Chapter 27: Tenderfoot

“Mr Patterson, I assume. Come in. You must be tired. Have a seat over there. You’ll take a drink? Beer, whiskey, rum, brandy?”

The visitor dumped his leather bag. “Yes, I’m Michael Patterson, and thank you – a tot of brandy would be welcome.” He crossed the room and took one of the two easy chairs by the fire, which was blazing merrily this cool April afternoon.

Jack Turner busied himself with the drinks then, handing a king-sized measure to Patterson and holding a similar one for himself, sat in the other chair. The two men presented a sharp contrast. The immaculately dressed Patterson was of average height and slim build, while his six foot four, two hundred and thirty pound host was, as usual when at home – he owned a large two-storey house of white-painted timber – casually turned out.

“Now,” said Turner, “Judging by the way you hurried along from the station, this thing must be as urgent as you said.”

“Ah, you noticed my haste, did you?”

Turner smiled. “No great feat. This is a small town. The engine makes quite a racket and we’ve only the one arrival before late evening. You probably had to ask where my place was, and you still got here three minutes after the train stopped. I gathered from your wire that you’d be here today. Now, you think I can help you?”

Patterson took a pull at his drink. “That’s right – and I’m obliged to you for wiring back so promptly. I don’t really know what you can do, but my position is pretty desperate. I’m from Pittsburgh, so I guess you’d call me a tenderfoot here.”

“Some might,” said Turner. “I don’t like the term. I mean, depending on circumstances, you might class everyone that way. If I were in your backyard, you’d probably have the same notion about me.”

“I hope I wouldn’t. Anyway, until a matter of days ago, I had just one living relation, my uncle, Nathan Patterson. We rarely saw one another, but kept in touch by mail. Uncle Nathan owned a ranch in the Panhandle country. Only a small place, but valuable beyond its size, on account of its position with regard to water. My uncle mentioned several times that his immediate neighbour had been pestering him for years to sell out. This fellow, Tom Bateman, is a power in the land and made no secret of the fact that he was frustrated by my uncle’s refusal.”

“Not the first time that’s happened,” said Turner. “These things can get ugly.”

“I know that now. Well, some time ago, Uncle Nathan wrote to me, stating that he’d decided to sell his ranch and do a little travelling before it was too late – he was well over sixty. He asked me long ago whether I would want to take over his place in due course, and I told him that I saw no way that I could fit into those surroundings. The upshot was that he made a will, leaving everything to me. Now, in his latest letter, he wrote that he’d changed his mind and wanted me to visit him, help him to dispose of the ranch, then take the proceeds immediately. He said he had enough salted away to see him through he rest of his days, and the sale money would be more useful to me now than later.”

Turner nodded. “Very thoughtful of him. No doubt you were pleased.”

“Delighted, although he overestimated my ability to help him in the matter of the sale. He liked to think of me as having influence in the banking world. I am in that business, but merely a foot soldier. Anyway, he said that on no account would he sell to Tom Bateman, as there was too much bad feeling between the two of them. He asked me to visit him straight away. To make clear that his intentions were firm, he sent me a copy of the amended will, drawn up by his lawyer, confirming his intentions. Incidentally, he used a lawyer from another town, as he didn’t trust the local one.”

“He seems to have been remarkably thorough.”

“That didn’t surprise me. He was like that, almost to the point of eccentricity. Anyway, I agreed to do as he wished, got unpaid time off from the bank and headed west.”

“So that’s why you wired me from Texas and not Pittsburgh.”

“Correct. I arrived at Wadlow – that’s the local town – just over a week ago. I’ll try to spare you anything I don’t think relevant, but the fact is I’ve come up against a brick wall. First, I learned straight off that my uncle died less than week before my arrival.”

“My condolences. How did he die?”

“That’s a good point. He’d always been in excellent health. Of course I realise that people do keel over suddenly. Still, I was suspicious. And that was only the start.”

“Seems a hard enough one. What followed?”

“It was a nightmare. First, I saw the local doctor, who appears to be better acquainted with alcohol than medicine. He was adamant that my uncle must have had a heart attack, though it wasn’t clear to me how he could be so sure. Next, I called on the town marshal, who I later learned was a hireling of this Bateman fellow. His name’s Carter and he’s a blustering fool. He was downright unfriendly and I got nothing from him.”

“Hmn” said Turner. “Must have been discouraging.”

“It was. My next call was on Wadlow’s one and only lawyer – and I never came across a slyer type. From his breath, I’d say he’s about on a level with the doctor as regards drink. He made a fuss about my proving my identity, which I did, then he said that Uncle Nathan had sold out to Bateman for twelve thousand dollars. A day later, my uncle died. The lawyer couldn’t, or wouldn’t, give me any further information.”

“So you were stuck?”

“Not quite. It seemed to me that any big transaction might have involved the town’s bank. One of my uncle’s letters mentioned that he did a little business there, largely against his will. He would have preferred to go further afield but never had the time. I called on the manager. He raised every objection he could, and even after I’d properly identified myself for the second time within an hour, he was still obstructive. All I learnt from him was that he claimed to have had no dealings with my uncle for several months. Like the lawyer, he said that he hadn’t been required to witness any handover of funds. He suggested that the sale might have been a cash one and that possibly Uncle Nathan had secreted the money somewhere, then died.”

Turner spread his hands. “Within a day? That seems very convenient for everyone but him and you.”

“Indeed it does. However, having got that far I didn’t intend to be put off, so I visited Tom Bateman. He’s a strange one, smallish and slim-built, black suit, black beard and those black eyes that seem to burn through a man. He looks more like a hell fire and brimstone preacher than my idea of a rancher. When I told him who I was and why I was there, he made a show of understanding, offered his condolences and said it was tragic. He’d had his differences with my uncle, but had always respected him. He claimed that Nathan had had a change of mind and decided to sell, subject to his men being kept on.”

Patterson took a swig of brandy before continuing: “Bateman said that the sale had indeed been a cash deal, and that my uncle was to inform his hands the following day. That didn’t happen. The next morning, he was found dead by his wife’s grave, close to his house. There was no trace of the money. The general assumption was that he’d been overcome by his changed circumstances. When I pressed Bateman, he fumbled for words, then said my uncle had mentioned me, but had said I’d be relieved to get the funds and wouldn’t have wanted the ranch. As to the money, Bateman said that he could offer no explanation other than what the bank manager had surmised. I didn’t believe the man, but there was nothing I could do.”

Turner held up a hand for a pause, scooping up both glasses and moving off to refill them. Bringing two more large measures, he settled down again. “So,” he said, “you were at the end of your tether.”

“Yes, I was.”

“Which brings us to where I come in.”

“Right. That was pure coincidence. I’m no great socialiser, so I avoided the main saloon and picked out a little place at the edge of town. It’s owned and run single-handed by a man named Ed Foley, who seems to be one of the few people in Wadlow not under Tom Bateman’s thumb. In fact he said that Bateman, who already owns the big saloon, tried to buy him out. He refused and there’s no love lost between the two. It was Foley who gave me your name and address.”

“I was wondering about that,” said Turner. “How does he know of me and what did he have to say?”

“Well, it seems that he has a friend in El Paso, who has a cousin you helped out two years ago. This cousin reckons you’re the best private detective in the business.”

Turner grinned. “That’s only partly true. I did do a job in El Paso at that time, but you’d better be clear about my credentials. I’m neither a lawman nor a private detective. I don’t know what you’d call me. Maybe an adventurer. It just so happens that I’ve been able to help some people now and then. When I do, they usually pay me for my trouble. I’ve no official status and no set fees, but it’s only fair to tell you that when I do take on a job I see it through, even if it involves rough work, including shooting. And if I get on the wrong side of law, well, that’s just too bad. I’m no saint, Mr Patterson. When I act, I take a lot of risks and I don’t work cheap.”

“I appreciate your frankness,” Patterson replied. “I have nearly four hundred dollars saved, and I’m prepared to put most of it up to get to the bottom of this.”

Turner shook his head. “We’re not in hailing distance. My kind of work is often difficult and dangerous and I’m sometimes idle for weeks, or even months. I’m afraid your savings would be inadequate compensation for what I may have to do. Still, there may be one solution.”

“What would it be?”

Turner steepled his fingers. “If we can pull this off, you’ll be twelve thousand dollars to the good, won’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Well then, my feeling is that if we can clear up a point or two, I should go down to Wadlow and look over the situation. I’ll meet my own expenses, so there’ll be no cost to you. If I think I can solve your problem, I’ll try. If I fail, you pay nothing. If I succeed, I’ll settle for twenty per cent of your twelve thousand. You also have to understand that there are times when I need to act on the hoof. If I see a quick way of doing a job, there may be no time to discuss things with you. So, what do you say?”

Patterson could think as quickly as the next man. “I didn’t mean to insult you with my offer, Mr Turner. You’ll appreciate that I’ve no experience of this kind of thing and that I’m completely out of my depth. I accept your proposal. After all, at present I’m short twelve thousand. If you fail, I’ll be no worse off, aside from the salary I’m losing. If you succeed, I’ll be up by nine thousand, six hundred. It seems reasonable. And as to your deciding things impromptu, I guess that’s fair enough.”

“Good. Well, I think I’ve grasped everything. Now, you’ll understand my caution, but anyone could call on me and claim to be the genuine Michael Patterson. Can you help me with that?

“Yes. I had no idea what to expect during my travels, so I took the precaution of getting an open letter from my employer, confirming my identity and that I’m on extended leave. I have it here, along with my uncle’s letter, a copy of the one he dictated to the lawyer and a copy of the amended will.” Patterson produced the documents and handed them over.

Turner read through all four items, noting that the first and third were on letter-headed papers. “Excellent,” he said. I think I can do something for you, but I need to bustle around a little. It’s one-thirty now. I suggest you take a room at our hotel, pass the day as well as you can and call on me again tomorrow, at about the same time as you came today.”

Patterson left and Turner got busy. He sent two wires, one to the lawyer and one to the bank. In both of them, he indicated that Michael Patterson had approached him for assistance in an urgent matter. The one to the lawyer was simply to establish that the man existed and that he was a legal practitioner, while that to the bank requested a description of Patterson.

By the time the Easterner called on him again the following afternoon, Turner had received satisfactory replies to both wires and was ready to act. He didn’t indicate in what way, but said that he still had work to do, and asked Patterson to spend a few hours as he saw fit, then get ready to leave and meet him at the railroad station at six o’clock.

Patterson took the advice, rejoining Turner as agreed, and noting that the large man was now well-clad. The two travelled south that evening, arriving the following day at the railroad halt nearest to Wadlow. The only other passenger to alight there was a tall thin well-dressed man who’d boarded the train along with Patterson and Turner.

Having explained what little he was prepared to divulge of his plan, Turner immediately hired a horse and went on ahead, leaving his would-be client to wait for the next day’s stagecoach. There was nothing to do in the railside settlement, so Patterson spent the night in the sole boarding house, trying to catch up on his sleep.

On boarding the stagecoach the following afternoon, Patterson found himself again in the company of the lanky fellow who had travelled in the train from Turner’s home town the day before. As the man hadn’t stayed overnight in what seemed to be the only place offering accommodation, Patterson wondered where he’d been. Not roughing it, by the look of him. There were three other passengers, a woman with a small boy and a garrulous little drummer travelling alone. As soon as he got into the stage, the tall man pulled his hat down over his eyes, evidently having no intention communicating with anyone.

It was shortly after eleven a.m. when Jack Turner arrived in Wadlow. He hadn’t expected anything in particular, but was mildly surprised to note that such a small place could be so noisy. The town comprised a main street running north-south with a single offshoot leading westwards, plus a few outlying buildings Most of the din came from a large saloon, which had its doors at the south corner of the two streets. A sign above the entrance bore a large likeness of an ace of clubs playing card, beneath which was the legend ‘The Clubhouse’. This was the big Bateman-owned place Patterson had mentioned.

There was nothing in the national calendar that called for celebration and Turner wondered what local event caused such carousing. He was about to investigate when the saloon’s batwing doors opened, disgorging a drunk who teetered to the edge of the sidewalk, swayed to an angle that seemed to defy gravity, then walked into an awning post, bounced off and wound up on his back in the street. If he was anything to go by, this was quite a party.

With a chuckle, Turner nudged his horse across the street and around the corner, to where it could stand in the shade, then he headed for the saloon to find out what was going on. He entered, finding himself in a room thirty feet square, a long bar taking up most of the right-hand wall. In the far left-hand corner, an elderly fellow was pounding a tinny piano. Between him and any incomer, about thirty men sat at a scatter of tables. Some were singing, their efforts bearing little resemblance to those of the pianist. Others were engaged in bawling conversation, while several sat quietly, glazed eyes indicating that they were too far gone to add to the cacophony. There wasn’t a woman in sight.