Her Rocky Trail_Seeing Ranch series

by Florence Linnington

  “You have something you need to say?” Domino asked Nelson. “Something about Miss Bryum?”

  “What?” Nelson grunted, squinting like he had too much sun in his eyes.

  Everyone stayed silent, waiting while Nelson grabbed the canteen from his horse and took a long drink.

  “You said she shouldn’t have come,” Jim started after a minute.

  Nelson’s brows knit together. “This was a mistake,” he slowly said. “A suicide mission and I reckon you all know it.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Cyrus saw Brady and Dan glance at each other. Knowing that Nelson aimed to start a mutiny only made him angrier.

  “What did you come along for, then?” Cyrus demanded. “You knew what the goal of this was and what you’d be putting at risk.”

  Nelson shook his head. “Most posses turn back once they know there’s no point in going forward anymore. But now you’re looking for two dead girls, instead of just one. Soon we’re going to join them. We’ve been seeing the signs all along. We’re being watched. Don’t that worry you none? These bandits are leading us somewhere. They want to trap us.”

  Brady shifted uneasily in his saddle.

  “They’re afraid,” Jim answered. “They want to intimidate us.”

  Nelson scoffed. “You really think a band of what might be twenty or more bandits is afraid of six men? Use your head, Jim. There could be half a hundred of them just waiting for us—much more than we saw rob the train.”

  “If that’s the case, why don’t they come and get us now?” Dan asked.

  “Maybe they want us alive,” Nelson ominously answered.

  “For what?” Jim cried, his voice carrying the first trace of fear Cyrus had ever heard from him.

  “Who knows? You ever heard of human sacrifice, Jim? The ancient cultures all did it, and some of the Indians, too.”

  Cyrus snapped. He’d heard more than enough. “Now you’re just talking nonsense. Unless you have something to say that makes sense, I suggest you shut it, Nelson, or else you’re be getting a second punch.”

  Nelson’s nostrils flared. “I ain’t afraid of you. And I gotta say, I liked Miss Katherine a lot, but she’s gone. Hardly anyone could survive a river flowing that fast, especially not with heavy skirts pulling them down.”

  Hot lava flowed in Cyrus’ veins. The possibility Nelson presented was too real, and Cyrus hated him all the more for that.

  “Why would bandits make sacrifices to gods that don’t exist?” Brady asked with a guffaw. “That punch scrambled your brains, Bowles.”

  Nelson’s sour looked remained. “Maybe those ancient gods ain’t real, but what about the dark lord? There are people who believe in him.”

  “Like Satan?” Jim’s voice shook.

  “Enough!” Cyrus roared. He was off his horse and in Nelson’ face in an instant. The other man took a step back, fear flashing in his eyes. Cyrus stayed where he was. He wasn’t going to follow Nelson in a pathetic attempt at intimidation.

  “I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking,” Nelson defended.

  It was exactly that that Cyrus was afraid of. Taking a long breath, he attempted to calm himself before speaking again.

  “You know the way back,” he evenly said. “Just follow the river.”

  Nelson reached for his saddle. “I think I will. But don’t expect me to send anyone else in here. Though, I assume you know by now, no one else is coming.”

  Cyrus knew the other man was right. Though, he’d hoped a second posse from Pathways would join them upon receiving word of the kidnapping, he knew their arrival was also unlikely. He’d been lucky to gather this small number of men from the train.

  No one said anything as Nelson turned his horse around and rode back in the direction they had come. When he finally disappeared, the air of despondency cut Cyrus to the bone.

  “Is he right?” Jim asked quietly.

  “No,” Cyrus quickly answered.

  “How do you know?” Jim’s face was pale, the enthusiasm that usually filled him nowhere to be found. “What if the bandits are going to sacrifice us to Satan?”

  Just the idea was ridiculous. Cyrus couldn’t believe he had to hear it. He looked over at Domino, who’d been quiet through most of the exchange with Nelson.

  Domino cut his eyes to Jim. “You ever heard of bandits do that before?”

  Jim hesitated. “No,” he admitted after a minute.

  “Right.” Domino nodded and looked back to Cyrus.

  Cyrus suppressed a sigh. He knew what he had to do, and it didn’t matter that he didn’t like it none. “Nelson is a fool when it comes to the sacrifice part,” he said, looking at each of the four men in turn. “But I know that your hope is likely declining...” The next words snagged in his throat so that he had to take a moment before going on. “I want to believe both Helen and Kitty are alive… And I’m going on. I hope you’ll continue with me. Like always, I understand if you won’t.”

  Cyrus held his breath, afraid of what the next few minutes might bring, but willing to face them nonetheless. Kitty was close. She had to be. And he was still hell bent on finding her—no matter what.

  Dan broke the silence. “I’m getting on in my years,” he slowly said, “And I don’t have any family left. I boarded that train looking for a new start in California...” He frowned. “Though, I didn’t have much of a plan. I just figured, seeing as I’m an old guy with no one in my life, the west was as good a place to die as any. But, I was wrong. Why die all alone, when I can be here, looking for two young ladies who have the rest of their lives ahead of them?” Dan shook his head. “Nah, I’m in this till the end, Mr. Ross. I’d be proud to sacrifice my life searching for those two young misses.”

  Cyrus’ heart swelled, and he nodded. “Thank you.”

  Next to Dan, Brady was nodding. “My sister and brother-in-law would miss me if I died out here, sure. But, I think they’d understand. I figure I’m a little like Mr. Starkey, here. I never married, and now I regret it a bit, but what can I do? All the rest of my family, save my sister, is in Ireland. Nah. Us old men gotta live for something.” He chuckled a bit.

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Jim said, though the fear was still evident on his face.

  Cyrus frowned. He’d started this journey, not particularly caring about one man over another, but now he worried more about Jim than he had expected to. The fellow was young. Surely, had had many people back home who missed him.

  It also occurred to Cyrus that Jim might have romantic feelings for Kitty. He’d seen them talking together while riding more than once. They were also near in age…

  But that couldn’t matter right then, Cyrus quickly decided. If Jim did fancy Kitty, that was something Cyrus would deal with later on. Right then, he had two women to rescue. He still needed all the helping hands he could get.

  “You’re sure?” Cyrus asked.

  Jim nodded and licked his lips. It was settled. They would go on.

  “But why?” Dan questioned. He didn’t have to be any more specific. They all knew what he asked. Why did it seem as if there were bandits all around them… and yet, other than the solo attack on Domino, nothing had happened?

  “They left someone behind to mislead us,” Domino answered. “That’s the best answer I can come up with. They want to shake us from their path.”

  “Again,” Brady inserted, “Why? Look at us. We’re a handful of men.”

  Domino shook his head. “They’re hiding something, maybe… Could be they’re not as many as we thought. The group we saw ride off could have split up.”

  “Right!” Jim’s eyes lit up. “That’s true! Maybe most of them went somewhere else, to rob another train or something, and we’re following the smaller group. The one that has Miss Helen.”

  Cyrus didn’t like all the maybes, but he kept quiet. It didn’t matter how many men they were up against, or what the bandits were trying to hide. Whatever difficulties were to come, he would face them. He’d come
into the Rockies to get one woman back, and now he had two to find.

  Where are you, Kitty?

  His gaze drifted down the river. While riding, he’d exhaustively searched the banks. There had been no signs of her body or the horse anywhere. Though finding no clues had driven him crazy at first, now it gave him hope. If she had drowned in the water, surely her body would have washed up not far from where she’d fallen in? With all the branches and logs that covered the banks, it was hard to imagine a body wouldn’t have come ashore as well.

  “Even one man could kill us,” Dan said. “Snuck up on us in the night, like he did with Domino. Yet, he hasn’t. Why not?”

  They sat quietly in their saddles, mulling that over.

  “I don’t have any answers,” Cyrus said. “But, I do know we’re running out of time. Men?”

  One by one, the others nodded. They were off once more, their numbers cut yet again by one.

  Chapter Nineteen

  19. Kitty

  Chapter nineteen

  Kitty held her petticoat close to the fire, flipping it around so all sides would begin to dry out. The rope strung between two walls had proven useful for hanging her dress and stockings—both of which were already dry, but which she was now allowing to become warmer. Outside the cabin, her horse snorted. John was somewhere in the woods, gone to check his traps, while he gave Kitty privacy to fix herself up best she could.

  Helen is alive.

  It had been her most commanding thought over the last hour. Her sister was still breathing. All the hope that she’d clung so desperately to, had not been in vain.

  Yet, the next important question remained: how would she save Helen?

  Being no match for the bandits herself, she would have to go back down to the river and meet up with the posse, as she had originally planned.

  A knock on the door startled her. “Just a minute,” she called.

  Pulling on her now warm and dry clothes, she opened the cabin’s door and went out into the afternoon light. John stood nearby, stroking the horse’s mane.

  “I miss having a horse,” he said, gazing at the thoroughbred in appreciation.

  Kitty smiled. “You did not bring one out here with you?”

  “I did. He died two years ago.”

  “Oh.” Kitty had never expected the death of an animal would make her so sad. But, how long had it been since John Thunder had spoken to another person besides her?

  She cleared her throat delicately. “You enjoy being out here all alone?”

  He smiled slightly, looking past her. Kitty got the sense that she had strayed into forbidden territory with her question. John had already told her, in vague terms, that his past was not something he wanted to discuss. She needed to respect that.

  “It is a choice I made,” John simply answered.

  Kitty stepped forward and stroked the horse’s nose. Changing the subject she said, “I feel he is a miracle horse. I can hardly believe the two of us survived. We must have floated many miles down the river.” Her throat tightened at the memory. “Mr. Thunder, I must return to my fiancée and his posse. But, before I go, please, can you tell me anything else about my sister and the men who took her? Where did you see them, exactly? How many were there?”

  “I can do better than tell you. I can show you.”

  Kitty’s heart flipped. “Where they are?”

  “Where I saw them last.”

  “I would appreciate that very much.”

  Kitty knew that she needed to find Cyrus as soon as possible, but John had already told her the robbers rode through the area two days before. There was no guarantee that she would find Cyrus right away once she returned to the river. Though, it was not easy to choose between staying with John a bit longer and searching for Cyrus again, she had already decided that getting all the information she could while with John was worth it.

  “When can we go?” she asked.

  “Now,” he solemnly answered. “Best leave the horse here. It’s rocky terrain we’ll be going through. Two people on foot will be less noticeable.”

  Kitty nodded, that familiar fear creeping through her.

  She waited by the firewood pile as John filled a canteen from the springs, and then they took off, walking up the mountain behind John’s cabin. As they went, Kitty noticed that the man’s footsteps were more silent than hers. In fact, he had a careful way about everything he did. He bent his knees and stepped slowly, always gently pushing branches out of the way, making sure to never break them. The soft moccasins he wore were a sharp contrast to her clunky boots. They hardly made a sound as they connected with the ground. Truly, she was surprised she’d heard him at all when he approached her at the river.

  She did her best to emulate his moves, walking carefully and avoiding any fallen branches that might make noise. Her leg and shoulder still ached, and her swollen feet did not fare much better, but even an hour’s rest and dry clothes had done her some good. Not to mention, the knowledge that Helen was still alive spurred her on a great deal.

  “It is up ahead,” John said after they had been walking for about twenty minutes.

  Kitty looked past his shoulder, noting that more of the sky was visible in the direction they were headed. Pushing up a particularly uneven area, she sucked in a breath as she found herself at the top of a steep rock wall.

  On the other side of the cliff, a second mountain rose up. The part below John and Kitty was jagged, looking as if a good portion of their mountain had just crumbled away years before.

  “See down there.” John pointed at a narrow area just below them.

  Kitty looked down. Her vision ebbed, and she clung to a tree, needing the bark on her palm to tell her she still stood on solid ground. The memory of falling into the river came back, making her feel as if it was happening all over again.

  Kitty closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath.

  “That is where I saw your sister and the men.”

  Kitty looked again. With her hand pressed to the tree, she felt rooted to the earth. It made looking over the cliff side easier. Though the area below them was not worn down, it made a natural trail of sorts, as there were few rocks.

  “Two days ago?” she checked.

  “Yes. They were headed that way.” John pointed to the left. Kitty had been doing her best to keep her directions straight, but by now she was thoroughly lost.

  “Which way is that?” She gazed at where the flat area disappeared around the side of the other mountain.

  “North-West. There are caves on the other side of that mountain. Ancient ones, with drawings from centuries ago.”

  Kitty looked at him. Did she understand him correctly? The bandits could be that close?

  “And you think they are there?”

  “I’ve seen groups go in that direction four or five times over the last few months. Once I went to the caves and found a campfire.”

  Kitty could hardly speak, she felt so excited. “Mr. Thunder… That must be where they are. It just has to be.”

  He nodded. “I don’t know how many of them there will be. There were maybe ten with your sister, but there could be others at the caves.”

  “I know,” Kitty solemnly said. “I am prepared to face whatever may come.”

  He was silent for a while, and they just stood there, a sharp wind coming between the mountains and causing Kitty’s loose hair to flap in her face.

  “If you go along this cliff here,” John pointed, “And keep going down, you will find yourself at the river. It will be quicker than returning there from my cabin.”

  Kitty nodded. “Thank you.” She could not be sure, but she got the sense he was hinting that he did not want her involving him in anything having to do with the outlaws. Leading anyone anywhere near his cabin would be unacceptable.

  Kitty could respect that. John Thunder had already done so much for her already. She would never ask him to put himself in harm’s way.

  “Let us retrieve your horse. Although, you a
re welcome to stay with me for as long as you need to.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Thunder,” Kitty quickly answered. “But, as I am sure you understand, I must be going. I need to find my fiancée and then my sister.”

  He gave a single nod and turned away from the cliff’s edge. Kitty cast one more glance at the path below before following him. The whole way down the mountain, she could hear her heartbeat. No longer was it just a steady thrumming; it had taken on a voice of its own. Helen is close, Helen is close, it seemed to say.