Страница 10 из 46
"Charlie had a toothache," Newt Tebbit said calmly. "He's gone to Boone's Lick to locate a dentist. We expect him to be along once he gets that tooth out."
I was getting a feeling that something was about to happen, on the ridge.
Uncle Seth and Mr. Hickok were walking their horses real slow, toward the Tebbits. Sheriff Baldy was chewing on an unlit cigar. There was a feeling of waiting. Uncle Seth had told us about the war, when bombs and ca
That was how I felt as Uncle Seth and Mr. Hickok closed with the Tebbits.
Both Tebbits bared their teeth as Uncle Seth and Mr. Hickok rode toward them. I wondered why they were gri
"I don't know about his tooth, but I suspect Charlie Tebbit's the one hiding in that brushy thicket you mentioned," Uncle Seth said.
"You are goddamn brash, Seth Cecil," Newt Tebbit said, but before he could continue his speech Uncle Seth swung his Sharps rifle and knocked the man off his horse.
"I hope it won't be necessary for me to hit you that hard," Mr. Hickok said to Percy Tebbit. He had slipped a pistol out from under his gray slicker, and was pointing it at Percy. While Percy was staring at Mr.
Hickok, trying to decide what to do, Uncle Seth came up on his blind side 26
and whacked him too. Percy Tebbit slid off his horse slowly, like a sack of oats slides off a pile.
"You might have damaged your pistol, if you'd slugged him," Uncle Seth said. "A side arm is not supposed to be used as a hammer."
Both of the Tebbits were down but neither one of them was out. They were writhing around on the ground, holding their heads. Percy was bleeding profusely, but Newt didn't seem to be cut. Sheriff Baldy rode over and looked down at them.
"Goddamn the luck," he said. "This is just the sort of complication I wanted to avoid."
"Yes . . . and Thursday's slipping away," Mr. Hickok said.
"I hope you brought some handcuffs--it will eliminate the need for tying knots," Uncle Seth said.
"I did, six pair," the sheriff said, pulling a tangle of handcuffs out of his saddlebag. "I didn't expect to have to waste any on the Tebbits though."
"If I were you I'd handcuff them while they're still groggy," Mr. Hickok advised. "It wouldn't surprise me if they showed some fight."
The sheriff jumped down and got to it. He had just clicked the cuffs on the two men when both of them began to yell.
"Come, boys! Come, boys!" they yelled, as loud as they could. Then they both staggered up and began to run down the ridge, at which point seven or eight men, all mounted, burst out of one of the thickets east of Stump town.
"Well, there's your ambush," Uncle Seth said matter-of-factly. "What do you say, Bill? Should we make a run for the church? The cover is sparse on this hill."
"I count eight riders," Mr. Hickok said, getting off his horse. "We are five. That only gives them an advantage of three. Look at them flail their nags! I doubt that any of them can shoot straight from a ru
We all dismounted and watched the ambushers, who were still quite a long distance away. Uncle Seth took the oilcloth off his rifle. He had a little tripod which he sometimes set up for long-distance shooting--he could rest his rifle barrel on it if he needed to take a fine sight.
"Which one am I supposed to shoot?" G.T. asked. Sheriff Baldy and Mr.
Hickok were calmly watching the ambushers come. I wasn't calm, myself--I wanted to start shooting right away, but like G.T, I wasn't sure who I was supposed to shoot at.
"Wait, boys--they're out of range," Uncle Seth said. "I'll shoot a horse or two, and when I do you count to ten before you fire--that goes for you too, G.T."
27
"Shoot a horse or two, Seth--it might discourage them," Mr. Hickok said.
"How far will this rifle shoot?" G.T. asked. "Somebody tell me, quick."
I didn't blame G.T. for asking the question. I had no idea how far my own rifle would shoot. I had killed two deer with it, and several wild pigs and a wolf, but none of those critters had been very far away, and I think the old wolf must have been sick, otherwise he would never have let me get as close as I did. I couldn't keep a clear focus on the men who were charging toward us--one minute they looked as big as giants, and the next minute they looked tiny--so tiny I knew I'd be lucky to hit one of them without using up a lot of ammunition. Uncle Seth had given me ten cartridges, and G.T. the same.
Nobody answered G.T. Uncle Seth had set up his tripod, but he hadn't drawn a bead yet. Mr. Hickok and the sheriff were as cool as if they were watching the Fourth of July parade.
"I see Jake Miller, and I believe that's Ro
Mr. Hickok was not so optimistic.
"There's no sign of Billy Perkins, though," he said. "I wouldn't expect him to be as foolish as these men, charging up a hill at five riflemen.
It would occur to Billy Perkins that one or two of the riflemen might be competent shots."
Then Uncle Seth laid his rifle across his little tripod and proved Mr.
Hickok's point. Before G.T. and I could get our wits together and start counting, Uncle Seth shot twice and brought down two horses--their riders went sprawling off into the grass.
"Drop one more, why don't you, Seth?" Mr. Hickok suggested. "The loss of one more horse might bring them to their senses."
"I was wrong, that ain't Jake Miller--it's just his cousin Eli," Sheriff Baldy said. "They favor one another quite a bit."
Uncle Seth fired again and a third horse went down--though just saying it went down would be to put it too mildly. The third horse turned a complete somersault. Its rider flew off about thirty feet, after which he didn't move.
"It's rare to see a horse turn a flip like that," Uncle Seth observed.
"That was Ro
The two Tebbit brothers, both still handcuffed, stopped about halfway between us and the riders. Then the riders stopped too, all except one, who came on about another fifty yards before it dawned on him that he was no longer part of a group, after which he quickly drew rein.
"That's Charlie Tebbit out in front," the sheriff said. "I knew that story about the toothache was a damn lie."
28
"Do you see anyone you particularly want to shoot, Seth?" Mr. Hickok asked.
"No, not if they're cowed--I've seen too much war to wantonly spill blood," Uncle Seth said.
"Let's keep our guns cocked," Mr. Hickok suggested. "They may not be quite cowed."
I didn't know whether the ambushers were cowed or not, but I was happy they had called off their charge. I had started my count and was up to six when the lead rider pulled rein.
"Stop counting, G.T, we don't need to shoot," I said. Once G.T. started something, it was hard to get him stopped. I saw his lips moving, so I figured he was still counting--then his rifle clicked, indicating that I had been right.