“This trip seems to get shorter every time,” Lieutenant Carey said to Corporal Bannon. They were riding in front of the freight wagon carrying their charge. “It seems to look a little different than I remember it too,” he added. “But then, all trails seem alike and all mountains look alike. There’s the twin peaks. They seem smaller and farther away, but I guess that’s them alright. There’s the sign for Twin Peaks Cut Off. We’re in the right place all right.”
Lieutenant Carey was a young man in his late twenties. Corporal Bannon was even younger. They rode side by side; the corporal to the left and a bit behind the Lieutenant as protocol required.
There was a driver and guard on the military wagon, two extra horses were tied on behind and two extra soldiers followed as escorts.
“Yes sir,” the corporal agreed, “Looks like our relief troop approaching now, sir.” He pointed forward , up the trail.
Kip, Jeremy, and the Beatties approached and reined up. Kip saluted and went through the necessary protocol. Kip dismounted, examined the wagon and its contents, attended to the necessary paperwork and when all details were satisfactorily taken care of, the wagon driver and guard mounted the two extra horses. Lieutenant Carey mounted his horse and he and his troop left the wagon behind and headed off down the trail back the way they had come from.
As soon as the real cavalry detail was out of sight, Pete Garvey drove the other wagon out of the brush. The others followed out quickly. Some of them started unloading it while others started unloading the army wagon. Kitty and Cyclone stayed back in the brush to take care of Dub Bell.
In a matter of minutes the two loads were switched and the fake road sign was taken down and disposed of. Kip and the Beattie Brothers immediately set off with the fake silver to rendezvous with Price’s men. Kitty, Cyclone and the rest headed back toward Thimble Creek. Kip and the Beatties would catch up with them on route.
“Where the hell is he?” Peso Martin cursed. “I told Simon he never should have trusted that Jasper.” There were five of them, sitting on their horses in the blazing sun. They were wearing cavalry uniforms and their horses were outfitted with cavalry saddles. There was a cross road in front of them and a sign that said Twin Peaks Cut Off. “He was supposed to be here when the cavalry got here. He’s supposed to handle the paper work.”
“Relax,” the fat man wearing a sergeant’s uniform said. “He took care of everything all right last time. He seemed to know what he was doing.”
“Yeah, well that was last time. There must be something wrong or Simon wouldn’t have included me this time. Besides I just don’t like him.”
“Quit your worrying,” the sergeant said. “Here he comes.
A big man in uniform on a big black came riding from off to the left from down trail. Dust was billowing up behind him as he galloped in at a fast pace. He rode in, joining the group of awaiting men, spinning his mount around in place, kicking up a storm of dust and pulling up beside Peso Martin.
“You have to make a spectacular entrance , do you?” Martin complained. “Or do you just normally show off, just for the fun of it.”
“I was late and I thought you’d want me to hurry,” Kip Dalton said.
“Boss wouldn’t have liked it if you missed the transfer,” Peso sneered.
“Not to worry,” Kip smiled. “They’re still back a ways. Look, you can see them coming now.” He pointed down trail.
“I still don’t like you, Dalton,” Martin growled.
“That’s alright. I’m not into boys.”
Willis was driving the wagon. Red rode lead. Kirby and Jonas brought up the rear. They hadn’t seen Kip for several minutes since he rode off to the flank. As they approached the band of uniformed riders ahead of them, they started to feel uneasy and were looking for Kip’s whereabouts. They would feel more at ease knowing he was in sight, in case anything were to go wrong.
But as they approached the riders closer, their apprehension began to turn to something else. First it was wonderment, then fear. For now as they saw the riders clear, they once again saw Kip Dalton, but he was not riding flank, he was with Price’s men. He sat ramrod tall aboard his big black steed. There was a fixed placid look on his face. His hands were crossed on the front of his saddle.
Red brought his troop to a halt. His face beneath his beard was ashen. Willis pulled tight on the teams’ reins. The horses stamped in place and neighed.
All four Beatties stared speechless at the sight of the man they thought was their ally.
“Peso,” Kip said flatly, “I’m afraid Mister Price didn’t tell you there’s been a change in plans.”
He drew his gun and shot all four Beatties squarely between the eyes.
It was almost noontime when Kip Dalton caught up with Kitty and the others with the wagon of silver. Sabre was heavily lathered and had obviously been pushed harder than Kip normally pushed him.
“Peso Martin was there,” he told them. “He either recognized me or realized something was wrong or maybe they just didn’t want any survivors this time, but they started shooting it out with us. The Beattie brothers are all dead. I managed to get away.”
“Oh, Kip,” Kitty cried, hugging him, pulling him close and holding back tears. “You’re sure you’re all right.”
“I’m fine,” he said, stroking her hair lightly.
She pulled back from him. “Are...are they following you?”
“I don’t think so. Maybe they still think they got the silver to switch. Let’s hope so. In the meantime, we better get going. Jeremy and I can take the wagon on to Thimble Creek while the rest you stop off at Hunters Crossing to take care of the boy. When you’re finished, follow after us and we’ll probably meet you on the way back.”
The Return of Wildcat Kitty and the Cyclone Kid Page 28