Devil's Canyon (18 page)

“We'll wait for the moon to set, then,” said Faro. “Who wants to go after the Utes on the rim?”

“You need only two men,” Tarno said, “and Shanghai's near as good with a Bowie as I am. Them Utes is in for a dose of almighty bad medicine.”

“You got it,” said Faro.

“I'll take the three on the west rim, then,” Tarno said. “Suit you, Shanghai?”

“
Sí
,” said Shanghai. “Let's move into position. The minute the moon sets, we'll start to stalk them varmints.”

Like shadows, they were gone.

“My God,” Collins said, “they're taking their lives in their hands, yet they go about it as though it's all in a day's work.”

“On the frontier, it is,” said Dallas.

“Yes,” Faro said. “A man does what must be done, and all too often, death is one of the painful side effects.”

Ever so slowly, the moon descended, finally disappearing. The darkness seemed all the more intense, and in a remarkably short time, Shanghai and Tarno returned.

“Six less Utes,” said Tarno.

“Shanghai,” Faro said, “take this bundle of dynamite along the west rim to about the place where the third sentry was. I'm takin' the other bundle to a position along the east rim. Collins, Tarno, and Dallas, I want the three of you on that rim directly above those three
hombres
we
must bring out of there. Once you make your move, don't waste a second. Ready?”

“Ready,” said the three in a single voice.

“Then allow Shanghai and me ten minutes to place the dynamite,” Faro said. “Once you have them three men on the rim, do this. It's almighty dark, so light a match. Just for a second, and shield it with your hat, so only Shanghai and me can see it. That'll be our signal to light the fuses to the dynamite.”

Collins, Tarno, and Dallas led their horses a roundabout way. Coming in from the west, a light wind was to their backs, lessening the chances of one of their horses nickering and revealing their presence. A dozen yards from the rim, they halted, for there was one element of the rescue that hadn't been discussed.

“We have to get their attention,” Dallas said.

“Droppin' the ropes will do that,” said Tarno.

“Coming as a surprise,” Collins said, “one of them could say something. Ready all the ropes, and I'll go down. We don't have the time for misunderstanding or confusion.”

“Maybe you're right,” said Dallas, “but make it quick. The movement of lettin' you down and haulin' you up could attract somebody's attention.”

Dallas was more right than any of them realized, for Slade and his four companions were desperately seeking some means of escape.

“Somebody's comin' down the canyon wall!” Kritzer hissed excitedly.

“By God,” said Slade, “they're comin' after them miners that Hueso brought in. This is our chance.”

“They ain't gonna lift a finger to help us,” Hindes said.

“I don't expect 'em to,” said Slade. “To do what they're doin', they've had to get rid of them Utes along the rim. Them ropes they used to climb up and down is still there. It's a way out.”

Nobody argued with that. Getting to their feet, they crept along the canyon wall to the first of the ropes dangling from the east rim. But the movement didn't go unnoticed from the west rim, where Tarno and Dallas had just lowered Levi Collins to the canyon floor.

“Damn it,” said Dallas quietly, “them outlaws have figured out what we're up to, that we've done away with the Utes on the rim. They aim to climb out, usin' the ropes the Ute lookouts used. If we're seen, all hell will break loose, and the two dynamite charges won't be in time to save us or those
hombres
we came to rescue.”

“It's all in Collins's hands,” Tarno said. “We don't dare try to get his attention.”

But Levi Collins had seen Slade and his men working their way toward the dangling ropes the sentries had used to ascend and descend the canyon walls. Blackburn and Snyder were on their feet, but wisely refrained from any greeting, when Collins reached the floor of the canyon.

“Dynamite charges are set on both rims,” Collins said softly, “and we may be seen at anytime. There's friends on the rim to raise you up, and here's a rope for each of you.”

“Isaac's hurt,” said Blackburn. “Ute arrow.”

“No help for that,” Collins said. “Get the rope under his arms. Then you and Josh take the other two ropes. I'll stay here until you're safe, and cover you as best I can, if we're discovered.”

“God bless you, Levi,” said Blackburn.

Quickly, they looped one of the dangling ropes under the arms of the wounded Isaac Puckett. Collins tugged on the ropes and Puckett was raised to the rim. Blackburn and Snyder secured the remaining two lines under their arms and were being lifted out when one of the Utes near the head of the canyon discovered Slade and his companions using sentry ropes to scale the canyon wall. There was the sudden roar of a Winchester, and lead sang off the stone wall, just inches from Slade's head. Hindes and Peeler were still on the canyon floor, and Peeler seized the rope, right on Slade's heels.

“Hurry, damn it,” Hindes cried, “or I ain't gonna make it.”

Slade reached the top, scrambling over the rim, but Peeler was less fortunate. When a second Winchester roared, Peeler groaned and fell to the canyon floor. Desperately, Hindes fought the rope as slugs struck the canyon wall all around him. But the outlaws weren't the only targets. Their movement had alerted the renegades and the Utes, and before Snyder and Blackburn reached the safety of the rim, lead sang near them like angry bees. As they were pulled to safety, Levi Collins seized the third rope, but before he could get the loop under his arms, lead slammed into his back. He fell with a groan.

“My God,” said Dallas, “Collins is hit.”

“I'll have to go down after him,” Tarno said.

“No,” said Dallas. “He's a goner.”

But Tarno, the half-Comanche, didn't listen. Taking a second rope, he went over the canyon rim. Lead repeatedly slammed into the canyon wall, and Dallas Weaver held his breath. Suddenly the rope down that Tarno had descended went slack…

With all except one of Slade's bunch having escaped the canyon, the renegades began firing at the only remaining target. Slugs whined all about Tarno Spangler as he slid down the rope, and half a dozen feet from the bottom, lead ripped through the lariat. But Tarno landed on his feet, and seizing a second dangling rope, knelt and began working the loop over the head and shoulders of the wounded Levi Collins.

“You shouldn't have come,” Collins grunted. “We'll never make it alive.”

“We ain't dead yet,” said Tarno, yanking the rope.

On the rim, Dallas breathed a sigh of relief when there was a tug on one of the other lariats. Tarno was alive! Dallas backstepped the horse as rapidly as he dared, aware that a Winchester on the opposite canyon rim had begun firing. Faro Duval was there, awaiting a signal to light the fuse, aware that his friends were in trouble. Dallas left the horse backstepping and went to the third lariat just in time to feel a frantic tug. Tarno was coming up! Dallas began backstepping the horse, leaving it just long enough to help the wounded Levi Collins over the rim.

“Hard hit?” Dallas asked.

“Shoulder,” said Collins.

Dallas returned to the lariat that was drawing Tarno to the rim, praying that he would reach safety before one of the screaming slugs found him. But Faro's firing from the east rim had been deadly, and some of the return fire had been directed at his muzzle flashes.

“Were you hit?” Dallas asked anxiously, as he helped Tarno over the rim,

“Burned a couple times,” said Tarno. “Light that match, while there's still time.”

Using his hat to shield the match, Dallas popped it aflame. Immediately the firing from the east rim ceased. Tarno already had Collins on one of the horses, while Blackburn and Snyder had lifted Isaac Puckett to another.

“North, beyond the canyon, and then east,” Dallas directed.

When Faro stopped firing from the east rim, he could hear shouted directions from the renegades below, as they attempted to organize pursuit. Quickly he lighted the fuse to the dynamite, pausing long enough to be sure it wouldn't sputter out. On the opposite rim, Shanghai had lighted his fuse, and satisfied that it wouldn't burn out, saddled his horse and rode north. Well beyond the head of the canyon, Shanghai and Faro came together.

“What about Tarno and Collins?” Dallas asked. “Have you seen them?”

“They're ahead of us,” said Faro. “Collins was hit, and Tarno had to go down after him.”

“We still could have pulled ours off mighty slick,”
Shanghai said, “if them damn outlaws hadn't made a run for the ropes the sentries had been usin'. I couldn't see much from my position on the rim. How many do you reckon escaped?”

“All except one, I think,” said Faro.

They were far enough away to escape the effects of the blast, and they reined up, listening. The ground began to tremble before they heard the first thunder of the coming explosion.

“My God,” Dallas said, “It's gonna be somethin'.”

In the canyon, Dog Face cursed everything and everybody. Even with only the dim starlight, some of the Utes had caught up their horses and were galloping down the canyon toward the shallow end.

“Hell,” said Sangre, “they ain't gonna find nobody in the dark.”

Both charges of dynamite let go at almost the same instant. The rock and earth loosed by the blast had a rippling effect, like waves, and the initial explosion multiplied itself many times. Horses screamed and men were flung like leaves before a mighty wind. There was an echo that lingered, and then, but for the cries of the injured, silence.

*   *   *

As the distant thunder died away, Faro and Shanghai rode eastward, where they soon caught up to their companions, all of whom were riding double. Tarno and Collins rode one horse, Dallas and Snyder a second, with Blackburn and Puckett riding the third.

“I saw Collins go down,” Faro said. “How bad?”

“Shoulder,” said Collins. “After what Tarno did, you won't hear me complain.”

“It was gettin' almighty busy down there, Tarno,” Shanghai said.

“Busier than you'll ever believe,” said Tarno. “There was a pair of slugs that almost had my name on 'em. I got burns on my hide to prove it.”

“What about Puckett, the gent that was wounded?” Faro asked.

“Not in bad shape, for the shape I'm in,” said a voice. “I'm Isaac Puckett, and I never seen anything like what you fellers done tonight.”

“Neither have I,” said another voice. “I'm Felix Blackburn. I reckon none of us ever expected to see Levi again, and when he showed up with
hombres
like you, it was nothing less than a miracle.”

“I'm glad you gents feel that way,” Collins said. “I promised the four of them half the claim to get them to come with me.”

“A fourth of the claim,” said Faro.

“No,” Collins said, “half.”

“Levi,” said Blackburn, “after tonight, I'm not sure that's enough. I'd have gladly give it all to them, just to get out of that canyon alive.”

“Damn right,” Snyder said, speaking for the first time. “Them varmints had a piece of the ore you took, Levi. We reckoned they'd murdered you, and once they forced us to lead 'em to the claim, they'd have killed all of us.”

“I think we'd better let the ownership of the claim ride for a while,” said Faro. “That dynamite we set off will take care of some of those renegades, but I look for the rest of them to come after us.”

“This man knows what he's talking about,” Collins
said. “Isaac, Felix, and Josh, this is Faro Duval. He and his teamster friends, Tarno Spangler, Shanghai Taylor, and Dallas Weaver are responsible for what happened tonight.”

“Don't sell yourself short, Collins,” said Faro. “We all played a part, and you held up your end mighty well.”

“Thank you,” Collins said. “That means a lot, coming from you.”

“With Levi and me wounded,” said Puckett, “how are we going to defend ourselves from that bunch, when they come after us?”

“We're goin' to leave the wagons where they are for the time bein',” Faro said. “They'll be a while, pickin' up the pieces. By first light tomorrow, I aim to be at the head of that canyon. We need to know how many of the outfit survived, and how many may be comin' after us.”

“It's possible that those Utes who survived the blast won't be all that interested in comin' after us,” said Tarno. “I'm half-Comanche, myself, and while I'm not superstitious, most Indians are. Convince them their medicine's bad, and they'll back off.”

“That's a proven fact,” Faro agreed. “If enough of them died in that canyon, then I'll not be surprised if the rest of them haven't lit a shuck out of there by morning.”

“That would be an added blessing,” said Felix Blackburn. “We left our horses, saddles, and weapons down there. Maybe we can recover them.”

“Maybe,” Faro said. “We'll have to wait and see
what the circumstances are when we ride back there tomorrow.”

“You ain't goin' alone,” said Tarno. “I'm goin' with you.”

“That means I'm stuck with that damn gambler and his pair of whores again,” Dallas said.

“What?” Blackburn and Snyder asked, in a single voice.

“That's Hal Durham and a pair of females—Mamie and Odessa McCutcheon—from Texas,” said Faro. “Once we reach camp and tend his wound, Collins can tell you all about them.”

“Who were those men who climbed the sentry ropes and escaped?” Blackburn asked. “They were the ones who first got the attention of the renegades, and were the cause of them seeing Levi coming down the canyon wall to get us.”