Around noon, Heyes stopped at a crossroads in the canyon. He couldn't figure out which way to go. None of it looked familiar and it shook him. He always remembered a trail and he wondered whether he was forgetting because of his injuries or if he'd misjudged his abilities and led them into the wrong canyon somewhere along the way. He looked to the right, then the left and the right again. The confusion grew in his mind and he froze up not wanting the others to see. The Kid, Jake and Lindy each watched him deliberating.
Curry's heart was breaking at the pitiful look on Heyes' face. He waited patiently not wanting to embarrass his partner in front of these two.
Jake and Lindy were sure they were lost and she started whining she had to stop and relieve herself. The Kid was tempted to ignore her but Heyes had been hanging onto his saddle horn a lot and he'd noticed. Now might be a good time for a rest and a chance to save his partner from admitting his was lost. Heyes was stubborn and would ride himself into the ground if he let him. Lindy kept whining so he said, "We'll stop here for a couple of hours and have a bite to eat. Not too long, though."
Heyes nodded his agreement and the riders dismounted. Tired and confused, he couldn't think straight and was worried another seizure was coming on. He went to sit down on a flat rock off the side of the trail.
Lindy had avoided him altogether since the other night. He spooked her now, and she wanted nothing to do with him so she turned to his partner. "Kid, I need to go. Please, I can't do it with my hands tied."
Curry's eyes were cold and he took her roughly by the arm, leading her into some tall saltbrush and sage. Holding onto her arm, he reached down and pulled up her skirt. She wasn't wearing panties, and it shocked him. She smiled seductively at him and licked her lower lips. Irritated, he shook hard and snarled, "I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. Now pee."
Lindy was furious at his rejection. She squatted and did her business only to be jerked to her feet by him once she was finished. He dragged her back to where Jake was sitting. Heyes smiled at her obvious discomfort which only made her angrier. She'd kill these two if it was the last thing she ever did.
Curry pushed her down roughly next to her brother and walked over to sit down next to Heyes. "I don't know what you saw in that hussy."
"Seriously? I'd have thought you just saw it." Heyes gave him a sly grin making him roar with laughter.
Jake leaned over and whispered to Lindy, "Do you still have your pig-sticker? Now might be a good time to slip it out. Lay down behind me."
Lindy slid to the ground and carefully pulled the knife out using her tied hands while Jake slipped in front of her hiding her from the laughing partners. She hesitated a moment, weighing her choices, and then slipped the knife into Jake's hands. She needed him. She couldn't take these two without him.
Jake hastily began to saw at the leather binding his hands. Once he was free, he'd wait for his moment.
OOOOOOOOOO
Marley was making up ground on them. The trail was easy to follow and it looked as if Heyes and Curry were slowing up. He could tell they were stopping frequently to rest and he was looking forward to catching up with them and those two children of hell riding with them. He had plans for them all, but special plans for Lindy. He felt like an old fool falling for her charms. Hard to believe he'd thought her a lady.
OOOOOOOOOO
The Kid had passed out some of the jerky for lunch. Heyes had difficulty eating much of it, but he'd made sure he'd had enough to keep his strength up. They were now preparing to move on. He was tightening cinches and checking the gear when the Kid came over and pulled a canteen off his horse.
"How're you doing, Heyes?" Heyes looked strained, but not confused anymore.
"Better. The rest helped."
Smiling, Curry squeezed his shoulder before heading back to the Hawkins. He gave Jake a sip of water unaware his hands were no longer tied and then turned his attention to Lindy. Jake lunged for him and grabbed him around the neck pulling him to his feet with the knife at his throat.
Heyes saw the commotion and started to run towards them. "Hold it right there or your partner's a dead man," snarled Jake. He pressed the knife into the Kid's neck enough to draw blood. Lindy rose to her feet as Heyes skidded to a stop, his hand on his gun. "Lindy, get Curry's gun," said Jake. She reached around him and pulled the gun out of the holster, handing it out to Jake by the muzzle.
Heyes stood frozen in place. Jake seized the gun with his other hand swinging it towards Heyes and squeezing the trigger as his captive pushed back hard into his chest throwing off his aim. The Kid felt the knife slice lightly across his skin as Jake stumbled backwards, his arms swinging open. Curry dove for the ground as Heyes jumped sideways into a rolling fall and drew his gun, firing off a shot. He aimed by instinct and hit Jake squarely in the chest before coming to a stop, his head spinning wildly. The Kid was struggling with Jake for the gun.
Lindy used the confusion to scoop up her knife and run for a horse. Heyes saw her go and drew down on her, but he didn't pull his trigger. He fell back against the hot sand and was still lying on his back gathering his wits as he watched ride off. The Kid wrestled away the gun as Jake collapsed, mumbling, "Heyes ain't no gunnie, everybody knows he's no gunnie." He was bleeding heavily.
"You ain't the first person to make that mistake," said Curry kneeling next to him and pulling off his bandanna to try and staunch the bleeding. It looked like the bullet might have hit an artery.
Heyes staggered upright and walked over to stand by his partner. He could see Jake was a lost cause. The man lay with his eyes closed and the blood pooling beneath him. His attention shifted to the blood pouring down the Kid's throat. "You all right?"
"I'm fine. Lindy got away, huh?"
Heyes shrugged. "I couldn't shoot a woman. If I could've, it would've been her."
"Well, one of us ought to go after her and lookin' at you, I'd guess that'd be me." The Kid eyed his cousin's white face while pressing down hard on Jake's chest. He felt Hawkins shudder and grow still. He eased back onto his heels. "She ran off and left her brother dyin' in the dirt. What kind of woman would do such a thing?"
"The kind not worth going after. Let the desert have her. C'mon, we need to get going."
"Okay, I'll bury Jake if you finish with the gear."
"Leave him. Take a look at the sky, there's a front moving in. I don't want to be in these canyons if a storm hits." Sure enough, there were big, dark cumulous clouds forming to the west and the wind was picking up and beginning to blow in their direction.
"D'you remember which way to go?".
"Don't need to. Look over there." On the rock face, not thirty feet away down the right fork, were a multitude of handprints, yellow, red and brown. Small and large. All in a row. As thought the ancient travelers were pointing the way out.
OOOOOOOOOO
Marley arrived at the crossroads two hours later. The wind was blowing down through the canyons driving the sand in front of it. He found Jake's body and rode around him in ever widening circles to try to get a feel for what had happened here. It was obvious there'd been gunplay and a struggle. Jake had ended up the loser. What a stupid fool going up against Heyes and Curry alone. Of course, Hawkins's sister had been there and she was a she-devil. He reined up in the center of the crossroads and stared at the tracks he saw. The wind was rapidly scouring them away. Soon they would be gone. He could make out three sets of tracks leading east. One was a horse being led by the looks of its hoof prints, probably Jake's. He figured the other two were Heyes and Curry. Turning to the left, he saw one set of tracks. Lindy. He stood for a moment much as Heyes had earlier before following Lindy's trail to the left, the wind blowing his tracks away behind him. There were some things more important than money and a good partner was one of them. He owed this to Poke.