Ralph Compton Train to Durango, page 27
“He’ll see us when we load the horses,” said Wes.
“We aren’t going to be loading them,” Silver said. “Hogan’s horses will be loaded first. Ours won’t be loaded until he’s boarded the train, and one of the railroad men will take care of that. We’ll climb aboard the caboose just as the train’s pulling out. Let him search the passenger coaches and wonder where we are.”
• • •
Denver, Colorado, April 26, 1885
Silver, Wes, and El Lobo had been watching the Hogan house all night, and not until an hour before train time did Hogan emerge.
“He has a carpetbag,” said Silver. “This may be it.”
Monique and Louise had breakfast on the table.
“Sorry,” Silver said. “I wish we had time to eat, but it looks like our bird’s ready to fly away on the morning train. In case we don’t get back this way, your generosity is most appreciated.”
Silver was out the door, Wes and El Lobo right behind him, before the two women could react. Taking their time getting to the livery, the men waited until they could hear the whistle of the approaching train before starting for the depot. From a distance, they could see Hogan standing beside his saddled horse. A hostler held three more horses on lead ropes. The horses were led up a ramp into the boxcar, and the sliding door was closed. Hogan didn’t board the train immediately, but stood there looking around. Finally, when the train blew a departing blast from its whistle, Hogan boarded one of the passenger coaches. Only then did Silver, Wes, and El Lobo ride in behind the caboose. A brakeman took their horses to a boxcar directly behind the one Hogan had ordered. Silver, Wes, and El Lobo then climbed into the caboose.
“My name’s Shawnessy,” said the brakeman, when he returned.
“I’m Bryan Silver. This is Wes Stone and Palo Elfego. We’re obliged to the railroad for allowing us to travel in the caboose.”
“Glad to have you,” Shawnessy said. “Our orders are to help you any way we can.”
Shawnessy asked no questions, and none of his three passengers volunteered any information, so there was no conversation. The train stopped at Silverton long enough to take on water and unload some freight. With a clanging of its bell and a shriek of its whistle, the train lurched into motion. The next stop would be Durango.
• • •
The Little Colorado River, April 26, 1885
Elias Hawk and Hobie Denbow had discovered that the Little Colorado was, indeed, a difficult river to cross with a loaded wagon.
“Damn such a river,” said Denbow. “We must of come thirty miles out of our way, lookin’ for a crossing. We should of gone on downstream a ways. These canyons are only gettin’ deeper and wider.”
“Use your head,” Hawk said angrily. “Every mile we traveled downstream would take us that much farther from where we have to go. If all else fails, we can follow this river to where it forks off from the Colorado, and then follow the Colorado to Yuma.”
“Ain’t you forgettin’ something? We got the gold, so Hogan won’t need a wagon. Him and his killers can ride us down. We got no time to spare,” said Denbow.
“Thanks,” Hawk said with some sarcasm. “I could never have figured that out by myself. We have no choice but to go on the way we’re headed.”
• • •
Durango, Colorado, April 26, 1885
With clanging bell, the train rolled into Durango and shuddered to a stop.
“Shawnessy,” said Silver, “we’re going to remain in here as long as we can. We have three horses and our saddles in a boxcar. Will you see that they’re unloaded just before the train pulls out?”
“I’ll do it,” Shawnessy said. “Good luck.”
When Shawnessy had gone, Silver climbed an iron ladder that led to the glassed-in cupola on top of the caboose.
“See anything?” Wes asked.
“Yes,” said Silver. “On a side track, there’s a flat car with a brand-new freight wagon. It must have been brought in from Santa Fe, and I’m betting it belongs to Hogan. There go some railroad men with a ramp.”
“And here’s Shawnessy with our horses,” Wes said.
There was a warning bellow from the locomotive’s whistle signaling departure.
“Let’s go,” said Silver. “If that’s Hogan’s wagon, he’ll be occupied with it for a while.”
Hogan was indeed busy, for the gunmen he had hired had met the train.
“I don’t see nobody follerin’ you,” Blanton Hood said suspiciously.
“You didn’t see that other boxcar, with their horses?” Hogan asked. “Damn it, they’re somewhere on that train. I told you they’ll be following me. Now help me harness the horses to this wagon.”
“You didn’t tell us you aim to take a wagon through canyon country,” said Hood.
“That’s no business of yours,” Hogan snapped. “You’re being paid to see that I reach Yuma alive.”
“Hell,” said Illivane, “it’ll take forever to get there in a wagon. You’ll be lucky to get across the Little Colorado on a horse.”
“Let me worry about that,” Hogan said. “Concern yourselves with the three who will be following us. That’s where the bounty is.”
When the team had been harnessed, Hogan drove to the depot, where he picked up the heavy crate with the gold he had withdrawn and sent ahead.
“Now what?” Hood demanded.
“I have something more to load,” said Hogan. “All of you are welcome to wait for me here. Then we’ll head south.”
“Since we’re riskin’ our necks to get you to Yuma,” Hood said, “we’ll just stick with you. Lead out.”
There was no help for it, so Hogan started for the mine. Not only did he have a band of suspicious killers following him, he soon would have to settle with Hawk and Denbow. Hogan reined up a good distance from the mine and climbed down from the wagon box.
“All of you wait here,” said Hogan, drawing his Colt. “There may be trouble.”
Hood laughed. “That’s what you hired us for, bucko. We’re goin’ with you.”
Hogan had dire misgivings, but there was little he could do. His Colt cocked, he stepped into the tunnel.
“Anybody here?” Hogan shouted.
Only the sound of the wind whispered through nearby trees. Hogan went deeper into the tunnel, unsure as to how he might open Hawk’s hidden door. But to his surprise, the door stood partially open, and Hogan paused in what had been the living quarters for Hawk and Denbow.
“Well, go on, damn it,” said Hood. “The door’s open.”
“Then you go first,” Hogan said, stepping aside.
Hood seized one of the ladder-back chairs and flung it through the door. It skittered across the stone floor of the cavern, and there were almost simultaneous bellows from two shotguns. One load slammed into the partially open door, chest-high.
“Well,” said Hood, “you aim to go in there and look around?”
“I don’t need to,” Hogan said. “I’ve been double-crossed. They had to use a wagon and it had to leave tracks. We’ll follow it.”
“Like hell,” said Hood. “Our deal was to get you to Yuma alive.”
“We’re still going to Yuma,” Hogan said desperately, “but not until I catch up to the scoundrels who robbed me.”
Hood laughed. “Robbed you of what?”
“None of your damn business,” said Hogan.
“Then maybe we’ll just track it down and make it our business,” Hood said. “Some of you look around and see if you can find wagon tracks.”
“There’s a wagon over yonder,” said Illivane.
“Their old one,” Hogan said.
“Wagon tracks headin’ south,” said Ginsler.
“In that case,” Hood said, “we’ll follow. Maybe they’re bound for Yuma too.”
Drade Hogan said nothing. He had a strong suspicion that Hawk and Denbow would be leaving the country if they reached Yuma ahead of him.
“I’ll travel as fast as I can,” said Hogan. “I want you hombres behind me, because the three that’s after me will be coming.”
“Let ‘em come, and get that bounty ready,” Hood said. “We’ll do a little bushwhackin’ and find out just how hard these varmints are to kill. Easterly, Bender, and Arrington, I want you to fall back and unlimber your Winchesters.”
Silver, Wes, and El Lobo had been close enough to observe Hogan and his companions enter the mine. They also heard the two shotgun blasts. Then they watched, as some of the men studied the ground. Finally, with Hogan again on the wagon box, they all headed south.
“Trip wires,” said Silver. “If I’m any judge, the Señor Hogan has been double-crossed, and Hogan’s taking this bunch to go after the culprits.”
“They’re all headin’ south,” Wes said. “The Mexican border, you reckon?”
“I doubt it,” said Silver. “Since you and Palo raised so much hell last year in Mexico, the Mexican government looks with suspicion on Yankees of any stripe.”32
“Yuma close to water,” El Lobo said. “Sailing ship, per’ap?”
“Palo, that may be the answer,” said Silver. “From Yuma, it’s practically a stone’s throw to the Gulf of California. A sailing ship could anchor far enough off-shore, and be out of reach of American authorities, while being ignored by the Mexicans.”
“So we don’t know if Hogan was headed for Yuma,” Wes said. “He could be in pursuit of whoever double-crossed him and lit out with the gold.”
“That’s about the only thing that makes sense, whether it’s Hogan making tracks, or the gents who double-crossed him,” said Silver.
As they continued following Hogan’s wagon and the hoof prints left by a dozen riders, it became more obvious the trail was leading southwest.
“I think we’d better be prepared for an ambush,” Wes said. “Just because somebody’s done Hogan out of most of his gold, he likely won’t forget about us.”
“We no have the perro with us,” said El Lobo.
“No,” Wes said, “and I regret leaving him behind. Empty’s saved my life more than once, sniffing out bushwhackers.”
“We’ll split up,” said Silver. “I’ll continue following the wagon. Wes, you’ll ride maybe a mile to the east, and Palo, you’ll ride a mile or so to the west. Look for tracks where riders may have doubled back.”
“Why don’t you let me take the ride down the middle?” Wes said. “If Palo or me fail to spot the bushwhackers in time, they could drill you dead-center.”
“Because I know you and Palo won’t fail,” said Silver. “Now ride.”
Wes and El Lobo kicked their horses into a lope, leaving in opposite directions, while Silver continued following the tracks of Hogan’s wagon. It was Wes who found the fresh tracks of three horses, circling wide, heading back the way they had come. Bryan Silver was in grave danger, and Wes kicked his horse into a fast gallop. He had to spring the trap before Silver rode within Winchester range. The three bushwhackers heard the galloping horse and began firing at Wes. But he reined up, just out of reach. The firing had served as a warning to Silver, and El Lobo came in riding hard, Winchester in hand. The three bushwhackers gave it up and rode madly to catch up with their comrades.
“Well?” said Blanton Hood, when Easterly, Bender, and Arrington reined up.
“They was ready for us,” Arrington said. “One of ‘em stayed on the trail, while the other two flanked us.”
“So you all turned tail like a bunch of scairt wolves,” said Hood.
“Our cover wasn’t that good,” Easterly said. “Hell, I ain’t gettin’ myself ventilated for a bounty that’s to be split twelve ways.”
“That goes double for me,” said Bender.
“I reckon I’ll have to go along with that,” Arrington said. “A surprise bushwhacking is one thing, but by God, when they’re waitin’ for me with Winchesters, that’s where I draw the line.”
“Damn the three of you,” said Blanton Hood. “Now we’ll have one hell of a time bushwhacking them, if we’re able to at all.”
“What was the shooting about?” Hogan asked, slowing his teams.
“Failed ambush,” said Hood. “Get them teams moving.”
A mile and a half behind, Wes and El Lobo came together with Silver.
“Bueno,” Silver said. “We’ll stay back behind them, well out of range for a while, and let them think about that failed bushwhacking. They’ll try again, and when they do, we’ll rush them from three sides and gun them down.”
But the outlaws, while watching their back trail, made no further attempts to ambush their pursuers.
“I’m a mite tired of this,” said Wes. “We could move in at night and give ‘em hell with our Winchesters.”
“We could,” Silver said, “but Hogan’s headed for a showdown with whoever’s taken the gold. When all these coyotes are bloodied from fighting among themselves, we’ll move in. Right now, we’re out-gunned four to one. We’ll follow along for a while, yet.”
• • •
The Little Colorado River, May 2, 1885
“They had trouble finding a place to cross,” Hogan said exultantly. “This is our chance to catch up to them.”
Blanton Hood said nothing. He was well aware that Illivane had been talking quietly to the eight men who had long been riding with him. Nothing had been said to Arrington or Ginsler, friends of Blanton Hood, but Hood kept his silence. He had long heard rumors of Drade Hogan’s wealth, and he was virtually certain they were in pursuit of those riches. When at last they caught up to that elusive wagon, Hood would make his move.
• • •
“They’ve had some trouble gettin’ across the Little Colorado,” said Silver.
“The original wagon tracks lead upstream, and Hogan’s following,” Wes said. “They’d have a better chance of finding a crossing downstream.”
“But that would take them the way they don’t want to go,” said Silver. “The more I see of this, the more certain I am that whoever has the gold is headed for the Gulf of California and a sailing ship.”
• • •
Southwestern Arizona, May 5, 1885
Elias Hawk and Hobie Denbow were less than a hundred miles from Yuma when their luck turned sour. The wagon’s left rear wheel slammed into an unseen hole, splintering the axle where it passed through the hub.
“Good thing we have a spare axle,” said Denbow.
“A mixed blessing,” Hawk said. “Replacing it will take time we just don’t have.”
It was more difficult than they expected, for the ground was soft and the foot of the wagon jack kept sinking into the earth. It would not lift the heavy wagon.
“Damn it,” said Hawk, “we’ll have to unload it again.”
They labored for an hour, unloading the wagon, most of an hour replacing the broken axle, and another hour reloading the wagon. By then it was sundown. They unharnessed the teams for the night and lit a small fire, unaware they were being watched. Hood, Illivane, and Ginsler had ridden far ahead of Hogan’s wagon.
“Well,” said Illivane, “are we goin’ to piddle along with Hogan’s wagon, or do we end this chase on our own?”
“We’ll end it when I say,” Hood replied. “Hogan’s still five days behind with that damn wagon. I don’t want nothin’ said to him about us catchin’ up with these coyotes. We’ll plan a surprise for them, once they’re a little closer to Yuma.”
The trio rode back to Hogan’s camp, reaching it shortly before midnight. Surprisingly, Drade Hogan was awake and furious.
“Where the hell have you three been?” Hogan demanded. “I’m not paying you to gallivant around at night. I could have been attacked.”
“We had some business to take care of,” said Hood calmly.
The three of them unsaddled their horses, ignoring Hogan’s cursing.
• • •
“They’re gettin’ tired following Hogan’s wagon,” Wes said. “Where you reckon those three went that rode out tonight?”
“I’m guessing they rode ahead to catch up to the hombres that took Hogan’s gold,” said Silver. “If they have any idea the wagon Hogan’s chasing is full of gold double eagles, his life won’t be worth a plugged peso. Next time they ride out, we’ll follow them.”
“They could leave Hogan behind, take the other wagon, and be across the border before Hogan could catch up to them,” Wes said.
“That’s what I’m expecting,” said Silver. “Hogan’s about to be double-crossed again, and by the very bunch he’s brought along to protect him. However all this ends, I think Hogan will get what’s coming to him. I want to recover that stolen gold, if we can.”
• • •
Southwestern Arizona, May 6, 1885
“Even with the trouble we’ve had,” said Denbow, “we’ll reach Yuma before that ship’s there in the Gulf of California. Then what?”
“We’ll cross the border and wait,” Hawk replied.
But they were never to reach Yuma or the border. After supper they turned in for the night, and just before dawn, Blanton Hood and five of his followers rode in shooting. They dragged the bullet-riddled bodies of Hawk and Denbow away from the wagon and then tore into the metal containers filled with double eagles.
“Great God Almighty,” Ginsler shouted, “we’re rich.”
“Not till we’re rid of Hogan,” said Arrington.
“We ought to tell Hogan what we’ve done, and let him take the gold on to Yuma, or maybe even across the border. Hogan must have some plan for getting past them.”
“Maybe you’ve got something there,” Hood said, “but when we tell Hogan we killed the two varmints that double-crossed him, is he gonna believe we don’t know what’s so damn valuable in this wagon?”
“He’ll have no choice,” said Illivane. “We’ll use him if we can, but if he starts pawin’ the ground and raisin’ hell, we can always just shoot him.”
