Knowing he had less than a second or two to keep things from boiling over, Nick twisted around in his saddle and did the first thing he could think of. His arm snapped out like a whip, catching Lester across the upper chest. Even though he hadn’t intended on hurting the other man, Nick’s blow had enough muscle behind it to knock Lester backward until he was wobbling in the saddle.
Lester started to pull himself up again, but slipped and toppled off his horse. Landing with a solid thump, Lester’s shoulders slammed against the ground. One leg dangled away from the animal and one foot was snagged in its stirrup.
Wheezing, as most of the breath was knocked from his lungs, Lester struggled to pull his leg free, a steady stream of obscenities flowing from his mouth.
Despite the vulgarities Lester spewed, the Indians seemed anything but offended. In fact, they lowered their weapons and watched Lester’s struggle with smiles growing on their faces.
Nick took advantage of the moment by reciting one of the other Sioux phrases he’d learned throughout his years of hiding in Indian country. He knew his grammar wasn’t the best, but the effort was appreciated and the riders were more than willing to cut him a little slack.
As a show of good faith, the leader of the Sioux looked at Nick and spoke in words that both of the white men could understand.
“Leave here now and steer away from our sacred grounds.”
“No problem,” Nick said.
“Where you go from here?”
“Northeast.”
The Sioux leader looked in that direction and nodded. “Keep your friend in line and we will let you pass.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
Lester watched all of this while still dangling by one leg from his stirrup. After one more tug, he managed to free his ankle so he could drop the rest of the way onto the ground. Just as he was about to get to his feet, Lester saw the Indians ride around him so they could get another look, laughing under their breaths. After satisfying their curiosity, the Indians pointed their horses back toward the village and rode away. Even though he didn’t appreciate being the butt of a joke, Lester let it pass.
Nick waited until all the Sioux had gone before climbing down from his saddle and rushing over to Lester. Extending a hand toward the fallen man, Nick said, “Sorry about that, but they would have killed us if they thought you were about to start any trouble.”
“I don’t even got a gun.”
“You were acting like you had one, and that was almost enough to get us killed. I had to let them know I was keeping you in line. Hope it didn’t hurt too bad.”
Accepting the hand Nick offered, Lester pulled himself to his feet and cautiously put his weight on the foot that had been caught up in the stirrup. “You surprised me more’n anything else,” he said, ignoring the throbbing pain in his chest. “And I think I just twisted my ankle. Guess that makes me lucky.”
“That makes us both lucky. Why were you following me, anyhow?”
Lester dusted himself off as he struggled to come up with an answer. To buy an additional few seconds, he took a step and winced in pain as if his ankle was bothering him. After all of that, he replied, “I wasn’t following you.”
“Yes you were,” Nick said. “I left the trail, took a few turns after that and you were still behind me when I passed that village.”
“What I meant was I wasn’t meaning to follow YOU. I’m supposed to meet up with a friend of mine from Cheyenne and I mistook you for him.”
Nick studied Lester for a few seconds. His hand rested upon the grip of his holstered pistol and remained there as if it hadn’t decided what to do next.
Blinking as another thought hit him like a rock against the back of his head, Lester added, “My friend was coming in on a train from California. He must have gotten held up somewhere along the way. At least, I hope he wasn’t held up, but you know what I mean.”
“Actually,” Nick said, “I do know what you mean. It seems like lots of trains were getting stopped in Rock Springs.”
“Really? That must be it, then.”
Nick nodded, mulling over what he’d heard. Eventually, he took his hand away from his pistol and walked back over to Kazys. “You should probably head back the way you came so you can meet your friend. You may even want to go to Rock Springs, although I’d advise you to wait a day or two. Things should be cleared up there by then.”
Climbing into his own saddle, Lester started to speak but was cut off as pain lanced through his leg. In his haste to get onto his horse, he’d put all of his weight onto the ankle that had been snagged in the stirrup.
“You sure you’re all right?” Nick asked.
Lester nodded and took a few breaths to steady himself. “Yeah. I was just hoping you’d let me ride with you for a piece.”
Glancing toward the village, Nick saw that the Sioux had already stopped and formed a line that was well within range for rifle and bow shots. “We’re still being watched,” Nick warned. “I don’t think those Sioux are anxious for a fight, but they’re plenty anxious for us to leave.”
“Then let’s get the hell out of here,” Lester said. “I just don’t want to ride all the way back to Rock Springs when my friend is probably waiting for me in the opposite direction.”
Despite the things that came to Nick’s mind, the main thing he could think about was the group of Sioux that were watching them like hawks. Even when he’d ridden with killers and vigilantes, Nick had learned to never turn his nose up at Indian hospitality. Favors like that didn’t come along too often and they were never to be taken lightly.
“Fine,” Nick said quickly. “Just keep your hands where they can be seen and don’t even think about straying from my side. There’s a burial ground not far from here and if we so much as look at it, we’re in for a war.”
“Lead on, my friend. Lead on.”
Despite the reservations he had, Nick led on. He kept Lester beside him and the Sioux’s horses in his sight for as long as he could. The Indians barely even moved as Nick and Lester rode away. They remained in their formation until both men’s horses had built up some speed. When Nick looked behind him again, the Sioux were gone.
Just to be on the safe side, Nick kept riding into the Badlands. It was rugged and beautiful country, which he’d passed through several times. Still, for every stretch of land that he knew like the back of his hand, there was another stretch that Nick didn’t even recognize.
In his younger years, Nick and Barrett had used the Badlands as their own personal refuge. It was a good spot for meeting up with other members of his gang to plan jobs or split up the fruits of their labor. It was also easy to charge through and shake off anyone following them in much the same way that Nick had shaken Lester.
Even now, Nick glanced around at the rocky terrain and picked out caves where he could sleep and peaks he could use as lookout posts. The land hadn’t changed much in the time that he’d been away. It was still a dangerous ride for anyone who didn’t know their way, and a haven for everyone else. Barrett had loved the Badlands. That was why Nick had buried him there.
Steering Kazys toward a gravel-covered ridge, Nick pulled back on his reins and brought the horse to a stop. Lester was more than happy to follow suit.
“This is where we part ways,” Nick said.
Lester blinked and looked around as if he was expecting another ambush. “What? Here? We’re in the middle of nowhere!”
“I gave you the chance to leave before, but you didn’t take it.”
“I know, but that was when them Injuns were about to kill us,” Lester whined.
“They’re not going to kill us as long as we don’t stray where we’re not supposed to be.”