As the high chain was still being used to support Yardleigh’s body, Jesmond breathed steadily to keep at bay the dread that was growing and threatening to make him lose control. Hoyt then dragged Bodie along until he stood beside Jesmond.
Once Hoyt had secured the other end of the chain to the band around Bodie’s neck, he stood back leaving Jesmond and Bodie standing shoulder to shoulder. They both edged away from each other, but after only two paces the cooling metal bit into Jesmond’s neck confirming they could move for only a short distance apart and then only if they stayed standing.
Jesmond couldn’t help but note that Hoyt had been crafting the metal bands when they had first come into the smithy, so these people must have been planning their assault even before they had arrived in town. Worse, the group had secured them in an efficient manner that suggested they had done the same to others before.
While Hoyt busied himself elsewhere in the smithy, Wickham left and returned holding the pot, which he placed on the ground in front of them with the depiction of Marcel’s face turned to them.
“Now that you’re both comfortable, we can return to the question we didn’t get a chance to answer before,” he said with a smirk.
Bodie shook his head, but even if he wasn’t prepared to cooperate, Jesmond figured that while Wickham was talking he wasn’t harming them so he gestured at the pot.
“We understand what went on here,” he said. “You ambushed Marcel and now you’re trying to make us believe you did something unspeakable to him.”
“What we did to him is unspeakable. Then again, that’s why it’s so enticing.” Wickham raised the hat from the pot. Not as much steam rose up as before, so he wafted the hat toward his face and breathed deeply through his nose. “So the question is, are you as excited about eating Marcel as we are?”
Jesmond gulped in horror. “Why would we be excited?”
Wickham shrugged. “Because it’s better to eat than to be eaten.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but I don’t intend to prove it.”
Wickham chuckled. “You’ll only get one chance to please me, so I hope you make the right choice.”
Jesmond shook his head, not wanting to even think about what he thought Wickham was telling him, leaving Bodie to request clarification.
“Are you saying that you’ll release us, but only if we eat what’s in that pot?” Bodie said.
“I’m saying that if you haven’t emptied the pot by the time I return, you’ll die. If you have, you’ll get to see what happens next.”
Wickham chuckled. Then he pushed the pot closer to them, ensuring they could reach it, although it was at the farthest extent of their leeway. He slapped Marcel’s hat back on the top of the pot and stepped back.
With a smile on his face, he nodded to Hoyt before he joined Rosemarie. They talked quietly. Then he and Rosemarie left the smithy leaving Bodie and Jesmond gulping with distaste.
“Even if I thought they wouldn’t kill us, I wouldn’t want to see what happens next,” Jesmond said when Wickham’s and Rosemarie’s footfalls could no longer be heard.
Hoyt had his back turned while he examined Flynn’s body. Hoyt’s studious attention made Jesmond’s stomach lurch in anticipation of what he might be contemplating, and Bodie must have had the same thought as he nodded at the pot.
“As Wickham was suggesting, finding out is better than the alternative,” he said. He lowered his voice to a whisper so that Hoyt couldn’t hear. “At least then we’ll give ourselves a chance.”
“You’re not seriously saying we should eat what’s in that pot, are you?”
Bodie gnawed at his bottom lip before nodding and Jesmond must have spoken louder than he’d meant to as Hoyt turned to them. Despite his comment, Bodie didn’t reach for the pot so Hoyt walked by them to Yardleigh’s body, which he removed from the hook.
He unwound the chain, hoisted the body up over a shoulder and headed back to the bench. He threw the body down and then picked up Flynn’s body, which he took across the smithy and suspended from the hook. When Hoyt withdrew the long knife from his belt, Jesmond turned back to Bodie.
“I reckon if one of us stays standing, there’s enough give on the chain for the other one to sit down and eat,” Bodie said.
Jesmond couldn’t think of an appropriate reply, but when a ripping noise sounded to his left as Hoyt got to work on Flynn, he spoke up to drown out the noise.
“I’ll stand as close to you as I can while you go for the pot, but I sure don’t want to see what you do with it,” he said.
Bodie murmured that he agreed and then, while holding on to a link above his head, he lowered himself. He had yet to sit down when the chain drew taut and yanked on Jesmond’s neck, making him murmur a warning.
Bodie tensed and then adjusted his position, finding that he was able to kneel down. Then he reached out again. Jesmond tried to blot out the sight of Hoyt, who was moving at the corner of his vision, as another rip sounded followed by a wet noise.
Then Hoyt moved away from Flynn’s body and out of Jesmond’s sight, leaving Jesmond listening to a steady dripping and creaking as the body rocked from side to side after Hoyt’s ministrations. When Hoyt returned he was holding another round-bellied pot, although this one was larger than the one Wickham had left for them.
Without preamble Hoyt dropped the pot down next to the bench and got to work on slicing off the rest of Yardleigh’s clothes. Jesmond turned away from Hoyt as Bodie stretched out a hand until he planted two fingers on the rim.
Then he drew the pot forward until it was set down before him. Bodie took deep breaths and then knocked the hat aside. Jesmond started to turn away, but as the other options open to him were to face Flynn’s gutted body or Hoyt working on Yardleigh, he edged closer to the pot.
He hadn’t known what he expected to be in there, but the contents appeared to be just a weak stew with a few grains and vegetables floating on the surface. Bodie swirled the pot and then jerked his head aside while making a disgusted sound. Hoyt stopped working and turned to him.
“I can’t eat this,” Bodie said. “It’s gone cold.”
Jesmond didn’t expect Hoyt to accept that excuse, but he put down the bloody knife and moved over to the pot. Bodie set his weight on one knee making Jesmond realize what he was planning to do, but Hoyt must have been aware of the possibility of deception as he stopped outside the range that either man could reach.
Then, with a probing foot, Hoyt stretched forward and looped an ankle around the pot to draw it toward him. When he turned to the fire, Bodie caught Jesmond’s eye warning him to be ready to act if a chance presented itself when Hoyt brought the heated food back.
Jesmond rocked from side to side, judging the amount of leeway the chain provided. He could move for only a few inches and his action yanked Bodie to the side. In response, Bodie locked his hands together and swung them up and down.
Jesmond took that gesture to mean they would need to coordinate their efforts so he nodded before turning to Hoyt, who placed a hook over the fire and then dangled the pot on it. The fire had been left unattended for a while so the low flames were unlikely to warm the food, so Hoyt fetched a couple of logs from the pile by the wall, which he deposited on either side of the pot.
The logs sat on the burning embers showing no sign that they would catch alight so he moved off into the stable. When Hoyt headed through the door Jesmond turned to Bodie.
“I’ll go high and you go low,” he whispered.
“And move quickly,” Bodie said with a nod. “We’ll only get one chance.”
Chapter Nine
JESMOND REVERTED TO silence as they waited for Hoyt to return. To his surprise, when Hoyt appeared he was clutching the saddlebags containing the stolen money, which he hurled to the base of the firebox.
One bag burst open spilling wads of bills on the ground. Hoyt gathered up two bundles and held them up to his face as he flicked through them so he could watch Bodie’s and Jesmond’s reacti
ons.
Jesmond winced in surprise while Bodie cringed, seemingly more shocked about Hoyt’s possible next action than about anything else he had done so far. Despite the earlier comments Wickham had made about the money, Jesmond still thought that the money was real, but with a casual gesture, Hoyt tossed a bundle into the fire.
Although he tried not to react, Jesmond jerked forward and Bodie must have flinched, too, as the band around Jesmond’s neck yanked his head back. They both limited themselves to groaning when Hoyt dropped the second bundle into the fire.
When the flames rose up Hoyt pushed a log into the midst of the burning bills. The flames quickly subsided so he emptied out the rest of the wads from the bag and fed the fire. By the time he’d used all the money from one bag, the log was fully alight and he added more logs around it ensuring that the flames reached the bottom of the pot.
“I guess we’ll have to eat now,” Jesmond said with grim humor. “That’s the most expensive meal we’ll ever be served.”
Bodie sighed. “Or Wickham was right and the money is worthless.”
Jesmond lowered his head, figuring that whatever the answer, the situation was bad for them. He raised his head only when Hoyt removed the warmed pot from the hook and brought it toward them.
Jesmond had no trouble in appearing dejected while Bodie furrowed his brow as if he was still trying to work out whether Hoyt had burned real money or not. Again Hoyt was cautious and he stopped at the farthest extent that Bodie had been able to reach before.
Then he moved to place the pot on the ground, but he stilled the movement with the pot still raised. A moment later Jesmond worked out what had concerned him when the clatter of hoofs sounded out on the main drag.
Hoyt cocked his head to one side and went to one knee as he listened to what sounded like a single rider draw up outside the saloon. He nodded and then swung the pot toward Bodie. As Hoyt was facing the door, he didn’t pay attention to where he placed the pot and it slopped to the ground two feet closer than before.
When Hoyt raised his hand from the handle, Bodie shook off his apparent torpor and lunged forward. He grabbed the handle with his right hand, and then with his teeth gritted he swung the pot up, aiming for Hoyt’s face, but Hoyt blocked the intended blow with a large hand.
Bodie put his left hand to the side of the pot and strained to move it, but then he yelped when he registered how hot the metal was. Hoyt didn’t appear to have any trouble with the heat and he kept hold of his side of the pot.
Then he carried out the blow Bodie had intended by dashing the pot at Bodie’s face. Bodie turned away while rising up and the rim only clipped his shoulder, but even though he had failed to harm Hoyt he had lured him closer than he had managed on his earlier attempt.
So, carrying out Bodie’s earlier instruction, Jesmond leaped on Hoyt’s back. He half-expected the band around his neck to jerk him backward, but Bodie had moved close enough to give him leeway and he managed to wrap both arms around Hoyt’s neck from behind without difficulty.
He put a hand to Hoyt’s neck, but he couldn’t even dig his fingers into the firm muscles. He had started to search for a more vulnerable piece of flesh to assault when Hoyt rose up, taking Jesmond with him.
He still pressed his fingers into his opponent’s neck, but with a casual gesture Hoyt reached over his shoulder, grabbed the back of Jesmond’s jacket and then prized him away. Hoyt raised his arm shoving Jesmond away from him and then held him out at arm’s length.
As he was being held several feet off the ground, Jesmond wheeled his legs ineffectually. Hoyt rocked his head from side to side seemingly wondering how to deal with his failed attempt to fight back.
Hoyt shrugged and then lowered his head to regard Bodie, who had grabbed him around the waist and was trying to shove him over. Jesmond reckoned that with his injured side Bodie would have as much success as he’d had.
Sure enough, Bodie couldn’t move Hoyt, but he did make him curl an upper lip in irritation. Then, with a backhanded swipe, Hoyt batted Bodie away. Bodie went wheeling backward, but only for three paces as the chain drew taut yanking his head back while his feet still slid along.
The action tugged Jesmond’s head up, and for a horrible moment he felt as if he’d either be dragged from his opponent’s grasp or the chain would tear his head from his neck. Then something gave way accompanied by a shrieking sound.
He wasn’t sure what had happened and Hoyt must have been confused, too, as he turned around. Despite Hoyt’s movement, the band around his neck didn’t tug against Jesmond’s throat. He found out why he was no longer constrained when a loud crack sounded above him, and then the assembly that secured the chain to the ceiling dropped.
Flynn’s body came sliding along toward them before it toppled over, but by then Hoyt had released his hold of Jesmond’s jacket. Jesmond dropped to the ground, pitched to the side and fetched up lying over Bodie.
He shook himself, finding that a length of chain lay across his back, but Hoyt was no longer holding him. Even better, the falling assembly had knocked Hoyt over and he was now lying on his back with coils of chain wrapped around his stomach and Flynn’s body lying propped up against his chest.
Jesmond didn’t question his luck and he swiped the chain off his back and rolled away from Bodie. He managed this movement with ease while Bodie forced himself up on to his feet.
The chain still connected him to Jesmond, but they weren’t secured to the ceiling any longer so Bodie pointed to the back door. Jesmond nodded and, as Hoyt swept the body aside and then rose up, they scrambled away.
Jesmond tripped when his feet became caught up in a sprawling length of chain and he went to one knee, but Bodie kept moving and dragged him free. Jesmond felt the air move behind his neck as Hoyt took a swipe at his back making him thrust his head down as he ran.
A moment later they rounded the firebox and then the bench on which Yardleigh’s body lay. Then there was nothing between them and the door. Both men sprinted reaching the door in a dozen rapid paces.
Bodie drew ahead and slipped through the door first so Jesmond turned around. Hoyt hadn’t followed them and instead he was standing beside the firebox with coils of chain still draping off his shoulders and Flynn’s body lying propped up against a leg.
With a shrug Hoyt appeared to dismiss the matter of their escape and hoisted up Flynn’s body. Hoyt licked his lips making Jesmond recoil. Then he hurried through the door after Bodie.
Chapter Ten
“WHERE DO WE GO NOW?” Jesmond said as he and Bodie hurried along the back of the stable.
“Just stay quiet and run,” Bodie said. “We’ll worry about where to go later.”
Jesmond couldn’t argue with this plan and they ran along the backs of the derelict buildings until they reached the edge of town farthest away from the stable and saloon. They stopped, but Hoyt hadn’t followed them.
“I guess the big fellow doesn’t run.”
“I hope you’re right, because I reckon we’ll have just made him angry. If he recaptures us, I’m sure we’ll be the next ones bubbling away in that pot.”
Jesmond winced. “You did make me think for a moment back there that you were going to eat what was in the pot.”
Bodie turned to Jesmond. “I’ll do anything to survive, but I wouldn’t do that. Thankfully, the better option presented itself.”
“And what about Cresswell?”
“Based on what happened to Yardleigh and Flynn, I hope he got lucky and he’s dead, but even if he isn’t, we’re in no position to do anything for him right now.”
Despite his recent arguments with Cresswell, Jesmond still thought about how they might help him, but he had to admit that Bodie was right. Bodie wasn’t in a fit enough state to mount a rescue attempt, and being tethered together hampered them too much.
He provided a reluctant nod and then with Bodie he turned to the hill. There was no adequate cover until they reached the trees at the top of the hill, but the sun had
set and the terrain was getting darker with every passing moment.
The two men broke into a run. By the time they reached the base of the hill, they were both gasping for breath, but every time that pain cramped Jesmond’s legs, he thought about the pot they’d left behind in the smithy.
The hill turned out not to be as steep as it had seemed when they’d ridden down it on their way into town and after struggling along for a few minutes they reached a point halfway to the summit. With only a gentle slope ahead of them until they reached the trees and with no sign of a pursuit getting underway, Jesmond stopped checking behind them.
Neither man had explored the area when they had been here before, but Jesmond remembered that the trees stretched along for several hundred yards. The rest of the group hadn’t searched for Marcel for long, which suggested the small forest was dense.
Unfortunately, even if they could find a place in the trees to hole up until it was fully dark, the area beyond was devoid of cover for dozens of miles. Then they would have to walk through the night to reach terrain that might provide them with a place where they could hide and evade capture, and it would take them much longer than that to reach the nearest town.
The better option was to locate their horses, but Jesmond had no idea where Rosemarie had taken them and, if she’d run them off soon after they’d arrived in town, they could be far away by now. Before they crested the hill, a more immediate concern gathered Jesmond’s attention.
Bodie had been hurrying away at the same speed as Jesmond was managing without displaying any more distress than Jesmond was feeling. But now that the excitement of their escape from Hoyt and then Endsville was receding, Bodie was grimacing in pain. He dropped back to the farthest extent that the chain that connected them allowed, and with a hand clutched to his side his gait became faltering.
“We’ll get to the trees and then we’ll rest up,” Jesmond said with an encouraging smile.
Endsville Page 5
