Moving quickly up the ravine, he reached the top after a short climb and crawled out onto a rocky shelf. The waterfall and the cave were below him now and he could still see the three men sitting by the fire. A thick stand of fir trees above the waterfall would provide cover enough to allow him to move down close to a position where he should be able to get a good look at them. So he made his way carefully across the rocky ledge, being careful not to dislodge any loose gravel that would give him away. Once in position, he found he could see well enough, but the noise of the waterfall made it impossible to hear their conversation. Damn, he thought, I didn’t think about that. He remembered the interior of the cave from having explored it before. There was a back opening in the long cave that could be used as a quick exit in case of an emergency. It was little more than a small hole near the top of the cave, but it was big enough for a man to squeeze through and it was on his mind right now. If they were inside the cave, he could hear them talking by squeezing inside the rear opening. He needed to know who he was dealing with, so if that was the only way, he’d have to wait until dark when they went inside for the night. From where he sat now, however, he felt pretty sure one of the three he could see by the fire must surely be the man Melva Sams had described. So he was confident that he had caught up with the two he had originally followed from Durant. Hell of a way to try to arrest three outlaws, he thought. To add to his displeasure, he felt too strung out. He was on the mountain, perched over the cave, his buckskin was tied below the cave in the ravine, and his packhorse was tied back in his camp on the other side of the mountain. So far, he wasn’t sure what he would ultimately try to do, arrest all three, or just keep tracking them until he had an idea they were going to stay put long enough for him to get some help. He couldn’t help recalling the many times Dan Stone had warned him that there would come a day when he would pay for ignoring the usual policy of taking at least one posse man, a jail wagon, and a cook with him. It looked like that day had come, even though this time he had an excuse because he had been at the J-Bar-J in Texas when he got the assignment. These thoughts didn’t help his frustration at the moment, so he backed away from his perch, resolved to return after dark.
* * *
Having returned to the ledge above the cave in the fading light, Will waited while the three outlaws tied their horses to a rope tied between two trees to keep them from wandering during the night. He studied the two men with Elmo in an effort to size them up. One was clearly the leader, judging by the way the other two responded to him. He was a sizeable man, broad-shouldered with a neatly trimmed black beard. The third member of the party was rangy and clean-shaven. They lingered by the fire until evidently deciding the night air was beginning to chill and it would be more comfortable inside the cave. Elmo picked up a couple of burning limbs from the fire and took them inside to restart one they had in the cave. “Gimme a few minutes to get the fire goin’, then bring the coffeepot in with you,” he said. “Ain’t no use wastin’ the rest of that coffee.”
“Hell, we’ll make some more,” Preacher said. “We can afford it.”
“Maybe ol’ Slick will pay for another pot,” Lon said, getting a laugh from his partners.
Above them, still unable to hear their conversation, Will watched until the other two followed Elmo inside the cave. Then he left the cover of the trees and made his way down to the rear exit of the cave, moving cautiously up to the small opening. Inside, he met a solid stone wall, but having been there before, he knew a narrow path led around it to provide access to the cave itself. He found that there was no problem with hearing, for the voices echoed clearly inside the hollow chamber.
“That’s a damn fine canvas sack,” Preacher said, holding it up to admire it. “It’s a shame to have to burn it up.”
“Too bad they printed their name on it,” Lon said, and held up a similar sack. “Bank of Sherman, I could put this bag to good use in place of my cotton war bag I’ve been usin’.”
“Can’t you just turn it inside out?” Elmo asked.
“No,” Preacher replied at once. “Ain’t no sense in takin’ any chance on somebody findin’ those sacks with us. You take a look inside that bag and you can see the paint shinin’ through. No, sir, we’d best burn ’em up.”
That was enough for the man crouched in the cramped passageway at the rear of the cave. The three, along with the corpse at the bottom of the ravine, had robbed a bank, the bank in Sherman, Texas. There were bound to be some quick orders from the marshal’s office going out to apprehend them. He backed carefully out of the passage, convinced now that he had to act, but it was going to take some thought. Three men, holed up inside a cave, was going to be a challenge.
* * *
“That’s enough for me,” Lon announced, and tossed his cards in. “I’m ready to turn in, anyway. Three-handed poker ain’t much of a game, maybe we shouldn’ta shot ol’ Slick. We coulda had four for poker.” That pretty much ended the card playing for the evening. Elmo was already nodding between hands as it was. He had lost interest long before that.
Preacher released a long sigh. “I reckon I’m ready to go to my blanket, too.” He followed Lon outside to answer nature’s call before going to bed.
“How long ya think we oughta hole up here?” Lon asked, standing in the cool early autumn evening.
“Maybe a week,” Preacher answered. “We’ll ride down to Cannon’s in a couple of days to see if he’s heard anything, or seen any marshals up this way.” When they had both emptied, they went back inside to find Elmo already asleep. Preacher pulled his boots off and rolled up in his blanket. In a few moments, he sat up. “You hear that?”
“Yeah, I did,” Lon answered. “Sounds like somethin’s after the horses. Might be a mountain lion prowlin’ around. I’ve still got my boots on, I’ll go see what’s stirred ’em up.”
“Better take your rifle in case it is a mountain lion,” Preacher said. He watched Lon go out the opening, then lay back again to close his eyes. In a few moments, he drifted off. After a while, he awoke again and started to shift over to his other side, noticing then that Lon was not in his blanket. At first, he didn’t think much of it, but then realized the fire had burned almost down to the point of going out. It had been a long time since Lon had gone to check on the horses. Knowing something was not right, he sat up, wondering if Lon had slipped up on a bear or something. He started to pull on his boots, just then realizing that Elmo was up.
“I heard somethin’ after the horses,” Elmo said. “I wasn’t gonna wake you up, thought I’d go see what’s botherin’ ’em.” It occurred to him then. “Where’s Lon?”
“He went to check on the horses,” Preacher said. “But that was a while back. At least I think it was a while back, I fell asleep, so I ain’t sure.”
Elmo chuckled. “I’ll go see what’s botherin’ ’em.”
He walked down past the pond to the trees where they had tied the horses by the stream. “Lon,” he called out as he approached the horses, but there was no answer. The horses were restless, and were milling about, having somehow gotten untied from the rope. He walked into the trees only a few feet before stopping. “What tha . . .” was as far as he got when he saw Lon, his hands and feet tied around a tree, his mouth gagged. In the next instance, he was knocked senseless and the lights went out in his brain. In the short time it took him to recover his senses, he was tied hand and foot around a tree like Lon. He tried to yell out, only to find his mouth was stuffed with a cloth. He had recovered to the point where he realized his gag was not tied in, so he started spitting the rag out until he could yell. “Look out, Preacher, it’s a trap!”
“Damn!” Will cursed, having just finished securing him to the tree. He had hoped Elmo would take longer than that to recover. Lon had. Maybe he hit him harder. A minute more and he would have had the rag tied in Elmo’s mouth, and maybe he would have been able to lure the other one out as well. So much for that plan now, he thought. He had to quickly decide what to do.
“Preacher!” Elmo yelled again. “It’s a trap!”
“Open your mouth like that again, Elmo, and I’m gonna fetch you another lump on the back of your head. You and your friend here are under arrest for bank robbery and murder, so you’d do best not to rile me any more than you already have.”
“Murder?” Elmo blurted. “I ain’t murdered nobody!” He paused when it occurred to him. “How’d you know my name was Elmo?”
Will ignored the question. He was more concerned about the one still in the cave. He didn’t have much hope for success, but he decided to give it a try. “Preacher!” He called out. “This is a U.S. deputy marshal. We’ve got your two partners under arrest and unharmed. If you’ll come on outta that cave with your hands up, I guarantee you no one will shoot. You’ll not get hurt.”
Inside the cave, Preacher had been in the process of pulling on his boots when he was startled by Elmo’s first yell. In a panic to collect his weapons, he was shocked again when he heard Will call out to him to surrender. U.S. marshals, he screamed to himself. How many? He looked at once toward the back of the cave where the rear door was. If they had him surrounded, he didn’t hear anybody at the back. Maybe they didn’t know about that way out. Will’s voice broke through his thoughts again.
“Come on out, Preacher! You got no place to go. Might as well make it easy on yourself.”
It struck him then, He’s bluffing, there’s no posse, he’s by himself. That changed the situation completely. “Why don’t you come in and get me?” Preacher yelled back.
That was not what Will wanted to hear. He must have guessed that Will was alone and called his bluff. He glanced back at his prisoners and was met with looks of scornful amusement, for they saw right away that Preacher had turned the tables on the deputy. “I reckon you’re gonna have to go in that cave and get him,” Elmo smirked. He looked over at Lon. “We ain’t got nothin’ to worry about. He can’t get to Preacher without gettin’ his ass shot off. I don’t have no idea who this jasper is, but in a matchup, I’ll bet on Preacher. He’ll figure a way to get us loose.” Lon, his gag still tied firmly in place, could only grunt in return.
Will realized he was stumped. It would be nothing short of suicide to try to charge into the mouth of that cave. He was sure that was what Preacher hoped he would do. It was equally foolish to think he could wait Preacher out. It was almost certain that he had provisions in the cave for the four of them, so Preacher could wait him out longer than the other way around, firewood being the only exception. He considered the rear door of the cave, but if he was detected, Preacher could either shoot him, or escape out the front to free his partners. The last option he had to consider was to take the two prisoners already in custody back and try to track Preacher down after they were locked up.
While Will was pondering his options, Preacher was making preparations to reduce them to one. For in the midst of this unlikely uncertainty, he had suddenly seen an opportunity for a financial gain worth taking a gamble on. Pinned up in this cave with him was the entire bank holdup money, more than twenty thousand dollars. With Lon and Elmo captured, it was all his, if he could escape the deputy. A gambler, he considered the odds in his favor. His success hinged upon his being able to get out the back way while the lawman was in the front. If he could do that, then the deputy would not likely leave his prisoners to go chasing after him. As quickly as he could, he hurriedly emptied Lon’s and Elmo’s saddlebags of their share of the bank money, while keeping a close eye on the mouth of the cave, in the event the deputy was foolish enough to rush him.
When he was ready to make his escape, he made his way up through the narrow passageway to the rear opening. As a precaution, he paused there and scanned the slope behind the cave. As he had counted on, there was no one to stop him. It was time for his final gamble, and this one was crucial. He licked his lips to try to create some moisture on them before placing two fingers to them and whistling two short bursts. Everything was now in the hands of Lady Luck, for if his horse failed this test, it might result in a footrace with the deputy, and he was carrying too much of a load to outrun him.
Still deciding what he should do, Will was startled when he heard the sharp whistle blasts. They came from up the slope, maybe near the back of the cave. If it was Preacher, why would he announce it? Maybe it was meant to draw him into the front of the cave. Then he saw the dark horse break away from the others and gallop up the slope and knew immediately what was taking place. He had no choice but to run after the roan, knowing it was in vain, but he had to try. As he ran, scrambling up the slope, he scolded himself for untying their horses, for had he not, the horse would have been unable to respond to Preacher’s signal. Another mistake was not having brought Buster up from the trees where he had tied him with his packhorse while he was dealing with the capture of his two prisoners. He arrived at the back of the cave in time to get a glimpse of the blue roan disappearing into the darkness with Preacher riding bareback, saddlebag over his shoulder. In frustration, Will raised his rifle and sent one harmless shot after him. His plans were clear now, he would have to move his prisoners down off this mountain as soon as possible. There were too many ambush sites offered in these gulches and ravines. Unfortunately, there was a lot to do to get them ready to ride and he had best get at it while there were a couple more hours of darkness before sunup. He didn’t like the idea of catching up the horses, saddling, and packing up whatever provisions of the outlaws he decided to borrow after it became light enough for a man with a rifle to take aim at him. It was hard to say what Preacher would do, now that he was able to choose. He might choose to try to free his partners, or simply concentrate on getting as far away as possible, thinking it just bad luck on their part.
He went into the rear opening on his way back, so he could check the inside of the cave to see what was left. By the dim light provided by the dying fire, he saw their saddles, four of them, and saddlebags with their contents strewn about. There were also the empty Bank of Sherman bags he had heard them discussing the night before. It was clear that there was no stolen money left to recover, more incentive for Preacher to desert his partners. It would depend on what kind of partner Preacher was, and Will was inclined to think he would choose to run. But he had to allow for the possibility that he wouldn’t.
Back to his prisoners, he told them how things were going to be. He removed the gag from Lon’s mouth, but kept them tied to the trees. “As soon as I round up all the horses and load up what food you brought with you, we’ll be leavin’ here. When I’m transportin’ prisoners, I make it as easy as I can, dependin’ on how much trouble you cause. But if you wanna be treated right, you’d best not give me any grief. You can tell me which horse is yours and which saddle goes on him. I’ll throw the other two saddles on the other horses.”
“Deputy,” Elmo spoke up. “You’re doin’ a lot of talkin’ for a dead man. I wouldn’t be surprised if you ain’t in Preacher’s sights right now. The only chance you’ve got is to let me and Lon go and you hightail it outta here. Now, that’s if you’re smart enough to know that what I’m sayin’ is the way things are.”
“Watch your mouth, Elmo!” Lon warned. “Now he knows my name, too.”
“Well, hell,” Elmo replied. “What if he does? It don’t make a whole lotta difference—Lon Jackson, Preacher McCoy, Elmo Black—don’t make no difference. He’ll take ’em to the grave with him when Preacher comes for him.”
Pausing only a second to answer Elmo’s warning, Will said, “If it comes down to me gettin’ cornered by your partner, then let me assure you, I’ll put a bullet into both of you. While I’m roundin’ up the horses, think about that partner of yours. He’s ridin’ away with all the money, his share and your shares, too. Hard to say what that much money will make a man do.” He nodded, as if agreeing with himself. “Now, I’ll make you boys a little more comfortable.” He untied Lon’s ankles and pulled his boots off.
“What the hell?” Lon blurted, and tried to resis
t, but to no avail.
“I left a fellow’s boots on one time when I tied him up,” Will said. “While I was saddlin’ up the horses, he slipped his foot outta his boot and I had to shoot him before we were done.” He tied Lon’s ankles again. Then he repeated the procedure with Elmo. “I’ll throw your boots on one of the packhorses. You can have ’em back when we get to the jail.”
“He’s just tryin’ to jape us,” Elmo said after Will walked away. “Preacher’ll be back. He ain’t never let a partner down. He’ll be back to get us.”
“I hope you’re right,” Lon replied, “but I’m thinkin’ about what that deputy said. That’s a helluva lot of money.” He was also thinking about Preacher’s decision to eliminate Slick when he became an inconvenience. “I reckon we’re gonna find out.”
“You’ll see,” Elmo insisted. “You ain’t rode with him as long as I have.”
* * *
As the first flickers of light filtered through the branches of the trees overhead, Will prepared to move his jail train down the trail leading to the foot of the mountains. As yet, there had been no indication that Preacher was anywhere about, and the farther they traveled down the mountain, the more convinced Will became that there was no danger of getting bushwhacked. Behind him, Elmo and Lon followed on a lead rope, their hands tied behind their backs. The rest of the horses followed, two of them carrying empty saddles.
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