DISCLAIMER: The Young Riders is the creation of Ed Spielman, and the property of Ogiens/Kane productions in association with MGM/UA television. This Story is created for entertainment purposes only, no infringement intended. Not to be copied without permission from the author.
Lou rode in the semi-darkness for what seemed like hours, pain stabbing at her shoulder and needling behind her eyes. But her love for Buck drove her on to try and save him. She was constantly amazed that despite the fact that she could not remember anything of the specifics of her life she thankfully had no problems remembering places and other generalities. A fact that this morning she was grateful for. She reined in the horse that she had known instinctively was hers at the base of Signal Rock and taking two pistols from her saddlebags she started to trek towards Signal Rock proper.
'That's far enough McCloud,' Schmidt called from somewhere higher up the incline.
Lou, realising that she was presenting herself as a target to the renegade lawman, ducked quickly behind a large fallen boulder. Pausing for several seconds, she leaned out around the rock to try and establish Schmidt's location. It didn't take long, he stood from behind a similar outcropping, pulling the semi-conscious Buck by the hair, holding a gun to his temple.
Lou broke out in a cold sweat, sinking back behind the rock, she fell to her knees. Her memories flooding back to her in a blinding rush. She realised that Buck was right she had seen something horribly wrong prior to her flight from Blue Creek.
It had been a stormy night and Lightning, as always, had been spooked by the rumbling thunder. She and Buck had eaten a sumptuous dinner at the hotel and when Buck had retired to his room for the evening, she had cashed in her room and returned to the livery to sleep in the same corral as her restless frightened mount. She hadn't been there very long at all when Marshall Conlan, closely followed by Schmidt, entered the barn fighting bitterly. They had been arguing for a few moments about insurance payments that the Marshall was extorting from the shopkeepers when Schmidt had drawn his gun and fired on the Marshall, killing him instantly. Lou has gasped involuntarily, giving her location away to the crazed Schmidt. She recalled vividly in her mind how he had fired two shots at her and missed, but in his haste to stop her leaving the barn he had tripped over a rake that a stable hand had carelessly dropped. Lou saw her chance and bolted from the stable, tearing across the street to the hotel. Pounding on Buck's door, she had waited for him to let her inside, where he took her trembling into his arms and waited for her to catch her breath. She remembered vividly that she had told him somebody was trying to kill her and they must leave. That was all the prompting he needed, he quickly dressed and threw his belongings into his saddlebag. Drawing his gun he had preceded her down the stairs, she had felt safe under his protection on the run across to the livery and he had efficiently and quickly saddled both horses while she shook with fear at the door of the stable keeping a lookout for the evil deputy. Only minutes had passed from when the Marshal had died to when they rode out of town, but hearing the sound of galloping horses after them, Lou knew that she was in serious trouble. Buck had done his best to protect her, he had even swapped mounts so that they would track the wrong person, but to no avail.
She had almost made it back to the waystation to find the rest of their family and help, but
Buck's horse, its temperament unfamiliar to her, was spooked by a rattler and despite the fact that she was an excellent horsewoman, in her distressed condition she hadn't been paying attention and was thrown from the horse. She wasn't aware of anything else before she awoke in the bunkhouse. Tears welled in her eyes as she remembered the hurt and bewilderment in Jimmy and Kid's eyes as she had spurned them. Lord only knew what had made her fuzzy mind think that she and Buck were engaged but she knew that he had done his human best to protect her and all she had done was gotten him deeper into trouble.
'Schmidt you may as well give it up, Marshall Hunter knows the whole story and is on his way here with a posse,' she called from behind her hiding place.
'Good try kid, but I know that you haven't told anyone or this filthy injun would know,' he almost spat as he pulled Buck to his feet by the hair.
'Might have known that a woman who prefers to dress like a fella would not hanker after her own kind,' he tried to taunt Lou into the open.
'Buck has nothing to do with this, he is good and kind and has more honour than you could ever have. I would choose Buck over ten of you, you filthy pig!' she spat angry at his racial slur. Buck's eyes clouded at her description and hardened his resolve against this evil lawman.
'Lou, please go back to the station. He's not going to let me go, he's going to kill both of us. Please don't make this all be for nothing. You are the witness. Go to Teaspoon, please don't stay here!' Buck called, struggling against the iron grip of Schmidt.
'No Buck,' Lou murmured as she heard the sickening thud of flesh against flesh. Peering around the boulder she watched helplessly as Buck was thrown to the ground unconscious or worse.
Casting one last glance at her noble Kiowa saviour crumpled on the ground in front of the huge rocky outcrop, she took a deep breath smoothing her skirts out of the way, she straightened and with one hand wiped the tears overflowing her luminous eyes.
'Come out here and face me like a man, not the yellow coward I know you are,' she called as she stepped from behind the boulder. 'It seems to me you are only the big tough man when you have to face a woman or a bound man....Well I'm here and I'm waiting.' Lou was angry now, angrier than she could ever remember being before, how dare this man destroy her life and the lives of her family the way he had.
'Well Little Lady, looks like you came spoiling for a fight,' he spoke sarcastically as he stepped out his gun raised toward her.
Back to the last chapter
Back to Ridingtall
Back to Tall Tales
On to the next chapter
