They Came to Kill by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Published: 2020-03-31T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 28

Jamie took the lead as his group rode east along the base of the escarpment. Behind him in single file came Edgerton, Powder Pete, Deadlead, and Tennysee. Bringing up the rear, about twenty yards behind the others, was Dog Brother.

Jamie hadn’t told the half-breed to hang back like that. Dog Brother was doing it on his own, probably because he just didn’t like to associate with the others.

That seemed to be all right with the rest of the group. Dog Brother was a surly varmint—but he had a reputation for being good in a fight. As long as he was close by in case the Apaches jumped them, nobody gave a hoot if he was friendly.

Other than the ragged-edged bluff that formed the escarpment, the country in that direction seemed featureless. Jamie spotted a few mesas and rock spires far to the south, but closer there was nothing to be seen except flat, sandy ground and the occasional rock, clump of hardy grass, or stumpy greasewood bush.

Then Edgerton, riding a few yards behind Jamie, said, “Hey, look over there, MacCallister. Is that a cave?”

“Yeah.” Jamie had spotted it just before Edgerton spoke up.

Powder Pete said, “We’d better check it out. Might be some Apaches hidin’ in it.”

Jamie was already turning his horse toward the dark opening in the side of the bluff. “Not likely to be any Apaches in there, but I don’t suppose it’ll hurt anything to take a look.”

“More likely a den o’ rattlesnakes,” Tennysee said. “I’ll let you boys go in there iffen you want to. I don’t like them scaly critters myself.”

The lanky mountain man might be right, Jamie knew. Rattlers loved rocky areas like this. He reined to a stop while he was still several yards from the cave mouth.

And it wasn’t exactly a cave, he saw now that they were closer. A large, rugged shelf of rock extended outward from the bluff, and the overhang created a cavelike area underneath it. That area extended into the bluff, and as Jamie studied it, he decided that at some point in the past, it had been hollowed out to make it bigger. Not by the elements, but by human beings. Someone had lived there.

Nothing moved in the shadowy gloom, at least as far as Jamie could see—and his eyes were pretty good. He swung down from the saddle and motioned for the others to do likewise. “Gather up some of that dry greasewood and make a little fire,” he told Edgerton. “I want to fashion a torch before I go in there.”

Edgerton grunted and set about the task.

“There ain’t no Apaches in there,” Powder Pete said. “If there was, they’d be shootin’ at us by now, I reckon. So why do we need a better look?”

“Maybe we don’t need it, but I want to see what’s in there,” Jamie replied. “I think somebody used to live there, and I’m curious about them.”

Dog Brother gave him a disdainful sneer, as if that was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard.

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