W. C. Tuttle

“ These were all man-hunters. They were hard-bitted, calloused, merciless in their calling, but at heart they were still kids. Dobie was one of them. He was no younger nor older than they. The hard life of the border makes men out of boys.
As Dobie rode along through the dust he scanned the hills closely. To the north, as far as eye could see, there were nothing but hills, boulders and mesquite. Southward stretched the same hills into Old Mexico, the land of great unrest. Suddenly Dobie drew up his horse and peered closely at the hills north of the road. ”

“ Came the sound of a soft footfall, and one of the guards walked around the corner, almost colliding with Dobie. He was a small Mexican in ill-fitting clothes and wide hat; looking in the half-light like a huge toadstool.
He started back in affright and tried to throw up his rifle, but Dobie dove into him like a wildcat and they fairly pin-wheeled for a moment. The rifle went spinning away and they came to a stop against the wall of the next building.
But the Mexican was no quitter. They surged to their feet, fighting silently. ”

“ Bill Steen sighed deeply and shook his head.
“I dunno, Dobie. Sam Langdon may know who done it, but I don’t reckon he done it himself. He balked on runnin’ drugs, yuh remember. The fellers that stole the baby are ornery enough to do murder. But what in thunder can we do?”
“Not a blasted thing!” exploded Baldy. “I wish I had a little army behind me. I’d go into Mexico and clean out the whole country. If Verdugo was wiped off the map, this wouldn’t be a bad little world to live in.” ”

“ The room was a litter of blankets, straw, cooking utensils. Leaning against the wall was a number of old Mauser rifles and several bandoliers of cartridges were scattered on the floor.
Dobie picked up a rifle and examined it. The clip was filled with cartridges. He picked up a belt of cartridges and buckled it around his waist. The sleeper grunted and changed positions, but did not wake up.
He could hear men calling to each other and they appeared to be coming closer. He whirled back to the open door. Six or eight men were coming up the street toward the barracks, walking fast. ”

“ Some soldiers were coming down from the barracks, and another group were crossing the street at the east end of town. Dobie drove his man around the corner toward the hitch-rack. The little girl was game. She clung to Carver’s neck and braced her knees between his bound elbows.
There were several horses at the hitch-rack. Dobie untied his buckskin. The fire had spread rapidly and the seasoned old building burned like tinder. From across at the cantina came a yelp of alarm, and Dobie knew that it would only be a short time until all of Verdugo would come to the fire. ”

“ IT WAS a very dangerous position for a fifteen-year-old boy, but Dobie was of the desert breed; a breed that matures early. He knew that he could circle the town and get back to the line with a whole skin, but he did not come to Verdugo to go back alone.
He came in at the rear of an adobe dwelling, where he stopped in the heavy shadow to rest a moment. Some men had stopped on the street and were arguing. He heard one of them demand that the others hurry with him to circle around behind the barracks. ”

“ There is much danger for you if this man escapes.”
“Man! He is only a boy.”
“In age,” agreed Gonzales. “But in size and ability he is almost a man, my friend. And he is the son of Dixon, the border officer, who is now dead.”
“You’ve got a fine army, if they can’t take one kid.” Carver was growing sarcastic now,
“And if he escapes, you might regret it,” said Gonzales softly. “He knows who you are, my friend. The whole border will know that you are a dangerous man, and friends of Gonzales are not wanted, or”—Gonzales laughed softly—“are very much wanted on the other side of the border.” ”

“ Dobie grinned widely in the glare of the flashlights.
“I suppose I might as well make the best of it,” said Carver, before Dobie could reply, “so there’s no use kickin’ against what’s comin’ to me, but I’d just like to inform you blood-hounds that the town of Verdugo and my friend Gonzales were taking awful chances when they gave this kid reasons for coming across the border.”
“Yeah,” admitted Bill seriously; “he’s got the makin’s of a good man.”
“Good man!” snorted Carver. “He’s got the makings of a whole blasted army.” ”

“ Dobie placed Jane on Carver’s back and told her to hang on to his neck. She was frightened and protested that she did not like that man, but Dobie assured her that the bad man couldn’t hurt her now and that it was too far for her to walk.
“You can’t get away with this, kid,” assured Carver. “They'll get yuh when yuh leave here.”
“I s’pose. But dad used to say that the things we worry about the most never happen. Get over by the door.” ”

“ Then he realized that it was only a matter of a few minutes until Gonzales would come with the soldiers. Carver knew this, too, and he was willing to prolong the battle.
Then Dobie assumed the aggressive. He advanced toward Carver, who eyed him malevolently. He struck a light blow at Carver, who threw up an arm to block it, but did not attempt to strike back. Dobie drew back and grinned.
“Kinda got enough, eh?”
Carver did not speak. Dobie backed away a little and glanced swiftly around. Near the door was the rifle, lying across a box. Carver knew what was in Dobie’s mind. ”

“ Baldy fairly exploded. “Never did like that Langdon. I'll betcha he’s mixed up with smugglers. Never does any work. I allus feels sorry for his wife.”
“She ain’t very strong lookin’,” admitted Dobie. “I wasn’t doin’ nothin’ but givin’ little Jane an orange, when out he comes and hops all over me. Tells me to sift out of there. I sifted.”
Bill Steen laughed. “Well, it’s his baby and his house, and if he wants to be ornery——”
“He can go ahead and be ornery, eh?” grinned Dobie.
“Baldy cooked a pot of beans, Dobie,” informed Jim Cleveland. “He’s goin’ to make a flock of biscuits, too.” ”

“ Dobie nodded quickly. “Saw two puffs of it. Dunno how many there was before I seen it.”
Baldy snorted audibly.
“When they start Injun signalin’, what chance have we got, I'd like t’ know?”
“Kinda helpless,” admitted Bill slowly. “They’ve got all the best of it. Thirty miles of border and three men to watch it. Why, it would take one man for every twenty feet of that line to stop all smugglin’.”
“You ain’t tryin’ to tell us any news, are yuh, Willyum?” queried Baldy. “If yuh are, it ain’t somethin’ that’s goin’ to surprise me a heap.”
“I got run off Langdon’s place,” volunteered Dobie. ”

“ Langdon got to his feet and hooked his thumbs over the waist-band of his pants.
“Carver, I don’t like this stuff. Booze is bad enough, but—I’d as soon see anyone play with a rattlesnake as to fool with drugs.”
“You don’t have to take ’em,” reminded Carver. “Why should you worry about who uses ’em?”
“I would, though. I’d dream at night about the—” Langdon shook his head slowly. “No, I can’t do it, Carver.”
“You won’t be asked to make some easy money again. We don’t have much use for quitters, Langdon.” ”

“ Langdon shrugged his shoulders. He knew that it meant an open break with Doc Carver and Gonzales, but he was firm in his intentions not to smuggle drugs.
“It’ll put you in bad,” said Carver slowly. “We can cause you a lot of trouble. A tip to the right parties, eh?” Carver laughed meaningly. ”

“ He swerved toward the building, getting the horses between him and the oncoming soldiers.
Gonzales, Carver and the officer were running from the house, shouting orders to the soldiers, who stopped. Dobie slipped past the horses, and darted around the corner of the frame building. He heard one of the soldiers yelling that someone had just run around the corner, and a moment later he heard them clattering toward him.
TO RUN down the street would put him at the mercy of the whole army; so he ducked into the half-open doorway of the frame building and closed the door behind him. ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1969, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 54 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”