And the Devil Makes Five

Chapter 13 – Via San Ysidro

All they had to do was cross the river and they would be back in Texas. In the States with the golden treasure in their saddlebags, free and clear of the Mexican government. No more Banditos or Federales to contend with. Unexpected riches, enough to keep them all jubilant for a very long time. One little river. One not so little river.

They started out early. There were several places that were suitable for crossing, but the first one they went to had Federales on one side waiting and Texas Rangers on the other. So did the second and third locations. After a while, it became apparent that lawmen on both sides of the Rio Grande were looking for someone, probably them. At the last site, the four men gathered to form a plan.

"If they're lookin' for us, they're gonna be everywhere we can cross," Beau offered, stating the obvious. "I think we need to lay low for a while and see if they give up."

"Damn, I was looking forward to - " Doc started.

"American whiskey," Bart interjected.

"A good steak," Beau added.

"A Texas woman," Bret finally finished.

"Yes," Doc answered. "Guess I have to wait."

"I think we oughtta head northwest, see if we can out-maneuver 'em." Bret usually had a backup plan.

Three heads nodded, and they turned their horses northwest. Right back towards Santa Pietro. They rode all day, trying to stay out of site as much as possible, but kept running into small troops of Federales. The further north they traveled, the worse everything around them looked. If they couldn't get across the border at some point, they would end up right back where they started, in Carmenita's hometown.

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One obvious conclusion – somebody needed to ride into Santa Pietro to see if they could lose themselves where there were no Federales, at least for a few days until the manhunt was abandoned. The obvious choice to do that was Bart, and he was adamantly against it. He turned to his brother in frustration. "You wouldn't let me go explain it to her," he protested. "How am I gonna persuade her to hide us now?"

"You may be the only one she's willing to talk to," answered Bret.

"Or she might tell the Federales where we are," Bart replied.

"You want to spend the rest of your life in a Mexican prison? Cause if you do, we can just turn ourselves in now."

Bart shook his head. "I'm going, under protest." He gathered his reins and mounted, and headed off towards town.

Beau watched him go and turned to Doc. "One way or the other, this gets resolved today."

"I don't know," Doc answered. "Carmenita looked plenty pissed when she left that morning. Sure hope she doesn't turn us in. I'd hate to have to shoot my way out of jail in Mexico."

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Carmenita sat and listened as Bart tried to explain what had happened the night he ran away from her and out of her house. When he was done and couldn't think of anything more to add, she reached over and took his hand in hers. "Niño pobre. Fantasmas obsesionan a todos nosotros."

"Can we stay in Santa Pietro until the policia stop searching for us?"

She nodded her head. "Si. Mi familia no está en la posición inicial. Puede stgay conmigo."

"You understand, Carmenita. Not with you, but with you?" He meant it literally.

Carmenita nodded. "Si. Niño pobre." She let go of his hand and ran her fingers down his cheek.

Bart stood up. "Then I'm going back for everybody. We'll be back pronto." He kissed her chastely on the cheek and left, wanting to get the others back here as soon as possible. He'd feel less apprehensive about the whole situation once he wasn't alone.

By early afternoon, all four men had arrived back at Carmenita's house. True to her word, there was no family home yet, and they were able to slip in quietly. No one knew how long they were going to be there, or when it would be safe to leave and cross back into Texas. Bret waited until twilight and snuck back out, scouting the area for unwanted Federales or Rangers, and rode all the way to the border without seeing any. Either no one believed the Americanos would venture this far west or the law was looking for someone else.

Bart and Beau wanted to leave right now, head across the border and deal with whatever they found in Texas. Bret and Doc opted to wait for a day or two and give everyone, horses included, some hard-earned rest. As usually happened, they cut cards for which choice to make, and Bret drew an ace. Wait it was.

There was no repeat of the scene from the last time they'd spent the night with Carmenita. With nothing better to do than sit around and play poker with each other, all four men were asleep before midnight each night. Three days later they were ready to go, and dawn came early. They intended to be up and out by six, but by the time they got to the border it was too late and the Mexican Federales were already patrolling the entire stretch. The only good news was the lack of Texas Rangers on the other side of the border. Bart shook his head and glared at his brother. "You and those damn marked cards," he spit out. "If we'd gone the first night we'd be back in Texas."

"Maybe," Bret answered. "Just because I couldn't see 'em doesn't mean they weren't there. Let's try heading back east and see if we can get through."

"Again?" Beau interjected.

"Again," Bret responded.

"We could shoot our way across," Doc offered. All three Mavericks glared at him. "It was just a suggestion."

Once again they turned their horses southeast. "Riding in circles," Bart muttered through clenched teeth.

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There were only four horses, with four riders, but the spirit that rode along with them was the devil himself, and the devil made five. And they honestly believed the devil was with them when the sky burst open and rain began pouring down, drenching every one of them to the bone. They finally sought shelter in a cave, one of the many that dotted the desert hills and spent the night. Another endless night on the hard ground, but at least they were dry.

The next morning the rain was still falling in sheets of gray from the sky, but Bart had an idea. "How far's San Ygnacio?"

"About half a day's ride," Doc replied. "Good idea. Maybe goin' south will work."

Late that afternoon the devil finally deserted them and Lady Luck appeared to take his place. San Ygnacio was devoid of both Mexican and American lawmen, and they made the crossing into the United States with no resistance. Everyone but Doc was so worn-out that the only thing they wanted was sleep, so the saddlebags were brought to the hotel rooms and the three Mavericks went to sleep. Doc, as was his usual custom, spent his night with a bottle and glass, and never left his room.

They were home, but they weren't home free.

Niño pobre. Fantasmas obsesionan a todos nosotros – Poor boy. Ghosts haunt all of us.

Mi familia no está en la posición inicial. Puede stgay conmigo – My family is not home yet. You can stay with me.

Niño pobre – Poor boy