With his packages in the wagon, Ty went to talk to Deputy Joe Silas. "Morning, Deputy," he said as he walked into the sheriff's office.
"Good morning, Ty. What brings you to town? Anything new?"
"Not out there, but I thought I'd stop and ask you the same thing. We came in to get some supplies, so I thought I'd stop and ask if you've heard anything from the group."
"I haven't heard a thing." He looked around to insure no one else was around. "How's your guest doing?"
"He left. We went to check on him yesterday morning and he left a note thanking us for all we'd done for him, but he was gone. I wish he'd stayed longer because I really don't think he was strong enough to travel yet, but there's nothing I can do."
"Any idea where he went?"
"Not really. He mentioned having an uncle in Ogden, but I don't know if he was going there or not. He never said. A man stopped by yesterday, said he was Ted Sanders, Pete's cousin. I told him he mentioned an uncle in Ogden, and Ted said yes, they did have an uncle there. He said he was coming to town yesterday to get supplies and thought he might go to Ogden. I hope he meets up with him on the way there. I'm sure he could use help."
"He might meet up with him on his way to his uncle's, if that's where he went. Wherever he goes, I hope he sends someone a telegram when he gets wherever he's going. If Grant and the guys catch Wyler, we may need Pete to testify."
"He told everyone who shot him. Isn't that good enough?"
"That depends on the judge, and who he wants to believe. If he believes Wyler when he says he didn't shoot him, and he thinks Pete may have been lying when he told everyone who shot him, without Pete here to testify, the judge may not believe him."
Before Ty could answer, Dr. Williams came into the sheriff's office. "Ty, I heard your guest left. Is that true?"
"Yes, it is. It surprised all of us, but yesterday morning he was gone."
"Was he strong enough? Had he even been up walking yet?"
"He'd been walking some, but I don't think he should have left yet. I hope he does okay."
They talked a few more minutes, and Ty and Landon went back to the ranch. Once they were out of town Landon voiced his thoughts. "How do you suppose Doc heard Pete left?"
"That's what I was wondering," Ty said. "Someone told him, and the only one I've told is Ted. My question is whether Ted talked to him, or someone else, who in turn talked to him. Did you think Joe seemed surprised when I said Pete was gone?"
"Not really."
"I didn't, either. To be honest, the fact he knew about it doesn't bother me as much as the fact that he tried to hide the fact he knew it." He pulled the wagon off to the side of the road and stopped it. "Something's going on and I think we need to do a little more snooping," he said. "I think we need to try to find out all we can before we go back to the ranch. Let's go back to the mercantile and ask a few questions, or drop a few facts. Maybe we'll get a few answers."
As he turned the wagon around and started back to town, Landon was thinking. "I wonder if anyone else knows he was even at the ranch. I thought the only people who knew were us, the sheriff's office, and Doc. Now they all seem to know he's gone, and it didn't take long for them to hear it."
"You're right," Ty said. "Let's see if we can find out if anyone else knows anything."
Chapter Fourteen
The men went back to the mercantile, where Henry greeted them. "Well, hello again. Forget something?"
"Yes, I did, Henry," Ty answered. "I need to get some towels. We had someone hurt this past week, and we used about all the towels. They ripped a bunch of them up to fit what they needed, so now Austin wants to replace them, and keep the old ones for bandages if anyone else gets hurt."
"That sounds like a good idea," Henry said, showing Ty their selection of towels. "I imagine people get hurt now and then on a ranch."
"That they do. Give me about ten of these."
"That should do you. I hear the man that was hurt left, so you won't be needing any more for bandages."
Ty tried not to show his surprise. "Yep. We'll wash all them up and keep them on hand for bandages since they're torn into strips. These new ones will replace all of them they tore up. I think the boss and his wife grabbed all the towels they had in the house and made them into bandages."
"They're good people," Henry said. "It doesn't surprise me that they'd tear all their good towels up for bandages for a man they don't even know. I'm glad to hear they'll have some replacements now." He kind of chuckled. "It'd be hard for them to dry off after a bath with a bunch of strips."
"That it would," Ty agreed. "Thanks, Henry." He and Landon took the package of new towels and went back to the wagon. Landon started getting in, but Ty stopped him. "You hungry?"
"Not really. Why?"
"Let's see what we can find out at the restaurant."
Landon nodded. "Now that you mentioned it, a piece of pie and a cup of coffee would taste pretty good before we head back to the ranch."
They walked over to the restaurant and found a table in the middle of the room. They hadn't even gotten their pie yet before they overheard two men talking at the table behind them. "Did that Traxler feller talk to you about going out west to Ogden?"
"Yes, he did. You, too?"
"Yep. We're leaving tomorrow morning. You coming?"
"No. It didn't sound like anything I want any part in."
"Pay's good, though."
"I won't argue that, but I ain't about to be part of getting somebody killed."
"He didn't say you had to kill him, just help him find him."
"Don't be so addle-brained. What do you suppose he's planning on doing with him once he finds him? I don't want to be no part of that."
"I don't, neither, but he said the man raped his wife and stole his horses. A man like that shouldn't be free to do it again, neither."
"No, he shouldn't, but how do we know he did that? He said he'd been holed up on a ranch around here while he was healing from some kind of accident. I can't think any rancher around here would put someone like that up."
Ty and Landon were listening intently, but two ranch hands from a neighboring ranch, the Circle N, came over and sat down to visit a couple minutes.
Hank, the older of the two hands, apparently heard part of the conversation going on behind them. He scooted his chair back just a bit as if to give him room to stretch his long legs out, and nodded now and then to something Ty said, but didn't add anything to the conversation at the table. As soon as the two men left, he sat up straighter and addressed Ty and Landon. "Have you heard anything about what's going on around here?"
Ty was honest. "We heard those two talking behind us before you two came in, but I have no idea what they're talking about. Whatever it is, it sounds big, and it sounds dangerous. What's it all about?"
"Not quite sure," Hank said, "but I don't like it. I've heard there's a guy named Braxton that's been looking for some guy that was hurt. He asked me if I knew anything about him."
"Who is he and what did he ask," Ty asked.
"The guy said his name is Braxton. I think he said Ted Braxton. He said he's looking for a guy named Pete Sanders. Supposedly he's running from the law for raping Braxton's wife and stealing his horses. He says Sanders got hurt in some accident and he's been staying at some ranch around here while he's been healing, but he left a day or two ago. He's been trying to get men lined up to go with him, looking for the guy. He says he may be headed toward Ogden."
Landon's eyes were big. "If the law's after this guy, Pete, why doesn't he let the law handle it?"
"I don't know," Hank said. "He said he raped his wife, and he looked mad as hell and out for revenge. It sounds to me like he's wanting to find him and kill him before the law finds him."
"That doesn't make a lot of sense, though," Ty said. "You said he hurt his wife; you didn't say he killed her. If he hurt a man's wife, wouldn't any man worth two bits want to stay there with her to make sure she's okay?"
; "That was my thought, too," Hank said. "That's why I don't like it. Something ain't right. I talked to another guy who said this Braxton guy approached him, as well. He told him he wants some men to go out to Ogden looking for him, but he wants some others to head south looking for him, down along the Black Creek. He didn't say what made him think he might find him there. Either way, it just don't sound right to me. I wish the sheriff and the other men were back home. It kind of seems to me like whatever's happening, they got the sheriff and a bunch of the men in town out of the way, so it'll be easier for whatever they're planning to do. I don't trust this Braxton guy at all."
Ty was becoming concerned. "What's this Braxton look like?"
"He's just a little shorter than me, but he's a small man, not much muscle on him. He don't look like he's done a day's work in his life. He's got a gun belt and gun, though. He's got brown hair, and I can't really tell you what color his eyes are because he never looks at you. That's one of the reasons I don't like him. I never did think you could trust a man that won't look you in the eye."
"Thanks for telling me about him, Hank. I'll be on the lookout for him. If I hear anything me or one of the hands will come over to the Circle N and let someone know. I'd appreciate if you'd do the same for us?"
"Absolutely, Ty. It's good to know there's someone else watching out."
"I couldn't agree more," Ty said. "Glad we ran into you boys. We better be heading back or they'll be wondering what happened to us."
Ty and Landon once again headed back to the ranch, with more to talk about on the way back this time. Once they were out of town, Landon started the conversation. "So what do you make of this?"
"I don't know, but I'm like Hank. I don't like it. That Braxton fellow sounds like the guy who introduced himself to me as Ted Sanders, Pete's cousin. It doesn't sound like the description Pete gave of this Sam Wyler, though. There's got to be a connection. I just wonder what it is."
"I think you're right. You know what else I didn't like? He said he wanted to take some men and head south along the Black Creek. It sounds like he's asking single men, and the two at the table behind us seemed pretty rough. What if he takes a group of men like that down south and they run into Sheriff Montgomery and the posse that went looking for Sam?"
"Worse yet, what if they have Sam? If they have him tied up and bringing him back here to stand trial, I don't want to think about what this guy and his men might do."
"You don't think they'd ambush the sheriff and a posse, do you?"
"That man said it pays good. It's hard to tell what some men might do for a hunk of money. I don't like to think of them heading south at all. I sure wish the sheriff and all them, including the boss and his wife, would get back soon."
"Me, too," Landon agreed.
***
The sheriff and his men got another early start and followed Black Creek north, watching for any signs of activity, especially mining, in or around the creek. While they were riding, the sheriff came up beside Austin and Georgia. Austin took the opportunity to ask a few questions. "Grant, I've been giving this a lot of thought. You don't think the J. Silas is Joe, do you?"
"No, I don't, and it's not just because he's my deputy. I think I know him pretty good, and that's not something he would do. Besides that, I've gone back over everything in my mind that happened from the time you found Pete until we left. He hasn't done a thing to make me suspicious before we left. I thought about bringing him along with us, but he's a good deputy. Clark's too new for me to feel confident that he could take care of Laramie while we're gone, but I think Joe can handle it. I think we have to keep the possibility that he could be involved in the back of our mind, but I really don't believe he is."
"That's a good idea. If you don't think it's him, do you think it could be someone in his family? Does he have family around here?"
"He does, and I've wondered the same thing. His family all lives in this area, within about a thirty-mile radius of Laramie, and he's got several brothers. If it turns out to be one of his brothers or something like that, it might be a problem."
Jacob interrupted their conversation with a quick halt, with his hand held up, their signal for quiet and be careful. They all backed up a little and gathered together, while Jacob reported what he saw. "Up ahead I see two men in the creek. It looks like they're mining, but I'm not sure. Their horses are over at the edge of the woods, and it looks like there's a woman over there. She may be tied to a tree. She's not moving."
The sheriff stepped in and gave quick orders. "Okay, we're going to split up. First, do you think he saw you, Jacob?"
"I don't think so, Sheriff. We were coming up to a knoll, so I always go ahead and check it out on foot or hidden in trees before we go over the knoll, just in case. This time I rode over to those trees over there that are just before the top of the knoll. I stayed low and hidden in the trees. They didn't even look up, so I'm pretty sure they don't know we're here yet."
"Good. I want most of you guys to hang back here. You're our back up if we need it. I'll take Deputy Clark and Austin with me and we'll confront them. The rest of you stay back here out of sight so we don't scare them. We'll have a better chance of taking them in custody if we don't get them so scared and overwhelmed they start shooting right off. I want everyone to wait in the trees so you can see what's happening. If we need help, come on in. Once we get them in custody, Jacob, take Earl and Max and go check on the campsite. Hopefully the lady will be there and is still alive."
"Will do, Sheriff," Jacob said.
"The rest of you guys come on in and help us tie those two up and get them ready to take back home. Everyone know what they're doing?"
Austin held up his hand. "Sheriff, I don't want my wife involved in this. If he'd kidnap one woman, I don't want him to even see mine. I'd rather she go over to the woods and wait there."
The sheriff looked at the woods and saw that the trees Jacob hid in stretched clear to the woods. "That's a good idea, Austin." He turned to Georgia. "Mrs. Barrington, you've been awful helpful tracking, finding prints that none of the rest of us saw until you pointed them out, but I think Austin's right on this. You're short enough that I think you'd easily be able to get over to the woods without being seen. Tie your horse to one of the first trees, and leave him there, and I don't think any of them will be able to see you."
Austin fully expected his feisty little wife to object wholeheartedly, but he was shocked when she looked around at the men, and the area, and the woods, and said, "Okay, Sheriff. I'll go over there until you have him in custody."
He may have been shocked, but he was awfully proud, too. He leaned down to give her a small kiss, and whispered in her ear, "Thank you, honey." She nodded. "I'll come get you as soon as we're done."
"Okay. Be careful, Austin." She dismounted and walked her horse to the group of trees and tied him to one of the first ones, then started walking carefully over towards the woods, watching the creek the whole time.
The sheriff and men waited until she was safely in the woods before starting their assault. The three of them got their guns out and ready, and started toward the miners.
Georgia was in the woods, hiding behind a large tree. When Austin said he wanted her to go to the woods to wait, her instinct was to argue. She wanted to be able to help keep him safe, if he needed help. Once she looked around, though, she had an uncomfortable feeling. Something wasn't right, and she knew it. She agreed to go to the woods alone, but not to stay out of harm's way. She was hoping she'd have a different angle on the situation, and might see something everyone else missed.
They were all focused on the two men doing the mining. She kept glancing at them, as well, but her main focus was on the campsite. They all thought Sam Wyler had picked up another drifter to help him mine, much like Pete. This time, however, he also kidnapped a woman. That continued to worry her.
It especially had her concerned now.
The men talked a bit before they came up with their plan, and she
had listened carefully. They all assumed the kidnapped lady was either dead by now, or he ties her up while they're mining, letting her loose to cook, and for his pleasure, before tying her up again. Georgia wasn't so sure, though. She kept watching the camp closely. If he picked up another drifter, what's to say he didn't pick up two of them, and kept one back to make sure she didn't cause any trouble. She had her shotgun loaded and ready, and her eyes kept darting between the men as they approached the two miners, and the campsite. She also scanned the edge of the woods for any movement.
Sure enough, just as the two men mining saw the sheriff and other two men, Georgia saw two men step out of the woods just a little ways up from the campsite. They both had guns aimed at the men at the creek. She quickly aimed and fired at the man closest to her. She saw him drop as she quickly took cover behind the large tree again.
As expected, the other man turned his gun in her direction, and she heard three shots sail past her. The tree she was taking cover behind was big enough to protect her, but the bullets whizzed past too close to her for comfort. She wasn't about to step out from behind the tree and give him a better shot, so she stayed hidden behind the tree. She heard several shots, but she couldn't tell for sure where they'd come from. They weren't aimed in her direction this time, but she wasn't sure who was shooting at whom.
As badly as she wanted to look and see what was going on, and as worried as she was about Austin and the other men, she knew she would be safest if she stayed out of sight behind the tree. She didn't hear any more shots and was just about to inch over far enough to see what was going on, when she heard one more shot and a scream. She was sure that came from down by the creek, so she found a way to peak around the side of the tree without being able to be seen from the campsite. She had to know if Austin was okay.
What she saw was a confused scramble. She quickly looked over toward the campsite and saw both men laying on the ground. Relieved to see that, she focused her attention back on the creek. For several moments things look chaotic, but soon she watched as her husband and the sheriff pulled two men up onto the bank. It looked like they had both been shot, but still were alive. They tied their hands and feet, while Cord and Elliott pulled another man up onto the bank. He appeared to be injured more severely.
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