Longarm looked around at him. “What? Did you think I was going to throw those damn vials?”
Fisher had gone white under his tan. He said in a trembling voice, “Longarm, you can’t do this. Look here, you’re going to draw that slingshot back. What if one of them rubber bands busts? The jolt will set one of them sonofabitches off and blow you and me right off this butte.”
Longarm said matter-of-factly, “Yes, that could happen.”
Fisher said, “Or when you release that thing, after you’ve drawn it back and then catapulted it out there, hell, the motion alone is going to shake it up. Longarm, this ain’t going to work. My God, man, this ain’t going to work.”
Longarm said, “I’m counting on them being so cold that it’ll take a considerable shock like hitting the ground to make the stuff blow up.”
“You’re counting on it? You mean you’re guessing.”
“Well, sometimes a man has to do a little guessing in life.”
“Not with my life, he don’t.”
“Fisher, take it easy. This is safe. Ain’t you ever taken a chance before?”
“This ain’t a chance, Longarm. You ain’t taking a chance. You are working your way right close to getting us blown all to hell. Have you lost your mind?”
“You’re making too much out of this thing, Fisher.” He said it with conviction, but his own hands were trembling slightly as he fiddled with the slingshot. “How far off do you reckon they are now?”
Fisher lifted a cautious eye over the rock. “They’re coming now pretty quick. They’re in a gallop. I think they’re going to try and get off a few shots at the crew. That engine is getting off mighty slow. I don’t think they left enough steam in the boiler. That train crew better get to hustling or they’re going to get a few holes in their smokestack.”
Longarm said, “Not if this stuff works like I think it will work. Tell me where they are now.”
Fisher said, “They’re about two hundred yards to our left coming straight down the middle between the buttes and heading straight for the engine. They’ve got their horses at a hard run now. A few of them have their pistols drawn, a few of them have rifles out.”
Longarm said, “I reckon it’s time then.” Willing his hand to be steady, he reached out and plucked one of the delicate glass vials from its icy nest. As gently as he could, he put it into the leather pouch of the slingshot, holding it delicately but firmly with the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. He held the handle of the slingshot and said tensely to Fisher, “Where are they now?”
Fisher said in a faint voice, “These may be the last words I speak, but they are nearly even with us now. If you’re going to let that thing off, you’d better do it pretty quick.”
Longarm rose to a half-crouch, enough to see the band of men as they were starting to pass the butte. He let them pass it by about fifty yards and then with a prayer in his heart, pulled back the pouch of the slingshot as far as the rubber would stretch. Then, with as gentle a motion as he could, he released it. The glass vial flew through the Y of the slingshot and arced through the air. Both Fisher and Longarm watched in fascination as the vial arced further and further out and as the horsemen rode closer to its eventual descent.
The two men lost sight of it as it fell toward the ground, but then, an instant later, there came a terrific explosion right in front of the charging gang of bandits. A cloud of smoke and dust and dirt went up. They could see a flash of fire at its center. Following the thunderclap of an explosion, they could hear the high whinnies of the horses and the shouts and curses of men. Longarm had only a moment to survey what he had done. Then he knelt and took the second vial out of the oilskin pouch, carefully put it in the leather pouch of the slingshot, aimed it toward the middle of the bunch, and fired it, arcing it high in the air, watching it tumble end over end and then start down, down, toward the band that was intent on destroying the railroad. Only then could he see that several horses were down and a like number of men. Beside him, Fisher Lee was methodically firing his rifle. Longarm saw men fall out of the saddle suddenly. He saw horses go down suddenly. He was aware that Fisher had changed guns and that he was now firing Longarm’s carbine.
Then the second vial hit, exploding even louder than the first. This time, it hit right in the middle of the bandits. There was the same flash of fire, then smoke and a high-rising cloud of dirt and dust.
Fisher said, “My God. Would you look at that?”
Longarm said, “Keep shooting, dammit.”
As swiftly as he could and as carefully as he could, Longarm knelt and took another vial from the second pouch and fired it into the air. He was aiming this time behind the milling, frightened, scattering riders. He didn’t take time to watch this one land. Without pause, he bent to get the forth vial of the nitro. This time, he fired in a flatter arc, aiming to hit beyond the crowd of men who were by now so obscured by smoke and confusion that it was difficult to tell how many were down and how many were still up and riding. Even Fisher was now spacing his shots.
With the boom of the fourth explosion sounding in his ears, Longarm stepped quickly to the big sacks of ice and took out the third oilskin packet. As quickly as he could, he returned to his firing place, lifted out one of the vials, placed it in the slot of the slingshot, and fired, watching the twinkling glass oblong as it sparkled in the sun. He was already leaning down to reach for the sixth vial when he heard the explosion. This time, he fired without looking. There wasn’t much point. The smoke and dust made it nearly impossible to tell what the situation was below.
To his right, Fisher said in an anxious voice, “Ain’t you done yet? You’ve set off six of those damn things and I can’t see a damn thing that I’m shooting at.”
“Yeah, I think I’ll save the other two. I might have a use for one or two of them later.”
Fisher said, “I ain’t riding a foot further with you and those damn things. My God, will that dust never settle?”
He suddenly sighted and fired as a man broke out of the smoky haze. The shot knocked the horse down and the man went sprawling. He landed on his knees and started running toward the unfinished track. Fisher followed him with his rifle and fired. The bullet kicked dust up in front of the man. He wheeled as Fisher levered another shell into his carbine and then, aiming carefully, fired again. The man threw up his arms and pitched over backwards.
Longarm took up his own rifle and reached into his pocket where he kept some spare cartridges. As fast as he could, he rammed them home into his rifle. Then he leaned across the rock just in front of him, watching the back of the mass of smoke and confusion. Two riders suddenly burst out, heading back in the direction that they had come. He shot the first, leading him slightly, knocking him out of the saddle. The shot caused the second man to veer off to the right, taking him rapidly out of range as Longarm levered another shell into the chamber. He fired, knowing it was a chance shot and knowing that he would have to be lucky. He aimed for the man’s thigh, hoping that if he missed the man, it would hit the horse. The bullet went harmlessly wild and the man galloped on. Longarm hollered loud, “Fisher, quick, this way.”
They both swung their rifles in unison at the fleeing rider. They fired at the same time, and for a second it seemed that they had missed. Then the rider slumped forward in his saddle as the horse stumbled. The horse went head-down, flipping over on his back. The rider fell with him. After a second, the horse scrambled to his feet and ran off, trailing his reins. The rider lay in a crumpled heap.
Now, some of the smoke was starting to clear, some of the haze and some of the dust. What they saw was hard to believe. Some twelve horses were down and at least that many men. Longarm took a quick count. At best, he saw four riders, still aimlessly trying to find their way. Together, he and Fisher methodically concentrated on first one and then the other, firing simultaneously at the man the closest to his escape route. Within two minutes, all four were down.