They Rode Together (15 page)

Chapter fifty-three

The morning passed uneventfully for Yancy and Lee.

Lee leaned over the saddle horn, following the tracks, while Yancy watched the surrounding landscape for anything suspicious.

“What are we gonna do when we catch them?” Lee asked around midday.

“Arrest them,” Yancy declared.

“What if they don’t want to be arrested?”

“You know that answer.”

Lee grinned.

“I reckon I do,” he said, and added, “I just wanted to be sure. This is my first time to ride with a Texas Ranger.”

“This is my first time to ride with an outlaw,” Yancy grunted.

“You mean a pardoned outlaw?”

“For now.”

Lee narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m confident you’ll mess up again, one of these days.”

Lee scowled.

“I appreciate your confidence.”

“Anytime,” Yancy replied, and it fell silent.

The afternoon wore on. The tracks continued due south, and the country got rougher. There were more trees, with lots of ridges and steep hills.

“They’ve slowed down some,” Lee gestured at the tracks.

“Horses must be tired,” Yancy suggested.

“That, or they want us to follow them.”

“Good point.”

There was a cluster of trees in front of them. Past the trees, the ground sloped upwards to a rocky ridge.

The tracks went to the side of the trees and then went upwards.

“A feller could get ambushed in country like this,” Yancy commented as they approached the trees.

“Sure could,” Lee agreed.

“Be almost impossible to avoid it, unless one of us went up ahead on foot.”

“But that would slow us down.”

“Be better than dying.”

“I can see your point.”

Yancy gestured ahead.

“Let’s climb that ridge and see what’s on the other side. We’ll decide from there.”

“Sounds good,” Lee nodded.

They rode by the trees and into a flat clearing. The ridge was steep, but there was an old cow trail that led to the top.

There were just starting to climb when a rifle shot boomed out. There was a loud thump as a bullet hit flesh, and Lee’s horse stumbled.

Lee managed to throw himself from the saddle as his horse fell, and he landed in a heap beside him.

Yancy dove off his horse. While in midair he drew his Colt, and as he hit the ground he fired up the slope. His shots were close, and he heard a surprised yell.

Yancy’s horse was spooked, but Lee jumped up and grabbed his reins before he could take off. Then, while Yancy fired one shot after another up the hill, Lee led the horse to safety behind the trees.

Yancy heard a clicking sound as he emptied his six-shooter. He turned and ran wildly for the trees while bullets rained down all around him.

He was about to reach the trees when he felt a sharp tug on his shoulder. He lost his balance and hit the ground rolling. He came up on his feet and dove behind the trees.

Lee, meanwhile, tied Yancy’s horse to a tree branch and hunkered down behind a tree.

“Hit bad?” Lee asked.

Yancy took a quick look at his shoulder.

“No, he just nicked me.”

“Good,” Lee looked relieved.

Rifle shots from up above sounded out, and bullets bit into the bark of the trees. Yancy and Lee ducked, and then Lee fired back.

“Hold your fire,” Yancy said as he peeked upwards. “There’s no way we can get ’em from down here.”

“So we just lie here and take it?”

“No, but if we leave these trees, they can pick us off in any direction,” Yancy pointed out.

“We need to flank them,” Lee declared.

“That’d be nice, but there’s no way we can climb that ridge. It’s too open.”

Lee pinched his face in thought.

“All right,” he drawled, and he nodded at Yancy’s horse. “Climb on him and get outta here.”

“And leave you here?” Yancy frowned distastefully.

“Sure. You’d probably like that.”

Yancy frowned but didn’t say anything.

“I’m serious,” Lee looked over at him. “Get on your horse and git.”

“You want to explain that a little?”

“If you leave now, they’ll figure I’m dead,” Lee said.

“It’s possible.”

“They’ll also come down to inspect their kill,” Lee continued. “When they do, I’ll be ready.”

“You’ll take on both of them?”

“Yep.”

“They’re both good. Real good.”

“So am I.”

Yancy pinched his face in thought.

“I don’t feel right, leaving you here.”

“Can you think of anything better?”

“We could stay here ’til dark and then leave.”

“But they’d get away,” Lee disagreed. “And, we can’t catch them with just one horse.”

They had to hunker down as more shots came from above, and several of the bullets ricocheted dangerously amongst the trees.

“Get going before they bounce a bullet in one of our guts,” Lee growled.

Yancy still didn’t like it, but he reluctantly agreed.

“I’ll ride over that hill behind us,” he gestured. “I’ll stop there.”

“Sounds good,” Lee nodded. “Now get going.”

Yancy nodded and holstered his Colt.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he sprang to his feet and ran for his horse. He jumped into the saddle and kicked up his horse.

His horse needed no encouragement. They broke into a run, and bullets rained down around him as they made their escape. The horse never broke stride, and soon they were out of sight.

The shooting from the ridge stopped, and Lee hunkered down behind his tree.

“Come to Papa,” he said softly. 

Chapter fifty-four

Several minutes passed, but to Lee it felt like hours.

He lay perfectly still, and he closed his eyes as he listened for approaching footsteps.

He finally heard them, and they were talking as they came down the slope.

“I got a good look with my spyglass,” Butch was saying. “It was Lee and Yancy. Yancy left, so Lee must be dead.”

“I sure thought it was Yancy I hit,” Rock replied.

“He didn’t look hurt when he was riding out.”

“No, he didn’t,” Rock agreed, and added, “Least now we can collect that reward.”

“Long as he’s dead, I don’t care.”

Keeping behind the cover of the trees, Lee crawled sideways. Then, he crept from tree to tree as he went in a circle.

He could still hear their voices as they searched for him.

“He’s got to be around here somewhere,” Rock said.

“Look at that tree. There’s a bit of blood,” Butch replied.

“But where is he?” Rock asked, irritation in his voice.

Lee straightened up and walked towards the voices. He could see them now, their backs to him as they searched for him.

“Looking for me?” He asked softly as he stepped out into the open.

Their bodies stiffened, and they stood there rigid.

“Turn around. Real slow,” Lee ordered.

They did, and both smiled when they saw Lee. He was just standing there, and his Colt was holstered.

“We meet again,” Lee looked at Rock.

“Where’s your fishing pole?” Rock smiled wolfishly.

“Don’t need one at the moment.”

“That was a nice trick, getting us down here,” Rock said.

“It worked.”

Rock laughed, but not humorously.

“Now what?”

“Well, you could always surrender.”

“No, don’t think we will,” Rock’s eyes twinkled.

“I figured that.”

“You think you’re good enough, to take us both?” Rock asked.

“Yes.”

Rock grunted, and it fell silent.

Lee just stood there, his hand hovering over his Colt handle, and watched their eyes.

Several long seconds passed, and Lee’s heart thumped in anticipation.

Rock suddenly blinked and grabbed for his Colt, as did Butch.

With an easy movement, Lee palmed his Colt.

Rock was good, and he cleared leather. But, before he could fire, Lee shot him in the chest. He staggered backwards and crumpled over.

Lee turned and shot Butch.

Butch had cleared leather too, and his first bullet fanned air close to Lee’s head. But then Lee’s bullet struck him in his midsection.

He grunted and took a step back. He tried to raise his Colt, but another bullet from Lee hit him in his torso, and the impact flipped him over backwards. He landed on his back, kicked out, and was still. 

Lee’s face was emotionless as he looked at them.

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He opened the cylinder of his Colt, took out three spent shells, inserted new ones, closed the cylinder, and holstered his Colt.

He heard the pounding of hooves, and he turned and watched as Yancy loped towards him.

Yancy pulled his horse up abruptly, and it was silent as they looked at each other.

“You all right?” Yancy finally asked.

“Better than them.”

“I watched through my spyglass,” Yancy commented. “If you’d shot Butch first instead of Rock, he might of won.”

“But I didn’t,” Lee smiled.

Chapter fifty-five

They made camp that night about a mile from Fort Worth.

The next morning, John Lythe and several hands rode out to the herd. Rondo saw them coming, and they met at the chuck wagon.

“You made it,” John smiled a big, easy grin.

“We did,” Tussle nodded.

“Have any trouble?”

Tussle glanced at Rondo and looked back at John.

“None that we couldn’t handle,” he said.

“You made good time,” John commented as he looked at the herd. “They’re in good shape too.”

“They could be better,” Tussle replied gruffly.

John smiled and nodded.

“We’ll take good care of ’em,” he declared.

The contract changed hands, and he motioned at his men to take the herd. Then, he looked back at Tussle and grinned.

“Why don’t you take your crew into town and freshen up?” He suggested. “You’ve earned it.”

“No, we’ll be heading back now,” Tussle replied. “There’s work to be done.”

“I can understand that.”

“I’ll be expecting to hear from you in a few months,” Tussle said.

“Yes, sir. Just as soon as we get back.”

Tussle nodded and said, “Well, good luck.”

John said goodbye and kicked up his horse. Meanwhile, Rondo rounded up his crew, and they watched as John’s crew took over.

“Well,” Rondo commented. “There they go.”

“Be a long drive to Kansas,” Cooper added.

Everybody nodded, and they rode to the remuda and spread out. They might not have yearlings anymore, but there were still the horses to take back to the ranch.

They covered several miles before stopping time. Tussle set up camp, and it was mostly quiet during supper.

Jessica sat beside Cooper, and she looked worried.

“I hope nothing happened to Yancy,” she said wistfully. A few seconds passed, and she added, “And Lee.”

“They’ll be fine,” Cooper reassured her.

“When should they be back?”

“Things like this take time. Don’t worry. They’ll be along.”

Cooper’s words didn’t bring her any comfort, and she frowned as she ate her beans.

Chapter fifty-six

It took several hours to bury Rock and Butch.

After that, Lee pulled his saddle off his horse while Yancy fetched the two outlaw’s horses. Lee saddled Rock’s horse, and they mounted up. Lee led the extra horse as they trotted along.

They traveled several miles before darkness hit, and they made camp in a dry gully. They didn’t have any coffee, so they just sat there and ate some canned goods.

“I almost miss Tussle’s beans,” Lee commented.

“I don’t.”

Lee chuckled. It was silent for a moment, and he cleared his throat.

“While we have a moment, there’s something we need to discuss.”

“Oh? What?”

“Jessica.”

Yancy stiffened.

“What about her?”

“We’ve both been fond of her for a long time,” Lee declared. “We both know it.”

“I reckon we have.”

“I had always hoped-,” Lee’s voice trailed off, and he shrugged.

“And now?” Yancy asked, and he couldn’t help but sound anxious.

“Feelings change, I reckon.”

“How so?”

“I still like her, just not that way,” Lee explained, and added, “Besides, you two deserve each other.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re both stubborn and hard to get along with.”

Yancy scowled, but didn’t reply.

“Anyhow, I wanted you to know that,” Lee continued. “You don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“I never was.”

“Sure you wasn’t.”

It fell silent as Yancy thought on that.

“There’s somebody else, isn’t there,” he finally said.

Lee was startled, but then a wistful look crossed his face.

“There is,” he admitted.

“What’s the holdup?”

“Me.”

“I should have known.”

“I wouldn’t be talking, if’n I was you. You ain’t no Don Juan either.”

“No, reckon not,” Yancy smiled faintly.

Lee grunted and pulled out a cigar. He bit off the end, struck a match, lit the cigar, and took a deep puff.

“Soon as we get back to the ranch, Brian and I are headed to Empty-lake,” Lee spoke up. “Rondo will probably come along too. He’s got to fetch Rachel.”

Yancy nodded but remained silent.

“Did you hear about the hotel?” Lee asked.

“Yes, Jessica told me.”

“I can’t figure out why she gave it to us.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Well, whatever the reason, I’m a respectable businessman again.”

“Looks like.”

“And, soon as you get me that pardon, I’ll be free to go wherever I choose,” Lee said. He paused and added, “I could settle down, if’n I wanted.”

“You could.”

“Sure is something to think about.”

Yancy nodded, and Lee took a deep puff on his cigar.

“Would you mind if Coop and I rode with you to Empty-lake?” Yancy changed the subject.

Lee shot Yancy a questioning look.

“Why are you two going to Empty-lake?”

“Lucy Nash.”

“Oh? What about her?”

“We’re going to arrest her and put her back in Huntsville,” Yancy explained.

Lee grinned wolfishly at the thought.

“Have you ever met her?” He asked.

“No, I haven’t had the pleasure.”

“It’s always an interesting experience.”

“I’m sure it will be,” Yancy smiled.