Another ranch hand, a short, pudgy Mexican named Diaz thought he'd make a name for himself with a lasso as his friend had just done. With the target in his sights, the steer seeing its liberation at hand was having none of it though and rushed the man as he twirled the lariat in the air, goring him and knocking him off his feet. The man wailed and gripped at his side as he stumbled away as another man rushed to his aid.
With a look of horror, Callie knew she had to do something before the longhorns threw themselves clear off into the ravine or anyone else got hurt. She spurred her horse and yelled, "Giddyap!" Going rogue, she broke off from her father. She rode hard and pushed forward and managed to draw up next to the bull that was leading the pack. Callie spurred once more, this time her horse refused and cried out nervously as the bull began to outpace her. Callie gently scratched the side of her horses' neck and whispered into the steed's ear to calm her.
The horse complied, and Callie was able to continue riding hard. Before long, she had once more caught up to the leading steer. Looming ahead would be the turn-off to the ranch's watering hole. If they didn't make that turn, it would be a straight shot to the ravine. Reaching back, she grabbed her own rope that hung from her saddle and began twirling it.
The leading bull was just in range when Callie tossed a lasso around its neck. She pulled back on the rope with all her might, sweat dripping down her forehead as she fought to turn the bull who indeed was closing in on the point of no return. Grunting and feeling like her arms were about to fall off, she summoned one final burst of strength and jerked the lasso again. Ever so slowly, the bull began to turn to the right, towards the trail to the water hole. Though her voice was hoarse, she gave a shout of triumph as the pack followed its lead and surged down the path in the direction of the pond. She had done it!
***
As their ranch hands worked to corral the cattle milling in and around the water hole and return them to the sprawling pasture, the Becketts turned their horses and made their way back up the slope, through the destroyed gate and to the far end of the pasture where Riker stood over the inert form of Farley Spencer. As Luther slid off his saddle, he had only one word.
“Dead?”
“He’s on the express train to hell even as we speak,” Riker said tersely “But forget about him! We’ve got to get to the town!”
“What is it? What’s wrong, Nash? I can see just by the look on your face.”
“It’s what Spencer told me before he died. As soon as everyone that’s going to the meeting assembles, Dalton’s going to launch an attack! Wipe out as many of you as he can and make it look like an accident!”
With each passing second as Riker breathlessly laid out Spencer’s admission, he watched as the Becketts’ faces turned ashen, their eyes blinking rapidly in their concern for Johann and the other townsfolks assembled at the meeting. Callie drew near and pressed a hand against his chest.
“Please, you’ve got to do something!”
“It might even be too late, darling,” Luther’s voice was low, almost a whisper.
“No! We would have heard it by now, but it could happen at any minute! We’ve got to get moving. This whole thing with the stampede was a distraction to keep us here,” Riker relayed.
"Even the fastest horse will never get us there, lickety-split!" Callie cried out. "They're all going to die!"
“No, wait! What you just said!” Riker shouted, suddenly seized by an idea, warming to it. “Back on the bank of the river, you said the creek would get Davey Larch down to Dalton’s Creek lickety split! If it could get him here in a hurry, then it can get us there too!”
"By glory, you're right! Canoeing down that would take half the time it would take a man on horseback!" Luther exclaimed, but the glee on his face quickly faded away.
“What is it?” Riker demanded, sensing something was wrong.
“This here is the foothills of the High Sierra, son. The creek’s extra high and treacherous with the spring run-off from the Sierra Nevada. Even Davey knew better than to try it this time of the year.”
Recalling the high water, Riker looked from face to face of the Becketts and set his jaw. “We don’t have a choice … your son and brother and those others are depending on us though they don’t even know it. I’m going to have to risk it … I’m just sorry that I have to ask one of you to put your life on the line as well.”
“Don’t be!” Callie said through gritted teeth as she squared her shoulders. “Like you done said, that’s our family and friends down there! Let’s do this!”
CHAPTER 15
BLACK ROCK PASS
Turning a bend in the trail through Black Rock Pass, McKenna caught sight of the now familiar Conestoga that Markham used for the supply run to Pepper Hill. Picketing Cain to a nearby stubby tree, she instantly drew her gun and kept alert as she headed for the wagon. Everything was the same as before with the suspiciously broken wheel, but the one thing that was different was the dark stain on the ground. She dropped down on her haunches and looked at the blood of Sam Belfry. Doc Keegan and his wife appeared to be excellent physicians, and she sincerely hoped the old freight hauler would pull through.
Standing up once more, she surveyed each side of the pass. She doubted the sniper was lurking anywhere above at this point. It was down here on the ground where any further nefarious acts would commence, and that was why she was here. As she circled the wagon, her mind drifted back to earlier at the Keegans.
***
Markham’s eyes narrowed at the badge she had extended out before the group. His eyes then peered up at her, and he gave her a questioning look.
“With all due respect, McKenna, that’s unlike any badge I’ve ever seen before.”
“That’s to be expected. Few have ever seen one It’s a special branch of the marshal service.”
"A woman marshal? Back where I come from in St. Louis, there isn't no such thing!" Butler blustered, the skepticism in his voice as clear as could be.
“Why not! Women are just as capable as men,” Molly Jane snorted.
A weary sigh sounded to the right of Molly Jane, and Doc Keegan motioned to the door.
“This is a doctor’s office, not a debate hall. Now I got to ask you all to kindly clear out of here. Molly and I need to keep our attention on Sam.”
“Absolutely,” McKenna said, and a few moments later she and the two men were standing out in front of the Keegan’s house. The warm heat of the day had given away to a cool breeze blowing down the street as McKenna turned and faced the men.
“I’m actually a deputy. My brother is the full marshal, and he’s in Dalton’s Creek right now handling some nasty business over there, and I need to be over this way until the mail gets here. I want to help you folks since I will be here for the foreseeable future. The first thing I need to do is have a powwow with the local sheriff. I don’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers, especially being a woman as Mister Butler pointed out. It doesn’t make my job any easier that’s for sure.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about upsetting Sheriff Tisdale. Frank and his two deputies are escorting the Baker gang to a prison in Trelane. The Bakers, ma’am, were a real nasty bunch of bank robbers plaguing the area, but Tisdale and his men put them out of business. Problem is they won’t be back for a few days,” Markham said as he put his hands into his pockets. “What’s our next move?”
McKenna had considered this while they were being shooed out of the doctor’s office. “I think that you and I should have a talk with the manager for the Cape Girardeau company. I forget his name.”
“Carlton Corday,” Butler said.
“We need to press this Mister Corday and see if he can provide us any insight as to why the operation he works for is likely being targeted if it’s not someone out to shut down your freight business. You and I should go see him in the morning. You can meet up with me out in the Black Rock come daylight.”
Both men seemed to frown in confusion, so she moved to clear thin
gs up for them. “I think it best that I go out there and stand guard over the wagon. As long as it’s light out and folks might still be using the pass, I think it’s safe. But come nightfall I reckon it’s liable to be a whole different story. If someone is hellbent on seeing it not get to the mines, they may well make a run at it overnight, and that wagon and its supplies could be a goner. I’m fixing to be there to make sure that nothing happens to it.”
“If you think someone is on the shoot to make trouble with our wagon, then I best be the one to stand guard over it,” Butler offered as he rocked back and forward on his boots.
“I can’t send you out there, Butler. Our shipment from Apache Valley is going to be due in just before dark. I need you to get that wagon unloaded, the goods stowed, and then reloaded so it can head out at first light to get over to Fiddler’s Gorge. It’s bad enough our shipments to Pepper Hill have been consistently late, but we can’t jeopardize our other routes too.”
“I’m assuming those routes don’t go through Black Rock Pass?” she asked, and he nodded his head.
“That’s right … those routes are in the opposite direction along the Santa Cabrillo trail.” His face took on a contrite look. “McKenna, I’d accompany you, but I’ve got a twenty-mile buggy ride ahead of me out the Cabrillo trail I just mentioned. Sam and his wife live way out by Roman Mesa, and I owe it to Sam to go fetch his wife and bring her back here … she needs to know, especially if he takes a turn for the worse and the Keegans can’t help him.”
Her lips parted without realizing it as a surge of attraction flooded over her. Not only was the man quite handsome, but his concern for Sam and his elderly wife touched her. She had always considered herself a pretty good judge of character, and she could sense that this freight hauler was indeed a good man. Reluctantly, she tamped down her magnetism towards the man thinking it was a damn shame he was off the market. It had been a few weeks since she’d had the company of a man in her bed, and she had to admit she was more than a little ready for it. Alas, the next man to send her into carnal bliss would not be Matt Markham.
For a moment, she was startled as she realized he had continued speaking while she had fantasized about bedding the man. She smiled and concentrated in on what he was saying.
"It is with great reservation that I am going to take you up on your offer to watch over the wagon. If you hadn't shown me that badge, then there would be no way I'd ever let you go into a potentially dangerous situation on my behalf. But the government isn't in the habit of giving out badges like licorice, especially to women, so I imagine you've earned it."
"You could say that," she said with a grin, thinking of the many adventures she and Nash had gone on, but her smile faded as her thoughts became wistful as she reflected on the man who had made it all possible. The same man who rested in his tomb, cut down by a spineless actor who had made his living pretending to be other people who history would not remember for any of his performances but rather a single, cowardly gunshot high up in a balcony at Ford's Theater.
***
Hopping out of the back of the supply wagon, McKenna had been pleased to see nothing amiss. Anyone that might have come through the pass since the wagon had been abandoned had left it alone. Finally feeling able to relax, she took a deep satisfying breath and holstered her sidearm. Scanning the area, she saw plenty of dead wood scattered here and there that would be excellent for starting a fire given how dry it looked.
After she made a ring of rocks not far from the Conestoga, she went about gathering up the firewood in earnest. She had assembled a good supply when she froze and came alert to the sound of an approaching horse, instantly regretting. Keeping her hand on the butt of her gun, she made to peer around the wagon to see who was coming down the trail. It was true she was rapidly losing the light now, but she still doubted anyone would trifle with the wagon without the cover of darkness. However, if someone was going to make a play for it, she was game. McKenna yanked out her Colt and spun around the wagon.
A terrified squeal echoed down the pass as a horse and its pair of riders came to a halt in front of her. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight.
“Please don’t shoot, ma’am! I’m begging you!”
Relieved, she slid the weapon back into its holster and met the gaze of two terrified teenagers on horseback.
“I done told you we shouldn’t a done snuck off like this, Newt! You said it would be all right!” the teenage girl riding behind the scrawny looking boy was shrieking in his ear.
“It’s okay! Calm down the lot of you. I didn’t mean to scare you, but some bad business went down in this canyon earlier, and I’m on my guard. What are the two of you doing out here this close to night?”
“Jenny and me, we … we was just, ah …” the boy seemed to be searching for the right words, but McKenna saw the girl’s disheveled hair and smiled to herself. She knew full well what had gone down.
“You two ought to do your sparking closer to town. Bad things can come your way out in the wilds at night. Now be on your way!”
"Yes, ma'am, Thank you, ma'am." The curly headed teen didn't waste any time putting his spurs to his mount, and as the pair swept by her, she heard the girl's final words.
“We’re late as it is, Newt. My pa is gonna skin you alive when we ride up having missed supper time!”
She watched them go down the trail and disappear out of sight. Young love could be grand, she knew. There was nothing like that heady feeling when you had the fever for a member of the opposite sex, and you think the whole world revolves around you and your beau. McKenna sincerely hoped they didn’t get into too much trouble.
Alone once more save for Cain, she knew it was time to put into place the precautions she had planned. Rifling through her saddlebag on the right flank of her horse, she pulled out some items she had purchased before leaving Pine Bluff. Being that it had been after hours, it had required rousting the shop owner out of his residence atop the mercantile to accomplish it. To her relief, the shopkeeper respected the sight of the badge she had flashed, not making an issue out of the fact that it was a woman holding it.
Items in hand she trotted down the pass in the direction heading toward Pepper Hill. Careful not to go too far down lest she be out of earshot, she went to work assembling her creation and stringing it. A few minutes later she repeated her labors down the pass that led back to Pine Bluffs. Returning to Cain, she unhooked the coil of rope she carried with her on her travels and took a moment to consider the chance she was taking if she employed it as she intended.
Nash was fond of chiding her that though she was book smart, she had a streak of recklessness that on occasion negated that. McKenna was fond of countering that her often reserved brother would benefit from loosening up every now and then and just go with an idea. She had a feeling he would have voiced some objections to her plan. Looping the coil around her shoulder, she crossed to the other side of the trail. He would say it was risky and he would have been right, but she felt certain the young couple would be the last to come through the pass. Markham had told her earlier people didn't venture out this way at night. As she slipped the coil of rope free McKenna looked up at the steep, dark and foreboding sides of the canyon, and she could understand why. Convincing herself she wouldn't be hurting an innocent person if she had to employ this measure, she uncoiled the rope and got busy.
When she was finally done, McKenna turned back and went about setting up the wood inside the ring of rocks. Slipping a box of matches out of one of her pockets, she struck it to life. While the fire was catching, she climbed into the back of the wagon and fetched out a wooden bucket she'd seen earlier during her brief survey. Several shovels each placed within each other like spoons were mounted horizontally to one wall of the wagon. After freeing one them, she clamored back outside and shoveled dirt into the bucket.
By the time she had finished with this task, she was pleased to see she had a small blaze going. McKenna stopped at her right-hand saddle bag and p
lucked a couple of items free before she pulled up a fair-sized log and sat down on it next to the fire. The flames did their elemental dance before her eyes, and though she was still on guard, she felt a sense of weightlessness take over her. McKenna loved the wilderness having spent so much time in it always on the lookout for grist for her art.
McKenna brought the two items she had taken from her saddlebag up onto her lap. One was a sketch pad and the other was a nicely sharpened pencil. She closed her eyes for a moment and remembered the mountain she had seen on the trail between Dalton’s Creek and Pine Bluff. Unhurriedly, she began to make her sketch that she would save and later commit to canvas with her oil paints.
As she worked, she hummed and thought how it was either going to be a very peaceful night out here or one fraught with the danger she had become accustomed to at Nash's side all these years. She thought of her brother now and hoped that whatever he was doing was just as peaceful as her sketching amongst the wildernesses of Black Rock Pass.
CHAPTER 16
DALTON’S CREEK
On the river bank, Callie untied the end of the rope from the tree that the canoe was tethered to and coiled it up as Riker flipped it over and handed one of the paddles that had been stowed underneath to Callie. As she accepted it, Luther made his final demand that he be the one to accompany Riker into danger. As she bunched up the rope in her hands, she looked up at him sitting on his horse and shook her head again.
“Papa, you haven’t been on this river in years, and I used to accompany Davey on some of his trips. I know what lies ahead between here and town. Besides, you haven’t fully recovered from last year!” she swung her head around towards Riker and explained Luther had been thrown from his horse on a cattle drive and had been battling stiffness in his arm ever since. “You’d never be able to paddle with enough control we’re going to need on those rapids!”
Six-Guns Or Surrender (Lincoln's Lawman Book 1) Page 10
