The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard - Elmore Leonard [5]
To Eric Travisin, at twenty-eight, only seven years out of the Point, it was bound to be amusing. The cavalry mustache made him look older, but that wasn’t it. Travisin had been a veteran his first year. It was something that he’d had even before he came West. It was that something that made him stand out in any group of men. It was the strange instinct that made him wheel and draw his handgun when Gatito stole up behind him. It was a combination of many things, but not one of them did Travisin himself understand, even though they made him the youngest captain in Arizona because of it.
And now another one to watch him and not understand. He wondered how long de Both would last.
He said, “Lieutenant, do you know why you’ve been sent here?”
“No, sir.” De Both brought himself to attention. “I do not question my orders.”
Travisin was faintly amused. “I’m sure you don’t, Lieutenant. I was referring to any rumors you might have heard…. And relax.”
De Both remained at attention. “I don’t make it a practice to repeat idle rumors that have no basis in fact.”
Travisin felt his temper rise, but suppressed it from long practice. It wasn’t the way to get things done. He circled the desk and drew a chair up behind de Both. “Here, rest your legs.” He placed a firm hand on the lieutenant’s shoulder and half forced him into the chair. “Mister, you and I are going to spend a lot of time together. We’ll be either in this room or out on the desert with nothing to think about except what’s in front of us. Conversation gets pretty thin after a while, and you might even make up things just to hear yourself talk. You’re the only other Regular Army man here, so you can see it isn’t going to be a paradegrounds routine. I’ve been here for three years now, counting White Mountain Indians and making patrols. Sometimes things get a bit hot; otherwise you just sit around and watch the desert. I probably don’t look like much of an officer to you. That doesn’t matter. You can keep up the spit and polish if you want, but I’d advise you to relax and play the game without keeping the rule book open all the time. …Now, would you mind telling me what in hell the rumors are at Thomas?”
DE BOTH WAS surprised, and disturbed. He fidgeted in his chair, trying to feel official. “Well, sir, under the circumstances… Of course, as I said, there is no basis for its authenticity, but the word is that Crook is being transferred back to the Department to lead an expedition to the border. They say that he will probably ask for you. So I am being assigned here to replace you when the time comes. This is, of course, only gossip that is circulating about.”
“Do you believe it?”
“Sir, I don’t even think about it.”
Travisin said, “You mean you don’t want to think about it. Sitting by yourself at a Godforsaken Indian agency with almost two hundred and fifty White Mountains living across the street. Not to mention the scouts.” He paused and smiled at de Both. “I don’t know, Lieutenant, you might even like it after a while.”
“I accept my orders, Captain. My desires have nothing to do with my orders.”
But Travisin was not listening. Long strides took him to the doorway and he leaned out with a hand against the door frame on each side.
“Fryyyyyyyyyyy! Hey, Fryyyy!”
THE MEN OF H troop looked over to the office as they prepared to mount. Barney Fry left the sergeant and strode toward the agency office. “Come in here, Barney.”
The clatter of trotting horses beat across the quadrangle as Fry stepped up on the porch and entered the office. His short strides were slightly pigeon-toed and he held his head tilted down as if he were self-conscious of his appearance. He looked