DISCLAIMERS: Don't own them; don't make any profit off of them. All of the Magnificent Seven characters belong to MGM, Mirisch, Trilogy, and CBS. The original characters belong to me. Please do not use them unless you ask. All original characters portrayed in every fan fiction on this website, including characters' names, are fictitious and have no relation to nor reflection upon anyone living or dead.
Awaking only to squint at the bright moonlight shining above him in the cloudless sky, Cal Jenkins slowly took stock of his condition. He hurt like hell. His mouth felt like dried cotton due to the gag, but he had not been wounded as badly as he had originally thought. In fact, he had a clean bandage strapped tightly around his midsection. Nathan had in fact paused long enough to roughly inspect the wound. Noting he didn't have the time or the equipment to remove the bullet from the unconscious man, Nathan had cleaned and dressed the wound before he and Josiah had ridden off to join the others. It was a fluttering piece of paper pinned to the ground between a small fire and Cal's left hip that drew Jenkins' first shred of conscious reality. Anger flooded his face as he read the note left to him by one of the seven.
Nathan had merely raised an inquisitive eyebrow when he had seen Josiah take out a rumpled piece of paper from his coat pocket and a pencil. Looking over Josiah's shoulder, Nathan had burst into a snort of laughter. Sanchez's humor was getting as twisted as Tanner's for the preacher had left a note for the unconscious prisoner, pinned right where it could be illuminated by the small fire they had left for the outlaw against the cold embrace of the night. The words brought a stream of curses from Cal's enraged lips; all of which were unintelligible, since the gag prevented Cal from making any real coherent noises.
The note simply read, "Don't worry, you'll live long enough to stand trial and hang."
'Hang, hell! No one was going to hang Cal Jenkins.'
Working furiously, Cal twisted and turned his wrists trying to loosen the ropes. His head was pounding a staccato rhythm in his head. One jarring twist had brought his head in contact with the rock wall he had been left leaning against. The sore spot where Buck had so happily cracked his head against the rock connected yet again with that unyielding surface, causing a renewed pain to erupt within his skull. So intent on the pain and nausea that shot through his body, he never heard the thundering of horses' hooves until Guy Royal and his men abruptly halted in front of him. He brought red, pain tinged eyes up to stare owlishly at the rancher and his men.
"Well, what do we have here, boys?" Royal looked down from his horse as one of his men ran over to remove the gag Buck had so generously stuffed into Jenkins' mouth. Royal's paid tracker, who had spotted the small fire, had already ridden ahead to check for anyone left to guard the prisoner. He reported back that there were no guards. Royal frowned, and then turned his attention back to Jenkins. "Appears you pissed someone off real good, boy. Let me guess, you had a run in with Larabee and his boys."
Jenkins grabbed the canteen one of the other men tossed him and took a long swig. "Yeah, I got in their way, an' one of 'em shot me an' another one stole my horse. Then they tied me up an' left me here." Jenkins figured he had nothing to lose by trying to shift himself from captured outlaw to innocent victim. There was a good chance this man did not know who he was. Besides, the way the older man had said Larabee's name had made Cal think there was no love lost between these men and the seven. He could work that to his advantage.
"Horse thievin' now eh? I don't doubt that, but I think you did somethin' more than get in their way. You wouldn't know anything about them little girls that got snatched or how far ahead them bastards are, would ya?" Royal had a pretty good idea who this man was, but he was willing to play along if he got the right amount of information.
"You cut me loose an' give me a horse, mister, an' I'll show you where them men and them little girls are." Jenkins had no intention of keeping his word. He only wanted a horse and a chance to make it to Mexico to retrieve his stash and lay low until the law forgot about him.
Royal nodded to one of his men to cut Jenkins loose. His tracker came back at that moment leading a horse, Jenkins' horse. "I guess we can't hang 'em for horse thievin', now." Royal sounded disappointed, like a kid who had just had his favorite toy stolen. The animal looked worse for wear, but it was no longer spent. The two-hour lead the seven had and the horse's freedom had allowed the animal to walk aimlessly about regaining some of its strength. Jenkins grabbed the reins from Zeke Martin and gingerly mounted under Guy Royal's intense scrutiny.
Cal turned slowly to face Royal, stalling while looking everywhere for an escape route. It took only a nod from Royal for any gaps leading to freedom to be quickly closed. The thirteen men who remained with Royal were paid too well not to follow their orders. Scowling in defeat, Jenkins had no choice but to lead the way back toward the seven men who by now should have reached the area where he had left Tug, Iza, and his dead partner. His position now was worse than when he had been left alone. He was no longer bound securely but was followed by two men holding their rifles pointed directly at his back.
His head was pounding still, beating with every step the horse made. His side was on fire, and he felt dizzy and sick. Jenkins was sure he would hang now. Silently, Jenkins vowed before he swung, he would take those damn cousins with him. Had he known that taking those little girls would have brought three posses down on his head, he never would have chosen that one payload to rob. 'Damn John Terrell and that peacekeeper who was kin to him!' He could only hang once, so Jenkins vowed he would take as many of those who had caused his capture with him as he could. He rode ahead still plotting his escape and his revenge.
As Jenkins had been captured by the seven, Tug and Iza had helped each other bind their wounds. Their main concern was finding the two little girls they had nearly gotten killed trying to protect. Their horses had scattered with the violence, leaving them on foot without food or water. They had trudged off in the direction the twins had taken just an hour after Cal had been brought down by Vin Tanner. Their pain filled trek had not taken them far. Blood loss, exhaustion, and just plain hunger and thirst brought them to the same spot the twins had dismounted. Their untended fire having died out left no signal for Tug or Iza to notice.
Secure in their cave, the twins slept safely as Tug and Iza found a secluded spot off of the trail hidden from view just below the twins. They remained silent as a group of men leading several spare horses rode past. Knowing they were most likely the posse that had been hounding them, Tug and Iza were not willing to be caught without having the twins safely in their care. Both men knew they could not make themselves known without the twins to support their claim that they were only trying to save the little girls from Jenkins and Two Feathers. Better to find the twins first and then turn the little girls loose near a sheriff's office and make their way out of the territory as soon as possible rather than take their chances trying to convince an irate father that they had lost the girls trough no fault of their own.
John Terrell kept riding, following the tracker that Sheriff Johnson had brought with him from Brecken. Not as good as Tanner, but gifted in his own way, Mace Halloway had been the first to spot the trail the twins had left for them. Having met Tanner on a chase a while back when the peacekeepers from Four Corners had joined a posse from Brecken to hunt down a jilted fiancé who had murdered his rival, Mace had learned that Tanner was as good a teacher as he was a tracker. The young deputy had learned a lot from Tanner in the five days it had taken to track the murderer down for Tanner had used the time to show both Holloway and JD Dunne a few tricks of the trade. He had even heard a tale or two along the way from JD on how Tanner had taught his little twin cousins how to track him to his favorite fishing hole.
Confirming from Terrell that his daughters were indeed quite adept already at tracking, Holloway had begun to look more and more off the trail ignoring the jibes of his friends and the lack of any clear trail until he had been rewarded with a very unsurprising, to him that is, piece of evidence. It was a very small white satin bow that should have adorned a very pretty little pinafore but instead was sticking out beneath a piece of rock about five feet out in the brush beside the trail. The other men had merely raised impressed eyebrows and then had fanned out to find even more little pieces of satin ribbon, torn pieces of lace, broken twigs laid out in the shape of arrows literally pointing the way they had been taken by their kidnappers. After the third very obvious clue pointing out their direction, Johnson had voiced his opinion that the twins must have found allies amongst their kidnappers for he doubted they were that clever to have planted all those clues without having someone like Two Feathers find them out.
John Terrell did not mention that his girls were indeed that clever, but he did begin to hope that his darling twins had conquered yet another hardened man or two with their precocious brand of charm. The fact that they were obviously alive and healthy enough to leave hidden clues sparked him with an unshakable belief that if any children could survive a kidnapping by a murdering bunch of cutthroats, it would be his twins. He would have laughed if he hadn't been so damned scared. Changing to their rested mounts, Terrell and the rest of the posse continued on in the moonlight after Holloway finally voiced his opinion that they were only hours behind the kidnappers. If they had indeed paused to rest their horses and the posse allowed Holloway to track ahead further up the trail alone so as not to alert anyone left to guard the back trail, he thought it would be only a matter of several hours before they had the kidnappers pinned down.
It was within that very amount of time that Mace Holloway had come upon the very spot where the outlaws had fought and from where the twins had escaped. He rounded the corner carefully on foot, peering over the edge of a boulder to look upon several men standing over a body in the moonlight. Mace was just about to move to higher ground in order to spot the twins when he heard the click of a weapon behind him. A soft, whispery growl echoed in his ear as his heart flipped over and dropped straight to his knees scaring the life right out of him.
"You should be careful the folks ya creep up on, Mace. It's a good way to get yourself a gutful of lead."
Mace Holloway sighed in relief as he turned to face Vin Tanner. Behind him were Buck Wilmington and Chris Larabee. Wilmington wore a somewhat sympathetic look on his face as he acknowledged the young deputy.
"He 'bout scares the shit out ya sneakin' up on a man like that, don't he?"
Holloway snorted in agreement and dropped his shaking hand from the butt of his six-shooter. "Hell, I was measurin' myself for a coffin 'til I recognized ya, Vin."
Tanner would have smiled, but he and Chris had already recognized the young Brecken deputy and the sorry fact that his single presence meant. It was then that the young man and Wilmington realized at the same time that somewhere, one of the groups had actually passed right by the kidnappers and the twins. There was only one thing left to do. Gather the two groups and backtrack in the moonlight to wherever Terrell and his posse had passed the twins. As Mace led Larabee and Tanner to Vin's uncle, Buck went after the rest of the boys.
The meeting was simple and to the point. John Terrell had without word or thought walked right up to his wife's nephew and pulled the younger man into a fierce embrace. It didn't surprise Chris at all when he saw Tanner return the embrace and pat his uncle on the back comforting them both, for Vin had long ago stopped trying to keep his aunt's family at arm's length. It had been a losing battle as he had fallen victim first to his cousins' devoted love and his aunt's determined claim that after twenty years of searching for him, she would in no way be held at arm's length. Knowing he had met his match, Vin had put up only a half-hearted attempt to keep his distance until he had eventually allowed his aunt to hug him whenever she felt like it. Under the circumstances and armed with the knowledge that his poor uncle had to put up with his aunt's and cousins' spontaneous affection all of the time, it was not surprising that Vin had allowed his uncle by marriage into his very small and select group of individuals with whom he felt comfortable and trusted completely. It was also no surprise to the rest of the seven when John accepted without anyone having said even a word that his group must have missed the twins somewhere behind them.
"I don't know how we missed them, but we obviously have. Do you think we lost them?" Terrell looked first at Vin and then at Larabee too distraught to even shake Chris' hand. He didn't know that the men had come across the exact spot that Jenkins had been terrorized into describing to them where he and Two Feathers had tried to kill the cousins who had become more and more attached to the little girls.
"S'okay. We probably woulda passed right by 'em in the dark if we didn't know that they'd split up already."
"Split up? How? Why?" Now Sheriff Johnson was as confused as he could be. Chris took up the explanation quickly when he spotted Ezra opening his mouth to explain. The gambler looked just a tad hurt that Chris had interrupted what would have been an extremely erudite explanation, but Chris figured most of the posse was just too tired to try and decipher Ezraspeak.
"We ran into Cal Jenkins coupla hours back. Vin an' the boys scared him so bad he would have turned his own mother in. Seems two of the men ridin' with them were new an' didn't cotton to Cal's habit of killin' witnesses. Those boys were doin' a good job of protectin' the girls from Two Feathers. Seems he was spooked by 'em, an' Jenkins was tryin' to cut his losses. He was gonna sell the girls down in Mexico. Figured he could get rid of 'em without killin' 'em an' getting' the whole territory after him. Came down to a fight. One of 'em killed Two Feathers an' the other one wounded Jenkins. Seems they let the twins get away during the fight."
Vin added his own take on the situation. "I'd say this Tug 'n Iza fellas are still lookin' for the twins. Wouldn't do for 'em to try an' turn themselves in without havin' the girls all safe an' sound. Only problem is will the twins let 'em find 'em easy or not."
"Hell, Vin. When have the darlin's ever done easy?"
"I must say I do not envision our lovely young ladies allowing themselves to be imprisoned once again by any of those miscreants without using their God-given talents with which to deter those heinous villains."
Five men from Johnson's posse simultaneously said, "Huh?"
John Terrell merely smiled ruefully at the men with whom he trusted his beloved daughters without question. "I don't want to know what you meant by God-given talents, do I?"
Josiah patted Terrell on the shoulder sympathetically, "No, Brother John, you don't want to go there."
"Aw hell, Josiah. Me an' Ezra didn't let Buck an' JD teach the twins nuthin' that would hurt 'em. We only taught 'em to use what they got handy to help 'em out of a bad situation."
"Now just wait one cotton pickin' minute, Vin. What's with this? You sayin' me and JD could have hurt the darlin's with those slingshots I gave 'em?" Buck saw the look on John's face. "Oops. They were just little slingshots for huntin', John, so's the darlin's don't get hungry if they get caught alone out in the wild." Terrell had a glare worthy of Larabee. Busk stepped a little in front of JD as if to protect him from the irate father.
John didn't know whether to yell in frustration or hit someone or just plain forbid these men access to his daughters. Then, he saw the looks on first Vin's and then Ezra's faces. Neither man looked like he was going to apologize for anything the twins had been taught, and John knew in that moment he would back all seven men no matter what his wife would say. There was no way that anyone of them would teach or do anything that would in any way endanger his children.
No, if they had taught his girls how to use a slingshot, it was only one of the many lessons these men believed the twins needed to know in order for them to survive in the West. John knew enough about each man to know that anything they taught was with the knowledge that it might one day save his daughters' lives. His smiled then, almost relaxed for he knew that they would find his babies shortly, and if he should worry about anyone, it should be the two fools who thought his daughters would welcome them with open arms. He could almost find it in his heart to feel sorry for Tug and Iza. Almost, but not much. John looked at Vin and the others. Sheriff Johnson and Mace Holloway flanked him on either side. The rest of the posse knew that they would do whatever Tanner and Larabee recommended.
"What do you suggest we do now?"
"Gonna be light in an hour or so. From what I can see back where the body is, this Tug and Iza left 'bout an hour ago. They were on foot, an' I saw blood. One or more of 'em are wounded, so it's gonna slow 'em down a lot. Jenkins said the twins lit out on a horse. I'd say they ditched it an' found someplace that was well covered up high where they could feel safe. I reckon' they're exhausted by now, an' if they ain't sleepin' hard an' deaf right now, I'll eat my hat. Chances are the girls didn't hear ya pass by an' the two men still don't have the girls, so they didn't stop ya for help no matter how bad they're hurt. I'd say we'll catch up with em' right at sun up. I want Mace to come with me an' JD. Ezra, too. We'll go on foot from here. You boys give us a half hour, an' then y'all follow. Four of us on foot have a better chance of sneakin' up on these last two fellas without gettin' the twins hurt."
Chris and John both looked like they were going to protest, but Vin leaned over and spoke in a conspirator's tone, but loud enough for all the other men to hear him. "Sides, if they got the girls, Ezra can talk 'em into givin' them up without a fight. Man could talk the devil hisself into strippin' nekkid an' getting' baptized before devil knows what hit him." That snide comment got a swat that nearly got the backside of his head with JD's hat from Buck and a smile of pure vanity from Ezra. Nathan rolled his eyes as Vin neatly sidestepped Buck's attempt to hit him, and JD jerked his hat out of Buck's hand and jammed it on his head holding it securely with both hands. John just shook his head while Chris and Josiah both looked on with looks of unholy glee on their faces. They were all getting just a tad punch drunk with fatigue, but too close to their goal to stop now. It was time to finish this and get those little girls home to their worried mother.
The twins woke at dawn unaware that their would be rescuers had passed them in the night. Lisha walked cautiously to the entrance of the cave that overlooked the entire area. Ours would be so proud they had chosen the high ground. Her slingshot was in her outside pocket now within easy reach as were all the small stones she could carry. In her right hand was her little knife. It wasn't so much for protection as it was for cutting pieces of the brush that her little hands were not strong enough to tear for the fire she was going to build.
The coffee pot she had found inside one of the saddlebags could be used to boil some water. She did not trust the hygiene of the men who owned the canteens, so she was going to boil their drinking water. A cup or so of this water could also be used so she and her sister could wash up. It didn't matter where you were in the wilderness, a lady could always find time to freshen up. At least Our Ezra had told her that while Ours had been off trapping rabbits. Her twin, who was as loath to greet the early morning as was a certain gambler of their acquaintance, was still sleeping back in the cave.
Lisha was taking no chances as she surveyed the area carefully before leaving her concealed position. She thanked her guardian angel that she had listened to Ours because she heard a noise that caught her attention. Standing very still she tried to place the sound. It took no more than a matter of seconds before the noise became louder. The little girl whipped silently around and ran back to drop by her sleeping image. Placing her hand over her twin's mouth, Lisha whispered her urgent message right next to Lison's ear so only her twin could hear.
"Sissy, wake up! There's miscreants down yonder!" Lison's eyes popped open, but she made no sound as she registered that this was not some nightmare as she had so desperately hoped for the night before. No, here they were still out in the wilderness by themselves running from kidnappers. She was filthy, her pinafore a dull, reddish brown color instead of the original, pristine white, she was hungry and thirsty, and she wanted her mommy and daddy and Ours and everything that signified home and love and safety. Instead she was being rudely awakened at this ungodly hour by her twin with the news that they had been found, but not by anyone they wanted so desperately to see.
"Who is it?" Lison whispered gamely back. She and her sister had already discussed the fact that no matter what, they were not going to be kidnapped again. Lison opened the pocket of her dirty pinafore so Lisha could drop the handful of stones, dirt and all into her pocket. She grabbed her slingshot in one hand as she struggled to put on her little boots. Lisha frowned and pulled the slingshot out of Lison's hands until she had her boots on; then, she handed the weapon back without a word. Both girls stealthily made their way out of the cave and into a position where they could see and hear the men below. The noises that had begun as groans were now full fledged grunts that were rapidly changing to words of recrimination and disgust.
"I told ya we shoulda just got a job with the railroad an' earned enough money to get to San Fransisco, but nooooo, you had to hook us up with them murderin' bastards! Now look at us, Iza! I'm all shot up an' you got yerself nigh on cut in two! Hell, we'll most likely die o' blood poisonin' before that there posse catches and hangs us! We ain't got no horses, no food, no water, an' we ain't got them little gals!" Tug was getting louder and louder as he complained. Iza was in no mood for Tug's temper tantrums.
"Well, hell, why don't ya jest start hollerin' for that there posse that passed us by a couple hours ago! You could make it easy fer em' an' put the damn rope round yer own neck, climb up that hill there, an' jest jump off an' hang yerself!"
"Ain't no call to go yellin' at me like that, Iza!" Tug's arm was hurting badly, and he just wanted to take the pain out on someone else. "My arm's burnin' like fire, an' we cain't afford to get caught by that posse without them little girls to speak up fer us. If they ain't with us to tell their pa an' that hours fella that we helped 'em,damn!" Whatever Tug was going to say was cut off as a small projectile flew out of nowhere to strike him right over the eye. Tug threw up his hand jerking his wounded arm and nearly passed out when he saw the blood dripping from between his fingers onto his shirt. He was too stunned to move as Iza grabbed his arm and tried to pull him to safety.
Another sharp object hit Iza right on his behind as he tried to run to the rocks behind him for cover. He yelped and did a little jig that did nothing to stop the pain the gash across his stomach caused him as he grabbed his butt with both hands. His eyes were wild with pain and terror as he just knew the posse had them surrounded and were going to shoot them dead. More projectiles, two, three, four, six, eight hit them with stunning force and accuracy. Both men were hopping and yelping trying to run and hide but stopping to grab whatever spot got hit next. Running into one another and knocking each other off of their own feet rendered even more scratches and bruises. Finally, they managed to crawl behind a rather large rock. Nothing happened at first, and the silence was unnerving for the two men. They looked around desperately to see from where the next barrage was going to come, but they couldn't see as the twins were carefully hidden in the rocks above.
Tug and Iza were ready to surrender just to stop the deadly bullets from cutting them to shreds. Then, after several minutes of silence while their assailants had peppered them seemingly without end, both men realized that nowhere was there the sound of gunshots. Tug watched in morbid fascination as a little stone smacked Iza right on his left temple when he stuck his head out from behind the rock exposing himself to Lisha's deadly fire. Iza nearly knocked himself out as he slapped his meaty fist over the cut that immediately began spurting blood over his eye. It was then that both men realized they were being pelted by stones and rocks, not bullets. Neither man was a genius, but each one knew that bullets made a lot of noise. They looked at one another and yelled at the same time.
"Slingshots!"
"It's them little gals shootin at us!"
Both men stood emboldened by the fact that they were being shot at by two little girls with slingshots.
"You two little she devils best stop now 'fore I catch you an' tan yer hides good!" Iza was mad at being made a fool of, so he resorted to what had always worked for him before. He continued to try to bully the girls into submission as his cousin stood next to him no longer afraid because those little girls could not possibly hurt them with just slingshots.
"Put down them toys and get yer scrawny asses down here, now!" Tug had always found bullying people with his size and the sound threat of a beating usually worked to get folks to do as he told them. Of course he and Iza had never before come across the Terrible Two who had been specially taught by none other than Vin Tanner and Ezra Standish in the arts of self-defense. If brute force was not an option, outsmart and annoy your opponent until they surrendered or help arrived.
"You best stop saying bad words! My mommy's gonna wash your mouths out with soap right after my daddy and Ours shoot you!" Lison made certain she moved to another spot just in case Tug or Iza thought to try and shoot them. "And I ain't no she devil! I'm a darlin' girl. Our Buck says so!" She moved back to her original spot doubting they were smart enough to know the twins would surrender only if they drew their guns, but that was their problem. She had already heard them say that the posse had passed them by hours ago. By now they could see there was no trail to follow, so all she and Lisha had to do was to stay out of reach and stall the two men until help came. Surely their men would realize that they had missed them somewhere and come back.
Tug fell right into her plan as he finally asked the question that had been driving him mad for the last twenty-four hours. "Who in the hell lets two little gals call them a name like they was a dang clock!"
Lisha picked up her weapons and made ready to move to another spot as she questioned Tug. "Tuuuug!" Even a coyote could recognize the sarcasm in her little voice. "We got the high ground an' water an' food. You got nuthin' but a bunch of men with guns chasin' you, an' all you're worried about is the name of a clock?" She motioned Lison to get ready for another barrage of stones and rocks. If Tug and Iza started to think about rushing them, they would be captured in a matter of minutes, so it was best not to give them time to talk.
Lisha had just started to point in the direction she wanted her twin to run when Lison's eyes grew wide in fright. A hand shot out from behind Lison to cover her mouth and pull her behind a rock. Just about to scream in anguish for her sissy, Lisha was cut off when another hand clamped over her mouth. She was pulled down, captured in the same manner as her sister had been taken.
Lisha began stuggling, trying to fight, but then miracuously stopped as she recognized her captor when he pulled her into a very familiar and fiercely warm embrace. She nipped at the hand over her mouth playfully and felt rather than heard the silent chuckle. She let her captor hug her soundly and then sat just where he put her. She knew better than to move until she was called for, so she leaned back against the rock and listened for the fireworks to erupt. She winked at the younger man next to her and let him ruffle her hair as he hugged her fiercely and then motioned for her to stay still and quiet. Lisha leaned over only enough to catch the two fingered salute her twin's captor gave her and the see the happy grin on Lison's face before turning her attention back to the two hapless men below who had no idea the amount of trouble they were in.
"I don't wanna know the name of some damn clock, ya little hell cat! Who is Hours?" Despite Iza trying to get his attention turned to finding the girls' hiding places, Tug was as stubborn as a mule when it came to some things. "Who the hell you keep callin' 'Hours'?" Tug yelled one more time when neither of the twins answered him. Iza stopped trying to get Tug's attention then and just stood there staring in shock at his cousin's stupidity.
"She ain't callin' him 'Hours" like with a clock! They's callin' this fella 'Ours" like he belongs to them, ya snake eatin' dummy!" Iza wasn't prepared for the swing Tug took at him turning both their attention away from the twins and anything else for that matter.
"Who you callin' a snake eatin' dummy, ya stupid jerk? I'll teach ya to call me a dummy. Them two gals have been talkin' 'bout this Hours fella since we got 'em! Hours this an' Hours that. Hell, I think he must have some sissy name iffen he lets two little girls call him Hours like a clock." Tug punched this time and got Iza right in the stomach causing his cousin to clutch his wounded gut and stumble to the ground wheezing for breath. It only stopped Iza for a second before his anger fueled head butted into his cousin's stomach, knocking Tug backwards towards the trail. Tug recovered his footing quickly and, despite the pain in his arm, would have taken another swing if he had not the sound of a gun going off above him brought him to a standstill. His fist stopped in midair as he wondered from where in the hell the little girls had gotten a gun. He heard first rather than saw as a gravely voice steeled with venom call a halt to the fight.
"Ain't no timepiece an' I ain't kin to no she devils or hell cats. I think you got more worries, Mister, than who's called what. I've skinned bigger men than you alive for lookin' much less touchin' what's mine. Now drop your guns an' get over there with your partner." Tug turned to see a man in a buckskin coat with long hair holding a mare's leg on him. The sun was rising behind him, illuminating him and the three men with him. The mare's leg caught the sun and flashed briefly at Tug and Iza almost blinding them. It made it difficult for Tug and Iza to make out what his face looked like. He was flanked on his right by another man with dark hair and a funny looking hat holding two six shooters on both him and his cousin. At least they looked like six shooters. The sun was beginning to glint off of them as well. To the left was a fancy dressed man in a dark green jacket who was aiming his weapon at them. Another man holding a rifle and a length of rope over his shoulder was standing off just a little behind the fancy dressed man.
Tug wasn't sure if these men were going to shoot them first or hang them. He just knew any move he or Iza made that angered the man in the middle would bring certain death. He stumbled over to Iza too afraid to say anything. Iza didn't look much better for he had seen the apparition holding the sawed off rise up as if he was a ghost right out of the ground. Iza and Tug both stood motionless as they watched two men holster their weapons and jump from the rocks where they had been standing to approach them. They stayed motionless under the sharp eyes of the other two men above them while they let the kid with the bowler hat and the fancy man, who had caught the rope tossed to him from the other man who took over guarding them with his rifle, walked towards them. No one spoke as Iza and Tug were tied up and pushed to the ground.
The fancy man waited until he had the cousins' attention before he delivered the threat that made Tug and Iza gasp in distress. "Apply the monikers of she devil or hell cat one more time to my lovely young ladies, and I will personally stake you out in the hot sun until you have withered into dust. Do you understand me?"
Both cousins shook their heads yes and then turned in at the sound of the twins' excited voices talking above them. They watched in complete amazement as the man who had spoken first slowly holstered his weapon. He said something to the other man behind him, and that young man slung his rifle over his shoulder and walked towards them. Standing alone, the man's whole attitude changed physically. He said something, nodded, then grinned as the twins jumped on the man, squealing in delight. He laughed out loud and caught them both, hugging them and spinning round and round with them.
"We knew you were coming for us!"
"We knew Daddy would tell you an' you would find us!"
"Are Mommy an' Daddy okay? Are Our Chris an' Our Buck with you?"
"Are Our Josiah an' Our Nathan with you, too? We shot Tug and Iza with rocks, so Nathan's got to fix 'em.'
"Yeah, they're all bloodied up. Can we go home now?"
"We want to see our mommy an' daddy an' Jamie an' Belle an'," Lison finished her twin's sentence for them.
"Aunt Mary an' Miz Nettie an' Billy, an' everybody!"
"Can we go home now?"
Carrying the twins one in each arm, Vin Tanner nimbly made his way down the decline looking as surefooted as a mountain lion. All of his attention was on the twins, Tug and Iza completely forgotten as Vin used the time to check out his girls.
"Your daddy's back with the others. They should be getting' here pretty soon. An' everyone else is back home waitin' on us to bring ya both back. Now, what I want to know is how come you got snatched in the first place? What've me and Ezra told you 'bout what you're supposed to do when you hear gunshots?"
JD winked at Mace indicating that this was a typical twin conversation as Ezra joined in the questioning. "I would be most appreciative at hearing your response to Mr. Tanner's questions, my dearest young ladies? How did you allow yourselves to be caught in such a precarious position?"
Both girls gasped in shocked surprise and then looked silently at one another. Pasting totally innocent looks upon their faces while still managing to look hurt by the accusations that they could have possibly had anything to do with their current predicament, they turned back to distract their two favorites to a more enjoyable line of conversation. Lison pounced on Ezra as soon as he was within pouncing distance. He caught the little girl neatly as Lisha leaned over with puckered lips to kiss him hello. The best defense was a good offense, and the twins knew that.
They also knew that they should have run away from the fighting at the train or hidden somewhere safe as fast as they could just like their parents and everyone else had instructed them to do should something like a robbery ever occur. Neither Tanner nor Standish would be deterred, though. Tug and Iza were still reeling in shock from everything that had happened in the last six hours. They were just happy to be alive and for this to be over. They could not seem to grasp the idea that the twins getting into this kind of trouble was a normal occurrence for the men present. The twins, much to JD's amusement and to Mace's curiosity, were still trying to come up with a reasonable explanation on how they had come to be close enough to the train to get kidnapped by Hank Two Feathers and Cal Jenkins.
Vin and Ezra were not falling for any of the sweet little diversions like hugging and kissing and asking about everyone and knowing that their heroes would save them. Vin looked at Ezra, and his eyes were dancing with merriment.
"Looks like curiosity nearly got the best of our two little hell cats."
Lisha gasped in wounded pride, "I thought you told them we weren't hell cats!"
"I told THEM not to call you that. Don't go trying to change the subject. How'd you two little bits fall into trouble this time?"
"Most assuredly. Do not, pray, attempt those shocked or innocent facial expressions with either one of us, my dears. Both Vin and I know that had you followed prior instructions, neither one of you would have been involved in this mishap. That is correct, is it not?"
"We only wanted to help, Our Ezra." Lison blinked several times at him. He almost fell for it, but a Standish was made of sterner stuff than to allow emotional blackmail to make him forget his duty in educating these two children.
"We wanted to make sure that Daddy was all right. Mommy gets awfully mad when someone gets shot, 'specially Daddy." Lisha had her arms entwined around Vin's neck, and her big blue eyes were just begging him not to be mad at her.
"Your daddy's been takin' care of himself an' your mommy for more years than you've lived. You're goin' to have to come up with somethin' better than that to get him not to tan your hides for disobeying him. Don't give me those big eyes full o' tears. I know you two."
Tug and Iza were beginning to pay attention to the exchange now. Their respect for the men who had captured them was growing by leaps and bounds. Here were actually two men who not only did not fall for the twins' wily ways, they both knew how to anticipate their every move. It was downright spooky how the two men just slipped out of every little knot the twins tried to tie them up in.
Tug tried to whisper, "Would ya look at that, Iza. Him and that fancy fella must be the ones that taught them two little gals how to be so mean." The whisper was more like a shout that drew everyone's attention. Vin scowled at the cousins.
"You're lucky I don't shoot ya an' leave ya for buzzard bait." Vin had wasted all the words he was going to on the prisoners.
"Kidnapping children has to be the most reprehensible crime I can imagine. Bullets are too good for the likes of you." Ezra turned his attention back to the twins.
JD grinned at Mace, "Rope's probably too good for 'em, too. Could be Vin needs to use some of his Comanche tricks on 'em to teach 'em both a lesson they won't forget." JD had Tug and Iza squirming, wondering what was going to happen to them. Iza decided to proclaim how they had helped the twins before these men showed them what they thought was suitable punishment for kidnappers.
"We didn't hurt them none. Fact is when Hank and Cal dumped them two on us, we did our best to take care of 'em. We nearly got killed fightin' to keep 'em alive!" Tug nodded his agreement. Iza had succeeded in drawing Tanner's attention from the twins' disobedience to Tug and him again. Tanner scowled at him making him think maybe he should have let Tanner ignore them longer. Lisha and Lison knew that Tug and Iza had indeed taken good care of them and warned the little girls to be ready to run from Cal and Hank.
"They did fight the two mean men to help us, Ours."
Lison shook her head in agreement. "They took good care of me and Sissy while we were with them. They even let us set up a trail for Daddy to follow."
"We did?" Tug howled as Iza elbowed him in his arm. "Ow, Iza, cut that out!"
"We did just what them two little gals said we did, Mister. Me an' Tug have done some mighty poor things, but we never killed no one like the rest of that gang. We tried to leave 'em when Cal an' them killed all those people on that stage, but he kilt two of his own men already that disagreed with him. He was gonna kill us an' the little gals, too. We couldn't let him do that, so when we had the chance, we fought 'em an' let the little gals go."
Vin frowned at the cousins and then looked at the twins long and hard searching their faces. They certainly didn't seem scared of the two men. "All that true?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you hear that, Iza? They said, 'Yes, sir,' to that time fella!" Tug was impressed. Lisha smiled benevolently upon him.
"He's Ours cause he belongs to me an' sissy. You can call him Mister Tanner." She saw her twin nod in agreement as she leaned back against her cousin that she adored.
"If you are willing to tell the Judge all you know about Cal Jenkins, you might not hang." JD figured anyone who had the twins turn all their cunning upon them did deserve a break, especially since the twins vouched for Tug and Iza. They were probably just big old bullies who had finally met someone meaner than they were. A few years in prison just might straighten them out.
Mace shook his head truly impressed with the twins. The others didn't seem surprised at all that the two little girls had accomplished all they had. They had through their own ingenuity brought about the downfall of Cal Jenkins and Hank Two Feathers, the leaders of the notorious Ghost Riders. He was about to ask JD if trouble was a constant when the twins were present when he heard the warning shots announcing the combined posses' arrival. He shot twice in the opposite direction killing an old tree years dead from lack of regular rainfall just as John Terrell and Chris Larabee rounded the bend leading the men.
Both men were off their horses within seconds. Larabee walked up to question his men as John Terrell caught his daughters in mid air, his attention for anything else lost in the moment as he checked out his twins. They were truly the most obstinate, reckless, and disobedient children he had ever had the pleasure to call his own, and he would not have traded them for the world. He stood there holding them close to his heart with tears in his eyes while he threatened to lock them in their room until they were thirty if they ever disobeyed him again and scared him and their mother like that again. The twins petted and consoled their daddy until he was calm again and then turned their collective charm on the rest of the men.
Chris was staring at them with a knowing eyebrow raised which spoke volumes about what he had just been told by Vin. He grabbed the twins and hugged them anyway promising to help their daddy nail their room door shut. The twins kissed him on both cheeks and turned to easier prey. Buck grabbed his darlins' next. After kissing them both he handed them off to Josiah and Nathan. Buck then turned and clapped Terrell on the back. "What did I tell you! The clouds parted an' the sun came out!"
Chris rolled his eyes at John, "You can always count on Buck." Vin joined them as they watched the twins individually thank every member of the posse.
"That you can." Vin turned serious for a moment. "John, I don't think the twins are gonna run out in the open to see what's goin' on next time. Cal Jenkins and Hank Two Feathers scared the devil out of 'em even if they won't admit it." John raised a skeptical eyebrow as Ezra and JD joined them.
JD decided to help Vin soften the twins' punishment. He knew they would retaliate if he stood by and let their daddy fuss at them any more. "I think they were actually scared for a little while. When we came up, they were shootin' those two over there with slingshots. They were doin' a pretty darn good job of holdin' 'em off, too."
"I concur with my two compatriots that our young ladies will behave more circumspectly the next time any miscreants decide to relieve you of your payroll, but I would not hazard to wager any money on how long this lesson will deter them from attracting trouble."
Buck came up holding one of the twins and Josiah the other while Nathan went to check on Tug and Iza. "Did I hear right? My darlin's held off two grown men with their slingshots? Baby girls, I am so proud of you." Lisha's eyes got big and she tilted her head indicating that her father was listening. Lison shook her head as her father finally reacted to the words slingshots and how the twins used them. Buck just laughed as John Terrell threw his hands up in the air.
"And whom do I tell my wife gave them these slingshots when she asks?"
Chris looked at Buck's expression when Alexandra's name was mentioned and laughed. Buck knew he would catch hell for giving the twins the slingshots even if Vin, Ezra, and JD had helped him teach the girls how to use them.
"Now, John, maybe we shouldn't upset Alexandra with all the messy details." Vin snorted as Buck tried to escape Alexandra's wrath. The twins decided to help Buck.
"Buck's right, Daddy. That would just make Mommy yell, an' you know you don't like it when Mommy yells 'cause it wakes up Belle an' she starts cryin' an' all."
"An she makes you sleep on the floor. You can just tell her Tug and Iza helped us get away from the mean men."
"Are you suggesting that I lie to your mother?" That was a question John really wanted to know the answer to.
"Well?" Lisha locked eyes with her twin, and both girls knew not to even go down that road. "No sir, Daddy. Will you let me an' Lison tell her, though?"
"Please, Daddy? If we hadn't had our slingshots Our Buck gave us, they might have gotten us again an' made us go to Awstralya with 'em."
"They were going to take you where?" was the roar that came from their father. Vin winced as he was standing next to John, and it brought down silence upon the whole group. John forgot about Sheriff Johnson and started towards Tug and Iza who cowered against the rocks. Vin and Chris neatly stepped in his way.
"You don't want to do this, John," Chris tried to reason with the angry father even though he agreed with him.
"Now, John, these boys are gonna tell the judge all about al Jenkins an' all the murders they saw him commit. Jenkins' is gonna hang. Word'll get out what happens to men who try an' take our girls," Vin was getting ready to use his trump card, since his uncle shoved both him and Chris out of his way. Stepping in front of John one more time, Vin gave it his best shot lowering his voice for only John to hear. "Don't make me tell my beloved aunt that you beat the shit outa two fellas right in front of her baby girls."
John Terrell stopped two feet from his prey and turned his attention to his nephew, standing toe to toe keeping their conversation private. "You just don't want to have to explain to my beloved wife why you let me get arrested for murder."
"Damn straight." Both men stared at one another and would not back down. They both knew John had every right to be angry, but Vin was not going to let the man do something that would cause him all kinds of trouble.
"You taught my daughters how to use a slingshot to protect themselves." John was looking for a vent to his anger.
"I'd do it again." Tanner was willing to let his uncle vent. Fact was, he could use a way to vent as well.
"What other weapons have you given them?"
"Little pocket knives, an' I'm gonna give an' teach Belle the same soon as she gets old 'nough."
Josiah had given Chris his twin and had moved in to prevent John from doing anything the Judge might not like. It now sounded more like he needed to prevent uncle and nephew from coming to blows. Ezra took both twins and was walking them away from the potential violence as Buck and Chris closed in to help prevent any blows from being exchanged.
"Now, I know you're angry, John, you, too, Vin. But this is not the way, brothers." His towering frame loomed over both men. "Now, do I have to get Old Testament on the two of you?"
Vin and John turned and looked up at Josiah and then back to one another.
"You teach Jamie the same as the girls?"
"Jamie an' Billy. No one hurts what's mine."
"Good."
"We done here?"
"Damn straight!"
"I guess we'd better tell Josiah we don't want him getting' Old Testament on us."
"I think that's a damn good idea."
Both men turned back to Josiah. "You need to control that temper of yours, Josiah. You're scarin' the twins." Vin grinned evilly at Josiah. John turned one just as evil on the former preacher. It didn't phase Josiah any at all.
"You are also setting a bad example for my children, Josiah. I thought you were the one who taught them about the devine art of forgiveness?"
Vin sighed loudly, "Just don't tell him to give up goin' Old Testament on folks, Uncle John. Josiah knocked Reverend Cecil on his ass for tellin' him that."
"Josiah, you did that? Damn, and I missed it!" John slapped Josiah on the back as he grinned and took more steps away from the prisoners. He took both of his twins from Ezra.
"Keep it up, you two," Josiah boomed good-naturedly. "Proud I could help you boys find a peaceable solution."
"Us, too, Our Josiah. You could squish Daddy an' Ours if ya wanted to." Lisha smiled wisely at Josiah. She made him feel like he could take on the world for her and win. 'Lord, help all the unsuspecting males of this world when these two girls get older.'
"We told Tug an' Iza you'd squish 'em if they hurt us, too." Lison thought she was helping. Josiah stopped in his tracks as did everyone else. He had a dangerous glint in his eye, but everyone quickly calmed down as Lison continued, "That was before we knew Tug an' Iza liked us too much to hurt us."
"Well, that just goes to show you that those boys aren't as dumb as I thought," Buck was so relieved that they had the twins back unharmed that he could not stop smiling. He noticed that most of the men felt the same way.
It had been a race to save them, and they had been successful. Now all they had to do was collect that bastard Cal Jenkins and hold the trial. It was decided that after the men sent out by the sheriff to collect Jenkins caught up with them, they would break camp and set off for home. The seven would be joined by Terrell and his twins while his men joined the posse in taking the prisoners back to Brecken where they would stand trial.
Lisha and Lison sat quietly between Vin and Ezra while Josiah put some hot biscuits on a plate with a heaping portion of beans. Lison's pert little nose lifted in the air as she turned a disdainful look upon the trail breakfast.
"Beans ain't for breakfast. Eggs is."
"Are, eggs Are for breakfast, and there is no such word as 'ain't', my darling young lady." Ezra was no more thrilled at beans for breakfast than Lison, but appearances were everything, and no child tutored by him would resort to such grammatically poor language.
"Ours says ain't all the time. So do Our Chris an' Our Buck. You sayin' Ours an' them don't know how to talk right?" Lisha was looking at Ezra with a slight frown upon her face. Ours was just about perfect in her eyes, and she would allow no one to say anything derogatory about him even if it was her beloved Our Ezra. Lison was staring at him as well.
Vin raised a cocky eyebrow at Ezra. The look on his face gleefully said that Ezra was in big trouble now, and how was he going to get his slippery self out of it without Vin's help. Ezra paused as he handed half of his biscuit dipped in the savory bean sauce to Lisha as a peace offering. The other half was dipped and handed to Lison. He knew he had a growing audience as Chris and Buck nudged the others to watch and see how Ezra would con his way out of this faux pas.
Ezra sighed dramatically as he turned to restore his darlings' faith in him. "I would never denigrate any of my friends, my darling girls. They are adults; therefore, they are quite capable of making their intentions known to their fellow man without any instruction from me. I am merely pointing out that the word 'ain't' is not grammatically correct for both your and your lovely sister's edification."
"In other words, when you're an adult, you talk the way you learned growin' up. Now, you're little, we ought to teach ya to talk right, so's you don't use words you ought not to." Buck was going to help Ezra, since neither Vin nor Chris seemed inclined to help him out.
"You mean since you're big, you can say words like 'ain't' an' 'damn' an' 'shit', an' me and Lisha can't?" Buck's eyes got real big. Why Buck should be shocked at this turn of events, Vin was dying to know, but he settled back to watch as a nice shade of red suffused the notorious ladies' man's face. Vin did duck his head to hide his face and the big grin on it under the shaded brim of his hat.
John Terrell choked on the sip of coffee that he had just taken. JD snorted his coffee through his nose as Josiah and Nathan turned away in order to hide the big grins on their faces. Sheriff Johnson shook his head and tried not to catch the eye of any of his men, for he knew he would burst out laughing. The men standing watch and guarding the prisoners wondered to themselves why the group around the fire had gotten so quiet, yet looked so much like they wanted to laugh. They looked at one another, and figuring the twins were at the center of it, decided the others would share the story with them as soon as they were able.
"That is correct." Ezra was finding it increasingly difficult to keep a straight face. Somehow, the twins always trapped Buck somewhere in Ezra's presence in some kind of conversation where there was a discussion regarding the vocabulary the twins were not supposed to use under any circumstances. He sometimes thought they did it on purpose, but he could not quite catch them on it for they always looked so sincere. Vin happened to look up just then catching Ezra's calculated look. It was a mistake on Vin's part for Ezra figured out in that one mischievous glint in Tanner's eyes who had taught the twins how to tweak his two particular friends with the forbidden words. Ezra flashed a good facsimile of the Larabee glare at his unrepentant friend when Chris Larabee put an abrupt end to the conversation, reigning in the terrible trio before John Terrell could take his nephew and daughters to task for tweaking Ezra and embarrassing Buck.
"I'd like to know why we always have this particular conversation with those particular words with Buck an' Ezra at least once every time we see you girls." His raised eyebrow alerted Vin and his twins that yet another person had figured out their prank. A subtle and silent exchange occurred within a matter of seconds that most would have missed had they not known how Tanner was able to get the twins to do his bidding with just a look or a gesture. Terrell often thanked God that his nephew was a good twenty years older and, therefore, felt responsible for his young cousins. John knew that had Vin been nearer the twins age, that he would have become the ringleader of the most notorious children's gang that would have terrorized all the adults within their vicinity with their pranks and mischievous ways. As it was, Vin's wicked sense of humor only allowed him to lead his hellions in minor transgressions against his friends that kept things lively but the twins out of trouble - for the most part. John exchanged a knowing look with his nephew and was rewarded by a cocky grin that promised never to lead the twins into danger or to truly anger their parents. Larabee caught the exchanges between Vin, the children, and John Terrell and allowed himself to be satisfied with the twin's response to his question.
"We won't bring up those other words any more. We promise, Our Chris." Lisha smiled at him, batting her little eyelashes until Chris grinned at her. She knew he had her number, and she would behave as well for him as she would her own daddy.
"Will we get into trouble if we slip an' say 'ain't' by ackseedent?" Lison wanted to get which words she could slip up with straight. She was no more into angering her parents or Our Chris than anyone else.
"Accident," Vin corrected automatically as Ezra rolled his eyes indicating he had given up this time in trying to educate his darling girls and his wayward friends in the fine art of verbal communication. He would settle for the fact that he was still a twin favorite as Lisha leaned over to pat him affectionately on the arm. He returned her apology for razzing him by kissing her little hand. She giggled and took a big bite out of the biscuit and then offered a bite to Buck who gallantly accepted her apology. He nibbled the tips of her fingers sending her into peals of giggles that in turn caused her sister to offer the same apology to him, so she, too, could have her fingers tickled by his mustache.
It was time to move on to more important things, like trying to con someone into giving her and her sissy a cup of coffee. They had become addicted to the foul brew when Vin let them drink from his cup until their mother caught them. Informing her nephew that the generous gulps of coffee he had plied his cousins with often led them to stay wide awake long after their bedtime. She had demanded and gotten Vin's word that he would not give the twins coffee ever again until he had her permission. That left the twins to look elsewhere for a sip of coffee every now and again. Another silent exchange occurred, and the twins jumped up to go and sit by JD. The kid began to break out into a sweat when he was nailed by two pairs of calculating blue eyes.
JD saw their covetous looks at his coffee cup. "Oh no ya don't. You just get away from my coffee cup. I ain't, I mean I am not sharing my coffee with you." Lisha titled her head next to his shoulder and turned pleading blue eyes upon him. She even blinked at him in rapid succession, fanning him with her long, unbelievably dark eyelashes. He felt another bump on his other shoulder to find Lison doing the same thing. JD looked up and crossed his eyes at his laughing friends. He was considering sticking his tongue out at them when John Terrell called his unruly twins to order.
"Leave JD alone. You know your mother does not like for you to drink coffee unless it is watered down heavily with milk. You two drink water. Understood?"
A chorus of, "Yes, Daddy," followed as the twins left JD alone and went to sit where their father was patting the ground next to him. They plopped down beside their daddy and began to regale him once again with how they had left a trail for him to follow. This tale wiled away most of the morning as the twins began to use their fertile imaginations to embellish the story with all sorts of odd little stories mixed in. They amused all who listened until Vin stood up and looked back at the trail behind them.
"Your boys shoulda been back with Jenkins by now, Sheriff."
"I was just thinkin' the same thing, son." Johnson walked up beside Tanner as Larabee and Terrell joined them.
"How 'bout I take Mace an' JD with me, an' we go check out the trail, see what's keepin' them?" Vin looked to Larabee for his opinion. Johnson and Terrell both shared a grin knowing that Larabee was the only man Tanner would seek permission from on something that concerned everyone's safety.
"Just the three of you?" A simple enough question, but Chris was silently asking if Tanner wanted his company on this trip. When Vin shook his head, Larabee nodded. His parting words were, "Watch your backs, boys," as JD and Mace walked up with the horses. With that the three men were mounted and riding back to where they had left Cal Jenkins.
Those left behind did not settle back down as they all wondered where the two deputies were who had ridden back to take charge of the prisoner. For some reason, they all took their cue from the tension that was fairly radiating off of Chris Larabee. Vin had felt something was not right, and Chris had picked up on that. The rest of the seven had also, which led to those who knew them picking up on the general feeling of unease that began to filter out towards everyone else. The rest of the posse also felt as if things had changed, and this wild ride was far from over.
Their assumptions were correct for the two deputies who had been sent back to bring Cal Jenkins in for trial were at this moment being patched back together by Guy Royal and his men. They had become victims to a young man who wanted nothing more than to prove himself to his uncle.
Sy Royal was eighteen years old and was from all accounts a hot headed young man with little or no conscience. His uncle had taken in him after a desperate plea from his widowed sister-in-law. Sy had been sent to his uncle to tame after getting into trouble one too many times in his native Chicago. Guy Royal was Darwinian in his outlook on life. Only the strong could survive out here in the untamed West, and he liked it that way. He respected men like himself who fought against the land's natural defenses, Apaches, and anyone or anything else in the Territory who tried to take what was his. He hated men like Vin Tanner and Chris Larabee, all the seven in fact, because these men chose to side with those who would keep Guy Royal from whatever land or possessions he felt he deserved to own. Instead of working for him to increase his control over the land and all who would challenge him, the seven peacekeepers from Four Corners chose to back the weak and stood between these foolhardy folks and whatever Royal wanted. They prevented him from claiming what rightfully belonged to him, for the survival of the strongest was the only law he believed in.
Guy had at first welcomed his nephew hoping to shape him into the kind of man he was, but he soon discovered that his nephew lacked both his uncle's brains and his drive. Sy was too much like Guy' weaker younger brother and would never be the man his uncle expected to leave his legacy to, for money was the only thing that meant anything to Sy Royal. Nothing was sacred, and the boy was caught more than once trying to sell off one of the many treasures his uncle had coerced his many weak and frightened victims into giving to him. Royal had even tossed the kid out of his home before he had tangled with the Larabee gang the first time. Dire financial straights after his second plan failed to rid the territory of the seven men and the little town they protected had forced Royal to hire men who were willing to follow any order as long as they were supplied with enough money to get them whiskey and women. Only a few of his men were loyal to the older man, and the rest were hired guns. Sy Royal fell into this category, but for some perverse reason, Sy Royal wanted his uncle's respect. He wanted men to look upon him with the same fearful respect that his uncle had received from the people he had driven from their lands.
More than anything, however, Sy wanted the ranch that his uncle owned for he still believed the old man owned enough of the land the railroad wanted to make a sweet bundle of cash. In his twisted and weak mind, money was the key to make him like his uncle. It would bring him the respect he long felt was his due. He knew that the seven peacekeepers had stopped his uncle's land-grabbing attempts. He also knew that most of the land had been returned to the rightful owners, but he still believed his uncle owned enough land to be useful to the railroad. Sy was dead wrong on most of these counts.
A large parcel of prime land was all Royal had left of his empire. No word or deed had been enough to penetrate his nephew's thick skull that Guy had been negotiating with Terrell to sell his land to the railroad in order to repair his sad financial condition. Royal had wanted more than triple the land's cost, and John Terrell already held enough of the titles or the right of ways to the lands around Four Corners to refuse to be cheated by Royal. The railroad's ultimatum was clear to Royal. Sell at a reasonable price, or Terrell would exclude Royal's land even if it meant going around and cost Terrell much more time and money.
It was only when he found out his uncle was trying to get his hands on Terrell's daughters for leverage that Sy became convinced of his uncle's financial losses. It was then Sy formulated a plan he believed would put his uncle back in a position of power and wealth. He never stopped to think that Guy Royal already had a plan that would put the railroad baron in his debt. No one had to die. No one had to get hurt. No one had to do anything against the law this time.
All Guy Royal had to do was make the railroad baron think Guy Royal was so intent on doing business with him, that he would use his own resources to form a posse and help the man retrieve his daughters safely. Royal had nothing but several days of discomfort riding and what it cost to remove his men from the ranch long enough to put on a show of helping Terrell. By following behind with Cal Jenkins in tow, Guy Royal could claim he was only hours behind Larabee and his men, and that Guy Royal had prevented Cal Jenkins from escaping from justice. He could then claim at least a part of the ten thousand dollar reward for Jenkins. Most of all, however, Guy Royal could claim that he had helped to run the kidnappers to ground. Terrell would be honor bound to do business with Royal for his trouble. That would be sweet revenge for Royal upon all his enemies as this would reverse Royal's financial losses and set him up in a position of power in the Territory once more. Then, he could bide his time to avenge himself on the seven peacekeepers who had nearly toppled his dynasty.
Sy was too stupid to think ahead and know that just the appearance of an effort to help regain the twins would make a man like John Terrell feel bound to recompense Royal for his trouble. He might not get triple the price of his land, but Royal was willing to bet he could get at least double the last offer for his help in tracking down the twins' kidnappers. Sy's only thought was to take advantage of the situation by taking the little girls from whoever had them and force the father to pay a hefty ransom. He never even considered that finding Jenkins trussed up like a calf at a roping contest was probable proof that Larabee and his men would have the twins safe if not already returned to their anxious father. Having been absent both times his uncle had gone up against the seven men and lost, Sy never even considered that his uncle and his men could not take the twins from the Four Corners' law men. Nor did he consider any other reasonable scenario that his uncle had already considered and discarded as being too costly or too illegal. So, when the two deputies literally rode into Guy Royal and his men, Sy only waited long enough to hear the twins had been found safely before he drew his gun and shot both men.
Not one of Guy Royal's men looked anywhere except at uncle and nephew as Royal knocked the young man from his horse, all the while berating Sy's colossal stupidity. Cal Jenkins was the only man looking for an opportunity to escape and not at the fight between uncle and nephew that was by now in full force. As the men surrounding him jockeyed for the best position in order to either watch Guy Royal beat the stupidity out of the unpopular Sy or tend to the two wounded deputies, Jenkins took his chance. He moved quickly, further and further away from the show until he was at the back of the group. He had twisted the rope binding his wrists until they bled, but the pain from that was hardly a deterrent since hanging was Jenkins' only future. Left alone while the other men watched the fight, Jenkins finally managed to get his hands loose.
Knocking out the preoccupied man in front of him, taking his horse and the rifle packed on it, Jenkins tore out past the group of men, all of whom had their attention on better things than him. While most of the men cheered Guy Royal on, Jenkins rode off towards freedom. Since Guy Royal and his men were blocking the only way to Mexico, Cal was forced to head back down the trail he had fled. He was trapped between Royal's men and Larabee's men. There was no way out, and the one man he felt responsible for all he had been subjected to was in front of him, somewhere. That he faced capture or death fazed him little at this point. At least in his death he could find satisfaction in taking that damn tracker with him or at least someone close to him. One way or another, Vin Tanner was going to pay for knocking Cal off of his horse and subjecting him to all of the indignities of the past twelve hours.
By the time Sy Royal was lying unconscious at his uncle's feet, Jenkins was far enough away to settle down in a nice, high, protected area from whence he could watch all the comings and goings on the trail beneath him. Knowing this trail as he did, he figured there was no freedom in his future, only death, especially if Royal stood his ground. Jenkins' only chance for escape was highly unlikely as Royal was not a man known for turning the other check or running from a fight. With one posse behind him and another in front of him, he knew there was no way out. He watched the enraged Guy Royal toss the bloody mass of bruises that was once Sy Royal onto the hardened earth and grinned in satisfaction. That young whelp's shooting of the two deputies would only bring more lawmen on the trail cutting off any escape attempt. His impending death by hanging or by gunshot bothered Jenkins little. His only remaining desire now was to cut down as many men as he could before one member of the converging posses brought him down. The wound in his side was aching fiercely now, and Jenkins regretted the lack of any whiskey to dull the pain. He set out all of the weapons from the confiscated horse and the ammunition. He had one box of shells, a rifle, and one six shooter. Satisfied he could take at least a third of the posses' men with him to hell, Jenkins settled in for the time being. Soon enough, one of Royal's men would notice his absence, and they would come looking for him. He would be happy to shoot anyone who tried to stop him, and kill them all if he had a chance even if the noise did bring the other posse back upon him.
Guy Royal, meanwhile, was staring down at his nephew, the disgust plain upon his face. He was relatively unscathed. The man was furious. All of his plans had nearly been ruined by his pathetic excuse for a nephew. Guy cursed the day his younger brother had met that dull-witted but beautiful young girl whose only claim to the Royal name was the money her banker daddy paid his brother to marry his soiled daughter. Chase Royal was too busy womanizing anything in skirts to help his brother build and maintain an empire. His son was no different, and Guy wondered if his own pa had been correct when he wondered aloud if Chase really was his son. Any hope Guy had of finally knocking some sense and backbone into his nephew was irrevocably lost. There would be no grateful father paying an exorbitant amount of money in gratitude for the right of way to his land. There would be no sweet revenge as he reminded the seven men he hated so much that he had brought Jenkins in to face justice.
More than likely would be murder charges laid at Royal's doorstep for murder if the one or both of the two deputies died from their injuries, for Sheriff Johnson was a hard nosed bastard who lived and breathed the law much as Judge Travis did. Johnson would not take kindly to losing any man from his posse, so Royal prepared to sacrifice his nephew. It would be just the loss of another incompetent ranch hand. The only chance Royal had now to keep himself out of trouble was the fact he had Cal Jenkins in his custody, and that he was willing to turn his nephew in to face whatever charges the Breken sheriff decided were just.
"They both still alive?" When one man shook his head, Royal simmered down somewhat. "Tie this sorry excuse for a man to his horse. We'll turn him and Jenkins both in. Get those two deputies patched up and on their horses. Maybe we can still get somethin' out of this mess Sy created."
Guy Royal turned and looked around just as his foreman of fifteen years picked Sy up off of the ground by his collar. The foreman, Fred Ross, stopped to watch in morbid fascination as Royal turned an even darker shade of red, almost purple, and a string of expletives, half of which the men before him had never heard used before in such proficiency or with such hatred in the boss's voice, spewed forth from Royal's mouth. After a few moments of profound statements questioning all of the men's parentage and sexual preferences, Fred Ross finally understood what had sent his boss over the edge and caused him to literally scream obscenities at all of the men surrounding him.
"Where the hell is that son of a bitch! What the hell were you boys doin' the last fifteen minutes! I pay you more than you're worth, and how do you lazy bunch of girls repay me?????? You let Jenkins go! Who was supposed to be watching him?"
Jasper Pekes took an involuntary step backwards and looked for the man who had been guarding Jenkins with him. The boss was more than pissed, and Jasper wanted to share or even divert the punishment he knew would arrive shortly from his boss's fists or worse, his six shooter. "Slim was supposed to be watching Jenkins, Boss. I was helpin' Fred with them two deputies. One's shot pretty good, bullet still in him, an he's bleedin' like a stuck pig. The other's not hurt much. I was too busy to watch Jenkins, so's I left him to Slim." Jasper had been with Royal too many years not to know how to send his boss after a sacrificial lamb instead of taking the heat himself. He moved out of the way as Royal pulled his gun and shot at the feet of the man who had just struggled to his feet. Jenkins' blow to his head had rendered Slim unconscious, and he was just now getting the earth to stop swaying long enough to stand upright. Royal's bullets nipping at his feet brought the groggy man fully to his senses, but it also sent him reeling backwards from the onslaught to fall flat on his ass once more.
"Idiots! You're all a bunch of idiots! I've known whores who got more sense in their best assets than some of you have in what you call a brain! He was tied to his horse. How'd he get loose an' how'd he knock you out and ride off with no one seein' him?"
The deputy, who had been holding part of a bandana to the bullet hole in his arm just stared as Guy Royal went from enraged babbling to cold and calculating as his fury wound down. Frank Johnson's son and right hand man, Dave Johnson knew the next few moments were crucial if he and Harvey Pulver were going to survive Guy Royal's rage. Harvey had taken a bullet to his shoulder and was still bleeding despite every effort of Royal's men to staunch the blood. The fact they were being helped meant there was a better chance he and Harvey would get out of this alive, but with the knowledge that Jenkins had escaped, Royal had gone off again even shooting at one of his men. Young Dave just sat there silently waiting for Royal to calm down. It wasn't long after Slim was sporting a black eye to go along with the knot on his forehead that Jenkins had given him. Jasper's eye was turning a nice shade of purple, too.
Royal spat on the ground in disgust before he stalked over to where Dave and Harvey both lay propped up against the rocks. "I want you boys to know that I didn't order anyone to shoot ya. We were comin' to help look for those little girls when we came across Jenkins. We were bringing him along figurin' whoever left him trussed up back there needed to get to the little gals real quick. That man that shot both of you, he's my nephew. Don't claim the idiot much other than to admit he shoots first and regrets it later. He probably thought the two of you were with Jenkins. I'm gonna turn him in, and get you boys back to a doctor as quick as we can." Dave only nodded his head in acknowledgement as he silently marveled at Royal's quick thinking. He knew as much about Guy Royal as his father and Judge Travis had seen fit to discuss the man in front of him. He knew what Royal's intentions probably had been, and he was almost glad that it had backfired on him even if he and Harvey had ended up shot.
"I'll be sure to tell my pa, Sheriff Johnson that, Mr. Royal. I'm sure he'll take your word for it that your man thought me and Harvey might have been ridin' with Jenkins. I mean these badges ain't as shiny as they used to be." He and Royal stared at one another silently as each man judged the other's worth. Guy Royal was no fool, and he had an idea exactly what Dave was thinking. His being the sheriff's son was just another reason why Guy was willing to abandon his nephew to the law, something he would not have thought possible when the young man first came to him. With that silent understanding, Royal ordered his men to make Dave and Harvey as comfortable as possible as they mounted up and warily hit the trail, hoping to recapture Cal Jenkins before they met up with the combined forces of Johnson's posse and the seven peackeepers from Four Corners.
Continued in Part Three
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