Chapter 4

John was afraid that they wouldn't be in business much longer if they couldn't find more Yaquis to fight. It was now nearly 2 weeks since their fight with the 4 Yaquis at the isolated ranch, and they'd had no action since then. They were actually getting bored with just riding around in the hot sun with nothing to show for their efforts.

They had stopped in the shade to eat their sandwiches that Abigail had fixed that morning and finish the cold coffee that was left over from breakfast. Well, it wasn't exactly cold, considering that the temperature in the sun was about 110 degrees Fahrenheit, but it wasn't at its best drinking temperature, either. They were getting ready to resume their march to the next water hole when Seth noticed some gunshots in the distance. As a courtesy to Abigail, he had gone around the rocks to take a last piss before climbing on his horse, so he heard the noise that the others couldn't because of the monster rocks being in the way.

He came back around the rocks and told John what he had heard. Just in case that it might be some of their business, John led them toward the sound at a brisk pace. They shortly came into sight of the fracas. There were no Indians involved, instead, a stage coach was under attack by 6 bandits. The fight was over before the Troop could get there, and three women were pulled out of the coach. Lastly, a man was pulled out and shot dead before his foot even touched the ground. He toppled back into the coach as he died. One of the women fainted and the bandits started laughing.

The Troop urged their horses to a run as soon as they saw what was going on, but they were still some distance away when they were seen by the bandits. The women were unceremoniously thrown back into the coach and one of the bandits scrambled into the driver's seat. The bandits mounted their horses and they rode away as fast as the coach could move. The coach was forced to stick to the road, so the Troop was able to gain on the bandits a little.

The bandits saw that they were going to be overtaken, eventually, but were reluctant to leave the coach. Was it because of the women in the coach, or was there something else of value in the coach? Even though they were not being paid to chase bandits, none of the Troop thought that their employers would object to them trying to catch the bandits and rescue the women. The Troop pressed on with the chase and continued to gain some of the distance between them and the coach.

A stern chase was always a long one, but the coach finally came to a long up-grade. The mules were getting tired by now, so they were forced to slow down as they struggled up the hill. No matter how much the driver urged them on, the mules were simply too tired to hurry up the hill. The coach had reached a place on the hill where there were some rocks which could be used as a miniature fort by the bandits, so they pulled the women from the coach and ran into the rocks, leaving the coach and their horses behind. In their panic, they forgot their canteens of water.

The bandits only had pistols with them in their rock fort. John couldn't tell if they had just left their rifles behind with the horses, or if they had never had any to begin with. Either way, the Troop had a distinct advantage with their repeating rifles. The Troop just had to be cautious not to shoot any of the women.

The bandits reached the rocks well before the Troop got there, but the Mexicans began shooting their pistols long before the Troop got within effective range. Sure, a horse or rider could be wounded by a pistol shot out beyond 25 yards, but there was no way the shooter could do more at that range than "pray and spray." On the other hand, the Troop's rifles were deadly accurate at 50 yards and reasonably effective at 200 yards. Therefore, John had his people dismount at 50 yards and take their rifles for some target practice.

The Troop hobbled their horses and pack animals and spread out to surround the bandits as well as they could. John knew that there was no way he was going to separate Abe and Abigail, so he sent them to find some high ground where Abigail could put her marksmanship to good use. Meanwhile, John had the others of the Troop lay down a suppressing fire while Jerome ran in and led the coach away from the rocks.

Jerome ran to the lead mules of the team and grabbed their halters. He stood between the mules where he could not be hit by bandit fire and led the mules about a hundred yards away from the bandits before tying them to a convenient bit of brush. The mules would happily stand there and rest until somebody showed up to untie them. Now the bandits were really in serious trouble; their horses had followed after the mules, and all means of escape was gone. Jerome returned to the firing line and added his rifle to the threat to the bandits.

It took Abigail and Abe about 30 minutes to find a suitable firing stand, but once there, had no trouble in getting off good shots at the huddled bandits. She managed to kill three of the bandits and Abe accounted for one. One of the two living bandits started waving a white flag, his handkerchief. He shouted, "STOP SHOOTING AT US, OR WE WILL KILL THE WOMEN!"

John yelled back, "SURRENDER AND WE WILL KILL YOU QUICKLY WITH A BULLET TO THE HEAD! BUT, HURT THE WOMEN, AND WE WILL SHOOT YOU IN THE LEGS AND LEAVE YOU IN THE DESERT TO DIE OF THIRST! IT'S YOUR CHOICE!"

When he heard that, the man dropped the white flag and tried to shoot John. He was in the prefect position for Abigail to get a shot at him, and she put a bullet into his belly. The other man started waving the white flag and shouting, over and over, "I SURRENDER!"

John shouted back, "COME ON OUT WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"

When the man came out, Jerome and Cassius went in to collect the women. They came back a few minutes later with two of the women walking with Jerome, and Cassius was carrying the third woman. Cassius reported to John, "This woman has a badly sprained ankle, it doesn't appear to be broken."

John told him to set her down in the shade until they finished their business with the bandit. John called Abe and Abigail in and turned to the bandit who surrendered. Suddenly, one of the uninjured women looked closely at the bandit. She ran to him and tried to beat him with her fists. Jack pulled her away from the prisoner and tried to calm her.

The other uninjured woman said, "That is the bandit who shot her husband. They had only been married for 2 days and were deeply in love. She would kill him if she had the chance."

John said, "That explains a lot. OK, you bastard, you are already dead, now you can determine how painful it's going to be. Why were you people so careful to keep the women alive?"

"They are worth a lot of money. We could get an ounce of gold for each one if we sold them as sex slaves at the brothel in the next town." The three women gasped at this news, and the recent bride fainted, again.

They revived the fainted woman and John asked her, "Ma'am, I think I know how you feel. I'm about to shoot this wretch, but, if it would make you feel any better, you may do it. What do you say?"

"Yes, I would very much like to be the one who pays him back for shooting my dear husband. I don't know much about guns; will you coach me through what I need to do, please?"

John showed her how to hold the pistol and forced the muzzle into the bandits mouth. "Now, pull back on the hammer with your thumb. When it clicks twice, squeeze the trigger. The gun will shoot."

The woman did as John directed and closed her eyes. She pulled the trigger instead of squeezing it, but the result was the same. The muzzle was in the bandit's mouth so it didn't shift enough to make a difference. The bandit was dead. They left him where he fell.

The woman asked if they could take her husband's body to the next town so that she could ship it home for a proper burial. John agreed to do so, but suggested that they put the body in the coach's boot so that the other women would not have to look at him while they were traveling. The woman agreed, and that's what they did.

At the town, they turned in the coach and explained to the town's mayor what had happened. He thanked them for their assistance for the three women, but had a sour look on his face the whole time. He obviously hated to thank an Anglo for anything. The troop was glad to get out of that town!