Firing one shot toward Rob, Clint gauged his next angle based on the speed of both horses along with the reaction of his wounded arm. Despite a throbbing pain that went all the way up to his shoulder, Clint’s wound wasn’t giving him any trouble. Rob’s horse whinnied at the gunfire, but didn’t seem spooked by it. That didn’t hold true for the man in the horse’s saddle.
Rob shouted something at Clint, but his words were swallowed up in all the noise. Clint’s first shot was high, but the next one clipped Rob across the back of his neck. The yelp he let out after that was plenty loud enough to be heard through all the other sounds.
Clint tapped his heels against Eclipse’s sides to get the stallion to move even faster. The Darley Arabian bolted forward without missing a beat, allowing Clint to ride around the backside of the trees just in time to catch the second rider attempting to flank him.
Al wasn’t in as much of a hurry as his partner. Sitting tall in the saddle, Al brought a rifle to his shoulder and fired off a shot. As the round whipped past Clint’s head, Al levered in another and did his best to steady his aim.
Rather than waste a shot trying to rattle the man, Clint held onto his reins and put Eclipse through a series of sharp turns before passing Al’s horse altogether. Once he had a little space between them, Clint pulled hard on Eclipse’s reins to turn the stallion completely around.
Any other rider would have been thrown by the maneuver. On any other horse, turning so sharply at such a fast speed was foolish at best and deadly at the worst. But Clint and Eclipse had been together long enough for one to respond to the other as if they were a single living thing.
Eclipse sent a wave of dirt flying as he skidded and turned at the same time.
Clint felt his momentum carrying him off his saddle, but he held on as best he could. His legs clamped over Eclipse’s sides and his wounded right arm cried for mercy, but Clint was able to stay off the ground. In fact, he found himself even higher in the air as Eclipse reared up on his hind legs and churned his forelegs in the air to complete his turn.
Now that he was facing the other rider, Clint could see Al no more than thirty yards away. Al hadn’t tried to turn his whole horse around, but was obviously surprised that Clint had pulled off that feat. Al twisted his upper body around to take aim with his rifle, but fired off a shot that sliced through the air well ahead of Eclipse’s nose. If Clint had kept moving in his previous direction, Al would have led his target perfectly. As it was, Al had to take a second to lever another round into his chamber and readjust his aim.
That short amount of time was all Clint needed. Before Eclipse could drop back down onto all fours, Clint extended his arm and squeezed his trigger. Al jerked in his saddle as soon as the modified Colt bucked against Clint’s palm. Just to be certain, Clint fired again. That shot knocked Al to the ground and allowed his horse to take off on its own.
Letting out a breath that sounded like steam being released from a piston, Eclipse regained his balance and dropped back down to all fours. As soon as his front hooves hit the earth, he was off and running once more.
Retracing his steps, Clint rode back around the trees until he could see Acklund and Mose tearing into each other with their bare hands. He wasn’t as concerned about the two brothers, however, as he was about the other gunman that had ridden away and disappeared. Clint steered clear of the brothers as he continued to circle around the trees. Since he still couldn’t find a trace of Rob, Clint knew there was only one place for the man to be. He could also smell the trap the gunman was hoping to spring as though Rob had sent up smoke signals.
Obviously, Clint was supposed to charge into the trees and leave himself open to an ambush that Rob could spring from any number of hiding places. More than willing to oblige, Clint pointed Eclipse’s nose toward the trees and snapped his reins.
Just before Eclipse passed into the cluster of timber, Clint swung one leg over and launched himself toward some bushes and tall grass sprouting at the base of one tree. He hit the bushes on his side, getting plenty of scratches and bruises for his trouble. Clint still recovered quickly enough to hear the shots fired from deeper within the clearing and to trace them back to their source.
Rob was firing wildly, but he was also shooting high enough to hit anyone on a horse’s back. By the time Eclipse was close enough for him to see the empty saddle on his back, Rob had already reached the end of his rope. He snapped his eyes toward the spot where Eclipse had broken through the trees, only to find Clint standing there looking right back at him.
The Colt barked twice, sending the contents of Rob’s skull through the air in a red mist.
Clint whistled for Eclipse and heard the Darley Arabian slow down so he could circle back around. Instead of waiting for the horse to get to him, Clint reloaded his pistol and walked to the spot where Acklund and Mose were fighting. By the looks of it, they’d both landed some healthy blows.
One punch from Acklund sent Mose staggering back half a step. Unfortunately for the younger of the two, this gave Mose some room to cock his right arm back and launch a powerful swing at Acklund’s jaw. Mose’s fist slammed into Acklund’s face, dropping him like a sack of oats. When he hit the ground, Acklund stayed there.
Turning toward the sound of Clint’s steps, Mose growled, “All right, asshole. Let’s settle this.”
FORTY-FIVE
Clint had his gun in hand, but that didn’t seem to bother Mose in the least. Walking forward, Clint nodded. “You want to settle this? Sounds good to me.” With that, Clint tossed his gun away and balled up his fists.
For a man Mose’s size, he moved awfully quick. He leaned toward Clint and snapped his left hand out to connect with Clint’s ribs. There was another punch hot on the heels of that one, but Clint was fast enough to step back and swat it away.
Flicking his right hand out like a whip, Clint took a swing at Mose’s face. Clint’s knuckles barely scraped against their target, but the punch was only meant to set the bigger man up for the second. As soon as Mose ducked away from his right hand, Clint sent his left out in a low, powerful uppercut that pounded against Mose’s stomach. Clint felt as if he’d punched a wall.
Mose answered the punch with one of his own that was aimed at the same spot on Clint’s body. Unlike Clint’s punch, however, this one caused Clint to double over and let out a pained grunt. Before Clint had a chance to straighten up and suck in another breath, Mose dropped his other hand straight down like a hammer to smash into Clint’s shoulder.
Gritting his teeth as his bones rattled under his skin, Clint threaded his fingers together and swung both hands like he was swinging an ax. The powerful blow caught Mose in the middle of his torso, just beneath his rib cage. Even though the impact sent the big man back a step or two, Mose was quick to come straight at Clint once again.
First, Mose took a swing at Clint as if he meant to knock his head off. When Clint ducked under the punch, Mose slapped his hand onto Clint’s shoulder to hold him down as he brought his knee up.
Clint didn’t see the knee coming and he barely felt it land. All of a sudden, a loud thump filled his ears and his feet were out from under him. Clint’s body went numb and he didn’t even know he’d been off the ground until he dropped back onto it.
Straining to clear his vision, Clint pulled in a few breaths and tried to get his bearings. He realized he’d landed within a few feet of his pistol, so Clint tried to get to the Colt before Mose squashed him like a bug.
“Go on and shoot me, murderer!” Mose shouted.
Clint pounded his fist against the ground and pulled himself up. When he got to his feet, he left the Colt where it had landed. “I didn’t murder your brother! He fell off . . . if you don’t know that by now, I’m not going to waste any more breath on the subject.”
Mose stood like one of the trees behind him. His chest swelled like a set of bellows as he sucked in some wind and he propped both bloody fists on his hips. “Yeah,” he wheezed. “I know he fell.”
; “You do?” Clint asked. “Then why go through all of this?”
It took a few seconds for Mose to catch his breath, but finally he replied, “I kind of got caught up. It weren’t until I had a chance to clear my head that I could see things clearer.”
“And when did that happen?”
Licking the corner of his mouth that either Clint or Acklund had bloodied, Mose grinned and said, “About a minute or two ago.”
Clint narrowed his eyes and watched the big man carefully. “So what about settling this?”
“Far as I’m concerned, it’s settled. Hell, this is how me and my brothers settle just about everything.”
At that time, Acklund stirred and let out a pained groan. He got to his feet, saw Clint, and immediately said, “Don’t neither one of you move!”
Mose walked over to his brother and helped him steady himself. “Don’t fret, little brother. Me and Clint settled things.”
Acklund looked over at Clint. Apparently, the sight of Clint’s battered face told him all he needed to know. “You finally going to let this rest?”
Mose nodded. “Dave wasn’t even shot, so I guess it could’ve been an accident. Ma always said he’d get himself killed anyhow.”
“Jesus.” Acklund sighed. “You’re a real piece of work.”
Clint picked up his gun and dropped it into his holster. Eclipse was trotting over to him, but he walked over to the two brothers before the stallion arrived. Once he had both men’s attention, Clint said, “I’m sorry about your brother.”
There was plenty more he could say, especially when it came to laying blame about who attacked whom or how many shots had been fired, but Clint knew that wouldn’t do anyone any good. The two brothers knew it as well and they simply nodded.
“You still want to set this right?” Clint asked.
“I want to put this to rest,” Acklund replied.
“Good. Then come along with me.”
FORTY-SIX
When Clint rode up to the Ranger Hotel, Hank stormed out like he was about to raise some hell. “What the hell was the meaning of that?” the old man snarled as he looked at Clint as though Acklund and Mose weren’t right beside him. “We were supposed to work together! You weren’t supposed to go off on yer own like a damned fool!”
“Sorry,” Clint said. “Things got settled without you.”
Finally, Hank looked at the two men riding with Clint. Scowling at Mose, he asked, “Is that the other one that shot up my place?”
“Yes,” Clint replied. “I brought him back to answer for what he did. If you want to hand him over to the law, that’s your call.”
Mose shifted in his saddle and glanced over to find Deputy Cale looking at him as he walked out of the hotel’s restaurant.
Before Hank could say another word, Ellie rushed outside. “Acklund! You’re back!”
“I ought to hand both of you over to the law,” Hank groused.
Pulling in a surprised breath, Ellie ran to stand between Acklund and her father as if she were shielding the younger man from a bullet. “No! I love him!”
Mose chuckled, while Clint rolled his eyes.
“What’re your intentions toward my girl?” Hank asked.
Acklund met the old man’s glare and said, “I love her, too, sir.”
“So is this settled?” Clint asked.
Mose rubbed his nose and grunted, “I just want a drink.”
“Then buy me one, too,” Hank snapped. “And fix the window you shot. After that, we’re settled.”
Clint looked between the men and saw all of them nodding to seal the deal. “Good. It’s settled.”
Digging in his pockets, Hank grumbled, “Speaking of that, I owe you for the rest of that flower picture.”
“Keep it,” Clint replied. “Consider it my wedding gift. It’ll be delivered to you shortly.”
“Wedding?” Acklund gasped as the color drained from his face.
“Can you stay for a while longer, Clint?” Ellie asked. “Please?”
“I don’t think so,” Clint told her. “Just do me a favor. On your wedding night, remember to lock your door.”
Watch for
RED WATER
325th novel in the exciting GUNSMITH series
from Jove
Coming in January!
Ball and Chain Page 15