It only took a moment to apprise Garland of what was happening, and not much longer for the three of them to slip out of the cave entrance and slide silently down the slope to where the horses were tied in the trees. Kitchenbrand reached forward and took a rifle from its scabbard.
‘Here, take this,’ he said to Garland. ‘You’re gonna need it.’
They didn’t mount but led the horses, following the line of the hill away from where Kitchenbrand had seen the riders. The line of the trees gave them cover. After walking a short distance, they came to a spot where a winding trail seemed to lead up the side of the hill, which was not steep at this point.
‘We’ll take the trail,’ Kitchenbrand said, ‘and get above the varmints.’
‘You figure they’ll follow us?’ Garland said.
‘Ain’t no doubt, and they won’t be far behind neither.’
They climbed the hillside, following the trail which led upwards to a wide ledge and then on to another shelf where some boulders and bushes provided basic cover.
‘This will do,’ Kitchenbrand said. ‘We’ll take up position here. When they arrive at the first ledge they’ll be exposed. That’ll give us a decent chance.’
‘I reckon it’s as good a spot as any,’ Purdom replied.
‘Maybe we should keep movin’?’ Garland said.
Kitchenbrand looked at him. Despite the few hours of sleep he had managed to snatch, he still looked tired and worn. Kitchenbrand’s rifle hung loosely in his hands.
‘No point in goin’ any further,’ Kitchenbrand said. ‘It would only be a matter of time till they caught up with us, them or some more of their cronies.’
‘You figure there’ll be others?’ Purdom said.
‘They’ll be lookin’ for Garland. And if they ain’t, once they get sight of that burnt-out roost they’re gonna be lookin’ for us.’
Kitchenbrand led the horses away to a concealed spot where he could tether them. When he came back the others had taken their places behind the rocks. Kitchenbrand swung in alongside them.
‘Can’t be too long till they get here,’ he said.
The sky was lightening with the approach of dawn. The last stars faded and from somewhere below them a bird began to sing in the treetops.
‘Hope that ain’t Reba,’ Kitchenbrand said.
‘Reba?’ Purdom queried.
‘It don’t matter. Don’t sound much like her.’
Garland said nothing and Kitchenbrand didn’t know whether or not the boy knew what he was talking about. Kitchenbrand thought of the old woman. In a funny kind of way, he was missing her. He figured she would have relished the situation they were in. He wasn’t so sure about the boy.
The minutes passed by. Daylight was flooding the landscape. They could see a good way down the trail before the angle of a hill cut off their view in that direction. Sounds carried quite far but Kitchenbrand could hear nothing. Could Addison and the Yuma boys have passed by after all? It had been finding the remains of the gunman who had fallen into the river that gave Kitchenbrand and the marshal the clue to finding Garland. They had figured out what might have happened and followed the river back, looking for any sign of the boy. They had seen the indications of where someone had crawled out of the water, but there had been an element of luck about it.
Maybe Addison wouldn’t be lucky.
His thoughts were suddenly put to rest when he heard the jingle of harness. He glanced towards the others. Purdom had heard it too. Presently the neighing of a horse reached their ears and then the soft clump of horses’ hoofs. Suddenly the early morning calm was riven by a series of loud bangs; bullets tore up the ground behind Kitchenbrand and shards of shattered rock went whining through the air.
Kitchenbrand rolled away from where he had been stationed and, lying on his side, squeezed the trigger of his Sharps rifle at two figures who were partly concealed in bushes higher up the mountain side. There was a scream and one of the men, flinging up his arms, came crashing down the hillside, hitting the ground with a loud thud just in front of Garland.
Kitchenbrand fired again, but the other man had ducked away. Another shot rang out from a little way to the right. Kitchenbrand couldn’t be sure whether it was the same man or yet another, but either way it meant some of the Yuma boys had taken up a position above them.
‘Cover me!’ he shouted.
As both Purdom and Garland opened fire at the bushes on the hillside above, Kitchenbrand took to his heels and ran swiftly along the ledge, hurling himself behind another rock from which he could view the hillside from a different angle. As he had hoped, he had a clear side view of one of the outlaws. Taking aim, he fired and the man toppled backwards. There was a moment’s stillness and then a haze of fire broke out from among the trees bordering the river.
Kitchenbrand cursed beneath his breath. He had been planning to catch the outlaws unawares, but he had not reckoned on any of them gaining the high ground. He had no way of knowing how many of them might still be up there, but even if there weren’t any more the unavoidable exchange of fire had given warning to Addison and his men and given them the opportunity to take shelter. As if to corroborate his perception of the situation, a voice rang out from the direction of the trees.
‘Is that you, Garland!’
Garland looked across at Kitchenbrand, who signalled for him to remain quiet. The voice came again, somewhat high-pitched and whiny. Kitchenbrand had heard the voice before. He was pretty sure it was Angel Addison.
‘I know it’s you, Garland!’ There was a pause. When the voice called again, its appeal was not to Garland but to his companions.
‘Whoever else is there, you ain’t got a chance of escapin’. There’s plenty of us and we got the place covered!’ Again there was a pause before Addison continued: ‘Whoever you are, we ain’t got no quarrel with you. Just hand over Garland and you can ride free!’
Kitchenbrand looked up at the hillside. Was there anyone else up there? His keen eyes could detect no sign of movement. If he could get higher, he could edge his way along the hillside and get into a position where he might be able to see Addison and open up a new front. He was unconsciously thinking in terms of the Civil War. Another question he needed to take into account was how much Addison could see of the bench on which they had taken their position. Judging from the waywardness of his group’s shooting, probably not very much.
There was one way of putting it to the test, and that was by making his way back to Purdom and Garland. There was also still the possibility of a sniper being positioned above. Without thinking any further, Kitchenbrand got to his feet and, bent double, quickly made his way back to his original hiding-place.
‘What are you doin?’ Purdom said. ‘You were takin’ some risk.’
Quickly, Kitchenbrand explained his intentions to the others.
‘I’m not sure I like it,’ Purdom said. ‘Maybe we should all try and get up the hill.’
Kitchenbrand shook his head. ‘Too big a risk of being seen if we all go for it.’
‘At least take Garland. I can hold things here.’
Kitchenbrand looked at the youngster. ‘There ain’t time to argue,’ he said. ‘Just make sure you keep out of sight.’ He turned back to Purdom. ‘You can do more than hold things,’ he said. ‘Wait till me and Garland get into position. When we have, I’ll fire a shot. When you hear it, start shootin’.’
‘I get you,’ Purdom said. ‘You’re figurin’ you’ll be able to locate ’em that way.’
Kitchenbrand winked. ‘You and me think alike,’ he said. ‘Just be careful you don’t take any chances when they start firin’ back.’
With a nod to Purdom, Kitchenbrand began to climb the hillside. It wasn’t difficult and there was sufficient cover for concealment even if Addison’s view of things wasn’t obscured by his angle of vision. Kitchenbrand reached the level from which the gunnies had fired down on them. The second man’s corpse lay stretched out at a little distance to his right. There were n
o indications of anyone else. He glanced down to see the figure of Garland coming up behind him. There seemed to be only a further short climb to the top of the hill and he started again. When he reached what appeared to be the summit it proved to be a wide pasture which extended further back to where the slope continued. It didn’t matter. He reached down a hand to haul Garland up the rest of the way.
‘Follow me,’ he said, ‘but stay back from the edge and don’t get skylined.’ There had been a break in proceedings but now the voice of Addison rang out again.
‘You hear what I said? We ain’t got no quarrel with anyone but Garland. Just send him out and you can ride away. I’ll give you five minutes to make your mind up. After that we’re comin’to get him!’
Kitchenbrand glanced at Garland, then continued moving. He was less concerned about whether Addison would be able to see them than he was that there might be more of the outlaws along the hill. As he moved he kept on the alert. The section they were moving along began to run out as a shoulder of the hill came down in a line of trees.
‘No point in goin’ any further,’ he said.
He lay down on the grass and took a good look around. To his disappointment, he could not see the outlaws. ‘It was just a chance,’ he said to Garland. ‘It woulda been a big help, but it ain’t necessary. Get ready, because once I give Purdom the signal and they start shootin’, that’ll be our chance.’
Garland nodded. Once they were both happy that they had taken up suitable positions, Kitchenbrand raised his six-gun and fired.
Almost instantaneously a burst of gunfire issued from the trees. Some of the bullets were aimed in Kitchenbrand’s direction but most of the fire was concentrated on the side of the hill where Purdom remained. Kitchenbrand was confident that there was little chance of it troubling him, but he and Garland had a clear indication now of where the outlaws were situated. They both began to pump lead.
A fresh crescendo of gunfire burst from the trees, more of it aimed this time at the hillside where Kitchenbrand and Garland were situated. There was a disturbance in the underbrush and for a few moments Kitchenbrand had a clear sight of some of the outlaws. He continued firing. Garland had used all his ammunition and was jamming fresh shells into his weapon. When he had done so he placed the rifle against his shoulder and commenced firing again. Streamers of smoke now indicated where the gunnies were concealed and Kitchenbrand was pretty sure that his tactic had them confused.
‘They might think we’ve been joined by rein-forcements,’ he commented. ‘They can’t be too comfortable about bein’ fired on from two positions.’
Firing ceased and in the lull Kitchenbrand half-expected to hear Addison’s voice calling to them again, but there was no repetition. A fresh burst of shooting came from along the hillside and Kitchenbrand grinned.
‘Purdom is still doin’ his best to pick them off,’ he said. He looked across at Garland. The boy had a grin on his face too. Any doubts Kitchenbrand might have had about his readiness for the fight had been put at rest. He had acquitted himself like Virginy’s grandson.
The comparative quiet continued. Kitchenbrand was feeling a little puzzled till a new sound broke on his ears; the neighing of a horse. The sound was repeated, followed by the thud of horses’ hoofs. Garland threw Kitchenbrand a puzzled look.
‘They’ve had enough for now,’ Kitchenbrand said. ‘They’ve gone back and taken to their horses.’
The sound of movement was unmistakable and then Kitchenbrand caught a glimpse of riders through the trees. He raised his rifle and loosed off a couple of shots, but the riders were too far away and screened by the trees. Kitchenbrand and Garland stood up and watched the riverbank. Presently the riders appeared, moving away at a steady pace.
‘How many?’ Kitchenbrand called.
‘I see eight of ’em,’ Garland said.
‘Yeah. I wonder how many they left behind?’
They watched the retreating riders for a few moments before starting back to where they had left Purdom. The marshal had lit a cigarette and was leaning against the rock with his rifle at his side.
‘Looks like your little ruse worked, Kitchenbrand,’ he said, tossing his tobacco pouch in their direction.
‘Maybe not quite as I anticipated,’ Kitchenbrand replied, ‘but good enough to get us out of a tight situation.’
‘I figure we got an extra advantage, and that is they can’t be sure how many of us there are. When Addison started callin’, he probably figured that there were not more than two or three of us. Because of the way your plan worked out, he probably figures there’s more of us now.’
‘That’s the way we figured it,’ Garland said.
‘How are you feelin’?’ Kitchenbrand said to him.
‘Hell, I’m feelin’ fine now. Funny what a little gunplay can do. Guess I was just sick of bein’ on the receivin’ end.’
‘Well,’ Kitchenbrand said, ‘It ain’t over yet. Not by a long way. Addison is goin’ to link up with the rest of his men and he’s gonna come lookin’ for us again.’
‘Let ’em come,’ Garland said. ‘Just so long as I got a fightin’ chance.’
They sat back and enjoyed their smokes. Then Kitchenbrand stood up. ‘I believe we were settin’ out for Addison’s roost to pick up a horse,’ he said.
‘Won’t that be a mite more dangerous now?’ Purdom said. ‘There’s a pretty good chance those varmints will head back there to regroup.’
‘They’re gonna get quite a surprise!’ Garland said. They all laughed.
‘They sure are!’ Kitchenbrand replied. He looked out over the scene and laughed again. ‘Well, looks like we don’t need to,’ he said. ‘Take a look by those trees.’
Purdom and Garland looked in the direction he indicated. Just emerging form the vegetation was a brown horse.
‘Must have belonged to one of the outlaws we shot,’ Kitchenbrand said. ‘Now wasn’t that nice of ’em? He’s all saddled and ready to go.’
‘Just one question,’ Purdom said. ‘If we ain’t goin’ near Addison’s hideout, or what’s left of it—’
‘And that’s nothin’!’ Garland interrupted.
‘Like I say, if we ain’t goin’ by the ashes, just where are we goin’?’
The three of them looked at each other. After the successful outcome of the battle they were all on a high and they broke into laughter again.
‘Hell,’ Kitchenbrand said. ‘I guess I oughta give it some thought!’
Chapter Six
Angel Addison surveyed the ruins of his outlaw roost. His initial outburst of rage had subsided to be replaced by a burning lust for revenge. He paced up and down beside the burnt-out ashes of his cabin, dashing his fist into his other hand at regular intervals.
‘Who the hell could have done this?’ he shouted.
The Yuma boys were stilled. Nobody attempted to reply, not even his right-hand man Cord. They had seen Addison in a rage before, but never like this.
‘That dirty stinkin’ skunk Garland is gonna pay,’ he yelled. ‘He’s got to be involved in this somehow.’
Most of his listeners were conscious that he was ranting. They knew enough to know that Garland could not have had anything to do with it.
‘Has anybody seen Delta Trace?’ Addison fumed. ‘Where in hell has she gone?’
His befuddled brain sought desperately for a culprit. In his state of mind, anyone would do. His anger burned him with a brand of unreasoning hate, but through the fumes and fog in his brain an insistent thought began to drum. Landon Clovis. Could he be involved somehow? He had made an arrangement to meet Clovis and bring Garland. That wasn’t going to happen now. Clovis had expressed some disapproval and distaste of the Yuma gang. Clovis had been irritating him for some time.
Then a dim memory began to stir. What was it Clovis had said about Garland’s grandmother? That she had been seen riding with some stranger? And what about the marshal they had shot in the course of abducting Garland? He had a personal motive for
revenge quite apart from his role as a lawman. Could there be some sort of tie-in? And who could the stranger be?
His confused brain reeled. He needed to cut through it all. The likeliest place Garland and whoever was with him would head for would be Chaparral Bend. That was the obvious place to go. Chaparral Bend was close to the Latigo spread. He would be right on hand to deal with Clovis if that became necessary.
He looked at the circle of desperados around him. They were waiting for a word from him, a word that would release the tension that had built up in them.
‘OK. Let’s go get the stinkin’ varmints who did this!’ he yelled.
There was answering roar; shots were fired into the air. The Yuma boys were on their way and someone was going to pay. And it really didn’t matter who.
Kitchenbrand’s first inclination had been to head for Chaparral Bend without any delay, but on further consideration he wasn’t so sure.
‘I gotta get back there pretty soon,’ Purdom said. ‘I trust my deputy to do a job. Bert Hardy is a good man but I don’t like to leave things too long.’
‘Yeah, of course,’ Kitchenbrand replied, ‘but think about it for a moment. When Addison and his boys get themselves organized, what are they goin’ to do?’
‘They’re gonna come lookin’ for us,’ Garland replied.
‘Yes. And they’ll figure we’ll head straight back for Chaparral Bend.’
‘I see what you mean,’ Purdom said.
‘So what do we do? Stay here in the hills?’ Garland interposed.
‘When they see what we did to their hideout,’ Purdom said, ‘they ain’t gonna leave any of their other haunts unprotected.’
‘Addisonville was their main hole in the wall. They’re gonna be so mad they won’t think of nothin’ except findin’ us.’
They had ridden a little way along the river, following the trail by which Kitchenbrand and Purdom had arrived at the river, and were sitting their horses in the shelter of some trees. As they spoke, their eyes searched the terrain for the presence of outlaws. Garland leaned forward and stroked his horse’s mane. He was thinking back, trying to recall something Addison had said when he and his men had come to get him from the room in which he had been held captive.
Six-Gun Nemesis Page 9