Slocum's Breakout - Jake Logan [52]
Slocum grabbed it from his hand and peered inside, rooting around. He wasn’t sure how much was inside, but it wasn’t a thousand dollars. He hadn’t expected that much. The Valenzuelas kept as much as they gave—probably more.
“Go on over to your son.”
He kept his pistol trained on the man’s back as he shuffled to where José stood. When the elder Valenzuela crossed in front of José, Slocum put his heels to his horse’s flanks and galloped away. José retrieved his rifle and got off a couple shots that went high and wide. This alerted Slocum that they had something more in store for him than a bullet in the back.
Securing the bag with the name of the stagecoach company stenciled in smeary black ink on the canvas, he rode back toward the canyon mouth, hunting for the landmarks Murrieta had given him. He saw the twin trees with the lightning-struck stump and immediately to the left the faint trail. Losing himself in the wooded area, he continued to ride for the canyon wall. Other markers assured him he was on the correct path and that Murrieta had a good memory for trail markers.
He forced his horse through a narrow defile that widened to a rocky path hardly wide enough for his horse. Slocum dismounted and led the horse up the side of the canyon. The twisting and turning trail hid him often from the canyon floor, but when he came to the canyon rim, he stopped and looked down.
A smile came to his lips. He recognized Conchita immediately, gesturing frantically. Even at this distance she was one hell of a beautiful woman, but he guessed what her expression would be. All twisted up in a mask of fury and hatred. Her words would tell of the worst outlaw ever to ride on California dirt.
And listening to her was Sheriff Bernard with four deputies.
The Valenzuelas had sacrificed some of their loot to put Slocum’s head in a noose. Sheriff Bernard and his posse would capture a real desperado in the narrow canyon along with proof that he had robbed the stage and probably the Miramar bank. They would have their pa back and be rid of Slocum once and for all.
Slocum laughed. He had expected something like this. While he hadn’t known what the Valenzuelas would pull, they were as crooked as a dog’s hind leg and as cunning as any hungry wolf. Stepping up into the saddle, Slocum followed the ridge until he found another marker where Murrieta had said, then worked his way down into the canyon beyond. From there it took him less than an hour to return to the village with the money needed to free Atencio.
“It worked? It worked!” Maria threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. If Murrieta hadn’t been there watching, Slocum would have explored how far the woman’s gratitude ran. Still, he kissed her longer than was good for her reputation before pushing her away.
Maria’s dark eyes glowed with admiration. He had to compare this with how he guessed Conchita Valenzuela’s had flared when she set the sheriff on his trail in an otherwise clever trap.
“I have heard from friends in Miramar,” Murrieta said. “The sheriff is angry with Conchita for leading him on this wild-goose chase. He ordered her away.”
“Maybe now he’ll stop listening to her,” Slocum said. “That’ll make my life easier.” He shuffled the stacks of bills around on the table. “I ought to have known better than to think they’d hand over very much. There’s hardly two hundred dollars here.”
“It will be enough?” Maria’s eagerness dampened Slocum’s triumph a little.
“Can’t say. Depends on what Durant can do with it. Will any judge be bribed for two hundred dollars in greenbacks?”
“Judge Ralston might. He gambles often but not well,” Maria said. She clung to Slocum’s arm. “What if we need more?”
“That’ll be up to your lawyer to let us know. Might be this kind of money would bribe a guard at the prison.” Slocum felt the bile rise and burn at the back of his throat. Having any further dealings around San Quentin gave him the collywobbles. He wanted nothing more than to be