He couldn't imagine why the bandit leader would go to all this trouble just to betray him to the Comanches. The fact remained, however, that his life was in Caldero's hands. His and Joshua's. McAllen wished there had been some way to keep the half-breed out of this. They had survived many dangerous situations together, but none quite so perilous as this one. But he knew there was no hope of stopping Joshua short of breaking both his legs—and maybe not even then.
From the caves of the Colorado, they traveled north by northwest for two days, and then turned due west for two more. The rolling hills became flatlands interspersed with barrancas, and then, beyond the Cap Rock, they arrived at the Llano Estacado, that limitless sea of grass where only the rattlesnake and the prairie dog, the buffalo and the Comanche Indian felt at home.
On the fifth day they crossed the trail of more than a hundred men on iron-shod horses. Horse droppings told Joshua that the sign was a day old. Caldero came to the same conclusion.
"Who are these men?" Caldero asked McAllen. "Who would venture so far out onto the Staked Plains? They are not mesteneros or Comancheros. There are no wagons, no extra horses, and these men come from the east, not the west. No, these men travel light and move fast, like a war party. But they are white men, not Indians."
"There can be only one answer."
Caldero nodded grimly. "Texas Rangers." He scanned the featureless prairie. "They are looking for the Antelope band."
I've got to reach the Quohadis first, realized McAllen. If I don't, Emily will be in grave danger. Even if the Rangers knew there were white captives in the Comanche village they would not hesitate to attack. And if Emily got killed, well, that would be a damned shame, but no Ranger would lose sleep over it.
McAllen studied Caldero's face. "I hope you're not even thinking about quitting on account of this."
Caldero smiled. "What makes you think a hundred Texas Rangers scare me?"
"They scare me. And it's more like a hundred and thirty. Two companies."
"What will they do if they catch you riding with us, Captain?"
"What Rangers always do. Shoot first and ask questions later."
"What are they doing so far from home, I wonder?"
"My guess is that Lamar sent them. If they can bring him a bushel of Indian scalps he can tell the voters he's paid the Comanches back for the big raid."
"Then I must warn my Quohadi friends." Caldero was watching McAllen closely. "What do you say to that?"
"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
Caldero nodded. "Muy bien. Then we go. With luck, we can reach the Canyon of the Palo Duro before the Rangers do. I presume they do not know exactly where it is."
"If they don't," said McAllen, "they'll find it. You can count on that."
The next three days were very anxious ones for McAllen, so that when at last they reached the mouth of the canyon where the Antelope band lived and found no sign of the Rangers having been there before them, he was greatly relieved. That night they camped on the edge of the badlands and built no fire.
"Tomorrow," Caldero told him, "you and I will ride in alone."
"Not alone. Joshua's coming along."
"It must be just the two of us."
"Forget it. He's coming with us. If your men try to stop him he will kill them."
Caldero glanced curiously at the half-breed. "You have a high opinion of him, Captain."
"Yes, I do. I've seen him work. Also, he just looks like a kid. He's as old as you are, Caldero, and every bit as dangerous, believe me."
Caldero shrugged. "Sí. He will come with us."
McAllen didn't get a wink of sleep that night. Tomorrow was the moment of truth. What would it bring? Would his long search for Emily finally be over? What would he do if it turned out that she was not in the village of the Antelope band, after all? What if it turned out that she was no longer alive? These things he could not bear to contemplate. She had to be there. She just had to be. The dawn seemed to take forever.
When it finally did come he was in the saddle and entering the Canyon of the Palo Duro with Caldero and Joshua. They followed the fork of the Red River. The canyon gradually narrowed. McAllen had the distinct feeling they were being watched. But for over an hour they rode ever deeper into the canyon without seeing any sign of the Comanches.
McAllen abruptly checked the gray hunter, causing Caldero to stop as well.
"Have you changed your mind, Captain?" asked the bandit leader.
"There's just one thing. You don't tell your Indian friends about those Rangers until I've gotten Emily back. I don't understand much of the Comanche lingo, but I'll know by their reaction if you tell them. And if you do, I'll kill you."
Caldero studied McAllen's face for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I believe you. Vamanos." He angrily kicked his horse into motion.
Then, suddenly, the Indians appeared, materializing on all sides of them, a dozen of these warlords of the Llano Estacado, on their painted ponies, with their red lances and buffalo-hide shields. Caldero called out to them in their own tongue.
"Our welcoming committee," he told McAllen.
"They don't look too happy to see you."
"It is you, Captain, that they are not happy with."
They continued on, encircled by the twelve watchful warriors. Soon McAllen could see the skin lodges among the trees on both sides of the river, scores of tepees, hundreds of Indians gathering to witness their arrival. He searched the congregation for Emily. So consumed was he by his quest that he gave scarcely a thought to his situation, which was not one any sensible Texan would want to find himself in. There was no welcome on those Quohadi faces. They knew he was Tejano, their mortal enemy.
A warrior approached and grabbed Caldero's bridle. He and the bandit leader engaged in a brief and spirited dialogue. Then the warrior walked away, pushing through the crowd.
"That was Red Eagle," Caldero told McAllen. "War chief. He remembers me from when I rode with the Comancheros. He was angry that I had brought a Tejano to this canyon. I told him we were here to find a white woman. He seemed interested to hear that."
"So what now?" asked McAllen. They sat on their horses, surrounded by the grim, silent crowd.
"We wait for the council to be called. The council will decide two things. Whether you will be permitted to trade for the woman, and whether you will be allowed to leave this canyon alive."
Chapter Thirty-three
The Quohadi council was convened immediately. McAllen, Caldero, and Joshua were brought before the chiefs, and Caldero was permitted to speak, presenting McAllen's case. McAllen half expected the bandit leader to warn the Comanches about the Texas Rangers, in spite of his threat. But Caldero kept to the topic at hand. When he was done, the chief named Red Eagle rose to speak. He angrily harangued the council. Antonio Caldero could be trusted, but the Texans—McAllen and Joshua—could not be allowed to live. They would go back and tell others how to find the Canyon of the Palo Duro. If they only knew, mused McAllen, that a force of Rangers is on the brink of finding this canyon anyway. Of course, if they did know, he would be the first to die.