Mac said, “Thanks Captain.” He turned and headed for the door.
Wes turned toward Mac and said, “Mac, could you maybe take ol’ Charley to the livery since you’re goin’ anyway? I’ll catch up with you over at the Amarillo Inn.”
“Sure. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just wanted to bend the captain’s ear about my folks for a minute. It’s kind’a private.”
Mac grinned and nodded. “Got it. See you in a bit.” He went out and closed the door behind him.
The captain said, “So what’s this about your folks?”
Wes looked at him and grinned. “Actually I wanted to tell you about something I saw on the trail down here from Watson, Captain. Mac didn’t know about it and it might be better to keep it that way.”
The captain frowned. “Why’s that? Don’t you trust him?”
“What? Oh, yes sir, I do.”
“Then why do you not want him to know what you saw?”
Wes shrugged. “Well... ol’ Mac, he was on watch when it happened, but I guess he was really tired. He fell asleep. I didn’t want to embarrass him, so I didn’t tell him.”
“Ah.” The captain nodded, a slight smile playing across his face. “All right, so what did you see?”
“A Comanche raiding party, sir.”
The captain’s smile disappeared. “Are you sure?”
“Well, yes sir, I think they were Comanches. They were riding like I’ve heard Comanches ride, slow, single file, leader out front.”
The captain nodded. “You sure it wasn’t a hunting party?”
“Well, no sir, I couldn’t swear to it. But there were nine of ‘em with no pack horses and no meat. So they’d have to be the worst hunting party ever.”
The captain nodded.
“But the thing is, it was really strange. I mean, the leader was strange. He was... differ’nt.”
The captain arched his eyebrows. “Different how?”
“Well, now I was a good three hundred yards away, but even that far off I could see he looked like a skinny little kid, maybe twelve or thirteen years old.”
“I see. And where did you see them?”
“Me an’ Mac were camped on the north side of Coldwater Creek night before last. Mac had moved off across the stream and up a low rise on watch. Maybe an hour or so later I heard somethin’ movin’ through the brush north of me.
“Pretty soon the sounds kind’a faded, so I could tell generally what direction they were heading. Well, I got up, saddled ol’ Charley and rode out after ‘em. I cut sign about a half-hour out, then followed their trail for a couple more hours. They—”
“Wait. You followed a band of Comanche braves for two and a half hours?”
Wes grinned. “Yes sir. It wasn’t that hard to track ‘em and the wind was in my face so I knew their horses couldn’t smell me an’ ol’ Charley.”
The captain nodded. “All right. Go on.”
“Well, they stayed true to the northeast. About three hours in, I come up on a broad arroyo. I stopped at the edge, an’ they were just comin’ up out of it on the far side about three hundred yards down.”
The captain looked at the floor and shook his head, then looked up again. “Is that it?”
“Yes sir, that’s most of it.”
“I see. Well young Mister Crowley, that was selfish and irresponsible. If they’d seen you, even your friend would never know what became of you because you didn’t tell him where you were going... well, unless they caught you close to your camp and decided to torture you. Then it probably would have cost your friend his life as well.
“Thing is, even if he was smart enough to let them have you, what he heard that night would have haunted him for the rest of his life.” The captain pointed at Wes. “Now you think about that. You risked your life and your friend’s life just to satisfy your curiosity. But what’s worse, you didn’t see fit to tell your partner about it even after the fact. You make a decision that big about his life, don’t you think maybe you ought to let him in on it?”
“Well, yes sir, when you put it like that.”
“That’s the only way to put it. From what you’ve told me, that’s exactly the way it was. And tell me, what did you plan to do if the Comanches had sent back a rear guard and he spotted you? Or if they had circled back on you?”
Wes shrugged. Meekly he said, “Guess maybe I’d’a fought.”
The captain nodded. “Oh you’d have fought all right. But that isn’t a plan, Crowley. That’s a response to the other guy’s plan. You let the other guy do what he wants and you just respond, nine times out of ten you’re going to lose.
“But yes, you’d have fought, and if you were lucky they’d have killed you. If not, if they had taken you captive... well, you don’t even want to know.”
The captain stood and looked at Wes.
“Those are your first three lessons as a Ranger, and they might be the most important lessons you’ll ever learn. One, don’t ever go off by yourself without someone else at least knowing where you’re going. Two, don’t ever do anything serious without a plan. And three—maybe more important than the other two—trust your partner.
“If you feel like you can’t trust your partner completely, don’t ride with him. So I’ll ask you again, is Mac trustworthy?”
“Oh, yes sir. Me an’ him been through a lot together. I’d trust him with my life.”
The captain nodded. “Then you can trust him with the truth. You can trust me and the men you’re going to meet tomorrow morning too.” He paused for a moment, then said, “In fact, in light of this new information, I’m going to call a general meeting after you’re sworn in tomorrow morning. I’ll ask you to tell your story to the gathered men. Will you do that?”
Wes nodded. “Yes sir.”
The captain said, “Good. Good. I think the other Rangers will be able to add some things to your information about the leader of that raiding party. Now, is there anything else?”
“No sir.”
“All right. Tend to your personal business and I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Yes sir.” Wes turned away.
“And Crowley?”
He stopped and turned around. “Yes sir?”
“Good job, but don’t forget what I said about those three lessons.”
“Yes sir.”
*
Not quite three hours after Wes and Mac had introduced themselves to the captain, they had bought new clothes, stowed all their gear in their rooms and had a bath. They felt newly minted as they walked into the dining room at the Amarillo Inn.
After they had placed their order for steak, potatoes and beans, Mac looked at Wes. “You have a good talk with the captain?”
Wes nodded. “Yeah. An’ I got some things to tell you too.”
Mac frowned. “Sounds serious.”
Again, Wes nodded. “Well, I didn’t exactly talk with the captain about my folks.”
“You didn’t?”
Wes shook his head. “Not exactly.” He paused. “Well, not at all, really. I talked with him about night before last. Remember we were camped up on Coldwater Creek an’ I told you me an’ Charley rode out a ways to have a look around?”
Mac waited.
“Well, that wasn’t actually the whole story.”
Mac frowned. “But—”
Wes held up one hand. “Let me just get through this, Mac, all right?”
Mac nodded.
The waiter came out with their food. “Excuse me, gentlemen.” He set Mac’s plate down, then Wes’. “I’ll be right back with more coffee.”
Wes waited until the man had returned to the table, topped off their coffee cups, and left. Then he looked at Mac, who was busy cutting his steak.
“Okay Mac, first, I want to say that I’ll never keep anything from you again, good or bad. Partners have to trust each other, an’ that means no secrets. That’s what the captain said. So I was wrong to keep this from you earlier.”
Mac looked up. “Like I said, sounds serious.”
Wes nodded. “It is.” Then he told him about hearing something passing through the brush just north of their camp. Then he told him about his decision to go investigate. “Thing is, I figured you could see me from up there where you were on watch. I didn’t want to waste time comin’ up to tell you.”
Mac said, “That makes sense. An’ that’s when you went out and had a look around, right? ‘Cause you told me that.”
“Well, yeah... sort of.” Wes told him the rest of it, coming across the tracks, reading them and realizing the unshod horses were laden with braves, and his decision to follow them.
Mac frowned. “You knew they were Indians and you decided to follow them? How long?”
Heat came to Wes’ neck and began climbing up into his cheeks. “Well, that’s the thing. I followed ‘em prob’ly ten, fifteen miles.”
“What? So you were gone two or three hours?”
Wes nodded. “Goin’ out. Plus another three or four hours comin’ back.
“When I got back, you still hadn’t moved. That’s when I figured you’d gone to sleep, so I grabbed a blanket and came up the hill. Then when you woke up, I made up the story about you wakin’ me up for watch an’ all that.”
He looked at the table for a moment. “I’m really sorry, Mac. I didn’t want you to know that I knew you fell asleep during your watch.”
Mac touched his napkin to his mouth. “Yeah, well... that would have been embarrassin’ for me all right.” He paused, apparently trying to hold his temper. “An’ I appreciate that, Wes, I really do, but what you did goin’ off like that was just plain stupid.”
“I agree. I know that now, an’ like I told the captain, I won’t ever do it again.”
“So he knows all of this? Even about me fallin’ asleep on my watch?”
Wes nodded. “I couldn’t tell him my story without includin’ that. He would’a wondered why you didn’t go with me an’ on an’ on.”
“Well, I guess that’s right.”
“He didn’t make any kind of big deal about you fallin’ asleep, Mac. I mean, just so you know.
“Anyhow, he wants me to tell the whole story to everybody tomorrow mornin’ after we’re sworn in. I won’t say the part about you bein’ asleep. Mostly he wants me to tell the other Rangers about that little Indian I saw leadin’ the raidin’ party.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know for sure, but he was really interested in that part.”
“All right. So... I guess at least I know.”
“Yep, an’ like I said, now, I won’t hold nothin’ back from you ever again as long as we’re partners. Ain’t worth it. Never know what might happen as a result.”
Mac looked up. “Deal.”
* * *
Shortly after eight a.m. in Amarillo in the company of the few assembled Rangers in the headquarters, Mac and Wes raised their right hands and repeated the words Captain Flowers said.
Mac repeated the oath loudly, seeming to stress every word.
Even during such a solemn occasion, that brought a smile to the faces of the veteran Rangers.
Wes glanced sidelong at him even as they were saying the oath. He was awed at his friend’s obvious resolve to be the best Texas Ranger who had ever sworn to the badge. Mac was so avid, so eager to prove himself worthy of wearing the Ranger star, just keeping up with him would be a full-time job once they were out chasing Comanches across the plains.
After the ceremony, everyone gathered around and welcomed the new Rangers. When everyone had exchanged greetings, the captain looked at Corporal Connolly. “Jim, unless you have some pressing business, I’m calling for a meeting. If there’s something you need to take care of right away, I can postpone it for an hour or two. Otherwise I’d like to knock it out right now.”
Corporal Connolly looked around.
None of the men said anything.
He turned to the captain. “I think we’re good, Captain.”
The captain nodded. “All right. This probably won’t take more than an hour or so anyway.” He glanced at Wes, then back at the other men. “Rangers Crowley and McFadden here, that’s Wes and Mac, came to us from Watson.”
Corporal Connolly frowned. He said, “Watson?” He looked at Mac for a moment, then snapped his fingers. “That’s where I saw you before. You were sittin’ in front of the general store when we rode through there.”
Mac grinned. “Yes sir. You nodded as you went by. It’s— it’s kind’a why I’m here now.”
Stilson glanced over at Connolly and grinned. “I told you not to go noddin’ at people, Jim. You don’t know your own power.”
Stilson and the captain laughed.
Mac flushed. “Aw that ain’t what I meant. I mean, I—” He glanced at Wes. “Well, I mean we—me an’ Wes—we saw the exchange at Mr. Billings’ livery. Heard some of it too. We were impressed. That’s when we decided we wanted to be Rangers.”
Corporal Connolly nodded and smiled. “Well, I’m honored you fellas decided to join up because of me an’ my men.”
Stilson said, “Good thing they didn’t hear all that about Iron Bear an’ his bunch or they might be back east by now.”
Mac’s eyes grew wide. “Oh no sir, we did hear about what Iron Bear did to that family, and most of how you described it to Mr. Billings. An’ you were right about Mr. Billings, too. He never did take things like that very serious, but he will now.”
Mac turned to the captain, then back to Corporal Connolly. “When you get ready to go after Iron Bear again, Corporal, I’d sure like to go along.”
Connolly said, “Well, I appreciate that, Mac, but that particular ride’s over, thank God. We took him and his men in a wide arroyo up north, late the same day you saw us in Watson.”
Stilson said, “I heard Ramón Sanchez talkin’ with another Mexican down at the livery earlier this mornin’. The songwriters are already callin’ it The Battle of Boquillas Draw. I guess ‘cause of that tight little passage there between the rocks where the Indians came through.”
Connolly looked at him. “The Battle of Boquillas Draw eh?” He shook his head. “Lot of men died there for someone to slap such a romantic name on it. Guess it’s what they gotta do, though.
“Anyway, we—”
Wes said, “Seems to me, there’s them that come up with the songs and there’s them that come up with the reasons for the songs, only they ain’t usually the same people.”
Stilson nodded. “Ain’t ever the same people, from what I’ve seen.”
Wes grinned and said, “Man, I know that’s right. If I had a choice, I’d—”
Corporal Connolly looked at Wes, and Wes stopped talking. Then, quietly, he said, “Sorry. ‘Scuse me, Corporal. I get carried away sometimes.”
Connolly nodded, then looked at Mac again. “Anyway, I was gonna say, we got all of ‘em but one. Only one brave escaped, but he’s a mean little son of a bitch. Name’s Four Crows. I have a feelin’ we’re all gonna have our fill of him before it’s all over.”
Before anyone could say anything else, the captain held up one hand. “And that brings us back to the reason I called this meeting. Ranger Crowley has some news I’d like him to share. It’s about an event that happened as he and Ranger McFadden were traveling to Amarillo from Watson.” He looked at Wes. “Two nights ago, right?”
Wes nodded. “Yes sir.” Then he frowned. “Do you think I saw Four Crows?”
Connolly’s eyes grew wide. “You saw Four Crows?”
The captain nodded at Wes. “Just tell these men what you told me yesterday. You can leave out the part about Mac since he wasn’t in on your late night jaunt.”
“Yes sir.”
Wes looked at the others. “A’right, but first I wanna say, today’s the first time I’ve ever even heard the name Four Crows. Second, like the captain said, ol’ Mac here, he’s my partner, but sometimes I go off on my own an’ do stupid things. Nigh
t before last was one of those times.
“Well, I was laid out there on my bedroll an’ I heard somethin’ movin’ through the brush just north of our camp. We were camped on the north side of Coldwater Creek.” He went on to tell them the full story, saying he snuck off to get a glimpse at whatever it was and that once he cut sign the temptation to follow was too great to resist. That’s why Mac hadn’t been along.
When he got to the part about the diminutive brave leading the eight other men up out of the arroyo, Corporal Connolly nodded. “I’ll bet that was him. Did you see any feathers in his hair?”
Wes shook his head. “No sir, not really. He was about 300 yards away and I had the light of a little less than a half moon. Now I might’a seen somethin’ but if I did it was stickin’ almost straight up, maybe leanin’ a little to the right lookin’ at him from the back. But there was only the one of whatever it was.”
Connolly looked at the captain. “I’ll bet that was him.” He turned back to Wes. “An’ you say they were headed northeast?”
“Yes sir, the whole time I was trackin’ ‘em.”
“So into the Territory. An’ he had eight braves with him already?”
“Yes sir.”
Connolly shook his head. “That is not good news. If he can gather eight men to follow him in only a couple days, think what he’s gonna be later on.” He turned to the captain. “Sir, we’re gonna have to get the word out on this guy an’ have folks watchin’ for him. Even up to Fort Perry and down to Fort Worth.”
The captain nodded. “Good idea. I’ll let the governor know too. He can get word to a lot of places a lot faster than we can.”
Connolly looked at Wes. “Can you add anything else? This is the time to get carried away, as you put it.”
Wes flushed lightly. “No sir,” he said quietly.
Connolly looked at the captain. “That about it, Captain?”
“Unless you have anything else.”
Corporal Connolly shook his head, as did Stilson.
“No? Okay. Thanks men. Guess we’ll see what happens.
The captain said, “Jim, how about you and Stilson take Wes and Mac out to the range, see what they’ve got? Sidearms and carbines, mounted and stationary.”
Connolly nodded. “Yes sir.” He clapped Wes on the shoulder and looked at Mac. “You boys get your horses from the livery and meet us at the west end of town in say a quarter-hour or so.”