Young Ole Devil (22 page)

Whipping the butt of the
Browning to his shoulder, Ole Devil was conscious of the girl
duplicating his actions. He sighted fast, knowing that he had a
more distant mark at which to aim than the
vaquero.
Even as his finger tightened on the
trigger, Di’s flintlock roared. Ole Devil’s shot sounded an instant
after the girl’s. One of them came very close to making a hit. The
man’s
sombrero
was torn from his head. Startled, he jerked the barrel of
his rifle out of alignment and sent his bullet into the
air.

Taking her right hand from the
rifle and sending it flashing towards the powder horn and bullet
pouch which were hanging at her left hip, Di allowed the butt to
sink to the ground so as to reload. She saw that the Mexicans were
staring in their direction and thought of the surprise that Ole
Devil
’s
repeating-fire weapon would hand them if they should attack or go
after the woman. They did neither.

‘
Vamos, amigo!’
yelled the man who had lost his hat, reining his
horse around and putting his spurs to work, an example which his
companion followed.

Watching the
vaqueros
racing off in the
direction from which they had come, Ole Devil thumbed down the
Browning’s loading lever without requiring to think. He doubted
whether there would be any need for the loaded cylinder which was
moving into position. There was, however, something far more urgent
requiring his attention. Turning his gaze from the fleeting pair,
Ole Devil looked at the woman. Her horse was galloping at an angle
in front of his party’s position. Riding sidesaddle, with her hands
tied behind her back, she had no way of controlling or halting the
fast-moving animal.

‘
Here,
Di, take mine!’ Ole Devil ordered, thrusting the Browning rifle
towards the girl. ‘I’ll go after her!’

Realizing what was expected of her, Di let
go of the powder horn and her flintlock. Ignoring the empty weapon
as it fell from her hand, she accepted the Browning. Ole Devil had
taught her how to use it on the first night of their journey and
she understood its mysteries. A glance assured her that he had made
it ready to fire, the position of the magazine bar in the aperture
supplying the information.

Confident that the girl could
defend herself, or give him
covering fire if the
vaqueros
returned, Ole Devil turned and ran to
the waiting horses. Catching hold of the dun’s saddlehorn, he
vaulted astride its back. He had gathered up the reins in passing
and gave a jerk which liberated those of his reserve mount. Having
done so, he sent the dun bounding forward.

‘
Go
get her, Devil!’ Di whooped as the Texian went by. ‘I’ll stop them
from billing in.’

Urging his mount to go faster,
Ole Devil heard the girl
’s encouraging words but did not attempt to
acknowledge them. Instead, he concentrated his attention upon the
woman and guided the dun at an angle which would bring them
together.

‘
Look
at that damned black go!’ Di ejaculated. ‘She’s right lucky that
she can ride so good the way it’s running.’

Much the same
thought was passing
through Ole Devil’s head as he was approaching the woman. Although
the black was running at a gallop and, as he could see now, there
was a rope knotted around her black gauntlet covered wrists, she
was retaining her seat on the sidesaddle with considerable skill.
The jolting which she was receiving had caused the hat to slide
from her brunette head and dangle by its
barbiquejo
on her shoulders. It allowed him his
first unimpeded view of her face. Flushed by the pounding she was
taking from the saddle, her features were beautiful. They topped
what the riding habit could not conceal, a very shapely figure. She
would, he guessed, be about Di’s height and in her early thirties.
However, there were other matters of even greater importance than
her appearance to be considered.

With each successive sequence
of the dun
’s
galloping gait bearing him closer to the woman, Ole Devil started
to think about how he might bring about the rescue. He discarded
the idea of trying to come alongside and lift her from the saddle.
Approaching as he was from her right, she had her legs hidden from
his view. Having fastened her hands behind her back, the Mexicans
might also have tied her feet to the stirrup as a means of securing
her to the sidesaddle. If so, he could throw the horses off balance
and might even bring them down. Nor would there be time for him to
go around and check whether she was tied on or not.

‘
Help!’ the woman screeched, staring at the Texian. ‘Stop
the horse,
m’sieur!’

Coming alongside the black, Ole
Devil did not bother to reply to die woman
’s plea. Instead, he reached across
towards the one-piece reins which were hanging over the horse’s
neck. Having obtained a hold on them, he cued the dun with
knee-pressure so that it began to move off to the right. Feeling
the pull on its bit, the black followed without making any fuss.
Guiding the two animals around and gradually reducing their speed,
he brought them to a halt in front of his companions.

‘
Nice
going, Devil!’ Di praised, having laid down the Browning after the
Mexicans had disappeared into the grove of post oaks,

While speaking, the girl was
advancing to hold the black
’s head. Dropping to the ground, Ole Devil went
around the horses. He found that the woman’s feet were not fastened
to the stirrup iron. Holding out his hands, he helped her to slide
down. She stumbled into his arms, causing them to tighten about
her. Pressing—almost rubbing—her well-developed bosom against him,
she began to babble incoherent thanks in a voice which had a marked
French accent

‘
You
saved my life,
m’sieur,’
the woman stated, after recovering her composure and moving
away from her rescuer. ‘I don’t know how to thank you.’

‘
Here,’ Di said, stepping behind the woman. ‘Let’s get this
rope off for you.’

On reaching for the rope, the
girl noticed that it was tied around the stiff cuffs of the
gauntlets. She gripped their fingers and pulled, liberating the
woman
’s
hands without the need to unfasten the knot

Having been set free, the woman
introduced herself as Madeline de Moreau. She explained how she had
been the only passenger on a stagecoach heading for Texas City. It
had been attacked by a gang of Mexican
bandidos.
The driver and the guard were both
killed, but she had been saved from the same—or a worse—fate by
being able to prove that her father was wealthy and would be
willing to pay a high ransom for her safe return. The leader of the
band had told the two men to escort her to their hideout while the
rest went in search of fresh loot

‘
A
bunch of
bandidos,’
Di growled. ‘That’s all we need!’

‘
I
don’t think they will come looking for you,’ Madeline replied.
‘They were afraid of meeting soldiers and I’m sure that they
believe there are more of you—There are more, aren’t
there?’

‘
Not
too close,’ Di warned. ‘But they’re coming.’

‘
Then
you will be able to see me safely to Texas City, Captain Hardin,’
the woman suggested, having learned her rescuers’ names after
introducing herself.

‘
I’ll
make arrangements to do it as soon as possible,’ Ole Devil
promised, but he could not shake off the feeling that something was
wrong. ‘But I’m on a mission of importance and great urgency and
can’t turn aside from it.’

‘
Very
well,’ Madeline said, accepting the situation without
argument.

‘
If
you feel up to riding, we’ll move on,’ the Texian requested, then
his eyes went to the black. ‘Hey! Where did they get the
side-saddle?’

‘
It’s
mine,’ Madeline answered. ‘I had it with me on the coach and my
horse was fastened to the boot. Would you help me up, please. I
don’t want to delay you.’

Complying with the
woman
’s
request, Ole Devil mounted the dun and retrieved his second horse.
The party started moving and, as before, Tommy ranged ahead. In the
late afternoon, as Ole Devil and the women were approaching a
deserted building, they saw the little Oriental returning. They
were about a mile from Santa Cristobal Bay, but could not see it as
yet.

‘
There’s a ship in the bay, Devil-san,’ Tommy announced,
bringing his horses to a stop.

‘
Is it
the one we’ve come to meet?’ Di inquired, although she sensed that
the answer would be negative.

‘
No,’
Tommy replied, confirming her suspicions. ‘It’s a small warship,
flying the Mexican flag.’

Standing on
the quarterdeck of the Mexican
navy’s ten-gun brig
Destructor,
having been called from his cabin by the master’s mate who
had the watch, Lieutenant Tomas Grivaljo directed his telescope at
the cause of the summons. Three riders were coming down the slope
towards the edge of Santa Cristobal Bay. They made no attempt to
conceal their presence from the ship’s working party who were
refilling the water barrels at the stream which flowed into the sea
at that point. The lack of concern was strange. The woman and the
taller of the two men were
gringos
and their companion, who rode in a subordinate
position behind them, appeared to be Chinese.

Puzzled by the
trio
’s
apparent lack of fear, Grivaljo studied the white man. Tall, young,
unshaven, he had on a buckskin shirt and light-colored trousers the
legs of which hung outside his boots. There was a pistol and bowie
knife balancing each other on his waist belt, but they were his
only visible weapons.
^xxvi
A closer examination of the female
suggested that ‘girl’ would be more appropriate than ‘woman’. She
was wearing a black hat like the man’s, and a black riding habit
but was sitting astride her horse. Neither she nor the small
Oriental appeared to be armed.

Seeing that the working party
were grabbing up weapons, the
gringo
raised his hands. He called something which
Grivaljo, watching him, could not hear. Holding a pistol in one
hand and cutlass in the other, the master’s mate who was commanding
the men on shore advanced warily. The trio brought their mounts to
a halt. Still keeping his hands level with the sides of his head,
the
gringo
swung his left leg up and over his dun’s neck. Although he
dropped to the ground, his companions remained in their saddles.
Ignoring them, Grivaljo kept the
gringo
under observation as he strolled to meet
the master’s mate.

There was nothing in the
gringo’s
attitude to suggest
that he had the slightest doubt about dismounting, thus leaving the
means by which he might be able to make a rapid departure. Looking
completely at ease, he walked a good thirty feet away from his
horse and companions. Then, coming to a halt in front of the
Mexican petty officer at a range where even a mediocre shot could
be expected to make a hit with a pistol, he started to speak.
Whatever the
gringo
was saying, he was apparently ready to back it up with some
kind of document. Taking a sheet of paper from his pocket, he
offered it to Master’s Mate Gomez who opened it out and looked down
at it After reading whatever was on it, he pointed towards the
ship. Then he handed back the document and he called to his
men.

Turning to his companions,
the
gringo
must have told them to dismount Jumping from his horse, the
small Oriental hurried to help the girl down. Then he held the
animal’s reins while she joined the
gringo.
They spoke together and she seemed to be
protesting. Instead of arguing, he pointed to one of the boats and
she went towards it

While the small Oriental led
their horses towards the stream, the
gringo
helped the girl into the boat and then
followed her in and sat by her side. Two of the sailors, looking
disgruntled at having the task thrust upon them by Gomez, shoved
the boat off, climbed aboard, and started to row towards
Destructor.

Ever conscious of his dignity and having no
desire to compromise it by showing his curiosity, Grivaljo lowered
the telescope as the boat was approaching. Then he went to where he
could watch without making his scrutiny too obvious.

On being brought alongside,
the
gringo
showed that he had some knowledge of ships. Standing up, he
took hold of the entering-ropes and hauled himself without any
difficulty on to the deck. Several members of the crew were
hovering around and, in fair Spanish, the
gringo
asked for help with the girl. There was a
rush of volunteers such as Grivaljo had never seen on other
occasions when the men were called upon to carry out some duty, but
the bosun’s bellow of displeasure drove them back. Having done so,
the bosun and the
gringo
leaned over. The girl had risen nervously and, taking hold
of her wrists, they heaved. With a startled yelp, she found herself
being plucked from the boat. Her feet beat a tattoo against the
side of the ship until she was set down on the deck.