They Rode Together (12 page)

Chapter forty

Everybody looked up as Yancy and Jessica came in from the darkness. Nobody said anything, and their curiosity sharpened when they noticed the sour looks on their faces.

It was time to turn in.

Yancy rolled his bedroll out next to Cooper, and his movements were abrupt and jerky.

Cooper was lying in his bedroll, his hands clasped behind his head, as he watched Yancy.

“Have a nice walk?” He asked.

Yancy grunted and crawled in his bedroll. It was silent for a bit, and Yancy rolled over.

“I’m hungry,” he said. “And I’m sick of beans.”

“It’s just your imagination,” Cooper replied. “Go to sleep, and you’ll be fine.”

“I don’t think I
can
sleep on an empty stomach.”

“Sleep on your back then.”

Yancy scowled but didn’t reply.

A few seconds passed, and Cooper sighed as he looked up at the clear, dark sky.

“Living in town, it’s easy to forget what it’s like to sleep outdoors,” he said, and added, “Those stars are beautiful.”

“I can walk outside and look at stars anytime,” Yancy objected.

“But it’s not the same as sleeping under them.”

“I’ll take my bed in my house. You can have the stars.”

“You don’t think it’s-,” Cooper paused while he searched for the right words “-romantic in a western sort of way?”

It was silent as Yancy thought on that.

“Long as you don’t mind the snakes, rain, cold, heat, spiders, thorns, dust, ice, and wind - I reckon it might be romantic,” he finally said.

Cooper sighed and turned over in his bedroll.

“You’re hopeless,” he said.

“Night,” Yancy replied.

Chapter forty-one

The herd moved along with no problems for a week.

Big Spring and Sweetwater were now behind them, and they were getting close to Abilene. The country was mainly wide-open, with small rolling hills and grass a-plenty.

Rondo rode in from scouting. It was midafternoon, and he was scowling.

He rode over to the chuck wagon and drank some water from the water barrel.

“What’s the matter?” Tussle asked from the wagon seat.

Rondo nodded towards the north.

“See those clouds? We might be in for a rough night.”

“I’ve been watching them,” Tussle nodded. “Mebbe they’ll go to the west.”

“Too early to tell,” Rondo said, and suggested, “There’s a big lakebed full of rainwater a few miles ahead. Might be best if we stopped and settled the herd early, just in case.”

“Sounds good,” Tussle nodded.

“I’ll tell the others,” Rondo said.

He started to lope off. But, before he could, they spotted Cooper, who was riding point, loping towards them.

“What’s he doing?” Tussle asked.

“Must be trouble,” Rondo replied.

Everybody gathered around him as he came up, and Lee trotted up from the remuda.

“I saw Injuns,” Cooper announced. “They’re coming over that hill yonder.”

“How many?” Tussle asked.

“A dozen or so.”

Before anybody could say anything, three Indians topped out on a hill. They pulled up their horses, and then they just sat there. A few seconds passed, and they held their hands high and started making hand signals.

“Anybody know what tribe they’re from?” Tussle asked.

Everyone looked at Josie and waited while she studied them.

“Comanche,” she finally said.

“Think they’re hostile?” Tussle asked.

“I think not,” Josie shook her head.

“Can you make out what they’re saying?”

“They are hungry. They want beef.”

Lee looked at Rondo and chuckled.

“Does this bring back any memories?” He asked.

“Sure does.”

“What are you two talking about?” Tussle snapped.

“Same thing happened last time Lee and I were on a cattle drive,” Rondo explained. “Come to think on it, we were driving your cows too.”

Tussle grunted.

“I remember,” he said, and asked, “What happened?”

“These two Injuns wanted some steers for beef, but Kinrich killed them.”

“What happened after that?” Yancy spoke up.

“A lot more Injuns showed up,” Rondo said.

“And in a hurry,” Lee added.

The Indians continued to make hand signals, and Rondo looked at Tussle.

“We’d best give them an answer,” he said.

Tussle scratched his stubbled jaw in thought.

“I hate to lose ’em, but I reckon we’d better give them a few head,” he decided, and added, “I noticed a few cripples at the back. Cut them out.”

“Will do,” Rondo nodded.

“Coop, you and Joise go talk to them,” Tussle said. “Yancy, you help Rondo.”

“Sure thing,” Yancy nodded.

“And everybody else had better get back where they belong before we lose the entire herd,” Tussle added sourly.

Everybody nodded and moved out.

Chapter forty-two

Cooper checked his Colt, and then he and Josie rode up the hill and pulled up in front of them.

The Indians were older, tired looking, and rode scrubby looking mustangs. The rest of the Indians waited at the bottom of the hill, and Cooper spotted a few women and children in the bunch.

The oldest looking Indian started jabbering in Comanche. Josie spoke back sharply, and all three Indians were shocked. They glanced at each other, and the oldest one spoke up again.

Josie listened and talked back, and the Indian grunted his approval.

“Comanches are powerful hungry,” Josie told Cooper. “I told them we will give them a few head.”

“Good,” Cooper nodded.

Suddenly, the old brave burst out a long line of Comanche. While he talked, he pointed to the east.

Josie listened carefully, and she turned to Cooper with a worried look.

“He wants to repay our kindness with a warning,” she said.

“What warning?”

“Two days ago, they came across a bunch of riders. They asked for food, but these men shot at them and killed two Indians. He said they are very bad men.”

Cooper pinched his face in thought.

“How many were in this bunch?”

Josie asked, and said, “Ten or so.”

Cooper nodded thoughtfully and looked at the old Indian.

“’Preciate it,” he said.

The Indian nodded, and Cooper and Josie turned their horses and rode back down the hill.

***

Yancy was sullen as they cut out three crippled yearlings.

“I’ve been watching that steer all day,” he pointed. “He wouldn’t have made it much further.”

“Looks like it,” Rondo agreed.

“Sorta hate to see him go,” Yancy said.

“Why’s that?”

“I was hoping for a steak for supper.”

Rondo smiled, and they drove the steers up the hill.

Soon as they reached the top, the Indians took them and moved aside to butcher them.

“They ain’t wasting any time,” Yancy commented as they rode back down the hill.

“They’re hungry,” Rondo replied.

“So am I,” Yancy grumbled.

***

Everybody looked thoughtful when Cooper told them what the Indian had said.

“Do you think it’s the bunch that attacked us?” Jessica asked, her eyes wide with fright.

“Could be,” Cooper said.

“What are we going to do?”

“Nothing we can do at the moment,” Tussle spoke up, and he glanced at the fast building clouds. “We’d better get the herd moving. Looks like a storm’s coming.”

They spread out and got the herd lined out. Rondo led them to the lakebed, and they bedded down the herd and got prepared for the storm.

Lightening played across the sky as they ate supper, and there was also a cool breeze picking up.

“I want Jessica, Josie, and Wyatt to stay in camp tonight,” Tussle said. “But everybody else had better stay with the herd. Lee, you and Brian stay with the horses.”

Wyatt looked disappointed as everybody stood. They saddled up fresh mounts and rode out.

It started sprinkling as they spread out around the herd. Then the raindrops got bigger, and it fell in sheets.

It was a cold, piercing rain, and the cattle turned their backs to it.

Even with the lightening, the yearlings were in no mood to go anywhere. They bunched together as tightly as possible and dropped their heads.

The horses didn’t like the cold rain either. And, despite everyone’s efforts, the horses put their backs to the hard rain and wouldn’t budge.

After that, there was nothing to do but hunker down in the saddle.

It rained steadily for two hours, and everybody got soaked. Then the breeze picked up even more, and it turned cold.

Yancy and Cooper were close to one another, and Yancy could see him shivering in the saddle.

“Feeling romantic yet?” Yancy shouted at him.

Cooper scowled, and his reply was lost in the rain.

Chapter forty-three

It couldn’t get daylight fast enough.

The firewood was wet, and it took Tussle a while to build a fire.

Once it was going, he and Wyatt stayed on the other side of the chuck wagon while Josie and Jessica undressed and dried their clothes. They switched as soon as they were dry and dressed.

Soaked cow-punchers started drifting in, and they took turns drying their clothes and eating breakfast.

This took a while, and it was midmorning before they got the herd lined out and moving.

Rondo rode over to Tussle.

“Think I’ll ride out and scout for that other bunch,” he said.

“You be careful,” Tussle said.

“Will do,” Rondo said, and he trotted out.

***

It was late in the morning when three men approached the herd from the south.

Yancy and Cooper saw them coming, and they all met at the chuck wagon.

They were a rough looking bunch. One was tall, one was short, and the other was burly.

“Afternoon,” the burly man said. “My name’s Albert, and these are my brothers. We spotted your herd, and thought we’d see if you needed any help.”

Tussle looked thoughtful as he looked them over.

“Which way you boys headed?” He asked.

“Nowhere in particular,” Albert shrugged.

Yancy and Cooper felt an instant distrust of the men, but their faces remained emotionless.

Tussle didn’t trust them either. However, he was worried about the bunch that the Indians had seen, and he wanted as many men as he could muster in case of trouble.

“You boys ever punch cows before?” He asked.

“We’ve been up the trail a time or two,” Albert replied.

“All right,” Tussle decided. “We’ll take you on.”

“’Preciate it,” Albert grinned.

Tussle deliberately split them up.

“Albert, you ride point, and you ride drag,” he instructed the short one, and then he looked at the tall one. “You ride on the right flank, in front of Yancy.”

They nodded and kicked up their horses.

Soon as they were gone, Tussle glanced at Yancy and Cooper.

There was no need to say anything. They understood to watch them, and they nodded and took out.

The herd moved on out, and the rest of the morning passed uneventfully.

Chapter forty-four

Jessica rode behind Cooper that afternoon, and she looked to be in deep thought.

The country they were in had a lot of grass, and the yearlings were in no hurry. They grazed as they walked, and they had to be pushed along.

Tussle went on ahead around midafternoon to set up camp, and Josie went with him to help.

Cooper stretched in the saddle. He stopped, stepped off his horse, and tightened his cinch. Jessica came up beside him as he climbed back on, and he smiled at her.

“How is Jessica today?” He asked.

“Tired,” she smiled wryly. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Nobody did,” Cooper said as he rode beside her.

“But, it was a good time to think,” she added.

“Oh? What about?”

“Your brother. He’s hard to figure out.”

Cooper grinned, and his white teeth shown at her.

“Yes, ma’am. He is.”

“Has he always been this difficult?”

“Pretty much.”

“What was he like when you two were children?”

“Shorter.”

Jessica laughed.

“Yes, I imagine he was,” she said.

It was silent, and a wistful look crossed her face.

“Things didn’t go so well the other night,” she admitted.

“I noticed that,” Cooper said, and asked, “What went wrong?”

“Well, it started when Yancy mentioned Lee.”

“He’s never liked Lee.”

“I don’t either. Not anymore.”

Cooper shot Jessica a quizzical look.

“What happened between you two?”

Jessica explained about the hotel, and how Lee lost it.

“But then Yancy told me that the hotel is half mine again,” she said. “I was excited, but Yancy looked disappointed.”

Cooper smiled faintly and nodded.

“You don’t need him,” he said softly.

“How’s that?” Jessica looked confused.

“Mind if I get personal?”

“What have we been doing so far?”

Cooper grinned briefly. He took in a deep breath, let it out, and cleared his throat.

“Your wealth intimidates Yancy. It makes him feel not good enough, like he can’t support you. And that means a lot to Yancy.”

Jessica pinched her face in thought, and she looked at Cooper and frowned.

“That’s it?”

“Yep, that’s it.”

“So,” Jessica talked it out. “If I’m poor he likes me, but if I’m rich he doesn’t?”

“That’s one way to look at it.”

“Your brother is very peculiar.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Still, in an odd way, that’s sort of sweet.”

Cooper looked at Jessica and raised an eyebrow.

“It is?”

“Yes,” Jessica decided, and her face lit up with admiration. “It is.”

“Personally, if Josie had money, I wouldn’t mind it so much. Might even like it.”

“Yes, but Yancy wants to take care of me,” Jessica reasoned. “And, if I’m rich, he can’t take care of me as well.”

“That’s it,” Cooper nodded, and added, “Long as I’ve known him, he’s always felt compelled to take care of everybody. That’s why he’s such a good lawman.”

“He loves being a Texas Ranger, doesn’t he?”

“He does.”

“And I tried to talk him out of it,” she admitted.

“I wouldn’t do that, if’n I was you.”

“I won’t,” Jessica said. “Not anymore.”

“So, what’s next?” Cooper looked at her.

“Well, I’ll catch him in a good mood and talk to him if I can,” Jessica said, and added, “My only problem is, I can never tell what mood he’s in. He’s so quiet.”

“Watch his hands,” Cooper instructed.

“His hands?”

“Sure. If he’s holding a gun,” Cooper explained, “he’s probably mad.”

Jessica laughed. A few seconds passed, and she looked at Cooper and grinned.

“It’s too bad,” she said.

“What is?”

“You and I get along so well,” she pointed out.

“I reckon we do,” Cooper agreed.

“If only Yancy and I got along this well,” she said wistfully.

Cooper smiled as he thought on that.

“If we wanted to get married,” he explained wryly, “mebbe we wouldn’t get along so well either.”