Lee (The Landon Saga Book 6) (15 page)

Chapter fifty-three

I usually didn’t care for walking. However, our legs were in good shape on account of stomping bricks, so we didn’t mind as much.

We walked all night, and come daylight we reached the top of the ridges. It was a steep climb, and we could see a long ways from the top.

We were afraid of pursuit, and we studied our back trail for movement. To our relief, we didn’t see anything.

We turned and studied the country in front of us. There, in the distance, we could see a few buildings scattered about.

“What do you think?” I asked as we squinted our eyes.

“Looks like a village of some sort,” Brian commented.

“We need a horse,” I said. “Let’s go see if they have one we could buy.”

“And if they don’t?” Brian looked at me.

I didn’t answer as I led out.

It was several miles to the buildings, and it took us half the morning to get there.

As we got closer we figured out that it was a small Mexican village.

Small adobe buildings, baked and crumbling in the sun, were scattered all about. Goats, dogs, and children ran all around.

The village was busy and loud, but things quieted down as we walked up, and everybody stared at us.

I’m sure we made a sight. We were hatless, scratched, bruised, and bleeding. On top of that, we were also in prison clothes.

A thin, old Mexican with a white moustache sat by the doorway of the nearest adobe building. A dark, plump woman stood just inside the door, holding a broom. They both watched silently as we walked up.

“If nobody makes trouble,” I said, “there won’t be any. We just want to talk.”

They nodded, but that was all.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” I tried to explain.

The old Mexican remained quiet, and his face was blank.

“All right, mebbe it is what it looks like,” I admitted. “But we aren’t looking for any trouble. Isn’t that right, Brian?”

He nodded.

“We need a horse and a change of clothes,” I continued. “We have money.”

The old Mexican held up one finger.

“You have a horse?” I asked hopefully.

“Si, but he no look so good,” he spoke in broken English.

“Long as I can ride him, I don’t care what he looks like,” I replied. 

“He’s gentle,
senor
. Real gentle.”

“Let’s go have a look,” I suggested.

He nodded and stood. He walked with a limp, and everybody watched as we followed after him.

There was a small corral behind the house, and a horse stood by the gate.

I was surprised when I saw him. He was tall, big boned, and mighty stout looking.

“He looks just fine to me,” I said, impressed. “How much do you want for him?”

He held up five fingers.

“Five dollars?” I asked, surprised.

“Si,” he nodded.

“That’s it?” I frowned suspiciously.

He nodded again.

“He no look so good,” he repeated.

“We’re talking about that horse?” I pointed to the fine, stout looking one in front of us.

“Si.”

The thought occurred to me that this might be a stolen horse. However, I wasn’t about to question our good fortune.

“We’ll take him,” I said, and asked, “Do you have a saddle we could buy?”

He nodded his head.

“How ’bout some food and clothes?”

“Si,” he nodded, and then he headed back towards the house.

I glanced at Brian. He shrugged as we followed after him.

Chapter fifty-four

They fed us a meal of beans and tortillas, and we tore into the food with a vengeance. It was a bland meal, but it tasted wonderful compared to prison food.

After we ate, they fixed us up with some clothes. They were dirty, worn rags, and we could poke our fingers in and out of the holes. But we didn’t complain, and it felt good to be wearing something else other than prison clothes. 

They also fixed us up with two hats. Brian was given a huge sombrero, and I received a worn out looking hat that looked like a broken tent.

The old Mexican also had plenty of firearms and ammunition. Brian picked out a Colt six-shooter and a rifle, and I got a rifle. We also bought plenty of ammunition.

Next, the old Mexican gave us two brand new pairs of boots. We didn’t ask where he got them, and he didn’t say. He even threw in two pairs of spurs and two canteens.  

I pulled out the sixty dollars from my pocket and gave it all to him. He said it was too much, but I insisted. Then, we went and saddled the horse.

I was still leery about the horse, but he stood perfectly still as I saddled him. I led him around a little, but he wasn’t humped up at all.

We stuffed our food and few belongings into the saddlebags, and then I stepped into the saddle. The horse seemed fine, so I offered a hand to Brian and helped pull him up behind me.

“Thank you, amigo,” I told the Mexican.

He nodded, and we took out, going west.

***

I was surprised at how well the horse traveled.

Big as he was, he had no trouble carrying us. He also stopped on a dime and handled very well.

The country flattened out, and was very open. We traveled along in a slow trot and made good time.

“I think this might be the smoothest traveling horse I’ve ever ridden,” I commented.

“Seems like,” Brian agreed.

“I wonder why he was so eager to sell him?” I asked. “This horse is worth some money.”

“Mebbe he didn’t know what he had.”

I grunted in response, and we traveled on.

Occasionally Brian’s big sombrero would hit me in the back of the head, and I frowned irritably.

“Soon as it’s possible, I suggest you get rid of that hat,” I complained.

“I don’t like it anymore than you do, but it’s better than a sunburn,” Brian replied.

“I reckon it is,” I agreed.

“Where are we headed?” Brian changed the subject.

“I’ve been pondering that,” I replied. “I think it’s time we paid Ike a visit.”

“What for?”

“I’m ready to end this once and for all,” I grumbled. “I’m tired of going after the small fry. I want Ike.”

“But Yancy said he wanted the entire outfit.”

“We cut off the head of the snake, and the rest of the body will die,” I declared. “Besides, I don’t care what Yancy wants. What I want is to get Jessica’s hotel back.”

“And killing Ike will do that?”

“Him, and some others.”

It was silent as Brian thought on that.

“All right,” he finally said. “I’ve gone this far; might as well see it to the end.”

I nodded, and we traveled on.

The day passed quickly, and we covered a lot of ground. By late afternoon some brush started showing up, and the ground got rougher.

There was a draw in front of us that was covered with thick mesquite trees. As we trotted up I searched the bank, looking for an open spot.

Normally, a horse will slow down naturally when he comes up to some brush, but our horse didn’t. Instead, he plowed right into the brush, and the sharp thorns tore at us.

“What in the world!” Brian exclaimed.

The thick brush stumbled the horse, and he almost fell.

He lunged forward to keep his footing, and the jump caused Brian to fall off. He landed in the middle of a mesquite bush and yelled as the sharp thorns tore at him.

Meanwhile, the horse regained his footing, and I pulled him up and dismounted.

“What’s wrong with that horse?” Brian scowled as he gingerly picked his way out of the brush.

“I’m not sure,” I said.

I moved up beside the horse’s head, and he just stood there calmly as if nothing had happened.

I studied his eyes, and there was a grayish tint in them. I waved my hand in front of his eye, but he showed no reaction.

I frowned and moved my hand closer, and when I was a few inches from his eye he finally saw my movements.

“This horse is almost blind!” I announced, and added bitterly, “That Mexican tricked us.”

Brian groaned and shook his head.

“It wasn’t a trick,” he muttered. “He said ‘he no look so good’, remember?”

I pinched my face in thought.

“He did say that, didn’t he,” I grudgingly admitted.

“He sure did.”

It was silent as we thought on that. I was irritated, but Brian chuckled. I finally had to chuckle with him, and we climbed back on the horse and took off.

***

I found out real quick that traveling through brush was going to be difficult. Usually, a horse just naturally makes his way through the brush. But, with a blind horse, it was up to me to make every decision. I had to guide him every step of the way, and we had to slow to a walk. 

We went a few miles, and I sighed loudly.

“What’s the matter?” Brian asked from behind me.

“Plenty. We’re two ex-jailbirds, wearing somebody else’s clothes, riding double on a blind horse.
That
is what’s the matter,” I said sourly, and added, “It can’t get any worse than this.”

“I wish you’d quit saying that,” Brian grumbled, and then he pointed out, “At least we’re not in prison anymore.”

“I reckon so,” I reluctantly agreed. “But still. Less than a month ago, we were the owners of the fanciest hotel in Texas. Now look at us. What went wrong?”

“I’d say a lot.”

“All I know is that it’s Ike’s fault, and he’s going to pay for it,” I declared.

I felt Brian’s sombrero hit me in the back of my head as he nodded, and it fell silent.

We traveled a few miles, and I heard Brian chuckle softly.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“Nothing much. This blind horse just reminds me of a story I once heard.”

“Let’s hear it,” I said to pass the time.

“Well, there was this blind porcupine that fell in love with a cactus-.”

“Never mind,” I interrupted with a sigh.

Chapter fifty-five

We named the horse No-see-ums, and the name sort of stuck. Gentle as he was, it was hard not to like him.

We took turns riding in the saddle. It was tense work, guiding No-see-ums along, and we had to pay attention.

We traveled for several weeks. We wanted to avoid any people, so we circled any towns that we came across.

Whenever we needed food we would just stop and hunt. There was plenty of deer around, and we’d cook up enough meat to last a few days. When that ran out, we would just stop again.

We finally reached Empty-lake, but we didn’t ride in. Instead, we circled the town and headed towards Ike Nash’s headquarters. 

I had a strong urge to ride in and see April and June. I missed them both, but I kept my feelings to myself.

We camped that night about a mile from Ike’s headquarters. We were now on Ike’s range, so we didn’t risk the chance of a fire.

We were in no hurry, and we slept late the next morning. We sipped water from our canteens and chewed on some deer meat, and then we saddled No-see-ums and took out.

We had only ridden about a hundred yards when we spotted a rider. He was trotting briskly, coming from the direction of Ike’s headquarters.

He spotted us, and he changed his course and headed in our direction.

“This can’t be good,” I frowned.

I felt Brian’s sombrero hit me in the head as he nodded.

I placed my gun hand on my Colt handle as the rider drew close. He was looking at us curiously, and I suddenly recognized him.

“That’s Ross Stewart!” I hissed in surprise.

“Sure is,” Brian said.

Ross trotted on up to us, and we could tell that he was wary. But then he recognized us, and his eyes grew wide.

Ross was visibly shaken, and he stared at us with his mouth open. First he studied Brian, and then he looked at me.

“What happened to you two?” He finally asked.

“What do you mean?” I asked innocently.

“Where have you two been? Rondo’s been worried sick.”

“We’ve been around,” I said, and my face was emotionless.

“What are you two wearing?”

“Clothes,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Last I knew you two were going after Brock and Amos, but then you just disappeared!”

“We had a little run of bad luck.”

“I can see that,” Ross said, and asked, “Did you hear that Yancy and Cooper arrested Brock and Amos?”

“We heard that,” I nodded.

“Word just came that they escaped from Huntsville.”

“You don’t say,” I said, and Brian and I tried to look surprised.

Ross started to say something else, but I cut him off and changed the subject.

“What are you doing out here on Ike’s range?”

“I was delivering a message.”

“You’re running errands for Ike now?” I frowned disapprovingly.

“Not usually. But, some big politician from back east is in town,” Ross explained. “Feller named Ron Gallegan. He asked me to come tell Ike that he was staying at the hotel, and Rondo thought it was a good idea. He figures Brock and Amos will head this way, so this gave us an excuse to look around.”

“Did you find them?”

“Nope.”

I nodded and asked, “How’s April and June?”

“They’re fine,” Ross replied. “April is still working at the hotel. She and Jeremiah have become friendly.”

“Friendly?” I scowled.

“Sure,” Ross nodded “Jeremiah has been real nice to her. June too.”

“I bet he has,” I grumbled, and my face turned dark.

“Are you boys riding into town?” Ross asked.

“No, we’ve got some business to take care of first.”

“Oh? What business?” Ross looked suspicious.

“Nothing much,” I replied nonchalantly. “You go on to town. We’ll be along directly.”

Ross didn’t like it, but he still nodded.

“I’ll see you boys later,” he said.

We nodded, and he kicked up his horse.

We watched him leave, and then I kicked up No-see-ums. He broke into a gentle trot, and we headed towards Ike’s ranch headquarters.