As Jason took aim, he saw the man following Alice, but he was after Alice. It was a long shot and downhill a little. He worked hard on the elevation and squeezed the trigger, and the rifle fired.
chapter 17
The End of the Trail
Dan awoke as it was just starting to get light. He lay there without moving and listened to the sounds of the forest. All was as it should be, not too noisy and not too quiet. Then he relaxed a little, and he felt pressure against his back, and he remembered that Alice was there. He moved away from her a little, then sat up. Looking over his shoulder, he could see that Alice had been lying with her back against his. He put on his socks and boots and went over to the fire or what was left of it. He decided that he didn’t want to restart the fire because he wanted to get an early start, so he used the toe of his boot to move the ashes and coals around, so they would cool and die out. He went back over to the bedrolls and looked down at Alice.
She looked so comfortable that he hated to wake her, but he had to, so he said, “Alice, Alice it is time to get up.”
Sleepily she said, “So soon.”
“The sun is coming up, and it is time for us to get started. You can get the bedrolls ready to go, and I will go back to the top of the ridge and check our back trail then we will eat.”
“Do you think they are there?”
“I don’t, but I want to know if they are.”
Dan smiled as he turned and walked up the trail. The smile faded because he knew that they could be there. As he neared the top of the ridge, he dropped to the ground and crawled to the edge of the ridge. There was not enough light to see into the trees on the far slope, but he tried, and he listened. Hearing and seeing nothing he crawled away from the edge and returned to the camp.
Alice asked, “See anything?”
“No, I didn’t see anything, but then it’s still too dark to see the far slope. I will check our back trail again when we top the next ridge.”
“Are you worried?”
“Not really, but I want to be careful since we lost that day with the bear.”
“Okay, I have the bedrolls ready to go.”
“I will get the jerky and hardtack.”
Dan carried the bedrolls to the pack frame and got the food out of the pack.
As they ate, he asked, “Did you sleep alright last night?”
“I got cold sometime during the night and moved over by you, I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Apparently not since I didn’t know you were there until I woke up.”
“I am ready to start whenever you are.”
“Let me close up the pack, and I am ready.”
Dan put the pack on his back, picked up the rifle and the walking stick and headed down the trail with Alice following. They made good time going down the south side of the ridge and soon came to the dry creek at the bottom.
As they crossed the dry creek, Dan asked, “Do you need to stop?”
“No, I am okay.”
“Then you go first, and I will follow.”
Alice passed him and continued up the trail. The trail was as he remembered it. It was steep, but good footing. He knew it would be a little slow that is why he had Alice take the lead. He wanted to match his pace to hers and not have her trying to keep up with him. They moved slowly but steadily up the slope.
About halfway up he could see that Alice had slowed a little so when they got to the end of the switchback Dan said, “Let’s stop for a break and some water.”
“Thank you.”
“I thought you were going to tell me when you needed a stop.”
“I didn’t realize how winded I was until we stopped.”
“That’s okay, this is a good place to stop. We have our last shortcut coming up soon.”
Then, with a laugh, Alice said, “Then I am glad I stopped.”
Dan smiled and handed her the canteen and said, “Take a few minutes and let me know when you are ready.”
She took the canteen and drank deeply, then asked, “Will we get to the base camp before dark?”
“Based on when we started this morning, I think we should be there by late afternoon, 4:00 or 4:30.”
“I am ready to go.”
“You lead on, and I will tell you when we get to the shortcut.”
Alice turned and started up the trail. She was excited about being this close to the end of the journey through this rough country and the waiting horses and wanted to hurry faster up the trail, but she knew she had to pace herself. Then she thought again about the journey and the end, and she was a little saddened because she had enjoyed her time with Dan and wasn’t sure what was going to happen when they got back to the ranch. Then she heard Dan call her name.
She stopped, turned and asked, “Did you call me?”
“Yes, this is where we use our last shortcut.”
“I am sorry. I was thinking and not listening.”
“That’s okay. Here is the rope for our shortcut.”
Alice walked over to the side of the trail where Dan was standing. She looked at the rope and then up the slope.
Then she asked, “Is it as difficult as it looks?”
“No, it’s not as steep as it looks. You go first, and I will be right behind you.”
Without saying anything Alice approached the rope and grabbed it. She started up, then stopped.
She said, “Somehow this feels wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“The other places the climb was more vertical. I can’t lean against the rock face and climb up the face because it leans away from me too much.”
“I understand. You have to lean back away from the rock face and walk up the rock face as you pull yourself up with the rope.”
“I don’t think I have the arm strength for that.”
“Okay, I will drop my pack here and tie the end of the rope to it, then tie my rifle and walking stick to it. Then I will help you up the rock face and pull the pack up.”
“Will that still save us some time?”
“Yes, not as much, but still this is the way we need to go.”
“Just tell me what to do.”
Dan tied off the pack to the rope and then his rifle to the pack.
He turned to Alice and said, “Step over to the rock face with the rope between your legs, and I will come up behind you and reach around you and take hold of the rope.”
She did as he told her, and Dan walked up behind her and took hold of the rope.
He said, “Lean back against me and start slowly walking up the rock face. Start with your right foot.”
Alice started walking, and Dan walked with her. Both their right legs moved together then the left and so on.
After a few steps she said, “I can’t believe this is working.”
He said, “Teamwork.”
She laughed, then asked, “Are you okay back there?”
“I am.”
Soon they gained the small game trail, and Dan helped her onto it, then he said, “That part is over, just follow the game trail to your left until you meet the main trail and wait for me.”
She moved along the game trail, and Dan turned to pull his pack up. He sat the pack on the game trail and untied the rope. Then he coiled the rope and laid it on the game trail. There wasn’t enough room to put the pack on his back on the small game trail, so he held it in front of him and walked up the trail to meet Alice.
When he reached Alice, she asked, “Do you need a break?”
“I will take a break when we stop for lunch at the top of this ridge.”
After almost an hour they reached the top of the ridge. They passed over the top and down the other side.
Dan stopped and dropped the pack and said, “Time for lunch.”
“I don’t know that I need lunch as bad as I need to sit down.”
“Well, you can do both.”
Alice sat on a large rock, and he got the jerky and hardtack out of the pack and sat near Alice. After she had
had some water, he exchanged the canteen for some jerky and hardtack.
Looking at the far slope, he said, “That is the last slope we have to climb.”
“The last one has not come any too soon.”
“We will have some hot food tonight.”
“I think I need a few more minutes before we start.”
“Did I push you too hard today?”
“No, I think it has just been a lot of hard days together.”
“Okay, you rest a few minutes, and I will go to the top of the ridge to check our back trail.”
Dan walked back toward the top of the ridge and eased up to the top and looked over. Looking across at the far slope all he could see were trees and their dark shadows. He continued to watch some of the open areas for several minutes, but saw no movement. Then he stood up and walked over the top of the ridge to see how much of this slope and the valley floor he could see. He could only see some of the trail below and a little of the creek below. He gave it another minute, then returned to Alice.
He asked, “Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, I am, thank you. I am ready to go when you are.”
“Okay then I will take the lead, and you follow until we get to the bottom. But you let me know if you need to stop.”
“I will if I need to, but I’m sure I’ll be alright.”
Dan put the pack on, picked up the rifle and walking stick and started down. The trail down the slope on the south side of this ridge was predictably easy. The long switchbacks took time, but not much effort.
As he reached the dry creek at the bottom, Dan turned and asked Alice, “How are you doing?”
“I am fine, really.”
“Then lead the way.”
Alice passed by him and started up the trail. Dan followed a few steps behind. This rock face was not as steep as most of the others, but there were lots of short switchbacks. They were about half the way up when part of the rock face between Alice and him exploded.
Before Dan heard the report of the rifle, he knew what it was, and he ran toward Alice and yelled, “GET DOWN!”
Alice was turning to see what was happening when Dan ran into her and knocked her to the ground. The ground and rock face around them was exploding from the impact of the bullets, and the report of the rifles was almost constant. Dan had rolled toward the edge of the trail to put himself and his pack between Alice and the riflemen.
Dan said to Alice, “We need to crawl forward and get behind that rock up ahead.”
“I am scared.”
“I know, but we will crawl together.”
Then the sound of the firing changed. He had heard a different rifle report. There it was again, and then the rifles stopped shooting. Someone was shooting a large caliber gun at those shooting at them.
Dan yelled, “Joe is that you?”
Joe yelled back, “I told you I would be watching.”
Dan asked, “Is it all clear?”
“The ones left, have run back over the ridge. I don’t think they’ll be back, but I will keep my field glasses on the ridge.”
Dan stood up and said, “We will be up when we can. It will be about an hour.”
He turned to Alice and asked, “Are you okay, are you shot, is anything broken?”
As he helped Alice stand, she said, “I was so scared” as she threw her arms around him and kissed him, then put her head on his shoulder.
Dan put his arms around her and held her close and asked again, ‘Are you okay?”
He felt her release her hold a little, so he did too.
She looked up into his face and said, “Yes, I am okay, nothing broken just surprised and scared.”
He looked at her and said, “I was scared for you, and I was afraid that I had failed you.”
Alice realizing that they were still very close to one another, backed up a step and asked, “What happened?”
“Jason and his men topped the ridge behind us, they saw us and started shooting. Joe Greywolf was waiting for us at the top of this ridge and returned fire on them with, and I am guessing, a Sharp’s buffalo gun. He hit one or more, and the rest ran back over the ridge.”
“Are we safe?”
“Joe is watching the ridge, and he will provide cover for us if they return.”
“Then let’s go.”
“After you.”
They continued up the trail, and after more switchbacks and about fifty-five minutes, they reached the top. As Alice topped the slope, she was surprised by two things, how flat the country was on top and Joe sitting at the base of a tree with a pair of field glasses. Joe stood as Dan came up.
Dan said, “Alice this Joe and Joe this is Alice.”
“Hello, Alice.”
“Hello and thank you.”
Dan said, “I could not see much from my position, what happened?”
“I watched you and Alice cross the ridge and start down. I lost you when you started up this side. Then I saw some movement on the ridge. I used the field glasses to check it out, then I saw three men with rifles come down the slope a little and take positions while one man stood at the top of the ridge. I put the glasses down and took a shooting position there with Sharps. They had already started firing by the time I was ready. The tallest of the three had taken a position against a rock, and I shot him first. From the way he went back with the impact, I think I got him dead center. Then I slung toward the other two, as I reloaded. They had taken a position together on the left. I hit one, and the other took to his feet and ran over the ridge. I didn’t hit that one as solid as I hit the first one, because I saw him spin as he when down, but he hasn’t moved in the time it took you to get here. And I haven’t seen any movement since then.”
Dan said, “I don’t know how to thank you, but you know how I feel.”
While Alice listened to the story of the shootout, her emotions were all over the place. She was excited then scared, then in disbelief that she was actually part of such a story and sad that two people were dead. But then glad it wasn’t Dan and her.
She asked, “Do we know if Jason is one of the men over there or if he ran away?”
Joe and Dan looked at her and Dan took the field glasses from Joe, brace himself against the tree and looked across the valley then said, “At this distance, I cannot see them clearly enough to know, and it is too late today to go back. I will go and check them out first thing in the morning.”
Alice said, “I am sorry, but I need to know.”
Dan replied, “That’s okay, I want to know too.”
Dan, Alice, and Joe walked toward the camp on the other side of the meadow.
chapter 18
Death on the Trail
Jason fired and waited for the bullet to hit. He could not see the dirt that the bullet kicked up. But he saw the man start to run and Alice was still on her feet. He heard Frank and Jay fire as he worked the action of his rifle to fire again. He saw the man knock Alice to the ground as he fired again. They were all now firing as fast as they could. Jason was working the action on his rifle as fast as he could. He only had a split second of awareness when the big fifty caliber bullet hit him. Surprise was all he had time to think about as his body was thrown backwards. He hit the ground hard and was dead when he hit.
Jay and Frank didn’t see Jason fall, but Jay saw Frank get hit and spin down beside him. Jay didn’t wait, he just dropped his rifle and ran for the top of the ridge. He topped the ridge and started down the other side and then stopped when he saw Ruiz waiting.
Jay screamed, “Did you see who was shooting and how many?”
“It looked like just one person, but it sounded like a buffalo gun.
“What do we do now?”
“For now, we go back the way we came.”
“What about Jason and Frank?”
“Do you want to go back over that ridge?”
“No!”
“I don’t think the people we have been chasing will be coming for us, but I think we need to get out
of here as quickly as we can.”
“Where do we go?”
“The first thing we need to do is to stop and think.” After a pause Ruiz continued, “We are not going to take Jason’s or Frank’s gear back with us, but let’s be sure we take what we need.”
They went through Jason’s and Frank’s packs to find any food they could use and poured the water from the dead men’s canteens into theirs.
Ruiz said, “If we go back everyone will ask where Jason is.”
“Yes, they will ask, and I will tell them.”
“What if his father or brother is there?”
Jay asked, “Do you think we will be in danger?
“I don’t know, Jason’s uncle is the Sheriff. We saw Jason try to kill the girl in cold blood. What’s the story on the girl and why did he want her dead?”
Jay paused, then said, “From what I overheard, and what was said, he was holding her against her will to force something out of her father.”
“Then the Law could come looking for us because we were part of the party that chased her and tried to kill her to keep her from telling the world about Jason.”
“Do you think the Reynolds will try to help us or try to kill us?”
“If Jason had killed the girl what would have happened to us?”
“We would have gone back to the ranch, and he would have paid us what he owed us.”
“I don’t know about you, but I am sure that after me watching Jason murder someone he wasn’t going to let me live to be a witness against him.”
“I hadn’t thought about that. We had crossed the line from time to time.
Taken some cattle and killed game out of season, but I didn’t worry because we were all a part of it. I was prepared to shoot the man if it became a fight, but I hadn’t thought we would shoot the girl.”
“I want to go back for my horse. We will be on foot, and we can get close to the ranch. We can check it out to know who’s there before we go in.”
“I need a horse too, but Sam might try to stop us even if the Reynolds aren’t there. I am not sure I want to go back.”
“I am going to get my horse back even if I have to take it during the night. Do you have someplace to go to?”
High Country Rescue Page 23