"Doin' fine." Justus gave Pythias a nod, standing and brushing dirt from his pants, then heading down the hill with the others. He wasn't too keen on having to shoot anyone, but...better them than us, right?
"Reckon we should try ta round up th' rest of their horses?" he asked, "Would hate ta leave 'em abandoned an' all tacked up." Unless someone else found the horses, it very well could be a death sentence for the animals, and a slow one at that. He took a breath. "Gonna salvage guns an' whatnot?"
Another unpleasant task, but the firearms had value, and if there was any way of identifying the dead, their families could be notified and goods sent home. "Maybe they got rewards on 'em?" No sense letting a reward go, and even split between all the crew, it was something.
"Yep, now yer catchin' on. Horses an' guns all got value. We gather up all that of use and either we sell 'em 'er keep 'em, I mean sometimes there better'n whot some has, so it gets swapped out." Pythias explained. " Sometimes these wl hoots got themselves rel good horses, and again, they are up fer grabs so far as men in need of a better mount. So instead'a us lyin' dead, it's them an' all that belongs to 'em is ares, 'stead of tuther way 'round.
So they went to unhobbling their mounts and the Morgan horses, which Weezer would be towing back to meet the herd. Then they would round up the outlaw's horses realizing that once again they had been fortunate as they had been with both the 'cutters' and the Indians. Now that luck just had to hold.
"Danged if it ain't one fight right after another!" Pythias stated. "Hope a'''s well ithe the herd., but we'll know fer sure when we ride back with these horses."
"If they were just after th' horses, then they likely didn't disturb th' cows," Justus observed. "Reckon they didn't count on me an' Mr. Pythias gettin' into th' mix, an' that helped our odds."
Leading Mule, he went around to some of the bodies, looking for valuables and papers that he would turn over to Teal. As for the bodies, there wouldn't be any proper burial, there wasn't time for that, and these men knew what they were getting into when they'd made their choices.
"Guess th' buzzards'll have some good eatin'," he muttered. It was a pity that some of these men might have families that would never know what became of them, but that was a part of the life. Justus just hoped that there weren't families involved, or if there were, they would be relieved that these men never returned.
"Yep, there's then what'll eat on the carcus' of 'em." Pythias agreed,
"We're headin back, shots was fired and the herd might have stampeded." Wheezer informed them. "Pleasure workin' with you two. An' you Gibbs, you'll do alright!"
"Let's git after it! Them cows might be run off!" Brick Shouted across the clearing. "You two keep a sharp eye 'case they was ta drive the horses to some others!"
"I got the rigs an' gathered up their hosses. You boys, collect up whotever's left we could use." McVay shouted as he started back the outlaw mounts in tow gun belts across the seat rise of his saddle.
Justus tightened Mule's cinch then swung into the saddle, making a quick check that all his weapons were fully loaded. "Hope that was th' last of 'em," he muttered, not that anyone else would be looking for another fight. At least they'd gotten some extra horses out of this, along with the tack and some guns, but he'd have been happy to just make it to Montana without all the fuss!
"Will we wait here for the herd?" he asked Pythias, "or go ahead, see if there's anything waitin' on us up th' trail?" There was a possibility that the horse thieves had stationed men ahead of them so they could drive the horses on.
"Ain't no tellin' whot's liable ta happen, 'er if'n they got men ahead of us. Might be they did have, but they ain't caught up to 'e,m by now, they'll know somethin' ain't right." Pythias said, thinking about it, and slowly rubbing his chin. "Could be Justus, could be. Guess we best have us a look-see."
Both men stepped into leather and started ahead at a walk. They had not made ten yards when up ahead there was gunfire, so Pythias drew his pistol and spurred his horse to a gallop. Maybe not the smartest thing to do, but the shots sounded like two pistols hammering away at one another.
Pythias cleared a stand of aspen pines just off the would-be trail when he saw one man in the act of holstering his gun, another man down. The man turned and saw two riders and threw up his hands. Everyone stopped where they were.
"He threw down on me so I answered. It was self-defense! I swear!" He shouted as Justus and Pythias closed on him at a walk. "I heard gunfire and come out of the trees back thataway when he drew on me, I had no choice in the matter. I want no trouble with no Pinkertons."
"May you'd tell us yer name ta start, an' I ain't no Pink no more, with a herd we're deliverin' up the trail a ways. Names Pythias, this here hombre's Gibbs."
"Zane, Zane Geraghty, and I was movin' north, maybe to the Montana territory, sorta followin' a man name'a Thornton, rode with him on the Lazy S down around Lordsburg New Mexico."
"Well now Mister Geraghty, we be headed right to Montana. Cain't says as I hear'd of the feller, Thornton, but maybe the boss'll hire you on to move the herd north wit us."
Zane smiled and lowered his hands. "Sure thing."
Staying a few paces behind Pythias so that he could intervene if he had to, Justus spurred Mule to follow the other horse. He had his own pistol in hand, watching vigilantly to see what they were headed into, then skidded his horse to a stop, still staying some distance from his companion as he looked around for any trouble besides the man they were confronting.
He had to grin at being called a 'Pinkerton'...if only the man knew! But his story sounded reasonable, and Pythias seemed to believe him, and Justus had no reason not to. And considering the risk they'd taken on him, he wasn't going to argue with the decision to invite Zane to join them.
"Good ta have ya with us." Justus nodded, then glanced at the man laying still in the dirt. "Ya think he was with them tryin' ta steal th' horses?" Could have been an outrider or something?
"Likewise, surely never expected this kinda trouble. Some Indian's gave chase but I was too far ahead of 'em." Geraghty said, sounded a bit like a brag. "So then you boys ain't from this part of the country then?"
"Nope, Texas, just thet side of Injun Territory. We're ahead of a herd destined fer A place called Kalispell up near Canada from whot I'm told." Pythias explained.
"Really? Why that's where Ty rode off to. If'n that ain't somethin'!" Geraghty exclaimed. "Much trouble so far?" Because Geraghty was no pilgrim to trail drives, making his first at twelve. "So, who's the trail boss for this outfit?"
"That'd be Frank Teal, an' a run-in with herd cutters, more like rustlers, Injuns thought to jump us oncet, and then there's these birds whot should'a stayed home fer all the good it did 'em." Pythias recounted. "Hell's bells Justus, here I am just a hoggin' all the conversation, jump on in here!"
Justus shrugged, but he smiled. "I'm new ta th' outfit, an' workin' cows, too," he commented, "but they're a good group'a men, an' Mr. Teal's real fair." Heck, he'd taken a chance on a scrawny kid, and so far none of the men had had a problem teaching him the ropes.
"An', th' cooks likely th' best on th' trail, good, strong coffee..." He guided Mule closer to the newcomer and held out his hand. "Good ta meet ya."
"An' you as well." Geraghty said, "There'd been a couple others what had thought ta ride along, but backed out free whatever reasons they might had. Been a long ride. Real long." He added.
"I reckon it's good the way ya runnin' onta us like ya did. But, since we's headed ta the same place, I figger we'd'a met sooner 'er later." Pythias said. "Figger they'll call us in here right shortly fer grub, an' the kid's right, ol' Nate Armstrong puts out a good plate ever' meal, so I'd say you shore'ly lucked out." Then he laughed, as they could all hear a rider coming. "Reckon thet could be right about now!"
The rider was from the herd, it was the boss himself who came to fetch them back to where he called a halt. He slid to a stop, the horses haunches dropped low, a cloud of dust rolling past him. "Prisoner?" He asked, looking at Geraghty, realizing he was armed, so that was not the case at all. "Well, and, you'd be?"
"Geraghty, sir, Zane Geraghty. Late of the Lazy S Ranch, near Lordsburg, New Mexico. Headed north'a here, Kalispell, when I heard shootin' and come to investigate." Zane offered. "Maybe I could catch on with your outfit an' work my way north."
"Wasn't looking fer help, but then another man is always welcome, provided he carries his weight. You boys gather these extree horses, an' thet hardware, an' let's on head back. Mister Geraghty, glad ta have ya along."
"Yes sir,Mister Teal, that I can do." Geraghty replied as they all turned, Pythias and Justice taking up the reins of the captured horses and trotted back to where the herd was.
