Wife Stealer

by F. M. Parker

  "Free the women. Give them a horse and buggy and send them away."

  "Helena, why would you suggest such a thing?" Ramos said.

  "The man Hawkins has killed a dozen men. Now he is here. We must get him to leave before he kills some of you."

  "He won't kill us," Ramos said.

  "I fear for all of you. Let the two women go."

  "Mother, they are to be our wives," Carlos said. "They will give you beautiful grandchildren."

  "I just now had a horrible feeling come over me that Hawkins would destroy our family if we continue to hold the women prisoners." Tears came to her eyes. "Please, oh, please, free them so the man will leave us in peace."

  "Yes, let us go home and we will find Ben and take him north with us," Maude said from the hallway off the room. She and Rachel had heard the loud voices, left the room where they had been told to remain, and crept close. Her blood strummed with happiness at the knowledge that Ben had come for her.

  Surprised at the presence of the girls, Helena and the men wheeled about to face them.

  Carlos looked at Rachel, into her green eyes with the brilliant whites. He had not seen her since his arrival, and now swept his sight over her from head to toe, tracing the womanly curves of her. He realized that he had captured a more beautiful jewel than he had remembered. He thought of her sharing his bed and smiled at his good fortune.

  "Lovely Rachel, I will never let you go," Carlos said.

  "Never is the correct word," Leo said to Maude. "You belong here with me."

  "The Valdes men do not give up anything they desire," Ramos said to Helena. He held her eyes, staring at her with a meaning that she fully understood.

  FORTY SIX

  Ben and Evan lay on the mountainside and spied on the activity of the people at the Valdes rancho. Four guards patrolled the inside of the walled compound. Two manned the guard tower. All activity at the horse-breeding area had ceased and the workers had ridden away.

  When the daylight had boiled down to a crimson brew in the west, Ben closed his spyglass and spoke to Evan. "I can't think of a better plan than what we talked about."

  "I've thought it over too and neither can I," Evan replied.

  "All right then. First we get two more horses for the girls to ride. Those at the homes of the cowboys are the handiest. They all have saddles on them and that's something we must have. After we get that done, you set fire to the big barn. It'll have tons of hay in it that'll burn fast and make a lot of flames and light."

  "And while the Valdes men are all in confusion about the fire, you'll get the girls free," Evan said.

  "Just as easy as eating pie," Ben said, not believing a word of it. He was getting to like this man who was very brave and never complained though he was ill and weak from his wound.

  "Do you think the Valdes brothers would harm Rachel and Maude if things went wrong while we tried to get them free?" Evan asked.

  "I believe they'd kill the girls before they'd lose them," Ben said.

  "Then we can't fail," Evan said in a very quiet voice. For an instant he had a black feeling that death was waiting for him down in the valley.

  "Right. We won't leave without them. And if I get the chance, I'll shoot the hell out of all the Valdes men."

  Ben lay silently beside Evan and watched the last of the daylight drain from the sky, and a dark night arrived. All that could be seen of the hacienda and the casas of the cowboys were tiny points of light floating in a lake of blackness below them.

  * * *

  Ben pressed himself against the outside of the wall that surrounded the Valdes compound. In the darkness, Evan and he had stolen two horses from the cowboys without being discovered. Then they had separated and now he waited for Evan to do his part.

  As Ben listened to the sound of the guard patrolling the compound on the opposite side of the wall, he felt growing doubt about the success of the plan to take the girls away. He knew Ramos was much too savvy to be tricked into doing something foolish. Ben's hope was that some of the man's fighters would not be so wise.

  "Fire!" came an excited cry from the watchtower. "Fire at the barns!"

  The cry was taken up by the guards on patrol and rang loudly throughout the compound. Ben heard the footsteps of the guard nearest to him draw away.

  He caught hold of the top of the wall and cautiously hoisted himself up to look over. The guard was trotting toward the front, where he would have a better view of the buildings near the Santa Isabel River.

  Ben looked in the same direction. Visible above the wall of the compound was a distant pillar of flame and smoke shooting high into the sky. The burning hay was making a much bigger fire than he had thought. More hay must have been stored in the barn since he had last been there. "Now, Evan, get to the horses at our rendezvous point," Ben said quietly to himself.

  He muscled himself up the rest of the way to the top of the wall and jumped down inside the compound. He hunkered low and motionless. Barely making it in time to avoid being seen by the two men who came into sight in front of the casa.

  "We should go and help the men fight the fire," Carlos said.

  "No," Ramos replied. "That fire was set by Hawkins, and that's just what he wants us to do. And anyway, the bam is lost for there's no way to put a fire that size out."

  Ramos saw the guards standing near the front wall of the compound and looking at the fire. "Damn those stupid men. Get all of them back on their stations at once. Then go back inside with Leo and guard the two women. I'll go down to the barns and make sure nothing else burns."

  Carlos hurried off, shouting at the guards. Ramos struck out for the front gate.

  Ben dashed across the open area to the casa. A few feet farther along the wall was a window that showed a faint light. He crept to it and found it was open, probably to let in the cool night air. He knelt to peer and listen inside. The room was illuminated by three candles in a silver candelabrum. He could see most of the room and it appeared to be vacant. He swung a leg over the sill and entered. Ben was in a bedroom with a large four-poster bed. He crept over the thick wool carpet to the door and opened it an inch to see out.

  To his surprise, the golden-haired woman he had seen in the buggy was coming along the hallway. She surely must be Ramos's wife. A thought came to Ben. Why not take her and trade her for the girls? Even as the thought came to him, he knew it wouldn't work. Where could he hide the woman while he negotiated the trade? And how could he find a place safe from some sort of trickery to swap her for the girls? Worse yet, if by chance the Valdes men agreed to such an arrangement, Carlos and Leo would surely make the two girls their wives before bringing them for the exchange. No, taking the woman wouldn't be a smart action. Another way must be found.

  * * *

  Helena hastened toward her bedroom. The fire at the horse barn meant Hawkins was close. She had a pistol in her bedroom and must arm herself so she could protect her sons. She was still greatly frightened by the black light she had seen fall upon them.

  She shoved the door wide and stepped through, thinking at the same time that she was certain she had completely closed it earlier. She stopped tense and alert. There was someone in the room with her. Her sight darted to the pistol on the nightstand on the far side of the room.

  Before Helena could move, a hand came from behind the door and caught her by the face and clamped her mouth shut. An arm encircled her waist and lifted her off her feet. Hanging airborne in the powerful embrace, she was totally helpless. Her heart began to thunder with a sudden rush of fear, for she knew the murderous Hawkins had her captive.

  "I don't want to hurt you, but I'll wring your neck if you don't do exactly as I say," Ben whispered into Helena's ear. "Now I'm going to take my hand off your mouth, but don't you make a sound except to whisper your answers to my questions. Do you understand me?"

  Helena nodded as best she could within the viselike grip on her face. Anything to gain time to think of a way to break loose.

  "That's good
." Ben slowly removed his hand, ready to clamp down again should the woman start to cry out. When she remained silent, he set her on her feet. He caught her firmly by the shoulder and turned her to face him.

  "Are the two American girls here?"

  "Yes," Helena replied, her blue eyes fastened on the man's gruesome face only a hand's width from her own. He was uglier than she had ever imagined.

  "Where?"

  "Along the hallway to the enclosed patio and then left to the center of the casa." The thief watched her with a keen, piercing stare. Would he know if she lied?

  As if he was reading her thoughts, the threatening glitter in Hawkins's eyes hardened. "I've no time for tricks. I want the girls. Are they together right now?"

  "Yes, and my sons and Ramos are with them. They are expecting me to return and talk with them. You had better leave while you can, or they will kill you."

  "You just lied to me," Ben growled. "Ramos isn't here. He's at the fire. As for your thievin' sons, they're not going to kill me. I'm going to kill them for stealing the girls." He grinned wickedly at Helena for she seemed to be very much afraid of his scarred face.

  The ugly man's declaration and the murderous hate in his eyes brought a tremble to Helena. She tried to stop the tremble so he wouldn't know how much she feared him, but she could not for she knew how tough and fearless he must be to have made it to the rancho. And now he had somehow passed through all the fighting men on guard and actually invaded the casa of the Valdes family. The premonition that had been born from some instinct deep within her again warned her that this man was very dangerous to her sons. For an instant, a vision of them lying bleeding on the ground and dying came before her inner eye. Her pulse became a mighty drumbeat inside her skull.

  Ben felt the woman trembling with fear of him. That bothered him for she was a woman who had done nothing to harm him. Still, her fear was as nothing in comparison to freeing Maude and Rachel. So he would scare her more and make her do what he asked. He gave her a gallows smile, thinking that for the very first time he was gaining something beneficial from his monster's face.

  He spoke. "Your sons are in this house with me and I can kill them when I want. And there's absolutely nobody who can stop me."

  Helena didn't want to admit to such an awful thing, yet she knew the thief was stating the truth. His eyes, burning with a fury barely controlled raked her. "Your sons are the worse kind of thieves. I steal only horses, they steal innocent girls from their homes. Both of them deserve to die."

  Helena spoke hurriedly. "If I help you free the young women, will you let my sons live?"

  "Say that again." Ben's grip on the woman tightened involuntarily.

  Helena's blood was running cold and she shivered in the man's hands. "They are my sons and I will do anything to protect them. I know a way to get the women out of the casa. I will bring them to you."

  Ben searched Helena's face trying to detect the lie, the deception. He had intended to make the woman help him in some manner. However, the extent of her offer, to actually bring them to him, was not believable. Several seconds passed as Ben remained silent, gripping Helena's shoulder as his eyes locked with hers.

  Helena saw the disbelief in the thief. "In return, you must promise me that you won't hurt my sons in any way."

  "All right," Ben said. He would play along with her and see where she led. "But know this. Any false move on your part and they die."

  "No! No! I swear to you that I will do exactly as I say."

  "How would you do it, get them out of the casa and to me?"

  "The wife of one of our riders is close to giving birth. I was there earlier today. Ramos and the others wouldn't think anything out of the ordinary if I went there again tonight. I will bring the girls with me in the buggy."

  "I saw you there so I know which house you were at."

  Helena was surprised at that fact. "I'll bring them hidden on the floor of the buggy."

  "How soon?"

  "You have stirred the people up with the fire. All that must quiet down before I can chance coming with the girls. Midnight at least."

  "Just you and the girls. No one else."

  "You must know that once my sons and Ramos find out what I've done, there's nothing I can do to stop them from searching for you."

  "They won't find me. As long as they don't come north of the Rio Grande looking for me, our bargain stands. How long can you keep them from learning the girls are gone?"

  "With luck, maybe until morning."

  Ben held out his hand to seal the bargain, at the same time wondering what Ramos would do to the woman should she actually carry out the plan she'd proposed.

  Helena looked at Ben's hand, but did not take it.

  Ben spoke. "When I shake on an agreement it's an oath that I'd not break. I want your hand on it too."

  Helena clasped the hand in a tight grip. "You have the word of Helena Valdes that she will keep her bargain. You also have the word of Helena O'Shea."

  So O'Shea was your original name, Ben thought. "I accept both women's word" Ben said. "Remember this. If you don't bring the girls, I'll come back."

  He stepped to the candles and pinched them out. A second later he was at the window. He glanced outside into the dark compound. Saw nobody. He heard the woman moving across the room as he went through the window and into the night.

  Behind him Helena was reaching for the pistol on the nightstand. She turned with it in her hand. The man was gone.

  FORTY SEVEN

  "It's past midnight and the woman hasn't kept her promise to bring the girls," Evan said. "I'm thinking she won't."

  "We'll give her some more time," Ben replied. "It could be things haven't quieted down enough for her to get away with them."

  "I hope that's it."

  The two men, with four horses, were concealed in a patch of brush a hundred yards below the homes of the cowboys. From that location they could see the front of the walled hacienda. No one could be seen near the remains of the barn, now only a large mound of glowing embers.

  "She acted damn scared that I would kill her boys," Ben said. "Seems my ugly mug made her think I was a real mean hombre. Evan, there was something really odd about my talk with her. She didn't include Ramos in our bargain."

  "Could be she hasn't forgiven him for carrying her off to Mexico."

  "What would you think if you were a woman and a strange man of a foreign country kidnapped you and carried you off with just one thing in his mind?"

  "I'd be damn mad."

  "Right. And the only reason she's stayed was because of her sons."

  "Something's happening," Evan said.

  "I see it."

  A horse-drawn buggy had come out through the gate set in the wall of the compound and turned toward the homes of the cowboys. Two coal-oil lanterns were fastened to the left and right side of the front of the vehicle. They were glowing yellow eyes lighting the way in the darkness. A pair of guards with rifles were visible walking beside the buggy.

  "I should have known that Ramos wouldn't let his wife go outside without some of his pistoleros going with her," Ben said.

  "The woman could use them as an excuse for not bringing the girls." Evan still couldn't believe it would be this easy to free them.

  "We'll soon know."

  The buggy stopped at the house of the woman nearing her birthing time. Helena climbed down and spoke to the men with her. They extinguished the lanterns and followed the woman into the house.

  "Time to see if she brought Maude and Rachel," Ben said. "Stay with the horses and be ready to fight or ride or both, for we don't know what I'll find. Could be something we sure don't want."

  "I'll be here and ready."

  Ben went quietly through the darkness toward the buggy. As he drew close, he could see the horses watching him. He pulled his pistol, cocking it under his hand to muffle the sound and went up to the buggy.

  He could make out a blanket-covered mound in the rear floor of the vehicle. Th
e form was large enough to be two people. Was it a pair of Ramos's pistoleros waiting there to shoot him?

  "Maude, Rachel?" Ben whispered. His pistol was aimed to shoot if the wrong response came.

  "Ben, is that you?" Maude whispered back.

  Immediately the blanket was flung off and the two girls sat up. Their faces burned beautifully white in the darkness.

  Maude sprang down from the buggy and into Ben's arms. She hugged him fiercely to her, and whispered into his ear. "I knew that if anybody came to get me, it would be you."

  Ben held Maude tightly against him, breathing in the pleasing woman smell of her. Her pleasure at his presence delighted him. She was the only person in his world to act as if the wound to his face was but a minor blemish and he was still the Ben Hawkins as of old. He kissed her on the cheek with his crumpled lips, and she did not flinch at their touch.

  "We've got to hurry," Ben said, releasing Maude from his arms. He picked up the blanket and bundled it under his arm. "Follow me close behind," he said, and led them into the darkness.

  "Are you by yourself?" Rachel asked as they moved.

  "No. A friend of yours is with me."

  "Evan?"

  "Who but Evan would kill a man for you? Then come chasing into Mexico after you?" Ben intended to make Rachel understand just how much Evan loved her.

  "Redpath is dead?" Rachel said in wonder.

  "Dead as can be," Ben replied. "There's Evan and the horses," he said as the outlines of the animals with the man holding their reins came into view ahead in the night.

  Rachel hastened ahead of Ben and Maude and called out. "Oh, Evan, I'm so glad to see you. Thank you for coming to help me." She had seen Maude's impassioned greeting of Ben. She could do no less for Evan. She clasped her arms around him.

  Rachel felt the thinness of Evan's body, his bones sharp against her body. The journey south to rescue her had been hard on him.

  Evan returned Rachel's embrace. "I'm glad the Valdes woman kept her promise and brought you to us."

  "What did you do to frighten her so much?" Rachel asked. "She was shaking while she was preparing us to leave."