The Strip Half-Breed

She was out of her chair before Yazzie stopped her, “The things you have in the store would only slow me down. Besides Bret doesn’t really know what he is up against. In about two weeks he’ll show up back here in town worn to a frazzle and those that go with him will decide he is bad luck and will abandon the task. Leaving Bret to wonder what he should do next.”.....There was a chance that Bret would be waiting for him just outside of town, but he didn’t think there would be much risk yet. Bret would want more men with him before tackling Yazzie again. Nevertheless he kept his eyes moving and his mind alert. He wanted Bret to know where he was going, which would keep the man and the outlaws occupied for the next few days. With this in mind he rode toward the Hole-in-the-Rock at the east end of the strip, deliberately keeping to open ground so his presence would be known and his tracks plain in the soft soil. If this gamble paid off it would not be long before they were on his trail making the range safe for those ranchers having trouble. He knew Bret was a wanted man from the reward dodgers he’d seen in his office in the southern Arizona Territory. The big question was, could he be the man Yazzie was looking for or was he only a small cog in the puzzle? Hoping to wear Bret down, then separate him from his men he figured it may be possible to corner him and find out for sure who the man was that had been the leader of the men that killed his father. Of course Bret might not be privileged to that information but it wouldn’t hurt to find out.