after.
Horses shifted around inside the barn, stomping their hooves and swishing their tails. That would make things a mite more difficult for Preacher, who figured there were guards inside the barn as well as outside. The noises the horses made would cover up any sounds that might help him locate the guards. But he couldn’t stay out here all night. For one thing, the man he had just choked into unconsciousness would probably come to in ten or fifteen minutes.
Something made Preacher look up. The rear door into the hayloft was closed, but he knew it had only a simple latch on the inside. If he could get up there, he could slide his knife through the gap around the door and lift the latch.
A barrel sat against the rear wall. Preacher reached down, pulled the belt off the man he had knocked out, and climbed onto the barrel. He held onto one end of the belt and tossed it upward toward the beam that protruded from the wall just above the loft door. A block-and-tackle was fastened to the beam so that it could be used to lift bales of hay into the loft. Preacher had to try a couple of times, but using the belt he managed to hook the rope attached to the pulley and draw it down to him.
From there it was a simple matter to climb up to the door and work the latch open, just as he had thought.
A moment later he was inside the deep darkness of the loft, stretched out on the hay. Carefully, he crawled to the edge of the loft and peered over it. No lights burned inside the barn.
Again Preacher relied on his senses and his instincts to tell him where the armed men were. He pinpointed three of them: one just inside the door, one beside the stall where Horse was, and a third man near the ladder that led down from the loft. Preacher’s eyes had adjusted to the darkness so that he was barely able to make out the shape of that man only a few feet beneath him.
Preacher had draped the unconscious guard’s belt over his shoulder when he climbed into the loft. He hadn’t known if he would need it for anything, but he knew better than to discard something that might come in handy. Working in darkness now, he fashioned a loop from one end of the belt. Then he stretched out on his belly at the edge of the loft and studied the guard just below him. The fella wore a cap of some sort, rather than a wide- brimmed hat, which was a stroke of good fortune.
The guard must have been taken completely by surprise when the loop dropped over his head and jerked tight around his neck. He didn’t have time to let out even a squawk. The muscles in Preacher’s arms and shoulders bunched as he lifted the man’s weight off the floor.
Unfortunately, the man dropped his rifle, which thudded to the hard-packed dirt floor. He managed to make a gagging sound, too, as he kicked frantically and clawed at the makeshift noose around his neck. The other two guards ran toward him, one of them calling, “Garrison! What’s wrong?”
Preacher let go of the belt, dropping the man he’d been strangling. An instant later, Preacher leaped off the edge of the loft and plummeted down to crash into one of the guards who had just run up. The collision drove the man to the ground. Preacher’s knees landed on the guard’s midsection and dug deep, knocking all the breath out of his lungs and probably breaking some ribs, too. Using the momentum of his fall, Preacher rolled over and surged back to his feet just in time for the third man to tackle him.
Both of them went down, but Preacher twisted as he fell and managed to land on top. He hammered a fist at the spot where he thought the sentry’s head would be and connected solidly. The man went limp as the blow stunned him. Preacher hit him again, just for good measure.
Then Preacher was back on his feet again. The ruckus hadn’t made much noise, and all three of the guards inside the stable were out of action for the moment. Preacher hurried into Horse’s stall and slapped blanket and saddle on the stallion with swift, efficient movements, even in the darkness.
He led Horse out of the stall and dropped the reins, knowing the animal would stand there patiently. Then Preacher felt around until he found the rifles the guards had dropped. He wouldn’t need to get into the servant’s quarters after all. He took their pistols, too, shoving the weapons behind his belt. He was armed for bear now.
Or for a war.
Preacher went to the double doors at the front of the stable and lifted the bar that held them closed. Then he swung up into the saddle and drew two of the four pistols. Guiding Horse with his knees, he urged the stallion forward. Horse hit the doors and knocked them open, bursting out into the open area between the stable and the back of Beaumont’s house.
Throwing his head back as he rode, Preacher let out the wild howl of a wolf. From the corner of his eye, he spotted a man running toward him. Flame spurted from a rifle muzzle. The ball hummed past Preacher’s head as he wheeled Horse around. He fired a pistol at the guard, the shot knocking the man over backward as it slammed into him.
“Beaumont!” Preacher yelled toward the house. “I’m comin’ for you, Beaumont, you damned coward! I’ll skin you alive!”
Another rifle boomed. Preacher saw the flash and returned the fire, but he didn’t know if he hit the rifleman or not. He jammed the empty pistols behind his belt, grabbed the reins, and whirled Horse away from the house. The stallion leaped into a gallop as Preacher dug in his heels.
More shots rang out, but none of them came close to Preacher. Horse never broke stride as he raced away into the night. Preacher turned his head and let loose with one final crazy howl over his shoulder, then leaned forward in the saddle and let Horse run.
If that didn’t get Beaumont to come after him, he thought, then nothing would.
Chapter 28
Preacher headed south again, then circled wide to the west before heading for Uncle Dan’s camp. He didn’t think Beaumont would have been able to mount a pursuit quickly enough to come after him tonight, but he wanted to be sure he didn’t lead any pursuit back to the place where he had left Jessie and Casey. Once they were safely well away from St. Louis, then everything would be different. Then he would want Beaumont on his trail until he was ready to make his final move.
It was long after midnight by the time Preacher approached the grove of trees. He reined in and called softly, “Hello, the camp!”
