The Tylers 2
Page 17
Hannah’s words seemed to be the final accusation, and Will knew there would be no talking his way out of this. This time there was no running away from it. Will knew that if he wanted to come out of this a free man he was going to have to fight for his freedom.
‘Gun ‘em!’ he yelled. ‘It’s us or them, and I don’t figure to end up in a cell.’
Will’s voice rose to a scream of rage as he made a grab for his gun. Around him his deputies, realising their days were numbered if they didn’t move fast, followed suit.
Bannock’s main street was suddenly alive with the sound of gunfire. Horses screamed in fright, rearing and stamping in panic. The smell of burnt powder was heavy. From beneath trampling hooves dust rose in stinging clouds.
It was a fight in which the steady eye and hand scored over the quick, thoughtless shot. Within seconds there were a number of empty saddles as Jacob, Seth and Alvin LeRoy returned the deputies’ fire.
Of them all only Jacob sought a particular target. And to his frustration was the fact that Will Retford seemed to have vanished. Jacob swore angrily. So close, and now Will had vanished again!
As the rattle of gunfire died down, Jacob heard a drum of hooves on the street. He ran along the boardwalk until he was clear of the milling horses and swirling dust. And across the other side of the street he saw Will, aiming his trotting horse towards the other end of town and the open road.
Jacob ran across the street. He ran faster than he’d ever done before, or ever wanted to again. All he could see was Will, and Will was running. Jacob had no intention of letting that happen. Not this time. He’d gone through too much to have it come to nothing.
He was only yards away from Will’s horse when Will turned his head. And the first thing Will saw was Jacob. A scream of rage rose up in Will’s throat as he laid his eyes on Jacob. He swung his gun round, tipping the muzzle down at Jacob’s weaving figure. Will fired, two quick shots that missed Jacob by inches, ploughing into the ground.
Before Will could fire again Jacob was onto him. He reached up and grabbed Will’s gun hand, dragging Will bodily out of the saddle. Will hit the ground hard, his gun spilling from his fingers. He kicked out wildly. Jacob was thrust aside by a blow that slammed his left side. As he regained his balance Will came to his feet and threw himself at Jacob. They came together hard, trading powerful, crippling blows to face and body. They ignored the pain, the blood that poured from them; they were men fighting on emotions. For Jacob it was a cleansing of all the hardship and misery he’d gone through because of this man, and the hurt he’d suffered through Nancy’s death; Will had taken her life and Jacob wanted him to suffer for that; it was plain and simple vengeance. For Will it was simply a fight for life, his life; if he lost here today he was going to pay with that life; he knew now that given time it would all come out; the planned holdups he and his bunch had pulled; the killings; the corruption of the office of marshal; Will didn’t fool himself; if they got him to court he’d end up with a noose around his neck.
They fought without feeling or mercy. They moved off the boardwalk where they’d knocked themselves, back on to the street, slipping and stumbling with exhaustion, but neither of them giving an inch. Pounding, gouging, punching, each tried to destroy the other.
And then Will found himself on his back. High above him he could see the blue sky. It appeared to be spinning and the brightness hurt his eyes. His body seemed to be one mass of pain. He could taste blood in his mouth. There was a dull pain in his chest that hurt each time he took a breath.
Tyler had beaten him! The fact hammered in his mind. They would take him and put him in a cell now. And when all the talking was over they would take him out one morning and they would hang him. A cold knot formed in his stomach. The Hell they would! He wasn’t finished completely yet.
The marshal, LeRoy, pulled him to his feet. Will stood for a moment, trying to clear his fogged senses.
‘Let’s go, mister,’ LeRoy said.
They started across the street.
Jacob Tyler was a few yards ahead, the girl by his side.
As they reached the far side of the street they had to pass a parked wagon. The wagon belonged to a local rancher. The tailgate was down and Will’s eyes caught sight of a double-edged axe lying in the wagon. As he stepped by the wagon he reached out and grabbed the axe. Summoning his strength Will swung the axe up and brought it round at LeRoy’s head.
It never landed.
Close by a gun fired. Two quick, close shots, the hard sound slamming out loudly. Will was driven back by the impact of two heavy bullets ripping into his chest, tearing through flesh and bone. They left large, jagged wounds where they emerged between his shoulder-blades. Blood fountained in a bright spray as Will struck the side of the wagon and pitched face down on the ground.
By the time Jacob reached him Will was barely breathing. Jacob turned him over. Will was losing a lot of blood. He glanced at Jacob’s bruised and bloody face.
‘You put those bullets in me?’ Will asked.
‘No. I did.’
Will glanced at the speaker and saw Seth Tyler looking down at him.
‘Damn you to hell!’ Will shouted, then felt his body shudder as it was racked with pain; he began to cough, blood spilling from his lips. The wounds in his chest were bleeding badly too, and Will could feel his grip on life slipping away fast; he’d made one mistake too many this time; despite everything Will Retford was no fool; he was dying and he knew it.
‘You put yourself on the line,’ Jacob said.
Will glanced at him. ‘Yeah. Well I ain’t exactly laughin’ about it myself.’
‘It might have ended differently,’ Jacob said, ‘if you hadn’t run. It just made trouble all the way round.’
‘Ain’t no good thinkin’ on that now. Man does what he thinks is the best way out. I figured it was all up when that girl caught my bullet. What with the Law around and all, I decided the best thing was to get the Hell out.’
LeRoy leaned closer to ask: ‘Who killed the deputy marshal?’
Will’s bloody lips peeled back in a thin smile. ‘That’s the best part about it, Marshal. It was an accident. Your deputy was shot with his own gun while he was trying to keep the girl off him. She wouldn’t let go and the gun went off!’ Will began to laugh, the sound deep and ragged. ‘All this time, LeRoy, you’ve been chasin’ an innocent man. There never was any murder! Man, that makes it almost worthwhile dyin’ for. Just to see your face!’
His laughter rose until it was almost too loud. Then just as abruptly it was cut off. Will began to gasp for breath, his face darkening as he began to choke. He started coughing up dark blood and his body stiffened, arching violently. And in moments it was over.
Jacob stood up. He sensed someone watching him and when he turned he saw it was LeRoy.
‘I was wrong, Tyler,’ he said. ‘More wrong than a man has a right to be in my job. I can only say you’ll have no more trouble from me.’
LeRoy held out his hand and Jacob, after only the slightest hesitation, took it in his own.
‘LeRoy, you just keep wearing that badge. This country needs good lawmen, and I figure any man is entitled to one mistake. Hell, I’ve made my share, and I don’t reckon I’ve done yet!’
‘What will you do now?’
Jacob drew Hannah close. He indicated the ragged remainders of Will’s gang. ‘We’ll give you a hand to tidy this mess up,’ he said. ‘Then Seth and me and Hannah — why I reckon we’re going home.’
Also available in the series from Piccadilly Publishing:
The Tylers 1: BRIGHAM’S WAY
Piccadilly Publishing
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