4. The situation now. The arrival of the other Rangers. What transpired then.

[xiphias]

4. The situation now. The arrival of the other Rangers. What transpired then.

Sarah's brothers filled in a few more details.

"Ramona is an excellent doctor," Dan said. "She traveled with the Union Army during the war, and was a far better medic than any of the 'official' ones. But Dad's wound was just too serious. His spine was hit. The fact that he survived long enough to write that letter to you is due entirely to Ramona's skill, and she was also able to relieve much of his suffering."

"We telegraphed back to the Ranger headquarters to let them know what's happened," John continued. "The rest of our unit should be arriving today. Dan, and I aren't enough to take on Cavendish's gang just the two of us, but with our unit, we ought to be more than a match for them."

"Your whole unit is only a half-dozen men. Cavendish still over a dozen, even after Tomas's family and Dad killed as many as they did," Sarah objected.

"Yes, but we're trained for this sort of situation. Cavendish's men are hardened killers, but they're killers, not soldiers, not Rangers. They fight one-on-one; they don't understand tactics the way we do. We Rangers are expected to prevail against two, three, even four times our numbers. And we will," Dan said.

"I think you're being overconfident," Sarah said. "This is personal, and it's clouding your judgment."

"It's always personal, Sarah," John said. "If it wasn't our father, it would still be someone's father who died. Murder is always personal. We can't ever forget that."

Jim Bates, Sam Cooper, Jack Stacy, and Joe Brandt came on the afternoon train, and the six Rangers joined with Sarah, Ramona, and Tomas in the Reid's kitchen to discuss how they would proceed. They looked over the maps that Ramona and Tomas had drawn.

"Looks to me," Jack said, "if we can manage to get over this ridge here, we can sneak in from behind. They're going to be watching the ravine that is the main way in, but if we can get through over here, we can catch 'em unawares."

"It'll take some stealth. That's my job," said Sam. "Jim and me can creep through, and set up here and here, on the east and west sides." He pointed to two spots on the map. "Then, the other four of you can come in hard from the south, over the ridge, and that just about ought to do it."

Sarah had never come closer to military tactics than reading Julius Caesar's accounts of the Punic Wars, but she had to admit that it looked pretty convincing. "I suppose you're right. If you can get into those positions, I guess a half-dozen men will be able to defeat all of Cavendish's men."

Ramona said, "The trick is going to be getting into those positions. You can't go along the ravine; Cavendish and his men will be watching it. And you're going to need some sort of guide to lead you over that ridge – the land there is tricky. Tomas or I would be the natural choices for that – but," she gestured to her bandaged leg and Tomas's splinted arm, along with their other wounds, "we're just in no shape to go. The only thing I can suggest is to go into town and see if there is someone there who knows the area well enough to act as a guide. Our homestead is remote, but there are a few hunters and trappers and the like who know the area well enough to get you where you need to go."

"Why can't Dan or John just take us there?" Joe asked.

"I haven't been there since I was eight years old," Dan said. "John was five. I don't think we'd remember enough to get us through."

Jim said, "Fair enough. I'll go head into town tomorrow morning and ask around for someone who will suit."

The next day, word spread quickly through the town that some Rangers were looking for a scout or guide that could help them deal with the Cavendish gang that was holed up nearby. Eventually, Jim found himself pointed to Sven Jorgensen's general store. Everyone said that Sven knew everybody in town, and that, if anyone knew someone who could help, it'd be Sven.

The store was closed up when Jim came, but a medium-sized unremarkable man answered quickly enough when he knocked, and introduced himself as Sven.

"You must be the Ranger looking to find a guide. I heard about you, and I may have just your man."

A tall, gangly man came out from the back room. "Howdy. I'm William. Only been around this town a couple weeks, but I'm the best darned scout you'll ever find. If anybody can get you to where you need to go, I can do it."

Jim looked him up and down. "If you can do it, you're our man."

When they got back to the Reid's farm, Dan pulled Jim aside. "You sure we can trust this fellow?"

"The man at the general store, Sven, vouched for him."

Dan nodded. "Jogensen's a good man, and an excellent judge of character. I'm satisfied."

William suggested that they have lunch, then head out just after noon. "I don't know the area just perfect, but I know it okay. We ought to go out soon, to give ourselves as much time as we can to get there."

"Yes," Dan agreed. "Sooner is better. It's not going to take Cavendish long to hear that there are Rangers in town, if he doesn't already know. Our best bet is to get there this afternoon, take a bit of time to look around and plan our attack, then attack tonight after dark."

William seemed uncomfortable inside, and ate outdoors. The Rangers, Tomas, Ramona, and Sarah talked distractedly during lunch, but they were all clearly thinking more about the battle to come than paying attention to conversation. The end of the meal was greeted with an emotion not entirely unlike relief as the Rangers were able to start actively DOING rather than planning and waiting. Sarah's brothers hugged her, then mounted up. The Rangers, led by William, rode off down the trail.

After about five minutes of watching Sarah pace and fidget, Ramona spoke up. "Why don't you go into town and pick up a few things at the general store? There's nothing we absolutely need, but I can think of a few things that might be useful, and neither Tomas nor I are quite in a condition to do so." She indicated their respective bandages and splints. "More importantly, you could use the change of scenery. Believe me, the best thing for you right now is to be doing something."

Sarah nodded. "How are you dealing with everything?"

Ramona gestured to the array of ingredients and equipment on the table in front of her. "I'm continuing to work on my medicines. Tomas has been sleeping; his injuries are worse, so he needs the rest. Work and sleep – those are the best medicines for both worry and grief."

"Then I'll be back soon."

She saddled her horse, and rode into town. But when she got to Jorgensen's general store, she was surprised to see the front door closed and locked. It wasn't unheard of for him to take some time off in the middle of the day, but it wasn't usual, either. She dismounted, and peered through the windows inside. She didn't see anything unusual, and didn't hear any response to her knock, so she went around the back of the building.

A window was wide open. She climbed in.

Jorgensen's body was crumpled in the middle of the floor in the back room. Blood had soaked into the wooden floor from the gunshot in his back. In a daze, she walked over to him, tried to straighten out his limbs, which were fairly stiff. All at once, the implications struck her. She ran back to her horse, and galloped back to her farm. She burst into the kitchen where Ramona and Tomas were.

"Sven Jorgensen's been murdered."

Ramona and Tomas looked up, startled, and Sarah went on.

"From the stiffness of his body, I think he was dead before Jim went in to talk to him, which means that, whoever Jim talked to, it wasn't Sven. It's a trap."

Even injured, Tomas and Ramona managed to saddle their horses in almost no time.

"I have a fairly good idea the route William must be leading them," Tomas said. "They have a good head-start on us, and Mother and I are injured, but I'm certain we know the land much better than William could. Perhaps we will get there soon enough to make a difference."

They rode hard, but were still out of sight of the Rangers when they heard the fusillade of shots from far ahead.

After the initial volley, the shots tapered off to individual shots. Sarah, Ramona, and Tomas rode quickly but cautiously up to the canyon from which the shots had come, and found what they feared – the bodies of the Rangers. A few other bodies, presumably of Cavendish's men, were visible up above, at the ridge of the canyon – so the battle wasn't entirely one-sided, but the Rangers had had no chance.

Tomas and Sarah stopped in shock, although Ramona scanned the ridgeline for any remaining enemies. Only when she was satisfied that they weren't in any current danger did she ride forward to join her son and Sarah.

The base of the canyon was a slaughterhouse. The bodies of a half-dozen men and horses lay strewn around the ground. They'd clearly been cut down in seconds, but, even so, every one of them had a gun in their hand, and had managed to return fire.

Sarah dismounted, and walked forward, blank-faced. She walked toward each body, checking for signs of life. She closed each body's eyes, straightened its limbs, went to the next one. She left her brothers for last.

Tomas and Ramona sat silently.

She paused for a while before Dan Reid's body, and finally moved on to John. She closed his eyes, and laid him out, then stood up. She turned to Tomas and Ramona. Her eyes were unfocused and her face was slack.
She picked up a bullet that had missed the Rangers and had impacted into a rock. She inspected the flattened bullet and began speaking. Her voice was calm, and she had a professorial, lecture-like tone, but her face didn't change from its blank look.

"The medieval alchemists considered all things to have a hierarchy. Humans were at the pinnacle of the beasts, while gold was the highest of the metals. It seems ironic that these men, examples of the finest that humanity has to offer, and therefore the highest of the highest of the animals, were all killed by lead, the basest of all metals.

"It's not right. Primitive man fought with bones, and wood, and stones. There is symmetry in that – if people are brought down and returned to the earth, it was done with things already of the earth. Homer's heroes all fought with bronze, a metal which reminds us of the sun, and of gold. Bronze is a metal suited for heroes. The Romans fought with iron, and King Arthur's knights with steel. These, too, are metals which may kill a man. Iron may rust, and show the color of blood. Steel may shine like the moon, like silver. I can accept that.

"But lead? How can it be that these men, balanced on the finest point between the highest of the animals and the lowest of the angels, can be brought down by the basest of the metals?"

She bent over, and unfastened the silver star from her brother's vest. She straightened up, examining the badge she held in her hand.

"If they had to be killed," she said, " if people must die by violence, it ought to at least be by silver, by something pure and holy, not by base lead."

She turned around, and started walking purposefully up the scree of the canyon wall, heading for the wilderness. Tomas stared for a minute, then, when it became apparent that she intended simply to walk off into the badlands, he stepped forward to retrieve her. Ramona put a hand out, and stopped her son.

"We have to stop her!" Tomas protested. "She'll die out there!"

Ramona looked at him steadily. "We have to give her that chance."

Tomas stared at his mother with a look of shock and horror. Ramona continued.

"I've seen this before, in the war. She's just lost everything – her entire family. A part of her has just died. Out there in the wilderness, she'll either find something to replace it, or the rest of her will die with it."

"We have to go after her! We can't leave her to die like that! How can you be that cruel?"

"I'm not being cruel. This is the kindest thing we can do for her. If I'd lost you, along with your father and grandfather, I'd be doing the same thing as Sarah. And, had you lost me, so would you. She has to find a reason to live. Living without a reason is crueler than dying."