craziest idea I ever heard,â Ben said.
âMaybe, but itâs the only idea I have.â
âIt might work.â
âThey wonât expect us to ride straight at them.â
âNo, âcause theyâre probably not loco.â
âThat sunâs going to blind them for fair.â
âIf we time it right, it might play hob with their eyes, all right.â
âWe can cover a hundred yards at a gallop faster than they can figure out what weâre doing, I think.â
âStill, weâre out in the open. They got rocks to pertect âem.â
âMy guess is theyâll step out and try to pick us off with their pistols. Once weâre close enough, Iâll yell and you break off from behind me and start spitting lead at them. First bullet they hear coming, theyâll dive for the dirt.â
âYou think.â
âWell, I have to figure theyâre not just going to stand there with empty rifles or try to stuff cartridges in the magazines.â
âYou give this a heap of thought, did you, Johnny?â
John looked at the sun again, a quick glance so he wouldnât burn his eyes. More of the blazing disk had slid up over the horizon, and more was coming.
âLetâs start now,â he said to Ben. âYou fall in right behind me and hunker down low. Stay as close as you can and just watch Gentâs rump.â
âNot an appetizinâ sight, Johnny.â
âItâll keep you alive, Ben.â
âSo you say.â Ben spat and reined Dynamite in behind Savage.
John took one more measurement with his fingers, then touched the blunt spurs to Gentâs flanks. They started moving toward the rock pile. Now, Savage thought, he would have to tick off seconds in his mind. Keep track of time and hope he was right. The timing was everything, and still, he knew he was taking a big chance. He didnât know how many men he was facing, but he figured at least two. And it could be Hobart and that Delgado woman.
He kept his eyes on the rock spires, kept Gent on a straight line. His stomach knotted up as the distance shrank. He still couldnât make out how many rifles he was facing, but he was looking for movement. Whoever was behind those rocks must be wondering what he was doing riding straight at them. Maybe they were counting their chickens before they were hatched, thinking he was just curious.
He sat straight in the saddle. When he looked at Ben out of the corner of his eye, not moving his head very much, he saw that Ben was hugging his horseâs neck, flattened out on the saddle like a griddle cake.
He had to figure time and distance. He measured the distancewith his eyes, hoping he was right. He would soon know. They were still at a walk and the rocks looked closer. Were closer. He figured they were less than four hundred yards from the rifles by then. And none of the bushwhackers had moved from their hiding place.
He expected one of them might lie flat next to the rocky outcropping to steady himself for the first shot. So far he was only seeing those blinding glints of sunlight bouncing off rifle barrels.
Three hundred yards, John figured, and his hands were sweating. His pistol was still in his holster, but he was ready to draw and cock whenever it was time.
Two hundred yards and closing, he thought. Perspiration dripped down from his armpits, soaking through the back of his shirt. He wiped his forehead and hunkered down slightly, peering past Gentâs neck straight at the outcropping.
He heard Ben clear his throat and then spit again.
It was quiet except for the soft thud of the horsesâ hooves on dry ground, or the crunch of a twig, the rustle of sage. Even the quail were silent, and there wasnât a bird or a hawk in the sky.
The mountain shadows rose higher and higher and John could measure the sunâs height just by looking beyond the rocks.
When he thought he was close to a hundred yards from
Terra Wolf, Mercy May
Jennifer Collins Johnson
Louise Penny
Tamara Hogan
Mary Hanson
Roderick Gordon
Aimee Agresti
Dean Murray
Amy Malone
Katharine Davis