Osbourne was now free, albeit in all likelihood temporarily, and as his trial was another week away he might be tempted to search for the money. Of greater concern was Spenser, who had decided to stay in town and who, during Nathaniel’s last sighting of him, had been talking to Osbourne.

  It was possible that Osbourne might persuade Spenser to join him in his search or, worst of all, maybe Spenser had sought out Osbourne to get his help. The more Nathaniel thought about this latter possibility the more likely it felt that this was the real reason his colleague had refused to accompany him to Bear Creek.

  With a sorry shake of the head Nathaniel moved on, figuring that if Spenser had decided to look for the money he wouldn’t be able to change his mind. Despite that resolution, he remained in a morose mood and when he settled down that night, the closeness to the spot where they had made camp when they’d been escorting Irvin ensured that his thoughts remained on recent events.

  The next day he carried on along the same route he and Spenser had used before. So he felt relieved when he reached a point where he would need to veer away to head to Bear Creek as he hoped that the fresh route would let him turn his thoughts to something else.

  Even so, he didn’t change direction. When he accepted that he couldn’t move on until he’d settled his curiosity he veered away in the opposite direction to Bear Creek to head to the broken finger rock in the Barren Plains.

  He took a cautious roundabout route in case Reece had returned to the area, but he didn’t notice anyone as he made his way past several outcrops. He planned to hole up at the rock that was a mile away from the mound that everyone had been interested in, but while he was still a half-mile away he noticed movement ahead.

  He stopped and went to ground. When he caught sight of the movement again he identified it as being at the base of the rock he had been heading toward. He figured it was most likely to be Reece, but a short while later he picked up on more movement on the other side of the outcrop and realized two people were there, this thought helping him to identify the men as being Spenser and Osbourne.

  As they were both milling around and not seeking to hide their presence Nathaniel concluded they were searching and that made him wonder why they were there and not at the broken finger rock. He considered both outcrops and when the answer came, he muttered under his breath in anger.

  Irvin may have lied repeatedly, but Spenser had also lied about what his dying words had been. He had claimed that Irvin had identified the place they needed to search as being the mound that was shaped like a broken finger.

  In reality Irvin had told Spenser that they should go to the outcrop that the blunt end pointed toward. Now, the two men had joined forces as Spenser knew the general area where the money had been hidden and Osbourne knew how its exact location was marked.

  He doubted that he could get any closer to them to confirm his theory without them noticing him, so he settled down to await developments. For the next few hours the two men stayed some distance apart, presumably so they could explore more of the area quickly.

  Nathaniel reckoned that their decision to split up was a mistake as it would probably result in yet more duplicity if one of them were to find the money, but just after sundown Spenser headed over to Osbourne. They conferred and then both men headed back, suggesting that Spenser had uncovered something.

  The two men disappeared from view amid the rocks at the base of the outcrop. Then all was still. Nathaniel accepted that he might have been wrong and Spenser and Osbourne could have just agreed to call off the search for the night, but he figured he could now find out the truth.

  Under the cover of the growing gloom he set off toward the outcrop, heading for a spot on the opposite side to where he had last seen the two men. When he reached the rock he dismounted and made his way around the edge afoot.

  He moved slowly and by the time he heard movement ahead it was so dark he could barely discern the ground he was walking on, leading to him moving even slower. The moon would rise soon to aid him, but it would also make him more visible to his quarries so he carried on.

  He was unsure how much farther he would need to go, but then Osbourne spoke up from only a few yards away. As he had spoken quietly Nathaniel hadn’t picked up on what he’d said so he stopped and presently Spenser replied, although again he spoke quietly.

  The men sounded as if they were on the other side of a low rock. Nathaniel could only discern its outline, but he figured it was about waist high so the two men must be keeping low, perhaps as they investigated something in the ground.

  Nathaniel shuffled along with his head lowered until he reached the rock. He kneeled down and presently scraping sounds could be heard coming from a few yards away. Nathaniel raised his head slowly, but then light flared providing an explanation for what Osbourne and Spenser had been doing.

  Nathaniel ducked down, meaning he caught only a fleeting glimpse of the two men. They were hunched over the campfire they had been building and as they flames grew brighter, lighting up the surrounding area and effectively pinning Nathaniel down in the shadow cast by the low rock, the two men murmured urgently to each other.

  “Did you hear that?” Spenser said.

  “You’ve been hearing and seeing things since we set off from Green Valley,” Osbourne said. “Relax. We haven’t been followed and we’ve seen no sign of Reece.”

  “That would worry you if you’d ever come up against Reece. He sneaked into our camp and overcame me and Nathaniel almost before we’d realized he was there.”

  “Then the fact that you heard something proves that you didn’t hear Reece.”

  Spenser snorted a laugh, clearly being unable to refute that logic. Then more scraping sounds could be heard. As Nathaniel reckoned he’d be spotted the moment he moved position to find out what they were doing he leaned back against the rock.

  Spenser and Osbourne didn’t speak again and before long they stopped making noise. Nathaniel couldn’t help but feel that their silence was ominous and he edged a hand toward his holster.

  His hand was still moving when a crunch sounded to his right a moment before Osbourne stepped into view with his gun already drawn. Nathaniel lunged for his six-shooter, but Osbourne twitched his arm. With the gun now aimed at his chest Nathaniel stayed his hand.

  “It’s me, Spenser,” Nathaniel called, hoping that his former colleague would intervene and ensure Osbourne didn’t shoot.

  “Who else is with you?” Osbourne said.

  “I’m on my own and I’ve not seen anybody, but if I figured out what you were doing I’m sure others will—”

  “Be quiet and stand up,” Osbourne snapped and when Nathaniel complied he signified that he should move around the boulder and stand beside the campfire.

  When Nathaniel turned around Spenser was standing up and facing Osbourne with a hand raised, showing that he had helped him, after all. Nathaniel moved on to the campfire. Spenser cast him only a brief glance before turning away, suggesting he was too ashamed to face him.

  “So have you made any progress?” Nathaniel asked.

  “I told you to be quiet, but now that you’re here you can bear witness to our triumph,” Osbourne said and then pointed past the fire at a hole.

  Several objects were within. They were shrouded in shadow and Nathaniel couldn’t tell what they were, but the huge grin that spread across Osbourne’s face showed that they had done what Nathaniel had never thought anyone would do and found whatever Irvin Bess had buried.

  While still smiling Osbourne gestured at Spenser to empty the hole. Spenser nodded, but he didn’t move away immediately and instead he turned to Nathaniel. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words emerged and with a gulp he headed away to do Osbourne’s bidding.

  Chapter Ten

  Spenser sloped off to the hole and began dragging the contents out on to the ground. They were coated in dirt, but once he had batted that away it was clear that they had unearthed four large and bulging saddlebags.

  A tipped-over rock to the side of the hole had clearly once covered the bags. This would have protected them from the elements while there were markings on one side, either natural or man-made, that would have helped Osbourne to identify where they needed to dig.

  Spenser draped the bags out beside the fire. Then, after an encouraging grunt from Osbourne, he flipped open the first one. A wad of bills spilled out making Osbourne whoop and Spenser raise his head and grin widely, although the sight of Nathaniel glowering at him made him wince and then root around to find out what else was inside.

  He drew out a handful of letters and folded sheets of paper. He flicked through a few sheets before shaking his head and throwing them to the ground. The next handful produced a mixture of bills and letters while the last handful contained no money.

  Spenser separated out the bills and then opened up the second saddlebag. This turned out to contain only documents, causing Spenser and Osbourne to frown at each other even though the pile of bills already revealed looked as if it amounted to more than a thousand dollars.

  Nathaniel shook his head while sighing. His reaction made Osbourne gesture at him with his gun, but despite the risk Nathaniel couldn’t keep his thoughts to himself.

  “Everything Irvin Bess told you about how he came to be in possession of those saddlebags was a lie,” he said. “Reece Palmer wasn’t an outlaw and he never tried to raid a payroll, so that means you ruined your life for a half-share in a pile of worthless documents.”

  “We haven’t found out what they are yet, but Irvin buried them so they must be worth something,” Osbourne said. “Then there’s that money we can already see.”

  Osbourne’s voice caught as he made his last comment showing he feared that Nathaniel had been right and the money might not compensate him for what he would lose by defying McCormack’s order to stay in town and await his trial. Spenser paused before he opened the third bag, clearly having picked up on the tension in their exchange, but Osbourne dismissed the matter with a shrug and beckoned him to continue.

  Both men’s demeanor became more relaxed when Spenser discovered that the third bag contained only bills, thereby massively expanding the pile he had already created, while the final bag was again a mixture of money and documents. A light wind was rustling the bills so Spenser split them into two broadly equal heaps, shoved them into two saddlebags and threw them farther away from the fire.

  Then he piled up the documents and read the topmost one. He soon frowned and discarded it. The second document got the same treatment even faster, after which he skimmed through a wad of documents before dropping them and shaking his head.

  “There’s nothing here worth anyone’s. . . .” he said and then trailed off.

  He picked up the last batch he’d perused and noted something with a low grunt. Then he fingered his way back through several more documents, nodding as he dropped each one.

  “So they are valuable, after all?” Osbourne asked.

  “I don’t reckon so. They’re just legal documents and most of them were signed by Christian Shepherd.”

  Spenser waved a sheet at Osbourne while shrugging as he waited for him to offer a suggestion as to what that meant. Nathaniel could have given him a clue, but this time he kept his thoughts to himself.

  Clearly the relationship between Irvin, Reece and Christian had been more complicated than was otherwise known, but why Irvin had ended up with Christian’s paperwork was a mystery. Whatever the reason, as Christian had gone to prison for his corrupt practices, it was probable that the documents would be of no use to anyone.

  “Reece killed Irvin, who got blamed for killing Christian,” Osbourne said, speaking slowly as if stating the facts might help him come up with an answer.

  “Except it was Reece who killed him,” Spenser said.

  The two men faced each other while shaking their heads. Then Osbourne turned to Nathaniel.

  “You’ve been involved in all this, too, so what do you think?” he said.

  “I reckon it’ll be up to someone else to figure it out,” Nathaniel said. “When they do, you’ll never find out the truth as you’ll be sitting in cell and regretting not just turning up at your trial and taking—”

  “That’s not going to happen. There’s enough money there for me and Spenser to get so far away from here we’ll never be found.”

  “So you two are partners now, are you?”

  Nathaniel directed his question at Spenser, but he didn’t reply.

  “We are until we’ve split everything equally,” Osbourne said. “Then we’ll go our separate ways and as nobody need ever find out what we dug up here that should be the end of the matter.”

  Osbourne licked his lips and smirked. The implied threat made Nathaniel take a backward step while Spenser stepped forward.

  “You’re not shooting him,” Spenser said.

  “If I let him leave he’ll be sure to tell Sheriff McCormack what we found,” Osbourne said.

  “Then so be it, but you’re not killing him or stranding him here afoot.”

  Osbourne sneered. “He’s your former partner so I can accept that you’re prepared to take that risk because you reckon you owe him something, but it’s not the same for me. He’s just someone who caught me hiding Irvin and it won’t matter to me if he breathes his last here.”

  “You’re forgetting that I was with him when we caught you, so I sure don’t care about your fate and it won’t matter to me if you breath your last here.”

  Osbourne took a slow pace backward while still keeping his gun on Nathaniel. He eyed both men, clearly noting that they had edged their hands toward their holsters, meaning he could shoot one of them, but not before he was fired upon by the other.

  He took another pace, this time moving away from the rock as he sought to head around the campfire. Spenser appeared to pick up on his intent as he backed away to stand over the saddlebags that he’d stuffed with bills.

  Osbourne waved Spenser away from the bags. “I guess when we agreed to join forces and share what we knew, our partnership was always destined to end badly.”

  “That’s not what this is about,” Spenser said as he tapped a toe against one of the bags. “Take this one and leave.”

  Osbourne narrowed his eyes with skepticism, but he gave a curt nod so Spenser slowly lowered himself to his knees. While keeping a close eye on Osbourne he gathered hold of the bag and underhanded it toward him, the bag dropping to the dirt three feet in front of him.

  With an equal amount of caution Osbourne moved forward and gathered up the bag. Then he draped it over a shoulder and backed away steadily until he reached his earlier position.

  “Enjoy your half and don’t come after me,” he said.

  “Quit with the threats,” Spenser snapped. “You have no idea what kind of man you’re annoying, but if I ever see you again you will find out.”

  Osbourne sneered and then resumed walking backward, heading toward the darkness beyond the circle of light cast by the campfire. He took five steps and then ducked away into the gap between two boulders.

  The moment he disappeared from view Nathaniel and Spenser both drew their guns and aimed them at the gap. All was silent, but they stayed poised to retaliate.

  “So you saved my life,” Nathaniel said after a while, figuring he had to say something to reduce the tension between them so they could concentrate on the task at hand.

  “That was never in question,” Spenser said with a gruff voice.

  “I’m pleased to hear it, but don’t expect no thanks as I wouldn’t have been in danger if you hadn’t—”

  A gunshot sounded from a position somewhere above the gap into which Osbourne had gone. Nathaniel couldn’t work out where the slug had landed, but he scurried back around the rock he’d used as cover before and hunkered down.

  Spenser followed him, but when a second shot tore out, he skidded to a halt and scampered back to the campfire. With a few well-aimed kicks he swept dirt over the flames, dampening the fire, and then hurried away.

  By the time he had kneeled down beside Nathaniel only a weak glow was lighting up the surrounding area. Even better, after a few minutes Nathaniel’s night vision improved and he was able to discern more of their surroundings.

  His attention soon centered on a ledge around fifty feet above them and which he reckoned Osbourne could have reached without them noticing him by staying in the shadows cast by the fire. He turned to point it out to Spenser, but he had already aimed his gun at that area.

  Nathaniel levelled his gun on the far end of the ledge and his assumption turned out to be correct when Osbourne raised his head. With only a small movement to the side Nathaniel aimed at him and fired, the shot pinging into the underside of the ledge beneath Osbourne, who jerked backward to take himself out of view.

  Only moments later Osbourne rose up again, this time several yards away from his former position. Before Nathaniel could aim at him he fired, the slug clattering into the rock in front of Nathaniel’s right arm, forcing him to duck down.

  Spenser stayed put and blasted lead twice in quick succession. Nathaniel raised his head, finding that Osbourne had gone to ground. Then long moments passed quietly, and when their opponent rose up again he was at the far end of the ledge.

  Osbourne fired at Spenser, causing him to flinch away as the lead ripped into their covering rock, so this time Nathaniel held his ground and took careful aim. He fired, but he’d taken too long as his target dropped from view before the lead ripped into a rock above the ledge.

  “It seems he’s angry at us both now,” Spenser said.

  Nathaniel was minded not to reply, but as he figured that getting out of their precarious situation was more important than his problems with Spenser he gestured at the ground beyond the hole that Spenser and Osbourne had dug.

  “I’ll try to get a different angle on Osbourne, so cover me if he shows again,” he said.

  “I explored over there before I found the right place to dig,” Spenser said. “I’ll go.”

 

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