J.T.'s Ladies Ride Again

Publisher’s Note

As with other books in this series, the author uses characters’ native dialect to bring that person to life. Whether they speak French, Irish, American English or English itself, he uses vernacular language to impart this.

Therefore when Scottish characters use words such as richt instead of right; laird for lord; oopstairs for upstairs; haim for home; ain for own; gude sores for good sirs and wha for who" plus many other phrases, please bear in mind that these are not spelling/OCR mistakes.

Table of Contents

Publisher’s Note

Author’s Note

Introduction

Part One

Woman Deputy Alice Fayde

In

All Done Without Deductive Reasoning

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Part Two

Amanda ‘The School Swot’ Tweedle

In

A Case Of Blackmail

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Part Three

Rita Yarborough,

Company ‘Z’ Texas Rangers

In

The Deadly Dreams

Part Four

Calamity Jane

&

Belle Starr

In

Draw Poker’s Such A Simple Game

Appendix One

Appendix Two

Appendix Three

Author’s Note

To save our ‘old hands’ from repetition, but for the benefit of all new readers, we have included in the form of APPENDICES details regarding the career and background of Woman Deputy Alice Fayde and Dawn Drummond-Clayton, also an explanation of various terms about which we have frequently received requests for clarification.

We realize that, in our present ‘permissive’ society, we could use the actual profanities employed by various people in the narrative. However, we do not concede a spurious desire to create ‘realism’ is any excuse whatsoever for doing so.

Lastly, we refuse to pander to the current ‘trendy’ use of the metric system. Except when referring to the caliber of those weapons traditionally measured in millimetres—i.e. Walther P-38, 9mm—we will continue to employ miles, yards, feet, inches, stones, pounds and ounces, when quoting distances and weights.

J. T. EDSON,

Active Member, Western Writers of America,

MELTON MOWBRAY,

Leicestershire,

England.

Contents

AUTHOR’S NOTE

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE

WOMAN DEPUTY ALICE FAYDE ROCKABYE COUNTY SHERIFFS’ OFFICE, TEXAS

In

ALL DONE WITHOUT DEDUCTIVE REASONING

PART TWO

AMANDA ‘THE SCHOOL SWOT’ TWEEDLE

In

A CASE OF BLACKMAIL

PART THREE

RITA YARBOROUGH COMPANY ‘Z’, TEXAS RANGERS

In

THE DEADLY DREAMS

PART FOUR

CALAMITY JANE & BELLE STARR

In

DRAW POKER’S SUCH A SIMPLE GAME

Introduction

Having been an avid reader of the wonderful action/escapism/adventure fiction which had its vintage years from the mid-1930s to mid-1950s, I could not help noticing how small a part was allocated to what my generation could still refer to respectfully as the ‘gentle sex’ without provoking screams of ‘male chauvinist pig’ from over-reacting supporters of ‘Women’s Lib’. In fact, with very few exceptions all through that period, ¹ action/escapism/adventure fiction in books, movies and, later, television series, tended to be very much a masculine domain.² Heroines were expected to be beautiful, shapely and virtuous—this being in the days before sexual promiscuity was turned by the media into an apparently desirable and essential trait upon which, rather than any worthwhile endeavor, one’s success or failure in life is judged³—but meek, mild and completely dependent upon the hero for protection whenever danger threatened.

Therefore, on embarking upon my career as a writer, I decided to try to remedy the situation.⁴ My heroines would be beautiful, shapely, and almost always virtuous. However, they would not be dependent upon anybody except themselves when in a perilous situation.

Martha, ‘Calamity Jane’ Canary was the first of my ‘ladies’ to be given a full ‘starring’ role and, so far, is the only one to having attained the status of having a series of her own.⁵ However, the lady outlaw, Belle Starr, preceded her in print by making a ‘guest’ appearance in my second published work, Part Four, ‘A Lady Known As Belle’, THE HARD RIDERS.⁶ She also made a ‘guest’ appearance in, Case One, ‘The Set-Up’, SAGEBRUSH SLEUTH—which was later converted to a ‘starring’ role in its ‘expansion’, WACO’S BADGE—and paved the way for Calamity’s appearance in print by there being a reference to a scar on her hand which was acquired when they fought one another on their first meeting in, Part One, ‘The Bounty On Belle Starr’s Scalp, TROUBLED RANGE and its ‘expansion’, CALAMITY, MARK AND BELLE.⁷

Due to new information I received from Alvin Dustine ‘Cap’ Fog allowing me to produce, WHITE INDIANS, an ‘expansion’ of, Part One, ‘The Half Breed’, THE HALF BREED, Annie ‘Is-A-Man’ Singing Bear was introduced and she made a ‘guest’ appearance in, BUFFALO ARE COMING. She had also ‘starred’ in IS-A-MAN—explaining how she became accepted as a Comanche warrior and gained her ‘man-name’—and in Part One, ‘To Separate Innocence From Guilt’, MORE J.T.’s LADIES.

In response to my suggestion, ‘Cap’ Fog’s wife, ‘Miz Rita’, nee Yarborough, put pressure to bear upon him to include her adventures when he authorized me to chronicle the history of Company ‘Z’, Texas Rangers, in the Alvin Dustine ‘Cap’ Fog series. Despite being proud of and willing to give full credit for the excellence of her participation, he admitted his reluctance in the first place was due to her having been compelled to behave in a less than lady-like fashion on more than one occasion.⁸

With the exception of THE SIXTEEN DOLLAR SHOOTER—placed first in the chronological listing of the Rockabye County series, although written later than most of the other entries—Woman Deputy Alice Fayde has had full ‘starring’ status since the original title, THE PROFESSIONAL KILLERS, ushered herself, her partner, Deputy Sheriff Bradford ‘Brad’ Counter, and the other members of the Rockabye County Sheriff’s Office on to the printed page in 1986.⁹ She is, in fact, the senior member of their investigative team and is involved in a far greater share of the physical action than any other female peace officer with whom I have come into contact via books, movies, or television ‘police’ series.

I have covered the background for the creation of the Bunduki series in my introduction to that section of J.T.’S HUNDREDTH and there is no point in repeating it in full. However, although I regard Edgar Rice Burroughs as the greatest action-escapism-adventure writer of all time, I confess I have always considered he never exploited any of his heroines to their full potential. This was especially true of Jane, wife of Tarzan of the Apes. Except in TARZAN’S QUEST, when she made a bow and arrow so she could hunt to help feed herself and some friends stranded in the jungle by a plane crash, she rarely demonstrated whatever survival techniques she must have learned from her husband. On being granted permission by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., to introduce Dawn Drummond-Clayton and James Allenvale ‘Bunduki’ Gunn, respectively adoptive great-granddaughter and adopted son of Lord and Lady Grey stoke, I followed my usual practice of allowing her to be as completely self-reliant as all my other ‘ladies’. I reasoned that, having had such a family background, she would have had training which would allow her to cope without needing to scream for help the moment any danger threatened even though—particularly in every ‘Tarzan’ movie I have seen¹⁰—this appeared to be all Jane was capable of doing.

Although not all of them appear in this volume, for reasons of space rather than because they are less physically active and competent: Bell ‘the Rebel Spy’ Boyd;¹¹ ‘Miz Freddie’ Fog, nee Lady Winifred Amelia Besgrove-Woodstole—although she mostly appeared under the alias, ‘Freddie Woods’¹²; Elizabeth ‘Betty’ Hardin¹³;

Amanda ‘the School Swot’ Tweedle¹⁴ and two generations of Miss Amelia Penelope Diana ‘Benkers’ Benkinsop¹⁵, have all played their part in proving ‘ladies’ are fully capable of holding their own in action-escapism-adventure literature.

However, enough of explanations!

Now...

J.T.’S LADIES RIDE AGAIN!

Part One

Woman Deputy Alice Fayde

In

All Done Without Deductive Reasoning

Chapter One

LOUNGING AGAINST THE side of the Ford sedan, the door of which he had found was unlocked thus allowing him to start the engine, Manuel Santoval was successful in conveying the impression of doing nothing more than waiting for somebody to join him. Nevertheless, his purpose was far from being so harmless and innocent. He and his brothers, Oton and Rafael, were engaged upon their usual business of stealing cars from the parking lots of shopping malls. Since graduating from petty larceny to the more lucrative form of crime, they had established a procedure—termed a m.o., modus operandi, by law enforcement agencies—which had so far proved satisfactory and successful.

When carrying out the thefts, the brothers always selected three newish vehicles in the medium price range as these found a ready market from dishonest second-hand car salesmen or from the owners of ‘body shops’ for stripping down and being sold as ‘spare parts’. They had never attached themselves to any organized ring of car thieves and regularly changed their venue from town to town across Texas. By doing so, they had avoided arrest for their main illicit activities and also for the potentially more serious sideline which occasionally added to their profits.

Keeping watch while Oton and Rafael were making the chosen cars ready to drive away, Manuel decided an opportunity was being presented for him to put the second of their illicit activities into effect. Looking over the magazine he was pretending to read, he studied with a calculating and predatory gaze the woman who had parked a powder blue Cadillac coupe of the latest model and was walking along an alley left between other vehicles towards the east side entrance to the Leander Shopping Mall. Regarding himself as an authority on the opposite sex, particularly where deciding upon their potential as victims for mugging was concerned, he drew certain satisfying conclusions from his study. Therefore, although he and his brothers would not have considered her car suitable for their purposes, he concluded that she could provide a useful addition to the bankroll they were collecting to tide them over during the extended visit which recent events required they paid to Mexico.

Five foot seven in height, the whole appearance of the woman was indicative of wealth and good living. Her mass of frizzy blonde hair had cost a great deal of money to achieve such a casual-seeming style. While she was not ravishingly beautiful her face, adorned by sunglasses with enormous rhinestone decorated rims was attractive. However, it was so heavily made up, he suspected she was trying to mask traces of her age. Confirmation was suggested by a wide green silk scarf around her throat. Such was frequently used to cover an area of the female anatomy less susceptible than the features to treatment intended to remove the ravages of time. A massive Navajo silver and turquoise necklace hung around her neck. There were matching wide bracelets on her wrists, but any rings she might have worn were concealed beneath white gloves. Cut with an elegance indicative of having been obtained from some exclusive shop in Upton Heights, a loose fitting white blouse and baggy-legged green slacks tucked into calf high black boots could not entirely conceal she had a very good figure.

Despite possessing a lecherous disposition, at that moment, Manuel was more interested in the woman’s jewelry and the bulky bag in her right hand than in her physical attractions. He was satisfied the adornments were of genuine Indian manufacture and very valuable. Furthermore, in addition to whatever money was in the latter, there was sure to be several credit cards and these could be sold to a local fence who he had been told specialized in such items.

Natural caution rather than the expectation of intervention by other people caused Manuel to decide how he should act. As far as he could detect, nobody was close in the big parking lot who might intervene. The scrutiny he had carried out on arriving with his brothers had established there were only stationary and, to all appearances, unoccupied vehicles in the vicinity. Nevertheless, any screams she made before he was able to silence her, might be heard and bring help from the armed security guards employed by the shopping mall. Or, as had happened a short while earlier in San Antonio, somebody might come into sight and raise the alarm. Experience elsewhere had taught him that it was advisable to go for the more readily acquired property first. The jewelry was worth stealing, but its removal could not be effected with the same speed needed to snatch the handbag. Should there be a need to escape before he could acquire the jewelry, he would have the bag in his grasp ready to take away. On the other hand, if an immediate departure was not called for, it could be used as an extemporized club to stun her while he removed the necklace and bracelets.

Darting a glance to where Oton was just closing the hood of a vehicle beyond the intended victim, Manuel was grateful that they had no family resemblance to indicate they were brothers. Stylishly dressed, by some quirk of hereditary, he was tall, slim and looked like the Anglo ancestor who was responsible for his physical appearance. His sibling, clearly Hispanic in origin, possessed a medium sized and stocky build and had on oil-stained dark blue coveralls inscribed: DIEGO’S REPAIR SERVICE which further reduced the chance of their connection being suspected. His second brother was Oton’s close to identical twin, but their filial likeness was rendered less discernible by Rafael being a short distance away. Being the best driver, he was already seated in the first car they had selected to be stolen and was ready to offer a means of escape if they had to take flight without their vehicles for any reason.

Seeing the quick gesture made by Manuel after having opened the door of the sedan, Oton knew he had elected to add to their loot by mugging the well-dressed woman. The decision did not come as any surprise. Nevertheless, remembering what had happened during the attempted mugging which had caused them to leave San Antonio and decide the visit to Mexico was necessary, he looked cautiously around. A glance satisfied him that Rafael had also deduced what was contemplated by their older brother and, although it had not been necessary in the forays they had carried out at the parking lots of shopping malls in the East Shore and Evans Hill Districts of Gusher City, he was ready to make the kind of hurried departure used effectively to save them from capture when things had gone wrong in other parts of Texas.

Watching Manuel following the woman, the youngest of the brothers hoped the mugging would be accomplished without the need for assistance from their sibling. Particularly when high on a fix of cocaine—to which all three had graduated from the smoking of marijuana, claimed by numerous celebrities of ‘liberal’ persuasions to be harmless, non-addictive and even beneficial—Oton tended to react too violently if required to give support and had already knifed three women who offered resistance elsewhere in Texas. The latest incident, at San Antonio six days earlier, had resulted in the death of the victim and a very narrow escape for them. What was more, being seen and the alarm having been raised caused Manuel to leave behind the bag which she was struggling to retain when taking Oton’s knife in the kidneys. Abandoning the other two vehicles prepared for driving away and using the third to elude pursuit by the police, after a chase which Rafael had no desire to repeat, they had come to the seat of Rockabye County with the intention of collecting sufficient money to get them across the border and lie low in Mexico for a time.

Satisfied that his brothers knew what he was intending, having allowed the woman to pass without seeing anything to suggest she suspected his intentions, Manuel strode swiftly and quietly after her. Coming into range, confident his presence was undetected, he grabbed for the bag with his right hand and seized her right forearm just below the elbow with his left to help ensure she released it. Even as he started to tug at the handle and tighten the grip with his other fingers, he discovered that he had made an error of judgement in his summation of the situation. In fact, before he could appreciate that the arm he was grasping had much firmer muscles than he would have expected from the kind of pampered member of wealthy society he assumed her to be, it was too late for the discovery to serve as a warning. His touch provoked an instant and very effective response from the seemingly unsuspecting would-be victim.

The moment that the woman felt her bag being seized, although she immediately released it, the rest of her reaction suggested she was far from being paralyzed into immobility by surprise. What was more, it soon became apparent that she considered she possessed sufficient knowledge of self-defense to be able to counter the attempt to steal it. Flashing across, her left hand caught Manuel by the right wrist. Proving to have a surprising strength for one who had given a very convincing impression of soft living until that moment, she hauled the captured limb in front of her body towards her left hip. While doing so, having lost the somewhat mincing gait which he had assumed was employed to give her a seductive and youthful air, she just as swiftly passed her right hand beneath his armpit until she was able to grasp his bicep with it and moved her right leg until it was against his.

Allowing the would-be mugger no time to resist her movements, giving a jerk of her head which caused the sunglasses to fly from her face, the woman spun rapidly to her left and began to bend at the waist. Then, with a combination of pulling the trapped arm down and across, while thrusting to the rear with her hips and jerking her right leg against his, she caused him to pass over her back. On feeling him going beyond his point of balance, she snatched free her hands. However, as he was sent sprawling supine upon the hard surface of the parking lot, being released did not allow him to do more than try to break the