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

done entirely by surprise. No camping out in the mountains for a few days to let them know you’re there. And we won’t ride in with torches, and with guns firing. We’ll sneak in. By day. When most of the men are away from the ranch. Take the strong box, grab some horses and supplies, and be on our way.”

“I don’t believe sneaking onto the McCabe Ranch will be as easy as you make it sound.”

“Josh is from this area. He knows the hills and ridges around that valley like the back of his hand. He can lead us in so no one will know we’re coming. We take the strong box and grab some horses, then I’ll lead us out, covering our trail so’s it can’t be followed.”

“I have Kiowa for that.”

“Having Kiowa for that didn’t do you any good the first time. And Josh and I followed you and your men right here to this canyon. If we could do it, so could a lawman.”

“It’ll take time to hire more men.”

“You don’t need any more men. We got enough right here. Seven, including me and Josh. Any more would be too many for a job like this.”

Falcone allowed himself a brief smile. “I see you learned much from Patterson.”

“He was a good teacher.”

Falcone looked down to his drink thoughtfully for a moment, then rose to his feet and paced toward the hearth, one hand at the back of his neck.

“You’ve given me a lot to think about, Dusty. But I’m still undecided.”

“It’s a good plan, Vic.”

He nodded, and turned back to Dusty. “Of that I have no doubts. It’s you I still have my doubts of.”

“Why?”

“Because of Sam Patterson. He virtually raised you, and he raised you to be a man of integrity.” Falcone chuckled, and raised his brows. “You see, Sam wanted you to be everything he was not, but might have been had things been different. Sam had a heart, a serious handicap in this business. He cared about people. That proved to be his greatest weakness, because he was forever leaving witnesses alive who could testify against him if he was ever caught. He also showed that weakness in the way he raised you.

“He taught you to use a gun, and I have seen you use it. Even at thirteen, you were better than anyone currently in this camp. And he taught you the art of guerrilla warfare, and indeed there was no better teacher. He taught you to survive in this wilderness, and again – no better teacher. But he also taught you that his very lifestyle was wrong, and when it came time to make a decision about which path you were going to follow, you rode away. And now, I am to believe that you have a had a change of heart, and are willing to join us?”

Dusty shrugged, and put on his best cynical smile. “I guess Patterson didn’t teach me that good after all.”

Falcone smiled. “If only I could believe that. I guess I want to believe that, because even as a child you exhibited a natural intelligence. As a former teacher, I find myself looking for that sort of thing in a person, and I find so little of it in the company I keep. Such intelligence would indeed be very useful to me. But I don’t quite dare trust you. At least, not yet.”

Dusty let out a long sigh. “Life’s been hard, Vic. After I rode away, I started looking for jobs. I found some. Cow punching, mostly. I was a shotgun rider for a stage company. But it was mostly lean times. And when I was working, the pay was low. A man can’t build a life that way. Sam taught me ideals. And I still have them. But life taught me reality.”

“I don’t know, Dusty. I want to believe you.” Sam drew a breath. “You and Josh are guests here, at least for the moment, until I make my decision. There won’t be any need for an armed guard.”

“Can we have our guns back?”

“If and when I decide to hire you.”

“And if you don’t decide to hire us?”

“Then, you’ll both be shot, because you know the location of this canyon.”

Dusty nodded.

Falcone said, “I thank you for your time. Now, I must be left alone to think.”

Dusty knew he was being dismissed, and knew it would be unwise to overstay his welcome. He wanted to stay on Vic’s good side for as long as possible.

Dusty found Josh still sitting in the grass at the top of the slope. “How’d it go?” Josh asked.

Dusty shrugged. “I gave it my best shot. I hope it works. Because, if it doesn’t, not only will we be shot, but I may have given him a way to attack the ranch successfully this time.”

The following morning, Josh rounded up his and Dusty’s horses and lead them to a makeshift stable Falcone’s men had fashioned out of hand-cut pine logs, with a roof thatched with pine boughs. He removed the saddles and inspected the shoes for wear, then grabbed a brush hanging by a nail and set about brushing down each horse.

“That’s the McCabe brand” came a woman’s voice from behind him. Josh glanced over one shoulder to see Temperance walking up behind him, and he followed her gaze to the encircled M branded onto the hip of the horse. She was still in men’s pants and a range shirt, and she held a folded up blanket in one arm.

He nodded in response to her remark. “That it is.”

“A man could get hanged for horse stealing,” she said.

“And he could for stealing twenty thousand dollars.” Dusty had told Josh of his plan.

Her brows rose. “Twenty thousand dollars?”

He nodded.

“How? Where?”

“Dusty has been talking it over with Falcone. I shouldn’t say more until they work out all the fine points.”

“So that’s why there’s no armed guard, now.”

Josh nodded.

“How come they haven’t given back you’re guns?”

“Like I said, the fine points aren’t worked out yet.” Josh