The Mavericks (38 page)

He stared for a moment, frowning as he concentrated. “I don't know the others, but one is the sheriff of Benson. I wonder what he's doing here.”

“The man with him is Solomon Gardner. They're going to try to take Zeke and Hawk's horses.” Josie turned and ran back to the wagon.

Adam hurried after her. “Why would they do that?”

She told him about the men who'd tried to steal the horses, and about Gardner's attempt to kidnap her. Then she climbed into the wagon, turned the mules, and drove them into the thick undergrowth.

“What are you doing?” Adam asked.

“The sheriff has no authority this far from Benson. I'm sure he's here to make it easier for Gardner to steal the horses.” By now the wagon was out of sight of the river crossing. Without waiting for Adam, she jumped down from the wagon and tied the mules to a cottonwood. “Help me up behind you. We've got to warn Zeke. Don't worry,” she said when Adam looked too
shocked to move. “I started riding astride before I was four.”

“What about your wagon? Somebody might take it.”

“I can replace the wagon, the mules, and the costumes.”

“Hawk and Zeke can buy more mares.”

“But their reputations may never recover from being branded thieves. Now stop wasting time and help me up.” With Adam's assistance, Josie managed to scramble up behind him. “Now head for the ranch. We have to get there as quickly as possible.”

Adam took her seriously when she said they had to ride fast. She had to wrap her arms around his middle and hold on for dear life. His slim torso was in stark contrast to Zeke's powerful chest. She could feel the sinewy strength in the boy's arms and back, but she could also count his ribs. Being this close to Adam made her realize how much she longed for Zeke's solid strength. When she saw him step out of the ranch house at the sound of their approach, she wondered why she'd ever been fool enough to leave him.

“Josie says somebody named Gardner and the sheriff from Benson are coming to take the horses,” Adam shouted to Zeke before his horse had come to a halt.

“We saw them leaving Fairbank,” Josie said as she slid from the horse into Zeke's arms. “They've got four men with them.”

The others had come out of the house in time to hear what had been said. “Suzette and I will take the mares up into the mountains,” Hawk said. “Jordy, take the rest of the horses and head toward Hen's ranch.”

“Adam, find someplace along the Babocamari River
to hide Dusky Lady and her foals,” Zeke said. “Josie and I will stay here and try to hold them off as long as possible.”

Suzette and Hawk headed off at a run. Adam and Jordy mounted up and rode out in different directions. Seconds later, Josie was alone with Zeke in the quiet. It happened so quickly she could almost believe she'd imagined the whole thing.

“You ought to keep out of sight,” Zeke said. “If Gardner sees you here, it could make the situation worse.”

Josie started to object, then realized Zeke knew more than she did about handling people intent on taking what didn't belong to them. “What do you want me to do?”

“They're after the horses, so they have no reason to search the house. Just stay inside. And no matter what they do,
don't come out until I tell you.
All our lives might depend on it.” His mood changed, his features softened. “I don't have time now to tell you how much I appreciate your coming to warn us, but—”

“You can tell me later.”

Josie hurried into the house. She couldn't understand it, but she was about to cry. How stupid was that when thieves were practically at the front steps? She didn't want to go inside and hide. She wanted to stay and help Zeke. She wasn't used to feeling useless, and she didn't like it. She wanted to stand at the side of the man she loved.

The man she loved.

How stupid she was to think she could go to Tombstone or anywhere else knowing she loved Zeke and wanted to be his wife, knowing she never wanted to
sing and dance for strangers again. She wanted only one man looking at her, thinking of her, wanting to make love to her. She started to go outside to tell him, but Gardner and the sheriff were riding into the yard.

Zeke watched from the porch steps as the men walked their horses toward him. He wondered if it was a mistake to have left his rifle inside the house, but he hoped being unarmed would keep the situation from getting out of control. If they were using the pretense of checking to see that he and Hawk legally owned the horses, they'd have no need for guns. Not that he trusted Gardner. He was the kind of man to take unfair advantage of any situation. Zeke wondered if he and Hawk would ever get to the point where they didn't have to keep proving themselves. They were known in five states and three territories. What was it about them that made it impossible for people to believe they were honest, upstanding citizens?

“Howdy,” Zeke said when the men pulled up in front of the ranch house. He let his gaze hone in on the sheriff. “You're a long way from home, aren't you? What brings you out this way?”

“I'm here to check on a complaint.”

“What kind of complaint?” Zeke shifted his gaze to Gardner. The man looked unduly pleased and confident. The four men with him looked too hard-edged to be regular cowhands. Zeke was beginning to wish he'd strapped on his guns.

“There's some doubt as to whether you and your partner actually own the horses.”

“What horses?” Zeke made a show of looking
around the ranch yard. Except for the chickens in their pen, there was no sign of life.

“The mares you had when I hooked up with you on the San Pedro River,” Gardner said.

“You mean the ones your men tried to steal?”

“I told you those men didn't work for me.”

“Where are the horses?” the sheriff asked.

“I don't know,” Zeke said.

“Where's your partner?”

“I don't know that, either, but I can prove we own the horses. I have the bills of sale.”

“I'll have to see them,” the sheriff said.

“They're inside. I'll get them.”

“Hold it!” Gardner ordered. “You can't go inside by yourself.”

“Why not?” Zeke tried to appear utterly unfazed, but inside he was boiling mad. It was preposterous that being young, rich, and white could enable this villainous man to do as he pleased.

“You could be lying, saying you've got them inside just so you can get your gun.”

“If I'd wanted my gun, I could have gotten it before you arrived.”

“He's got a point there, Solomon,” the sheriff said reluctantly.

“People like him don't know how to tell the truth,” Gardner said as he dismounted. “I'll go inside with him.”

“I ought to do that,” the sheriff said.

“You stay here with the boys in case that partner of his tries to sneak up on us. Don't forget he's a redskin. He's liable to lift your hair if you don't keep an eye out.”

Zeke's fists clenched, but he knew it was useless to
say anything against prejudices that were deep and pervasive. Gardner's swagger was as offensive as it was unnecessary, but Zeke had learned long ago that little men had to do something to make themselves big in their own eyes. And it had been a long time since he'd met a man who was smaller than Solomon Gardner.

“Where do you keep these bills of sale?” Gardner sneered as he walked up the steps. “In a pot under the house?”

“In a lock box with other important papers.”

Zeke hoped Josie was already hidden, or he'd have had to knock Gardner down to keep him from entering the house. “In here,” Zeke said, indicating the sitting room. “We keep them in a cabinet.” Zeke opened the cabinet door, picked up a key inside, and unlocked a drawer.

“Doesn't look secure to me,” Gardner said.

“We've never had any trouble with thieves before,” Zeke replied. He opened the drawer and took out the papers lying on top.

Gardner stuck out his hand. “Let me see them.” He took one quick look, turned, and walked out of the house. “They're fakes,” he said to the sheriff.

“They're copies.” Zeke had followed close on his heels. “The originals are in a bank in Globe. I can get the bank president to send a telegram attesting to that.”

“You're lying,” Gardner shouted. “I knew trash like you and that Injun couldn't have come by such horses honestly. Let's go get them. Harvey,” he said, pointing to one of the men, “stay and watch him until we get back. If he tries anything, shoot him. Nobody's going to worry about a dead black man.”

“Where are you hiding those mares?” the sheriff asked Zeke.

“I don't know. My
Injun
partner has them. You never know what a redskin will do.”

The sheriff didn't like Zeke's tone but ignored it. “They won't be far from the river,” he said. “That's where there's the best grass. I don't think we ought to leave any of our men here. We can tie this fellow up and leave him until we get back.”

Gardner took personal satisfaction in tying Zeke to one of the chairs in the kitchen. The rope was so tight it nearly cut off his circulation. Gardner looked disgruntled when Zeke didn't complain. He gave one last hard jerk on the rope for good measure. “That's just a sample of what's going to happen to you after we get those horses you stole.”

“I've run into a lot of cowards like you who hide behind daddy's money and reputation because they're nothing but pale imitations of their old man.”

Gardner backhanded Zeke across the mouth. “Shut up, you black bastard. I'll see you hanged as a horse thief yet.”

“There never was a rope that could tell a black neck from a white one.”

Gardner hit Zeke again, then stormed out of the house. “Let's go,” Zeke heard him say to the sheriff. “The sooner we find those horses, the sooner we can string up that black son of a bitch and his Injun friend.”

Zeke waited until the sound of their horses' hooves had died away. “You can come out now and untie me,” he said to Josie. “We have a lot to do.”

“It's just a small cut,” Zeke said as he collected two rifles. “It's more important that we find Hawk and Suzette.”

Josie had been horrified when she saw the blood running down Zeke's chin. She felt more guilty than ever for having stayed out of sight in the bedroom. She had taken one of Zeke's pistols with her. It had been almost impossible not to come out and use it on Gardner. “How can we do that? We don't have any horses.”

Zeke took the pistol from her and shoved a rifle and a box of shells into her hands. “We always keep two horses hidden down by the river. That's saved our lives a couple of times.”

Josie followed Zeke from the house and down to the Babocamari River, which formed the south boundary of their ranch. Cows had been off the land for more than two years now, and the undergrowth had come back thick and lush. Even though the ribbon of trees was narrow, it would have been difficult to find the horses without knowing where to look.

Josie's horse danced nervously when she tried to mount him. Zeke gave her a leg up. “Do you know where Hawk took the mares?” she asked as she adjusted her skirt under her.

“Back to the Whetstone Mountains.”

“How can we find them?”

“Hawk will leave a trail.”

“Won't Gardner and the sheriff be able to follow it, too?”

“They won't know what to look for. We've developed our own system over the years.”

After he mounted, Zeke led the way out of the trees. He paused a moment to look around before pressing
his horse into a canter. It took Josie a moment to catch up. “How are we going to get past them without being seen? There's no cover between the river and the mountains.”

“I'm more worried that Hawk didn't have enough time to get the horses into the mountains before Gardner caught sight of them. You can't run mares hard when they're so close to foaling.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I won't know until I find Hawk or Gardner.”

Josie didn't want to find Gardner and the sheriff. She was certain they'd use Zeke's escape as an excuse to kill him. They didn't know she'd been hiding in the bedroom and had heard everything, but she wasn't sure a jury would believe her instead of a sheriff and a wealthy rancher. After all, she was just a woman who sang and danced for any man with the price of admission. Men might say they were mesmerized by her beauty, but only at certain times and under certain conditions. At all others times, she was like every other woman, a second-class citizen. “There are horse tracks everywhere. How can you tell which ones to follow?”

“You look at the ones on top.” He pointed to the jumble of prints. “The Appaloosa mare is bringing up the rear.”

“How can you tell?” All she could see was a jumble of hoofprints.

“Hawk lived with the Comanches until he was eleven. He taught me how to read a trail. No two horses have exactly the same hoofprint.”

She'd have to take his word for it. They all looked the same to her. “How do you know we're on the right
trail? These prints might have been made yesterday or the day before.”

Zeke pointed to the limb of a mesquite bush. “Hawk bent the end of that branch to point in the right direction.”

She couldn't see anything but branches armed with sharp thorns. “Do you think Gardner saw that?”

“With all these fresh hoofprints, he wouldn't need to look.”

“That ought to keep them busy for a little while,” Hawk said.

“What do we do now?” Suzette asked.

“We wait for Zeke to come up behind them.” Hawk and Suzette had managed to get the mares safely into a box canyon, but with so little cover, Hawk had been fairly sure he wouldn't have enough time to elude Gardner and the sheriff. This was going to come down to a fight. He wondered how determined Gardner was to take their horses.