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    The Way of the Apache
    The Way of the Apache
    The Way of the Apache
    Ebook144 pages2 hours

    The Way of the Apache

    By Robert O' Hanlin

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    About this ebook

    Fighting the Apache is like fighting ghosts, one minute they are there and the next they are gone...but with repeating rifles those ghosts can become fire dragons scorching everything in their way. Someone is trying to sell guns to the renegade Tildaga and they must be stopped before the whole country is on fire again. It’s the army’s job and that job falls to Captain Grainger and Army Scout MacAskill.
    The Major’s daughter provided a beautiful attraction but one that is not needed in the middle of an Apache attack. They are after guns and horses and the only thing standing between them is Captain Grainger, Scout MacAskill and a small troop of soldiers.
    The reservation is a restless place and all it would take for a full exodus and another full time Apache war would be a wagon load of repeating rifles in the hands of a madman who has no regard for human life.
    The only way to stop the selling of the guns is to find out where they are coming from and who is supplying them to the Apache. Finding where the guns came from was the easy part but finding where they are going proved to be much more dangerous and in the end it comes down to a battle of wits and strength in the way of the Apache.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRobert O' Hanlin
    Release dateMay 24, 2021
    ISBN9781990394010
    The Way of the Apache
    Author

    Robert O' Hanlin

    I was born in Canada but spend much of my time roaming the Sonora Desert of Arizona, which is truly a place to inspire a writer.I write in the Western genre inspired by the great Western writer Louis L'Amour. My stories are fiction with a mixture of real history and I hope you enjoy reading them.

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      Book preview

      The Way of the Apache - Robert O' Hanlin

      The Way of the Apache

      By Robert O'Hanlin

      SMASHWORDS EDITION

      PUBLISHED BY

      Robert O'Hanlin on Smashwords

      The Way of the Apache

      Copyright 2021 by Robert O'Hanlin

      This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Please share it with your friends and family through the source you downloaded it. Please remember that all rights are reserved, and no part of this eBook may be copied or reproduced by any means electronic or mechanical or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in Critic’s articles or reviews. Your respect for the author is appreciated.

      This is a fictional book and any resemblance of the characters to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

      Books by Robert O’Hanlin

      The Outlaw Series

      The Montana Outlaws

      The Alberta Outlaw

      Last of the Outlaws

      Others

      Windfall

      O'Bannions Return

      Justice in Lonesome Valley

      The Cougar Man

      Branded a Coward

      Once a Gambler

      Put the Gun Down

      Bucking the Odds

      The Talking Stick

      White Lion of the Mountains

      McCracken’s Land

      Back from the Grave

      The Long Way Home

      Brotherly Love

      Revenge

      Digger McGilvery

      Man of the West

      Bounty Man

      Ride for the Brand

      The Rodeo Clown

      Westward the Brothers

      For Want of a Winter Home

      Ride a Hard Road

      Halfbreed

      The Road to Garrison

      The Girls of the Dollar Bill Cabin

      Gallagher’s Boy’s

      Badger’s Folly

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      The Way of the Apache

      Chapter 1

      The Apache Pass stage station was a lonely and dangerous place, it sat beside the only water for miles around and in the desert of the Arizona Territory water was more than a necessity…it meant the difference between life and death.

      The Apache had been relatively quiet since being placed on the reservation but there were still a few roving bands in the vast surrounding mountains that were successful in evading the army. The mountains could hide thousands of them in their vast rugged canyons and arroyos…and they were filled with danger for anyone who went in after them. It was some of the most unfriendly country on the world, but it was a place where the Apache thrived.

      This was the very site where the war with the Apache leader Cochise began, In an attempt to negotiate the release of a kidnapped boy things turned deadly to hostages on both sides. It was the hanging of Cochise’s brother and nephews that cemented his hatred for the white man and led him on a trail of blood.

      To the soldiers watering their horses at the station even a few Apaches still on the loose was a danger and they had learned never to relax their vigil. The patrol from Fort Bowie, who had just escorted the wagon for the last fifty miles, had pulled out and headed home and now it was up to Captain Grainger and his men to get it safely to Fort Grant on the last leg of the trip.

      The supplies in the wagon were crucial to the men at Fort Grant and Captain Grainger intended for his patrol to get it there safely. They were making ready to move when the Wells Fargo stage rolled in, bringing with it a cloud of dust. The dust was something the soldiers were accustomed to but for the passengers on the stage who had been choking on it for the last few days it was discomforting.

      When the passengers exited the stage every eye fell on two well dressed women who stood casually looking around. The stage driver yelled down at the passengers telling them to stretch their legs and they would be underway as soon as the horses were watered.

      The Captain couldn’t help staring, although there were women in the area that he considered to be beautiful he had never seen any of them dressed in such finery as these two. When he studied their faces it was plain to see that they were related, although the older of the two hardly looked old enough to be a mother and it went through his mind that perhaps she was a sister.

      Somehow through all the dust and the adverse travelling conditions they managed to look like they just stepped out of the pages of a magazine and as he watched, almost shamelessly, the younger of the two boldly approached him.

      Excuse me Captain, do you happen to know a Major McKenzie…he is my father?

      Matt Grainger was a little shocked that she recognized his rank and he was additionally shocked that she had even spoken to him. He took off his hat and made his best effort not to stare at her.

      Why yes ma’am, he is my commanding officer at Fort Grant, we are just escorting this wagon there, would you like me to take him a message.

      She turned abruptly to the other woman.

      Mother you go on to Tucson and arrange a room for us, I am going on to the fort with these men to see father.

      She turned and walked abruptly back to the stage leaving the Captain wondering if he had really heard her right.

      Driver, throw down that black bag I will be leaving you here.

      The driver didn’t hesitate and he proceeded to lower the heavy bag to one of the soldiers who stepped in to help.

      Put this in the wagon private!

      The private stood for a minute and then looked to the Captain, who had finally grasped what was happening.

      No, load that luggage back on the stage we are not taking a woman on this undertaking!

      She just glared at the private as if her stare would outrank the orders of his captain and he just stood there caught between opposing sides while the stage driver picked up his whip.

      You all work this out, but those of you that are coming get aboard…I’m running late.

      The three men and the girl’s mother climbed aboard and he slapped the whip to the team and they bolted into action creating another cloud of dust as the girl turned to the Captain.

      You see Captain, I will be going with you…and I’m sure my father will be pleased with your decision.

      The Captain slammed his hat back on his head.

      This is mighty hard country we will be travelling through, it’s gonna take us maybe three or four days travelling with this wagon, and this time of year all the streams and most of the water holes are dried up so we have to count on the fact that there isn’t any water between here and there. The water we carry is for drinking for the men and the animals so there will be none for you to do your…beautifying.

      Then he said in a lower voice, almost to himself.

      Not that you need it.

      She smiled at his last remark and watched as the private loaded her luggage in the back of the wagon.

      Captain, do not let my attire confuse you, I am not that delicate and I assure you I won’t use any more of your precious water that the men.

      She turned and climbed up on the seat of the wagon and the private who loaded her luggage climbed up beside her with a smile on his face that indicated he approved of the way she handled his Captain. The rest of the men mounted and followed the wagon as it pulled away from the stage road into what appeared to be just a trail.

      The route that were taking was a little used trail across country that cut off fifty miles from going to Tucson and then north to Fort Grant. The road could scarcely be called a road but as the Captain told her it was the shortest route from the stagecoach road to Fort Grant.

      The heavily laden wagon slowly wound its way through the dry country side and everywhere she looked she could see that it was as the Captain said, the desert left them little chance of finding any water before they reached their destination. Along with the supplies they carried for the men at Fort Grant they carried enough water in the barrels strapped to the sides of the wagon for the eight soldiers and their mounts who flanked them.

      The girl bounced uncomfortably beside the private with each rock and rut they hit but she tried her best not to complain. It had been her choice to take this method of transportation and she was not about to give the Captain the satisfaction of seeing her displaying any discomfort.

      Keeping the men alert and ready for action at any time was easy compared to dealing with the girl who had insisted on travelling with them. They all had to sleep on the ground and on their first night out he gave up his own bedroll, as well as his mess kit, for her. She took it rather sheepishly realizing that she really had not thought her decision through.

      Fort Grant lay at the confluence of the San Pedro River and a small stream known as Aravaipa Creek and while there was little water on the road they travelled the men all knew that there was plenty waiting for them at the fort. Travelling through this arid country was something that they were getting used to and to a man they wondered how the Apache managed to live here.

      Fort Grant was the supply center for all the goods that were sent to the White Mountain Reservation but the main objective of Major McKenzie and the men at the fort was keeping the Apache on the reservation and tracking down and returning those who left.

      The slow moving wagon would take them twice as long as it did on the trip to meet it and the soldiers moving along beside the wagon in a steady walk were being careful not to be lulled into a sleepy security…it was that type of lax attitude that got men killed in this country.

      As the leader of the group keeping the men alert for days on end in the desert heat was his duty and although Captain Grainger was young his young years in no way reflected his experience, he had grown up in this country and there was hardly anyone his age that didn’t have some kind of experience with the Apache. Just because they were at a time of peace did not mean they were at peace with all the Apache.

      The groups that had refused to give up to the reservation life were still a danger. The elders were happy to be free in the mountains and live the old way but for the younger men that included raiding whenever they could for food and other supplies.

      When he saw the rider approaching he knew that he was not going to be bringing good news. Even at the distance he could tell the man riding at a full gallop was his friend Scotty MacAskill. He had known Scotty most of his life and was instrumental in getting his job as army scout, although there were times he wished he hadn’t.

      Scotty was a chance taker, a man who knew no fear, or so it seemed to him. He didn’t have to wait long before the horse came to a skidding stop beside him.

      So is that how you treat government issue horses?

      The scout laughed and as he fell in beside his friend the wagon went by. He looked at the girl on the seat and shook his head in wonderment, and then he turned to his friend.

      Matt, we got trouble, Tildaga broke out again and he had thirty or so with him and I just spotted a bunch waiting up ahead fixin’ for an ambush so I skirted on around them, but I’m sure they spotted me.

      The captain

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