Colorado Clash

15

The Raines boys were having trouble finding Fargo now. He’d rolled out of the direct line of fire, forcing Sam to shift positions in order to find him in the darkness. Sam kept reloading and firing. Fargo didn’t return fire. They were out of range of his Colt. He swung wide. His intent was to surprise them. They were so intent on killing him that they’d kept searching the shadows for him, staying in the same location the whole time.

Their horses were ground-tied on the downslope of the hill the Raines boys were using. He decided to use the horses as a way of luring the two out of their sanctuary.

He crept up to the animals, his Colt at the ready, tied the reins and looped them over the saddle horns. “Git,” he ordered, swatting both horses on their rumps. The horses whinnied and trotted off.

In the vast mountain silence, in the moonlight-limned gloom of the trees where the duo was hiding, a shout went up, “What the hell spooked our horses?”

By this time Fargo had edged up the hill and tucked himself inside the line of jack pines. They wouldn’t know where he was until it was too late. He got within range of them and let them start down the hill. When their backs were to him, he said, “Drop your rifle right now, Sam, or I’ll shoot you where you stand.”

He had to give them some time to realize that they’d walked into a trap. They froze in place. Fargo imagined they were considering their chances. There were two of them.

They could pitch their bodies in different directions and Fargo might have a hard time finding them with his gun. And maybe they’d get lucky. Maybe one or both of them could kill Fargo before he killed either one of them.

“What’re you gonna do to us?” Sam Raines said.

“Put your rifle down real slow, Sam. Set it on the ground. And then both of you empty your holsters the same way.”

Obviously Kenny hadn’t been able to manipulate a rifle with his left hand but that wouldn’t stop him from using a six-shooter.

“I didn’t mean to shoot that old woman. I was aiming for you, Fargo.”

“Shut up, Sam. You make me sick when you whine.”

“Well, it’s true.”

“Put the rifle down now. And the guns right after. Real slow.”

“You gonna kill us?” Sam Raines said.

“I’d like to but if you give yourselves up I’ll just take you in.”

“Now!” Kenny Raines shouted.

He was quicker and more agile than Fargo would have given him credit for. Kenny Raines dove to his left, dragging his six-shooter out at the same time. Before he even reached the ground he’d squeezed off two shots, both of them burning close to Fargo’s head. The blazing red-yellow flame of the explosions seemed to linger on the shadows.

Fargo took to the ground himself. He slammed his head down as two more bullets blazed past his flattened body. Kenny Raines was a resourceful gunfighter. No doubt about that.

But then he made his mistake. Fargo read it instinctively. Down to two bullets, Kenny Raines had to take a real chance now. He had to raise himself up very quickly to get a better angle at Fargo. He had to bet he could get his shots off before Fargo got his.

He lost the bet. Fargo pumped three bullets into the man’s chest. Kenny screamed as the bullets tore into him. His entire body danced before he settled onto the ground. Fargo was pretty sure he’d heard the word “Mama!” cried as the gunfighter was dying.

Sam Raines stood near his brother with his arms raised above his head. “I don’t want to die, Fargo. I’m sorry I killed that old woman.”

“Walk over here and keep your hands up. I’m going to tie you up and send somebody back here for you. And the way I’ll tie you up there won’t be any way you can escape. Believe me. Now move.”

Sam Raines began walking toward Fargo. He’d gone four steps exactly when Fargo saw what was taking place behind Sam. “You coward!” Kenny Raines called out. He had only the strength to raise the gun he’d somehow managed to hold on to and then pull the trigger twice, exploding his brother’s head into chunks. He tried to take aim at Fargo but the Trailsman was way ahead of him. He did the same thing to Kenny that Kenny had done to Sam. This time the exploding pieces of bone and brain weren’t quite as spectacular.

But you couldn’t have everything.