Breathing heavily, Ethan noticed something below the broken ground. Another trail. Someone had been using the hidden valley long before him. Before he could investigate, a sharp crack echoed through the canyon. Then came another.
Gunfire. Ethan immediately grabbed his rifle and looked toward the distant ridge. The Apache village was somewhere beyond those hills. And whoever was shooting was heading in that direction. Ethan mounted his horse and raced back toward the tribe, knowing that the dying Apache were now facing a danger far worse than thirst.
Ethan rode back toward the Apache village as fast as his tired horse could carry him. Gunshots echoed across the valley, growing louder with every passing minute. When he reached the ridge above the settlement, he saw several armed men moving between the rocks. The Apache warriors were trying to defend their people, but they were badly weakened by hunger and sickness. Ethan quickly realized these men were not ordinary travelers.
They were organized, heavily armed, and searching the valley with a clear purpose. He spotted Red Hawk behind a group of rocks and shouted a warning. The chief looked toward him, then signaled his warriors to fall back. Ethan studied the land. The attackers were moving through a narrow passage between two cliffs.
Their horses struggled over the uneven ground, making the group slow and disorganized. Ethan remembered the hidden canyon. If he could lure the attackers there, the Apache might have a chance. He rode toward the opposite side of the valley and fired a single shot into the air. Several armed men immediately noticed him.
Ethan turned his horse and raced away. The attackers followed. He led them toward the narrow passage he had discovered earlier. Once the first riders entered, Ethan suddenly turned into a side trail and disappeared behind the rocks. The attackers stopped.
Before they could understand what had happened, Apache warriors appeared above them. The men were trapped. A short but tense fight followed. The Apache forced the attackers to surrender their weapons. Ethan noticed one wounded man trying to escape and stopped him before he could reach his horse.
Red Hawk ordered the captured man brought forward. At first, the stranger refused to speak. But after several questions, he finally revealed why they had come. Their leader was a wealthy landowner named Silas Mercer. Mercer had heard that the valley contained a valuable water source.
He believed controlling the water would allow him to take the surrounding land and force the Apache away. Ethan immediately understood the larger danger. The tribe had almost died because of the drought, but now someone was preparing to take the land they depended on. Red Hawk looked toward Ethan. "You found the water," he said.
"Can it save my people? " Ethan nodded. "There is a spring beyond the canyon. It is small, but it can be opened. The chief wanted to send warriors with him, but Ethan warned that they could not waste time. Mercer's men might return with more people.