Turnback Creek (Widowmaker) Read online

  “We have to get it out.”

  “Yeah, we do.”

  “You agree with me?” Cooper asked, surprised.

  “This time, yeah.”

  “So, how do we do it?”

  “The water level has gone down some. You can see where it used to be.” He looked at Cooper. “One of us has to go down there, load the gold into the crates, and then we can pull them out.”

  “How? They’ll weigh a ton.”

  “The horses,” Locke said. “The horses can pull the crates out.”

  “Okay,” Cooper said. “So, the horses pull them out. Who goes in to get them?”

  “Can you swim?” Locke asked.

  “No.”

  Locke shrugged. “That answers that question.”

  FIFTY-SEVEN

  The sun was burning hot on Locke’s bare shoulders. He had removed his shirt, his boots, and his socks. Now he took off his jeans and laid them aside. In the end, he also removed his long johns and decided to go into the water naked. If the sun went back behind the clouds his clothes would never dry, and he’d end up freezing.

  Luckily, they had several lengths of rope in the buckboard.

  “I’ll take two crates down with me,” he said. “They’re light when they’re empty. Once they’re full, I’ll come back out, and you start pulling. I’ll go back down with the other two crates, and we’ll do the same.”

  “We can use both horses if we unhitch them,” Cooper suggested.

  “If we unhitch them, we’ll have to take the time to hitch them up again. Just tie the ends of the rope to the buckboard. They’ll be able to pull two crates up at once.”

  “I got another question.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Once we have all four crates filled and put back on the buckboard, where do we go?”

  “Well, I know where I want to go,” Locke said.

  “And I know where I want to go,” Cooper said.

  “But there’s seven men that way, and they may be coming back at any time,” Locke said.

  “Shit!”

  “We’ll deal with that question once we have the gold back on the buckboard. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Locke was able to walk down to the water’s edge, dragging two crates with him. He walked out into the water until he was waist deep, then discovered how buoyant the empty crates were. He could not get two of them submerged at the same time. In fact, he couldn’t get one of them underwater. He walked back up to where Cooper was waiting by the buckboard. At this point, he was already numb from the cold.

  “I need something heavy to weight each crate down. Once I get them submerged, I can substitute the coins for it.”

  “How about your gun?”

  “How about your gun?” Locke asked. Neither of them wanted to be defenseless before the other. “No, forget it. One gun won’t do it.”

  “Won’t it sink when it’s filled with water?”

  Locke stared at Cooper and felt stupid. He’d fought with the crates trying to get them underwater but had not held one down long enough for it to fill. “I’ll try that.”

  He took both crates back to the water’s edge, waded out as far as he could, then held one down until it filled with water. It sank to the bottom like a stone. He waved to Cooper, filled the other, and watched it sink. Then he held his breath and submerged himself.

  He had to drag the crates along the bottom until he got to the gold. By that time, he needed a breath, so he swam to the top, took another breath, and then went back down. It was only a matter of a few more feet, and he would simply have been able to wade to the gold, but they didn’t have time to wait for that much more water to drain.

  While he was underwater, filling the crates with gold coins, he tried not to think about what he’d do if he came back to the surface and saw the seven men there. There was always the chance they’d come back. If they caught him in the water, he was as good as dead.

  When he had one chest filled, he swam to the surface for the rope. He dove with it, tied it around one chest, then went back for the other and did the same. Once both chests were tied, he signaled Cooper to have the horses pull. While the horses dragged the chests from the water, he got the other two chests and started repeating the process.

  Next time he came to the surface, he waved, and Cooper waved at him to come out. Locke waded out and climbed up to where Cooper was standing. When he got there, he could hear the horses breathing hard and knew something was wrong.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “They need a rest,” Cooper said. “The crates filled with gold and water were too heavy. Once they got them out, though, the water drained out, and it got easier. Still, pulling the buckboard and the crates has exhausted them—not to mention fighting each other.”

  “We’ve already been here too long,” Locke said. It was midday now, and the sun was directly above them, about to begin its descent. It was getting colder, and Locke was having trouble feeling his feet and legs. He hoped he wouldn’t end up losing any toes. “If they come back, we’re dead.”

  “If I push the horses,” Cooper said, “they won’t be any use to us once the buckboard is loaded.”

  That was true.

  “All right,” Locke said. “We’ll rest them, but we better keep watch for those men.”

  “Agreed.”

  “We’ve been had,” Rome said.

  “What?”

  “They doubled back on us.”

  “How could they have?” Hoke asked.

  “There have been a few places they could have hidden a buckboard,” Rome said. “Not many, but a few.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m seeing no sign at all,” Rome said. “They could not have passed by here without leavin’ some sign.”

  “So we gotta go back up the mountain.”

  “Yep.”

  Hoke turned in his saddle and looked back at the other five men behind them. “We’re turnin’ around!”

  They split the watch while the horses rested. After giving the animals as long as they dared, they tied another crate. They decided to bring the last two up one at a time and to help the horses by pulling on the rope themselves—at least, until the water drained from the crates.

  By the time they got the crates up, the horses were breathing hard again, but not like before. They rested the animals while they loaded each crate onto the buckboard one at a time. By this time, they were both huffing and puffing as much as the horses.

  “Did we lose any coins?” Cooper asked.

  “I didn’t stop to count.”

  “Well, did you get them all?”

  “I think so.”

  They looked down into the water. The sun was going down and was at the wrong angle. If there were any coins left at the bottom, they were not reflecting the light. They were left to guess.

  “You could go back down and check.”

  “If I missed any,” Locke said, “it was only one or two. I’m not going back down. I’m getting dressed, and we’re getting out of here.”

  “Which way are we going?”

  “Back,” Locke said. “We can’t go forward—we’ll run into them for sure. We’ve got to go back.”

  “We can go to that clearing again.”

  “We might run into them first, Coop,” Locke said. “We have to go back. We’ll work our way around this basin and head back.”

  “To town?”

  “To the mine.”

  Cooper backed away from Locke, his hand hovering above his gun. Locke had pulled on his underwear, jeans, and boots, had donned his shirt but not buttoned it yet, but had not yet retrieved his gun belt from the seat of the buckboard.

  “I ain’t givin’ up that gold, John,” Cooper said. “I just ain’t.”

  Locke looked into Cooper’s eyes and then down at the single eye of the man’s gun. Both seemed to mean business. He was no longer sure about ex-Marshal Dale Cooper, and he had no idea whether or not the man would actually sh
oot him.

  But he knew that the seven men who had just appeared a hundred yards away would.

  “Coop—”

  Cooper looked and saw the mounted men.

  “We’ll finish this later,” he said. “Better get to your guns.”

  FIFTY-EIGHT

  “Why’d they come back here?” Turpin asked aloud, staring at the two men next to the buckboard.

  “There was nowhere else to go,” Hoke said. “Doubling back had to bring them here.”

  “And maybe …” Rome said.

  “Maybe what?” Hoke asked.

  Rome hesitated, then said, “Maybe the payroll was still here all along.”

  “What? Where?” Hoke demanded.

  “In the water … maybe.”

  “Wha—goddamnit!” Hoke took a deep breath. “Never mind. We’re here now, so are they, and so is the gold.”

  “So, what do we do now?” Eli asked.

  “We take it,” Hoke said.

  Locke ran to the buckboard to grab his rifle and handgun. He strapped the belt on quickly, tossed Cooper his rifle, and picked up his own. Cooper came to join him by the buckboard.

  “This is the only cover we have,” he said. “If they charge us, we can get several of them before they reach us.”

  “If they charge us,” Locke said. “They have no cover where they are. Let’s see how they want to play it.”

  “Let’s rush ’em,” Turpin said.

  “Most of us would be dead before we reached them,” Rome said. “We have no cover.”

  “Dismount,” Hoke said.

  “What?”

  “Dismount, now!”

  All seven men dismounted.

  “Keep the horses between them and us,” Hoke said, “until I decide what to do.”

  “Good thinkin’,” Rome said. “What are we gonna do?”

  Hoke took a moment, then said, “I’ll talk to them, give them a chance to walk away.”

  “Why do that?” Eli asked. “Why don’t we just kill them?”

  “They have cover,” Rome said. “We don’t.”

  “They’ll kill you,” Eli said.

  “They’ll listen,” Hoke said, taking out a white handkerchief.

  “Damn it,” Cooper said. “They’re using their horses as cover.”

  “We might be able to use that to our advantage,” Locke said, getting an idea.

  “Like how?”

  “Wait,” Locke said. “Somebody’s waving a white flag. They want to talk.”

  “Locke! Cooper! I want to talk.”

  “I should put a bullet in his—” Cooper started, but Locke cut him off.

  “Let’s see what he has to say.”

  “We could kill him.”

  “That would only reduce the odds by one,” Locke said. “Let’s listen to what he has to say.”

  “Fine,” Cooper said. To the man with the white flag, he shouted, “Go ahead and talk!”

  The spokesman came out from behind the horses, still holding his white flag.

  “That’s close enough,” Cooper said when the man got to within about fifty feet. “We can hear you fine.”

  “My name’s Benson,” the man said. “Hoke Benson.”

  “Never heard of you,” Cooper said.

  “Don’t matter,” Hoke said. “I’m givin’ you both a chance to walk away and leave the gold.”

  “No,” Cooper said.

  “Don’t you want to discuss it?”

  “There’s no need to discuss it,” Locke said. “We’re not walking away from the gold.”

  Hoke stared at them, then shook his head. “You’re outnumbered and outgunned.”

  “That’s okay,” Cooper said.

  “You’ll die,” the man said. “Both of you.”

  “So will you,” Locke said. “Some of you.”

  “But the survivors will get the gold,” Hoke said, “and that won’t be either of you.”

  “Will it be you?” Cooper asked.

  Hoke Benson said, “That’s the plan. That’s been the plan all along.”

  “Do your men know that?” Locke asked.

  “They know what I tell them.”

  “What if we tell them your big plan?” Cooper asked.

  “They won’t believe you.”

  “You better go back to them, then,” Locke said, “and see if they’re willing to die so you can have the gold.”

  “I gave you a chance,” Hoke said. “Nobody can say I didn’t. Think it over. I’ll come back in five minutes.”

  Hoke turned and walked back to his men. Cooper was tempted to shoot him in the back, but he knew Locke would not go for that.

  “So, what do we do now?” Cooper asked.

  “Wait for him to come back, and then tell him no again.”

  “And then what?”

  “I’ve got an idea.”

  Cooper looked at him. “What?”

  Quickly, Locke explained what he had in mind.

  “That’s not very fair,” Cooper finally said.

  “I know.”

  Cooper smiled. “I love it.”

  “What’d they say?” Eli asked when Hoke returned.

  “What I thought they’d say,” he answered. “No.”

  “So, let’s take ’em.”

  “No,” Hoke said. “I gave them five minutes to think it over.”

  “Why?” Rome asked.

  “The old man,” Hoke said. “He looks worn out. I think he’s the weak link. The job was his, and he brought Locke in on it, so I think he’s callin’ the shots.”

  “And?” Rome asked.

  “He might decide to walk away. Let’s wait and see.”

  Hoke had no idea that he’d completely misread the entire situation.

  Five minutes later, under the cover of the white flag, Hoke walked back out.

  “No,” Cooper said.

  “Pity,” Hoke replied, shaking his head. “You ol’ boys could have lived to a ripe old age.”

  “What fun would that be?” Cooper asked.

  “You knew we’d refuse, Benson,” Locke said. “This is all just an act for your men.”

  Hoke’s smile broadened, and he said, “Smart Widow-maker.”

  “Let’s kill him now,” Cooper said.

  “Yes,” Locke said. “Let’s.”

  “You can’t,” Hoke said, waving his white flag at them. “That wouldn’t be fair.”

  “I’d rather be unfair and alive,” Locke said, “than fair and dead. Wouldn’t you, Coop?”

  “Definitely.”

  “You … you wouldn’t …” Hoke said, realizing for the first time that he might have made a mistake. “You’re … you’re lawmen.”

  “I don’t see any badges on our chests,” Locke said.

  Hoke considered turning and running back to his men, but he knew he’d never make it. He had only one choice, and it was his own damn fault. He should have sent Rome out to talk to them.

  He went for his gun, and both Locke and Cooper shot him.

  FIFTY-NINE

  Jesus!” Eli said. “They shot down Hoke!” “They’re crazy!” Bailey said.

  “Bently and Sharp, the two newest men in the group, didn’t react as violently. They hadn’t known Hoke as long as Eli and Bailey.

  “Damn,” Rome said, but mostly out of admiration for what the two men had done.

  “Eddie,” Turpin said, “whadda we do?”

  “Do we still want the gold?” Rome asked.

  “I want it,” Turpin said.

  Rome looked at Bently and Sharp. “You fellas?”

  “Equal shares?” Bently asked.

  “Equal.”

  “We’re in,” Sharp said.

  Now Rome looked at Eli and Bailey.

  “I dunno …” Bailey said.

  “Jeez,” Eli said. “They killed Hoke.” He was still in shock. After all, Hoke made all the decisions …

  “You fellas can’t make up your own minds?” Rome said.

  Both
men just stared at him.

  “Okay,” Rome said, ignoring them. “Let’s take ’em.”

  “They’re startin’ to mount up,” Cooper said. “They’re gonna rush us.”

  “Then let’s do it. The horses,” Locke said. He dropped into a crouch and raised his rifle. Cooper followed, and they started firing. At this range, they couldn’t miss something as big as a horse.

  Of course, Locke’s idea was much more than just shooting Hoke Benson and the horses. The six men who were left were standing in the midst of seven animals weighing more than a thousand pounds each—and horses were skittish, didn’t like loud noises … like gunshots.

  Firing into their midst would panic the heck out of them.

  Eli and Bently started to mount, but before they could, hot lead struck both their horses, and the animals went down. Eli’s horse fell right on him, pinning him from the waist down. He screamed and thrashed about as the horse’s weight crushed his legs. As the two horses fell, a bullet smashed into Bailey’s chest, knocking him onto his back.

  “Jesus!” Rome shouted, surprised by the attack. “Shoot back!”

  The horses, smelling the two dead beasts and hearing the sound of the shots, began to panic. If the men had been able to get mounted, they still might have controlled their horses and rushed Locke and Cooper, but the two men never stopped firing, putting their pistols and extra guns to use as well, and the horses started to go mad. One horse kicked Eli in the head as he struggled beneath his animal, splitting his skull and, mercifully, killing him. That horse and another ran off. Bently was able to mount his horse, but his intention was to run, not fight. As he urged his horse in the opposite direction, the panicked animal stumbled and fell. Bently was thrown and landed with enough impact to break his neck.

  Sharp and Rome were still fighting their horses, yanking on their reins, trying to get control, while another animal went down beneath the barrage of bullets. There was so much chaos that Locke and Cooper had time to reload, and they continued to fire while advancing on foot.

  Rome saw the two men coming toward them, released his horse and went for his gun. At that moment, a bullet struck his hip, shattering it. He screamed and went down.