won’t be too far apart. When one of us hears shooting, the other comes in to lend a hand. That’s how you’re earning your freedom, remember? You play your cards right, and I may still throw you a percentage of whatever we find in that coffin you’ve been going on about.”
Eventually, Lester started to nod. “All right.”
“Don’t look so cautious, Lester. I could’ve killed you at any time if I wanted you dead. You bolt from me like a coward now, and I can still catch you any time I please. I ain’t got no doubt about that. Do you?”
Lester studied Kinman’s eyes for a second. That was all it took for him to get the answer he needed. “Nope,” he said.
“Good. That proves you’re a smart fellow. Now get moving toward that ridge,” Kinman said, pointing to the east. “I’m heading up north and will keep riding that way for a mile or so.”
Lester swallowed and nodded as all the color drained from his face.
“What’s eating you now?” Kinman asked.
“I feel more like bait in a trap right about now.”
“At least you’re still live bait.”
Seeing Kinman’s hand inch a bit closer to his gun, Lester pointed his horse to the east and snapped the reins. Even with the sense that he might get shot in the back at any second, Lester did feel good to be somewhat on his own. It wasn’t long before he’d worked most of the kinks out of his arms and legs so he could keep moving in time to the horse’s motions. Soon he built up some speed and was racing toward the ridge Kinman had pointed out.
When he looked over his shoulder, Lester didn’t see more than a cloud of dust to indicate the bounty hunter had been there.
He tapped his heels against his horse’s sides and let out a sharp yell to get the animal moving even faster. For the first minute or so, Lester wasn’t even looking for Graves. Instead, he kept his eyes open for a sign of Kinman’s approach or a good spot to make a sharp turn before the bounty hunter got there.
What he found when he cleared the ridge was something that put a whole other kind of dread into Lester’s gut. The cold touch of it seeped down like a poison that had been slipped into his water and it spread out in all directions once it got to his stomach.
“Oh shit,” Lester said under his breath when he spotted the row of horses approaching him from the left. He wasn’t close enough to see the riders’ faces, but he could most definitely spot the feathers tied to their heads, saddles and rifle barrels.
Lester counted four Indians, but knew there would be more coming from a small village he could see less than a mile or so away.
“Son of a bitch knew this was gonna happen,” Lester rasped as he bunched up his reins and used them to whip his horse’s flank. “I don’t know how he knew, but he knew. I’m sure of it.”
Muttering a silent prayer, Lester steered away from the Indians and hoped that would be enough to get them off his tail. Sometimes, all they wanted to do was scare folks away from their villages or sacred burial grounds. Lester was no expert on the matter, but he had enough common sense to know when to give the savages a wide berth. Since he’d caught sight of the village, he figured they were just a couple of braves out to gain a reputation by putting the fright into a white man.
Lester’s horse was breathing heavily and slowing down. He let the animal ease up a bit so he could turn and take a quick peek over his shoulder. The Indians were even closer than he’d thought, and were gaining ground fast.
“Come on, you sack of bones.” Lester grunted as he turned back around and whipped the horse’s side. “Get your ass moving or we’re both dead.”
Lester knew better than to think his horse could understand him. The horse may not have even been able to hear him over the pounding of its own hooves or the sound of Indians sweeping in on him like a plague of locusts.
Every bit of sense in Lester’s head told him to take a shot at those Indians before they got any closer. If he’d had a gun on him, he might have done that very thing. Even if he had a knife, he was getting desperate enough to turn and throw it at the first feathered head he could find.
Since he didn’t even have anything in his pockets to throw, Lester snapped his reins again and hoped his horse wouldn’t keel over before carrying him far enough away for those savages to lose interest.
Nick used his dented spyglass to watch the Indians ride closer. He knew they’d be coming, since he’d been the one to ride past their village close enough to draw their attention. Just for good measure, he’d kept on riding to the nearby burial ground so that he would lead Kinman or whoever was following him straight through the spot where no paleface should go.
Having ridden through this section of the Badlands several times throughout the years, Nick knew that most anyone heeding the warnings they were given were allowed to change their course without too much trouble.
Anyone who pushed the Sioux further than that deserved whatever they got.
But Nick didn’t see any surprised lawmen when he looked through the spyglass. He didn’t even see Kinman. What he saw was a stranger who looked as if he was about to piss his pants because he was so afraid of the wild- eyed Indians coming his way. More than that, the frightened stranger seemed to be unarmed.
“Aw hell,” Nick muttered.
Since he’d gone through so much trouble to keep himself distanced from anyone that had been following him, Nick studied the surrounding area just to make certain he wasn’t being drawn out. Not only was Nick soon convinced that the stranger was genuinely terrified, but he cursed himself for waiting so long when the man might just be ready to stumble into some serious trouble. So far, the Sioux scouts were only shouting and firing a few warning shots over the stranger’s head. The longer the stranger held his course, however, the madder the scouts became. In no time at all, Nick was certain they’d start aiming their shots just low enough to draw blood.
Nick snapped his reins and got Kazys moving along a path to intercept the stranger. He was careful not to draw his gun. In fact, he rode with his back straight and his arms held at an angle so anyone could readily see that he was only holding the reins in his fists.
As soon as Nick was visible to the Indians, he could hear them yelling back and forth to one another. He knew a bit of the Sioux’s tongue, but not enough to fully understand what they were saying. Nick didn’t need a translator, however, to tell that the scouts weren’t saying much of anything good.
Nick snapped his reins again and tapped his heels against Kazys’s sides. The horse didn’t appreciate the extra prodding, but responded by adding a bit more steam to his strides.
Using a method Barrett had always talked about, Nick continued to keep his back straight and his shoulders squared. He felt like he was doing a poor impersonation of paintings he’d seen of various Indian riders, but Nick kept up the brave front as he came to a stop in the middle of the space between the stranger and the approaching Indians.
For some reason, the stranger tugged on his reins and circled back around to Nick rather than riding on. “What the hell are you doing?” Lester asked breathlessly.
Nick held his hands up and out as he said, “Just don’t make any more sudden moves. Point your nose south and keep riding.”
“But I’m not headed south.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Nick snarled, doing his best to keep his temper from flaring up. “Just go that way and I’ll try to make sure you get away from here in one piece.”
Nick felt as if he was speaking a different language. Lester just wouldn’t follow his directions. As his frustration bubbled to the surface, Nick dropped his hands and gestured to the stranger to get moving.
Unfortunately, Nick’s movements got more of a reaction from the Sioux than from Lester.
One of the Sioux raised a clenched fist, and the others fanned out, immediately surrounding Nick and Lester. A few of them carried bows with arrows already notched and drawn back to be fired. The remaining seven riders brandished rifles decorated with beaded strips of leather, strips of fur and a few long feathers.
“What’s your plan?” Lester whispered.
Nick kept his face passive, but the aggravation was more than clear in his voice. “My plan was to hold them off so you could get away. Since you’re so intent on staying here, maybe you’d like to come up with something else.”
“I…uh…”
“Didn’t think so,” Nick snapped. “What the hell are you doing here anyway?”
