Stampede at Rattlesnake Pass (12 page)

Pulling out her Winchester from the boot,
she dismounted and made her way stealthily towards the cabin.

Circling it she noted the hole at the back,
which set her mind working. Could the girl have escaped? Could that
be it? Were those two fools at that moment chasing her somewhere in
the Pintos?

She gingerly undid the latch of the door and
pushed it open. By the failing light she could see a blanket
covering a bundle against the wall on the far side of the table,
which was strewn with cards, dirty dishes and an almost empty
bottle of whiskey.

"Hog? Cole?" she ventured.

From the room at the back she fancied that
she heard movement. "Are you in there?"

She crossed the room and prodded the door
open with the barrel of her Winchester.

Cole Lancing was frantically kicking his
feet against the dirt floor and shaking his head back and
forth.

Carmen de Menendez tore the gag from his
mouth. "What the hell have you two done?" she demanded angrily.
"Where is the girl and where is Hog?"

"Hog is in there and he is stone dead! And
the girl is gone. That Scudder guy came and jumped us." His lip
curled maliciously. "I managed to cut him up a little, though."

If he had expected a reward, it was not the
one he received. She gave him a backhanded swipe across the face.
"You fool! You could have ruined everything."

Producing a knife she leaned her Winchester
against the wall and cut him free. "Now show me Hog," she
ordered.

Cole Lancing heaved himself up, rubbing his
wrists to restore circulation. He went back through to the main
room and lifted the blanket to show the stiffened corpse of the
rustler. "I will kill that Scudder for you, Hog," he said.

And then to the saloon owner: "Should I bury
him?"

"No time," she snapped. "We have to get
going."

Sheriff Slim Parfitt was madder than a
rattlesnake with its tail tied to a stake. At least that was how he
felt after several hours spent chasing Scudder’s stallion in and
out of canyons around Rattlesnake Pass.

"When we catch that bastard, there will be
no more pussyfooting around with snakes," he snarled at Hank Bott
and the other three members of the posse as he remounted his horse,
having inspected the ground for fresh tracks. "It will be a
straight bullet through the brain for all this aggravation he’s
caused."

"What do you make of that Nantan, Sheriff?"
asked the deputy.

"Damned if I know where he’s gone, but if
he’s just headed back to Silver City, I will root him out and
–"

"Give him his own rattlesnake treatment?"
Sly Ryker, the tall rider with an ill-fitting Stetson, asked
hopefully.

"Maybe," replied the sheriff, signaling for
them all to follow him. "But first let’s concentrate on finding
Scudder. Then we’ll settle with Nantan. Come on, he went this
way."

As they trotted after the sheriff in the
failing light, Nantan gave a silent grunt of satisfaction from his
viewpoint above. He was pleased with the false trail he had laid
out for them. He yawned and made himself comfortable, sure in the
knowledge that they would be at least an hour getting back to this
point. And that would be quite enough time for him to have a
refreshing sleep before he laid another false trail.

* * *

Jake and Elly were riding along one of the
canyons that ran parallel to Rattlesnake Pass in the last stage of
evening before darkness fell. Although the moon was doing its best
to illuminate the country, the canyon was so deep and narrow that
little moonlight ever hit the bottom. Accordingly, it was slow
going.

"Are you sure we are going the right way,
Jake?"

Jake half-turned. "Pretty sure. One thing I
seem to have been blessed with is a good sense of direction. And
pretty soon we’ll have a few stars to help us along. I reckon we
follow this for a couple of miles then we should come out close to
the mouth of the pass."

"But do you - ?"

He hissed and raised his hand to indicate
silence. "I thought I heard something," he whispered.

Then a moment later they heard the
unmistakable sound of several horses riding close by.

"My God! Who is it?" Elly whispered.

"Can’t be sure, but I reckon it must be
Sheriff Parfitt and his posse," replied Jake. "Sound travels in
strange ways in these canyons. They could be some way off, or –
they could be around the next bend."

"What should we do?"

"Only one safe thing to do. We had better
bed down for the night and hope that they pass and keep on going.
In the morning we can start afresh."

* * *

Carmen de Menendez was a hellcat! The most
beautiful hellcat in the world, but not a woman to cross. At least
that was Cole Lancing’s assessment. It wasn’t that he felt
particularly close to Hog Fleming, but he felt bad about just
leaving him to rot in that cabin, a prey to coyotes and all the
other creatures of the night that would hone in on the smell of
death and fresh meat. He cringed at the thought.

"How come you came here by yourself, Miss
Carmen?" he ventured as they rode quickly through the darkness,
making good time.

"I came to make sure that Rubal Cage and you
two didn’t foul up," she replied, eyeing his silhouette with
displeasure. "And it looks as if I was certainly right to do
so!"

Lancing had a thick hide and the sarcasm was
lost on him. "But how come that Scudder managed to get after us? I
thought the plan was for him to get taken care of in town."

"You mean like the way he saw you and Hog
off?"

Cole stiffened as the impact of that remark
stung. "He was lucky. Miss Carmen. No, I thought that something
else was planned. That is what Rubal said, but he’s a bit like his
name – cagy!" He began to laugh at his own wit, but was silenced by
a flick of her quirt on his exposed hand.

"Don’t ask so many questions, Cole!"

He rubbed his hand. "Sorry, Miss Carmen.
It's just that – you know – with Hog gone, there’s got to be more
money coming my way – right? The thing is, I kind of took a fancy
to that little girl that we were supposed to separate from Scudder.
With some money, maybe I could buy – "

Carmen de Menendez slowed down and turned to
Cole. In the moonlight he could see her shining white teeth and
realized that she was smiling at him. Men did strange things when
Carmen de Menendez smiled at them, as Cole Lancing well knew.

"You have been a good man through all of
this, Cole," she purred. "And you have taken a fancy to little
Rosalind, have you? Well, don’t you worry. As soon as we get back
to Silver City when this is all over, I will have a word with her.
The bonus that is coming your way could set the pair of you up."
She reached over and squeezed his wrist. "Trust me. I will take
care of you, Cole."

As they set off again, Cole Lancing rode
with a light heart. He was riding with a beautiful woman in the
moonlight – a hellcat, admittedly – but he was on her good side.
And she was going to take care of him. He felt good about it.

* * *

Hangover headache and stomach pains from
lack of breakfast did nothing to ease the temper of Sheriff Slim
Parfitt’s posse the following morning.

"I reckon that Scudder is playing with you,
Sheriff," said Hank Bott.

"Yeah, he’s leading us in circles," agreed
Sly Ryker.

"More like figure eights," moaned Tod
Latimer, the barrel-chested local blacksmith who was beginning to
miss his forge more than usual.

"Why don’t we split up then?" suggested Wade
Carson, adjusting his eye patch. "That way we could catch him when
he loops back on himself."

Sheriff Parfitt took a slug of whiskey, his
favored remedy for early morning hangover relief. He sucked air
between his teeth as the fiery liquid hit his stomach and he
immediately felt in control of himself and of the situation.

"Pipe down all of you. I am the sheriff of
Silver City and I am in charge. I know exactly what that murdering
dog Scudder is up to and I guarantee we will have him by the end of
today. Now saddle up and get ready to follow me, as soon as I pick
up the trail again."

And indeed, it did not take Slim Parfitt
long to find the trail, for Nantan had made it as obvious as
humanly possible. Once again he was watching then from a vantage
point high up in the rocks, sure in his mind that they would
eventually find their way up to where he now lay, and thence along
the snaking route that he planned to take right into
Tucksville.

* * *

Elly and Jake had settled down for the night
and waited for the riders to move away, which they surely had. Then
with first light, after a breakfast of cold beans and water they
saddled up and continued on their way towards Tucksville.

Until they heard the echoing of horses on
the move.

"I rather think that is the posse again,"
said Jake. "It may be that they are following Nantan all the way to
Tucksville. I had hoped that he would lose them in the Pintos."

"So will it be too dangerous to go to
Tucksville?" Elly queried. "But couldn’t I go? There’s no reason
for them to stop me."

"Except we don’t know whether they have any
knowledge about the killing or not. They could be in on this whole
thing, or they could just be stooges being used by whoever is
behind all this."

"Then I think the best bet is to go to the
Double J and get Jeb Jackson to help us."

Jake shook his head doubtfully. "I am not so
sure, Elly. Maybe it would be better if we start by getting you
back safe to the ranch. I am betting that your brother must be
frantic by now." He smiled, and then added:

"To say nothing of that young man of
yours."

* * *

Johnnie Parker was more anxious than he
thought was possible. But having lost so much blood and with his
wounds only half-healed he felt well nigh helpless. Rubal Cage had
gagged and tied him hand and foot, then left him on the bed while
he dragged the unconscious Yucatan through the ranch-house hall to
surprise Saul Horrocks.

From time to time Johnnie heard Saul’s
raised voice as he argued and pleaded with Rubal Cage.

"You just sit tight, Horrocks," he heard
Cage say. "We are all just going to have a nice wait."

"What for?" Saul Horrocks had demanded.

"Never you mind. You three men are just
going to have to enjoy my cooking. Those ropes aren’t too
uncomfortable, are they?" And then he laughed and humiliated each
one of them in turn.

True to his word he had fed and watered
them, even allowed individual toilet relief, under his scrutiny
with his Colt .45.

And so it had gone on through a whole day
and night until in the morning Johnnie spied two riders approaching
the ranch. A man and a woman.

* * *

Nantan was enjoying himself. A natural
horseman, he had quickly bonded with the big black stallion and
reveled in the ease with which he had led and misled the posse.

He now ambled into Tucksville and made his
way along the main street to the nearest saloon. He hitched the
stallion outside, then crossed to the other side of the street,
selected a spot on the boardwalk, and sat down with his back to the
wall of a hardware store. Knocking Scudder’s Stetson out of shape,
Apache style, he pulled it low to cover his face.

He looked just like any number of loafers
who could be found doing nothing in a town like Tucksville.

* * *

Elly and Jake hitched their horses outside
the Rocking H ranch-house, sadly looking so deserted in comparison
to the busy place it had been but a few days before.

Elly mounted the steps to the door and
pushed it open.

"Saul! Johnnie! It’s me. I'm back."

The main room door opened and Carmen de
Menendez came out, a broad, welcoming smile on her beautiful face.
"Elly, my dear," she said.

Elly stared at her in amazement, unable to
find words. But Jake Scudder, entering a couple of paces behind
her, managed to find something to say.

"Miss Carmen? What on earth are you doing
here?"

Then he felt the unmistakable feel of a gun
muzzle being shoved into his back. It was followed by a snarling
voice. "Remember me, Scudder?"

And as Jake turned his head he caught a
fleeting glimpse of Cole Lancing’s lazy eye staring at him. Then
there was a blur of movement and excruciating pain as the gun
crashed on the back of his head and he went down pole-axed.

Elly stared in disbelief, then she
gasped:

"Saul? Johnnie? Yucatan? Where - ?"

Carmen de Menendez was still smiling. "That
is just what I was about to tell you, my dear. They are all in
here," she said, stepping aside for Elly to enter the room. "We’ve
all been waiting for you."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Sheriff Parfitt and his posse rode into
Tucksville amid a cloud of dust. The usual crowd of loafers and
urchins quickly congregated in their wake and followed them up the
main street.

"There’s the stallion," said Slim Parfitt,
turning to give Hank Bott a smug grin. "I told you all that I would
run him down. Now we'll get the dog."

"But where is he?" Sly Ryker queried,
looking up and down the street without seeing the man they knew as
Scudder.

Sheriff Parfitt gave him a slap with his
hat, showering him with an accumulation of trail dust. "You
expecting him to be sauntering around?" he asked sarcastically.

"Why not?" rebutted Ryker. "I guess he
thinks he gave us the slip a long time ago."

"Yeah," agreed Tod Latimer. "He probably
thinks we gave up and headed back to Silver City."

Slim Parfitt dismounted beside the stallion
and gave it a quick examination. "It’s been here a while, anyway.
This horse is all cooled down." He hitched his gunbelt a little
higher and pointed his chin at the saloon. "We’ll check in there
first. Follow me and all of you spread out as soon as we get
inside."