The Walters Brothers

I turned back to the miners and they were all looking mighty peaked. I pointed at two. "You two! Go back in there and drag that asshole out."

They could tell I was serious so they went back in, coming out a few minutes later with a man danglin' between them. I knew him instantly. He was one of the orginal bunch with Hill and Darby.

He was holding his gut and crying in pain. "I need a doctor! You have to help me! I had nothin' to do with the killin' that went on here."

I looked at him noting the empty gunbelt. It was mounted with little silver stars. The last time I saw it Eion was wearin' it, along with the two Peacemakers we'd taken from the first bunch that tried to attack us. "Gal, the last time I saw that holster was around you Pa's waist. You want to hang him?"

Gal tried to grin but it looked more like a wolf snarl. "No. We hang him and he dies quick. We'll let the bullet kill him. He might last a day or more, hurtin something fierce."

The man started beggin' and Zeke started to say something, thought better of it, and shrugged. We tied his hands and feet and when he cried for water we set him up about ten feet from the stream and left him. If he wanted water he could crawl for it. Gal and three hands stayed behind while we marched the miners back to the tents they had been stayin' in.

They held them back while three of our men emptied the tents, throwing everything they found on a couple of blankets. Then we made them empty their pockets and strip down to their longjohns. It was a pretty dejected bunch when we were done.

"Who's the foreman? Lie or refuse to answer and I'll go down the line killin' you one at a time until somebody tells me."

The youngest miner was at the front of the line and knew he'd be first to go and fingered the man immediately. I had him pulled forward.

"You knew it was a claim jump, right? You knew your bosses were gonna kill us and take the gold. What did they promise you?"

He was pretty stubborn, but when he saw us heatin' up the knife with the eye that wasn't swole shut he started talking. "Darby said he'd give us triple wages and we wouldn't have to fight anybody. All we had to do was mine."

I sighed, holding up the red hot blade. "It didn't bother you they were going to kill peaceful, upstanding people that were just trying to have a better life?"

"I tried not to think about it."

"Well I want you to think about it a lot, Murphy. Good people died while you and your men stood by and did nothing. I figure by the time you've walked back to civilization you'll start to understand the error of your ways. Had they paid you anything yet?"

"No, we just kept account. It waren't like we could go to town or nothin' and it'd be a bigger poke when we did. What do you mean by walkin' back? It's over three weeks by horse to the nearest settlement. It would take twice that long to walk. You wouldn't do that to a feller, now would you?"

"I'm sendin' you off on foot, unarmed, and I'll have to think about giving you any food. I think the long walk, for those who make it anyway, will be good for your souls. You can do a lot of soul searchin' when the scenery goes by real slow. Mybe you'll come to understand the error of your ways and that if you're engaged in anything illegal it always comes back to you."

There was a lot of squalin' and hollerin' before Zeke and his men tied them up and tossed them under a tree.

I was startin' to wind down. The weeks of runnin' and hidin' and not eatin' regular, not to mention getting shot a few times was finally catching up to me. I was safe now, I could relax and maybe sleep the night through. Zeke eyed me. "Get some rest, brother. I'm sure you'll have a tale to tell when you wake up." I was out before my head hit the pillow Emily had put on the bedding.

I woke up hungry enough to eat a whole cow, but was grateful for the country ham, biscuits, and eggs. Seems Emily had brought a dozen hens and two roosters with her in one of the wagons.

After I couldn't eat another bite, they helped me down to the creek and handed me a bar of soap and some towels. "Lay there and soak. We'll be back directly." Emily had put a mirror in front of me and if I hadn't known it was me looking back I'd have said it was a stranger. My hair was past my shoulders and I hadn't shaved in five weeks. I scrubbed until the cloth was so dirty I had to change it. I was wincing every time I hit a groove from a bullet or a cut from brush or rock, but I finally got clean. I thought about things while I soaked, the trail of dead men behind me that I had no sympathy for, and of Eion, picturing Elsa smiling at something I'd said while she cooked supper. The emotions welled up in me and I ducked my head under water. It waren't manly to cry but no one could see the tears under water. I cried for both of them, struggling all their lives looking for a better future and finding death. I stayed under as long as I could and rose from the pool a new man. The past was done. I'd avenged them, killing every man involved. It didn't bring them back but I hoped they knew somehow and it gave them a little peace.

I was asleep again when they came back. I colored up when I saw Emily. She just grinned and whispered in my ear when she was lookin' at my wounds. "Relax. It ain't nothin' I haven't seen before. Still looks mighty temptin'."

I was as red as the blood that flowed out of my cleaned wounds. She put some salve on the worst and bound them up. Then she left and the boys helped me into new clothes. They literally hung off my frame and Zeke frowned. Then he grinned. "Don't worry. A few days of eating the cooking of Em and her girls will fatten you right up."

I limped back to camp and grinned when I saw Gal. He'd gotten cleaned up and had on good clothes and Emily's youngest was fussin' over him. She was almost fifteen then, already with her woman's shape. I wondered if Zeke wished he'd been a little more receptive to her now.

We rested for a week. I made Gal stay in camp and took a couple of men and went to Elsa's grave. It was really shallow and the varmits were already starting to dig. We put bandanas over our noses and gently opened the grave, putting the remains in a blanket and taking it to a little knoll that overlooked the lower half of the valley. It was a place she favored of an evenin' to watch the sun go down. We dug a proper grave and lowered her in while our whole group watched. Then Zeke read from The Book and Emily and her girls sang a couple of hymns. I had already promised Gal I'd get her a proper headstone as quickly as possible.

Gal and I rode the part of the valley where his Pa had fallen but couldn't find anything. In the end we agreed the best thing we could do was get a marker and put it beside Elsa.

The next day we put the miners up on outlaw horses and took them out of the valley and two days down the trail before making them get off. "This is it boys. You're on your own from now on. I suggest you go South, there's a a new camp set up there and it's the closest to civilization you'll find. "

We tossed down two pounds of salt, ten pounds of flour, and five pounds of coffee. We gave them two pots, a fryin' pan, a coffeepot, four cups, a couple of knives, some tin plates, and a few spoons and forks. I threw down a couple of rashers of bacon and a big bag of beef jerky.

"There you go boys. I suggest you make it last."

"No way in hell that'll last until we get somewhere!"

I looked at the speaker.

"Well then you better be real good at rationing. Besides, we're going to give you two Winchesters, fully loaded, but we ain't giving you any extra ammo. I'd make damn sure I had a good shot before I pulled the trigger. We're also giving you a shotgun and ten shells, and two Colts fully loaded. How you divvy them out is up to you. I'd give the rifles to the best shots and maybe you'll eat regular. Maybe not. I don't care. You'll find the weapons an hour up the trail. There's a new settlement to the Southeast of here. It's closest. If you keep a good pace you could probably make it in about three weeks on foot. I'd make for that but I don't really give a damn as long as it's away from here."

I let 'em calm down a little before I spoke again. "I need you to know if I see you again around here or at Cherry Creek or any other settlement I'll kill you on the spot. Now get to steppin'!"

I hadn't given them any bedrolls and took their hats. It was a mighty dejected bunch that straggled off. A couple of the men Zeke had brought were pretty decent woodsmen, so I gave them the task of followin' them to make sure they didn't waylay any innocents they may run into. They came back just as we were fixin' to leave for good and gave us a report.

"The bunch fell out after three days, fussin' and fightin'. Of the thirteen that walked away seven made it to the settlement. We killed two when they tried to ambush some travelers and the rest took the hint and didn't bother anyone else. They might have starved but they ran into a bunch of missionaries and they fed them, offering them rides to where they were going. Before they could accept I stepped out of the woods, told them the story of why they happened to be in the straits they were in, and told them we had orders to see they finished their journey on their own. The main preacher objected until he heard the lever go back on a rifle.

"You've done your good deed and Christian duty, Preacher. Now wish them the best of luck and send them on their way or you'll all end up walking."

They didn't like it one bit but they left them on the trail. They did give them a little food but not enough to last . They were pretty gaunted up when they hit the town. We came in right behind them, telling the tale of how they happened to be in their predicament. I bet it would take them a while to find jobs. What honest operation would hire them?"

They also told of the battle to save the valley and how one man, a boy, a woman, and their elderly father fought an organized gang almost to a standstill, dying until only the man and the boy was left, and between them being directly responsible for the deaths of thirty-two outlaws, counting the ones we hung.

"It just ain't a good idea to mess with those Walters brothers or anyone they call friend."

Chapter 18

Zeke and I were sitting in our saddles taking one last look at the valley. The new road had been cut and graded and as we sat on Derby Ridge I could see the green lushness of the valley, marred only by the mud of the mine and the surrounding settlement being built. Despite being the scene of so much suffering it was still a beautiful place. Em and her oldest daughter were traveling a ways with us to round up some more cattle. They had a contract to sell and deliver supplies to the miners, including beef. Her oldests' husband, our friend Bob, would freight the supplies bought through our partnership. Zeke and I tried to give it to them but Em had a fit. "It was mostly your money that got us here. You're good luck boys and I want to hang on to that. If you like I can plough your shares back into the company and send you financial statements twice a year, but I ain't lettin' you pull out."

Her second oldest daughter and her youngest were staying to cook for the camp. The older one was being wooed by one of the engineers and the youngest had locked down on Gal to the point he couldn't see anything but her.

Gal was so overcome when we gave him the valley minus the mine of course, that he couldn't talk. He deserved it. He and Emily had worked out a deal where she was bringing in a herd of young stuff to run in the valley. They would sell the beef to the miners and the small settlement that was bound to spring up around it. The older girl and her engineer had already picked a spot and laid out lots.

We pitched in and built him a cabin close to the resting place of his sister. He and Em's daughter were already planning how many bedrooms they would need to add. She was just shy of fifteen and he had just turned seventeen so they didn't need to be in no hurry. Gal was already a man to ride beside despite his age and I remembered Julie sitting on her horse in front of the outlaws, emptying both barrels of her ten gauge before she dropped it and grabbed her pistol. I had no doubt they would be just fine.

I looked at Zeke. "Ready to go home, brother?"

"I am," he said as he turned his horse. I looked back one more time on the trail out to see the derby still on the ridgeline. I always thought it foolish headwear. I turned back around, looking forward, smiling when we passed the sign pointing to the mine. "Elsa Mining Company, Monahan, Colorado." was there for all to see in big bold letters. It was my last way of honoring her and Eion.

We had money now and somewhere down Texas/Mexico way was a ranch with my name on it, and a pretty senorita just waiting to be wooed and won. She just doesn't know it yet.

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Thanks for reading. There is another novel planned about Bradley J. Walters as he starts his new life in Texas with his Latin bride, but that's down the road a bit.

Let me know what you think of the story. Until next time.

Q