As
he turned onto the faint trail he sought, he spotted fresh tracks in the snow.
He pulled his rifle from the saddle scabbard and slowed his horse. Instead of
heading along the trail, the tracks led around the boulders.
Scout’s
ears twitched forward, the chestnut’s signal of trouble. Even more slowly,
Butch eased forward. He dismounted and crept along the boulders. If he could
climb up to the taller rocks, he could spot where the tracks led and if Tucker
waited for him.
Quietly
as his boots allowed, he climbed. As he gained height, he spotted a horse tied
to brush twenty yards from where he stood. Tracks crisscrossed in the snow, but
where was Tucker? The man had the advantage of knowing this area’s terrain
better than Butch.
“Sheriff?”
The yell came from below and behind him.
Butch
crouched and turned. A streak of fire burned into his chest. The impact sent
him tumbling from rock to rock until he hit the snow-covered ground. He landed
on his back, stars lit the backs of his eyelids, and his breath whooshed from
his lungs. His rifle lay just beyond his grasp.
As
he turned onto the faint trail he sought, he spotted fresh tracks in the snow.
He pulled his rifle from the saddle scabbard and slowed his horse. Instead of
heading along the trail, the tracks led around the boulders.
Scout’s
ears twitched forward, the chestnut’s signal of trouble. Even more slowly,
Butch eased forward. He dismounted and crept along the boulders. If he could
climb up to the taller rocks, he could spot where the tracks led and if Tucker
waited for him.
Quietly
as his boots allowed, he climbed. As he gained height, he spotted a horse tied
to brush twenty yards from where he stood. Tracks crisscrossed in the snow, but
where was Tucker? The man had the advantage of knowing this area’s terrain
better than Butch.
“Sheriff?”
The yell came from below and behind him.
Butch
crouched and turned. A streak of fire burned into his chest. The impact sent
him tumbling from rock to rock until he hit the snow-covered ground. He landed
on his back, stars lit the backs of his eyelids, and his breath whooshed from
his lungs. His rifle lay just beyond his grasp.
As
he turned onto the faint trail he sought, he spotted fresh tracks in the snow.
He pulled his rifle from the saddle scabbard and slowed his horse. Instead of
heading along the trail, the tracks led around the boulders.
Scout’s
ears twitched forward, the chestnut’s signal of trouble. Even more slowly,
Butch eased forward. He dismounted and crept along the boulders. If he could
climb up to the taller rocks, he could spot where the tracks led and if Tucker
waited for him.
Quietly
as his boots allowed, he climbed. As he gained height, he spotted a horse tied
to brush twenty yards from where he stood. Tracks crisscrossed in the snow, but
where was Tucker? The man had the advantage of knowing this area’s terrain
better than Butch.
“Sheriff?”
The yell came from below and behind him.
Butch
crouched and turned. A streak of fire burned into his chest. The impact sent
him tumbling from rock to rock until he hit the snow-covered ground. He landed
on his back, stars lit the backs of his eyelids, and his breath whooshed from
his lungs. His rifle lay just beyond his grasp.