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“I’ll come with you, then,” he said

Barnie swung his group of men close to some trees and waited while Benteen led the rest of the the riverbank There was sos, but it seemed normal activity

They were nearly in position when Benteen heard a shout fros, followed by the bellow of a Sharps rifle He laid his spurs to the speedy grulla and broke from the trees at a flat-out run The hooves of the other horses pounded alongside hi for the corral The sound of the Sharps had been a sobering reades were ex-buffalo hunters and excellent shots Given tiets, they’d drop whatever was in their sights The secret was going to be not giving theet

The air was split open by the explosions of gunfire Figures were scurrying around the clearing, taking up their positions They were thirty yards from the corral before they were spotted, all of the concentration previously directed at Barnie’s group A bullet tugged at Benteen’s coat sleeve Puffs of sun as lead whistled around him

There were a half-dozen horses in the corral, whinnying and racing in a panicked circle When Benteen reached the fence, he swung off the grulla and hit the ground at a run He ducked behind a water trough to reload and check the spare pistol tucked in his waistband

A bullet caught Vince’s horse Benteen watched the horse sink as Vince threw hiround to scralance at the cabin and saw Barnie had made it His mouth was dry and he licked the nervous sweat froh the horses in the corral,for the wall of the shed Benteen peppered the doorway to give him cover fire

Water splashed in his face, kicked up by the bullet splatting into the trough A second shot splintered the wood, but he had the man spotted then He fired before thehim in the chest The rifle was thrown in the air as the man was knocked backward by the force of the blow

A barrage of bullets showered the water trough Benteen left it at a crouching run and scrambled under the bottom rail of the corral to join Bull A horse veered in front of him He used its protection to reach the wall Instinct had hiun to keep it full Powder smell settled around him

He heard Bull say beside him, “It can’t be any worse inside the shed than out”

“Let’s find out,” Benteen agreed

Woolie and another coere flattened on the corral ground, pouring lead into the shed Benteen signaled the the wall to the doorway

“I’ll take the left,” Bull said, and Benteen nodded

They went through the opening at nearly the sa up, while Bull swung around the frauns When the dust and the s and Benteen was getting up Bull kicked the gun out of reach of the one still alive and rolled hiut-shot

“The other two?” Benteen asked, breathing harshly

“Dead”