JL Tate, Texas Ranger

by Lou Bradshaw

  Burley Clayton and I rode out a ways from the mules and Emma. He told me about the plan. I’d been off scouting, when he told the others of the plan. So this was all new to me. Rather than trying to run from them, he was planning to set a trap for them. As a lawman, I wasn’t at all happy about setting a trap. And I’d bet a month’s pay Spade Carson wasn’t any happier about it than I was.

  A trap can become a massacre, where innocent folks can be cut down. As unlikely as it seemed, those behind us could well be a bunch of pilgrims taking a short cut to El Paso. I didn’t necessarily believe in coincidences, but it happens. I just didn’t like it… I needed to talk to Carson, but it seems that we were being kept apart. Whether that was by design or coincidence, I didn’t know.

  After a few minutes of silence Clayton told me to ride on ahead to a place where the tail end of a ridge is anchored by a granite outcropping. It would look like I’d be forced to turn left. Once I got past the outcrop, but before I reached the tailing slope of the next mountain, I would find a brush choked mouth of a canyon. It would be to my right and run along the backside of the ridge. There should be a stream running through the entrance.

  I was to look for signs of recent use. Then I was to go into the canyon a short distance to make sure. “You may as well wait for the rest of us there…. Don’t worry about leaving sign; we want them to follow us in.” He told me.

  “Ten years ago,” he said,” I found that place. It was what looked like an abandoned silver mine. It looked perfect for a hiding place. I could just back the wagon into the shaft and board it up again. Chances were good that nobody would ever stumble onto it, but there’s always someone trying to reopen those old mines… They’d find a lot more than they expected.”

  I had my orders, so I took off down the valley. At least I wouldn’t be sitting there so close to Emma knowing our paths would never be on the same trail.

  It was only a few miles to the granite outcrop and I had no problem finding the entrance to what looked to be a canyon. There hadn’t been anyone through there in years. At one time wagons had used it regularly.

  Starting up the old overgrown wagon trail, I laid my Winchester across my saddle bows. It was mostly uphill, but it wasn’t a canyon. After a few turns, the whole country opened up and I found myself on the south flank of Baldy Peak. Old Baldy had a shape all its own. It was over eight thousand feet of rock, with the top two thousand sticking up above the rest like a giant wart.

  It looked like the hand of God had come along and decorated that plain simple lump by topping it with a tall crown of granite. It was something to see. There probably wasn’t a bigger hill in Texas, unless it was Mount Livermore, which sat right next to it.

  Mesquite, Yucca, and Mountain Mahogany along with sparse clumps of grass covered the hillside above the trail and below were mostly Juniper and Mesquite. The trail had become hard packed in years past, but much of it had been washed away. When I found the mine, I could see why Clayton liked it.

  The mine entrance was on the top of a knoll. It had been boarded up, but the elements had left their efforts a shambles. There was barely a board intact. There were several waste dumps, where they had wheeled it out and just dumped off the knoll. Those eventually piled up on the top, making good cover for a rifleman.

  Coming up that knoll would be suicide under fire, but men will face almost anything for a big payday. And according to my calculations eight mules would carry about twelve hundred pounds of gold. At about twenty dollars an ounce… well that comes out to be…. well…a lot of money. Even selling it through a buyer at, say fifteen dollars an ounce, that’s still a lot more money than I can count.

  I walked around and got a pretty good idea of how to set up the defenses. Then I rode on back down to the entrance to wait. I sat on a boulder in the shade chewing on jerky. My horse was close by picketed on some grass. We were both making the most of our slack time. He and I both knew how to shut down when it was shutting down time. But even though we were relaxing, we were both attuned to our surroundings. After a while a man learns to hear the birds, little critters in the grass, and the cicadas humming, but at the same time he hears a shod hoof strike a stone.

  When I heard it, my instincts automatically looked to my horse. His head was up and looking down the valley. I took to cover and waited with my rifle in hand and ready. I could hear the horse drawing nearer and nearer. I had my rifle pointed where the chest of a rider would be as he rounded the outcropping.

  The first one around the rocks was Morgan leading the string of mules. I gotta hand it to Clayton, he was a survivor. He wasn’t about to get shot going around the outcrop. I showed Morgan the entrance and told him it was about a quarter mile up the trail on the uphill side. Then I stepped into the saddle and went out to greet the others.

  Burley and Emma came next then Bridger and Tom Blaze, with Carson a hundred yards back. I trotted back to meet him and ride in together. It would be the first time we had been out of earshot of the others for almost two days.

  “Spade, how we gonna handle this trap? I sure don’t plan on shootin’ into a bunch of men unless they’re shootin’ at me.”

  “Good question, JL. Just don’t be the first one to pull a trigger… I’m pretty sure those behind us ain’t a flock of sheep… they’ll be coming at us loaded for bear. So keep your curly head down, or you’ll have a hole in it that won’t be very becomin’ to the señoritas.”

  “Yeah… You too.”

  The rest of the way to the mine was filled with exchanging what we had learned, which wasn’t much. I told him about Clayton wanting me… us to watch out for Emma if he doesn’t make it to El Paso. “He wants us to make sure she gets enough gold to give her a secure future… He doesn’t want her to wind up working in a saloon… or such.”

  “You know that could be a problem.” He said. “The boys in Austin have laid a rightful claim to that yellow gold. We won’t even get what Clayton promised us for signin’ on, let alone giving any of it to Burley’s heir.”

  “Yeah, I know, but I’d hate to set that girl out on her own among the wolves… It just don’t seem right.”

  “There’s no guarantees, my boy…. Sometimes, we just havta do the best we can and git on about our lives.”

  “But what if she becomes part of my life?” I couldn’t believe I’d said that out loud.

  He just looked at me like he hadn’t really heard it, but I knew he had. “Tater… when a wise man finds himself in a hole… he stops diggin’.” That was all he had to say.

  By that time we had come to the slope up to the mine entrance, and there was no more time for talk. Bridger had taken the mules up beyond the mine and was stringing a rope between a couple of trees to attach lead ropes to. Blaze and Morgan were taking down the boards covering the shaft. Emma was building a cook fire. That left only Burley to be the one inside the mine casting shadows from a torch.

  Carson went to help Emma with the fire, and I started pulling boards off and laying them aside. Soon Burley came out and motioned me inside. I got another glare from Blaze, which in no uncertain terms, meant he’d like to rip my heart out and feed it to the coyotes. I was making a formidable enemy, and I wasn’t even trying. Well, I always figured that not everybody is bound to love me, but it would be nice if them that were good with guns did. Nothing could be accomplished by worrying about Blaze. When the time came to worry about him… I would.

  I followed Burley into the tunnel and let my eyes get used to the little light from the torch. We walked into the depths. There was scattered junk here and there. I saw everything from busted shovels and picks to a pair of red flannel underwear hanging from a beam. It looked like someone left without his drawers.

  “What do ya think, Tate… can we make a stand in here?”

  “If it’s all the same to you,” I said, “I’d just as soon be outside… When they start shootin’ in here, those bullets are gonna start bouncin’ off the walls in all directions. Anybody in here is gonna get cut to rag
s… It won’t be pretty.”

  “Damn! I hadn’t thought about that, but you’re right…Gawd! That’d be a bloody slaughter.”

  “I scouted around when I first got here. I think those dumps piled up out there would work, and there’s enough scattered boulders out there to offer ample cover. We can cover that slope from right, left and top.”

  We walked out and I walked him around where our men could be positioned. I called Carson for a consultation since he had a lot more experience at that sort of thing than I did. Blaze and Morgan had finished tearing off the old planks and were lounging near the fire waiting for the coffee to boil. So there was nobody near to hear what we were saying.

  “Was I you,” Carson told him, “I’d put the least important man in the bunch inside the tunnel with a torch movin’ around, so that it looks like people are in there workin’. That’ll give them the idea that all or most are inside… They’ll fix on those shadows… it’s just human nature. A friend of ours up in New Mexico called it misdirection. But make sure to tell him that when the shootin’ starts to get the hell out of there.”

  “That’d be Bridger.” Clayton said. “He’s ‘bout as useless as teats on a boar hawg… Walkin’ around with a torch is about his limit.”

  “Tend to agree with you. Carson said. “Can Blaze handle a long gun, or is he just a six-gun fighter”?

  “Oh he can use most any kind of weapon, from rifle to rocks, but he’s more of a killer than a fighter. He doesn’t own a conscience… We stuck together in prison out of need. He needed common sense and some organization, and I needed an enforcer to keep the opposition at bay. Those other prison gangs knew he could kill with a sharp rock, and he knew how to sharpen rocks. Everyone avoided him and… me because of him.”

  “Tate, I sort of did you an injustice by pickin’ you out for that service we talked about. Tom’s got a jealous streak, and he thinks I’ve replaced him as my right hand man… guess I sort of did. He didn’t like it much when I brought Cole Cassidy in. Cassidy worried him. Anyway, you be watchful of him… He’s as cold blooded as they come, and sometimes there just ain’t no reasoning for what he does.”

  I shrugged it off, as if it was something that didn’t bother me, but it did. It was something else I’d have to be aware of. But I’d made up my mind not to worry about Blaze. He’d get one try, and if I survived, he’d never get another. A crusty old scout on a trail drive once told me, “Boy, keep your friends close, and keep your enemies closer… at least till you can bury ‘em.” I often wonder whatever happened to old Cain.

  Coffee was ready so we went back to the fire and had a cup. Afterwards, we were all assigned a place, which we were responsible to fortify however we could. I was assigned the spot just to the right and above the mine entrance. Carson told me to build up a breastwork of rocks and dig it out like it was a big cup. “I have reason to believe, you won’t be alone in your nest.” He told me.

  Evening came and Carson took a ride back up the trail, to see if he could locate their campsite. He was back within three hours. They had used our site from the night before. That meant we could expect them anytime between eleven and one o’clock the next morning.

  I had spent some time in the afternoon showing Emma how to use my old Navy Colt. She had fired shotguns on a hunting trip, so she expected a kick, but she didn’t expect the weight. So she had to use two hands even to pull the hammer back. I showed her how to get the used cartridges out and reload. I doubted if she would have to reload, but I wanted her to know how anyway. She didn’t think she could shoot a man, but I emphasized that if he was close, either pull the trigger, die, or be carried off… she was leaning toward pulling the trigger.

  When the morning began to wear on we all started moving toward our posts. Carson and Clayton were in a similar position to the left of the entrance. Morgan was behind a mound of mine rubble and Blaze was behind another. Bridger was in the mineshaft ready to make shadows. Each man had a rifle and at least one six-gun. Emma didn’t have a rifle.

  One torch was already lit in the shaft and Bridger would light the other when Morgan told him to. Emma was scared, and I didn’t blame her. Anytime there are bullets flying around anything can happen. She sat there next to me shaking. Finally I put my arm around her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. She stopped shivering, but she was still tense. She had started to relax, when Morgan told Bridger to light the other torch and start moving around.

  Emma moved closer and started to tense up again. Then she suddenly put the gun on her lap, reached up, to the back of my head pulling it down, and kissed me right on the lips. It was a good one and I certainly enjoyed it. Then she pulled back and picked her Colt saying, “I’ve never been kissed before, and I didn’t want to die un-kissed… I’m glad it was you.”

  She had both hands on the handle of that Navy Colt with her fingers on the trigger. I reached over and pulled the hammer back.

  Chapter 13

  By then we could hear them coming on the trail. They were still several hundred yards away and under cover of the brush. I leaned over and gave her a peck on the temple and said, “Here we go.”

  I had left a little gap between two rocks to use as a rifle loop, and with my hat off I was able to see most of the open space. They had held up at the base of the knoll looking things over. With the mules and horses in view and the accumulated junk from the mine piled near one of the dumps, it must have looked like everyone was inside unloading gold.

  After some discussing and pointing to this or that, they started up the slope. They were coming slow and ready. I suppose they wanted to catch everyone in the mine and either open fire and cut everyone to pieces. Or they wanted us to surrender.

  They were over half way up the slope about fifty yards out, when I heard Bridger say, “Hey! That’s my cousin, Purvis out there.”

  And then he was out in the open and yelling, PUR-VES!… It’s a trap!… Turn a roun….” That was when the first bullet struck him. It came from Blaze’s position.

  The fat was in the fire, and rifles were barking. Bridger went down almost immediately with his torch in hand. I could see smoke from the raiders, and for a few seconds I couldn’t find a target for the smoke. Two saddles were emptied in the first volley. It was jack and shoot… jack and shoot. I saw three men down and one horse on the ground kicking. I could hear lead striking the rocks I was using for cover. All I could do was pop up and shoot.

  I felt a weight on my legs almost pinning me against the rocks. My fear was that Emma had been hit and had fallen on my legs. But a quick glance down showed her curled up in a ball with both arms wrapped around my left leg. I was leaning against the side of the pit I’d dug, with my left leg extended and my right one bent. She seemed to be unhurt but scared to death. Smoke hung heavy in our little pit. My eyes were watering, and Emma was coughing, but we were all right.

  There were a few shots being fired, and they were coming from our side. I could hear horses moving and looked up in time to see a rider take a shot in the back and roll over his horse rump. Wiping my eyes, I could see four men on the ground and a horse running down the trail with stirrups flapping. The others were already under cover of the trees and brush. Then the last horse was gone also.

  Placing my hand on the back of Emma’s head, I let her cry. As I looked back at the battleground, I could see Tom Blaze walking out among the dead and dying. He put a rifle bullet into the back of Bridger’s skull. Then he went from man to man doing the same including the horse. When he reached the last man, the one who was fleeing, his rifle clicked on an empty chamber. He casually pulled his six-gun and put two shots in the man’s head. With each shot Emma jumped and tightened her grip on my leg.

  “It’s over.” I told her, but she only cried harder. She had taken her arms from my leg, but she stayed curled up against my leg with her face in her hands sobbing. That’s when I heard footsteps above and behind us. Burley and Carson were just coming over the top of the mine entrance. Burley stopped with a hor
rified look on his face. I held up my hand and told him that she wasn’t hurt but all mighty scared.

  He stepped down into the pit and kneeled in front of her and tried to comfort her. Finally, he lifted her to carry her down to the mine. She’d be all right once she gets her face washed and realizes she came through it without a scratch.

  I remembered my first big gun battle, and how scared I was. I even cried when I found that my best friend had been killed by the rustlers. He was just sixteen and I wasn’t quite eighteen. I got over it, and I was sure Emma would as well. We have to move on.

  Carson helped Burley get her out of the pit, and then he turned back to me and said, “You’re hit boy.”

  “No… not that I know of… I’d probably be the first one to know about it.” I started checking my parts and looking for blood but finding none.

  He put his hand up to the right side of my face and came away with a bloody finger, which he wiped on my shirt. “What would you call that… tree sap?”

  I felt around on the side of my face, and sure enough, it was wet and it was sore. But it wasn’t deep. The only thing I could think of was slivers of rock from a ricochet, and there were several close enough to have caused it. A little water and a rag and it would be fine. Funny… but I hadn’t even felt it.

  He pulled my kerchief off, splashed a little water from my canteen on it, and handed it back to me saying, “Here… get it cleaned up before it cakes and you scare the hell outa that girl.”

  After a few dabs, the senses kicked in, and I could feel the rawness, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t deal with so I asked, “You want to take a little ride?”

  “I was just goin’ to ask the same question… I’d like to make sure they’re really gone… I’ll get the horses.”

  Rinsing my kerchief, I figured it was good enough to heal on its own, so I picked up my stuff and climbed out of the pit. Half sliding down the slope to the mine entrance, I poked my head in and asked if Emma was all right. Burley shot me a glance at my using her given name, but he didn’t remark on it. I figured, after what we’d just been through together would qualify for an engagement in some parts of the country. But I left it alone.