“There’s no reason you can’t all learn to live together,” he said.
A bark of fierce laughter came from Juan Pablo.
“Foolishness,” the Navajo declared. “The rattlesnake and the scorpion are more trustworthy than the white man.”
Matt sighed. He was at the end of his rope. He just wished there was some way he could save Elizabeth.
Maybe Caballo Rojo wouldn’t allow Juan Pablo to kill her. The headman had let her stay here in the canyon and try to teach the children. He must have thought she was doing some good for his people.
But as the sun dipped below the peaks to the west and a red glare filled the sky, Matt looked at Juan Pablo and saw the fanatical glare on the man’s face.
Caballo Rojo was no longer the most powerful man in this canyon.
Juan Pablo was, and he would delight in exercising that power.
Suddenly, one of the Navajo men came running toward them, shouting in what sounded like alarm. Juan Pablo swung around sharply.
The words flowed swiftly as the newcomer reported to Juan Pablo. Matt couldn’t follow any of what was being said.
But he didn’t like the cruel smile on Juan Pablo’s lips as the man turned back to him.
“Your friend has returned,” Juan Pablo said. “He approaches the canyon now, with two more white men.”
Matt’s heart sank. Under any other circumstances, he would have been very happy to hear that Sam was back. Now, though, his blood brother was riding into a trap and didn’t know it. If there was just some way to warn him ...
Matt opened his mouth to shout. He didn’t know if the sound would carry beyond the canyon walls, but he could try, anyway.
Before he could make a sound, Juan Pablo stepped forward and struck swiftly with the rifle he held. He rammed the butt into Matt’s stomach, causing Matt to gasp and double over as much as the ropes would allow.
Juan Pablo brought the rifle up and crashed the stock against Matt’s jaw. The brutal blow drove Matt’s head back against the thick stake to which he was tied. The double impact sent red explosions cascading through Matt’s brain.
When those explosions faded, nothing was left except an all-enveloping blackness.
Chapter 32
The sun was down by the time Sam, Stovepipe, and Wilbur reached the Navajo canyon, but the western sky was still filled with a reddish-gold glow.
During the ride down here from the mesa where the rustlers had been holed up, Sam and Stovepipe had discussed the situation and agreed that everything they had discovered so far supported the theory they had put together.
“Big question is, who’s behind it,” Stovepipe said. “Got to be somebody in Flat Rock.”
Sam nodded.
“There’s another big question,” he said. “Where are those rifles?”
“Also in Flat Rock, or somewhere close by. That’d be my guess, anyway. I don’t reckon the boss would want them too far away from him until he’s ready to try deliverin’ ’em to the Navajo again.”
“I wonder how come he’s waited this long,” Wilbur put in.
Stovepipe pointed a thumb at Sam.
“I reckon that’s because of our new pard here.”
“Me?” Sam said.
“Yeah, you and your friend Bodine. You spooked the fella who’s in charge of this bunch. He wanted to make sure you weren’t gonna cause too much trouble before he tried deliverin’ the guns again. That’s why folks keep tryin’ to shoot you.” Stovepipe frowned. “You know you might as well’ve painted a big ol’ target on your back, the way you rode into Flat Rock and started pokin’ around.”
Sam chuckled.
“Well, I was trying to stir up a hornet’s nest,” he said. “I guess I succeeded.”
“I’ll say you did,” Wilbur agreed.
Sam pointed to the mouth of the canyon up ahead on their right.
“That’s where we’re headed ,” he told his two companions.
A worried frown appeared on Wilbur’s face.
“Those Indians aren’t gonna try to lift our hair, are they?” he asked.
“They were friendly enough when I left,” Sam said.
That was only partially true, he thought. Caballo Rojo had tolerated the presence of the blood brothers, and Juan Pablo had barely contained his hostility toward them, only because his clan headman said so.
Sam had been gone for several days, and he knew that things could have changed during that time. But he hoped that he and his companions could ride into the canyon without putting their lives in too much danger.
Anyway, Matt was there, so Sam didn’t have much choice in the matter. He had to find out how his blood brother was doing.
They rode into the mouth of the canyon. Sam glanced up at the spots on the walls where sentries were usually
