Chapter Thirteen

 

Link caught up with the last of the supply wagons riding at the rear of the column, an ambulance wagon pulled by four mules and accompanied by two cavalry outriders. He could see that already the rest of the column ahead was well advanced into the trail to one side of the broad entrance of Campaign Pass.

It was a wide valley mouth sided by jumbled slopes of jagged rock colored a raw red by the deposits of mineral ore embedded when the valley had been formed during its antediluvian origins. Each side swept away and up from the hilly dust of the uneven valley floor and grew in scale as the valley progressed and the winding cut narrowed with higher sides the deeper it went.

Rock fall had formed harder packed earth along the right hand side of the valley and forced the troops and heavy wagons to ride along close to the rock face keeping to the path in a tight file. A gently sloping drop ran away from the edge of the roadway and slid into a tumble of scrub and drifting sand that had formed softly undulating waves of dunes covering the valley floor.

Hold up!’ Link called as he rode up, dragging the last of the exhausted ponies to a sliding halt alongside the wagon. He estimated there must be some fifty men making up the command and although he could not see the head of the column to be sure, he knew it would be a tight contest unless he could warn the soldiers in time.

What’s the all-fired hurry?’ asked the driver, leaning from the seat where he sat alongside the army doctor, an elderly man dressed in a long white dustcoat.

Ambush ahead,’ panted Link. ‘Indians waiting on you.’

Lucky you didn’t get your head shot off, coming up on us like that,’ frowned the doctor.

You got to pull up right now, there’s trouble ahead,’ pressed Link.

We can’t do that without proper orders.’

An outrider corporal pulled his horse over to join them, ‘What in damnation’s going on here? We’re falling behind, godammit!’

Fella here says there’s an ambush up ahead,’ explained the driver.

The corporal looked the dust covered Link over, ‘Where you come from, mister?’ he asked suspiciously.

There’s no time for this, corporal. Apaches are waiting on you; they know you’re carrying gold. A couple of outlaw whites filled them in on the score and they are hell bent on taking you guys down.’

The corporal chewed his lip thoughtfully; he was still suspicious of Link’s arrival on a lathered pony and wondered if some trick by road agents was in play.

You’d better come along of me,’ he said. ‘We’ll go up the column and see the colonel.’

Come on then,’ said Link, not waiting for the soldier and geeing his tired pony on.

They raced along beside the long line of strung out cavalrymen heading into the valley and heads turned and watched the riders streaking past with open curiosity.

Ambush!’ cried Link as he rode on ahead of the corporal. ‘Look to your weapons.’

What you say, man?’ cried a lieutenant at the head of a troop that came midway in the line of march. He was unsure of Link’s words, not hearing them clearly in the speed of the cowboy’s passage.

Link rose in the stirrups and turned in the saddle opening his mouth to call back. There was the booming retort of a rifle and Link was lifted and torn from his saddle. He tumbled into a churning pillar of dust as his pony reeled and fell and the cowboy and horse spun over and over down into the deep rolling drifts alongside the trail.

The column staggered to a stop at sound of the shot and all the cavalrymen wheeled and bunched up, nervously looking around to see what had happened.

Who fired?’ bawled the lieutenant.

The corporal chasing up behind Link, saw his fall and realized instantly that the warning given was no trick and was very real.

Indians! We’re under attack!’ he screamed urgently, his call cut off as a volley of shots came from high on the valley wall and cut him to pieces in the saddle. The corporal’s body shook under the repeated impact and he rocked on the back of his racing horse before his juddering boots kicked free of the stirrups and he tumbled lifeless into the dust of the track.

Horses screamed and whinnied as the cavalrymen wheeled and the men shouted in consternation. The lieutenant’s commands were lost amongst the bedlam as rifle shots and streams of arrows poured down into the column and more blue uniforms fell. Panicked riders rode in every direction and were picked off as they fled.

From his place above, Shulki grinned in satisfaction, the rifle growing hot in his hands. He could not fire and reload fast enough. Alongside him his scattered braves lying amongst the rocks used both rifle and bow to keep up a continuous chain of fire down into the exposed troops below.

The army survivors were dismounting and scurrying into cover to return fire from amongst the fallen boulders at the edge of the valley. In front the colonel at the head of the leading section of the column had heard the shooting and called a halt, he sat poised and waiting for some clarification of the situation. The narrowing valley twisted and turned leaving sight of the column behind hidden momentarily from the colonel and he hesitated waiting for a report.

Then, when none came and the sound of battle grew louder, he briskly ordered his scouts back to discover the cause whilst he had his men formed a defensive ring with the horses held in their midst. As the scouts, one a white man, the other a hired Apache reservation policeman headed back down the line. Indians rose in a wave from the dust of the valley floor, shedding the blankets that disguised their hiding places and ran across to pull the two men from their horses. The scouts were overwhelmed as a band of Telkashay’s braves leapt up and dragged the ponies over pulling them to the ground and swarming over the fallen scouts. Short work was made of the two men, furious hatchets and knives fell repeatedly and the scouts were hacked to death in minutes before the Indians slid away to confront the leading section and keep them pinned down.

The two pay wagons, three quarters of the way along the broken line, were attempting to wheel into a protective circle but the narrowness of the trail and the soft sand made the task difficult for the heavily loaded wagons. They faltered and churned, the dust giving way in sliding drifts under the wheels as the wagons left the hard packed track. One of the wagons began a soft decline and it fell from the trail as the outer wheels sunk deeper, the driver leapt free and the panicked mule team dragged the vehicle over onto its side and brought it sliding down to lay like a stunned beetle in the dust.

The rear of the long column, with the ambulance wagon in its midst was also attempting to pull back as the sound of hot fighting reached them and the realization came home to the men that Link’s warning was genuine. But the mounted remainder of Telkashay’s force was waiting for them and broke cover to seal off the valley and cut off their retreat.

It soon became clear to the lowliest private amongst the troopers that the entire column was on very dangerous ground and in the heart of a deadly situation.

 

Scart soon saw his opportunity.

As well as his swift mood changes Scart was not above making instant and decisive decisions when it came to his own benefit. He noted the overturned pay wagon from his position were he lay hidden with Crome and the Mack brothers amongst the rocks on the far side of the valley. So far they had taken no part in the battle but only kept a wary lookout for stray bullets and the way the fight was going.

Look here,’ growled Scart to Crome. ‘See it?’

Crome followed his gaze and took in the wagon, now separated from the main body of the column and lying alone at the bottom of a shelving slope. The mule team still survived and fretted wildly in the traces, dragging the fallen wagon in a zigzag pattern as they tried to escape but only managing to lock it deeper in the sand.

We can get down there. You see the makeup of the dunes, there’s a pathway between them.’

Crome soon saw he was correct, there was a safe route amongst the lumpy hillocks of sand and scrub that wound towards where the wagon lay and it was mostly out of sight of the fighting troops.

You reckon on going down there?’ asked Crome in dismay, instinctively ducking as wild bullets screamed overhead.

Listen, we can get in there and hoist out bags of cash. With four of us working, it’ll be a haul worth taking. We can get away from here without the need to hustle the Indians, its an easier alternative than having to fool that murderous son-of-a-bitch Shulki.’

Well, that part I like. There’s no way I was looking forward to trying to trick him out of a cash load. That old boy’s likely to follow us clear to China he’s so mean.’

Come on, let’s do it.’

Scart beckoned the Mack brothers over and filled them in, then snaking down on his belly he led the way into the labyrinthine maze of dips between the hillocks.

Callum the wounded of the two brothers was still finding it difficult with his stiff shoulder, still not healed it was a continuing problem that left him with a disadvantage and he struggled to worm along with the rest of them. His brother Lew watched him with a worried eye, concerned that his brother’s fumbling might expose them to all the shooting that was going on.

Beyond them the remainder of the central section of cavalry were slowly being cut to pieces and the few left alive and unwounded were bunkered down and using up their little ammunition fast. None of the supply wagons could make it through to get more ammunition to them and only the remaining pay wagon was close by and standing alone and stationery, the team had been cut loose and fled and it stood in isolation with a few men hiding underneath the wagon bed.

The Apaches were moving from the high ground now that they could see the battle was going their way and that the hated white soldiers were on the brink of defeat. They swarmed down through the rock walls, snaking between the craggy outcrops and keeping up a constant barrage of firing as they came.

Worried calls for help came from the desperate men trapped below the rock face as they saw the advancing Indians and those that tried to make a break and run off plunged a slow path through the cloying dust and were soon shot down by the vigilant and merciless Indians.

Scart noted all this as he and the others moved closer to the fallen wagon, their passage unnoticed by the fighters on the far side of the valley. His eyes glittered at the prospect as they neared the wagon and he licked his lips in anticipation.

Listen up,’ he said to the others. ‘We get in there and we can use the mules. String the bags of cash together at the neck and hang them over the mule backs. We get the cash loaded then we can set the mules free, we’ll move along beside them out of sight of the Indians, you got it? They’ll give us cover and them redskins will be so hot-fired up with all the killing they’ll only think its loose animals on the run.’

What then?’ asked Crome.

We head on back to our own ponies and light out of here.’

I sure hope to hell its gold in there and not tins of beans,’ grunted Lew Mack.

Let’s go find out,’ grinned Scart confidently.

He lunged up to the back flap of the wagon and turned on the others with an excited grin as he saw the small oblong wooden crates tumbled and stenciled with the army’s mark. Some had broken open in the fall and exposed a few of the torn canvas moneybags inside. Scart dug a hand in and pulled out a fistful, throwing a glittering handful of coins at the men.

Goddamn!’ he squealed. ‘It’s loaded. We’re rich, boys.’

The others scrabbled forward eagerly and tumbled over the tail of the wagon and under the covering canvas cover.

Lord Almighty!’ breathed Crome, sinking to his knees and stroking a hand through the scattered gold coins lying spilt on the wagon bed. ‘It’s an unholy fortune.’

You bet,’ grinned Scart, levering open a crate with his knife.

The sounds of battle outside were forgotten as the men hastily began cracking open crates and stringing the sacks inside together. It was hot under the canvas cover and they all sweated, their eyes greedily wild as they worked fast, stacking a pile of bound sacks in the rear of the wagon.

That’s enough,’ said Scart when they had a substantial pile ready.

But there’s a whole bunch more of it,’ complained Cullum, waving at the forward end of the wagon where there still lay a heap of unopened crates.

We can’t carry more, hell! We got a lifetime’s worth here already. Come on now, let’s get to them mules.’

As they struggled out and began a chain passing the sacks over to the mules, Scart cast a cautious eye over towards the fighting soldiers who were being fast overrun. Eager braves were rushing in despite the last rounds of desultory firing from the cavalrymen and wild with killing they were finishing off the few remaining soldiers with axe and spear in a crazy lust for blood that brought loud whoops of victory.

We got to move it up,’ snarled Scart. ‘They’re almost done over there.’

They festooned the mules with hanging sacks and released them from the harnesses leaving only bridles to hold onto. The mules were quieter and more manageable now, the presence of the men easing their earlier terror. Quickly, Scart began to lead the first mule away, keeping at a steady pace he crossed over towards the distant wall of the valley away from the horde of Apache swarming over their victims and made his way hidden behind the mule as he loped off hanging on with a tight grip to both the bridle and load as he kept pace with the animal.

The others followed behind keeping down but casting the occasional glance over their mule’s backs at the mayhem of slaughter going on down the whole line of cavalry. The ambush had obviously been a complete success for the Apache and only sporadic sounds of resistance marked their journey as they headed for the valley entrance.

Before him as the valley widened, Scart saw the open spread of the desert before him and he breathed a sigh of relief and felt his muscles slacken as the way opened up and it was only then that he realized how tense he had been and his shoulders slumped in relief.

We made it, by God!’ he said over his shoulder to the others.

Then he heard Chrome sigh dismally, ‘Oh, no, shit!

Scart turned back to see the lone figure of Telkashay standing before him blocking his path. The Indian looked at Scart with a hard expression on his grim face, a rifle sitting crooked in his arm.

He jerked an accusing chin at Scart, ‘You leave us?’ he asked.

Sure,’ said Scart. ‘We’re going to get our ponies, that’s all.’

And what are these mules for?’

Aw, you know. We might as well,’ Scart said with a disingenuous smile.

And the sacks?’

Come on, Telkashay,’ frowned Scart. ‘That’s our portion, you know it.’

You think so?’ said Telkashay, lowering his rifle to point it directly at the outlaw. ‘I think you will stay here and we will see what the others say.’

With long practice, Scart innocently half turned away and in one smooth action he drew his pistol, levering back the hammer as he did so and before Telkashay could pull the trigger of his rifle, Scart blasted him with a shot to the chest. With a cry of pain the Apache spun over backwards, his legs kicking as he lay wounded on the ground. Scart looked around but the sound of the shot had been lost amongst the firing still coming from the valley. Without a second glance, he dragged the mule forward and stood astride Telkashay’s twitching body. He levered back the hammer again and stared down at the fallen Indian.

Pity you felt that way,’ he said, pulling the trigger and shooting the Indian directly through the forehead. Scart hawked and spat, then moved on as the others coming along behind stepped carefully over the grisly splatter of blood and brains that pooled out from the Apache’s shattered skull.

 

********

 

By the time Tarfay and the others arrived it was all over.

Smoldering ribbons of smoke rose from the remains of burnt out wagons and the valley floor was littered with scattered bodies. Some had been tortured and their naked remains hung lashed to wagon wheels, the corpses blackened by smoke and spilt blood. Clothing and discarded possessions lay in the dust, scraps of torn uniform and the odd boot and kepi filled the spaces between dead men. Above, in the strip of blue sky visible over the valley, wheeled the slow presence of hungry buzzards waiting for the moment to plunge down and feast.

How long?’ Tarfay asked Jimmy, who was crouched down beside a tilted wagon bed his fingers testing a heap of ash still smoking under the tortured remnants of one unfortunate troopers groin.

Not long, they been gone maybe two hours.’

Tarfay dismounted and cast a sad eye along the scene of destruction. ‘Anybody see Link anywhere?’ he asked.

The others dumbly followed his lead and climbed down and began to search along the wide path of cadavers looking for the cowboy amongst the fallen. Bodies were tumbled in all kinds of postures and positions, some gathered in groups and others alone and separate. Many had been mutilated and disfigured, with body parts dissected and faces ruined. Even the cavalrymen’s horses had been slain.

Oh, woe,’ cried Mortimer. ‘I am come into a valley of anger and death, let there be eternal peace for these poor lost souls.’

Don’t look like they left a single body alive,’ muttered Tag.

No,’ spat Tarfay. ‘They really did it to them this time.’

He is here!’ cried Jimmy, from a dip below them off the trail.

They all slid down the slope and stared at the corpse of the cowboy, he had been stripped, his limbs and chest split open with long knife gashes, his nose and genitalia cut off and a feathered spear driven through his ribs.

Goddamn!’ breathed Tarfay. ‘That’s hellish bad.’

Guess he got here too late to give good warning,’ said Cornpone.

Such wickedness,’ breathed Mortimer, falling to his knees beside the body his hands clasped together in prayer. ‘How the righteous suffer at the hands of the heathen and are struck down. Let them rise up to their Heavenly Father and receive succor in the blessing of His gracious charity.’

Tarfay raised his eyes to look away at the horizon, then he lowered his head and with one hand resting on his hip between pistol grip and belt as he pondered.

What you want to do?’ asked Cornpone quietly.

Before Tarfay could say anything Tag said, ‘Eloise! You promised.’

Tarfay nodded, his stare fixing on Tag’s determined face. He nodded again, ‘Let’s get Link in the ground first.’