Trail of Golden Dreams (23 page)

Josie shot daggers
at him with her eyes and then stormed off.  When he called her name, she
didn’t even turn around.  “Ooooh, he makes me so mad,” she fumed.  “I
don’t know why I bother with him at all.”  She clenched her fists and
stomped the ground, pretending it was Grey’s head.  When she joined the
others at the ruins, no one spoke to her.  They were all fanning themselves
and complaining about the heat. She rolled her eyes and set off to find a spot
where she could be alone. The sweet morning had soured quickly.

Still muttering to
herself, she tripped over a stone and fell face-first into the dirt.  As
she pushed herself up with scraped hands, she heard a rattling noise and looked
up.  A rattlesnake was coiled on the ground, not more than ten feet from
her.  Its vertical pupils were locked on her, and its deadly tongue was
poised ready to strike. Her throat closed up.  She gulped, but remained as
still as a church mouse.  She knew any sudden move could mean the death of
her. 

Somewhere from
behind, a woman screamed, though Josie hadn’t been aware of anyone walking
behind her.  “Wh…wh…what should I do?” the voice stuttered.

Josie didn’t dare
turn her head.  As soft as possible, she said, “Run and get Grey.” 
She heard the woman’s footsteps retreat.  The rattler shook its tail
again, which she knew, was a bad sign.  When it slithered closer, her
muscles froze and her breathing all but stopped.  It seemed she waited an
eternity prone in the dirt imagining a horrible demise and wishing she hadn’t
been so mean to Grey.

The rifle blasts
scared the life out of her. She’d closed her eyes to whisper a little
prayer.  When they sprang open, she saw the decapitated snake, shot to
hell, lying in chunks in front of her.  When Grey hauled her to her feet,
she collapsed into the comfort of his broad chest. 

“Are you alright?”
he asked.  She nodded and felt him pinch her.  “Are you bit?” 
He started tugging at her clothes.  “Take everything off!  Let me see
if you’re bit!”  The expression on his face expressed sheer panic. 

“I’m not bit,”
Josie told him, batting his hands away.  “The rattler didn’t get
me.”  Her head pivoted, and she saw the whole group of soiled doves
standing at a distance in a semi-circle with their mouths agape.

“Are you sure
you’re alright?” Grey croaked again, shaking her shoulder.

The impact of how
close she’d come to certain death hit her.  Her eyes began to well
up.  “Yes.  Thanks to you!”

He grabbed her
again and crushed her against his chest and stroked the top of her head.
 Pressed up to him, she could feel the erratic rhythm of his heart. 
She heard him expel a long breath.  He
did
care about her. 

“The show’s over,
ladies,” he said, gently setting her back.  “I got the wheel fixed. 
Let’s get on the trail before anything else happens.” Rounding up the women
like they were a herd of heifers, the whole passel of them trudged back to the
wagon, hitched up their dresses, and climbed aboard. 

Josie ran to
Traveler, held him around the neck and kissed his nose.  She felt so
grateful to be alive.  “I sure am glad to see you, boy.  You, too
Lightning.”  She gave the white stallion a scratch between the eyes.

When everyone was
loaded, Grey gave her a boost up into the saddle.

“Thank you for
saving my life,” she said.

He tipped his
hat.  “I expect you’ll do the same for me one of these days.”

* * * *

In Galisteo, they
dropped the sporting women at the Lazy Daze Saloon and then delivered the wagon
and spotted horse to the town livery and stables, as Juanita had
requested. 

“Do you want to
get something to eat before we leave town?” Grey asked Josie once their good
deed was accomplished.  The street was full of people hurrying from place
to place like bees swarming to a hive. It was a shock to her senses after so
many days of riding and camping in the wilderness.  Staying at the
Gonzales ranch had been different than spending time in a noisy town. 
This place didn’t feel right.

 “Juanita
packed us a bag full of food,” she replied.  “I’d rather get back on the
trail and eat in the saddle.  The closer we get to the gold, the more
anxious I become.”

“Suits me. 
Let’s give the animals a good long drink before we head out.”  Grey
mounted his horse, and they walked Traveler and Lightning to a public water
trough, where they could slurp their fill.  As the two of them sat on
their animals’ backs waiting, Josie counted out loud, commenting on the number
of saloons the small village laid claim to. 

 “One, two,
three, four,
five
saloons right here on this one street.  It’s no
wonder there’s so much killing and fighting going on in towns like this. 
Every man must be a drunkard, and drunkards make the biggest fools, as we both
know.” 

The water trough
was stationed in front of one of those bars, the Holy Moses.  Grey
chuckled and pointed to an old man stumbling out of its swinging doors. 
“There’s one of those fools now.”  The inebriated fellow tottered on his
heels and then fell flat onto his back, as if he were a tree that’d been
felled.  Josie shook her head in disgust.  “Have you had enough yet?”
she asked her mule, while tugging on the reins. “I’m ready to get out of this
dump.”

Grey pulled back
on his reins and turned Lightning’s head away from the trough.  As he did,
the doors of the Holy Moses squeaked open again.  He glanced up and caught
the eye of a stocky man with a scar cutting across one eyebrow and snaking down
his cheek.  Another man stepped out next to him, holding a sombrero in his
fist. 

Josie saw them,
too.  When she choked on a sharp intake of breath, Grey’s head swung her
direction.  She whispered, “Those devils have found us again.” Grey’s head
swiveled back to the two men, stationary on the walk in front of the
saloon. 

Kendall and King
both looked up at the same time and drew for their guns.  “Git!” Grey
yelled to Josie.  He smacked his horse on the rump with his reins. 
She hollered “Yah!” to her mule, and they spurred the animals into a gallop
down the wide street with dust flying off their feet.

“Are they behind
us?” Josie screamed above the roar of the booming hooves. Having just left the
town limits, the horse and mule ran side by side. Grey looked over his
shoulder.

“No, but it won’t
take ‘em long to catch up to us.”

“I thought you
said they’d forgotten about us and gone back home!”

“Guess I was
wrong.”

As they lit out
across the desert paved with scrub, Josie questioned whether they’d ever make
it to Nambe to search for the nuggets.  As she glanced behind her and saw
the two horsemen bearing down quickly, she wondered if she’d have the strength
and fortitude to carry out her pa’s final wish.  If the trail didn’t kill
her, the two murderers on their heels probably would.

Chapter Fifteen

Grey and Josie had
ridden hard for hours.  It appeared the marshal and the tracker were
toying with them; keeping their distance just far enough behind to cause
concern and be annoying. Grey considered splitting from Josie in order to throw
the men off.  But the idea hadn’t stayed long in his head.  Being a
woman, she was more vulnerable, and expendable.  Kendall and King would
take the map and kill her in a heartbeat if they got the opportunity. 
Only God knew what else they might do to her if she was caught.  He
couldn’t take that chance with her life, or her virtue.

Lightning
snorted.  He was lathered, and his breathing was shallow.  Grey knew
his stallion was about rode out.  Josie’s mule seemed no worse for
wear.  He remembered her telling him in the cave that mules were far more
resilient than horses. He’d have to think of something quick, or he might lose
his faithful companion.

Thunderstorms
rumbled over the desert, close enough that they could see white lightning
forking across the sky.  The entire earth vibrated as thunder
rolled.  Grey smelled rain in the air.  It wasn’t falling yet, but he
spied gray curtains of it up ahead.  Squinting in the direction of some
craggy-peaked mountains, he made a decision to rein toward them.  What did
they have to lose?  The only risk would be that the horsemen would follow
and there’d be another shoot-out.  Instinct told Grey he could out-shoot
both those bastards.  He’d already done it once.  He figured he could
do it again, and this time, he’d get rid of them once and for all.

He waved to
Josie.  “Follow me!”  As they veered off the trail, his stomach
agitated like butter in a churn.  If he put Josie in danger, he’d never
forgive himself.  But what options did they have?  His horse was
played out. He choked down the momentary feeling of hopelessness that washed
over him.

“What are we gonna
do?” she asked as they wound their way through a canyon.  She depended on
him to make the right decision and get them out of this dire situation.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have much of a plan, but could hardly confess as much
to her.  His only plan was to succeed in killing Kendall and King before
they murdered the two of them.  She gawked when he spoke those words out
loud.

“Can’t you come up
with a better idea?”

It tore him up to
see anxiety and worry lining her pretty face.  She’d been through enough
already.  “I’ve been trying,” he answered.  Fatigue caused his bones
to ache.  “I haven’t thought of another thing.”

She seemed to
accept that.  What other choice did she have?

As they climbed
higher through the canyon, he peered at the dark clouds building in the
sky.  They loomed heavily overhead, like a thick blanket.  His horse
stumbled, and Grey grabbed the saddle horn.  The high elevation affected
the animal.  His own breathing was getting shallow, too.  “You
feeling alright?” he asked Josie.  She nodded, though her face had grown
ashen.

When Lightning
faltered again, Grey had no choice but to get off and walk him.  As soon
as he swung from the horse’s back, a bullet ricocheted off the rock wall near
his head.   He heard a rush of footsteps above them as pebbles
sprinkled down.  All they needed was a man-made rockslide to add to their
troubles. 

“Josie! Grab my
horse and get out of here!”  He yanked his rifle out of its scabbard,
patted the holster on his hip to assure himself the pistol was still there, and
took cover behind a rock.  Josie pulled on Lightning’s reins and
disappeared. 

With more rounds
zinging off the rocks, Grey brought the rifle to his shoulder and started
firing.  Someone above let out a high-pitched war whoop, and for a second,
he wondered whether it was the marshal and King he was fighting, or if they’d
run into a band of inhospitable Indians.  Next thing he knew, Josie was
crouched at his side with the derringer in her hand.  “Is it Kendall?” she
asked, panting. 

“Don’t know. 
Could be Indians.”

Her eyes
enlarged.  “If they’re Indians, I hope it’s my friend Taza,” she said
without much hope.

 “Where’d you
take the animals?”

“They’re
safe.  I tied them up.”

“I told you to
take them and go,” he groused.

“I’m not about to
leave you.  Don’t you know that by now?” 

They locked gazes
for a second and then a storm of bullets showered down over their heads. 
When Grey returned fire, Josie did the same.  “Don’t waste your
ammunition,” he grumbled.  “You couldn’t hit an elephant with that little
gun unless he was on top of you.”  When he realized the shooting had
stopped for a moment, he whispered, “Listen.” 

“Why’d they quit?”

“Shhh.” He lifted
the revolver from his holster and stuck it in her hand.  “Put that toy gun
away.”  He trained his rifle on the high spot where the bullets had rained
down.  “Be ready.  I don’t have a good feeling.” She cocked the
hammer on the revolver and held it to her eye, prepared to kill whatever moved.

“Where are they?”
she asked, after several moments.

“We’re right
here.” 

Josie and Grey’s
gazes simultaneously flew to a rock ledge about fifty feet away.  The
marshal and Reno King stood with their legs spread and shotguns aimed. 
Grey heard the jack of the levers seconds before shots flew.  Bullets
slammed into the rock they were hiding behind and one hit his rifle, knocking
it straight out of his hands. 

“Damn!  Toss
me my pistol,” he yelled.  Josie pitched it to him and then got a round
off with her derringer.  She screamed, “I nicked the tracker!” Another
loud crack reverberated throughout the canyon. 

Grey looked up as
a torrent of black rain was released from the sky.  A tidal wave of water
roared toward them rushing forth and filling the canyon.  “Flash flood!”
he hollered.  He shoved the revolver into his holster and grabbed Josie’s
arm, hauling her from her crouched position. As they ran, he looked over his
shoulder just in time to witness both Kendall and King being lifted off their
feet and swept under the water.  The thunderous noise was deafening,
drowning out their screams. 

With him holding a
death grip on Josie’s wrist, they ran as fast as their legs would carry them,
but it was no use.  Grey yelled, “Hold onto me!” right before the ocean of
water rolled over them, dragging them under.  Mother Nature’s power proved
too strong for mortal hands. Josie slipped out of his grasp and was carried
away. 

Water filled his
ears and eyes as it tumbled him over and over, submerging him.  There was
no time to think, only react.  He pushed himself to the surface and
frantically gazed in all directions. Josie bobbed with her hands slapping at
the water and water sputtering from her mouth.  When she caught a glimpse
of him, she gurgled, “My foot’s caught!”

Fighting the
current, he swam to her and dove under.  Her foot was trapped between two
rocks.  He resurfaced.  Seconds were all he had.  The water was
rising.  She’d drown if he couldn’t release her foot.  “Hold your
breath now!” he ordered.  She did, and the churning water covered her
head.