10
Six dark men on skinny lathered mounts rode recklessly towards the Maricopa stage stop. Jake, Scott and Tuc were positioned between the oncoming hoard and the precious human and gold cargo they were paid to protect.
They heard the frightened commands of men’s voices, the scrambling of furniture barring windows and doors as well as the shrill panic of a woman’s voice in the stage house behind them. The banditos kept coming. As they crossed through the first gate in a cloud of dust, they split up, two to the left, two to the right and two coming head on, never slowing their pace.
Tuc saw the wild yellowed whites of their tortured horse’s eyes, spurred on by the desperate men in their saddles as they approached. One of the mounts was foaming bloody spittle from its nose and mouth. Tuc g
