"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
"Lead his horse, I'll keep him from falling..." The three horses broke into a low lope. Even if it was faster it was a little smoother on the wounded Roberson.
The three men headed away from the creek bed, and found their way to the open range. The headed south-east to where they figured the ranch would be when on the horizon a group of riders were coming hard, and they would be from the ranch, the returning horse would had sounded the alarm and the men responded setting out after their boss.
Speed pulled up, as it would be easier on the wounded Roberson. Cantrell had seen the riders and Speed's action and pulled up himself.
“Easier if we wait on them, plenty of trees, they can lash together a travois to get him home.” Speed said.
Quentin looked over and saw a fresh shine on the bloodstain covering his shirt. "Let's get him down before he bleeds to death..." He dismounted and moved around, supporting Roberson while Speed freed him from the rope. Quentin lowered the wounded man to the ground and pressed on the makeshift bandage, trying to get the blood to slow down again.
Quentin could hear the riders coming closer. He glanced back to Roberson and saw the eyes fluttering, trying to roll back into his head. "Hey, stay with us!" Quentin's lips pressed together and he breathed in, then moved his hand to press a thumb against one of the bullet holes. Roberson jerked and his eyes snapped back into focus even if he was in a haze of pain. "Good...welcome back..." Quentin put his palm back on the bandage and held it as the party of riders pulled up.
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
Quentin looked over and saw a fresh shine on the bloodstain covering his shirt. "Let's get him down before he bleeds to death..." He dismounted and moved around, supporting Roberson while Speed freed him from the rope. Quentin lowered the wounded man to the ground and pressed on the makeshift bandage, trying to get the blood to slow down again.
Speed was quick to step down and join Cantrell in helping lower the man to the ground. “Damn, hope these gents have something to quell the blood loss or he won’t make it to his place.” Speed was far from optimistic about the success of their efforts, but he knew that they had done everything that they could.
Quentin could hear the riders coming closer. He glanced back to Roberson and saw the eyes fluttering, trying to roll back into his head. "Hey, stay with us!" Quentin's lips pressed together and he breathed in, then moved his hand to press a thumb against one of the bullet holes. Roberson jerked and his eyes snapped back into focus even if he was in a haze of pain.
"Good...welcome back..." Quentin put his palm back on the bandage and held it as the party of riders pulled up.
Speed had gone for his canteen as the wounded man would need water. “Here, see if you can drink a bit, Roberson. Your hands are just about here, they’ll get you to home.” He held the canteen to the man’s lips and let a trickle of water flow in slowly.
The group of men were dismounting and rushing towards them. “What the hell happened?” One asked loudly.
“Ambushed by some rustlers. We managed to kill one, the other got away, maybe went for help. Your boss needs help.” Speed said. “Needs it fast.”
Quentin moved back as one of the men knelt down. He had a sack of various items to treat injuries on the trail, but Quentin wasn't sure if this would be enough for two bullet wounds.
"He took two shots..." Quentin said as he nodded at the cloth he had been pressing on. The would be medical help eased up the cloth and looked under the edge and grimaced. "Start making a drag!" He yelled over at the riders standing around. Several of the men went over and started cutting down saplings and getting ropes from their saddles, working to make a sturdy frame suitable for dragging behind a horse.
Quentin stepped back, pulling off his bandana to wipe his hands and neck as he stood beside Speed, watching Roberson's hands work quickly to build his transport.
"So what's our next move?" He asked, looking at the marshal as they enjoyed the minor shade of a scraggly tree.
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
Speed stood, hands on his hips watching the men as they worked on the travois, then gazed off in the direction of the creek bed before he said. “Maybe see if we can pick up a trail. The terrain isn’t good out that way, but we’ve likely lost him. The fight cost us and I don’t for a minute think the man we’re looking for was the one you got.” He paused, “No, there was a third man, the one we want that switched horses somehow. Damn it!”
He had no business out here, no jurisdiction, and at worst he could stop a bullet for his trouble chasing the last of the robbers. A county Sheriff was needed, he could have raised a posse and gone after him, if the county had a Sheriff, but they did not, and the rumor was, Case Steelgrave was going run for it.
“Reckon we head over and look, but we’re losing daylight and we’ve a long ride back to Kalispell.”
Storyteller / Shared NPC
It was a bit better than a mile and half he supposed when he heard the popping of what would be gunfire in the distance. It came from the direction off the creek bed which told him there was a posse, and the rustlers had become a diversion.
Dade Marley was surprisingly, for all his bluster, a careful man when need be. His trail had disappeared into the rocky ground and he changed direction several times. That was easy as he had no destination to reach, just distance between he an the posse.
Kalispell should have been easy, like the others, but it went south in a hurry and his brother had been slow to react. They should have dusted out of that burg instead of getting themselves trapped, but that was how it went. Now men he rode with were dead or maybe in jail if they hadn’t been lynched already.
The light was beginning to fade, maybe an hour or two before dark, he’d need find a place to camp for the night, a place that was defensible in case the posse actually was able to pick up his trail.
Quentin pulled a cigarillo from the small pouch he kept in a shirt pocket and lit it with a lucifer struck from his belt buckle. He puffed it a few times so it stayed lit then blew out a cloud of smoke. "I'm afraid you may be right, Marshal...Even one Roberson doesn't balance out twenty like the ones we've killed today." He tugged the cigarillo from his mouth and looked at it while he thought, then he poked it back in place.
"We don't have extra food or gear to spend days out here chasing someone who may already be halfway to the next county, so we shouldn't go charging off ill-equipped hoping our self-righteousness makes up for not thinking ahead..." Quentin inhaled and then blew out another cloud. "...There's never enough good people to fight the bad, it seems. If Case Steelgrave becomes county Sheriff, your job will get that much harder because we know how he will run his office..."
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
...There's never enough good people to fight the bad, it seems. If Case Steelgrave becomes county Sheriff, your job will get that much harder because we know how he will run his office..."
“Don’t I know it.” Speed said looking out over the vast country before them, tress, rocks, open country as well. Where ever the other outlaw was, he had left the two rustlers and rode on in a different direction. And, he could be looking down the barrel of a Winchester as they spoke, waiting for the right shot. Then he looked to the men loading Roberson on the litter already tied to a saddle.
“You read my mind, we not ready for a long chase, and out that way is the Evergreen spread, and a whole new set of problems. Best we head back, pick up that hombre and pull him back to the undertaker, that is if his horse is still there.” He smiled, but it was more the grimace of defeat.
“You likely have to get back to Lost Lake anyway, I appreciate the help, Quentin.” Speed added as he turned his horse and stepped into leather. He looked to the men mounting up.”
“Good hunting!” One of the Leaning R riders called out, followed by shouts of thanks as they walked their mounts toward home.
“And that’ll be our pay today.” Speed said starting out for the corpse.
“You read my mind, we not ready for a long chase, and out that way is the Evergreen spread, and a whole new set of problems. Best we head back, pick up that hombre and pull him back to the undertaker, that is if his horse is still there.” He smiled, but it was more the grimace of defeat.
Quentin nodded as he let the cigarillo hang from the corner of his mouth. "It would be nice if he showed up again...but I'm not going to be that much of a dreamer..."
“You likely have to get back to Lost Lake anyway, I appreciate the help, Quentin.” Speed added as he turned his horse and stepped into leather. He looked to the men mounting up.
"I'll help you fetch that body and get it back to town. If it's too late I'll spend the night and head back home in the morning...." Quentin tugged Paladin's reins to steady the horse. "...I'll buy us a steak at the hotel. We've earned it...and you don't have to thank me, Marshal, I haven't done anything like this for a few years. Kinda forgot how much I missed it."
“Good hunting!” One of the Leaning R riders called out, followed by shouts of thanks as they walked their mounts toward home.
“And that’ll be our pay today.” Speed said starting out for the corpse.
Quentin caught Speed's words and smiled to himself before spurring off to ride beside the other man into the lessening light...
"The law is the law."
"Mining's not everyone's choice of hobbies, it just happens to be mine."
It was near to dusk when Speed, Quentin and the body of Larson draped over his saddle rode into Kalispell. Too early for lanterns, or lamps in the windows but the light was fading. As they came up the street people stopped and stared, thinking they had gotten the last of the bank robbers.
With a stop at the undertakers to drop off the body into his care thy remounted and Speed turned to Quentin, "Take up on the steak, i'll buy the drinks. Do need to stop and retrieve my badge tho." He grinned, "been a hell of a day, ain't it?"