Chapter 12
"Buck! Buck!"
Buck ran out of the barn at Cody's cries. He saw him riding his horse hard, trying to get back to the station. The other riders came running out of the bunkhouse to see what the commotion was all about.
Cody arrived and jumped off his horse. Lou ran over and grabbed the reins of it and walked it to the barn while Cody ran to Buck.
"What is it, Cody?"
"You've… got… to… see this…" Cody reached into his bag and pulled out the wanted poster. Buck unfolded it and stared at the picture. He cringed as he stared into Ike's drawn eyes. My friend, what has happened?
"That's Ike, and that Wilson fellow," Hikock stated as he and Kid looked over Buck's shoulder.
"There's more," Cody stated. "I would have been here earlier, but I ran into a rider over in Blue Ridge. He had this for Teaspoon."
Cody handed Buck the letter that bore Ike's writing on it. Gritting his teeth, Buck looked at his friends, then took off to the main house, where Teaspoon was having lunch. The other riders followed quickly.
"Teaspoon!" Buck shouted, running in the front door. At the table, Rachel jumped up, and Teaspoon turned around quickly.
"What in tarnation is the matter with you, boy?" Teaspoon stated.
Buck threw the letter and poster on the table. "I told you he was in trouble!"
Teaspoon picked up the letter and read it. "Ike says here that Wilson is the head of a bank robbing scam. He uses the other kids in his antics. Claims that Julie and Adam don't want to, but can't get free. He's given us a map of where they have been, and where they are going."
Buck looked at the map. "We're going after him, right? Cause I will go, no matter what."
"And we're going with him," Kid stated. "Ike's our friend, and he's in trouble."
"Hold your horses, boys," Teaspoon said, standing up. "You can go, but you had better be careful. Ike has a price on his head now, and if you are with him until things are cleared, you will be hunted by every headhunter from here to California."
"That's a chance I'm willing to take," Buck stated. "Ike never let me down, and I won't either."
Ike's head hurt. He tried to reach up for it, but his arms felt like they weighed a ton. He didn't notice the metal cuffs on his wrists at first until he opened his eyes. When he saw them, he tried to sit up, but found that his legs were similarly bound, only with rope.
"So, our prisoner has awoken."
Ike turned to the sound of the voice. A man stood near the fire, a metal cup in his hand. Ike could smell the coffee that was in the cup, as well as the rabbit that was cooking on the open fire.
Where am I? Ike thought to himself. He looked around and saw that he was deep into the woods, off any trail that would have been considered a normal travel route. Ike remembered being at a river before he had been hit, but there was no water within sight.
A crash came from his right, and Ike looked over to see another man coming out from behind the sagebrush, pulling his zipper up. "Looking lost, boy?"
Ike tried to sit up again, and heard the second man pull out his pistol. "Don’t try anything, boy, or you won’t make it back to your trial."
"Easy up, Paul," the first man said. "He ain’t going nowhere."
Paul reluctantly put away his pistol, then adjusted his pants. "The poster said ‘Dead or Alive’ Willy. Being dead means we don’t need to worry ‘bout him escaping."
"And being alive means he can walk, and not have to be carried." Paul took a sip from his coffee, then knelt down to give Ike a cup. Ike reached out for it, but Paul held it a bit away from him. "You try anything funny, and we’ll kill ya. You understand?"
Ike nodded, and Paul gave him the cup. Ike drank the coffee down quickly, then shook his head at the sugar rush that came with it. Willy sat down beside him and broke off a bit of the rabbit for Ike. "We’ve got a three day ride to Rock Creek. I don’t want to be carrying your carcass, so don’t get on my nerves."
Ike nodded again and ate a bit of the rabbit. Paul finished his coffee and took his own strip of rabbit meat. As he chewed, he asked Ike, "So boy, why’d you do it?"
Ike looked up at Paul, examining the man. He was an older man, sporting wrinkles that he must have earned early in his life. A well-trimmed mustache covered his upper lip, and his clothing suggested that he wasn’t a commonplace bounty hunter. Ike looked away, and took another sip of his coffee.
Willy poked Ike in the side. "Answer the man!"
Ike turned to look at Willy with an angry glare. Willy was not as impressive in his appearance. He wore ragged clothing, and his face was sporting a few days worth of stubble. Ike could instantly tell the Paul was the one in charge, and Willy was either his servant or employee.
Putting his cup down, Ike signed, I didn’t do it.
"What the heck?" Willy looked at Paul, then started to laugh. "We captured a dummy, Paul! He ain’t gonna be worth the ransom once we bring him back! I say we shoot him so he can’t talk."
Willy started to pull out his pistol again, but Paul drew his first and held it on Willy. "You’ll do nothing of the sort. Not put it away and let’s finish our breakfast."
"But Paul…"
"I said now, Willy."
Willy looked as if he was going to spit fire. Grumbling, Willy put the pistol away, and went back to eating. Ike slumped his shoulders and turned to Paul, who was getting another cup of coffee. "Don’t worry," Paul told Ike. "He may seem fierce, but he won’t hurt you." Paul leaned back and sipped the coffee. "I can’t say the same about the judge though. Whether you talk or not, they will hang you just the same."
