Free The Curse of Iron Eyes by Rory Black Page A

Harve?’
    ‘ Nope.’
    ‘ Well there are
more than six hundred troopers at Fort Dixon.’ Brady grinned. ‘So
it’s one hell of a lot of money and no mistake. Equal shares. It
could run to thousands of dollars each.’
    The price was right but
Calhoon wondered if he were good enough to accomplish what Brady
had planned. How big was this bridge in reality? The simple pencil
sketch gave no clue as to the true dimensions of the actual bridge
itself.
    How
did you blow up an entire bridge? Sweat began to run down the side
of the outlaw’s face.
    Harve Calhoon rubbed
his dry mouth and accepted the glass of rye that was offered to
him. He downed it in one swallow and exhaled loudly.
    ‘ So I’m to blow
up this bridge so that you and the rest of the boys can rob the
train?’
    Big
Jack Brady slapped Calhoon’s back and roared with
laughter.
    ‘ Now you getting
your brain working, Harve. That’s exactly right, boy. See how
important you are?’
    ‘ How far away
from here is it?’
    ‘ A few hours’
ride north at a place called Honcho Wells,’ Brady replied. ‘The
rail tracks cut through the top of the Indian territory boundaries.
The bridge spans a river.’
    ‘ Ain’t that a
mite close to Calico, Big Jack?’ one of the other men asked. ‘The
army will track us back here looking for their gold.’
    ‘ Let them,’
Brady scoffed. ‘We’ll be long gone by the time they reach
Calico.’
    ‘ When’s the
train due?’ Black Roy asked.
    ‘ It ought to
reach the viaduct at Honcho Wells at noon tomorrow, give or take an
hour,’ Brady replied. ‘I’ve been keepin’ tabs on it for the past
year.’
    ‘ Is it heavily
guarded?’ another of the men enquired.
    ‘ Nope. Never has
more than a dozen troopers guardin’ it and they’re all in the car
ahead of the one with the gold.’
    ‘ Like takin’
candy from a baby,’ Black Roy muttered.
    Harve Calhoon felt a
sudden chill overwhelm him as every one of the other outlaws began
to chuckle along with the big man.
    ‘ And when do we
do this?’ he asked.
    ‘ My personal
associates are getting the horses and dynamite wagon ready as we
speak, Harve.’ Big Jack Brady grinned. ‘We ride in about ten
minutes.’
    Calhoon pushed his
empty glass towards the whiskey bottle. He needed another
drink.

CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
    There
were several smaller trails splitting off from the main canyon
which were collectively known as the merciless Devil’s Pass. Yet
Billy Bodine galloped on through the narrow moonlit canyon without
taking his eyes off what lay directly ahead of him. His instincts
told him that whatever he was looking for was somewhere ahead.
Somewhere on the soft sand that sparkled in the bluish light of the
large moon directly overhead.
    Bodine leaned over the
neck of his charging mount as the horse continued to gather
pace.
    The
only sound within Devil’s Pass was the noise of his own mount. It
echoed all around the young trooper. He had never known any place
so frightening or unholy. It troubled him as he urged the chestnut
on. Every hair on the nape of his neck felt as if it were standing
on end beneath his yellow bandanna.
    His
hands gripped the reins tightly as he listened to the horse’s hoofs
pounding across the surface of the soft sand.
    To Billy Bodine it
began to sound like the beating of war drums.
    Were there any other
living creatures in this place, Bodine asked himself. If so, where
were they?
    It would only take
another few seconds before he knew the answer.
    The powerful horse
thundered around a bend. Suddenly its rider leant back on his
saddle and hauled the mount to an abrupt halt.
    Bodine
wrestled with his reins and stood in his stirrups. His keen young
eyes spotted something a few dozen yards ahead and he hauled the
quarter horse around full circle while he tried to work out what it
was that was lying in the center of the sandy trail.
    Whatever it was, he
thought, it was dead.
    The skilful horseman
quickly dismounted and flicked the leather pistol