Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
I've seen enough. Take the binoculars. You take a look. In any case, we did the right thing to let him go when we heard those shots.
But who the devil are those nosy guys who stopped the wagon?
Tex Willer and his three helpers? I've never seen such a tough guy.
Dangerous people? Willer and his companions? More dangerous than the plague and cholera put together.
Too bad about the robbery. We can try it again later. But if those four guys were on us we'd run the risk of landing in the bottom of a casket.
Let's go. Fold our tents. Now it's useless to stay here.
We better recover the bodies of Yorgus and Yanus. I don't want them to wind up in their hands.
Hey Pa! Am I mistaken or did the driver try to shoot you up? Yes Kit, and he just barely failed, that's what the devil brings us. That's what we get for trying to do something good.
By the way he was acting and his crazy eyes this poor guy seems to be out of his head. You want to know what he was transporting?
Silver, to judge by the writing on the box.
Do you think they tried to rob him? Let's hear it from him.
Kit, pass me the canteen!
Here's you go Pa! Good!
And now we'll wake up our friend.
Good, he's already coming to his senses.
Well my friend, are you finished being worked up? Who are you? What do you want! What do you want from me?!
No, don't start acting crazy again. We're people that only tried to give you a hand.
We were heading towards Tubac when we heard echoes from a shoot-out and we had to see what the devil was happening.
And we saw you driving that wagon like a madman without being followed by anybody. So to prevent you from breaking your neck we stopped you. But instead of thanking us you tried to put holes in our bodies. I, I…
...I see that you're transporting silver. Did you think we wanted to rob you? No, no. I feared that you might be one of them.
Them who?
Those scary creatues, those monsters…
Monsters! What monsters?
Those that killed my friend José.
There was another person with you?
We're always in two when we leave the mine to bring silver to Tubac. José is usually my escort. Dozens of times we've travelled this trail without anything ever happening. Just like today we went into the canyon without any worries but all the sudden…
...Mother of God! Chavez, look! Among those rocks!
What the devil are they?
I've never seen anything like that! They look like wolf-monkeys! They're, they're terrifying! Watch out Chavez! They're about to jump on the wagon. They're coming on us. No! Nooo!
For poor José there wasn't anything to do. A monster jumped on him clutching him with it's paws, sticking it's claws into his body…
...Help! Emergency. Help!
With one hand he knocked away the rifle, and with the other the monster cut open his throat. And I was able to shoot at the second of those monsters before he could get on me. I shot the monster repeatedly hitting him in the middle of his chest and I was finally able to kill it. Then I shot at the one that was tearing José to pieces just as he started to turn towards me.
Die you damned possessed creature! To free myself from those demons I whipped the mules as hard as I could. Go mules! Take me away from here!
The *** Saint of Guadalupe saved me from those hellish monsters.
And now you know how things went and you can understand why I greeted you with my gun in hand. I've never seen anything like it. Those beings from hell were just horrible. They looked something like human beings, but their bodies were deformed - entirely covered with hair. And in the place of teeth that had fangs like a beast.
Damn! That's an incredible story. That's what I say, my God.
Monsters like those described by our friend don't exist in nature. Stop old camel.
We can say we've seen some strange things in our lives. You remember the "diablero" that we bumped into years ago on the Sierra del hueso?
I remember that too, Pa. The description that our friend gave us about the monsters attacking him brought into your mind that long ago misadventure.
But the "diablero" was trasformed into a monster thanks to spell cast by a witch. Maybe you're saying that we're confronting a repeat of that old story? No, I'm not saying that.
I only wanted to respond to Carson who seemed skeptical about whether strange beings like those described can actually exist.
Okay, you're right, I wasn't remembering "diablero", excuse me. After all, these aren't stories that happen every day. Luckily.
Sir, if you want the proof that I told the truth you just need to go back up the trail and reach the canyon where the ambush happened and you'll find the bodies of those two monsters in addition to the body of my poor unfortunate companion. That's a suggestion full of good sense.
You want to come along Thomas? Why not?
You wait for us here. On our return we'll travel together to Tubac. Don't leave me alone, sir! No, I beg you!
I'll stay to keep you company so that I don't continue to suffer the lectures of certain professors. Are you getting touchy old owl?
Me? Touchy? Puah!
There in front of us, look! There it is.
Here he is! This must be the body of the poor José.
Strange. What's strange?
According to the story of the wagon driver, we should have first bumped into the body of a monster that he killed last. You're right, José was the second to fall.
Ugly spectacle, damn. It corrisponds to the description that the poor man gave us.
Right, it really looks like this poor guy has been ripped open by the claws of a beast. A human being can't have done this. I've never seen a body left this way. Not even a ferocious beast could do all this.
What do you think about it, Thomas? Well, since you're asking, I'll tell you that I'm pretty much in a daze about everything that is happening to me.
Until a week ago I was living in a world where the most extrordinary thing that could happen to me was, I don't know, being pick-pocketed or falling into the path of a public transport carriage. But when I received the last letter from my father which advised me that he would be going to this place to help his friend, Dr Stevens, and together with you I decided to start a search, I've had the feeling that I would encounter something unusual.
And today here I am in front of a cadaver horribly ripped up and considering the hypothosis that this havoc was committed by what might be two monsters with fangs and claws...
...not to mention that I just heard talk about witches and "diableros" as if they were no big deal.
Well, those are the words we heard from the protagonist of this story.
My God, I'm starting to suspect that all this might have something to do with the hot sun. Unfortunately that's not it Thomas.
Let me express my amazement in front of these events.
I realize that certain things may seem really strange to someone who lives in Baltimore, but the reality is is right in front of our eyes. Human hands could not have done this to the man, and it all confirms that we've got a huge mystery in front of us.
You're probably right. Pardon my venting. But I'm afraid this sun really is too strong for me, a lawyer from a quiet little town. Come on, get used to it.
My only wish is to be able to find my father still alive and I hope he has nothing to do with this story. Let's get busy finding him Thomas.
Pa, me and Tiger are going to see we can find the bodies that are missing or some tracks that might allow us to reconstruct what happened. That's fine! Meanwhile we'll take another look around here while we prepare a stretcher to transport the body of this poor guy. When you return we'll go back to Carson and the wagon driver.