The Buck Brothers/ Chapter 5

It's time for another chapter! Do you remember what happened in the last chapter? Luke was kidnapped!! Ready to see what happens next?

Chapter 4

Tex and Tom pulled to a stop in front of the Doc's house, their horses foamed with sweat.
Doc came out the spare room as Tex and Tom came inside. Tex and Tom were both grave. Eyes narrowed and lips drawn into tight lines.
Tex took of his hat and threw it on the table. He started to pace the floor. Tom slumped in a chair and sat staring at the wall. Chuck cast them questioning looks. "Well, what's wrong?"
Tex stopped pacing the floor and looked at him. Tom suddenly stood up with a shout of anger. "Why did I leave him? Why did I go and leave him?" He slapped the table. The sound reverberate through the room.
"Leave who? Will one of you calm down and tell us what's going on?" Chuck demanded.
Tex dug in his vest pocket and pulled out the crumpled note from the kidnappers. "That's what's wrong."
Chuck eyes skimmed over the paper. His head came up quickly."They kidnapped Luke?"
"What?" Doc exclaimed. "Why?"
"They want us to try and get him back. So they can kills us." Tex shrugged. "And why they want to kill us? Don't ask me."
Together, Tex and Tom, gave a brief account of their adventures.
"After we found Luke gone, we went back to the canyon." Tex took the note from Chuck and stuffed it back in his pocket, preparing to leave. "By the time we got there," he continued,"they'd found out I had escaped and high tailed it out of there. We fingered we best get Chuck, and tell Sheriff James what going on. This has gone to far! First Moor gets shot, I get captured and then they kidnap Luke." Tex shook his head.
"Before we go, Doc, you should take a look at Tex wrists." Tom nodded his head at Tex.
Tex shrugged. "There fine."
I don't care about me. I just wanna get Luke back. Tex thought grudgingly to himself.
"Let have a look see." Doc held a hand out.
Tex shrugged again and rolled his selves neatly up his arm.Yellow puss had began to oozed from his inflamed wrists. Tex obediently held them out for Doc's inspection. Doc turned them over slowly and nodded. "They'll be fine. Had you tied up pretty tight, now didn't they?"
"No tighter then I'd of tied them. Only I'd tie 'em around the neck and hang 'em from a tree." Tex replied.
Doc shook his head reprovingly. "Now you better get a hold on that anger before you do something rash. There's hot water in the kitchen. I'll just clean those wrists up and a quick bandage will help keep it clean."
                                                                >>>><<<<
Tex, Tom, and Chuck went down the street to the sheriffs office and told James what had happened. Tom was telling how he and Tex had gone back to the canyon when Bill, the tall and scrawny stage manager, came in.
Bill eyes opened with surprised to see the Buck brothers. He stopped and stood to the side to wait but Tom told him to go ahead. He nodded his thanks and turned to the Sheriff. "James, have you seen a short man with doubles guns around? Not just double guns, but tied down double guns. Dark hair and a not-so-well kept beard?" He asked.
"Hmm..." James narrowed his eyes in thought. "No. I don't recall seeing a man like that. Why?"
"He and another feller came into the stage station and asked if any letters came for a Hank M. There wasn't and I told him so. He glared at me as if he thought I was lie'n  and said, 'I'll be back.' Then he left," Bill replied.
"I know who it was,"
All eyes turned to Tex.
"He was Hank Moor. One of the men that held me captive."
"Hank Moor! That Tim's brother," Chuck said. "Why didn't you mention him before?"
"I did mention him. You must of just over looked it. I figured they were related in some way,"  Tex answered.
  "Huh? I'm confused," Bill peered at Tex. "You were captured? During the war? I didn't hear about that."
Tom shook his head. "No. Not during the war. Yesterday. Long story. Hank asked for a letter?"
Bill nodded.
"And he said he would come back?" Tom asked.
Another nod.
"Well then." Tom turned to Tex. "All we have to do is wait for him by the stage station."
"Can one of ya tell me what's go'n on?" Bill asked.
"When's there's time." Tex stood up. "Let's go over to station."
The other two brothers followed him out and up the street. They stopped in front of the Stage Station to talk thing over.
As they were talking Bill caught up with them."I thought I better tell you. A letter came for Hank on the last stage."
"Let's see it," Chuck said.
"Welllll-," Bill lowered an eyebrow. "I don't know if I can do that. I ain't suppost to. At least not with out the law saying I can."
"The law just said you can," James said from behind Bill.
Bill grinned and started for the stage station. "Well, then. Come on. It's inside."
Bill opened the door and froze. Then he ran into the room. His boot pounded on the plank floor. Tex ducked in to the room, and scanned it quickly. Bill was rummaging through cabinets and papers on the floor. The room had been ransacked.
Bill stood up and shook his head. "They found the letter. It's gone. Nothing else is gone as I can tell."
For a minute there was silences. Tex could feel pressure building in his temples. Clenching his jaw he tried to keep his feelings hidden. It had been years seance Tex had felt such rage. An anger that burned and made him want to punch something or wring somebody's neck.
They aren't going to get away with this! Tex turned on his heel and left the room. Don't worry, Luke.  We're coming after you.
The others followed Tex outside. He could feel their eyes on his back as he crouched and studied the ground. "They went that way." He pointed down the street.
Tom leaned over next to him and studied the ground. Then he nodded his agreement. "We need fresh horses and supplies."
Tex nodded and stood up. "Come on. We have a lot to do and no time to loose. Let's go."
The three brothers walked down the street to the stables. Leaving Sheriff James to tell the little he knew of the Buck brothers' predicament to Bill.
                                                                    >>>><<<<
Four days later the brothers were still on the trail. They were careful not to ware out the horses. They had no clue as to how long they would be riding because it appeared that Hank and his gang were heading out. Why? To were? They didn't know. But they wouldn't be far behind. Tex knew that Luke would know it too.
They rode in a line across the hills into open country with little talk.
Sage Brush speckled the desert plains. Water was hard to find and when found was small hot pools in the rocks. Small sand hills rose and fell. Large plateaus rose to the sky.  There was a faint brown line of the mountains in the distends.
This country was dangerous. Tex and his brothers watched their backs and took precautions.
One day on this desert plain, Tex took out his field glasses and scanned the horizon, careful not to let the sun reflect off of them. "There's a bit of dust over there but it can't be Hank. To many," he said after a moment.
"But if it isn't them, then who?" Chuck asked.
Tex lowered the glass. "I'm not sure. Indians don't make that much dust."
Tom and Chuck exchanged glances.Tex brought the glasses back to his eye for another look.
"I guess it's back to following the tracks?" Tom asked.
Tex shrugged. "I suppose. I wonder..." Tex didn't finish.
"You wonder what?" Chuck voiced the question in Tom mind.
"Just a thought, is all. Let's go. We've no time to waist." Tex nudged his horse into a walk.
"I've heard that before." Chuck winked at Tom. "and it ain't no use to pry. He won't tell."
Tom grinned and nodded.
                                                                    >>>><<<<
Tex stopped his horse. He studied the ground a moment. Then he quickly dismounted.  He crouched down. His eyes going over every track.
"That dust we seen was them. They met up with someone. See?" Tex pointed at the tracks. "Their tracks meat up with four other horses. They are in a hurry to get wherever they're going. They're riding faster. I wonder what their up to."
"Yeah, and why do they need Luke? It seems like keeping him would slow them down," Tom added.
"I wonder how he's hold'n up." Chuck face was drawn.
"Not to good, is my guess." Tex stood up. "Let's go. They are traveling faster. Which means we need to go faster."
Tex put his foot in the stirrup but stopped and pulled it back out. He leaned down and ran the sand through his gloved fingers. Tom leaned out of his saddle to see what his brother had found. Tex straightened, holding a brown peace of cloth in his hands.
"I recognize this."" Tex turned and handed it to Tom.         
Tom took the bandanna. "Yep. It's Luke's."
"What's that on it?" Chuck pointed to a dark spot.
Tom looked closer. "It looks like dry blood."
Tex and Tom eyes met. Both held the same fear. Chuck clenched his fingers around the rains of his horse.
"Come on," Tex said softly and swung onto his horse.
                                                                    >>>><<<<
Tex wiped the sweat off his forehead with a grimy sleeve. He looked forward to when the sun would start going down and things would cool off. He felt hot, sticky, grimy, and tired. He blinked up at the sun.  Then something in the distance caught his eyes. "I think we're in trouble, " Tex's eyes remained on the cloud that slowly grew larger. Tom and Chuck both were watching it.
Swoosh! The wind picked up speed, whirling the dust round. The brothers pulled up their bandannas. Tex tipped his head down and used the brim to blocked the wind. "We need to get to cover! This is going to be one mean sand storm!"
Chuck held his hat on with one hand and pointed with the other. "There!" He yelled
The brother spurred their horses to the nearest rock formation. Where they quickly dismounted. They hobbled their horse so they couldn't drift to far off and grabbed their blankets off the back of their saddles and tied them over their horses eyes and noses.
By then there was so much sand being blown around it was hard to breath. They sat against the rock, knees pulled to their faces, bandannas up to their eyebrows.
Tex pressed his lips tight together but even then the sand still managed to get in his mouth. In the dark Tex felt as if he was suffocating. His lungs burned from trying not to breath in the sand. The sand flying by stung his shoulders, legs, and arms. The roar was so loud it made his ears ring.
Tex swallowed hard. His temples were starting to pound. Would it ever end?  He was choking on sand.
Make it stop, Lord. I can breath!
As quick as it had come the sand storm was gone. Tex took a gulp of air and gagged. Someone next to him was coughing. He slowly brought up his head. He pulled down his bandanna and blinked in the sunlight. The storm had come and gone in a mater of minutes but left a hazy, brown trail behind it. He took his hat off his head and shook it to rid of the sand.
Tom coughed until he was pale, then took a ragged breath.
Tex put a hand on Tom shoulder. "You okay?"
Tom nodded and stood up. Chuck took off his hat and shook the sand out of his hair. Everything and everyone was covered in a coat of sand.
     Tom coughed again and grabbed the canteen on the nearest horse. He swished his mouth with water and spit it out. Then he took a large gulp of the lukewarm water. He passed it on to Tex and Tex did the same.
    Tex untied the blanket from around his horse's eyes and shook it out. Then used it to brush the sand off the horse and saddle.
                                                                 >>>><<<<
The brothers rode on. They had to make it to water. They already had gone two days without fresh water.
"I hope it's bigger then just a puddle this time. I wouldn't mind a bath," Chuck brushed at his dusty sleeve.
"Agreed," Tom answered.
"I third that. But to tell the truth. I'm not sure where it is." Tex looked down at the map in the fading day light. "Because, I'm not sure where we are and that sand storm blew out all the tracks."
"So,what's our course of action?" Chuck asked.
Tom patted his horse's neck. "Well, I say we should get some rest and head north in the morning. The water should be in that'a way, right?"
Tex considered it. "Should be. That's the way Hank's group was go'n. It would be taking a chance. But, I think that's all we got to go on."
Chuck nodded his agreement. They made camp and set a guard. Before they knew it they were sleeping.
 The End of Chapter Five!
~Kylie Nancy