Ice & Rapture

by Connie Mason

  It took but a moment for Maggie to realize her danger and react accordingly, startling Bandy with her ferocity She fought like a tigress, kicking, clawing, nearly too much for Bandy to handle "Zeke, get inhere and help me I" Bandy gasped, fending off Maggie's vicious blows "The bitch is like a wildcat"

  Outside, Zeke had pulled his gun, thinking to blow Chase's brains out and finish him off as Bandy had instructed Then, for once in his life, good sense prevailed, and he realized that a shot would bring men rushing to the scene Slamming his gun back in its holster, Zeke removed the knife strapped to his waist and aimed for Chase's heart

  At that precise moment two things happened at once Chase moaned and rolled to his side, spoiling Zeke's aim with his shoulder, and Bandy called for Zeke's help in subduing Maggie The knife slammed

  into Chase's upper chest causing great pain but hitting nothing vital

  "I ain't done here yet," Zeke called back, unable to tell in the dark exactly what damage he had done to Chase or if he still lived

  "Forget the bastard We can take care of him later I need help with the woman "

  Reluctant to leave but accustomed to following Bandy's orders, Zeke joined his partner inside the small tent where a ferocious struggle was taking place Thinking to end it quickly, Zeke tapped Maggie alongside the head with the butt of his gun Maggie went limp

  "She's out Help me drag her outside," Bandy said, panting heavily

  "What about the cowboy?"

  "If he ain't dead, finish him off" Bandy scooped Maggie up in his arms as Zeke turned back to Chase

  Suddenly the crunch of footsteps echoed through the icy stillness of predawn Bandy froze, darting a quick glance toward the neighboring tent, where a man was standing a few short yards away, relieving himself against a nearby tree

  "C'mon, Zeke, let's get outta here," Bandy hissed, shifting Maggie over his shoulder He disappeared into the shadows, Zeke close behind There hadn't been time to find out for sure if Chase was dead, but there was enough blood pooling beneath him to suggest he was

  Bright shards of sunlight stabbed repeatedly against Maggie's eyelids, and she tried to raise her arms to shield her face, but they refused to obey Then came the pain—quick, jabbing, splitting her head in two Her shoulders ached, her wrists hurt, and her legs felt strangely lifeless Something hard and uncomfortable stabbed into her back

  "Chase?" Because she appeared to have difficulty

  breathing. Bandy had removed Maggie's gag while she lay unconscious He didn't want her dead quite yet

  "So ya finally decided ta wake up "

  Maggie's eyes flew upward "Who—who are you1? Where is Chase1?"

  "Yer cowboy lover is dead," Zeke guffawed loudly, ignoring Maggie's gasp "Ya belong ta us now "

  "No, you're lyingl" Maggie cried In her mind Chase was virtually indestructible He was big, brave, bold, and stronger than any man she knew Nothing ruffled him, he was frightened of no one "I'm in aboatl" she murmured, finally realizing that she lay in the bottom of a raft trussed up like a prize turkey

  "We left Windy Arm before daybreak," Bandy advised "Soapy didn't appreciate the way ya backed outta yer deal Me and Zeke were all set ta deliver ya all safe and sound ta Dawson when we heard ya took off with that cowboy "

  "You're Soapy Smith's menl You're the ones who kidnapped me off the street in Skagway," Maggie said, recognition dawning "What do you want with me1? What have you done with Chase1?"

  "The cowboy's done fer, I seen ta that," Zeke crowed

  A shaft of stark fear shattered Maggie's heart "What did you do to him1?"

  "The same thing we're gonna do ta you, soon as we finish with ya tonight Nobody double-crosses Soapy and lives ta tell of it"

  "Please, untie me, my wrists and ankles are numb," Maggie begged, her eyes glazed with pain "Where can I go in the middle of the lake1? I can't swim " It was a deliberate falsehood, meant to mislead the two men into thinking she was helpless Actually, Maggie was an excellent swimmer, often swimming in the ocean for exercise

  "Untie her, Zeke," Bandy said "She's right, it's a

  long way to shore Just make sure she stays hidden on the bottom of the boat Ya never know when one of these other rafts might come up beside us "

  Maggie cried out at the numbing pain when the circulation returned to her limbs She rubbed them vigorously until some measure of feeling returned At least now she had a fighting chance at escape Trussed up as she was she would have drowned attempting such a feat

  "Where are we?"

  "Still in Lake Labarge," Bandy replied sourly

  "What are you going to do with me?"

  "Have some fun tonight after we find a nice private place ta tie up Bet ya know all the tricks ta drive a man crazy "

  Bandy reached out to stroke Maggie's breast, though she felt little through the protection of her sheepskin jacket "Keep your filthy hands off me I"

  "Gonna have more than our hands on ya tonight," Zeke leered owlishly

  "I don't understand Why are you doing this?"

  "I told ya. Soapy don't like bein' double-crossed He spared the cowboy once, fer Belle's sake, but not this time He's gonna teach ya both a lesson "

  "What do you mean, 'spared him once'?"

  "No harm tellin' ya now," Bandy shrugged "The night we lifted the cowboy's gold. Soapy told us not ta kill him, that Belle wanted him Woulda done in his partner, though, if we weren't interrupted "

  "Chase said all along Soapy was behind the robbery," Maggie said, glaring at the two toughs "You'd better hope Chase never finds you "

  "No chance of that," Zeke laughed, an ugly sound deep in his throat

  "I don't believe Chase is dead," Maggie insisted stubbornly "He's too smart for the likes of you "

  "Believe what ya like, girl, but he won't be comin' after ya," Zeke replied with more assurance than

  he felt Truth to tell, he wasn't all that certain the cowboy was dead, but he didn't want to confess his ineptness to Bandy, who would surely upbraid him soundly

  Maggie fell silent Not for one minute did she believe Chase was dead She'd feel it in her heart if he was No, not Chase He was too vibrant, too alive, too vital to be done in so easily He'd find her, she was sure of it Meanwhile, she'd leave nothing to chance and prepare herself to take advantage of any situation Of one thing she was damn certain—neither of these two men would ever lay a hand on her

  Bandy could hardly take his eyes off Maggie, devouring her face and figure with lustful attention When he saw her eyeing the surface of the lake with keen interest, he said, "I wouldn't try it if I was you, girl I can swim good 'nuf ta pull ya out and make ya sorry ya tried it"

  Maggie sat back, only too aware that it was a long way to shore and the water ice cold Best bide her time until conditions were more in her favor, or at least even She thanked God that Chase had insisted she carry a knife tucked into her boot, concealed by her trouser leg She could feel its comforting presence against her soft flesh

  "I'm hungry," Maggie complained sullenly

  "Can't take time now," Bandy replied "Want ta get ta Five Finger Rapids before we tie up fer the night"

  Soon they came to the downstream outlet of Lake Labarge, and Bandy expertly steered the boat around a reef situated exactly in the center of the gorge The going was narrow and dangerous because of the outcroppings of rock jutting from the water Five Finger Rapids was nothing like Whitehorse Rapids or Squaw Rapids but still could be treacherous to the novice It got its name from the five great blocks of

  reddish rock that stuck out like the piers of abridge Because it was growing dark. Bandy decided not to shoot the rapids until the next day He steered the boat into a narrow inlet that completely concealed their small craft It became obvious to Maggie that Bandy had traveled this route before

  Maggie was unceremoniously dragged from the raft, tied to a tree out of sight ofpassersby and gagged so she couldn't cry out A rope around her waist bound her to the tree, and her wrists and feet were lashed together in front of he
r Then she was abandoned to contemplate her fate Meanwhile, Bandy and Zeke built a fire and prepared a makeshift meal The food smelled wonderful and Maggie's stomach growled loudly, but she said nothing, afraid to draw attention to herself Evidently her captors had no intention of wasting food on her What they did intend to do with her became more and more obvious as the evening progressed While they sat by the fire drinking bad whiskey. Bandy and Zeke grew extremely boisterous

  "Why can't I be first1?" Zeke complained bitterly, slanting a lustful glance in Maggie's direction " 'Cause I'm the one with the brains and you follow orders," Bandy replied, slurring his words

  A sullen silence followed as they tipped their cups and drank deeply Maggie realized she had little time left to escape their evil plans It also became increasingly evident that the two men meant to kill her after they had raped her She had deliberately defied Soapy Smith, and that alone sealed her fate Men like Bandy and Zeke needed little reason to kill and rape, except for the enjoyment it gave them

  It was very dark now, and the slack in her bindings allowed Maggie to move her bound hands slowly—very slowly—to her boot, where her knife was concealed Painstakingly, she retrieved the blade, blessing Chase for honing it to razor sharpness While

  her captors drank and argued, she sawed furiously at the rope binding her wrists to her ankles The going was made extremely awkward because of her lashed wrists, but soon her feet were free and she concentrated on the rope binding her to the tree She couldn't take the time to free her wrists yet, so she just kept sawing at the thick rope around her waist She felt the rope give at the same moment Bandy-stood up and reeled in her direction

  "Get lost, Zeke," Bandy barked with grim purpose "Me and the little lady want some privacy Come back in an hour, then she's yers Afterwards we can take turns till we're tired of the game "

  "Aw, Bandy—"

  "Vamoose, Zeke "

  Zeke staggered to his feet, hugging the bottle to his chest and stomping off into the trees, muttering darkly to himself

  The rope binding Maggie to the tree fell away, but she had no time to cut her wrist bindings as Bandy approached, swaggering like a cocky rooster "Now let's see what kept that cowboy snifBn' around ya like a randy goat," he said lewdly "I got a powerful hankenn' fer that sweet stuff betwixt yer legs "

  Bandy reached for Maggie, gasping in shock when he felt the bite of her blade against his open palm "What the helll" He was unprepared for Maggie's attack, yet he still managed to lash out with his uninjured hand and deliver a vicious blow to her jaw

  Immediately Bandy was atop her, straddling her slender hips, tearing at her jacket and shirt to get to her breasts Made groggy from Bandy's hard-fisted blow, Maggie reeled, dizzily, unable to fend off Bandy's slobbering kisses and disgusting groping—until she remembered the knife still clutched in her fists Though her wrists were still tightly bound, Maggie marshaled sufficient strength to raise her arms and

  plunge the knife into the base of Bandy's neck where it joined his shoulder It was a vulnerable spot not overly protected by clothing She felt him slump against her, and a rush of sticky wetness splattered her exposed flesh

  "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my God," Maggie repeated in a litany of overwhelming dismay What she had just done rendered her stiff with shock Never in her wildest imaginings had she ever thought she could kill a man But she had had no choice, it was either use her knife or submit to the vile lust of Bandy and his partner

  Slowly Maggie's wits returned, and she shoved at Bandy's inert form, squirming from beneath him when he rolled aside Her breath grated harshly in her chest and left her throat in ragged gasps Fear rode her and survival moved her feet She spared but one brief glance at Bandy, then at her bound wrists, and at the blade still protruding from his neck She couldn't bring herself to touch him again, couldn't pull the blade from his flesh She thought of nothing but escape as she raced toward the shore, and what Zeke would do to her once he discovered she had killed his partner She had no idea where to go or what to do, until she spied the raft bumping gently against the shore

  Having lived on the coast all her life, Maggie knew the basics of sailing, and seized the opportunity without a moment's hesitation She preferred drowning in the rapids to facing Zeke's rage

  Her bound hands, so numb her fingers barely worked, fumbled clumsily at the knot holding the raft to a pine tree growing close to the shore Suddenly she heard Zeke cursing as he stumbled through the trees behind her

  "Finished or not. Bandy, it's my turn I got so damn hot thinkin' about what yer doin' ta the girl, I'm about ta bust my britches "

  Please Lord, Maggie silently prayed, a sob catching in her throat, let me get out of here before Zeke finds me

  "Where in tarnation are ya. Bandy1?" Zeke aimed his steps toward the tree to which Maggie had been bound He nearly fell over Bandy's body, cursing violently when he discovered his partner lying still as death in a pool of congealing blood

  It took a moment for Zeke's liquor-befuddled brain to register what had happened, but when it did he erupted in a ferocious frenzy "Ya connivin' bitch'" he shrieked "Ya won't get away with thisl"

  Maggie whimpered beneath her breath, her fingers working furiously at the stubborn knot If only she hadn't been too squeamish to remove the knife from Bandy's neck She heaved a glad cry when the knot finally parted, but by then Zeke had seen her small form outlined against the shore and started toward her The icy water nearly took Maggie's breath away as she plunged into the lake to push the raft away from shore Zeke's threats and curses lent her the strength to pull herself aboard as the raft entered the river's current and lengthened the distance from where Zeke stood on the bank shaking his fist in furious anger

  Unable to swim, Zeke flew into a frenzy as he watched Maggie, the raft, and all their supplies pickup speed as it entered the current "I'll find yal" he ranted, nearly beside himself "If the rapids don't get ya, I willl"

  Exhausted, Maggie lay in the bottom of the raft, the pain in her bleeding wrists nearly unbearable She couldn't move All she could do was curl into a ball to conserve her body warmth and shiver in her sodden clothes It was so dark she could barely make out the shore, trusting the current to propel the small craft forward She closed her eyes, lulled into an uneasy sleep by the undulating waves

  slapping gently against the hull At first light, she thought drowsily, she'd search the bundles of supplies for something with which to cut away her wrist bindings

  Maggie awoke with a start, aware that something was dreadfully wrong The rhythm of the current had altered, and there was a strange roaring in her ears Struggling to her knees, Maggie stared in abject horror as the light of dawn clearly defined the monstrous granite rocks jutting out into the river Five Finger Rapids I My God, she was going to shoot the rapids in a raft she was unable to control! The raft, with her in it, would be smashed into splinters by the boiling current Then the raft began to buck and whirl, and Maggie hung on and prayed

  The raft was halfway through, and Maggie began to hope, when disaster struck The craft was slammed into a huge boulder A section of its stem was ripped away before it was allowed to continue its perilous journey through the rapids Maggie went flying, landing half in and half out of the water on that portion of the raft that remained intact But she had sense enough to realize that her hold was so tenuous she'd soon be swept away to her death Her meager strength failed as she tried to heave herself aboard the wreckage, which was still spinning crazily As her numb hands lost their grip she began to slide Gritting her teeth she braced herself for the plunge that would snuff out her life Then, miraculously, the rope still binding her wrists caught on apiece of wood protruding from the place where the rudder had sheared off

  The strength of that rope saved Maggie's life as the raft shot through the rapids without further mishap, entering the placid Yukon River, which was very wide, broken into many channels and wooded islands But it still wasn't over for Maggie When the

  raft shot over the last yard of churning w
ater, one of the parcels tied to the raft broke loose, hurtling down and striking Maggie in the head She sank down into a deep, bottomless void, unaware that Dawson City lay upnver but a short distance

  Chapter Nine

  The current earned the raft downstream, but Maggie remained comatose most of the time, still lying half in, half out of the water Numerous rafts floated by, but the river was so wide no one noticed her slight form dangling over the side Most starnpeders were so anxious to reach Dawson they paid scant attention to a derelic raft whose owners probably drowned while negotiating Five Finger Rapids

  Days were shorter in the Yukon where soon only four or five hours of murky light would prevail, and it was already dark again Maggie shivered uncontrollably, too weak to pull herself onto the raft, too spent to cry out In the deepest chambers of her brain she was aware that the raft no longer moved at a brisk pace but bumped against some kind of barrier She had no recollection of the passage of time or of how often darkness changed to daylight She groaned and moved her head, and pain sent her spinning down into unconsciousness

  "Ya reckon she's alive, Wally?"

  "Don't know, Charlie She looks dead to me "

  "You go for the Mounties, I'll wait here Hurry, rnayhap she's still breathin' "

  Sometime during her long travail the raft carrying Maggie nudged into Dawson City, where rafts and boats were anchored six deep along a two-mile strip Wally Cross, whose boat was anchored nearby, discovered Maggie when he awoke early that morning to relieve himself He and his partner, Charlie Daniels, had arrived only the day before and had slept aboard their boat in order to protect their belongings