Chancy (1968)

Chancy (1968) by Louis L'amour

Book: Chancy (1968) by Louis L'amour Read Free Book Online
Authors: Louis L'amour
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Laramie River, named for a French-Canadian trapper, Jacques La Ramee, who was killed by Indians in 1820. The fort had first been a fur-trading post, back in 1834, and folks bound west had stopped off there for many a year.
    It was quite a place, with a lot of buildings of all sorts scattered about, maybe half of them around the parade ground, the rest seemingly located without any plan. The hills around were brown with autumn, and most of the trees along the river had already shed their leaves.
    We rode up to the sutler's store, dismounted, tied our horses, and went inside. There were three men at the enlisted men's bar, only one of them a soldier.
    The bartender moved over to us, polishing a glass. "Rye," I said, "and some information."
    He filled our glasses, then squinted through the cigarette smoke, resting both hands on the bar. "What do you want to know?" he asked.
    "We're expecting a herd of cattle ... a small herd. A man named Tarlton will probably bring them."
    "Cattle? We haven't seen a herd of cattle, not since I've been on the post. Only cattle I've seen was driven in here for our own use."
    One of the men at the bar, a stocky man in buckskins, turned half around. "Tarlton? The cattle buyer from Abilene? He rode out of Abilene before I did--that's a month ago."
    Corbin tossed off his drink. "We've got troubles, Chancy," he said. "He should have been here before this."
    "Any Indian trouble?" I asked.
    "None to speak of," the man in buckskins answered. "Of course, you know how it is with Indians, if they get notional. Where were the cattle headed?"
    Well, I hesitated. I knew the army looked with no favor on cattlemen moving into Indian country. "Up the country," I said finally.
    "You'd better have your own army then. The Sioux don't take to the white-eyes moving in amongst them."
    "I thought that was Cheyenne country."
    "Sioux, Cheyenne, it makes no difference. They'll have your hair if you try to live in that country." He paused. "A man might make peace with the Cheyennes, although they are great fighters when given cause. But I don't believe the devil himself, nor the good Lord, for that matter, could make peace with the Sioux. They live to fight, and believe me, friend, they fight well."
    Of their fighting ability I had no doubt, but I hoped to live among them in peace. The buffalo were going, anybody could see that, and maybe we could trade with the Indians maybe even get them to ranching on shares.
    What worried me right now was Tarlton. He should have arrived near Fort Laramie by now, or he should have gone on north, and we had cut no trail coming south.
    We went outside. It was pleasantly warm in the sunshine, cool in the shade. I glanced at the sky, and it gave promise of fair weather. But I had no idea what to do. Seems to me a lot of folks want to be leaders, but almighty few of them realize that decisions don't come easy. We could wait here, hoping Tarlton would show up, or we could scout toward Nebraska, or even send out a man to ride west and try to cut any trail they might have made.
    Finally I decided to sit tight and keep my boys together. Meanwhile I would try to find out if any patrols or army details had been sent out, and to learn what they knew. That meant caution, for if the army had to notice us officially, we'd be in the soup for sure.
    I couldn't stop thinking of Tarlton. He was a good man, but he was a city man. I had no idea who he had with him, or how good they were, and I knew a good part of my own success had been because of the men I'd had with me. Especially because of the uncanny skill of Jim Bigbear and the steadiness of Tom Hacker. But every man had done his share.
    Also, the more I heard of the Sioux and the Cheyennes, the more worried I became for the herd and the men left with it. I not only wanted to find Tarlton, but I wanted to be back with the outfit. The Indians would surely know where they were, and might come down upon them at any time.
    We went back into the sutler's

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