|
The Real Neat Western Story Asher Reaux Scott LA It was late in the evening, and Dan and Billy were inspecting their range. Dan and Billy Winslow had started the Bar-W ranch ten years ago. The ranch was fairly profitable, but they weren’t rich. The night before some of their cattle had escaped through a gap in the barbed wire, so they were checking the condition of the fence. Suddenly, off in the distance the two brothers heard shots and yells, then a pounding of hooves. Their cows were being stolen! Dan and Billy were too far away to see what was happening. By the time they got there most of the cows were gone. Later, back in the ranch house, everyone was upset. “Where’s Sam?” said Billy. Sam Murphy was the foreman of the ranch and had been with Dan and Billy for nearly ten years. “He’s in the bunkhouse laid up with a twisted ankle,” said one of the hired hands. “He fell off his horse while trying to turn the cattle back during the raid, and one of the cows stepped on him.” As Billy made his way to the bunkhouse, he looked around at their ranch. It was not very big, but he liked it. Now, without their cows, they would have to sell their ranch. Billy entered the bunkhouse and saw Sam on the bunk nearest the door. “How are you doing?” said Billy. “I was just thinking,” said Billy, “I want to go after those cows tomorrow. “I think it was Sanchez Corpos who did it,” said Sam. “Him and his men pull off bank robberies an’ such west of the border, but he’s never stole anything in Texas as far as I know.” “It ought to be easy to find their tracks,” said Bill. “Can you ride, Sam?” “I think so.” The next morning they set out. There were five of them; Dan and Billy Winslow, Sam Murphy, and two of their employees, Abel Carlson, and Dwayne Jenkins. They passed the ranch and headed for an old trail that led toward Longhorn Butte. There they could get a better view of the country. An hour later they were on the top of Longhorn Butte, scanning the countryside. “No sign of them,” said Dan. “Let’s get down there and see if we can find some tracks.” “Wait,” said Abel Carlson. “Way out there behind that plateau, I see a column of dust.” “So do I,” said Dan. “Let’s go.” The five men started out in the direction of the dust column. After half an hour of riding they noticed the dust fading away, then it disappeared. “What do we do now?” said Billy. “Let’s keep going,” said Dan. “We might find something.” So they went, past the mesas and cacti, toward the plateau where they first saw the dust. They soon came to an adobe building that appeared to be an inn. As they approached the inn, and old Mexican man came out. “What do you want, Senors?” he said. “Did you see or hear anyone pass here?” said Billy. “N-No, I no see nothing.” “You liar,” Dwayne said. “I ought a ... “Calm down,” said Billy. “Can we come in,” he said to the innkeeper. As they walked in, Abel noticed something sticking out from behind a table — it was a pistol barrel! As Abel pulled his gun, a Mexican came up from behind the table and shot at him. The bullet smashed into the wall right by him. Sam and the rest of the men with him dove for cover and pulled out their guns. The Mexican was shot as he headed for the door. He quickly got up and limped out. When Dwayne came to the door, a bullet lit the doorpost and he ducked back inside. Dan took Abel and Billy to follow the Mexican bandit, while Sam and Dwayne stayed behind in case other outlaws came back. It was agreed that they would meet the next morning, by a plateau a few miles from the inn. As Dan rode, he thought. If the bandit had gotten back to his boss already, he might put men along the road to ambush them. He told the others what he was thinking, and told them to keep their eyes peeled. It was easy to follow the bandit’s tracks, until they led to a plateau where paths led to both sides. There both paths were covered with hoof prints, and they couldn’t tell which were the ones they had been following. “There’s a town a few miles from here, called Poblacion,” said Billy. “We could spend the night there, and come back in the morning to look again.” “Sounds good to me,” said Dan. The sun was just setting when they rode into town. It was a small town, with just a few buildings. They took their horses to the livery stable, and then walked over to the hotel. Billy walked up to the desk and asked the clerk for three rooms. Abel was looking out the window when he saw a familiar-looking Mexican. He was the same man they had been chasing. Abel walked over to Billy and Dan, who were starting to go up to their rooms. “Hey, Billy. I think I just seen our friend from the inn.” “Where?” said Dan. Abel showed them the man with a stiff leg across the street. He was talking to a big man two tied down guns. The Mexican was talking excitedly and pointing in the direction he had come from. Then they both got on their horses and headed out of town. “Let’s foller ‘em” said Dan. They got on their horses and followed slowly to keep out of sight. Once, the bandits turned around, and the ranchers pulled their horses behind a rock to keep out of sight. But the bandits didn’t see anything so they kept riding. Soon the ranchers came to the plateau where they‘d lost the tracks earlier. The outlaws rode around the edge and out of sight. When Billy, Dan, and Abel got there, the bandits where nowhere to be seen. “It’s no use lookin’ for them in the dark,” said Dan. “Let’s wait ‘til morning when Sam and Dwayne get here.” When morning came, the two people that had stayed at the inn could be seen coming up to the plateau. Sam Murphy and Dwayne Jenkins rode up to where the other three were camped. “Howdy,” said Sam. “Y’er late,” Billy said. “We found that sneaky cattle-thievin’ bandit in town and follered him up to here then lost him and decided to wait for you.” “Nothin’s keeping’ us now,” said Abel. “Let’s go.” They saddled up their horses and started down the plateau. When they got to the bottom they started looking for the outlaws’ tracks. They found them and followed them for a mile until they got to a big canyon. “Look!” said Dwayne. Inside the canyon there was a bunch of cows and men. The bandits were just breaking up camp. They saw a man in fancy Mexican dress, which they figured was Corpos. He was talking to the bandit from the inn and the gunfighter that was with him in the town. “Abel,” said Billy. “You and Dwayne go around the other side and wait for my signal.” Billy, Sam, and Dan rode towards some rocks nearby to keep from being seen. Suddenly two men came from the rocks. One had a sombrero and a big mustache, and the other one had a red beard and a black Stetson. The latter had a shotgun. “What are you doin’ here?” he said. “We’re looking for gold,” said Dan. “They are lying, Senor Joe,” said the Mexican. “I shoot them, no?” Just then, Billy spurred his horse forward and knocked over the man with the shotgun. Billy jumped on the Mexican and gave him a headache with the end of his pistol. The red-bearded man grabbed for his pistol, but Dan punched him and laid him out cold. When they were finished tying them up, Billy said, “Sam, you stay behind these rocks and start yellin’ and shoot’n when we charge.” Billy and Dan got back on their horses and rode to the edge of the canyon. Then Dan gave a holler and they both charged down into the canyon. At the same time, Sam started shooting and yelling, and Abel and Dwayne charged from the opposite side. There were twenty bandits getting on their horses when they were attacked. By the time they recovered from their shock, two of them were dead. Corpos tried to run, but then he saw the other two men, Abel and Dwayne, coming from the other side. He raised his gun to shoot, but Sam saw him and shot him. Dan was going around the side to cut off the cows when a bullet hit his leg and he fell off of his horse. As he was getting up, one of the thieves started riding towards him, shooting. Dan rolled over, and as the horse jumped over him he opened fire. The Mexican started to turn, and then he fell. Dan then heard something behind him. When he turned around, he was looking into two gun muzzles. Just as the man drew back the hammers a hand reached out and jerked him from the saddle. He started to get his guns, but Dwayne had him covered. Pedro Valdeza looked on from behind a rock above the canyon. One of the bandits rode up to him with a bloody arm. “Pedro! Corpos is dead, and most of the men are either dead or captured, or they ran away.” “I have idea, Miguel.” “Si?” “Let us run away.” “Si!” An hour later, the five men rode into town with all the bandits, alive and dead, except those who ran away. It turned out there was a $1,500 reward on Corpos’ head. After spending the night in town, they headed home with the cows. “I’ll sure be glad to be home again,” said Billy. “Yep,” Dan said, “and with all that reward money we’ll be able to buy Joe Fredrick’s bull, which I’ve been wantin’ to git my hands on for some time.” “Boy, will he be surprised when he sees all that money.” The next day they rode into the ranch yard and dismounted at the hitching rail. The ranch bands all came out of the bunkhouse and welcomed them. “You should’ve been there, Red,” Sam was saying. “There must have been fifty of them, and I shot their leader too. Why he was five hundred yards away! Just wait ‘til we get inside. Boy, have I got a story t’ tell you.” |