Wayward Riders
By Lauren
Chapter 3
Buck felt the unfamiliar sensation of sailing through the air, head over heels. He tried to remember how Red Bear had taught him to fall off a horse. He relaxed his muscles and rolled as he hit the ground.
He felt the breath get knocked out of him, and white spots filled his vision. Then everything slowly faded to black.
Ike could tell that it would be impossible to track Buck in the torrential rain, but he had to do something. He tried to think of where Buck could be heading.
Why on earth would he be going to Devil’s Gate? Ike wondered. There’s nothing there but rocks and dust. He went through all the trails in the area that Buck could have taken. The problem was that there was absolutely nothing but barren prarie and rocks around Devil’s Gate. Or was there? Ike suddenly remembered a discussion he and Buck had had one day at the mission.
"Ike, where would you go if, right now, you could go anywhere in the world?" Buck had asked out of boredom.
Ike thought a moment. <To the ocean> he said after a while. <My mother always used to tell us how beautiful it was, and how big. She said that you could never imagine something that size until you see it. She was going to take us to see it one day…> Ike stopped, lost in thought. Finally he turned to his friend. <What about you? Where would you go?>
Buck considered the question for a second, then replied. "I would go see my brother, Red Bear. I don’t know where he is, though. I guess I would go to a place, near, um—what is it called?—Devil’s Gate, to find him. We used to play there, in the cliffs," Buck smiled, somewhat sadly. "He would go there to think, to pray to the spirits, and I would follow him and—" Buck thought for a moment, searching for the correct English term, "—annoy him. It was our special place."
That was where Buck was headed! Ike was certain. He turned his black gelding a bit so that they were headed north of Devil’s Gate. He knew where those cliffs were that Buck had spoken of. He just hoped he could reach Buck in time…
Buck sat up groggily, trying to get his bearings. He immediately noticed that the pouring rain had slowed to a light drizzle. He struggled to stand, then staggered dizzily until his head cleared. Looking around, he spotted his horse standing a few yards away, looking more like a drowned rat than a Pony Express horse. A muddy drowned rat.
"Hey, boy," Buck whispered as he gingerly walked toward the gelding. "You alright? Nothin’ hurt?" He eased up to the chestnut and softly stroked the broad white stripe as he groped for the reins. The animal raised his head and whuffled into Buck’s shirt. The Indian made a face and wiped the gift off onto the gelding’s mane.
"Thanks a lot. D’ya want to make me look more like you? I guess we both look pretty pitiful, huh?" Buck said, surveying the condition of his clothes. It occurred to him that the moon must be out for him to be able to see that well.
He gazed at the rapidly clearing sky, taking note of the full moon and the position of the stars. His gaze lingered on the softly glowing ball until a cloudbank moved over it. Sighing, he turned to examine his surroundings. He recognized the surrounding cliffs as part of the Devil’s Gate landform, and wondered how he’d gotten there.
"I guess I really owe you, don’t I, boy?" Buck thought it amazing that the chestnut had gotten him so close to his destination.
The horse bobbed his head, as if in agreement.
"Well, don’t let it go to your thick skull," Buck warned the gelding. He suddenly realized how foolish he must sound, carrying on a conversation with a horse, and automatically looked around to see if anyone had heard him.
The chestnut sidestepped impatiently, bumping into Buck and causing his gun to jam into his leg. The Kiowa pushed the horse away, suddenly remembering why he was here.
He realized that anyone following him must have had plenty of time to catch up to him by now.
"Oh, hell, we gotta go!" Buck quickly swung up into the saddle, grimacing as a wave of pain hit him. He decided that the horse must have rolled on him when they fell. Still, he had to keep going. He knew it would mean trouble if the group of drunks found him. He was nearly certain that they had followed him, and if they were still on his tracks, he was probably only a couple of hours ahead.
He reined his gelding around, heading north. He had originally planned on going to the place where he and Red Bear used to play as boys, to wait out the men who he knew were probably following him. He’d hated having to lie to Ike and Teaspoon about going on a vision quest, but he figured that it would be the only way he could keep the riders from following him. After all, Teaspoon knew how sacred a spirit quest was, and he would stop the others from going after him…he hoped. Buck didn’t want to get everybody involved in his troubles.
"Teaspoon, we gotta do somethin’," Jimmy complained as the riders watched Emma clear the table.
"Yeah, we can’t just sit in here while Ike and Buck are out there fightin’ all those men," Cody agreed.
"Then don’t sit there, boys. Emma looks like she could use some help," Teaspoon suggested, feet propped up on a chair.
Grumbling, the riders got up from their chairs and helped Emma wipe off the rest of the table. Cody whacked at Teaspoon’s boot with a cloth as he passed by.
"I could go find out what happened in Willow Springs," Kid suggested.
"Nope, Kid, you got the next ride. Jimmy, you go," Teaspoon decided.
"What about me?" Cody asked.
"You’re gonna stay here and help clean the stables," the stationmaster declared firmly.
"Aww, Teaspoon…"
Ike rode hard toward the cliffs Buck had told him of, praying that he could get there in time to warn his friend. He estimated that he was at least an hour behind. Doubts and worries flew through his head as he galloped through the rolling hills of the prarie. Why had Buck left so suddenly? Had he known that those men were after him? What had happened on that run to Willow Springs? Why hadn’t he told someone what was wrong?
After a while, Ike grew tired of wondering the same things over and over again, and his thoughts wandered. As he went over yet another hill, he mused at how the prarie looked flat, but had so many hidden dips and valleys. He looked around at the rolling terrain. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, casting everything in a bronze light. Ike wondered how everything could be so beautiful when something was so wrong.
