The House Of Crow Collection

13. Suspicious Circumstances

Crow, LeRue, Carlos and the boy, rode bareback. They would lose time by having to change saddles onto fresh mounts. As they raced into the night, Carlos mulled over what Raul had told them, "Bandidos had shot them. Why would bandits want to kill two vaqueros? They were no threat to them. Perhaps they had seen something they should not have?" Something just did not seem right.

They had been on their last fresh horse and climbing a hill when Raul hauled his horse up short. He scanned a line of trees near the summit and then pointed and kicked his mount in the ribs and took off again up the hill. The others followed.

They found Raul"s father, unconscious, lying next to a tree, barely alive. A few feet away lay the body of José. Crow, his possibles bag in hand, knelt next to the wounded man. Seeing blood on the man"s lips, he shook his head. It bubbled with each labored breath. “LeRue, have Raul help you build a fire to signal the folks on the cart. Carlos, I will need your help to roll him over so I can see the wound.”

As LeRue and the boy collected firewood for the signal fire, Carlos helped Crow. They placed the wounded man on his stomach. Crow, unceremoniously, took his Bowie knife and slit the clothing up the back and spread it away from the wound. “I"m not sure whether we will be able to save him,” said Crow.

There were several flashes of sparks. Crow could smell the smoke as the fire started. Raul came over to check on his father. “Will he live Señor Crow?” Crow looked up at the boy. Raul"s face was hidden in the shadows, but his voice told Crow of his fear and concern for his father.

“I don"t know. The ball entered his back. If it hit his lung, I can"t help him. I"ve dressed the wound in his back. Now we"ll check his chest.” Motioning to Carlos to help, they rolled the wounded man onto his back. Because the clothing had been slit up the back, Crow removed it quickly. He began running his finger over the chest and along the ribs. His hand stopped. He started gently massaging a spot.

Crow looked up at Raul, “I think your papa is one lucky fellow.” With that, Crow pulled his knife, and with one more exploration with his fingers, cut into the flesh. Blood gushed briefly, and, with a pinch of Crow"s fingers over the wound, a lead ball popped out. Crow held it up for all to see. “It should have gone through his lungs, maybe even his heart. However, I think it hit a rib and went into his side. He"s not out of danger, but I believe he has a good chance of making it.”

Raul, who had been stoic through the entire ordeal, broke down and cried. LeRue came over and wrapped an arm around the boy"s shoulders. Raul turned and wrapped his arms around the Mountain Man"s waist. “Your father will be proud. If not for you, he would have died,” LeRue told him.

There was the sound of horses in the dark. Crow and LeRue were instantly alert, rifles at the ready. Hector rode out of the darkness with one of the vaqueros. “We saw the fire,” said Hector. “The cart and the others will be here shortly.”

“I think he will live,” said Crow to Hector. “I got the ball out. I need to sew him up now. By the time the cart gets here, he"ll be ready to be moved.”

Hector turned to Raul, “You were very brave. You are every bit your father"s son.” With that, he patted the boy on the shoulder. As Crow finished tending to the wounds, Hector casually looked about. "From this hill," he thought, "these two had a perfect view of my meeting on the hill over there. They must have seen me. He saw them and shot them." Hector looked again at the unconscious man. Without a word, he went to his horse and mounted up. From the saddle, he took one long look at Raul"s father and then rode off into the night.

LeRue watched him go. "I don"t like that man," he thought. "His mouth spoke kindness, but his eyes say something else."

A short time later the cart appeared out of the darkness. When asked, the driver said that Hector had headed back to the rancho.