In the house a woman gasped and a few moments later Hedges was among the field workers' huts. He screwed up his eyes tightly and steeled himself against the threat of trembling muscles. Then he turned his horse and dismounted to look back across the yard, in time to see Forrest urge his horse forward into the open. He cursed softly when Bell came out only a yard behind him, followed by Douglas, then Scott, with Seward taking nervous steps at the rear. He cursed again, louder, and looked towards the broken windows as Forrest led the men around the dead horse and trooper. On his lone ride he had purposely taken a course which swung him wide away from the house. The men chose to veer in the opposite direction, angling towards the house. His angry eyes snapped back to the troopers and became mere glittering slits when he saw that each of the riders held their Colts low on their left, the blind side from the house. He opened his mouth to shout an order, but held back, realizing that any unexpected sound could signal the crack of gunfire.
But it was Forrest who provided the signal, kicking free of his stirrups and going sideways in a dive from the saddle, bringing up the revolver and sending bullets flying into the already smashed window to the left of the doorway. The others left their horses in the same way, Bell aiming for the same window as Forrest while Douglas and Scott poured lead into the lower story window. Seward grabbed the Spencer from Scott's saddle boot and broke into a run, firing at the position of the upstairs marksman. Surprise and concentrated fire power got all five men on to the porch and flattened against the house front before the defenders could loose off a single shot. The horses bolted and gunsmoke drifted across the yard like morning mist. But the smell was wrong.
"Hey, Captain," Forrest yelled.
Hedges looked in his direction and saw the stained teeth shown in a satisfied grin.
"We didn't trust 'em. This was our better idea."
He suddenly came away from the wall, pivoted in front of the window and fanned the Colt to send four bullets smashing into the room. A scream sounded from inside and he covered his head with his hands and dived through what remained of the glass. Bell went after him in a like manner as, on the other side of the porch, Douglas and Scott poured lead into their window and then crashed through. Seward kicked open the door with the heel of his boot and ran inside, the Spencer held low, his hands working the action and squeezing the trigger with the dexterity of long practice. Gunfire, screams and curses issued from the house as Hedges snatched up his own rifle and broke across the yard on the-run, He saw a muzzle jabbed out from the upper floor window and snapped, off a shot as a bullet kicked up dust only inches from his flying feet. A man screamed, a rifle sailed out of the window and then a body slumped forward across the ledge, held poised for a moment before tipping forward and crashing down onto the roof of the porch. The jolt showered Hedges with magnolia blossom as he leapt up on to the porch and loped into the house.
"Pretty," Forrest said as he and Bell emerged from a doorway on the left.
Hedges pushed between them and into the room, the stench of burnt powder harsh in his nostrils. A man was sprawled in the center of an expensive carpet, his head and chest a mass of torn flesh soaked with blood. An elderly woman sat upright in a winged chair, not moving, even to breathe. Her eyes were open but unseeing. Blood trickled down in an inverted vee from a neat hole just above her white hairline.
"Frank, I've got me something real good,"
It was Seward, shouting from upstairs and as Hedges turned out of the room he saw Forrest and Bell heading up the elegant stairway at the end of the hall. A girl screamed and then made a choking sound as the crack of a harsh slap accompanied a curse from Seward. Hedges took time to glance into the room across the hall and saw Douglas and Scott raising bottles to their lips. Between them lay the crumpled form of a woman, the front of her dress turning from white to red. He was about to vent his anger upon the men but another scream from above, followed by raucous laughter, sent him hurrying up the stairway. He found them in a bedroom at the front of the house, the three men advancing on a pretty young girl of no more than sixteen who was backing into a comer, stark terror leaving her eyes blank but pulling her mouth wide as she continued to scream.
"Hold it!" Hedges barked.
The girl pressed her slender body into the angle of the corner, clawing at the walls with her hands as the three men spun to face the cold anger of their commander. Forrest replaced his look of lust with a cold grin.
"You want first go, Captain," he asked quietly. "Might be messy. Looks like fresh meat to me."
Hedges forced his tone to a low key. "She's no Arizona hicktown whore."