“The Haskells? You sure didn’t say who it was, Ranger. That makes a difference. Just about everyone in Texas has heard of ’em. They should’ve been hung, long ago. Yeah, now I’d be plumb happy to give you a hand. Seems like it’ll be nigh impossible to outfox their pardners. But you think you have a way to get past ’em?” Cummings answered.
“I do,” Charlie answered. “I’d like to borrow about fifty head of your cows, and a couple of your men. You see, if me’n Ty attempt to cross the bridge by ourselves, the first thing those hombres’ll do is shoot our horses, leavin’ us easy targets. We’ll be sittin’ ducks. What I want to do is put the wagon carryin’ our prisoners in the middle of those cows. Surround it on all sides by beef. Then, once we’re set, we’ll stampede the cows across the bridge. With us in the middle, those bushwhackers won’t be able to get a clean shot at us. So, what d’ya say? You’ll be helpin’ yourselves, and us, at the same time.”
Cummings took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair.
“I dunno,” he said. “I sure would like to help you, but this herd’s my responsibility. I can’t chance losin’ any of my boss’s, Mr. Montrose’s, beef. I wouldn’t want to see any of my men get shot, either.”
“That won’t be a problem,” Charlie answered. “If you lose any of your cows, the state of Texas will reimburse you for ’em. Far as you and your men, you don’t need to get in the line of fire. All you need to do is start those cows runnin’. After that, me’n Ty’ll just take our chances.”
“As long as you guarantee I’ll get paid for any cows we lose…”
“You have my word as a Texas Ranger on that,” Charlie said, before Cummings could even finish.
“Then we have a deal. And since we’ll be workin’ together, you might as well call me George.” Cummings said. He called over two of his men, one of them the cowboy who had directed Charlie to him.
“Purdy. Mavis.”
The cowboys got up from their places next to the fire, and sauntered over.
“Yeah, boss?” one said.
“Boys, this here is Charlie Blawcyzk. He’s a Texas Ranger, with almost the same problem we have. He has to cross the Brazos, pronto. The only catch is there’s some men holed up on the bridge, waitin’ to ambush him and his pardner. They’re the ones who’ve shut it down. We’re gonna give him some help. Charlie, this is Shep Purdy and Floyd Mavis. They’re the two best shots in the outfit.”
“Ranger.” The two men nodded, then shook Charlie’s hand.
“Shep, Floyd. I’m right pleased to meet you, and I’m obliged.”
“You want to tell us what this is all about, Ranger?” Purdy asked.
“I’ll ask your boss to do that,” Charlie said. “George, if we’re gonna get this done before it’s too dark, I’d better get started back to where I left my pard. I’ll let you explain what’s goin’ on. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”
“Fine,” Cummings answered. “Here’s hopin’ your horses don’t get spooked by bein’ in the midst of a stampedin’ herd. Shep, Floyd, saddle your horses. We’ve gotta cut out fifty or so cows from the bunch. I’ll tell you what our plans are while we do that. Charlie, we’ll see you in a bit.”
“All right, and gracias.”
“Por nada.”
Charlie turned Splash and put him into a lope. A few minutes later, he was back at the wagon. Ty was standing alongside it, holding his rifle.
“Thought I’d take advantage of the wait, and stretch my legs a bit,” he said.
“Can’t blame you for that,” Charlie answered. “These boys behavin’ themselves?”
“Hasn’t been a peep out of ’em,” Ty said. “They’ve been real quiet. Too quiet. I was just gettin’ ready to start after you. You see any sign of trouble?”
“I sure did. Plenty of it. There’s at least four men waitin’ on the bridge to bushwhack us. Gotta be some of the Haskells’ kin. I figure they’ve either killed the bridge keeper, or are holdin’ him prisoner. Soon as we try’n cross the bridge, we’ll be gunned down.”
“That ain’t exactly the news I wanted to hear,” Ty said. “What’re we gonna do? Any ideas?”
“Matter of fact, yeah. We got a stroke of good luck. There’s a herd belongin’ to the Circle M up ahead. They need to get across the Brazos tonight, just like we do. We’re gonna use some of their cows to break through that trap.”
“How we gonna do that?”
“By stampedin’ those beeves,” Charlie said. “We’re gonna put ourselves right smack in the middle of those cows, and use ’em for cover to get across the bridge.”
Ty scratched his chin.
“That just might work, except whoever isn’t drivin’ can’t be in the middle of the herd. He’ll have to stay clear, so he can try’n pick off a couple of those hombres. Best thing would be for him to stay right on those cows’ tails.”
“I reckon you’re right. I didn’t think about that,” Charlie admitted. “Only question now is, which one of us drives, and which one rides. Whoever drives will have his hands full, tryin’ to keep the team under control. He’ll be gettin’ shot at, but won’t be able to shoot back. I reckon it’s only fair we leave that up to chance. We’ll flip a coin.”
“Don’t bother,” Ty said. “My shift drivin’ doesn’t end until we’re settlin’ down for the night. I’ll stick with it.”
“Are you certain?” Charlie asked.
“I’m positive. You’ll be more of a target up there on your horse than I’ll be on the wagon seat… especially since none of the Haskells are gonna want to plug any of their kin by mistake. Besides, you’re a better shot with a rifle than I am.”
“Okay, as long as you don’t mind, that’s what we’ll do,” Charlie said. “We’d best get movin’.”
“All right.” Ty clambered back onto the wagon, then turned to the Haskells. He gave them a grin, which was almost a sneer.
“I reckon you hombres imagined we wouldn’t figure out your little trap, didn’t you? Well, sorry to tell you this, boys, but we did, and we’re gonna spring it.”
“You ain’t got across that bridge yet, Ranger,” Obadiah retorted. “And I wouldn’t plan on it. I reckon before it’s dark, you and your pard’ll have your guts filled fulla lead, and we’ll be on our way to Louisiana.”
“Only if you’re in a pine box,” Ty shot back. “A bullet might find me, but before I’m done, I’ll put one of my own right between your eyes.”
He picked up the reins and slapped them on the horses’ rumps, putting the team into a trot.
● ● ●
“We’re all ready, Charlie,” Cummings said, when Charlie and Ty reached the Circle M camp. “Got fifty of the most ornery, rankest, spookiest, high-tailed longhorns out of the herd for you. They’ll run like the Devil hisself was on their heels.”
“Good. George, this is my pard, Ty Tremblay. Ty, George Cummings, the Circle M’s trail boss, Shep Purdy and Floyd Mavis.”
Ty and the Circle M hands traded nods.
“Sun’s sinkin’ fast, so we’d best get this fandango on the road,” Purvis said.
“You’re right,” Charlie agreed. “You boys ready?”
“We are,” Cummings answered.
“Gimme just one minute,” Ty said. “I’ve gotta untie my horse. Wouldn’t do to have Bandit bein’ dragged along behind the wagon, in the middle of a stampede. He’d fall and get trampled for certain. I’ll leave him here, and pick him up later.”
“Okay,” Charlie said. Bandit was untied, and left in the care of a Circle M hand.
“We’re all set. Just remember, George, this is me’n Ty’s play. Once you boys get the cows runnin’, fall back.”
Cummings shook his head.
“There ain’t a chance of that, Charlie. We’re in this, all the way. You think we’re gonna let you Rangers have all the fun? Not hardly. We’ll be crossin’ the Brazos with you.”
“You certain?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then let’s m
ove out.”
Cummings, Mavis, and Purdy pushed the longhorns toward the bridge, keeping them at a walk. Charlie and Ty were just behind. They would push the wagon into the herd just before reaching the bridge, then gunshots over their heads from the Circle M men would send the cattle into maddened, headlong flight.
“What… what are you intendin’ to do, Ranger?” Joshua stammered, as the Circle M hands began to press the longhorns into a quicker pace.
“Even someone dumb as spit like you should be able to figure that out, Haskell,” Ty answered. “We’re gonna use these cows to get across the bridge.”
“You mean you’re gonna try and follow ’em?”
“Nope. We’re about to put this wagon right in the middle of the herd.”
Joshua blanched. Sweat broke out on his brow. He began to pull wildly at the chains shackling him.
“You can’t mean that!” Isaac screamed. “We’ll all be killed.”
“Do I look like I’m joshin’?” Ty asked. He slapped the reins on the team’s rumps and clucked to them, matching their pace to the now trotting cattle.
“Ranger, you… you ain’t gonna do… you’re… you’re plumb loco,” Isaac shouted. He grabbed the shackles holding his ankles and yanked on it, as hard as he could.
“Never been accused of bein’ sane,” Ty retorted. “Besides, it’s us crazies who have all the fun.”
The towers of the bridge had just come into view. Mavis and Purdy rode into the center of the herd, clearing a space for the wagon. Ty slapped the reins again, sending the horses leaping ahead. Once they were amongst the cattle, the herd closed back around them. The Circle M hands pulled out their pistols and began firing them into the air, giving Rebel yells. The startled cattle, already on edge from being pushed so hard, broke into a dead run. The horses pulling the wagon were forced to keep up, or get trampled.
As the herd swept ahead, Charlie fell back and unshipped his rifle. The first of the cows thundered onto the bridge. Its wooden deck reverberated and shook under their hooves, terrorizing them even further.
The bushwhacker on top of the nearest tower gave a startled yell, and a curse, when he realized what was happening. He came to one knee, and leveled his rifle at the driver of the hard-charging wagon. He fired just a split second after Ty bent low, making himself less of a target. Instead, the bullet he’d meant for Ty’s chest burned across his shoulder, then punched through Samuel Haskell’s forehead. It exited from the back of his skull in a spray of blood, bits of bone, and brain. Before he could fire again, Charlie pulled Splash to a crow-hopping stop, took careful aim, and fired. His bullet tore into the would-be killer’s stomach. The man half-rose, dropped his rifle, doubled over, and toppled off the tower, onto the backs of two of the stampeding cows. They tossed him off, only to be caught on another cow’s horns. He hung there for a moment, then fell, his body disappearing, to be trampled under two hundred hooves.
“Keep movin’, Ty!” Charlie shouted, needlessly. Ty couldn’t hear him over the clattering hooves, the gunfire, the bawling of the cattle, and the shouts of the men in any event. The team was now out of control, as they raced along with the frenzied cattle. Two men holding rifles appeared in the windows of the bridge keeper’s house. They aimed at Charlie’s side. Cummings, Purdy, and Mavis fired as one man. Their bullets ripped into the men, driving them back. Charlie waved his appreciation to the Circle M cowboys. A bullet whined just past his left ear, reminding him there were still two bushwhackers to be dealt with. The one on the cable presented a fairly easy shot, when he rose up to take aim at Cummings. Charlie slammed a bullet into his chest, knocking him from his perch. With a scream of terror, the man fell. His scream was cut short when he landed, with a huge splash, in the Brazos, nearly one hundred feet below.
The bushwhacker in the cable opening was a much more difficult target. One of his shots knocked Floyd Mavis out of the saddle. Knowing if the man ducked back inside the tower, it would be impossible to get him, Charlie took a hasty shot. Luck was with him. His bullet clipped the bricks at the base of the opening, then ricocheted up into the man’s throat, through the roof of his mouth and burying itself in his brain. He slumped over the ledge, dead.
The panicked cattle, and the prisoner wagon, swept across the bridge and onto the opposite riverbank.
“I think we’ve done for ’em all,” Charlie shouted. “Let’s stop those runaways.” He put Splash into a dead run, with Cummings and Purdy at their heels.
The north bank of the Brazos, where the bridge crossed, was still mostly undeveloped, a tangle of brush and trees alongside the road. By the time Charlie and the Circle M hands caught up to them, the cattle, tiring after their run, had slowed, scattered into the brush, and dropped their heads to graze. Ty had stopped the team, and was checking over the exhausted, lathered horses for injuries. In the wagon, the Haskells, except for Samuel, slumped dejectedly, stunned at the failure of their escape attempt. Samuel’s lifeless body was sprawled at his brothers’ feet.
“You all right, Ty?” Charlie asked, as he rode up.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” Ty answered. “The horses came through in pretty good shape, too. Only got a couple of scrapes from a cow’s horns. How about you?”
“I’m okay,” Charlie answered. “A few of those bullets came too close for comfort, though.”
“Boy howdy, don’t I know that,” Ty said. He pointed to a bullet tear across the left shoulder of his shirt. “That one burned a little.”
Charlie whistled.
“Can you handle these boys while I go back and check the ones on the bridge?” he asked.
“I’ll manage. One of ’em tries anythin’, and I’ll put a bullet through him. Not that I think any of ’em are in the mood to pull any shenanigans.” Ty gave a grim laugh. “I know Samuel sure ain’t.”
“All right, then I’m gonna head back to the bridge.”
Cummings and Purdy were alongside Charlie.
“We need to start roundin’ up these cows,” Cummings said. “Long as you’re goin’ back, will you check on Floyd? I dunno how bad he got hit. And can you get word to the outfit they can start movin’ out? There’s not a lot of daylight left. Tell Fred Pride, he’s my segundo, we’ll wait here.”
“Be happy to,” Charlie said. “And much obliged for all your help. I’ll get word to your outfit quick as I can. First thing I’ve gotta do, after seeing to Floyd, is find out what happened to the bridge keeper and his family. I’d imagine the ruckus we just raised will attract the local law, bet your hat on it. You might have to answer a few questions before you can leave. I’ll try’n convince whoever shows up to find you at the stock yards, if they need to talk with you. I reckon I’ll be able to answer most of their questions, without havin’ to get you too involved.”
He turned Splash back to the bridge, and put him into a lope. A moment later, he was again riding onto the bridge. Floyd Mavis, holding his left arm, was riding toward him.
“Floyd!” Charlie called. “Glad to see you’re not hurt all that bad, seems like.”
“I’m not,” Mavis confirmed. Took a slug through my arm. Should be fine, once I get it patched up. How about everyone else?
“They’re all right,” Charlie said. “You feel up to ridin’ back to your outfit, and tell ’em they can head out? George and Shep are roundin’ up the cows we borrowed. They’ll meet you on the other side of the bridge. Bring my pard’s bronc along, too.”
“Sure am, Charlie. This arm can wait a bit,” Floyd said. “I guess we gave these hombres what for, didn’t we?”
“We sure did,” Charlie answered. “See you in a bit.”
As Charlie had expected, a crowd was starting to gather. He removed the badge from his vest and held it up.
“Texas Ranger!” he called. “All of you, just stay back. And someone send for the town marshal.”
“I’ll go for him, Ranger,” one of the men answered.
With the drygulchers who had been on the bridge clearly dead, Charlie
pulled out his pistol, rode up to bridge keeper’s house, and dismounted. The door was locked, but a quick kick shattered its dry-rotted frame. The door swung inward. Charlie stepped inside, to see the two bushwhackers who had hidden in the house lying face up and bullet riddled. From the kitchen came a muffled cry. Charlie hurried into the room. The keeper, his wife, and their two daughters were there, tied to chairs, gags stuffed in their mouths. Their eyes were wide with fear.
“It’s all over,” Charlie said, putting up his gun. “I’m a Ranger. You’re safe.”
He pulled the gag from the keeper’s mouth, then untied him.
“Gimme a hand lettin’ your wife and kids loose,” he said.
“With pleasure, Ranger,” the keeper said. “And boy, you don’t know how glad I am to see you. What was this all about, anyway?”
“I’ll explain once everyone’s untied.” Charlie said, bending to loosen the rope binding one of the girl’s ankles. Swiftly, the keeper’s family was freed. Now that the danger was over, the girls broke into tears.
“There, there, Sally, Delia. We’re all right now,” their mother comforted them. “Everything is just fine.”
“Ranger, I’m plumb grateful to you,” the keeper said. “Guess I should introduce myself. The name’s Les Hollings. My wife, Beulah, and my girls, Sally and Delia.”
“Charlie Blawcyzk. I’m plumb glad y’all weren’t harmed. The hombres who did this were after me and my pard. We’re takin’ the Haskell gang to Huntsville. We’d been expectin’ an ambush, just not certain when or where it would happen. We were real lucky to spot this one before we rode into it.”
“I’d say,” Hollings agreed. “Sounded like Shiloh all over again, with all the gunfire. And I heard a bunch of cattle runnin’ over the bridge.”
“We used those as cover,” Charlie said. “The rest of the herd’ll be along shortly, now that the way is clear. It belongs to the Circle M outfit. I’d recommend you let ’em cross for free. If it hadn’t been for their help, we never could have sprung that trap. And most likely, once they’d done for us, the bushwhackers would have finished you and your family, too. They wouldn’t want to leave any witnesses.”
The Ghost Riders Page 14