Green Sky at Dawn

Green Sky at Dawn

Suzanne Marsh

The horses began to whinny in fear, the thunder started to roar, and suddenly a flash of light and a loud pop. The drovers had no time to investigate, they were looking for a safe haven for the cattle they were driving to Kansas City, Kansas. Tom Hackett and Jim Moder drove the cattle over the Goodnight Trail, just outside Six Shooter Junction, Texas.

The sky was almost as black as night it was only a little past noon, Tom gave the order to stop, bed the steers down, and then seek shelter. He did not think the cyclone was too far from where they were camped. The wind began to howl, and the steers to moo nervously; some actually ran toward any shelter from the wind. The sky turned a greenish-black color. The men sheltered in a small cave where they would worry about the cattle after the cyclone passed. The cattle began to stampede, the drovers were not going to leave the small shelter they had claimed. They decided to round up the cattle after the storm had passed. Tom was the top drover on this cattle drive, he shivered as he heard the wind pick up even more, then, there it was the cyclone twirling toward the sheltering cave. Jim yanked Tom inside with the other seven drovers.

The cyclone passed quickly, now the drovers would have to round up the cattle, the thought that cattle stampede and no doubt went in every direction. They spotted cattle in the river; they were planning to cross in the morning. Tom went to find the cook:

“Hey Cookie how about rustling up some grub?” The cook gave him a withering glance:

“How about you rustle up some grub? The wagon got overturned, I couldn’t start to cook if

I ain’t got nothin' to cook. Get a couple of boys to turn the wagon upright and I will

rustle up some grub.”

Tom smiled:

“Thanks, Cookie” he yelled as he spurred his horse to a full gallop as he headed to the river to see how many cattle had perished in the storm. Tom rode up to Jim:

“How many heads are missing?” Jim turned to him:

“We could be having to return and round up some more of these dang longhorns, they spook

so easily.”

The men continued throughout the day rounding up the cattle, beef was selling at thirty cents a pound, and there was a lot of money riding on this. Money that would help Jim and Tom buy a ranch just outside of Six Shooter Junction, Texas. Damn, it seemed the more places they looked the more steers they found. The men were just about to call it quits when they discovered the body of a young man, who had been shot in the back. Tom rolled the body over, it was that young drover he had hired Matt Swaine.

“Hey Jim, over here, someone killed Matt, shot him in the back. You and I should ride into

town, and bring the body to the Sheriff’s Office, we can’t just leave him here. Shot in the

back in cold blood.” Tom stood quietly for a moment saying a short prayer for Matt, he had just hired him, and now he was dead. Who would shoot the kid in the back? Tom yelled over the wind to Jim:

“Get one of the pack horses we can put the body across the saddle; damn what a shame he was

what sixteen?” Jim nodded in the affirmative; as he put the body over the saddle. Tom gave his horse a gentle nudge, followed by Jim, with the lead rein clenched tightly in his hand. They set off for Six Shooter hoping the Sheriff would be there, they had a tight timetable to get the steers to market, the steers, mostly long horns had been spooked by the cyclone, so most of today the rest of the wranglers would be rounding them up, beating the brush until they had found all one thousand head. Tom and Jim knew the other drovers would find the herd; they just hoped they could get the body to Six Shooter Junction before it began to smell. The thought of one of their drovers being murdered had never crossed their minds up until now.

The men rode into Six Shooter Junction and found the Sheriff’s office. The Sheriff was a pot-bellied, stubby man with a beard that glistened like the first snow. The Sheriff with his feet on his desk inquired:

“What brings you boys to Six Shooter? You both look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Tom, never one to mince words quickly replied:

“Sheriff, we found one of our droves murdered this morning, we brought the body here since

this is the closest town. We have a herd going to Kansas City, the kid's name is Matthew

Swaine, he joined the outfit a couple of weeks ago. He was sixteen Sheriff; he did not tell us a

about himself other than he needed a job pronto.”

The Sheriff gave a grunt, stood up, and followed the men outside to where the body lay across the saddle: The sheriff looked over the body, and something caught his eye, upon closer inspection he noted not one but several forty-five rounds in the kid’s back:

“There is no doubt in my mind this was murder, there were six shots not just one, someone

wanted him dead, the question is who. You said he was hired a couple of weeks ago?”

The sheriff motioned them into his office, and he began to rummage through his desk for flyers of wanted men. Finally, he found the one he sought, there in black and white:

“Wanted Dead or Alive Matthew James Swaine for theft and murder of a Wells

Fargo agent. One thousand dollar reward.”

Tom just stood there with a puzzled look on his face:

“Sheriff he was only sixteen but who would murder him unless he belonged to a gang

and he may be made off the money from their robbery.”

The sheriff agreed with Tom’s assessment, but he had no answer as to why. All three men headed toward the saloon, a good stiff whiskey would fortify them before they returned to the herd, a thousand dollars richer. The sheriff noted a hombre staring at Tom, and then he pulled a gun:

“Tom, I earned that thousand dollars, Matt took it, I want it back now.” Tom, his blue eyes widened:

“I should have known Jed, I thought we left you and the other drovers with the herd.”

Jed glared at Tom:

“Draw you fool, today is a good day for you to die.” Tom drew, and dropped Jed with one bullet, to the heart. The sheriff watched as Tom put his Colt .45 back in its side holster, the robbery and murder had come full circle.