Ghosts of Duster | Old West Mystery Story | Podcast - Nightshade Diary

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you feel a shier up your spine from fear. Yes,
it's another story from the Night's Shade Diary. You know
what that means. Check under the bed and make sure
no one or nothing is there. Is the closet door
securely shut. Then leave your disbelief behind, amp up your imagination,
and hang on tight for another ride into terror and mystery.

(00:23):
And like all good horror stories, just imagine it's a
dark and stormy night, and remember screaming like a little
girl is permitted. The Ghosts of Duster by William W. Johnston.

(00:43):
All I'm saying is that I never promised to marry
the gal. How you know me better than that bow?
Do I look like the sort of fellow who'd want
to get himself tied down by apron strings? Beau Creole
glanced over at his best friend and said, you look
like a fellow who's damn lucky to be alive. That
lady's brother had a shotgun, you know, scratch Morton grinned.

(01:05):
I know, for a minute I figured I'd be picking
book shot out of my backside until next week. The
two men rode along the base of a ridge in
West Texas, being careful not to skylight themselves. They had
lived long, eventful lives on the frontier and knew that
although most of the hostels were either on the reservations
or had gone south into Mexico, it was still possible

(01:26):
to run across a band of renegade apaches in this vast,
rugged area west of the pecos. Bow and Scratch were
in age and had been best friends for decades, ever
since they'd met as youngsters during Texas War for Independence
some forty odd years earlier. They'd been on the drift
for almost that long. They didn't think of themselves as

(01:47):
saddle tramps. They were just too restless by nature to
stay in one place for too long. Although they had
been just about everywhere in the West, they had liked
to wander back to their home state of Texas every
now and then. Once a Texan, always a Texan, born,
bred and forever. Scratch was a handsome, silver haired dandy

(02:08):
in a French buckskin jacket and cream colored stetson. The
twin Remington revolved on her hips had tivory handles. Bou,
on the other hand, looked like a preacher in a
sober black suit and flat crowned black hat. His Colt
had plain walnut grips. The weapons were similar in one respect,
though they were well used. Bow and Scratch had a

(02:31):
habit of running into trouble. Scratch was just a natural
born hell raiser, Ambo couldn't help but stick up for
folks who were outnumbered and outgunned. They were an al passo.
When Scratch made the acquaintance a calmly maiden lady, one
thing led to another, and although the lady was still calmly,
she wasn't quite a maiden any longer. She hadn't made

(02:54):
any complaints about that change in her status, but her protty,
overly protective older brother did so, and Scratch had left
the border city rather hurriedly. Since then, they had spent
a couple of days riding east and were still a
long ways from getting anywhere. This part of Texas took
a while to ride across. Bau had done pretty well

(03:15):
in a poker game before their hasty exit from Al Paso,
so they had enough money to buy supplies. The problem
was finding a settlement where they could pick up some
more provisions. If I remember right, Beau mused, there's a
little town not too far from here, name of Duster,
I think we ought to be able to buy a
few things there. I hope, so, Scratch said. Otherwise, we're

(03:38):
going to get mighty tired of eating jack rabbit by
the time we get to San Antonio. Tired of it, maybe,
but at least we won't starve to death. The ridge
was to the north on their left. Beyond it rose
a range of jagged mountains, the sort of peaks that
jutted up out of the desert with little or no

(03:59):
warning in this part of the country. To the south
swept a vast, brown, semiarid plain that ran all the
way to the Mexican border. A few water holes were
located along the base of the ridge. Bow recalled, otherwise,
this was mighty dry country. They rode on, and as
it became late afternoons, Scratch asked, how far you say

(04:19):
it was? This duster place ought to be there anytime now,
Bow replied, then, shouldn't we be seeing smoke from the chimneys?
Bow rubbed his john frown. Yeah, it thinks, so maybe
no one's cooking right now. I was hoping for a
nice hot supper followed by a cold beer. Well, don't
give up hope just yet. Maybe I'm wrong about how

(04:42):
far it is. I've never been there, just heard Ombrey's
talking about the place. A few minutes later, though, the
settlement came into view. Bow and Scratched rained their mounts
to a halt and stared at it in surprise, or
rather at what was left of it. Little catastrophe had
happened here. That much was obvious. A number of the

(05:03):
buildings had been reduced to flattened, scattered piles of lumbers
and debris. Other structures leaned at crazy angles. Only a
handful of buildings were upright and relatively intact. At the
northern edge of town, nearest the bridge, was a huge
mound of bricks and lumber. It looked like a large
building that collapsed in on itself. Good Lord Almighty Scratch said,

(05:26):
what blazes happened here? Bo's eyes narrowed as he studied
the landscape both north and south of the Ruin's settlement.
Look yonder, he said, pointing below that notch in the ridge.
The roughly V shaped grap he indicated, had a deep
gully below it, running arrow straight toward the town. Scratch
frowned at it, and then said, that ain't natural, is it?

(05:50):
Bou shook his head. I don't think so. Looks to
me like there must have been a mighty big thunderstorm
in the mountains. The rain all washed down behind that
ridge and busted through at a narrow place that was
like a day m breaking. The flood carved out that
gull and came thundering down until it smashed right into
the settlement stretch. Gave him a dubious glance, saying it

(06:14):
rained enough to do that here in West Texas. Hell,
this is one of the driest spots easts of well
east of Hell most of the time. That's true, Bo agreed.
Every now and then it comes to a big cloud.
I've heard more than one story about folks drowning in
the desert in flash floods. Yeah, but only when they

(06:36):
was dumb enough to make camping an arroyo or some
place like that. Bow pointed again. When that ridge line crumbled,
the water formed in arroyo, and it was just like
pointing a gun at duster. I don't know if everybody
in town was killed in the flood. Seems unlikely, but
the survivors must have packed up and left, because I

(06:56):
sure don't see anybody moving around all the place looks
to be deserted, all right, Scratch admitted, He let out
a groan. So much for buying supplies here. Maybe we
can find some of the citizens that were left behind,
and we do. They'll likely be rotted from being water logged.

(07:16):
Books probably took anything that was any good with them
when they pulled up stakes Bony that Scratch was probably
right about that, but it wouldn't hurt to have a
look around. He said as much, and jogged his horse
into motion again toward the settlement. Scratch rode alongside him
and asked, what do you reckon that Pollo bricks was?

(07:38):
Don't see many brick buildings out here, mostly a dobe
in some lumber. I don't know, but it was a
good sized building. I'm surprised it collapsed. Looks like it
should have been sturdy enough to stand up even to
a flood. Maybe a cyclone come along and flattened it
later maybe, Both said, we'll ride over and take a
close look. After we he stopped short, jerked back on

(08:00):
the reins as a ragged scarecrow or a figure dashed
out from behind one of the leaning buildings and ran
toward them, screaming. Scratch cursed and slopped leather, filling his
hand with a button of ivory handled remington, but as
a gun came up with blurring speed, Bow reached the
cross with matching swiftness and clamped a hand around the barrel.
Don't shoot, he snapped, that omer's not attacking us. It

(08:25):
was true. The man was too scrawny to constitute a
thread anyway, even if he had been hostile. As he
looked forward and waved his stick like arms over his head,
his pitiful screeches became words the two drifters could understand.
Are you real, Oh dear lord, are you really here?
Please be real? Please be real. Scratch muttered, what in

(08:48):
blazes does he think we are ghosts or something? Bow
glanced around the abandoned, devastated settlement. Good place for it,
don't you think? Scratch couldn't argue with that? The scarecrow
man stambled and fell to his knees, as if on
the last of his strength had deserted him. He potted
the dust of the street, then threw his head back

(09:10):
and hold, oh Lord, take me, spare me from these
tormenting phanfasms. Would he just call a scratch asked with
a frown. I don't think he's talking about us, Poe replied,
as he swung down from the saddle. He handed his
reins to scratch here, hang on to my horse while
I see what I can do for this old timer.
It was rare for the two of them to run

(09:31):
into anybody they could call old timer. This man, who
appeared to be the sole inhabitant of Duster, fit the bill,
though he looked to be in his seventies, with long,
tangled white hair and a ragged beard that reached down
to his narrow chest. He was so skinny a good
wind would blow him away. Filthy rags flapped around his
emaciated form. Both thought the duds had once been a

(09:54):
brown tweet suit and a white shirt. The man wore
no shoes or boots. His bare feet were scar and calloused.
His eyes rolled like those o locoed horse. As Bau approached,
Take it easy, old Timer, bo said, speaking in a calm,
quiet tone, as he would have been trying to settle
down such a horse. Nobody's going to hurt you. I

(10:14):
don't know what happened here, but my friend and I
will help you. Still on his knees The man stared
up at Bow and said, are you real? Real as
ken be Bo assured him, You're not not like them?
Like who Bou didn't think anybody else was around here,
but it wouldn't hurt to ask. The man placed his
hands over his face, the bony fingers with their knobby

(10:38):
knuckles split out across his gun featured them, He said,
with a shudder, the ones that torment me. Who Bo
asked again, as it suddenly occurred to him that the
old man might be talking about some of those renegated
apaches who snuck across the border now and then. Patches
were known for being the most skillful tortures on the
face of the earth, but they weren't and who the

(11:00):
old man had in mind. As he lowered his hands,
he gazed up with the most fear haunted eyes, bauersing them.
The old man croak the children, then he pitched ford
on his face, either in a dead fainer just plain dead.
With all the debris around, Scratch didn't have any trouble
finding enough scraps of dry wood to start a fire.

(11:24):
He built a small one in the shade of a
building that was still upright, A two story structure with
a sagging balcony along the front that had probably been
a hotel or a saloon. Bow lifted the old man
and carefully carried him into that same shade. The old
timer didn't weigh much at all. His body was like
a bundle of twigs inside his leathery hide. Scratch got
some coffee brewing using water from the canteens, who made

(11:47):
sure the old man was still alive. He found the
threadlike but fairly steady pulse in the ombrey's neck. He
checked a man's body but didn't find any wound. Look
like he's about starved to death. Scratch observed starve to
death and scared to death on top of it. Both
said we'll have to get him awake again so he
can tell us what happened here. Whatever happened, it's too

(12:09):
late for us to do anything about it, and it
ain't really any of our business either. Bo just looked
o red Scratch, whose sigh went on, Yeah, I should
have known better than to say that, shouldn't I you'd
reckon after all this time, I'd know you can't abide
a mystery. Bo, c real, Let's just get a little
food and coffee in him and see if it helps.

(12:30):
The old man roused enough to gulp at the coffee
when Bow held a tin cup to his lips. He
had let the strong black brute cool off some so
the old timer wouldn't scald himself. When the man had
swallowed some of the coffee, Bow' spoon beams into his mouth.
The old timer swallowed without event chewing. Oh, mister, Bow said,
take it easy. I know you're hungry, but you're liable

(12:52):
to make yourself sick if you keep that up. The
old man's roomy eyes flickered open. Who who are you?
He choked out. His voice was hoarse from a screaming
he had done earlier. My name's Bo Khreel. My partner
scratched Morton scratch tugged at the Brimstadson, howdy. The old
timer looked back and forth between them. He was still

(13:14):
a little wall eyed. What are you doing here? Just
passing through? Bow explained, This is duster, isn't it. The
man's head jerked in a nod, spobbing a little on
the skinny net. We figured I'm buying some supplies here,
Bo went on. We didn't know that something had happened
to the town a deluge. The old man muttered. The
rainbow was a promise from God that never again would

(13:37):
the world be destroyed in a flood. But that night,
that terrible night, I began to doubt the word of
the Lord. Came a gully washer and a toad strangler.
Did it, Scratch asked? The old timer shuddered. The heavens opened,
and a torrent came upon the earth. When the ridge
he gave way was like a wall of water came

(13:58):
roaring down on the town. An our lunch only of
liquid rawed and stone. I saw it coming. He lifted
his hands and covered his face again. They muffled his
voice as he went on. I tried to get the
children out of the orphanage, but it was too late.
They fled to the upper floor, think it would be
safer there. But then then, frowning, Bow and Scratch glanced

(14:21):
at each other. Bau leaned closer to the distrattled man
said that big brick building on the edge of town.
It was an orphanage. The man lowered his voice and nodded, yes,
there were more than thirty children living there. His voice
was hollow with agonizing memories. I I was the director
George led Better as my name, the Reverend George fled Better.

(14:44):
Although God has turned his back on me now and rightfully,
so you should not to feel like that. Scratch said,
ain't no way one man can stop a flood. No,
but I should have died in there with him led Better.
Rast The older children hustled the little one upstairs, trying
to save them, but then the flood washed out the foundation.

(15:05):
The men who built it must not have used the
proper materials, Oh dear Lord. To sound as the timbers
began to creak and then snap, the rumble as the
walls began to collapse. But even over those sounds, even
over the terrible noise of wind and water, I could
hear the screams from inside. The old man began to shake,

(15:26):
and sob Bo let him, and then said, you must
not have been in the building when the flood hit.
I'd better manage to not. I went out to make
sure no one had been left outside, and then couldn't
get back in. I thought the children would be safe
on the second floor, that the water wouldn't reach that high.

(15:47):
I actually thought that I was in more danger than
they were, and I didn't come near to drowning as
the water swept me away. I had no idea that
the building would fall. You couldn't have known that it would.
Bo told him what happened to the rest of the
people in town. Led Better passed a trembling hand Oor's face.

(16:08):
Many of them were killed when the waters receded. I
performed funeral rites for what seemed like days on end.
The few who survived didn't want to stay here any longer,
and no one could blame them. They left, but I couldn't.
I had to stay. How long ago was that? Bolasked
six months eight? That Better shook his head. I don't

(16:31):
really know, and you've been here ever since by yourself.
Scratch asked yes, but I'm not really alone. The children
are here too. Bow and Scratch looked at each other again.
Then Bo said, I thought you said all the children
were killed when the orphanage collapsed. Led Better not they were,
but they're still here. Nonetheless, they come to me and

(16:53):
torment me with their sad eyes and their drowned faces.
I see them pale and lifeless, accusing me with their
pathetic gazes. Their spirits will never leave me alone because
I deserted them in their hour of need. They will
never know rest, and neither will I. You're talking about ghosts,
Scratch set led Better waved a shaking, bony hand at

(17:16):
their devastated surroundings. What better place for them? He asked, unknowingly,
echoing what Beau had said earlier. Neither the drifters had
an answer for the old man's question. Bo said, drink
some more coffee, Reverend, and then have some more of
these beans. You need to get your strength back. Thank you,
mister Kreele. This is more than I've talked for quite

(17:38):
some time. My throat is rather dry. Led Better slurp
down more coffee, and Bow helped them put away a
good serving of beans. By then, Scratch had fried up
the last of their bacon, and the Reverend ate some
ravenously too. Then he leaned his head against the wall
the building and moaned. He closed his eyes and seemed
to fall asleep. Almost immediately, Scratch moved off far enough

(18:02):
so that their low voiced conversation wouldn't be overheard in
case Ledbetter was really still awake. What intarnation are we
gonna do with the old Pelican, Scratch asked, We can't
leave him here, Bo, declared, he'll starve to death if
we do. But he don't want to go. He could
have left with the other folks who lived through the
flood if there was anywhere else he wanted to go.

(18:24):
That's only because he feels guilty about what happened to
the children in the orphanage. You can slay them on
a horse and towed them away from here, Scratch said,
But that won't make him feel any less guilty. I know,
Bo admitted, But I can't just ride away and leave
him here to die either. He glanced at the sky.
It's too late that they decide anything. Well, camp here

(18:46):
tonight and try to figure it out in the morning,
Scratch nodded. Bueno Ledbetter was still asleep, snoring softly. Bow
and Scratch tended to their horses, unsaddling the animals and
giving them a good rub down. The settlement's public well
at the far into the street had water in it,
and the crank that lowered and raised the bucket still worked,

(19:07):
so Scratch filled a trough that hadn't washed away in
the flood, and Bow gave the horses a little the
grain they had left. Taking lead Better along with them
meant that they would have to stretch their meager provisions
even further. But as Scratch had pointed out, jack rabbits
were abundant in this part of the country, Surely they
would come to settlement sooner or later. Dusk didn't mount

(19:28):
too much around here. Once the sun dipped below the
western horizon, full darkness came quickly, along with the wind
that whipped around the ruined buildings. But during that brief
half light, something stirred inside Bow, a warning prickle that
maybe something wasn't quite right. He and Scratch hunkered beside
the fire, sipping coffee and eating the last of the

(19:49):
beans and bacon that led Better had left. Bo set
his plate aside and came to his feet. I think
I'm going to take a look around town, he said.
Scratch glanced up at him. Some thing wrong, probably not,
Bo said, with a shake of his head. I just
want to make sure we're really alone here. Don't tell
me you're worried about ghosts. Of course not. But we're

(20:12):
close enough to the border that there could be a
few apaches skulking around. Yeah, you're right. Scratch reached for
his Winchester, which lay on the ground beside him. Want
me to come with you. Now stay here and keep
an eye on the horse, and the old man, Bo said,
I'll be back in a few minutes. Taking his rifle
with him, he walked along the street. Thick shadows had

(20:35):
begun to gather around the wrecked buildings. Movement seen from
the corner of his eye caught his attention. He swung
his rifle in that direction, then relaxed as he spotted
a coyote slinking off into the dusk. Bo chuckled at
this uncharacteristic display of nerves on his part. He started
walking again and looked in front of him. Two children

(20:55):
stood there. Bo stopped like he'd been punched in the chest.
The kids, a boy and a girl around ten or
twelve years old, were about forty feet away from him,
standing in front of a building that leaned over at
a severe angle. Bow couldn't see them that well because
of the uncertain light. He started toward them and said, hey, hey,

(21:17):
you kids. They disappeared with the thickening shadows. It was
hard to tell, but it seemed to Bow that the
children were there one second and gone the next. But
that was impossible, of course, He was too hard headed
to believe in ghosts. He looked forward, looking on both
sides of the street for them, but they were gone.
Bou wasn't the sort of ombre who cussed very often,

(21:39):
but if he had been, he would have let out
a few choice words right then. Instead, he tucked the
winchester under his arm, fished a lucifer out of his pocket,
and snapped it into life with his thumb nail. The
glare from the match lit up the dirt as Bow
lowered the flame toward the street, he was looking for
footprints proof that the two children need scene had really

(22:00):
been there. He didn't find any. Duster lived up to
its name. The dust in the street was thick, and
Bow didn't see how anybody could have walked through it
without leaving some sign. He grimaced as the flame reached
his finger. He dropped the match and grounded out with
his boot. Heel, you kids, come out, he called softly.
Nobody's gonna hurt you, I promise. There was no sound

(22:24):
except the soft whistling of the wind that had sprung up.
That was the explanation. He thought the wind had wiped
out any tracks the kids left. Sure that had to
be it. The children were small and wouldn't leave deep
imprints in the dusk. It wouldn't take long for a
stiff breeze like the one blowing now to blur them
beyond recognition. But wasn't sure if he believed that or not.

(22:47):
But it made a lot more sense than thinking those
two youngsters were ghosts from the collapsed orphanage. And yet
Reverend Ledbetter had insisted that the spirits of dead children
came to him and torment him. He seemed to believe
it wholeheartedly. Beau had chalked that up to the guilt
the old man felt. But what if, No, he told himself,

(23:09):
Know what if? There were ghost towns scattered across the west,
and Duster certainly qualified, but that didn't mean they were
populated by real ghosts, because there weren't any such things.
Bou finished looking around the town, and by the time
he got back to where he'd loved Scratch and led
Better night had settled down completely find anything. Scratch asked,

(23:31):
not a blessed thing, Bo replied. He didn't like lying
to his partner, but he didn't want Scratch to think
he was losing his mind. Led Better still slept bow
and Scratch sat beside the fire and talked quietly for
a while. The night was quite except for the wind,
which made the flames flicker and dance. Then a rumble
sounded in the distance. Bow and Scratch both looked up,

(23:53):
and Scratched said, thunder sounded like it might come a
little shower up in the mountains, But that doesn't mean
it's gone a flood down here again. Scratch looked around
at the horses. They shifted nervously where they were tied
with picket ropes to an old hitch rack about twenty
feet away. Somethin' spooked those cayuses, he said, as he

(24:17):
got to his feet with his winchester. I'll take a look.
I saw coyote earlier. Both said, that's probably what's got
them nervous. They must smell him. Yeah. Scratch walked toward
the animals. Before he got there, he led out a
startled yell and flung the rifle to his shoulder. He
didn't fire, though, Bo uncolled from where he sat on

(24:38):
the ground, drawing his colt as he did. So, what
is it, he asked, Ah, I thought I saw something,
Scratch said, Or by the horses, that coyote. No Scratch hesitated,
looked like a couple of kids. Scratch shout had rouse
led Better from sleep. The old man heard what Scratch said,

(24:58):
an he shrieked. They're back. Oh, dear Lord, did children
are back. There was no point keeping anything from Scratch now.
Bou told them what he'd seen earlier. Yeah, a boy
in a gal Scratch agreed, no more than twelve years old,
either of them. Led Better moaned, Those are the spirits
that always appear to me. The girl's name is Ruthie.

(25:18):
The boy's Caleb. They died when the orphanage collapsed. That
don't hardly seem possible, Scratch insisted. Folks don't just get
up and walk around when they're dead, and ain't natural.
Nothing is natural about this accursed time. My friend led
Better shuttered nothing. A distant flicker of lightning to the
north made Bogue glance in the direction. Led Better noticed

(25:40):
it too, and whimpered, probably at the memories that sight
must arouse, No doubt, those are the first warning signs
the inhabitants of Dust had had on that night months earlier.
The rumble of thunder like the sound of distant drums,
and fingers of light climbed their way across the Ebony Skies.
God is about to visit his final judgment on Duster.

(26:01):
Led Better went on. His voice rose on a note
of mysteria. You should leave, my friends, leave while you
still can save your mortal souls. The ragged old preacher
leaped to his feet and began dashing back and forth,
howling like a madman. Scratch said he comet and tried
to grab him, but led Better was too fast. Scratch missed.

(26:24):
Bow moved to get in the old man's way, but
led Better guarded past him. Two then tried to stop
as a dark shape loomed around the corner of the building,
blocking his path. Led Better bounced off whatever it was, stumbled, shrieked,
and fell to his knees. This was no apparition. Bow
knew led Better and run into something or someone solid.

(26:45):
Beau reached for his gun, but the metallic ratcheting a
revolver being cocked made him freeze. Hold it. Both of you,
Arm burries a deep, gravely voice, rasp keep your hands
away from them, hog legs. Several more men came around
the building. Starlight glinted on the barrels of the guns
they held. Bou couldn't make out any details about them,

(27:07):
but he felt the menacing under current in the air.
No need to go waving guns around, Bo said, in
a calm level voice. We're not looking for any trouble,
led Better. They huddled on the ground, whimpering. The first
gunman jerked his colt toward the Petron house. What the
hell's wrong with this old coat? He's just scared, Scratch said,

(27:27):
There ain't no need to hurt him. Scared of what.
Led Better looked up and sobbed the Lord's vengeance. Save yourselves,
Flee while you can. One of the other armen said
he's local, Tarver, you'd be doing him a fairy put
a bullet in his head. The leader turned sharply toward
the man who had just spoken. You're the one who's local.

(27:49):
You damn fool you no better, no spouting my name
all over the place. Sorry, the man muttered, But the
damage was done and they all knew it. I'll accept
led Better. Oh, it didn't seem to know anything except
his fear. Sam Tarvar was the leader of a gang
of outlaws that had been plaguing West Texas for months.
Polsees hadn't been able to run him and his men

(28:11):
to ground. So now the army was giving it a try.
Bohad see the newspaper article about Tarbor and El Paso.
Before he and Scratch left in a hurry. Tarbor turned
toward Bow and Scratch again and came close enough for
them to see that he was a big man with
a craggy face and several days worth of beard. You
fellas got horses, the boss alhood had said, we want him.

(28:35):
We only have two horses, both pointed out, and there
are He made a quid head count for five of you. Yeah, well,
they'll still let us rest two of our mounts. Tarvar said,
anything that stops us, move a little faster and stay
ahead of that cavalry patrol. So the army was catching
up to the gang. Both thought. In fact, he seemed

(28:55):
to recall Marinette. Tarvar's gang was larger than five men.
He wondered. The outlaws had already fought a skirmisher to
n lost some other members. We want any supplies you got, too,
Tarbar went on, and hall, you might as well go
ahead and hand over any denaro in your pockets. We'll
make it a clean sweep. Lightning flashed as he spoke,
and a crash of thunder followed his words like punctuation.

(29:18):
Reverend led better hold like a kick dog, and curled
up on the ground again. Maybe you're right, Harry, Tarbar added,
putting a bullet in this crazy varmint's head would be
a blessing. I thought you said we wasn't supposed to
use each other's names. Tarvar shrugged. Well, that don't hardly matter, now,
does it. Well when Scratch both knew what that meant,

(29:40):
the outlaws didn't intend to leave anyone alive in Duster.
They didn't want anybody telling the cavalry patrol which way
had gone. Five to two odds were pretty heavy, especially
when the five already had their guns drawn. But the
drifters had faced worse than their adventuresome career, and since
they still had their guns, they'd be damn if they
would die without fight. But before Bow and Scratch could

(30:04):
hook and draw, one of the outlaws, who hadn't spoken before,
I said, look yonder, Tarvar, it's a couple of kids.
What Tarvar claimed? Where right over there? Yauhud said, pointing
I I where the hell'd they go? Spirits led better,
screech spirits of the dead. Shut up, Tarvar roared, I'm

(30:25):
getting mighty tired of you, old man. Hey, mister. The
childish voice floated through the air and seemed to come
from everywhere nowhere. It caused all the men except led
Better to jump a little and look around, even the
usually iron nerved bow and Scratch. They had already encountered
the mysterious youngsters, and now they heard the boy's voice.

(30:45):
The girl chimed in a second letter, saying, over here, mister,
the voices were so wispy they didn't seem real. But
what else would you expect goes to sound like? Both thought, No,
over here, over here, the boy called there, one of
the outlaws cried. He triggered wildly, colt flame blooming in
the darkness as his shots scouted from his gun. He

(31:07):
emptied the weapon, and as he lowered, he said, where
the hell did go? I hit the little bastard? I
know I did, stop shooting, you idiot. Tarvar said, that's
a little kid. You're blastom away at. Oh it's not,
both said, figuring that any distraction were work in his
in scratch his favor, that little boy and girl were
orphans who were killed in a flood ye of months ago.

(31:30):
The water made the orphanage collapse. More than thirty children
died that night. Their spirits are here in duster. Bo
paused as more lightning glared across the sky. They've come
back to night, over here, over here, over here. The
outlaws twisted and turned frantically, looking for something that really

(31:51):
wasn't there. Scratch then close to Bow and said that
wan Ombree never reloaded his gun. I know, Bo replied,
and makes it four to two. Good enough odds for you.
Damn good enoughs. Scratch snapped and slapped leather. Look out, Tarver, yelp,
get those two saddle tramps. The outlaw's panic had given

(32:13):
Bone Scratch a chance to draw their guns. Both colts
blasted as a two drifters split up, Bow going right
and Scratch going left. Bou hoped that led Better would
have sense enough to keep his head down. One of
the outlaws spun around with the harsh cries of bullet
from Bow's gun drilled through his body. Another doubled over
as one of Scratch's slugs punched into his belly. But

(32:34):
then Tarvar and the desperado called Harry began to return fire,
forcing Scratch to dive behind the old water trough. Bow
dashed to the far side of the street, but it
was too far away. He would never make it. Sure enough,
a bullet traced a trail of fire across the outside
of his left thigh. The wound was minor, but the
impact was enough to knock his leg out from under

(32:55):
him and send him tumbling to the ground. He knew
he would be ventilated good and proper before he would
be able to get his feet again, but he had landed,
so he was turned toward the old hotel or saloon
or whatever it was, and in the light of the campfire,
Bowsaw Reverend led Better rise from the ground and throw
himself at Sam Tarboro. No, the preachers screamed, Vengeance belongs

(33:16):
to the Lord and to the children. A pair of
shots erupted from Tarvar's gun. Let Better crumple as the
bullets smashed into him. His action gave Boat time to
draw a bead on Tarbor, though, and before the boss
outlaw could fire again, the walnut handled colt leaped in
Bow's hand. Three shots rolled down, all of them hammering

(33:38):
into Tarvar's chest and driving him backward so that he
fell heavily on the old boardwalk. The planks were rotten,
tarvar busted right through them. At the same time, Scratch
fired from behind the water trough at Harry. When a
slug smashed the outlaw's elbow, the second tours throw it out.
He went down with blood fountaining from the wounds. It

(33:59):
looked more and bed in the firelight. That accounted for
four of the five outlaws, But the one who had
emptied his gun at a ghost was still on his feet.
His gun wasn't empty anymore either. He had been desperately
thumbing fresh cartridges into the cylinder as a battle went
on around him, And now he snapped the weapon closed
and lifted it, grinning as he aimed it at bow.

(34:22):
It wasn't Bo's gun that was empty. Now he couldn't
do anything. As the outlaw shouted, scratched, drop your guns, mister,
I'll blow holes in your part. I swear I will
Bow heard the curses coming from Scratch and called calivarmit.
He wasn't surprised, though, when Scratch stood up a moment
later and tossed his remington to the ground in front

(34:43):
of the water trough. All right, Scratch, said, Now what,
the outlaw chuckled, Now I get a fresh horse and
an extra one too. No way those troopers will catch me.
Bo knew the man was about to pull the trigger,
but before that could happen, something large and dark plummeted
from the old balcony. The outlaw never saw it coming

(35:04):
as it crashed into his head, shattering as it knocked
him to his knees, scratched, left his feet in a dive,
snatched one of the remingtons from the ground as he
rolled over, and came up firing. He had two shots
left in the ivory handled gun and pulled both of
them into the fifth and final outlaw. The man went
over backward, twitched a couple of times, and then lay

(35:25):
still as a dark blood stain spread over the front
of his shirt. Around him were scattered the remains of
the old rain barrel that had fallen on him. Bow
lifted his eyes to the balcony saw the gap in
the railing where the barrel had been pushed through. He
saw the two children standing there as while looking down
at the street, he half way expected them to disappear again,

(35:46):
but they didn't, and then the boy called Reverend led
Better reverend led, better get up. The preacher wasn't moving, though.
Scratch hurried to Bow's side, helped him to his feet
and whispered them ghosts are back. They're not ghost, Bos said,
with a shake of his head. They're real, and they
just saved our bacon. He called to the children, Ruthie, Caleb,

(36:10):
you kids, come on down. We won't hurt you. That's
a promise. Another rumble sounded close by. Scratch said, that
ain't thunder, that's hoofbeats, Bo said, followed a moment later
by the sound of a bugle. The cavalry's patrol. Grizzled
Irish sergeant took charge of the children while Bow and
Scratch explained to Lieutenant Still, well, what had happened here

(36:32):
in Duster, both to night and months earlier when the
flood washed away most of the town. I got a
chance to talk to those kids a little before you
rode in, Bou said. They made it out of the
orphanage that night before it collapsed, because Ruthie got too
scared to stay there and ran out, and Caleb went
after her. He's her brother. Then they were never ghosts,

(36:53):
to Lieutenant, asked Scratch grunted like that struck as a
sort of dumb question. Bou shook his head. No, they
didn't leave when everybody else did after the flood because
this was the closest thing to whom they had, and
Reverend led Better States, so they wanted to be where
he was. They tried to take care of him, but
his mind was already twisted around. He didn't believe that

(37:15):
they were alive. He was convinced they were ghosts. What
about the way they disappeared, Scratch said, they'd been living
in this ghost time for months, scrounging for food and shelter,
trying to take care of the Reverend, whether he wanted
him to or not, so they know every hiding hole
and shortcut around here. They didn't know whether to trust
Bow and me when we first wrote in, so they

(37:37):
didn't come all the way out, just spied on us
an eavesdrop until they figured it out we wouldn't hurt them.
Then Tarbor and the rest of them our hoots showed
up and thanks to Ruthy and Caleb taking a hand,
we survived that little ruckus. Bow added, that's the story, Lieutenant.
It'll be up to you now to take care of
those kids. Still Will nodded. We'll take them back to

(37:58):
Fort Stockton with us. I'm sure we can find people
to care for them. The Cowry surgeon, who was riding
with the patrol, had been working on led Better. He
looked up from his task and called the tenant, maybe
you'd better get those kids and bring them over here.
Stillwell nodded his face grim, all right, corporal, He and
Bow and Scratch went over to where Ruthie and Kaleb

(38:19):
we're talking with a massive Sergeant o'hallahan. Stillwell led the
children to the boardwalk where lead Better have been placed
on a blanket while the surgeon examined his wounds. Led
Beetter's head was propped up on a folded blanket. He
lifted a trembling hand managed to smile, said children, Ruthie, Caleb,
you're real. Although the old man's eyes filled with pain,

(38:40):
they were clearer. Now. We've been trying to tell you
that for months, Reverend Caleb said, we just wanted to
help you, and in my grief and guilt eye I
would not allow it. Ledbetter's line face contorted, I'm sorry,
so sorry, don't worry. Reverend Ruthy said, we know you
were just too sad to be thinking straight. We were

(39:00):
sad too. All of our friends died. You were all
we had left. Tears trickled down, lead, berditers, leathery cheeks.
The children each took one of his hands and clutched.
You'll have new homes now, he whispered, Real holmes, thanks
to these men. He looked at Bow and Scratch, God
bless you, my deliverers alongside came from him as life

(39:23):
faded from his eyes. Ruthian Caleb started to sob, still
holding his hands. Scratch looked over Bow and said, I
can't figure it. We didn't deliver him, nothing but a
muscle trouble, not to his way of thinking. Beau looked
up at the mountains. The thunder was faint now, the
lightning only a fading low. Looks like the storm is

(39:46):
moving on.

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