Cry of Eagles by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone [Johnstone, William W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2016-07-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 27

Cuchillo held up his hand, stopping the twelve riders behind him. “Here is a good place for our ambush,” he said, looking left and right at the heavy forest of pine trees on either side of the trail. “The white-eyes who killed our brothers will be coming this way soon. We must seek revenge for the spirits of Tao and Ishton, so they may hunt and fish in the Land of Shadows forever.”

Cuchillo had one of the braves lead the ponies off deeper into the forest so their nickering wouldn’t alert the whites to their presence. Then he and his band settled in to await the coming of their prey.

* * *

Behind Cuchillo and his men, lying flat on their stomachs upslope of the trail, Hawk and Falcon watched the ambush being set through their binoculars.

They had allowed Cuchillo’s band to pass by them, knowing it would be easier to surprise them if they came from an unexpected direction.

“How many did you count?” Falcon asked.

“I got it ’bout twelve or thirteen, give or take one or two. How ’bout you?” Hawk answered.

“The same.” Falcon took the glasses from his eyes and looked at Hawk. “What do you think? Should we take them out now, or wait and do it later?”

Hawk shrugged, but his eyes were fierce as he replied, “No time like the present. I figure that’ll mean twelve less of the bastards to have to worry about later.”

Falcon smiled. “A man after my own heart.” He hesitated, then asked, “What do you think about Cal and Jasper? Do you think they’ll be able to hold their own in a fight?”

Hawk pursed his lips, thinking. “Yeah, if the situation’s just right. I know Jasper’s had plenty of experience, but Franklin’s another matter entirely. I s‘pect he’ll be all right if the advantage is ours, an’ he don’t have to do no thinkin’.”

Falcon nodded and turned to crawl back up the ridge toward where they’d left Cal and Jasper. Once they got there, Falcon gathered the three men around him as he outlined their plan of attack.

“The Apache are spread out, six men on either side of the trail. Their attention is back toward the east, where they think we’ll be coming from. Jasper, I want you and Cal to stay upslope, and have some dynamite ready. Hawk and I will go in silently and take out as many as we can with our knives. When they realize what we’re doing and raise the alarm, I want you two to drop a couple of sticks right in amongst them.”

“What about you and Hawk?” Cal asked. “Won’t you be in danger from the dynamite, too?”

Falcon shook his head. “No. Throw the dynamite as close to the trail as you can. Hawk and I will stay well back from the path, and as soon as we hear any commotion, we’ll hit the dirt and get behind something. Any questions?”

Jasper nodded. “Yeah. Why do you and Hawk get all the fun? I’m gettin’ kind’a tired of always being on the outside during a fracas.

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