"Give me one of those shotgun shells," he said to Manuel.
"What are you going to do? Whatever it is, I think you must be insane."
Braddock started digging around in the end of the dynamite with the knife point to hollow it out. Manuel edged away from him, eyes growing even bigger in the tunnel's gloom.
"The shell," Braddock said again.
Manuel broke open the shotgun and drew the unfired shell out of the right-hand barrel. He gave it to Braddock, who wedged the end of it into the hole he'd gouged in the dynamite.
"That'll work for a blasting cap," Braddock said.
"How are you going to set it off?"
"Figure if I can hit the end of the shell with a bullet, that'll do the trick."
"Like I said, loco!" Manuel exclaimed. "No one could make a shot like that."
"Well, if I don't, we may not get out of here alive," Braddock said. "That doesn't leave me much choice except to make it, does it?"
Manuel just stared at him.
Braddock used the Bowie's handle to hammer down the lid on the crate. He put the stick of dynamite in his pocket and picked up the crate, then edged along the wall toward the entrance.
Manuel came up behind him and said, "You may be loco, Ranger, but you're our best chance of getting out of here, I suppose. Can I help you?"
Braddock took the Colt from his waistband and handed it to the young man.
"I'm liable to need some covering fire. Let's see if we can tell where those guards are holed up."
Muzzles flashes that bloomed like crimson flowers in the darkness gave Braddock his answer as he edged forward for a look. The guards had taken cover behind the three ore wagons parked about forty feet from the tunnel mouth. They kept up a sporadic attack, shooting now and then at the opening in the slope.
Braddock drew back, told Manuel what he had seen, then asked, "How many rounds in that gun?"
Manuel opened the cylinder to check.
"Five," he reported.
"All right. You're going to fire three shots, one at each wagon, as fast as you can. That'll make them duck and give me time to heave this crate and toss the stick I rigged. Then I'll have two bullets left to try to hit that shotgun shell."
"And if you can't?" Manuel asked, his voice grim.
"At least we tried," Braddock said.
Manuel sighed and hefted the Colt. He nodded.
"Whenever you are ready, Ranger."
Braddock waited until a flurry of shots came from outside, then snapped, "Now."
Manuel sprang into the opening and started shooting. Braddock dashed up beside him, swung the crate over his head, and threw it toward the wagons as hard as he could. Men yelled in alarm when they saw it coming. The crate landed in front of the middle wagon and broke open, scattering some of the dynamite. Most of it stayed in a heap inside the busted crate.
Before the crate ever landed, Braddock snatched the rigged-up stick from his pocket. He threw it end over end. It hit, bounced, and came to rest less than a foot from what was left of the crate.
Braddock and Manuel darted back into the tunnel as the gunmen opened up again. Bullets whined around them.
"All right, let me have the Colt," Braddock said over the racket.
"This is madness," Manuel muttered. "Sheer madness."
Outside, one of the men yelled, "Damn it, somebody get that dynamite!"
"You get it!" another man responded. "I'm not goin' anywhere near the damn stuff!"
Braddock crawled back to the opening, stretched out on his belly, and propped himself on his elbows. He used both hands to steady the Colt as he drew back the hammer. The moonlight washing over the scene wasn't as bright as day, but he could see what he was shooting at.
He took a deep breath, held it, and squeezed the trigger.
The Colt roared and bucked in his hands. The bullet struck a few inches shy of the target.
"Son of a bitch!" one of the gunmen bellowed. "I'm not gettin' paid enough to get blowed up!"
"Neither am I!" another man agreed. "Let's get outta here!"
Several forms leaped from the cover of the wagons and raced toward the corral where horses milled. Another man fired a couple of wild shots at the tunnel, then fled as well. Braddock couldn't tell how many men were left behind, but one of them cursed bitterly. His voice shook, and Braddock knew his nerve was breaking.
Hoofbeats pounded in the night. The men who had fled were galloping away bareback, not even taking the time to saddle their mounts.
Manuel had crawled up beside Braddock. He whispered, "You were just trying to spook them, to make them run and give us a chance to get away!"
"You said it yourself," Braddock replied. "Nobody could make a shot like that." He drew a bead again on the cylinder with the shotgun shell stuck in the end. "They don't know how many bullets we've got. Let's see if we can hurry the rest of 'em on their way..."
His finger tightened slowly and smoothly on the trigger. The Colt boomed.
The world blew up.
Chapter 13
That was what it seemed like to Braddock, anyway. A ball of fire erupted and swallowed all three wagons. The ground heaved violently where he lay. The sound was like the loudest crash of thunder he had ever heard. He closed his eyes, ducked his head, and covered it with his arms as gravel and debris pelted him like a hailstorm.
His ears were still ringing when he lifted his head and opened his eyes to take a look at the destruction. A few burning pieces of the wagons were scattered around, but for the most part the vehicles had vanished. A smoking crater ten feet across marked the spot where the dynamite had been.
Braddock didn't see any bodies. The remaining gunmen who'd been caught in that blast...well, there wouldn't be enough left of them to bury, he thought.
Manuel Santiago pounded Braddock's shoulder in a frenzy. The young man cried, "You did it! You really did it!"
It was mostly blind luck that had guided his second shot to the shell wedged into the stick of dynamite, Braddock knew, but luck could kill a man—or save him—just as much as anything else.
Right now, he'd take it.
He climbed to his feet and took the shotgun from Manuel. The weapon still had one loaded barrel, and Braddock had Paco's Bowie knife, too. He said, "I'm going to take a look and make sure none of the other guards are still around. You get those men out into the open where they'll be safe. It's still possible some of that dynamite in the mine might blow."
Manuel nodded his understanding and hurried back to the other men. Braddock stalked out of the tunnel and held the shotgun ready in case he needed it.
He didn't. All the gunmen who'd been working for Elena and Horner were either dead or long gone. The ones who had fled probably rode even harder when they heard that explosion, Braddock thought.
But the buggy was gone, too. Braddock had been worried about that. It meant Elena and Santiago were already on their way back across the border with murder on their minds.
All the freed prisoners were milling around outside the mine now. Braddock didn't see Manuel Santiago among them. He wondered where the young man had gone, but then he saw Manuel striding out of the tunnel.
"I risked going back in there to take a look," Manuel reported, coughing and wheezing a little. "Paco and the other guards are all dead. The smoke was very thick. I think it must have killed them." He paused, then added, "I'm sorry about Paco. He was a good man once, before my sister bent him to her will. The others..." Manuel spat. "Just gringo outlaws."
"Your sister's not here anymore," Braddock said. "She and Horner were going to Rainey's ranch to kill him and his son. I've got to try to stop them."
He had already spotted his dun in the corral and knew the rangy horse could cut into the lead Elena and Horner had. Whether he could catch up to them before they reached Rainey's headquarters was the big question.
"I'm coming with you," Manuel said.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea—"
"You think I will betray yo
u when we get there because Elena is my sister?" Manuel shook his head. "She is not the little niña I grew up with. Not anymore. Our father's death, the things that have happened since then...They turned her into someone else. She must be stopped before she commits any more murders."
"You're talking about the way she planned that ambush with Horner?"
"She was there that night," Manuel said. "She boasted of it to me, taunted me for being weak while she was strong enough to pull a trigger and kill to avenge our father."
The corner of Braddock's mouth quirked in a grimace. He said, "I'm sorry. Grief and hate can do some mighty bad things to a person. But if we're going to stop them, we've got to get moving."
"I'll go to the bunk house where the guards slept and see if I can find some guns and cartridges."
"I'll saddle my horse and another one," Braddock said.
A few minutes later, when Braddock had the horses saddled and ready to ride, Manuel came back carrying two Winchesters. He had a Colt stuffed in his waistband. A pair of bandoliers filled with cartridges were draped over his shoulder.
He handed a rifle and one of the bandoliers to Braddock. Within moments, all the guns were fully loaded.
Braddock inclined his head toward the group of miners and asked, "What about them?"
"I told them to go into the hills and hide," Manuel said. "They'll watch to see who comes back. If it's one of us, they'll know they're safe." His voice took on a bleak edge as he went on, "If it's my sister or Horner, they know to scatter and return to their homes the best they can."
"All right," Braddock said. He slid the rifle into the saddle boot and swung up onto the dun's back. "Let's go see if we can put a stop to this before it gets any worse."
* * *
They rode hard, but they had to slow now and then to keep the horses from getting played out. When they did, they talked.
"My sister has good reason to hate Jason Rainey," Manuel said. "We all knew each other for many years. I thought we were friends. But when our father died and Elena went to work in the cantina, Jason came and, well, paid her to be with him. It was an even greater shame than when she went with others. He had no right to take advantage of her that way, just because he could."
"Did you know she was working there?" Braddock asked.
"Not at first. I got a job as a vaquero on one of the other ranches in the area, so I wasn't around all the time. When I found out, I was furious. I told Elena she could not work there, that what she was doing was a disgrace to our family." Manuel shook his head. "She laughed in my face and told me she would do whatever she had to in order to get what she wanted. I didn't know then that she meant revenge on Martin Rainey, but that was the first time I realized my sister had changed and might never be the same again."
Elena wouldn't be the same again, Braddock thought. There was no way a person could do the things she had done and come back from them to be normal again.
Elena was a cold-blooded killer. Manuel would have to deal with that.
And so would Braddock.
After a minute or so, Braddock said, "I've been wondering if Rainey had anything to do with the rustling that ruined your father. There's a man on his crew named Happy Jack Conover who's well known to be a widelooper and brand-blotter. Ramrodding something like that would be right in his wheelhouse."
"I don't know, Señor Braddock. I tried to trail the thieves a few times, and I heard many rumors that the stolen cattle were being taken across the Rio Grande to be sold, but there was no proof of anything."
"I'm going to try to get to the bottom of that," Braddock promised. "If I get the chance."
If Elena and Horner haven't already killed Martin Rainey, he thought.
They pushed their horses into a run again, following the canyon toward the border river. When they reached the Rio, they splashed across and kept going. A hot wind hooted and howled in the canyon, and even though Braddock knew that's all it was, he couldn't help but think about all the men who had died here. If he had been the sort to believe in restless spirits crying out for vengeance, that was how they would have sounded.
It was so late now that only a few lights still burned in Cemetery Butte. Even the Palomino was probably shut down for the night by this hour. Braddock and Manuel skirted the settlement and headed for the trail leading to the top of the butte itself.
They hadn't overtaken Horner and Elena, but they had to have shaved quite a bit off the pair's lead. Braddock's hope was that Elena wouldn't be in any hurry to kill Rainey and Jason. She'd want to torment them some first. And Horner would follow her head, Braddock was pretty sure of that.
Even if he and Manuel got there in time, the odds might be against them. Conover was probably still at the ranch, and there was no telling how many others from Rainey's crew had been paid off to double-cross him.
A big fight would keep Manuel occupied, though, Braddock mused, and that might be a good thing.
It would leave him free to deal with Elena and Horner without any interference.
The moon had set, but the sky was still covered with brilliant stars as Braddock and Manuel started up the trail. The faint gray of false dawn lay in the east. There was enough light for them to see where they were going, but they had to slow down some to let the horses pick their way along.
Braddock figured they were about halfway to the top when guns began to boom somewhere above them.
Chapter 14
Heedless of the risk now, Braddock sent the dun charging up the slope. Manuel was close behind him on the other horse. When they reached the top, they saw the ranch house in the distance, ablaze with lights. Muzzle flashes winked around it, as well as from the windows.
Gunfire surged up to a crescendo as the fighting intensified. Then it abruptly fell silent, and Braddock hauled back on the dun's reins as he thrust out his other arm to stop Manuel.
"Sounds like it's over," he said.
"No!"
Braddock understood why the young man was upset. Either his sister was dead—and she still was his sister, no matter what else had happened—or she had added to her tally as a killer. There was no good outcome to be had.
"We have to go over there," Manuel said.
"We are," Braddock told him. "We're just not going to announce we're coming and then charge in there blindly." He started the dun forward at a slower pace. "Come on."
When they were within a few hundred yards of the house, they dismounted, let the reins dangle, and catfooted ahead in the darkness, taking the rifles with them. Braddock saw figures moving around against the lights in the house. Somebody was still alive. It was a matter of finding out who.
As they closed in, they used the outbuildings for cover and stuck to the shadows as much as possible. They were beside the barn when they heard men walking toward them. Braddock and Manuel both froze.
"—head for El Paso with my share," one of the men said. "All that shootin's bound to draw people up here, and I'd just as soon be long gone when they find the bodies."
"You don't reckon the law's gonna be after you anyway, when Rainey and the kid turn up dead along with those other rannies, and you're nowhere to be found?"
"I'll take my chances," the first man said. "For what Happy Jack paid us, it's worth runnin' a few risks."
"Too bad about the Santiago girl, though."
Beside Braddock, Manuel tensed. Braddock touched his shoulder to warn him to stay still for now.
"Yeah, who'd have thought a gal who looks like that would turn out to be as mean as an Apache?"
"She'll have Rainey and Jason screamin' for death 'fore she's through with them, I'll bet a hat on that."
The two men went on into the barn, probably to get their horses.
So Rainey and Jason were still alive, Braddock thought, but maybe for not much longer if Elena had her way. Or rather, according to what the two hired guns had said, they would live long enough to suffer the agonies of the damned.
The easiest thing would be to let the hardcases
ride away. Two fewer to deal with that way. But they were outlaws, killers, and the lawman that Braddock would always be rebelled at that idea. He leaned closer to Manuel and whispered, "We've got to take them without any shooting, so we don't warn the ones still in the house. We'll wait until they ride out, then grab them from behind. They won't be expecting anybody to jump them. All of Rainey's loyal hands were probably killed in all that shooting."
Manuel didn't say anything, but Braddock faintly saw his curt nod.
Silently, they moved around the corner of the barn and pressed themselves to its front wall. Braddock watched the house in case any more gunmen came out. He wished he knew how many were in there.
The two in the barn were still talking as they got their horses. Braddock could tell by the sounds when they mounted up and started out. He was ready when they emerged from the barn, riding easy and confident in their saddles.
He lunged and leaped, caught hold of one man, and dragged him out of the saddle. The man let out part of a startled yell that Braddock silenced with a blow from the Colt in his hand.
Close by, Manuel had tackled the other man and knocked him off his horse. They struggled together, a tangled heap of shadows. Then a heavy thud sounded, and a man grunted in pain. The dark knot separated into two figures, one prone on the ground, the other climbing to his feet.
Braddock trained the revolver on the man until he was sure it was Manuel Santiago.
"We'll drag them into the barn and tie them up," he ordered quietly.
When they had done that, and led the horses into the barn as well, Braddock considered their next move. They couldn't invade the house without knowing how many men they would face.
It would be better to have this fight in the open, anyway, Braddock decided. He said to Manuel, "You stay here."
"I must see this through to the end," he protested.
"You didn't let me finish. You stay here, and let me get over there by the house. When I'm in position, you fire off some shots. That ought to draw out Conover and whoever else is still in there. When they charge out to see what the commotion is, we'll catch 'em in a crossfire."
Blood and Gold (Outlaw Ranger Book 3) Page 7