Free Iron Eyes Must Die by Rory Black Page B

both men a hard stare. They both
stopped talking and mounted their horses.
    ‘ Where
does that canyon lead to, friend?’ the marshal asked the nervous
engineer.
    ‘ I
ain’t too sure,’ Snape admitted. He looked past the horses at the
conductor and waved a hand. ‘You got any idea where that canyon
leads to, Harv?’
    ‘ The
one where them outlaws was?’
    ‘ Yep.
That one.’
    ‘ The
Mexican border.’
    ‘ Nothing else?’
    ‘ Rio
Concho I reckon.’ The conductor shrugged. ‘I think that the town is
just south of the canyon mouth. Mind you, I might be
wrong.’
    Layne touched the brim of his hat to both men
and gathered up his reins.
    ‘ You
boys have bin real helpful.’
    ‘ Glad
to help.’ The conductor smiled.
    ‘ You
gonna take on that gang, Marshal?’ Herb Snape swallowed
hard.
    ‘ You
really gonna?’
    Layne stepped into his stirrup and mounted
his horse.
    ‘ Gonna
try, friend.’
    Snape wiped his brow again.
    ‘ I
wish ya luck, Marshal. Ya gonna need an awful lot of
it.’
    Marshal Layne smiled and turned his
horse.
    ‘ Thanks for the water and the grub.’
    ‘ Ya
welcome.’ The engineer climbed back up the side of his locomotive
until he was on the footplate.
    Layne looked at the two men beside him.
    ‘ They’re close, boys! Closer than we thought they
were.’
    Donner felt his throat tighten beneath his
bandanna as he steadied his refreshed mount alongside his two
companions. He was nervous and it showed.
    ‘ Do ya
reckon we’ll catch these varmints before sundown,
Marshal?’
    Layne reached across the
distance between himself and the deputy. He patted the younger man on the
back and winked.
    ‘ I
sure hope so, Tray. I’d hate for us to end up shootin’ each other
rather than Snake and his gang.’
    The relief in
Donner ’s
face was evident.
    ‘ I
ain’t scared, Marshal. Honest. I just don’t wanna try and take them
varmints on in the dark.’
    ‘ Me
neither,’ Layne admitted. ‘We’ll see how close we can get to them
before sunset.’
    ‘ Do
you figure we got us a chance of getting the better of them
critters, Marshal?’ Walker asked, looking at the straight trail of
tracks gleaming in the blinding sunlight: a trail that he knew
might lead them to their deaths.
    Marshal Casey Layne pulled the brim of his
Stetson down to cover his eyes.
    ‘ Don’t
fret none. Ya both top guns. I’d trust you boys at my side facing
anyone in a showdown!’ the marshal said. ‘There ain’t no finer law
officers anywhere in this darn country than you two. We can take
them!’
    The three riders spurred hard
and thundered beside the rail tracks towards the distant canyon and into
the unknown.

Chapter Twelve
    A sickening stench drifted into the nostrils
of the three riders long before their eyes saw anything through the
heat haze. The unnerving noise of countless flies filled the air
all around the scene of devastation as they too were drawn to the
sun-baked corpses. A half-dozen large black vultures had already
located the bodies of Buck Harris and John Parsons long before the
three lawmen had reached what was left of the rail-car wreckage.
The sharp beaks and talons of the feathered scavengers tore
mercilessly at the flesh of the two dead men.
    Marshal Layne drew back on his reins and sat
silently watching the horrific spectacle as his loyal deputies rode
at the defiant birds and frightened them away.
    Walker and Donner eased
themselves off their mounts and stared in disbelief at the sight of
what was left of the rail car. The veteran lawman dismounted and
led his horse across the debris-littered sand until he was next to
his men. There was a look of total shock carved into his face. He
looped his reins around a metal handrail hanging from the wreckage
where the bodies lay. He had seen many bodies during his life but
none quite so pitiful as the two upon the floor of the
rail-car.
    ‘ What
we gonna do, Marshal?’ Josh Walker asked.
    ‘ Think.’ Layne answered.
    ‘ About
what?’ Walker