Rescuing The Wildcat

by Angela Lain

  CHAPTER NINE

  D usk.

  They moved on quietly, ahead they could see a fire flickering.

  “We go for look,” Joe decided. “Horses stay.”

  They dismounted and made their way through the undergrowth. Jared was very aware that although he hardly blundered along, he was no match for Joe in bush craft. Hopefully Kanti’s captor was no experienced woodsman either.

  It was now fully dark. The man sat hunched over the fire drinking coffee, Kanti lay curled up in the shelter of a bush. Jared looked on with satisfaction, if they waited until the man slept, Kanti was in a perfect position to be spirited away. He motioned to pull back to discuss tactics.

  “You get her, quietly. Don’t let her scream!”

  Joe nodded. Jared hoped that request was actually possible. They would be in a muddle if Kanti shrieked at the sight of another man, but he believed she was made of sterner stuff.

  “If we leave the horses in this hollow, you can put her on Topper, and ride like the wind. Only stop to sleep when you are sure you are safe.”

  “What about you?” Joe hissed.

  “I shall wait. He may not wake, but I expect he will. If he does you will need me to stop him.”

  “But how you get home?”

  “If I have to fight, I intend to win. I will have his horse. If I don’t have to fight I will take to the woods, but I can’t see he will stay asleep, I will have to stop him if he tries to follow. If I don’t catch up, you come back for me when Kanti is back home. ”

  Joe made no comment, but his mastery of English increased every day. He understood what was expected.

  “Now we watch,” Jared decided. “When he is well asleep, we move.”

  They moved quietly to the clearing and waited patiently in the tree cover.

  It seemed an age had passed before Joe touched his arm.

  “He sleeps. I go.”

  Jared moved quietly, rifle in hand, to the very edge of the clearing to watch the sleeping figures. He just prayed that Kanti wouldn’t panic, but to send Joe was the only practical way to do this. He was well aware he would have been too noisy, so he would personally deal with the kidnapper.

  Jared had no real desire to kill this man, just because he now rode the outlaw trail didn’t mean he was all bad. But he had heard enough to know he had evil tendencies, and he should never have taken Kanti. Such an act was, in Jared’s eyes, unforgiveable.

  He settled to wait. If he had to kill the man, so be it, an innocent life hung on this whole expedition. He couldn’t help but wonder what his father would have thought of this adventure. Both he and Jared’s elder brother Lance had lived here in the wild, they would understand and back him to the hilt. He wished he could have Lance here at his side right at this second. Then he would be certain of saving the girl he had come to love dearly. It hadn’t taken many days, maybe only hours, but he had fallen, and fallen hard. If he should lose her now he would be heartbroken.

  He strained his eyes in the darkness and thought he could discern a flicker of movement in the bushes. As he watched, Joe slid from the shadows to bend over Kanti’s sleeping form. He saw her start as she woke, but she made no sound. Whatever Joe had muttered as he bent over her was enough to convince her that he was a friend. Either that or she considered anything was better than her present position.

  Jared caught the glint of a knife in the dim firelight, she was still tied. Joe slid back towards the bushes. Kanti followed, whether it was fatigue, terror or just cramped muscles that caused it, her movements were not silent.

  The big man stirred and woke. Big he might have been, slow he wasn’t! He instantly realized what had woken him and grabbed for his gun. Jared’s rifle sent a bullet winging its way towards the shadowy figure as he leapt from the ground to vanish into the undergrowth. Jared had expected him to run towards the escaping girl, but he didn’t, he moved off into the bushes.

  Jared had no way of knowing if he had scored a hit with the bullet, he assumed not. He sped through the undergrowth, now he had to put himself between Kanti and her captor. The man was alerted and highly dangerous. He would shoot first and ask questions later, and he had the advantage of knowing he had no friends in the bushes.

  Jared could now hear movement behind him; hopefully that was Kanti and Joe moving to the horses. To his frustration he could hear nothing else. Not only did he need to locate the outlaw, he had to keep the man away from his own horse so he could not pursue the others.

  As he stood silent and alert, straining every sense, he caught the sound of distant hoof beats. They were away!

  Jared felt more than heard the movement to his left, so when the dark shape detached itself from a tree bole and launched at him he was not taken unawares. This man was no tenderfoot, he knew that to fire and miss in the darkness would set him up as a target, the spurt of flame from his own gun could spell his death. Neither could afford to shoot unless they were certain of a kill. This very fact had led Jared to expect a physical attack.

  Jared flung himself away from his attacker, weight for weight he appeared to be at a distinct disadvantage; he lacked a little in height too. So be it, speed would be his ally, speed and surprise, he would need to stay out of this man’s clutches. He had boxed, and wrestled and fenced back in England, he was fit and agile. As he rolled beneath a bush he abandoned his rifle to give himself two hands, but by the time he made his feet his assailant had vanished. He recovered the gun.

  Then began a deadly game of cat and mouse. Jared wasn’t quite sure who was stalking whom; he was no expert, and this man must have the advantage. But the fellow was angry, and anger spelt recklessness and impatience. Jared would stay calm and focused.

  The silence was deafening for moments on end, then a twig would snap sharply, or leaves would rustle, or there would be just the merest whisper of sound. All the night animals seemed to have ceased their business to watch this tense drama played out in the darkness.

  Jared was ceaselessly on the move now, tenderfoot or not, he knew that to remain still could spell death, to move too fast could mean death, to misinterpret a single sound could mean the end. He knew the man was creating diversionary noises, tossing a pebble, moving a branch with a stick. He was doing the same thing himself. It was a matter of who concentrated harder, and who got lucky!

  As Jared moved silently through the night a strange feeling of inevitability crept over him.

  This was the one reason his footsteps had led him to Reuben’s door, the reason he had detoured to Wyoming. This was meant to be.

  No matter what cost to him, if this was to be the last worthwhile thing he achieved in his life, so be it. He’d been sent here to give this girl a chance of a future, because the young of this land were the future. This evil man was the past, the bloody and violent past that needed to end for the good of this country. Jared was in no doubt now that he would kill this man. Taking Kanti by force was evil, he deserved to die.

  Jared felt the tension leave his body, he felt good, he was going to succeed and if he died doing so, he would die happy.

  He relaxed. He felt invincible; cool, calm and totally clear.

  He sensed a presence; he moved, caught a sound and allowed his instinct to guide his actions. The gun came up in one smooth motion and he fired with no hesitation. Instinct served him well, he heard a grunt and a gasp and the sound of a heavy fall. A few scrabbles and silence fell again.

  Jared waited for a few seconds, but in his heart he knew he had won. He moved to the fallen man and confirmed he was dead.

  Now what? He didn’t feel he could just ride away and leave the body. He felt the man should at least be buried. So Jared returned to the low burned fire and saddled the horses. He put out the fire and loaded the body onto the smaller horse. He set off after the others even though he knew he would have little chance of finding them in the darkness. Joe would have the sense to take a difficult route and would camp the remainder of the night with no fire.

  All Jared wanted
to do at the moment was leave the man’s campsite. For all he knew it may be a place regularly used by travelers and outlaws, it could be a meeting place. He moved on for maybe two miles before he finally hobbled the horses and rested till first light.

  CHAPTER TEN

  I n the grey of the dawn Jared got his first proper look at the man he had killed. So this was Bradley Forncett, from what he had heard, no-one would miss him. Hopefully he would not suffer consequences for killing such a man

  He saddled up the horses and rode on. By mid-morning he wasn’t surprised to catch a movement up ahead, and a short while later he crossed fresh hoof prints on the trail. It was no surprise when Joe moved from the trees at the side of the trail to greet him, Kanti followed, mounted on his horse.

  “I knew it was you, I knew Topper. I’ve been so worried, but Joe wouldn’t go back,” she said softly.

  Joe raised his chin defiantly. “I do as Jared wishes. No need to go back. Jared not lose.”

  Jared acknowledged the young men’s words, but he had eyes only for Kanti. She looked back at him proudly, her dark eyes glowing and her dark hair falling loose around her shoulders. She was so beautiful. No wonder Forncett had wanted her.

  “But why you? You had left me. Where is my

  father?” she demanded.

  “When Forncett took you, your father was hurt…”

  “Hurt? I know he knocked him down, but how hurt? Is he all right?”

  “He has a broken leg, and a sore head. But he will be all right.”

  “You left him alone? Hurt?” Kanti retorted.

  “He is not alone, Joe’s woman is with him.” At least he hoped she was.

  To Jared’s immense relief, nothing about her attitude spoke of a bestial ordeal at the hands of Forncett. But he would have put money on the fact the man had already been guilty of rape, and maybe worse. He would molest and threaten no more women!

  Kanti looked at the body slung over the pony. “You killed him. I’m not sorry, he wasn’t a nice man.”

  “Did he hurt you, Kanti?” Jared questioned softly.

  “No, not in the way you mean. He hit me when I fought him, he hurt my hands when he tied me up. He kept telling me what he was going to do to me. He said he was taking me somewhere nice. I didn’t believe him.”

  “We think he was taking you to the Hole in the Wall,” Jared informed her. “For all I know it may be nice, but I hear it’s very hard to leave.” Once there she would have been fair game for anyone in residence.

  “Yes, he did say that. The Hole in the Wall. With the outlaws.” Kanti gave a shiver. “At first he said he was taking me to the city, where I could have pretty dresses, but he didn’t tell me where, I didn’t believe him. I would have killed him had I had the chance.”

  “I know,” Jared assured her. “Kanti, we need to talk, properly.”

  She lifted her chin and stared him down. “Like we did before you left?”

  “About why I left.”

  “You said you were going home. Why did you come back?”

  “I found out he had followed you. I remembered what you said about him, and I came back to make sure you were well. Also… I came to make you an offer.” He stepped off the horse and handed the lead rope of the pack horse to Joe. “Go ahead, slowly. We will catch up in a few moments. We need to talk.”

  Joe gave a nod, he understood.

  “Get down, Kanti.”

  She did as he asked, and faced him with a scowl. “An offer? There is no offer a man like you can make me which I would accept. I cannot be bought, or owned or used no matter how rich and privileged you might be.”

  “Exactly. Which is why I left. You knew that, didn’t you?”

  “So what changed? The fact I was abducted makes me a ruined woman? So you too see me as fair game?”

  Her words spoke volumes. He knew how she thought, how other people thought. But she didn’t know how he thought, not now.

  “Before there is any more misunderstanding here, Kanti, please will you marry me?”

  Her mouth dropped open in surprise.

  “But… “

  “No buts. I am twenty four years old, in the eyes of my friends and peers I am probably a little young, but age doesn’t matter when you find the right girl. I have never met that girl when on the dance floors of England; the young ladies are all too staid and biddable for my tastes. I need a girl who is smart like my sister Kit, a bit rebellious like my sister Susie, kind like my sister Sophie, brave like my cousin Elizabeth, and gracious like my cousin Eleanor. To find a girl who is all that, and beautiful too, is more than I could have hoped for. To leave these shores and sail to England with me will require a special kind of courage, but I think I can offer you a better life than the one which awaits you here.”

  ***

  Kanti regarded him in wonder. There had been no declaration of undying love, they didn’t need that, because they both knew instinctively how they felt. It had been there between them that last evening, the promise of an extraordinary love, should they be prepared to reach for it.

  They both knew she was ruined, they both knew her blood made her vulnerable in a way no white girl would be.

  Here was a future, a life better than she could ever have hoped for, if she had the courage to accept it.

  “Yes. I will marry you.”

  He stepped forward, swept her into his arms and kissed her.

  For Kanti it was like coming home, warm and safe and happy. She’d never been kissed, and it was everything she’d ever imagined.

  “Ahh, my beautiful girl. Do you know I wanted to do that the first night I saw you? I imagined you in a ball room, dressed in silk, with your hair flowing over your shoulder, and I knew I wanted you for my own. I tried not to think of it, because we both knew it was impossible.”

  “Impossible? But…”

  “Impossible then, not impossible now. I have changed, I am in love and that is all that matters. I just hope you feel the same.”

  “Oh I do, I do.”

  “And I hope you will say that before the preacher, before Christmas if I get my way?”

  “Oh Jared! How long till Christmas?”

  “In four days it will be Christmas Day.” He dropped another kiss onto her lips. “Now let us catch up with Joe. We need to get back to your father, he will be so worried. It will be tomorrow before we get home.”

  “And then we go to town? To find a preacher?”

  He laughed, “That’s what I like to hear. Yes, I would like to, but it will depend on your father, he may not allow it.”

  “He will, he likes you.”

  “Yes, but does he like me enough to lose you? Because that is the truth; you know I have to leave, I promised my father that I would return for my mother’s sake. It doesn’t mean we can never come back, but it is still a long way, and possibly a long time.”

  “Papa will want what is best for me. He knows I love you.”

  “He does?”

  “He does,” she confirmed, reaching up to kiss him again. “Come on, let’s get home.”

  ***

  It was mid-morning the following day before the cabin came into sight. Again the snow was blowing across the trail. They had ridden late into the evening, and moved on again as soon as it was light enough to see.

  To Jared’s relief, Reuben hobbled out onto the porch, accompanied by the young lady who had been sent to help him.

  As they stopped outside the cabin, he was down the step and hobbling to embrace his daughter.

  “Kanti, my girl. I was so worried. I should have been more on my guard, never have let that thug get his hands on you. Are you all right?”

  “I am now.”

  “Did he…?”

  “No. Jared and Joe got there in time.”

  Rueben moved to shake Jared’s hand. “Thank you, my friend,” He glanced at Joe. “And thanks also to the young people. We’ve sort of communicated. She’s helped me, but I’ll bet she’s sick of me trying to get her to unders
tand and talk back.”

  The young girl was now talking with Joe.

  “What’s their story?” Reuben asked, as they moved to put the horses in the barn.

  “I believe they ran away because an older man wanted her,” Jared shrugged. “No idea how they’ve been managing.”

  “Well they can stay here until the weather improves.” Reuben declared. “Hey, let’s go inside out of the wind.”

  Joe looked doubtful. “We go?”

  “No, you need not go. Not yet at least,” Jared returned. “Eat, sleep and then we see.”

  They entered the house, Joe somewhat reluctantly. His young lady, who Joe said was Addy (and Jared thought that was about as likely as Joe), encouraged him inside. Obviously she had got used to the home comforts very quickly.

  “I would really love a bath,” Kanti lamented, “But a good wash in hot water will do for now.”

  A bath! A luxury Jared had always taken for granted until he had arrived here. If he had his way Kanti would soon see how the other half lived.

  “When we are settled and have eaten, I have something I need to ask you,” he informed Reuben.

  His friend gave a small nod, “Maybe I can guess, but you need to ask, proper-like.”

  Half an hour later they were seated around the table, on what few chairs were available. Supper was soup and bread, hardly a slap up meal, but a great deal better than they had eaten for some time.

  Reuben sat back when he had finished his portion. “Now, my friend, what did you want to ask me?”

  Jared glanced at Kanti, who dropped her gaze to her food. It had to be said, sooner rather than later.

  “I would like to marry Kanti.”

  “And how does she feel about this?”