Assignment, p.7
Assignment, page 7
Pinchot said, “I’ll walk with you.” As they got farther from the hotel, he said quietly, “Not to tell tales out of school, but—” and he relayed what Ranger Simkins had told him the night before in the saloon.
Wes stopped and looked at him. “Is that right? Did you say anything to Captain Garcia about it?”
“No sir. Only you.”
Wes nodded. “Well, good. Let’s keep it that way for now, okay?”
“Yes sir.”
While Pinchot waited outside, Wes went into the telegraph office and sent a telegram to Captain Wilson. He didn’t mention what Pinchot had told him. That was something he wanted to turn over in his mind first. Simkins was over from Laredo. It would be easy enough for him to get involved in shipping women south for the comancheros.
Chapter 14
In Amarillo, Sam Pencilman hurried through the cool early morning air to the Ranger office. He stopped at the door and raised his hand to knock, then thought better of it. The captain didn’t like it when he knocked. The captain expected him to just barge in.
But he couldn’t quite bring himself to go that far. After all, he wasn’t a Ranger. Gripping the telegram in his left hand, he opened the door with his right and poked his head in. “Captain Wilson?” But the captain’s desk was unoccupied.
As Pencilman stepped back and pulled the door after him, someone said his name.
“Sam?” It was Captain Wilson’s voice.
Pencilman frowned and pushed the door open again, then poked his head in and looked around. “Yes sir?”
“Over here.” The captain was standing past the end of the long table along the left wall, his right hand raised and his finger on the map. “You have a telegram for me?”
“Oh. Yes sir.” Pencilman frowned again. “But how’d you know?”
The captain glanced at the map to mentally mark his spot, then looked at the door and grinned. “You only come down here when you have a telegram for me, right?”
“Oh.” Pencilman pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Oh, right.”
The captain extended his right hand and curled his fingers. “May I see it please?”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Pencilman finally came in, leaving the door standing wide open. He extended his left hand, the pink slip in it trembling. “It’s from Ranger Crowley.”
The captain took the note and read it, then looked up. “Okay, thanks, Sam.”
The man just stood there.
The captain nodded. “No response for now. You can go.”
“Oh. Yes sir. Yes sir!” and he turned and all but ran out of the room.
The captain laughed, stepped away from the table and crossed the room to close the door.
The message from Crowley was almost cryptic in its simplicity:
All is well. Stop.
No Sandoval yet. Stop.
Captive women might be moving south by train. Stop.
Check stock cars. Stop.
The third line of the telegram was intriguing. Would Messina really be that bold, to load captive women into stock cars to send them south? He would never have imagined such a thing in a million years. He went back to the map and studied it further. Where might Messina load women onto the train without being seen?
*
The captain was still standing at the map a half-hour later when Corporals Connolly and Edwards came in, laughing. He looked around, one index finger still on the map at the town of Lubbock. “Morning, Jim, Court. What’s so funny?”
Connolly said, “Oh, nothing really. We were just taking bets on how long it’ll take Crowley to nab Sandoval down in Brownsville.”
Edwards grinned. “Maybe we all should have gone down there, Cap. We probably would’ve been back by now.” He chuckled.
“Well, now, Captain Garcia and Corporal Ringley are fine men. I’m not sure of the state of affairs of the whole office down there, but—”
Connolly raised one hand. “We were just jokin’ around, Cap. We weren’t talkin’ down the men who are already there. It’s just with Crowley’s energy and his ability to locate bad guys, we don’t think it’ll take very long, that’s all.” He glanced at the map. “What are you studyin’ on there?”
The captain stepped away from the map and passed the telegram to Connolly. “What do you make of this?”
Connolly and Edwards read the telegram, and Connolly whistled. “Well, I’ll be. Why didn’t we think of this sooner?”
The captain nodded. “I was just trying to pinpoint where Messina might be loading the hostages. If he’s using the stock cars to transport them.”
Connolly said, “The comancheros most often operate in the north. Well, and the east over by Indian Territory. But for the north, to me the obvious place would be Dalton. Before that, the train comes out of New Mexico Territory.”
The captain said, “I also thought about Lubbock. That’s a major hub, but it’s south of us.”
“Yes sir, at least so far, there hasn’t been much comanchero activity to the south. It’s all been Comanches down there.”
The captain nodded. “And if we go by Wes’ telegram, he must be thinking of Dalton too. He thinks we should check the cars here.”
Edwards said, “It wouldn’t be hard to load ‘em in Dalton, that’s for sure. I mean, there probably aren’t a lot of people around when the train puts-in there for water.”
Connolly said, “Y’know, it isn’t like the train runs on a tight schedule either. I mean, it’s here regularly, but not always at the same time. So really, it could be stopping anywhere along the line.” He paused, then looked at the captain. “‘Course that would mean the engineer would have to be involved.”
The captain said, “Now that’s an intriguing idea. Maybe the train’s stopping out on the plains, either at a pre-designated location or, more likely, when the comancheros flag it down. They could make camp near the tracks and keep the women hidden until the train stops. Then none of the passengers would be any the wiser.”
Edwards said, “But how often would he need to ship ‘em south anyway? Every month? Every couple of months? Even less than that? I mean it isn’t like women are disappearing all the time.”
The captain said, “No, they aren’t. You’re right. Which leaves us back at square one. If he’s taking women only now and then, where’s he keeping them until he gets enough to ship them south?” He turned to the map again. “There must be hundreds of places to keep them in No Man’s Land, or even over in Indian Territory.”
Connolly said, “But if Wes says we ought’a check the stock cars, I think that’s where we ought to start.”
Edwards said, “But we need to do it without the train people knowing. Otherwise they’ll get word back to Messina and he’ll find another way to ship ‘em south.”
The captain said, “But that might be a good thing. The only other way for him to move them is by wagon.”
Connolly said, “Or horse. He could have one or two of his men take a string of ‘em on horseback and pass ‘em along to another group farther south.”
Edwards said, “Or take ‘em to another station.”
The captain said, “I wonder how many lines run into Brownsville from the north?” He paused. “But I don’t think I ought to wire Garcia to ask. Crowley probably had a reason he mentioned it to me and not Garcia.”
Connolly said, “If he didn’t mention it to Captain Garcia. Maybe he did.” He paused. “Too bad he wasn’t more specific in his telegram.”
The captain nodded. “But he wasn’t. And I can’t really ask him, can I? If I send him a reply and the telegrapher can’t find him, he’ll probably take it to Garcia. Anyone down there might see it.” He paused. “We can only deal with what we have.”
The door opened and Ranger Stilson came in. “Captain?” He paused. “Oh, hey there, Corporal Connolly, Edwards. What’s goin’ on? Some of us are gettin’ together for breakfast over at the Inn.”
The captain looked at him. “We’ll be right over, Jack. Thanks.”
Stilson nodded, looked at them a moment longer, then left.
The captain looked at Connolly and Edwards. “All right, here’s what we’ll do. I want you two at the station when the train comes in. One of you distract the train people, and the other one check the stock cars. Then we’ll go from there.”
But as they all left to go to the Inn, the captain said, “No, let’s change that. The train pulled out yesterday, so the next one won’t be in for a few days. Corporal Connolly, you pick a couple of men to help you check the train when it comes in.”
“Yes sir.”
“And Corporal Edwards, I’d like you to take either Mac or Stilson and the two new guys. Ride north toward Dalton, but follow the rails. Maybe two of you on either side, maybe a half-mile from the tracks. And watch for sign: wagon tracks, recent trails and so on. Maybe you’ll get lucky and catch them in the act. If not, maybe you’ll at least be able to identify where the train’s stopping to make a pick-up.”
“Yes sir. All the way to Dalton?”
“I don’t think that’ll be necessary. Halfway, maybe. Maybe a little farther. Say a day out and a day back. And if you do find a trail, don’t follow it. Come back and let us know. We have to take this one step at a time.”
“Yes sir.”
Chapter 15
Pinchot wasn’t around when Wes left the telegraph office. He wandered across the street and down to the headquarters. When he opened the door and walked in, he wasn’t surprised to see that Corporal Ringley and Rangers Elkins, Garcón and Longstreet were all gathered around the table.
The captain looked up. “Come in, Ranger Crowley. Corporal Ringley was just trying to convince me to let him and a few others cross the border to get Sandoval once and for all.”
Wes grinned. “I’d be on board with that, Captain.”
He turned to close the door just as Pinchot slipped through. “On board with what?”
Wes said, “Where’d you disappear to?”
“Oh, I went back to see if Ranger Simkins was gonna come to the meeting. He said no.”
Garcón grinned. “I think maybe Pete likes his time off.”
Wes nodded, then looked at the captain. “Captain, you mind if the rookie and I sit in?”
The captain grinned, then gestured at the table. “Not at all. Both of you, sit.”
As they approached the table, Corporal Ringley looked at Wes. “I was just explaining that as long as we sit and wait for Sandoval to come to us, we might never get him.” He looked at the captain. “We’ll get some of his men—” and he gestured toward Wes, “as Rangers Crowley and Longstreet did last night and as some of us have before. But I don’t believe we’ll get Sandoval himself unless we go south and dig him out.”
Pinchot said, “Oh, I’d be up for that.”
Everyone laughed.
Wes patted him on the shoulder. “Settle down, there, lawman. You’ll get plenty of chances.”
Pinchot only looked at him.
Over the next few hours, they discussed several ideas about different patrols they could send out and ambushes they could set, but always Corporal Ringley’s notion of riding south was in the back of the captain’s mind.
Finally he said, “We’ve entertained several fine ideas, but all of them have one basic problem in common: they all entail waiting for Sandoval to come to us. Earlier, Corporal Ringley suggested we ride south. I don’t have a particular problem with that. I haven’t commented because I wonder about the legality of it. And I sense it isn’t something I should ask Austin about. Rangers officially entering Mexico might be seen as a kind of invasion. So let’s go around the table. Ranger Garcón, any thoughts?”
“I’d be happy to go, Captain, but I wouldn’t know anything about how legal it is. Over at Beaumont we border on the water. It’d be a long swim to Mexico.”
Everyone laughed.
Longstreet said, “Up in San Antone, I don’t know anyone who’s been to Mexico on business either.” He glanced at Wes. “It’s probably the same for Crowley and Pinchot, being all the way up in Amarillo.”
Wes nodded.
Longstreet looked at the captain again. “You might need to talk with someone from Laredo or El Paso or something, sir.”
The captain nodded. “That’s kind of what I was thinking. Too bad Ranger Simkins isn’t here. He’s out of Laredo.”
Corporal Ringley said, “We could take off our badges before we go across.” He looked at the captain. “Then we wouldn’t be an official law enforcement organization. We’d be no more ‘official’ than Sandoval is when he raids over here.”
The table fell silent.
After a moment, the captain said, “That might just work.” He paused. “But you have to understand, you’d be cut off from any aid from any other official resources.”
Ringley laughed, then put up one hand. “Sorry, Captain, but think about it. How much ‘aid’ do we have from any other resources when we’re out in the field anyway? We’re lucky if a nearby town even has a jail for prisoners. Or a marshal or deputy to watch them.”
“Well, of course that’s true, but—”
Wes said, “All due respect, Captain, I ain’t takin’ off my star. It’s part of who I am.”
Again the table went silent.
The captain looked at him for a moment. “Ranger Crowley, let me be clear. If we put this thing together, and if you don’t remove your badge before you cross the border, you can’t go. Is that understood? We can’t send an official raiding party into Mexico.”
Wes met his gaze and nodded. “Yes sir. I understand perfectly. Thank you.”
The captain looked at him for another moment, then tore his gaze away to eye the other men around the table. “All right. Any other input?”
Nobody responded.
“No? Then all of you, take the rest of the day off. Get a bath or do something else relaxing. I’ll think all of this over and see you back in here tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.”
They all got up and filed out.
*
Outside, Wes looked around. He spotted Ringley walking toward the west end of town. He looked at Pinchot. “Listen, I need to talk with the corporal about a few things. I’ll catch up with you later at the hotel, okay?”
“Yes sir.”
Wes nodded and clapped him on the shoulder. “Good. That’s good. Now if you happen to wander into the saloon, save me a place at your table.” He grinned and turned away.
Pinchot called after him, “Yes sir. I’ll do that.”
*
Wes caught up with Ringley just before he turned off Washington. “Where you headed?”
Ringley whirled around. “What was all that crap about you wouldn’t go into Mexico without your star? I was countin’ on you bein’ in on this with me, Wes!”
Wes put up both hands. “Well, now, calm down, Jason. Hell, I’ll be there.”
“But the captain just said—”
“I heard him. He said exactly what I hoped he’d say. He said I had to take off my star before I cross the Rio Grande or I can’t go.”
Ringley looked flustered. Color was rising in his cheeks. “Right! That’s exactly right!”
Wes grinned and leaned slightly forward. “So I’ll take it off. No problem at all. Only he didn’t say I couldn’t put it back on once I was across, did he?” Wes’ blue eyes sparkled.
Ringley only looked at him for a moment. “Well, no, he didn’t. But Wes, you know what he meant.”
Again Wes put up both hands. “Now all I know is what I heard. Why do you think I didn’t press him on it? Like you said before, what he don’t know won’t hurt him, and chances are we’ll bag ol’ Sandoval for him to boot.”
Ringley looked unsure. “I don’t know.”
“Look, if Sandoval keeps raidin’, sooner or later Austin’ll fire Garcia. That much is sure. So if we can get Sandoval, we’re protectin’ him. And we’ll be followin’ the letter of what he told us.”
“Well, yeah but—”
“No, now, there ain’t no buts. Here, lemme ask you this. If you saw a bandito aimin’ a revolver at the captain, would you explain the situation and ask the captain’s permission to save his butt, or would you just nail the bad guy?”
Ringley looked at Wes like he’d grown a horn. “Well, that’s a stupid question. I’d shoot him, of course.”
“Right. So that’s what I’m doin’. I’ll take off my star before I cross the Rio Grande. And when we get back, I’ll have it in my pocket like a good little boy too. But while we’re down there, I ain’t hidin’ who I am. And that’s the end of it.”
After a moment, Ringley said, “Well, all right. I won’t say anything. Just don’t screw it up.”
Wes grinned. “Who else is gonna tell him? Sandoval?”
“All right, smart-aleck. Anyway, to answer your question, I wanted to go check on my horse. I get nervous when I haven’t seen him for a while.”
Wes chuckled. “You too? I know the feelin’. I’ll go with you. There’s somethin’ else we need to talk about anyway.”
“Oh hell.” Ringley turned away and started walking again. “What is it?”
As they walked, Wes told him what Simkins said to Pinchot in the saloon. “Now the man was in his cups, for sure. Even Pinchot said so. But I was thinkin’ tonight might be a good time to check the stock cars on that train. It’s in town, ain’t it?”
Ringley grinned. “I believe it is, at that.”
“And a’course, this is one more thing the captain don’t need to know about, ain’t it? I’m pretty sure you told me that.”
Ringley nodded. “True, true.”
“And if we find women in those stock cars, then we’ve got another problem. Well, two more problems, really.”
“Like what?”
“Well, one, we’ll have to pull Simkins in for the captain to interrogate him.”
“Right. And two?”
“We’ll be down one man.”
