Ice & Rapture

by Connie Mason

  "McGarrett, ma'am. Chase McGarrett"

  "Just plain Belle will do. Chase Now what do I owe you for the cows'?"

  "One hundred and twenty head at one hundred dollars a head comes to twelve thousand dollars "

  "I suppose you're planning on using it for a grubstake to the Klondike," Belle said, moving to the safe and flipping the dial "I'll have to pay you in nuggets and dust, that agreeable with you1?"

  Belle experienced the full radiance of Chase's crooked smile "Gold is just fine. Belle And to answer your question, I'll be leavin' for the Klondike soon as me and Rusty can buy the food and equipment we need "

  "Rusty?"

  "My partner. Rusty Reed We bought a claim on Gold Bottom from a prospector who had his fill of the weather and hardships "

  "Too bad," Belle said huskily I like you. Cowboy, like you a lot I could use someone like you around the Ice Palace The salary is excellent and a man like you should find the fringe benefits to your liking " Her sultry tone and seductive green eyes promised lust and passion and more—much more Though Chase exhibited normal male interest, he couldn't banish the picture of flashing amber eyes and warm golden tresses from his mind It shocked him to think that an exasperating female like Mag-

  gie Afton made every other woman pale in comparison Even flamboyant Belle Delarue

  "Your offer is mighty temptin'. Belle, but so is the Klondike 'Sides, can't let Rusty down, he's countin' on me to help work the claim " He rose to leave, tucking the two pouches of dust and nuggets in his jacket pockets

  "If you change your mind. Chase, look me up In case you have trouble remembering me, here's something to cany along with you to refresh your memory "

  Her hips swaying seductively. Belle sidled up beside Chase until her breasts brushed the front of his shirt, their hardened tips etching fire through the material to his chest Her soft white arms came around his neck and her full red lips pressed against his with bold insistence With a will of their own. Chase's arms came around Belle, pressing her softness into his own hardness Her mouth opened, inviting his tongue, and Chase obliged Until his good sense returned His arms dropped and he backed away, wondering what in the hell he was doing here fooling around with Belle Delarue when Rusty was waiting on him

  Chase had known many women like Belle before Plenty of them They were users, seekers of pleasure who grabbed you by the short hairs and kept you dangling till someone better came along They were all right for a night's dalliance, but he tried to steer clear of involvements with whores And he certainly recognized Belle for what she was—a discriminating whore who had found a gold mine in the Ice Palace She might not have to whore for a living now, but the instincts were still there

  Yet Chase had to admit that bedding a beautiful woman like Belle wouldn't be too difficult In fact, he'd probably enjoy it if—if what1? If he didn't have

  gold fever1? Or if he hadn't met Miss Maggie High and Mighty Afton? Truth to tell, he'd rather bed Maggie than any woman he knew Sighing wistfully at something that was as unlikely to happen as snow in hell. Chase moved toward the door

  Belle's question stopped him just short of the exit "You need a room. Chase1? The hotels are rat's nests I got a spare room upstairs if you're interested "

  "Much obliged. Belle, but Rusty pitched a tent down on the beach Well only be in Skagway a day or two anyway Gotta get over the pass and to the Klondike before the river freezes over " He tipped his hat

  "So long. Chase Stop in again if you come back through Skagway " "So long. Belle Enjoy the cows "

  Suddenly the door opened before Chase touched the knob, admitting a tall, slim, bearded man with a long, narrow face and cold, almost colorless eyes He stared at Chase narrowly before settling his probing gaze on Belle

  "Who's the cowboy. Belle?"

  "Chase McGarrett," Belle said, licking her lips nervously I just bought his cows "

  "Ah, the cattle in the pen out back I'm Jefferson Randolph Smith Folks call me Soapy " He extended his hand to Chase

  "Howdy," Chase greeted him, pumping Soapy's hand

  "Soapy is—an important man in town," Belle offered "He owns Soapy's Parlor over on Holly Street"

  Chase nodded, mumbled an appropiate reply, and made a hasty exit Truth to tell, he didn't like Soapy's looks A straight-forward man himself. Chase thought Soapy looked like a shifty, greedy character who'd stop at nothing to further his own interests He wouldn't have been surprised to find

  out later that Soapy had his hand in every crime committed in Skagway

  Soapy watched Chase narrowly as the cowboy ambled out He hadn't seen anything quite like him since he arrived in Skagway a few months earlier as a soap salesman When his sales lagged, he wrapped fifty and one hundred dollar bills inside the wrappers of selected bars of soap in order to spur sales Needless to say, sales soared But Soapy made certain only his henchmen received soap with money From that day on he was known as "Soapy "

  "How much did you pay the cowboy for his cows'?" Soapy asked Belle

  "Twelve thousand, and worth every cent They'll bring in lots of business Don't know how long it's been since the Ice Palace offered a good beefsteak "

  "Does McGarrett have the money on him1?"

  Belle nodded, understanding Soapy perfectly "Him and his, partner are going to use it to grubstake them to the Klondike They bought a claim on Gold Bottom "

  "Hmmm Some pretty good samples coming down from Gold Bottom Thanks, Belle " He turned to leave, then thought better of it "You seemed mighty taken with the cowboy "

  Belle grinned "Wouldn't mind having him stick around a spell"

  "Maybe I can arrange it," Soapy said, his colorless eyes glinting deviously

  The grin remained on Belle's red lips long after Soapy left

  "Hot damn, twelve thousand dollars I" Rusty whooped as Chase poured the dust and nuggets into the older man's hands "That oughta tide us over till we hit pay dirt"

  Slender and wiry. Rusty earned his fifty years well Years of fighting Indians had taught him how

  to survive through any adversity He was a crusty sergeant when he met young Chase McGarrett, a fresh young private He took the green rookie under his wing and taught Chase all about survival Soon the two became fast, albeit unlikely, friends

  Since Chase was an orphan whose family had died of influenza, he adopted Rusty as a substitute father, and when Rusty mustered from the army. Chase tagged along They pooled their savings and bought a spread in Montana, where they struggled along trying to hold together the ranch they both grew to love

  When first word of gold in the Yukon reached civilization. Rusty and Chase talked it over and decided it was worth the effort for one of them to go and look over the prospects Rusty was elected and he left immediately, only to find no claims left to file But luck was with him when he met a down-and-out prospector eager to unload his holdings Chase mortgaged the ranch and sent Rusty money to purchase Eleven Above, but little was left for a grubstake or to work the claim

  Chase did manage, though, to scrape up enough money to buy a small herd of cattle with the intention of driving them to Skagway According to Rusty, beef was so scarce men would pay "dang near anything" for a tasty steak Pinning their future on the small herd of cattle might seem foolhardy, but it proved a good investment, one that had paid off handsomely The one drawback was that if they failed to find gold, they stood to lose everything, including the ranch that they'd both struggled so hard for

  "When you drove them cows ashore I was never so glad to see anyone in my life," Rusty admitted "Time's gettin' short We gotta get over the pass before bad weather cuts off travel I was right, wasn't I, son1? Them cows was a dang good idea "

  They sat in the small tent Rusty had set up on the beach and outfitted with two cots and a camp stove "The best," Chase agreed "How soon can we leave1?"

  "In a couple of days, I reckon We need to buy just about everythin' The Canadian government demands that each man have eleven hundert fifty pounds of food and a ton of supplies i
n order to enter the Yukon They got Mounties stationed at the foot of the pass to make certain everyone complies with the law and to collect customs "

  "Customs?"

  "Yep, twenty-five percent on American-made goods "

  Chase chewed on that for awhile before asking, "Will the four pack horses I brought be enough to cany our supplies?"

  "If they ain't, well buy sleds and dogs We got enough money now to travel in style "

  "Whatever you say. Rusty," Chase grinned, "you're the expert Here," he said, shoving the sacks of gold at the older man "You know what's needed, why don't you see to the supplies I—there's some unfinished business I need to attend to "

  Rusty scratched his head, ruffling his shock of gray-streaked red hair "You just got in town, son What kinda business could you have already? Chase grinned foolishly "It's personal"

  Suddenly comprehension dawned "Don't know how I could be so stupid You go on. Chase, take care of your—business You'll find the purtiest and cleanest girls at the Ice Palace You got money? Whores don't come cheap up here "

  A slow flush crept over Chase's face "You got me wrong. Rusty I'm gonna find a woman, but not a whore This is a woman I met aboard the North

  Star A newspaper reporter who's lookin' for someone stupid enough to take her to the Klondike "

  "A woman newspaper reporter1?" Rusty repeated, aghast "Is the damn fool woman loco1? This ain't no place fer a lady

  "That's what I tried to tell her, but you don't know the lady. Rusty She's stubborn as a mule and twice as feisty She's obstinate, bullheaded, and as beautiful as an angel I just want to make sure she's all right before Heave Skagway "

  A look of disbelief marched across Rusty's weathered features Not once since Rusty had known him had Chase voiced concern over a woman He'd almost given up on Chase finding a good woman and settling down Whenever he brought up the subject Chase always said he hadn't met a woman yet he'd want to spend the rest of his life with What kind of woman was this newspaper reporter who had captured Chase's senses so thoroughly1?

  "You go ahead, son, I'll take care of things at this end," he said, "but if you ask me, the lady sounds like someone you hadn't oughta tangle with " "I don't aim to tangle with Maggie, Rusty, I'm just gonna make sure she's okay I'll meet you over at the outfittin' store in a couple of hours "

  Leaving Rusty muttering to himself about career women and what they can do to a man. Chase left the tent, jammed his hat down on his head and ambled off toward town He had no idea he was being followed until he was shoved into a dark alley between two buildings Automatically he reached for his gun, but one of the two men who accosted him clubbed him with the butt of his pistol before his hand touched his holster The last thing he heard before he plunged into the bottomless pit of unconsciousness was a voice saying, "Soapy says he's canyin' twelve thousand in dust and nuggets "

  "Soapy " Chase repeated groggily Then he knew no more

  "Dammit, Bandy, there's nothin' in his pockets but lint," one of the men complained

  "There's gotta be, Zeke, keep lookin'," Bandy replied, growling with impatience

  "Shitl The old coot must have the gold," Zeke swore after all Chase's pockets were turned inside out "What'll we do now1?"

  "We find his partner," Bandy replied, rising and drawing his gun "Soon as we finish here "

  "We gonna kill him?"

  "I gotta gut feelin' we oughta, but Soapy says to let him live 'Pears like Belle's gotta hankenn' fer the cowboy Come on, let's get outta here He won't wake up fer a good long spell Should give us plenty of time to find his partner and relieve him of his gold "

  Rusty made one short stop before heading over to the outfitting store to purchase the ton of supplies required before entering the Yukon Rusty Reed was a hard drinking man who liked his liquor, but he knew his limit He rarely appeared inebriated and was wise enough to stop short of falling down drunk With the comfortable weight of gold lining his pockets, he saw no reason why he shouldn't wet his whistle before beginning the tedious task of purchasing supplies His mind made up, he wheeled into the Ice Palace, where he promptly treated his newfound friends to around of drinks He paid with a shiny gold nugget carefully weighed by the bartender That's where Bandy and Zeke found him after leaving Chase'unconscious in the alley

  "That's him," Bandy hissed, nudging Zeke in the ribs and nodding toward Rusty, who stood at the long curved bar amidst a crowd of men "Yeah, do we take him now?"

  Bandy slanted Zeke an oblique look I swear you ain't got no more sense than a jackass We wait till he leaves, then we follow Don't let the old bastard outta yer sight"

  Rusty allowed himself two drinks of poor whiskey Nearly every saloon in Skagway sold whiskey adulterated with two-thirds water When whiskey became scarce they sold "hootch" consisting of sourdough and brown sugar, flavored with blueberries or dried peaches Home-brewed beer was also sold when supplies became short during the long winter After bidding his cronies good-bye. Rusty sauntered out into the twilight Halfway down the block he was shoved into a dark alley, the same one where Chase lay unconscious a few feet away

  "What the hell " Rusty's eyes widened with shock when he whirled to face the two toughs closing in on him

  Rusty went for his gun, and met with the saw fate Chase had a short time earlier The cruel blow to his head sent him to his knees, then he keeled over on his face Both toughs were on him in an instant, tearing at his clothes to get at the gold They found it with little trouble stuffed inside his jacket pockets

  "Hot damn, it's all here I" Zeke crowed as he hefted the two sacks in his hands

  "Don't get no ideas," Bandy warned, "all we get is our cut The rest belongs to Soapy Let's finish off the old buzzard so's we can get outta here " He drew his Colt Repeater

  Groggy and disoriented. Chase struggled out of his stupor, shook his head, and rose unsteadily to his knees What in the hell happened1? he wondered as his vision slowly began to clear His head felt as if he'd been butting it into a brick wall Suddenly the murmur of voices caught his attention and he froze, his hand slowly inching toward the gun still strapped snugly around his hips In the murky

  dimness of the alley Chase made out the figures of two men bending over something or someone lying at their feet Another poor hapless bastard getting his brains bashed in and robbed. Chase thought disgustedly

  When he saw one of the men aiming his gun at the helpless victim on the ground. Chase reacted instinctively Roaring with outrage, he whipped out his weapon and fired But his head injury made him too dizzy to aim straight, and Chase's shot went wild

  "Shitl" Bandy spat, ducking Through the gloom Chase came stalking toward them, looking tough and mean despitehis recent clubbing "Let's get the hell outta here. Bandy, we got what we come for " Without waiting for a reply, Zeke turned and hightailed it out of the alley

  Unwilling to remain and face an enraged Chase unaided. Bandy followed close on Zeke's heels But before he left he aimed a vicious kick at Rusty's leg with a cleated boot The loud crack that followed brought a moan from Rustys lips and plunged him deeper into unconsciousness By the time Chase reached him. Bandy and Zeke were long gone

  Dropping to his knees before the injured man. Chase attempted to turn him over A damp stickiness stained his hands and he cursed "They did a job on you, didn't they, fella1? Let me turn you over and see what you look like " Carefully he eased the man on his back, swearing profusely when he recognized his partner "Hell's bells I Rustyl"

  Suddenly the import of what finding Rusty here like this meant hit Chase with the force of a sledgehammer "Jesus I No I" His hands slid over Rusty's body, discovering nothing but turned-out pockets holding a few loose dollars and change "It's gone I Everythin' we fought and saved for is gone I"

  Not one to openly display his feelings. Chase was as close to tears as he had ever been in his life And he couldn't ever remember crying His head bent. Chase spent a few painful seconds silently marshaling his ragged emotions

  "That you. Chase1? What happened
, son1?"

  "Dirty dealin's afoot. Rusty," Chase choked out "I was dragged into the alley and clubbed by someone who knew I had just collected a fortune in gold When they didn't find the gold on me, they naturally assumed you had it Don't know what happened after they hit me or how you got here "

  "It's my fault. Chase, all my fault," Rusty lamented "I shoulda been more careful Why in tarnation did I stop in at the Ice Palace to wet my whistle1? But I swear. Chase, I only had two drinks of watered-down whiskey Those two toughs musta followed me out"

  "It's not that simple. Rusty Somebody deliberately set us up, and I know who "

  "You do1? Then let's go get the bastard " He tried to rise, let out an agonized shriek, and fell back

  "What is it. Rusty?"

  "My leg. Chase, I think it's broken "

  A string of obscenities shot past Chase's lips as he probed gently, finding the break immediately, halfway between Rusty's ankle and knee "Yep, it's broke. Rusty Don't move I'll get the doc and find someplace to move you A tent's no place for a man with a broken leg " He staggered to his feet, still groggy from the blow to his head and not completely himself

  "Chase, wait, you started to tell me who clubbed us "

  "You ever heard of Soapy Smith1?"

  "Damn right I have Soapy Smith is bossman hereabouts He controls everythin' in Skagway You can bet your ass he didn't do it hisself, though He hates

  violence They say he's got two hundred men workin' fer him Takes his cut in every crime committed in this hellhole We might as well kiss our money good-bye, son "

  "We'll talk about that later. Rusty," Chase said "Will you be okay while I go get help?" "Sure, son Igotmygun The first man who steps inside the alley gets his head blowed off" "Don't get trigger-happy. Rusty I don't hanker to get blowed away by my partner "