Jeremiah Tucker The Gunfighter - Book Two Read online

  JEREMIAH TUCKER

  THE GUNFIGHTER

  Book 2

  James Butler

  (This is a work of fiction. Even though some of the places and people named in this book did or do exist, they are used in a fictitious manner as are all of the dates, events and characters which are the product of the author’s imagination. Any character resemblance to persons living or dead is coincidental.)

  Chapter 1

  Jeremiah rose early. Today he and Alma were to be wed. Alma gave him a list of things to pick up at the store. He kissed her and told her he loved her, then saddled up and rode into town. He wanted to be the first one in the barber’s chair so he would look his best for their noon wedding. He tied his horse in front of the general store and gave Alma’s list to Mrs. Kirby. “Would you mind bringing this when you and Bill come out for the wedding? It’s too much to carry on my horse.”

  Mrs. Kirby smiled. “You’re a real lucky man, Jeremiah. Alma is a real fine lady.” He thanked her and was crossing the street when he heard a familiar voice.

  “Jeremiah Tucker, I’ve been waiting a long time for this day. It’s time we settled our business.”

  Jeremiah froze. He knew the voice, but he couldn’t put a face with it.

  “I spent two years in prison because of you.”

  Jeremiah turned to look at his accuser. He had aged more than his years. Prison does that to most.

  “Hi, Jeremiah,” said a woman’s voice behind him. “You remember me?”

  Jeremiah turned to see Lilly, the gunman’s sister.

  “What business is that? You were convicted of trying to rob a stagecoach. I had no part in that other than stopping you from killing me and getting yourself and your sister killed in the process. My suggestion to you would be to let it alone, Jack, and go on your way or you can die right here and now.”

  “Get his gun, Lilly,” Jack said. “I brought my kin with me this time.”

  Jeremiah already had his gun in his hand when Lilly went to his left side and raised his coat. Jeremiah pushed her away and, at the same time, Jack drew his pistol. Jeremiah fired, hitting him in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground, his pistol flying through the air.

  “You’re lucky I‘m getting married today. Wouldn’t want to kill someone on my wedding day.” There was already a crowd gathered in the street. Most of them knew Jeremiah and were invited to the wedding. “You just won’t learn, will you?” He took Lilly by the hand and pulled her up. “It’s the right hand, Lilly. My gun hand’s the right hand. You went for my left back on the stage. I’m right handed.” He held up his left hand. “This is my left and this one with the pistol is my right.” He pulled her over to her brother who was laying in the street in a puddle of his own piss. “I told you before I should have killed you. No one as stupid as you two should be allowed to live.” He pushed Lilly down beside her brother as the sheriff ran up.

  “Watch yourself,” he said to the sheriff, “don’t slip down. The last time I saw these two she had a derringer under her dress and he hasn’t changed either.” He looked down at the gunman crying and holding his shoulder. “You pissed yourself on the stage as I recall.” The sheriff and his deputies took Lilly and her brother away. “When you get out of prison, don’t come looking for me again. Next time, I won’t be getting married. And learn to control your bladder.” He reloaded his gun and put it away as he walked over to the barber shop. A newspaper reporter and a couple of dime novelists were already there waiting on him.

  “Are you going back to being a gunfighter, Mr. Tucker?” the reporter asked as Jeremiah took his seat in the barber chair.

  “I never was a gunfighter by choice. I’ve just always tried to stay alive. Those two characters I just met on the street were the same couple who tried to rob me on the stage when I left here to go to Alaska. I should have shot the two of them back then and put them out of their misery.”

  “I remember you telling about them,” said the reporter. “Why didn’t you kill him today? You know he’ll come looking for you again once they turn him loose.”

  “Today’s my wedding day. Alma and I are getting married.”

  “We were hoping that, while you were here, you’d tell us some more of your adventures. There’s not many gunslingers left these days.”

  The barber laid him back in the chair and Jeremiah crossed his feet on the foot rest.

  “Well, there was this time down on the Mississippi.” The reporter and novelists sat there listening, writing down his every word.

  “I had just taken up gambling as a means to support my mother. She stayed here at the ranch while I traveled around from one poker game to another. I wasn’t a gunfighter and had no plans of ever being one, but I wasn’t stupid either.”

  The barber shook the hair out of a sheet and covered Jeremiah up to his neck.

  “All poker players, if they’ve spent any time at the game, have been at a table when someone got shot. There’s always some drunk that thinks he’s been cheated and pulls his gun. It makes no difference if you had anything to do with it or not. You could wind up dead. I always watched a game from a distance before I ever sat in and learned as much about each player as I could. I knew the ones who were dangerous and those who were cheaters. That’s when I got the idea of cutting the bottoms out of my coat pockets. I was very seldom seen with both hands on the table at the same time. I almost always had my pistol drawn under the cover of my coat and ready to fire. Sure it was cheating, but I was young and just learning and it kept me alive.

  “So I had just gotten to Mississippi. I’d been there about a week, watching the games, when I finally decided to sit in on one. Now you all know that, by riverboat rules, you only play with tens or higher, so everyone at the table usually has a good hand. It’s not uncommon for there to be at least three flushes on a table with six players. If you have a straight, which is normally a good hand by regular rules, your best bet is to fold. Somebody’s going to have a full house or a straight flush.

  “This particular round I had nothing but two aces. There was this fellow across from me who had been losing all night with straights and flushes and he was drunk and really pissed. Screaming and hollering at every hand he was dealt, accusing the dealer of cheating. Anyway, this hand was different. He only had two kings and he bet everything that he had, which wasn’t much, so I matched his bet. The other players folded. They were afraid he was about to lose it and start shooting. He threw down his two kings and started reaching for the pot when I threw down my two aces.

  “‘Well, you son of a bitch,’ he says. He drew his pistol and I fired under the table hitting him right between the legs. I blew his nuts right out his asshole.” Everybody laughed. “Then I put a couple in his chest just to make sure.”

  “What happened then?” asked the reporter.

  “Well, all the other players were so afraid they were going to get shot by this crazy bastard that they never took their eyes off him. They never knew I fired the first shot from under the table, which they would have thought cowardly. So did I, but I was still alive. The riverboat crew came over and picked the guy up and threw him overboard. From that night on, I was known as a gunfighter. It took me years of practice before I was good enough to live up to my reputation and then the Civil War came along.”

  “We’d better let this man go for now,” said the barber. “You don’t wanna be late for your wedding.” He pulled the sheet off and shook it. “This one’s on me, Jeremiah. I hope you and your Alma have a wonderful life.”

  Chapter 2

  Jeremiah went to the sheriffs office and gave him all the information he could about the two who had tried to kill him, th
en headed back to the ranch. They were to be married under the same shade tree where his parents were buried. He decided not to tell Alma about the mishap in town until later. He didn’t want to ruin the wedding for her.

  Alma was everything he had ever wanted: She was small and sweet just like his mother and, most of all, she loved him. She had been married before, but had no children. Her husband was killed in the war not long after they were married. Now, with the money from the gold he found in Alaska, Jeremiah could give her the kind of life she deserved. She bought his old ranch from the government for the back taxes owed as a surprise for him when he came home. He loved her and knew she felt the same.

  It was almost eleven when he got to the top of the hill overlooking the ranch. Someone was riding hard coming toward him. It was Zeb, Luke Johnson’s son. He rode up beside Jeremiah and slowed, but didn’t stop. “You better get on home, Jeremiah,” he yelled as he rode past. When Jeremiah got to the ranch, there were horses and buggies all around the house. He could see men standing on his porch and women rushing about. The guests must be arriving early. He stepped down from his horse and, before he could walk to the porch, one of his neighbors, James, came to him. He had a solemn look about him.

  “Don’t go in there just yet, Jeremiah.” He reached out and took Jeremiah’s arm. “I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

  “Help me with what? What’s going on here?” Nobody was laughing, no one was happy. It was his wedding day. “Where’s Alma?” He tried to pull away, but James held him fast.

  “There were four of them, Jeremiah. They hurt Alma real bad. Some of the men have already left to track them down before the trail gets cold. The Doc’s in there with her now.” Jeremiah broke loose and ran into the house. Alma was laying on the bed. Her clothes had been ripped off and were scattered in pieces on the floor. The women had covered her with a sheet while the doctor tended to her wounds. The sheet was soaked with blood. Her face was covered with bandages, but Jeremiah could see the bruises and the swelling of her face. “They cut her open,” whispered the doctor. “I had to stitch her up. I did the best I could.” He shook his head sadly as he looked at Jeremiah.

  Alma saw Jeremiah and started to cry. She held out her hand and Jeremiah took it and knelt down beside the bed. “Don’t you worry none, baby,” he said with tears in his eyes. “I’ll find every one of them no good sons of bitches and they’ll regret the day they were born. Did you recognize any of them?” She pulled him close to her and whispered something in his ear. “Is the preacher here? We want to get married right now.”

  Their wedding guests gathered around while Jeremiah knelt beside the bed and the preacher married them. Alma smiled and sighed then closed her eyes. Jeremiah looked up at the doctor and the doctor knelt down beside her. He put his ear to her mouth and smiled. “She’s sleeping. She’s a strong and determined little lady. I hope she can pull through this.”

  “Don’t you worry about a thing,” said Maggie, James’ wife. “We’ll all be here to help you with her every day. Me and James came over early so I could help her get ready and found her on the bed. The men who did this were still here and were out back laughing and talking. I saw your shotgun and fired both barrels at them while they were riding away. I think I hit one of them pretty good cause it almost knocked him off his horse. James was still out front and came running when he heard the shots. He wasn’t carrying a gun being we were going to a wedding and all. He took off for the Doc’s house right away. I would have shot them all, but they were gone by the time I found the shells. James saw Luke Johnson on the way and Luke and his men rode out after them. Luke sent his boy, Zeb, to find you and get the Sheriff. It all happened less than an hour ago.” She brought Jeremiah a chair so he could sit by the bed. Alma slept and never let go of his hand. Sometime during the night, Jeremiah heard her say, “I love you,” and then she died.

  Chapter 3

  Jeremiah buried her under the shade tree next to his parents. Everyone I ever loved is buried under this tree.

  ‘I brought my kin with me this time,’ he remembered the gunman saying.

  He strapped on his guns, saddled his horse and went back to town to the sheriff’s office. Sheriff Hunter saw him coming. “Be careful now, Jeremiah, you don’t wanna go breaking the law. I’ve got Jack and his sister behind bars. They’ll be tried in court for what they’ve done.”

  “I just buried Alma this morning. That piece of shit you have behind bars knows who did all those vile things to her. Open the door and let me in there with him now.” He pulled out both of his pistols.

  “I understand how you feel Jeremiah, but I can’t let you in there.”

  “You don’t understand shit,” and he hit the sheriff in the back of his neck with the butt of one of his pistols.

  “Help,” screamed Jack. “Somebody help me. He’s going to kill me.” Lilly was in the cell across the room. She cowered down and curled up in a corner keeping very quiet trying to disappear.

  Jeremiah unlocked the cell and went inside. He pulled Jack off his bunk by the arm and pushed his boot into his wounded shoulder. He twisted his arm until he was screaming. “You tell me who killed my wife or I’ll rip your arm off right here.”

  “I’ll tell you what you want to know, just don’t kill me.” He told Jeremiah that the four men were his brothers.

  Jeremiah sat on Jack’s chest with his knees on his shoulders. He gripped Jack’s lower lip and pulled it out then, with his knife, he started cutting it off slowly. Jack was screaming with blood gushing out of his mouth. Jeremiah smiled as he saw the terror in his eyes. When he finished, he held the lip up so Jack could see it. “I’ll be taking this with me.” He stuck it in his shirt pocket and jammed his pistol into Jack’s mouth. He could feel Jack’s broken teeth chattering against the barrel just like they had on the stagecoach years before. “We’ve done this before,” only this time he pulled the trigger, blowing Jack’s brain out the back of his head.

  He walked over to Lilly’s cell and opened it. Lilly was so afraid she was whining and covering her head with her arms. He grabbed her by her hair and dragged her out of the cell, then tied her hands behind her and dragged her outside. He took his lariat and tied it around her neck, then saddled up and rode off down the street with Lilly running along behind him. He headed back to his ranch. Lilly fell down a few times and he dragged her by her neck until he was afraid he might kill her, then he stopped and put her in the saddle and got up behind her. “I want you alive so you can identify those bastard brothers of yours who killed my wife. If you give me any shit, I’ll split your gut open and string your insides out so the critters can eat them while you watch.”

  Lilly was hysterical. “I didn’t have anything to do with your wife!” she screamed. “Please don’t hurt me.”

  “You best keep your mouth shut. It’s all I can do not to cut you in half right now.”

  When they got to the ranch, Jeremiah pulled her off of his horse and dragged her into the house. He pushed her into the bedroom and, holding her by her hair, forced her face down on the blood soaked bed. “This is where your brothers raped and killed my wife.” He wanted to kill her right there and she knew it, but he held himself back. He dragged her outside and tied her to the tree where Alma was buried.

  “Your brothers beat her until her face was unrecognizable then they raped her and took a knife to her. It was our wedding day. We were married just before she died ’cause that’s the way she wanted it. All I’ll promise you is that if you help me, I’ll let you live. If you don’t, you’ll die the most painful death you can imagine and you won’t have any face left.”

  “Please don’t hurt me. I’ll help you find them.” He untied her, but left the rope around her neck. He pulled the rope tight almost lifting her off the ground. “I want to kill you so bad I can hardly control myself.” Lilly’s legs gave way and she fell to the ground begging him not to kill her. He dragged her to his cattle tank and threw her in. “Wash my wife’s blood off your face
and clean yourself up. You smell like an old whore.”

  He hitched up the team to his wagon and tied Lilly to the seat. He loaded the wagon with plenty of food and water for them both. The wagon was slower than horseback, but he had to take Lilly and he had to have control over her. “You just remember one thing: When we find them, if you warn them in any way, you’ll be the first one to get shot and it won’t be the way that kills you. After I’m finished with your brothers, which may take a week or so, then I’ll start in on you and believe me when I tell you you’re not gonna like it.”

  Lilly started to cry. She was shaking so bad that Jeremiah tightened the ropes on her so she wouldn’t fall out of the wagon. “I’ll help you, I promise. I didn’t know they were going to hurt her. They told me they were just going to scare her.”

  “Well, they scared her all right and killed her to boot.”

  Lilly saw the anger in his face starting to rise again, she knew he wanted to tear her apart. “I promise I’ll help you. Please don’t hurt me.”

  Jeremiah tied two horses to the tail of the wagon, then climbed up and sat beside her. “I’ve never killed a woman before. I reckon it’s just like killing a man only easier. Maybe I’ll just skin you alive like the Indians do. I’ve heard that’s about the most painful way to die there is.”

  They left the ranch and went out the back, the way Lilly’s brothers had gone. Jeremiah hoped the men who were tracking would either have them or know where they were headed. About a mile or so from the ranch, he saw one of them laying on the prairie trail.

  “That’s Billy Bob,” said Lilly. She started crying again. “He’s the oldest.”

  Jeremiah climbed down and looked him over. “This is the one Maggie shot, part of his back is missing.”

  “Oh Billy,” Lilly cried, “you’ve gone and got all of us kilt.”

  Jeremiah reached down and with his thumb plucked out one of Billy Bob’s eyes. He gripped it in his hand and ripped it, tearing away the nerves. Lilly screamed and looked away. He climbed back on the wagon and pitched the eye in a bucket. “I promised myself I‘d bring back a piece of each one of them for Alma.”