Bucking the Odds

by Robert O' Hanlin

  Will knew he could not tell him the truth because he did not want the army to get involved and maybe get Rusty killed.

  “Well Doc, I’m going to be leaving you in the morning, I got a ranch to run you know and I can’t do it laying in that bed, so I’ll be leaving in the morning. When you decide to get a bill ready for you services I’ll be happy to pay you.”

  The doctor looked at him and then at Julia.

  “Well I suppose you can rest as well at home as you can here and if you have this young lady fussing over you like she done here, you should be alright. As for my bill, the army pays me and any help I am able to give to the citizens is paid for by them. So you can just thank the army.”

  Will knew the army was letting Dr. Hensley do work on the side to help better relations between the community and the army.

  “Well Doc, it wasn’t the army that poked and prodded me and kept me alive, so I thank you.”

  He held out his hand and the doctor looked at Julia as he took it.

  “He’s not out of the woods yet young lady, he will have to keep that wound clean and bandaged until it is completely healed. He may run a ranch but he will have to be running it from a rocking chair on the porch for at least a month.”

  Julia nodded and as the doctor turned and left, she started to speak but Will jumped in first.

  “There will be no more talk about it and you should go to the hotel and get some rest.”

  Julia took him by the hand and led him to the bed.

  “You’re the one who needs to rest and I’m going to spend the night right here beside you.”

  He was weak and as he laid down he knew she was right, he needed the rest.

  “You know, if we are going to be together you will have to start listening to what I say.”

  She fluffed the pillow for him, pulled the lounge chair over to the side of the bed and sat down.

  “I will listen to what you say Will….and then I’ll do what I think is best.”

  He heard what she said but he was almost asleep before she finished saying it.

  Chapter 7

  The next morning as he had promised, Texas Jack had the wagon ready. He hadn’t made any changes that would be visible from a distance. He had taken the headboard of the wagon box and moved it back a couple of feet allowing room for him to be able to hide under the seat with enough room to shoot when necessary.

  Ryan had already ridden out telling Texas Jack that he was going on a ways ahead to sight in his rifle for a thousand yards. Will was hoping that his memory of the place and the distances was accurate because their lives would depend on it.

  After they picked up Ryan he and Texas Jack rode on each side of the wagon. They had brainstormed the idea over and over in their heads and now they put it all in words. It sounded simple enough, Ryan would take care of the lookout and he and Texas Jack would take care of the other two.

  In the back of Will’s mind was the thought that they might have already killed Rusty and were waiting somewhere along the road for them to ride into an ambush. He pushed that thought further back in his mind when he went over what he knew about the man who was trying to kill him.

  He felt sure he would not want to shoot him from a distance, but rather at close range and when he was helpless. Although he had sent the boys to kill him when they shot Barney he was sure now that he wanted to do it himself, he had heard the anguish yell when he must have found his second son dead in the bushes.

  Will had been about to ride off when he heard the roar of his voice and it sounded like that of a wounded animal. He knew he had been wrong riding out for revenge, not because of what was happening now but for the feeling he had when he sighted the rifle at the old man’s back by the fire and he could not shoot.

  He would have no qualms about shooting him or either of his boys now, but sneaking up in the darkness and shooting a man in the back from hiding, no matter how much he needed killing, did not sit well with him.

  When the plan was firmly set and each one knew his part the boys rode on ahead, as they were also thinking there might be some kind of trap. Julia sat quietly by his side for a long time without speaking and then she turned to him.

  “You’re not taking me because I’m a helpless woman alone with a boy in a strange land are you.”

  He had really never talked to her about their future but from the moment she first gently kissed his lips he knew they would be together the rest of their lives. It was something he dreamed of and wanted before the kiss, but it was the kiss that did it.

  “Jule, Jule, Jule. I have wanted to spend my life with you from the moment I first laid eyes on you, but I thought I owed it to Barney to see if things worked out between you two…and by the way you are far from helpless.”

  She reached over and took his hand and she was surprised how clammy it felt. Then she looked more closely at him and she realized he was just hanging on by a thread. She took the reins from his hand and pulled up the team.

  “You have to get in the bed we made for you and rest now…and no argument.”

  She helped him down and he staggered around to the back and she helped lift him up to the bed they had prepared for him. As soon as he laid down he was asleep and she went back and got the team going again.

  When Ryan came back to check on them he saw that Will was asleep.

  “I’m worried Julia, I’m hoping that he will be strong enough to pull his end off.”

  She looked back at the sleeping man, the sleeping man that she loved.

  “Don’t worry Ryan, with some rest he will be ok and I’ll be there with him to help if I can.”

  Ryan smiled, thinking if he were a younger man he would court her himself.

  “You’re probably right he has been through some tough things and comes out on top.”

  She was not sure if he was saying that for her benefit but she was hoping he meant it. That night they went over everything again around the fire to make sure each person new his part. They figured there would be a lookout and that the other boy would be hidden nearby and would probably show himself as they approached. The only thing they didn’t know was how they were going to get Rusty out of the line of fire.

  For Julia’s benefit they didn’t talk about it, but it was in the back of all the men’s mind. The next morning they were up early, they had made good time the day before but it took its toll on Will. Ryan had to help him into the wagon but he knew they only had a few miles to go so he figured he would make it. Texas Jack gave his horse to Ryan and took his place under the seat.

  As they neared the meeting spot Ryan dropped off and found a place covered by trees on a small rise. This was the type of place he was trained to find over the battlefield during the war and his job was to pick out the officers and shoot them. He would not have ever believed he would be doing the same thing again.

  Will and Julia rode on slowly, making sure Texas Jack was covered by a tarp and out of view. Now Will could see the spot clearly, and it was just a little before noon. There standing at the spot where he burned their wagon stood the old man, and in front of him was Rusty. They could see him clearer now and as they drew closer the old man held up his hand.

  “Hold it there! How do I know you don’t have someone it the back of that wagon?”

  Will turned the wagon in a slow circle putting the empty wagon bed in his view and then he drove it in closer. Neither of the boys had showed themselves yet so things were not going as planned, but Will was determined to go through with it, no matter how it ended. He brought the wagon to a stop and sat there for a minute hoping that the others would show.

  Texas Jack was ready, but didn’t dare speak or show himself, it was his job to take care of the other son. And Will finally spoke.

  “You start that boy walking over here and I will come to you.”

  Moses stood for a moment.

  “My boys got guns on you right now, so if there are any tricks you will all die.”

  Will saw his chance.

>   “How do I know that…all I see is you?”

  Moses sneered.

  “You start walking and you will see them soon enough.”

  Will handed the reins to Julia and slowly climbed down off the wagon and started a few steps toward the old man. He held his hand up again.

  “Stop right there and turn around!”

  Will was trapped, the gun he had was in the back of his belt. He just stood there until Moses cocked his pistol and put it to Rusty’s head. Will slowly turned around and exposed the pistol.

  Moses laughed.

  I knew you would try something…throw that pistol into the brushes!”

  Will carefully withdrew the pistol, threw it toward the bushes and took another step closer.

  “You let that boy go now, or I’m not coming any closer!”

  Moses gave the boy a shove and he started walking forward. Will went a few steps closer and then stopped again to rest, it was all he could do to keep on his feet, but he had to. Just as Rusty neared him Moses raised his hand and one of the boys stepped out of the brush.

  “There’s one boy and the others up yonder.”

  He turned slightly to point out the other boy who just stood up and a distant shot rang out and he saw his boy on the hill tumble headfirst down the hill. At the same time Will grabbed Rusty and pushed him down into a small indent and fell on top of him. Then more shooting started and bullets were flying all around him. He didn’t lift his head but he heard Texas Jack open up and he heard firing from both of the Deckers.

  Ryan’s position did not allow him to see what was going on so he couldn’t get another shot in so he mounted up and thundered across the long clearing. As suddenly as it started all the shooting stopped and Will raised his head to see the old man standing over him with an evil sneer on his face.

  He raised his gun slowly and pointed it at Will’s head and cocked the hammer….then a shot rang out and the old man fell backwards. Will looked slowly around and there was Julia still sitting on the wagon seat with a smoking gun in her hand.

  She sat there for a minute, frozen in time, and then she jumped down and ran to Will and Rusty. Will rolled off Rusty and he jumped up and hugged his mother. Will looked at the wagon and Texas Jack stumbled out, his gun still in his hand. He had been hit but he was moving around.

  Ryan landed in at that time also with a gun in hand and looked down at Will.

  “Sorry I couldn’t get here in time to help.”

  Will looked up and smiled.

  “Hell Ryan, that shot you made saved all our lives, you must have made one hell of a soldier.”

  Ryan checked the bodies to make sure they were dead and then he went to help Texas Jack. He had been hit in the shoulder but he managed to get his job done which was to get the other boy. He was hit and he didn’t have a chance to get a shot off at Moses, but as it turned out he didn’t have to.

  They left the bodies lay where they fell and if they were still there when they got a chance to come back, they would bury them. Ryan and Julia helped Will into the back of the wagon only this time he had to share it with Texas Jack.

  He looked up at Julia as she climbed up on the seat beside Rusty and said in a weak voice.

  “n0llWell Jule, it looks like that gun you carry to ward off unwanted advances finally came in handy.”

  She looked back at him, smiled and put her arm around Rusty.

  “Take a look at that man lying there…that’s going to be your father.

  XXX

  Double Trouble

  Chapter 1

  The tall raw boned man leaned back in his chair, put his feet up on the post and looked to his right, down the quiet street. The sun glisten off the badge on his vest as he opened the letter he had just received. He glanced back to his left and then he began reading the letter.

  'Dear Lance, This is the hardest letter I have ever had to write. I have to tell you that my beloved Betty has been murdered and things are looking like a range war is brewing here. Racheal is only seven so I have moved her to town to be with the sheriff and his daughter.

  I fear there will be more trouble and I am leaving my will in the hands of Lawyer Robert Defoe here in town. I don't want to sound dismal, but if anything happens to me I am leaving my ranch, the 'Flying W', to you and I am sure I can depend on you to see to Racheal's care and best interest.

  I'm sorry to have to load all this worry on you, but you are always on my mind and although we have been apart for all these years, I have always respected you for keeping in touch with me. I know that is what brothers are supposed to do, but it does not always happen that way. Your loving brother Larry.'

  He folded the letter and put it in his pocket. Now he closed his eyes and visualized his brother writing the letter, and it was not hard to do because they were identical twins. They had the same looks, voice, features and mannerisms but that was where the similarity stopped. Larry had always been the studious one, and he was the 'devil may care' one.

  In their younger years Larry worked at the shipping company where his father was a partner, while Lance spent all his time at The Boston Men's Club. It was there that he learned the arts of self-defence. Boxing was his favorite sport, and he got plenty of practice in the bars in Charlestown.

  He also learned fencing, the use of guns, both rifles and hand guns, along with how to drink and gamble. His father had tried everything he could to get him interested in the family business but to no avail.

  Although Larry went the direction his father wanted, his heart was not totally in it, he yearned for the west, he wanted to be a rancher and he read every newspaper article and dime novel he could find about the west. That didn't deter him from his diligence at work as his father laid more and more responsibility on him, but it was always in the back of his mind.

  In Lance's case his father had all but given up in trying to sway the course he had taken. He loved both of his boys equally and couldn't bring himself to cut off his wildest son's interests. He was hoping that that it was something that he would soon tire of.

  They were only eighteen when the word came that their parents had died in a hotel fire in New York City, and they were devastated. The death of their parents left them a sizable estate and a large house on the ocean just outside Boston, but it was a lonely and empty house without them.

  They handled their grief differently, Larry threw himself into his work, spending long hours and days on end there, while on the other hand Lance hid his grief by more drinking, gambling and chasing women.

  He gravitated to the town of Charleston, just outside Boston, which was a rough community populated mostly by hard working and hard drinking Irish immigrants. It was there that he, being of English heritage, got lots of use of his boxing skills and he eventually built himself a reputation and gained the respect of the denizens of the night life.

  All the time Larry was working he had not dipped into his inheritance, but Lance's was slowly squandering his away. Neither of them were following the political scene at the time and when the war broke out it changed both of their lives. Lance joined the army, and Larry, who had no interest in the politics of the day or the war whatsoever, got the jolt he needed to make his move to the west.

  Their parting was emotional but inevitable, and they knew they would have to keep in touch, and knowing that it would be good to have a permanent address that they could both use when they were separated, they agreed to do that through their father's partner at the Shipping Line. He was a good friend, and although he was pained to see the boys go, he understood that they both needed this move to finalize their grief.

  The boys agreed to sell him their father's half interest in the business, which added a considerably amount of money to the estate, and Lance told Larry that he had no interest in the money, and it was all his to pursue his dream of ranching.

  Throughout the years and through the letters they had continued to write their lives stayed connected, although sometimes it took months for the mail to catch up w
ith them. Larry had settled down on the ranch he always wanted and had been in the same place for the last seven years, but it was not the case with Lance.

  With the letter firmly placed in his pocket he headed for the Mayor's office where he found the Mayor talking with one of his councillors.

  "Sorry to interrupt you Mister Mayor, but I have to be leaving, and I'm turning in my badge."

  The Mayor was in shock for a moment, and then he recovered.

  "But Lance we need you here, what will we do? Things will go back to what they were before."

  Lance laid the badge on the desk.

  "No Mister Mayor, you have a handle on this town now and it will never go back to those days. Get young Jeffery Silver to take the job, Jeff is a good steady man and he has been helping me out from time to time, so he knows the job."

  The Mayor started to object again, but Lance stopped him short.

  "My brother is in trouble and I'm going!"

  He turned, walked out the door and went to his office to begin gathering his belongings. He stayed in a room at the back of the jail and he didn't have much to get together. He had the clothes on his back and another change of clothes...and his guns.

  His next stop was the Glory Hole Mine, he had to tell Dobie and Don what was happening and where he was going. He had met the O'Neil brothers during the war and they had travelled together ever since, but this time he was going to go alone.

  He knew they would want to go with him but this was something he had to do on his own, although he didn't ask for it, he knew his brother needed his help. On the ride to the mine he thought about his last meeting with Larry, and about his days in the war.

  The war had taught him to be hard, not necessarily mean, but just hard. It had also cured him of his carousing ways as it made him grow up fast. He thought back to the day when he met the O’Neil boys.

  He was in the midst of another pitched battle. He had fought in most of the major battles on the march to the south and over half of the men he started out with had been either killed or severely wounded. Like most of the young men around him, he had found out that war was not the adventure it was cut out to be.