Peering down they drank in the sight of the illegal activities in full swing. Two men were keeping a close eye on the cattle they had milling about at the rear of the hollow. A third man was bent down by a ring of rocks they had built a fire in the center of. He rose after dropping another piece of wood into it and crossed over to a horse he had tied up nearby. Reaching into a scabbard, he pulled out a long object, but it wasn't a rifle—it was a branding iron he quickly placed into the flames.
"Jasper!" Catalina hissed, "He's gettin' already to change the Cedar Ledge brand. I'll say this for these owl hoots, they got a lotta balls to stop and do this here while still on Cedar Ledge property."
"It's such a big ranch, and it's still early, they must have felt emboldened?" Bright Feather offered, and Catalina told her she might be right on target with that notion. "But what do we do now?"
Catalina wriggled backward, and Bright Feather did the same until they were a good piece from the rim.
"They outnumber us two to one, but we can take ‘em," she said, as she had complete confidence in her abilities as well as that of Bright Feather who Cassandra had graciously offered to train right alongside them years ago. She never had an issue with gunplay, but neither did she necessarily welcome it the way Cassandra did. Catalina couldn't blame her oldest sister who she had always looked up to. Few were as good with a shooting iron as Cassandra and her guns that she almost considered an extension of herself.
Still, Catalina figured that there was no reason to get into a shooting match with the thieving fools if she didn’t have to. Best to capture them without firing a shot if possible. Suddenly, her mind locked onto the thought she just had, firing a shot. It gave her an idea that caused her to mouth to widen into a grin from ear to ear.
“Bright Feather looks I’m gonna be needin’ to replace some of those gifts you got in them there saddle bags on your horse! Here’s what we’re gonna do!”
***
Bert Stokes ran his dirty fingers through the bushy beard that had been growing on his face for months now. With his free hand, he lifted the branding iron out of the fire to see that the end of it was now radiating a cherry red glow. He wondered what these miserable beasts felt when it touched their hides. Bert didn't care, mind you, but he wondered none the same.
He dropped it back into the flame and looked over, to where two of the other three men, Blackie and Jed were engaged in wrestling the first steer to the ground. The third man, Frank, kept watch on the other jittery cattle.
"Hurry up, god dang it!" he urged. He was nervous and wished to get the business wrapped up and get the cattle as far away from Cedar Ledge as possible. Still, it had made sense to stop here hidden in the hollows of the desolate terrain. The ranch was so big no one probably even knew the cattle were gone yet; the fence likely remained undiscovered by any of the Wildes' cowpunchers, given how early it was still.
"We had to go an' pick the orneriest cuss of the lot!" Jed fussed, spitting out a wad of chewing tobacco as he and his partner manhandled the animal towards Bert. He withdrew the branding iron and prepared to put it to use when suddenly the morning air was penetrated by the staccato of gunfire above them!
Bert and Jed went for their six-shooters as they ducked low looking above scanning the rim of the canyon as more gunfire seemed to erupt. The men were in a panic now, as they were utterly exposed out in the open.
“Hell’s bells! There must be twenty guns up there, but I can’t tell where they’re shooting from in that brush!” Jed shouted, releasing his grip on the steer backing up intent on drawing his own weapon. As he did so, he backed right into the brand Bert still held in his other hand. Screaming, the man pitched forward and right into one of the horns of the steer, blood bursting from his stomach a split second later.
Blackie hadn’t seen this, but the man’s groaning drew him away from where he was crouching, eyeballing the canyon’s rim. The look of pain on his partner’s face and the blood spurting out from between where his hands were plastered over the wound was enough for him.
“They got Jed! I’m gettin’ the hell out of here!”
"No, wait, you damn fool, it was the steer …” Bert began to shout, but it was no use. The other rustler was already turning and running toward the mouth of the hollow. A gust of wind blew by him that he saw was from Frank who was also running and shouting they were sitting ducks in the hollow.
Something wasn't right here, and Bert knew it. Jed had not been shot, and none of them had been hit by all the firepower they had just heard. Still, he wasn't going to have any tombstone raised for him because he was too stupid not to flee when he had the chance. Dropping the branding iron back in the fire, his boots pounded after the others, with nary a look back at the wounded Jed who had fallen to his knees, writhing in pain.
In better shape than his two compatriots, he crowded past them and was just about to bolt out of the canyon when the inexplicable sight of a Mexican woman and a squaw suddenly emerged from each side of the canyon’s mouth. The Indian had a rifle trained on him, and the Latina had a Colt .45 in one hand and a bullwhip in the other.
"And a good morning to you, amigos! Muchas gracias for you exercisin' our cattle for us! Mighty considerate, if you ask me! Now kindly drop them weapons, or I'll be droppin' you!" the beautiful Hispanic woman with the dark, dark eyes said through a mouth that was parted in a broad smile, her soft Spanish accent carrying good cheer at the same time as being icy cold.
Blackie and Frank halted at Bert's side, and the three outlaws stood stock still staring at the women with the guns.
“We know your thoughts, white man. They are just women, but I wouldn’t try it,” The Indian said in a menacing voice.
Bert swallowed hard. The Injun was right—they might have had guns, but they were women. Hell, they probably didn't even know how to use them properly. He wasn't ready to surrender to a pair of tits, but to his dismay, he heard the sound of two pistols being thrown to the ground by his partners.
“She’s right! They’re just shavetail women! Why you givin’ up?”
"Wise up, Bert!" Frank called out. “They ain't alone! They got a passel of men up topside. Probably on their way down right now."
It still nagged at Bert that all didn't seem to be what it appeared, leaving him to throw caution to the wind, and he went for his gun. A flash of the Mexican's bullwhip, and expertly she coiled it around the barrel of the gun and yanked it free from his hand. Even as it went flying into the scrub brush, she peppered the ground in front of him with several shots making him cower backward.
"Amigo, consider that the last warnin' you're gonna get from me. Try anythin' else, and you're gonna find yourself eatin' a lead sandwich for a late breakfast!"
CHAPTER 12
In short order with Catalina keeping her guns trained on the men, they were back in the hollow being bound up in ropes by Bright Feather that she had scavenged from the men's horses they had abandoned when they fled on foot in their panic. Once they were secure, Bright Feather did her best to tend to Jed.
“As my papacito would say, what’s the verdict, Bright?”
"It looks worse than it is. The horn didn't go straight into him; he took a glancing blow from it. Not much more than a nasty cut."
“Speak for yourself, redskin! Hurts like hell!” Jed managed to bleat out through his gritted teeth. Catalina ignored him as her ears perked up at the sound of horses drawing near. By now the morning patrols she had routinely checking the ranch must have come upon the damaged corral and followed the tracks just as they had.
"Sounds like the rest of their men is comin' down from topside," Frank said with the cheer of an undertaker.
“What men?” Catalina asked mirthfully.
"The ones you had shootin' at us, you Mexican bitch!"
"Oh," Catalina chuckled, "You must mean those firecrackers we were bringin' back for the kids in Bright Feather's tribe! They loved them the last time she brought them, so she was haulin' a whole passel of them back. I fig
ured I'd put 'em to use, so I used a piece of rawhide from my harness to rig up like a fuse to burn long enough to give us time to get down here and wait for you! I sure wanted you to think you were up against a whole army! Worked like a charm, too!"
“I knew it! I knew that many men couldn’t have missed us!”
Catalina patted the man's cheek through the bristly thicket that was the beard. "Is that right, hombre? If so, why did you run like a lily-livered coward?" He strained at his bonds to get at her, but she just laughed as she turned to look at Bright Feather but found her friend with a miserable look on her face. Catalina adjusted her gaze to see her companion was staring in the direction of the exit to the hollow where two people who Catalina knew were among her friend's least favorite in the entire world came galloping up toward them. Captain Reginald Vellaneau and her own beloved sister, Lijuan.
She sighed for a moment. Catalina was a woman who enjoyed being happy as much of the time as possible. Few things could bring her down, but one sure-fire thing that could was the tension between her sister that she loved and her best friend in all the world. It was a horrible situation made worse by the fact she had no idea why Lijuan disliked Bright Feather so. The feeling was now mutual, but she could hardly blame Bright Feather since there was no fathoming Lijuan's feelings towards the woman who for all practical purposes, was part of the family. It could be worse, she resigned herself to thinking. She could be Blue River, who was a blood sibling to both the women, putting him in the worst position of them all.
All that she pushed away as the more pressing question formed in her mind and likely Bright Feather's, too. What was the pair doing out here? It was time to find out. Before she could ask the question, the riders had dismounted and walked up to them. Lijuan withdrew her hammer and pointed it towards the four bound men. Bert and Blackie still stood, and the other two were sitting down.
“Give me the details, Cattie.”
Quickly Catalina filled Lijuan in on the discovery of the rustling and their capture of the men ending with Bright Feather’s assessment of Jed’s wound.
"He's not badly hurt, but he does seem to need that gash stitched up."
“Steal from us, will you?” Lijuan casually walked over to the fire and pulled the branding iron out of the flames, its end glowing even brighter after its long immersion in the heat. “What’s that they do? Cauterize wounds?”
Bright Feather, as well as the bandits, all gasped as Jed cringed and struggled to free his bonds while Vellaneau had a mild look of surprise on his face that gave away to something akin to appreciation. Catalina merely put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. With Lijuan, you never knew if she was joking when it came to matters like this, but she stood ready to intervene if necessary.
After a long moment, Lijuan tossed the branding iron away, and it bounced off a nearby boulder as she walked back towards the group. Catalina opened her mouth, but Lijuan held up her hand to stop her.
“I know what you’re going to ask, Cattie. Why are we here?” she came to a stop in front of Bright Feather, both women’s eyes coolly appraising each other, though Lijuan had to look up, given her petite stature.
“We’re here for her. Go ahead, Captain.”
“Is it … is it Dutch?” There was no mistaking by any of the assembled the fear that rippled through her voice. Vellaneau stepped up next to Lijuan and looked down at the Yavapai woman with the long flowing ebony hair and caramel skin.
“Captain Wilde is fine. However, he has reached out to me via the telegraph with some vital information we have gleaned from a prisoner. One of your uncle’s men. Dutch needs you to translate it,” he said as he pulled out the papers from within his tunic.
Catalina couldn’t help but notice the slight upturn of her sister’s lips, and she knew exactly what she was thinking. The cavalry officer had been smooth by referring to the Omega Leader Black Hawk for what he was, the brother to both Bright Feather's long-dead father as well as her current step-father. The tangled past that swirled around Bright Feather’s and Blue River's mother, the three Yavapai triplets, as well as her father Whip, cast a shadow over them all that they could never escape. She knew Bright Feather would just as soon forget that the same blood as the ruthless renegade’s coursed through her veins, but as Dutch had once grumbled, Vellaneau was always more than happy to shine a light on it, much to the two lovers’ annoyance. Ruefully, Catalina was forced to acknowledge Bright Feather’s discomfort brought Lijuan some measure of delight. It was such a horrible situation, and she just wanted it to end.
It had worked; the woman's lovely face attempted to remain expressionless, but Catalina could see a tightening of her mouth as she tried to take the mention of her connection to Black Hawk in stride.
"Yes, of course. I will be happy to help my love. I should be with him right now, but as you know, Captain, this Colonel Federline that commands Fort Bessette did not wish to have me there," She said stonily as she held her hand out for the papers to be translated.
"Now there's a fella that needs to be taken down a notch or two!" Catalina huffed, and she meant it knowing the fact Dutch had been forced to leave her behind on this mission because of this Federline.
“Perhaps it was for the best,” Lijuan said breezily. “David was going off to battle, and it was dangerous enough. Did he really need the added distraction of worrying about your safety, Bright Feather?”
Ignoring the barb, Bright Feather began to read the papers silently, her brow furrowing more and more the further she got into it. As they waited for her to finish, Catalina gazed at the captive rustlers. With Alamieda still lacking a sheriff, they were going to have to turn them over to the sheriff of either Halfmoon or maybe … She was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts by Bright Feather's raised voice.
“Captain Vellaneau! There is much danger over by the California border. The Omegas seek to commit a great evil this day!”
“Let me hear it, Bright Feather!”
Quickly she began giving him an accounting of the grim intelligence that had been obtained by the captive, and Vellaneau's face continued to harden the more that she went on. Catalina was grimacing too as she listened and learned things were about to get very ugly far from here. Next to her suddenly came a horrified gasp, and she turned, distressed to see Lijuan’s mouth fall open and a look of panic sweep over her sister’s lovely features. Lijuan suddenly reached out and grabbed Bright Feather's wrist startling her.
“Read that again!” she demanded.
"Which part?" Bright Feather asked as she lowered her crackling eyes towards where Lijuan was gripping her wrist. With a sudden movement, she yanked her arm free of Lijuan's grasp. Lijuan barely seemed to notice, and her look of horror only seemed to increase. What was going on?
“The stage route. Read the part about the stage route!”
“It’s referred to here as the Heidelberg run. It says here that it starts from a place called Sierra Bluffs and eventually ends in Cabot Center, not far from where Fort Bessette is.”
“Sierra Bluffs! That’s what I thought I heard, but I didn’t want to believe it,” she said without explanation, but the dread in Lijuan’s voice was causing Catalina’s stomach to tie itself into knots. The sisters were very in tune with each other, and Catalina leaned to the side looking at her worried. Lijuan would not be acting this way without good reason.
“Lijuan?” she probed gently, out of the corner of her eye she could see Vellaneau looking concerned at the change in Lijuan’s demeanor, just as puzzled as Catalina was, but he turned away to face Bright Feather.
“I thank you, Bright Feather! You must come with me now. We shall report this to Colonel Caine at Fort McCallister! He’s going to want to reach out to Federline and Dutch at Bessette to stop this slaughter!”
“No!!” Lijuan shouted, holding her hands out in a stopping gesture surprising everyone. Even the bound outlaws who had no idea what was going on craned their necks to look at her.
“This is supposed to go
down, today—right?”
Bright Feather nodded as the wind across the landscape gently blew strands of her hair about. “It is said to occur on the fifth sun since the end of the fighting. That would be today.”
Lijuan drew close to Vellaneau now, laying her hand on his chest and he took it, his eyes reflecting his concern. Bright Feather and Catalina exchanged a look with one another just before Lijuan began shouting.
“Captain-Reginald! Forget about your chain of command! We must get the message to Dutch right now! This far out we are closer to the telegraph station over in Crabwell Junction! We need to head there right now!”
“What do you know? What’s goin’ on, Lijuan!” Catalina, her voice also in a shout as she stomped over and stood looking down at her sister, her patience at an end. She wanted answers, and she wanted them now. Stressed, Lijuan took her long hair in her hands and absently began stroking it. Catalina had seen her do this before at times of extreme duress, and her own dread began to mushroom. Lijuan’s lips parted, and she told them what she knew. When she finished speaking, a stunned silence fell over the air, a feeling of deep gloom enveloped Catalina, and she felt weak in her knees with worry. Then a reassuring hand landed upon her shoulder and gripped it. She looked down into Lijuan’s eyes that burned with conviction.
River 0f Death: Cassandra Wilde Adult Western (Half Breed Haven Book 13) Page 9
