The Ram Rebellion(97)

While they were still some distance away, Anse laid out his plan. "Jochen, work your way up to the far side of the house. If they start shooting, toss a grenade through the window. Wili, you and me will crawl up on the near side. You take the window and after the grenade goes off, bust open the window and cover the inside of the house. I'll move on to the corner and take the two men out front. Understood?"





When the two others nodded, Anse continued. "Now don't do anything until someone takes a shot at the captain. They might surrender." From the looks on Wili and Jochen's faces, they doubted that as much as Anse did.





Everything went as planned, up to a point. Anse and Wili had just gotten into position on either side of the window when they heard a shot from the other side of the house. That shot was followed by two more, and then some shouting.





"Wili, watch the window. Don't fire until I do."





Anse stepped to the corner of the house. A quick glance around it made immediately clear what had happened. Of the two men who had been watching the front of the house, one had gone to the privy. Either going to or coming back, he had seen Jochen near the house and taken a shot at him. He'd missed, Jochen hadn't, and the man was down near the privy. His partner was kneeling by the door of the house readying his match lock and yelling at the top of his lungs.





Anse stepped out and called, "Throw down your gun. Geben oben." Either the man didn't want to give up or Anse's German wasn't understandable, because he turned and raised his weapon. Before he could get it halfway up, he took two twenty-gauge slugs in the chest. He was wearing a breast plate, but at a range of less than six feet it made very little difference.





As Anse shifted his aim to cover the door he heard the familiar clackity-boom that told him Wili was unloading his shotgun through the window. Jochen's warning call of "Grenade!" was almost covered up by the sound of Anse's shotgun taking out a man trying to flee the pocket hell that Wili had made of the inside of the house.





After the grenade exploded, there was nothing but silence.





When his ears quit ringing, Anse called out, "Wili, Jochen! Are you all right?"





"Ja," the two responded, almost in unison.





Captain von Dantz and Lieutenant Ivarsson were coming at a gallop. The two were just turning off the road. Gaylynn was close behind, driving the wagon.





"Herr Hatfield, I told you to wait!" were the first words out of the captain's mouth, as he slid from his horse. "We needed prisoners to question, not just bodies."





Just then a shot rang out from inside the house. The bullet made a wheeting sound as it passed between Anse and the captain. Anse and the captain both turned and fired at almost the same time. The wounded man standing in the doorway of the house, trying to reload his pistol, was driven back inside by the force of both shots hitting him dead center.





"Sorry, Captain, but I don't think they want to surrender."





"It seems not. So be it, then." He drew his sword and stepped toward the house.





Seeing the captain about to enter with only his sword as a weapon, Anse said. "Wait a second, Captain. Take my shotgun. Just point it and pull the trigger. There's still two shells in it."





Von Dantz took the shotgun. Anse drew his pistol and the two moved to the door. Once they looked through the door, however, it was obvious that the shooting was over. The bodies of the bandits were scattered around the one room of the house. Wili and Jochen were looking through the two windows of the house, their guns pointing inside, but nothing was moving.





"Lieutenant Ivarsson," the captain called. "If you and Herr Hatfield's men can clean the bodies out of the house, we can get the women and the boys out of the weather. We will have to camp here tonight."





Anse rolled his eyes. It was typical of the captain, that he didn't give a thought to the reaction of the two boys or the women—or the men, for that matter—at the prospect of spending the night in a cabin that was splattered all over with blood and gore. Jochen's grenade had practically shredded at least one of the bandits.





"I think not, Captain," he said firmly. "As I told you, we have perfectly serviceable tents with us." Jabbing a finger at the inside of the cabin, he added: "That's a charnel house in there. Even in winter, the stench will be unbearable."





Fortunately, von Dantz didn't argue the matter. He simply stalked off, in a huff.





Lieutenant Ivarsson came up.





"Herr Hatfield, I think we should dig a grave for the old man. But what do you want to do with the bandits?"