The three determined horsemen galloped out of the high brush and reined in at the awesome sight before them. Deadman’s Flats was well named. It dared and taunted all those who set eyes upon it to try and cross its vast expanse. None of the trio had expected the desolation which greeted their sand-burned eyes. Dust drifted over the riders as they sat and stared out at the barren landscape ahead of them.
There was no life to been seen anywhere on the arid plain which stretched off into the heat haze. No trees, not even a blade of grass. No living creatures of any description. Not even in the sky.
They had trailed the hoof-tracks of the seven outlaw horses south for weeks through a half-dozen climates to reach this unholy place. For Snake Adams and his deadly cohorts had left a hill of corpses back in the high country.
Too many corpses for even the mainly lawless territories to ignore. The fearful citizens of Waco had enlisted the help of the most renowned lawman west of the Pecos. They had paid him $1,000 in gold. Marshal Casey Layne was the only man who had a chance of catching the notorious gang before they vanished across the border into Mexico.
The hoof-tracks seemed to head across a land that none of them wished to cross. The ground was dark and dead. They knew that to follow Snake Adams and his gang across this windy plain might leave them in the same condition as the land itself.
Dead!
United States Marshal Casey Layne rubbed some of the grime from his face with the tails of his bandanna, sighed heavily and turned to his two deputies. Josh Walker and Tray Donner were seasoned lawmen like the big man they followed, but even they had never faced anything so devoid of life before.
‘That ain’t no place to ride over without a couple of full canteens, boys,’ Layne said, easing himself up off his saddle. ‘Reckon old Snake and his gang have gotten the better of us this time.’
‘But how could them outlaws make it across that darned plain, Marshal?’ Walker asked.
‘Must have had themselves a few spare canteens, Josh,’ Layne replied. ‘I figure Snake planned this.’
‘Ya mean that stinkin’ low-life son of a bitch led us here so we’d die trying to follow him?’ Donner snarled.
Marshal Layne glanced at the deputy.
‘I’m not sure, Tray. I ain’t even sure he knows that we’re doggin’ his trail. Snake Adams might have himself some business out there.’
‘Ya reckon there might be a town out there?’ Walker asked.
‘Could be, but I kinda doubt it,’ the marshal replied.
‘He must be headed someplace important to risk riding over that hunk of death.’ Donner shrugged. ‘There ain’t nothin’ out there to be seen ’ceptin’ black sand.’
‘Just ’cause we can’t see it, that don’t mean there ain’t nothing out there, Tray.’ Casey Layne toyed with his reins. ‘Snake ain’t never bin the sort to commit suicide. If he headed that way, there has to a reason. There just has to be.’
‘If we head back to Waco without his carcass in tow, there’ll be a lot of folks asking for their money back, Marshal.’ Donner rubbed more of the grime off his face.
‘I know!’ Layne agreed. ‘I hate being outwitted by a back-shooter like him.’
Suddenly something caught the attention of the experienced marshal. Layne turned his horse and pulled the brim of his hat down to shield his eyes from the afternoon sun. He screwed up his eyes and focused on the distant hills. A smile crept over his weathered features.
‘Lookee yonder, boys!’ Layne pointed a gloved finger. ‘Do you see that smoke?’
The deputies eased their lathered-up mounts around and squinted hard.
‘Yep. I see it. Must be a house over near them hills, Marshal!’ Donner said.
Walker shook his head.
‘That ain’t no darn chimney on no darn house, Tray. That smoke’s movin’. Movin’ fast.’
Donner stood in his stirrups.
‘Ya right. It is movin’, Josh!’
‘That’s a train, boys!’ Layne said. He sat back down on his hot saddle. ‘An honest to goodness train out here in the middle of nowhere!’
Donner cupped his hand above his dust-covered eyebrows.
‘Damn! Ya right, Marshal. That is a train. What in tarnation is it doin’ here?’
‘Who gives a darn what it’s doin’ here? The fact is that it is here,’ the marshal said.
‘And it’s headed toward them big red mesas!’Walker added with a nod of his head.
All three lawmen looked to where the locomotive appeared to be headed. The high mesas seemed to be almost the color of blood as the afternoon sun bathed the ancient rocks. Even though they could not see any sign of tracks, they knew that the only route possible would be between the high rocks.
Like a man with a mission, Marshal Layne gathered up his loose reins and steadied his tired mount.
‘C’mon, boys! I figure we can head it off before it reaches them mesas!’
‘Why’d we wanna do that, Marshal?’ Walker asked. ‘It’s headed in the opposite direction to where we wanna go.’
‘Trains got water on ’em, Josh! We need us a lot of water if n we’re gonna keep trailing Snake and his boys!’ Layne answered. His horse reared up eagerly. ‘Once we’ve commandeered us a whole load of water off that train, we’ll head on after Snake again!’
‘We’d better ride fast!’ Donner said.
‘Darn fast!’Walker nodded.
‘Faster than we’ve ever ridden before!’ Layne snapped. He used the long ends of his reins to whip the tail of his eager horse.
The three riders spurred hard and drove their horses on towards the high majestic mesas. Dust hung in the still air long after they had left the edge of the deadly plain.
Layne and his two deputies now had a race to win. They had to reach the train and somehow stop it before it disappeared for ever into the twisting canyons and gulches which carved their way between the towering rocks.