Snippet #2633521

Horatio gave a dim nod, taking Anna's words into consideration. "Good thinking, Anna. I'm not sure about the fire, though. Carries too much of a risk. What if it spreads across the entire fort? Even if it doesn't, we don't know for sure where the children are, yet. If we start a fire, we carry the risk of choking them to death with the smoke. if they're close to the stables. How would we put the fire out, anyway? There isn't a well anywhere nearby, or a river or lake. We'd pretty much have to let it burn out, and that carries too much risk with it, I'd say."

Horatio frowned, idly rubbing his chin as he thought matters over. A fire was risky, but if they could somehow just contain it to the stables, it might work. Even then, though, it seemed too much of a risk. In retrospect, they should have brought Brother Samuel with them; he was a liability in the field, sure, but there was a good chance he'd remember the layout of the bandits' camp. Even if he didn't, he'd certainly know where the children were being kept.

At any rate...they did need to create a distraction to create some chaos in the fort, while they signaled the posse to join them. But what could that be?

"Perhaps just setting the horses loose would be enough," Horatio finally suggested, giving a little nod. "We untie them, do something to spook the lot of them, and watch 'em run wild. The bandits will be besides themselves trying to calm down their beasts. Meanwhile, we signal the posse with the fire from a match....Sheriff Thompson has a spyglass on him, so he'd see a flame that tiny. And with the chaos from rounding up their horses, the bandits will be torn to shreds when our reinforcements come charging in."

That sounded like a solid enough plan to Horatio. It would likely mean most of the horses the bandits had would be killed during the firefight....which was a shame. The horses were innocent in any wrongdoing committed by these foul men, after all. Still, it was a necessary sacrifice to rescue the children.

"We'll need to find out where the children are first, though." he added, after a moment's thought. "Make sure we're there to protect 'em and stop any horses from trampling on them by accident. And we need to take out any remaining sentries in the fort itself....I bet at least four men will be up and about, keeping watch inside. Probably a lot less lax then the guys out here were, though. They've been secure this long, probably think Brother Samuel never made it out of the desert alive, and have the one gap in their defenses covered...they'll be lazy and ripe for picking. At least one of the bandits will be asleep on the job, I wager."

Horatio smirked a little at the thought of that, the thought of ambushing such a unsuspecting bandit quite...appealing. It would make their punishment all the sweeter.