Vin Tanner squatted down and pulled a piece of long grass from the ground and placed it in his mouth and chewed on it for a minute while he thought. "Looks like three riders and about twenty head of cattle." Still squatted he rotated on his heal and looked up under the brim of his hat toward Chris Larabee. "They should be over the next little rise."
Chris shifted in the saddle slightly and leaning forward, put a forearm on top of the saddle horn and looked out across the landscape and then back down at Vin. "Think they know we're after them?" He looked in the direction Vin had indicated.
"They're still pushing the cattle real easy, still just drifting them." He swiveled again, looking in the direction Chris was. "I don't think they know we're on to them." He shifted the piece of long grass in his mouth and stood. "Nettie said that Casey had seen them from a distance and she knew better then to confront them." He moved back to his horse, jumped for the stirrup and mounted.
"Well then I think we ought to catch up with them and see whose cattle they are driftin' with." Chris straightened in the saddle, saw Vin nod and then they headed off together side by side.
As they crested the small rise they separated by twenty feet. Vin pulled his sawed off Winchester as Chris pulled his long coat back behind his gun. Neither stopped their horse. They rode on toward the riders and the cattle.
Only once did Vin look sideways over at Chris, and then his attention went back to the three riders. He and Chris were within fifty feet of the riders. One of them glanced over his shoulder.
"Doug!" The rider shouted, spinning his horse around and dropping his free hand to his hip.
The rider to the left of him, looked over, saw what he was doing and, spurring his horse, he whipped the animal around also going for his gun.
Vin saw the likeness of the two as the second rider spun around. In that fleeting moment he realized they were probably brothers. He heard Chris.
"Hold on boys, don't draw your guns!"
Vin knew that Chris had already pulled the bone handled 44 from its holster. He had raised the short barreled Winchester, hoping to discourage any gun play. Regrettably he saw it in their eyes.
They were caught steeling cattle. It was three to two. They were young and thought themselves to be good with a gun and seasoned men.
Vin saw the middle boy clear leather and heard Chris's 44 go off. Vin leveled the Winchester at the second boy. He saw Chris's 44 take the first boy out of the saddle. Vin fired the Winchester as a bullet whipped between them, he levered another bullet into the chamber, and pointed it at the third rider as he was falling down out of the saddle and firing at them. Vin pulled the trigger and saw the narrowed eyes widen in surprise as the bullet hit its mark. The third boy was dead before he hit the ground.
Vin stepped from the saddle. His short barreled Winchester at the ready.
They lay with-in a dozen feet of each other. The boy that had answered to the name Doug lay clutching his chest, blood seeping between his fingers.
Chris was suddenly standing next to Vin. "It didn't have to be this way. . ." He kneeled down next to the boy named Doug as the boy formed words.
"Let me die mister, I don't want to hang." Blood frothed from his mouth, his face blanched pale and his struggling body relaxed.
Chris reached down and closed the boy's eyes.
Vin had walked to the other two. He bent down and felt for a pulse like Nathan had showed him how to do. They were both dead. He holstered his short barreled rifle, removed his hat and wiped his brow. He raised his head, his blue eyes looking at the brands on the nearest cattle that had not scattered when the shooting started. "Looks like they're a mixed batch, I see three different brands." He looked at Chris out of the corner of his eye.
Chris stood, looking out at the cattle. He drew in a breath, letting it out he turned and headed toward where the boy's horse had trotted to. "Lets load them up and head the cattle back toward their home range. We can send word where we left the cattle drifting back." He moved toward the sorrel horse.
Vin turned and headed toward the other two horses. "I'll cut Nettie's out and push them on up toward her place. She don't have enough to loose this many." He caught the reins on one horse and headed for the other. Glancing at Chris he saw he had caught the horse and was headed back to the bodies. Vin reached out and caught the second horse who shied a little, snorting through its roman nose. He'd seen some ugly headed horses but this one was real ugly, and this one carried a different brand then the other two.
He led them back over to where Chris was and looped the reins over the saddle horn of the horse that Chris had, then moved around and one by one they loaded the bodies and tied them down.
Vin went ahead and gathered the cattle while Chris took the lead and they headed back toward town.