Young Ole Devil (13 page)

Having made sure of his aim,
Ole Devil squeezed the trigger.
On the hammer driving forward, the
superiority of the caplock system became apparent. Striking
directly on to the brass percussion cap, without the need to push
clear the frizzen and create sparks, it was much faster in
operation. Flame and white smoke gushed out of the muzzle about two
seconds after his hand had closed around the butt.

Ole Devil fired the only way he
dared under the circumstances. Flying across the room, the soft
lead ball went by Hal
ford as he was swinging his rifle towards his
shoulder and struck Stiple in the centre of the forehead. It ranged
onwards, to burst out at the rear of the skull accompanied by a
spray of blood, brains and shattered fragments of bone. Killed
instantly, the stricken man was flung backwards. The pistol dropped
from his nerveless hand as he crashed into the wall. Then he
crumpled as if he had been boned and fell out of sight behind the
counter.

Although somewhat perturbed by
the young Texian
’s spirited and very effective resistance in the face of
danger, Halford still continued to raise the rifle. He drew
consolation from the realization that, no matter how fast and
capable a shot the other might be, the pistol was now empty. Long
before Hardin could reload, or try to protect himself in some other
fashion, Halford would have drawn a bead on him and sent a bullet
into the head.

Even as the thought came to the
burly man, he discovered that
—in spite of the information which Verde had given
on the subject—their intended victim was not travelling alone or
unescorted.

Having moved silently down the sidewalk,
bending low as he went by the window, Tommy Okasi was standing
alongside the door by the time that Ole Devil had passed through.
The little Oriental had not shown himself until he had heard the
commotion which had warned him that his intervention might be
necessary.

Darting across the threshold
and into the bar-room, Tommy studied the situation with the eye of
a tactician. One glance told him which of the remaining enemies was
posing the most immediate threat to his companion. The
vaquero
was sprawled face
down across the table. At the bar, showing his bewilderment, Mucker
was making a belated grab for his rifle. Neither, Tommy realized,
was so dangerous as the burly man. His weapon would soon be lined
and able to open fire. At such a short range, he was not likely to
miss.

Coming to a halt with his feet
spread to an angle of roughly sixty degrees, Tommy turned the upper
part of his body to the left and looked at his target. In a
smoothly flowing, but very fast move, the long bow rose until
perpendicular and was lifted
until his hands were higher than his head.
Extending his left arm until it was straight and shoulder high, he
drew the string back and down with his right hand until the flight
of the arrow was almost brushing against his off ear.
^xvi
By the time his draw was completed,
he was sighting so that two imaginary lines—one extended from his
right eye and the other out of the arrow—intersected on Halford’s
left breast. Satisfied, he released his hold on the
string.

Liberated from its tension, the
bow
’s limbs
returned to their previous positions. In doing so, they propelled
the arrow forward. Hissing viciously through the air, the shaft
flew towards its mark. On arriving, the needle-pointed, razor
sharp, horizontal head cut between the ribs. It sliced open the
heart in passing, to emerge through his back and sank into the
bar.

Involuntarily throwing aside
his unfired rifle as a spasm of agony ripped through him, Halford
wrenched the arrow from the
counter. Then he spun around with his hands
clawing ineffectually at the shaft which was protruding from his
chest and crashed dying to the floor.

With his left fingers closing
around the barrel of the rifle so that he could elevate it into the
firing position, Mucker saw first Stiple and then Halford struck
down. He continued to lift the weapon instinctively, turning a
worried gaze on the men who were responsible for his
companions
’
deaths. What he discovered was not calculated to reduce his
anxiety. The young Texian was starting to move forward,
transferring the still smoking pistol to his left hand so that the
right could go across to the ivory hilt of the bowie knife. Beyond
him, the small ‘Chinaman’ was already reaching for another
arrow,

Lying across the table which
had prevented him from falling to the floor, Verde was also
studying Ole Devil and Tommy. While a capable knife-fighter and no
coward, the
vaquero
had more sense than to tangle with the Texian in his
present condition. Not only had he lost his knife, but he also
lacked the other’s ability to draw and fire a pistol swiftly, and
he was still feeling the effects of the knee kick What was more,
contrary to Juglares’s information, their would-be victim was not
alone, Nor was he likely to have restricted his escort to one small
man armed with such primitive, if effective, weapons. In all
probability, the rest of the escort were approaching ready to
support the advance pair.

While these thoughts were
passing through Verde
’s head, fright was spurring Mucker to move at
speed. Already the butt of the rifle was cradled against his
shoulder and its barrel was pointing at the centre of the Texian’s
chest. His right hand drew back the hammer, then returned to enfold
the wrist of the butt and his forefinger entered the trigger
guard.

Deciding that discretion was by
far the better part of valor under the circumstances, Verde lurched
erect. Moving around, he hooked his hands under the edge of the
table and flung it in Ole Devil
’s direction. Precipitated to the floor,
the lamp—which the party had found behind lie bar on their
arrival—was shattered. It was almost out of fuel, so did not burst
into flames. Instead, it went out and, as the moon had disappeared
behind some clouds, the room was plunged into darkness.

Holding tie pistol in his left
hand and with the right engaged in drawing the bowie knife, Ole
Devil could do nothing more than leap aside as the table was thrown
his way. However, the evasion saved his life.
Mucker
’s
rifle roared an instant before the lamp was extinguished and its
bullet passed where Ole Devil’s torso had been a moment
earlier.

Turning as soon as the darkness had
descended, Verde ran across the room. He was making for where an
oblong, slightly lighter than the surrounding blackness, marked the
window in the left wall.

Realizing that he had missed
the Texian and hearing his companion
’s footsteps, Mucker did not hesitate. He
had no intention of testing his strength against such an efficient
fighter as their victim had proved to be, especially as Verde
clearly had no intention of staying. Having reached his decision,
the lanky man flung his rifle towards where he had last seen the
Texian so that it revolved parallel to the floor.

Luck was on
Mucker
’s
side.

Starting to follow the
vaquero
with the intention
of intercepting and capturing him, Ole Devil felt the barrel of the
rifle passing between his legs. He was tripped, pitching forward
through the blackness. Instinctively he let go of the pistol and
the knife, so that he would have a better chance of breaking his
fall.

There was a shattering crash of breaking
glass and timber. Covering his face with his forearms, Verde had
hurled himself through the window. Carrying the ruined frame and
broken panes with him, he plunged into the alley. Landing on his
feet, he darted towards the lean-to.

At the door, Tommy had started
to draw the bow and was
watching the window as he had guessed that
the
vaquero
would attempt to leave through it. When the sound of Ole
Devil falling reached his ears, he could not prevent himself from
looking in that direction. The commotion caused by Verde’s
departure brought the little Oriental’s attention back to the
window. He realized that he was too late to stop the
vaquero.
Nor was he any too
sanguine over his chances of being able to do anything about the
lanky white man, who he felt sure would follow the
vaquero.
Accurate aiming in
the almost pitch blackness of the room was far from easy. In fact,
Tommy could not even be sure of exactly where his arrow was
pointing.

Listening to Mucker as he
sprinted across the room, Tommy waited with the bow fully drawn.
When he saw the other
’s vague silhouette, he loosed the shaft. It flew
high, but came very close to scoring a hit. Mucker felt the hat
snatched from his head as if by an invisible hand and heard the
thud as the arrow which had impaled it drove into the ruined frame
of the window. The sensation gave him an added incentive to leave.
Letting out a screech, he flung himself recklessly through the
hole. Although he came down on his hands and knees, he was up like
a flash and racing after his companion.

‘
Are
you all right, Devil-san?’ Tommy called anxiously, lowering the
bow.

‘
Sure,’ the Texian answered, feeling along the floor for his
bowie knife. ‘See if you can stop them!’

Satisfied that his companion
was not hurt, Tommy turned and went out of the door. He found
the
line
backed dun and the bay were moving restlessly, but not so badly
frightened by the commotion that they were threatening to pull free
the reins and bolt. So taking another arrow from the quiver, he
nocked it to the bow’s string and trotted along the
sidewalk.

Even before Tommy reached the
alley, he could hear enough to warn him that he might not be able
to
carry out
his companion’s order. The moon was still behind title clouds,
which had reduced the visibility. While he could not see that far,
the sounds suggested the two men were already leading their mounts
from the lean-to. Leather creaked as they swung into their saddles,
then the animals started moving.

Tommy increased his pace, but
by the time he arrived at the rear of the
cantina
the men were galloping to the west
Although he brought the bow into the shooting position, he did not
bother to draw back on the string. Having only twenty arrows, he
did not want to chance losing one while trying to hit a practically
impossible target. Waiting until he was sure that the pair did not
intend to return, he replaced the arrow and walked through the
alley. On reaching the street, he found Ole Devil was standing on
the sidewalk.

‘
Any
luck?’ the Texian inquired, sheathing his knife.

They
were gone before I could shoot,’
Tommy replied. ‘Who were they?’

‘
I
don’t know,’ Ole Devil admitted. ‘It’s a pity we couldn’t have
taken at least one of them alive and questioned him. I’ve an idea
they weren’t here by accident, or just to shelter from the
rain.’

‘
You
mean that they were waiting for
you}
Tommy asked.

‘
I
started to think so,’ Ole Devil answered. ‘But this isn’t the
shortest way from San Antonio to Santa Cristobal Bay. So, even if
they’d learned about the shipment in some way, they wouldn’t have
expected to find me on this trail.’

‘
Unless they knew how you are going to carry the rifles,’
Tommy supplemented.

‘
How
could they?’ Ole Devil demanded. ‘Only General Sam and I knew
that.’

‘
I
heard the first two that left talking as they went,’ Tommy
explained. ‘One was saying something about the town being out of
the man they were expecting’s way and the other said they’d been
told he was going to Gonzales first.’

‘
Then
it could have been
me
they were after,’ Ole Devil breathed, remembering the
conclusions he had drawn from the men’s behavior when he had
arrived.

What was more, the young Texian
saw the implications if his assumption was correct. Somebody very
close to General Houston must be a traitor and was supplying
information to the Mexicans. He also realized that there would not
be time to return and warn the General, then reach the rendezvous
with the ship. Before he could do so, it would have been forced to
depart and the consignment of rifles would be lost to
Texas
.

Despite the fact that he arrived at
Gonzales without any further difficulties or attempts upon his
life, Ole Devil Hardin refused to let himself be lulled into what
he suspected might be a sense of false security. Even the fact that
he was now riding across the range between the town and Ewart
Brindley’s property did not cause him to relax his vigilance.
Rather the knowledge tended to increase it.

Having taken precautions in
case the
vaquero
and Mucker should return with the two men who had departed
earlier, Ole Devil and Tommy Okasi had made their preparations to
spend the night at the hamlet. After attending to their horses and
those of the dead men, they had made a meal from the rations of
jerked beef and pemmican which they were carrying. Then they had
resumed their investigations into the ramifications of the incident
at the
cantina.