Now playing: Night Riders
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Episode Three concluded with:
The thugs rode off in the direction of his
cabin. Jared silently cursed himself for his stupidity. When he had spotted the
outlaws, his first move should have been to protect Stella and Becky. The
homesteader struggled to his feet. He staggered toward the cabin. Maybe he
could still warn them.
Jared struggled to maintain consciousness. He
could hear loud yelps coming from the direction of his home. Smoke could
suddenly be seen rising over the barn. “Stella…Becky…” Jared’s voice was a
raspy whisper.
The homesteader managed a few more steps. He
could now hear gunshots roaring over the sounds of the fire. Screams came from
both Becky and Stella. They were being brutally slaughtered.
Jared Ashley collapsed. His wife and child had
been murdered. He had failed horribly: failed to protect his own family. “I’m
not fit to be called a man.” He whispered to the ground. Those were his last
words.
Episode Four
***
A
group of well-dressed men sauntered into the Clear Springs Community Church.
The faces on all eight men were grim. They had just returned from the cemetery
and the funeral service for the Ashley family.
Seven
men sat in the first pew of the church; only one remained standing. Glenn Kagan
was the head of the local Homesteaders Association. Kagan was a tall man with
stooped shoulders. Sunburns had left red blotches on his otherwise pale
skin. Kagan stood at the front of the
church and immediately got to the point.
“Gentlemen,
yesterday an entire family was murdered in broad daylight and their home burned
by a gang of vicious killers. In the past, Elijah Tantrall has been content to knock
over fences and burn down barns. Now, he has shown what kind of man he really
is: a man who will kill women and children!”
There
were several murmurs of agreement. Kagan continued, “I’m demandin’ that--”
The
door to the church banged open and three men entered. The man leading the
procession was of medium height, fiftyish with hair that was still thick and
still more pepper than salt. He was slim, with ropey muscles, and his body
seemed to be always lurching forward as if he was looking for an opening where
he could attack.
“What
are you doin’ here, Tantrall?” Kagan shouted.
Tantrall
laughed contemptuously. “I built this here church and it couldn’t run without
my money. Reckon I can walk in whenever I get the notion. Reckon I can tell men
who spread lies about me to shuck off.”
Kagan
pointed a finger at his adversary. “I ain’t lyin’!” He nodded to a young man of
twenty in the first pew. “My boy Rory and I saw you--”
Tantrall’s
voice became a bellow. “You saw me knock down one of your fences, six months
ago. You were fencin’ off part of my best grazin’ land.” The cattle rancher
pointed a thumb backward at one of the two men standing behind him. “Sheriff
Thompson here told me I was breakin’ the law. I paid you for a new fence. Stop
brayin’ like a donkey.”
A
silence dropped over the church. Sheriff Max Thompson took advantage of it.
“Men, if any of you have somethin’ that comes within shoutin’ distance of proof
‘bout who killed the Ashley family, or who’s been pullin’ down fences and
burnin’ barns, show it to me!”
The
homesteaders looked sheepish. Several of them took a sudden interest in their
hands. The lawman continued, “If you got nothin’ to say, then stop talkin’. I
intend to get to the bottom of this and get there quick. Meantime, stop jawin’
‘bout Mr. Tantrall and Lem.”
Lem
Donnigan was Tantrall’s foreman. He had entered the church with his boss and
the sheriff. He stood over six feet. The foreman was in his mid-twenties with
large muscles, calloused hands and a nose which had long ago been broken in a
fight. Donnigan didn’t talk much, at least not when Elijah Tantrall was around.
Tantrall
stared silently at the homesteaders. When he spoke, his voice was steady and
without emotion. The rancher wasn’t making a threat, he was stating a fact.
“The next man who spreads lies about me will answer to me.”
Elijah
Tantrall turned and left. His ramrod and the sheriff followed behind him. A few
minutes later, the homesteaders left the church. They had nothing more to say.
Tomorrow:
Episode Five of Night Riders
