Death Stalks the Rangers Read online

  "I sure do. Sean, like the lieutenant says, you've been a good student, and you've got fine instincts. There's not much more you can learn from me. What you need now is experience, and you have to get that on your own. I've got confidence in you. You'll find the hombre who plugged Thad."

  "I'm not askin' you to do this all by yourself, Sean," Blawcyzk added. "Pick a man to ride with you."

  "Anyone in particular?"

  "He's gonna be your pardner, so it's your choice."

  "Levi Mallory."

  "You've got him. Tell Dundee to give you all the supplies you need. How soon will you be ready to leave?"

  "Soon as Levi and I can get our horses saddled."

  "Good. Anything else you'll require?"

  "Just one thing. I want to take Thad's horse along."

  "Dutton's horse? Why?" Huggins asked.

  "He might be able to help us. If Toby was really spooked by whoever shot Thad, he might react if he sees him again," Sean explained.

  "That's not a bad idea, Sean," Blawcyzk agreed. "Toby also might act up when you reach the place where Thad was killed. That could give you something to go on—only not much, but at least something. Take him with you. Give him a good feed and waterin' first, then let him rest a while. Leavin' an hour or so later won't make any difference."

  "Thanks. I'll find Levi and tell him to get ready to ride."

  "Good. Sean, don't worry about how long it takes you to find the man who killed Thad Dutton. Just find him."

  "I'll do my best, Lieutenant," Sean promised.

  "That's all I ask. We'll be patrolling along the Rio for the next several weeks, so if you need to reach me, get a wire to Laredo. Try to do that every couple of weeks in any event, so I know where to get in touch with you if necessary," Blawcyzk requested.

  "I'll do that," Sean assured him. "When I catch up to Thad's killer, you want him brought in alive… or belly-down over a saddle?"

  "Whichever way you have to," the captain replied.

  "Yessir." Sean got to his feet.

  "Good luck, Sean. Vaya con Dios," Blawcyzk said.

  "Thanks, Lieutenant."

  Ninety minutes later, Sean and Levi started on the trail of Thad Dutton's murderer.

  CHAPTER 3

  "Levi, we won't have a hard time following this trail, long as the weather doesn't turn against us," Sean remarked when they were about two miles from the Ranger post. "It's plenty clear."

  Toby's hoof prints were plainly visible in the sandy soil. More importantly, as far as tracking was concerned, were the marks made by Thad Dutton's hand and pistol. As his horse carried him along, the dead Ranger's Colt, clamped in his fist, had left a clear line where it dragged in the dirt, Dutton's hand occasionally brushing a wider mark in the soil.

  "Or until the track crosses a rocky arroyo or stream," Levi answered. "Those wouldn't show any prints. And if Dutton's cayuse followed a well-used road, we'll have a hard time distinguishin' his hoof prints from all the others."

  "I doubt Toby traveled along any kind of road. Someone would have picked him up if he had. We should be able to find his trail again without too much trouble if he did cross any rocky ground or forded a creek," Sean explained.

  "How long do you think we'll have to follow these tracks until we come up with something?" Levi asked.

  "Not all that long," Sean answered. "I doubt Toby traveled very far, carryin' a dead man half-out of the saddle. Right now these tracks show he kept pretty much to a straight line, but I'd say that's 'cause he knew he was gettin' close to his stable. As Lieutenant Blawcyzk would say, I'd bet a hat Toby's hoof prints are gonna start wandering all over the place shortly. I think we'll find he got spooked when Thad was shot, took off at a run for a ways, and then moseyed around once he calmed down. He undoubtedly stopped to graze or rest more'n once. I figure Thad was killed no more than ten or fifteen miles from the post."

  The two men rode steadily for the next three miles, until Sean pulled Ghost to a halt. He pointed to the hoof prints left by Toby. They were now deviating from the straight line they'd maintained toward the Ranger post. The gelding's tracks led to a small grove of mesquite.

  "See there, Levi. Like I figured, Toby wandered for a spell and it looks like he headed for that water hole over there. We'll have to move a bit slower so we don't lose the trail. With any luck we'll still find where Thad was killed before nightfall. Let's take five minutes and give the horses a breather."

  Sean climbed from his saddle, loosened his cinches, and led Ghost and Toby to the small spring. Levi did the same for his sorrel gelding, Monte. Once the horses drank their fill and were cropping the grass surrounding the water hole, the Rangers dropped to their bellies to dip their sun and wind burned faces in the cool water, then took a drink. Sean settled against the trunk of a large mesquite, while Levi hunkered on his haunches, took out the makings, and rolled a quirly. He lit the smoke and took a long drag.

  "Sean, I know Lieutenant Blawcyzk told us not to quit until we found Thad's killer, but do you really figure we've got a chance?" he asked. "Seems to me it's a real long shot."

  Sean thumbed back his Stetson and scratched his head before replying.

  "We're gonna find that S.O.B.," he snapped, "if we have to follow him across all of Texas, into Mexico, and even to Hell and back if necessary. It's not gonna be easy, but we will find him. I'm not quittin' until we do."

  "That's fine. Mind if I ask you another question?"

  "Boy howdy, you're just full of 'em today, ain't you?" Sean chuckled. "Sure, go ahead."

  "Why'd you ask the Lieutenant to send me with you?"

  "Couple of reasons. You've got a level head and you're real good with a gun. I figure you're a man to ride the river with. I have a feelin' before all this is done we'll find out for sure."

  Sean pushed himself to his feet.

  "Time to get movin'."

  They retrieved the horses and tightened their cinches. Sean retied Toby's lead to his saddle horn, and then both men mounted to resume their trek.

  Six hours later, Sean once again called a halt, next to a narrow creek. For the past several hours the Rangers had been forced to slow their pace, following Toby's meandering hoof prints. Sean glanced up at the sky. Clouds were blotting out the sun, which was now well past its zenith.

  "Gotta admit I'm surprised we've gone this far without any sign of where Thad was killed," he said. "Toby traveled further than I figured. We're gonna run out of daylight soon. There's a new moon tonight, so we can't count on any moonlight even if those clouds do clear. Reckon we might as well camp here for the night and start out fresh in the morning. Tell you what. I'll try'n hunt down a jackrabbit or mebbe a couple of quail for supper while you take care of the horses."

  "Sure," Levi agreed.

  After they dismounted, Sean took his Winchester from its boot and disappeared into the brush.

  Levi cared for their horses, rubbing them down, and then picketing them to graze. Once the mounts were settled, he started a small campfire and settled down with a smoke to await his partner's return. Twenty minutes later the sound of two rifle shots indicated Sean had flushed his quarry.

  "Reckon there'll be somethin' besides bacon and beans on the menu tonight, Monte," he remarked to his horse.

  A short while later Sean emerged from the scrub, holding up two plump quail.

  "Fresh meat tonight," he called.

  For supper that night, instead of the usual bacon with their beans, and biscuits, the Rangers enjoyed freshly roasted quail. When they were done eating and the dishes scrubbed, they lingered over a final cup of thick black coffee. Levi built and smoked another cigarette.

  "Sure hope those clouds don't bring rain," he remarked when a cool breeze, heavy with moisture, drifted over their camp.

  "I doubt they will," Sean responded. "Looks like some breaks in 'em already."

  He tossed the dregs from his mug to the ground.

  "Time to turn in. G'night, Levi."

  "'Night."
>
  Heads pillowed on their saddles, rolled in their blankets, both men were soon asleep.

  CHAPTER 4

  Sean and Levi awoke before sunup. As Sean expected, the clouds of the previous evening had not produced any rain; however, they had brought in cool, moist air. Dew covered the ground and coated the Rangers' blankets. A thin fog swirled on the slight breeze, blurring the horizon and dimming the gray of false dawn.

  "Bit nippy this mornin'," Levi remarked when he slid out of his bedroll. He pulled on his boots, and then began building a smoke.

  "Sure is," Sean agreed, "But once this mist burns off it'll warm up right quick. Let's rustle up some grub. Soon as we're finished with breakfast it'll be light enough to travel."

  "I'll get more firewood while you feed the horses," Levi answered.

  "Sounds fair."

  By the time Sean had retrieved the sack of oats from his saddle horn and poured out a measure for each mount, Levi had a fire started and bacon sizzling in the pan. They ate quickly, saddled their horses, and broke camp. The sun topped the eastern horizon, gilding the fog a brilliant hue.

  "Sorry, pardner, nearly forgot," Sean apologized to his horse when Ghost nuzzled insistently at his hip pocket. Sean produced a piece of licorice, which the gelding greedily snatched from his hand.

  "Still can't believe your horse eats that stuff. I never heard of a cayuse who eats licorice," Levi noted.

  "What about Lieutenant Blawcyzk's horse?" Sean replied, referring to Blawcyzk's ill-tempered paint.

  "Sam? That ornery critter? Yeah, he eats candy, but peppermints, not licorice. He also likes to take a bite out of anyone who gets too near him, except the lieutenant," Levi answered.

  "Boy howdy, that's for certain," Sean chuckled. He swung into his saddle. "Let's go."

  They heeled the horses into a walk until they warmed up, before increasing their pace to an easy lope.

  Four miles along, Sean reined in, dismounted, and then knelt to study the hoof prints of Dutton's horse more closely.

  "What'd you find?" Levi asked.

  Sean came to his feet and brushed dirt from his knees.

  "We're gettin' closer to where Thad got plugged," he answered. "See those prints? They're deeper'n they were, and spaced farther apart. Toby ran this far."

  He turned to Dutton's chestnut and patted his nose.

  "Sure wish you could talk, Toby."

  The gelding nuzzled his shoulder and nickered.

  "Not quite the same, boy," Sean said. "I reckon you're missin' Thad."

  Sean remounted.

  "Let's go, Ghost. Slow and easy."

  He put the blue roan into a walk.

  Half a mile later, at the edge of a deep arroyo, Toby began prancing anxiously, snorting and pulling back on his lead.

  "It's all right, boy." Sean reassured the nervous horse, "Nothin's gonna hurt you."

  "Look down there, Sean."

  Levi pointed to the floor of the arroyo, where the tracks they'd been following dissolved into a jumble of hoof prints.

  "Yep, this is the spot we've been lookin' for. Toby's tellin' us that as loud and clear as if he could speak," Sean replied. He and Levi eased their horses carefully down the steep side of the ravine. Once they reached the bottom, Sean again dismounted.

  "Hold still, Ghost," he told his horse, then slipped him a licorice. Thad's anxious horse pulled hard on his lead.

  "Easy, Toby." Sean stroked the gelding's neck, again attempting to reassure the frantic horse. Toby's eyes were wide with fright, his nostrils flaring. He trumpeted his fear and pawed the dirt.

  Sean hunkered to study the ground, his gaze following Toby's hoof prints.

  "Toby came over the rim there, after Thad was shot," he noted. "Looks like whoever was followin' him lost control of his horse and it fell, so that's why he couldn't retrieve Thad's body and get rid of him. Let's get outta this arroyo. I'll bet we'll find where Thad was plugged just beyond the opposite rim."

  Sean climbed back into his saddle, urging Ghost and Toby up the sandy slope and out of the arroyo, Levi on Monte close behind. Once they climbed out of the defile, they could see where Toby had come to a sudden stop. The chestnut's tracks, and those of Thad's killer's horse, were a confusing muddle. Sean again dismounted to examine the prints.

  "Get down and take a look here, Levi," he ordered.

  Levi swung off Monte's back to join his partner.

  "See this faded brown patch. That's dried blood. Hard to see after the time that's passed, but it's plain if you know what to look for."

  "Thad's blood?"

  "I'd say so. We know he got off one shot, but there's nobody here, and no sign of anything the coyotes and buzzards were workin' on. So even if Thad winged whoever plugged him, the hombre wasn't hurt so bad he couldn't ride away. That means he wasn't losin' all that much blood."

  "If any."

  "That's right. Now let's try'n pick up his trail. Hold the horses for a minute."

  After Levi took the reins of Ghost and Toby, Sean circled the area, studying sign.

  "Find anything?" Levi asked after a few moments.

  "Yep, I've got him. Whoever killed Thad was trailin' him." He pointed toward the northeast. "Two sets of hoof prints comin' from that direction, then one headin' back the same way. Thad's killer caught up with him here. He shot him, and then rode back to wherever they were comin' from."

  "I'm kinda surprised he didn't just backshoot Thad," Levi remarked.

  "Thad was a pretty clever hombre," Sean answered. "It wouldn't be easy to bushwhack him. Besides, I have a feelin' whoever shot Thad wanted him to know who it was. I'd guess he didn't really want to drill him through the head. I'm thinkin' he wanted only to gut-shoot Thad and let him die slow and painful. He didn't figure on Thad bein' able to get out his gun and shootin' back after takin' a bullet in the belly. When Thad did, his killer didn't have any choice but to finish him off."

  "Why do you think he didn't keep after Toby, since it appears he was able to get back on his horse after it fell?"

  "Dunno," Sean shrugged. "Mebbe he was hurt when he took that spill, or even afraid someone had heard the shots. He also could've figured if he kept after Toby for too far he might run into someone who'd realize what happened."

  "Out here?"

  "I reckon you're right. It's unlikely. We have no way of knowing what that gunman was thinkin'. Mebbe he still wanted to catch Toby, but his own horse was worn out so he gave up. He also probably figured Thad would fall out of the saddle eventually. In any event, I'm certain he didn't expect Toby to bring Thad all the way back to the Ranger post. Mighty few horses would've done that."

  "So now all we've gotta do is find the sidewinder."

  "Which we won't do standin' here jawin'. Let's go."

  Sean picked up Ghost's reins and climbed back into the saddle. He put the gelding into a long-striding lope.

  They rode for nearly three more hours, following a trail that showed little sign of fading.

  "That hombre sure didn't bother hidin' his tracks," Levi observed. "Reckon he figured no one'd find Thad for quite a spell and he'd be long gone by then."

  "Well, he figured wrong." Sean answered. "So far we've caught a break with the weather, and let's hope this dry spell lasts a bit longer. Rain doesn't wash out hoof prints as quick as most people think, so I've been able to follow a trail even after a downright gullywasher. I can't figure where this hombre's headed, or for that matter where Thad was comin' from. Falfurrias is the only town of any size in this direction. It's southeast of here, but this trail's headin' northeast. There's nothing this way for a hundred miles. Makes no sense, unless this hombre's gonna double back."

  "Well, Thad must've had a reason for wherever he went," Levi replied. "You been wonderin' who might've killed him, and why?"

  "He was a Ranger, just like us. Plenty of renegades would give their eye teeth for the chance to put a slug in our backs or sink a knife in our guts," Sean explained.

  "It could've been any o
f a few dozen hombres, with just as many reasons for wantin' Thad dead. Tell you what. When we catch up to this one, you can ask him . . . before I plug him."

  "That's right generous of you, pardner," Levi chuckled. He squinted into the distance.

  "Looks like a ranch ahead."

  Sean followed Levi's gaze, attempting to ascertain exactly what the structures were on the horizon.

  "Appears like it. Mebbe they can tell us something."

  "It's just about dinnertime too, so with a little luck they'll feed us. My belly's been rumblin' for the past hour," Levi complained.

  "Let's find out."

  Sean pushed Ghost and Toby into a gallop with Levi and Monte hard on their heels. Fifteen minutes later they were riding up to the gate of a small, well-tended ranch. The house and barn were in good repair, the buildings sporting a fresh coat of whitewash. Chickens pecked busily in the front yard, while the corral held several fine horses. Fat steers grazed in a fenced-in pasture.

  A gray-haired woman was on the front porch, sitting in a rocking chair, and shelling peas. She was humming the old hymn, "Farther Along". Hearing the Rangers' horses' hoof beats, she glanced up at the approaching riders.

  "Ezekiel! Company comin'!" she called.

  A man of approximately the same age emerged from the barn and picked up the rifle leaning next to the door, holding it at the ready.

  "Howdy, strangers," he greeted the newcomers.

  "Howdy yourself," Sean replied, smiling. "Mind if we light and rest a spell? We need to water our horses and give 'em a breather."

  "Long as you ain't lookin' for trouble, you're welcome," came the reply.

  "We're not searchin' for any," Sean grinned. "Just been travelin' quite a ways and could use a break. I'm Sean Kennedy. This here's my pard, Levi Mallory."

  "Ezekiel Daniels. My wife, Martha."

  Sean and Levi touched two fingers to the brims of their Stetsons in greeting.

  "Ma'am."

  Martha looked the two young men up and down and smiled.

  "You boys must be hungry. I'll whip up some ham and eggs while you settle your horses."

  "That sure sounds good, ma'am," Levi said. "But please don't go to any trouble."