Iron Eyes Must Die (11 page)

‘
But
there’s a storm brewing, Iron Eyes,’ Hanney warned, pointing from
his chair at the distant hills. ‘A real bad storm if I’m any
judge.’

‘
It
don’t matter none.’

‘
I can
still hear them varmints looking for ya down there in the middle of
town.’ Hanney sighed.

Iron Eyes turned his face briefly to the
smaller man. It was the face of someone who appeared more dead than
alive.

‘
This
time they won’t get close, ’cause I know that they ain’t really the
law, old-timer.’ Iron Eyes said bluntly. ‘I’ll kill them all this
time if need be. I’ll add the bounty on their heads to the other
dead outlaws I gunned down yesterday.’

The bearded man felt uneasy. He stared at the
bounty hunter in his long trail coat. It was a coat that bore the
evidence of countless battles on its bloodstained fabric. Hanney
rose and walked to the side of the tall figure.

‘
I
reckon you got ya mind set on going back to Tom’s office to look
for them wanted posters, huh?’

‘
Yep!’
Iron Eyes snapped.

‘
How
come them posters are so important, boy?’

‘
I
told ya,’ Iron Eyes said. ‘I wanna know how much these bastards are
worth. Dollars and cents! I also wanna see if I can recognize their
faces against the pictures on them posters.’

Hanney inhaled deeply.

‘
Then
I’ll go with you, Iron Eyes. You might need someone to cover ya
back.’

‘
I
never have!’

‘
Maybe
that’s the reason ya bin shot so many times.’

‘
Ya
might be right.’

‘
I’m
still gonna come with ya anyways,’ Hanney insisted. ‘Ya might as
well get used to the fact.’

Iron Eyes looked down at the livery man.

‘
This
ain’t your fight. Stay here.’

‘
I’m
tired of just standing around letting them killers do as they
please,’ Hanney admitted. ‘I should have done something sooner and
maybe they wouldn’t have slaughtered so many law-abiding
folks.’

‘
You
couldn’t have done a thing to stop them, old-timer.’ Iron Eyes said
bluntly. ‘They’re professionals, and professionals kill like you
blink them old eyes of yours. It comes natural to them. If you’d
stood up to them, they’d have killed ya faster than
spit.’

Hanney grinned.

‘
I
ain’t always bin a livery man, boy. I was once a pretty good hand
with a gun. Me and Tom was deputies together for a few years. I got
tired of getting shot at and bought the livery stable.’

Iron Eyes tilted his head.

‘
OK,
you stubborn critter. We’ll go together, but when the shootin’
starts, don’t get in my way. Understand?’

Hanney reached behind the
wooden wall and pulled up a twin-
barreled shotgun.

‘
Don’t
ya trust me?’

Iron Eyes pulled out one of his Navy Colts
and cocked its hammer. He then ventured out into the cool evening
air.

‘
I
don’t trust anybody!’

‘
Me
neither!’

Both men ran into the shadows.

It had started.

Storm clouds gathered high above the narrow
canyon and slowly obliterated the stars which had cast just enough
light for the six horsemen to guide their mounts by. Yet the riders
ignored everything except the man ahead of them. Snake Adams
continued to lead his five remaining followers through the
strangely silent canyon.

There was an eagerness about
the outlaw leader since he had managed to get his hands on the
brown envelope. None of his gang had ever seen him so excited
before. They could not understand the planning that had gone into
the previous few months. To them it had been nothing more than
following the orders of their notorious leader. The truth was far
more complicated. Snake Adams had learned about the very important
visitors who had arrived in
Waco within minutes of them stepping off the
train. For he had spies in many places. Spies who allowed him to be
always one step ahead of the law. To learn things which were
secret. So it had been with the Easterners from Washington
DC.

Adams had known of their trip to Waco long
before they had started out on their fateful journey. He also knew
why they were headed for Waco. For even powerful people can get
greedy. They can also break the law if the potential profits are
great enough and the temptation far too mouth-watering to dismiss.
Adams had known what they were planning, and how to take advantage
of it.

There was just one piece of the complicated
puzzle to put into place now and that piece was in Rio Concho. That
was where he would reap the rewards of his misbegotten deeds.

Snake Adams had not allowed any
of his gang to rest since they had set out from the train-car which
they had left
totally wrecked. There was an urgency about the man who
continued to spur and whip his faithful mount far beyond its
endurance.

Adams had something next to his merciless
black heart which was driving him ever onward. He knew that the
contents of the brown envelope was worth more than either he or his
gang could imagine.

He could actually taste the fortune he knew
would soon be his.

Lightning flashed all around the walls of the
canyon, but the outlaw leader seemed possessed by demons. He
continued to force his lathered-up mount along the sandy canyon and
was deaf to the complaints of those eating his dust.

Then unexpectedly Adams reined in his mount.
He stood in his stirrups and looked out into the darkness.

The other riders gathered to both sides of
the silent outlaw. Ferdy Mayne almost fell from his saddle as he
relaxed for the first time in hours.

‘
Ya
trying to kill us or the horses, Snake?’ Mayne gasped as he hung on
the neck of his steaming horse.

‘
Or
both!’ Brewster chipped in.

Adams dismounted and snapped his fingers.

‘
Water
the horses, Kyle,’ he ordered.

‘
But
we ain’t got much water left, Snake,’ Parker said.

‘
Water
’em!’ Adams raised his voice.

A terrified Kyle Parker slid from his
sweat-soaked saddle and started to gather their canteens
together.

Adams removed his hat and tossed it at the
outlaw.

‘
Give
Kyle ya hats, boys. He’s gonna water the nags.’

Ben Lynch carefully lowered his aching frame
to the ground and moved towards Adams.

‘
We
gonna waste all our water on the horses, Snake? Me and the boys are
damn thirsty too.’

Adams nodded.

‘
The
horses need it more than we do.’

‘
Who
says?’ Brewster asked angrily.

‘
Hush
up, One Ear!’ Adams ordered. ‘We need the horses watered so they
can take us down there.’

The five outlaws looked to where Adams was
pointing with his outstretched arm. The golden lights of Rio Concho
were like fireflies away in the distance.

‘
Is
that the place we’re headed for, Snake?’ Lynch asked.

Adams turned to face his men. Even in the
faint starlight they could see the grin on his face.

‘
Yep.
That’s the place. That, my friends, is Rio Concho.’

‘
How
come we’re going there?’ Parker asked as he filled each of the
upturned hats with water for their mounts.

Adams patted his chest again.

‘’
Cause
that’s where we
turn this document into hard cash. Lots of hard cash.’

‘
What
is that piece of paper anyways, Snake?’ Brewster asked. ‘Ya keeps
tellin’ us it’s worth a hunk of money but it’s just a piece of
paper. That don’t make no sense at all.’

‘
I’ll
bet ya it’s one of them banker’s drafts I’ve heard tell about,
boys,’ Mayne said. ‘Am I right, Snake?’

Snake Adams pulled a cigar from his pocket
and bit off its tip. He lit it with a match struck on his thumbnail
and inhaled the smoke.

‘
Keep
guessin’, boys. Keep guessin’,’ he taunted.

Iron Eyes moved quickly through
the darkness like a wild cat seeking fresh prey to fill its empty
belly. Instinctively, he used every shadow to his advantage. With
the older man dogging his heels he slipped unseen and unheard
through the streets and alleys between the small cabin and
the
sheriff’s office. The crowd which hunted Iron Eyes had
started to thin out after the sun had set, but both men could still
hear the raised voices of the bogus deputies and the few
townspeople who had sold their souls to them.

Then as the bounty hunter
reached the corner of the main street, Iron Eyes felt the hand of
his companion on his shoulder. He stopped and looked back into
Hanney
’s
face.

The livery man curled a finger.

‘
There’s too many streetlights that-away. I know a better
way to reach the office, boy. Follow me.’

Iron Eyes nodded.

‘
OK!’

Hanney led Iron Eyes up a dark, overgrown
path between two wooden buildings and then through a hole in a high
fence. The older man knew every inch of the town he had lived in
for most of his life like the back of his hand.

Suddenly the shadows of two rifle-toting men
passed over Iron Eyes and Hanney as they walked in front of a
street-lantern fifty yards away. Iron Eyes pushed the older man
into some overhanging bushes and shielded him with his own body.
His narrowed eyes followed the two deputies until they moved
away.

‘
They’ve gone!’ Iron Eyes muttered.

Hanney continued to lead the
tall emaciated figure until they reached a small sod wall. The wall
separated two whitewashed buildings. The livery man rested his rear
on top of it and then rolled his legs over it and down into
the
knee-high weeds. Iron Eyes’ long thin legs stepped over the
obstacle easily without breaking his stride.

‘
Now
where?’ the bounty hunter asked.

‘
Over
there!’ Hanney pointed the barrel of his shotgun at the back of
another building. ‘There it is, boy!’

The two men waded through the
tall dried weeds until they reached the rear door of the
sheriff’s office.
Iron Eyes rested his bony left hand on his companion’s
shoulder.

‘
This
ain’t the door I come out of this mornin’, Hanney! Are ya sure this
is the sheriff’s office?’

‘
Yep,
I’m sure.’

Iron Eyes rubbed the cold barrel of his gun
across his sweating brow.

‘
Looks
different!’ he insisted.

‘
This
is the other door, Iron Eyes,’ Hanney whispered. ‘You must have
used the door on the other side. Don’t ya trust me? I dug that lead
out of ya, boy. Don’t ya trust old Duke Hanney?’

Iron Eyes nodded.

‘
You
gab like an old woman, Hanney. Sure I trust ya. Open the damn
door.’

The older man smiled and then turned the door
handle. It was locked.

‘
Damn
it all! It’s locked up tight!’

‘
Out
the way.’ Iron Eyes moved closer and dropped his gun into the deep
coat-pocket. He then pulled his Bowie knife from his boot and
pushed its strong steel blade between the door and its frame. He
rocked the blade and then tugged at the handle. The sound of rusty
metal filled their ears as the door opened.

‘
Good
boy.’ Hanney praised the tall figure. ‘Ya did it!’

‘
It
ain’t locked now!’ Iron Eyes said. He hauled the door open and
entered the darkened office. The smell of the dead man with the
sheriffs star pinned to his chest hit both men.

‘
Phew.
You’d think they would have taken his rottin’ body out of here by
now,’ Hanney said with his hand covering his nose and
mouth.

‘
Must
have gotten damn hot in here today for that critter to be so ripe,’
Iron Eyes muttered, marching across the office to the desk. ‘Where
are the posters? Where’d Tom keep the posters?’

Hanney trailed the tall figure to the desk
and pointed to the bottom right drawer.

‘
Tom
kept them in there.’

Iron Eyes slid his knife into his boot and
sat down at the chair behind the desk. He pulled the drawer open
and pulled out a stack of posters.

‘
It’s
too dark to see. I need light,’ he said. ‘Light a lamp,
old-timer.’

Hanney swallowed hard and leaned closer.

‘
Them
outlaws are still roamin’ around outside, boy. We can’t light no
lamps.’