Stagecoach Graveyard

by Thom Nicholson

  “Well, I sorta have changed my mind. I want in.”

  “Me too.”

  “Good, because I’ve got plenty for you both. You’ll be the scouts for the reaction force. You’ll have to watch for the outlaw gang and warn Johnny and his men as they approach. If they run, you’ll have to trail ’em until the rest of us can catch up with you.”

  Marty looked at his pocket watch. “Well, it’s about suppertime. Interest you fellas in a meal, on me?”

  Everyone agreed except Carson. “Sorry, Marty. I’m eating with Colleen and her father.”

  “Can’t say that I blame you for that. Get on with you. Don’t want her after my hide for your being late.”

  “Now, Marty,” he protested, “you don’t have to fret about her. She knows I’m in good hands when I’m with you.”

  As he rode away, Marty chuckled. “That boy doesn’t know it, but she’s measurin’ him for his wedding suit or I’m a ring-tailed coon.”

  Squint laughed. “He may as well snort and shout for a spell, ’cause he’s headed fer the sedate life of matrimony, just like you says.”

  On Monday, Marty drew several rough maps showing the locations of the V bar B and the ambush sites, as well as the trails in and out of the mountains, for he wanted Carson and Johnny to have no doubt where they were supposed to be, no matter the situation.

  The next afternoon, he stopped by O’Brian’s office about three. “Hello, Mr. O’Brian. Where’s Carson? I want to talk to him.”

  “Him and Colleen are out ridin’. They’ve been goin’ every chance they git.”

  “Good for them. I’ll catch up with him later. You hear anything about the pumps?”

  “I just got a telegram this noon. They’re on the way. Ought to be in Reno about Friday or Saturday.”

  “Then we’d better be there when they arrive. Just in case the outlaws decide to hit the warehouse and destroy them before we even get them on the wagons. Malcolm, do you have enough men to drive eight wagons, plus eight more to act as guards?”

  “I think so. Especially if you’re gonna build the same sort of iron thing fer the drivers like you did for Squint’s stagecoach.” He frowned. “The guards may be a bit harder to find. Even if we git men to go, they’ll likely jump off and run at the first sign of trouble.”

  “We’ll take what we can get. They’re not the important pieces in our strategy anyway. I mostly want them to keep the drivers from running off.”

  “I plan to drive one of the wagons myself,” Malcolm announced. “That might help stiffen the backbone of the men I do get.”

  The next day Marty and Squint sat at a table in the mule barn looking at some sketches Marty had made using the boilerplate as protection for the drivers of the freight wagons. Ross hurried into the barn, a concerned frown on his face.

  “Marty, something fishy is goin’ on.”

  “What’s up, Ross?”

  “Me and Ruud has been watchin’ them four jaspers like you wanted. Up to now they have jus’ lazed around town, not doin’ much ’cept drinkin’ and loafin’. Then this afternoon, the two new ones rode outa town on the Carson Creek Road. I followed along, stayin’ well back like you said. Well, they stopped about a mile outa town and went up in the woods and hunkered down. I couldn’t git too close. I watched ’em fer a spell, then rode past them stayin’ on the road, sorta casual-like. They didn’t do nothin’, just stayed up in the brush. I watched ’em awhile longer. Then I circled way around and come to tell you.”

  “Where’s Ruud now?”

  “I don’t know. He supposed to be watchin’ them Sid and Jack fellas.”

  “Find him and keep an eye on the two still here in town. Maybe they’ll tip us off to what’s going on.”

  Ross hurried away. “Damn,” Marty grumped. “Something’s about to pop, sure as shootin’.” He paced back and forth. “With the news about the pumps coming, it’s probably no coincidence that they’re up to no good.”

  About five, Ross and Ruud showed up at the barn, finding a nervous Marty expecting to hear bad news.

  “Them rats, Sid and Jack, done slipped away on me. I saw ’em ride outa town on the Carson Creek Road, but when I followed along, they wasn’t on it. I went out until I hit the salt flats, four miles out. You can see fer miles in all directions from there. They cut off somewhere ’tween there and town. I’m shore sorry, Mr. Keller.”

  “Not to worry, fellas. You did your best. I told you not to get too close. That made it doubly hard for you. Something’s up, that’s for sure. You two stick around awhile. Let’s see what develops.”

  Around sundown, Malcolm walked into the barn. “Marty, have you seen Colleen and Carson?”

  A chill traversed Marty’s spine. “Nope, sure haven’t. Why?”

  “They went ridin’ this afternoon. They’ve never stayed out this long. Colleen was due to go to the Ladies’ Wednesday Night Knitting Social at seven. She doesn’t like to miss it, since she’s sort of the president this year.”

  “Colleen and Carson are missing?” Squint came up and interrupted, having heard only part of the story.

  “I didn’t say that, exactly,” Malcolm protested.

  “You know where they liked to ride, Malcolm?”

  “I think they rode out the Creek Road. There’s a couple of hills out there where they can stop and look at some nice scenery.”

  “Ross, you and Ruud scout out that way. Take a look around where you lost those men. See if anything looks amiss. As soon as it’s too dark to see anything, hurry back here. We’ll be making plans in case you don’t run into them. And take some medical supplies with you, in case they had some sort of accident and need tendin’.”

  He turned and put his hand on Malcolm’s shoulder. “Malcolm, you go on over to the doctor’s office and have him make you up an emergency kit for the boys to carry.”

  Marty waited until Malcolm had hurried out the barn door. “Look hard, fellas. I’ve got a feeling our four bad men have kidnapped the youngsters. If they have, they’ve signed their death warrants.”

  Chapter 22

  Kidnapped

  Marty and Malcolm were standing on the front stoop of the office the next morning, when a rider-less horse trotted down the street and turned toward the barn.

  “Oh, Lord,” Malcolm whispered, “that’s Colleen’s hoss.” He ran to the horse and grabbed its reins, calming the nervous animal. Running his hands over its flank, he made the observation “It’s been sweating pretty hard. It’s either come a long way or run some afore it got to town.”

  Marty was right behind the stage line owner. He grabbed a kerchief tied to the saddle horn. “Look, Malcolm. There’s a note tied to the scarf.”

  Malcolm grabbed the scarf. “That’s Colleen’s. I saw her wearing it yesterday. What does the note say?”

  “It’s addressed to you.”

  “Read it, read it.”

  Marty squinted at the hurried handwriting. “Your gal’s fine. So is her friend, a young fella named Carson. You jus’ stay away from Reno and don’t try to make no freight shipments to Virginia City till we tell you. If you do what we say, yur gal won’t be harmed. Mess with us and she will pay the price. We ain’t kidding.”

  Marty looked up at Malcolm. “That’s all it says. I’m sorry, Malcolm. I never expected the skunks to do anything like this.”

  Malcolm’s face flushed and his eyes darted wildly from Colleen’s horse to Marty in panic and despair. “What are we gonna do, Marty? Them poor kids. They must be scared half outa their minds.” He called for Squint. “Come take care of this hoss. He’s been used hard.”

  Squint listened as Marty explained the arrival of the horse and the note. “I shore would like to git my hands on them varmints. I’d squeeze the life outa ’em on the spot.”

  “Squint, soon as you put her horse away, go find Ross and Ruud. They’re in that cantina just down the block. The one with the rooster sign out front.”

  “El Gallo? Sure, I know it. I’ll be right
back with ’em.”

  It did not take long before the two scouts were seated at the rectangular table in the business office. Marty had a map of the local area laid out in front of the two men. “Show me where you last saw the outlaws, Ross.”

  Ross frowned at the map. “I ain’t much fer reading a map, Marty, but I’d reckon it was right around here.” He pointed at a spot near the Carson Creek Road. “Wouldn’t you say so, Ruud?”

  “I think so. To be real honest, I didn’t see ’em go up in the trees, I jus’ know they got off the road somewhere around there.”

  “Come first light, you two show me,” Marty instructed.

  “Sure will. Shall we bring any of the boys?”

  “Not yet. Tell Johnny to have as many as he can get ready to be standing by, here at the barn. I don’t want to stumble upon the outlaws with a full-blown search party just yet. I’ll join you two and we’ll make a quiet look-see first. If we find anything, we can send for the rest.”

  “Ya want I should come along, Marty? I know that part of the country pretty good. I prospected all over it a year ago, afore I went busted and started workin’ fer Malcolm as a driver.”

  “Stick close to the barn, Squint. Maybe the other horse will show up. If so, try and follow its prints and bring the boys with you. I’ll be back before dark and if nothing’s come up by then, we’ll make a new plan.”

  Marty and the two scouts rode out to where they had last seen the outlaws. The ground had been freshly disturbed, but as they followed the tracks of six horses away from the site, the trail disappeared.

  “Somebody went to a lot of trouble to hide their tracks, it seems to me,” Ross commented.

  “If they did kidnap Colleen and Carson, they damned well better have,” Marty commented. “Their goose is cooked if we can catch them holding the kids against their will. That’s enough to warrant a rope dance in most folks’ opinion.”

  “If they know it’s likely to git them hung, they’re liable to not wanna give in to us if we come upon ’em, wouldn’t you say?”

  “I have no doubt about that,” Marty answered. “Well, the tracks are gone. Let’s spread out and make a sweep. If you run across anything, come for me, but keep it quiet. I don’t want to give anything away.”

  Colleen and Carson sullenly were led by their captor into the darkness of the tunnel. The mine looked as if it had been shut down for a good spell. Dust had settled on the support beams and spiderwebs were in abundance. But the most predominant presence was the blue, sticky clay that covered the floor and walls of the mine. The clay was everywhere.

  “What on earth is this stuff?” Colleen asked as they reached the end of the drift and sat down on the sticky substance.

  “Mr. Hearst said it’s a kind of clay that comes up from the earth. All the mines in Virginia City are plagued with it. They have to continually keep mucking it out, or it will fill up a shaft.” Carson glared at the masked man who had escorted them to their current location. “How long are you going to keep us in here?”

  “You jus’ keep yur mouth shut, sonny. You’ll live longer that way. We’ll let ya go when we decide, not a minute sooner.”

  “Well, can you take these ropes off? It’s damned uncomfortable, trying to sit with my hands tied behind my back.”

  “I tell ya what, sonny. I’m gonna untie yur hands, but if you or the little lady show yur face at the front of this mine, I’m gonna fill yur gut with lead and fill the gal with somethin’ else.”

  Carson jumped up, his face livid with rage. “You slimy bastard. You touch one hair on her head and I’ll see you hang or kill you myself, I swear it.”

  The outlaw said nothing, just walked over and slapped Carson a vicious smack to his head, knocking him over a small box sitting on the floor, next to Colleen. He knelt beside the stunned man and deftly sliced the rawhide strip that bound Carson’s hands, and then did the same for Colleen. As he stepped out of the yellow circle of light cast by a thick candle stuck on a large rock next to a wooden support beam, he snarled at the two prisoners, “Don’t fergit. Don’t show yourself to the mouth of this mine iffen ya know what’s good fer ya.”

  Colleen knelt beside Carson, who was trying to get to his feet. “Oh, Carson, don’t antagonize them over me. They’ll just make it worse for us.” She looked around. “How are we going to get out of here?”

  “Look around, see if you can find anything I can use as a weapon.” Both searched their small space and Carson found a worn, rusty shovel, while Colleen found a piece of drill steel, about three feet long. Either one would be a fearsome weapon in a close, hand-to-hand encounter. “For the moment, we’d better hide these. We don’t want to make our move too soon. Let’s see what happens for a while.” This they did, hoping the outlaws would not find the crude weapons as the kidnappers came and went, checking on the two of them.

  “What time do you think it is?” Colleen asked. “I’m pretty hungry, so I’d guess it’s well past dinnertime. Papa must be awfully worried for us.”

  “One thing I do know, Colleen, is that Marty and the others are looking high and low for us. They’ll find us, I’m certain of it. The men who captured us are the same ones Marty had men tailing already. He’ll find us. We can count on it. We have to be ready to act, as soon as he does.”

  They continued to discuss ways of escaping or helping the hoped-for rescuers when one of the guards brought them some bread, ham slices, and water.

  “What is the lady to do about using the convenience when it becomes necessary?” Carson demanded.

  “Figger it out. She ain’t comin’ outa the mine, so you two’ll jus’ have to figger out somethin’.”

  “You swine,” Carson murmured. Colleen put her hand on his forearm in warning. “All right. What about a blanket for the lady? We’re going to have to sleep soon.”

  “See that box thar? It’s got some stuff in it you can use. Make yurselves comfy, ’cause you’re gonna be here fer a spell.”

  Carson mumbled all sorts of dire threats under his breath as the outlaw left. “We’ll see about that.” He spoke louder as the sound of the outlaw’s footsteps faded in the darkness. He pried the top off the small wooden box and found two blankets, a jug of water, another candle, and several matches.

  “Colleen, we’d better try and get some rest. You take the candle and go up the shaft a ways and relieve yourself. Then I will. After that, we’ll try and get some sleep. Marty’ll be coming tomorrow, I know it.”

  As soon as they were ready to settle down, Colleen whispered to Carson, “I’m so scared. I just don’t want those vermin to know it.”

  “I swear to you, Colleen, I’ll die trying to keep you safe. Don’t you fret over this. It’ll soon be over. Marty is gonna find us, I know it.”

  “Oh, Carson.” Colleen kissed Carson, so hard and passionately that it took his breath away.

  The young dude from Cincinnati vowed to sell himself dearly for the woman in his arms. “Good night, rest easy.”

  “Good night, Carson.”

  As Colleen settled down on her simple bedroll, Carson took up the shovel and started piling the thick, cloying clay in a pile just beyond the circle of light cast by the candle.

  “What are you doing, Carson?” Colleen inquired. “Come on and get some rest.”

  “I’m making a little surprise for our captors. If one of ’em comes back here and hits this clay, he might fall or something. We might be able to use the opportunity to make our escape. I won’t be long. Try and rest.”

  “Carson, I won’t rest a second until you’re right here beside me. What can I do to help?”

  Marty and his scouts returned just after the sun set, tired and discouraged. “We couldn’t pick up a trail, Malcolm. We rode up and down the Creek Road, to no avail. We’ll get some rest and start out again tomorrow.”

  Squint and Johnny Harper walked into the office, just as Marty finished his statement. “Hi, Johnny. How many men have we got?”

  “Every man, Marty. The
y’re all outfitted for three days on the trail. Just say the word.”

  “I don’t know where to go, Johnny. They could be anywhere.”

  “No, they ain’t,” Squint answered quickly.

  “What?”

  “I was cleanin’ the missy’s hoss jus’ now. I shoulda done it last night, but I was too excited by all the happenin’s. I’m sorry I didn’t. I coulda saved us a lot of worry.”

  “What are you talking about, Squint?” Marty asked again, exasperation evident in his voice.

  “I told ya I had a small minin’ operation goin’ back up in the hills east of here afore I started with Mr. O’Brian, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, you mentioned it.”

  “Well, I ran into a seam of blue clay, damnedest stuff you ever saw. Thick and gooey as glue and twice as hard to git rid of. I musta mucked five tons of the stuff outa my diggin’s and still it came oozing back in as fast as I dug it out. I filled up a small hollow behind my shack with clay afore I give it up.”

  “And?”

  “The damned stuff was so thick that rainwater wouldn’t soak through it. Rain would pool up and stand thar for months at a time, as natural a water hole as a body could find. My ole hoss used go down and drink thar when the stream dried up, which was most of the time. He’d stand on the edge of the clay to drink and sink clear down to his fetlocks and deeper. I was always afeered he’d git stuck, but he never did. Anyways, when I was puttin’ the missy’s hoss away, I noticed that her forelegs was covered in that same kind of blue clay. I ain’t never seen clay like that anywhere else but in my mine. I swear, Marty, I think them varmints may have the two kids in my mine.”

  “By God,” Malcolm exclaimed, “maybe we’ve got the break we need.”

  Marty did not hesitate. “Johnny, have the men ready to ride as soon as the sun clears the horizon. Squint, you know how to get us to your claim without alerting anybody there that we’re coming?”

  “Sure do. Know more’n one. I could take us there in the dark if need be.”

  “Daylight’s soon enough. I do want to move in real quiet on ’em. We’re gonna save the kids, not give the skunks a chance to hurt them. If we move in quiet and unseen, perhaps we can catch them exposed and vulnerable.”