Goodnight's Dream (A Floating Outfit Western Book 4) Read online

  The cities of the eastern States were hungry for beef. The problem was how to get it to them. Colonel Charles Goodnight had a plan that might work—if he had all the luck he needed. Things seemed to be going well, especially with the Floating Outfit on his side—Mark Counter, the Ysabel Kid and Dusty Fog, the small Texan who walked tall. But what Goodnight didn’t need was an enemy like John Chisum ...

  GOODNIGHT’S DREAM

  THE FLOATING OUTFIT 4

  By J. T. Edson

  First published by Transworld Publishers in 1969

  Copyright © 1969, 2016 by J. T. Edson

  First Smashwords Edition: February 2016

  Names, characters and incidents in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information or storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

  This is a Piccadilly Publishing Book

  Series Editor: Ben Bridges

  Text © Piccadilly Publishing

  Published by Arrangement with the Author’s Agent.

  For ‘Boot-Neck’ George Meadows

  Chapter One

  Give ’Em A Texas-Sized Gutful

  Towards noon the three riders passed down the eastern rim, waded their horses across the Pecos River and turned downstream, heading southwards. They were tall men dressed in travel-stained range clothing, with Army Colts holstered on their belts and rifles in their saddle boots. Despite their apparently relaxed air, they were alertly cautious as became travelers in a potentially hostile land. The man closest to the river led a pack mule that carried their bedrolls and supplies. Of the three, he showed the greatest signs of watchfulness. Eyes constantly scanning the sloping, bush-dotted, rock-speckled land to the west, he tugged at the mule’s lead rope and broke the trio’s silence with a comment.

  ‘Colonel Charlie allowed we should only ride at night, boss.’

  ‘That was only if there’re Indians about,’ answered the man in the center of the group. Tanned like his companions and no better dressed, he bore himself with an air of one used to leadership. He was Oliver Loving, pioneer cattleman from Texas and part owner of a trail herd some thirty miles behind him. ‘We haven’t seen a sign of them and time’s running short. The Army’re letting out their beef contracts at Ford Sumner and I want to be on hand when they start.’

  ‘Figure it’ll be worth us getting it, boss?’ inquired the second cowhand. ‘The beef contract from the Yankees, I mean.’

  ‘It’ll be worth getting,’ Loving confirmed. ‘Like Chad—’

  ‘Boss!’ interrupted the first speaker, reining in his horse and pointing.

  Some thirty or more figures appeared on the skyline about two hundred yards ahead of the Texans. Stocky, thickset men wearing clothing made mainly from the hides of pronghorn antelope and sitting their horses with an almost effortless casual grace. Swiftly Loving studied the newcomers, noting the lack of eagle feather headdresses, that all of them had the appearance of youth and only six at most carried firearms.

  Young or not, one of the six acted with speed and decision. Dropping from his wiry horse, he lit down kneeling and cradled the butt of a tack-decorated Sharps rifle against his right shoulder. He landed on the ground, took aim and fired all in a single flowing movement to make a mighty unlucky hit from Loving’s point of view: lead plowed into the rancher’s horse. Feeling the impact and his mount beginning to go down, Loving showed that he too was capable of rapid movement. Kicking his feet free of the stirrup irons, he thrust himself clear of the collapsing animal. On landing, he slid the Henry rifle from its saddle boot and barked out his orders.

  A skilled fighting man and well versed in Indian warfare, the rancher assessed the situation fast and knew what must be done even before the Henry’s barrel slid clear of the boot. There was no hope of escaping the fleet-footed Indian horses riding double or leading the pack-mule. So he sought for and found a solution. Across the river a short way from where he stood, he saw the mouth of a cave in the wall of the rim. From it he could make a stand and hope to hold off the Indians until help arrived.

  ‘Leave the mule and go get Colonel Charlie!’ Loving ordered.

  ‘Like hell!’ replied the man with the mule, guessing what his boss had in mind. ‘I’m sticking with you. Take off, Spat. We’ll try to hold ’em off you.’

  Much as he hated the thought of leaving the other two, the man called Spat knew it to be their only hope of salvation. All of them could not escape but a lone, well-mounted man might out-ride the Indians and fetch help. So he whirled his horse around and started it running.

  On the heels of the first shot, the Indians sent their horses leaping forward. Six of them cut away at an angle in pursuit of the fleeting Spat, but the rest made for the dismounted Loving. Whipping the Henry to his shoulder, the rancher saw no wavering among the Indians to its threat. He fired, flicked down the loading lever and touched off another shot. The leading brave slid from his horse’s back and a second warrior slewed his mount around violently as a bullet sliced into his shoulder.

  ‘Head for the cave, Sid!’ Loving snapped, altering his aim and firing again. ‘I’ll be right after you.’

  ‘Yo!’ the cowhand answered, turning his horse in the required direction and throwing a malevolent scowl at the mule. ‘Don’t fuss me, you blasted knob-head, or I’ll gut you and leave you for the buzzards.’

  Either the threat worked, or the mule was in a complacent mood, for it followed Sid with none of its usual ornery balkiness. Riding through the water, he heard the continuing crackle of Henry’s fire and wondered what the attackers made of it. With Texas left impoverished by the end of the War Between the States, few Henry or Spencer rifles had so far made their appearance. So the Indians would not be accustomed to a rifle capable of sustained fire without reloading. Maybe the effect would be sufficient to make them believe their war-medicine had gone sour and they would call off the attack. Knowing the band and nation to which they belonged, Sid doubted if his ‘maybe’ would bear fruit. Certainly he could hear no abating of the attack as the horse and mule splashed through the water. Riding on, he urged the animals into the mouth of the cave, dropped the horse’s reins as a means of preventing it from straying and leapt from the saddle. Jerking his Sharps carbine from its saddle boot, he darted to the cave’s entrance to support his boss.

  Maybe the Indians had never seen a repeating rifle, but they knew about double-barreled weapons and of six-shooting revolvers. So at first they showed no great concern when Loving continued to shoot. Not until a fourth buck was knocked from his horse and eight shots had been fired without the ride-plenty i showing signs of having to reload did the implications begin to strike them.

  With a couple of bullets hissing by his head, Loving backed towards the river. None of the other firearms-toting bucks showed the first’s skill and he was still on the rim reloading his weapon. Nor, with over a hundred yards between them, did the remainder of the Indians try to use their bows. Up closer the short, powerful weapons would be more deadly than the rifles, in hands trained from early childhood in their use.

  Three more times, as fast as he could work the lever, Loving fired and counted the rounds expended. Then he saw the braves whirling their horses around with superb riding skill, to dash back the way they had come. Wasting no time in self-congratulation, the rancher turned and waded at all speed across the Pecos. A bullet ri
pped the Stetson from his head as he sprinted over the sand. From the mouth of the cave, Sid’s carbine spat in reply. As Loving entered, the cowhand gave him a grin and nodded towards the other side of the river.

  ‘That’s give ’em a Texas-sized gutful, boss,’ he commented with satisfaction. ‘I wish I’d got that jasper with the rifle. He shoots real good for an Injun.’

  ‘Sure,’ Loving agreed. ‘If they was anything but Kweharenuh I’d say we’d done enough to scare ’em off. Not Antelope-band Comanches, though. Losing them four’ll just make the others more eager to get us.’

  ‘Ain’t so many of ’em left,’ Sid remarked.

  ‘They’ll soon enough call up help and be back,’ the rancher replied.

  Even as Loving spoke, he saw two of the braves disappear beyond the rim. The rest of the party gathered around the man with the Sharps and began to talk. That figured to anybody who knew Indians; they would be planning their next move. Which meant the defense must be organized and fast.

  Loving looked around him. While larger than the entrance suggested, the cave offered only one way out. Not a serious consideration under the circumstances, as they could only leave after the Comanches departed. In addition to food and ammunition on the pack-mule, they had two large canteens filled with water. So they had the means to hold out until help arrived—assuming that Spat evaded his pursuers and reached the trail herd.

  ‘What’re they doing, Sid?’ Loving inquired as he went to the waiting animals.

  ‘Still sat talking. Must be more of ’em around, there’s smoke coming up back of the rim.’

  Swinging around, Loving saw the smoke rising. It went up in regulated puffs, not as a single, natural column. If the braves expected reinforcements, they would be unlikely to attack before the others came.

  ‘Watch ’em while I tend to the packs, Sid,’ Loving said. ‘Especially that bastard who shot my horse. He can handle a rifle real good.’

  ‘That’s for—’ Sid began, giving his attention to the Indians. ‘Damn it! He’s not among the rest of ’em—’

  At which point the brave with the Sharps once more made his presence felt. From behind a clump of black chaparral that looked hardly large enough to hide a jackrabbit, the rifle banged. Once again the Comanche’s bullet found horseflesh instead of human tissue. Screaming in pain, Sid’s horse went down kicking and the mule reared on its hind legs in an attempt to tear free from the stricken animal.

  Grabbing the mule’s lead rope with his left hand, Loving tried to restrain it. Knowing the consequences should the animal escape, Sid prepared to assist his boss. Before he could do so, he found other matters to hold his attention.

  ‘They’re coming again!’ the cowhand yelled, exchanging his Sharps in favor of the 1860 Army Colt’s six-shot capacity.

  Discarding the mule, or leaving it temporarily to its own devices, Loving bounded to the entrance. Once again the Henry started to crack, although its user was painfully aware of its rapidly emptying magazine. However, the Comanche had already been given a taste of repeating fire and learned their lesson. Seeing that their strategy had failed, they spun their horses in rump-scraping circles and galloped back up the rim.

  Still terrified, the mule fought against its lead rope and was almost free when a cursing Sid left his post to run towards it. Seeing that his companion could not calm the animal, Loving joined him. Between them, they managed to free the packsaddle and let it fall to the ground. Then they released the mule, watching it stampede from the cave and go crow hopping off along the edge of the river.

  ‘Damned good riddance! I hope the Comanches get you and eat you. It’d serve you and them right!’ Sid yelled after the departing beast. ‘Where in hell did Colonel Charlie get that fool knob-head from, boss?’

  ‘John Chisum gave it to him as boot for the cattle-deal they made.’

  ‘Figures,’ Sid sniffed. ‘Chisum’d never’ve parted with it was it any danged use at all.’

  ‘That’s for sure,’ Loving admitted. ‘But he can supply us with the cattle we need to fill an Army contract should we get one.’

  Sid spat on the ground, but refrained from expressing further thoughts on Chisum. While the man in question had not yet gained his title of ‘The Cattle King’, he already showed the manner in which he would rise to fame. Sure the bosses needed cattle, but Sid felt he personally would rather not depend on the shifty-eyed, if jovial-seeming Chisum to supply the stock. However, it was the bosses’ affair. One of the blessings remaining to an ordinary cowhand was that Sid did not need to worry about such things.

  Even if Loving had felt inclined to discuss Chisum’s shortcomings, it was neither the time nor place to do so. Instead there were preparations to be made against a resumption of hostilities.

  Crossing to the packsaddle, Loving removed and opened his bedroll. From the war bag he extracted a box of cartridges for the rifle. The crack of a shot, mingling with the vicious ‘spang’ as a bullet ricocheted from the walls, drew his attention to the entrance.

  ‘I knowed that young cuss with the rifle’d get hurt if he went on the way he was going,’ Sid remarked, lowering his smoking carbine. ‘He won’t be worrying us no more.’

  ‘Good,’ Loving answered, for none of the other braves showed an equal skill with their firearms.

  Sitting with his back against the wall, Loving rested the Henry’s butt on the ground. Drawing the catch under the magazine towards the muzzle, he compressed the loading spring and opened the tube. With the spring’s catch held in its slot, he dropped sufficient flat-nosed B. Tyler Henry .44 rimfire bullets down the tube to replace those already expended. With the magazine full, he turned the tube back into place under the barrel and lowered the head of the spring on to the uppermost round. With his rifle once more holding sixteen bullets, he changed places and allowed Sid to gather ammunition.

  While watching the other slope, Loving silently cursed his luck. So far all the attackers appeared to be tuivitsi, young and inexperienced warriors. However, if he knew the Kweharehnuh, the smoke-signals ought to bring tehnap on the run; seasoned braves with battle-savvy and capable of planning future attacks with more skill than had so far been shown. So the defenders faced a long, hard struggle and, despite its advantages, the cave was far from impregnable. Even if Spat had made good his escape and reached the herd, help might not arrive in time. In fact, Goodnight could muster at most twenty men. A small enough force to take on a band of Antelope Comanches.

  There was another aspect to disturb Loving. Against his partner’s advice, he had insisted on pushing ahead of the herd so as to reach Fort Sumner more quickly than would be possible accompanying the cattle. The earlier he arrived. Loving had figured, the greater his chance of picking up a lucrative contract to supply the Army with beef needed to feed and hold the Apache Indians peaceably on the reservations.

  While Goodnight agreed with the possibility, he also saw the dangers of a small party making the journey. Before finally agreeing, he had asked Loving only to travel by night. Although Loving began by intending to follow the advice, seeing no sign of Indians led him to indiscretion. Jumped by the Kweharehnuh, his arrival at Fort Sumner would be at least delayed if not cancelled entirely under the Pecos rim. In the latter case, Loving hoped that Spat would reach Goodnight. Even if Charlie failed to save his partner, he would know of Loving’s fate and not continue the drive expecting the other to have reached the Fort and made the all-important deal.

  ‘Some more of ’em come up, boss,’ Sid remarked, joining his employer. ‘They’re sure talking up a storm there.’

  ‘Likely the tuivitsi, telling the others about my Henry,’ Loving guessed. ‘I’d say them fellers who’ve just come’ll have to see if it’s true.’

  Verification of the rancher’s assumption came swiftly. Most of the newcomers let out challenging war whoops and charged down the slope. Wanting to impress them with his rifle’s firepower, Loving started shooting fast. Some bullets flew in reply, striking the wall around the entran
ce or whining into the cave. At a hundred yards from the river, with two braves down and a couple more wounded, the attackers turned aside. Scooping up their fallen companions, they returned to the rim amid jeers and comments from the first party.

  If Loving hoped that a further reverse would send the Kweharehnuh on their way, he was disappointed. Although they withdrew, the braves went no farther than the top of the rim. Dismounting, they gathered about the senior warrior present and listened to his advice. Then men armed with rifles found positions from which they could cover the cave’s mouth. The rest took the horses out of sight. Clearly they were prepared for a long siege; probably with the intention of eventually gaining possession of the wonderful ‘medicine’ rifle that could fire so many times without needing to be reloaded.

  There were no further attacks made that day. Nor did the watchers waste lead and powder by shooting at the cave. More braves came at intervals, including a war-bonnet chief and many tehnap. Each group of new arrivals appeared on the rim, studied the situation and then withdrew without hostile action. For all that, Loving and Sid knew the Comanches would not give up without further attempts to dislodge them.

  ‘What do you reckon, boss?’ Sid inquired as the sun sank towards the western rim.

  ‘Likely they’ll try to jump us at dawn,’ the rancher replied. ‘It’s a full moon tonight, so we’ll be able to see if they try sneaking up too close.’

  ‘With the moon we can’t chance slipping out,’ Sid remarked. ‘Might’ve tried to get by ’em and to their horses but for that.’

  ‘Not a hope of it,’ Loving grunted. ‘They’re Kweharehnuh, not a bunch of Mission Tejases. We could take a whirl at going up the rim on this side but we’d be a-foot comes morning and they’d have found out we’d gone.’

  ‘I surely hates walking,’ Sid declared. ‘’Specially when the fellers after me’s got hosses. Looks like it’s root, hog or die right here until Colonel Charlie comes to fetch us out.’