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A Team of Two

by Gene Gill

231 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-0843; ISBN 1-4120-3016-1; US$21.50, C$24.00, EUR17.50, £12.50

A guest for justice becomes a life and death struggle for survival. As Kate and Hiram seek out the outlaws who stole an army payroll and murdered Kate's husband.

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About the Book      About the Author      Excerpts      Catalogue Information

About the Book

Kathryn Sue Ross, my leading character, due to actions of the Union Army, became an orphan early in the story. Joins that same army as a nurse in the field hospitals throughout the war. Falls in love and marries an army captain. Unfortunately her husband is killed in a payroll robbery. Here the story actually begins as Kate takes it upon herself to search for her husband's killers. The journey takes her into the badlands of Oklahoma, or The Nations as it was called at that time. With the aid of a retired ex-lawman, Kate goes after her quarry with a vengeance, struggling at every turn of the road to stay alive. Facing overwhelming odds, she and her ex-lawman partner take on an adventure few people could survive. But survive they do and justice triumphs.

History abounds throughout this novel. All the places are real, and some still exist to this day. The Canadian River is no longer navigable, but the trail crossings of the many cattle drives of that era can still be distinguished. Bethel is still tribal grounds for the Choctaw Indians of the area. With Tuskahoma, about forty miles to the northwest, being the Choctaw Capital. The Choctaw Tribe maintain their own police force.

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About the Author

Gene Gill describes his life as "strictly blue collar all the way, from the cotton fields of Texas as a youngster to the logging woods of Colorado and New Mexico." Since graduating from high school in 1956, Mr. Gill has also worked in the manufacture of oil-field equipment and, currently, in the tree-growing industry of southeastern Oklahoma.

He has been married for over forty years to his high-school sweetheart, and they have two grown daughters and seven grandchildren. Mr. Gill's enthusiams include fishing, hunting and boating. He is also an American-history buff.

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Excerpts

From Chapter 5

"It won't be that way, Sis," he was saying. "Hell, we can just disappear into the woodwork. We can go down south. They're still in a lot of confusion down there, still rebuilding after the war and all, we can buy us a business, be upstanding citizens, go to church if you want to. We can change our names. Nobody'll ever know. It'll work, Sis, I just know it will. What the hell!"

Kate had stepped on a spot on the fl oor that gave under her weight. As it did it made a squeaking sound and Eddie had heard it. Kate didn't hesitate, she stepped through the doorway with the Patterson lined on the spot where Eddie's voice had been. But Eddie was already moving. He was across the room, jerking open the back door. Kate could have shot him in the back, but it just wasn't in her to do so.

But Eddie had stopped. "How strange," thought Kate. Eddie had been all but gone, but now he was standing there in the door, his gun in his hand, his arms rising in surrender. As he backed back into the room, Kate saw why. Old Hiram was standing there, just six foot from the doorway, the twin bores of a twelve gauge Greener centered on Eddie's chest. "No wonder he stopped," mused Kate as Eddie and Hiram both eased into the room.

"Even a rabbit's smarter'n you, Eddie," old Hiram cackled. "They always allows fer more'n one way out. But not you, huh, Eddie, why you been caught going out that ther back door more times than I can count, heh heh heh, and I got'cha, by gum, I got'cha, Miss Kate fl ushed ye out and I got'cha. Ain't that the right of her Kate?"

Eddie turned for the first time then as Hiram reached and extracted the pistol from Eddie's hand.

"Mrs. Marshall!" he exclaimed in shocked surprise. "How did you find me?"

From Chapter 7

"Hiram," Kate spoke, "can I ask you something and get a straight answer?"

Hiram looked at Kate through squinty eyes and shook his head. "Don't know if 'n I kin answer 'til I've heard the question." He replied adding, "'Course, don't know if 'n I'll tell the truth about it neither, depends on how personal yew're gittin'. Got ta warn ya girlie, I do carry on a mean private life. But in answer, I guess yew just hit me with ya best shot and I'll try not ta spread the facts too fer apart."

The old man had a knack for keeping Kate laughing and she wasn't surprised at the way he had answered her question.

"Seriously Hiram," Kate said, "how old are you?"

Hiram had settled back in the seat sort of leaning into the corner, holding the reins slack, letting the horse just pick it's own speed. Now he popped the reins a mite and clucked to the horse.

"Heh heh heh, dang blame it Kate," he said, "Yew ain't afi xin' ter perpose or nothin' like that aire ya? I mean, lordy girl, I ain't knowed ya more'n about three days yet. Don't cha think we ort'a give it a week or so at least, afore we go ta gittin' serious? Heh heh heh."

"Hiram!" Exclaimed Kate. "You shifty-minded old retard from a funny farm, I ain't fi xing to do no proposing. It wouldn't be lady-like and besides, it's not my place. So any proposing gets done, you'll have to do it."

From Chapter 10

"Hiram, you asleep?" Kate ask in the darkness.

"Yeah I'm asleep," was Hiram's sleepy reply. "What'cha want?"

"I was just thinking about this river," Kate said as she listened to the murmur of the water as it chuckled downstream. "You did say it was the Illinois, didn't you? And I was trying to fi gure out how and where it crossed the Mississippi at. How does it do that, Hiram? Does it flow in upstream someplace, then fl ow out again further down? Is that how it does it?"

"Oh, fer Christ sakes," groaned Hiram, "It don't do neither one. It don't even go ter thuh Mississippi, comin' or going'."

"Then how'd it get here?" questioned Kate. "That water's got to come from somewhere, and I say it comes out of the Mississippi. And Illinois is on the other side, so I say it's got to cross somewhere."

"No, dad-blame it, it don't do no sech a dang thang," said Hiram, now fully awake. "It jest starts up thar in thuh mountains somewheres and runs down here and into the Arkansas. That's what it does, and that's all it does. It don't come out'a Illinois and it don't cross the old Miss. Now go ter sleep will ya, le'me be."

"Hiram Bennett," said Kate, annoyance in her voice, "that don't make no sense at all."

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Catalogue Information

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