[Texas Rangers 06] - Jericho's Road by Elmer Kelton Page B

killed? Are we just goin’ to go off and leave him over there?”
    Farley said, “His friends did,” and started north, following the raiders.
     

CHAPTER SIX

    F ollowing the trail was easy. The raiders made no effort to hide it. Though crossing with Mexican cattle was illegal unless properly cleared through customs, they had returned without contraband. They had little reason to fear the law once they were north of the Rio Grande. Andy carried the blanket into which the men’s weapons had been piled. He had to tie the ends together and lash the bundle onto the mule. It was an unwieldy load.
    He said, “These guns may not ride this way very long.”
    Farley grabbed a handful of the blanket and tugged to get a sense of the weight. “I don’t see where we owe it to them renegades to deliver their weaponry back to them. We ought to’ve thrown it all in the river.”
    Len said, “Jericho’s got lawyers up in San Antonio that raise hell every time we even wink in his direction. There’s a little store at the crossroads. We’ll leave the guns there.”
    Andy asked, “You think they’ll come back and get them?”
    “ I would if the guns was mine. A man appreciates things when he has to pay out his own good money for them.”
    They came to a plain-looking building, a nondescript mix of stone and picket construction. Len said, “That’s the store. The owner sells stuff to Jericho’s men and buys their stolen goods. He’ll treat us friendly enough, but don’t believe his smile. It’s all show.”
    Farley said, “If he deals with Jericho’s thieves, why don’t we arrest him?”
    “ A jury that won’t convict Jericho won’t convict his friends either. I’d about as soon stand in front of a Mexican firin’ squad as face Jericho’s lawyers.”
    Andy grinned at a sudden thought. “If we can’t put those border jumpers in jail, we can at least aggravate them a little.”
    Len brightened with curiosity. “How?”
    “ Let’s stop in the shade of that tree yonder.” Andy dismounted and lifted the heavy bundle from the mule. He laid it in the shade and untied the corners that held it together. The rifles and pistols slipped and slid, clattering against one another. “Let’s take these guns apart. Puttin’ them back together will give those boys somethin’ to do besides play cards and drink whiskey.”
    Len was always enthusiastic over a chance for harmless mischief. “I’d love to stay and listen to them cuss a blue streak.”
    Farley was not smiling. “I still wish we’d dumped the whole shebang in the river and let them swim for it.”
    They removed barrels and cylinders from the pistols and field-stripped the rifles. It took a while, but Len never stopped talking, laughing as he pictured their reaction. When they were done Andy mixed the pieces as if he were shuffling dominoes.
    Len said, “I’d give a pretty penny to watch them sort out all this mess. By the time they put everything back together, they’ll be wantin’ to use them on us.”
    Farley said, “Let them come.”
    Andy retied the bundle and attached it to his saddle horn. It still weighed the same but seemed less of a burden now. A middle-aged man came to the door, a smudged apron tied around his dough belly. He recognized Len. “Howdy, Ranger. Somethin’ you-all need?”
    “ A little smokin’ tobacco for me and Farley. Maybe a little pan dulce for the young’un here if you got any.”
    “ Tobacco I got. He’ll have to find the sweetenin’ someplace else. I don’t cater to the Mexican trade. Let them people in here and they’ll be pilferin’ stuff when I ain’t watchin’.”
    Andy said, “Speakin’ of pilferin’, did you see a bunch of riders pass by a little while ago?”
    The tracks indicated that the men had stopped here, but the storekeeper claimed no knowledge of them. “Ain’t seen hardly anybody all day.”
    “ They were tryin’ to get away with some cattle on the other side of the river, but the owners