Chapter 27

The members of the posse followed Buck’s outstretched hand with their eyes as he indicated the hill; they could just make it out past the far side of the pond.

"How do you know about it?"  Sam asked, becoming increasingly interested.  The gang needed a place to hide out and it sounded like Buck knew of one.

"Passed through there once, long time ago."

"Why's it called Black Rock Valley?"  Charlie asked.

"One look at the place and you'd know.  It's got steep sloping paths that lead to the bottom.  And rocks everywhere.  See, when nightfall comes, between the rock walls on one side of it and the trees growing on the hill on the other side the moon doesn’t stand a chance of shining any light in there.  You wouldn't wanna be traveling around in there come nighttime."

"Remind me not to lose my way in there," Kid replied.

"Sounds like it might be the perfect place for a gang on the run to hold up for a while, get some rest and heal up," Sam speculated.

"That's what I'm thinkin'," Buck agreed.

"Well let's get 'em!" Charlie eagerly suggested.

"And get killed in the process?" Buck asked.  "We can’t sneak in at night; it’s too dangerous a terrain.  So if they're in there, they've got the edge.  They'll be able to see us coming long before we get to the bottom."

"Buck's right," Sam said to all the men around him.  "We'll scout the area first then if all is quiet, we'll move in.  So, we better be on our toes tomorrow.  Flemington will be waitin' for company and will do anything in his power not to be caught."

"Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm gonna turn in," Jimmy announced.  "Looks like a long day ahead of us."

The others agreed and soon enough, bedrolls were strewn every which way. 

Before settling down, the three ex-riders huddled together.

"Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" Kid asked.

"'Cause we're headin' into the unknown," Buck explained.  "It's like Sam said, the gang's waitin' for someone to come after them and they're not gonna go down without a fight.  I got the feeling, whatever it is we're gonna come up against tomorrow, is gonna be nothing but a big headache."

"We better stick together then," Jimmy said, looking at Buck then letting his eyes linger on Kid.  "I got you two into this and I'm gonna get you out of it."

"Jimmy, we're big boys, we can take care of ourselves," Kid argued.

"I know you can," Jimmy agreed.  But I made a promise to someone and there's no way in hell I'm going back on my word,  he said to himself.

The day dawned, bright and cool.  The weather was taking on a change; there was a crispness in the air that meant fall was on its way.  It also meant the members of the posse wanted this manhunt over with sooner than later, to avoid too many nights sleeping in the cold night air.

It was a quiet group that broke camp and saddled their horses.  They headed out with Buck in the lead.  His assumptions were quickly proven true as he picked up a trail on the other side of the pond and the posse found themselves headed toward Black Rock Valley.  

Buck, with his friends close behind him, stopped at the top of the hill and waited for the others to catch up.  "There it is."

The riders fanned out so each could have a look at what Buck was talking about. 

Looking downward, the bottom of the valley was fairly flat and covered with patches of prairie grasses.  It was dusty toward one end with a small creek flowing off to one side, a few decrepit objects nearby that would have been called trees in their finer days.  Across from them was a precipitous rock wall, not leading anywhere but straight up.  No coverage was to be had on that side but looking around them and below where they sat was a hideout made in heaven.  As Buck had mentioned, there were steep paths leading to the valley floor.  But it was what surrounded the paths that caught each man's eye:  there were rocks, the occasional fallen timber or standing tree, bushes and plant life scattered throughout, and ledges that seemed to disappear behind more rocks.

Jimmy, Buck and Kid glanced at one another.  They've been in situations like this before and knew it usually just led to trouble.

“How do we even know they’re in there?”  Charlie mumbled.

“Because there is no way out from down below,” Buck explained.  “The rock wall cuts the place off at the bottom, connecting everything.  They came this way and I don’t see any tracks showing that they left the area.”

Sam looked around him, cursing the situation he found himself in.  It wasn't his favorite thing to go riding blindly into a valley, especially when the other fella more than likely had the upper hand.  But what could he do?  He had to check it out.  He trusted Buck's opinion one hundred percent - the gang was in there, it was the only logical explanation for their whereabouts.  "So they’re here somewhere.  Anybody see any movement anywhere?" Sam asked.

Heads shook no as each member of the posse saw the same thing:  serene landscape below and no one in sight.  The problem was that it seemed too quiet.

Kid sighed.  "Well, we're not gonna find out anything sitting around up here all day."

Sam hated this but it was part of the job.  He was responsible for tracking down criminals and bringing them in to justice.  Sometimes it meant putting himself and his men in danger but it had to be done.  They couldn't just sit still waiting for the gang to come to them.

"Nope," Sam agreed.  "It's a big valley; they could be hiding anywhere."  He turned his horse to the left, where an obvious trail was visible.

"At least the rocks provide some protection," Charlie observed.

"Well, I don't think they're gonna want any trouble just now, at least not until they're sure we're not just passing through, looking for a place to rest and water our horses," Sam said, though he felt unconvinced with his words.

"Let's go," Buck said and he, Kid and Charlie started the others in motion.

"Jimmy," Sam called out.  "Hold up a minute."

Jimmy turned his horse toward Sam.  "They gotta be watchin' us, Sam.  They ain't dumb, they've gotten away with enough robberies these last few months to prove that."

Sam nodded, a grim look to his face.  "Buck will keep his eyes open up front and Kid's good about sensing things too.  I want you to keep an eye out back here.  Even though we’re facing the chance of boxing ourselves in, at least at the bottom we can see what we’re up against.  On this trail we’re nothing but moving targets.  I'm not gonna relax until we're at the bottom."  He started his horse down the trail, following the others.

"I ain't gonna relax until we're back in Rock Creek," Jimmy muttered to himself.  Sitting high in the saddle, he could barely make out Buck and Kid leading the way down.  He followed in their path, glancing back one more time just to play it safe.

And that's when the first shot rang out.