Philip Dampier's Blog

Shootout at the Spring

Episode Seven

The next morning, Luke saddled the horses and packed their gear away. Without Luke’s help it was doubtful Chad could have made it to the top of the saddle.

“You’re one tough lawman,” he said to Chad as he watched the marshal’s face tighten in pain as he struggled to sit in the saddle. “You’re determined too, I guess, like I am. Only, I’m in good shape, and you aren’t. No disrespect, Marshal, but are you sure you want to go on today? You could take care of yourself till I got back, I think.”

“Get on your horse, Luke. We’re wasting time, and it’s time we don’t have to waste. I’ll be fine by the time we make camp tonight. It’s healing already. I’m okay, but Lance and your two hoodlums are not sitting around a campfire eating fish.”

“After you, Marshal. I’ll pick you up if you fall off.”

“Don’t worry none about me, bud, I was born on a horse.”

Luke grinned in spite of the worry on his face. Their progress was slow, but as the sunbeams grew warmer, their pace gradually increased. Inward and outward pain kept conversation to a minimum, but both men were aware of the beauty of the land they were traversing. Twice, golden eagles flew over their heads, soaring up higher near buttes and towering rock foundations.

They stopped when the sun reached its zenith and dined on smoked fish. It still had a fresh taste and they washed it down with cool spring water from their canteens. Chad did not dismount, saving his strength until it was necessary.

They continued at a deliberate pace for the rest of the day.

They had covered a lot of ground the previous day in spite of taking it easy on Chad’s shoulder. Each day the pain lessened but the jolting of the uneven ground had definitely slowed them down.

The two riders were following a draw through hills of evergreens, grass, and rocks. The temperature had regained its normal fall level, and all threats of rain and snow were gone. The sky was clear, and the rock-strewn grass had quickly dried. Various cliffs appeared from time to time, and each rock face was a place to slow down and watch for a possible ambush.

Chad turned around in his saddle and called to Luke, “This landscape is getting hillier and rockier. We’ll fall further behind if we slow down for every pile of rocks. I don’t think either party suspects that we are behind them. Let’s move out and try to catch up before they get into the Black Hills.”

“It’s okay with me. I’m tired of riding and I’m starting to worry about my mom and sister. I didn’t expect to be gone so long. Are you sure you can handle a faster pace, Marshal?”

Chad put his spurs into Buck’s flanks, and they quickly doubled their speed. Even so, the increase provided all the pain Chad could handle. They followed the coulee partway down a long hill and then across a flat area. In the distance, at the bottom of the long hill, the Cheyenne River flowed northeasterly on its way to the Missouri River. No visual details were discernable; the river appeared as a thin ribbon winding between the trees and rocks. However, if someone were near the river, Chad and Luke would be visible on their descent down from the high and long hill they were currently crossing.

The coulee widened, and the rocks opened just a little. Chad reined Buck in and Luke stopped behind him.  “We’ve got a couple of hours before we lose the sun,” Chad said, “I think we should hold up here until we can approach the river without being in plain sight.”

“Sounds good. I’d like to have an idea of what we’re going to do, depending on who’s down there, if someone is. Do you have a plan?”

“I think it would be best if we split up. One of us takes the right-hand side and goes down swinging a little to the north, and the other one swinging more to the south. We make two targets instead of one that way. I want to get the drop on them, but if we don’t, we can attack from both directions.”

“Is this shoot to kill?”

“If they fire on us, then yes. If they’ll surrender, then we’ll let them live.”

“If it’s my two, what will you do with them if they surrender? We’re three to four days from Fort Pierre. That’s a long way to escort two killers.”

“You’re right, but that’s what I will have to do. You’ll have to go with me to act as a witness to what they did. You put this star on and I’ll see you get paid.”

“What about your man, that Lance fellow?”

“Same thing. Arrest him if he will let me. End his bank-robbing career if he won’t.”

“If it turns out it’s my two outlaws, and they surrender, how can you take them back to Fort Pierre and chase your bank robber?”

“We’ll take them in, and then I’ll go search for Lance. You, too, if you want the job full-time.”

“I’m thinking I need to see about my family as soon as this is over.”

“Not a bad idea. You could go home, check on things, and then meet me at the spring.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“While we are waiting for the shadows to appear, I suggest we check our weapons and arrange a signal or two.”

The dropping sun hit the mountain peaks to the west and turned the sky orange and pink. Clouds in the east also cast a pinkish glow, taking their cue from the setting sun. Twilight-time clouds gathered on the slope and the heights above the river, and the evening chill began. The two riders buttoned their vests and wished each other luck.

Both men started down the slope, eventually moving out of the coulee and weaving in and out of the rock outcroppings. Chad took the right flank and Luke the left. Chad put himself in the lead after stating that he, not Luke, would issue the arrest order. Chad also indicated that Luke should attempt to stay out of sight until the last moment and only intervene if there were gunfire.

Luke’s mind swirled as he made his way toward the river and trees below. His hatred for the two men was not diminished but he was thinking about what it would mean to kill another person. It went against all he had learned from his mother and father. It was one thing to think about doing it, and now he realized another thing to contemplate in the moments before. This would not be a spur-of-the-moment but a deliberate decision.

The trip to the swift-flowing river was further than it looked, so Chad took his time, keeping as many rocks between him and the Cheyenne as possible. Halfway down the hill, he saw a small tendril of smoke emerge from a clump of trees on the river bank halfway between himself and Luke.

Is it Aaron and Zeke, or is it Lance? Do I care? All three of them are nothing but scum, thugs, and the world would be a better place without them. He thought of Luke’s sister, Sally, and his own Nancy came into his mind. What if they had done that to Nancy? He would not take them in for trial; he was sure of that. What kind of person does that make me? he asked himself.

Chad began to hope that the fire belonged to the two rapists/murderers, and with it came the hope that they would resist arrest. But if they didn’t fight, it was a long way back to Fort Pierre and anything could happen. In fact, I better keep an eye on Luke. It wasn’t my sister or father, and yet I’m angry enough to take the law into my own hands. What is he feeling about now?

Luke also saw the smoke, and in his heart he hoped it was the two men he was following when he encountered the marshal. He had turned down the badge, not that he couldn’t use the money, but he figured it would hamper his choices when they finally caught up with the men who had destroyed his family. It was all he could do to hold his steady pace in and out of the rocks and evergreens scattered across the narrow valley leading to the river.