****Part 17

Vin and Chris sat upon their horses just outside a small developing town. They had followed an easy trail only a couple miles from where they suspected that Ezra was ambushed. Vin rested his arm across his saddle horn. "Guessin' they weren't too worried 'bout being followed," Vin casually remarked.

Chris' eyes narrowed and he nudged his horse forward. He wouldn't of cared how far the men had gone. He would have chased them to hell and back.

The town was about the size of Four Corners. There was a hotel, saloon and a Mercantile, and the two gunslingers even past a sign foretelling of another hotel. Chris and Vin pulled up in front of the jailhouse hoping that the sheriff would be of some help. They didn't know what the outlaws looked liked and hoped the sheriff noticed two newcomers to his town.

Sheriff Leebow jumped up when the door opened and Chris and Vin stepped inside. He wasn't use to visitors. He swallowed hard as he eyed the two hard-edged men. He hoped they weren't bringing more trouble.

"Ah, what can I do fer ya?" Leebow stammered, trying to regain some composure. He'd only been on the job three months, most of the time it was quiet having to only deal with the occasional drunk or petty thief.

Larabee eyed the nervous sheriff who was heavy-set with graying hair. Chris tried to relax his stance. He knew he scared people.

"I'm Chris Larabee the law out of Four Corners." Chris refrained from introducing Vin; the sheriff didn't appear to take any notice.

Leebow's eyes widened at the renowned name. The sheriff practically fell over himself as he came around the desk wiping his hands down his shirt. "Yes, sir, Mister Larabee I've heard all about you." The Sheriff extended his hand toward Chris. "I'm Sheriff Leebow. What can I do for you?"

Chris accepted the friendly handshake. He caught Vin's pleased smile out of the corner of his eye. Larabee ignored the Sheriff's palpable admiration. "Been tracking a couple of varmints. Followed their trail here, seen anyone new recently?"

The Sheriff's eyes lit up and he smiled. "Well, yes, I have a couple of men in my jail right now."

"What they do?" Chris asked.

"They tried to sell the Doc some medicine only it turned out to be water."

Chris and Vin smirked knowingly. This had become easier than they thought it would. Sometimes things went their way.

"Don't quite know what to do with 'em," Leebow continued running a hand through his gray hair. "It ain't illegal to sell water, but they were trying to pass it off as medicine so figuring to charge them with fraud at least."

"Oh I think we can do better than that. We think they're the same men who ambushed one of my lawmen," Chris explained.

The sheriff's eyes lit up at the thought of actually catching two real desperadoes. He grabbed the keys out of the desk drawer and led the two gunslingers to the back room.

Chris and Vin eyed the two men inside the small cell.

Jake stood up and glared. "What the hell you lookin' at?" He was still angry at being caught by some small-town sheriff. Swan and Jake had stopped at the first town they came across, happy that the middle-aged doctor was eager to buy the medicine. The doc had heard about the outbreak of Harker's Fever at the Army Fort, and although no one had come down with it he wanted to be prepared. The doc hadn't asked any questions, and the two outlaws thought they were home free. They watched as the doc checked the medicine and were taken completely off guard when he pulled a gun. Who'd figure that a doctor would even have a gun. They were even more surprised to discover that the medicine was just plain water.

"Heard you was trying to sell the doc water as medicine?" Chris calmly growled, but his eyes burned dark and some of Jake's bravado withered.

"Yeah, but it weren't our fault. We was tricked by some four-flusher in a fancy suit," Jake explained. "We thought it was medicine." Jake believed this was a valid explanation being that it was true. He smiled, hoping the buzzards were picking at the man's bones this very moment.

"And what happened to this four-flusher?" Vin ground out, squeezing the hilt of his knife that stuck in his belt.

Jake looked over his shoulder at Swan who remained slouched on the cot. He returned his gaze with a confident smile pasted on his face. "Don't know, after he sold us the medicine he just rode on."

"Is that so?" Chris said, his hands squeezing the butts of his guns.

"Yeah, that's so," Swan growled. "What the hell you got to do with it anyway?"

Chris ignored the large man and turned to the sheriff. "We'll be taking them with us."

"Fine by me," Leebow replied. A shudder went down the sheriff's spine when he glanced over at the lawman. Larabee's expression was that of an approaching thunderstorm, with all the fury churning inside.

Leebow pulled two pairs of handcuffs from the wall and went to unlock the cell. Vin's rifle came up and covered the two men. Chris went inside the cell with the sheriff and handcuffed Jake and Swan's hands behind their backs.

"What the hell is going on? We told ya we didn't know it was water," Jake vehemently explained. He yelped as Chris pulled up on his handcuffs.

"Yeah, you should be searching for that sidewinder, scum-sucking, conman," Swan exclaimed. "No tellin' how many times he's gone and swindled folks."

The butt of Vin's rifle slammed into Swan's gut doubling the big man over. Swan sputtered and spit as he gasp for breath.

"That conman is our friend," Vin bit out, trying to hold back his rage. "Found him crawling across the desert with his gut sliced." Vin grabbed hold of Swan and forced the big man up, a knife suddenly coming up to the disgusting man's throat. "You know, I like to play with knives too," Vin menacingly growled, allowing a merciless smile to crease his face. Swan noticeably paled under the tracker's threat and his eyes darted around the small room searching for a means to escape. He could feel the sharp edge of the Tracker's knife pressed against his throat.

Jake's eyes widened in disbelief, and he broke out in a cold sweat. "Ah, look, we didn't mean no harm. We didn't mean to hurt him we just wanted the medicine."

"Shut up!" Chris growled. "We're taking you to Four Corners to stand trial for the attempted murder of a peace officer and murder of several Indians."

"What? We didn't kill no injuns!" Jake exclaimed. 'Damn they should have listened to Pete and just robbed a stagecoach.'

"Probably could have saved more of them people if'n we had the medicine sooner," Vin explained, slipping his knife back in his belt and doubling checking the cuff's.

Chris stepped up close. "And if there's any justice in this world I'll be the one pulling the lever on the gallows."

Jake's heart threatened to burst from his chest and he swallowed convulsively under Larabee's deadly gaze. The sheriff decided that his services were no longer required and slipped out of the room. He didn't think Jake and Swan would live very long.

Chris pulled his gun and shoved it into Jake's side. "If you behave you might get there alive, but for me I don't care if we drag your sorry carcasses all the way to town."

Vin and Chris forced the two men to walk most of the way to Four Corners only giving them enough water to keep them on their feet. By the time the foursome reached the outskirts of town, Jake and Swan were practically crawling, unable to walk on blistered feet. The two outlaws couldn't wait to enter the cooling confines and protecting bars of the jailhouse.

tbc