28
BLACK BEN
“It’s good to be home!” Lyle yelled. He was standing in front of the large campfire, and the light it created cast his shadow against the canyon walls, making him look larger than life. “Fifty horses and two wagons richer in plunder!” There was a clanking of bottles and a scattering of whistles and claps as people cheered this news.
“That’s the good news. The bad news is we lost seven of our men.”
There were murmurs at this as people shifted in their seats or turned to the man next to them and shook their heads grimly.
“If it weren’t for Ben here,” Lyle now pointed at Ben, “we would have only lost six men, maybe less. In the heat of battle, Ben here took leave of his senses and made a go at London Cortez. The man was an imbecile, nobody can dispute that, but he was one of
