stood slouching on his right.
“The size of the raiding party has shrunk during the course of the day, gentlemen.” Stephen faced them, his shoulders stiffly squared. “Mr. Hill estimates that we may now be trailing as few as five Apaches,”
“They been travelin’ single file, each pony messin’ up the tracks of the one in front of it, which makes it hard for a tracker to gauge how many’s in the party.” Amos Hill had a cheek full of chewing tobacco, which made a small bulge in his whiskered face. “An’ all them extra ponies just makes it tougher. We’re purty damned sure we’re four horses shy, plus some of the extra stock— and maybe more.”
“For how long?” Captain Cutter asked.
“For sure, they was all together at that afternoon stop. My guess is they dropped off one at a time, each pickin’ a place where they’d leave few tracks and peelin’ off from the rest. Them ‘paches are experts at scatterin’ and meltin’ into the desert.”
“Would you care to take a guess whether Mrs. Wade is in front of us—or somewhere behind us, Mr. Hill?” Taut muscles stood out along Stephen’s jaw.
“I can’t rightly say, Major. If they’re still lettin’ her ride that big blood bay, then she’s behind us.” He was careful not to commit himself. “Nah-tay says the hoof marks of that bay gelding are no longer in this trail of ponies.”
“If we backtracked along our route, Mr. Hill, what are the chances of finding where Mrs. Wade’s horse left the trail?” Stephen unrolled a map of the area withquick twists of his wrists and spread it out for his officers to study.
“We’d find it. Nah-tay and his Apaches could track a fly across this desert, but it would take time,” the scruffy scout reminded him. “We’d have to fan out, cut for sign, keep crisscrossing back and forth till we found it. An’ for all we know, she might not even be ridin’ it.”
“I have considered that. Therefore, tomorrow morning, Cutter, I want you to take Lieutenant Sotsworth and half the troopers plus Nah-tay and four of his scouts and continue on the trail of these hostiles. lieutenant Bones, Hill, and the rest of the men and scouts will accompany me while we retrace our route.”
One-Eye Amos Hill sucked in his breath and let it out in a long sound. Stephen gave him a sharp-eyed glance. He didn’t ask for anyone’s approval of his decision, but if a man had a point to make, Stephen preferred that he speak it aloud to his face. It was much easier to deal with dissension that way.
“It ‘pears to me there’s two possible reasons why them ‘paches have been slippin’ off,” Amos ventured. “It could be that they’re through raidin’ and they’re headin’ back to their wickiups with the loot—splittin’ up to go their own ways, so to speak. Or—“ He paused deliberately. “Or they’re doin’ it ‘cause they know we want the woman back. Maybe they did this a-purpose, guessin’ that you’d separate your force into two groups. It could be they’re settin’ a trap for us and usin’ Miz Wade as bait.”
“It could be,” Stephen conceded, undeterred. “In which case, we shall see whether your Apache scouts are willing to kill their own kind.” His glance swung to Jake Cutter. “First call at 4:45 A.M ., gentlemen.”
After the dismissal, Wade strode away from his officers, tap-tap-tapping the rolled map along the gold stripe on his pantleg. One-Eye Amos turned his headso his good eye could watch the major leave, then swung back to look at Cutter.
“I reckon he’d like it if those ‘paches turned on us. It’s a cold-blooded killin’ mood he’s in.” He made a grimace, his mouth nearly disappearing into his whiskers. “Can’t say as I’d feel any different if’n it was my woman them bastards molested.” A long sigh of regret came from him. “When you’re trackin’ Apaches, mistakes are costly. I just plain caught onto their trick too late.”
No reply was forthcoming,
“The size of the raiding party has shrunk during the course of the day, gentlemen.” Stephen faced them, his shoulders stiffly squared. “Mr. Hill estimates that we may now be trailing as few as five Apaches,”
“They been travelin’ single file, each pony messin’ up the tracks of the one in front of it, which makes it hard for a tracker to gauge how many’s in the party.” Amos Hill had a cheek full of chewing tobacco, which made a small bulge in his whiskered face. “An’ all them extra ponies just makes it tougher. We’re purty damned sure we’re four horses shy, plus some of the extra stock— and maybe more.”
“For how long?” Captain Cutter asked.
“For sure, they was all together at that afternoon stop. My guess is they dropped off one at a time, each pickin’ a place where they’d leave few tracks and peelin’ off from the rest. Them ‘paches are experts at scatterin’ and meltin’ into the desert.”
“Would you care to take a guess whether Mrs. Wade is in front of us—or somewhere behind us, Mr. Hill?” Taut muscles stood out along Stephen’s jaw.
“I can’t rightly say, Major. If they’re still lettin’ her ride that big blood bay, then she’s behind us.” He was careful not to commit himself. “Nah-tay says the hoof marks of that bay gelding are no longer in this trail of ponies.”
“If we backtracked along our route, Mr. Hill, what are the chances of finding where Mrs. Wade’s horse left the trail?” Stephen unrolled a map of the area withquick twists of his wrists and spread it out for his officers to study.
“We’d find it. Nah-tay and his Apaches could track a fly across this desert, but it would take time,” the scruffy scout reminded him. “We’d have to fan out, cut for sign, keep crisscrossing back and forth till we found it. An’ for all we know, she might not even be ridin’ it.”
“I have considered that. Therefore, tomorrow morning, Cutter, I want you to take Lieutenant Sotsworth and half the troopers plus Nah-tay and four of his scouts and continue on the trail of these hostiles. lieutenant Bones, Hill, and the rest of the men and scouts will accompany me while we retrace our route.”
One-Eye Amos Hill sucked in his breath and let it out in a long sound. Stephen gave him a sharp-eyed glance. He didn’t ask for anyone’s approval of his decision, but if a man had a point to make, Stephen preferred that he speak it aloud to his face. It was much easier to deal with dissension that way.
“It ‘pears to me there’s two possible reasons why them ‘paches have been slippin’ off,” Amos ventured. “It could be that they’re through raidin’ and they’re headin’ back to their wickiups with the loot—splittin’ up to go their own ways, so to speak. Or—“ He paused deliberately. “Or they’re doin’ it ‘cause they know we want the woman back. Maybe they did this a-purpose, guessin’ that you’d separate your force into two groups. It could be they’re settin’ a trap for us and usin’ Miz Wade as bait.”
“It could be,” Stephen conceded, undeterred. “In which case, we shall see whether your Apache scouts are willing to kill their own kind.” His glance swung to Jake Cutter. “First call at 4:45 A.M ., gentlemen.”
After the dismissal, Wade strode away from his officers, tap-tap-tapping the rolled map along the gold stripe on his pantleg. One-Eye Amos turned his headso his good eye could watch the major leave, then swung back to look at Cutter.
“I reckon he’d like it if those ‘paches turned on us. It’s a cold-blooded killin’ mood he’s in.” He made a grimace, his mouth nearly disappearing into his whiskers. “Can’t say as I’d feel any different if’n it was my woman them bastards molested.” A long sigh of regret came from him. “When you’re trackin’ Apaches, mistakes are costly. I just plain caught onto their trick too late.”
No reply was forthcoming,
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