Brooks' Battle

By Hunter W. McDaniel

“My apologies but these men are not going to step down. They will do anything to get that money in the palms of their thieving hands. If we don’t take precautions then they will feed their greed; you all will lose what you worked hard for. As a person who has spent long days busting my back on a ranch, I know that every penny I get is valuable, and if I found out that someone was planning on stealing it I would do everything in my power to stop it. You all should do the same and I am here to help,” Buck said in an attention-ripping way.

A gang of selfish, thieving, murderers have been spotted in Wyoming territory. When Buck and his friends encounter some of these outlaws messing with their cattle and Jess, a young ranch hand, is shot in action- they seek revenge. As more information about the gang comes to light it appears that revenge is not all that they are fighting for...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781984581235

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Copyright © 2020 by Hunter W. McDaniel.

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.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 05/26/2020

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Epilogue

CHAPTER 1

A hot mug of black coffee rested in the hand of Buck. He sipped then set it down on the wood table. Peering out of the window, he saw Jess and Dutch working a new horse they just got from some old Texas rancher. Jess was a good kid, only twenty-two years of age, but with his intelligence, people would think of him as a much more experienced person. Dutch was an older man, in his late fifties, who had been an old outlaw. He got away from that life though and settled down with a woman, paid off debts. He never really talked about that life, and no one pushed him to either. All that mattered to Buck was that he knew his way around.

Buck shuffled out the door, where he met both Jess and Dutch. Hey, boy. It’s ’bout time you’d get up, Dutch said with a smile.

Ya, man. Where’d you’d been? Jess asked.

I’ve been enjoyin’ you two struggling out here with the pony, Buck answered with obvious humor. Yep, with a nice cup of steamin’ coffee pressed to my lips.

Jess brushed some dirt over his left boot then touched his hat. So you’re gonna help? he asked in a demanding way.

Ya, I’ll help, but first how ’bout a bear claw at Sunnies?

Sunnies was a restaurant in town with the best food in the whole territory. Dutch’s wife Jen made the greatest bear claws in the world, but she was in Colorado for a few more days, leaving Sunnies the only place to get the taste.

Everyone agreed to food and hopped up in their saddles. On a dusty trot to the old town of Bugle, they spotted a few men across the prairie. The men were all on horseback messing with the ranch’s cattle.

What does they think they doin’? Dutch asked in a slight rage.

Jess replied, also in a mad tone, I think they trying to steal our cattle. They better not be.

Buck was silent until now. He was trying to think of a possible explanation (the thought led him astray). I’m gonna go down ‘n check it out. Follow close behind me with pistols ready to pull.

The three of them turned off the trail and headed to the others. When they got close, the one who seemed to be the leader got the attention of his gang.

Howdy y’all, the leader spoke in a Southern accent. How you be doin’ on this fine mornin’?

I’m fine but if you are doin’ what I think you doin’, you, sir, won’t be fine, Buck said sternly.

One guy was partially hidden from an angus cow, so he was able to lift his rifle and shoot Jess in the shoulder. Buck, on instinct, lifted his six-shooter and put a bullet between his eyes. The other two swung themselves on their horses and took off in a sprint. Dutch popped off a few rounds, only one striking the bald sidekick. Buck dropped to the dirt to check on Jess. The wound was deep but didn’t go out the other side.

Hey, pal! Can you hear me? Dutch said after rushing to Buck’s side.

Jess’s eyes flickered then he groaned, clenching his shoulder.

Dutch, go get the wagon. We will take him into town with that.

Dutch nodded then started toward the house.

He arrived with the wagon thirty minutes later. He also had a bandage to keep the wound sealed until they got to town.

Dutch wrapped Jess up; together he and Buck lifted Jess up on the wagon. Hang in there, buddy, Buck suggested.

Jess responded with a heavy groan.

Do ya think he’ll make it? Dutch asked in concern.

Buck truly didn’t know if Jess would make it, but he told Dutch, He’s tuff. He’ll get through, to calm his nerves. Buck was slightly eased by his comment though worry still gnawed at him.

Burch! Burch! It’s Jess, he’s been shot! Buck called to Dr. Burch after they entered town.

Dr. Burch came to the door of the Bugle hospital in a panic. Seeing Jess half asleep with a bloody bandage was not the worst thing he had gone through in his years but being close to the patient was what hurt the most.

What happened, Buck?

A couple of boys was trying to steal my cattle. When we came to them questioning, they went ahead ’n blew a hole in Jess’s shoulder. Dutch answered, ignoring the fact that Burch had asked Buck.

Get him in here. We got to close the hole before it gets infected, Burch demanded.

The two got him in a chair and opened his shirt. Dr. Burch unwrapped the bandage Dutch put on and started fiddling with his equipment. He has lost a lot of blood but should be fine. Go to the saloon. Wouldn’t want you in here when I start.

Buck went first and Dutch followed with his head down. They shuffled to the saloon then sat on a wooden stool side by side.

I’ll have a beer, mister, Dutch said to the tender, setting a bill on the counter. He got a head nod then a cold, open long neck.

Wow, Buck said in a joking surprise. Don’t you think it’s a little early, man?

Dutch took a gulp of his beverage then shook his head. I’m fifty somethin’ years old, pal. I think it don’t matter when I drink or not.

A bar girl fixed a bogus grin and started rubbing Buck’s neck with one hand. Howdy, sir, how ’bout you buy this girl a drink, and we’ll head up stairs, she said with empty eyes and a trained lip bite.

Buck denied sincerely and she walked away in disappointment to some other guy.

Dutch, to reassure himself, told Buck, Jess is gonna be fine. Hell, Dr. Burch is the best doctor I know and trust me I’ve been around a few in my day.

Ya, Dutch. Dr. Burch will have him good as new in a week, Buck replied knowing Dutch’s worry.

How are we gonna tell Jen ’bout this? She will freak, no doubt.

Buck knew Jen would be just as scared as Dutch. Those two practically took Jess in when he was just a kid. Jess’s mother was killed by a Mexican gang when he was no older than five. The Mexican gang was tracked down and hung, but he and his dad were left to ranch their land. His father became a sheriff in town, but when Jess was fifteen, he was shot by a now-dead man, who was drunk and stupid. Dutch and Jen were in Colorado at that time getting ready to go back home when Jess held them up about a mile out of town. Too bad for Jess, he wasn’t able to get money out of them. Instead, Jen saw that he was a good kid and was able to talk him out of being a criminal, just like she did Dutch. They took the homeless boy into Bugle and got him bathed, fed, and rested. He was able to take it easy for the next week as Buck and Dutch worked, but after getting used to his new home, Jess was put to work—responsible for his own chores. And now he lay in the hospital with a bullet wound in his shoulder. His father figure worried at the bar, and the closest thing to a mother he had since five didn’t even know.

She will be worried, that is for sure, but Jen ain’t the kind of gal to let her emotions get the best of her, Buck tried to say in a calming tone.

For a few minutes, they sat in silence. They were too deep in fearful thought to talk, only listening to outside noise from the bar. Dutch finished his beer when Deputy Baker waltzed in with the same serious look on his face.

He came to Buck’s side and grunted. Buck, Dutch. I heard you ran into some trouble on your ranch. How many?

There were three. And they was gonna steal our cattle, Dutch spoke without looking up at Baker.

We shot one dead and the other two ran off, Buck said.

Why don’t we go up to where you shot him and dispose of the man, Baker suggested.

Alright, Dutch and Buck said simultaneously.

The three scooted out the door, and Deputy Baker got a few other sheriffs to come. They headed out of town toward the spot where they encountered the suspects. When they got to the body, the wound in the man’s head had dried blood.

Wow! He is fresh. When did you shoot him? one of the sheriffs brought along asked.

Earlier this morning, Buck said, on our way to Sunnies.

Baker reached in the dead man’s pocket and pulled out a blue bandana. He huffed and his eyes flickered toward Buck.

He is a Blueman. A group of outlaws that go ’round and take money and lives. People call ’em Bluemen ’cause they bring sorrow ’cross every place they go.

I ain’t ever hear of ’em? Buck said in confusion.

Another sheriff jumped in. They have been in Missouri for some time. God knows why the hell they came to Bugle.

Let’s just hope they get out ’fore any more trouble is caused.

The sheriffs lifted the Blueman up on the wagon and started home. There they talked about the Bluemen gang and apparently they were from Mexico, in and out of the Southern states. They were seen in Colorado, close to seventeen years ago when they killed a mother with a young child; the child made it out alive with his father though. The ones who weren’t hung ran to Mississippi, held up a few banks. They were recently in Missouri and got charged for both bank robbery and petty theft. Now being seen in Wyoming, it was not a thing that brought ease. Buck was told the dangers and warned about all the terrible things they did, but he held his anger. That anger was for the Blueman who shot Jess and anyone associated with him. As the deputy spoke among the others, Buck was planning all the ways to track down the Bluemen and kill every last one of them. His heart was beating heavily with frustration.

Buck and Dutch stayed in the Bugle hotel that night after checking on Jess and having a few beers. Buck went to his room first while Dutch played a few rounds of poker. Buck thought out where the Bluemen gang could be. He figured they were headed to Milhound, where there was a big bank. The town was home to ranchers and a bunch of little restaurants and saloons. It was the only bank within a town either way so others invested as well. The criminals would definitely head to Milhound.

CHAPTER 2

B uck awoke to screams from the citizens of Bugle. He had slept in his pants but pulled on a shirt and ran outside. He spotted a familiar face down the street who was shooting at a store. Buck sprinted over and blew a hole in the man’s left shoulder; he fell and died as soon as he hit the ground. Buck knew who it was, that one who seemed to be the leader of the outlaw who tried stealing his beef. Buck was filled with frustration when he saw another man appear from the street. The boy seemed to be younger but had a gun pointed at his head. Buck pulled the trigger of his pistol, and the bullet hit the man in the chest. He killed two others before the rest of the criminals got out of town. He walked inside to where the store clerk had been.

Is everyone alright? he asked, noticing a few others hunched down behind shelves.

The people seemed scared and relieved at the same time. I am fine.

Me too. Another added.

Buck came in further and saw a pair of boots down an aisle. He made his way through the hard liquor, and at the end of his short trip was a middle-aged man with two rounds in his chest and another in his leg.

No! Not him! a woman cried when she saw her husband lying on the floor with a blank expression. "Not my husband,’’ she whimpered.

Ma’am, I promise you that the people that did this to your husband will pay. Every last one of them, Buck said, not knowing what else to say.

Buck took one last glance at the lifeless body and went outside to the murderer. He immediately reached in the pocket and took out the same kind of blue bandana. The younger one had a bandana as well. After clearing things up with the Baker, he went to see Jess and Dr. Burch. Dutch was sitting at the table next to Jess, sipping coffee. Buck poured himself a cup and sat next to Dutch just as Jess started to wake.

Sorry, buddy. Did I wake you? Buck asked.

Jess’s hair was messy and his breath stank. He rubbed his tired eyes and scooted to a sit-up position so that his back leaned on the wall. No. You’re … Jess’s words were stopped by a voice crack. He grunted and finished his thought, You’re fine.

How are you feeling? Dutch asked. He had bags under his eyes and Buck could tell he was suffering from lack of