Chapter Twenty-One
“Thank you for coming all this way, Doc. I can’t tell you what it means to us.” Becky Kuhn held his hand in both of hers and squeezed. “You sure you won’t stay the night?”
“We’re grateful for the invitation. Regrettably, we need to reach the Frey ranch before sunset. I understand it’s about three hours north of here.” Charles set his satchel in the back of the wagon as Rachel climbed onto the seat.
“Take that road and stay on it until you reach a fork.” She pointed to a rutted wagon trail behind the house. “You can either go left, toward the west, or veer to the right. Take the right trail until you reach the creek and follow it to the Frey place.”
“Is it anywhere near the Pelletier property?” Charles asked.
“Well, I don’t believe I know the Pelletiers. The Frey property does share a common line with Pat Hanes’ ranch, though.”
“I guess you haven’t heard. Pat Hanes died in Texas. The new owners are Dax and Luke Pelletier, two Rangers who rode with Mr. Hanes. I’m sorry you didn’t know.”
Becky placed a hand over her mouth and Charles could see her eyes water. “Pat was such a good man. Fair and hard working. We need more people like him in the territory.” She brushed away a tear and stepped away from the wagon as Charles slapped the reins.
The morning had dawned clear and somewhat chilly for being so close to summer. It had taken two hours to reach the Kuhn ranch after staying the night with the Westons. Now, one more family and they’d be on their way back to Splendor.
Rachel kept glancing behind them, wondering if anything in Splendor had changed since they left. She reminded herself they’d only been gone two days. What could happen in such a short period of time?
They stopped after a couple of hours to stretch and let Old Pete rest. Rachel unhitched him and led him to the creek, while her uncle took a brief walk. They expected to arrive at the Frey ranch within another hour.
She stood next to her horse and watched the water bubble up as it carved a path through the trees. Mrs. Petermann told her the creeks and rivers would run high for a few months, then level off by the end of summer. Timmy offered to take her fishing with him, saying he’d show her all the best spots. Rachel had never held a fishing pole, and had only seen fish spread out at the Boston docks and at the neighborhood fish market. She still had so much to experience in this new land and felt excitement ripple through her as she thought of everything she had yet to see.
“Rachel, are you about ready?”
“Coming.” She tugged on Old Pete’s halter and, within minutes, had him hitched to the wagon.
An hour later, they spotted the roofline of the Frey barn and the ranch house came into view several yards away. Of all the ranches they’d visited, this one had to be the most spectacular. Located at the eastern base of the Territory Range, the main house sat in a green valley with a large creek and hundreds of pines forming a semi-circle around the various buildings. According to her uncle, the Frey brothers, Frank and Hiram, owned one of the larger spreads in the region.
Charles reined Old Pete to a stop as two men emerged from the cavernous barn and waved. “Hey, Doc. Sure didn’t expect to see you out this way.”
“Sometimes I have to get away for a spell.” Charles climbed down and shook hands with both men.
“Frank, Hiram, this is my niece and nurse, Rachel Davenport. She traveled out from Boston a few months ago to help me at the clinic.”
Frank reached up to help her down. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Davenport.”
“How about something to drink?” Hiram asked and ushered them into the large, two-story house. “Pardon the mess, but it’s just us bachelors in this big place and we aren’t the best housekeepers.”
“Didn’t you have someone to help out?” Charles asked as they took seats in the dining room.
“We did, but she took off to be with her daughter’s family at Christmas. Sent us a telegram saying she decided to stay. It’s hard to get anyone to live this far out, especially with two cantankerous old men.” Frank placed glasses of water in front of their guests before pouring whiskeys for the three men. “Can I get you something else, Miss Davenport?”
Rachel glanced at the whiskey, remembering the time she shared a drink with Dax and realized she hadn’t thought of him all day. “No, water is fine, Mr. Frey.”
“So what brings you out this way?” Frank sipped at his whiskey, then chased it down with some water.
“Checking on the outlying ranches. We’ve been to see Ty Murton’s family, the Westons, the Kuhns, and now you two. How are you both doing?” Charles knew the answer before he asked the question. These two brothers were as tough as they came, both outlasting two wives.
“Fit as mules. A few of the men came down with some type of fever over the winter, but they all pulled through fine. Didn’t touch Frank or me. How are the other ranchers doing?”
“Good. A couple of the children caught something, but they’re doing fine now. Anybody else out this way I should stop and see?”
“Nope. We’re it, unless you want to travel a bit more north and east to Pat Hanes’ old place.” Frank poured each of the men another drink. “He was a good man.”
“I never had the opportunity to meet him. If you haven’t met them, the new owners are good people. You know they rode with Hanes as Texas Rangers?”
“We heard a couple brothers took over the place. Didn’t know they were Rangers with Pat. Reverend Paige and his wife visited a couple of weeks ago and told us what happened. Guess we should ride over and pay our respects.”
“How far is the Pelletier ranch from here?” Rachel asked, trying not to sound too interested.
“About two hours. The Westons and Kuhns live the farthest out. By the time you reach us, you’re only about three hours from Splendor. Seems long because the road is such a mess.” Frank set down his glass and stood. “Now, you two will have supper and stay with us tonight, right?”
“It’d be our pleasure.” Charles drained his glass, glad they were almost home.
“You left Bill behind?” Clark fumed at his younger brother, Jed, who’d ridden into camp late the night before after everyone else had turned in. Clark had woken early to see Jed’s horse, but not Bill’s.
“They figured out who we were. We tried to get away and almost made it, until a bullet got Bill in the back. He fell from his horse. If I’d gone back, they would’ve gotten me, too. What did you expect me to do?” Jed ran a hand through his hair, distress and guilt still haunting him at having to leave his brother behind. “There’s no chance he survived.” He collapsed onto a tree stump and rested his elbows on his knees, hands grasping his head.
Clark stalked over and grasped Jed’s shirt, yanking him up to within inches of his face. “You know what? You’re going back to make sure he’s not still alive. If he is, we get him out of there.” He let go of Jed with a forceful shove and took a deep breath, his initial rage turning to despair.
Duff and Whitey watched, knowing how their cousins felt. They’d felt the same anger and grief when the Rangers killed Deke.
“Jed can’t go back yet. We’ll need him here,” Duff said, trying to diffuse the tension.
Whitey walked toward Jed and offered him a hand up. His cousin had made the right decision to ride off without Bill. Even if he survived, Jed would’ve achieved nothing by surrendering.
Clark turned back to Jed. “Did they follow you?”
“No. I stopped a couple of times, but no one followed.”
“They will. There’s no chance the Rangers will let this one go.” Duff picked up his rifle. “We need to be ready for them.”
“What are you suggesting?” Whitey didn’t want to give up. The need for vengeance burned even stronger within him.
“Is that bounty hunter still with them?” Duff asked Jed.
“Yeah. His name’s Cash Coulter. From what I hear, he’s an excellent tracker.”
“Good. We’ll use that to our advantage.?
?? He motioned for Whitey, Clark, and Jed to come close as he explained what he had in mind.
Dax, Luke, Cash, and Bull had waited at the ranch, while Joe rode into town to fetch Gabe. It hadn’t taken the sheriff and Noah long to join the group preparing to ride after the outlaws. Joe, Ellis, and a few other men stayed at the ranch in case the gang decided to come back. Gabe thought the chance remote, believing they’d try to ambush the makeshift posse on the trail.
“The tracks are so clear you’d almost believe they were trying to lead us somewhere.” Cash crouched down next to a group of horse tracks. They’d found the deserted camp an hour before and followed the trail south.
Dax crouched down next to Cash and studied the tracks. “Why do you say that?”
“What would you do if a group of men followed you? You’d do your best to hide your tracks by riding over rocks, or cutting in and out of the creek. Instead, there are four distinct sets of horse tracks heading in a clear direction.” Cash stood and looked further up the trail.
“Which way?” Dax asked.
“South.”
The trail meandered through low hills, continuing to head south, then west before connecting with the river, signaling the boarder of the neighbor’s property. Not once did Cash lose the tracks. He could sense something wasn’t right.
Luke rode to the front and reined Prince next to Cash and Dax. Gabe, Noah, and Bull stopped right behind him.
“This is the boundary between our land and the Frey brothers,” Luke said, indicating the river.
“Do you know anything about them?” Gabe asked.
“Just what Clausen at the bank told me. They’ve been in the territory a long time and both are widowers. They run a large herd each year and are well respected in Splendor.”
“Doesn’t sound like they’re the type of men to hide outlaws. Duff Mayes may be leading his men around the hills until he finds a spot to cross over the Territory Range. He must know we’re after them. It would be a mistake on his part to stay in the area.” Gabe rested his hands on the saddle horn and scanned the horizon.
“We’re wasting time speculating. Let’s move.” Dax took off, anxious to find the men who were out to kill him and Luke. Gabe may have a point about them leaving the area—however, Dax’s gut told him otherwise. He didn’t believe they’d accept the death of their cousin without seeking vengeance. Their need for revenge would only increase because of the loss of another one of their own.
“I see three men near the barn talking.” Whitey sat perched on a rock overlooking the Frey ranch house.
“No one else?” Duff asked.
“Not that I can see from here.”
“Any guns?”
“One’s wearing a gun belt. I don’t see anything on the other two.” Whitey lowered his field glasses and jumped to the ground.
“Let’s spread out and get ready to ride. We’ll grab the three and hold them in the house until the Rangers show up.”
“What makes you think they’ll care one way or another about us holding a couple of hostages?” Clark asked.
“They’re still Rangers, aren’t they? There’s no chance they’ll let us kill a couple of their neighbors without doing whatever they can to save them. They’ll have no choice but to agree to do what we want.”
“The odds are they’ll have more men with them, like the sheriff and a couple of their ranch hands,” Jed said.
“It doesn’t matter. Once we have the Rangers, anyone they came with will have to let us ride out. If they balk, we’ll do something to make them listen.” Duff swung up on his horse. “Clark, I want you and Jed to ride around to the other side. Whitey and I will come in from here. Look for my signal.”
It didn’t take long for Clark and Jed to circle the ranch house. Duff and Whitey took a brush-covered path down a narrow slope and stopped as close as they could without being seen. The three men still stood by the barn. From his vantage point, Duff could see they were a little older than he’d first thought, but it didn’t mean they posed no threat. He looked up and waved a red bandanna to signal the time had come.
The four rode in from opposite directions, shooting into the air, surprising Frank, Hiram, and Charles, who tried to duck into the barn. Bullets slamming into the wooden siding stopped them. Hiram turned, gun in hand, and fired, nicking Clark before Whitey put a bullet in Hiram’s leg.
Frank dropped to the ground next to him, pulling a handkerchief out of his pocket to stop the flow of blood as Charles kept his hands in the air, taking a couple of steps toward his wagon.
“That man needs help. I’m a doctor. I need to get my medical bag out of the wagon.”
Duff continued to point his gun toward the three while looking into the back of the wagon. One black satchel lay behind the seat.
“Go ahead, but understand there’s four of us watching you.” He glanced over at Clark and saw red seeping through his shirt. “I want the doc to look at your arm when he’s done with the old man.”
“It’s nothing. Let’s get them inside. I’m not comfortable sitting in the daylight with those men chasing us.”
Charles looked up at the gunman’s comment and wondered who hunted these men.
“I can stand.” Hiram tried to sit, groaning when Charles pushed him down.
“Quiet. I’m trying to hear what they’re saying,” Frank hissed as he leaned close to the riders a few feet away.
“You.” Duff pointed his gun at Frank. “Help get him up and into the house.” Duff moved his horse closer. “You’ll have to finish inside.”
Charles got on one side of Hiram while Frank took the other, lifting him under his arms and starting toward the house.
Rachel stared out a slit in the front room curtains and leveled a rifle at the oldest of the outlaws. She’d almost run outside when the shots rang out, but the quick approach of the gunmen stopped her.
“Hurry them up, Duff. We need to get out of sight.” Whitey dismounted, then waited for Clark to do the same before grabbing the reins of both horses and heading for the barn. “Jed, get Duff’s horse.”
Rachel set her gaze on the youngest of the gunmen. He looked familiar—his height, walk, and somewhat cocky stance triggered something, but she couldn’t place his name or where’d she’d seen him. Her eyes shifted as Charles and Frank helped Hiram up the steps. She had to make a decision now or lose her chance to eliminate one of the outlaws. Rachel sighted the rifle and began to squeeze the trigger, then stopped, deciding the risk of the gunmen killing someone was too great. Instead, she lowered the rifle, grabbed her revolver from a nearby table, and dashed through the house, hoping to find a hiding place. She slipped up the back stairs, staying as quiet as possible, checking each room until she located a storage closet at the back of the second floor. The front door slammed open at the same time she pulled the closet door shut.
“Whitey, tie him up while the doctor finishes with the other one.” Duff pointed to Frank, then turned his attention to Clark. “Get your arm taken care of, then check the rest of the house.”
“Is there anyone else here?” Whitey asked Frank as he secured the rope around his hands and legs.
“No. It’s just the three of us.” Frank grimaced as the tight knots cut into his skin.
Whitey eyed him. Something in Frank’s voice had him on edge. “You sure about that?”
“Of course I am. All the others are out with the cattle.” Frank wondered where Rachel had found a place to hide and hoped she stayed there. “What do you want with us? We don’t keep much money here.”
“Of course you do, but money isn’t what we want.” Whitey finished securing the rope, then stood and looked down at the rancher. “We’re after the men hunting us.”
“And who is chasing you?”
“Whitey, what’s taking so long?” Duff asked as he walked into the room. “Help Jed check out the rest of the house. The doctor is taking care of Clark’s arm. We need to set up before they get here.”
“They’re here, D
ax. I’m certain of it.” Cash sat atop his horse and looked back toward the large, two-story house below. He’d circled the ranch area, finding what he felt sure were tracks from the outlaw’s horses. “I don’t understand why they'd stop here and not ride out of the territory.”
“Dax, look down there.” Luke pointed to the wagon with a horse they both recognized.
“Old Pete.” Dax’s heart began to pound when the thought of the doctor being inside the home with a group of killers. Could Rachel be with him?
“What is it?” Noah asked.
“That’s Doc Worthington’s wagon and horse. Old Pete is hard to miss.” Luke slid off Prince and walked to the edge of the brush that concealed them. He took a quick glance around before disappearing down the slope and crouching behind a thick shrub. He shot a look over his shoulder when he heard someone follow.
“Someone needs to find out what’s going on inside and determine if the Mayes and Olin brothers are here.” Dax squatted next to his brother and tried to tap down the apprehension enveloping him.
“I’ll go. Remember, this is what I did for much of the war—surveyed enemy territory prior to a battle.” Luke started to stand before feeling Dax’s hand on his arm.
“Go down from the back, and stay where we can see you. Do you remember our signal?” Dax asked.
“Of course.” Luke whistled low, indicating he could still make the cricket sound the two had used since their youth to warn each other of trouble.
Dax didn’t like Luke going down alone, even though he knew two would increase the odds someone would spot them. They stood, bending low while they made their way up the slope.
“What’s going on?” Cash asked. Gabe, Noah, and Bull stood behind him as Dax and Luke approached them.
“Luke’s going in from the back to see who’s in the house.”
“I’ll go with him.”
“Thanks, Cash, but it’s best if I go alone.” Luke checked his Remington and the knife he had concealed in a scabbard around his ankle. “I won’t take chances. A quick check and I’ll be back.”
“Don’t be a hero,” Dax warned, concern evident in his eyes.
“Hey, you know me.” Luke smiled and took off at a brisk pace along the trail, disappearing into the dense brush.
“Yeah, that’s what concerns me,” Dax muttered as Cash clasped his shoulder.
“He’ll be fine. The kid’s always had the damndest luck.”
Dax thought of Cash’s words and found he had to agree. Luke had always been able to sneak in and out of places without detection. The skill had pushed him up the ranks until he’d been promoted to major just months before the war’s end.
“Now we wait.” Gabe took a position so he could see the back of the house as well as movement from the front. “I hope the people who own the house aren’t in there.”
~~~~~