Now, we Sacketts carried a name known in Dodge. Tyrel, Orrin, and some of the others had come into Dodge long before, Tyrel and Orrin being there when the town was mighty young. They were the first Sacketts to go west to settle. Their pa had come west earlier than that, riding and trapping fur along with Bridger, Carson, and Joe Meek. He'd never come back from his last trip, so it was always figured that some Blackfoot had raised his hair, back up in Montana. We'd heard the story as youngsters, but had never known any of that branch of the family until we bumped into Tyrel and Orrin down in the Mogollon, where they'd gone to lend a fighting hand to their brother Tell.
Knowing that if the other riders had come through the stampede alive, they would head for Hawkes at his hotel, we went along with Walker and Briggs. Three other riders had already come in, which left seven missing.
Evan Hawkes was a tall, broad-shouldered but spare-built man with darkish red hair. The build of him and the way he combed his hair reminded a body of Andy Jackson, and he had a pair of gray eyes that advised a man he'd make a better friend than an enemy.
"They've got that herd to sell," Hawkes said, "and we will be there when they try. I'll pass the word around."
"Mr. Hawkes," I said, "you got to remember that Fetchen is no fool. From all I hear, he's mighty shrewd, as well as mean. He may not sell that herd at all."
"What do you mean?"
"From what I've seen of those we gathered, you had quite a bit of young breeding stock. Fetchen could push that herd west into Wyoming, peddle the steers to Indians or the army or some beef contractor. Then he could use the young stuff to start his own outfit."
"You believe he has come west to stay?"
"I've been wondering about that. It doesn't seem reasonable they'd all come west without reason. I figure something happened back there after we left."
Judith had been standing by getting madder by the minute, and now she let go at all of us. "You've no right to suppose anything of the kind! And you've no evidence that Black Fetchen stole that herd!"
Hawkes looked at her, kind of surprised. "It seems to be there's a difference of opinion among you."
"The little lady doesn't think Black is all that mean," Galloway said.
"I certainly do not!"
"The way we figure it," Galloway went on, "what happened to you is mostly our fault. You see, the Fetchens came west hunting us. Black wants the little lady here, and he wants her horses, some of the finest breeding stock you ever did see. Back there in Tazewell - "
"Tennessee?" said Hawkes. "I know it well. I'm from Kentucky."
"Well, we had a run-in with those boys, sort of calmed 'em down when they were about to show their muscle. They been used to having things their own way."
Leaving Hawkes with his riders, the three of us went downstairs to the dining room. Judith had her nose up, and her cheeks were flushed and angry. When we'd found seats at a table she said, "You have no right to talk that way about Mr. Fetchen. He is an honorable man."
"I hope so," Galloway commented, "because if he wasn't, and you went to him, you'd be in a kind of a fix, wouldn't you? This far from home, and all."
We ordered, and then she started to look around some, and so did we. Neither me nor Galloway had been to many towns. We had seen Santa Fe, Dodge, Abilene, and Sedalia, Missouri, and both of us liked to see folks around us.
There were cattle buyers, land speculators, officers from the army post, cattle drivers, gamblers and such like around. All of them were dressed to the nines, and were looking almighty fancy. Galloway and me had taken time before coming in to brush up a little, but somehow we didn't shape up like these folks. We looked like a pair of mountain boys still, and it shamed me. As soon as we got some money, I thought, we'd buy us some proper clothes.
"You been to big towns, Judith?" Galloway asked her.
"I have been to Atlanta and Nashville, and to New Orleans, Mobile, and Louisville ... oh, lots of towns. My folks traded in all of them."
I'd had no idea she was such a traveled girl, but it followed. The Irish traders were folks that got about a good bit. There for a few minutes she forgot all about Black Fetchen and took to telling us about the big towns, and believe me, we listened to every word.
The restaurant door opened while she was talking and I turned my head. It was Black Fetchen.
He had surely changed. He wore a brand-new black broadcloth suit, a white shirt, and black tie. His boots were polished like all get out, and he carried a new black hat in his hand. His hair was all slicked down with bear grease or the like, and I'll have to admit he was a handsome sight. Tory came in behind him, with Colby Rafin and another one of their outfit known as Ira London.
Fetchen walked right over to our table, the others sitting down across the room with their backs to us.
"Why, Judith! How nice to see you!" Then he turned to me and said, "I hope you boys carry no grudge against us. We're certainly not about to hunt trouble with you. Back there we were just a-funnin' - we didn't mean no trouble."
Judith was beaming. It made me mad to see so much sparkle in her eyes over such a no-account rascaL Me, I didn't buy that flannel-mouth talk, and he knew it. All the time he was talking I could just see the taunting in his eyes; but Judith, she was all excited and happy.
"Why, sure!" Galloway was the smooth-talking one of the two of us. "Why don't you pull up a chair and set? We'd enjoy talking a while. Maybe you could tell us something about a herd of cattle somebody stampeded and run off back down the trail."
Judith's face went white and her lips tightened up. She was both mad and scared ... scared something was going to happen.
"Cattle? Since when did you two go into the cattle business?"
"They weren't our cattle," Galloway said as smooth as silk. "They belong to a friend of ours, name of Evan Hawkes ... a good man. His herd was stampeded by some rustlers ... murderers, too, because they killed his boy, and some of his men."
Fetchen never batted an eye. Oh, he was a cool one! He just smiled and said, "Come to think of it, we did see a few stray cattle. We even drove in half a dozen and turned them over to the marshal."
He pulled back a chair and sat down, easy as you please. "As a matter of fact, I didn't just come over to say howdy to some old friends from the home state. I came over to see Judith. Seems you boys aren't going to give me a chance to be alone with her, so I'll have to speak my piece right here before all of you."
Judith's eyes were shining and her lips were parted. I didn't like it to see her getting so flustered. Before I could say anything, Black Fetchen, still smiling like the cat sizing up the canary, says, "Judith, will you marry me?"
And before either of us can say aye, yes, or no, she ups and says, "Yes, James - yes, I will!"
"I'm honored, ma'am, right honored." Then he says, "I don't think it is really the right thing for a man's betrothed to be spending so much time with two men, single men who are no kin to her, so I've taken a room for you here at the hotel until we're married."
We sat there, caught flat-footed. This here was something we hadn't expected, nor did we know what to do. It was Galloway who spoke first "That's right nice, Black," he said, "but her grandpa asked us most particular to take her to her pa in Colorado. Now, it ain't so many miles from here, so why don't you two figure on being married there where her pa can attend? After all, she's his only daughter."
Fetchen never stopped smiling. "Mr. Sackett, I wouldn't expect you to understand, but I am in love. I do not want to wait."
"Nor do I!" Judith said. "We can be married right here in Dodge."