[Texas Rangers 04] - Ranger's Trail Read Online Free PDF

this.
    He rode toward the soldier camp under a dark sky, the moon hidden by a heavy cover of clouds. Unable to see much, he almost rode upon two men sitting on horseback. Johnny Morris demanded, “Who the hell are you?”
    “ It’s me, Rusty. Where are Len and Andy?”
    “ They’ve snuck off down yonder to set the hay afire. While everybody’s runnin’ to fight the fire, me and Jim will fix the cannon.” He showed Rusty an iron rod. Jim carried a blacksmith’s hammer across the pommel of his saddle.
    Rusty said, “Why didn’t you-all turn the boy back?”
    Jim said, “His mind was made up. We couldn’t have stopped him if we’d hit him over the head with this hammer.”
    Rusty knew how stubborn Andy could be. “Maybe I can head him off. You-all be careful. Some Yankees are good shots.”
    He rode down toward the camp. He could not make out the shape of the haystack, but he knew more or less where it should be. He felt a chilly dampness moving up from the river on the south wind. He shivered and pulled his old coat more tightly around him. A couple of fires flickered in the soldier camp. He envied the men warming themselves there.
    The cannon guards had a fire of their own. Rusty took that as a good sign. Glare from the flames would diminish their ability to see through the darkness.
    He saw a match flare, then flicker out. Andy and Tanner must be having poor luck getting the hay to catch fire. Both were single-minded enough to keep trying, even if soldiers swarmed over them.
    A hostile voice demanded. “Who goes there?”
    Rusty realized the challenge was directed at Andy and Tanner. He put spurs to the dun horse, urging him into a long trot.
    A rough voice shouted, “Who are you? Speak before I blow your head off!”
    Tanner’s answer was defiant. “I’m Robert E. Lee and I’m here to whup some Yankee sons of bitches.”
    Rusty saw a quick movement and heard a thud as a soldier struck Tanner in the stomach with the butt of a rifle. Rusty did not give him a second chance. He rode in, swinging his pistol. He felt the barrel connect with a trooper’s head. The trooper fell, firing his rifle by reflex. Tanner wrestled with another soldier but was losing ground. Rusty grabbed a handful of uniform and pulled the man off of him. He swung the pistol but missed.
    He heard a shout. “Corporal of the guard! Post number two!” It came from the direction of the cannon. He heard more soldiers running toward him. A rifle cracked. Rusty fired his pistol into the air, hoping to confuse and perhaps discourage the soldiers. “Forget the fire,” he shouted. “Get out of here.”
    The troopers guarding the cannon came on the run, silhouetted against their fire. Rusty aimed a shot in their general direction, slowing them. One discharged his rifle into the darkness but had no clear target. Rusty leaned low to be sure he did not present one.
    Andy came riding out, leading Tanner’s horse. “Here, Len. Get on him quick.”
    Rusty heard the whisper of bullets passing much too close. Len staggered. Andy swung around to help lift him into the saddle. The three set their horses into a run.
    The firing continued behind them. Rusty said, “You two stirred up the whole Yankee army.”
    Andy laughed. “Didn’t we, though? But we couldn’t get the fire started.”
    Len lamented, “Damned hay was wet. All I burned was my fingers.”
    Rusty said, “It was a fool notion in the first place.”
    Andy said, “Only thing wrong with it was that it didn’t work.”
    Rusty did not see the Morris brothers, but he figured they were old enough to take care of themselves. They always had. Andy was young, eager, and still needed watching. Tanner should have known better, but he was inclined to create trouble even where there had been none. He had long maintained that a good fight was more invigorating than a double shot of whiskey.
    Rusty led Andy and Tanner along the river until he was sure they had shaken off pursuit by the foot