Part 16 (1/2)

Luke shook his head. ”Not exactly.”

”That's what I thought. You're a bounty hunter.” Kent's voice was cool with dislike. ”I suppose the railroad and those mine owners will post a reward for the men who stole that gold, too.”

”More than likely,” Luke admitted.

”I a.s.sume that's your main interest in apprehending them.”

”You'd be wrong about that.” Luke's voice was pretty chilly, too. ”I want the man I had in custody because I've got a personal grudge against him by this point. The others I want to stop because they're a bunch of murdering owlhoots and somebody's got to.”

Harmon asked, ”How much did you say that gold's worth?”

”A hundred and twenty-five thousand.”

Harmon looked at Marshal Kent. ”Well, Gid, as good citizens I'd say it's our duty to give Jensen a hand with this bunch, wouldn't you?”

”They haven't broken the law here in Pine City, Mr. Harmon,” Kent said stiffly. ”I don't have any jurisdiction to arrest them.”

”Jurisdiction!” Harmon scoffed. ”When I helped settle this country, n.o.body worried about anything like that. We just did what was right and took care of our own trouble.”

Luke had known plenty of men with that att.i.tude. It was common among the early settlers of a territory, especially the ones who had become successful, as Harmon apparently was. He had some sympathy with it, too. Sometimes laws had to be bent, if not broken, to accomplish justice.

He could tell that Kent didn't want to argue with the most important man in those parts.

After a moment the marshal sighed and asked, ”What did you have in mind, Jensen?”

”I want to sink their boat,” Luke said.

”How in blazes do you plan on doing that?” Harmon wanted to know.

”I' m going to be waiting on the bank where the river comes down out of the hills,” Luke explained. ”From there I can toss dynamite down on the boat and blow holes in the deck. It'll sink, and the outlaws will have to swim for sh.o.r.e. That's where you come in, Marshal. You and a posse will be waiting to round them up as they come out of the river.”

”What about the gold?” Kent asked.

”Sinking the boat won't hurt it. Once everything is over, somebody can swim down, attach chains to the strongboxes, and haul them out with a mule team.”

A grin creased Harmon's face. ”That's a mighty bold plan, Jensen.”

”When you're dealing with men like these, you can't worry too much about being cautious,” Luke said. ”Sometimes you just have to hit 'em hard and hope for the best.”

Harmon threw back his head and laughed. ”I like the idea,” he declared. ”It's a little crazy, but I've got a hunch it might work.”

”When do you expect this riverboat full of outlaws to arrive?” Kent asked.

”Any time now,” Luke answered.

”Then there's no time to waste. How am I supposed to get a posse together on such short notice?”

Harmon shook his head. ”Oh, h.e.l.l, that's not a problem, Gid. I've got half a dozen hands with me. We'll be your posse.”

Kent frowned and nodded slowly. ”That does make me feel better about the prospects of this scheme working,” he admitted. ”You say you need dynamite, Jensen?”

”I was told there should be some at the general store.”

”d.a.m.n right there is.” Harmon clapped a hand on Luke's shoulder. ”Come on. I'll go over there with you. Cy Herndon, the fella who owns the place, won't give you any trouble if I'm along.”

Once the plan was put in motion, things went quickly. Luke was glad of that. The riverboat could come steaming out of the hills at any time, and if it arrived before they were ready, the chances of stopping McCluskey and the outlaws would go way down.

Having Dave Harmon on his side really greased the wheels. As the cattle baron had predicted, the owner of the general store was more than willing to provide the half-dozen sticks of dynamite he had on hand.

”Normally I'd have more than that,” Herndon told Luke. ”I've got an order in for more, but it won't be here for a while yet.”

”This should be enough. If it's not, we'll have bigger problems.” Luke attached fuses and caps to the dynamite himself, then placed the sticks in a small wooden box.

As he and Harmon left the store, the rancher said, ”I'll head over to the saloon and get my boys together. We came into town to blow off a little steam, but this'll be even better. We'll meet Marshal Kent and get ready to corral those varmints from the boat. Better spread the word for folks to stay off the street, just in case there's any gunplay.”

”It wouldn't surprise me a bit if there is, so that's a good idea,” Luke agreed.

He stopped at the livery stable to get the Winchester from the horse he had ridden into town.

Silas Grant gave him a worried frown. ”What's goin' on, Mr. Jensen? The air's sorta got a feel like there's fixin' to be a thunderstorm, but there ain't a rain cloud in the sky.”

”That's perceptive of you, Silas. You'd do well to stay inside for a while. Either that, or go on up to the cafe and make sure that your wife and Mrs. Walton stay inside, too.”

”Oh, shoot,” the liveryman breathed. ”All h.e.l.l's about to bust loose, ain't it?”

Luke glanced down at the box of dynamite tucked under his arm. ”If everything goes according to plan, that's exactly what's about to happen.”

CHAPTER 27.

The street was already starting to clear as Luke stepped out of the livery barn. As people scurried inside, they cast frightened looks at the group of men who walked up the street toward the river. Harmon and Kent were in the lead, and behind them came half a dozen tough-looking cowboys, each man wearing a six-gun and carrying a rifle. The sight was enough to warn the townspeople that something was about to happen.

Luke waved at Harmon and Kent and strode quickly to the river. About a hundred yards along the bank, he started up the pine-dotted slope at a fairly steep angle. The trees got thicker the higher he climbed on the hill.

A few minutes later, he reached a good spot-thick with trees and brush-overlooking the river. He estimated it was forty feet below him. The outlaws on the riverboat wouldn't spot him as they approached. He set the box of dynamite on the ground where it would be handy, then hunkered on his heels and leaned his back against a tree trunk.

A couple cigars in his s.h.i.+rt pocket had come through all the commotion of the past few days unharmed. He took one of them out and clamped it between his teeth. From the little tin box he carried, he took a lucifer and snapped it to life with his thumbnail. Holding the flame to the cigar, he puffed until it was burning steadily.

He was ready. All he had to do was wait.

After worrying that he might not have time to get everything in place, the minutes seemed to drag as he smoked and watched the river. What if something had happened to the boat while it was still in the mountains, he wondered? Or maybe McCluskey had decided to change Burroughs' plan. Luke wouldn't put anything past him.

He smoked the first cigar down and used the b.u.t.t to light the second one, and still there was no sign of the riverboat. He was about to decide he might have to head upriver and start searching for it, when he heard a faint rumble in the distance that steadily grew louder until he could discern it plainly over the noise of the river.

It was the boat's engine, Luke thought. He puffed harder on the cigar until its tip glowed cherry red.