a wise chief never dismissed anything.
For as soon as a man said that something did not exist, it usually
appeared and made him look foolish.
‘ I can
not say, Geroma. But whatever made that sound, it was either to
mark injury or death.’
Diamond Back Jones sighed heavily, pulled
his guns from their holsters and checked their chambers.
‘ I’m
going up there, Conchowata.’
The sound of disbelief raced
through the assembled Indians as they watched Jones start to walk
towards the foot of the rugged rock face.
‘ Do
not go up there, my brother!’ Conchowata demanded as he paced after
the Apache outlaw. ‘The gods will not allow any of our people to
fight after the sun has set. You know that is bad
medicine.’
Diamond Back Jones looked again into the
familiar eyes of the chief.
‘ I have lived with the
white eyes long enough to know that there is no such thing as bad
medicine, Conchowata. Only bullets make medicine. I have killed
many white eyes since leaving the tribe. Many of them during the
hours of night. I am not afraid. I’m going up there to see if Iron
Eyes is still there.’
The chief grabbed
Jones ’s arm
firmly.
‘ I am chief! I say
no!’
‘ This
is nonsense! I wanna see if the evil Iron Eyes is still alive up
there! For all we know it was he who screamed out. Maybe there is
an animal up there and it has killed him!’
‘ What
if he is still alive?’ Geroma asked as he stood next to his
father.
Jones narrowed his eyes.
‘ If he
is alive, I shall kill him, Geroma!’
‘ You
cannot defy the gods!’ Conchowata raged. ‘This is our land but we
are only here because of the mercy of our gods. We cannot fight
until the sun rises.’
Diamond Back Jones pulled his
arm free of the chief ’s grip and waved his hands at the rest of the
tribe.
‘ No
wonder our people have been driven into such arid lands by the
white eyes. You are all women who fear unseen gods and allow our
enemies to take advantage of us.’
Conchowata squared up to the outlaw.
‘ You
will not go up there to fight!’
‘ I can and I will!’
Diamond Back retorted.
Conchowata signaled to his braves. They
all advanced with their daggers drawn.
The two men gazed angrily into
each other ’s
souls. Neither was willing to back down.
Chapter Ten
For more than five eternal minutes the
bounty hunter had been racked by feverish delirium as he rolled
over and over on the floor of the cave tunnel. His mind was melting
into a soup of confused fog, yet he was fighting the unseen enemy
which surged through his veins and arteries with every scrap of his
dogged determination. Iron Eyes gritted his teeth as his entire
body arched in violent agony for the umpteenth time.
He had suffered many things since he first
stood upright and challenged the world, but nothing that came close
to the pain he was now consumed by. Pain was one thing but to lose
control of your mind made him angry.
He had always been a fighter and would never
allow anything to defeat him without giving of his best. He had to
try and beat this too. Whatever was happening to him as the poison
infested his body, he would try and fight it.
Sweat had soaked his long hair
as he had tried to escape the monsters who now brought nightmares to his
fevered brain. It clung to his wet face like spiders’ webs. He
punched out violently at the black air trying to hit the invisible
foes who tormented him. His knuckles glanced across the cave walls
taking the skin off them but he did not feel a thing except the
cruel venom which continued to tear through his innards.
The bounty hunter threw himself through the
blackness at the wall of the cave as if attempting to knock himself
out. Anything to escape the vicious torment which was engulfing
him.
Sweat poured from him as the
snake ’s
venom flowed through his bloodstream. He felt as if his head were
about to explode when he managed to regain part of his
wits.
Without even knowing why, he grabbed the
handle of the long Bowie
For as soon as a man said that something did not exist, it usually
appeared and made him look foolish.
‘ I can
not say, Geroma. But whatever made that sound, it was either to
mark injury or death.’
Diamond Back Jones sighed heavily, pulled
his guns from their holsters and checked their chambers.
‘ I’m
going up there, Conchowata.’
The sound of disbelief raced
through the assembled Indians as they watched Jones start to walk
towards the foot of the rugged rock face.
‘ Do
not go up there, my brother!’ Conchowata demanded as he paced after
the Apache outlaw. ‘The gods will not allow any of our people to
fight after the sun has set. You know that is bad
medicine.’
Diamond Back Jones looked again into the
familiar eyes of the chief.
‘ I have lived with the
white eyes long enough to know that there is no such thing as bad
medicine, Conchowata. Only bullets make medicine. I have killed
many white eyes since leaving the tribe. Many of them during the
hours of night. I am not afraid. I’m going up there to see if Iron
Eyes is still there.’
The chief grabbed
Jones ’s arm
firmly.
‘ I am chief! I say
no!’
‘ This
is nonsense! I wanna see if the evil Iron Eyes is still alive up
there! For all we know it was he who screamed out. Maybe there is
an animal up there and it has killed him!’
‘ What
if he is still alive?’ Geroma asked as he stood next to his
father.
Jones narrowed his eyes.
‘ If he
is alive, I shall kill him, Geroma!’
‘ You
cannot defy the gods!’ Conchowata raged. ‘This is our land but we
are only here because of the mercy of our gods. We cannot fight
until the sun rises.’
Diamond Back Jones pulled his
arm free of the chief ’s grip and waved his hands at the rest of the
tribe.
‘ No
wonder our people have been driven into such arid lands by the
white eyes. You are all women who fear unseen gods and allow our
enemies to take advantage of us.’
Conchowata squared up to the outlaw.
‘ You
will not go up there to fight!’
‘ I can and I will!’
Diamond Back retorted.
Conchowata signaled to his braves. They
all advanced with their daggers drawn.
The two men gazed angrily into
each other ’s
souls. Neither was willing to back down.
Chapter Ten
For more than five eternal minutes the
bounty hunter had been racked by feverish delirium as he rolled
over and over on the floor of the cave tunnel. His mind was melting
into a soup of confused fog, yet he was fighting the unseen enemy
which surged through his veins and arteries with every scrap of his
dogged determination. Iron Eyes gritted his teeth as his entire
body arched in violent agony for the umpteenth time.
He had suffered many things since he first
stood upright and challenged the world, but nothing that came close
to the pain he was now consumed by. Pain was one thing but to lose
control of your mind made him angry.
He had always been a fighter and would never
allow anything to defeat him without giving of his best. He had to
try and beat this too. Whatever was happening to him as the poison
infested his body, he would try and fight it.
Sweat had soaked his long hair
as he had tried to escape the monsters who now brought nightmares to his
fevered brain. It clung to his wet face like spiders’ webs. He
punched out violently at the black air trying to hit the invisible
foes who tormented him. His knuckles glanced across the cave walls
taking the skin off them but he did not feel a thing except the
cruel venom which continued to tear through his innards.
The bounty hunter threw himself through the
blackness at the wall of the cave as if attempting to knock himself
out. Anything to escape the vicious torment which was engulfing
him.
Sweat poured from him as the
snake ’s
venom flowed through his bloodstream. He felt as if his head were
about to explode when he managed to regain part of his
wits.
Without even knowing why, he grabbed the
handle of the long Bowie
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