The Long Trail (The McCabes Book 1) by Brad Dennison (microsoft ebook reader .TXT) 📗

And even if he didn’t know I was there, he had to know you are there. And despite what you might think, you are very much the son of our father. No one is going to take you lightly.”

Josh let those words sink in. He had to admit, they felt mighty good.

“So, my question is,” Dusty continued, “why would he even bother to attack the ranch the way he did? He must have known Pa and Zack would have a small army put together, waiting for the attack. He had to have seen Zack and Fred and the others crossing the valley, from Zack’s place to ours. Yet he rode in anyway.”

“Got caught in a crossfire. Half of his men got killed.”

“In the time I was with them, they never had a casualty count that high. Once, a man got killed when a shotgun rider on a stagecoach cut loose with a load of buckshot, and tore him apart. A couple other times, men got wounded. But Patterson planned so far in advance, planning for all the contingencies, as he called it. The element of surprise was your biggest strength, he always said. And yet, he had to know we’d be waiting for him.”

Josh shrugged. “Getting careless in his old age?”

“We’re going to find out. And I think we’re going to find out soon.” Dusty got to his feet, and went over to the fire to refill his cup. “Come morning, we’re going to ride in a wide circle around that little mud hole of a town, and cut for sign. I’ll bet we’re going to find the tracks we’re looking for, leading into the mountains.”

“And what happens when we find their hideout?”

“Then, things will get really interesting.”

They ate their beans. Dusty from an old, battered tin plate, and Josh directly from the skillet.

As darkness settled upon the land Dusty stretched out on his unrolled bedding with his saddle under his head. Josh sat on a fallen log he had rolled near the fire. He held a twig in the flames until its end caught fire, then removed it and watched the tiny flame flicker until it died away.

“You know,” Josh said, “if we’re as close to the raiders’ hideout as you think we might be, we should be more careful riding tomorrow. Especially after we find their trail.”

Dusty nodded. “And this should probably be our last campfire. These foothills are a lot more open than the mountains the ranch is in. A fire could be visible for quite a distance.”

Dusty was about to kick off his boots and crawl into his bedroll when a horse wickered from somewhere in the darkness beyond the rim of firelight.

“Sioux?” Josh asked.

“If they were, we wouldn’t have heard them.”

Dusty slowly, casually, slid his pistol from the holster, moving so as not to let on to whoever was out there that he and Josh were aware of their presence. Josh just as casually rose to his feet and strolled to his saddle.

“I think I might turn in,” Josh said as he moved. “Morning’s going to come mighty early.”

“That it is,” Dusty replied. “I was thinking the same thing myself.”

Josh slid the Winchester from his saddle, then dove behind the cover of a cedar, landing in a shoulder roll and coming to a kneeling position behind the trunk of the tree, his hat skittering away somewhere in the darkness behind him. Dusty sprang to his feet and leaped behind the log Josh had been sitting on. Lying prone, Dusty raised his head until his eyes were above the edge of the log, and he held his pistol ready for use.

Josh jacked a cartridge into the rifle’s chamber. He called out in a gravely roar, “Whoever you are, we know you’re out there!”

A female voice, sounding vulnerable and a little scared out in the darkness, called back, “Don’t shoot. I’m coming in.”

She rode forward. Platinum hair caught the dim firelight and almost glowed, telling Dusty and Josh it was the girl from the Pick and Shovel, before she was close enough for them to even see her face. Her saloon-whore dress had been replaced with a simple blouse and a skirt, and she sat astride the saddle. She held the reins in one hand like an experienced rider.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I’m alone.”

“What are you doing out here?” Josh asked as he stepped out form behind the tree. Dusty stood also, and holstered his pistol.

“I had to see you both,” she said. “It’s really important.”

Josh leaned his rifle against his saddle, and took one of her hands as she swung down from the saddle.

“You set a horse like you know how to ride,” Josh said.

“I was raised at an Army post. My father was a cavalry sergeant.”

Josh looked at her incredulously. “Then, what are you doing in that town?”

Dusty said, “We have time for her life story later. What I want to know is, what’s so important it’ll send a girl riding a mile out into the darkness alone?”

“I had to come alone. There was no other way. If anyone knew I had come out here, all three of us would be killed.”

As she spoke, she folded her arms tightly about her, rubbing each shoulder with the opposite hand.

“Are you cold?” Josh asked.

“The night is turning off a little chilly,” she replied. “I guess I didn’t dress properly for it.”

Josh pulled a faded blue jean jacket from his saddle bags. He motioned for her to sit on the log, and then draped the jacket about her shoulders.

“Dusty,” he said. “Why don’t you see if we have any coffee left? And toss some more wood on the fire. Get it burning big and warm.”

Dusty dropped a piece of a dead branch into the fire, dropping it hard enough so sparks would fly. Josh glanced at Dusty with surprise at the sudden shower of sparks, and Dusty gave Josh a look that said he did not appreciate being a go-fer.

As Dusty was draining the last of the coffee