He could hear some conversation between Nell and her customer, then finally, he heard the key turning in the lock. A moment later, the door opened just enough to allow a bottle of whiskey to pass through and a curious woman’s face to peer out. It was obvious she didn’t recognize the voice. “Who the hell are you?” she asked when she didn’t see a bottle, only moments before Ben pushed the door wide, moving her backward in the process.
“Best sit yourself down on that chair in the corner, Miss,” Ben ordered. “Your lover, here, is under arrest.” Her eyes opened wide when she saw the Colt six-gun in his hand and she backed quickly out of the way.
“What tha...” was as much as Big Foot Sam got out before he started to reach for his gun hanging on the back of a chair close to the bed.
“That would be your last and biggest mistake,” Ben warned him and cocked the hammer back on the Colt. “You’re under arrest for the murder of a passenger on the stage you and your partner robbed.” He pulled his coat aside far enough to let him see the star he wore on his vest. Kelly hesitated, half off the bed, still weighing his chances. “It’s up to you,” Ben urged. “You’ll be a helluva lot more trouble to take to jail than it would be to bury you, so it don’t make any difference to me.”
Convinced that the Ranger meant what he said, Kelly sat back down on the bed. “You ain’t lookin’ for me,” he claimed. “That was Jack that shot that feller.”
“That right?” Ben asked, knowing now that the man he was arresting was, in fact, Big Foot Sam Kelly. “How ’bout the fellow ridin’ shotgun on that stage? Did Queen shoot him, too, or was that you?”
Kelly didn’t answer right away, still weighing his odds. “I ain’t shot nobody. You got the wrong person,” he said after another long moment.
“Samuel ‘Big Foot Sam’ Kelly is who I’m pretty sure I’ve got. So pull your trousers back up and grab your hat. Let’s go.” He started toward the chair to get Kelly’s gun and holster, but at that moment, Nell decided she might not get paid for services rendered. So she suddenly jumped out of her chair and bolted toward the dresser and Kelly’s wallet. Ben automatically reacted to meet any threat from her. It was no more than a quick turn in her direction, but it was enough to cause Kelly to lunge toward his gun. Ben turned back in time to fire a shot that struck the gun belt hanging on the chair and knocked the chair over backward before Kelly could reach it. “That was a warning shot,” Ben said. “I don’t give but one. The next one will save you a trip to jail.”
“All right! All right!” Kelly exclaimed and sank back on the bed again. “I was just tryin’ to keep her from stealin’ my money.”
“He owes me for lettin’ him wallow all over me!” Nell blurted.
“I suppose he does,” Ben said. “How much do you charge for a trip up here?”
“Fifteen dollars,” Nell answered.
“You lyin’ bitch!” Kelly spat. “Five dollars is what I agreed to, and that’s more’n she’s worth.”
“Take five dollars,” Ben said, “and put the rest back on the dresser.”
“You believe his word over mine?” Nell cried.
“I reckon I do,” Ben told her. “I expect that money will be goin’ back to the stage company.”
She did as he said, took five dollars, and put the rest back on the dresser. “It’d take more’n that to do it again,” she pouted. “Big Foot Sam, hah! Maybe his foot’s big, I don’t know. I wouldn’t let him take his boots off, but I’ve seen the rest of him.”
“Sit down over there and shut up,” Ben said, afraid if she didn’t, he might have to shoot Kelly to keep him from going after her. “Come on, Kelly, let’s get movin’.”
Downstairs in the saloon, all conversation stopped suddenly when the shot was heard overhead. Everybody waited to hear if there would be more, all except Jack Queen. At once concerned about his partner up there with the prostitute, he got up from his chair, intending to find out. “Just hold it right there, and I won’t have to shoot you,” Billy Turner said, standing behind him now. “I wanna see both your hands in the air,” Billy told him, and when Queen did so, Billy slipped the .44 up out of his holster. “I’m a Texas Ranger, and I’m placin’ you under arrest for shootin’ two people in a stagecoach holdup.”
Queen was about to claim that Billy had the wrong man but saved his breath when he saw Kelly coming down the stairs with Ben behind him with a drawn six-gun. Sam had made no more attempts to jump the lawman, hoping that Ben was alone, leaving a possibility that Jack would shoot him down when he tried to escort him out the door. His hopes sank when he saw there were two Rangers, and the other one had already arrested Jack. “Heard a shot,” Billy said. “Any trouble?”
“No,” Ben replied, “just a warnin’. Let’s get some bracelets on these boys.” While Ben held his gun on the prisoners, Billy clamped their hands together behind their backs and they marched them out the front door. “Sorry to interrupt your afternoon entertainment, folks,” Ben said to the spectators as they escorted the two out.
Outside the saloon, they helped their prisoners up into their saddles. Once they were settled on their horses, Ben and Billy had to decide how they were going to handle them. They had to transport them to Austin, which was a hundred miles due west. They now had two prisoners and two extra packhorses to contend with. Their own horses had already gone forty miles that day. They didn’t know how long the prisoners’ horses had rested. On top of all that, it was getting close to suppertime, not a good time to start on a hundred-mile trip. They decided to water their horses, then start out for Austin, but planned to stop and make camp after only ten miles or so. Ben had traveled the old trail between Navasota and Austin many times before and he had a spot in mind to camp. They agreed it was best to get the prisoners out of Navasota. So they rigged up a line for all the packhorses and departed Navasota in the late afternoon. Their plan was to start out early the next morning and make Austin in two days’ time.
* * *
Evening was fast approaching when they reached the bank of the creek Ben had in mind. So after handcuffing their prisoners’ hands around a couple of small trees, the Rangers unloaded the horses and left them to water. Only after the horses were taken care of did they think about starting a fire and cooking something for their prisoners and themselves to eat.
“Hey, Ranger,” Sam called out, “you gonna cook us somethin’ to eat, too?” The two oaks he and Jack Queen were embracing were close enough for the prisoners to talk to each other. They were the only two trees in that spot small enough to lock their arms around comfortably. Otherwise, Ben would have parked them on opposite sides of the campfire, so they couldn’t talk quietly to each other. That often led to plans to escape.
Billy didn’t bother to answer Sam’s question, so after a minute or two, Ben answered. “Yeah, we’ll feed you, but don’t expect a fancy supper. It’ll be the same thing we’re eatin’, so any complaints will just be wasted breath.”
“We’re goin’ to a helluva lot of trouble carryin’ these two back to jail,” Billy commented, his words too low to be heard by the prisoners on the other side of the fire. “Too bad we jumped ’em before they had a chance to fight. Be a lot easier to shoot the devils.
“Yeah, I reckon it woulda,” Ben replied, “but our orders are to bring ’em in for
