That afternoon they camped at a large spring with a wide meadow surrounded by pines, with good grass for their animals. Slocum had them clean all the guns they’d taken off the outlaws. That would mean more firepower if they engaged them. The two single-shot rifles were worn out. He put the barrels in a wedge between rocks and bent them, so they could serve no one.
Two good Winchester repeaters that used .44 rimfire ammo were the best catch. Ken and Gordon took them and split the ammunition they’d found. The Kid found a great Bowie knife and practiced throwing it at a pine tree until he could stick it deep in the bark.
The Kid also gave Silva a small .30-caliber Colt. “You can shoot it, Silva. It won’t kick much.”
“Good. I know how to shoot. Muchos gracias, hombre.”
Slocum squatted down beside her making tortillas on her knees. “How far is he from here?”
“Maybe ten miles from here around the mountain one way; there is trail goes south. He has a big meadow and his place is at the back of it. He can see you coming a half mile away unless you come through the pines. But it would be rugged.”
He nodded. “Charlie and I may go scout it out.”
“Oh be careful. He is much tougher than those men he sent to kill us.”
“I’ll be careful.”
Next he had a parley with his men over supper.
They were around him in a circle. “Ken, you, Gordon, and the Kid move way down this meadow and build a fort, not too high, with dead logs, but one you can get behind and shoot from. Then you four don’t build big cooking fires. But be on guard night and day.”
“What are you going to do?” the Kid asked.
“Charlie and I will try to sneak up on Gomez.”
“You don’t need us?” Gordon asked.
“Not yet. We need to know the layout of his place and how many are up here. You four keep low and don’t let them take you asleep.”
“We won’t,” Ken promised him.
• • •
They left in the night, when the moon rose. Both he and Charlie chose plain-colored brown horses that might blend better than Slocum’s reddish pacing horse and Charlie’s black. Two big owls soared through the pines and hooted for each other. Bats came in clouds looking for insects but never bothered them. Silva had told Slocum that large granite boulders were at the entrance to the meadow, and when he found them, he could see beyond them a wide-open silver valley of many acres. They took their horses well back in the woods and tied them so they’d be there when they needed them.
Skirting along the wood’s edge, Slocum knew no one could see them, and they went at a lope. He carried his Spencer and Charlie his bow. When they paused to rest and catch their breath, there were no lights on in the low-walled log building and still hours till dawn. Standing in the cool night, he and Charlie skirted the cabin and found a dozen horses in the corral.
Charlie took his knife and almost cut through each girth on the saddles, at the top rail. Slocum approved. There were some rifles in the scabbards. He got mud and jammed the barrels full then wiped the outsides clean and replaced them in the scabbards.
He suspected there might be ten men inside, from the number of saddles. The five they buried had been one-third of Gomez’s whole gang. At the moment he wished he’d brought some blasting powder packages along and taken them out right then while they snored. Oh well, better luck next time.
He needed to lure them out into a trap next. Charlie stopped him with his arm out. They both froze as a woman came out, raised her skirt, squatted, and peed, then went back inside, never noticing them behind the corral.
He winked at Charlie. “Let’s go.”
• • •
Back at camp he explained what they’d done and how he and Charlie wanted them to rush out to get at Gomez’s men. Then they’d get dumped off their horses or their rifles would blow up in their faces. The rest they could pick off. He and Charlie would be in place to take them if they came back to the ranch house.
Everyone agreed the plan should work. They rested that day, and Slocum took Silva up in the forest away from them, with a blanket to lie on and to make love on as well. A leisurely day to kiss and look at the azure sky above, then have sex.
“Where will you go when this is all over?” she asked.
“Arizona. The Apaches have been raising hell up there. I have a lady I am responsible for who teaches school and may need to go home if things have quieted down.”
“Will you marry her?”
“No. I have no casa for a wife. No way to earn a living. I would be a poor choice for a husband. Her husband was killed by bank robbers getting away, and then she learned he had another wife and some children. So she came to teach school out here. I found her in the path of the Apaches and took her to a place to be safe.”
On her belly beside him, she smiled and shook her head. “You are a handy man. Does she make good love?”
“No better than you.”
“Do you tell all your women that?”
“I don’t tell the others anything.”
She laughed and then chewed on a grass stem. “I bet you don’t.”
They took a siesta and afterward went back so she could make supper.
• • •
Late in the night, Slocum and Charlie returned to their place at Gomez’s ranch. But Slocum only counted eight saddles—no one had changed girths on the saddles, but one Winchester was gone.
Had Gomez and one other slipped away again?
He and Charlie whispered about it when a woman came out. Charlie caught her by the mouth to cut off any screams and they dragged her behind a shed.
“You scared the piss out of me,” she whispered angrily.
“How many women are in there?”
“Two more.”
“Be quiet and bring them out. But if they wake the men, they will die in there. When you bring them out, go behind this shed and get on the ground. When did Gomez ride out?” Slocum asked.
“Just before those bastards of his raped us.”
Good, the women would now have a reason to leave. “Be quiet or die.”
She nodded and in the starlight made a face about her wet dress front before she went back inside.
In a short time the three came out. Two were still dressing, and Charlie showed them were to get to.
Angry that his man had escaped him again, Slocum lighted a charge and tossed the bomb inside the door, then ran out back with the crouched women and his man. The explosion blew the sod roof off and rained dirt on them.
“They won’t rape anyone again,” Slocum said. “We have to fix the saddles before you can use them. Charlie, go get our crew. We missed that bastard again. You ladies can make breakfast for us.”
“Who are you?” the sassy one asked.
“My name’s Slocum. That’s Charlie Horse. There are more coming and another woman.”
“Will we be free when this is over?”
“Free as the birds. Why?”
“After how badly they treated us, I am going back to my village and be a wife again.”
He laughed. “And the first exciting offer comes along, you will ride away again.”
“Not me. I swear to God not ever again.” She threw her arms in the air and went with the others to make food.
Charlie had gone to get the rest of their gang.
Slocum went where the women were setting up to cook outside. “Where did he go?”
They shook their heads. “He never said anything,” the leader said, “but his men didn’t come back, and it made him mad at all of us. It wasn’t our fault they ran away.”
“No, they all died charging our camp.”
“Good enough for them.”
The others agreed.
His crew arrived. Gordon examined the corpses, and the others got all their money—fifty dollars. He paid it to the women, and the men fixed them three girths for them to ride out of there on. Except for the loss of their things in the explosion, they thanked them.
• • •
After they ate, Slocum noticed the Kid had convinced Annette to slip off and share her body with him. Everyone was amused. She was the cutest of the three and the least mouthy. Sassy had mentioned to him that Gomez might try to hide at Zamora’s camp in the north. Zamora was one of the rebel outlaws that operated out of the mountains and was mostly left alone by Federales because of his fierce defense of his region. Two expeditions by the military had ended in failure and the loss of many soldiers, so Zamora sat like a king in the high country. But whether or not he would hide Gomez was dependent entirely on what Gomez had left to pay him for protection.
Slocum had enough worries about how to find this outlaw. But he wasn’t ready to give up. They saddled horses for the girls, and they had enough food from the hideout to make it back to civilization. The women thanked him and his men before they rode out. Slocum decided to leave the unnecessary horses in the meadow, with water and grass, to fend for themselves. A horse herd was hard to move fast.
“You were only a short time from catching him,” Silva said.
“If I’d had a bomb with me the night before, he’d be singing in the devil’s choir.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” she said, riding close to his left leg. “You will get him. He can’t be this lucky for long.”
“He must have a bird telling him when we get close.”
“His luck will run on. Don’t be so upset. You will find a way to catch him.”
“I’ll be fine, Silva. I intend to run him down.”
She shrugged and reined back some.
He turned back and nodded to her. No need in upsetting her; she’d been good inspiration and great company that he appreciated.
Soon they crossed another range. His tracker, Charlie, was satisfied they were getting close to the pair.
So to hurry things Slocum sent him ahead and held up until Charlie had a good start and they fell in behind. His plan was that Gomez might not suspect one rider, who was an Indian. But they didn’t catch up with Gomez. Charlie pulled back and reminded Slocum that they were pushing their horses to death and that it would soon be dark. They should close down their pursuit.
Slocum agreed. “Make camp. We’ll try again tomorrow.” He pointed out a place, and they all agreed.
• • •
In his bedroll with him, Silva was naked, resting half on his chest and sipping kisses. “You are sure upset.”
“Twice I missed that bastard, and he probably will get away this time.” He could hardly stand himself over not getting Gomez.
“I keep saying he can’t run away from you. You will get him.” She kissed him sweetly.
“Where will he go?”
“I am not sure where he will hide, but you will find him. Now, jack up your tool and get busy. We can’t waste tonight.”
He clutched her face and kissed her hard. One thing he needed to do was forget Gomez, and she was the prize he could use to get over his depression. They were soon one, and his mind whirled away to savor her passion and his own. This sweet woman who had been through so much herself might pull him out of his own ditch. She completely gave her all to him every time they had sex. Not only willing, but ready, for fierce passion, and able to extract it from him. Did her older husband realize what she was? He probably never knew, but she was a gem. He about laughed. She had told them that he had her sister until she got back—he might not even miss her.
• • •
In the morning he spoke to the other men. “We may be on a wild-goose chase. I told Dan I’d get him, but the way things look now, so tangled, he may escape us. Any of you want to go home?”
“Hell, no,” Ken said, and the rest agreed.
“All right, let’s hit the trail.”
That evening they reached a small village called Alto. They left Silva and Gordon in camp to watch things. Charlie was off scouting, so Slocum, Ken, and the Kid went to the local cantina and drank some homemade beer. The Kid screwed a young whore there and came back to the table.
In a whisper he said, slipping into the booth, “She said he was here yesterday.”
“Did she know where he went?”
His voice still low, he said, “She thinks she can find out. I told her we’d pay her five pesos.” The Kid shook his head. “That’s a fortune to her.”
“How far did she have to go to find out?”
He turned his palms up and shook his head. “I don’t know. But it might be a lead.”
Ken put his hand on the Kid’s shoulder. “Screw another one. Maybe you can learn some more.”
Amused, Slocum thanked the Kid. The big man who owned the place was coming with more of his horse piss.
“Ah, hombres. You need a refill.”
“Sure,” Slocum said. “Listen, was there a man named Gomez in here yesterday?”
“I know him. He was here, but he didn’t stay long. You need him?”
“Where could we find him?” Slocum half rose and went for some money.
The man smiled. In a place were money was so short, the little whore had only charged the Kid fifty cents for a piece of ass. Money talked.
“You ever been to Loma Linda?”
Slocum had twenty dollars in his palm. The man nodded.
“How do I get there?” Slocum asked.
“I can draw you a map. Come over to the bar.”
“Fill the mugs and I will go over there.”
“Sí.”
The man found a sale bill to write on. “You know he is a mean bastard?”
“That’s why I want him.”
“Here is Alto. Where you are is here. Take the right fork of the road going north and it will take you there.”
“You know where he lives when he is there?”
“They say he has a brother named Guermo who has a business there. I have not been there in years.”
“How far is it?”
“Two days’ ride on a burro.” The man smiled. “I never had a good horse to ride over there.”
The man showed him two mountains to cross and some other points he recalled from the road there. Slocum realized the Madres were vast.
“Is there a church there?” he asked.
“Oh, sí, Saint Joseph.”
“Good. I may need to pray there.”
The big man crossed himself, Slocum guessed from just thinking about it. “He has no army. He was jumpy when he came here. Does he know you are after him?”
“I think so. Here take this money, you need it.”
“I feel like Judas telling you this for money.”
“Gomez is not the Christ that Judas exposed.”
“Oh, I know that. When he had his army, he would come here and demand to be waited on and rape men’s wives in the village.”
“What did he do yesterday?”
“Drank beer and looked glum. He never used a puta, nor was he interested in one. I think he was sick.”
“Who rides with him?”
“A mean son of a bitch they call Goat. They say when he was a young he screwed them, because his cock was too big for the girls to let him use theirs.”
“Is he dangerous?”
“Oh, sí. He did all the killing and bad things for Gomez.”
“We will find him.”
“Many people in the Madres will thank you. What happened to his army?”
“They all died in their sleep.”
“Good place for them. I am glad to meet you, señor.”
“The pleasure is mine.” Then they shook hands.
• • •
The girl came back and slid into the booth beside the Kid. “He’s gone to Loma Linda.”
Slocum paid her a five-dollar gold piece. She beamed like he had paid her a fortune. They finished their beer and went back to camp loaded with the food supplies that Silva had asked for, including a slab of fresh-cut beef, sweet peppers, and onions. Slocum knew what she’d cook to please them.
She stood on her toes and kissed him for what he brought back.
“Tell me about the man they call Goat who rides with him,” Slocum said.
“I was lucky I never felt his meanness. But he ripped women apart and strangled men who disobeyed him. They were making many raids then, and so he was off taking care of the army most of the time. I feared him more than any man who worked for Gomez, and there were more sons of bitches in that gang. I am glad they were blown up.”
“The man at the Cantina told us that Gomez had done lots of bad things when he had his army in that village, but now he’s acting defeated.”
“Well he does not have all those men to do his bidding anymore. He knows you are coming. I told you that you would get him in the end.”
He hugged her shoulder. “You are a wonderful woman. I am glad I borrowed you.”
“So am I.”
Charlie returned and told them that Gomez had taken the right fork in the road. Slocum thanked him for all his scouting and then told them what they had learned.
“People up here really hate him. He did some bad things in these places when he had his army.”
“What is at Loma Linda?”
Slocum shook his head. “Some think his brother lives there.”
“I have never been there.”
With a nod, Slocum said, “Nor have we, but it is two days away on a burro.”
They all laughed and fell into eating Silva’s food.
Her presence had really helped Slocum with his men, and her food was the greatest thing. These men had been on lots of manhunts, but they had never eaten any better under such primitive conditions. They’d have done anything for her too. She was helped at every turn because of the effort she made for them.
Never in camp did she need anything—wood was there, water when she needed some; they even washed the dishes and helped her pack up to move. They knew about her hatred for what Gomez had done to her. She didn’t complain or retell her past experience, but instead kept spirits up, including Slocum’s. He felt she was an angel, and he admired her.
They loaded up for Loma Linda. The packhorses were ready. Silva stepped onto her horse, and, settled in the saddle, she thanked them for their help. Slocum sent Charlie ahead. They rode out and left the campsite behind. The morning air was still cool in the high mountains, a big change from the desert behind them. Silva wore a shawl over her shoulders and moved in close to Slocum.
“We could be on the last days of this business.”
“You are an optimist,” Slocum said and about laughed.
“A what?”
“Oh, someone who’s convinced that they will win.”
“Win, no—I will lose when you win. I can go back home to my children, my husband, my sister, and wash clothes at the village well. I don’t mind that, but I know I won’t win and be what you call it.”
“Optimistic means you think well of life.”
She nodded, but he knew he had not won her over.
• • •
The Sierra Madres were such a vast range of mountains. Slocum respected them. He and his group descended in a great valley and then climbed another range over twisty roads, until the fresh air swept their faces on the peak pass. The drudgery of the long journey showed on their faces, but Slocum also knew they were a united and tough small army.
Midday they had some tortilla-wrapped food Silva had packed for them, and they washed it down with tinny-tasting canteen water. The Kid stopped Silva. “If you did not have a family and husband, I would ask you to marry me.”
She looked up at him. “And I would say yes ’cause you are a real man. You will find a woman you deserve. I have been flattered you asked me. I don’t feel I ride for revenge, but I do. But being with all of you has been the finest adventure I ever have had, and I will never forget every moment. Thank you.”
They mounted up again, then rode on across another mountain range and dropped into the next valley as the sun slipped down behind them. They made camp, and before the daylight was gone they hurried about to get her cook fire built and the horses unloaded.
The race, Slocum considered, ended as a tie. The sun went down and her fire lit the camp. She hurried about like usual, preparing food. Charlie and Gordon slipped out to learn what they could about Gomez’s whereabouts and if they were close to him.
With fewer items to feed them, Silva apologized, but they told her not to worry, they knew how hard she had tried. Things were quiet under the million stars for a ceiling. A few red wolves howled, but they were distant. Charlie and Gordon returned and had word that Gomez was around, but his location was not clear. Both men ate late but thanked Silva. The fire’s reflection gave off radiant heat as they all huddled under blankets for warmth.
“Summing up what we learned, we don’t know much,” Charlie said. “If he’s here, he is hiding like a rat gone in a hole. I doubt he can raise an army here. My hunch is he has no money, and that was his strength before all this happened. It is the longest campaign I ever have had to resolve such a situation. I think we will find him. If not tomorrow, soon.”
Slocum and Silva went to bed shortly after that. A guard shift had been set up. They were too close to Gomez not to have one. Under Slocum in the bedroll, she stretched out and sighed.
“Will you find him tomorrow?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then we can make love and forget him.”
He kissed her and forgot him.
• • •
After breakfast they rode into the village. Ken and Silva stayed in camp to watch things. Slocum took on the large cantina. There were some gamblers playing cards. There were a few locals at the bar. This was a land of little money and few ways to make it.
The bartender brought him a bottle of mescal and a glass.
He spoke in Spanish. “You wish some mescal, señor?”
“I want far worse—an outlaw hiding here. A man who raped and robbed your neighbors. A worthless scoundrel hiding under someone’s skirt in your village. He has killed innocent brave men without reason. I want this man. I will pay for finding him or I will pay for his head on a pike.”
“Who is this hombre?”
“Raul Gomez. Does that make you uncomfortable that he is here?”
Some who had gathered to hear him nodded.
“Tell me where he is or bring his head on that pike.”
“What about our families and homes?” one man asked.
“He will be dead. Ghosts won’t hurt you.”
They laughed.
One cardplayer tossed in his hand. “I am going home to be sure he is not there.”
“May God go with you, sir.”
No one else moved.
“His brother lives here. If he is part of his gang, I want him too.”
No one spoke.
“Is there no one needs a hundred pesos?”
No reply.
“Oh, you are all rich and don’t need any money?” He poured some liquor into his glass and shook his head. “My camp is west of this village. My money will spend.”
He downed the contents. “When he rapes your daughter or wife, I won’t cry for you, I will cry for them because you are such cowards.”
The glass set back on the bar, his money for it beside the bottle, he still had no answer. He nodded to the bartender. “I thought real men lived in the Madres. I guess I was wrong.”
At the door, a man shouted, “Let’s help him find that bastardo. Manuel, you swore you’d kill him for what his men did to your daughter? Stand up.”
The man did.
Slocum stopped inside the batwing doors. Another man stood up. “I will get my brothers. They will help. We will go with you and find him.”
“He can’t be far. Let us get him.”
“Yes, we will help.”
In the street Slocum sent the growing number of men in four directions. Gordon came up frowning and dismounted. “What the hell is going on?”
“These men are going looking for Gomez.”
The big man frowned. “How the hell did you do that?”
“I challenged them in the cantina to find him for me. Many of their families have been hurt by him and his army in the past. I simply roused their anger.”
“Sounds good. Do we wait?”
“We have to. If he is around here, they can find him.”
Gordon hitched his horse. “I am willing to wait.”
“Where are Charlie and the Kid?” Slocum asked him.
“I’ve not seen them since we got here.”
“We better go look for them.”
“Fine. Where?”
Slocum shook his head. “I have no idea. But we better be sure they are all right.”
“I’ll go west and you go east. This place isn’t that big,” Gordon said.
Slocum agreed and set out. He stopped two ladies. “I am looking for an Indian and a white boy. Have you seen them?”
“No, señor, but everyone is looking for that bastardo Gomez.”
“I know. I sent them to find him.”
The older woman, with her eyes set hard, said, “Let me have him when you catch him.”
“Why?”
“I want to bash his balls one at a time with a mallet. He ruined my sister’s life.”
Slocum nodded. “We will find him.”
“May God help you find him.”
“Thanks.”
He stopped an old man walking with a cane and asked him.
“No, everyone is looking for Gomez.”
Where in the hell had they gone? He was becoming concerned, when a woman told him, “I saw them ride east an hour ago.”
“Gracias.” They must have a lead. Charlie was tough enough for the two of them, though the Kid had grown up a hell of a lot since they left Dan’s place. Slocum still recalled his serious proposal to Silva. She was an impressive person, and he could see how the Kid had grown to admire her. This trip would have been a lot tougher without her and her food.
He started back to the cantina porch.
“Gomez must have fled,” a man said. “We have looked everywhere.”
“Well we tried,” Slocum told the man. “Thanks.” He hated to give up and let Gomez slip away again.
A group of men approached with a prisoner. They were hauling the haggard-looking man up the street. “This is his brother, Guermo. He did not know where his brother went, but he finally remembered.”
“Where?”
“To Blanco Springs last night.”
“How did you learn that?”
“We stuck a needle into his huevos. It helped his memory.”
Slocum about shuddered over the notion of a needle in the balls. “Does Gomez have a horse?”
“Sí, he stole one. The horse he rode in on is near death.”
“I appreciate all your help. I will set up a two-drink deal for everyone in the cantina. You are brave men.” He went inside, and the bartender agreed for thirty dollars to give everyone two drinks. Slocum had no time to argue. He simply paid the bill and went out to get his horse.
Gordon arrived and reined in his horse. “They say he went to Blanco Springs,” he said.
“I just learned that. They tortured his brother into telling them. I bought them all two drinks.”
“Yeah, I spoke to the woman who loaned them the steel needle.”
Slocum shook his head. “One way to get answers. I think Charlie and the Kid are on his tracks.”
They galloped their horses and by midday overtook the two.
“You have his tracks?” Slocum asked Charlie.
“Sorry, we learned from some woman who hated him that he had stolen from her, and we hoped to have caught him by now.”
Slocum nodded. “Lots of women hated him back there. I don’t know why he even went there. Maybe his brother gave him some money. I think he was broke.”
“Unless he was hiding it,” the Kid said. “There were no signs of wealth at his last jacal. We found it, and his kids were in rags.”
Charlie agreed. “He didn’t even have a horse. He stole the one he rides.”
“Maybe today we will catch him.”
“The horse he stole has no shoes and its hooves are cracked. I told the Kid we’d have him in a few hours at the most.”
“Good. We’ll capture him.”
Beside the road ahead sat a vaquero and a crippled horse. His head hung low, the animal looked to be in pain.
The man stood up and took his sombrero off to speak to them. “Some tonto loco hombre shot at me. Then he took my horse, my pistol, and my money. He is crazy. He said the devil was after him and a bruja told him he only had one life left to escape the devil’s hand.”
“Hell that must be us, men,” Slocum said, and they all laughed. “Climb on behind the Kid. We will find you another horse or get yours back. What is your name?”
“Cruz.”
Slocum introduced the others and they set out again.
“You know who he was?” the Kid asked Cruz.
“No.”
“That was the big outlaw Raul Gomez.”
“I am lucky to be alive,” Cruz said and crossed himself.
“Yeah, he’s pretty desperate. He had a helper when we started after him this time, but he even cut out. I don’t guess we even know his name, do we, Slocum?”
“No, he vanished like thin air. I’d almost forgotten him. They called him Goat.”
“When Gomez had no money, he must have jumped ship,” Gordon said and spurred his horse to keep up.
• • •
It was near sundown in the deep canyon when they approached the village. The bell was ringing in the tower over the small church.
When they came in the village gate, Cruz shouted, “There is my horse and saddle, thank God.”
Slocum drew his gun and stepped down, checking the growing shadows for any sign of the thief. A window was broken, and a shot was fired from a shop.
In the confusion of their panicked horses, Slocum returned fire. Then the blinding dust the horses had made boiled up, and a voice shouted, “Hold your fire or she dies.”
A desperate-faced man came out on the shop porch with a hostage. He pointed a cocked pistol at a pretty teenage girl’s head and used her for a shield. Her face was ash-white and her eyes wide open. No doubt the man’s grip on a handful of her long hair hurt, but the shock of this happening to her was worse.
“Drop you guns in the dirt and back away.”
“Do it, men,” Slocum said. The muscle under his right eye was twitching. They had to obey this madman until an opening showed. There might not be one, but they’d still run him down afterward.
He was slipping around them with the girl still held by the hair and the gun ready, to get around to Slocum’s horse.
Slocum wanted the Spencer in the scabbard, but there was too much space between him and the horse. Gomez could shoot him twice if he moved for it.
“Get in the saddle,” he ordered the girl, still covering them with his pistol.
With the girl on the horse, Gomez stepped into the stirrup and had his back exposed for a split second. Enough time for a flying Bowie knife that struck him hard and stayed in him. Gomez screamed then fell backward on the ground.
“Nice throw,” Slocum said to the Kid.
He looked to be in shock. “I only stuck it in a tree once. That makes the second time. Whew.”
Gordon took the knife out of him, but Gomez was gurgling in death.
“You used your last life, you dumb bastard,” Gordon said, standing over him.
The Kid held his arms out and caught the girl getting off the horse. She gratefully poured kisses on his face as he held her in his arms off the ground. He kissed her back.
Charlie was squatted in the dust, looking at the dying outlaw. “Where is all the gold and silver you stole?”
“In the—casa—” He died.
“Did you hear him?” Charlie asked, closing Gomez’s eyelids.
Slocum nodded. “I bet they’ve found it by now, but we can go back and look.”
“Sure, why not?” Gordon said. “I didn’t think it would end like this. If the dumb bastard had gone on, he might have lived, but like that witch told him, he only had one life left.”
“Many don’t listen to such advice.” Slocum looked around for him. “The Kid is the real hero. Where did they go?”
Gordon put his hand on Slocum’s shoulder. “I think those two had business to tend to. Come on, Cruz, the boss is buying the booze when we get these horses hitched.”
“Good. This has been a helluva day for me. First I am robbed, my horse taken, then I am in a crazy shoot-out.”
A priest appeared, having heard the commotion and come to see to the dying man.
“Here, Father, are ten pesos to bury him.” Slocum paid the man in robes, who gratefully accepted it. “I would not bury him inside the church cemetery. He was a man of many bad deeds.”
Two of the priest’s helpers carried the body off. The padre never said yes or no to Slocum’s request.
Slocum herded his three inside the cantina and ordered a bottle of good mescal and glasses. Silva and Ken would be worried, but they’d tell them the story of Gomez’s demise when they got back the next day. He also ordered food for them.
“Señor,” the bartender said, “I can have some boys put up your horses for the night. No one will steal anything.”
“Give them a peso apiece and have them handle it,” Slocum said.
“Very generous, señor. Your food is being cooked. There will be pallets to sleep on as well tonight, or you may sleep free with one of the ladies that work here.”
Cruz raised his hand. “I accept.”
“Good.” The bartender laughed. “We appreciate all of you. That man was a vicious person for many years in these mountains. Good he is dead tonight.”
They were wined and dined that evening. Slocum slept by himself despite many generous offers from the women in the village. Silva had spoiled him too much to even try finding a match for her skills in bed. But he slept easier.
• • •
Haggard and looking worn out, the Kid joined them when they saddled up in the morning.
“Hey thanks,” Gordon told him. “We couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Yeah—second time it stuck in something. Man, I knew it was throw it right or die. Instead I died last night in her arms. If I fall off my horse today, reload me belly-down. I want some more of Silva’s good food.”
They teased him all day about his night in the arms of his love. He simply smiled and shook his head. “I didn’t think you could get a headache from having too much sex.”
• • •
In Loma Linda, the curious came to hear about the outlaw’s fate. Slocum turned it over to the Kid to tell them, while he went and found a butcher who had beef. He also bought onions along with sweet peppers and wine before they headed back to their camp.
With her skirt in hand, Silva ran out to greet them. “You finally got him?”
Slocum stepped down and hugged her. “The Kid got him. We helped.”
“It wasn’t no big deal.” The Kid took the reins of Slocum’s horse. “I’ll put him up. But we brought the fixings for supper. We’ve been eating hog slop, I tell you.”
“I knew you hombres would miss me.” She stood on her toes and kissed Slocum. “I missed you too.”
“It was a long night.” He chuckled and hugged her.
“We were concerned.”
“He told us, dying, that his gold and silver were in his casa.”
“Oh, what do you think?”
“Someone may have found it already, but we’ll go back and look for it.”
“I have to get cooking. The food must have been bad—the Kid eats anything.”
They both laughed.
“Will we go back tomorrow?”
“We may have to shoe some of our horses. But the next day we will head that way.”
“Good. I have you for another week.”
“Yes.”
She smiled and ran for her “kitchen.”
“We’ll need four horses shod,” Gordon said.
“Let’s take them to town. You and I can help the blacksmith and get it done. Ken, the Kid, and Charlie can go over saddle girths and pack saddles and be ready to go back.”
“We can do that.”
“Then we shall. I know you’re anxious to get home to Alma.”
“It has been a long deal, but she will understand.”
“You are a lucky man to have such a woman who respects you, and you respect her.”
“We have a great life. A good farm and water for it; I have enjoyed the crops.”
“Well I want to look for any fortune that Gomez might have left. I thank you for helping me. Dan will pay all of you for your time.”
“Whenever you need help, come find me.”
“I will.”
“Good.”
That all settled, Slocum checked on Silva as the sun set.
“We will have supper in a short while,” she said, patting out another flour tortilla.
“I know. We can wait. Just checking.” He dropped down and sat cross-legged on the ground.
“Did you ever think of settling someplace?” she asked, busy working on her project.
“Aw, my soles would itch. There are things in my past that never could be ironed out, and hired men would come for me. No, I will keep moving, I guess, till I drop.”
“You ever need to hide out, come by St. Barnabas. I would go with you somewhere and hide out with you.”
“Thanks. I know I would enjoy it anyway.”
She rose up on her knees and put the freshly made tortilla on the grill to cook. Then she began to form another. “It has been lots of work. But I have enjoyed myself and all of you.”
“I bet you never thought when you told me you’d help me it would end this way.”
“No. A poor Mexican woman was scrubbing clothes and needed a break, and why not do it with a tall gringo hombre? Plus I hated Gomez and his man for my own treatment.”
He nodded.
“So, in a few days, I can go back and be a wife and mother again.”
“None of us will forget you.”
She shook her head and dismissed his words.
• • •
After supper they made love and slept tight in each other’s arms. Before dawn they woke, made love again, and she slipped out of bed to start food.
After the meal, Slocum and Gordon rode out for town leading the horses that needed shoes. The blacksmith agreed to work with them. He had some used shoes that would have to work since he had no supply of new ones. Two horses had good enough shoes to reset. Slocum was pleased that they’d be shod anyway.
The three men worked hard and by midday had the old iron shoes pulled off and hooves trimmed and shaped. Slocum paid the blacksmith five pesos for his part, and it was probably more than he made in a week or more.
They rode back, and he and Silva slipped off to bathe in a cold stream. It was a leisurely afternoon. In the morning they’d ride back to the hacienda. The notion that Gomez’s treasure might still be there made Slocum interested in searching the casa ruins. Then he would return to Patagonia.
He wondered if Saundra was back teaching school. He’d have to see.