Carp raised a little to see further but the draw was still empty. Good! He turned to check Snyder's progress and saw men coming out of nowhere behind him. There were two, right on top of him. Instinct told who they were and, even as chagrin at having been so easily beaten touched him, Carp made his play.
Reared mean and aged meaner, Jud Carp could not imagine mercy. As he would have given none, he sought none. His one shot rifle was pointed wrong so Carp went for his Colt revolver. Snarling like a cornered wolf, uncoiling like a rattler, Carp snatched the pistol free. This close he did not need sights and his thumb eared the hammer as the gun came into line.
Jud Carp! Ted remembered the man's name even as he saw him. Carp was turning and going for a pistol without wasted motion.
Ted felt the big Sharps buck in his hands. He did not recall cocking or pointing, but Carp's shirtfront twitched and a bullet plowed dirt behind him. A bloody froth came through with the misshapen slug and Carp half-collapsed within himself. His pistol sagged and his eyes unfocused before he somehow regained control.
Still moving ahead, Ted saw Carp's pistol again coming up. Some gut instinct kept the shot-through outlaw going, but Ted was too close. With all his powerful body's momentum, Ted drove his rifle upward in a butt stroke that sledged with pile driving force under Jud Carp's chin. Carp's head snapped backward. His neck broke even as his face dismembered. Jud Carp was as instantly dead as he ever would be.
+++
John Snyder had a horse saddled and was mounting when the rifle shot echoed. He took a look upward and almost choked on what he saw. Shatto and another stood over Jud Carp's position and their mounts sagged nearby.
Without hesitation, Snyder lashed his fresh horse through the corral gate and down the canyon. His back crawled with the expectation of a bullet's strike, but each stride made his chances better. He leaned along his mount's neck and beat on the animal with his stump, forcing the best that it had.
Jesus Escalante marveled at the Senor's quickness. He was still swinging his rifle when Senor Ted's bullet struck the ambusher. The unhesitating and devastating smash with the rifle butt awed Escalante. The Senor truly was a ferocious fighter.
Ted reloaded his Sharps, taking a make-sure look at what was left of Jud Carp. He kicked the pistol from the lax hand and let the sound of a running horse reach his mind.
There he went, John Snyder, riding like the wind, down the flattened out canyon on a fresh horse. It was a long shot and lengthening fast. Ted almost raised his gun to take it but there was a better way.
Jesus Escalante was their hunter and a rifleman. He had already proven himself. With a word, Ted Shatto could grant the youth honor and place forever. He would also bind the boy to him in ways men understood but found hard to explain. Ted did not reason through these things. They were instinctive and he did not hesitate.
"He is their leader. Can you hit him, Jesus?"
"Si, Senor."
"Then take him."
Escalante knelt to rest his rifle over an outcropping. More than four hundred yards—it was a long shot but the horseman ran straight away, which allowed him to hold on his target.
Escalante squeezed smoothly, holding his sights like iron, allowing for the great loop of trajectory necessary at such extreme range. The rifle's recoil bucked him and the report seemed lost across the great expanse before them. He waited out the bullet's high flight and long drop to the fleeing outlaw.
Snyder's heart pumped and his mind flooded with elation. He was away. He had a fresh mount and a good lead. Night would come and even Shatto would know he was licked. Later? John P. Snyder was sure there would be a later.
A tremendous blow crushed breath from his lungs. Snyder saw his hand fall from the reins but there was no feeling. His body fell forward and the horse's bony head smashed into his already savaged nose. The blow drove him upright and, as though from a distance, Snyder saw himself falling sideward. He hit solidly and realized with horror that a foot was stirrup caught and that he was again being dragged. He attempted to scream but he had no air. The bounce that crushed his skull was an unrecognized blessing.
+++
Ted said simply, "A good shot, amigo."
They rode down to make sure and were coming back when Juan Santos and his men appeared with only one slightly wounded. They changed horses and gathered all worth collecting.
Ted's foot ached as badly as before. His brains and his carcass were too tired to think about, but there was an awful mess back at the ranch. He left Juan in charge, and with just Jesus Escalante for company, he began the long ride home to Falling Water . . . the Arrowhead . . . the Valley of Bones? Ted sighed and wondered if they ever would get settled on one proper name for their home place.
+++
Abel and Mary Troup
Little Buffalo Creek
Perry County, Pennsylvania
November 17, 1867
Dearest Mother and Father
Ted reminds me so say hello and Tiff said to add his greetings. We are fine although Ted twisted his weak ankle again. He said he may chop his foot off with Sexto's cane knife and wear a peg leg like Pap. Do not worry, he just likes to complain.
This letter will be short since it may not reach you before you take ship for Texas. We can hardly wait to see you all. The children are especially excited they will finally meet the wonderful grandparents they have only heard about. Yes, they can hardly wait to meet Chip and Tinker as well. We hope that Carter and Hella Roth will decide to come. From your letters, we've grown to know them and they seem like cousins.
My only special news is that with railroads drawing closer. Men are again talking cattle drives. This old ranch may soon be making a profit. It is about time; the gold pile is getting light. (Those are Ted's words.)
Ted also says to tell Chip it is safe form him to come back since the Apaches never cross the river. Which reminds me. The old watcher is gone. One day he just wasn't there. We suppose he died and, to tell the truth, we miss him. He probably saved us when Snyder raided and he seemed like sort of a guardian, looking out for all of us. It is touching to see the children still waving to the spot he watched from. No doubt they will do that for many years to come.
Until we see you, have a wonderful trip and, of course, remember us to our friends in Perry County.
With love,
Beth
Beth Shatto at Falling Water
About Roy Chandler
Roy F. Chandler retired following a twenty year U.S. Army career. Mr. Chandler then taught secondary school for seven years before becoming a full time author of more than sixty books and countless magazine articles. Since 1969, he has written thirty-one published novels and as many nonfiction books on topics such as hunting, architecture, and antiques.
Now 87 years of age, Rocky Chandler remains active and still rides his Harley-Davidson across the continental United States.
He divides his time among Nokomis, FL, St Mary's City, MD, and Perry County, PA,
Rocky Chandler: Author, Educator, Soldier, Patriot in 2012
Books by Roy Chandler
Reading order of fiction books in the Perry County Series
Friend Seeker
The Warrior
Arrowmaker
The Black Rifle
Fort Robinson
Ironhawk
Song of Blue Moccasin
Tim Murphy, Rifleman
Hawk's Feather
Shatto
Chip Shatto
Shatto's Law (Ted's Story)
The Boss's Boy
Tiff's Game
Cronies
The Didactor
The Perry Countian
The Sweet Taste
Old Dog
Gray's Talent
Ramsey
Shooter Galloway
Shatto's Way
All Books By Publication Date
All About a Foot Soldier, 1965 (A colorful book for children)
History of Early Perry County Guns and Gun
smiths (With Donald L. Mitchell), 1969
A History of Perry County Railroads, 1970
Alaskan Hunter: a book about big game hunting, 1972
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes and Barrel Marks, 1972
Tales of Perry County, 1973
Arrowmaker, 1974
Hunting in Perry County, 1974
Antiques of Perry County, 1976
The Black Rifle, 1976
Homes, Barns and Outbuildings of Perry County, 1978
Shatto, 1979
The Perry County Flavor, 1980
Arms Makers of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1981
The Didactor, 1981
Fort Robinson: A novel of Perry County Pennsylvania, the years 1750-63, 1981
Friend Seeker: A novel of Perry County PA, 1982
Gunsmiths of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1982
Perry County in Pen & Ink, 1983
Shatto's Way: A novel of Perry County, Pa, 1984
Chip Shatto: A novel of Perry County Pennsylvania, the years 1863-6, 1984
Pennsylvania Gunmakers (a collection), 1984
Firefighters of Perry County, 1985
The Warrior, A novel of the frontier, 1721-1764, 1985
Perry County Sketchbook (And Katherine R. Chandler), 1986
A 30-foot, $6,000 Cruising Catamaran, 1987
The Gun of Joseph Smith (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1987
The Perry Countian, 1987
Hawk's Feather - An Adventure Story, 1988
Ted's Story, 1988
Alcatraz: The Hardest Years 1934-1938 (With Erville F. Chandler), 1989
Cronies, 1989
Song of Blue Moccasin, 1989
Chugger's Hunt, 1990
The Sweet Taste, 1990
Tiff's Game: A work of fiction, 1991
Tuck Morgan, Plainsman (Vol. 2) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1991
Death From Afar I (And Norman A. Chandler), 1992
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes All New Volume 2, 1992
Behold the Long Rifle, 1993
Death From Afar II: Marine Corps Sniping (And Norman A. Chandler), 1993
Old Dog, 1993
Tim Murphy, Rifleman: A novel of Perry County, Pa. 1754-1840, 1993
Choose the Right Gun, 1994
Death From Afar Vol. III: The Black Book (And Norman A. Chandler), 1994
The Kentucky Pistol, 1994
Ramsey: A novel of Perry County Pennsylvania, 1994
Gray's Talent, 1995
Hunting Alaska, 1995
Last Black Book, 1995
Dark Shadow (The Red book series), 1996
Death From Afar IV (And Norman A. Chandler, 1996
Morgan's Park (Vol. 3) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1997
White Feather: Carlos Hathcock USMC scout sniper (And Norman A. Chandler), 1997
Death From Afar V (And Norman A. Chandler), 1998
Ironhawk: A frontier novel of Perry County Pennsylvania 1759-1765, 1999
One Shot Brotherhood (And Norman A. Chandler), 2001
Shooter Galloway, 2004
The Hunter's Alaska, 2005
The Boss's Boy, 2007
Pardners, 2009
Hawk's Revenge, 2010
Antique Guns (included above)
History of Early Perry County Guns and Gunsmiths (With Donald L. Mitchell), 1969
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes and Barrel Marks, 1972
Arms Makers of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1981
Gunsmiths of Eastern Pennsylvania, 1982
Pennsylvania Gunmakers (a collection), 1984
Kentucky Rifle Patchboxes All New Volume 2, 1992
Behold the Long Rifle, 1993
The Kentucky Pistol, 1994
Hunting
Alaskan Hunter: a book about big game hunting, 1972
Choose the Right Gun, 1994
Hunting Alaska, 1995
The Hunter's Alaska, 2005
Sniper Series
Death From Afar I (And Norman A. Chandler), 1992
Death From Afar II: Marine Corps Sniping (And Norman A. Chandler), 1993
Death From Afar Vol. III: The Black Book (And Norman A. Chandler), 1994
Death From Afar IV (And Norman A. Chandler), 1996
White Feather: Carlos Hathcock USMC Scout Sniper (And Norman A. Chandler), 1997
Death From Afar V (And Norman A. Chandler), 1998
Sniper One, 2000
One Shot Brotherhood (And Norman A. Chandler)
Gun of Joseph Smith Trilogy (Young Adult)
Gun of Joseph Smith, The (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1987
Tuck Morgan, Plainsman (Vol. 2) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1991
Morgan's Park (Vol. 3) (With Katherine R. Chandler), 1997
Children's Books
All About a Foot Soldier, 1965