by Neil Hunter
I gigged my horse forward, heading for the spot where I’d seen Ward vanish. As I rode I yelled to the others, and by the time I reached the spot, Riley was pounding towards me.
I left my saddle in a rush, checking myself as I came to the edge of the deep ravine. It had a lot of brush along the edges and snow had settled on them, giving the impression of solid ground. Ward’s horse had stepped onto this false ground, losing its balance and taking its rider with it.
‘You see him?’ Riley asked.
I pointed. Fifteen, maybe twenty feet below us Bill Ward was on his feet, his face turned up to us. A couple of yards from him his horse was also on its feet, shaken but unhurt. I could see now that the sloping sides of the ravine were thickly covered with brush.
‘Bill, you alright?’ I called down to him.
‘Shook up some but I’m still in one chunk,’ he yelled back.
‘We’ll get some ropes down to you. Get your horse hitched up first then we’ll pull you up.’
Crown had joined us by then, leaving Swede to watch over the herd. We snaked out our ropes and tossed them down to Ward. He hitched them to his horse then climbed hand over hand up one of them. We pulled him clear and he flopped down onto the ground.
‘You sure you’re alright?’ I asked.
He nodded. He was pale. There was a nasty scrape down the left side of his face. I kept my eye on him while we hauled his horse up out of the ravine and as the animal came over the top I caught sight of him holding his hand to his right side.
‘All right, Bill, let’s have a look.’
‘It’s nothing,’ he said.
We got his coat open, then his shirt. It was wet with blood. His side was a mass of scraped skin, the area around already badly bruised. Crown probed with gentle fingers. He sat back, tipping his hat away from his eyes.
‘And he wouldn’t have said a damn word.’
‘His ribs?’
Crown nodded. ‘Couple of ‘em are busted, I reckon. He’s goin’ to be one sore cowboy for a while.’
‘I’ll manage,’ Ward said.
‘The hell you will.’ I stood up. ‘Lew, go fetch Swede. We’ll stop here for a while. Get Bill patched up. Day’s pretty well gone. We’ll make camp over in those rocks.’
We bedded the herd as best we could. Riley and I took the first watch while Crown tended to Bill Ward and Swede got a fire going and food on the go.
The hours dragged by. The snow kept coming. It looked like it was going to settle in again. At least we were close to Hope now. We had made the longest push of the drive in pretty clear weather. I figured I couldn’t complain. With a little luck we might reach Hope late the next day or early on the one following.
It seemed an eternity before Crown and Swede came out to take over the watch from Riley and me. We rode back to camp and tended to our horses then made our way over to the fire Swede had left for us. There was coffee on the boil, beans and bacon in the pan. We helped ourselves. I took my plate and mug over to where Bill Ward lay in the shelter of some overhanging rock.
‘How you feeling, Bill?’
‘Bad about holding you up,’ he said.
‘Now that is just crazy talk,’ I told him. ‘You think I mind having to stop because you had an accident?’
‘It could make trouble for the herd.’
Riley had heard our conversation. He joined us.
‘I think he must have landed on his head, Brig, he’s talkin’ like an idiot.’
‘I keep telling him that.’
‘You want anything?’ Riley asked.
Ward shook his head. He looked tired. Riley and I left him to rest. We went back to the fire and ate our supper.
‘That there boy has grit,’ Riley said softly and he meant every word. He was a tough, rough man, Riley, not given to compliments but he knew when to speak up. I'd ride with him any day.’
‘You said it, Lew.’
Chapter Fifteen
In the gray light of dawn we moved out again. It was still snowing and showed no sign of letting up. The wind that had been with us the day before was much stronger now, sweeping down off the high peaks, drawing the snow with it in powdery blasts.
After a fairly good night Bill Ward was able to sit his saddle. He was in some pain but I don’t think that wild horses could have kept him out of his saddle. Riley took it on himself to ride close by and to keep an eye on him.
The herd had taken a strong dislike to the biting wind and slashing snow. We had our work cut out keeping it together. Twice during the morning the herd stopped altogether and we sweated some until we got it on the move again.
It was colder now. The wind had a raw edge to it that cut through a man like a razor, leaving him numb. I had never been so cold. After a time I began to wonder just what it was like to be warm.
It was close on noon when we reached the bottom of the final slopes. We had reasonably level ground ahead of us now and I figured that if we could keep the herd moving we might reach Hope before dark.
Abruptly the weather worsened. The snow thickened and the wind rose to almost gale force. The buffeting force of it left us breathless. But we pushed on, driving that herd before us. We were too close to quit. I think we would have roped each steer and dragged it to Hope if we’d had to.
Time ceased to exist for us. We seemed to be riding in a perpetual swirl of snow, cut off from everything and everybody. We knew only the things that were close to us — the dark bulk of the slow-moving herd, the occasional view of another rider as one of the crew came into sight for a moment. We were alone in the raging, wind-swept storm.
I hardly remember what time of day it was when Riley drew his horse to mine. I turned my head towards him. Beneath the snow that clung to his unshaven face he was smiling. His lips were raw and split and it must have hurt, but he was smiling.
‘Brig, we’ve done it,’ he said. ‘We’re home.’
I followed his pointing finger. For a moment I didn’t believe my eyes. But there it was, the buildings emerging out of the swirling snow, smoke rising from the chimneys, lights shining in the windows. We had made it. Hope lay before us. Trail’s end.
I think we were all a little dazed at first. It took a while before it came home to us that we had made it, that we were through. Then it did dawn on us and we practically ran the herd over the last stretch. We drove them down to Jonah Sherwood’s pens and hustled them in. When the last gate swung shut it was as if a great load had been taken off my shoulders. I stood and looked at that herd and recalled the past days, the effort we had put into getting the herd over those hills. We had pushed hard and we had finally won through.
We mounted up and rode into town. At Sherwood’s store I drew rein. I got some money out and gave it to Crown.
‘Joe, take the boys and buy them whatever they want. Food, drink. Anything they fancy. I’ll see you later, soon as I’m through with Sherwood.’
I tied my horse and went on into the store. It was warm and dry inside. The change hit me like a slap in the face. I made my way to the counter. The place was empty except for a young man behind the counter.
‘Mr. Sherwood in?’ I asked.
He stared at me like I was some walking freak. I realized that maybe I did look a sight.
‘I’m not going to eat you, sonny, though I’m powerful hungry. All I want is to see Mr. Sherwood. Just tell him Brigham Tyler is here.’
The boy nodded and turned away from me. He went through into the back of the store. While I waited I loosened my coat and pulled off my gloves. After a minute the boy came back. Jonah Sherwood was with him.
‘Good Lord, Brig, is it you?’ he asked. He looked me up and down. ‘Man, you look like you’ve been through hell.’
He ushered me through to the rear of the store. We walked past his office, into his living-quarters. He had it laid out comfortably. In the living-room a huge fire blazed in the stone hearth.
‘Sit down, Brig,’ he said. ‘Before you fall down.’
I sank
into a chair before the fire, letting the heat wash over me. It felt good. I took off my coat and hat, let myself relax. Sherwood appeared at my elbow, a glass of brandy in his hand. I took it and drank. The liquid burned a hot trail down to my stomach.
‘Now tell me what you’ve been up to,’ Sherwood said.
‘Bringing in a herd,’ I said. ‘Right now it’s all penned up in your corrals. Tallies out to five hundred head. You interested?’
‘I’ve had people in here every day asking when I’ll have more fresh beef for them. That first herd went in four days.’
I smiled tiredly. The warmth was getting to me. I wanted to sleep but first I had to settle with Sherwood, then set about getting my crew somewhere to rest up.
‘Anywhere in town where I can bed my crew down?’ I asked, after Sherwood and I had settled our deal. I folded his check and put it away.
I’d been surprised to hear that a new bank had opened in Hope since I’d been away. Sherwood told me that it was doing a roaring trade and he seemed confident of its continuing success.
‘You’ll have no trouble cashing that,’ he said as he gave me the check.
‘I’ll take your word for it.’
‘That you can do,’ he said. Tm one of the directors, so I think I can vouch for the bank’s safety.’
I smiled. Jonah Sherwood, I realized, was no fool when it came to business. He had a clear head and the ability to see the potential in a place after only a short stay. If he had so much faith in Hope, then it seemed that the town had a good future in front of it.
‘Now, about somewhere for you and your crew . . . ‘
‘You don’t reckon there’ll be any rooms at that hotel they were building when we were here last time?’
Sherwood smiled and I got the feeling he had me anticipated again.
‘I figured you might be ready to relax when you got here, so I’ve had three rooms held over for you.’
‘Held over? In Hope? How the hell did you do that?’
I guess I must have sounded a little astounded. I suppose I was. Rooms, any kind of rooms, were pure gold to whoever owned them. Men were willing to pay small fortunes just for the luxury of being able to relax in a clean room, on a soft bed.
‘I don’t suppose you have some kind of pull with the hotel?’ I asked.
‘Only a half-ownership,’ he said.
‘It figures.’
I got into my coat, put my hat on.
‘How’s the situation on the marshal’s job proving out?’ I asked.
‘We have another meeting in two days. I think I’ve got Seth in. I hope so. I don’t think anyone could match him. Except perhaps you.’
I shook my head. ‘Count me out. I’m too quick to lose my temper over some things. Man who takes on a job like the one you have open has to think before he acts. Me, I just walk straight in, settle things my own way. I like the thought of law and order but I don’t think I’m the kind of man who could rightly enforce it.’
Right there and then I didn’t realize just how soon I was to prove those very words. I was tired and hungry and what I’d said passed from my mind almost as soon as I’d spoken. But I was shortly to recall my words to Jonah Sherwood, with the odor of gunsmoke in the air and the crash of blazing guns punctuating every one of those words.
Chapter Sixteen
I had hoped for a good night’s sleep and an easy day to follow. I got the first part of my wish, but as I lay in my bed in the light of dawn I was abruptly brought out of my lazy state by a heavy pounding on the door of my room. I heard somebody calling my name and I recognized the voice. Rolling out of bed I grabbed my dirty Levis and dragged them on. I opened the door and Sachs almost fell into my arms.
‘Hell, boy, am I glad to see you,’ he said.
I led him over to the bed and sat him down. He looked to be in a bad way. His clothing was wet and filthy. His face was grimy, bruised and caked with dried blood, and his hands resembled slabs of raw, bloody meat.
‘What happened?’ I asked.
‘Brig, we got trouble. Bad trouble. I come to town for help an’ heard you’d got back, so I come runnin'.’
I glanced up as Crown appeared in the doorway. He was half-dressed but he had his gun in his hand. Riley was crowding close behind him, Swede as well.
‘Tell me what happened,’ I said. I was starting to worry. I had a feeling that whatever had happened it concerned my brothers and Joel.
‘Late on last night we got raided,’ Sachs said. ‘It was Karver and his bunch. They just come out of the snow, took us by surprise.’ He paused and I had a feeling that the worst was yet to come. ‘Brig, boy, I hate to tell you, but they killed Joel. He was facing up to ‘em like a real man and they shot him in the back. Some yellow dog come up behind him and cut him down.’
Joel dead. I let the words sink in. A young man with a future ahead of him, that had been Joel. And now he was dead, murdered while he defended what was his against a bunch of killers. He had always worried how he would react if ever the chips were down. It seemed that he had showed his courage but he had not allowed for the treachery of men like Red Karver and his crew.
‘Anybody else hurt?’ I asked.
‘Seth and Jacob are alive but they’re in trouble. Karver’s bunch set off a powder charge and brought down the hillside over the mouth of the mine tunnel. Seth and Jacob was in there. I took a tumble down a damn gully just after the bang and when I come round Karver’s crew had gone. I got over to the mine. Seth and Jacob were all right, bruised up some, but I couldn’t move the blockage. There was a lot of big stuff come down with that blast. I told ‘em to hang on, then I took my horse and headed to town.’
I reached for my boots, pulled them on.
‘Sorry, boys, but we’ve got some riding to do,’ I said.
‘We’ll be right with you, Brig,’ Crown said.
Within a half hour we were riding out of Hope. The snow had stopped falling sometime during the night, so we were able to make pretty good time. The day showed bright and clear, the air was fresh and had an edge to it.
I’d wanted both Sachs and Bill Ward to stay behind but there was no way of making sure they would, short of tying them down. So they rode with us.
It took a while for me to accept that Joel was dead. It was hard. He’d become a good friend. I had liked him a lot and it was a bad way for him to have gone. I would not forget it. And someone would pay. I would see to that. There was an anger in me that wouldn’t let me rest until I had settled for Joel.
We rode in on the camp some hours later and I saw straightaway the mass of tumbled rock and earth that covered the entrance to the mine. The blast set off by Karver and his bunch had brought down a considerable section of the hill from above the mine entrance, completely blocking the tunnel. There was a lot of rubble in that pile but it had to be moved. Seth and Jacob were alive at the moment, only they couldn’t live too long in their present situation. There were dangers in various forms threatening them now — further rock falls, suffocation if we took too long getting through to them. It didn’t warrant too much thinking about.
Once we’d dismounted we rounded up all the tools we could find and then we set on that rock fall. After making sure that Seth and Jacob were all right we wasted no more time on talking. We put everything we had into moving that blockage, using spades and picks without pause, digging until our arms began to ache and our back-muscles throbbed with the pressure we put on them.
Around us the day had grown light and clear. A pale, watery sun shone down on the snowbound land and we paused long enough to shed our bulky coats. And while we dug Bill Ward and Sachs got a fire going, put coffee and food on to heat.
Time passed unnoticed. We knew only that we were taking a long time to move that blockage. Our digging seemed to be having little effect on the earth and rock beneath our feet. But we kept right on digging. We dug and hacked at that blockage until our hands were raw and blistered, our nails split and bleeding. Sweat rolled from our bodies,
soaking our clothes, and despite the snow there was enough dust rising from our digging to sting our eyes and coat our throats until they ached.
Yet slowly, so slowly we hardly realized at first, we began to make some headway. Rock by rock, spade by spade, the pile of rubble began to change shape under our attack.
And suddenly I heard a yell. It was Lew Riley, close by where I was digging.
‘Hey, I’m through, Brig.’
I fought my way across the loose surface to where he stood. Riley was on his knees, his pick hacking away at a fair-sized hole that dropped down into what looked like empty blackness. I wasted no time talking. I just added my spade to his pick and we began to widen that hole.
And suddenly I heard a familiar voice. It came floating up out of the blackness and despite the grimness of the situation I had to smile as I heard the words.
‘Hell, Brig, what you trying to do? Dig us out or make certain sure we’re buried for good?’
Good old Jacob, I thought. It took more than a cave-in to finish off my brother. It was good to hear his voice.
Before another ten minutes had passed we had got that hole opened up enough so we were able to get a rope down to Seth and Jacob. We pulled Seth out first, then Jacob. He was on his feet as soon as we had him clear but he only took two steps before he fell flat on his face. We picked him up and carried him down to where Seth had been laid on a blanket by the fire. They had both been pretty badly banged about. When we got them stripped-off it was plain to see that they were going to be might sore in a while. Great bruises and grazes covered them from head to foot. We cleaned them up as best we could, put them into clean clothes, then fed them.
It was a little after that when I found myself alone, some way off from the others. I was standing beside a laid-out shape under a blanket and I was trying to remember the sound of Joel Welcome’s voice, the way he smiled, or the way he moved his hands as he spoke. The hardest thing in my mind was the fact that it was already becoming difficult to recall these things. But I didn’t forget what he had meant to me, the relationship that had developed between us. It was something I was not likely to forget.
