by Rue Allyn
Somehow, he felt a little let down at the idea, but quickly shook off the notion. If the girl thought he was the scum of the earth that was fine by him.
“Stay here,” he told her. “I’m going back to check on the campsite.”
“I’ll do as I please!”
“Suit yourself. But this is a good place to keep from getting killed. I don’t think your momma wanted you coming home in parts.” He was relieved to see her head drop into her skirts and thought perhaps she’d stay put. But Boone had only taken two steps toward the campsite before hearing her rise. He glanced back. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“My momma didn’t raise a coward,” Mindy said with raised chin. “I’ll stay a ways back till we see what’s what, but I’m coming.” Boone lowered his brows and began to speak, but she quickly added, “You can’t stop me.”
“Oh, I could stop you. But you’re welcome to choose your own misfortune. Now stay behind me and stay quiet. I don’t care what you see or hear — you stay quiet! You got it?”
“I’m not a simpleton, Boone. I know people have probably just been killed. I’m not looking to join them.”
That answer satisfied him somewhat and he turned, taking off through the brush at a steady pace. Mindy followed more slowly.
Approaching the clearing, Boone squatted near a scrub pine and watched the area for a few minutes. There were two bodies laid out in agonized positions on the ground several feet from each other. It was the men who had gone after food for the rest of the group.
• • •
Boone studied the scene patiently. Twilight was setting and the darkness would help cover their tracks if the men came back. As much as he hated it, he had the woman to think about now. He wasn’t used to considering anyone but himself, and he liked it a lot better that way. He’d be happy when this journey came to an end and he could say he’d seen the last of this particular female creature. She was a burr in his side.
“Did you see the second man over there?”
Boone turned and there was murder in his eyes. “You’re a curse, you know that?” he hissed. “It’s not the thieves you’ll have to worry about if you keep this up!”
Mindy rolled her eyes. Boone felt his blood pressure rise. If they hadn’t been striving for silence, he would have shot the woman himself. It encouraged him to think for a minute of other quiet ways of doing away with someone. But then he shook his head, dispelling the sweet visions.
“I want you to stay here by this tree. Please continue to make as much noise as you can.” Boone said, grinning in spite of himself. She was determined to do the opposite of everything he said, so let the bad guys have her. “Just make sure I’m far enough away first.”
Mindy plopped down by the tree trunk and crossed her arms. It appeared she had finally gotten the message. Satisfied, Boone crept off. He didn’t look back.
The clearing was silent, except for the sound of the brook babbling by innocently. Both corpses had their eyes open. It appeared neither had seen the end coming. Boone visited each body in turn, closing the eyes and checking the pockets for any important items that might tell who the men were or where to send the personal effects.
“I knew it! You are nothing but a low-down, good-for-nothing chicken thief! As soon as you get a chance you’re stealing, and from dead men!”
Boone flipped to his back and jerked his gun out, meeting the angry stare of Melinda, with hands on hips. She reminded him a little of his grade school teacher, who had always believed she knew everything, too. He aimed the gun for the center of her forehead.
“Bang. You’re dead,” he whispered, then shook his head. “You just don’t get it, do you? This ain’t a quilting bee, lady. There are real men out there who want to find the money from the stagecoach — ”
“Which you have!”
“ … and they are willing to kill to get it.”
“Well, then, let’s give it to them!”
Boone stood and knocked the dirt off his pants. “Now that’s a swell idea! What do you suggest? That we send them a flowery invitation to an afternoon tea here by the creek? Maybe we’ll ask them real nicely not to kill us when they’re all done!”
“If they only want the money … ”
“You are a sight! Have you ever been in the real world before? These men aren’t like the ones who come to call on you back home, ma’am. They are killers. They don’t care to hear what you’ve got to say or how your life might be considered valuable to some people back in New York.”
“Mississippi.”
“Whatever!”
Boone suddenly took stock of his surroundings. “Balls of fire, woman! You’ve got us both hollering down the heavens. If those men are anywhere close, they know we’re here now! You work on me like sandpaper, you know that?” He removed his hat and rubbed his head angrily. “Get your bag!”
“I thought you were going to — ”
“I said, get your bag! We’ve got to go!” Then catching the look on her face, he said, “Don’t worry, we won’t go too far — there are still two members of our party unaccounted for — Lucas and that Byler fellow. We’ll watch from a distance for a while and see if they show up. Since we haven’t heard any other gunshots, we should be able to presume they’re still alive.” Boone turned to go, mumbling under his breath. “But mark my words. Next time, I’ll make sure you go with Lucas instead of me!”
Chapter Nine
Twenty minutes later, there was a rustling in the trees on the distant side of the campsite. Boone dropped low, shoved Melinda behind him, and pulled out his revolver.
“Hey! Where is everybody? Hello?” Lucas approached the clearing loaded with firewood. Byler followed him, carrying two small limbs.
Just as the newcomers caught sight of the dead men, Boone stood, still holding his weapon. Lucas dropped the firewood and drew his gun. Byler stepped back. Mindy covered her head.
The two men stared each other down.
“What happened here?” Lucas asked, gesturing with his head to the splayed bodies.
“The thieves, I reckon,” Boone answered, unlocking the hammer on his firearm and lowering it slowly. “They came while we were in the woods.” He pointed the nose of his gun to the pile of limbs that Lucas had dropped. “I don’t suppose we’ll be needing that anymore. We can’t start a fire and risk them seeing the smoke. Sure as sunshine, they’ll be back. We need to get out of here.”
Mindy stood and stepped forward. She pointed at Boone. “He’s the trouble,” she said. “He stol — ”
Boone “accidently” bumped into the knee of her back leg, causing Melinda to stop speaking as she tried to catch her fall. Like a gentleman, he leaned down to help her up, turning so the other men couldn’t see him. “If you want to learn about real trouble, you just keep talking,” he said under his breath. In a normal tone of voice, he said, “Here you go! Upsa daisy!”
Mindy glared at him as he pulled her to her feet.
Lucas asked, “What were you saying? Who’s the trouble? Boone?”
“Never mind,” Mindy said with a jerk of her skirt.
• • •
The first thing Lucas did was visit each dead man in turn and go through his pockets. It gratified Boone in some strange way. He knew Mindy was witnessing every move, and he waited to see if she would accuse their leader of robbing the dead.
Mindy watched without saying a word. She obviously assumed Lucas’s intentions were good, while his were automatically dishonorable. He shook his head, took off his hat, and rubbed his noggin vigorously. Women.
“This fellow’s carrying a bandana with the name ‘Rutliff’ stitched onto it.” Lucas rose and then knelt by the other man. “We can let the marshal know his name when we get to town. This other fellow doesn’t have any identification on him, but I’m pretty sure his name was — ”
“Stanton, Mack Stanton.” Mindy looked at the lifeless body of the man who had walked alongside her for many miles and entertained her with his st
ories. “His folks are in Bolivar. We should let them know.” She turned away.
“Um, yeah. Stanton. That’s what I thought. We’ll be passing through there sometime, if the good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise.”
Byler slapped his leg and laughed. “I haven’t heard that old saying in a coon’s age!”
Boone and Lucas glared at him. His humor seemed a mite inappropriate given the circumstances, and he quickly wiped the grin from his face. He tried to put on a sad countenance, but it was clear to one and all that he was bubbling with excitement.
“What’s with you, Byler?” Lucas asked. “Do you know something about this that the rest of us have missed?”
“Naw! Of course not!” He swallowed loudly, and looked back and forth between the men. “How would I know anything more than y’all do?”
“I don’t know, and that’s a fact.” Lucas raised his hat and wiped his forehead and neck with a dirty square of fabric. “But you sure act peculiar at times.”
Byler laughed out loud. “My momma always says the same thing. I get it from my brothers, I reckon.”
“Great. What a blessing to know there’s more of you.” Boone looked at Lucas and rolled his eyes. “Well, we’ve got to do something with these bodies. I’m starting to think we ought to go into the undertaking business.”
Byler laughed out again. “Hey! That’s a funny one, right there! Undertakers! Haw!”
“Tell you what, Byler. Me and Boone here’ll take care of these bodies. You go pile that wood up for burning.”
Byler shrugged. “Thought you said you didn’t want no fire. Didn’t want them fellers coming back.”
“I don’t,” Lucas answered. “But I’m tired of looking at your face. I’m getting to where I like you less every minute. Get on with it!”
Byler grunted and went to do as he was told.
Mindy was still turned away. She leaned against a pine tree and sobbed quietly into her hands. Lucas went over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You all right?”
“No. I’m not all right! I’ve seen three men die in two days!” she cried. “How can I possibly be all right? I planned a sightseeing trip! I had no idea it would turn into … into … this!” The crying started again and gained in strength.
Lucas tucked her into the crook of his shoulder, murmuring soothing words into her ear. Mindy collapsed against him.
Boone watched them from a few steps away. Comfort her! He’d never even considered it. He turned and slammed his fist into a tree.
Chapter Ten
After another long day of walking, the small group settled down into a secluded area of woods for the night, hoping the trees and shrubs would conceal them from those who might follow.
Mindy shared some beef jerky she carried in her bag. It was the only meal they had.
Afterward, Lucas stretched out his long legs and leaned against a fallen tree. “What I can’t understand is why the thieves would trouble themselves with our little campsite. Seems like they woulda taken that money they stole from Gibbs and hightailed it out of here.”
“Yeah. Seems that way.” Boone was flat on his back studying the stars in the dark sky with his hands resting casually on his stomach. Suddenly, he could feel Mindy’s eyes burning into him. Well, let her stew, he thought. I’m sure not going to reveal to the others I’m carrying more than five thousand dollars in stocks and cash. Boone was a careful man and knew what that kind of money could do to a man’s mind — he’d seen it happen too many times. Lucas seemed to be an all right fellow, but his gun said he could get serious when he wanted, and Boone didn’t trust the Byler fellow as far as a flying chicken!
To her credit, Mindy said nothing. Evidently the warning he’d given her earlier had stung. Good. Might keep her out of trouble for a change.
Rolling his head so he could see her, Boone couldn’t help but grin. She was sitting against a tree, messing with her hair, though it was to no profit. She looked like death on a cracker.
“You think that’s going to help?” he asked.
“Shut up,” she replied as she continued her task, determined to will the mass of unruly strands back into a knot on the back of her head. Having lost most of her hairpins along the way didn’t help. Finally, she gave out a tremendous sigh and a grunt and gave up.
Boone looked closer. Melinda’s face was blistering and there were signs it was beginning to peel around the edges of her hairline and on her nose.
“You’ll need to put mud on your face tomorrow before we head out.”
“Pardon me?”
“Mud. It’ll keep the sun off somewhat.”
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Give yourself one more thing to laugh about?” Mindy frowned, grabbed a nearby rock, and threw it at him.
“No, he’s right,” Lucas interjected. “You’re red as a tomato. The mud will help some.”
“Oh.” Mindy was quiet a moment, but when she caught Boone looking at her, she made a face and stuck out her tongue.
Boone laughed again. “You’ll need to put some on your legs as well. I suppose they aren’t used to seeing much daylight.”
“You’re a pig, do you know that?” Mindy said. “How on earth you ever got a wife is beyond me.” She crossed her arms and looked to the side.
Boone tensed. “Don’t you mind about my wife! She’s none of your business and I’ll thank you to keep your mouth shut about her.”
Mindy snorted.
Boone crossed his arms and closed his eyes, determined to will himself to sleep. Before he could help himself, he spoke again. “It might surprise you to know she thinks I’m a fine fellow.”
“You must stay on the road a lot. Or you’re just fooling yourself. Or she’s blind and deaf!”
Boone sat up, sparks flying from his eyes. “My wife worships me! We’re extremely happy with our home and three little children.” He didn’t understand why these words were coming out of his mouth. The “wife” she referred to was his sister, from the picture he’d allowed her to hold, and there were no children. Somehow this tiny lady brought out the rooster in him. He was crowing like mad!
Mindy leaned forward. “Ha! See if she’s home when you get back. I’ll bet — ”
“All right, that’s enough! You two act like brother and sister the way you go at each other.”
“Humphf! If he was my brother, I would have already — ”
“Already what? I’m real interested to know just what you think you would have done!”
“Never mind! Leave me alone!”
“Yeah, leave off, Boone. You’re being a little rough,” Lucas said.
“Me? She started it! I was trying to help her out with the mud!”
“Just shut up, both of you!” Lucas shouted, staring the squabblers down. They grew quiet. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow will be another long day.”
Boone shot Mindy another venomous glare before he lay back down and rolled to his side. He propped one arm beneath his head. “Women!”
Chapter Eleven
The travelers awoke to the click of hammers. Surrounding them were three unruly looking gentlemen with amused looks.
“Why, lookee here what we done found, brothers! A party! And us without an in — vi — tation,” a stranger with cold eyes said, throwing a cocky look over a shoulder to his two companions.
“You think maybe they’ll allow us to come late?” A second man said with a chuckle, until he saw the look in his compatriot’s eye. For some reason, his laugh cut off uncomfortably in the middle. “Sorry, Lee.”
“Well, now. that’s all right! It just might be that these nice folks will let us join their party. You might say we brought the entertainment.”
The two other men bearing guns grinned and nodded.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Lucas asked.
The man named Lee ignored him and stepped closer to one of the people on the ground. The traveler called Byler was lounging casually with one elbow propped beneath him. He gri
nned at the man holding the gun. “It’s good to see you, brother. I wondered when you would get here.”
Mindy drew back in horror, putting one hand to her mouth, as she realized she’d spent the last few days traveling with a potential thief and murderer. Boone motioned for her to remain calm.
Lucas regarded the group of dirty thieves with disgust. “I don’t like repeating myself, but who are you and what do you want?” he said, a little more forcefully.
“Now, I’m glad you asked that, friend. See, there’s this matter of some gold, missing from the stagecoach. As far as I’m concerned, that’s my gold. I am headstrong on finding it.” Lee Byler wore a wide smile.
“What gold?” Lucas replied. “We don’t have your money. Gibb had it — the coach driver. Somebody killed him and took it. Go look for them.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, neighbor. We happened to be there when ol’ Gibb had his ‘accident.’ That cashbox was empty. I figure one of you four either has the money or knows where it is. So we’re going to have a discussion. Now, throw me your guns.”
Lucas and Boone withdrew their weapons and tossed them toward Lee. A younger brother scurried to pick them up and then chucked them in the muddy stream.
There was a long pause. Lee Byler seemed to enjoy the silence and allowed it to draw out. Mindy had pulled herself into a ball beside a tree and Boone was slowly easing toward her. Lucas tried to stare Lee down.
“So, where’s the gold?” the middle brother finally shouted. “We don’t plan to stand around all day.”
“My brother’s right, for once. Someone speak up.” He pointed the tip of his gun toward Boone. “Stay right where you are. When people move around too much, Ben here gets a little antsy. His gun’s got a feather trigger and I wouldn’t test it if I were you.”
Boone glanced over to Mindy. “Are you all right?” his eyes seemed to ask. She nodded nervously.
