was his, and he wasn’t willing to overlook that transgression. “You think it could be Frank?”

  Murph shrugged. “That would be pretty gosh-darn brazen since everyone is looking for him.”

  Morgan knew Frank was just that brazen. “Just like something he would do.”

  Murph nodded his agreement. “Frank thinks he’s invincible.”

  “Let me get saddled.” Morgan walked to the stable to get his horse.

  When Morgan and Murph reached the western range, they rode for over an hour, but they found no trails. “Well, they didn’t just disappear.” Morgan looked across the range at the pine tree boundary. “After the disappearance of Smiley, I can’t see the rustlers going through those trees again. That incident scared the daylights out of everyone.”

  “And it would have taken a long time with seventy head,” Murph added.

  “Likely they did it on Sunday morning. Might as well take a look.” Morgan didn’t share his thought with Murph, but he had a gut feeling Stevie was involved. He wasn’t buying his change of heart to stay on the farm. And if Stevie was involved, it followed that Frank was calling the shots.

  They rode the line of the pine-tree range until they found an area where tree limbs were broken off. They followed the trail of damaged trees, and Morgan had no doubt this was the area where the rustlers led the cattle off his land. Having made their way through the trees, they rode for several miles before they stopped.

  “They aren’t going in the direction of Purgatory Canyon,” Murph said.

  “Nope, probably headed to New Mexico Territory.”

  “You think that means it wasn’t Frank?”

  Morgan had been thinking about that as he rode through the trees. “I’m thinking it was Frank.”

  “How so?”

  “Like you said, Frank has made it his purpose to hurt me as much as possible. As long as he’s not in jail, he’s going to be a thorn in my side. He knows he can’t stay at Purgatory Canyon because we know that’s where they’ve been hiding out.”