Steve just shrugged.
"Right.. the word of a murderous gunslinger, that carries a lot of weight with the Law..." he flashed his deputy badge, just so the whole group was aware exactly who they would be gunning down, if the lead started to fly.
"Then again, what's one more killing, or a half dozen, among friends?"
"For one, I know who your ties really are, that badge means nothing to me. Two, I'm not murderous, just crazy." He laid his hand on his pistol. "And if you want to start throwing insults, I hope your trigger finger moves as fast as your mouth...or faster then my hand. How about you just state your buisness."
((We really need Tela before we leave the clearing, unless we rewind some and go back to assuming Buddy is dead and gone at the bottom of the crevice, with his guts floating on the water...
((that's still the mystery, with the blood and the guts and the mountain lions...and need Catori's input...))
((so, what say you few, majority rules... rewind and say Jake and Greg are safe, but Buddy is still 'dead' or wait for Tela to catch up and play out Buddy's resurrection??))
Meanwhile, in Abeline...
A disheveled wisp of a man, Gavin (the man-servant from the Willoughby-Rutherford ranch) exits a stagecoach out front of a large brick building. It is one of very very few brick buildings seen in these parts, and the boilerplate engraving over the double door entrance arch reads CAVENDISH EMPORIUM INTERNATIONAL ULTD
After a few short words with a secretary out front, Gavin is escorted from the lobby to a back office on the ground level of the 3 or 4 story building.
He stands before a large oak desk, behind which rests a man in a comfortable leather-bound chair.
"Chester Rutherford is dead..." Gavin squeaks softly. "The estate house is burned to the ground..."
"And the woman? Sarah Willoughby?" the man behind the desk questions.
"Also deceased..." Gavin explains.
"Was it the fire? Was it an accident?" the man seems slightly concerned, but mostly bothered to have to ask for details.
"It was... an accident... mostly..." Gavin tries to explain, badly. "And Buddy Reno was there... and a gang of savages! It was horrible!!"
"Buddy Reno?!" the man's voice takes on an excited, almost gleeful lilt.
"And a group of thieving savages? Perfect! We should have to work this to our advantage right away!"
Gavin nods, and glances around the room, nervously, not making eye contact with the large man behind the desk.
"Here's what I need you to do..." the Man explained his plans to Gavin.
...and the plot began to thicken, again....
Greg fought every instinct in his body not to skin his pistols and kill them. He might have made it out alive, but he wasn't willing to risk the others lives. He cooly glanced around at the other men. One of the men wiped his brow with a blue bandana, which had a scorpion on it. He recognized the symbol on it instantly, but desided to keep his knew found info to himself for right now. He had had many run in's with the little band. Maybe these hadn't heard about him, maybe they hadn't. It was to dark for them to recognize him anyway, unless one of them had seen him before, which he doubted, and hoped against at the same time.
Luis looked around. It seemed pretty hopeless. He looked over at Catori. If that blade went just a little deeper...
Just then, a faint rumbling sound came from out of the distance. It grew gradually louder, until finally a dense wave of huge, dark brown bodies started pouring over the ridge to the west. It looked like black mud gradually overtaking the landscape.
The men looked around at each other, a little nervous. A few minutes passed, and the herd of bison was close to trampling them. It showed no sign of slowing or changing course.