“Two days later I received a telegram from one of my contacts across the border. It said the Gomez Gang had escaped from prison two weeks before. The Mexican prison hadn’t had a telegraph system, and so hadn’t been able to contact anyone for help, or to warn them.
“When I read the telegram, I knew that the Gomez Gang had done this. They had come for me, and had found instead my Mary, defenseless and probably still asleep. They had killed her for what I had done, which made this – to my mind – my own fault. I fought with myself about what would have happened if I had stayed, instead of going hunting. Would I have been able to save her? Would they have taken me instead, and left her alive, or would they have killed me, then abused her and killed her afterward? My practical side told me that they would have killed us both. My emotional side insisted on blaming myself though, and led me to believe that Mary’s death was my fault.”
That emotional side had led to Will’s quick descent into Hell. He’d drank everything in sight, seeking the oblivion the alcohol brought with it, and stopped doing his job. He hadn’t admitted it to anyone else, but he’d still felt like an outsider in Roma. He had come from the East Coast, and didn’t think he’d ever fit in to Texas. Now his paranoia increased, leading him to believe that everyone was against him. Everyone blamed him for Mary’s death. People did not think that he’d be able to defend the town. People were afraid that the Gomez Gang would come back to the town, and that he’d be defenseless.
“By the end of the week, I’d worked myself into quite a state,” he finished. “I believed that the only way to prove myself – the only way to convince anyone that I was worth anything – was to go after the Gomez Gang myself, and stop them. And I was drunk enough to do it.”
He had gathered his guns and two of his horses, and told his deputy that he was going to find the Gomez Gang. Roy had been loyal – and faithful – enough to come with him. Before they’d left, though, Roy had insisted on wiring Marshall Rainey in Rio Grande City, updating him on the events of the last week and letting him know that they were going after the Gomez Gang. Will hadn’t understood why this was important, but Roy had insisted that the marshall be informed of their plans. The marshall needed to know that the Gomez Gang was on the loose again, at the very least, and that they had attacked and killed someone. Roy took advantage of the communication and asked Marshall Rainey to come to Mexico after them and bring Victor and Martin Longoria. These were two of Will’s Comecrudo friends, and specialized in tracking anything that moved. Will had argued, but Roy had pointed out that they were going to be tracking outlaws outside their home country, without any help, and that neither of them were well known for their tracking abilities.
Presented with this fact, Will had relented and allowed Roy to write whatever he wanted in the telegram.
“Roy and I hit the road and hightailed it down to Mexico. We knew that they would have come back down here, probably to the town where they lived, to avoid prosecution in the US. If we’d caught them again up there, they’d have had a date with the hangman’s noose, make no mistake. Down here, though, we’d have to go through different routes, and I didn’t plan to involve the Mexican government. I assumed that if we found the gang, I could kill their leader, Pedro, and put an end to it. I didn’t think that any of the others would be strong enough to control the group without him. I didn’t think through the plan, of course, but I figured that we’d come up with something. I was still drinking heavily, and being more of a burden to Roy than anything else, I’m afraid.
“Roy is an extremely true friend, and did his best to take care of me. He told me that he didn’t think I was thinking clearly at the time, though I didn’t hear him. Over the next two weeks of tracking, he also told me that he believed we were going in circles. He thought that the Gomez Gang was leading us on the wrong trail, trying to get us confused. I disagreed, of course, but I had no idea what I was talking about. When I finally sobered up enough to notice that we were backtracking – covering the same ground over and over – we were three weeks from home. We agreed to camp for a night and put together a new plan. My brain had finally kicked back into gear, and I knew that we were going about this in the wrong way.”
That afternoon, though, they had been unable to find an appropriate place to make camp. They found their way into a forest, looking for a campsite, and then couldn’t find the way out. Instead of pushing on to find a wide-open camping spot, they had given up and chosen a clearing in the forest. The site had made both Will and Roy nervous, as it would be easy for someone to sneak up on them, but they’d had no choice. They’d taken turns standing watch throughout the night.
“The next morning, when we were having our coffee and putting together our plan, our worst fears were realized. Pedro Gomez and his gang came strolling out of the trees, laughing about the fact that they had caught us flat-footed. We were caught completely unaware, with nothing but our pistols at hand. Pedro made the most of it, laughing at us and telling me every detail about what they had done to Mary.
“I let him, thinking that if he talked long enough, he might give Roy and me an opening to escape or get the first shots in. I knew that if we shot first, we would each get two shots in, and that they would be killing shots. I also knew, though, that there were five of them and two of us, and that we would be dead by the time we shot again. We had to find a way to get the jump on them, kill all five before they knew what was happening.
“So I raised my hands and pretended that I was giving up. ‘Five against two,’ I told them. ‘No contest, you win.’ Roy looked at me like I had lost my mind, then realized what I was doing and started to play along. He argued with me, telling me that I was crazy, and I shouted back. Pedro could probably understand most of what we were saying, but I doubt that anyone else could. They could tell that we were arguing, though, and thought it was very funny. They all began to laugh at us, including Pedro. When I saw that, it took me two-seconds to reach into my belt, grab my gun, and put a bullet in Pedro’s forehead. My other shot went into Santos, the second in command. Roy took out Zenon and aimed at Galeno. He missed, though, and Galeno shot him instead.
“Roy dropped like a shot, dead, and one of the other guys shot me in the chest before I could get another shot off. As they rode away, they shot again – this time the bullet went into my thigh. I dropped next to Roy, and hit the ground hard. I could feel the blood pumping out of my chest, and running from my thigh wound, and I didn’t think I’d last long. We hadn’t shot quickly enough, and now we were both going to pay for it. I was sorry about Roy, but I wasn’t scared to die. My thoughts were of Mary, and the fact that she was gone. I didn’t have anything to live for, and it would be a hell of a lot easier to be dead, but I hated that some of the men responsible for her death – and mine – were still out there. That they would kill and rape again. I knew that they didn’t deserve to live – they should have been behind bars!”
Will paused and looked up at Elizabeth. “That thought kept me alive. If I didn’t put them behind bars, who would? I had to survive, you see, to avenge my wife’s death. I had to live, to catch those men. I closed my eyes, trying to conserve my strength, and when I opened them again I saw your daughter leaning over me.”
