"We'd better get over there," Luke said. They walked together to the bank, and as soon as they entered, an old widowed woman named Tilly Gray handed Lettie some money. "Here's fifty dollars," she told Lettie. "I hope it helps."
Lettie embraced the woman. "Thank you, Tilly," she said softly.
Lettie had never felt so alone and exposed. She rode beside Luke across the wide, flat grassland that led to Pine Creek
Canyon, now only about a half mile distant. Already she could see someone standing on top of the eastern canyon wall, watching them. She had never even been this far west on Fontaine land. Luke had owned this piece only four years, and since it was so far from the main ranch, and in the opposite direction than she would take to go to Billings, she simply had never had reason to come here. Here was where Luke and the vigilantes had hanged the Walker brothers nearly a year ago, where poor Will was buried. And here, they hoped, their daughter waited, alive and well.
The carpetbag full of money hung over Luke's saddle horn. Her own heart pounded with fear, not for herself, but for Luke and Katie... and Runner, Tex... and Ty. Ty had demanded to be allowed to be a part of Luke's plan to capture these men, although they had no idea just how many men they were talking about. Luke and Ty had argued, but Ty was so upset about his sister that Luke had not had the heart to forbid the boy a chance to help. He had allowed Ty to be a part of his plan to save Katie and the money, and to kill Zack Walker; but that rescue and capture would never take place if Runner had been unable to accomplish his part of the plan last night. Today they could all die, and for all they knew, Runner was already dead.
The man at the top of the canyon wall raised his rifle. "Stop right there, Fontaine!" he shouted.
"Zack Walker," Luke muttered, the name spoken with seething hatred.
"I told you to come alone!" Walker shouted.
"It's just my wife!" Luke yelled in reply. "She has a right to be here. Our daughter might need her!"
Lettie cringed at the way Walker laughed. "What for? To talk to her little girl about what it's like to get poked for the first time?"
As though sensing his master's burning rage, Luke's Appaloosa snorted and bolted slightly. Luke yanked on the reins. "Where's my daughter, Walker?"
"Where's my money?"
Luke held up the carpetbag.
"Bring it on into the canyon and we'll make an exchange! You ride easy now, Fontaine, and you'd better be unarmed. I'll be watchin' your every move, you murderin' son of a bitch!"
Luke glanced at Lettie. "You know the plan. You wait here," he said quietly. He handed her his rifle and six-gun.
She took the weapons, her heart sinking at the thought of how defenseless he would be now. "I love you, Luke. God be with you." She watched him ride toward the canyon, making sure she did not glance back to the high boulders surrounded by a thick stand of pine behind them that hid Tex and Ty. She dared not do anything that would make Zack Walker suspect they were not alone, but she smiled inwardly at the knowledge that she had been right. Zack Walker was stupid to pick Luke's own land for the meeting. Luke knew every inch of what he owned, and he knew a man could get to that rock formation and stand of trees behind her without being seen from the distant canyon wall. On the other side of that wall was Pine Creek, and beyond that another canyon wall with a sheer drop of several hundred feet. The only escape from the canyon was out both ends and into the clearing where she sat now. If they could close off the north end, Walker and his men would have to come out the south end, where Luke was riding in. Once they did that, they would be close enough for Tex and Ty to shoot them down as they came out. Luke had not dared to bring any more men than he had, afraid too many men would create too much dust and noise and somehow give away his plan. She was afraid for poor Ty, worried he could be hurt, just as worried that her son, barely thirteen, would be shooting at men for the first time. He was a very mature young man in many ways, but neither she nor Luke liked the thought of him possibly having to kill another human being.
Zack Walker apparently believed that she and Luke had come alone. At least that much of their plan had worked. Now they had to depend on Runner, who had snuck in after dark last night with dynamite. He could move with a silence only an Indian was capable of, and he, too, knew this area. Under cover of darkness last night he was to make his way to the northern end of the canyon and set sticks of dynamite in strategic places that would, they hoped, close that end of the canyon, or at least scare the outlaws' horses enough to force them to flee out the other end, to the waiting guns of Tex and Ty and herself. It had been a long time since she'd had to fire a gun in self-defense. She had hoped those days were over, but as long as men like Zack Walker existed, and there were not enough lawmen to handle the problems, citizens would have to keep doing the job for themselves. Runner should be hidden right now somewhere up in the canyon wall, waiting for just the right moment to begin lighting dynamite fuses. She prayed he would not be seen or hurt.
She watched Luke disappear around the southern end of the wall, and Zack Walker left his guard post and disappeared down the other side. From here on, Lettie would have no idea what was going on. Luke intended to grab Katie if he could and simply ride like hell for the south end, leading Walker and his men on a chase that would, they hoped, take them right into a death trap. Then again, Luke might never come out of that canyon, especially if Runner had been unable to accomplish his end of the plan.
The sun shone down hot on her shoulders, but she only felt a shivering cold.
CHAPTER 24
Luke wanted to lash out in rage as he approached Zack Walker and his men, but he forced himself to stay calm. His only chance at getting Katie and himself out of this mess alive was to make no wrong moves. He prayed Runner was somewhere in place and unhurt, ready to blow the dynamite. He saw no sign that the Indian had been caught and found last night, but it was always possible Walker had chosen not to say anything about it, so that the man could lure him closer before killing him.
It was difficult to concentrate on anything but Katie now. She sat on a horse in front of a grisly-looking young man who obviously did not know the meaning of soap and water. Her head hung limply, as though she had lost some terrible battle. The sight of his pretty, proud daughter sitting there looking so forlorn and defeated tore at his heart.
Katie! Sweet, young Katie, so shy and quiet and smart. He had imagined saving such treasure for a respectable, honorable man who would know how to treat her; but by the sight of her, he already knew the worst had happened. She still wore the pretty mint green dress she'd had on at the dance, but it was torn and tattered, and she had to hold up the front of it with one hand to keep it from falling open.
"Let's see the money," Walker demanded, riding closer to Luke.
Luke met the man's gaze squarely, studied the stubble on his dirty face, the tobacco stain at the corner of his mouth. "You didn't keep your end of the bargain."
"In what way?" Walker looked back at Katie. "She's alive, ain't she?"
"You scum." Luke seethed. "Why should I pay off a man who has obviously violated my daughter?"
Walker shrugged. "Weren't me. It was my nephews there." He nodded to the one holding Katie. "That there is Benny. The ones each side of him is his brothers, Larry and Jim." The man spit some tobacco juice onto the leg of Luke's horse. "You know how young boys are. They git hard easy, seein' a purty thing like little Katie there. So what if she got stuck some? It was bound to happen sooner or later anyway. Now she's all broke in for her weddin' night." He leaned closer, reeking of stale perspiration. "I believe one of my boys told you that us Walkers git our revenge. An eye for an eye, Fontaine. You're lucky we didn't just shoot down that boy of yours the night of the dance. We could have, you know." He grinned again. "Far as that girl over there, the boys say she's a nice, tight piece. We're thinkin' on takin' her with us when we leave here. Ain't a whole lot you could do about it, 'specially if you're dead."
Luke had to concentrate to keep the sound of Lett
ie's quiet sobbing from making him do something foolish. Wait it out, he told himself. "You won't kill me," he told Walker, never flinching. "You don't want to bring murder into this because then you know every lawman from here to Mexico would be looking for you."
"There's places to go to git away, and I expect we're gonna be hunted either way."
"There aren't so many places to hide out anymore, Walker. You'll never live to enjoy this money."
Walker held his chin higher in defiance. "We know the right places to go, and if we have your girl along, anybody that comes after us is gonna have to be awful careful if they don't want nothin' to happen to her. Hell, we could even take your wife along for extra protection from the law. They ain't gonna want nothin' to happen to her, and I expect she's still fit enough to please an old man like me."
Luke felt like vomiting. "You go ahead and try, Walker. I guarantee that whatever happens, one thing is certain. You will die! Make no mistake about it. Your only chance to live is to take this money and hand over my daughter right now and let me ride out of here."
Walker held his gaze, then showed a hint of the coward Luke knew he was. He swallowed, and Luke knew he had shaken him. He removed the carpetbag from his saddle horn and tossed it over with a force that startled Walker. "Look inside, you stinking coward, and be proud of how you earned your precious little fortune! You were a fool to ask for only ten thousand. You're so goddamn ignorant you probably think that's a lot of money for me, probably because you've never earned an honest dollar in your life, you lazy bastard!"
Walker's smile faded. "You shut your mouth, Fontaine, or you'll be hangin' from a noose, just like you did to my boys. I expect that's how you'll end up anyway." He opened the bag and looked inside, then began laughing as he fingered the money. "It's here, boys!"
Several of them let out war whoops and rebel yells, while Katie still sat whimpering. Luke moved his horse a little closer to her, taking advantage of the fact that for the moment Zack and some of the others were lost in an eager celebration, grabbing stacks of bills from the bag to count through them.
"Katie, look at me," Luke told her.
Benny chuckled. "Oh, the poor little thing is ashamed," he cooed. He kissed at her neck, and Katie flinched.
"Katie, you don't have a damn thing to be ashamed of," Luke told her calmly. "Raise your head up, goddamn it! You're a Fontaine, and these people are nothing more than animals! Don't you dare let them make you hang your head!"
The girl slowly raised her face to look at her father, a face that was battered and bruised, her eyes swollen from crying. "Daddy," she sobbed, using the term she had only used when she was a tiny girl. For years it had just been Pa, but now she was like a little girl wanting her father's protective arms around her.
"It's going to be all right."
"They said... they were going to... hang both of us... after they get the money."
Benny chuckled again, nodding to Luke. "You didn't really think we'd let you live after what you did to my cousins, did you, Fontaine? You must really be stupid to think we'd just take that money and leave."
Luke kept his eyes on Katie. "We're going to be all right, Katie." He looked around, taking a quick inventory. Nine men total. Could he get himself and Katie out of here without dying? All he needed to do was get her onto his own horse and Runner would set the dynamite that would create enough chaos and commotion to allow him an escape... he hoped.
"A couple of you boys go and get the woman," he heard Walker saying.
Luke knew it was now or never. Bringing Lettie into the middle of it all would just complicate things even more. Two men started toward the south end of the canyon to get Let-tie, and Walker ordered a third man to throw a rope over a limb on the very tree where Luke had hanged Walker's sons. There was no more time to waste in deciding what to do.
"Just ride easy back over here," Walker ordered Luke. "You willin' to give up your life for your wife and daughter?" The man grinned, hooking the bag of money over his own saddle horn. "You're gonna hang, Luke Fontaine. The easier you make it for us, the easier we'll go on the girl and your woman after you're dead. You make trouble, and all three of you will be swingin' from that there tree. Which will it be?"
Luke glanced at the two men headed out of the canyon. If they got outside, and Tex and Ty started shooting at them too soon, he and Katie were doomed. "Give me a few seconds to hold my girl," he answered. "Let me at least have a good-bye."
Walker rubbed his chin for a moment, then nodded. "Put her on his horse," he told Benny.
Luke almost laughed aloud at the man's stupidity. He reached out and pulled Katie onto his own horse, and she sat sideways in front of him, cringing against his chest. Luke held her tightly with one arm and pretended to be whispering a good-bye. "Keep right on crying," he told her, "but you be ready to hang on tight, Katie girl. I'm not leaving you here, understand?"
The girl clung to his shirt and nodded, purposely weeping harder. It was easy, for she wept with relief that her father was not going to submit to a hanging and let her mother and her suffer at the hands of these miserable wretches who had already done such horrible things to her.
Come on, Runner, Luke thought. At almost the same instant, two explosions only a second apart blew out huge boulders at the north end of the canyon. Walker and the others turned in surprise to look, a couple of their horses whinnying and rearing. Luke took advantage of the diversion and kicked his own horse in the flanks. Clinging to Katie, he charged toward the south end of the canyon, bending over slightly to keep his body between his daughter and any bullets that might get fired at them.
"Swing around and hang on!" he ordered Katie, scooting farther back in his saddle. Like Ty, Katie loved riding, and her skill and ease with horses became a valuable asset as she leaned back and managed to swing one leg over the neck of Luke's horse so that she straddled the animal. She leaned down then and grabbed hold of the horse's mane, hanging on for dear life as Luke rode like a demon. Above the pounding hooves and the noise of the air rushing past her face, she could hear more explosions in the distance, as well as gunfire. She cringed when something whizzed near them, knew instinctively it was a bullet. Then she felt a jolt behind her. Luke grunted and slammed into her, his chin bumping against the back of her head.
"Daddy!" she screamed.
"Just hang on no matter what happens!" he yelled, amid more thundering explosions. "I'm getting you out of here!"
Luke could feel horses behind him, knew the Walkers and their hired men were right on their heels. He headed his horse toward the stand of rocks across the flat valley, relieved that Lettie was nowhere in sight. Apparently she had done what she was told and had headed for the rocks herself as soon as Runner began setting off the explosions. He could only pray now that Runner would be all right, and that he would himself reach the safety of the rocks and his own men before taking a more deadly bullet in the back. He knew he'd already been hit in the upper right shoulder, but there was no time to think about the pain or worry about how badly he'd been injured. He had to hang on, for Katie's sake.
In the distance he could see a horse running off without its rider, then spotted the body several yards to his left. Apparently Tex or Ty had gotten one of those who had ridden out ahead of him to try to capture Lettie. He had no idea where the second man was and no chance to look. He kept his eyes on the cluster of trees and rocks ahead, which, though only about a half mile away, seemed to take forever to reach. Katie's dark hair blew into his face as he stretched his gelding to its maximum effort, charging the horse across the flower-filled meadow toward the rocks.
Now he could see the spit of guns from the rocks. Tex and Ty and probably Lettie were shooting at the outlaws. He did not fear being accidentally hit by any of them. All three of them were skilled with firearms, and at the moment he could not be more proud of his brave wife and son, but he never would have let them come without Tex and Runner along. Even at that, he'd had his doubts he was doing the right thing, but he
knew how important it was for both of them. His heart leaped with joy as he got closer and realized he just might make it. He guided his horse around the south side of the rocks, relieved to see Lettie waiting there. She reached up for Katie as Luke brought his horse to a sliding halt. With his left arm he helped Katie down from the horse, but he was beginning to feel excruciating pain in his right shoulder and all the way down his right arm.
"Luke! You've been shot!" Lettie yelled.
"Just take care of Katie," he ordered, dismounting and hurrying over to grab his rifle from her gear. He ran over to where Tex and Ty were still shooting at the outlaws. "How many did you get?"
"Not sure," Tex answered. "About six are down, I think, probably some of them just wounded. Your wife got a couple of them herself."
Luke looked back at Lettie, who was holding a weeping Katie. He was glad he had let her come, for Katie's sake. So, he thought, Lettie had shot at the outlaws right alongside Tex and Tyler. She was truly strong again, but what would Katie's awful experience do to her?
"There's the money bag!" Tyler shouted. He fired, then cussed. "I got the damn horse instead of the rider!"
"I think that's the last one," Tex answered. "I can see Runner farther out. Looks like he's rounded up a couple of them himself."
"The one on that horse I just shot is getting up, Pa, running off with the money."
"Leave that one to me!" Luke barked. "It's Zack Walker!" Almost before he finished speaking, he was back up on his own horse and riding out into the clearing.
"Jesus," Tex cussed, jumping up and heading for his own horse. "Your pa is wounded and gonna get himself killed. Stay here with your ma and sister," he told Ty. He rode out after Luke, who charged toward Walker. Walker turned and shot at Luke but missed, and in the next moment Luke rode his horse directly into the man, knocking him to the ground and deliberately riding over him. Walker screamed out in horrible pain, but Luke only gloried in the sound. He turned his horse and headed back, purposely riding over the man again. He halted his horse then and jumped off, running over to grab Walker around the throat. He began strangling the man, and by the time Tex reached them, Walker's face was purple, his tongue bulging out in an effort to open his throat and find some air.
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