Chapter 36

It took two days for Pritchard, Ditch, Ruiz, and Franchard to get across the Rio Grande and back into the United States. That’s because instead of riding alone, as they had been when they entered Mexico, they were riding herd over more than fifty horses.

They decided, since all the horses belonging to the Triple B were stolen, that they had as much right to the animals as anyone. Especially since there was no one left alive from the BB&B outfit to dispute their claim.

Before they left the rustlers’ ranch, they searched the barn. Among a large stack of stolen saddles, tack, and other pirated goods stashed there, they found Pritchard’s saddle and bridle. This was a particularly fortuitous find, because his ten thousand dollars and the wedding ring he’d purchased for his bride were still secreted within the saddle’s lining.

Pritchard stared at the ring a moment before wiping his eyes and pocketing it. The others left him alone and busied themselves rounding up the horses.

The trio bridled the animals, most of which were top-quality mounts, and strung them together. They then lugged the dead bodies into the barn and set it aflame. The agonized moaning of Winston Boone could still be heard as they all rode off.

The quartet pushed hard for the border, stopping only a couple of times to rest and water the horses. They knew the dead Mexican troops, unlike Old Man Boone and his Triple B hands, would soon be missed. When a relief detachment came looking for the delinquent soldiers, the trail left by Pritchard, Ditch, Ruiz, Franchard, and the fifty horses they were leading, would be an easy one to follow.

Two grueling days later, they were back in America. The minute they crossed the Rio Grande, Franchard immediately pinned his cinco-peso Texas Ranger star back on his shirt. After that, he wordlessly reached into his pocket and produced another. He tossed it to Pritchard.

Pritchard stared at the star a moment, as he had the wedding ring. He nodded to Franchard, then pinned the star onto his own shirt.

In Del Rio, they found sixteen Rangers from Franchard’s detachment waiting for them.

“I thought I ordered you boys back to Fort Worth,” Franchard said.

“I don’t believe I recall that order,” the Ranger sergeant, a stocky Irishman named Finley, said.

“I’m a bit hard of hearing, Cap’n,” said a Ranger.

“I’ve got a powerful lot of wax in my ears,” said another.

Franchard grinned. “How long were you boys going to wait before violating international law and charging into Mexico after us?”

“We thought we’d give you a full week,” Sergeant Finley said in his thick Irish brogue, “just to be courteous.”

“It’s just as well you stuck around,” Franchard said. “If any of you boys are ever asked—”