THE BORDER SEARCH 4

the next day when del returned from tubac leading a team of mules he found andy at his wagon maxine sat back up wind of the dead mexican horse to avoid the smell. andy had striped the saddle and other gear from the dead horse and reloaded the wagon with everything salvagable. " no one would sell me a team of horses but a old man said these were servicable mules. heres the balance of your money." del handed the wallet down to andy with the lead ropes to the mules. it took a hour or so to get the mules hitched as the harness was much larger than the mules. but with some adjustment andy and del finally got them hitched. andy climbed into the seat and picked up the lines. del rode up and stuck out his hand and said good by. but andy just looked at him. " maxine didnt tell you?ime going to ruby with you. it will be better with the three of us and i might be able to sell a few things there." del didnt say anything but he did smile and nod. the fact another gun along would be a advantage. he looked back at maxine who was looking off to the trail to ruby. del rode by maxine and took the lead rope to the pack mule and then led off to ruby. without looking back he knew maxine was following. he could hear andys wagon creaking along, the little mules doing heroic work. the trail to ruby hadnt had a wagon over it in some time and it was rough and rutted. many times andy had to take the wagon off the road to go around unpassable areas, this slowed down the progress. del noticed when they got slowed or had to wait on andy maxine became aggitated. "we got plenty of time " del reminded her." besides he has a good rifle and dont appear to be afraid to use it." " ime worried about harry, what if the bandits attack his mine?"maxine answered. del looked at her with a un asked question, mine? he thought it was a ranch. but he didnt say any more. his initial distrust of andy had passed and he had taken a likeing to him. it was beginning to look like andy was a man to trust. in places the trail led through open country , grass lands as far as the eye could see. occasionaly they saw small groups of cattle. once del rode over to a bunch and realized they wernt branded or marked in any way. the cattle didnt seem wild like they had been choused and tormented. they would just trot away then stop and look back at him. dels mind was working a mile a minute. but the fact remained a civil war raged south of there just a few miles. and the dishonest element in mexico was takeing advantage of. then it hit him; was there other dishonest elements doing the same? and how was he being drawn into the scheme? he rode on. with luck they would reach ruby just before dark. they didnt make ruby at dark del found a spot off to one side of the trail and andy pulled his wagon into it . the little mules were give out and surely needed a rest. del tied his horse and mule and went to putting fire wood together. it was plain no one had been at this place in a long time. a small trickle of water ran a few feet to one side of the camp sight. when all the animals had been unsaddled and un harnested they were led to the water. maxine had gotten off her horse and walked away into the brush. del watched her go just so he knew the direction she took. andy stood next to del" shes quite a corker aint she?" "maybe more than we know." was all del said.