Episode Two concluded
with:
“You know I won’t!” Brooks slipped the Henry
back into the boot. “Let’s take a morning ride!” Tully quickly mounted the
roan, spurring his steed into a fast gallop.
Dehner ran down the knoll to where
his bay was tethered. He rode the horse cautiously up the small hill and then
down the slope. Once they were on flat ground, Dehner raked his spurs against
the horse and began a fast pursuit.
Two ribbons of dust trailed behind Tully’s
horse. Dehner kept his bay at a fast, steady gallop. Tully was pushing his
horse hard, riding toward a mountain where he hoped to get lost among the caves
and large rocks.
Episode Three
The outlaw
had reached the foot of the mountain when his roan stumbled and fell. Tully was
thrown off the animal but quickly made it back onto his feet. Checking the
fallen horse, Brooks saw that his Henry was underneath the animal. He glanced
back. Rance was fast approaching. Tully
gave up on retrieving the rifle. He began to hobble up the mountain.
Rance
reined in near the injured horse. He dismounted and took a quick look at the
roan. The animal was blowing hard and seemed to be in terrible pain. The
detective spotted Tully’s Henry under the horse, but there was no time to check
further on the roan. The detective tethered his own horse with a heavy stone
and pulled his Winchester from the boot.
He moved
away from the bay and ran behind a boulder near the foot of the mountain, where
he shouted, “Surrender Tully! For once in your life, act smart!”
There was
no response. Dehner wasn’t expecting one. The detective thought it significant
that Tully Brooks hadn’t fired at him. Tully didn’t have a rifle. The outlaw was
apparently in a position where a pistol shot was unlikely to hit its target,
and would only expose the shooter’s location.
Going after
an injured Tully Brooks was like going after an injured bear, Rance thought to
himself. “Guess I’m paid to be a hunter,” Rance whispered as he started up the mountain.
The
mountainside was a jigsaw of scattered boulders and clumps of thin trees.
Dehner zigzagged his way up the steep slope, occasionally taking refuge behind
a large rock. He didn’t want to make himself an easy target.
Rance was
scanning the mountainside from behind a boulder when he heard gravel scattering above him. The detective
turned to spot the blur of a terrifying force charging at him. The sound of
Rance’s rifle fire blended with the mountain lion’s roar. The lion twisted
backwards, then straightened for another attack. Rance levered another shell
into the chamber of the Winchester. His second shot brought the cat down.
The
detective breathed heavily as he approached the beast, which was defeated but
still alive. A third shot killed the lion.
Dehner felt
hard iron pressing into his back. “Good shootin’, Rance. I always admired the
way you could handle a gun. Now, toss the rifle and put your hands up.”
Tomorrow: Episode
Four of Last Job
