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"Revenge, Renewal and the Promise of a New Year" (Boot Hill/D&D)
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<blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 1849972" data-attributes="member: 8530"><p><strong>Chapter Forty, “We’ve got to get out of this place!”, January 7th, 1882:</strong></p><p></p><p>Kate then moved back over to Nanuet and out of Knowles earshot. "We came out here to retrieve the Cartwright's cattle, find the men who took them, and deliver Knowles to Geronimo. We have Knowles, but he still hasn't told us how many men he has down there. Getting the cattle could be difficult. Two of the men who took them are dead, and we don't know if the other two are here or not. At least we have names for them. It might be time to take Knowles down and let the Cartwrights know what we found. Otherwise we go down there and get the cattle, but I don't know how we'd do that."</p><p></p><p>Well, we should certainly let the Cartwrights and Flint know what we found. They need to make a decision about how to handle the situation with their cattle. I will help them do what they need to do, but it is their call. Hopefully they have been doing more than just waiting for us.” And that question is immediately answered as everybody hears what sounds like dynamite exploding and the entire mountain shakes.</p><p> </p><p>Ruby looks around quickly to see if there is any evidence of collapse. "We'd better get out of here and I would say the quicker the better..." She pauses and looks at Katherine, "Just in case." Kate takes a last, longing look at all the books on the shelves. "Flint. We should have known better. If these books all get buried and lost I'm going to be very upset."</p><p></p><p>While the rest of his friends were questioning Knowles, Jake was taking his time searching through the room looking for valuables or useful items. He does a quick check of the dead bodies as well. He is curious about the pistol Mclaury used to shoot him, and takes it with him. He also picks up a rifle and ammo, and looks around for a double action revolver with holster. </p><p></p><p>When he hears the explosion, he walks over to the rack where the hats and coats are hanging. Unfortunately the coat rack was beside the door and was caught it the same shotgun blast that hit his own hat. The five hats remain, but all have at least a few holes shot in them, as does one of the coats. The amazing thing is that the other coat, a brown leather duster, doesn't have a mark on it despite having been closer to the blast than some of the hats. Jake takes a hat anyway, as it is only temporary and best not to be in the desert sun without one. "Hmm, isn't that interesting." He says when he notices the jacket is unharmed and takes that as well.</p><p></p><p>Jake turns to his companions and swings the shotgun and rifle over his shoulder, his pockets bulging with shells. "Ready when you are." The others are ready to leave as well, although Katherine clearly has plans to return for the library. As they are moving he says, "Too bad they are blowing them up, I was just coming up with an idea to even the odds with the rest of them rustlers."</p><p></p><p>While they are heading out of caves Jake’s falls in next to Katherine, to pretending to help keep an eye on Knowles. "Hey Lady" he says quietly, "don't be so hard on yourself because you think you got us into this. Nanuet was going to do this with or without you. And he did save my a..., bacon last night. We all came of our own free will. Don't think the world revolves around you." He says in mock sternness. "Besides, If I hadn't come I would have missed that whole tough gal outlaw thing you had going. I'm impressed." Suddenly Kate smiled. "Are you suggesting it doesn't revolve around me?" she teased. "Tough gal outlaw, hmm? I'm starting to fit right in."</p><p></p><p>They reach the mouth of the cave and hear the sounds of rifle fire coming from the caves below. There is then another loud explosion and the mountain shakes again. Checking the other cave, they find the trio who they tied up are gone with the ropes all cut. Jake shakes his head. "We probably should have gotten some of our other folks up here right away. No looking back...” He quickly puts on the jacket instead of carrying it. He reloads the shotgun, his Colt Peacemaker, and checks to make sure the rifle is loaded. "I guess the time for fast talking our way out is past." </p><p></p><p>He walks over to Knowles, cocks the rifle and put the barrel point of the rifle to the man's neck. "Now listen here, and listen carefully. Geronimo did send a message for you with Nanuet. And that message is he wanted you to come and see him. And he also asked Nanuet to bring you back to him alive. So you need to understand that the Indian has not lied to you. Me on the other hand, I'm not to be trusted. And I've never met Geronimo. And I don't give a mules ass about whether you survive this or not. Now the only thing keeping me from pulling this trigger is because I like Nanuet. However, I think getting you out will put his life in danger. so I'm thinking I will pull this trigger and let him off the hook. Now fast, tell me something valuable about how we ALL get out of here alive without the rustlers shooting us as we go down the mountain and change my mind about your value and the wisdom of Geronimo and Nanuet."</p><p></p><p>Knowles says that he does know of another way down, back in the tunnel using the first side tunnel to the left off from it. He says that before they established their headquarters in the end care they had checked out all the other tunnels. That tunnel loops around through the mountain and comes out on the cattle trail a short distance below the lower caves. He says that Curly Bill didn't care much for that particular exit as sections of it are only around three feet wide and five feet high which was a very tight squeeze for a big man like him, but he still wanted to keep it maintained and accessible in case of an emergency.</p><p></p><p>"That sounds like our way out," Kate says coming up next to Jake. "If we can make it through before this mountain comes down on our heads. " "How long will it take us to go through the tunnel?" she asks Knowles. Ruby comments “What happens if we get there and it's already collapsed, we might get trapped inside. And what if this guy is lying and it takes us right into the rest of the rustlers? But it's better than being picked off one at a time going down the mountain..."</p><p></p><p>Nanuet says, "I vote for the tunnel, and then we come back around and see what kind of trouble our friends are in. I'll go first because I can see better in the dark, but Mr. Knowles here will be right behind me. And Jake, if you happen to get an itch on that trigger finger of yours, try not to scratch it too fast. Of course, that is if we all agree."</p><p></p><p>Jake says,"All right, I guess it is the tunnel. I suspect we'll need a lantern or two." Jake surveys the accumulated pile of weapons around them and frowns. "Someone give me a hand with this stuff." Nanuet replies,"As long as we have some light, maybe Ruby should go first since she has the keenest eyes and the light will spoil my infravision. I will help Jake carry the stuff. Ms. Katherine, if you don't mind continuing to keep an eye on our new friend..."</p><p></p><p>Ruby makes sure all her weapons are reloaded, her pistol and the handy shotgun. "Do we have some light?" "All set" Katherine states and lights the lantern. Then she will start down the tunnel, moving as fast as she can while still looking for traps and listening for noise. </p><p></p><p>They make their way back down the main tunnel and into the side tunnel. The tunnel is irregularly shaped with many hills and gullies along the way. They soon realize that carrying the boxload of shells for the hand-cannon is not only very difficult but also very dangerous as there is a change it could spill and possibly detonate. Jake finds a out of the way crevice to hide the box in. He takes out four shells out of the case first to fill the empty spaces inside the carry case, which Nanuet then puts back over his shoulder. The box is then covered over with rocks and dirt to make it less obvious. </p><p></p><p>They continue onward, coming upon a section that the wooden support beams have recently collapse. There is still enough room for person to crawl through, but it takes time. After that they continue onward as the tunnel curves down and two the left. They see light ahead and reach an exit that has been camouflaged with shrubs and branches, which are quickly moved out of the way. Kate kept her attention focused on Knowles as they passed beneath the mountain. She had been fine in the larger tunnels, but this small cramped area made her feel as if the entire weight of the mountain was resting on her shoulders. She followed Ruby through the tunnel, her pistol in one hand and a lantern in the other. They finally came out of a concealed entrance onto a dirt road. They exit onto a eight-food wide dirt road where they hear a series of gunshots coming from higher up the mountain a few hundred feet away. </p><p></p><p>The sound of gunfire was clear a bit further up the mountain. They had gotten out, but now their companions were above and in need of help. "We should get up there, but can we trust Knowles to behave?" Kate asked quickly as the sound of a wagon racing down the road came to her. "Or maybe we should just get out of the road," she finished, her voice nervous.</p><p></p><p>Jake quickly drops the extra weapons he was carrying but holds onto the shotgun and clambers up the rocks nearest to the road, the closer the better, to attain a height of 10-15 feet. He then crouches and looks up the road. Kate took her cue from Jake and used her pistol to wave Knowles to the side of the road. She got him behind an outcropping and told him to crouch down. She then stood in front of him so he wouldn't be seen by anyone in the wagon, while still trying to keep herself relatively hidden.</p><p></p><p>Ruby considers throwing a big branch into the road but doesn't think she has enough time. She gets off the road, next to Kate, and finds a good spot where she can see the road and also keep an eye on Knowles. She also takes the time to find where Jake and Nanuet are hiding, just in case.</p><p></p><p>Jake is the first to see the wagon, which is a type of heavy freight wagon common to mining towns. A team of 6 horses is pulling it and it appears to be going at top speed, which is probably a bit too dangerous for a curving mountain road. It has a drivers and one other man up in the front and five more men in the back of the wagon. All except for the driver have weapons in their hands and are looking out in all directions. </p><p></p><p>As they near begin to near one of the men in the back spots Jake atop the rock and takes a shot at him, which doesn't even come close. The driver makes no attempt to stop the rig. They also can now hear the sound of two more horses coming from up the road. From Jake's higher vantagepoint he makes out one to be somebody he doesn't know who points a revolver behind him and fires. Around sixty feet behind him is Heath Barkely on another horse who ducks his head down. Shots also continue to ring out higher up the mountain. </p><p></p><p>The wagon is now almost up to where the others are. As a trained singer Ruby knows a lot about breathing and vocalizing and recognizes in the very first millisecond of Knowles mouth and chest movements that he is about to shout.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Silver Moon, post: 1849972, member: 8530"] [B]Chapter Forty, “We’ve got to get out of this place!”, January 7th, 1882:[/B] Kate then moved back over to Nanuet and out of Knowles earshot. "We came out here to retrieve the Cartwright's cattle, find the men who took them, and deliver Knowles to Geronimo. We have Knowles, but he still hasn't told us how many men he has down there. Getting the cattle could be difficult. Two of the men who took them are dead, and we don't know if the other two are here or not. At least we have names for them. It might be time to take Knowles down and let the Cartwrights know what we found. Otherwise we go down there and get the cattle, but I don't know how we'd do that." Well, we should certainly let the Cartwrights and Flint know what we found. They need to make a decision about how to handle the situation with their cattle. I will help them do what they need to do, but it is their call. Hopefully they have been doing more than just waiting for us.” And that question is immediately answered as everybody hears what sounds like dynamite exploding and the entire mountain shakes. Ruby looks around quickly to see if there is any evidence of collapse. "We'd better get out of here and I would say the quicker the better..." She pauses and looks at Katherine, "Just in case." Kate takes a last, longing look at all the books on the shelves. "Flint. We should have known better. If these books all get buried and lost I'm going to be very upset." While the rest of his friends were questioning Knowles, Jake was taking his time searching through the room looking for valuables or useful items. He does a quick check of the dead bodies as well. He is curious about the pistol Mclaury used to shoot him, and takes it with him. He also picks up a rifle and ammo, and looks around for a double action revolver with holster. When he hears the explosion, he walks over to the rack where the hats and coats are hanging. Unfortunately the coat rack was beside the door and was caught it the same shotgun blast that hit his own hat. The five hats remain, but all have at least a few holes shot in them, as does one of the coats. The amazing thing is that the other coat, a brown leather duster, doesn't have a mark on it despite having been closer to the blast than some of the hats. Jake takes a hat anyway, as it is only temporary and best not to be in the desert sun without one. "Hmm, isn't that interesting." He says when he notices the jacket is unharmed and takes that as well. Jake turns to his companions and swings the shotgun and rifle over his shoulder, his pockets bulging with shells. "Ready when you are." The others are ready to leave as well, although Katherine clearly has plans to return for the library. As they are moving he says, "Too bad they are blowing them up, I was just coming up with an idea to even the odds with the rest of them rustlers." While they are heading out of caves Jake’s falls in next to Katherine, to pretending to help keep an eye on Knowles. "Hey Lady" he says quietly, "don't be so hard on yourself because you think you got us into this. Nanuet was going to do this with or without you. And he did save my a..., bacon last night. We all came of our own free will. Don't think the world revolves around you." He says in mock sternness. "Besides, If I hadn't come I would have missed that whole tough gal outlaw thing you had going. I'm impressed." Suddenly Kate smiled. "Are you suggesting it doesn't revolve around me?" she teased. "Tough gal outlaw, hmm? I'm starting to fit right in." They reach the mouth of the cave and hear the sounds of rifle fire coming from the caves below. There is then another loud explosion and the mountain shakes again. Checking the other cave, they find the trio who they tied up are gone with the ropes all cut. Jake shakes his head. "We probably should have gotten some of our other folks up here right away. No looking back...” He quickly puts on the jacket instead of carrying it. He reloads the shotgun, his Colt Peacemaker, and checks to make sure the rifle is loaded. "I guess the time for fast talking our way out is past." He walks over to Knowles, cocks the rifle and put the barrel point of the rifle to the man's neck. "Now listen here, and listen carefully. Geronimo did send a message for you with Nanuet. And that message is he wanted you to come and see him. And he also asked Nanuet to bring you back to him alive. So you need to understand that the Indian has not lied to you. Me on the other hand, I'm not to be trusted. And I've never met Geronimo. And I don't give a mules ass about whether you survive this or not. Now the only thing keeping me from pulling this trigger is because I like Nanuet. However, I think getting you out will put his life in danger. so I'm thinking I will pull this trigger and let him off the hook. Now fast, tell me something valuable about how we ALL get out of here alive without the rustlers shooting us as we go down the mountain and change my mind about your value and the wisdom of Geronimo and Nanuet." Knowles says that he does know of another way down, back in the tunnel using the first side tunnel to the left off from it. He says that before they established their headquarters in the end care they had checked out all the other tunnels. That tunnel loops around through the mountain and comes out on the cattle trail a short distance below the lower caves. He says that Curly Bill didn't care much for that particular exit as sections of it are only around three feet wide and five feet high which was a very tight squeeze for a big man like him, but he still wanted to keep it maintained and accessible in case of an emergency. "That sounds like our way out," Kate says coming up next to Jake. "If we can make it through before this mountain comes down on our heads. " "How long will it take us to go through the tunnel?" she asks Knowles. Ruby comments “What happens if we get there and it's already collapsed, we might get trapped inside. And what if this guy is lying and it takes us right into the rest of the rustlers? But it's better than being picked off one at a time going down the mountain..." Nanuet says, "I vote for the tunnel, and then we come back around and see what kind of trouble our friends are in. I'll go first because I can see better in the dark, but Mr. Knowles here will be right behind me. And Jake, if you happen to get an itch on that trigger finger of yours, try not to scratch it too fast. Of course, that is if we all agree." Jake says,"All right, I guess it is the tunnel. I suspect we'll need a lantern or two." Jake surveys the accumulated pile of weapons around them and frowns. "Someone give me a hand with this stuff." Nanuet replies,"As long as we have some light, maybe Ruby should go first since she has the keenest eyes and the light will spoil my infravision. I will help Jake carry the stuff. Ms. Katherine, if you don't mind continuing to keep an eye on our new friend..." Ruby makes sure all her weapons are reloaded, her pistol and the handy shotgun. "Do we have some light?" "All set" Katherine states and lights the lantern. Then she will start down the tunnel, moving as fast as she can while still looking for traps and listening for noise. They make their way back down the main tunnel and into the side tunnel. The tunnel is irregularly shaped with many hills and gullies along the way. They soon realize that carrying the boxload of shells for the hand-cannon is not only very difficult but also very dangerous as there is a change it could spill and possibly detonate. Jake finds a out of the way crevice to hide the box in. He takes out four shells out of the case first to fill the empty spaces inside the carry case, which Nanuet then puts back over his shoulder. The box is then covered over with rocks and dirt to make it less obvious. They continue onward, coming upon a section that the wooden support beams have recently collapse. There is still enough room for person to crawl through, but it takes time. After that they continue onward as the tunnel curves down and two the left. They see light ahead and reach an exit that has been camouflaged with shrubs and branches, which are quickly moved out of the way. Kate kept her attention focused on Knowles as they passed beneath the mountain. She had been fine in the larger tunnels, but this small cramped area made her feel as if the entire weight of the mountain was resting on her shoulders. She followed Ruby through the tunnel, her pistol in one hand and a lantern in the other. They finally came out of a concealed entrance onto a dirt road. They exit onto a eight-food wide dirt road where they hear a series of gunshots coming from higher up the mountain a few hundred feet away. The sound of gunfire was clear a bit further up the mountain. They had gotten out, but now their companions were above and in need of help. "We should get up there, but can we trust Knowles to behave?" Kate asked quickly as the sound of a wagon racing down the road came to her. "Or maybe we should just get out of the road," she finished, her voice nervous. Jake quickly drops the extra weapons he was carrying but holds onto the shotgun and clambers up the rocks nearest to the road, the closer the better, to attain a height of 10-15 feet. He then crouches and looks up the road. Kate took her cue from Jake and used her pistol to wave Knowles to the side of the road. She got him behind an outcropping and told him to crouch down. She then stood in front of him so he wouldn't be seen by anyone in the wagon, while still trying to keep herself relatively hidden. Ruby considers throwing a big branch into the road but doesn't think she has enough time. She gets off the road, next to Kate, and finds a good spot where she can see the road and also keep an eye on Knowles. She also takes the time to find where Jake and Nanuet are hiding, just in case. Jake is the first to see the wagon, which is a type of heavy freight wagon common to mining towns. A team of 6 horses is pulling it and it appears to be going at top speed, which is probably a bit too dangerous for a curving mountain road. It has a drivers and one other man up in the front and five more men in the back of the wagon. All except for the driver have weapons in their hands and are looking out in all directions. As they near begin to near one of the men in the back spots Jake atop the rock and takes a shot at him, which doesn't even come close. The driver makes no attempt to stop the rig. They also can now hear the sound of two more horses coming from up the road. From Jake's higher vantagepoint he makes out one to be somebody he doesn't know who points a revolver behind him and fires. Around sixty feet behind him is Heath Barkely on another horse who ducks his head down. Shots also continue to ring out higher up the mountain. The wagon is now almost up to where the others are. As a trained singer Ruby knows a lot about breathing and vocalizing and recognizes in the very first millisecond of Knowles mouth and chest movements that he is about to shout. [/QUOTE]
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