15
"Still south...." Teodoro pointed out the hoof prints deep in the softearth beside the water hole. Drew steadied himself with one hand on thestirrup leathers as he stooped to see more clearly. He was groggy withlack of sleep and felt that if he once allowed himself to slip completelyto ground level, he would not get up again.
"Rennie's riders?"
Teodoro was on one knee, conning the mass of tracks as if they were aprinted page. "_Si_--there is the mark of Bartolome Rivas' horse. It has amisshapen hoof; the shoe must always be well fitted."
"How far are they ahead now?" Drew had come to depend upon the youngmustanger's judgment. Teodoro apparently was close to a Pima in hisability to read trace.
"Two hours--maybe three. But they will be at the pass and there they willstay."
"Why?"
"I think they will lay a trap for the raiders. There has been no sign thatthey trail now behind driven horses. _Don_ Cazar does not pursue; he ridesto cut off the road to Mexico. Kitchell's men, they would not take theopen Sonora trail, that is folly for them. So they travel one ridden bymen with a price on their heads. If Kitchell now moves south to stay, hewill have with him all that he can carry, and he must come this way."
"If he hasn't gone already!"
"There is no sign," Teodoro repeated stubbornly.
"So we keep on ahead." Drew got down on both knees, splashed the muddywater-hole liquid into his face in an effort to clear his head.
They had changed mounts twice since leaving the camp, both times at thewater forts on the Range. And the second time they had chanced threehours' sleep and a hot meal. But the rest of the time it was ride, chew onjerky and cold tortillas, and depend on Teodoro's sense of direction totake them eventually to their goal--the outlaws' gate into Mexico. Drew hadlong since stopped looking over his shoulder for any thundering advance ofcavalry. If Bayliss was hunting the fugitives, he was not pushing the pacetoo hard.
"Not ahead, no." Teodoro drank from his cupped hand. "We go so...." Hesketched a gesture east.
"Why?"
"It is never well to be shot by one's friends." The mustanger achieved ahalf smile, stretching the skin of his gaunt young face. "Always it isbetter to see before being seen."
When they started he led the way to the left at a walk. Drew, aroused now,looked about him carefully. This was rough country cut by pinnacles of redand yellow rock, backed by the purple ridges of the greater heights. Itwas desert land, too. They had long since left the abundance of the valleybehind them. Here was the stiff angularity of cactus, the twistedvegetation of an arid land.
The crack of a carbine shattered the empty silence. Drew pulled on reinsas a second shot dug up a spurt of dust just beyond Teodoro's mount.
"Hold it! Right there."
That disembodied voice could have come from anywhere, but Drew thought itwas from above and behind. Someone, holed up in the rocks, had them asperfect targets. The Kentuckian did not try to turn his head; there was nouse giving the sharpshooter an excuse.
"All right, you...." The voice was hollow, its timbre distorted by echo."Throw off your guns an' git down ... one at a time ... th' Mex first."
Drew watched Teodoro slide out of the saddle.
"Stand away from that hoss ... easy now."
The mustanger obeyed.
"Now you ... do jus' like him."
Drew followed instructions carefully.
"Hands up--high! Now turn around."
They turned. A figure had detached itself from among the rocks they hadpassed moments earlier and came down toward them carbine ready.
"Anse!" Drew stumbled toward the Texan. The other's hat was gone. A tornshirt sleeve flapped about his left arm, allowing sight of a neckerchiefknotted about his forearm. His coat trailed from one shoulder. "What inthe world happened to you?"
Anse sat down suddenly on one of the boulders, his gaze on Drew. He shookhis head slowly.
"I ain't sein' things," he said. "That's you, ain't it? Say--got anywater?" His tongue curled over cracked lips.
Drew snatched the canteen from his saddle and hurried forward. More than abloodstained bandage marked Anse, he could see now. He waited while theother seized the canteen avidly and drank. Then the Texan was smiling athim.
"Seems as how we's always meetin' up, don't it now? Likewise it's alwaysto m' benefit, too. Only this time I've got me somethin' to trade. Youkeep on goin' down this trail, _compadre_, an' maybe you'll wind up with aspade pattin' you down nice an' smooth."
"What happened?"
Anse drank again with the discipline of a plains rider, a mouthful at atime.
"What didn't would be more like it, _amigo_. Yesterday, well, they got m'hoss--tried to git me. Only left their mark, though," Anse said, regardinghis arm ruefully. "I've been wearin' off boot heels hoofin' it ever since.Tryin' to make it back to that there water hole."
"Who shot your horse?"
"I didn't see no name printed big 'cross his jacket, but I'm thinkin' itwas Shannon."
"You were in Mexico?"
Anse shook his head. "No, an' Shannon ain't there, neither. I trailedalong--ridin' th' high lines careful--when he went with that there Mex_Coronel_ an' his men. Stayed with him 'bout a day, Shannon did. Thenanother man, Anglo, rode into their camp--had him a chin fest with Shannon,an' Johnny saddled up pronto, beat it with th' stranger. Thought he mightbe headin' home, but he weren't. So I kept on ridin' into their dust an'waitin' to find out what it was all 'bout.
"Shannon an' this hombre, they hit it up a pretty good lick till they gotwell away from th' Sonora trail. Then they skimmed it down till you'dthink they had all month an' a handful of extra Sundays to git whereverthey was goin'. Plumb wore me down amblin' 'long th' way they did. I sure'nough 'bout scraped off my hoss's hoofs cuttin' down his speed.
"Spent a whole day jus' loungin' 'round in one camp. I'd say they waswaitin' for someone--only nobody ever showed. So they went on, mefollowin'. I'll tell you one thing. This new hombre Shannon took up with,he was a real hard case. A short trigger man if I ever laid eye on one.Anyway we jus' kept on, with me tryin' to think iffen I should Injun up togit th' drop on 'em or not. Seemed to me, though, as how it might bebrighter to kinda jus' drift their way an' see what's makin' 'em rattletheir hocks out in th' middle of nowhere.
"Guess I weren't as smart as I thought I was. As I said, yesterdaysuddenly they give th' spurs an' lit out. Me, guess I got kinda upset'bout losin' 'em an' followed a bit too hasty. Hoss came down with a holein him. Me, I took another. Gave 'em a good sight of a man plugged whereit means th' most an' that musta convinced 'em I wasn't no problem nomore. So--that was what happened. I jus' pulled as green a trick as asod-buster tryin' to crawl a wild one! An' where Shannon is now I don'tknow--only I don't think it's in Mexico."
"Probably with Kitchell." Hurriedly Drew filled in his own experiences andwhat he had learned from Topham.
Anse looked about him. "For territory what looks so bare," he commented,"this stretch of country sure must have a sight of population wanderin''round in it. Th' Old Man an' his posse somewheres up ahead, an' Shannonan' that side-kick of his, an' Kitchell maybe, as well as th' Yankeeshotfootin' it behind you--or so you hope. Lordy, this's gonna be th' Battleof Nashville over again' do they all meet up! All we need is a coupla bullpups up on one of them ridges an' we could blow 'em all to hell-an'-gone!Jus' which bunch is goin' to claim us first?"
"_Senores_, that is already decided," Teodoro said quietly.
Drew looked up. Where had they come from, those four? Out of the rocksthemselves? He only knew that now they were there, rifles over theirforearms, ready to swing sights on the three below. His heart gave alurch--Apaches? And then on the far right he recognized Greyfeather,Rennie's chief scout. And it was Greyfeather who pointed to them and tothe way ahead, who gave an emphatic wave of the hand which was an order.Leading their horses, they obeyed, the Pimas falling in behind.
The back-door route to the pass was a rough one. They had to leave t
hehorses and climb, two of the Pimas always in sight behind, guns ready.Anse sighed.
"Seems like we have lots of luck--all of it plain bad. These Injuns run usin an' as far as th' Old Man's concerned we're jus' what everybody claimswe is. We're a coupla saddle bums as is only on th' loose 'cause we got upearlier an' owned faster hosses than th' sheriff! How'd we ever git oursaddles slipped 'round so wrong, anyway?"
"I did it," Drew said bitterly. "It's not any of your doin', Anse. Tiedmyself up in a string of lies and now they have me tight. So help me,Anse, if I ever get this unsnarled, I'm never goin' to open my mouth againto say more'n 'yes' or 'no'!"
The Texan laughed. "You ain't never been one to color up a story redder'na Navajo blanket! An' don't take on th' whole pack of this when only 'boutth' salt bag is of your buyin'. You ain't responsible for Kitchell, norJohnny Shannon, nor Bayliss' wantin' to down th' Old Man. Can't see as howmuch of this is your doin', after all."
Rennie had set his ambush at the pass with care. At first sight there wasno evidence of men lying in wait, but from the heights over which thePimas brought their charges, Drew caught glimpses of men crouched behindsheltering rocks. The bulk of the Range posse was gathered in a hollow onthe south side of the pass and it was there that Greyfeather delivered hiscatch.
_Don_ Cazar surveyed them almost without interest. "Bayliss released youthen," he said to Drew.
"No. Reese Topham and the Trinfans broke me out." Drew kept to his recentvow of truth-telling. And, he noticed with a spark of somethingapproaching satisfaction, the truth seemed able to shake Rennie a little.
"Reese Topham broke you out! Why?" The demand was quick and to the point.
"He wanted me to play fox for the army's hounds ... bring the trooperssouth ... here," Drew replied. "Bayliss wouldn't march out and Tophamthought that you needed some support--with Kitchell apparently on themove." Telling the truth did not mean you had to tell all of it. There wasno reason to bring Shannon into this now and antagonize Rennie all overagain.
"He what--?" His father was staring at him now with pure amazement. "Butthat doesn't make sense," he added as if to himself.
"No? I think it does, suh. Kitchell wouldn't have dared to raid the Rangeif he were goin' to stay in this country, would he? And after such a raidhe'd head south. You believe that much or you wouldn't be here waitin' forhim now. Nobody knows how many men ride with that gang--and maybe he canpull in the Apaches, too. They wouldn't pass up a good chance to get backat you. You have the reputation of being about the only white man in thisterritory to make them turn tail and give up a fight. Now--supposin' you doget Kitchell stopped here at the pass--and the army patrol comes in behindhim. Then together you can finish him, and perhaps some bronco Apachesinto the bargain. It could work."
Drew paused and then went on. "Of course, I have a good reason of my ownfor being here, apart from not wantin' to swallow Captain Bayliss' brandof justice. Kitchell's men took Shiloh. And nobody, nobody at all, suh, isgoin' to run off that horse--not while I'm able to do something about it!"
"Seems to me, suh," Anse cut in now, "that three more guns is gonna behealthy for you to have 'round here, does th' fight work out th' way itcan. Me, I don't make no big brag on my shootin'--but I never did wear nosix-gun, nor tote no carbine, jus' for show."
"Of course, if you think we're Kitchell's plants," Drew added, "then keepus under guard. Only we're not and never were."
"Topham, Topham planned this?" Rennie still showed surprise. "I don't--"
A bird called flutingly. Rennie stiffened. Men moved, up slope, intocover, without direction.
"You two ... get up there, behind those pointed rocks," _Don_ Cazardirected with a stab of his finger. "I'll be right behind you."
"We ain't about to give you no trouble," Anse said as he obeyed, and Drewagreed as he followed the Texan into hiding.
"I'd like a rifle jus' 'bout now," Anse remarked. "Only thing I've everheld 'gainst a six-gun is that it don't throw lead as far as a fella couldsometimes want it to. But I think we've sorta been ruled outta this herefight--'less th' enemy gits close 'nough to spit at."
Now they could see down the cut of the pass. The narrow passage woundbetween rocks and Drew, though he could not spot them, did not doubt thatRennie's forces were snuggled in where a surprise volley could do the mostgood.
"Somethin' sure is comin'." Anse had one hand flat on the ground. "Feelslike th' whole danged army hoofin' it an' fast!"
Drew was aware of it, too--the vibration carrying through stone and soil.The drumming of hoofs, horses coming at a run. Now it was more thanvibration, a distinct roll of sound magnified and echoed. And he caught ashout or two, the cries of men hazing on laggers. It must be Kitchell onhis way through to the border!
A dust haze, rising like smoke. Then the foremost runner of the bandappeared in the cut, the whites of its eyes showing, patches of foamsticky on chest and shoulder. Five ... ten ... an even dozen--but not agray coat among them. One light buckskin had almost startled Drew intorising until he caught a second and clearer look.
The leaders were through and a second wave was coming. Drew counted twentymore horses before the first rider appeared. His face was masked againstthe dust by a neckerchief drawn up to eye level. But, unlike the ordinaryrange rider, he wore an army forage cap in place of the wide-brimmed hatof the plains. As he spurred by below Drew's perch he glanced up butseemed to have no suspicion that he was under observation.
There came more horses, and Drew stopped counting. But the gray he soughtwas not among them. The shouts of the drivers were louder. And then, asthree men appeared bunched, there was a crackle of shots. Two of theriders fell, one leaning slowly from the saddle, the other diving into thedust. The third tried to turn but did not get his horse around before amule pushed into him, followed by another and another. The horse thieveswere trapped. Drew could hear the sharp snap of shots along the pass. Morethan those three must have been caught in the ambush.
The mules, braying and running wild, thundered on south after the horses.Then a saddled horse, riderless, galloped by with a second at its heels.Confused shouting rang out, without any meaningful words. This was as mucha muddle, Drew thought, as any battle. You never saw any action exceptthat immediately about you--mostly you were too busy trying to keep aliveto care about incidentals. Come to think of it, this was about the firsttime he had ever sat out a fight, watching it as a spectator.
The roll of firing was dying down. Anse grinned at him.
"Takes you right back, don't it now?" he asked when he could be heard."Th' Old Man, he's got him some of th' Gineral's idears--work good, too!"
"I didn't see Shiloh in that band." Drew stood up. "Couple of duns ... nograys."
"Come to think of it," Anse agreed, "that's right! But lookit that baydown there." He pointed to one of the saddled horses that had a draggingrein caught in a dead juniper stump and was trying to pull loose. "Got th'RR brand! Some of these must be from th' Range raid."
"Hey--down here--!" The hail broke down the pass from the north. Rennieclimbed over his rock barricade, and other men came out of cover to moveup the cut. Since no one tried to stop them, Drew and Anse went along.
"Got us two of 'em ready to talk!" Jared Nye strode to meet his employer."They're Kitchell's gang, all right. Only he ain't with 'em."
"_Patron_--" For the first time since he had known him Drew saw BartolomeRivas run. He was weaving in and out among the fallen men in the pass."They ride." He was half choked by the effort to force his message pastheavy gulps for breath.
"Who rides?" Rennie demanded.
"Three--four men ... that way." He waved a plump hand to the east. "They golike the wind, _Don_ Cazar. And one--he rides the big gray!"
Drew whirled. The big gray--there was only one horse to be named so on theRange. Some of the outlaws had escaped the trap and one was riding Shiloh!Drew found the horse with the tangled rein, jerked and tore at the leatherstrap, and was in the saddle when a hand caught at the rein he had justf
reed.
"Where do you think you're going?" Hunt Rennie demanded.
Drew snapped the rein out from the other's hold. There was only one thinghe wanted now, and that was getting farther and farther away with everysecond he wasted here.
"After Shiloh!" He used spurs on the horse and it leaped ahead. For all heknew any one of the posse might take a shot at him, so he rode low in thesaddle. He heard startled cries, saw Bartolome Rivas stumble as he got outof the path of the wild horse. There were rocks, sand, a body which thehorse avoided in a leap, then there was free ground and Drew settled downto ride.
A horse was coming up from behind--they need not think they were going tostop him now. Drew turned his head as the mount pulled level with his own.He was ready to fight if need be. Only the man in the saddle was HuntRennie.
"Better find out which way to go before you break your neck or that bay'slegs," Rennie called. "Out beyond that pillar--then east."
Drew nodded. But Rennie did not fall back. He was riding his heavy dutyhorse, a grulla famous for its staying power. And now the Kentuckianregained his proper share of common sense and began to pull in the bay. Ashis father had pointed out, a broken neck or a horse's broken leg was notgoing to bring Shiloh any closer. He heard the sound of other horses andglanced back as they wheeled around the pillar to the east.
Four riders were bunched--Anse, Nye, Teodoro, and Donally. That made six ofthem in all, pursuing four fugitives over miles of countryside which mighthave been shaped with no other purpose in mind than to shelter men on therun. But perhaps they could come up with the quarry soon....
Shiloh! He had to get Shiloh! Drew began to call upon all the horseman'sknowledge and scout's lore that he possessed. Those qualities, rather thanfighting power, were what he believed he needed now. With luck--always witha large-sized helping of luck!