The Promise

32. Crying and kissing

"Oh, no. They are coming," Rango wailed, when a roaring sound of Roscoe's men were hearable.
"Let's leave," Jake ordered and turned around.
"But what about Wounded Bird?" Rango asked. "He is still in the tunnel."
Jake hissed with disgust. "Forget it. We have to disappear."
"Are you still annoyed about him, just because he wanted to shoot you?" Rango spat.
"Guard your tongue, little man!" Jake warned.
Rango crossed his arms petulantly. "I will not leave withouuuuuuuuuuuuuuu..."
Jake didn't let him finish his sentence. He circled his body around Rango and Beans and slithered back the mine way. It wasn't difficult for him to find the way. Like blind, he followed the tunnel. Behind them running footsteps of their haunters.

Chorizo held his hands on his mouth. Kinski and Stump stood like frozen. Bill was so shocked that he forgot the matchstick in his hand and burned his fingers.
"Ouch!"
Darkness surrounds them again.
Chorizo sighed in relief. "Thanks god, the light is out again."
Bill gave him a side clap.
"I'm such an idiot," the Gila monster muttered. "That's what he meant."
"Who meant what?" Stump asked.
"On the paper stood "TTXXXTT". Maybe that's what that guy meant, who wrote this."
"TTXXXTT?" Chorizo reiterated. "Dude! That's an old miner joke."
"Are you serious?" Kinski asked.
"Of course I am. TTXXXTT means TT for crying and XXX for kissing and means „Explode" or "Dynamite!" It makes people crying and kissing for hot love."
The mouse chuckled hoarsely.
Bill growled mockingly. "Nice."
"Bill?" Stump asked. "Why don't we use the explosive dynamite to hunt away Roscoe?"
"Nice idea," Bill said mockingly. "Ticket to our grave." He grabbed for Stump's ears, but in the darkness he grabbed Kinski's ear instead.
"Use your brain!" Bill cried. "We are underground! And think about the gold! Let's disappear until the damn situation is over."
"Nice, nice!" Kinski wailed. "But let my ear."
Bill touched forward and realized Kinski's face. "Sorry."
He released him and walked against Chorizo by mistake.
"Damn! Be careful!" Bill ranted.
"Sorry, dude!" Chorizo replied sarcastically.
"Let's turn back." With these words, Bill touched back to the wall. "Follow me."
"Uh, Bill?" Chorizo asked.
"What?"
"Shouldn't we take one of the boxes for us? You know. Our lost dynamite. We could use them for another train robbery."
Bill thought a moment silently. "Alright. Just one box. Then we leave."
He took more distance before he lighted up a new matchstick again. His men looked around until they found a small dynamite box, which they could transport easily.
"Hey, look," Stump said and pointed into the box filled cave. "There is a light at the end of the tunnel."
"Don't go there!" Kinski warned. "Don't look at it!"
"No, I'm serious. Look over there."
"He is right," Chorizo probated. "There is really a light."
"I don't wanna die," Kinski muttered afraid. "A light in a dynamite cave is a bad sign."
"Let's see what's going on there," Bill decided. He extinguished his fire and walked forward.
"Bill!" Chorizo warned. "That could be dangerous. Let's disappear."
But Bill didn't listen to him and continued his steps.
The three animals exchanged glances, and then they followed him.
Stump gave Kinski a tipping side slap. "I have a bad feeling."
Kinski nodded. "Me too."
"I think that's the way which guide to the fork of the main tunnel," Bill mumbled to himself. "The cave part must be a circle way."
He stopped. The light was very close and clear now.
"It must be behind the boxes." Bill pointed at a stack of wooden boxes.
Stump perked up his ears. "Do you hear that?"
Someone rustled on the floor.
Bill nodded at the others. He creeped along the boxes and peeked behind them.
An old oil lamp had placed on the floor. Beside there kneeled a little figure, who seemed to work with something.
Bill made a big step forward. "What are you doing there?"
The figure turned around and Bill looked at the feared face of Mister Owlden.
"Good Lord, you shouldn't be here," the old owl said.
"That's my business," Bill complained. "What are you doing here?"
Mister Owlden jumped up and waved his hands hysterically. „Good heaven, you have to disappear! You have to disappear!"
"I decide when I want to disappear or not!"
"Why should we leave?" Kinski asked behind Bill.
Mister Owlden didn't reply. Instead, he raised his hand and held some fuzes cords in the air.
"Just because of this," was his single answer.
The gang froze in fear. "Damn! Are you crazy!" Bill screamed.
Also his henchmen were shocked. "Do you want to kill us?!" Chorizo yelled.
Mister Owlden shrugged his shoulders. "In this case you have to run very quickly."
Bill and the others grew pale like snow, when the owl lit a matchstick.
"NOOOOOOOO! Don't..."
A sizzling sound smothered their voices.
"Ahhhh! Do something!" Bill jumped forward and trampled about one of the few burning fuses.
Suddenly, Mister Owlden pulled a gun and shot at the ceiling of the cave.
The shot echoed through the empty, cold air. Dusty stones trickled down.
"I think it's time to run," Mister Owlden ordered. "Run, run, run, run!"
He twirled his revolver. The gang got panic and ran down the cave. Also Bill. Mister Owlden followed them at a smart pace.
"Why are you doing that?!" Stump yelled while running.
"I have to destroy the gold!" Mister Owlden cried back.
Suddenly Bill stopped.
"Damn! The gold!"
They had reached the fork. Mister Owlden didn't hesitate and run inside the main tunnel, while Bill was running to the right.
"BILL!" Stump cried. "What are you doing?!"
Bill tried to ignore the cries. "Not the gold, not the gold."
He reached the place where Roscoe was still standing and unladed the gold sacks on the floor.
"Give it to me!" Bill shouted and grabbed the sack which Roscoe held in his hands.
"Take your damn hands from my gold!" Roscoe warned and tried to wrest from Bill.
"NO! It's mine!"
Bill pulled one side of the sack, Roscoe the other one and played tug war.
Suddenly fast footsteps came closer. "Bill! We have to run outside! The cave is going to explode!" Stump cried.
Bill snorted. "Not without one gold sack!"
"Let the damn gold!" Chorizo shouted. "We have to run!"
"Bill! We have to disappear immediately!" Kinski yelled.
"Not without my gold!"
"Your gold?" Roscoe yelled. "My gold!"
"Damn it!"
With these words, Kinski, Stump and Chorizo grabbed Bill's shirt and pants and dragged like crazy. But no one of the two rivals wanted to lose the grip of the sack.
Suddenly Chorizo jumped forward and bit with all force into Bill's arm.
Bill roared in pain and released the sack.
Roscoe fell backward on the stones, while the others crashed on the floor together.
"You damn creature of a....!"
"Out of here. The cave is going to explode!" Kinski interrupted the angry lizard.
They grabbed Bill's arms and pulled him away. After few forced steps, Bill's flight instinct came to live and he ran as fast as he could with his operation wounds. It wasn't easy, but he ignored the pain, because the panic was like a painkiller and ran faster than his henchmen.
Suddenly another figure appeared next to them.
"Go, go, go, go!" Mister Owlden commanded. "Soon the cave will fly to the air."
"He is ill!" Kinski shouted and tipped his forehead like crazy. "This guy is totally ill in his brain!"

Rango didn't know what happened. Helpless, he lay in Jake's grip. The cries of the men echoed through the cave. The stone walls flew away. He was totally disoriented.
Suddenly, a loud bang echoed through the cave and hurt in his ears. Rango thought his brain would break every moment and held his head. It seemed like the end of the world. Suddenly all was covered with thick dust. All coughed and gasped for air.
Rango tried to touch for Beans, but he was unable to move.
Suddenly glaring sunlight blinded him. Everything twisted around him. "Beans!"
Jake circled around in the air and landed with a loud crash on the wooden bridges.
Dust filled the blue sky. For a moment, there was silence. But then he heard coughs.
He opened his eyes. Around him, he saw coyotes on the wooden bridge, which managed to leave the mine. He opened his eyes wide, when he realized Bobby in a cactus under the wooden sidewalks and pulled out the prickles of his fur.
"Rango? Are you okay?"
He looked to the side where Beans also still lay in Jake's body.
"Uhm, I'm fine, thanks," Rango replied.
"Nice," Jake said and loosed his grip around the lizards.
They fell to the wood and looked around. He gave Beans a look, but the female lizard moved her eyes over to Jake and Rango understood. He nodded. Then he walked over to a coyote. "Excuse me, did you see a raven? Black feathers with a crutch and big hat."
The coyote was still irritated because of the explosion and fell into faint.
Rango shook his head and ran from one to another. But nobody remembered.
"No, no, no, no, no!" Rango cried and hid his face.
"Oh, Rango," Beans touched his shoulders. "I'm so sorry."
"Who cares?" Jake muttered.
"Don't talk about him like this!" Rango cried upset. "He was a good guy."
"Not good enough," Jake spat.
"Stop that!" Beans interrupted. "Rango. Better we leave the place very fast."
"But Beans..." Rango looked at her pleadingly. "Maybe he is still somewhere..."
Beans shook her head. "Impossible after such a hard explosion. Let's go before the coyotes recovered."
She guided him to the lift and together they drove down to the ground-floor. But before they passed the first cave, they stopped immediately. The stones and the wooden beams were loosed and crumbled away. Suddenly a stick burst the wall.
Black beak and black feathers appeared. "I was right."
"Dude!" Rango and Beans ran forward and looked inside the hole.
"Is that really you?" Rango was still overwhelmed by happiness.
"If Manitou isn't here, I think yes."
As fast as they could Rango and Beans cleared away the stones, so that Wounded Bird had an easy way to climb out of the mine.
"How did you find the way?" Rango asked still excited.
The raven cleaned his throat. "There are many ways which guide outside."
The two lizards looked at each other. But then Beans froze again.
"Where is Mister Owlden?"
"Here we are!" The owl waved his wings when he came out of the cave where Wounded Bird was come from. "Fortunately I studied the tunnels very thoroughly."
He climbed out. Seconds later followed by Bill and the others. Kinski and Stump were the first one who came out and dragged Bill's arms.
"Phew, at least we survived."
"Yes, but the gooooold..."
Bill covered his face with his hands and cried whiningly.
Kinski gave him a gentle clap on his shoulder.
Chorizo cleaned his hat and shook his head disapprovingly.
Stump got big eyes when he saw a little thing, which was hanging on a wooden branch.
"Jacky!" He ran forward and grabbed the stuffed rabbit. "I've got you again!"
"Jacky?" Chorizo asked with furrowed forehead. "Your toy has a name?"
Stump pouted. "Mind your own business," he spat and hid it under his hat quickly.
"Nice to see you again, Bill," Rango said.
Bill growled. Then he remembered something. "We have to disappear quickly!"
"Why?" Chorizo asked.
"I tell you later! Move! Move! Move!"
Bill grabbed Kinski's ear and pulled him away with him. Stump and Chorizo followed him with fast footsteps over the wooden sidewalk to the exit.