Free The Wrath of Iron Eyes (An Iron Eyes Western #5) by Rory Black Page A

remained of the night to reach the
banks of the river. Like a man wearing a death mask, Iron Eyes sat
astride his dapple- gray staring at the moonlit ground as the water lashed at
the hoofs of their horses.
    He had somehow worked out exactly how many
riders had crossed the border since he had ridden through the
shallow water so many hours earlier.
    Iron Eyes pulled his left boot
from the stirrup and then raised his right leg over the neck of the
drinking gray. He slid off his saddle, taking the full impact of the
ground with his good leg.
    The eyes of the bounty hunter seemed to
notice things in the dark mud that neither of his companions could
see. The honed skill of the hunter were now coming into play. He
could track anything and it showed.
    ‘ My tracks are over there.’
Iron Eyes pointed behind them. ‘I can see your horse’s hoof prints
a few feet nearer, Sheriff. Then we have the grooves of a wagon
that turned and headed down river. Five other riders cut through
here between your sorrel and the wagon. They headed on after the
wagon.’
    Tucker dismounted and held the
reins to his magnificent black horse in his gloved hands. He walked
to the side of the tall grim-faced man and rested a hand on the broad
shoulder.
    ‘ I’m impressed.’
    Iron Eyes did not seem to care what either
of the men thought about his skill as a tracker. All that filled
his mind was the fact that the girl that he had met back in Cripple
Creek was probably in more danger than even he could imagine. He
had seen what men could do to innocent females many times and it
turned his guts.
    ‘ We have to head down
there.’ The bounty hunter aimed his thin index finger in the
direction in which the shallow river was flowing.
    Black Ben Tucker pulled up the collar of his
coat and tried to stop the cool breeze from chilling his neck.
    ‘ Me and Hardin can take it
from here, Iron Eyes,’ Tucker said softly. ‘They must be holed up
darn close.’
    Iron Eyes glared at the man’s
face. Even in the light of the moon his anger could be easily seen.
‘I’m not quitting, Black Ben. Without me you two fools would never find
the girl or the men who have her.’
    Sheriff Hardin steered his mount alongside
the two men and stared down at them.
    ‘ How far do you reckon we
have to go?’
    ‘Not far. A few miles at most.’
Iron Eyes grabbed the reins of his gray and pulled it around. He held on to
the saddle horn and threw himself up on to the back of the nervous
animal.
    Tucker stepped into his stirrup and mounted
the black horse.
    ‘ How can you be so damn
certain?’
    Iron Eyes pulled his bottle of whiskey from
one of the satchels behind his saddle cantle and removed its cork.
He swallowed two massive shots of the fiery liquid, and then
replaced the cork and dropped the bottle back into the bag behind
him.
    ‘’ Cause I can smell the vermin, Black Ben!’
    Tucker stared in disbelief at
the bounty hunter, who was urging his mount to start walking along the
tracks of his prey.
    ‘ You can smell them? Are
you joshing me?’
    Iron Eyes sniffed at the night air. ‘Cougars
leave a scent that a hunter can smell a mile off. All critters have
their own stink. Rosie Smith had perfume on; I can smell that too.
I can smell the bastards who rode down here with her, and I’ll know
them when we meet up.’
    ‘ And then?’ the sheriff
asked the gaunt rider as he drew his horse level.
    ‘When my nostrils are filled
with their scent, I’ll kill the whole lot of them,’ Iron Eyes
replied. His eyes were studying the wet ground as he forced his
dapple- gray
on and on.
    ‘ You forget there are three
of us, Iron Eyes,’ the train-robber added.
    ‘ I don’t need either of
you. When I start killing just stay behind my gun barrels.’ Iron
Eyes tapped his spurs into the flesh of his horse and sat bolt
upright as the animal increased its pace.

Chapter
Nineteen
    The morning sun had risen and traced its way
across the deep lake at the foot of the cascade until its