The Floating Outfit 30 Read online

  Few men were able to match Mark Counter’s Herculean strength. And then Tiny Crumble came along...

  Yet, despite his great size and awesomely powerful muscles, Tiny appeared to be of a trusting and gentle nature—so gentle in fact that the boys of the Floating Outfit had misgivings about allowing him to be alone in the trail end railroad town of Mulrooney. Then a robbery took place—one that could only have been committed by a man of exceptional strength.

  As Dusty Fog, Mark Counter, and the Ysabel Kid looked down at the shattered skull of the victim of the crime, they began to wonder if the ‘Gentle Giant’ was really as gentle as he seemed...

  THE FLOATING OUTFIT 30: THE GENTLE GIANT

  By J. T. Edson

  First published by Corgi Books in 1979

  Copyright © 1979, 2018 by J. T. Edson

  First Edition: December 2018

  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.

  Publisher’s Note:

  As with other books in this series, the author uses characters’ native dialect to bring that person to life. Whether they speak French, Irish, American English or English itself, he uses vernacular language to impart this.

  Therefore when Scottish characters use words such as “richt” instead of “right”; “laird” for “lord”; “oopstairs” for “upstairs”; “haim” for “home”; “ain” for “own”; “gude sores” for “good sirs” and “wha” for who” plus many other phrases, please bear in mind that these are not spelling/OCR mistakes.

  Author’s Note

  While complete in itself, this volume continues from the events recorded in The Making of A Lawman and The Trouble Busters.

  We realize that, in our present ‘permissive society’ we could employ the actual profanities used by various people who appear in this book, but we do not concede that a spurious desire to create ‘realism’ is a valid reason for doing so. Lastly, with the exception of calibers appropriate to certain weapons—i.e. Luger 9mm automatic pistol—we have no intention of following the current ‘trendy’ pandering to the exponents of the metric system and will continue to employ miles, yards, feet, inches, pounds and ounces when referring to distances and weights.

  J. T. Edson

  Chapter One – You ’n’ Me Could Maybe Hoist Her Up

  ‘God-damn it to hell and back again by the long trail!’ Town Marshal Kail Beauregard ejaculated in what could only be described as a speeded up, yet sotto voce Southern drawl, as he pushed his way through the crowd on the sidewalk in front of Henry’s Saloon with less than the courtesy he would usually have displayed. ‘This’s all I need today of all god-blasted days.’

  The last three words might have struck some people as being a highly unacceptable way for a law enforcement officer to be referring to the Fourth of July, the day upon which loyal citizens of the United States of America celebrated the gaining of independence from British domination back in 1776. His words could even have implied a lack of patriotism. There was, however, what any fair minded person who knew the whole circumstances would regard as adequate justification for the speaker’s comment. He might, in fact, have been excused if he had employed even stronger terms to describe his predicament; particularly as the words were intended for no ears other than his own.

  Six foot tall, well made and in his late thirties, Beauregard was brown haired. His face, with a neatly trimmed moustache, was tanned by long exposure to the elements and was ruggedly handsome, only rarely allowing its emotions to show. Although his bearing and carriage suggested he was a horseman possessing military training—which was correct as he had been a captain in the Army of the Confederate States during the War of Secession—he wore a smart gray three-piece suit, a white shirt and sober dark blue necktie of a well-to-do town dweller and his brown boots were more suitable for walking than riding. His low crowned, wide brimmed black J. B. Stetson hat was indicative of origins to the south of Kansas, however, being shaped after the fashion most favored by the Texans who brought their herds of half wild longhorn cattle to the railroad’s shipping pens and, by doing so, provided the town of Mulrooney with one of its major sources of income. There was an aura of competence and self-control about him, despite the latter being somewhat disturbed at that moment. It implied he was a man with whom it would be unwise to trifle and the well worn ivory handled Colt 1860 Army revolver he carried reposed in the fast draw holster of a capably designed and manufactured gunbelt.

  Up until coming upon the sight which provoked the irate comment, the marshal had been in the best of spirits and temper. The weather was fine, being neither too hot nor too windy. It was, in fact, ideal for the official ceremony which was soon to be commenced. Nor had he found anything to cause concern while making a tour of the main street, to satisfy himself that all was well prior to joining the other civic dignitaries! Despite various saloons and other places dispensing liquor having been open for at least two hours, there was everywhere an atmosphere of amiability and none of the drunken rowdiness or hostility which would need to be quelled by the municipal peace officers. Nor, believing it would be out of the way before the festivities started, had he been particularly worried at first by seeing a heavily loaded wagon approaching along the street. Then somebody in the crowd had thrown a couple of firecrackers and the detonations spooked the team. Although the driver had managed to bring the horses under control, it was not before they had swerved, causing the right side rear wheel to come off its axle, thus halting the vehicle at an angle that practically blocked the thoroughfare. What was more, in spite of there being a large number of onlookers present, none of them were doing anything more constructive than standing and staring when Beauregard arrived on the scene.

  ‘Whee-dogie, amigo,’ remarked a member of the crowd who, although they were on terms of close acquaintance, the marshal had pushed by without noticing while delivering his wrathful comment. Being cognizant with the pressures which were causing the newly appointed head of Mulrooney’s municipal law enforcement agency to display such uncharacteristic emotions in public, he walked forward as he continued speaking. ‘Looks like you-all could maybe use some help.’

  ‘Well now!’ the peace officer replied, swinging his gaze to the speaker and, helped by the lazy-sounding, yet friendly, deep Texan tones beginning to regain his self control. ‘I reckon I just might at that. The Independence Day Grand Parade’s going to start off any minute now. It’ll be coming around that bend and through here to where the Governor of the Sovereign State of Kansas, Her Ladyship Mayor Freddie Woods, the City Fathers and all those railroad high mucky-mucks who’ve been invited over to see what a fine town we’ve got, so they’ll run their spur-line from here up to Stokeley, Montana, are all sat patient in the sun just waiting for it to happen. Yes sir, Mr. Counter, sir, I reckon’s how you’re justified in saying I could use some help.’

  ‘That being so, we’d best see what we can come up with,’ suggested the man to whom the tirade had been directed, showing no sign of animosity. ‘Just say what you want doing and we’ll give her a whirl.’

  A good three inches taller than the marshal, Mark Counter would have stood out in any crowd. In his early twenties,
he had recently cut curly golden blond hair 1 and he had a tanned, almost classically handsome face. There was a tremendous spread to his shoulders that tapered to a slender waist set upon long and powerful legs, implying a strength far in excess of the average. From his white, Texas-style Stetson, encircled by a black leather band decorated with silver conchas and sporting a fancy barbiquejo chinstrap, through his tight rolled green silk bandana, open necked tan shirt and Levi’s pants—the cuffs of their legs turned back to a depth of about three inches—to his fancy stitched, high heeled, sharp toed black boots with spurs on their heels, his garments were all made of the finest materials. With the exception of the pants and the hat, they had clearly been tailored to fit his Herculean frame. Around his waist was an exceptionally fine brown buscadero gunbelt carrying two ivory handled Army Colts in its contoured, tied-down holsters which were positioned just right to permit a very rapid withdrawal if the need arose.

  Large the blond giant might be, remarkably strong he undoubtedly was, but there was nothing slow or cumbersome about him. In fact, he gave the impression of being a man who could move with considerable speed when such was called for. He had frequently proved to be capable of doing just that.

  ‘Hey, Mark!’ called one of the Texas cowhands in the crowd, before Beauregard could speak, filled with pride at being able to demonstrate he was acquainted with such a prominent son of the Lone Star State. ‘Why don’t you-all just take hold of that old wagon ’n’ hoist it up like you did for Calamity Jane that time?’

  There was a rumble of excited and anticipatory agreement from among the other onlookers, many of whom had heard of the incident to which the speaker was referring. 2 Those of the remainder who had come to know the handsome blond giant during the recently ended period when he was serving as first deputy in the town marshal’s office, 3 even if they had been disinclined to believe he really had performed the feat in question, were aware of his physical capabilities and hoped to see these demonstrated. The few who did not recognize him, or had drawn an erroneous conclusion with regards to his identity, also waited with interest to see how he would respond to his fellow Texan’s suggestion.

  Listening to the cowhand’s comment and noticing how it had been received, Mark was far from pleased. While he wished to help and could appreciate fully the dilemma that the mishap was creating for the peace officer, he had no desire to have so much thrust upon him and he wanted the means by which the wagon was to be removed to be decided by Beauregard.

  Any Southerner appointed as marshal of a trail-end, railroad town in Kansas was likely to have his conduct subjected to considerably more critical scrutiny than might be directed at a man whose origins were north of the Mason-Dixon line. 4 In Beauregard’s case, he would have the further disadvantage of having his actions compared with the manner in which his predecessor in office had performed similar duties, and the standards set by Dusty Fog had been high. So, despite sympathizing with a man who had been a good friend for many years, and while willing to do everything within his power to assist, the blond giant had no wish for people to think Beauregard needed to call upon the previous incumbents of the marshal’s office as soon as he was faced with his first emergency.

  However, a glance at the peace officer’s face told Mark he did not need to worry on that account. Under the circumstances, Beauregard was only too pleased to accept aid from any source. Nor could any fair-minded person blame him for being willing to take it when offered.

  The problem facing the blond giant was how he might best assist the marshal. Until the wheel was replaced, the wagon could not be moved. Before this could be done, the axle must be raised to a level at which the hub could be slid on. It would take time to procure a suitable lever for the task and time was one thing they were lacking. Already the band was striking up ready to lead the Grand Parade for which the town’s population and visiting dignitaries were waiting. Everybody would be bitterly disappointed and the more influential citizens who had organized the event, not all of whom had been in favor of Beauregard’s appointment, would feel humiliated should the accident be allowed to delay it. There would be those who tried to lay the blame upon him and, by doing so, weaken his authority.

  In spite of having performed the feat mentioned by the cowhand, Mark knew it had been under different and more favorable conditions. No matter how Calamity Jane might tell the story—and he knew it would be in a manner most creditable to him, if almost certainly exaggerated—she had not been driving her six-horse Conestoga wagon, similar to the one before him, on the day in question. Not only was the vehicle she had been handling then considerably smaller, the load it was carrying was far lighter. So any attempt at duplicating the exploit was practically doomed to failure. Furthermore, because of the crowd’s curiosity, other methods which could prove more successful were sure to be held up abeyance while he was trying to lift the wagon no matter how much the marshal wanted them to be carried out.

  ‘Ain’t usually the one to come billing in unasked to other folk’s doings, gents,’ commented a voice as deep as the blond giant’s, yet with a mild and almost apologetic timbre to its pronounced Southern drawl, before any further suggestions could be made. ‘Only I reckon’s how you ’n’ me could maybe hoist her up enough for the wheel to be put back on, was we to give it a whirl.’

  Ambling with leisurely seeming haste from the crowd, looking like a buffalo bull passing through a herd of pronghorns, 5 the speaker approached Mark and Beauregard. To say he was big would be an understatement.

  Matching the blond giant in height, the newcomer was only fractionally more slender across the shoulders and, as he did not trim down so noticeably at the waist, weighed in excess of the other’s two hundred and twenty pounds. Unless the way in which the material of his somewhat tight fitting buckskin shirt and trousers pulsated as he moved was lying, the extra weight was caused by hard muscles rather than fat. He had on a brimless, flat-topped cap made from the silver tipped brown skin of a grizzly bear, from beneath which showed close cropped black hair. A neatly trimmed beard and moustache set off a set of amiable features tanned to the consistency of old leather by a life which was obviously spent predominantly out of doors. Although well worn, his clothes and knee length Pawnee moccasins were clean and tidy. In his massive right hand, a Sharps Old Reliable buffalo gun seemed no larger than a Winchester carbine and the enormous bowie knife sheathed at the left side of his Indian-made waist belt appeared almost diminutive when compared with his bulk.

  All in all, if anybody could help Mark lift the wagon, the speaker looked as if he was the one to do it. Yet, despite being in his late twenties, he also conveyed the impression of being a little boy attending his first grown-up party and wanting only to do the right things to please the other guests.

  ‘It’s worth a try, Kail,’ Mark declared, studying the newcomer’s massive frame. ‘If we can pull it off, there’ll be no call to stop the parade until the wagon’s moved. Anyways, we’ve got nothing to lose by giving it a whirl.’

  ‘Like you say, amigo,’ Beauregard replied, also subjecting the newcomer to scrutiny and equally impressed by his obviously muscle-packed bulk. ‘We’ve got nothing to lose. But, hoping I don’t give offence to either of you-all, I’ll send somebody to find a pole we can use as a lever just in case you can’t hoist the god-damned thing up.’

  ‘I was hoping you’d decide on something like that,’ Mark drawled cheerfully, starting to unbutton his shirt. ‘Get your man sent, then make sure the brake’s on and have Mr. Walton hold his team steady. Soon’s all that’s done, friend, what say you and me give it a whirl?’

  ‘I’m ready when you are,’ declared the gigantic newcomer. While the marshal was carrying out the suggestions and giving instructions to various members of the crowd whose help would be required if the lifting was successful, Mark peeled off his shirt. Hanging it on the hitching rail alongside where the bearded man was leaning the Sharps rifle, he led the way to the rear of the wagon.

  Waiting until the driv
er—who was also the owner of the vehicle and a prominent local businessman—had checked the brake, and gone to hold the heads of the two lead horses, Mark and the newcomer took up their positions. Placing their backs against the tailgate, it became apparent to the majority of the onlookers that they both knew how best to set about their task. Each hooked his hands beneath the bed of the wagon, but clearly had no intention of relying solely upon his deltoid, bicep and forearm muscles, massive as these were. Instead, they spread their feet slightly apart and bent their knees so that they could bring into play all the power of their backs, buttocks, thighs and calves and thus supplement the force to be applied via their arms.

  On receiving a word of command from Beauregard, the blond giant and his assistant began to lift. However, except for the pressure being exerted from within causing the ample sleeves of the newcomer’s buckskin to expand under the strain until the material appeared almost paper thin, nothing appeared to be happening.

  Not every member of the crowd along the sidewalk in front of Henry’s Saloon was finding the attempt to move the loaded wagon by muscle power alone to be an event of absorbing interest. At least one person present considered that far more worthy of attention was the large and bulky pack which the bearded man had set down in the alley alongside the building prior to going forward and offering his assistance.

  Human nature being what it is, every town that attracted an ever changing assortment of people, many of whom carried quantities of money in their possession, invariably also attracted people who arrived with the intention of relieving the others of at least a proportion of their wealth by dishonest means. Nor, even with the kind of efficient law enforcement for which it had become famous during its short existence, had it been possible to exclude such undesirable visitors from Mulrooney.