“They are my people. I brought them along to protect the wagons. I only wish we could have arrived earlier,” Blue River said solemnly.
“Sister, this is Robert Benson, the crew chief for the trestle project. We met when he came to Cedar Ledge a couple of weeks ago. This is Catalina,” Blue River quickly introduced them.
"I sure am sorry for the folks you lost here today, Mr. Benson," Catalina said, nodding her head at the handsome-looking man.
“I am worried that we might lose more! Can you get your braves back!?” Benson said rather nervously.
“They have ridden off in pursuit of the Apache murderers. They are beyond my call. What is it?” Blue River said, his eyes already scanning the entire compound cautiously.
“Our people working at the trestle could be in grave danger!” Benson announced. “When the Apaches first rode up a bunch of them split off and headed in the direction of the trestle. The railroad superintendent, Mr. Greystone, was up there with the crew as well!”
“He’s my father!” Sadie sniffled.
“Come, Catalina!” Blue River yelled after his sister, already rushing for his horse and barking out instructions. “Benson gather up any man that can fight and …”
Suddenly, before he could even get to his horse, a deafening explosion rocked the air, causing a frantic Sadie to scream loud with fright. They all stared in shock and awe as a massive fireball rose from one end of what they see of the trestle from where they stood. Quickly, before they got over the shock, a second explosion rent the air around the center of the trestle and then a third at the far end of the trestle. Amidst the fireballs and smoke, they could only watch on as the trestle began a systematic collapse from end to end and disappeared from view.
“My God. Those savages have blown the trestle all to hell!” Jonas, Benson’s partner mouthed in shock.
“Father!!” Sadie cried.
“Come!!” Blue River yelled mounting his horse and urging everyone else to do the same.
A few seconds later, the group began to gallop up the tracks. Charging angrily and chanting words of motivation to one another making aim for the trestle.
***
They had hardly arrived at the edge of Devil’s Canyon when the sight of lifeless bodies caught their attention. The spectacle instantly reduced their initial ferocious charge, sending shivers down their spines leaving them in an astonished silence.
The bodies of dead men, lay fallow at various positions in the area, all covered in dust and blood. Catalina had quickly scanned around from their static position to be sure about the number of the unfortunate casualties. She turned angrily towards Blue River before she yelled, “About half a dozen of them all said and done!”
“What a loss,” she exclaimed before falling silent again.
Blue River dismounted along with the others and began to wander around to see whether the perpetrators were still within the perimeter, but a dejected Sadie stared wildly with a strong belief that somehow, her father was not among the dead. She could not bring her eyes to look at them for fear of being wrong. Sadie’s eyes suddenly caught sight of a figure emerging on a nearby rocky hillside.
“Over there!” she screamed, drawing the attention of the group of fighters to a man, who was stumbling down the hillside, caked in dust. Sadie rushed towards the staggering man; she knew her father’s physique well and knew it to be him.
Roger Greystone was not too different from his beloved daughter, Sadie. Their striking resemblance was vivid. The only true differences was he sported brown hair and a peculiar pointed nose which many found attractive. As the superintendent, he was always neatly dressed, earning him admiration among many of his co-workers. Even though his job often called for him to be in the thick of the laying of the rail lines, he ensured that his attire had little or no stain upon it, a far cry from how he looked at this moment. As Sadie and others ran towards him, something slipped from his hand and he dropped to his knees to retrieve it. As they neared he was picking up a tobacco pipe. It gave Sadie hope that he was uninjured if that was his priority, as she and all in the Grand Western knew it was something he couldn’t really survive without.
“Mr. Greystone!” Benson shouted in shock as they approached the exhausted looking superintendent. Tears couldn’t stop gliding down Sadie’s face as she bolted desperately to her father’s position.
“Daddy! You’re alive! Thank God!” she yelled joyously atop her voice. Without a second thought, she jumped into his arms and sobbed quietly. Roger hugged her back tightly before quickly letting go of his grip, looking very confused.
“Sadie! What the devil are you doing here?” He took a few steps towards her awash in agitation. “You are supposed to be at the hotel in Casper’s Crossing. Aren’t you?”
Sadie explained, “I was restless in town and since it was your birthday, I came out a little while ago to surprise you with a cake!” she became pitiful instantly as she turned to her father once more and faintly said, “Yes, I wanted to surprise you, Daddy.”
A silence fell over the air as Greystone looked at her exasperated that she had put herself into the middle of this—for him.
Blue River seized the momentary silence by stepping forward from the middle of the men they had traveled with. "That explains the cake," he concluded as he made his way towards Sadie, Benson, and Greystone.
Noticing Blue River for the first time since Greystone reached for a pistol he had tucked to his belt. "Jesus! Another Indian," he shouted as he grabbed the firearm.
Catalina was not having this. Acrobatically, she launched a kick at Greystone’s right hand, the same one that held the gun he was about to use against her brother. The gun flew up in the air, and Blue River adroitly caught the flying firearm before it could land on the ground.
“Never a good idea to draw a gun on a Wilde,” Blue River voice sounded, tinged with sarcasm. Expertly, he opened the chamber of the shining pistol and gave room for the escape of six bullets into his hands. He threw them over his shoulder before he handed the gun back to Greystone whose gaze he met as he explained why he had to empty the firearm. “I suspect my people will be joining us shortly, and I do not wish you firing at them either.”
“It’s okay, Daddy! More than okay. Blue River saved my life!” Sadie relayed.
Benson further buttressed Sadie’s outburst to her puzzled father by making a swift introduction of the duo. “Sir, this is Blue River and Catalina Wilde.” Pointing his hand at them, he progressed, "The family that is supplying us with the ties, sir. The same family that had a hand in preventing that near calamity with the stampede our train caused near Stanton's Gap." His hand finally landed on Blue Rivers shoulder as he concluded. "They arrived just in time to prevent a complete massacre."
Greystone’s face suddenly widened into a grin. “Yes, of course. The Wilde family.” He nodded profusely as he walked towards them. He pressed further, “I did hear that the Wildes are a rather unique family.”
“Damn straight about that!” Catalina responded appropriately. She attested to Greystone’s last statement by stating emphatically, “Now, if you’d pulled a gun on Lijuan like you just did to Blue River she’d have knocked you to the ground right quick with her hammer.”
Greystone’s eyes shone with puzzlement. “Hammer? What?” he asked, but Blue River quickly came to his rescue by ensuring Catalina stopped her posturing.
“No, sister, it is all right,” he said calmly. He turned toward Catalina and expressed how he felt about Greystone’s mood. “Mr. Greystone has clearly been through an ordeal.” He leaned a bit forward, towards the superintendent as he consoled him with the words he believed would soothe or partially appeal to the helpless man. “My condolences on the loss of your crew,” he said with a deep sincerity.
As a form of appreciation of the gesture, Greystone responded, “Thank you, Blue River.” Sounding very bitter, he pressed on with his right hand furiously rubbing his forehead, “I can’t believe they are all dead. We never had a chan
ce.”
He began to wander around peering at some of the corpses scattered about as he spoke dejectedly. “I’m only alive due to a well-timed call of nature.” He stood still and pointed to his north, “I was over on that hillside when they came swooping up the grade.”
His gaze returned to the last lifeless body he saw before his eyes traveled to his north. Staring intently at the dead man, he said, "Sam Parker. That was his name. He got off several shots before he was overrun."
Greystone spoke enthusiastically as he explained the man’s heroic act moments before he was cut down. He nodded to two dead braves close to where Parker died and yelled, “At least he got a couple of those bastards before he died!”
Greystone again began to wander around other dead railroad men as he continued his version of the tragedy.
“Ned Barns, the chief carpenter, made a dash for my position, being the high ground.” He began to gesticulate frantically as he explained. “He almost made it to me when he took one in the back.”
Seeming sober already, the tone of his voice changed to a very sad one as he described the succeeding events. "I was running down off the hill to assist when his gun went flying towards me and I scooped it off the ground and took a couple of shots at them but there were so many of those savages." He shook his head in pity and stated, "It was useless so I fled back up the hill. Luckily for me, there was a crevice I was able to find shelter in." Greystone said as his eyes met his daughter's. He held her hands again, filling the ears of the Wildes and everyone around with tales of his brutal experience.
“I could hear them searching for me, bellowing their war cries, but they didn’t find me.”
Greystone paused for few seconds, and when he continued, he turned towards Benson. “They gave up looking, and the next thing I heard were sounds of demolition, the trestle was being destroyed! They must have gotten their hands on our dynamite!” he lamented.
Greystone continued to curse and hiss incessantly, “The devils killed all our men and destroyed months of work in seconds!”
That outburst ended his account. Everyone shook their heads one last time, mutely glancing at the sad scene. The group that now included Greystone subsequently walked towards the edge of the canyon and looked down at the burning wreckage of trestle. They all trembled in anger as they peered at the ruins. After some minutes of silence, Blue River eventually broke it giving voice to something that troubled him.
“I am no expert, Mr. Greystone, but I have a familiarity with dynamite due to our uses of it for needs around our operations at Cedar Ledge.” He took a deep breath before he explained more, “Those explosions seemed as a perfectly timed series to make sure that the trestle came down.”
Blue River lost himself in thoughts and took some random steps unconsciously allowing him a moment to collect his thoughts as to whether what he had suspected was indeed true. He wasn’t one to engage in idle speculation but he couldn’t ignore how he felt. “That took some skill, and among the Indian people, truthfully, they have little knowledge when it comes to the handling of TNT.”
Immediately tapping into Blue River's analysis, Catalina responded. "In other words, maybe they had a little help—likely from a white man!"
Greystone was the next person to speak as they continued gazing at the burning wreckage which was giving rise to a great plume of smoke rising high into the late afternoon sky. He nodded his head in support of Catalina's statement and conceded, "It could be, Blue River, Miss Wilde." He turned his gaze towards Benson instantly and urged him. "Tell them, Benson!"
Benson wasted no time to briefly explain to the Wildes about another enemy that could be in play. Affirmatively, he stated, “It isn’t only the Apaches who don’t want to see this railroad built. Some Arizonans see this railroad as a threat to their business!” He threw his hands angrily in the air as he concluded, “They fight to keep it from expanding throughout the territory.”
Still very confused, Catalina asked abruptly, “How do they figure it’s a threat?”
Reading her confusion well, Greystone promptly explained, “The stagecoach interest wants no part of the competition from the railroad.” “He spoke confidently as he progressed, “They could be aligning themselves with the Apaches to attack the railroad so that their stage monopoly might remain secure.”
Sadie was just as perplexed as the Wildes. Curiously, she emphasized, "But to go so far as murder to protect business interests? That would be insane." Her statement further aroused her anger and disgust towards what had gone down at the trestle. But, her father was quick to calm her nerves.
“My dear Sadie,” he said, calmly patting her on the back as he spoke with a delicate tone, “Man has been killing man over commerce long before the first coin was ever minted.” As he finished speaking he withdrew a lighter from within his jacket pocket and brought his pipe to life. The sweet scent of pipe tobacco now competing with the smell of the burning trestle.
Blue River felt a resolve come over him that he knew Catalina would also share. "My family has a vested interest in who is behind this. Prior to this massacre, it was our men that were killed." His revenge-laden eyes traveled around the entire environment as he assured the superintendent about what the Wildes would be willing to do. "We will help find out who is spreading this evil and bring them to justice!" He declared with no small degree of anger and determination.
“Sure!” Catalina exclaimed validating what her brother had just stated. “Furthermore,” she yelled, “that or just shoot them dead on the spot.” She held up her hands in a calming gesture as she took sight of the widened eyes around her. “If it were to come to that, that is. Lots of times these bad guys don’t leave much choice for us.”
Still very much angered, Blue River walked closer to Greystone and asked, “Who runs the stage interest in this area?”
“A fat hombre named T. Tucker Taylor,” he answered with no hesitation.
The name caught the attention of Catalina who found the repetition of T in the fellow’s name to be amusing.
“I’m a-guessing’ his mama had a thing for Ts,” she mused with an ironic cheer.
“I will ride into Casper Crossing and have a word this Taylor,” Blue River assured Greystone. Sudden hoofbeats to the west quickly sent their gaze toward that direction. Blue River instantly realized that his men had returned from the chase. As they halted several yards away, Blue River turned to his sister. “Catalina, will you take them and return to the others at the wagons?” he pleaded.
"Please, have the ties brought here and offloaded." He added as well.
His eyes returned to Greystone again as he spoke anxiously. "I assume you will still want them for the future."
Greystone affirmed his statement instantly. “You’re damn straight, Blue River!” he blustered with an optimistic tone. “We aren’t going to let these bastards stop us! We will see that trestle rebuilt!”
A brave broke away from the warriors and rode up to the group, towards Blue River. As Blue River did occasionally to show familiarity with the men, he conversed with the man in their native Pai, prompting the brave to respond by shaking his head and muttering some undecipherable words. Curious, Sadie asked, “What did you ask him, Mr. Wilde?”
Blue River grinned before he responded, “Please call me Blue River, and I asked him about the fleeing Apaches.” He moved closer to the beautiful young lady as he shared with her the translation. “He said the enemy had the advantage of being familiar with the canyons around so here, they lost them amongst them.”
She nodded her head as Blue River pressed further, "Our best tracker, however, believes he can pick up the trail and find their camp. The man is out there now still searching."
Blue River turned back to the brave he spoke with earlier and asked more questions. After some seconds, he exclaimed, “That is good news!”
He looked at the assembled and imparted what he had just found out. “We lost none of our braves, but two are injured.” He quickly turned his attent
ion towards the braves present, motivating and instructing them on what was their next course of action. “Once the wagons are offloaded, I want the injured men to be taken back home. I will send five braves to escort the wagons back to Alamieda, though they should be safe now.”
He saw Benson and his friend share a concerned look which he knew to mean they were worried about the Apaches returning.
“That will still leave us with about a dozen braves should the Apaches try and strike again. My braves will stand guard here,” he said reassuringly.
Blue River was not yet done with his appointments. He faced his sister again to and once more asked her for the aid he had requested a short while ago. “Cattie, please take care of squaring away the wagon and sending the men home while I go into town.”
Catalina grabbed him by his shoulders and tilted her head to one side, “You can count on it, little brother. After I’m done, I’ll ride into town and join you.”
She instantly raised an eyebrow as soon as she noticed that Blue River continued to look downwards and only shook his head but didn’t reply to her stated intentions. “Hey, what is it?” she wondered anxiously.
Blue River responded immediately, sensing her anxiety. “I do not know, my sister,” he admitted. He eventually raised his head up and asked in dismay, “Did you ever suddenly get a feeling that something was nagging at you, but you just didn’t know what or why?”
Being familiar with what he asked, Catalina breathed down heavily before she responded confidently, “Now and again. Of course, you know how it goes. It’ll come to you when you are least expectin’ it.”
Greystone interrupted to make a request. "I appreciate your efforts and I wish to request … no, I must insist that you take Sadie back into Casper's Crossing with you."
Angry but not surprised, Sadie apprised her father of her desires to keep him safe.
“No! I want to be with you, Daddy! I’m so worried for you!” she protested.
Disaster At Devil's Canyon: Blue River Wilde Western Adventure (Half Breed Haven Book 7) Page 6