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their bedroom door. Though she d given him her promise, it was one
she hoped she never would have to keep. If their relationship didn t
become permanent, her broken heart would be a small price to pay for
knowing that he was alive. But if Blu was killed. . . She choked back
tears. Just the thought of his death filled her with such bone-deep pain
that, if something actually were to happen to him, she didn t think
she d be able to survive.
She stretched out on the bed but found sleep impossible. She lay
wide awake, alternately cursing herself for falling in love with a man
with such a dangerous job, and praying for his safe return.
* * *
Blu untied his bandanna, wiped the sweat from his face, then bent to
snip another strand of wire. As much as he detested having to con-
tinue his charade, at least he d learned to cut the wire without getting
scratched by the barbs in the process. Not that he d need such a skill
in the future, but he did take satisfaction in returning to the ranch
without cut and bloodied arms. Delana already worried about him, so
not adding to her worries had become important to him.
Once the gang s assigned section of fence had been destroyed, Burch
Riley said, Mount up, boys; we ain t leaving yet. The boss decided
there s something else he wants done.
As soon as the men had swung into their saddles, Riley moved to
the front. There s a herd of horses in this pasture. Some of the best
horseflesh in these parts. Find em and cut out half a dozen or so.
Sure thing, Hardy Pierce said, only what s the boss figuring to
do with the horses?
Sell em, I reckon. Y all wouldn t mind a little extra cash in yer
pockets, would ya?
Hell, no, Tom Weber replied, But we can t sell stolen horses
around here.
Nobody said we were gonna try. The boss ll be here any minute,
then you can ask him yerself what he has in mind. In the meantime,
we re wasting time sitting here jawing.
The men nodded, settled their hats more firmly on their heads, then
took off across the mesquite-dotted pasture.
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Holly Harte
By the time Blu and the others led the horses they d lassoed back to
where they d left Burch Riley, Sheriff Duncan had arrived.
Duncan pushed his hat off his forehead, then crossed his wrists over
his saddle horn. As always, you boys do damn fine work, he said, his
smile a bright flash of white in the purple shadows of the night.
We know what kinda work we do, Rube, Charley Strong said.
What we re wantin to hear is why you had us round up these horses.
Yeah, Carl Griswold said before Sheriff Duncan could reply. This
ain t like butchering a steer or two, when we get fresh meat for our
efforts.
Duncan held up a hand. Take it easy, Carl. You won t get fresh meat
out of this, but you will get yer share of what we get for the horses.
And just where re you proposing we sell them? Amos Kinney said.
Anywhere outside the county. Duncan glanced at the others.
Any of you know a good place?
How bout Belton? Charley replied. Heard that used to be the
best place to sell rustled horses.
Belton? Amos said. That s in Bell County, at least a hundred an
fifty miles from here.
Yeah, Duncan replied, but the farther away, the less chance any-
one will find out the horses came from Brown County.
The others murmured their agreement, then Riley said, You got
somebody in mind to take the horses, boss?
Duncan shifted in his saddle, the leather creaking with his move-
ment. No. I was thinkin one of you should volunteer.
More creaking of saddle leather followed the sheriff s statement,
but no one said a word. The men s tightly sealed lips told Blu none
of them wanted to take up the sheriff s challenge. Realizing this
would be a perfect opportunity to get the information he d gathered
to his commander, he tamped down a rush of excitement. Not want-
ing to appear too eager, he held his tongue, waiting to see if one of
the others would break the strained silence.
I ll go, he finally said, urging Mouse closer to Duncan s horse.
The sheriff stared at him for several seconds, then said, Yer sure
about that, Cahill?
Yeah, I m sure.
Getting caught with stolen horses is a hanging offense.
I m aware of that.
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The Ranger
Duncan continued staring at him, making Blu wish he could see the
other man s expression.
Finally, the sheriff said, Why are you willing to risk makin that
pretty little wife of yers a widow?
Blu drew a deep breath, trying to clear thoughts of Delana from his
head. He couldn t allow himself to think about her, or his fears for her
safety, not when so much relied on his finding the words to satisfy
Duncan.
I believe in what we re doing, he said at last. We need to keep
open range for our cattle, and I m willing to do whatever s necessary
to stop the stringin of wire.
Again the sheriff stared at him for a long, tense moment. Then,
flashing another smile, he said, Well, now, boys, looks like we got us
a volunteer.
The men seemed to release a collective sigh. A couple of them
made approving comments, and several others moved their horses
close so they could give Blu a slap on the back. Though he suspected
their reaction had less to do with congratulating him than relief that
they hadn t been forced to volunteer, he smiled and nodded.
Okay, boys, settle down, Duncan said. We got a couple more
things to discuss. When the men fell silent, he continued. First off:
Cahill, any chance you can keep the horses at yer place for the rest of
the night?
No problem.
Good, then when can you take em to Belton?
I can leave right after sunup.
Okay, figure on doing that. Duncan turned to the others. The last
thing is plannin our next little get-together.
You got something in mind? Riley said.
Duncan chuckled. Always do. That son of a bitch Leslie had his
hands restring the wire we tore down a while back, so we re gonna hit
his ranch again. This time I aim to make sure the wire stays down.
When re you figurin on us hitting the Leslie ranch? Charley
Strong said.
Depends on when Cahill gets back. Duncan turned to look at Blu.
If I don t push the horses too hard, I should be able to get them to
Belton in three days, Blu replied. Then if finding a buyer goes well,
I d say I could be back in. . . He did a quick mental calculation on
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how much time he d need to get a message to Austin and then how
quickly his commander could get additional Rangers into Brown
County. Seven or eight days. But if that don t mesh with your sched-
ule, maybe you should go ahead without me.
No, we need every man in on this. We ll wait until you get back.
Let s figure on ten days from tonight. Duncan glanced around at the
others. Anybody got a problem with that?
When no one spoke up, he nodded. Good. We ll meet at midnight
at the southeast corner of Leslie s ranch in ten days. Now, let s get the
hell outta here.
Several of the men helped Blu tie the horses together in a picket
line, then they rode off. Wrapping the lead rope around his saddle
horn, Blu started Mouse in the opposite direction. Though leading rus-
tled horses back to his ranch didn t sit well, he took consolation in
knowing that at least he would be able to control what happened to
the animals. Had one of the other ring members volunteered to take
the horses to Belton, there would be no way of knowing whether they
could be recovered and returned to their owner.
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