Just Dalton: The Dalton Series, #9

By Ed Law

Dalton had put his past behind him and made a new life for himself in the town of Two Forks, but now the settlement is facing its greatest ever challenge. The nearby town of Sweet Valley is attracting most of the new homesteaders and the few people that do head toward Two Forks are being attacked by McKinley Vinge's marauding bandit gang.

 

Dalton resolves to wipe out the bandits, but his mission takes an unexpected twist when he meets a man who knows about his past. With this man being determined to take his revenge, Dalton will need all his cunning to defeat him while not destroying everything he has created in his new life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Culbin Press
• Release date: Feb 12, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224660919

Book preview

Chapter One

The wagon looks like it’s heading to Two Forks, Dalton said.

It sure does, Loren Steele said. He joined Dalton in drawing his horse to a halt at the top of the outcrop. These days it’s good to see one that’s not heading to Sweet Valley.

Dalton gave a rueful smile. Since the founding of the community of Two Forks an influx of homesteaders had ensured that the town had grown steadily. Recently a rancher, Cliff Sinclair, had arrived with big plans and plenty of money to spend, but afterward some families had reckoned that the area had become too crowded and they’d moved on to form the settlement of Sweet Valley, two days upriver.

Then, ironically, many newcomers chose to settle in Sweet Valley leading to that town growing quickly and Two Forks stagnating. Despite the new town being close, to date nobody from Two Forks had visited this place to find out what the attraction was.

That hadn’t stopped the town becoming the main subject of conversation. In fact, one of the reasons why Dalton had decided to spend the last few days hunting in the hills with Loren was to be with someone who didn’t always talk about this other place.

It was mid-morning and they were three hours away from Two Forks, while the wagon would contain the first people they had come across since leaving their homes. When the wagon had passed by to head along the front of the outcrop Dalton turned to Loren.

We ought to catch up with them and introduce ourselves, he said.

Loren nodded. We should, and an escort into town will be safer for them, although we don’t want to frighten them so I don’t reckon we should mention our recent bandit trouble.

Dalton shrugged as Loren brought up the subject of the second big challenge that Two Forks was currently facing.

Except nobody in Two Forks has had a clear sighting of these bandits and over the last few days we’ve covered a wide area and we’ve not seen any sign of them. I reckon they’ve now either moved on or there never were any troublemakers in the first. . . .

Dalton trailed off from pouring scorn on the widely held belief that a gang of marauding bandits was operating in the area when he was proved wrong in the worst possible way. A line of six riders came surging down the other side of the outcrop heading directly toward the wagon.

The riders were a hundred yards away from the wagon with a steep slope left for them to navigate when the wagon driver turned to them. The men then whooped with delight, seemingly enjoying the chase, so he sped up.

I hope you’re right, but this looks bad, Loren said.

Dalton nodded. Then he and Loren hurried their horses down the slope. Over the loose and slippery ground they concentrated on picking the safest route down. By the time they reached level ground the riders were a quarter-mile ahead with the wagon around the same distance farther on.

The riders were clearly chasing after the wagon removing all doubt about their motive and identity, so Dalton and Loren gave chase at a gallop over terrain that was flat and rocky. The bandits gave no sign that they knew they were being pursued, and with them only making sure they rode fast enough to gain on the wagon, possibly because they didn’t know the terrain well, their pursuers gained on them.

They had halved the distance to the straggling riders at the back of the group when the first gunshot sounded. It must have come from the wagon as the bandits grouped up and milled around before spreading out revealing that the wagon had stopped.

The driver had chosen an acceptable defensive position of a dip in the ground that would provide some cover while the bandits were out in the open. Dalton and Loren added to their problems when, while still galloping toward them, they blasted off a volley of lead.

Most of the riders cringed down in alarm, now apparently realizing for the first time that they were being pursued before they split into two groups of three men. One group stayed on horseback and moved toward the wagon while the other group headed away from it before dismounting and seeking the available cover on the rocky ground to counter Dalton and Loren’s assault.

Dalton searched for cover, too. A large mound was a few dozen yards away, so he drew his horse to the side while beckoning for Loren to follow him. The bandits had time to blast off a quick round of wild shots before both men galloped behind the mound.

Dalton and Loren drew their horses to a halt, quickly dismounted and then scrambled up the mound. When Dalton reached the top, to his delight he found that he had an excellent view of the scene ahead.

The bandits were stuck out in the open with limited cover between the mound and the dip in the ground where the wagon had stopped. A man and woman had taken cover just below the lip of the hollow, but the bandits didn’t have his height advantage and they wouldn’t have a clear sight of them.

Sure enough, the mounted riders weren’t even facing in the right direction when the man raised himself and blasted lead at them. His shots failed to hit any of the riders, while Dalton and Loren fired down at the group of men that were nearest to them.

These men would have decent cover if they were facing anyone who was on the same level as they were, but from up on the mound Dalton had a good view of them. Their shots clattered into rock several feet away from their targets, but the lead was close enough for the men to hug the dirt and get themselves out of sight.

One of the mounted bandits gestured at the wagon and then at the mound while several men turned to him suggesting he was their leader. He confirmed his identity when he swung an arm overhead and pointed to the open plains to his side.

We ride! he shouted before following his own order and galloping away.

The other two mounted bandits didn’t waste a moment before following him and by the time the woman raised herself to fire, the riders were galloping away. She still peppered lead at their retreating forms and Dalton and Loren encouraged the developing rout by shooting at the nearer group of men.

This time they’d gotten their targets in their sights and the shots ripped into the rock directly in front of the places where they were hiding forcing them to stay down. When they paused in their firing to reload one man leaped to his feet and scampered for his horse, and this encouraged the other two men to join him in fleeing.

Loren turned to Dalton and raised an eyebrow, silently asking whether they should open fire now that they had a clear view of the bandits. Dalton shook his head, figuring that they’d achieved their main objective by thwarting the ambush.

It looked as if the bandits weren’t just retreating with the intention of regrouping later and launching a counter-attack, but if they shot up some of the men that might get the others’ bloodlust up enough to fight back. Despite that resolution, when the bandits had mounted up, Dalton and Loren still hurried them on their way with high gunfire.

The man and woman joined them in firing at their fleeing forms. Then they moved out of the hollow, but as the leader was now several hundred yards away with the other riders trailing along behind him, every passing moment only made it clearer that they wouldn’t be coming back.

They sure gave up quickly, Loren said, punching the air with glee. If that was the worst that this bandit gang can do, nobody need ever fear them again.

Dalton shrugged. We got lucky so we shouldn’t be too confident. We had good cover, as did the folks from the wagon, while the bandits were stuck out in the open.

You’re right, but I’ve always reckoned that you make your own luck.

Dalton smiled at Loren’s positive thinking before they both made their way down the mound. When they reached ground level the only sign of the bandits was a distant and dispersing dust cloud.

They headed to their horses and rode on toward the wagon, and they received several supportive waves from the man and woman. When they’d dismounted the couple moved forward to greet them.

We sure are obliged for what you did, the man said and then introduced himself as Grover Cox with his wife being Velma. Who were those varmints?

We don’t know, Dalton said. For the last few weeks a rumor has been going around about bandits being in the area, but we’ve had no proof that anyone is actually trying to waylay people.

Until now.

"It would seem so,