Page 20 of Charlotte's Reckoning
The new men gave him a wide berth, except for Thorn. Seth felt his eyes on him whenever he was around, always with a sense of mockery. Things would have to change, or as Judd had suggested, he wouldn’t be hanging around.
Facing the world alone for the first time was a daunting decision—but one for later. Right now, he had a job to do, his first job without Deadeye Bill.
He straightened, dropping his pretense of indifference as the bank doors burst open and boots thundered on the boardwalk. As lookout, responsible for spotting trouble—especially the badge-wearing, gun-toting kind—he also minded the horses. Quickly, he loosened the reins, leaving them dangling, ready for a swift mount.
It wasn’t a surprise when someone shouted and raised the alarm. “Those men just robbed the bank. Stop them!”
They expected the gunfire that followed. Seth and the others bent low over their horses’ necks, urging them faster. The dust kicked up by the pounding hooves that had them shooting blind was all part of the plan. What wasn’t, weeks without rain that made the dirt cloud thicker, but it helped.
They took the main road, hightailing it at a full gallop. When they came to the fork about a mile out of town, they split into two groups to slow down the posse that would inevitably follow. Seth, Judd, and Hoyt took the southern fork. Ike, Thorn, and Stan went north and would cross the river in about ten miles.
By stopping briefly at pre-arranged locations to change horses, they intended to make it to St. Louis, usually a four-day trip, in a little over twenty-four hours. Once they arrived at the rendezvous site, a house on the outskirts of the city—chosen carefully by Judd, who knew the owner—they’d divvy up the cash then scatter, lying low for a few weeks before meeting up again to plan their next job.
Stop number one came early. Bonnet’s Mill was a small community on the banks of the Missouri River, only ten miles out of town. They exchanged their lathered horses, pushed harder than they ordinarily would have to get out ahead of the law. On fresh mounts with their saddlebags filled with provisions, they were off again with the sun setting at their backs.
They didn’t stop for another four hours until the horses needed water. Seth dismounted, eager to stretch his legs, while Hoyt walked off in search of a tree. He glanced at his brother, still in the saddle, chin to chest, with his hat low on his forehead. Seth shook his head. The man could sleep anywhere.
“You better get down and answer the call.”He added a warning. “Next stop isn’t until we change horses again, at dawn.”
When his brother didn’t respond but just sat there, his head dropped forward, Seth moved closer. Laying a hand on his boot, he shook it. “Judd?”
Whether from the concern in his voice or because he sensed something wasn’t quite right, Lightning, his brother’s horse, tossed his head and stamped nervously, pulling the reins from his rider’s gloved hand.
Still, Judd, the new leader of the Hartigan Gang, who was supposed to set a standard for the others, didn’t budge.
“If this is a joke, Brother, it ain’t funny,”he grumbled, removing his hat and slapping him on the shoulder.
This prompted a low, agonized moan. “What the fuck, Seth? The bullet didn’t do me in, so you intend to?”
“Bullet! You were hit? Where?”
“My left side,”he grunted.
“Dammit, Judd. Why didn’t you say something?”
“It hurt like hell at first then went numb, so I decided to tough it out.”
He was no doctor, but numb didn’t sound good. “Can you get down?”
“The question is, when I fall on my face, can I get up again?”With a pain-riddled moan and a grimace of agony, Judd swung his leg over.
He would have lifted him down, but his brother’s pride wouldn’t allow that, so he stood by, ready to catch him as he slid under his own power to the ground. When his feet touched down, and he cursed at the jolt of pain, Seth winced in sympathy.
“Here, lean on me,”he offered, knowing Judd was really hurting when he did without complaint. “There’s a fallen tree over there you can rest against. Then I’ll start a fire and have a look.”
“No fire. We won’t be here long enough for that.”
The brothers looked up to find Thorn standing beside them. They were so focused on Judd’s injury, he’d ridden up unnoticed.
“What are you doing here?”Judd demanded. “The meetup point was in St. Louis.”
“Change of plans,”Thorn said as he spat a stream of tobacco. “I didn’t like the looks of the north road so we doubled back.”His narrow-eyed gaze landed on Seth. “You got five minutes to patch him up.”
“We’ll be here as long as it takes,”he muttered, turning to survey the clearing. He’d need water, which was plentiful with the nearby river, but he had little in the way of supplies. More concerning, his understanding of treating gunshot wounds was limited to staunching the bleeding and getting the patient to a doctor pronto.
“You can stay as long as you want, pup, but the rest of us are moving out—with the cash.”
“Like hell you are,”Judd said, his hand moving to the butt of his gun.
