"Do you see him Jim?"

"Oh yeah I've been watching him for the last fifteen minutes."

"Well where there's one there's more you know."

"I know."

"You're lost aren't you brother? You don't know where the mine is, do you?"

"Yes Rezin I'm lost. I admit it so we better go back to camp now. The boys will be looking for us soon and we need to lose our friend here. See that pile of rocks and that ridge ahead. We'll stop there among the boulders. I'll hoof it the fifty yards from there up to the top of the ridge, look over and see if our friend has any friends. You stay with the horses and guard the rear. If all's clear, we'll mount up and ride back to camp."

"If not?"

"Well we're the Bowie Brothers and we've been in tighter scrapes before."

Jim took his rifle and ran to the ridge of rocks and peered over the top.

"Holy Hannah! Two of them galloping right for you brother."

"And the one that's been following us has a rifle and is about a hundred feet to your right along the ridge. Don't try to run here Jim. You'll never make it."

Two Comanche mounted warriors armed with lances, but no rifles thankfully, rode around the ridge and raced toward Rezin. He was trapped in a pile of boulders big enough to give him cover but still trapped nonetheless with fifty yards of open space between him and his brother. And now in all the excitement he had forgotten to secure their horses and they spooked and ran off. He was trapped. His brother was trapped. They'd been outsmarted by Indians.

Jim was not a marksman and he knew it. The Comanche popped his head up among the rocks every so often but no part of his body was ever exposed. There was no target for Jim.

On the other hand there was no target for the Comanche. Jim knew that if he shot first and missed he could never reload fast before his enemy ran over and shot him. He didn't dare take a shot. The odds were against him.

Think Jim think. Stay cool. You're a Bowie. You don't panic under fire.

Rezin had the same problem. Oh he knew he could kill one of them but before he could reload the other would be on top of him and he wasn't about to go mano y mano with a Comanche war chief. Jim was the knife fighter. He was the marksman. Didn't his brother always brag about him that he could put a bullet through the eye of needle at fifty paces. Think Rezin. You're a Bowie. You remain calm under fire. You can get us out of this.

One war chief circled him clockwise and the other counterclockwise. One took the inner circle and the other the outer circle and they kept their distance.

Rezin hunkered down and steadied his rifle on a rock. He watched the two mounted warriors in all their paint and glory continually circling him hooping and hollering their war cries just waiting for a chance to strike. Waiting for him to make a mistake. These Indians were a clever formidable foe.

But a Bowie doesn't make mistakes. Comanches make mistakes. Rezin knew the answer now. As the Comanches circled him at one point they were lined up. One was directly in front of the other as they crossed each other. For a split second, just a split second, there would be one head target for two bodies. That's when he'd get them. It was the Bowie brother's only chance.

Rezin steadied his rifle, closed his left eye and squinted down the barrel to the rifle sight. He waited as they made a few more circles. He had gotten his bearings now. He knew exactly where the inner warrior blocked out the outer warrior directly behind him. Studied it a couple of time in his mind. He had this under control now. He was confident that he could do this.

He aimed, steadied his rifle, held his breath and fired his one shot.Two warriors dropped from their horses. One shot, two bodies with holes in their heads.

He reloaded. The last Indian made a break for it. He and JIm fired at the same time and the third warrior fell. Time to hightail it back to the boys before any more braves suddenly appeared from nowhere as Comanches were prone to do.

As they rode back Jim finally broke the silence.

"Wait till I tell the boys. One shot, two dead Comanches. They'll never believe it brother."

"That's right. They'll never believe it. They'll just say its those Bowie brothers bragging and boasting themselves up some more. Don't say anything. Just let it go. Are you going to tell them we didn't find the famed Bowie brothers lost San Saba gold mine."

"No I'm going to tell them we found it. They'll believe that.