Texas Bluff Read online

  “Why not?”

  “First he’s going to have to do some askin’ about Butler, find out who he is, where he came from,” Short said. “That’ll take a few days.”

  “Then what?”

  “Then he’ll probably send someone to try and kill him,” Short said, “or me, or both.”

  “Does Butler know all this?”

  “He’s a smart man,” Short said. “I’m sure he can figure it out.”

  “That’s why you invited him to go with you?” Ward asked. “And why you want to hire him, to use him as…as bait?”

  “No,” Short said. “That’s not why I took him with me. It occurred to me later.”

  “So having him here is going to draw Cramer out?” Ward asked.

  “Havin’ him and me here is gonna do that.”

  “And then what?”

  “That’s up to Cramer,” Short said, “or whoever he sends.”

  CHAPTER 17

  “Sit down,” Ed Cramer said to Kale Sutherland.

  The gunman sat.

  “Did you hear that Luke Short was here earlier today?” Cramer asked.

  “I heard,” Sutherland said. “And I heard what he did.”

  “I don’t want to talk about that,” Cramer said.

  Sutherland shrugged.

  “You’re the boss.”

  That was why Cramer liked Sutherland, and why he used him.

  “He had a man with him,” Cramer said, “a gambler named Butler. Do you know him?”

  “No.”

  “Never heard of him?”

  “No.”

  “He took one of my men,” Cramer sad, “disarmed him pretty easily. Intimidated Zeke.”

  “That don’t sound too hard.”

  “I want to know who he is,” Cramer said. “I want to know everything about him before I have you kill him.”

  “All right.”

  “And then, not until I give the word.”

  “Okay.”

  “How long will it take?” Cramer asked. “Gathering this information.”

  “I got to send some telegrams,” Sutherland said. “Check some contacts. Probably a few days.”

  “Fine,” Cramer said.

  “What about our plans for the White Elephant?” Sutherland asked.

  “Stay away from there for a while,” Cramer said. “And keep your men away. I’ll give the go-ahead when the time comes.”

  “That it?”

  “That’s all.”

  Sutherland stood up, but didn’t leave.

  “What?” Cramer asked.

  “When am I gonna get the okay to take a run at Luke Short?”

  “Soon,” Cramer said, “very soon, Sutherland.”

  “Can’t be soon enough for me,” the gunman said, and left.

  CHAPTER 18

  Luke Short took Butler to eat in the White Elephant’s restaurant. Butler felt it was probably to prove the food was decent. He decided not to order steak. The place might suffer by comparison. Instead, he ordered a bowl of beef stew, which came piping hot with big chunks of meat and vegetables, and a basket of biscuits.

  Luke Short had chicken.

  “How is it?” he asked, pointing to the beef stew with his fork.

  “Very good.” It was passable, at best, but Butler didn’t want to say so.

  “I want to offer you a job,” Short said. “I want you on the payroll.”

  “To do what?”

  “Gamble,” Short said. “Play poker here.”

  “You think I’m going to draw anyone? You need Bat, or Doc, or Ben Thompson for that.”

  “Word will get around,” Short said. “We’ll get some comers.”

  “And that’s all you want me to do? Gamble?”

  “No,” Short said. “I want you to do what you did today. Watch my back.”

  “You think Cramer will move against you?”

  “As soon as—” he stopped himself.

  “As soon as he checks me out,” Butler said.

  “I’m sorry but, yes, he will check you out. You took two of his men out of the play this afternoon, and you saw him embarrassed.”

  “So he’s going to come after me?”

  “Likely, he’ll send somebody for both of us.”

  “Any idea who?”

  “There’s a few men I can think of,” Short said, “but he’ll import some talent to lead them.”

  “I’m not a gunman, Luke.”

  “You don’t have to be a gunman to handle a gun, Butler,” Short said. “I’m not hirin’ your gun. I’m hirin’ the whole package. All your talents.”

  “Talents,” Butler said. “I’ve really only got two.”

  “What are those?”

  “Poker,” Butler said, “and getting myself wrapped in other people’s problems.”

  “Yeah, Bat told me that about you, too.”

  Over dessert Short asked, “So whataya say?”

  “I suppose I could stay around for a while.”

  “Good,” Short said. “Let’s talk about salary.”

  “Whatever you think is fair,” Butler said, “but I get to keep all my winnings, right?”

  “Definitely,” Short said. “I don’t want a cut of anything. I just want you around.”

  “Why not send for Bat? Or Wyatt?”

  “They’ve got their own lives,” Short said. “Sure, if they walked through the front door I’d press them into service, but I’m not going to put out a call for help. Not until I’m sure you and me can’t handle what comes along.”

  “There’s one other thing I want before I say yes.”

  “Oh? What’s that?”

  “You’ve got to promise me you’ll sit down at a poker table with me, at least once, before I leave.”

  “You want to test yourself against me?”

  “I want to test myself against the best,” Butler said. “You know anybody else fits that description?”

  Luke Short smiled and said, “Okay, you got a deal.”

  CHAPTER 19

  Now that Butler was on salary, Short offered him a room in the White Elephant, but he declined.

  “I like where I am, and now that you’re paying me it’s almost like you’re footing the bill.”

  “You’ve got a point,” Short said.

  When they finished their meal they walked into the saloon.

  “I’ve got to go upstairs and make sure everything is running smooth,” Short said.

  “I’ll be around,” Butler said. “I don’t think you need me to be up your ass right now.”

  “No,” Short said. “We’ve got Victor on the door. You met Victor, right?”

  “Oh, right. He locked up after us. We thought he was asleep, but…”

  “That’s Victor,” Short said. “He’s a lot more observant than people give him credit for.”

  “How’s he with a gun?”

  “Fair,” Short said, “just fair. But you can count on him in a fight.”

  “Good to know. Anybody else?”

  “I made sure our bartenders were good at more than just pouring drinks. Jerry you met, one of the others is Billy Catlett. Look to either of them if anything goes wrong.”

  “Okay,” Butler said. “One more thing. Who’s the law in town?”

  “That’d be Jim Courtwright,” Short said. “They call him Long-haired Jim. He and I don’t get along real good, but he seems to do his job.”

  Short went up to the casino and Butler walked to the door, where Victor was still sitting like last time he’d seen him.

  “I hear you’re on the payroll,” Victor said. “Glad to have ya.”

  He put out his hand and Butler shook it.

  “Heard you’re pretty good with a deck of cards,” Victor said. “But how about a gun?”

  “I get by.”

  “That’s good, because ain’t worth shit with a hogleg. Can’t hit the side of a barn.”

  “We all have our strengths,” Butler said.

  “Yeah, mine’s no
ticin’ things,” Victor said, “and breakin’ heads.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind if I need any heads broken,” Butler said. “What do you know about the sheriff, Jim Courtwright?”

  Victor made a face.

  “Don’t like ’im, but I don’t get along much with any law, so ya can’t go by me.”

  “Let me know when he comes in, will you?” Butler asked. “Or anybody else you think looks a little suspicious.”

  “I know most of Ed Cramer’s men,” Victor said. “I see any of them, should I stop ’em?”

  “Yes,” Butler said, “and then see if you can find Luke or me.”

  “Gotcha,” Victor said. “Good to have you on board, Butler.”

  Butler left Victor at the door and made a circuit of the room. He didn’t know what he was looking for, except maybe something out of the ordinary. The penny-ante gamblers were throwing away their money, concentrating half on the game and half on drinking or flirting with the saloon girls.

  Butler didn’t have a title, but he figured Short had signed him on as a troubleshooter. When he wasn’t playing in a poker game—like now, when there was no high-stakes game—he figured he’d just keep his eyes open.

  At one point he ran into Bill Ward, who also seemed to be walking the floor, making sure everything was going along smoothly.

  “Butler.”

  “Mr. Ward.”

  “Naw, naw,” Ward said. “Since you’re on our payroll now, you can just call me Bill. Seen Luke?”

  “Last I saw him he was going upstairs.”

  Ward shook his head.

  “He loves it up there,” Ward said.

  “Looks like you picked the right partner.”

  “You and Luke just met, right?” Ward asked.

  “That’s right.”

  “Heard you had a little blow up with Ed Cramer today. Luke start that?”

  “Luke was just sitting at a table talking to Cramer when a fella with a gun came down the stairs.”

  “Was he wearing it?”

  Butler shook his head.

  “Had it in his hand.”

  “There was no shooting?”

  Was Ward double-checking the facts that Luke Short had given him?

  Butler shook his head.

  “I took it away from him.”

  “Then what?”

  “Then Luke warned Cramer to keep his people away from here,” Butler said. “Bill, are you checking to see if my story matches up with Luke’s?”

  “No, no,” Ward said. “Well, maybe. Luke’s been known to play fast and loose with the truth when it suits him. He’s done wonders for this place, really brought the gaming part to life, but…”

  “Trouble follows him?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Ward said, “and I’m afraid Luke doesn’t know how to back away from it.”

  “Bill, for men like Luke Short, Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp—”

  “You?”

  “I’m not in that company,” Butler said. “But for men like them, backing away from trouble isn’t an option. They tend to meet it head on.”

  “My point exactly,” Ward said. “I think push is going to come to shove between Luke and Ed Cramer, or Luke and Jim Courtwright. I just hope Luke comes out of it okay when it happens.”

  “And doesn’t drag you and the White Elephant down?”

  “I know that’s the last thing Luke would ever do—” Ward said.

  “You’ve got that right.”

  “—on purpose.”

  CHAPTER 20

  Everything was quiet for several days. Still no high-stakes game for Butler. If he hadn’t been on the White Elephant’s payroll he might have left town for lack of action.

  And why was he on the payroll, he wondered? What he had told Luke Short was the truth. He did often stick his nose in other people’s business—but he had come out of those situations with some lasting friendships. Hopefully, that was what would happen here. On the other hand, people had also died.

  Not only was it three days of no poker, but three days of no action of any kind. There hadn’t even been an argument in the saloon, or the casino, and when men got together to drink and gamble, there were always arguments.

  Over supper in the White Elephant restaurant on day four, Butler said, “Has it ever been this quiet?”

  “No,” Short said, “and that’s what worries me. When it’s this quiet it’s bound to change with a bang.”

  “Maybe,” Butler said, “you really did make an impression on Cramer. You know, with your gun?”

  “No chance,” Short said. “I don’t even know why I did it, except that I was mad. All I did was make him even more stubborn. It’s real easy to send someone to do your killing for you.”

  “Then why hasn’t he?” Butler asked. “He’s had time to check me out.”

  “All I know is the longer he takes, the more anxious I get.”

  “Maybe that’s what he wants.”

  “What?”

  “To make us anxious,” Butler said, “jumpy. He wants us jumping at shadows.”

  “You’re right,” Short said, “that’s just what he wants. Poor Bill Ward is a nervous wreck.”

  “Well,” Butler said, “we just have to keep waiting. We can’t make the first move.”

  “Why not?”

  “We’d be in the wrong.”

  “Not if we didn’t get caught.”

  “So what are you talking about doing, bushwacking Ed Cramer?

  “No,” Short said, “I’d never do that. You’re right. We have to wait.”

  “And be on our toes.”

  “I’ll talk to Victor and the boys,” Short said. “The ‘boys’ being the bartenders. We can’t have them getting careless.” Short hesitated, then added, “Careless is dead.”

  Ed Cramer looked up as Sutherland came through the curtain into his office.

  “You got him?” Cramer asked.

  “I think so,” Sutherland said. “If it’s the same Butler, he’s worth a lot of money back East.”

  “How much?”

  Sutherland dropped the telegram on Cramer’s desk, then sat down. Cramer picked it up and read.

  “That is a lot of money. Is this a legal bounty?”

  “No,” Sutherland said, “best I can find out is that it’s private, from out of the East. I guess that’s where he comes from.”

  “So, Mr. Butler has gotten a rich man from the East angry enough to put a price on his head.”

  “Apparently Butler’s family was pretty prominent, active in politics, wealthy, and got on somebody’s wrong side. They’re all dead except for him.”

  “So he’s on the run.”

  “Seems like it.”

  “Well,” Cramer said, “this is an extra bonus.”

  “Meaning you want a piece of the reward?”

  “That’s not just a reward, Sutherland,” Cramer said, “that’s a good year in this damn place. Why? Did you think it would be yours?”

  “It occurred to me to claim it,” Sutherland said. “After all, we’re not partners. You’re payin’ me to do a job. Anythin’ I pick up along the way—”

  “Okay, how about this?” Cramer asked. “We’ll be partners in this.”

  “Fifty-fifty?” Sutherland asked.

  “Well, I want to be fair,” Cramer said. “Since you’re going to pull the trigger, why don’t we make it sixty-forty…in your favor?”

  “But you’re still gonna pay me.”

  “Yes.”

  “And I still get my try at Luke Short?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “All right, then,” Sutherland said. “You got a deal…Ed.”

  CHAPTER 21

  Butler noticed Jerry, the bartender, beckoning him over to the bar.

  “What is it?”

  “Victor just told me to tell you that Long-haired Jim Courtwright just came in.”

  “Courtwright,” Butler repeated, then said, “Oh, the sheriff?”

  “That’s right.
”

  “Has he ever come in here before?” Butler asked.

  “A few times.”

  “So? What makes this time different?”

  “He asked about you.”

  Butler looked around.

  “Where is he?”

  Jerry inclined his head toward the front of the saloon and said, “At the end of the bar, having a free beer.”

  “Set me up with one down there,” Butler said. “I’ll talk to him.”

  Butler walked down the bar until he reached the end, where a tall, slender long-haired man with a badge was nursing a beer. At the same time Jerry arrived with a beer for him.

  “Jerry, get the sheriff another one,” he said. “That one’s getting warm.”

  “Mr. Butler, I’ll bet,” Courtwright said.

  “You’d win that bet, Sheriff,” Butler said. “You a gambling man?”

  “No, sir,” Courtwright said, “not in the least. It’s the reason I keep on tryin’ to close down places like this.”

  “Seems to me your time would be better spent trying to close places like the Bloody Spur.”

  “Don’t you worry,” Courtwright said. “I got my sights set on shutting down all of Hell’s Half Acre.”

  Jerry came with the sheriff’s fresh beer, but when he tried to remove the half-empty mug left on the bar, the man violently grabbed it and drained it, then gave Jerry back the empty mug.

  “What brings you here, Sheriff?” Butler asked.

  “I stop in from time to time,” the lawman said.

  “Yeah, but this time you asked for me.”

  “Well, I thought I’d just make the acquaintance of the new man in town,” Courtwright said. “Lots of card players come in, gamble a few days, and move on. It seems you’re stayin’ awhile. It would be rude of me not to be hospitable.”

  “Well, thank you kindly for the welcome,” Butler said.

  “I also wanted to talk to you about a rumor I heard goin’ around.”

  “Oh? What would that be?”

  “A rumor that there’s gonna be lots of trouble in some of our town’s gambling establishments.”

  “Trouble?”

  “Gunplay, killin’, that sort of thing.”

  “Now, Sheriff, why would that concern you?” Butler asked. “I would think you wouldn’t mind some gunplay and killin’ between gamblers. Kind of do your job for you.”

  “Yeah, you’d think that. Wouldn’t ya?” Courtwright said. “Except I’m just lookin’ to run you fellers out of town, not kill you.”