Chapter 8: Escape Attempt
The hard packed dirt and rocky terrain heading up into the foothills or down into various canyons was proving a difficult task in tracking the outlaws, but even Broudy had to give the Sodbuster his due credit as Lucas continued to pick up bits and pieces here and there that indicated the outlaws were still heading in a northwesterly direction.
Eventually Lucas found the trail marker Mark had left behind. Examining the broken branch still sticky with sap, its position indicated the direction the outlaws had taken and soon after they found where the outlaws had made camp for the night.
"Smart kid you got there, McCain," the bounty hunter commented.
But Lucas, realizing what Mark was trying to do, was even more concerned for his son's safety than before knowing the risk he must be taking to leave the marker. But he also knew how determined his son could be. It was a McCain trait he had definitely inherited from his father. He only prayed Mark would be careful.
Broudy suspicions that Corbain intended to head for his old stomping grounds were confirmed when they discovered a hoof print coming out along one of the streambeds heading north. And, it was fresh. They were getting close.
With a renewed sense of excitement Broudy urged his horse forward. Ever since he'd learned that a certain convict by the name of Roark had mysteriously escaped from a prison wagon several weeks earlier, Broudy had a pretty good inkling who had helped him. His face twisted into a distorted smile. If Gessip had been telling him the truth, with Corbain and Roark riding together it could only mean one thing.
The wind picked up slightly from the south as the trio crossed the rolling foothills. Large clouds pushed across the sky, occasionally blocking the sun creating dark shadows on the hilly terrain. The men rode single file with Lucas in the lead.
Lloyd stopped to give the horses a rest after several more hours of what, in Mark's opinion, seemed like more endless riding over one hill and down the next until he felt like they were going in circles. He eventually asked Will where they were heading but he had refused to elaborate either because he didn't quit know himself or he didn't want to say. Either way, the answer did not satisfy Mark.
Ordering Will to keep an eye on Mark, Lloyd and Briggs took Roark aside for a little chat. The convict was in a foul mood and proving to be less than co-operative.
"Quit stalling Roark," Lloyd snapped.
"I'm not. For Christ sakes Lloyd it's been five years and I wasn't exactly paying attention to where I was going at the time."
"Don't give me that! You know this land like the back of your hand."
"Things still change over time you know. I just need to get my bearings," Roark grumbled.
Leaving the outlaws to banter among themselves, Mark walked a short distance away and stubbornly sat down in the grass on a hilly rise. Will watched him for several minutes but eventually was drawn into the conversation.
"I told you I didn't have a choice. I had the Lieutenant on my tail and a pack of Redskins chasing us down as well. What was I suppose to do? I thought I could loose them up in the canyons, then double back."
"Or maybe you just thought you'd to keep it all to yourself?"
"You're loco!"
"Am I?"
Mark surveyed the distant landscape of rolling hills as he distractedly plucked strands of grass from the ground. Several large clouds drifted in from the horizon casting shadows over the ground as they past. The cool gust of wind which followed felt good against Mark's face as he tried think about what to do next. It was then to his utter surprise he saw three riders cresting a hill in the near distance. Squinting, his heart nearly jumped in his throat as Mark recognized the tall figure on the Black in the lead instantly. It was Lucas!
Pa! Mark mouthed to himself, inwardly trembling.
Quickly he looked back at the outlaws who still had their backs to him apparently unaware of the approaching riders.
Mark's whole body shook. He wet his lips nervously. The riders were moving in an almost parallel track to where the outlaws were concealed. Somehow, he had to get his father's attention! If he could just get down the hill and over the next rise he might be close enough to signal him.
Watching the outlaws, Mark slowly stood up in a crouching position and nervously inched his way quietly down the hill. He'd almost reached the bottom when he heard Briggs shout to Lloyd, "We've got company."
Everyone spun around. In that instance, they spotted Mark near the bottom of the hill. He took one look at them and made a break for it.
"Get those horses out of sight!" Lloyd hissed as he after the boy.
The horses were quickly dragged behind a group a bushes near several large boulders. While Will kept them quiet, Roark and Briggs went back up the hill and flattened themselves on the ground in the tall grass, pistols drawn.
Glancing over his shoulder to see Lloyd in hot pursuit, Mark took off like a bolt of lightening jumping a small channel at the bottom and started climbing the smaller hill before him, his boots slipping on the loose gravel as he went. If he could just make it to the top…
Pa please be there!
But as Mark crested the hill he could see the three riders starting to turn away moving in a different direction. Lucas hadn't seen him after all.
"No!" Mark cried. Desperately he shouted "Pa! Over here!"
He saw Lucas stop and begin to turn, but a second later Lloyd tackled him to the ground. The two rolled down the hill into a ditch at the bottom nearly knocking the wind out of Mark.
When Mark tried to get up back up Lloyd grabbed him by the boot and pulled him back down. He tried to call out again but Lloyd clamped his hand over Mark's mouth and dragged him back into the channel beneath some low lying bushes.
A few minutes later Mark saw Lucas cresting the next hill followed by Micah and a third man, one Mark had never seen before.
At the sight of the stranger he heard Lloyd's whispered hiss. "Broudy!"
The men paused. Micah and the stranger held back while Lucas nudged the Black slowly forward, his eyes scanning the hillside, his rifle drawn.
Mark struggled vainly to break free. Drawing his gun, Lloyd whispered roughly in Mark's ear. "You're daddy's an easy shot from here kid. Be quiet or he's a dead man!"
Mark's eyes widened in fear as he heard the hammer being cocked. From their hiding place, Lloyd kept the pistol trained on Lucas. Mark could feel Lloyd's hot breath on his cheek, but fearing for his father's safety, kept silent.
Lucas was less than thirty feet away and Mark could do nothing. He broke into a cold sweat. The big Black pranced nervously about as his father stopped to survey the terrain. But after several seconds Mark saw Lucas' disappointed expression. Then, almost reluctantly, his father turned and slowly started moving away back up towards the other two riders. A few minutes later Mark watched forlornly as his father and the other two men turned the horses about and disappeared from sight.
Once Lloyd was sure the riders were safely gone, he released him. Mark rolled onto his stomach breathing heavily. He grabbed a fistful of dirt in frustration. Without meaning to hot tears sprung from his eyes. He'd been so close!
Lloyd grabbed the back of Mark's shirt and flipped him roughly over. "I ought to lay this gun upside your head boy!"
Mark shrunk back at the outlaw's anger. Hurriedly he wiped the moisture from his eyes and could only glare angrily at his captor as he was hauled to his feet and unceremoniously marched back up the hill.
Lloyd shoved him to the ground in front of Will, shooting his nephew a furious glance. "I told you to watch him!"
"Sorry Lloyd. I only turned my back for a second." His choice of words seemed to trigger such a look of cold fury in Lloyd that Will immediately dropped his eyes to the ground.
"I'll deal with you later!" Lloyd promised menacingly.
He stepped over to Mark, towering above him. "What's Broudy doing with your daddy and that marshal?" Lloyd demanded.
Mark eyes widened. He didn't know he was talking about.
"Broudy, who's he?" Roark demanded.
"A no-good-snake-in-the-grass bounty hunter I thought I got rid of already."
Roark whipped his head about, the jowls of his fat cheeks puffing up.
"Bounty hunter!" He looked suspiciously down at Mark. "I told you the kid was lying! They must be working together."
"No!" Mark shook his head vehemently. "I swear I've never seen that man before."
"Then what's he doing riding with them?"
"I don't know. Honest," Mark insisted, confused as the rest of them.
Roark began to pace agitatedly back and forth. "I don't like this, Lloyd. With lawmen and now a bounty hunter crawling all over the place, there's no way we can retrieve to it now. It's too risky. We need to head for the border!"
"We're not going anywhere, Roark!" Lloyd said savagely getting up into the other man's face. "I've waited five years to get what's due me and anyone who decides to get in my way now is gonna wind up dead!"
Lloyd turned and hauled Mark to his feet. "And just to make sure no one gets anymore funny ideas about tipping any one off again, you're gonna ride with me!" Mark was forced up on Lloyd's horse. The rest of the gang remounted and Mark held onto the outlaw's back for dear life as Lloyd took off with the intent of loosing their trail in a series of winding canyons nearby.
As Lucas led the men away, he turned and glanced back once more at the barren terrain. All appeared quiet, the surrounding hillsides empty, the only movement coming from the breeze bending the tall blades of grass. Lucas could see nothing out of the ordinary, yet still something didn't feel quite right.
"What is it?" Micah asked.
"I'm not sure," he replied, but raw instinct was urging Lucas to circle back.
Broudy followed with growing interest.
By late afternoon, his instincts had paid off when their search yielded a few more tracks, but dark clouds were slowly moving in and with them the threat of rain. Lucas hoped the bad weather would hold off a little longer but it wasn't to be so. Cold drops were soon hitting the men in the face, until it became a steady downpour. They rode as long as they could before they were forced to seek shelter. Bitterly they made camp and another night would have to pass for Lucas without his son.
As the rain started to fall the outlaws made camp that night in an abandoned dilapidated shack tucked into the woods which had probably been used at one time by trappers. The roof leak, the floor was cold, and the whole thing looked like it would collapse in a stiff wind, but at least they would be out of the worse of the weather.
Lloyd shoved Mark inside. "And your butt better still be here when I come back!" He glared at Will and left to help get the gear and the horses settled.
Shivering with cold, Mark sat nervously in the corner his wet hair plastered to his face keenly aware Will glaring back at him. Unable to meet his eyes, Mark stared guiltily at the ground.
"What in the blazes were you thinking Mark? That was the stupidest, the most dangerous stunt you pulled back there!" His face was pinched into tight angry lines. "You shouldn't have tried to run away."
"I guess you're pretty mad at me. I suppose I got you into more trouble with your uncle today, huh?"
His words seemed to catch Will by surprise. Slowly he squatted down in front of him. "Of course I'm mad, you stupid kid!" He saw the look of hurt on Mark's face and sighed heavily. "But not for the reason you think! You could have been hurt, possibly gotten yourself killed today!"
"I'm sorry Will. But I'd do just about anything to get back to my Pa." Mark voiced implored Will to understand. Still picturing his father's disappointed face, Will could read the sadness in the boy's eyes.
Running his fingers impatiently through his wet hair, he let out a frustrated breath. When he spoke again though, it was with concern. "Mark, promise me you won't try anymore stunts like that again. It's way too dangerous."
Averting his eyes to the ground, Mark was silent for several seconds. "I wish I could Will. I like ya, I really do. But if there's any chance in the world for me to get back to my pa, I've gotta try."
"He means that much to you?"
Mark nodded. "Yes. And I know he'll find me. Pa won't give up."
"He or you may get hurt if he tries."
"But what else can I do?"
Will put his hand on Mark's shoulder. "Just let me handle it Mark, okay? Don't go causing more trouble for yourself. You don't know my uncle, you have no idea what Lloyd's capable of." His last sentence was filled with bitterness and something else.
"All right Will."
Just then the men returned with the saddles and gear. All were dripping wet and in foul moods. Lloyd saw Will crouched in front of Mark with his hand on his shoulder and threw him an ominous look. Will quickly dropped his hand and moved a little away from the boy.
"Come and help me get these horses tethered up for the night, Will," his uncle said flatly.
Will glanced briefly at Mark, then back at his uncle. "Sure Lloyd, whatever you say."
Mark watched with trepidation as Will went back outside with his uncle, then glanced over at the other two outlaws. Briggs remained stoically silent, but Roark was grinning like a cat that had just cornered a mouse. Mark shivered, but it was not from the cold.
It seemed like a long time before Lloyd and Will returned. They said not a word and Lloyd settled down on the far side of the shack, near the door. Will took out his damp bedroll and laid down a few feet from Mark refusing to make eye contact. Before turning on his side, Mark thought he saw Will rubbing his jaw. Guilt knotted up Mark's stomach as he tried to sleep.