Snippet #2430373

"Good," Horatio replied, giving Gideon an even nod. "Let's head out then."

The two Dogs soon rode their horses out of town, and toward the direction of the Red Road Trail. They traveled for well over half an hour, baking in the stark heat of the sun as they trudged on. Finally, they came upon the trail, and not long after that, they struck gold, so to speak. Off the side of the trail, the remains of a burnt and upturned wagon rested, a few wisps of smoke still coming out of the husk. Beside the husk, the bodies of three men laid, their deaths recent enough that they had decayed little in the desert heat. And near those bodies, rested the corpses of a pair of horses.

Horatio stopped his horse near the destroyed wagon, and clambered off.

"Looks like this was one of the wagons attacked on the trail. Fairly recently, too. If we're lucky, we might find a trail left behind by the raiders." Horatio idly commented, more for the Pup's benefit than his own.

He circled around the burnt-out husk, searching for anything left behind. It didn't surprise him at all when he found nothing significance in the burned remains. His attention then shifted over to the dead bodies. Had he the materials, he'd give these men a proper burial, but unfortunately, he didn't bring a shovel with him. For the moment, they would have to remain that way. The poor bastards.

Upon closer inspection of the bodies, it seemed that the men had all died from gunshots, indicated from the bullet-holes in their chests. But just because there weren't any arrows, didn't mean that Natives might be behind it. A lot of the Tribes these days had long abandoned using bows and arrows, and had adapted to rifles.

Still, these men weren't scalped. That was usually a calling-card of any Native attack...

"Something's not right here, Pup." Horatio stated, frowning at the scene before him. "These men still have their scalps. Natives usually don't leave those behind. And these raiders killed the horses, too. Why? Natives usually like to steal horses whenever they attack, not slaughter them. Something's not right here, but I'm not sure what it is."

Was this truly a Native attack, then? Might this be the work of simple bandits, then? But if that was so...how did this tie into the ranch attacks? Or were these two events related at all? The ranch attacks had started first, after all. Maybe it was pure coincidence that attacks had started up on the Trail shortly thereafter....

Hm. Well, either way, they wouldn't know for sure until Harrison went over to talk to the local Tribe. Until then, they'd have to make due without concrete answers.

Horatio glanced over at his partner, and idly wandered what he thought of the whole situation. Then he mused on whether or not this might be the first time the Pup saw a corpse. Hell of a first time to be introduced to death, that was for sure.