Free The Red River Ring by Randy D. Smith

know.”
    â€œI do. You saw how McMurphy walked into your office without warning. That’s the way he played the game in the old days. He never knew of me, but I knew him. I saw a lot of comprades taken by that son-of-a-bitch. He hung more than a few of them when he took control of the Palo Duro. He’s unpredictable and that makes me nervous.”
    â€œHow do you know he’ll take after the women?” Blake asked.
    â€œBecause he can’t do anything else. Whatever may have passed between him and his old lady in the past they’re still his granddaughters. He won’t stand for it and he won’t waste time waiting for help. He’ll ride in after them even if he knows it’s a trap.”
    â€œI don’t much like killing women,” Blake said.
    â€œWe ain’t gonna kill them. Blond girls like that are worth a fortune in Mexico. The mother will bring good money as well with her looks. Where I plan on selling them, no one will ever hear of them again.”
    Blake smiled and shook his head. “You’ve got it all figured, don’t you?”
    Tom poured another whisky, almost emptying the bottle. “I’ve waited for twenty years to take my revenge. Plenty of time to think and plan. When I drop the hammer on her, I want her to know that I’ve destroyed everything she’s built. Then I’ll have it all. The land, the cattle, and her ass in a sling.”
    He flung his empty glass across the room. It exploded into bits of flying glass. Colredge and Blake raised their arms to protect their eyes.
    Bent smiled and stared at the barren wall, his left hand fondling the empty bottle of whisky.

Chapter IX
    The raid had been sudden and the cowboys had no warning. A half-burned body was lying across the campfire ashes. Another body was bloating under a mesquite bush, a Yellow Boy Winchester still held in his death grip.
    Pommel sighed and tipped back his hat. “You know who they were?”
    Temple nodded and stepped cautiously from his mount. “They’re mine. The one on the fire is Waco Bob and the other is Arch Davis. Waco has ridden for the brand for eight years.”
    Pommel read the evidence without dismounting. “It’s been a day and a night, no longer. Looks like there were four maybe five of them.”
    I sent Waco and three riders up here to clear the mesa of cattle and join us at the west box canyon in the Palo Duro. They rode out when I did.”
    Pommel nodded and started his sorrel in a circle of the camp. “Your other men ran this way, on foot.”
    â€œCheck it out,” Temple ordered as he lifted Waco Bob from the ashes.
    Shotgun pellet wounds were strung across Waco’s chest and neck. Davis had identical wounds.
    Temple laid the men side by side and wondered what he could use other than his Bowie to dig the graves.
    Pommel returned to camp with the body of Josh Allen slung over his saddle. “There’s another out there. They made it less than forty yards. Both were shotgunned in the back.”
    â€œThat would be Kroger. These were four of my best riders.”
    â€œI’d use rocks and cover the bodies together if you’ve a mind to put them under now. We don’t have time for that much digging.” Pommel said.
    â€œYou think we can catch them?” Temple asked.
    â€œThey’ve got twenty, maybe twenty-five cattle. I figure that even pushing them hard, they only made eight or ten miles. Eight or ten yesterday, that would put them no more than twelve miles out today. We could catch them by dark if we ride now.”
    â€œThey need burying.”
    â€œThat’s all they need. It will take at least four hours to rock them under, a whole day to dig graves. Every minute we wait makes a better chance of losing our sign.”
    â€œI can’t leave them like this. They were my friends.”
    Pommel nodded. “Let’s get to it.” He stepped from his sorrel and slipped