Sierra did not smile. Second thoughts about the mission had already been gnawing at her. When she had gone to the Lucky Five for help, it had been with a sense of entitlement. That had dissipated as she came to know her grandfather. The reality of the danger that lay ahead had come home to roost, and she was beginning to wonder if this was a fool’s errand. Good people might die during a perhaps futile attempt to recover her horse herd.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jordy took Jack’s place at the head of the party and was pleased when Sierra nudged her mare up beside him. He had encountered only a few opportunities to speak with her since leaving the ranch. He was forced to admit, however, that he enjoyed her company and found her fascinating once he got past his initial hostility toward the quest that he felt she had coerced Jack into with the guilt card. Truth was, though, Jack likely would have done the same for a stranger who came to the Lucky Five for help. Jack had a simple philosophy he had declared over the years, “Don’t hurt other folks and don’t take what’s theirs.” Those who broke that rule were inviting John Thomas Wills to spoil their party.
Sierra edged her mare to within talking distance from Jordy and his buckskin. They were still on something of an uphill climb, which slowed the mule teams with the heavy wagons behind them. Sierra half hollered to be heard above the clattering mule and horse hooves and the rattling of wagons. “Jordy. I’m embarrassed to say this, but I have been having second thoughts about this venture. What do you think Jack would say if I told him I want to call this off?”
Jordy could not believe what he was hearing, and it miffed him more than a little. “He would say, ‘Fine. I’ll have a few of the men take you back to the Lucky Five. You can wait there till we bring those horses back.’ That’s what he would say, or something near to it.”
“I just don’t think this is worth men dying for.”
Jordy said, “This isn’t about you anymore. Jack doesn’t tolerate murderers and thieves. You just gave him an excuse to have one last go at the bad guys. Maybe you held out the carrot, but I think Jack and Rudy have been itching for this chance. They just didn’t know it. Anyway, it is too late to call off the dogs. I guarantee it.”
He could tell from the grim look on Sierra’s face that he had not given the answer she was looking for. He continued, “Sierra, whatever happens, it’s not your fault. These are all grown men here. Most have been in one kind of combat or another before. They have no illusions about the risks. But they’re glad to follow Jack to hell and back to finish this job. That goes for me, too.”
She pulled the horse away, and they rode in silence for the next several hours.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jack sat on the wagon seat next to Tige with Thor wedged onto the flat wagon entry step behind the seat, so Jack’s hand could dangle over the low seatback and give due attention to scratching the big dog’s ears. The wagon followed Jordy and Sierra, who were well ahead, engaged in serious conversation it appeared. Jordy still seemed wary of the new granddaughter, but he had softened considerably since her first appearance. The young man sure kept his eyes on the young woman’s butt when she walked by and apparently approved of what he saw.
His eyes continuing to roam the surrounding landscape, he spoke to Tige. “I think we will have to take both wagons into Lookout Canyon. Not the chuckwagon, though. After we get through Castle Gap, I’m going to send Mitch Eagle Eyes out to scout the canyon from the rim, see if he can locate the horses and get a rough count on the Comancheros. The horses are likely being held in one of the dead-end branch canyons. The canyon is likely two or three miles long, and the west outlet isn’t wide enough for a wagon to pass through. I want to send Irish, Mitch and Possum in to help Sierra identify and separate out and hold her horses, although we will take any other critters that choose to come along.”
“You are letting your granddaughter go in?”
“No choice. First, I couldn’t stop her. Second, those Comancheros would like nothing better than to get hold of that young woman. She should be with some of the men.” He shuddered at the thought that Sierra might be taken by these animals.
“There will likely be guards at the outlet. Not many, maybe, but a few to give warning of any attack from that end,” Tige pointed out.
“They will have to be taken out,” Jack said.
“I will send Roper along,” Tige said. “I will tell him to protect Sierra. He would die before he would give her up, and he is worth three warriors in a fight. I am worried, though. All our weapons will be under the false floor in this wagon if they disarm us at the entry.”
“If they do, when the wagons stop, we will bail out and take cover under your wagon,” Jack said.
Tige said, “I’ll need to stick with this wagon and keep Abel close by. Swede’s muscle might come in handy.”
“Rudy and I will stay with the other wagon. Jordy, too. I thought we would leave the chuckwagon and extra mules and unneeded horses a mile or so back with Bram and Nick Iverson there to give us cover if we’re on the run. Bram can shoot with anybody, but his targets have always been deer or
