Carrizo Creek Justice

By Warren C. Ellis

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 8, 2007
• ISBN: 9781477163870

Warren C. Ellis

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Copyright © 2007 by Warren C. Ellis.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2006907608

ISBN 10:         Hardcover                               1-4257-3072-8

                   Softcover                                 1-4257-3071-X

ISBN 13:         Hardcover                               978-1-4257-3072-7

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4257-3071-0

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4771-6387-0

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 storage and retrieval system, without permission

in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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CONTENTS

RANCH HOUSE FEVER

THE SEARCH BEGINS

A LETTER FROM WILL

THE OWENS PLANTATION

THE FIGHT

EVENING MESSANGER

HOME AGAIN

THE DECISION

JUSTICE

RANCH HOUSE FEVER

The storm had raged for three days with hardly a break. Bryan, Beth and Jim’s spirits were beginning to experience a certain restlessness that comes with being cooped up for long periods of time. To venture outside, away from the safety of the house, was out of the question; a person could easily become disoriented in the virtual whiteout and would most likely perish if he or she became lost.

The three occupied their time, as best they could, with activities that suited a particular interest. Bryan put the finishing touches on the bow he had started building some time back. Beth spent a lot of time with baby William, but he did sleep quite a bit. Jim cleaned his twin ivory gripped pistols several times.

At length, all three ran out of something to do and Beth decided it would be a good time to learn more about her husband’s family. Although Bryan and Beth had been married for a little more than one year, family history had been discussed very little.

Bryan turned to Jim and said, Since you are the oldest, you would be best suited for this job.

Jim fastened his terrible steel gray eyes on Bryan for a moment and then he smiled. Okay, I’ll give it a try.

The first Conger to come to this country was a man by the name of Joseph. He was my grandfather and came from Ireland. From what my father told me, Joseph must have passed through this very region and was probably one of the first men to trap and hunt for furs. This part of the country belonged to France at the time.

Joseph passed through here, on his way to the Rockies, with my grandmother and an Indian he had befriended. There is a bit of confusion where my grandmother’s name is concerned; she was called Virginia, but it was rumored that her real name was something different. Nobody ever told me what it actually was.

The story goes that Joseph and Virginia traveled through here twice and then settled in Tennessee where my father was born. Of course, Bryan’s mother was my sister. She was the oldest of eight kids and I am the youngest.

Jim smiled at Beth, That’s about all of it, if you want more, your husband will have to take over.

Beth turned expectantly to Bryan, but for now, there would be no more discussion about anybody’s family. William, at that moment, began crying. Beth excused herself and went to attend to his needs. There wasn’t much talking for the remainder of the evening and when bedtime came, the three turned in for the night.

Morning arrived and when Bryan and Beth emerged from their bedroom, they knew Jim was not in the house; his coat was missing from the rack next to the living room window. A quick check from the front door revealed tracks leading toward the barn.

The two surveyed the surrounding area. There was bare ground in spots the wind had blown the snow away. In other places, snowdrifts presented themselves in various heights; depending on the size of the object they had formed on.

Bryan quickly strapped on his six-gun and slipped into his coat. He turned to Beth, Jim and I will be back in time for breakfast, he said, as he closed the ranch house door behind him.

Jim wasn’t difficult to find. His tracks, along with those of the horses, led to Carrizo Creek where he was watching the animals drink. The horses, otherwise in good condition, were obviously thirsty.

The two men led the horses back to the barn and gave them hay—lots of hay. The out of doors tasks that could be performed today would be simple and quick. Before the men would be able to accomplish more, some of the snow would need to melt. Melting was already under way, more or less, in the surprisingly warm morning sun.

During breakfast, Bryan and Jim discussed plans for locating the cattle. The herd would have most likely drifted south, ahead of the driving wind of the storm. Hopefully, the cattle had found a sheltered canyon and had survived. It wasn’t uncommon for ranchers to lose an entire herd in a storm such as the one they just had.

The men planned to ride south from the ranch for a mile or two, then begin a zigzagging pattern and methodically search for cattle tracks. This search, however, couldn’t be started for a few days; negotiating the deep snowdrifts would be impossible at this time. There would be plenty to keep the men busy, in any case. The storm had damaged the barn and paths needed to be shoveled to different places around the ranch house before the snow crusted over and became too hard to break through.

The three had been on the verge of cabin fever—that is, ranch house fever—but the trapped feelings passed the first day after the storm. In their normal fashion, the trio were soon performing every task they could find.

Due to cold nights, the snow was slow in melting. At times, during the day, the sky was overcast; on the warmer sunny days, bit-by-bit, melting took place.

With the coming of an Indian summer, seemingly in an instant, all but the largest drifts disappeared. The morning came when Bryan and Jim saddled up and left the ranch in search of the cattle. Beth assured Bryan that she would be fine by herself. The men would most likely be gone several days in their search.

The horses were packed with essential survival supplies when Bryan and Jim struck off from the ranch in a south-southwesterly direction. Bryan was mounted on Smoky and Jim on his superb stallion. The horses moved along willingly, seemingly pleased at the chance to exercise after being cooped up during the storm and the days that followed.

THE SEARCH BEGINS

The two men rode together for three miles or so and then split up. They established a distance between each other of three quarters of a mile. The zigzagging pattern they followed would allow them to cover large areas of ground at a fast pace. Sooner or later, one of them would come across cattle tracks.

The sun shown warmly and both Bryan and Jim were enjoying the ride. Bryan, however, was understandably concerned about Beth and William. He knew Beth could take care of herself, she had proven that several times, but that didn’t stop his worrying. Bryan wished Jim would have been able to make this ride alone, but that was out of the question—there was just too much area for one man to cover—maybe even too much for two.

All wildlife seemed to have vanished from the prairie, hills and canyons. The animals had probably instinctively searched out protected areas well ahead of the storm; hopefully, the cattle had done the same.

As he rode, Bryan took note of two dark colored birds circling overhead. He thought, Must be Crows, I don’t think Buzzards stick around here in the winter.

Around noon, the two cowboys joined up