Disaster At Devil's Canyon: Blue River Wilde Western Adventure (Half Breed Haven Book 7)

by A. M. Van Dorn

  By the time evening came, Blue River signaled that they needed to set up camp and rest before making a push through to the end in the morning. The braves quietly divided themselves with a few journeying off into the surrounding wild desert holding bows and arrows to hunt game. Others took position on higher ground surrounding the campsite as lookouts, while the Cedar Ledge ranch hands tasked with driving the wagons moved to position them so that they had been drawn into a circle. Catalina and Blue River busied themselves by stoking a campfire to life at the center of their encampment, quietly conversing amongst themselves about different Wilde family matters.

  An hour had passed when a loud cheer from the returning hunting party almost scared the men into thinking an attack was coming. On second look though, it was the hunting party coming back with a pair of coyotes. Wherever they had found and hunted the animals, it was obvious that the braves were proud of their kills. They cheered noisily and began to get the dead game ready as dinner.

  After a hearty meal everyone, save the sentries who worked in shifts, rested, while the moon rose high into the heavens. They rode throughout the next morning, across a terrain of rocks and scrub brush that each resembled the ones they just passed, crossing through the desert landscape until they came to low, rocky hills, cleaved by a gulley filled with dark shadows.

  Catalina had enjoyed the journey until they passed into the cleft in the rocks. It was a very narrow path between two towering cliffs and the hoof beats echoed every second, along with the whirling of the wagons’ wheels. She knew if someone wanted to stage an ambush this was the ideal spot. She envisioned Apaches sealing off both ends of the ravine and picking them off. The men shared her apprehension throughout the crossing, showing the indications through their frowns. Eventually, to everyone’s great relief, their wagons rolled out without a single scratch.

  That was over five hours ago, and now, the entire caravan had been stopped at a clearing. The afternoon sun beat down on them even as it began its slow descent on its daily journey. Blue River had changed out of his Indian clothes and was now standing beside the lead wagon, attired in a suit and attempting to choose between a pair of bolo ties he had packed. Catalina still sat on the wagon seat; she stared down at him with a smile.

  “You need some help with that?” she finally asked him.

  "No, I believe I can manage, there are only two choices after all," he said, grinning.

  “Good, because I was just offerin’ to be polite,” Catalina chuckled. “Got no preference of one over the other. Now if Honor Elizabeth were here…she would be givin’ you all kinds of advice on which one of them devils to choose.”

  He glanced up at her and shook his head. “Cattie Wilde …” he laughed. It felt good to do so after the long tension these past few weeks. He loved his sister for always being able to bring a little levity into almost anything.

  Cattie reached behind the seat and pulled out a bottle of red wine, laughing, too. She took out her flask and poured some into it, aware of Blue River’s unflinching gaze. “Today it’s gonna be a red wine,” she told him, “By the way, brother, I sure am glad you don’t tease me about this like the girls do!”

  “I think it is noble how you honor your mother and her family’s heritage as vintners by always having your daily toast in her memory with wine from her family’s vineyard,” Blue River said with glinting eyes.

  His response made Catalina somber and emotional. She clutched the flask to her chest and smiled down at him. “I just gotta have some connection to her, Blue River.” She whispered, “I sure do wish I could have known her. Anyhows, I appreciate you not ribbin’ me. Hell, it was sweet of you to get me this mono--monogrammed flask for Christmas!”

  “I wish I could take credit but it was Bright Feather’s idea.”

  “That sister of yours sure is one amazin’ woman. That’s for darn sure. She’s a Wilde in every way but by blood and by birth.”

  Blue River smiled, appreciating the sincerity in her words. “As I have told you before, it is only a matter of time until she bears our last name when she marries Dutch,” he said, winking.

  “Now that’s a day I look forward to,” Catalina chuckled, also winking. Everyone was surely aware of the unshakable love between those two. It would almost certainly lead to marriage as the next step in their long-lasting relationship.

  Thinking about her own mother’s relationship with her father, Catalina raised her flask. “Now for my toast,” she smiled ever so slightly, “To Mercedes Wilde. I never knew you, but I will always love you!”

  She took a sip of the wine and finally lowered her flask with a long whistle. Her gaze flew to Blue River then, and another whistle escaped her lips.

  “Now don’t you all look sharp as a tack all duded up,” she commended, seeing that Blue River had finally donned the tie of his choice.

  “It will not be long now before I am meeting with the railroad men. As the representative for this family, I must look the part,” Blue River said.

  “That you do! That you do!” Catalina encouraged as he smoothed his suit with his palms and climbed back onto the wagon beside her.

  “Time to get a-movin’!” she called out, getting the wagon back on the road and leading the rest of the caravan once more down the road to Devil’s Canyon.

  Soon, even Catalina's well-known exuberance cooled when they passed the site of the massacre weeks ago. The railroad had transported the dead men of Alamieda back for proper burials, but the four burned-out hulks of the wagons and their cargo remained scattered on either side of the trail.

  Blue River felt a tremor of anger course through him at the senseless slaughter of the men. He looked back at the braves surrounding his convoy. He was beginning to feel hopeful that the precaution of having them along would not be exercised. Now so close to the project site, he was feeling more and more hopeful the delivery would pass without incident.

  Less than an hour later, they were coming to a draw that would lead them to the top of a hill. The downslope on the opposite side of the hill would terminate at the campsite that the railroad had set up as they worked on bridging Devil’s Canyon. The Wilde siblings suddenly smelled the trouble before they heard or saw it.

  “Smoke,” Blue River said gravely.

  “Out here in the desert there can’t be much that could be burnin’. So that means only one thing!” Catalina cried out.

  She was already off the seat of the wagon and undoing the first two horses of the team of four that pulled the wagon. Her brother shouted orders for the other three wagons to remain behind along with ten braves to protect them as the rest were to charge ahead with the Wildes.

  The pair quickly mounted the horses bareback and along with their cadre of braves surrounding them, they charged up the hill as the shouts and screams of terror began to fill their ears. When they reached the crest of the hill, they looked down apprehensively at the unfolding scene.

  Below, the Grand Western Railway had built several sturdy buildings to serve as their base of operation on the trestle project. Adjoining them were a number of large tents serving as cook houses, sleeping quarters, and latrines for the men working the line. Off to one side of the encampment, a lone railway car and its engine and tender sat on the tracks. The tracks themselves snaked away from the encampment and disappeared around a bend before they made their way up a grade, the view of which was obscured by a canyon wall.

  Visible above the ridge line was the top of the massive trestle that was awaiting the cross ties from Cedar Ledge. Despite the bottom three-quarters of the massive structure being blocked from view, the Wilde siblings found it an astonishing sight. Not long ago, Honor Elizabeth and their father had visited it while the judge was in Casper's Crossing working a trial, and Honor had described it but not even her vivid description did it justice.

  Despite its majestic appearance, the Wildes and their parties' attention quickly became riveted to two areas. Outside the largest of the buildings, a contingent of railway men had throw
n together a barricade of barrels, timbers, and anything they could find to make a three-sided enclosure with the fourth wall being the building. The men were in a valiant firefight with Apache braves that were attacking them. Not far away, the lone passenger car that appeared to be a caboose was quickly becoming engulfed in flames that the Indians had set underneath the carriage.

  “It looks like we have arrived just in time!” Blue River shouted as they neared the scene.

  “You need to ride with your sisters more often. We got a knack for that!” Catalina cooed.

  “Let’s go!” Blue River bellowed excitedly. He turned to the braves behind him and roared in their language, getting everyone into motion charging down the hill.

  “We have a great slaughter to prevent!” he yelled.

  ***

  Two railroad men shook with fear behind the barricade as the group swept down the hill. Both men misconstrued the approaching forces, Catalina realized, catching their shouts as she concentrated on a nearby Indian that seemed to be bolting towards her in a counterattack.

  “Look, Benson! More Apaches! We’re done for!” The taller of the railroad men was yelling. He had sandy hair, pale white skin and a full beard that made him look quite old and yet still attractive at the same time.

  The other railroad man— Benson— shook his head, pointing at Catalina and the braves, taking note that they were charging towards the Apaches. His fingers flew to his mustache immediately, while his other hand rustled his full curly black hair.

  “No, Jonas! I don’t think they are Apaches!” Catalina heard him yell with joy just as she got close enough to the attacking Indian and brought out her weapon to fire at him first.

  “They are charging at them! They are coming to help us!” Benson was cheering happily.

  Catalina managed to stay undistracted as she fired at the Indian, blasting him off his horse immediately. She ducked just in time, as an arrow shot right for her. Another Indian had appeared from nowhere on his horse, racing towards her with blazing eyes and bow at the ready for another shot. Quickly, Catalina lowered herself on her horse, hoping to morph into less of a target, as the brute barreled towards her at great speed. Before her attacker could adjust his target, she fired twice, hitting him on the chest and sending his body jolting backward before it smashed to the ground.

  She raised herself to her previous position, seeing from the corner of her eyes many of the Yavapai engaged in their individual battles. The Apaches were fighting back but the element of surprise had truly worked against them as the Yavapai overwhelmed them. Still, one came for her again, raising his tomahawk at her, but this time around, Catalina didn’t shoot him. She only ducked and though she hated to do it, kicked the side of his horse with her boot, sending both veering towards the wall of one of the buildings. The collision with the structure thrust the man off the horse to the ground but he remained lightheaded for only a second. When he regained his feet, he glanced around warily and noticed Blue River fighting another Apache brave a few feet from him.

  Catalina cursed under her breath as he grasped for his bow and arrow to target Blue River. She reached for her best weapon then, whirling it effortlessly in the air before sending the tip towards his head. Her bullwhip did its job quite efficiently. Its strong tip slashed across his face, erupting him in pain instantly so much so that his bow dropped from his hand.

  Blue River, on the other hand, had managed to duck a tomahawk coming for his head, while he shot at the Apache brave who had hurled it. With the way temporarily clear, he approached the railcar that was going up in flames, surprised to ride by what appeared to be a smashed birthday cake on the ground. He quickly dismounted his horse then, suspecting that there was more to the railcar than what could be noticed from afar.

  He found out he was right when he got closer and saw the faces of two men and a woman suddenly appear through the windows of the railcar. They were all screaming with terror. Quickly calculating how to get them out, Blue River noticed that the windows were already opened but were too small to crawl through. He reached for the doors to help them, but the Indians had wedged railroad ties against the doors on either end of the car to prevent escape.

  Just when he thought about seeing if there was a way to widen the window holes, Blue River cursed under his breath as an Apache charged at him with his tomahawk raised. Instead of firing at him, Blue River quickly swung his rifle at him, knocking him from his horse, his tomahawk flying upward into the air. The Apache brave fell unconscious onto the ground just as Blue River caught his tomahawk and wedged it into his belt. He quickly slung his rifle with its strap over his shoulder and regained his horse. Standing straight up on his saddle he made a daring leap over the rising flames to catch a hold of a stovepipe dragging himself up onto the top of the car.

  "Everyone move towards the center of the coach! Under the cupola!" He shouted scrambling to his feet, ignoring any possibility that the cupola with its windows which were also too small could serve as an escape route. Instead, he focused on a square near the rear of the caboose.

  He got his rifle back in his hands and aimed at the railcar’s air vent, blasting a hole in it. Immediately, the men and woman shouted, urging him on and begging that he should be fast. Blue River glanced around him, relieved to see that no warriors would distract him this time around for most of them had already been sent on the run by his posse of Yavapai braves.

  “Hurry! Hurry, please! We can hardly breathe! And the heat!” the woman in the railcar pleaded, getting his attention back to the task at hand.

  He peered down into her pleading face. She was beautiful, there was no question about that, even with the look of terror on her face he could see that beauty. Long, dark scarlet hair spilled down around her shoulders in disarray, clearly having come undone from being pinned up during the past few chaotic moments in the caboose. The woman's eyes were a mirror of his own brilliant blue orbs. From his vantage point above he found himself also staring down at the cleavage of her large breasts as they rose and fell under her labored breathing. He was going to save this beauty, there was no question in his mind.

  Drawing back, Blue River pulled out the tomahawk from his belt then, swinging it mightily at the hole in order to enlarge it. Looking down again, he saw hope in her face this time. He would not fail her.

  “Stay strong! I will not let you die in there!”

  He hacked away harder at the edge of the hatch but still, it wasn’t getting wider as quickly as he wanted it to.

  “Blue River!!”

  It was Catalina. He peered up to find her beside the car and with an ax in her hand.

  "I saw you up there and saw this over where they make their campfires! Figured you might be needin' it!" her face shining as she threw the ax up to him.

  "Have a told you how much I love you!" Blue River beamed back, catching the ax in the air.

  "Not in the last twenty-four hours, I'd say … if I was a keepin' score!" Catalina chuckled, stepping back before she dashed back into the fray as Blue River renewed his attack.

  It took only three mighty swings of the ax to widen the hole large enough for them to escape. Now big enough, the men below quickly hoisted the woman up with Blue River assisting to pull her out. He then reached down for the men, pulling them out one by one. They all leaped from the roof of the train followed by Blue River. He hit the ground and rolled in the dust as they all cheered for him, appreciating his help. Blue River could only look down at his torn and dirty suit with a groan and a shake of his head.

  “So much for my first and only suit,” He mumbled under his breath.

  The men he had rescued hurried towards him and slapped him on the back as a way of profound gratitude. Then they assisted each other away then to rest and get some water to clear away all the smoke that they had inhaled.

  Blue River nodded at them as they left, his eyes moving on to watch the only woman amongst them approach him with an appreciative smile. She appeared to be around his age of twenty. Again,
he noticed because of the chaos, her formerly pinned up dark red hair was undone in a strange fashion that he found amusing and enticing at the same time. When she smiled, her face blossomed deep dimples around her mouth, in turn giving him a jolt in his heart. She was looking at him through riveting blue eyes, the type that he couldn’t help but notice since they were so beautiful.

  “Oh, sir, thank you so much. I was terrified that I was going to leave this world being roasted alive inside of that car!” She told him, still smiling appreciatively.

  “I told you that I was not going to let that happen,” Blue River said.

  “I don’t know how I can ever repay you!” She cried out fervently.

  “I seek no repayment,” he said soberly, his gaze moving on to scan the grounds and noticing five fallen railroad men mixed among the Apache dead.

  “Enough lives have been lost this day and three weeks ago,” He told her in a soft voice. “I was not going to add yours to the tally. Knowing the name of the person I just saved would be thanks enough.”

  “Oh, I’m dreadfully sorry,” the young woman said, her eyes briefly moving to the dead men on the ground too. “Sadie. Sadie Greystone!” she said, introducing herself.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Blue River said. He pointed at Catalina who was fast approaching them and introduced her as he introduced himself, too. “This warrior over here is my sister Catalina Wilde and I am called Blue River,” he said.

  “Oh, my, you are the suppliers of the ties, aren’t you?” Sadie asked, “I was dreadfully sorry to hear about the fate of your convoy. That happened before I arrived here to visit with my father.”

  "Thanks … now, how did all this get started!" Catalina asked.

  “Hello! Hello!”

  Sadie was unable to answer the question as a couple of other railroad men distracted them with a shout as they raced up to join them. Catalina noticed them as the men she had seen arguing with each other earlier, wondering if their group were friends or foes.

  "Mr. Wilde! That is you!" Benson, the railroad man with the mustache chortled happily. "I can't tell you how surprised I was to see you leading the charge with those friendly braves!"