Springfield Rifle Page #5

the herd all over the mountain.

Fool, are you all right?

- Yes, sir.

- Can you make it?

Pick up a stray horse

as soon as we've left.

McCool's dead and so is Tennick.

Retreat!

There you are. Count it up quick.

- Next.

- Yankee dollars, Jim.

Send them home to your family.

May come a time they'll be useful.

If you're smart, you'll take them home, boy.

This outfit's finished.

We're not finished. Long as Yankees try

to get horses over the mountain...

...we'll try to stop them.

- You know who Mac's friend was in town?

- No.

But we'll follow the herds to the hills

and take our chances.

You'll get picked off like flies, brother.

Gotta know where they're heading, be there

first with the most. Only way it'll work.

Just a minute, men.

Captain Spencer has the right idea...

...but I believe he's going about it

the wrong way.

If we sit tight here and have patience...

...McCool's friend will let himself

be known to us.

Whoever he is, he must know

that Mac trusts us.

Especially Pete here.

And he'll get in touch with him.

Meantime, Pete and I will continue

at the ranch near town...

...and sell a few horses to the Army.

But keep quiet about McCool being dead.

Informers scare easy, and he may never

show his nose here again.

- And I think we ought to give it a try.

- That's right, men.

Me and the major got the same ideas.

We ain't quitting.

You can't make money like this

no place else.

All we can lose is a little time, boys.

Thank you, Mr. Kearny.

We're with you, of course.

All right, come on.

Step up here and get your money.

Count it out.

Sir, will you take a look over there?

Where's McCool?

Down in Texas,

bringing back a string of mustangs.

We're kind of taking care of things

while Mac's gone.

- I see. How many?

- Dozen head.

Four hundred and twenty...

...four-eighty...

...five-sixty...

...seven-twenty...

...eight hundred and forty...

...nine hundred...

...nine-fifty...

...ten hundred and sixty-five dollars.

All right.

Sergeant Snow,

give the receipt to Mr. Elm.

Anybody talk to you?

Me neither.

This idea of yours ain't working.

Give it a chance.

We already lost one herd.

First thing you know,

we'll be losing another.

May be all right for you la-di-da boys

from the South...

...to be hibernating around camp

like a bunch of she-bears.

But it ain't easy for me to keep my men

from hightailing out of there.

What are you doing in there?

Found one of McCool's maps.

He's made penciled crosses

where he intercepted every one of the herds.

Ain't that nice.

The Army's coming!

If they think they got something on us...

- We'll give them a welcome.

- Put those guns away.

Let me handle it.

How do you do, sir.

Sit down.

So McCool's dead.

Where'd you find out about that?

McCool would never go to Texas.

His business is all here.

- Listen, Mr. Army, if you're trying to...

- Wait a minute, Pete.

I thought McCool had taken you two

into his confidence before he was killed.

Maybe he did.

If he had, about 500 more horses

would be in Confederate hands today.

Did McCool have a map around here?

- Well...

- Not that I know of.

Well, he had one like this someplace.

How much did I pay you

for that last string?

- Ten hundred and sixty-five dollars.

- Forget the 10.

Let's just deal with the last two digits:

Six and five.

Notice on the map, the longitudinal sides

are all numbered from one to nine.

The latitudinal, the same.

Now, let's take our numbers...

...the longitudinal six

and latitudinal five as coordinates...

...and see where we cross.

Right about here, isn't it?

And where are we?

- Yellow Rock Pass.

- Exactly.

That was the route taken

by the last herd.

Well, I'll be.

You've been telling us all the time.

Remember when I bought your horses?

The price never came out in round numbers.

That was because the last two digits

had to indicate the route of the drive.

Simple, but effective.

I advised McCool to take someone

into his confidence...

...in case anything happened to him.

But he wanted to play it alone.

Well, partner, we're in business again.

Yes. You better get up to the canyon

and tell the men we've made contact.

But no names. This is our deal.

Right, major. You and me's the brains.

- He has his uses.

- Yes, so I understand.

I didn't like telling him,

but I couldn't speak to you alone...

...without making him suspicious.

And my own men too.

What are they thinking now?

That I'm stirring you up

to bring in more horses.

I was careful to visit

several other ranches today.

Lex, I can't tell you how glad

I am to have you with us.

Wasn't sure of you at the court-martial.

And I was afraid that Erin

might influence you.

But when you refused to go home

and stayed on with McCool...

I feel for you with Erin.

I know what she means to you.

- Is she still in town?

- Yes, but don't worry.

I put out a tracer for your boy.

When he's been located, at least Erin

won't be staying close by.

And after the war, well...

...bitterness loses its taste,

many things are forgotten.

- I hope so.

- I must go.

Can't stay too long.

We'll work well together, Lex.

Oh, by the way...

...there's a shipment coming in.

A new kind of rifle.

The South could make good use of it.

When the time comes, I want you to

organize a little raid on our supply wagons.

I'll be glad to, sir.

John Hudson, their key man.

It's hard to believe, isn't it?

I might be able to get his ledger.

It'll have entries of all his purchases...

...and correspond with the

locations on that map.

Yeah. There's a better way

to do it, I think.

Kearny, get horses,

bring them for Hudson to buy.

I'll be at corrals when he names his price.

When you have the receipt, I'll arrest him.

If he has a ledger,

that'll be so much the better.

Take him to Washington,

confront the staff...

...with the proof that the only way to

fight espionage is with counterespionage.

I'll bring some horses with Elm,

and you can arrest him with Hudson.

Right.

Before I left Washington, Halleck

gave me high-command opinion...

...on organizing a group like ours.

They laughed at the general.

Said since counterespionage

wasn't in the dictionary...

...it seemed ridiculous to try to create

something that couldn't be defined.

Well, we're defining it for him.

And in great big capital letters.

- Any questions?

- Yes, sir.

What about those rifles you said you had

brought in the hard hardtack boxes, sir?

I packed them that way. In case the wrong

man got to snooping. Lucky, isn't it?

I was supposed

to steal those when they arrived.

That's how I got them, but we'll upset

your plan. Thank goodness they're here.

The firepower in these Springfield rifles will

multiply the strength of our garrison by five.

It'll give us the equivalent of 250 men.

We'll outnumber

the raiders and outfire them.

Any further questions?

The major won't be

the first to leave today.

Your son's been found,

Lex, safe and sound.

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