High Country Rescue

by Michael Skinner

  Outside Jay and Frank stood by their horses waiting and while Sam and Jason were talking to Bobby, Ruiz went back to the kitchen. There he found Rosa, cleaning up the kitchen.

  He said, “Just came for some water.”

  “Help yourself.”

  “It looks like we are going to get started.”

  “Remember what I said.”

  “Don’t worry, I took it to heart.”

  “Goodbye.”

  “Be safe.”

  Jason said, “Bobby here is a letter that I need you to deliver to my father. Give it to no one other than him. Ride as fast as you can and get this to him no matter where he is. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, sir, I do.”

  “If he does not need you then return here to the ranch.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Now go.”

  Bobby ran to his horse and was mounted and gone.

  Jason turned to Sam and said, “I hate to be out of touch, but I have to be there if we catch Alice.”

  “I understand. What do you want me to do while you are gone?”

  “Unless my father needs you for something, just stay here and be ready if we have to break off the trail and come back for some reason.”

  “We will be ready.”

  As Ruiz talked to his horse, he looked at Jay and Frank then looked down at his feet. He always wore moccasins, and they might not be best for what they were facing, but they were a lot better than the cowboy boots that they were wearing. Their bedrolls where rolled long and slung across their body with a rope. It was going to be a long day for them.

  Jason and Sam went to the corral. Jason said, “Are we ready?”

  They all said they were.

  “Ruiz, you take the lead, and we will follow.”

  With that, they headed out. Ruiz headed around the house and through the trees to the creek, then turned and headed up the stock trail to the creek crossing.

  Stopping at the creek crossing Ruiz said, “This is where we cross, there isn’t much room on the other side, but let’s take the horses across and keep our feet dry for now.”

  With this said, he crossed to the other side, and the others followed. It had taken less than twenty minutes for the horses to cover what had taken him over three hours to cover on foot. They dismounted, and Sam took the reins of the other horses and crossed back to the other side of the creek.

  Jason said, “Are you sure this is the right trail?”

  Ruiz said, “Yes.”

  “Then lead on.”

  With that Ruiz turned and headed up the trail. He quickly passed the spot on the trail where he had found the footprints. He continued up the trail, occasionally seeing the footprint from the girl’s shoe. He continued up the hill without looking back until he got to the top, where he stopped and looked back down the trail. Jason and the other two men were about sixty feet behind him, coming up the trail.

  When Jason reached the top Ruiz said, “The girl’s shoe prints are still on this trail.”

  Jason stopped and drank some water from his canteen and said, “Let’s keep going.”

  Ruiz turned and started down the trail. The trail was easy, and in the daylight, they reached the bottom in about an hour and a half.

  As they neared the bottom, Ruiz turned to Jason and said, “You wait here until I come back and get you.”

  Jason nodded.

  Ruiz continued down the trail onto the flat area near the creek, he could see that the trail in the grass, made by the passage of the footfalls of the ones they were pursuing ran to the right from the trail and from the right back to where the trail crossed the creek. He followed the trail to the right to where it crossed the creek. He didn’t follow it across the creek because it was obvious that it led to a campsite. He followed the trail back to the creek, then crossed the creek and went up the trail far enough to find the footprints he was looking for. He looked up the rock face then returned to the creek and crossed back over.

  Returning to where Jason was, he said, “They had a campsite over to the right, but have crossed the creek here and traveled up that trail on the rock face.”

  “Do you know when they left this campsite?”

  “It is too dry to age the tracks that closely, but it had to be yesterday morning or this morning.”

  “Then we need to move on.”

  “I agree, it will be too dark to travel in an hour, but we should keep going until then. We will just make a cold camp on the trail whenever night overtakes us.”

  Jason said, “Then let’s go.”

  As they approached the creek, Ruiz said, “Take your boots and socks off before you cross.”

  Ruiz had already crossed the creek twice with his moccasins on, so they weren’t going to get any wetter. Once across the creek, the others put socks and boots back on, and they continued. They moved up the trail through a series of switchbacks. They followed the trail through the switchbacks until the trail ran out on a ledge. They traveled about two hundred feet east to where the trail turned up into another series of switchbacks.

  Ruiz signaled a stop and said, “Stay here and let me check the trail ahead.”

  Jason said, “Okay.”

  Ruiz went up the switchback to the turn at the end and looked up. He could see only two of the switchbacks above him, but he could tell that they were steeper than the ones they had just come up. He returned back down the switchback to the ledge where Jason was waiting.

  When he approached him, he said, “We need to stop here for the night.”

  Jason said, “We have at least a half hour of daylight left.”

  “The trail ahead is very steep and rocky, and the shadows are already dark enough on the trail to slow us down. We will make better time in the morning.”

  “We need to catch them.”

  “Yes, but we don’t need anyone to break a leg in the dark.”

  “All right, we will stop here.”

  “I am sure they are at least on the other side of this rock face, so we are safe to build a fire and eat our beans, hardtack, and bacon.”

  They spread out along the ledge and made a spot for the fire in the middle.

  As they were laying out their bedrolls, Jason handed Jay a can of beans and said, “If we are going to have a fire then we should warm the beans.”

  Ruiz smiled to himself, each of them was carrying a large can of beans, but Jason got rid of his first.

  The fire was started, and everyone got their bedroll ready for the night. There weren’t enough grass or pine needles available to pad the bedrolls, so the only thing between them and the hard ground was a blanket and a ground cloth. The fire had burned enough to create some coals, these were pushed to one side, and the open can of beans was set on the coals to heat.

  As the beans heated, Ruiz got one piece of hardtack and one piece of bacon from his grub bag and said, “We have three more cans of beans and enough hardtack and bacon for six days, if we limit ourselves to two of each per meal except when we have beans.”

  Jay said, “That’s not much.”

  Ruiz said, “That’s what we have.”

  Jay said, “What happens when that runs out?”

  Jason said, “We live off the land, and that will slow us down, that’s why we need to catch Alice in six days or less.”

  As part of their gear, each of them had a metal coffee cup and a spoon, so Jay divided the beans among the four cups, and Ruiz gave each of them one piece of hardtack and one piece of bacon. That quieted the conversation, and they finished their meal. They put out the fire and started to settle down for the night.

  Ruiz walked away from the fire a little and called Jason over and said, “The tracks we followed this afternoon have changed.”

  “Changed in what way?”

  “The girl is now wearing moccasins, and the man is wearing boots but not cowboy boots.”

  “Are you sure this is the same people?”

  “No question that this is them. She wore shoes with heals
into their camp and left with the moccasins.”

  “Can you follow them?”

  “Yes, I can, they are not trying to cover their trail, and I can pick up their prints when they travel over the occasional patch of soft dirt.”

  “Let’s get some sleep.”

  Ruiz went to his bedroll and turned in for the night. He went to sleep thinking about the situation and the people they were trailing. He knew this was not a spur of the moment run away because he could sense the planning for this runaway. The man had brought footwear for the girl, and made a hidden campsite. What else had he done? Ruiz finally drifted off to sleep.

  chapter 11

  Cover the Bet

  It was just after 2:00 when there was a knock at the door, and Jacob Reynolds said, “Come in.”

  Mark Reynolds came in and said, “You sent for me.”

  “Yes, we have a problem. Alice has escaped from the ranch.”

  “What happened?”

  “Jason sent me a letter that she ran away, but none of the horses were missing. Then I just got his second letter telling me that she was escaping to the south through rough country and someone was helping her, and he had hired a tracker, and he was following.”

  “What’s to the south and who is helping her”?

  “There is nothing to the south of the ranch for miles. I have no clue as to who is helping her”.

  Mark asked, “What can we do”?

  “Her father must be behind this somehow, but that is not him out there on the trail. I want you and a man you can really trust to go over to Will Johnson’s ranch and see if he is there and what is going on.”

  “I have someone I can trust. What do you want me to do if he is still there?”

  “If he is still there, then you and your man stay there and watch him until he leaves or I send for you. If he leaves then you two, follow him until you can tell where he is going then leave your man to follow, and you come back to me as fast as you can.”

  “What if he is already gone?”

  “See if you can find out where he went. If you can send your man after him and you return. If not, then you leave your man to watch the ranch, and you return.”

  “How bad can what Alice knows hurt us?”

  Jacob said, “She knows she was kidnapped that is bad enough. We could claim that we did not know that Jason was holding her against her will, but I do not know if she knows about our plans for her and her father.”

  “Why didn’t we kill both of them before now? Wasn’t that the plan?”

  “That was the plan until her father filed that Will. Now I can’t do away thing until I know what’s going on and who all is involved.”

  “I will get started as soon as I leave here, but I will take a couple of hours to get everything together and get started on the road. We should get there sometime tomorrow.”

  “If anything changes, I will send someone to find you.”

  As Mark left the office, Jacob continued to think about what was happening. He had thought that the change Johnson’s Will had been because he distrusted Jason, but now he was thinking that the Will and Alice’s running away were connected and part of something bigger, but what?

  Mark returned to the sheriff’s office where he told his deputy, “I will be out of town for a few weeks, and I want you to take care of things. If you have any problems, go see my brother.”

  The deputy knew better than to ask questions, so he just nodded.

  Mark took a rifle from the rack on the wall and left the sheriff’s office and headed over to the saloon. He entered the saloon and looked around the room. In the far corner with his back to the wall, he saw the man he was looking for, Jack Cook. He caught Jack’s eye and motioned with his head that he wanted him outside. Mark left the saloon and walked about halfway down the boardwalk in front of the saloon and stopped. In less than two minutes Jack joined him.

  Mark said, “I have some work for you.”

  “I am ready.”

  “We will be gone a few weeks. Get your gear and meet me at the livery stable then we will get supplies.”

  “What does this job pay?”

  “Twenty dollars up front and ten per day, grub included.”

  “Okay, I will be at the livery in thirty minutes.”

  Mark went to his room at the boarding house and got his gear together. He had a pair of large saddle bags that he used when he was on the trail, and he packed his gear in them and went downstairs. He left the boarding house and went up the street to the livery stable. Juan was working at the forge when Mark arrived at the livery.

  Juan looked up and said, “What can I do to help you, Mr. Mark?”

  “I need you to saddle Jack Cook’s horse, and mine, and I will need a packhorse and pack saddle. How soon can you have them ready?”

  “About ten minutes.”

  “I will wait.”

  Juan set his hammer aside and removed the horseshoe from the forge and went into the barn. Mr. Mark’s horse was still in his stall, but Jack’s horse and the pack horse were in the corral. He took the horse out of the stall and saddled it, then he got Jack’s horse out of the corral and brought it in and saddled it. Then he went into the corral and looked over the horses. He walked over to one of his packhorses and looked it over carefully and took it into the barn. He put a lead halter on the packhorse and a pack saddle on her back. He walked the horses, one at a time out to the hitch rail, then walked over to the sheriff.

  Juan said, “The horses are ready.”

  “Thanks, I will be gone for a couple of weeks. How much do I owe you for the packhorse?”

  “Just five dollars a week, including the pack saddle.”

  “Here is ten dollars we will settle up when I get back.”

  “Thank, you Mr. Mark.”

  Juan returned to the forge, and as Mark waited for Jack, he put his gear on his horse.

  Jack arrived, and he said, “Put your gear on your horse and bring it and the packhorse over to the general store.”

  Mark went across and down the street to the store and tied his horse to the hitching rail outside.

  He went into the store, but did not see anyone, so he called, “Frank.”

  Then he saw Frank Miller come out of the back room.

  Frank said, “Good afternoon sheriff what can I do for you?”

  “Jack Cook and I are going out hunting for two weeks, so I need some grub and a small tent.”

  “I have a small wall tent, will that do?”

  “Yes, that will work. Give me enough beans, bacon, jerky, coffee, and hardtack to last two weeks. Also, I will need a set of field glasses, small coffee pot, skillet, two plates, two cups and spoons, and forks.”

  “I have all of that, do you want it in a box or a couple of canvas bags?”

  “Canvas would be best. I have a pack horse out front. Just put all of this on my bill.”

  “Yes, sir, I will get this right out.”

  Mark went back out front and found Jack waiting for him.

  He said, “Frank is going to bring the rest of our gear and grub out. We need to get it loaded and get started.”

  Jack loaded the packhorse and Mark went into the back of the store and filled their canteens in the kitchen.

  When he returned, Jack had the packhorse ready, and Mark handed him his canteen and said, “Let’s go.”

  They headed west out of town and fell into a steady gait.

  Jack said, “I don’t care where we are going, but I would like to know.”

  Mark said, “I will explain it to you when we stop. Right now, we are on the road to Montrose.”

  The two, continued west all afternoon until almost dark.

  Mark stopped before they crossed a small stream and said, “We’ll stop here to rest and eat.”

  He turned north off the road and toward the stream and Jack followed.

  He said, “Drop the saddles and hobble the horses and I will get a fire started.”

  Jack took Mark’s horse and b
egan to strip the horses of their saddles, blankets, and reins. As he finished each horse, he hobbled their front legs with a loose rope hobble, which would allow them to walk around to feed and water but not let them run. He had to unload the pack horse before he could remove the pack saddle. Now he went to the gear and got the food and pans for dinner. Mark had gathered the firewood and cleared a spot for the fire and was just lighting it when he returned.

  Jack said, “Do you want me to get the bedrolls ready?”

  “No, we are just going to wait here until the moon comes up then we will be on the road again.

  “Can you tell me what this is about and where we are going?”

  “My brother is in the middle of a complicated land deal, and he is concerned that a rancher south of Montrose named Will Johnson may have found out about it, and if he has, he may try to block it or take it away from my brother. We are trying to get to his ranch as fast as we can and see if he is still there.”

  “What is the tent and camping gear all about?”

  “If he is still at the ranch, then we stay there and watch him.”

  “It must be a big deal for all this effort.”

  “It is. Break out the coffee, beans, and bacon and let’s get some food started.”

  Jack went down to the stream filled the coffee pot half full and set it on the fire to get hot. Then he got his and Mark’s canteen and filled them with clean water from the stream. He sliced some bacon off the slab and put it in the skillet to cook and opened the beans and poured them into the small pan to heat. He had been around Mark long enough to know that he should do most of the work. Anything that Mark didn’t offer to do was his to do. He wrapped the slab of bacon back up and returned it to the canvas bag that he had gotten it out of earlier. Then he returned to tend the food cooking on the fire. He added coffee to the pot, got the plates, cups, and forks ready. Once he had taken up the food and poured the coffee, he called Mark who was standing over by the road finishing his smoke.

  Mark said, “Looks good, thanks.”

  “You are welcome and thanks for asking me to come along.”