The Ghost of St. Elmo

by L. Parks Sanford

CHAPTER NINE

  THAT WAS NO ACCIDENT

  The three of us stored the lunches Mrs. Mac had prepared in our saddlebags and headed into the hills. Slim lit a cigarette, and rode off at a gallop ahead of us with his smoke trailing behind. “Whew! Does that stink or what?” Katie asked. There was a definite odor I had never smelled before and didn’t care to smell again. With Slim riding away from us, I decided to ask Katie why her dad had hired him.

  “Katie, do you know why your father hired Slim? He doesn’t seem like he fits in here.” I asked.

  “That’s a long story, Ian,” Katie answered. “I’ll give you the short version. There’s a prison down in Johnson City that Father has supplied beef to for years. He’s become very close friends with Warden Harris, and over time they organized the annual Chafee County Summer Rodeo. Many of the prisoners take part, and Slim was one of those inmates. He’s one of the best around at bareback ridin’ and breakin’ horses so father promised him a job when he got out. The rest is history. That was last year, and he’s been here ever since,” she ended.

  “Now, I understand,” I said, “but he is a creepy guy, and I’m going to watch him closely while I’m here.”

  “Just be careful,” Katie advised.

  Turning her horse abruptly, Katie gave her horse full rein, a quick knee in the ribs and headed out across the broad, green, but wet, valley ahead. “Catch me, Cowboy,” she said playfully, driving her horse harder and faster and pulling ahead. I was up for the challenge and urged Jasper on.

  “Come on, boy. Faster! Faster!” I whispered in his ear as I leaned forward against his long muscular neck. I wasn’t going to let a girl beat me, I told myself. Shortly, I was gaining ground and beginning to close on her. She turned to look over her shoulder and gave a big smile as she did. That’s it!…I thought to myself, no girl’s making fun of me. All of a sudden, I saw a mass of rock hurtling down the side of the cliffs ahead of us. Surely, Katie would see the danger ahead and take action. My heart began beating faster. I could see Katie was totally unaware of what she was riding into. I started shouting wildly and pointing above as I did. “Watch out! Watch out! Stop!” She just kept riding toward the hills ahead, laughing all the time. I had to stop her somehow. I fiercely motioned her back, but she just waved at me. I began to panic; I just knew she was dead.

  Then, out of nowhere, a horseman appeared directly ahead of Katie. She looked up. Startled, she quickly reined in her horse. The horseman pointed above to the chalk cliffs and the fast approaching avalanche. Katie glanced up again and saw the rocks coming her way uprooting any tree or shrub in its path. I had finally ridden up on her and yelled to her. “Follow me! Hurry!” We both frantically smacked our horses on their sides with the long, leather reins and headed toward an opening in the base of the cliff I had spotted. The going was now more difficult as we had left the soft, wet, green grass of the valley and were riding into the rock-covered creek bed at the base of the cliffs. “In here,” I yelled to Katie, grabbing her horse’s halter. We rode into the cave-like opening just in time. Turning our heads, we heard the thunderous sounds of the rock crashing down from above and saw the dust created by the rocks exploding on impact. We got our horses calmed down and walked to the entrance of the cave. There was a small amount of debris still falling, but the worst was over.

  The once dry creek bed in front of us was now flowing with icy cold water directed from above by the avalanche. There were huge boulders and mounds of smaller ones piled high all around. “Whew! That was close,” I said to Katie. I think she was in shock, and I could see her shaking as she cautiously stuck her head out into the thick, dusty air. She turned and, with tears streaming down her face, told me how grateful she felt.

  “Ian, you saved my life. I don’t know how to ever re-pay you.”

  “It’s not necessary,” I told her. “ I’m glad we’re both safe.”

  Wiping cobwebs from our heads and clothes, we inched our way into the daylight, leading our horses behind us. All of a sudden, we were alerted by our horses, snorting and pulling at the reins. We heard continual splashing around the bend in the gulch. Shortly a rider appeared among the large fallen boulders and scrub brush. In a few seconds we both recognized the stranger on horseback. It was Slim. As he slowly rode through the creek bed, his eyes met ours. There was a look of surprise on his face as he approached us and dismounted. We walked forward, each watching the other intently. Presently Slim and I were face-to-face staring into each other’s eyes. “Are you alright?” Slim asked, trying to appear concerned.

  “Wh – where did you come from?” Katie asked surprised.

  “I heard the rock slide and came to investigate,” Slim answered unconvincingly. By now Katie’s teeth were chattering from standing in the icy, cold water. I was also interested how Slim happened to arrive so quickly after the landslide, but getting Katie home to a warm, dry house was more important right now. Slim walked slowly toward Katie, cautiously picking his way through the slippery creek bed. He reached out to grab the halter of Katie’s horse, but she violently jerked her horse’s reins and mounted quickly.

  “Come on, Ian,” Katie motioned. “Let’s head back.”

  “Can you find your way back, Cowboy?” Slim asked in a smart alec tone. I turned my head and glared at him intently wanting him to get the message of my deep dislike for him. He looked directly at me with his little, beady eyes. He was showing me that his feelings for me were mutual. At least now we both knew where we stood. “You two kids better watch out. The boys said they saw a couple of cinnamon bears yesterday up near Heaven’s Gate, and ya gotta go right past there goin back.” Katie looked at me with a disgusted look on her face. Her silence said everything. Even this city boy knew we were in no danger.

  The bears were getting ready to settle in for their long winter’s nap, even if Slim were telling the truth. By now they were most likely sound asleep. We headed back, following the gulch. There was very little snow now because of the rain and scarcely any cold weather, other than the wind. This was probably the most beautiful spot I had ever seen. All the bunch grass throughout the valley waved in the chilly breeze like the vast green field of grain back home that surrounded the orphanage. There was a large lake in the middle of the valley that was bordered by huge graceful willows. It was as clear as glass, and I’ll bet icy cold, as well, and teaming with the beautiful, mountain trout Charles had told me about. We continued on, and we came upon a small area that was white with snow, although the grass all around was a deep emerald green.

  Katie had been very quiet until now and suddenly stopped her horse. “Ian, I believe you!” she said almost apologetically.

  “You believe me about what?” I asked ignorantly.

  “Your Indian!” she blurted out. “He saved my life! He really does exist! But, I know he can’t. Oh! I’m so confused,” she said, jumping off her horse in frustration.

  “Katie what’s wrong?” I asked her. Now, I was confused myself. She only looked at the ground and kicked at some small stones.

  “Oh, you big fool. Don’t you understand? That was your Indian, the one with the yellow moccasins. He saved my life.” She was right. In all the excitement, I had forgotten about the mysterious horseman. Chills shot up and down my entire body, and it wasn’t from the cold wind. “I have to show you something when we get home,” Katie said, “but first I want to ride to the top of the cliff.”

  “What for?” I asked her, feeling a little confused.

  “I don’t believe that rock slide was an accident. I think Slim was responsible. There’s the remnants of an old stagecoach road that runs along the bluff up there. Let’s take a look and see if we can find anything,” she said inquisitively. I could tell this was no ordinary girl. She was full of spunk and wouldn’t back down from anything. This was my type of girl.

  We carefully picked our way up the steep, rocky cliff toward the old stage road. You could see evidence of a rusted railroad track that ran parallel to the road abov
e us as we rode higher. My imagination ran wild. I could picture trappers, traders, businessmen, politicians and even highwaymen that traveled this region daily. Mr. Mac had told me how this area once was home to the hunting camps of the Ute Indians. He had hundreds of arrowheads and other artifacts he had found, neatly displayed in glass cases back at the ranch. Some other time I would like to find some of my own, but presently Katie was on a mission, and I was just following.

  We reached the top of the cliff and followed the old, worn road. You could see the farms and ranches spread out in the vast valley below and more remnants of the once well-traveled railroad. Katie was intensely scouring the ground as we traversed the muddy pathway, and then she abruptly stopped, peering at the ground below her. Jumping down from her horse, she kneeled down and picked something up. I dismounted and headed in her direction. She was holding something in her hands. “Ever see anything like this before?” she asked. I studied what she was holding.

  “It’s only a cigarette. What’s the big deal?” I asked.

  “Here, smell it,” she said, pushing it toward my nose.

  “Whew! Does that stink!” I said pulling my head back. Then, like a ton of bricks, it hit me. That’s what Slim’s cigarette smelled like when he rode off.” We continued on foot investigating further as we walked.

  “Look,” Katie whispered. “Look at these hoof prints. They’re all around and they’re fresh.” She was right. Even this green-horn could see that. If Katie was correct, we could be in danger. Why would Slim want to harm us, and just what was he hiding?

  “We still can’t prove anything, Katie,” I said frustrated. “But we better keep a close eye on him. That’s for sure.”

  Suddenly, time became important for us both. The wind was becoming colder, and snowflakes began falling. We were both shivering from being wet and agreed to head back. Mounting our horses, the race was on. We flew down the steep hill, stumbling over snow covered brush and wild blackberry vines. Katie was first to the bottom and pulled up to wait for me. We both rode off side-by-side, loping along slowly to help save our tired horses. Suddenly, Jasper reared into the air and gave a loud neigh. As he lowered his front hooves, I was surprised to see a bobcat running straight past our path. Jasper darted ahead some fifty yards toward the valley that stretched out before us before I could gain control once again. Behind me, Katie galloped in our direction, whooping it up as she did. “You know, for a city boy you handle a horse pretty well,” she said smiling broadly. After my heart stopped beating wildly, we set out toward the ranch again. The wind seemed to carry the whinnies and snorts of our horses echoing throughout the valley. They wanted to head home as badly as we did. So, off we rode. Hopefully, this time there would be no more delays.