Chapter XXI. Interlocutory Proceedings

by Andy Adams

　　A big summer's work lay before us. When Uncle Lance realized thepermanent loss of three men from the working force of Las Palomas, herallied to the situation. The ranch would have to run a double outfitthe greater portion of the summer, and men would have to be secured tofill our ranks. White men who were willing to isolate themselves on afrontier ranch were scarce; but the natives, when properly treated,were serviceable and, where bred to the occupation and inclined todomesticity, made ideal vaqueros. My injured foot improved slowly, andas soon as I was able to ride, it fell to me to secure the extra helpneeded. The desertion of Quayle and Cotton had shaken my employer'sconfidence to a noticeable degree, and in giving me my orders to securevaqueros, he said:--"Tom, you take a good horse and go down the Tarancalous and engage fivevaqueros. Satisfy yourself that the men are fit for the work, and hireevery one by the year. If any of them are in debt, a hundred dollars ismy limit of advance money to free them. And hire no man who has nota family, for I'm losing confidence every minute in single ones,especially if they are white. We have a few empty jacals, and the morechildren that I see running naked about the ranch, the better it suitsme. I'll never get my money back in building that Cotton cottage until Isee a mother, even though she is a Mexican, standing in the door witha baby in her arms. The older I get, the more I see my mistake independing on the white element."I was gone some three days in securing the needed help. It was adelicate errand, for no ranchero liked to see people leave his lands,and it was only where I found men unemployed that I applied for andsecured them. We sent wagons from Las Palomas after their few effects,and had all the families contentedly housed, either about headquartersor at the outlying ranchitas, before the first contingent of beeves wasgathered. But the attempt to induce any of the new families to occupythe stone cottage proved futile, as they were superstitious. There wasa belief among the natives, which no persuasion could remove, regardinghouses that were built for others and never occupied. The new buildingwas tendered to Tio Tiburcio and his wife, instead of their ownpalisaded jacal, but it remained tenantless--an eyesore to itsbuilder.Near the latter end of April, a contract was let for two new tanks onthe Ganso grant of land. Had it not been for the sale of beef, whichwould require our time the greater portion of the summer, it was myemployer's intention to have built these reservoirs with the ranch help.But with the amount of work we had in sight, it was decided to let thecontract to parties who made it their business and were outfitted forthe purpose. Accordingly in company with the contractor, Uncle Lance andmyself spent the last few days of the month laying off and planning thereservoir sites on two small tributaries which formed the Ganso. We wereplanning to locate these tanks several miles above the juncture of thesmall rivulets, and as far apart as possible. Then the first rainfallwhich would make running water, would assure us a year's supply on theextreme southwestern portion of our range. The contractor had a bigoutfit of oxen and mules, and the conditions called for one of thereservoirs to be completed before June 15th. Thus, if rains fell whenthey were expected, one receptacle at least would be in readiness.When returning one evening from starting the work, we found Tony Huntera guest of the ranch. He had come over for the special purpose of seeingme, but as the matter was not entirely under my control, my employer wasbrought into the consultation. In the docket for the May term of court,the divorce proceedings between Esther and Jack Oxenford would comeup for a hearing at Oakville on the seventh of the month. Hunter wasanxious, if possible, to have all his friends present at the trial. Butdates were getting a little close, for our first contingent of beeveswas due on the coast on the twentieth, and to gather and drive themwould require not less than ten days. A cross-bill had been filed byOxenford's attorney at the last hour, and a fight was going to be madeto prevent the decree from issuing. The judge was a hold-over fromthe reconstruction regime, having secured his appointment through theinfluence of congressional friends, one of whom was the uncle of thejunior stage man. Unless the statutory grounds were clear, there was adoubt expressed by Esther's attorney whether the court would grant thedecree. But that was the least of Hunter's fears, for in his eyes theman who would willfully abuse a woman had no rights, in court or out.Tony, however, had enemies; for he and Oxenford had had a personalaltercation, and since the separation the Martin family had taken theside of Jack's employer and severed all connections with the ranch. Thatthe mail contractors had the village of Oakville under their control,all agreed, as we had tested that on our return from Fort Worth thespring before. In all the circumstances, though Hunter had no misgivingsas to the ultimate result, yet being a witness and accused of beingthe main instigator in the case, he felt that he ought, as a matter ofprecaution, to have a friend or two with him."Well, now, Tony," said my employer, "this is crowding the mourners justa trifle, but Las Palomas was never called on in a good cause but shecould lend a man or two, even if they had to get up from the dinnertable and go hungry. I don't suppose the trial will last over a day ortwo at the furthest, and even if it did, the boys could ride home in thenight. In our first bunch and in half a day, we'll gather every beef intwo rodeos and start that evening. Steamships won't wait, and if we werea day behind time, they might want to hold out demurrage on us. If itwasn't for that, the boys could stay a week and you would be welcometo them. Of course, Tom will want to go, and about the next best manI could suggest would be June. I'd like the best in the world to gomyself, but you see how I'm situated, getting these cattle off and a newtank building at the same time. Now, you boys make your own arrangementsamong yourselves, and this ranch stands ready to back up anything yousay or do."Tony remained overnight, and we made arrangements to meet him, eitherat Shepherd's the evening before or in Oakville on the morning of thetrial. Owing to the behavior of Quayle and Cotton, none of us hadattended the celebration of San Jacinto Day at the ferry. Nor had anyone from the Vaux or McLeod ranches, for while they did not understandthe situation, it was obvious that something was wrong, and they hadremained away as did Las Palomas. But several of Hunter's friends fromthe San Miguel had been present, as likewise had Oxenford, and reportscame back to the ranch of the latter's conduct and of certain threats hehad made when he found there was no one present to resent them. The nextmorning, before starting home, Tony said to our segundo and myself;--"Then I'll depend on you two, and I may have a few other friends whowill want to attend. I don't need very many for a coward like JackOxenford. He is perfectly capable of abusing an unprotected woman, or anold man if he had a crowd of friends behind to sick him on. Oh, he's acur all right; for when I told him that he was whelped under a house, henever resented it. He loves me all right, or has good cause to. Why, Ibent the cylinder pin of a new six-shooter over his head when he had agun on him, and he forgot to use it. I don't expect any trouble, but ifyou don't look a sneaking cur right in the eye, he may slip up behindand bite you."After making arrangements to turn in two hundred beeves on our secondcontingent, and send a man with them to the coast, Hunter returned home.There was no special programme for the interim until gathering thebeeves commenced, yet on a big ranch like Las Palomas there is alwayswork. While Deweese finished curbing the well in which Ortez losthis life, I sawed off and cut new threads on all the rods and pipingbelonging to that particular windmill. With a tireless energy for oneof his years, Uncle Lance rode the range, until he could have told ata distance one half his holdings of cattle by flesh marks alone. A fewdays before the date set for the trial, Enrique brought in word oneevening that an outfit of strange men were encamped north of the riveron the Ganso Tract. The vaquero was unable to make out their business,but was satisfied they were not there for pleasure, so my employer and Imade an early start the next morning to see who the campers were. On theextreme northwestern corner of our range, fully twenty-five miles fromheadquarters, we met them and found they were a corps of engineers,running a preliminary survey for a railroad. They were in the employof the International and Great Northern Company, which was thencontemplating extending their line to some point on the Rio Grande.While there was nothing definite in this prior survey, it sounded a noteof warning; for the course they were running would carry the line up theGanso on the south side of the river, passing between the new tanks, andleaving our range through a sag in the hills on the south end of thegrant. The engineer in charge very courteously informed my employer thathe was under instructions to run, from San Antonio to different pointson the river, three separate lines during the present summer. He alsoinformed us that the other two preliminary surveys would be run fartherwest, and there was a possibility that the Las Palomas lands would bemissed entirely, a prospect that was very gratifying to Uncle Lance."Tom," said he, as we rode away, "I've been dreading this very thing foryears. It was my wish that I would never live to see the necessity offencing our lands, and to-day a railroad survey is being run across LasPalomas. I had hoped that when I died, this valley would be an openrange and as primitive as the day of my coming to it. Here a railroadthreatens our peace, and the signs are on every hand that we'll have tofence to protect ourselves. But let it come, for we can't stop it. IfI'm spared, within the next year, I'll secure every tract of land forsale adjoining the ranch if it costs me a dollar an acre. Then if itcomes to the pinch, Las Palomas will have, for all time, land and tospare. You haven't noticed the changes in the country, but nearly allthis chaparral has grown up, and the timber is twice as heavy along theriver as when I first settled here. I hate the sight even of a necessitylike a windmill, and God knows we have no need of a railroad. To a ranchthat doesn't sell fat beeves over once in ten years, transportation isthe least of its troubles."About dusk on the evening of the day preceding the trial, June Deweeseand I rode into Shepherd's, expecting to remain overnight. Shortly afterour arrival, Tony Hunter hastily came in and informed us that he hadbeen unable to get hotel accommodations for his wife and Esther inOakville, and had it not been that they had old friends in the village,all of them would have had to return to the ferry for the night. Thesefriends of the McLeod family told Hunter that the stage people hadcoerced the two hotels into refusing them, and had otherwise prejudicedthe community in Oxenford's favor. Hunter had learned also that thejunior member of the stage firm had collected a crowd of hangers-on,and being liberal in the use of money, had convinced the rabble of thevillage that he was an innocent and injured party. The attorney forEsther had arrived, and had cautioned every one interested on their sideof the case to be reserved and careful under every circumstance, as theyhad a bitter fight on their hands.The next morning all three of us rode into the village. Court had beenin session over a week, and the sheriff had sworn in several deputiesto preserve the peace, as there was considerable bitterness betweenlitigants outside the divorce case. These under-sheriffs made it a pointto see that every one put aside his arms on reaching the town, and triedas far as lay in their power to maintain the peace. During the earlydays of the reconstruction regime, before opening the term the presidingjudge had frequently called on the state for a company of Texas Rangersto preserve order and enforce the mandates of the court. But in '79there seemed little occasion for such a display of force, and a fewfearless officers were considered sufficient. On reaching the village,we rode to the house where the women were awaiting us. Fortunatelythere was ample corral room at the stable, so we were independentof hostelries and liveries. Mrs. Hunter was the very reverse of herhusband, being a timid woman, while poor Esther was very nervous underthe dread of the coming trial. But we cheered them with our presence,and by the time court opened, they had recovered their composure.Our party numbered four women and five men. Esther lacked severalsummers of being as old as her sister, while I was by five years theyoungest of the men, and naturally looked to my elders for leadership.Having left our arms at the house, we entered the court-room in asdecorous and well-behaved a manner as if it had been a house of worshipand this a Sabbath morning. A peculiar stillness pervaded the room,which could have been mistaken as an omen of peace, or the tensionsimilar to the lull before a battle. Personally I was composed, but asI allowed my eyes from time to time to rest upon Esther, she had neverseemed so near and dear to me as in that opening hour of court. Shelooked very pale, and moved by the subtle power of love, I vowed thatshould any harm come to or any insulting word be spoken of her, myvengeance would be sure and swift.Court convened, and the case was called. As might have been expected,the judge held that under the pleadings it was not a jury case. Thepanel was accordingly excused for the day, and joined those curiouslyinclined in the main body of the room. The complaining witnesses werecalled, and under direct examination the essential facts were broughtforth, laying the foundation for a legal separation. The plaintiff wasthe last witness to testify. As she told her simple story, a hushedsilence fell over the room, every spectator, from the judge on the benchto the sheriff, being eager to catch every syllable of the recital. Butas in duty bound to a client, the attorney for the defendant, a youngman who had come from San Antonio to conduct the case, opened a sharpcross-questioning. As the examination proceeded, an altercation betweenthe attorneys was prevented only by the presence of the sheriff anddeputies. Before the inquiry progressed, the attorney for the plaintiffapologized to the court, pleading extenuating circumstances in theoffense offered to his client. Under his teachings, he informed thecourt, the purity of womanhood was above suspicion, and no man whowished to be acknowledged as a gentleman among his equals would impugnor question the statement of a lady. The witness on the stand was moreto him than an ordinary client, as her father and himself had been youngmen together, had volunteered under the same flag, his friend offeringup his life in its defense, and he spared to carry home the news of anunmarked grave on a Southern battle-field. It was a privilege to him tooffer his assistance and counsel to-day to a daughter of an old comrade,and any one who had the temerity to offer an affront to this witnesswould be held to a personal account for his conduct.The first day was consumed in taking testimony. The defense introducedmuch evidence in rebuttal. Without regard to the truth or their oaths, aline of witnesses were introduced who contradicted every essential pointof the plaintiff's case. When the credibility of their testimony wasattacked, they sought refuge in the technicalities of the law, and weresupported by rulings of the presiding judge. When Oxenford took thestand in his own behalf, there were not a dozen persons present whobelieved the perjured statements which fell from his lips. Yet when histestimony was subjected to a rigid cross-questioning, every attempt toreach the truth precipitated a controversy between attorneys asbitter as it was personal. That the defendant at the bar had escapedprosecution for swindling the government out of large sums of money fora mail service never performed was well known to every one present,including the judge, yet he was allowed to testify against the characterof a woman pure as a child, while his own past was protected fromexposure by rulings from the bench.When the evidence was all in, court adjourned until the following day.That evening our trio, after escorting the women to the home of theirfriend, visited every drinking resort, hotel, and public house in thevillage, meeting groups of Oxenford's witnesses, even himself ashe dispensed good cheer to his henchmen. But no one dared to say adiscourteous word, and after amusing ourselves by a few games ofbilliards, we mounted our horses and returned to Shepherd's for thenight. As we rode along leisurely, all three of us admitted misgivingsas to the result, for it was clear that the court had favored thedefense. Yet we had a belief that the statutory grounds were sufficient,and on that our hopes hung.The next morning found our party in court at the opening hour. Theentire forenoon was occupied by the attorney for the plaintiff inreviewing the evidence, analyzing and weighing every particle, showingan insight into human motives which proved him a master in hisprofession. After the noon recess, the young lawyer from the cityaddressed the court for two hours, his remarks running from bombast toflights of oratory, and from eulogies upon his client to praise ofthe unimpeachable credibility of the witnesses for the defense. Inconcluding, the older lawyer prefaced his remarks by alluding to thedivine intent in the institution of marriage, and contending that ofthe two, women were morally the better. In showing the influence of thestronger upon the weaker sex, he asserted that it was in the power ofthe man to lift the woman or to sink her into despair. In his perorationhe rose to the occasion, and amid breathless silence, facing the court,who quailed before him, demanded whether this was a temple of justice.Replying to his own interrogatory, he dipped his brush in the sunshineof life, and sketched a throne with womanhood enshrined upon it. Whilechivalry existed among men, it mattered little, he said, as to thedecrees of courts, for in that higher tribunal, human hearts, womanwould remain forever in control. At his conclusion, women werehysterical, and men were aroused from their usual languor by theeloquence of the speaker. Had the judge rendered an adverse decisionat that moment, he would have needed protection; for to the men of theSouth it was innate to be chivalrous to womanhood. But the court wascautious, and after announcing that he would take the case underadvisement until morning, adjourned for the day.All during the evening men stood about in small groups and discussed thetrial. The consensus of opinion was favorable to the plaintiff. But inorder to offset public opinion, Oxenford and a squad of followers madethe rounds of the public places, offering to wager any sum of money thatthe decree would not be granted. Since feeling was running rather high,our little party avoided the other faction, and as we were under thenecessity of riding out to the ferry for accommodation, concluded tostart earlier than the evening before. After saddling, we rode aroundthe square, and at the invitation of Deweese dismounted before a publichouse for a drink and a cigar before starting. We were aware that thetown was against us, and to maintain a bold front was a matter ofnecessity. Unbuckling our belts in compliance with the sheriff's orders,we hung our six-shooters on the pommels of our saddles and entered thebar-room. Other customers were being waited on, and several minutespassed before we were served. The place was rather crowded, and as wewere being waited on, a rabble of roughs surged through a rear door, ledby Jack Oxenford. He walked up to within two feet of me where I stoodat the counter, and apparently addressing the barkeeper, as we werecharging our glasses, said in a defiant tone:--"I'll bet a thousand dollars Judge Thornton refuses to grant aseparation between my wife and me."The words flashed through me like an electric shock, and understandingthe motive, I turned on the speaker and with the palm of my hand dealthim a slap in the face that sent him staggering back into the arms ofhis friends. Never before or since have I felt the desire to take humanlife which possessed me at that instant. With no means of defense in mypossession but a penknife, I backed away from him, he doing the like,and both keeping close to the bar, which was about twenty feet long. Inone hand I gripped the open-bladed pocket knife, and, with the otherbehind my back, retreated to my end of the counter as did Oxenford tohis, never taking our eyes off each other. On reaching his end of thebar, I noticed the barkeeper going through motions that looked likepassing him a gun, and in the same instant some friend behind me laidthe butt of a pistol in my hand behind my back. Dropping the knife, Ishifted the six-shooter to my right hand, and, advancing on the objectof my hate, fired in such rapid succession that I was unable to telleven whether my fire was being returned. When my gun was empty, theintervening clouds of smoke prevented any view of my adversary; but mylust for his life was only intensified when, on turning to my friends, Isaw Deweese supporting Hunter in his arms. Knowing that one or the otherhad given me the pistol, I begged them for another to finish my work.But at that moment the smoke arose sufficiently to reveal my enemycrippling down at the farther end of the bar, a smoking pistol in hishand. As Oxenford sank to the floor, several of his friends ran to hisside, and Deweese, noticing the movement, rallied the wounded man in hisarms. Shaking him until his eyes opened, June, exultingly as a savage,cried, "Tony, for God's sake stand up just a moment longer. Yonder helies. Let me carry you over so you can watch the cur die." Turning to mehe continued: "Tom, you've got your man. Run for your life; don't letthem get you."Passing out of the house during the excitement, I was in my saddle in aninstant, riding like a fiend for Shepherd's. The sun was nearly an hourhigh, and with a good horse under me, I covered the ten miles to theferry in less than an hour. Portions of the route were sheltered bytimber along the river, but once as I crossed a rise opposite a largebend, I sighted a posse in pursuit several miles to the rear. Onreaching Shepherd's, fortunately for me a single horse stood at thehitch-rack. The merchant and owner of the horse came to the door as Idashed up, and never offering a word of explanation, I changed horses.Luckily the owner of the horse was Red Earnest, a friend of mine, andfeeling that they would not have long to wait for explanations, I shookout the reins and gave him the rowel. I knew the country, and soon leftthe river road, taking an air-line course for Las Palomas, which Ireached within two hours after nightfall. In few and profane words, Iexplained the situation to my employer, and asked for a horse that wouldput the Rio Grande behind me before morning. A number were on picketnear by, and several of the boys ran for the best mounts available. Apurse was forced into my pocket, well filled with gold. Meanwhile I hadin my possession an extra six-shooter, and now that I had a moment'stime to notice it, recognized the gun as belonging to Tony Hunter.Filling the empty chambers, and waving a farewell to my friends, Ipassed out by the rear and reached the saddle shed, where a well-knownhorse was being saddled by dexterous hands. Once on his back, I soonpassed the eighty miles between me and the Rio Grande, which I swam onmy horse the next morning within an hour after sunrise.