by Tim Tingle
Danny stepped to the shadows as the men lifted the bodies and settled them into their final resting place. He watched as Mr. Grady sang a burial song.
Following the burial of two of his best men, Grady rode with a new urgency. No one had to say it. They all knew that unless they found Sarah and her mother soon, they might have to bury them as well.
Chapter 17
Manny’s Camp
Manny left an easy trail to follow. The horse tracks led across the road and into the barren desert country.
Less than a mile from the road, the tracks went three different directions.
“What’s going on?” Grady asked.
“They’ve split up,” said Rick, “so they can’t be followed.”
“How can we know which one is Manny? He’s got Sarah,” said Grady.
Several tracks led west of the road, toward Fort Sumner. Tracks of several more horses led east. Only one set of tracks continued south, to the desert.
The men stepped from their horses.
“You know Manny would take the most men with him,” said Grady. “I’d say we follow these tracks, going west.”
Danny was on his knees studying the tracks. “Mr. Grady,” he said, “Manny is a tall, heavy man. And he was carrying Sarah. Look at the tracks of the single horse.”
Rick and Grady knelt beside him.
“These tracks are deeper than the others. The rider was heavier. And Manny is smart. He knows we would think he would never go alone. This is Manny’s horse,” Danny said. He stood slowly and waited.
“You always surprise me, Danny,” Rick said. His voice had a quiet tone of respect. “How did you know to study tracks so close to the ground?”
“No one taught me,” Danny said. “I guess it was from taking care of my sheep. I could tell which sheep was missing by the tracks.”
“Well, you’ve outsmarted Manny again,” Rick said. “Let’s go!”
“Just a minute,” Grady said. “I agree with Danny. Manny is riding into the desert. He probably has a camp there.”
“Then let’s go,” Rick said.
Mr. Grady said nothing. He turned his head slowly to Rick and lowered his eyes.
I have never seen him look so sad, Danny thought.
“You are thinking of Mrs. Grady,” Rick finally said. “You do not want to choose.” Grady nodded.
“I will not choose,” he whispered.
“Grady,” Rick said, “we know Manny has Sarah. Manny is taking the quickest way to the camp. But by night, the other men will be there, too. Your wife and Sarah both will be there. Let’s be there before the others.”
Grady nodded and mounted Solo. With Danny and Rick following, he urged his horse into a gallop. Manny was so sure he would not be followed, he did nothing to hide his tracks. With the soft snowfall of the night before, his horse left deep tracks in the snow.
“Looks like he stopped to rest here,” Grady said. He pointed at a wide circle of ground cleared of snow.
“Yes,” Rick said. “He broke a branch from this bush and swept the snow away. We just have to be careful he’s not on the lookout for us.”
As the day grew to a close, Grady held up his hand and they came to a stop.
“We must be getting close now,” he said. “Any ideas, men?”
Before anyone could reply, a shotgun blast cut the air.
Pow!
A boulder behind Danny exploded, and rocks and dust flew in his face. Rick grabbed the reins of Fire Eye and whipped him around.
Pow! Pow!
As shots rang out all around them, they dashed down the trail. Rick waved his hand and they followed his lead into a small canyon. The canyon wall was steep. The horses stepped down the snowy incline and then slid to the bottom of the canyon.
“Is anybody hurt?” Rick asked, when they reached the canyon floor.
“No,” Danny said. “I’m all right.”
“You?” Rick asked, turning to Grady.
“No, I’m fine. But I think Manny found us first.”
“I think we’ve found their hideout, “Rick said. “They’ll be coming after us. We’re not safe here.” He lifted himself from his saddle to get a better view. “Danny,” he said, “climb the other wall and see what it looks like. And hurry, they might be on us any minute.”
Danny jumped from Fire Eye and found a path between two big boulders. A patch of juniper trees grew near the top of the canyon. He grabbed the tree trunks and pulled himself to a rock overhang.
Afraid to shout and give away their location, Rick waved from below. Danny crouched in the shadows of the trees. They might be anywhere, he thought, remembering the surprise of the shotgun blasts.
The sun was setting to the west, coloring the sky with streaks of red and purple. As the sky darkened, Danny saw puffs of light rising from the direction of the shotgun fire.
That must be Manny’s camp, he thought. He stood tall and stepped on a rock to get a better view.
“Whoa,” he whispered aloud. He looked to Rick and Mr. Grady, staring at him from the canyon below. Then he turned his sight to Manny’s hideout. Two lanterns hung above the gate to a fort. A group of Manny’s men rode horses through the gate.
Behind one of Manny’s men, riding on the back of the saddle, was Mrs. Grady. A dark sack covered her head.
Danny doubled his fists and clenched his teeth.
“Where is she?” he said aloud. “Where is Sarah?”
Soon another group of men rode through the gate. Danny spotted Sarah. Her head was covered by a black sack and her arms were wrapped around the waist of a slave trader. Danny closed his eyes and felt a shiver of anger pass through him.
When he opened them, the full scene of the fort spread out before him. His eyes grew big when he saw the size of it. Six buildings were surrounded by a fence made of thin tree trunks and patched together with mud.
The back wall of the fort was solid rock, a steep canyon wall. Smoke rose from the chimneys and a dozen men walked across the grounds.
When the men carrying Sarah and Mrs. Grady entered the fort, no one moved to help them. Only a few even glanced at the new prisoners.
This happens every day, thought Danny. They aren’t afraid of anyone. Then another thought crossed his mind. No wonder Manny wants to kill us so badly. He gets everything he wants. He didn’t have to find another gang when the Gradys shot his men. He just rode back to his fort.
Danny climbed to the floor of the canyon, where Rick and Grady waited.
“What did you find?” Grady asked. “Did you see Sarah?”
“Yes,” said Danny. His voice was quiet and serious.
“Is she all right?”
“Yes,” Danny nodded. “And I saw Mrs. Grady, too. They are both unhurt. They had sacks over their heads, so they couldn’t see anything. But they are safe. For now.”
“Oh, thank you, Lord,” Mr. Grady said. He bowed his head and closed his eyes.
“What else did you see, Danny?” Rick asked.
“Manny has more than an outlaw gang,” Danny said. “He has an army.”
“How many men?”
“I saw twenty. But there are many more. And they don’t live in a camp. They have a fort. Six buildings and a tall fence. The back wall of the fort is a canyon wall. It’s steep and tall.”
“Did you see any sign of men who might be coming after us?” Rick asked.
“No. I don’t think they will look for us,” said Danny. “They are not afraid of us. They think they scared us away.”
The men sat in silence while a yellow slice of moon rose above them. They huddled their horses together to keep warm during the cold night. It was just three men in a small canyon so close to Manny and his army. And not far away, shaking with fear in Manny’s fort, a mother and daughter clung to each other on a cabin floor.
Chapter 18
Grady’s Army
“We can’t stay here all night,” Rick said. “Let’s find a place to get some sleep.”
He t
urned his horse away from the fort and rode through the narrow canyon. Grady and Danny followed close behind. Soon they found a grassy patch near the canyon wall.
“Must be an underground spring here,” Rick said. “This would be a good place to settle. We can let the horses graze.” They tied the horses to a dead tree trunk and spread their blankets on the soft ground.
“Rick,” Danny said. “I want to stay awake and keep watch.”
“Good thinking, Danny,” Grady said. “I don’t trust Manny to just let us go. I’ll take the second watch. Wake me up in a few hours.”
“Don’t leave me out,” Rick said. “And Danny?”
“I know what you are going to say,” said Danny. “I will stay close to camp. I won’t try to be a hero.”
“Good boy!” Rick said.
Soon the men were snoring softly. The wall of the canyon was an easy climb. Danny settled on a boulder with a good view of both ends of the canyon. When he climbed atop a flat boulder, he could see the road leading to the fort.
An hour later, a wagon entered Manny’s fort. It was met by a guard holding a lantern. Danny watched as the wagon came to a stop before the largest building.
Manny stepped through the door. He pointed to the rear of the wagon and waved his arms, giving orders. The driver climbed on the wagon and shoved six new prisoners from the wagon to the ground. The prisoners were tied at the wrists. They wore black sacks over their heads.
I know what that feels like, Danny thought.
More of Manny’s men appeared. They dragged the prisoners to the canyon wall at the far end of the fort. They left the prisoners curled up on the ground. In less than half an hour, Manny’s men returned to their sleeping quarters.
They didn’t even leave a guard to watch over the prisoners, thought Danny. I guess they warned them about trying to escape. Besides, the prisoners can’t even see where they are.
Danny leaped from the boulder, slid down the wall, and hurried to Rick and Grady.
“Wake up,” he said, in as loud a whisper as he dared.
“What is it, Danny?” Rick asked.
“New prisoners. Come see.”
Soon Rick and Grady followed Danny to the boulder overlook. At first they could see nothing. Then the clouds parted, and in the moonlight they saw the fort below.
“There,” Danny said, pointing to the prisoners.
“Those are my men,” Grady said. “My men are alive! How did they get here?”
“A wagon carried them, not long ago,” Danny said. “Manny met the wagon. They left the men without a guard.”
“Are you sure no one is watching them?” Rick asked.
“Yes. I saw everyone go back inside.”
“We need to act soon,” Rick said. “If we wait until morning, we won’t have a chance.”
“My wife and Sarah are in the fort too,” Grady said. “We can’t leave them to Manny.”
“As long as they are in the fort, we don’t have a chance,” Rick said. “Manny has too many men. We don’t have enough guns to fight them.”
“Manny is a slave trader,” said Grady. “The same wagon that brought my men in will carry them out, and soon. They won’t do Manny any good here. He has to sell them.”
“You might be right,” Rick said. “Yes, if we can attack the wagon away from the fort, our odds of winning are better. Two guards on the wagon and three of us.”
“I can climb down the canyon wall,” Danny said. “I can get knives to the men. Then they can attack the drivers from behind.”
“What about horses?” Grady asked. “My men will need horses.”
“We can get horses from the wagon,” Danny said.
“This will take a miracle,” said Rick, “but I’ve seen more than one miracle in the past few months. Maybe we can find another one.”
“Here, Danny,” Grady said, handing Danny his knife. “The man with the silver belt buckle, his name is Greg. He’s built like a stump, quick and strong. Give him my knife. And Danny?”
“Yes?”
“Tell him who you are before you get too close.”
“I understand,” Danny said.
“Who should get my knife?” asked Rick, handing it to Danny.
“Any of them will fight as long as they can stand,” Grady said.
“Be sure to tell the men to hide the knives and wait,” Rick said. “We’ll be watching from the hills. When the wagons are far from the fort, that’s the time to attack.”
Danny nodded. He tied the knives to his ankles and soon was gone. He circled the fort, stopping often and listening for any sounds below.
In less than an hour, he reached the steep canyon wall at the rear of the fort. He knelt behind a boulder and waited. If anyone saw me, I would hear shouting, he thought. They would be coming after me.
Danny heard nothing. He slipped around the boulder and crawled to the edge of the canyon wall. The floor of the fort was at least a hundred feet below him. He saw no vines or bushes on the rock wall.
There’s nothing to hold on to while I climb down.
But Danny Blackgoat had learned that when a problem seemed impossible to solve, he was not looking hard enough for the answer. He closed his eyes and reached for his leather pouch. He gripped it tight and thought of Sarah and her mother and father.
“They saved my life,” he whispered to himself.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a shadow on the wall less than ten feet below. A small rock jutted out from the wall. He let his eyes roam down the canyon. Every few feet he spotted a small hole in the rocks. He saw thick brown roots of dead trees.
Anything for me to grip, he thought, moving his gaze all the way to the floor of the canyon. If I do fall, I hope I’m close to the ground.
He did not let himself think about what he would do if he were caught. Danny reached for the two knives, making sure they were tied tightly to his ankles. He looked one final time at the grounds of the fort.
Nothing but darkness. Now is the time.
He lay on the ground and turned over on his stomach until his feet fell over the edge of the cliff. He slowly pushed himself, inch by inch. With only his shoulders on the rock ledge, he looked below. He scooted a foot to his right. The rock was lined up below him.
I hope it’s strong enough to hold me.
He closed his eyes and pushed away from the ledge. With his palms open and his fingers grabbing anything they could grip, he caught a thick root and stopped. His legs swung away from the canyon wall and Danny held tight. When he heard the slow crack of the wooden root, he let go. Ten feet later, his right hand slid against a sharp rock. The rock cut deep, but Danny ignored the pain and slung his shoulders onto the rock.
With blood streaming from his hand, he caught his breath. He now hung halfway down the canyon wall. He took a quick look over his shoulder at the ground below. Saying a quiet prayer, he let go of the rock.
Danny fell the final twenty feet and his feet struck a boulder as he landed. He rolled to the ground and lay on his back, staring at the dark sky. His hand was bleeding and his body was bruised and aching.
I can’t stay here. I have to get up.
Hoping he had no broken bones, Danny slowly rose to his feet. He lifted his arms and leaned forward, clutching his knees. His eyes spotted a pile of dust by the boulder. Taking a handful of powdery rocks, he patted his hand to stop the bleeding. He ripped a sleeve from his shirt and wrapped it around his hand.
“Did you men hear that?” a voice shouted. Danny hid behind the boulder.
“What is it?” another man asked.
Danny had fallen among the prisoners, Mr. Grady’s men. They turned their heads to Danny. In the dim light of the moon, Danny saw the strangest sight of his life––six men tied to steep canyon wall, with black sacks covering their heads.
“It’s me, Danny Blackgoat,” he said, stepping toward them. “I am here with Mr. Grady and a friend. We’ll get you out of here. We have a plan. But we have to be quiet so we don’t wake anybo
dy up.”
Danny found Greg and gave him Grady’s knife. He gave Rick’s knife to another of Grady’s men.
“Hide the knives. Don’t do anything till they put you on a wagon and you leave the fort. When you are far enough away, you’ll hear us coming for you. Mr. Grady says for you to take the driver from behind. We’ll be there for you.”
“I don’t like it,” Greg said. “We can cut ourselves free and go now. Why should we wait and see what they’ll do to us?”
“There are too many,” said Danny, “and they have shotguns. We would not have a chance. And even if we did escape, they still have Sarah and Mrs. Grady.”
“They are here?” Greg asked.
“Yes,” Danny said. “Manny carried them here. We followed him. If we are smart, we can all stay alive.”
“You know Manny will kill you if he catches you,” Greg said. “Why are you doing this?”
“You saved my life. Now it’s my turn,” said Danny. “Stay quiet and we will all stay alive. Now, I am going to tell Mrs. Grady of the plan.”
Chapter 19
Meeting Manny’s Dog
“Mother,” Sarah whispered.
“Shhh, Sarah. We don’t want to wake up the guard.” Sarah and her mother leaned against the cabin wall. They were tied at the wrists and ankles. A single guard slept on the floor by the door.
“What will they do to us?” Sarah asked.
“Don’t think about that.”
“I can’t stop thinking about it, Mother. What happened to Dad?”
Her mother rolled over and faced Sarah. She lifted her arms and wrapped her palms around Sarah’s cheeks. She kissed her on the forehead.
“Sarah, I will never give up hope. That is what we must do now. We must hope.”
“Hope for what?”
“We must hope that your father is still alive. We must hope that he will find us.”
“If anybody can find us, Daddy can,” Sarah said. “I wish Danny Blackgoat was still with us. He would know what to do.”
The guard made a loud snoring noise and rolled against the wall. Sarah and her mother froze. They waited for several minutes without moving. Soon the guard returned to his easy snores.