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Beau reined after them In two jumps, the roan was at full stride After a half dozenaway fro and bawling in confusion

Checking the roan to a walk, Beau lifted his free hand to signal Will that the runaere back in the fold But Will wasn’t where he had last seen hi his tall bay toward a half dozen steers, bunched on the far side of a clearing Intent on the strays, he didn’t see colony Hated by ranchers, the little rodents dug burrows that could trap and break the leg of a horse or cow

Beau shouted a warning Seeing the danger, Will wheeled hisseemed fine Then, suddenly, it wasn’t

The horse shied, shrieked, and shot straight up, twisting in midair like a rodeo bronc In a scene that took on the slow-htht the stirrup, then slid free of the boot as he sla flat on his back Unhar distance with every bound

By now Beau was close enough to leap off his mount and race toward his brother Will appeared dazed but he was s

A dozen strides away, Beau heard Will utter a sharp grunt of pain Twisting sideways on the ground, Will yanked out his holstered pistol and fired three low shots at soray exploded into the air

An instant later, Beau reached Will’s side There in the dust, inches fro, lay the bullet-riddled carcass of a dia and as thick as a man’s forearm

Will’s face was tinged with gray He sluot ot him back”

Kicking the dead snake out of the way, Beau crouched next to his brother, his heart pounding and a sick knot for in his stomach

He threw a shout over his shoulder for help, yanked out his pocketknife, opened it, and slashed the deni around the two deep red puncture wounds Beau knew a rattler that size could inject a hefty dose of venoh to kill a man without prompt treatment

“Bad, is it?” Will cursed through clenched teeth

“Bad enough Don’t try to talk Just lie still”

Whipping off his bandana, he knotted it around Will’s thigh a few inches above the wound It would need to be loosened every few ht tourniquet could shut off the blood flow into the leg, doingthe flesh and sucking out the venom had also proven to be ineffective The best course of action was to keep Will quiet and get hi, and maybe his life

Sky was the first to reach them His cool blue eyes quickly took in the situation He tossed Beau the canteen from his saddle “Pour this on the bite The nearest hospital’s in Lubbock I’ll call for Life Flight” He whipped out his cell phone and punched in 911

Beau helped Will sit up to keep his heart above his leg and slow the rise of the veno would swell, he cut off the rest of the pant leg and removed the sock Will had lost the boot when the horse bucked him off