Young Ole Devil (21 page)

‘
It’s
Joe and the boys,’ Di said, studying the four riders. ‘Is that your
man who’s with them, Devil?’

‘
It
is,’ the Texian agreed, having identified the small figure who was
leading a spare horse. ‘That’s Tommy Okasi. I wonder what he’s got
to tell us?’

‘
Tommy’s wig-wagging for us to catch up with him,’
Diamond-Hitch Brindley remarked, pointing to where the little
Oriental was sitting his bay gelding just below the top of a slope
about a quarter of a mile ahead. ‘Looks like there’s something on
the other side’s he reckons we should see.’

‘
But
we shouldn’t let see us,’ Ole Devil Hardin supplemented, taking
notice of how Tommy Okasi was carefully avoiding showing himself to
whatever—or whoever—was beyond the rim. Reaching down, he eased the
Browning rifle from its saddle boot and, as he made ready to load
it, nodded at the flintlock across the crook of the girl’s left
arm. ‘Make sure that the powder hasn’t shifted in the pan this
time.’

‘
Yah!’
Di scoffed, although she started to do as her companion suggested.
‘At least I can carry mine ready to be used.’

Listening to the
girl
’s
response, Ole Devil was pleased to observe that she was more her
usual cheerful self. She appeared to have thrown off the depression
and gloom which had been caused by the thought of having left her
home. It was clear that the decision to let her accompany Tommy and
himself to Santa Cristobal Bay had been a wise one. It had come
about because of the news which had been brought by Tommy and Joe
Galton.

On learning that there must be
a spy at his headquarters, General Houston had immediately started
an investigation. However, the little Oriental had not waited to
discover what had come of it.
^xxiii
Instead, armed with a written
authority from the General, he had set out to rejoin Ole Devil.
Riding relay and changing horses at Guadalupe and Gonzales, but
keeping his bay with him, he had made very fast time. Meeting
Galton and the Tejas, he had identified himself as the man Ole
Devil was expecting and had accompanied them for the remainder of
the journey.

While it had not been
completely successful, Galton
’s mission had not proved a complete waste of time
either. Without having produced definite confirmation, his findings
implied that Galsworthy was not what he had pretended to be. What
was more, despite his appearance, he had shown himself capable of
covering his tracks along the route in which he was travelling.
Even men as skilled as Galton and the two Tejas braves had had
difficulty in following him. They had known that, as long as he
kept moving, there was little chance of them catching up with
him.

After having left the Gonzales
trail about two miles from the Brindleys
’ ranch, Galsworthy had ridden west
and met five companions at a small, deserted cabin. From there, the
party had headed south. As they were swinging clear of the town,
one of their number had left them to take a westerly direction.
After covering about ten miles, Galton had stopped following them.
They had shown no sign of altering their direction and he had
considered that he would be more usefully occupied with the pack
train.

Discussing
Galton
’s
information, Ole Devil and the Brindleys had decided that as long
as Galsworthy had only four men with him he did not pose any direct
threat to them. However, as he was travelling south, he might be
making for a rendezvous with a force sent from the Mexican army. In
which case, their position would be far more dangerous.

Taking into consideration the
attempts upon his life and the fact that Galsworthy had sent a man
to the west, Ole Devil had suggested that he might not have
informed his employers about the shipment. If that should be so, he
could be looking for assistance to deal with the situation. He was
almost certain to
be in possession of an identification document similar to
the one which Ole Devil had taken from Halford’s body. So he would
have the means to enforce his request with any of Santa Anna’s
outfits that he came across. While it could prove serious, that
possibility had not unduly alarmed Ole Devil and his companions.
Unless Galsworthy or his men were fortunate enough to find the
Mexicans in the next two days, he would reach Santa Cristobal Bay
too late to prevent the shipment from being landed.

Having already explained the need to avoid
the possibility of international repercussions, Ole Devil had
warned his companions that the landing was the most critical period
of the collection. Once the rifles were on shore and the ship had
sailed, there was no way in which the Mexicans could prove that
they had come from the United States. With that in mind, Ole Devil
had proposed that he and Tommy should go ahead of the pack train at
their best speed. When they reached Santa Cristobal Bay, they could
make sure that there were neither Mexican troops nor Galsworthy and
his renegades in the vicinity. If either should be around, they
would find some way to alert the captain to the danger.

On her grandfather agreeing, Di
had suggested that she should accompany Ole Devil and Tommy. Her
argument had been that, if the ship arrived and there were no
enemies present, she could help to prepare the rifles for being
transported on the mules. They could, she had pointed out, remove
the weapons from the crates and, using canvas and rope supplied by
the captain of the ship, make them into bundles of a suitable size
to be packed on the
aparejos.
^xxiv

While conceding that the idea
had merit, Brindley had suggested Galton or one of the men should
go instead of his granddaughter. She had countered by reminding him
that the
cargador’s
secondary, but equally important, duties as farrier made
him indispensable. If there should be fighting, any of the packers
would be of more use than herself. Lastly, capable as he was in
other directions, Ole Devil lacked the technical knowledge required
to make up the bundles.

Intelligent and logical as the
girl
’s
reasoning had been, Ole Devil and her grandfather had realized that
it had had a secondary motive. Ever since they had set off from the
ranch, she
had been growing increasingly restless, moody and
irritable. The cause of the change in her normally merry,
happy-go-lucky disposition had not been difficult to surmise. While
the train was travelling, due to the capability of the Tejas
packers and the excellent training which the mules had received,
there had been far too little requiring her attention and occupying
her active mind. So she had had very little to divert her thoughts
from the possible loss of the only home she had ever known. With
that in mind, Brindley had acceded to her wishes.

Once again Ole Devil had
considered that he was being given evidence of
Brindley
’s
faith in him. Having made the decision, apart from requesting that
he took very good care of the girl, the old man had not shown the
slightest apprehension or hesitation over letting her accompany
him. Even though they would be travelling alone—apart from having
his very loyal servant with them—for at least two and probably
three days and nights, the latter being spent of necessity under
the stars and far from other human beings, Brindley had obviously
accepted that the young Texian would not attempt to take advantage
of the situation.

Ole Devil had fully Justified
the old man
’s faith and trust While possessing an eye for the ladies
and being far from being a monk
^xxv
(although he was not a promiscuous
libertine) his sense of honor and duty had been effective barriers
against him making advances to the girl. While aware of her
physical charms, he had treated her as he would have a well-liked
tomboy cousin.

Nor had Di given her companion
cause to behave differently. Despite having grown up on the ranch,
she was anything but innocent and naive where sexual matters were
concerned. Accompanying her grandfather on his packing trips had
allowed her to travel extensively in and around Texas. Knowing the
dangers, Brindley had considered it advisable to acquaint her with
the facts of life. So, although she had been aware that Ole Devil
was a virile,
good-looking young man,
she
had shown no indication of it. In fact, her
behavior towards him was almost identical to his own with regards
to her.

Riding a two-horse relay
required too much attention and effort for Di to be able to find
time to brood about the possible fate of her home. She, Ole Devil
and Tommy were covering
between thirty and thirty-five miles a day as
opposed to the twenty-five maximum of the pack train. Although only
the cook’s and farrier’s mules had been carrying a full load,
Brindley had wanted to conserve the animals’ strength for
transporting the shipment. So he was maintaining an economical
pace.

Apart from when answering the calls of
nature, Di, Ole Devil and Tommy had made only one concession to her
sex. On reaching the Navidad River about two miles south of the
town of Edna, they had found the ford over which they had planned
to make their crossing was far deeper than usual due to recent
heavy rain. Wanting to save their clothing from being soaked, they
had decided to go over wearing as little as possible. Without
debating the matter, the girl had waited behind a clump of bushes
while her companions undressed and made their way to the other
side. Then, after they had gone out of sight, she had disrobed and
followed them.

On making their plans for the journey, Ole
Devil and the Brindleys had taken into consideration that Santa
Anna had spies, or supporters, in most Texas communities. So they
had decided to avoid such towns as lay between the ranch and their
destination. As Di, Ole Devil and Tommy had by-passed Edna, so they
swung around Matagorda. They were about five miles from Santa
Cristobal Bay and had not seen any other human beings since leaving
the pack train. Being so close to the rendezvous, Tommy had been
ranging ahead as scout and now his actions suggested that there
might be some kind of danger ahead.

Advancing cautiously, after having prepared
their weapons, Di and Ole Devil joined Tommy who had withdrawn a
little way below the top of the slope.

‘
Two
Mexicans with a white woman, Devil-san,’ the little Oriental
reported. ‘I think she is their prisoner.’

‘
Let’s
take a look,’ Ole Devil suggested, slipping from his saddle and
allowing the dun’s reins to fall free.

Joining the young Texian on the
ground, Di eased back the hammer of her flintlock and Tommy nocked
an arrow to his bow
’s string. With the girl in the centre, they edged their
way towards the rim. Crouching low, they peered over the top at the
riders who had attracted Tommy’s attention.

Even at a distance of something
over a quarter of a mile, it
seemed
that the small Oriental’s summation was correct.
The woman, who was approaching from the direction of a large post
oak grove, did not appear to be a free agent. Riding sidesaddle on
a good-looking black horse, she wore an expensive black riding
habit that was somewhat dirty and disheveled and a frilly bosomed
white blouse. The brim of her head-dress—a masculine ‘planter’s’
instead of the more usual top hat—prevented the watchers from
making out the details of her face. However, they could see that
her hands were either held or tied behind her back and that the
horse was being led by a man at her right side. Well-mounted, clad
in the fashion of working
vaqueros,
he and his companion were hard-looking Mexicans.
In addition to a pistol and a knife on their belts, each of them
had a rifle cradled across his knees.

Taking in the scene, Di let out an angry
sniff. Always impulsive, she started to rise.

‘
Let’s—!’ she began.

‘
Keep
down!’ Ole Devil snapped, taking his left hand from the Browning
rifle to catch her by the shoulder and enforce the
command

‘
What
the—’ Di protested, but the very urgency of the Texian’s behavior
caused her to obey.

‘
Old
Nipponese saying, which I’ve just made up,’ Tommy said quietly,
bringing the girl’s attention to him. ‘Is foolish to try to rescue
lady in distress if the way you do it gets her killed.’

‘
Hell,
yes!’ Di ejaculated and swung her gaze back to Ole Devil. ‘I could
have hit
my
man at that range, but you—’

‘
I
don’t think they saw you,’ the Texian interrupted. ‘So
let’s-’

Whatever Ole Devil intended to suggest would
never be known. Even as he started speaking, they heard a feminine
yell such as was used to encourage a horse to go faster. Next there
came a shouted exclamation in Spanish, followed by the crack of a
rifle shot.

Realizing that something must
be happening to preclude the need for remaining concealed, Di and
her companions rose. They found that, in some way, the woman had
pulled the lead rope from the Mexican
’s hand and was galloping away from her
captors. Smoke was drifting from the muzzle of the rifle in the
hands of the man at the left. Clearly her actions had taken him by
surprise. Despite being fired at what must have been very close
range, the bullet had missed. At least, she was showing no sign of
having been struck by it. She was not, however, out of danger. The
other man was already raising his weapon.