Bob’s out there among those big boulders over there Howie. I saw him get shot, run over there, and go down with the gold. Hear that? That’s him moaning.”
“I don’t hear anything but these goddamn bullets ricocheting all around us and those God damn bandidos yelling at each other in Spanish. They got us pinned down here pretty good Fred. We gotta get out of here before they get us completely surrounded. Let’s mount up and make a break for it. Forget the gold. It’s over there with Bob and we’re never going to be able to get it anyway.”
“Howie, I can’t just leave Bob out there suffering like that. That ain’t right. I got to find out how bad he’s hurt. Got to see if there’s anything that I can do for him. Listen, hear that.”
From the pile of boulders that Fred had pointed out came unearthly eerie moaning, indescribable sounds of pain and agony.
“I heard ‘em but there’s nothing we can do. We best make a break for it when we get a chance. And for God sake keep your head down. Stop popping up to look over there every few seconds. One of those Mexicans sure as hell will blow it off and then where in the hell would I be, dead that’s where. Christ sakes Fred , let’s take our chances and run for it.”
“Howie I got to know if I can do anything to stop his suffering.”
“What, like putting him out of his misery?”
“Yah if I have to.”
“Well worry instead about putting those god damn Mexicans out of our misery. You take the ones on the right. I’ll take the ones on the left. Besides, if the Mexicans get to him first they’ll shoot him anyway.”
“I can’t let that happen, Howie. Listen, you hear those weird sounds he’s making? They’re ghastly. I owe it to him. We’ve been through alot together these last five years. If he could speak now, he’d want me to be the one to do it, not some god damn Mexican.”
Howie ignored him and said nothing as he continued returning fire.
“Look,” Fred continued. “I don’t care what you say. One of us has got to run over there and bring back our hard earned gold. We’ve spent months scratching and digging for that gold. Then to have it stolen from us last night while we slept, and all the trouble we went through to get it back this morning, and now this. We’re not leaving without it.”
“Stolen by your no good cousins I might add, who you insisted that we let camp with us last night. For God’s sake Fred I told you those two were no good. I should have never let you talk me into letting them stay with us. We were darn lucky in being able to track down those two pieces of horse dung and get our gold back this morning. Let the Mexicans have it as long as we can get out of here with our lives.”
“So I made a mistake letting them stay with us but they’re basically good boys and I ain’t going to let us get robbed a second time Howie, no way. I am sure as hell not giving up now after all we’ve been through. I’m going for the gold and you can’t stop me.”
“Okay. okay. Enough already Fred! We’ll get the gold then get out of here fast because sure as hell those no good cousins of yours probably told the sheriff that we robbed them and they’ll have him get a posse up to come and arrest us. We should have never let them get away. We should have finished them off when we had the chance even if they are your kin.”
Howie then hesitated as the wheels turned in his head. “On second thought let’s just forget it Fred. The odds aren’t in our favor. We’re greatly numbered. Maybe we should just holler at these guys that the gold’s over there with Bob and let them take it. They’ll be so busy fighting among themselves over it that we could make our escape then, escape from them and from the sheriff.”
“What about Bob?” pleaded Fred again. “I ain’t gonna just leave him there like that.”
“For Christ sake’s Fred. For the umpteeth time forget about Bob. Look, they’ve been getting closer while we been a palavering.” Shots whizzed by their heads as the Mexicans’ fire intensified. “It’s decision time mi amigo.”
“I’m going out there, get our packs of gold and put Bob out of his misery and run back, you’re going to cover me and then we’ll make our escape.”
“That’s crazy. There’s at least six of them, it’s too far, there’s not enough big rocks out there for you to hide behind, and sure as hell they’ll shoot you a dozen times before you ever get there.”
“Well I’m going on the count of three and that’s final. It would be in your best interest Howie to cover me and have the horses ready when I get back. One, two,” Fred took off.
“What happened to three,” hollered Howie as he laid down a barrage of fire forcing the Mexicans to keep their heads down as Fred made it to the first grouping of boulders.
The Mexicans popped up and fired a dozen rounds at both men. But Howie returned their fire and they dropped back behind cover. Fred bolted forward again. As the Mexican heads reappeared Howie set forth another burst of gunfire and Fred jumped over the final boulders to Bob and the gold. His luck had held.
“Jesus Bob old pal looks like you been shot up but good,” were the first words that came out of his mouth when he saw Bob lying there all crumpled up in a pool of blood. “Looks like you’ve been gut shot my friend. You’re a goner Bob and I ain’t a going to let you suffer one second more, no sir. I know if you could speak that you’d want me to do this, not some goddamn Mexican,” said Fred as he fired a bullet into Bob’s brain.
“Coming back now. Cover me,” hollered Fred as he picked up the two heavy bags loaded with nuggets and started to jump over the rocks. A bullet crashed into his leg causing him to fall back down into the boulders. Fred felt the pain and knew in an instant that he couldn’t walk, his leg bone was shattered. “You might as well make a run for it, Howie. I’m shot in the leg. I can’t stand let alone run back to you. I’ll cover you. Make a break for it.”
“I’m coming to you Fred. A man just doesn’t abandon his partner to a bunch of thieving murdering Mexicans now does he. Cover me.”
Howie leapt forward and began running towards Fred but to his surprise the Mexicans’ guns were silent. They never fired a shot. Howie looked in their direction and saw that they were too busy mounting up and riding off to be concerned about him. Then he saw why. There up on the ridge was the reason for their hurried departure. A dozen men were thundering down upon them, the posse that had come to arrest him and Fred just as he had predicted.
Howie ran over to Fred and helped him to his feet while the sheriff dismounted and came up unbeknownst behind them. He stood there in silence, his gun drawn and pointed at their backs.
“I knew you’d do it. I knew you’d shoot Bob. Would you have put me out of my misery if it had been me, Fred?”
“Nah Howie I’d have let you suffer.”
“What?” he responded incredulously. “Why?”
“Because you’re a bigger jackass than Bob. That’s why.”
“Well if that don’t beat all. You’d shoot your mule, an animal, but me, your partner, a human being, you’d let suffer. What kind of a man would do that?”
But before Fred could come back with a snappy answer, the sheriff cut him off. “Well it looks like I just caught me a pair of live jackasses and one dead one. Hands up boys. Or should I say hooves up,” chuckled the sheriff. “Oh you ain’t under arrest put them down. Those cousins of yours Fred ran into those Mexican bandidos when fleeing from you two this morning and knew that you would be needing some help. Kind of their way of redeeming themselves.”
Fred got in Howie’s face.
“See didn’t I tell you that they were good boys. And you said they were no good. That just proves that you ARE the bigger jackass Howie.”
Bryan Grafton is a retired attorney. His latest book is Willard Wigleaf: West Texas Attorney.