Read Iron Eyes Must Die Online

Authors: Rory Black

Tags: #bounty hunter, #cowboys, #old west, #frontier life, #the wild west, #rory black, #western frontier fiction, #iron eyes

Iron Eyes Must Die (10 page)

BOOK: Iron Eyes Must Die
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Reckon that guard is dead meat,’ Donner said
bluntly.


So
old Snake Adams was after something in the baggage car, huh?’ Layne
said. ‘Was you carrying bullion or something valuable back there,
friend?’

Snape shook his head.


I
don’t think so. We had no strongbox aboard.’


Odd.
Why would Snake waste his time if there was nothing valuable in
that car?’ The marshal was puzzled. ‘It don’t add up,
boys.’


Maybe
he made a mistake, Marshal,’ Walker offered.

Layne glanced at the deputy.


He
don’t make that kinda mistake, Josh.’


Maybe
they held up the wrong train,’ Donner suggested. ‘They all look the
same, don’t they?’

Layne shook his head.


If
Snake Adams held up this train, you can bet the farm that this is
exactly the train he intended to rob. Adams never made a mistake in
his worthless life. Nope, this was the train he intended to rob.
There must have bin something in that car he wanted. Something he
had to have.’


We
was carrying a mail-bag.’ Snape said.


That
could be it.’ The marshal sighed. ‘A parcel or a letter with
something in it that was worth risking holding up a train for.
Whatever it was, it was important.’

The engineer mopped his sweating brow with an
oily rag and shook his head.


I’m
getting too old to be held up like this, Marshal. This is the third
time since Easter.’


Which
way were they headed, do ya figure?’ Josh Walker asked. He hung the
canteens on the saddle horns of the three mounts.

Snape pointed along the tracks.


They
was down near the canyon trail when we headed out.’


How
far is it to the canyon exactly?’ Layne asked, turning to look
along the gleaming steel tracks.


Five
or ten miles, I guess,’ the engineer answered. He was getting more
and more flustered. ‘I’m not sure, Marshal. I ain’t never measured
it. I just got this old loco moving as fast as I could when that
Snake critter told me we could go. I wasn’t hanging around for him
to change his mind.’


A
train hold-up, Marshal.’ Donner nodded. He picked his hat up off
the dusty ground when his horse had finished drinking from its
bowl. ‘I figured that was what them varmints was gonna
do.’


Yeah?’ Walker grinned.


Sure
I did, Josh.’

Layne gave both men a hard stare. They both
stopped talking and mounted their horses.


Where
does that canyon lead to, friend?’ the marshal asked the nervous
engineer.


I
ain’t too sure,’ Snape admitted. He looked past the horses at the
conductor and waved a hand. ‘You got any idea where that canyon
leads to, Harv?’


The
one where them outlaws was?’


Yep.
That one.’


The
Mexican border.’


Nothing else?’


Rio
Concho I reckon.’ The conductor shrugged. ‘I think that the town is
just south of the canyon mouth. Mind you, I might be
wrong.’

Layne touched the brim of his hat to both men
and gathered up his reins.


You
boys have bin real helpful.’


Glad
to help.’ The conductor smiled.


You
gonna take on that gang, Marshal?’ Herb Snape swallowed
hard.


You
really gonna?’

Layne stepped into his stirrup and mounted
his horse.


Gonna
try, friend.’

Snape wiped his brow again.


I
wish ya luck, Marshal. Ya gonna need an awful lot of
it.’

Marshal Layne smiled and turned his
horse.


Thanks for the water and the grub.’


Ya
welcome.’ The engineer climbed back up the side of his locomotive
until he was on the footplate.

Layne looked at the two men beside him.


They’re close, boys! Closer than we thought they
were.’

Donner felt his throat tighten beneath his
bandanna as he steadied his refreshed mount alongside his two
companions. He was nervous and it showed.


Do ya
reckon we’ll catch these varmints before sundown,
Marshal?’

Layne reached across the
distance between himself and the
deputy. He patted the younger man on the
back and winked.


I
sure hope so, Tray. I’d hate for us to end up shootin’ each other
rather than Snake and his gang.’

The relief in
Donner
’s
face was evident.


I
ain’t scared, Marshal. Honest. I just don’t wanna try and take them
varmints on in the dark.’


Me
neither,’ Layne admitted. ‘We’ll see how close we can get to them
before sunset.’


Do
you figure we got us a chance of getting the better of them
critters, Marshal?’ Walker asked, looking at the straight trail of
tracks gleaming in the blinding sunlight: a trail that he knew
might lead them to their deaths.

Marshal Casey Layne pulled the brim of his
Stetson down to cover his eyes.


Don’t
fret none. Ya both top guns. I’d trust you boys at my side facing
anyone in a showdown!’ the marshal said. ‘There ain’t no finer law
officers anywhere in this darn country than you two. We can take
them!’

The three riders spurred hard
and thundered beside the
rail tracks towards the distant canyon and into
the unknown.

Chapter Twelve

A sickening stench drifted into the nostrils
of the three riders long before their eyes saw anything through the
heat haze. The unnerving noise of countless flies filled the air
all around the scene of devastation as they too were drawn to the
sun-baked corpses. A half-dozen large black vultures had already
located the bodies of Buck Harris and John Parsons long before the
three lawmen had reached what was left of the rail-car wreckage.
The sharp beaks and talons of the feathered scavengers tore
mercilessly at the flesh of the two dead men.

Marshal Layne drew back on his reins and sat
silently watching the horrific spectacle as his loyal deputies rode
at the defiant birds and frightened them away.

Walker and Donner eased
themselves
off their mounts and stared in disbelief at the sight of
what was left of the rail car. The veteran lawman dismounted and
led his horse across the debris-littered sand until he was next to
his men. There was a look of total shock carved into his face. He
looped his reins around a metal handrail hanging from the wreckage
where the bodies lay. He had seen many bodies during his life but
none quite so pitiful as the two upon the floor of the
rail-car.


What
we gonna do, Marshal?’ Josh Walker asked.


Think.’ Layne answered.


About
what?’ Walker scratched his whiskers.

Layne did not reply. He turned away from the
rail-car and stared at the sand at their feet. He nodded and walked
silently towards the canyon walls.


You
got the makings, Tray?’ he asked Donner.

Tray Donner pulled out his tobacco pouch.


Sure
have, Marshal. But why’d ya ask? You don’t smoke
cigarettes.’

Layne glanced briefly at the deputy.


Roll
me one and light it. I reckon the smoke might keep the stink out of
my nose and the flies out of my mouth.’

Donner did as asked as he trailed the marshal
across the sand like a faithful hound trailing its master. He ran
his tongue along the gummed edge of the paper and then tucked the
cigarette in the corner of his mouth. He ignited a match with his
thumbnail, cupped its flame and lit the cigarette. He handed it to
Layne.

Layne put it between his lips and endured the
smoke that covered his face. It did keep the swarm of flies away
from his mouth, but could not diminish the stomach-churning smell
of decaying flesh which filled the entire area.


Six
of them left, Tray,’ the marshal said, pointing at the canyon.
‘They rode off that way. They took the horse belonging to that dead
outlaw with them. They weren’t carrying anything heavy.’


How
far could they have gotten down that trail through the canyon,
Marshal?’ Walker wondered aloud. ‘Would they make camp down
there?’


They
ain’t gonna stop until they get where they’re headed, Josh,’ Layne
answered through the cigarette smoke.


You
sure?’


I got
me a feeling that Snake must be headed to that Rio Concho the
conductor told us about, boys,’ the marshal said as he kicked at
the soft ground. ‘Whatever he took from this train-car must be
valuable.’


I’m
kinda confused,’ Donner admitted.

Layne moved to the pile of envelopes
discarded by the outlaw leader. His eyes studied the ground and the
boot-prints in the sand. To the lawman, it all told a story. A
story that a man who was an expert tracker could read.


Snake
Adams stood by here.’ Layne pointed at the ground. ‘I recognize his
boot-prints. Look at the mail he threw away. I think he was after a
letter or a legal document. He stood here and read it before
headin’ for their horses.’

Donner looked at the ground.


Ya
can tell that you used to be a hunter, Marshal. I don’t see nothing
special.’


I
reckon that those killings back at Waco are all linked to this
hold-up. I should have figured that out sooner. I was hired by real
important dudes to catch Snake and his gang.’


What
ya mean, Marshal?’


The
men Snake and his gang slaughtered in Waco were no ordinary folks.
They all worked for the government back East. They all had dealings
with the railroad owners and one handled very delicate documents
for the treasury. They were in Waco on some kinda official
business. I ain’t got no proof, but my innards are tellin’ me that
this is a lot bigger than any of us realize. I think old Snake got
himself some very important information and has acted on
it.’


Ya
mean that all these killings and this train hold-up could be for a
darn document?’ Donner rubbed his neck. ‘A scrap of
paper?’


Like
I said, those dead folks in Waco were officials from back East.
Government folks,’ the marshal repeated.


Seems
hard to believe that a scrap of paper could be worth so much,
Marshal.’ Donner shook his head.


Why’d
they kill them men in Waco?’ Walker asked.


Maybe
after Snake milked the information out of them fellers, he knew
that if he didn’t kill them, they might try to stop that document
being put on the train,’ Layne guessed.


I
don’t understand none of this,’ Donner admitted.


That’s ’cause you’re an honest man, Tray.’ Layne patted the
deputy’s shoulder. ‘You ain’t got a devious bone in ya
body.’

Marshal Layne turned and walked
back to his horse. He tugged at his reins and freed them before he
stepped into his stirrup and hoisted himself back on
to the high saddle.
His deputies mounted their horses and drew alongside the
rider.


Some
documents are worth a lot more than any honest man could ever
imagine, boys,’ Layne said, turning the head of his horse away from
the bodies. He glanced up at the vultures that were circling over
their heads. ‘I reckon the men who hired me wanted us to catch
Snake before he got his hands on that piece of paper.’


We’re
a tad late, Marshal,’ Donner remarked.


Now
we gotta catch up with him before he can make use of it, boys!’
Layne nodded. ‘C’mon. Let’s ride!’

The three riders spurred and drove their
mounts into the mouth of the canyon.

~*~

Darkness spread over Rio Concho
like a blanket. A million stars sparkled in the black sky like
diamonds. The bounty
hunter opened the cabin door and rested his tall
lean body against the wooden frame. Iron Eyes glanced upward for a
fleeting moment and then muttered to the livery man.


At
least there ain’t no moon up there, Hanney. It ought to help me get
to where I’m going without being shot again.’

The livery-stable man pushed his tin plate
across the small table and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. He
glanced at his whiskey bottle. The tall skeletal figure had drunk
half of it during the previous hour or so. Yet it seemed to have
little or no effect on Iron Eyes. It was as if he drank the hard
liquor to kill the pain that constantly tortured him.

BOOK: Iron Eyes Must Die
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