Legend of the Lost

by Dicksion, William Wayne

  “They came from somewhere behind us,” Vard replied. “It’s probably those back shooters. I wonder if Hamlin is with them.” Suddenly, Alex felt a sting on his neck. When he turned to see who had shot at him, he saw a puff of smoke from the boulders across the valley and then heard the delayed report of a Winchester. He touched his right ear and his hand was bloody. Vard was about twenty yards away.

  “That must have been close. I saw that bullet kick up dirt on the hill right behind your head. Are you okay?”

  “It nicked me, but I’m okay. You stay here with Cindy. I’m going after the rat that fired that shot.”

  Using techniques he had learned from Gray Wolf and Soaring Eagle, Alex used the brush as cover and worked his way back to where he saw the puff of smoke. He heard another shot and saw another puff of smoke. Vard had retrieved his hat and waved at Alex to let him know that the shot had done no damage.

  Alex noticed that the second puff of smoke came from a different place. Was the second shot fired by a second man, or had the first man moved?

  By waving his hat, Vard had warned the snipers that Alex was after them. They must have known that Alex was a crack shot, because they decided to run and wait for another time to do their killing.

  Alex heard the snipers riding down the canyon at a full run, but since he was on foot and had no chance of catching them, he went back to where Cindy and Vard were waiting. The blood from the crease on his neck had stained his shirt, making it appear that his wound was more serious than it was. He took off his bandanna and held it against his face to stop the bleeding. Vard knew by the way Alex was moving that he wasn’t hurt badly, so he went to retrieve his horse. Kyle Coulter and four Bar H riders rode up with their rifles drawn. They had heard the shots and guessed what had happened.

  “Did you see them?” Kyle asked.

  “No, all I saw were puffs of smoke,” Alex answered. “They were hiding behind those boulders on the other side of that canyon, and when they left, they rode down the canyon at a run. There were two of them. . . I saw that much.”

  “Should we ride after them?” Kyle asked.

  “Nah! They would be at the Flying W before you could catch them, and they would deny having been anywhere near here. You couldn’t prove anything, so why ask for trouble. They’ll make a mistake sooner or later, and we’ll get them.”

  “Looks to me like they damn near got you this time,” Kyle noted.

  “It’s only a nick,” Alex answered.

  Alex had been too busy going after the killers and trying to prevent being shot to check on Cindy, but Raphe wasted no time. Raphe was pushing her culottes aside and examining the scratches on her legs. Alex thought he was feeling a little too far up, but Cindy didn’t seem to mind. As Alex approached, Raphe stood up quickly and went to check on her horse. It had to be put down, so Raphe handed Cindy the reins of his horse.

  “Take mine,” Raphe said. “Someone is going to have to put this little mare out of her misery. Do you want me to do it?”

  “Thank you for your horse,” Cindy stuttered, still feeling the tingling sensations from the touch of Raphe’s hands, her heart beating faster from the way he looked into her eyes. “But how will you get back?”

  “I’ll ride double with one of these guys until we get back to the herd, and then I’ll pick up a horse there. We always have extra horses with us when we work cattle.”

  “Well, thank you,” Cindy said, blushing. “I’ll bring your horse back tomorrow, and I’ll deliver it personally. But please wait until I’m gone before you shoot my horse—I couldn’t stand watching her shot.”

  Cindy got on Raphe’s horse and went to meet Vard who was retrieving his horse. She didn’t really want to leave but didn’t want Alex to notice the attention Raphe was giving her. She hoped that Alex didn’t see how much the touch of Raphe’s hands had excited her, and she felt guilty at her disturbing thoughts.

  “Thanks for coming, men,” Vard said when he rode back to the group. “Be on the lookout. No telling what those creeps will try next.”

  Alex whistled for his horse and then walked to Raphe.

  “Would you like me to do the dirty work?” Alex asked him. “I know how hard it is to shoot an animal, but I also know it’s got to be done.”

  “No,” Raphe replied. “Your father and Cindy may need you. You’d better see that they get home safely. After I put this mare out of her misery, we’ll drag her into a gully and pile some dirt on her.”

  “Thank you,” Alex said and then turned to Kyle. “Tell the men that I said thanks. I’d like to ride with them when we get this mess straightened out.” The other cowboys nodded. Alex waved a salute and rode away at a gallop to catch up to his father and Cindy.

  “Well, Cindy, I’m glad you didn’t get hurt. And it was nice of Raphe to volunteer to take care of your horse and loan you his. But you could have ridden with me,” Alex said.

  “Oh, Alex!” Cindy exclaimed, ignoring his remark. “You’re bleeding! Does it hurt? Let me take care of it when we get home.” She hoped that Alex had not noticed her blush when Raphe was touching her. Cindy loved Alex, but Raphe had excited her in a way that she had always dreamed a man would.

  When they got home, they told Eva the whole story while she dressed the wound on Alex’s neck.

  * * *

  The next morning, Alex rode to the Indian village while Cindy went to the Bar H with their parents in a wagon. Cindy had Raphe’s horse tethered behind the wagon, and she sat on the tailgate alone. Being alone gave her a chance to think about all the strange new things happening in her life.

  She and Alex had found a lost city of gold, and finding gold had made it possible for their parents to buy their land. This morning she was riding to the ranch that Vard bought, and when she and Alex married, they would inherit the ranch. They already owned Thunder Canyon and all of the land surrounding it. Alex had declared his love, and she had never felt more secure.

  A new man, Raphe, was kind and considerate, and she wouldn’t mind encouraging his attention. She was flattered that a man as handsome as Raphe would be pursuing her so vigorously. She hoped that when she returned his horse, she would have some time alone with him, but she knew that she would have to remain in control and was wondering how far she should allow him to go. Just thinking about it made her blush.

  * * *

  Alex was concerned that Cindy and their parents were riding alone to the Bar H. After all, the dry-gulchers who were working with Herv Hamlin had gotten away. Hank Taylor had contracted Herv to kill Alex’s father. With Vard dead, the women would be subjected to all kinds of humiliation. Marl was a good man, but in previous encounters, he had shown little willingness to stand up to determined men.

  * * *

  Alex arrived at the Ute village and was surprised at how fast the bad news had traveled. Gray Wolf and Soaring Eagle had heard about the men lying in wait to kill him and his father. When they saw Alex ride into their village, they knew what he wanted.

  Gray Wolf was well named. He had the strength and cunning of a wolf. He was tall and lithe, and he wore his shiny black hair loose around his shoulders. Soaring Eagle was less tall but no less a warrior. He had the eyes and patience of his namesake, and his ability to track a man or animal was remarkable. Both men had uncanny abilities to read and interpret what Indians called “sign.” once they picked up the trail of whatever or whomever they wanted to find, they seldom failed.

  Alex greeted his friends. “Can we talk?” he asked.

  “Come, let’s ride,” Gray Wolf said. “We show you where the killers were hiding.”

  Alex was astonished that they knew so much already. he didn’t even need to explain what he wanted them to do.

  “The Bar H cowboys know you’ll be riding on ranch land, and they won’t bother you,” Alex said with a smile. “Some of them are afraid of Indians, so don’t frighten them.”

  “We won’t wear feathers,” Soaring Eagle said with a remark that was meant to be funny, but In
dians seldom smile when they tell jokes. “Two cows a month will go a long way in feeding our people, and we get hungry now that white men have killed the buffalo. We know that neither you nor any of your people did that terrible thing. You grew up among us, and you’re one of us, so we want to help.”

  Before Alex could show them where he saw the puffs of smoke, both scouts had found and followed the tracks to where the snipers had waited to kill him and his father.

  “They didn’t wait long,” Gray Wolf said.

  “They knew you were coming,” Soaring Eagle added. “Someone told them when you would be going home. You might want to think about who knew you would be riding this way.”

  Alex immediately thought of the man who had stood alone during the meeting—the man Frank Fadden said had ridden in on a roan horse, and that man had left the meeting early,

  “You said two men rode down this canyon,” Gray Wolf said, “but there are tracks of three horses. One horse walked down this canyon before the other two ran down it.”

  “How do you know that?” Alex asked.

  “See, the horse that left these tracks was walking, and its steps were short. These other two horses were running. Their tracks are far apart, and notice how their hooves kicked the dirt. The running tracks blot out some of the walking tracks, so the running tracks had to have been made later.”

  “Sometimes I wonder how white men beat the Indians,” Alex said, smiling. “What else do these tracks tell you?”

  “They tell us a lot about the horse.”

  “Could you identify the horse?”

  “We can identify the tracks, and if we see the horse that made the tracks, we will know the horse—and probably the rider too.”

  “I know the riders who rode the two running horses. Can you help me find the man who rode the walking horse?”

  “We can, and we will,” Gray Wolf said. “Why don’t we follow the tracks of the walking horse and see where they lead?”

  The tracks were easy to follow because the horse’s right rear hoof had a distinctive shape. The tracks led to the Bar H, but there were no horses in the corral, so they couldn’t identify the horse.

  Alex wanted to go to the house to tell Cindy about the tracks, but Gray Wolf moved his head in the direction of the house indicating that Alex should look. Raphe was standing on the porch with his arm around Cindy. Raphe was a handsome man, and Alex thought, He works fast.

  “Cindy,” he shouted, “Where are our parents?”

  Cindy ran partway to him and stood where Alex could hear her without her having to shout. “Mr. Fadden is giving them a guided tour of the ranch.”

  “Didn’t you want to see the ranch?” Alex asked.

  “I saw some of it,” Cindy said. “I returned Raphe’s horse this morning, and he’s been nice enough to give me a personal tour. We did a walking tour.”

  “That must have been nice—sounds like Raphe is taking good care of you.”

  “Oh, yes, he’s been very nice,” she said, hoping Alex wouldn’t detect anything from her response.

  “I’ll have to thank Raphe for being so attentive,” Alex said with his eyes half closed. “Since you’re being well taken care of, I have a couple of other things to do with my Indian friends. I’ll see you tonight at our rendezvous.”

  “Okay, Alex,” Cindy said and ran back to where Raphe was waiting. Something about the way they stood indicated that they were more than a man and a pretty girl who had just met. Alex was ashamed for thinking that.

  “Shall we go?” he said to Gray Wolf.

  “Before we go, I’d like to look in the barn.”

  “What do you expect to find in the barn?” Alex asked.

  “Both people and animals spend time in barns, and their tracks tell a lot about both.”

  The barn had a dirt floor covered with tracks of men, women, and animals. The tracks of a big man and a small woman had been made recently, and they led to the hayloft.

  Gray Wolf climbed the ladder. Alex followed while Soaring Eagle watched the house where Cindy was talking with Raphe.

  “They’ve gone inside,” Soaring Eagle called up to Alex.

  The loft was filled with loose hay, and Alex stood there for a moment, looking at a bed of straw. Even he could see that someone had lain there. It was packed in a way that made it obvious that two people had used the straw for a bed, but his mind couldn’t, or wouldn’t, visualize Cindy lying there with Raphe. It was too much to assume, and he was having no part of it.

  “Hmmm, Cindy has become a woman,” Gray Wolf said as he climbed down the ladder. Gray Wolf’s ability to read “sign” was uncanny, and his sense of smell was as keen as the wolf that he was named after. Alex understood his meaning, but he didn’t think that Gray Wolf knew Cindy as well as he did.

  “Let’s follow the tracks of the two running horses and see where those riders went,” Alex said, as he tried to push the disturbing picture from his mind.

  As they were leaving, Alex saw Cindy watching him through a window. Her elbows were on the windowsill, and a heavy window curtain covered her back. Her head was moving up and down. She seemed distracted and didn’t wave to him.

  * * *

  Alex and his scouts picked up the trail of the other two horses about a mile from the canyon, and it led them to the Flying W. It was getting dark, so they stayed out of sight and watched.

  Soaring Eagle and Gray Wolf were quiet by nature, and that gave Alex time to think of all the new things happening to him. He had done nothing wrong, but he was a hunted man. He couldn’t avoid a gunfight with Herv Hamlin because the same men who were hunting him were also hunting his father. The girl he had loved all his life was being pursued by a charming cowboy, and she was flattered by, and responding to, his boldness. Is this a streak of jealousy crawling up my neck? Why are so many things going wrong at the same time? He felt a foreboding as he remembered the angry voices in the cave and Talking Drum’s warnings.

  Alex was also thinking that he and Cindy had associated with only a few young people, and Cindy hadn’t had other young men pursuing her. She was vivacious and outgoing, which was why he had fallen in love with her. How could he fault her for liking the attention of a handsome man? She charmed all of the cowboys; it was only natural for a young girl to be pleased by the attention of so many men. And he couldn’t blame them for wanting her—he wanted her as well.

  She had responded when he held her and asked him to make love to her, but he chose to wait. Cindy had expressed her disappointment when he stopped, but he thought she understood why. He stopped because he thought she needed more time to mature. He was hoping she would be his wife, and he didn’t know what he would do, or even what he should do, if Raphe had done for her what she had asked him to do, and he declined.

  His thoughts went back to what looked like a bed in the straw. He couldn’t get it out of his mind, but whom could he talk to? Not his mother or father. His mind was consumed with concern at a time when men were trying to kill both him and his father.

  He trusted Cindy’s judgment, but he didn’t completely understand her. He had had no other experience with women, and all he could do was rely on what his parents told him. They had both counseled him on how to behave around girls, but they didn’t really know—they were just quoting some pious preacher they had heard preach on the matter when they lived in Tennessee.

  * * *

  Movements in the shadows by the Flying W ranch house brought Alex back to why they were watching. A man on a big roan horse rode up, hitched his horse to the hitching rail, and walked into the house without knocking. Someone lit a kerosene lamp that was sitting on a table; the light cast shadows of people moving in the room.

  “I can tell you what that horse’s right rear hoof track looks like,” Alex said quietly to Soaring Eagle as he recognized Garth Drunkard, the man who had been standing alone at the first meeting at the Bar H.

  “Now we know how the snipers knew where, and when, to be lying in ambush,” Soaring Ea
gle murmured.

  “He’ll leave soon and return to the Bar H bunkhouse,” Alex said. “We know who he is and what he’s doing. We’ll use him to lead us to the killers.”

  Gray Wolf got on his horse. “We can go home now,” he said.

  “Do you want to take a couple of cows with you?” Alex asked.

  “We’ll pick them up on the way and drive them to our village. our people will enjoy the fresh beef. Thank you, Alex, you are our brother. We know who to watch and what to watch for. We’ll keep you informed,” Soaring Eagle said with a nod.

  With that exchange and their work done for the day, Gray Wolf and Soaring Eagle rode quietly into the shadows. Alex walked his horse in the opposite direction until he was out of hearing distance of the Flying W, and then rode home at a gallop.

  Eva had supper waiting. She and Vard were excited about checking out the Bar H, and they wanted to know about Alex’s day. he gave a brief report and then hurried to rendezvous with Cindy.

  * * *

  Cindy’s day had been exciting. She couldn’t remember ever having such an exciting day. Even finding the gold paled in comparison, and she couldn’t stop thinking about Raphe.