The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard - Elmore Leonard [64]
He knew there would be a noise when he made his move, but that couldn’t be helped. He waited until the Indian was a step past the tree, then he raised up. Coal-black hair flaired suddenly from a shoulder, then a wide-eyed face even with his own and an open mouth that almost cried out before the pistol barrel smashed against the bridge of his nose and forehead.
De Sana cocked his head, straining against the silence, then slowly eased down next to the body of the Indian when no sound reached him. He thought: A body lying motionless always seemed to make it more quiet. Like the deeper silence that seemed to follow gunfire. Probably the silence was just in your head.
He laid his hand on the thin, grimy chest and jerked it back quickly when he felt no movement. Death wasn’t something the outlaw was squeamish about, but it surprised him that the blow to the head had killed the Indian. He looked over the half-naked figure calmly and decided there was something there that bothered him. He bent closer in the gloom. No war paint. Not a line. He fumbled at the Indian’s holster hurriedly and pulled out the well-kept Colt .44. No reservation-jumping buck owned a gun like that; and even less likely, a Sierra Madre broncho who’d more probably carry a rusted cap and ball at best. He wondered why it hadn’t occurred to him right away. Apache police! And that meant Cima Quaine….
He stood up and listened again momentarily before moving ahead quickly through the pines.
He came to the canyon rim and edged along it cautiously, pressing close to the flinty rock, keeping to the deep shadows as much as he could, until he reached the hollow that sloped to the niche that Rondo had dug for himself.
He jumped quickly into the depression that fell away below him and held himself motionless in the darkness of the hollow for almost a minute before edging his gaze over the side and down to the niche a dozen yards below. He saw Rondo sprawled on his back with one booted leg propped on the rock parapet next to the rifle that pointed out over the pass.
There was no hesitating now. He climbed hurriedly, almost frantically, back to the pine grove and ran against the branches that stung his face and made him stumble in his haste. The silence was still there, but now it was heavier, pushing against him to make him run faster and stumble more often in the loose footing of the sand. He didn’t care if he made noise. He heard his own forced breathing close and loud and imagined it echoing over the hillside, but now he didn’t care because they knew he was here. He knew he was afraid. Things he couldn’t see did that to him. He reached the clearing, finally, and darted across the clearing toward the hut.
Chapter Four
VIRGIL PATMAN PUSHED the glass away from his hand when he heard the noise outside and wrapped his fingers around the bone handle of the pistol. The light slanting through the open doorway was weak, almost the last of the sun. He waited for the squat figure of Rondo to appear in this dim square of light, and started slightly when suddenly a thin shape appeared. And he sat bolt upright when next De Sana was in the room, clutching the door frame and breathing hard.
Patman watched him curiously and managed to keep the surprise out of his voice when he asked, “Where’s Rondo? Thought you relieved him.”
De Sana gasped out the word, “Quaine!” and wheeled to the front corner where the rifle had been. He took two steps and stopped dead. Patman watched the thin shoulders stiffen and raised the pistol with his hand still on the table until the barrel was leveled at the outlaw.
“So you led them here after all.” His voice