Chapter Thirty-Two
Steve looked up sharply as he heard a gunshot in the distance. The sound made him uneasy, but he couldn’t say why. It was probably just someone hunting game, though it was the wrong time of year for wild game; you didn’t hunt in the spring and summer because the young needed their parents for survival.
“Maybe someone shot a rattler.” Bucky said, seeing Steve’s frown.
“Maybe.” He agreed, turning his attention back to the herd. They were counting the cattle, checking on their welfare. The calves all looked to be growing well, and the herd overall was doing fine. All in all, they were looking at a very profitable year once it came time to drive the cattle to the railhead.
After a while, Steve looked up from his work as he tipped his hat back, wishing for a breeze. What he saw made his heart seize a moment. There was a large plume of dark smoke rising from where the ranch buildings should be.
“FIRE!” He shouted to Bucky, startling the cows and horses. “Get everyone back to the house! Now!” He ordered as he wheeled his bay gelding Tucker about, spurring him into a gallop as he raced towards the ranch house and outbuildings. Bucky let out a piercing whistle, followed by a shout, and soon everyone was racing after Steve. That much smoke meant either a wildfire had started and the buildings were in danger, or something had happened and at least one of the buildings was burning.
As the ranch came into view Steve felt fear grip him, and a sense of loss. All the buildings were ablaze in one manner or another; the bunkhouse was a massive wall of flame, the barn blazing, the stable looking near to collapsing, and it looked as if the kitchen on the house was just catching aflame. He could hear the dairy cows bellowing and lowing from their paddock, the horses still in the stable whinnying and slamming against the walls of their boxes, while those in the nearby horse paddock were also in a panic.
He all but vaulted off of Tucker’s back, tying the horse to the corral before racing to the barn. They had to get the livestock out before they burned alive. Likely Falsworth and Happy Sam were already working on helping the horses.
He could hear Bucky shouting outside, barking out orders. Steve ignored him, ignored the feed that was beginning to smolder, the hay in the loft that was blazing and about to bring the roof down on them. The cows should have been out to graze already, but he had to make certain that none were still left inside. He trusted that Happy Sam had already made sure, but he needed to see for himself.
Satisfied that the barn was empty, Steve barreled out of it, and into the stable to help free the horses who had remained inside that day, unaware of what was happening at the ranch house.
Bucky had set half the men to putting out the house fire, while the other half worked to free the horses. It was clear that there was no saving the bunk house, barn, or stable, but the house fire was still small, mostly contained to the kitchen. There was still a chance that they could save the house.
It was Dum Dum who ran into the kitchen first, letting out a horrified shout at what he saw. He had nearly tripped over Falsworth’s form, and he could see Happy Sam lying in another pool of blood. Seeing that, he didn’t think, he just acted. He reached down and grabbed Falsworth beneath his arms and pulled him from the burning kitchen, not noticing that the man’s eyes were open and vacant in death. All he knew was that he had to get his friends from a burning home.
“The hell?” Bucky demanded, seeing Dum Dum dragging Falsworth from the kitchen door.
“Happy Sam is in there too. I didn’t see Missus Rogers.” Dum Dum said as Sam and Dernier rushed past him to get to Happy Sam.
“I’ll check the rest of the house!” Denier called over his shoulder, while Bucky spun, looking at the buildings. They all flinched as the slow crash came, the bunkhouse roof collapsing into the building.
Please God, don’t let her be in one of those buildings.
Bucky didn’t have time to wonder what had happened to bring such destruction; he only knew that this could not be natural. Someone had set the fires, and they needed to fetch the sheriff. He turned, seeing a wagon come rumbling up the drive, the horses at a gallop. Clint was at the reins, Laura and the children with him. Clint brought the team to a stop and he jumped down from the wagon. They must have seen the smoke and come running, Bucky realized; a fire in summer was dangerous, it could spread to the grass and trees easily, endanger the entire community.
“Don’t worry about the other buildings, try to save the house!” Bucky shouted to Clint, who nodded, grabbing one of the milking pails that Junior had pulled from the barn and was filling at the pump. “Clint, is Cooper able to ride to town on his own?”
“He is, with a steady horse.” Laura was the one to answer, pausing between house and pump with a bucket of her own.
“Cooper!” Bucky shouted for the child, jogging to where he had tied up Fuego. The child came running, fear in his features. “Cooper, ride my horse. Get to the sheriff, tell him that someone set fire to Bluestone. Then get the doc. Ride as hard as you can, we need doc here sooner rather than later, understand?”
Cooper nodded, and Bucky helped the young boy up onto the back of the horse and giving him the reins.
Steve came running from the stables, “We’ve got the horses out, but I can’t find…” He trailed off, staring in horror as Dum Dum and Sam carried Happy Sam from the house, blood staining their clothes. He saw Falsworth lying on the ground a short distance away, and looked to Bucky, fear and horror in his eyes. “Where is she?”
“We don’t know, Stevie. Dernier is checking the house for her right now.” Bucky said as he passed the reins to Cooper. “I’m sending Coop for the sheriff and the doc right now.”
“I have to find-”
“We have to stop the fire. We’ll find her.” Bucky assured Steve, before there came the crack of a handgun being fired. Steve stumbled back, tripping and landing on his ass as he clutched at his left shoulder, blood staining his fingers. “STEVE!” Before Bucky could do more than lunge to his friend there came another crack of a gun, and he stumbled, dropping to the ground as well. Cooper kicked Fuego into a gallop, sending him away from the ranch as there came another gunshot, and another, people shouting and fire surrounding him.
Fuego barreled down the drive, and Cooper got him on the road, racing towards town and help as the roar of the barn collapsing in on itself followed them.