The sun was sinking lower in the west and the sky was ablaze with shades of orange and red. A light, cool breeze blew the grass and moved the leaves in the trees but not enough to make any noise except for the occasional soft swishing of the grasses that could be heard if a person was very still and listened closely. The night was peaceful and serene. Here and there rabbits hurried to their holes and the very last birds sought the sanctuary of the trees. All around, living creatures were preparing for sleep. In town lamps would be lit as families settled in for the evening.
But they were a long way from town, three hours at least. The four men rode almost as quietly as the swishing grass. The leader was the oldest of them, a rough man with work worn hands whose hair was beginning to gray. He wore old cowboy boots and leather chaps. His face was tanned from riding in the sun and lines lay in his leathery skin. His gray eyes were tired but cold as flint and unflinching. He was an undisputed leader. He would not be challenged nor even questioned. He knew it and so did the men riding behind him.
He was comfortable as long as he was on his horse and the two moved as one. He’d been pushing the edges of civilization further west since he’d arrived in this new land years ago. The land was destined to be farmed and that meant clearing out the savages. The only way that the savages would stay cleared out was to kill them so that was what he did. Years ago it seemed that for every one that was eliminated, two more appeared. But now, the battle with the savages for lands in the west was starting to be won, at least in this place.
It was dangerous work though; he’d lost a few men to the savages. The men he had now were alright, except the lookout. He was a bit too green. The lookout boy also seemed just a bit too soft. Maybe that was the trouble; green was fine, but the kid had no fire in him for the task at hand. Well, a lookout was needed and he was it. He’d been instructed what to look for and how to alert if he saw anything suspicious. It wasn’t difficult but it was vital to their success.
The leader’s gray horse, a young stallion walked slowly and cautiously as if it knew its master’s thoughts. It too, would not dare defy him. The animal was well accustomed to battle and never spooked or flinched, much like his master. There was no particular attachment of the horse to its rider but it was an obedient animal that did its master’s bidding. In the distance, a faint bit of smoke began to appear. They’d be at the Indian camp soon enough.
A few feet behind rode the second in the gang of five. He was younger by a good ten years or so than the leader of the group. He too, was weathered from the sun. His face held a different expression and there was an eagerness to get to the camp in him that the leader did not share. These missions were necessary to secure land for coming settlers and the old man had no problem in carrying them out. But he did not anticipate them with excitement as the man behind him did. To the younger man, the battle was exhilarating. Hatred for the savages ran through him to the core. Years ago they had taken his brother and he had vowed to make them pay. It was his life’s work to kill as many as possible and hopefully, some day, to eliminate them altogether from the new land.
Beside him a third rider, with hair bleached nearly white by the sun and eyes that were far too pale in his darkened face, rode on in silence. His face was troubled, but not by the thought of the killing that would soon take place. Rumors abounded that one of the savages had given birth to a baby that belonged to a white man. He was anxious to see if this were so. If there was anything in the camp resembling him, he would need to get rid of it. No one had as yet speculated on the origin of the child; indeed, its very existence was not even confirmed. He sighed. He ought to have done away with the woman when he was done with her. Normally he would have, but she’d gotten away from him. He could have gone after her but something stopped him. She had a certain wild beauty about her and truth be told, he wouldn’t mind getting her again. Of course, the savages had to be exterminated, but it didn’t much matter in what order they went. She’d be dealt with sooner or later when whatever village or camp she was in was attacked.
