[Texas Rangers 04] - Ranger's Trail Read Free

crawled away to sit on the edge of the wooden sidewalk, there to nurse their wounds while the altercation went on. They were not missed.
    Andy’s eyes danced with excitement as his fists mimicked the movements of the belligerents. He had been in plenty of fights himself, usually instigated by other young men making fun of the ways he had learned from the Indians.
    Rusty knew a good scrap when he saw one. This was not a good one. It was slow-footed and clumsy, loud but not likely to produce anything more serious than loose teeth, bruised knuckles, and maybe a flattened nose. He decided the policeman had been right in leaving bad nature to run its course.
    Onlookers’ comments bore out his assumption that some of the fighters were Davis men. Others supported Coke. The fight slowly staggered to a standstill. The Coke men appeared to carry the victory, such as it was. They moved away in a triumphant group, weaving toward the grog shop the policeman had chosen. Their opponents dragged themselves to the sidewalk and slumped there, exhausted.
    The fight had energized Andy. He said, “Some folks take their politics serious.”
    Tom Blessing nodded grimly. “With good reason. Davis’s men tromped on everybody that got in their way. Stole half the state of Texas. Now comes the day of reckonin’, and they ain’t willin’ to ’fess up.”
    The three rode north up the wide street, Rusty warily eyeing the armed men scattered all along. He saw no reason anyone would shoot at him on purpose, but he had learned long ago that the innocent bystander was usually the first one hurt. The more innocent, the more likely.
    They reined up short of the capitol building. Several men stood shoulder to shoulder at the front door, holding rifles. They had a military bearing but did not wear uniforms. Rusty surmised they were former Confederate soldiers who had not forgotten the regimens learned in war.
    He said, “Looks like they’re guardin’ the state treasury.”
    Tom said, “Too late for that. Talk is that Davis’s adjutant general slipped away with it and sailed for Europe.” He stepped down from the saddle and lifted the reins for Andy to hold. “You-all better stay here so we don’t accidentally provoke somebody into somethin’ rash. I’ll walk up there and see what the game is.” He unstrapped his pistol belt and hung it over the saddle horn as an indication that his intentions were benign.
    Andy gazed southward back down Congress Avenue, where substantial buildings lined each side. Rusty assumed he was marveling at the variety of merchandise available here for anyone who had the money to buy it. That was the catch. Texas was just emerging from the economic devastation of war and its aftermath. Not many people other than opportunistic outsiders had much money to spend. Most of what Texans needed, they produced for themselves or did without. But Austin had been something of an oasis, money flowing more freely because of the Union soldiers and the state’s reconstruction government based here.
    It dawned on Rusty that Andy’s attention was focused on two young women who stood in front of a nearby saloon. It was obvious they were not Sunday school teachers.
    He warned, “Don’t let your curiosity get stirred up too much. I don’t expect we’ll be stayin’.” It occurred to him that he had taught Andy a lot about plowing straight rows but not enough about avoiding society’s pitfalls.
    Tom returned, his jaw set grimly. “Governor Davis has got himself barricaded in the capitol basement with a bunch of his old state police. The Coke men and the legislature have got the upper floor.”
    “ A Mexican standoff,” Rusty said.
    “ Maybe not for long. Davis has sent a wire to President Grant. He’s askin’ him to order the troops in. Wants them to throw out the Coke crowd and keep him in office.”
    That news troubled Rusty. “If he does, there’s apt to be an awful fight.”
    Andy had no problem with the notion of a fight.