“All these years,” Coburn muttered. “I thought she was dead. I sometimes wondered if the Apaches had taken her. I had hoped not. I knew what the Apaches did to women.”
They had found a large rock to sit on while they recovered their strength. Both of their faces were bruised and swollen and the pain still lingered. Captain Stowe had one of his men attend to Sergeant Dillon’s broken arm and two more were cleaning up the area and loading up the bodies of the dead outlaws. Tom Noonan was being kept under guard by the remaining soldier.
Brace Coburn had explained to Hawk how Sid Denglert had merely fired a shot next to him, to convince Bill Noonan that he had actually killed the lawman. Coburn had waited until the outlaws had ridden off, then started off after them on foot. He had met up with what was left of Captain Stowe’s patrol that was still on Geronimo’s trail. He had ridden on with the soldiers and they had heard the firing in the arroyo where they were now.
Hawk had told Stowe about meeting up with Geronimo and that it would be useless to pursue the legendary leader any further, this time. Geronimo was probably now out of reach, secure in the stronghold hidden in the Dragoon Mountains. Stowe considered Hawk’s advice and had decided to help Coburn with the outlaw bodies and return to Dry Wells.
“She was a strong woman and the Apache held her in high regard. That is, for a white woman captive,.” Hawk said. “She was given to the war chief Natchez, to be one of his wives. He is my father.”
Coburn shook his head. He really didn’t want to hear this, but he had to know. “Was he good to her?” He asked.
“Natchez was not good to any of his wives,” Hawk answered.
Coburn grimaced.
“She was a good woman,” Hawk offered. “She cared for me and taught me to read and write the white man’s language. I will never forget her.”
“Then she’s……..?”
“Yes,” Hawk didn’t let him finish. “She was with the Apaches at San Carlos. She died of Cholera there.”
Brace hung his head for a moment, then lifted it and stared directly into Hawk’s dark eyes. “My son,” he started and paused as if afraid to ask. “Do you know what happened to him? Did the Indians take him too?”
“No,” Hawk said, glancing across the camp area to where Tom Noonan sat in the shade of a cottonwood tree, under guard. “She told me she had hidden the baby in the bushes behind the cabin just before the warriors carried her off.”
“They didn’t find him, then?”
Hawk shook his head, “I don’t think so.”
Tom Noonan was looking at them both, but out of earshot.
Hawk quickly changed the conversation by saying. “The longer we sit around here talking, the further Eli Cobb and Hadley are getting away. I’d better get after them.”
Coburn was brought up short by the sudden change and his irritation was obvious. “Still after the bounty money?” He scoffed.
Hawk cocked his head and shrugged. “What else?” He stood and started for a horse.
Coburn came off the rock, following and blustering. “Not without me, you aren’t,” he said.
Hawk whirled. “This is mine, Brace,” he said. “Besides, he’s got my horse.”
“You’re forgetting something,” Coburn said. “I’m the law.”
“I haven’t forgotten,” Hawk said. He turned and took up the reins of the nearest horse.
Coburn clamped his lips into a hard line, followed after and climbed into the saddle of the next closest horse. They both wheeled their mounts to face each other. Words were unspoken between them.
“Marshal! Wait!” Tom Noonan shouted, pushing himself to his feet and starting toward them. The Army guard stepped forward in front of him, holding his rifle at port arms and pushing it against Noonan’s chest, holding him back.
Coburn wheeled his horse around to face the young outlaw. Hawk waited for him. “It’s all right, soldier,” Coburn said. “Let him through.”
Noonan stepped forward. “Marshal,” he said. “Those men have Julie Hadley out there. She means a lot to me.”
“I know, son,” Coburn said. “We’ll bring her back.” He tossed a knowing glance at Hawk “We’re going to bring them all back.” Then he added. “Alive.”
“I’d like to go with you,” the young outlaw said.
“I’m afraid not,” Coburn answered. “You’re a prisoner.”
“You let me go with you and I promise, you’ll get no trouble from me. Once we get them, I’m still your prisoner and you can do anything you want with me.”
“Let him come, Brace,” Hawk said.
Coburn’s head jerked around sharply, in surprise. “Since when do you have a heart, Hawk?”
Hawk chuckled. “I don’t. But it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra hand along.”
“We could take soldiers, you know.”
“You know I don’t like Army.” Then he said to Noonan, “Get a horse and let’s go.” He neck-reined his mount and rode off.
Tom started toward a horse. Coburn nodded and said, “But, you don’t get a gun unless I say so.” He waited until the outlaw mounted. Then they both spurred their mounts and raced off after the Apache bounty hunter.
“Are you sure we’re not lost?” Lee Hadley whined trying to keep up with Eli Cobb and Julie. Cobb had the reins to the Hawk’s mora and the reins to Julie’s horse in his left hand and was leading them behind him as he guided his own mount with his right. Julie clung to the pommel of her saddle with both hands to avoid falling off. The pace had been fast and she bounced loosely in the saddle.
The early afternoon sun was getting hotter by the minute and the horses were lathered and breathing heavily, but Cobb still kept the pace up, just in case Hawk was not satisfied with the bounties he could collect on the Noonan gang and had decided to trail him.
“How long are we going to keep this up?” Hadley shouted with what was left of his dry parched voice.
Cobb had been listening to the banker’s whining and complaining all afternoon and had just about had enough of it. He glanced back and saw Hadley lagging farther and farther behind. He pulled his horse up sharply into a sliding halt, letting the two following horses bump into him.
Julie was breathing hard and sweat rolled down her face. Matted hair clung to her brow in wet streaks. The sudden halt had caught her by surprise and she almost fell from the saddle.
Hadley walked his staggering horse up beside the others. “Look, banker. I brought you two along for insurance, just in case I needed your worthless lives to bargain with. But, if you’re going to slow me down, I might as well shoot you right now.” Cobb fumed.
Hadley’s eyes grew wide with fear and even in the intense heat, his body shivered. “You… you wouldn’t do that,” he pleaded.
“And, if I hear another whine or complaint out of you, I won’t hear a second one. You understand me?”
“Y…yes sir,” Hadley mumbled.
“Good,” Cobb smiled with self-satisfaction and reached for his canteen that hung from his pommel by a strap. He uncorked it and drank several swallows, his sharp Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. Excess liquid dripped out of the corners of his mouth into his scraggly beard.
He lowered the canteen and shook it, hearing the remaining water sloshing in the bottom of the vessel. He popped the stopper back on and hung the strap back over the pommel. He glanced at Hadley’s soulful and wishful face. The banker ran his dry tongue across his lips. “What?” Cobb said. “Don’t tell me you’re out of water.”
Hadley was careful not to speak. He merely shrugged.
“Darn fool!” Cobb chided. “Used your water up already? Well don’t expect any of mine.” Then to Julie he said, “How about you Missy? You out too?” He reached out and plucked her canteen from the saddle. He could tell by the weight, that it still held a considerable portion. He smiled and hung the canteen on his own saddle. “Well since you haven’t had any use for this, I’ll just keep it.” He laughed.
Julie looked exhausted and her lips were dry and
parched. She weaved weakly in the saddle, but she still had strength enough to glare with hatred at her captor. She totally ignored Hadley.
“We’d better get moving,” Eli Cobb said. He took up the reins and pushed his horse forward. The others followed feebly behind.
Hawk had no problem, picking up their quarry’s trail. The three riders plodded along steadily, conserving their horses by resting often and walking them. From the tracks, Hawk could tell that Cobb and others were pushing their horses too fast. The tracks showed the length of their strides had constantly been diminishing. They had found Hadley’s abandoned empty canteen and farther on they had found another one along-side the trail. Farther along they found the carcass of a dead horse. Two horses had continued on and shoe tracks of a walking man were following. Hadley, Hawk thought. As they followed on, the stride of the shoe tracks became shorter and it was obvious the man was now staggering.
It wasn’t long before they found Hadley’s body lying in a crumpled heap along the trail. Tom cringed at the sight. Not because he had any sympathy for the banker. God only knew, the man had it coming to him. It was Julie he worried about. He suddenly feared that it might be her body they found next.
They left the body lying there and pushed on. The tracks of the two remaining horses were getting fresher with each passing moment. Cobb and Julie could not be much farther ahead. They would need water and they would need it bad. Hawk knew there was a water hole a few miles up ahead to the east. He was sure Cobb knew it too and Hawk’s guess was, that was where he was headed.
Julie Hadley had become weaker with every stride of her staggering horse. She lolled in the saddle, fighting to grip the saddle horn, but knowing she was losing the battle and beginning to drift into unconsciousness. Cobb kept on, leading her forward, his own horse staggering. The trail led upward, gradually rising to higher ground. Cobb could see the top of trees beyond the ridge. The water hole was not much farther ahead. If only he could hold on.
He felt the pull of Julie’s horse lighten. He looked back in time to see her form fall to the hard-packed trail. At the same time, his own mount staggered and its legs buckled. The horse fell into a heap. It sides heaved up and down gasping for breath and wheezing heavily. Cobb had enough strength and presence of mind to kick from the stirrups and fall clear, rolling out of the way of the crashing body.
Hawk’s mora and Julie’s horse were now free and the reins dragged on the ground. Julie’s horse was in bad shape, but remained on his feet feebly. The mora was a bit livelier. He had not been carrying the load of a rider and still had strength left.
As Cobb tried to rise, he saw the two loose horses drift away from him. He staggered to his feet and started after them. He had almost caught up with Julie’s horse, when its ears pricked up and his nose lifted high to sniff the air. He skittered away from Cobb and the man stumbled and fell. As he pushed himself to his feet, he saw Hawk’s mora also sniffing at the breeze, with ears pricked forward. Both horses ran off over the rise and disappeared.
Water! Cobb thought. They smell water! With renewed strength, he stumbled forward, breathing heavily; sweat pouring in his eyes. His feet kept sliding out from under him as he scrambled to the top of the rise.
There it was! Water! The two horses had their rumps toward him, their tails swishing, and their necks arched downward into the coolness of the water hole.
He started to run forward, then froze as the two horses stepped forward across the water and parted as their reins were drawn to each side. The horses passed on revealing three men standing on the far side of the pool.
Hawk had known a shortcut to the water hole and he and his companions had gotten their ahead of Eli Cobb. Their eyes were fixed and their faces cold and hard. Hawk stood in the middle, Coburn to his left and had an empty holster. Tom Noonan stood to the Apache’s right. He had Coburn’s six shooter tucked inside his belt. The lawman looked none too happy about it. Tom’s face was red with fury when he saw Cobb without Julie. “Where’s Julie?” Tom demanded.
“She fell off her horse on the other side of the ridge,” Cobb babbled nervously. “But she’s all right.” He didn’t know if she was or she wasn’t, but he feared that his life would be shorter if she wasn’t. “Let me get some water and I’ll show you where she is.” There was almost a begging in his tone.
“Well, you’re going to have to take it.” Hawk said. He pushed Coburn aside, leaving Tom Noonan standing alone as the one obstacle between Cobb and the water.
Eli Cobb could see and hear the resolve. He would have swallowed hard if he could, but he just couldn’t. He knew he was going to die and what he had to do. With cold dispassion, his hand dropped to his pistol butt and he pulled it free from the holster.
Tom Noonan kneeled in the shade of a cedar tree. He had found Julie Hadley unconscious on the other side of the ridge. He had placed her on the ground in a sitting position with her back against the tree trunk. She was fully conscious now and was recovering from her exhaustion and dehydration. She had eagerly drunk the fresh cool water that Tom had given her, although he limited her intake until she was fully awake. He was bathing her forehead with a wet bandanna and she smiled up at him.
“You’re the dangdest thing I ever seen, Hawk.” Brace Coburn was blustering at the Apache from where they stood in the shade of another tree. “You just can’t seem to bring them back alive, can you?” Eli Cobb’s body hung across the back of Hawk’s mora, next to them. The grayish black was idly cropping grass, ignoring the grisly load on his back.
“You saw it, Brace. I didn’t kill anyone this time.”
“You might just as well have,” Coburn growled. “I still don’t appreciate you taking my gun away and turning that outlaw kid loose on Cobb. Lord knows, Cobb deserved what he got and the kid did give him a fair chance.” Then he added, “Don’t you think it’s time you took my gun away from him. I’m feeling mighty naked without it.”
“Well I guess I wouldn’t want you riding into town naked,” Hawk chuckled. “At least I wouldn’t want to be seen riding in with a naked old man.” He stepped away toward Tom and Julie.
“Fun…nee,” Coburn snarled, following.
“All right Noonan. On your feet,” Hawk commanded.
Tom stood up slowly, keeping his arms away from the pistol in his belt.
“The gun,” Hawk demanded, reaching out for it.
Tom Noonan thought about it a moment, then reluctantly lifted the pistol free and handed it over. Coburn reached for it and Hawk pulled it away sharply. Then he turned it on the lawman. “Not yet, old man.” There was a hardness in the Apache’s tone. “One thing we need to get straight. He’s my prisoner. Not yours. I’m the one who brought him in.”
The lawman grimaced and sighed. “I have no problem with you claiming the bounty, but I’m afraid you might not want to spoil your reputation by taking him back alive.”
Hawk grinned. “As I said. He’s my prisoner. I do with him what I want.”
“You do and you’ll answer to me, Hawk.”
“Think you’re ready to ride?” Hawk said to Julie.
“Then you’d better mount up,” the bounty hunter commanded .
Tom helped Julie into the saddle, then mounted his own horse.
“Give me your hands, Noonan,” Hawk ordered.
Tom extended both hands together awaiting handcuff or rope. He tried to hide his surprise when Hawk placed the necklace with the hawk like amulet, in his hands.
“Now get out of here, Tom,” he whispered and stepped back from the horse.
Tom Noonan kicked his horse in the ribs, sending him forward into Julie’s mount and starting her forward. He shouted at the horses to get them going and in an instant both riders were galloping away.
Hawk stood there watching them go. Coburn pushed forward reaching for the pistol in Hawk’s grip. “What are you doing boy? They’re getting away!” The Indian let it go easily. Coburn raised it, arm extended, pulling the hammer back and aiming at Tom Noonan’s bro
ad back. They were already too far away. The lawman eased the hammer back down, lowered the weapon and sighed with resignation.
He turned to Hawk and blustered. “I suppose you were letting him get away so you could shoot him. Well it didn’t work. And now he has gotten away. It’s all your fault, you red savage.” Then he caught himself with chagrin and tried not to smile. “Well, half red savage.”
Hawk shrugged. There was a taunting gleam in his eye.
They were almost back to Dry Wells when Coburn said, “You know Hawk, you’d better not hang around town too long. It would be best if you’re gone before Corey Dillon’s arm heals. He’ll be coming after you again.”
“I know,” Hawk said. “I can handle him.”
“That’s just my point. Corey’s been like a son to me. I wouldn’t want him hurt. I know he has his faults but…”
“But he’s all you got,” Hawk finished.
“Well, yes.” Then he paused, trying to find the words. It hurt like hell, but he finally got them out. “Of course… there’s you too,…now.” With that his voice trailed off feebly.
“You know, Brace,” Hawk said matter of factly. “I think you’d settle for anything that resembled a son.”
‘That’s not true!” He blustered.
“Sure it is,” Hawk said. “I’ll bet you’d even settle for an outlaw like Tom Noonan.”
“What? What are saying boy?”
“Nothing.”
They both remained silent for a while, just the steady clip clop of the horses’ hoofs thudding in their ears.
“Never did see what you saw in that Cory Dillon, though,” Hawk broke the silence after a while.
“Oh, Corey’s all right. He just hates Indians, that’s all. I never could cure him of that.”
“Is that the only reason he hates me?” Hawk asked. “Because I’m an Apache.”
“No. I don’t think so. I don’t think he likes you hanging around his girl, either.”
“You mean Collette?”
“That’s right,” Coburn answered.
“She’s not his girl,” Hawk said. “He’d never marry her.”
“What makes you think so. You think you could get her away him?”
“Don’t have to,” Hawk answered. “He won’t want her.”
“And, why not?”
“Because he hates Indians.”
‘‘What’s that got to do with it?” Coburn fumed with frustration.
“Because she’s Indian,” Hawk said glibly.
“What?”
“Yes. She’s half Comanche.”
“Did she tell you that?” Coburn asked with irritation.
“No.” Hawk answered, not looking at him.
“Well, then, how the hell do you know that?” Coburn’s words were rising to a fevered pitch.
“I know,” Hawk said flatly and gigged his horse forward a little faster.
Coburn shook his head in defeat and hurried after him.
Apache Gunhawk Page 25
