Lonesome Dove 孤鸽镇

“You can keep your socks, if you’re that refined,” he said.

Call quickly knelt behind Dan Suggs and got the derringer.

“Just ask Jake if we didn’t buy these horses,” Dan said. “Jake’s a friend of yours, ain’t he?” “Did you buy that old man?” Call asked. “Did you buy them two farmers you burned? Did you buy Wilbarger and his man and that boy?” Little Eddie sat up. When he saw that his shirt was drenched with blood, his face went white. “I’m bleeding, Dan,” he said.

Jake looked at Call and Augustus, hoping one or the other of them would show some sign of concern, but neither would even look at him. Call covered Roy Suggs while Deets tied his hands with his own saddle strings. Augustus stood calmly, the barrel of the big Colt still stuck into Dan Suggs’s stomach. Dan’s face was twitching. Jake could see he longed to go for his gun—only he had no gun. Jake thought Dan might go anyway, his whole frame was quivering so. He might go, even if it meant getting shot at point-blank range.

“This gun leaves a hole the size of a tunnel, Mr. Suggs,” Augustus said. “If you’d like to land in hell with a tunnel through you, just try me.” Dan quivered, his eyes popping with hatred. When Deets came over with some rawhide strings he snarled at him, baring his teeth. “Don’t you tie me, nigger boy,” he said. “I’ll not forget you if you do.” “You’re dying to try it, ain’t you?” Augustus said. “Go on. Try it. See what you look like with a tunnel through your ribs.” Dan held back, though he shook and snarled, while Deets tied him securely.

“Tie Jake,” Call said, when Dan was secure. Augustus grinned and put the Colt back in its holster.

“I guess you ain’t as hard as you talk, Mr. Suggs,” he said.

“You sneaking son of a bitch, who do you think you are?” Dan said.

“Deets don’t need to tie me,” Jake said. For a moment his spirits rose, just from the sound of Gus’s voice. It was Call and Gus, his old compañeros. It was just a matter of making them realize what an accident it had been, him riding with the Suggs. It was just that they had happened by the saloon just as he was deciding to leave. If he could just get his head clear of the whiskey he could soon explain it all.

Little Eddie could not believe that he was shot and his brother Dan tied up. He was white and trembling. He looked at Dan in disbelief.

“You said there wasn’t a man in Kansas that could take you, Dan,” Eddie said. “Why didn’t you fight?” Augustus went over and knelt by little Eddie, tearing his shirt so he could look at the wound.

“You oughtn’t to listened to your big brother, son,” he said. “He was plumb easy to catch. This is just a flesh wound—the bullet went right through.” Call went over to Jake. Deets seemed hesitant to tie him, but Call nodded and covered Jake with his rifle while Deets tied his hands. As he was doing it Pea Eye and Newt came over the hill with the horses.

“Call, he don’t need to tie me,” Jake said. “I ain’t done nothing. I just fell in with these boys to get through the Territory. I was aiming to leave them first chance I got.” Call saw that Jake was so drunk he could barely sit up.

“You should have made a chance a little sooner, Jake,” Augustus said. “A man that will go along with six killings is making his escape a little slow.” “I had to wait for a chance, Gus,” Jake said. “You can’t just trot off from Dan Suggs.” “You shut your damn mouth, Spoon,” Dan Suggs said. “These friends of yours are no more than rank outlaws. I don’t see no badges on them. They got their damn gall, taking us to jail.” Pea Eye and Newt stopped and dismounted. Newt saw that Jake was tied like the rest.

“Saddle these men’s horses,” Call said to the boy. Then he walked off toward the nearest trees.

“Where’s he going?” Roy Suggs asked, finding his voice at last.

“Gone to pick a tree to hang you from, son,” Augustus said mildly. He turned to Dan Suggs, who looked at him with his teeth bared in a snarl. “I don’t know what makes you think we’d tote you all the way to a jail,” Gus said.

“I tell you we bought them horses!” Dan said.“Oh, drop your bluff,” Augustus said. “I buried Wilbarger myself, not to mention his two cowboys. We buried them farmers and we’ll bury that body over there. I imagine it’s all your doings, too. Your brothers don’t look so rough, and Jake ain’t normally a killer.” Augustus looked at Jake, who was still sitting down. “What’s the story on that one, Jake?” he asked.

“Why, I merely said hello to a girl,” Jake said. “I didn’t know she was anybody’s wife, and the old bastard knocked me down with a shotgun. He was gonna do worse, too. It was only self-defense. No jury will hang you for self-defense.” Augustus was silent. Jake got to his feet awkwardly, for his hands were tied behind him. He looked at Pea Eye, who was standing quietly with Deets.

“Pea, you know me,” Jake said. “You know I ain’t no killer. Old Deets knows it too. You boys wouldn’t want to hang a friend, I hope.” “I’ve done a many a thing I didn’t want to do, Jake,” Pea Eye said.

Jake walked over to Augustus. “I ain’t no criminal, Gus,” he said. “Dan’s the only one that done anything. He shot that old man over there, and he killed them farmers. He shot Wilbarger and his men. Me and the other boys have killed nobody.” “We’ll hang him for the killings and the rest of you for the horse theft, then,” Augustus said. “Out in these parts the punishment’s the same, as you well know.

“Ride with an outlaw, die with him,” he added. “I admit it’s a harsh code. But you rode on the other side long enough to know how it works. I’m sorry you crossed the line, though.” Jake’s momentary optimism had passed, and he felt tired and despairing. He would have liked a good bed in a whorehouse and a nice night’s sleep.

“I never seen no line, Gus,” he said. “I was just trying to get to Kansas without getting scalped.” Newt had saddled the men’s horses. Call came back and took the ropes off the four saddles.

“We’re lucky to have caught ’em by the trees,” he said. Newt felt numb from all that he had seen.

“Have we got to hang Jake too?” he asked. “He was my ma’s friend.” Call was surprised by the remark. Newt was surprised too—it had just popped out. He remembered how jolly Jake had been, then—it was mainly on Jake’s visits that he had heard his mother laugh. It puzzled him how the years could have moved so, to bring them from such happy times to the moment at hand.