The Secret Saddle_Anna Troy's Emancipation

by Dani Larsen

  John pulled an old blanket out and there was the saddle underneath it. He pulled it out and dragged it over in front of Jude."

  "It's heavy."

  "It better be. Now get over there by your mother."

  Jude loosened his hold on Bert, switching the gun to his left hand, and still holding it to Bert's head as he pulled a knife out of his pocket with his right hand, and opened it.

  "Don't move, kid! I'm good with a knife too."

  Bert stayed where he was as Jude bent over and opened one of the saddle bags. Then he reached inside and used the knife to slit open the secret pocket at the bottom of the bag. He closed the knife, and slid it back in his pocket. Still holding the gun on Bert, he reached down and pulled out a fist full of gold nuggets out of the saddle bag.

  Anna gasped.

  "So that is why you wanted the saddle?"

  "Get that mare out of the closest stall in there, John. Put a bit and reins on her and bring her out here, and put this saddle on her."

  "You're adding horse theft to your list of misdeeds? Jude, just tell me one thing, did you cause Frank's accident?"

  "What do you know about that?"

  "I know what your mother said she thought you did on her deathbed."

  "That bitch died? What a shame. Yeah, what does it matter now? Gus figured out that I was the one who beat her up and told Frank about it. He was heading into town to get the sheriff. I just cut him off at the bridge. I shot at him and missed, but he veered off of the road into the creek. I guess you could say it was my fault. What are you going to do about it?"

  "Damn you, Jude! Just take your saddle and get out of here!"

  "You know, Anna, you are lucky, as I should kill one of you to pay you back for your mother killing my father. She deprived me of having a father."

  "You should thank my mother for that. Your father was an evil man."

  "You better shut up if you know what is good for you. Is that saddle cinched up good, John? Bring her here."

  John brought the horse over to Jude, and then he backed away, and stood by his mother. Jude took the reins, pushed Bert toward his mother, and held the gun on all of them. Then he picked up Anna's rifle and stuck it in the sheath on his father's saddle.

  "I can shoot you all easily if you try to stop me."

  He held the gun on them as he backed toward his horse. Hearing a motor coming down the drive he jumped on his horse, holstered his gun, and pulling on the mare's reins started galloping down the drive. When he met George's car he shot his pistol toward the car, and laughed eerily as took off down the road.

  Anna grabbed Bert and threw her arms around him, as George got out of the car and ran toward his family with the other children close behind.

  "Are you okay? What happened? What is going on here?"

  "Jude got the saddle. It had gold in it. That is what he was after. He is Jack Bane's son, George, the man who kidnapped me. The letter from Mama tells it all. He has killed several people, and he's responsible for your pa's accident. He killed your father, George! The man held a gun to Bert's head and threatened to kill him too!"

  "That son of a bitch! I'll get him! John, take the car into town and get the police. Tell them to follow us. Since it rained this morning there should be prints to follow. Helen, please saddle Cindy for me while I get my gun and holster. I'm going after him."

  George ran in the house, got his gun out of the top drawer in his bureau, made sure it was loaded, and put the box full of bullets in his jacket pocket. He strapped the holster on his waist and ran out the door. Helen had the horse saddled and by the back door.

  "I'll catch him! Don't worry! I'll be back!"

  Anna pulled all of her children toward her.

  "Children, let us say a prayer that your father comes home safely."

  George could easily see the two sets of hoof prints heading off toward Kelso Road. He knew that Jude was probably going to head up through the back roads, but he didn't know which way he was going. Would Jude head east on the mountain roads? Or would he go west toward Portland? George was thankful that it had rained this morning because the double hoof prints were easy to follow.

  Jude rode as fast as he could for the first two miles. He was going to head directly to the Sandy River to a shallow area where he would cross the river and then head east to Lolo Pass. It was a lower pass and easier to cross over the mountain than Bennet Pass. He had found out that it was about thirty-five hundred feet high, whereas Bennet Pass was closer to five thousand feet in elevation. If the weather turned bad he thought Bennet Pass, which was the busiest pass over the mountain, would be harder to travel, and besides there were too many cars on that road, and no cars would be able to follow him over Lolo Pass. He was much less likely to be followed on that route. Lolo Pass Road was often completely closed in the winter due to the snow, but was open this time of the year. He had been told that the Native Americans had used the trail as a trading route, and that it connected the Willamette Valley with the Columbia River Gorge where he could come out by Celilo Falls and head toward Hood River. There, he could cross the Bridge of the Gods and escape into Washington State.

  Jude rode Riley easily over the fairly flat farm land. He headed northeast on Orient Drive to Kelso Road then went east until he reached Bluff Road where he turned north. It started to lightly sprinkle as he turned east and headed down into the Sandy River canyon on Surban Road where various trails led down to the river.

  He didn't hear anything behind him so he slowed down as he headed into the canyon. The rain was making the path slippery and bringing an extra horse made it a little more dangerous to travel.

  George was riding as fast as he could as he followed Jude's tracks. He knew that Jude was leading a second horse and he thought he might catch up with him because of Jude's extra burden. It was almost three miles from his farm to the top of the canyon, and when he got to the end of Surban Road he stopped at the top of the canyon and searched the ground below him. He smiled when he saw the two tiny horses about halfway down the canyon. It was raining harder now, and George knew that was slowing his prey down.

  George led his horse carefully down the small path which wound its way treacherously into the canyon. Some rocks broke loose and shot down the hill as he rode, and Jude turned around and saw him. He pulled his rifle out of its sheath and turned and fired up the steep cliff at George. He was way off and almost fell from his saddle as the shot startled the horse trailing behind who bucked, pulling on the reins in Jude's hands.

  His pursuer laughed as he saw Jude grab his horse's mane to steady himself in the saddle. When Jude got to the bottom of the canyon he turned around and fired again up the hill, but George was moving quickly on the S shaped trail, and Jude missed easily. George only had his pistol and didn't bother to shoot back as he knew the man was too far away to get an accurate shot. He just kept leading his horse carefully down the small path.

  Jude rode as fast as he could and crossed the river close to the community of Bull Run. He thought he could ambush George once he got across the river. When he made it across he stopped, and tied the horses to the branch of a tree. Then he waited with his rifle for George to come across where he had. George was too smart for him. When he got to the bank and saw where Jude's tracks led into the water, he rode back to a place he had just passed that looked even shallower and crossed there.

  Jude was angry when he saw that George didn't cross where he had, because now he had lost time waiting for him. He jumped on his horse and took off east on the Waterworks Road out of Bull Run. The road was used for the building of dams and water conduits for the water piped to the city of Portland, The road went all the way to Bull Run Lake where it would eventually meet the Lolo Pass Trail to the east.

  He rode as fast as he could, which was getting harder as the rain was pouring down now, and the horses were slipping on the muddy road. George was closing on him fast. He decided to change his route, and he rode about nine miles up to Reservoir Number One. When he reach
ed the four mile point, he saw that clearing work had been done to prepare for Dam Number Two which was due to be built the next year. As he approached Reservoir Number One the road had a secondary road which branched off to the left. He hoped that George would follow the main Waterworks road which went straight ahead. The road he took was called the Bull Run Canyon Switchback. It climbed the canyon to the top of a ridge. The road headed up the hill northeast for about one thousand feet, then turned abruptly one hundred eighty degrees back to the west, steadily climbing for another five miles. The road looked directly down on the road just traveled and offered an excellent ambush point.

  By the time he got to the top of the canyon his horse was gasping for breath. He knew it was time to change horses. He looked down the road and saw that George was just starting to climb the switchback road. Jude quickly loaded what was in his saddlebags into the bags with the gold on the stolen mare's back, and left Riley with a much lighter saddle and said, "Goodbye, old buddy." He thought the horse would go where the path was easy, but instead it started going down the road they had just came up.

  "Damn, stupid horse!"

  Jude loaded the rifle and lay on the ground aiming at George coming up the mountain. He had to wait until he got a little closer to be able to shoot him. He put the rifle on his shoulder and looked through the site as the horse and rider got bigger. Putting his finger on the trigger he waited patiently. When George was perfectly in his sites he pulled the trigger, but just as he did Riley popped in front of the sites and the horse screamed and fell on his side and slid all the way down the mountain. George saw the horse and swerved to miss him. Jude was so upset that it took him a minute to aim again, and in the meantime George had gotten off his horse and was walking on the other side of him on the narrow path.

  Jude leapt onto the mare's back and took off again. The road switched backed again to the northeast while it climbed out of the canyon. Four and a half miles more and the trail branched. He took the left branch and followed it to the crest of the Bull Run watershed.

  He had been riding for about two hours when he finally made it to Lolo Pass Road. Exhausted and starving he went off the road into the trees and pulled some hard tack and biscuits out of the saddle bags and began eating. Jude thought he had lost George as he had heard nothing behind him for a while. He hoped his pursuer had taken a different branch, although he knew that with the rain his tracks were probably easy to follow. He thought it was doubtful that George would follow him all the way to Hood River, at least he hoped not. After about five minutes, he heard a horse coming up the path and jumped back on his tired horse and headed down Lolo Road. Ten minutes later, he was shocked to find that the pouring rain had flooded across the road, and the raging Sandy was right in front of him. He felt cornered and didn't know what to do. He could stop and fight, but what if he lost and George took him back to the law. He would lose the beloved gold he had just found, and go to jail.

  Now was not the time to give up. He took the horse into the fast current hoping the water wasn't too deep and that the flood had not washed out the entire road ahead. Maybe George wouldn't try to cross the road and follow him. The water was getting deeper and deeper and was quickly up to the bottom of the saddle. The mare was starting to panic as she was slipping on the rocks that were under the water. Jude heard another horse approaching behind him and he pulled out his pistol and turned around to shoot at George. When he fired, the horse tried to buck but the load of Jude and the heavy gold was too much for her. Jude quickly decided he was better off without the horse. He slid off of the horse and started undoing the knot by the latigo on the saddle's girth. John had not tightened the knot very tightly, so he was easily able to undo the knot, and pull out the long cinch. He struggled to pull the saddle over his shoulder as the water rose up to his waist. Giving the horse a big shove he pushed her back toward George to shield himself as he crossed the raging waters. He could hear the mare stumbling on the rocks as she crossed back to her owner. The saddle was heavy and Jude was afraid he would lose it, so he threw the cinch around the back of his neck and held it tight with his right hand while his left arm was wrapped around the saddle. He could still touch ground but the current was pulling on him. Jude knew he was only a few feet from the other side of the raising waters. If he got there he would be safe. He struggled to hold onto the heavy saddle as the rising waters were pulling him down. It was suddenly up to his neck and the water was so swift that it was knocking him over. He struggled against the violent waters reaching for the opposite bank. If he let go of the saddle he knew he could make it, but he just couldn't let go, this is what he had worked for, this was all he wanted, he couldn't let go. He gave one last try to leap for solid ground, but the heavy weight and the strong current pulled him down, and he screamed as he realized that he wasn't going to make it. It was pouring down rain, and the water was getting deeper by the minute. His head came up once but the raging waters covered his head again and he disappeared.

  George got off his horse and reached for the panicking mare. He got a hold of her reins as the water began to rise up his leg. He pulled her out of the water and back to where Cindy was waiting. They backed away from the raging waters that were moving faster and faster toward him. He got the horses into the trees where the water couldn't reach and stood there for ten minutes. When Jude did not rise again out of the water he knew that it was finally over. The man had gone down with the saddle full of gold. The gold he wanted so badly had dragged him to his death. George knew that Jude had almost made it across the break in the road. Only a few more feet and he would have been safe, and George would not have been able to follow him. The rain began to subside as George turned around and headed back toward home.

  It was almost dark when George rode down the lane to his home. Anna and the children came running out of the house to greet him. There was a police car sitting in front of the dairy. He got off his horse and handed the reins of both horses to John.

  "Please take care of these girls. They've had a long ride and are both exhausted. Then come in and hear the story."

  Anna had a plate of food for him and a cup of coffee. She set them in front of him and sat down across from him at the table. The police chief sat next to her. His children were hovering over him, thankful that he was okay. Everyone was anxious to hear what had happened, but they gave him a few minutes to eat some of the food in front of him.

  "George, we were so worried. Eat a little, and then please tell us what happened."

  "Okay, but let's wait for John to come in. I don't think I have the energy to tell the story twice."

  As soon as John came inside, George put down his fork and began to talk.

  "Jude is dead. He drowned because he wouldn't let go of the saddle, which was so heavy because of the gold that it pulled him down. I chased him all the way to Lolo Pass Road, where the rain had roiled up the Sandy River and washed out part of the road. He tried to cross as it was pouring harder and rising faster. He was close to making it when he went down. The man shot at me several times. Once he accidentally shot his own horse that he had let loose after he decided to ride our mare. I am so glad this is over. I would imagine his body will end up in the watershed or maybe make it all the way down the river to here, but I think the saddle is probably at the bottom of the river for good."

  "Good riddance to the saddle and the gold. It was blood money. My mother's Chinese friends died for it in Eastern Oregon, and your father might still be alive if Jude hadn't beat up his mother while he was looking for that saddle. I'll let you read the letter I got from Mama earlier today, George, it tells the whole story."

  "Thanks for coming, Captain Branson. I appreciate your staying with my family until I returned."

  "It was too late to follow your tracks by the time I arrived, George. It was raining hard and washing away the prints."

  "Anyway, it's all done now."

  The captain turned to Anna.

  "Thanks for the meal, Mrs. Hempe. I'm glad everything t
urned out for the best. Try to have a good evening folks."

  "Yes, and you too, Captain."

  They were all exhausted, but they stayed up half the night relating all that had happened, and relishing each other's company. Anna was so happy that George was okay, and that Jude was gone for good, that she even laughed for the first time in over a year. She missed Joseph very much, but she knew that the rest of her family needed her, and that she needed them. When she finally went to bed she didn't worry about having those nightmares, she was sure that she was free of them forever.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  "Life in Oregon after Jude's Demise"

  Rumors about the gold nuggets blew like the wind around the Sandy area for years. Hundreds of people followed the river up to Lolo Pass Road searching for gold in the river and rapids and along the river banks. When the river was shallower in the summer, men were in the cold water from morning until night looking for the gold, but the Sandy River was not giving up its treasure, and its treacherous swift waters took many lives every summer. If someone found the gold nuggets they weren't talking.

  Jude's body floated down the river about eight miles until it reached Indian John Island, a little north of Sandy. A family spending the hot day cooling off in the Sandy River discovered the battered remains in early August, almost a month after he was lost in the waters off of Lolo Pass. Anna was very relieved when she heard the news, as she had nurtured a tiny thought in the back of her mind that he had somehow gotten away, and now she knew for sure he hadn't. George had gone to the mortuary and confirmed that the clothes on the body were the same ones that Jude had been wearing when he went under water on the Fourth of July, as by the time his body was discovered it was so bloated and beaten up by the rapids and waterfalls, that he could not be identified otherwise. The strange thing about the body was the torn up saddle that was still attached to Jude's body. It hardly looked like the original saddle. The saddle bags were in shreds and the initials on the saddle were covered with mud. The saddle horn was just a lump and the leather on the seat was worn to a frazzle. The cinch had wound itself around the front of Jude's neck and had held it tightly to his body, as it had hit the thousands of rocks on its road down the rapids from high up on Lolo Pass. George laughed, realizing that the gold was probably strewn all along the river and was now mixed in with the rocks and sand at the bottom of the Sandy River.