Untamed Journey

by Eden Carson

  “Did you say Frank Masterson?” Samuel asked as he handed Sue a glass of water he’d brought from the kitchen.

  “Yes, that’s his name. Do you know him?” Sue asked.

  “Not personally. But I know of him. That’s the name of one of the landowners who petitioned the railroad to come through his homestead. But he lost the bid to a Senator from Pennsylvania.”

  “Are you sure it’s the same man?” Jackson demanded.

  “I can’t be certain, as I only met the man once when he presented his right-of-way bid. Sue, what did he look like?” Samuel asked.

  “He’s a big man, about Jackson’s height, but thick-necked. He’s got a ruddy complexion with brown eyes. He’s maybe fifty or sixty years old. It’s hard to tell. And he had a small scar down the side of his neck, here.” Sue dragged her finger down the left side of her neck, from ear to collarbone.

  “That’s him,” Samuel insisted. “He claimed at the time he approached Nigel that he got the scar in an Indian fight. He was pretty angry when he lost his bid. Nigel had him escorted out of the building, and I never saw him again. That was about a year ago.”

  Old Mike turned to Jackson. “Are you thinking the same thing I am?”

  “It occurred to me,” Jackson nodded his head slowly. “Wouldn’t be the first time someone had tried it. There’s a lot of money to be made if the railroad comes through your land.”

  Emmett walked over from the far corner of the room. “Do you mean to say you both think this Masterson fellow is behind the train robberies?”

  “That’s exactly what we’re thinking. That spur line’s supposed to connect the Fort to the main transcontinental line. It’ll bring a lot of money with it.” Mike added.

  “We should go after Masterson now,” Emmett said. “We’ll take Bear Standish along. If he can identify Masterson as the force behind these robberies, and not just Jasper Smith, we can arrest them both. Ruth will surely be able to get an annulment, when a husband she hasn’t spent more than a day with gets put in prison.”

  Mike ran his hands through his thinning hair. “Ruth could get hurt, or even killed, if we try to surround the house without knowin’ her location.”

  “We should take a couple of days to stake the place out,” Emmett suggested. “See if Masterson has hired hands or household staff that is unhappy enough to sell us information. If we could find Ruth’s location, we might be able to turn the tables on Masterson and kidnap her right back. Remove her from the scene before we arrest him.”

  “But that could take days, or even weeks,” Sue protested. “We can’t leave Ruth at the mercy of those animals for that long.”

  One of the railroad men chimed in for the first time. “We can’t fail to act just to protect one woman,” the grizzled ex-Marshal insisted. “Think of all the innocent passengers that might be killed on the next train if we don’t act now.”

  “And think of all the money the railroad might lose,” Sue added, narrowing her eyes at the man.

  “Just being practical, Ma’am,” the man said, tipping his hat.

  Jackson stepped between the two. “Stop arguing. This is wasting time Ruth doesn’t have.” Jackson turned to the rest of the waiting men. “We’ll head out immediately for the Fort. We need information on Masterson’s whereabouts, and Colonel Roe is the best man to provide it. If Roe can locate this man for us, we’ll pick up our witness, and move toward an arrest.”

  The men nodded their agreement at Jackson’s plan, glad to be on the move. They filed out the front door to gather horses and gear for the trip ahead.

  Jackson turned to Sue. “I’ll get Ruth back, no matter what it takes. But we have to work with these railroad men, or they’ll just move on Masterson without us. And they won’t care if Ruth gets hurt in the crossfire.”

  “He’s right,” Mike insisted. “Ruth’s best chance is for us to be right there, looking out for her first.”

  Sue reluctantly nodded her agreement.

  Jackson took her by the shoulders. “I need you to stay behind, just in case Ruth makes her way back here somehow. She escaped these men before.”

  He kissed her lightly on the head. “Once we talk to Roe, we may be able to come up with a better plan. One that’s safer for Ruth. Try not to worry. I’ve been looking for a woman like her all my life. I’m not going to let her go now.”

  Chapter 72

  “Are you awake, yet?” Masterson demanded of the still figure, lying curled up on the feather bed, hands tied behind her back. “I wouldn’t suggest pretending sleep. It’ll just anger me more.”

  Ruth lifted her lashes and stared straight into the coldest pair of eyes she had seen, at least since facing Jasper Smith in a darkened train compartment. “I’m awake, Mr. Masterson. Would you untie me, please? I need to use the facilities.” She kept her voice carefully neutral as she faced this unknown threat with only her wits to aid her.

  “I’ll send the housekeeper up shortly to help see to your needs,” Masterson promised. “She doesn’t say much, and is refreshingly biddable. If you could just learn to follow suit, I’m sure we could get along wonderfully.”

  “What do you expect of me?” Ruth asked cautiously.

  “Now that’s the first sensible thing I’ve heard come out of your mouth since I met you,” he complimented, in all sincerity. “I expect you to do what I tell you, and obey me in all things. I expect you to keep quiet about my comings and goings, unless I tell you to do otherwise. I expect a son or two, to work by my side in the business I’m about to grow to ten times its current size. Once you give me my sons, I’ll leave you be and see to my needs elsewhere. In return, I’ll give you security and all the comfort you want. I’m not a stingy man, and appreciate nice things myself. You’ll get a generous allowance to run my household if you’ll help me finalize this deal. You can use the rest to buy whatever you want in the way of pretty things women like. Do you have any questions about what I’ve just said?” Masterson asked.

  “No, I understand,” Ruth whispered back. “I won’t cause you any trouble. And I apologize for the whole train incident. I was just so scared, I forgot my good sense. I won’t be going back to my home. The War destroyed everything. Only hunger awaits me there. This bed is soft and warm, and if you’ll let me, I’d like to see the rest of the house.” She kept her expression blank, hoping none of her emotions showed through.

  “Of course,” he agreed. “I’ll show you around after you wash up. But you’ll stay inside unless I’m with you. Understood?”

  She quickly nodded her agreement. “Yes, of course.”

  “It’ll work out, Ruth. You’ll see that I can be a reasonable man, if you just do as you’re told.”

  Masterson held out his arm, in a mockery of all that was chivalrous.

  Ruth bit her tongue, then took the proffered arm. She hadn’t known her husband long, but she recognized that he was cut from the same cloth as Jasper Smith. She could expect pain and suffering at his hands if she were ever to defy him.

  Chapter 73

  The men rode hard and reached Fort Lyon at dusk. By sunset, they were seated in Colonel Roe’s office, listening to his clerk give a rundown of what they had uncovered.

  “As the Colonel ordered, I looked into this Frank Masterson fellow. I sent one of the privates over to the surveyor’s office, and another soldier to the telegraph. We keep written copies of all wires going in and out of this Fort, at the Colonel’s order. What we found is this Masterson has been buying up land across the territory. Near as we can tell, he has about half of what he needs to lay a track straight through to the main line.”

  “Who owns the rest?” Jackson asked.

  “That’s where this story gets interesting,” the Colonel interjected. “With the exception of a few small homesteads, the other half of the land has been purchased, all within the last year, in the name of Ruth Jameson.”

  Jackson jumped out of his chair and started pacing. “Damn. Now she’s worth money to him.”

 
Samuel nodded his head in agreement. “He’s smart. We routinely alert the local sheriff and the nearest land surveyor’s office when the railroad starts scouting routes. It puts them on the lookout for any one person buying up large quantities of land. It’s not uncommon to see one or two of the larger land owners try to buy out their neighbors when news of the railroad starts. And if a neighbor doesn’t want to sell, they’ll use all sorts of underhanded methods to scare the homesteaders into abandoning their claims or selling cheaply. Looks like Masterson started using his new bride’s name to turn suspicion away from him.”

  The Colonel nodded his understanding, “Brilliant. As soon as he married Ruth, proxy or not, he became the new owner of all that land. And with the railroad unable to keep the original right-of-way safe, he could walk in with an alternate route, ready to go.”

  Mike scratched his beard. “So where do we go from here? Do we stick to our original plan and try arresting Masterson on robbery and murder charges?”

  “I have a better idea,” Jackson said quietly, turning to his cousin. “If we’re right, then he married Ruth because of her desperate financial circumstances and lack of family protection. He could put stolen land claims in her name, and she’d be too dependent on him to say anything about it. What if we give him a better proposition? A deal that will get him what he really wanted all along.”

  “The railroad right-of-way,” Samuel replied.

  Jackson nodded. “He wants money and power, and the influence they can buy. What if you and I offer him a better marriage deal? Tell him your boss is tired of delays building his railroad and has told you to make this problem go away, no matter what it takes. You have a sister who got herself in a bit of trouble and needs a fresh start out west.”

  “Go on. I’m listening,” Samuel nodded his head in growing understanding of Jackson’s plan.

  “If he marries your sister, you’d be in his debt, and family besides,” Jackson explained. “You’d promise to arrange a deal for the land claims he owns in his and Ruth’s name that would make everyone happy, and your sister a rich woman. He gets an annulment from Ruth and she can marry me instead.”

  Samuel paused to think, taking a few slow puffs on his cigar as he weighed the pros and cons of Jackson’s idea. “It just might work,” he said. “Masterson gets his money and marries up in society. But what do you get out of this deal? We should insist that you get a cut too. Say half of the claims that are in Ruth’s name get cashed out directly to you. It’s a deal that a man like Masterson will understand. If he thinks you just get a woman, he’ll be instantly suspicious of our motives.”

  “Agreed,” Jackson replied, immediately liking his cousin’s thinking. “We just need to figure out the best way to approach him.”

  Jackson paced back and forth, anxious to get started.

  “You and Samuel should approach him at home,” Emmett suggested. “No offense, cousin, but if we dandy you up right, Masterson will dismiss you as a physical threat.”

  Samuel smiled easily at his favorite cousin. “Since we both know I’ve been able to out-shoot you since the age of ten, no offense taken. You’re right, though. I’ve used that to my advantage before. I’ve got a suit in my saddlebag and a pair of spectacles that should do the trick.”

  “That’s good,” Jackson nodded his approval of the plan unfolding. “Once we’re inside, we can talk business with him. We’ll insist on seeing Ruth at some point, as a sign of good faith. Emmett, you position yourself to get a clear view of the house. We’ll signal our location when Masterson sends for Ruth, or goes to fetch her himself. You’ll be able to see who is moving about in other parts of the house, and we should be able to pinpoint Ruth’s location.”

  “Do we wait for night to get her out?” Emmett asked.

  “It might be risky to wait,” Mike warned. “She might not be sleeping alone.” He looked to Jackson apologetically.

  “You’ve got a point,” Jackson admitted with growing anger and worry over Ruth. “Our best bet is to get Ruth out then and there. Maybe have papers ready for Masterson to sign.”

  Samuel shook his head at the idea. “She’s his only leverage, now that we have a witness against him on extortion. Once we prove he stole one claim, the others can easily be forfeited.”

  “But he doesn’t know that,” Jackson insisted. “We try your way first. If he agrees to the deal and we can walk out with Ruth, we say nothing about his crimes. If he won’t let Ruth go without a fight, then I move to arrest him on charges and we take our chances,” Jackson decided.

  “If you can’t find a safe way to signal us, we’ll come running at the first shot fired,” Mike promised.

  Jackson nodded his agreement. “Let’s head out.”

  Chapter 74

  Ruth spent the remainder of her morning crying in her new prison. As hopeless as she felt, the tears relieved some of her tension, simply by means of exhausting her. She fell asleep and awoke near dusk, when she heard the lock on her room unlatch.

  She quickly pulled herself out of the bed and sat in the one chair in the room, placing as much distance as possible between herself and the unknown threats coming through the door.

  Masterson barged into the room and quickly spotted Ruth sitting by the window. “I have to leave now,” he announced. “Some business has come up that can’t wait.”

  Ruth just nodded in silence, acknowledging that she’d heard him.

  “Since this is new to both of us, I want to make sure you’re not tempted to change your mind. I’m locking you in this room. Jasper Smith will be outside, but I’ll have the only key. If you leave this room and try to escape, I told Smith I’m done with you and he can handle things however he likes. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

  At her fearful nod, he continued.

  “I assume you’re no longer a virgin, after living with that Marshal?” Masterson changed tacks abruptly, catching Ruth off guard once again.

  “Hell, it was foolish of me to ever believe you were,” he muttered under his breath. “That aunt of yours is a witch, and probably pulled one over on me. But I’m fair. I won’t hold her against you. None of us gets to pick their relatives, do they? And I’m related to worse than your Aunt Kate, that’s for certain.”

  Masterson’s focus quickly returned to Ruth, as he demanded a response from her. “Answer me. Are you a virgin or aren’t you?”

  Ruth shivered in terror, not certain if her chances of survival were better with the truth or an attempt at lying.

  She swallowed repeatedly until she could get the words past her closed throat. “No, no I’m not.”

  Masterson nodded his thick neck. “That’s what I figured. I’ve never met a female with any self-control outside of a convent. Don’t worry about that, Ruth. I’ve got no experience with virgins, anyway. I like a woman who knows what she’s doing. I’ll overlook your less than clean state now, but if you ever look at another man, I’ll kill you. Understand?”

  “Yes, I understand,” Ruth replied.

  “Good. Your dinner is here.”

  The housekeeper shuffled into the room and quickly placed a tray of steaming food on the table next to Ruth’s bed. She didn’t glance at Ruth or acknowledge her in any way before scrambling back down the stairs.

  “I’ll lock up now and bid you good night. I should be back in the morning,” Masterson offered with a pleasant smile on his face.

  Chapter 75

  It took Jackson and his men the rest of the night and the better part of the morning to reach Masterson’s place on horseback. They spent the next twenty minutes hunkered down in the nearby woods, watching the house and the comings and goings of the staff. Masterson had two armed men on patrol, one watching the front of the house and a second stationed out back.

  When Samuel spotted Masterson riding up on horseback, he motioned his cousin to follow and put his horse on a slow intercept course. Jackson and Samuel rode from the east, where an open clearing gave Masterson and his men a clear view of their a
pproach, but still placed Masterson in the line of fire if his men were to start shooting.

  “Good morning, gentlemen,” Samuel hailed the three men with a smile on his face. “I’m Samuel Wright of the Union Pacific Railroad. I’m looking for Mr. Frank Masterson. Colonel Roe said I might be able to find him here.” Samuel adjusted the fit of his glasses, then removed his bowler in a deliberate show of good manners.

  Masterson plastered a smile on his face at the mention of the railroad, but left his right hand on the butt of his pistol as he addressed Jackson. “And who might you be?”

  “Beauregard Jackson, of New Orleans,” Jackson tipped his hat, careful to leave a clear view of his revolver, which was holstered at his waist, hammer down.

  “He’s with the Marshals,” one of Masterson’s hired hands muttered, as he and a second man rode up from behind, rifles cocked.

  “I’m here on a personal matter, as I suspect you’ve already guessed,” Jackson continued quietly. “Samuel here is my cousin. We have a proposition for you.”

  “Hear us out, Mr. Masterson,” Samuel asked, deliberately putting a whine into his voice. “I have an idea that could profit us all nicely. We won’t take up much of your time.”

  Masterson spoke to one of the guards over his shoulder. “Check out the grounds. Make sure they rode in alone. Wilson, you stay with us.”

  Masterson motioned his uninvited guests to precede him. “You can hitch your mounts to the front porch.”

  Their horses covered the short distance to the main house with a few quick strides. Once at the porch, the men all dismounted and followed Masterson’s housekeeper into the front parlor. She left without offering refreshments, at a curt nod from her employer.