She Wore It Tied-Down

by r. William Rogers

  “Oh really? I hadn’t noticed,” she lied as she grinned mischievously.

  “Yeah, well...be that as it may, the real truth of the matter is that when this is all over and we can both get shed of these guns...” he patted his holster, “I’m hopin’ maybe you’ll...maybe you’ll agree to—”

  She was having scary thoughts that he was about to say something foolish like...like maybe asking her to marry him, or something, when the moment was mercifully interrupted by the unmistakable sounds of a six-gun being cocked into readiness. They twisted around in search of its origin.

  “I was pretty sure it was you two,” Two Gun Billy Dawson said, from the opening between a couple of heavily foliated bushes. He lowered the hammers on both pistols before sliding one into the holster at his waist and dropping the other one into what must’ve been a specially made holder that was fastened to the top inside edge of his left boot. “Thought you was headin’ more to the south?” he said, as he worked the trousers leg over the boot.

  Wayne wiped his brow with a coat sleeve, knocking his hat off his head in the process. He swung down to retrieve it. After picking it up, he slapped it against his leg and looked at Dawson. “Lost our pack horse in a sandstorm and had to make our way into Oscura. Got word there that them two Jacobs slimeballs was making a beeline to Las Cruces.” He gestured with the hat. “Couple a prospectors we met up with said this was the best way to make the crossin’.”

  “They’d be right about that.” He looked at Dolly. “Nice to see you again,” he said cordially.

  She nodded. “You, too.” She pointed to his boot. “We were wondering where you kept the other gun. Leastways, if the name Two Gun really held any meaning.”

  Billy grinned. “Well, you can see now that it does. I usually don’t allow folks privy to the boot holster, but...well, what the heck, we’re all family around here.” He continued while Wayne climbed back onto the dun, “Been trackin’ what I thought was them two for the past couple of miles...but now maybe I’m thinkin’ it was you two all along.”

  “Maybe not,” Wayne said simply. “We seen a couple of riders over thataway our ownselves,” He pointed as he settled into the saddle. “We been figgerin’ it was them Jacobs brothers...same as you.”

  Billy nodded thoughtfully. “Well then...that bein’ the case, I’d be of a mind to ride along and see what comes of it.”

  “Suit yerself,” Wayne said flatly.

  Billy smiled at Dolly. “That is if it’s alright with you.” His smiled widened.

  “Like he said.” She jutted her chin toward Wayne. “Suit yourself.”

  They headed out again with Billy in the lead and Wayne and Dolly close behind, riding side by side.

  “You want to tell me what that was all about back there?” She stabbed a thumb over her shoulder as she spoke.

  His eyes narrowed. “What’dya mean?”

  “You know dang good ’n well...were you asking me to—?”

  The light crimson shade returned to his complexion. “I-I...well, I...” He tugged the front of his hat lower and kicked the dun.

  Dolly had long since realized that as far as roping in a husband was concerned, she could do a whole lot worse than Wayne, but wasn’t about to let things of the heart clutter up the issues at hand. After all, there was at least a slim chance that she could get killed before this whole mess was over and done with. Until either that happened, or the Jacobs brothers were tended to, she didn’t have time for such nonsense, but still...

  She watched the back of his head as he turned it partially, as if he was wanting to say something else to her. He must have changed his mind because he turned back around toward the front. She smiled pleasantly, and turned her concerns to the trail ahead.

  It had rained on this part of the mountain and not too long ago—probably the night before was her best guess. The ground was soft, leaving a trail a blind man could follow. They followed it doggedly as it angled up a gently sloping, pine-covered ravine and crossed the ridge at a barren saddle that boasted of a freshwater pond along one edge. They reined up and dismounted, just as the signs indicated the pair they were tracking had also done.

  “Looks like those two spent a spell here,” Billy offered as he knelt at the edge of the water. He scooped up a handful, and despite the chill that was in the air, rubbed it onto the back of his neck.

  Dolly had also dismounted and now took a knee beside him. She drank deeply from her canteen before holding in under the surface of the pond. She looked at Billy, and while screwing the cap back into place, said, “I’m of a mind that the two that stopped here weren’t the Jacobs brothers at all.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Because they know we’re after them and it doesn’t make a whole lotta sense for them to waste as much time as these two seem to have done.” She waved leisurely at the multitude of tracks around the area and then pointed at the blackened fire pit. “It’s obvious that whoever made these tracks were here for longer than it takes to get a drink and head out again. No…I’d say that these two are in no big hurry to cross these mountains. And they’re sure as heck not worried about someone catching up to them.”

  “Sounds like you might have a point there,” Wayne said, and looked toward the next ridge. “If that’s true, then I’d say these mountains are getting mighty crowded.” He pursed his lips in wonder and mounted. “That would then leave us with the obvious question of just who they might be.”

  No sooner had he gotten the words out then the area toward the middle of the small pond erupted, followed almost immediately by the sound of a gunshot. Wayne savagely pulled the dun’s head around while at the same time slamming his heels into her sides. Dawson and Dolly scrambled for cover behind a fallen log that lay within easy scrambling distance. She removed her hat and drew her six-gun. He did the same. They lay there in breathless, unknowing anticipation.

  “Looks like we’re about to find out who these two really are,” he said, and rose just enough to get himself a peek.

  Chapter 31

  Dolly rolled onto her back and squinted into the glare of the sun as she scanned the crest of the rock face that towered above them. “You see anything?” she asked.

  “Nope...nothing. But that don’t mean—”

  “Look out!” she warned, and threw a slug at the figure that had suddenly showed itself.

  It disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.

  “C’mon,” he said and waved the business end of his Colt toward the base of the rock face. “Let’s find us a better spot over there somewhere.

  They hastily abandoned the fallen log, running headlong until finally landing side by side in the dirt behind the nearest of the boulders that were strewn along the base of the cliff. A few pebbles rained down on them as no doubt whoever was up there was doing their best to keep track of their movements by peering over the edge.

  Looking up at the overhang Dolly saw no one “You got any ideas?” she asked, as she worked quickly to replace the spent shells in the Peacemaker.

  “About what?” Billy asked.

  She again raised her eyes skyward. “About those fellas. About who they are and about what they’re about.”

  “I reckon that’s somethin’ we’ll just hafta wait ta see what develops.”

  Suddenly, a good-sized rock came flying over the edge, bouncing off the very boulder they were behind, causing them to duck instinctively.

  “Reckon it’s about to develop,” Billy said, and jumping up, headed out.

  Dolly slammed the Peacemaker shut, and getting to her feet, headed out in the opposite direction. She ran bent over forward, aware of the sounds of rocks plunking against the ground behind her. She continued until she came to a trail of sorts that, using a good bit of imagination, she decided could be used as an access to the crest above. Giving it the benefit of the doubt, she holstered the gun and began to climb.

  The trail was steep and gravel covered, and not to mention slippery. Nonetheless, she was a
ble to locate enough adequate hand and footholds to eventually find herself nearing the top of the difficult incline. She could hear voices that were talking Mexican. Taking a big chance, she peeked over the top edge.

  There were two of them alright. They were kneeling near the edge of the cliff and looking over the edge. She could easily see that they were dressed in a manner that matched their lingo. They had on them stripped kinda trousers that the Mexican fellas seemed to favor and wore big oversized sombreros. One of them was wearing a belt of ammo slung diagonally across his chest. That meant that he most likely favored a rifle over a six-gun. That would be a distinct advantage for her if it came right down to a quick draw confrontation, she decided. Right about then was when she heard a horse nicker off to her left and looked in that direction.

  Wayne appeared from behind a pile of boulders, sitting the dun mare. He reined up as the two Mexicans looked behind them and rose with smiles of anticipation spreading across their smug faces.

  “Ahh, is very good to see that one of you is not so cowardly as to hide in the rocks below,” the bigger of the two Mexican hombres said.

  Dolly tightened.

  “Might wanna rethink yer way of thinkin’,” Wayne said, and dismounted.

  It was obvious that he was about to face the both of them on his own. Dolly pulled herself the rest of the way to the top of the incline and stood. “And muy pronto would be my way of putting it,” she said, gaining everyone’s attention. She continued, “Just so there isn’t any misunderstanding, there isn’t anyone cowering down there in those rocks. Fact is...if you two don’t start spelling out why you’re up here, and in a big quick hurry, you won’t be able to...if you get my drift?” She crouched slightly, hovering her palm just above the pearl white butt of the Colt Peacemaker.

  The big Mexican grinned widely, showing what was left of his brown stained, mostly rotted teeth. The impression the expression made went real good with the rest of him. “Ahh, the pretty señorita she has the teeth of the puma.”

  “I wouldn’t be sellin’ her short if I was you, Pedro,” Wayne said.

  The big Mex said something under his breath to his compadre and they both chuckled derisively. They looked first at Dolly, then at Wayne, then back at Dolly. “There is no worry of that my friend,” he said, and jabbed an elbow into his amigo’s ribs. He looked at Wayne. “I would not sell her short, Señor.” He showed his rotten teeth again. “In fact I would pay as much as three or maybe even four pesos to taste the sweet tenderness of her womanhood.”

  Dolly felt a rush of anger shoot up into her face, flushing her cheeks hot. “You got a whole lotta nerve when you’re facing death square,” she said coldly.

  The Mex assumed a serious expression, narrowing his eyes. “I have never been one to let a señorita talk of death to me. Maybe—”

  “You got one of them pesos you put so much stock in?” she asked.

  His expression grew quizzical. “Si...I-I have a peso,” he said pensively, and fingered his front trousers pocket, not really sure if he had one or not.

  “Good...because if you do like I say, it’ll most likely save your worthless hide.”

  His concern deepened.

  “Now...you move real nice ’n easy-like and take that peso outta your pocket.”

  Almost reluctantly he dug out the coin he’d finally been able to locate, probably more interested in where this was all headed, more than anything else.

  “Now...whenever the notion strikes you, you just toss it into the air.”

  Leaning over, he again muttered something to the other fella and they chuckled.

  “Do it!” she said coldly, bringing a halt to their little joke.

  The big Mex nodded decisively, and flipped the coin into the air. In a flash of movement Dolly had the Peacemaker out and was almost immediately replacing it in the holster, having already sent the coin flying.

  Had there been any lingering frivolity in the minds of the two Mexicans, it was quickly gone, replaced by the realization that they were indeed facing certain death at the hand of the beautiful, but deadly, young señorita.

  “Now...where were we?” Wayne asked.

  The big Mex pulled his attention from where his last remaining peso had landed, and swallowed dryly as he turned his attention on Wayne. “I-I...”

  “That’s what I thought,” Wayne said.

  “Darndest thing I ever seen,’ Billy said as he approached. “That was as good a shootin’ as any I ever laid eyes on.”

  Ignoring the comment, Dolly instead addressed the Mexican fella. “So...what’ll it be, Jose? You maybe figure you an’ your friend still have a liking for being stupid, or you gonna tell the three of us why it is that you fellas felt the need to bushwhack us?”

  Both Mexicans had opted for a complete change in their demeanor. That’s not to say that they weren’t still ugly and dirty, there wasn’t much they could do to improve on that, but more along the lines of showing a more serious aspect towards what was facing them square.

  “We have ridden many days from Las Cruces,” the big hombre started. “We have hidden from the Mescaleros. We were just this very morning forced to give the last of our supplies to two gringos who surprised us and threatened to kill us if we did not do as they said.”

  The other Mex finished it, “And we were afraid that if we were unable to get the food from your pack horse we would become very hungry and unable to have the strength that is needed to cross these mountains.” He waved an all-encompassing hand around them.

  “Let’s talk about the two gringos,” Wayne said, eying the big fella. “What’d they look like?”

  “They were young...one was older than the other.”

  “Did they use names?” Dolly asked.

  He grew thoughtful. “One, the young one, called the other, Walt.”

  Dolly stiffened. “How long ago did you leave them?”

  “Only maybe a mile from here.” He waved to the southwest. “Are you the ones who they spoke of that are after them?” He looked at the faces around him. “They are very worried.” He looked straight at Dolly. “Maybe they have a good reason to be this worried, no?”

  “Count on it,” she said coldly.

  *

  They gave as much food to the two Mex’s as they felt they could reasonably do without, under the circumstances. After all, it wasn’t right to leave anyone out in harsh country like this without so much as a fighting chance. They then again set out on the trail of the Jacobs brothers, with their minds now flooded with renewed hope.

  They rode steadily for a couple of hours, but with the clouds moving in and the temperature taking a dramatic dip, it was the general feeling that it was only a matter of time before they’d be faced with having to pull up and find some sort of shelter from the impending storm.

  The necessity showed itself sooner rather than later as the first of the flakes began to fall. They pulled their ponchos tighter around their necks and searched in earnest for a suitable place to wait it out.

  After about ten or fifteen minutes of fruitless searching, a particularly inviting stand of piñons showed itself as they rounded a turn in the trail. They reined up.

  Dolly exposed a coated arm from under the sheltering poncho and pointed. “That shows some possibilities!” she shouted, above the whistling wind that had begun to blow just minutes before. “Might not have much choice in the matter!” she added, and looked around at what was fast turning into a blizzard.

  Wayne nodded, and reining the dun toward the stand, pulled the pack mare along behind.

  Dolly and Billy followed.

  After a bit of searching, they found a section in the trees where the piñons were closely clustered, providing what they figured amounted to ample protection from the general direction of the storm. They got down stiffly, and working with numbed fingers, quickly laid out an adequate camp, while also gathering plenty of deadfall wood in the process.

  They spent the remainder of that day and most of the next sitt
ing out the storm. The thing that was most paramount on their minds was whether or not the Jacobs brothers were undergoing the same kinds of miseries that they found themselves being forced to deal with.

  *

  Once back on the trail, they had only a couple of hours left before nightfall, but made good use of the time as the horses plodded through the four inches or so of dry, fluffy flakes that the storm had laid down. The good side of things was that the storm had moved out completely, leaving the sun about as bright and warm as anyone could hope for this time of year, as well as this time of day.

  They built another camp well after dusk and settled in after having enjoyed the comforts of a well-prepared meal of steaks off the rump of an ill fated deer that had the misfortune of crossing Billy’s sights just about sunset. The fresh meat was accompanied by hardtack biscuits and a pot of hot coffee that had been made from melting some snow, in an effort to save their drinking water.

  Dolly again spent a fitful night, haunted by reoccurring images of Jake and Walt’s blatant disregard for the things that kept a lady’s sanity on an even keel. She tossed and turned as she again relived that first time she had been forced to deal with them. Then there was the remembered image of the barmaid plunging to her death from the balcony in that saloon. That one woke her up. But try as she might she was unable to recall the name of the town they’d been in.

  She lay awake, staring into the orange coals that were all that remained of the once blazing campfire. Finally, after coming to peace within herself, she rose and stoked the fire with fresh sticks from what remained of the pile. As the flames took hold and began gaining in intensity, she returned to the warmth of her blanket. Feeling a whole lot better, she trained her gaze, as well as her thoughts, on Wayne’s back as he lay on the other side of the fire, curled up in his blanket, facing away from her.

  She hoped and prayed that someday, somehow this would all come to a satisfactory conclusion and they’d both be able to put their guns away. Only then could she even dare to think of a life together with him.

  He stirred as the heat from the growing blaze must have gotten his backside a mite warmer than was needed. He rubbed it in mild protest and turned over. He remained fast asleep, giving her ample opportunity to gaze into his pleasant features. He was quite handsome and she knew she would have to hunt far and wide if she ever got the hankering to find someone better. She vowed to try talking him into getting his hair cut a little shorter, at the first opportunity.