| The Outrider; Volume One: Chapter 21
|
Bonner saw it. A tiny open path ran up the side of
the river bank. In the mists above him he could see the tattered ends of railroad that had
fallen into the river bed. Bonner wrested the wheel from the Mean Brother and trod heavily
on the accelerator pulling ahead of the bikes of his companions. He wrenched the wheel
sharply to his left and Bonner's car strained to pull its weight up the steep river bank.
At the top of the rise Bonner's wheels spun in loose, hot gravel.
Down on
the river bed Beck slammed on his brakes. A
sudden clearing in the smoke revealed Bonner, Starling and Clara jammed together at the
top of the rise. A long, heavy bazooka lay on the back seat of the jeep. Beck picked it up
and laid it on his brawny right shoulder, scooped up one of the shells and was about to
slide it into the barrel . . . One shot and he could take them all. . . .
"Naawww," he said aloud and threw the metal
tube back on the seat.
Bonner gunned his engine and the car whipped over the
crest of the scarp. Starling and Clara scrabbled up after him like dirt bike riders. The
three of them made a sharp turn onto the railroad tracks and started bombing along the
rotten, charred ties.
Beck pushed his jeep up the rise with his Stonner
force close behind him. They too slid onto the railway, closing the gap between them and
their foes with the passing of every second. The jagged, bouncing ride made the Stormers'
fire erratic, bullets flew crazily in a hundred directions.
The roadbed curved away gracefully ahead of them.
Smoke wafted over it and belches of flame darted up between the red hot rails. Beck was
almost on them, his Stormers just a short fifty yards behind.
Bonner peered into the smoke. They were coming up on
a long railway bridge that spanned a deep gorge filled with fire. There, parked on the
trestle was the sweetest sight Bonner had ever seen. It was Seth's locomotive and a
flatcar. A regular burst of smoke popped from the tall smokestack every few seconds. The
man had a head of steam up and he was ready to go.
"Seth," yelled Bonner. The slim dark figure
stood on the flatcar behind the engine and waved. A machinegun was slung over his
shoulder. As Bonner approached Seth shot a rip of bullets over Bonner's head at the
Stormers, then vaulted over the coal hod onto the footplate and yanked on the whistle
chain.
The ghostly sound echoed out through the burning
valley. Bonner gunned his engine and ran up the ramp that led to the flatcar, Clara and Starling
right behind him.
Seth leaned on the throttle and the big locomotive
slowly eased itself along the rails. Beck was almost on them and Starling raised his
Browning automatic shotgun: he had a clear shot at the big man. Carefully, Starling
sighted the powerful weapon, peering along the barrel. Just before squeezing the trigger
Beck slammed on his brakes and pulled the jeep around in a full ninety-degree turn. Now he
was facing back toward the onrushing Stormers and they were advancing on the wide open
mouth of the big man's bazooka. Before they could react to his treachery. Beck had blasted
one shell into the Stormers' midst, scattering men and bikes over the side of the trestle
and into the inferno below. With a second and third shell he blew a wide gap in the rotten
timbers of the railway bridge. Then Beck threw down the gun and ran like hell for the
train, the heavy saddle bags packed with money flapping against his massive body.
Bonner leaned over the edge of the flatcar and
grabbed for Beck's outstretched hand. The weight of the man almost pulled Bonner off his
perch; Clara grabbed Bonner around the belt and with Starling assisting they hauled Beck
in.
Colley stood at the breach in the bridge watching as
the train vanished into the mists.
"He sold us out," said the big Stonner
general;
"he sold us out."
The Radleps raised their singed eyebrows.
"Yeah," rasped one, "ain't that a shame." They levelled their weapons at Colley's chest and pulled the trigger. A
short tear of bullets cut him down. They took his head. His body they left where it fell.
Seth looked down the rails, peering into the smoke,
Bonner at his side.
"What do you think?" asked Bonner.
"Well," said Seth softly, he almost always
spoke just above a whisper, "it'll be hot for a few miles, but the rails are open all
the way down the line. We've got ourselves four hours of smoke or so, then we're clear . .
. Hey, don't forget, the firelands aren't as scary as you think. I come here all the
time."
"You do?" said Starling. "What
for?"
Seth jerked a thumb over his shoulder.
"Coal."
"How did you know where to find us?" asked
Clara.
"Dorca told me. Hey, Starling, take the throttle
for a while."
Seth and Bonner walked back, over the hod to the
flatcar, where the two Mean Brothers sat with their legs dangling over the side of the
car. They seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"So," said Seth, "pretty hot time, I
gather."
"That's right."
"No Dara?"
Bonner took a deep breath. "She's dead."
"Leather is scum," said Seth, "he'll
kill anybody for no reason."
"I killed her," said Bonner.
Seth shrugged. "There's a long story attached to that piece of information and I'm not sure I want to
hear it."
Beck stood up on the coal pile. "Hey, Bonner,
you know I had you. I could have taken you at any time. You were mine."
Bonner nodded. "Yeah, I know."
"But I figured I wasn't going to head back to
the Cap. No fun there."
"I appreciate it. Beck."
"No problem," said the giant happily,
"I'm a rich man."
"Good for you," said Bonner and he sat down
next to one of the Mean Brothers and together, in silence, they watched the burning miles
of firelands roll away behind them.
