by Ralph Cotton
“—Et an Indian’s leg,” Payton said, impatient, finishing Leo’s words for him. He brushed it away. “Yeah, I heard all that. What’s it suppose to do, scare me?” He glanced at McCord, then back to his brother. “Hell…that ain’t nothing for a Frenchy. They all eat stuff you scrape off a mossy log. That don’t make him a bad man.” He raised his voice to Paschal as the big man lumbered back around the cantina, leading his horse. “Hey, Frenchy? Where does a man have to go around here to get a good Ute steak…maybe a side of baked Pawnee rib bones?”
“You keep it up with me, Parker…” Paschal let his guttural warning trail off. He stopped and grunted, rolling up into his saddle. Beside him Juan Verdere stepped up into his saddle and heeled his horse forward, taking the lead.
Payton Parker grinned. “Boy, I would dearly love a good deep roasted leg of—”
“That’s enough,” McCord hissed. “We’ve got plenty to worry about, getting this deal settled.” He turned and swung onto his horse in behind Juan Verdere. Leo and Payton did the same. Paschal held his horse back, waiting for a second, then brought up the rear.
Payton chuckled, looking at Juan ahead of them and Paschal behind. Then he turned to McCord and Leo. “Relax, boys, you’ll soon be sipping fancy wine and farting in clean bedsheets. We’re about to be rich. Rich! Do you hear me?” He reached over to Leo and yanked his hat down over his eyes. “Not only that, boys, we got the rest of the night with them warm-blooded women—get caught up on our natural urges. Whooie!” He kicked his horse out ahead of them.
Leo grinned, pushed up his hat brim, and spurred his horse forward into the darkness. “Payton, you ain’t got a lick of sense. You never did have.”
Chapter 13
Maria had tried to keep track of time ever since Payton, Leo, and McCord rode off into the darkness. With these three men gone, she knew there would be no better time for her and Prudence to make their getaway. Yet things weren’t working out for them. Before the men had left, leaving Delbert alone to guard them and the wagon, Maria had heard one of the men tell the other that it would be a three-hour ride to where they were going and back. How long had that been—an hour and a half, two hours ago? When she’d heard it, she looked at Prudence sitting beside her. A knowing glance passed between them.
But before leaving, Payton Parker had stepped up into the wagon and checked the rope tied around the women’s wrists. “Nice try,” he said, finding they had worked their ropes loose. “One more little trick like this, and I’ll put a bullet through your heads. I hate a conniving woman.”
He’d shoved both of the women out of the wagon onto the hard, sandy ground, loosened their ropes the rest of the way, and retied them. “Better keep close watch on them,” Payton said to Delbert, coldly staring at Maria. “I don’t think these young ladies are enjoying our company.”
“They ain’t going nowhere, Payton,” Delbert said. “You know me. I might play around with them a little, but I’ll have both eyes open all the while. They won’t try nothing stupid, will you, girls?” He gave Maria and Prudence a nasty grin. They only stared back at him blankly.
“Play around all you want, but they better be here when I get back.” Payton managed a grin himself, his eyes sweeping across the women. “And there better be enough left for the rest of us. Once we get this deal settled, we’ll feel like a little celebrating.”
When Payton Parker and the other two rode away, Maria and Prudence lay tied to a wagon wheel, the rope tight around their wrists, their hands above their heads. It was important that Delbert make the first move on them, Maria thought, otherwise he might see through their intentions. But so far he hadn’t even come close. He stayed a few feet away near the low licking flames of the campfire, watching them.
For all his bold talk in the presence of his friends, now that they were alone, Delbert seemed uncertain of himself, almost as shy as a schoolboy. Maria watched him cast guarded glances in their direction. What was wrong with this imbecile…? When he saw the women return his gaze, he would look down and shake his head, rubbing a stick back and forth in the glowing embers, snickering under his breath in tune to some lewd fantasy inside his mind.
Maria let out a breath, exasperated. They had to do something soon. She shot Prudence a troubled look and shrugged.
“I don’t know about you,” Prudence said in a whisper, “but I’m not going to sit here all night. Let’s make a move.”
“No, wait—” Maria saw Prudence lean a bit forward against her tied wrists.
But before Maria could stop her, Prudence spoke out toward the campfire in a raised voice, “Hey, you, Delbert. Come here. I want to tell you something. Something important.”
But Delbert only cocked his head to one side and pointed a finger at his chest, grinning. “Yes, you, Delbert. Come over here. What’s the matter? I won’t bite you.” Prudence’s tone of voice made it sound like a dare.
Maria sat quiet and tense, hoping Prudence knew what she was doing. “Yeah? What?” Delbert stood up, pitched the stick to the ground, and walked over to them, stopping four feet back, cautious. “I’m listening.”
“I…I need to go over into the bushes.”
Chuckling, he said, “That’s it? That’s what’s so important? You need to go relieve yourself?” He shook his head and turned to walk away. “Not a chance in hell,” he said, still chuckling under his breath. “I know a trick when I see one.”
“No. Wait. Please!” Prudence rushed her words. “It’s not funny, Delbert—it’s no trick. I need to go, real bad.” She shot Maria an unreadable glance, then added to Delbert, “I do have something important to tell you…something very important! It’s…It’s about her.”
“Yeah?” Delbert stopped and turned back to them. “What about her?”
There was a slight pause, then Prudence said, “She’s planning to kill you…and get away.” She nodded toward Maria.
Maria’s brow rose. What was this?
Delbert moved toward them once more. He lay a hand on the pistol at his hip. “You don’t say?” He looked from one to the other. “And just how does she suppose she’ll do that?” His chuckling tone changed, his grin gone now.
“I have to relieve myself,” Prudence said in a clipped tone. “Then I’ll tell you.”
“I don’t think so,” Delbert said. He lifted the pistol from his holster and cocked it, aiming it at Prudence. Maria held her breath. “You tell me whatever you’ve got to tell me,” he hissed, stooping down a bit closer. “If I like what I hear, then you can go do your business. That’s all the deal you get.”
“Prudence…?’ Maria’s voice came low, cautioning. She saw something coming. She didn’t know what it was, but she didn’t like it. Maria didn’t like making a move of any kind while their hands were still bound.
Delbert’s eyes leveled harshly on Maria. “Shut up! If she’s got something to say, let her say it. I’m in charge here!” He turned to Prudence. “Go on, get it said.”
“But, if I do…” Prudence hesitated with an innocent wide-eyed expression “…can I trust you to do what you said?”
“Honey, you’ve got no choice.” Delbert’s grin returned, even stronger now that she’d awakened a sense of power in him.
“All right, then.” Prudence shot Maria a dubious glance, Maria’s eyes telling her to keep her mouth shut. But Prudence ignored her, let out a sigh of submission, and said to Delbert in a shaky voice, “She’s armed. She has a gun. I saw it.”
“What?” Delbert jerked back a step. His pistol swung toward Maria. Maria looked stunned.
“It’s true,” Prudence said. “She meant to kill you with it the first chance she got.” She nodded. “Look in her boot.”
Santa Madre! No! You fool! Don’t do this…But it was too late. Maria slumped against the wagon wheel.
“Is that so?” Delbert stooped down, moving carefully toward Maria’s boot, as if it were a snake. “Let’s just take a little look here.”
What could she do? Maria thought abo
ut burying her boot in his face as he leaned in to run a hand down her boot well. But that was too risky. It was doubtful that she could kick him unconscious from this position—even if she did, then what? She lay staring at him as he moved with the small pistol in his hand and shoved his big .45 down into his holster. Whatever Prudence had in mind, it better be good.
“Well, well.” Delbert chuckled, bouncing the pistol on the palm of his hand. “Ain’t this just slicker than socks on a rooster?” Then his smile faded, looking down at Maria. His hand tightened on the small pistol. “I oughta empty both shots in ya, you sneaking, rotten—”
“Delbert, I have to go really bad,” Prudence whined.
“What?” Delbert turned his gaze to her.
“You know…our deal? I told you what she was up to. Now let me go to the bushes. You said you would.”
“Oh…” He scratched his head up under his hat brim. “You’re not going to try to make a run for it, are ya?”
Prudence shot Maria a quick glance, then said to Delbert with urgency, “No, I’m not. Would I have told you about the pistol if I was going to? Jesus, Delbert! Come on, please!”
“Well…all right, but you can’t go alone. I’ll have to be with you.”
“I don’t care—just hurry!”
“Damn it.” Delbert shoved the small pistol into his shirt pocket, stepped around beside Prudence, and began untying her hands from the wagon wheel. “This is why I hate traveling with women. Every five miles you’ve got to stop and—”
“Come on, Delbert. I have a nice surprise for you if you hurry. I promise.” Her voice sounded playful within her urgency.
“Really? No fooling?” He lifted her to her feet, and his eyes widened. “Then let’s get going.” He jerked her close to him. “I like nice surprises.”
She pressed him away from her. “First things first, Delbert.” Shooting Maria a glance, Prudence turned back to him with a coy expression, moving off into the darkness. Delbert stumbled along behind her. She added, “I keep hearing you boys mention all this gold you’re going to get. Just how much gold are we talking about?”
You fool…Maria listened and watched as the two of them disappeared out of the circle of firelight. She jerked against the rope around her wrists, doing her best to loosen it. From across the campsite, out the scrub brush, she heard Prudence’s muffled laughter, then the sound of Delbert’s hushed voice. She tugged harder at her rope, but it held tight. If whatever plan Prudence had in mind didn’t work, they would be in far worse trouble than they were before. The small pistol had been their ace in the hole. Now it was gone.
Inside the cover of rock and dry brush, Prudence heard Delbert say behind her, “Why are you so interested in the gold? From what I understand your family has more money than—”
“Forget the gold.” Prudence turned suddenly and pressed herself against him. “There’s more important things than money.” She fumbled with his belt buckle, up on tiptoe, her breath warm against his ear. “Delbert, don’t you realize how frightened I am by all this? Don’t you realize I will do anything you want me to do…anything at all?”
“Easy, lady.” Delbert stepped back while she pressed against him, moving too fast for him to argue. He let out a nervous chuckle. “Thought you had to—”
“No, I was just saying that, to get you out here…alone.” Her words were rushed and breathless. He felt his gun belt fall away, Prudence’s hands all over him now, seeming to be everywhere at once. No woman had ever acted this way with him. “Anything, Delbert, anything that pleases you.” Her mouth moved warm and wet, nuzzling his sweaty throat. Jesus…! He reached for her hands, needing to slow her down a bit. But he was leaning farther back, sinking, her body moving against him in ways that pushed him down onto the sandy ground.
“Oh, Lord…” Delbert groaned. She was atop him now, his trousers down halfway to his knees, his body starting to respond. “Aw-yeah! Aw-yeah…”
Her hands moved beneath her dress, and he felt her warmth press down on him. She leaned forward over him, her face close to his, one hand still down there, stroking, squeezing him. “Oh, my, Delbert…you are so ready for me,” she whispered. And as she held him tight in her left hand, her right hand crawled out like a spider across the sand and closed around a rock the size of a grapefruit.
She rose over him, his rough hands tight on her breasts, his body rising and falling to the rhythm of her hand tight around him. “Oh, do it…do it now!” Delbert moaned, his eyes squeezed shut.
Prudence brought the rock around in one vicious sidelong swipe that caught Delbert on the temple, his head twisting to one side. Beneath her, his body fell limp, and she rose and stood looking down at him for a second, shivering. Should she hit him again? No. This was enough. He wasn’t dead, but he would be out for a while. She swallowed her nausea, dropped the rock, and ran her hands up and down her dirty dress, cleaning them both of something unseen.
Hurrying, she gathered his big pistol and the small derringer he’d taken from Maria’s boot. Then Prudence calmed herself, took a few deep breaths, slipped her hand inside her dress, and took out the razor from its small leather sheath under her arm. With the opened razor in her hand, she walked back toward the glow of firelight.
Maria had noticed there were no more hushed sound of voices coming from the bushes. She lay still, her senses searching the darkness. Another minute passed, then she heard the soft rustle of footsteps through the brush. A dark figure stepped into the outer glow of flickering light, and when Maria saw it was Prudence, she let out a sigh of relief. Prudence held Delbert’s .45 in one hand and a straight razor in her other. “Quickly,” Maria called out in a hushed tone. “We must hurry and get out of here. They will be back soon.”
But Prudence took her time. She stopped near the fire, laid the big pistol on the ground, and looked down at the razor in her hand. She wiped her thumb and finger along the glistening blade. “We’re all right now,” she said, stooping down and wiping her fingers back and forth on the ground. “Delbert is no longer a problem.”
Maria jerked against her tied wrists. “Come on, Prudence! Untie me!”
Prudence moved toward her in what seemed to be a trancelike state, folding the straight razor and placing it inside her dress under her arm. “I killed him, you know,” she said, lying in a matter-of-fact voice as she pulled and tugged, untying Maria’s wrists.
“Yes, I thought as much…now hurry!”
As Maria felt the rope give, she pulled her hands free and rubbed her wrists, then rushed over near the fire and picked up Delbert’s pistol. She checked it, saying, “We have no time to unhitch the mules. We’ll take the wagon until we get away from here.” She hurried over to where Delbert’s horse stood hitched to a low scrub juniper, still saddled, a rifle butt sticking up from the scabbard. She untied the horse and led it back to the wagon as Prudence stepped up into the seat. Maria looked up at her as Prudence settled onto the seat.
“You had me worried,” Maria said. “For a moment, I thought you were only making a play for the gold.”
Prudence flipped her hair, shaking it out. “Well, I have to admit, the gold would be nice, but…” She let her words trail, staring down at Maria. Then she changed the subject. “So, now we’re free. Where does this put us?”
“Now we get away. We have a fighting chance,” Maria said.
“They’ll simply follow our wagon tracks, won’t they?” Prudence adjusted the torn shoulder of her dress. “We can’t outrun them. If we do, how will we live out there? We have no food, no water.”
“But they do,” Maria said, nodding in the direction the three men had taken. “We must take what they have.” She hitched Delbert’s horse to the rear of the wagon, then walked to the front and pitched the rifle up to Prudence. Catching it, Prudence looked the rifle over as if seeing one for the first time.
“How in the world do you hope to take their food and water?”
“I have a plan,” Maria answered. She looked up through the d
arkness at the crest of the tall rocks surrounding their clearing. “Once we leave the wagon, we will circle back on the mules and be at the one place where they won’t expect us…up there.” She gestured into the darkness.
Prudence looked up and along the dark high ridge line. Then she shook her head. “No, I don’t like it. I say we take the horse and a mule and beat a path out of here as quick as we can. With a little luck we’ll find water along the way.”
Luck…? Maria didn’t respond. Instead, she stepped up into the wagon beside Prudence and said, “That was a foolish thing you did back there with Delbert. You gave up our pistol and put my life on the line.” She unwound the reins, pulled back hard on the brake level, and released it.
“Yes, but you are alive. It worked, didn’t it?” Prudence gave her a sharp glance and brushed a hand up and down the dusty sleeve of her dress. She shook out her hair once more and ran her fingers through it.
“You had no way of knowing it would work,” Maria snapped. “It was a dangerous, foolish gamble. Don’t do something like that again.”
“Oh? I couldn’t see any other way.” Prudence shrugged. “What were we going to do…let the opportunity get past us? Sit here, helpless?”
“I have lived most of my life in this land,” Maria said, “and I have never been helpless.”
“And I have never had to ask someone’s permission to save my own life,” Prudence snapped back at her. “We’re free. What are we waiting for?” She looked away from Maria, dismissing the subject.
Maria had no more responses for her. What Prudence said was true. Regardless of how risky it had been, Prudence had taken the gamble and won. But she could not trust this woman again, Maria thought, slapping the traces to the mules. Prudence Cordell was a bold, self-determined woman—that much they had in common. But she had done nothing to instill trust between them, including lying about who she was the moment they’d met.