56 Apache Rampage (A Floating Outfit Western) by J. T. Edson

Author:J. T. Edson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Piccadilly Publishing
Published: 2021-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

REINFORCEMENTS FROM THE STOCKADE

So it was decided without fuss or bother. A bold, desperate stroke to end a bloody Apache uprising and save a territory.

Dusty’s plan was simple, very simple. It would work, given luck and the folk at Baptist’s Hollow doing the right thing. The party would pull out after dark, the Ysabel Kid having scouted to make sure no Apache was watching them. Then they would travel through the night towards the town, the horses would be rested then and make good time. At dawn, when Lobo Colorado and his men were attacking Baptist’s Hollow, Dusty’s bunch would fall on them from the rear.

In the unlikely event that only a relatively small bunch of Apaches were involved, the surprise attack would scatter and break them. There was little chance of being so few that Dusty could drive them off. Lobo Colorado would see to that. His men were bunched in number, enough to make sure they could take the town. So Dusty hoped his attack would smash through and allow them to make the church.

Looking at the men who would accompany him on this desperate venture, Dusty felt satisfied he’d got the best possible for his plan. Mark, the Kid and Waco were fighting men from soda to hock. They’d fought alongside him often enough for Dusty to know he could rely on them to follow his lead into anything. Magoon’s men looked competent enough. Most of them looked like veterans who’d fought Apaches and knew how to handle themselves. Only two gave the appearance of being recruits, but even those two showed no signs of panic at the thought of action. Big Em was a freighter, a good one. She’d been seated on a wagon box almost from the time she could walk and was capable of handling her team in the face of an Apache attack. She’d done so more than once that Dusty knew of, for he remembered hearing of her from soldiers who knew her well. Thornett’s show gave Dusty no worries. The old doctor was as brave as a lion, cool and battle-sure. Phyllis was brave and would not lose her head, while the girls were just as steady, even Rosie.

For all of that it was a small enough force for a man to try and halt a full-scale Apache uprising. That was just what they were trying to do. They were throwing themselves into the brunt of the Apache attack, trying to stem the tide before it could rise to full and flood the Arizona territory in death and destruction. It was for this purpose Dusty was taking so desperate a chance. In the spirit of the men who stayed at, and fought, the Alamo, Dusty was preparing to risk a few to save many.

‘It’ll go hard for you if we miss out, Paddy,’ Dusty remarked as they stood side by side and watched the camp settling down to rest.

‘Sure, Cap’n,’ agreed Magoon, although he could not see any plan Dusty made going wrong.

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