Time dragged. Bodie stayed where he was. After a time the birds that had scattered with the sound of the shot returned and settled. Bodie felt the sun warm on his back. The smell of the loamy forest floor was strong in his nostrils. His senses told him whoever had driven that shot at him was still around. Most likely patiently watching and waiting. He was aware he was in a vulnerable position lying where he was, but he had no other option. It was a waiting game.
Bodie’s horse had moved off a number of yards. He could hear the creak of saddle-leather as it moved, searching for grass, air blowing through its nostrils.
Then he heard the tread of boot steps coming up behind him. Not one set. Two. The brush of clothing against the undergrowth. The added sound of led horses.
‘Ol’ Thad was right,’ one of them said. ‘That’s one sly boy.’
‘That’s why he allus comes back alive,’ the second man said. ‘He don’t trust nothin’ ’cept hisself.’
The boot steps halted.
‘Who you reckon he is?’
‘Lawman. Maybe a bounty hunter. Sure won’t be a friend ‘cause Thad don’t have any friends.’
One of them laughed ‘Right enough there. If’n it weren’t for family Thad would be right lonely.’
‘Hey, Cletus, you sure you hit this yahoo?’
‘Yeah. Why?’
‘I don’t see no blood.’
‘Don’t make no fuss about it. Got him on the other side. He’s done.’
‘You reckon?’
‘Just go get your piece ‘fore we get too close.’
Bodie heard the drag of feet as one of them turned.
This is the time, he told himself. Before they both have their hands filled with guns.
He rolled over onto his back, hauling his upper body off the ground, the Colt in his big right hand already cocked as he sighted the two men.
They were ten, maybe twelve feet away.
The closest one faced him.
The second man had his back to Bodie as he moved towards his waiting horse, one hand reaching for the rifle jammed in a leather sheath.
The first man had his own weapon cradled in the crook of his arm and as Bodie moved he swung the rifle around, a wild yell bursting from his lips.
Bodie fired twice, the .45 slamming out heavy sound. He placed a slug in each knee. Blood, flesh and shattered bone misted the air as the big slugs blasted their through the delicate kneecaps. The man, Cletus, screamed, staggered and fell, his rifle slipping from his grasp and he collapsed to the forest floor.
His partner yanked his rifle from the sheath, twisting his head as Bodie’s shots echoed through the trees. He brought his rifle round, sliding his finger across the trigger as he frantically worked the lever.
Bodie two-handed the Peacemaker as he targeted the man. This time he made no attempt to wound. Two shots again. This time into the man’s broad forehead, between the eyes, the solid slugs ripped into the man’s skull, blowing out through the top of his head and taking off his hat in a shower of bloody debris. The man toppled over backwards, his finger jerking the trigger of his rifle and sending a .44-40 slug up through the branches.
Bodie pushed to his feet. The barrel of his revolver held on the kneecapped Cletus who was sitting hunched over, clutching his ruined, bleeding limbs, moaning against the pain. Crossing over Bodie took away the man’s rifle and the heavy Dragoon Colt tucked behind his belt.
‘Son of a bitch, oh, you son of a bitch,’ the man screamed. ‘You done crippled me. Shot out my goddamn knees.’
‘Seeing as how you tried to back shoot me,’ Bodie said, ‘should I feel sorry for you?’
‘Bastard. You were dogging Thad’s trail. He’s family. We protect our own. Had to be done.’
Bodie stood over the moaning man.
‘Mister, that family man overreached himself this time. Three people shot dead so he could help himself to 8,000 dollars, and one of the dead was a young woman he shot in the back. This time he really went over the line.’
‘He’s still family.’ Cletus’s face twisted in a grimace of pain. ‘Why didn’t you just kill me?’
‘I had me a notion to let you suffer.’
Bodie scooped up the man’s weapons. He crossed to where the dead man lay and collected his guns. He wrapped them in the slicker he took from behind the saddle of the closest horse and tied them behind his own saddle. Then he stripped saddles and bridles from the two horses and chased them off.
‘Hey, you son of a bitch, what about me? I ain’t happy with what you’re doin’.’
‘Leaving you here to think about how you were ready to kill me is what I’m about to do.’
Cletus clutched his ruined knees, hands dripping with blood. He raised his head to stare at Bodie. His eyes were bright with rage.
‘I get out of this,’ he said, ‘I’ll track you to Hell and back. By God, you’ll look round one day and I’ll be walkin’ after you for a reckoning.’
Bodie glanced at the man’s bloody, smashed knees.
‘Boy, you just won’t have a leg to stand on for something like that.’
He mounted up and turned his horse back on the thin trail Monk had left behind. Letting his horse pick its way Bodie shucked out the empty brass shells and reloaded, filling all six chambers before he holstered the Colt. He felt damn sure he was going to be needing the weapon again—and soon.
He scanned the wide sky above the mountain peaks. Dark clouds were showing. That was all Bodie needed. A storm.
Then he thought about it. Maybe a rainstorm would help to hide his approach to Monk’s place. Anything to give him an advantage was welcome.
If Thaddeus Monk was anything to go by the rest of the clan were likely to be the same. The two he had just clashed with had already shown they had little respect for anyone not part of the family. Bodie wondered just how many of them there were. If they were as close knit a family as they seemed and followed the Bible’s recommendations about begetting, there would be a fair number of them up on the mountain. Increasing their family numbers was obviously something they believed in, but loving their fellow man looked to be low on the list of priorities.