Clash of Mountains
Page 23
He snorted, and she turned out the cook pot into her bowl, downin’ what were left and takin’ the cook pot to the stream to rinse it out. She came back and stashed it away, puttin’ one more dead branch on the fire to keep it smolderin’ through to morning, then took out her blanket and pulled it over herself, settlin’ in on her arm against her saddle. Smell of leather and horse was the most familiar thing in her whole life, and sleep found her easy enough. Maxim and Toby talked any more that night, she didn’t know about it.
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They got up at dawn the next morning and set off again. Toby limped on both feet, but Sarah didn’t say nothin’, and she didn’t reckon Maxim even noticed. Riding got rough, from there, lots of up and down, horses workin’ hard, the three riders workin’ hard to stay aboard. They stopped for lunch in a high mountain valley up neighborin’ the tree line, sittin’ alongside a cold stream fed by glacier melt that didn’t ever let up. Glaciers rolled down the mountains all year long, meltin’ when they got too low, the rains fallin’ as snow way up top and keepin’ ‘em alive. Sarah’d been up to see ‘em, but weren’t much to see, all told.
Sarah made gremlin tea to drink with her jerky and hardtack bread. Maxim ate twice his share of the jerky, and Toby made up for it by eatin’ almost none of it. Both of ‘em turned their noses up at the hardtack. Dog ran a long loop around the valley, only poppin’ out of the trees now and again to check on them, and Sarah watched the sky, feelin’ the weather, the land.
“How much further is it?” Toby asked as she packed up her tripod and mounted back up. His knees weren’t gonna make it. They’d have to spend a full day at the first site, just to make sure he didn’t cause himself a permanent injury.
“Four hours, if we make good time,” Sarah said. They wouldn’t. She was already holdin’ Gremlin to a slow walk, makin’ sure Maxim and Toby didn’t slide off at the wrong moment, and she’d given ‘em two standin’ breaks since morning. Maxim walked like somebody had tanned his backside, but Toby was just sad.
“How do you expect anyone to get absenta out of here?” Maxim asked. Sarah shook her head, lookin’ at the sky again. It was gonna rain in an hour or so. Always did, in the afternoons. She’d have to find ‘em someplace dry to shelter, so they didn’t get any sores worse than what they already had.
Three days.
She could still get ‘em home in three days, if she pushed ‘em hard enough.
They made the treeline and Dog came in at a flat run, belly to the ground. Sarah was off Gremlin ‘fore her brain actually started processin’, and Maxim hit the ground just a couple seconds after her, gun out.
“Get down,” Sarah hissed at Toby, grabbin’ her rifle and shooin’ Gremlin into a thicket of trees where Maxim’s horse followed, willing enough.
“What?” Toby asked. “What’s going on?”
She shook her head, readin’ Dog’s posture.
Men with guns. He knew to keep low, go fast, and stay dead quiet, when he found unknown men with guns. That way. He as much as pointed at ‘em for her. She looked from Maxim to Toby.
“You stay with the horses,” she said. “Stay down, but if Gremlin makes a run for it, you hold onto his mane and you run alongside until he knocks you loose.”
“Why?” Toby asked. She was looking out across the valley, watchin’ for signs of what Dog had seen, but they weren’t there, yet. Maybe wouldn’t go through the valley at all.
“Which one is Gremlin?” Toby finally asked.
“Big black one,” Maxim said. “Hers.”
Sarah nodded, taking a careful step forward. Dog, shoulder along at her calf, stepped with her, and Maxim fell into formation on her other side, just behind her. He was like to shoot her, from there, which meant she was trustin’ him to know that she took the first shot.
Jimmy trusted him.
She’d see it that far.
“What’s going on?” Maxim asked, his voice low. Sarah checked that the horses were mostly out of sight in the thicker underbrush, least likely to get spotted and intentionally flushed, then she nodded to herself, eyes sharp.
“Dog saw somethin’ what don’t belong out here,” Sarah said. “Somethin’ like to shoot us, we come up on it, unaware.”
“How can you tell?” Maxim asked. She didn’t answer that.
“We need to move fast,” she said. “Their horses get within wind of ours, they’ll give each other away. Best thing we got goin’, right now, is that they don’t know we’re here.”
“You know they’d shoot us?” he asked. She nodded.
“I know well enough. Ain’t nobody up here, wanderin’ around, but those lookin’ for absenta what ain’t theirs.”
“How do they know where to look?” Maxim asked.
“They don’t,” Sarah said, grim. That they were just wandering, without any specific idea where to look, might have been worse than them turnin’ up at Apex and Thor’s mine.
A leak, she could find and fix.
Men with the time and resources to just comb the mountains, hopin’ to find the claims by chance? That weren’t somethin’ she had any means to fight off, other than hopin’ Jimmy’s chain of scoutin’ cabins could stumble on ‘em ‘fore they caused problems.
‘Bout as likely as Jimmy’s reservoir survivin’ the flood, by Sarah’s calculation.
She walked the line as Dog gave it to her, head low, eyes up, notin’ that it seemed Maxim had decent feet, even on dry ground with its normal litter of twigs and dead leaves. The horses, behind her, grunted to each other, and she hoped like hell they didn’t give her away. Ahead, she heard voices, and she ticked her head to the side, makin’ sure Maxim heard it. He nodded, and she put her hand down, palm toward the earth. Dog went to belly and stopped there, not followin’ any further as she and Maxim continued on.
Horses gruntin’ and snortin’ with normal effort, boredom, men’s voices. She counted four. Held up the fingers, and Maxim nodded again. They came into the clearing, walkin’ along the edge of it for the ease of the line, and Sarah dropped to a knee, linin’ up a shot through the sight on her rifle. Maxim came to stand at her shoulder, hand gun out, ready, but not yet aimed. Unlikely he could have made his shot, at this distance.
Unlikely Sarah could hit all four ‘fore they got in cover and returned fire.
Two against four weren’t the worst odds she’d ever had. But these weren’t bandits. They rode like Maxim, men with an awareness of their bodies and their abilities, but with iron hands on the reins and odd postures, favoring this or that what had got wore out on the ride.
What in hell were they doin’, sendin’ men like that up into the mountains?
Then she saw him.
Held up a hand.
Five.
Made sure Maxim caught her meaning.
Down, under the tree line, shriveled old bandit in a gray jacket, ridin’ a mule. Creature were the meanest kind of the breed, fast-witted and quick-footed. She knew the animal, in specific.
“Jeffrey,” she muttered, lookin’ at his hat through her scope. Knew the mountains like the wrinkles on his own face. He’d been up here, knockin’ over claims, since Elaine and Peter Lawson ran Lawrence. Back when that kind of thing were profitable. Thieves like that had long since given it up, run off to join the bandits takin’ loot off the homesteaders, but not Jeffrey. Far as Sarah knew, the man had never had a last name.
Sarah’d shot at him before, and he’d shot at her before. Put a hole in her shoulder and cut a line along her neck, he’d been that close. She had no idea how close she’d been to killin’ him, other than that she’d found blood, after.
Shrewd old man was gonna be outclassed by the mines, comin’ up. He couldn’t go at ‘em straight, like he’d always done. He’d have to scuttle in and grab what he could, hopin’ to get away ‘fore anyone saw what was goin’ on. Was gonna take groups like the one he was leadin’ to have any hope of overpowerin’ the number of men and guns that were gonna be at the mines from here on.
; As she lined up her shot, lookin’ for the middle of his chest ‘round the mule’s head, the mule caught first wind of ‘em and threw its head up, turnin’ to go uphill, away from the open of the valley and the four men on horseback.
Sarah pulled the trigger, takin’ the shot she had, and watched as Jeffrey slumped down onto the mule’s neck at the same time that the animal disappeared through the trees. No followin’ him with just a scope, Sarah turned her attention to the four men in the valley. Their horses had startled at the rifle shot, and they was havin’ a hard time controllin’ them, just a churn of legs and rollin’ white eyes. Sarah shook her head.
“Dumber than dry roots,” she said, pullin’ the bolt on her rifle and linin’ up a new shot as the first of the men lost his seat and his horse took off into the wood. Sarah hit one of the mounted riders with her second shot and the other three horses bolted, one with a rider still on, but leavin’ three men on the grass, behind. The two what were walkin’ ran for the trees, lookin’ for cover, and Sarah advanced. Maxim took a shot, just to have tried his luck, but there was no tellin’ exactly where the bullet lit, other than that it weren’t in one of the men.
They reached the biggest of the trees ‘tween them and the other men, and Sarah put her back to one while Maxim reached around the other, takin’ another shot. She heard it hit wood and bounce.
“You lay down your guns and go belly-down in the grass over there, I won’t kill you both,” Sarah yelled. “Ain’t gonna get an offer like that past right now. Give you five seconds to think it over, then I’m puttin’ holes in whatever flesh I see.”
She rolled her head to look, and a bullet ricocheted off the tree, kickin’ up splinters. She tucked her hat lower and rolled, droppin’ to a knee with most of her body still behind the tree. She looked through the sight on the scope at the same time that she scanned where the two men had ended up, for cover.
Weren’t no gettin’ away. Sarah had horses to go back to, but they was stranded on foot, without knowin’ where their mounts had got to, nor havin’ the skill to bring ‘em back in.
She pulled the trigger on the rifle, slidin’ back behind the tree and pullin’ the bolt to load the next round. She knew without seein’ it, she’d hit the shoulder that had been stickin’ out from behind the tree, though she didn’t hear the man react.
There was a grudging respect for that.
“You got reloads?” Sarah asked Maxim quietly.
“I’ve got enough rounds for two men,” Maxim said.
“Says the man who ain’t hit nothin’ yet,” Sarah said.
Maxim snorted.
“They aren’t shooting back, are they?”
“Nothing to shoot at,” she said. “Apparently they’re smarter than you.”
He snorted again, stickin’ his head around the tree and takin’ two more shots.
“You’ve got your way and I’ve got mine,” he answered.
She shook her head again, lookin’ ‘round the other side of the tree at the man laid out in the grass. His arm wiggled, and she shot him again.
There were three shots from the two men in response, but she was right - they didn’t have anything to shoot at.
She waited, then put the rifle along the side of the tree, takin’ a careful aim at the belly one of the two couldn’t quite get out of the way.
Bad way to die, that, but she didn’t have anything more merciful to hit. She shot him through the gut and ducked back again, drivin’ home a new round.
“Bad day, when bein’ fatter than the trees is why you stop kickin’,” Sarah muttered.
“Thanks for choosing better cover,” Maxim commented. Sarah stuck her head out again, pullin’ it back before she actually saw what she saw, takin’ the next moment to put it together.
Weren’t any guns pointed at ‘em, just that moment.
“Neither of those was fatal shots,” she said. “You reckon you can get around ‘em and finish ‘em from uphill, I keep ‘em focused over here?”
“I’d feel better if you were the one moving,” Maxim said. “You’ve got better feet than I do.”
Sarah looked over at him, openly impressed. He knew what to pay attention to.
“All right,” she said. “Don’t be a ham about it.”
He grinned, stickin’ his head around the tree and takin’ another shot, as if to prove she couldn’t make him. She shook her head and started a line away from the big trees they were back-to and not turnin’ until she couldn’t much see Maxim anymore.
She walked a long arc through the wood, comin’ to the trail Jeffrey’s mule had left and followin’ it out about an eighth a mile to make sure it didn’t look like he were like to double back. He’d fallen forward, sure enough, but it took more ‘n one bullet to kill a man made ‘a that much human jerky. She didn’t find blood, but she didn’t expect to. Mule’d soak up an awful lot of it, and even a good wound wouldn’t start drippin’ for at least another quarter mile. She went back in along the same line, finally gettin’ to where she could see the two men, pressed against trees down below her, one grabbin’ his shoulder and the other doubled over on the ground, knees to shoulders.
Sad.
Even after all this time, even huntin’ as many bandits as she had, weren’t easy to kill men so defenseless as that.
Weren’t hard, either.
She pulled the trigger on the one with the shoulder hole, then reloaded as the second one made a go at crawlin’ away and ended him, too. Shoulder woulda made it back to town, patched up. Belly wound was only a maybe, maybe not, and that were if they went straight back.
Sarah had no intention of a detour. Spent too much time with Maxim and Toby, as it were.
She took out her hand gun and walked down the slope, watchin’ the two men close as she approached. Both of ‘em had the look of death to ‘em, but she’d seen that before in live men, and knew better than to trust it. She got to the first one, takin’ his gun and tuckin’ it into her pocket ‘fore searchin’ him for other weapons. She found a pair of smaller pistols and took those as well, eyes on the other man the whole time. Shoulder-wound had a hole in his head that were a touch more convincing that he were gone, but she took his guns, too, then stood as Maxim finished with the man in the grass.
“What about the last one?” Maxim asked.
“Last two,” she said.
“Two?”
She nodded.
“Ahh,” he said. “The first shot wasn’t a miss.”
“Nope. Didn’t kill him stone-cold dead, I reckon, but I hit what I was aimin’ for.
“Well, what about them?”
She shook her head.
“Could track ‘em, if I chose to. Don’t reckon Jeffrey will leave a trail, once he gets that mule under control, but the loose horses wouldn’t be that hard. I’m more concerned with whether or not your man from Preston is still alive.”
Maxim nodded slowly.
“That’s what they’re up here for?”
“I figure,” Sarah said.
“If they’ve found my claim, it’s all that much more important we track them down and kill them.”
Sarah shook her head.
“Jeffrey, if he’s with the livin’, won’t be catchable. I chased that ghost too many times, before now. Your fourth man, from this lot, he ain’t got that much chance of makin’ it.”
“Still,” Maxim said. “I want to be sure.”
She glowered, then nodded.
“All right. We’ll see how it goes.”
She led the way back to Toby and the horses, mountin’ up and waiting for Maxim and Toby to do the same. Looked like bein’ that close to gun shots had loosened Toby up considerably, ‘cause he moved a lot better ‘n he had been just thirty minutes earlier. Dog walked a tight loop around ‘em, makin’ sure everything was as he expected it, then he set off toward the kills. Sarah followed, Gremlin throwin’ his head up at the smell of gunsmoke, but not makin’ more of a fuss than that. Sarah whistled for Dog and pointed.
They found the first two about three miles away, grazin’ in an open spot, and Sarah cursed quietly.
“What?” Maxim asked.
“Don’t know when the herd broke up,” she said. She watched Dog, but he didn’t find more path forward. The horses had taken to couples, and they hadn’t followed the right pair. She looked up at the darkening sky and shook her head.
“Need to find dry land,” she said, then shook her head again. “We ain’t gonna catch your rogue.”
“Why not?” Maxim asked.
“Rain,” Sarah said. “Gonna wash over what tracks there are for me to follow, and Dog ain’t a scent hound. He’s good enough, but the water’s gonna make it right impossible for him to keep after ‘em.” She twisted her mouth to the side. “He ain’t like to make it, nohow.”
“Why do you say that?” Maxim asked.
She jerked her chin at him.
“I set you loose from here, just you and a scared horse, you reckon you could make it back to Lawrence ‘fore you starved?”
He pursed his lips.
“I don’t know. Probably. I’m pretty smart.”
She shook her head.
“’Less he’s got a compass, he ain’t got but a few hours a day to travel where he knows which way to go, and that’s if he’s smart enough to go by the sun. I seen men what lived out here their whole lives get turned back, die fifty miles into the range, no food, no shot left. Ain’t common, but it ain’t a forgivin’ place. People die. Like as not, your rogue is gonna do the same.”
She scouted around, findin’ a spot through some thicker evergreen trees where the ground were drier than elsewhere, and she dismounted, takin’ out jerky and offerin’ it to Toby and Maxim.
“You can just eat after that?” Toby asked. “We almost died.”
Sarah blew air through her lips.
“I been closer to dyin’ twice this month,” she said. “And only thing gonna kill you were not knowin’ how to get back up on your horse and run away.”