The Secret Saddle: Anna Troy's Emancipation (The Emancipation Series Book 2)

by Dani Larsen

  Anna loved the farm, even though it was a lot of work. The children loved it there, but she knew that it was too much for the growing family. Her nightmares had completely stopped once they moved to Keating. She didn't understand why, but just not having those horrible episodes every time she went to sleep gave her such a peace of mind that she thought it was because they were so happy on their little farm. The thought of leaving there made her sad, even though she knew that it was the only thing they could do. She prayed every night that her nightmares would not return, after they moved to Baker City, as she still did not know what had caused the return of those horrible memories after all these years.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  "Jude Teams Up"

  Jude met Sam outside the prison the day he was released. He brought with him the mare he had purchased for his new partner to ride. On his last visit to the prison, he had found out for sure when Sam McLoughlin would be released. The gates opened and Sam walked out of the prison with nothing but a small knapsack over his shoulder. Jude handed Sam the reins to his new horse, then he put his foot in the stirrup, threw his right leg over Riley, and the two men rode their horses back to Salem; where they stopped at the saloon on Main Street and went inside for a drink.

  Jude paid for two shots of whiskey, and they went to a corner table and sat down to talk.

  "How does it feel to be free?"

  Sam leaned back in his chair so that it was wavering on the back two legs. He had two days growth of a beard on his face, his skin was pale from the lack of sunlight, and he looked at Jude with his small eyes peering through half open slits.

  "I can't tell you how good it feels to be out of that hole. Twenty-seven years in a cage is a long time, especially when I didn't really kill any of those Chinese people. Your father pretty much did all the killing. I was just twenty when I went to that prison, and now I'm forty seven. That is more than half my life because of what your father did. He was a mean son of a bitch!"

  "You didn't think he should have done those things?"

  Sam sat back up in his chair, put his elbows on the table, and leaned into Jude.

  "Well, not if I was going to be convicted of being an accomplice and go to jail for it. I guess I'm lucky they didn't hang me." Then a slow smile took over his face. "I sure do thank you boy, for bringing me that horse and buying this drink. I've been dreaming about a good shot of whiskey, and a good meal, for twenty-seven years."

  He held up his glass, and the two men touched their glasses together in a toast, and then both drank down the amber liquid with one gulp. It was cheap whiskey, and it burned as it went down, but it warmed their insides and made them feel invincible.

  "Don't worry. I will make sure you make enough money to pay me back. Let's order a couple of steaks and we can talk about it. We have reason to celebrate."

  When they finished eating, they sat back to enjoy another drink and discuss their plans.

  "When I came over the mountains last fall, the weather was terrible. I've been working at the hotel so I wouldn't spend the little money I had saved, but I don't have much to show for it, and I am running low of funds. I have an idea of how we can make enough money for you to pay me back and still have some to spare. Then we can figure out how to get ahold of that saddle."

  "What's your idea?"

  "With spring coming, the roads I came here on should be clearing up. I know the schedule of those supply wagons I worked with when I came west. I know that they will be in Mitchell in a week. If we time it right, we can leave here in two days and catch them after they've collected all the money. I know where they camp, and if we can get them while they sleep, we can get that bag of money before they take it to the bank the next day."

  "If they wake up during the robbery, what do you plan on doing with them?"

  "I know you don't want to go back to prison, and I'm afraid that they might recognize my horse or my voice. If we can leave the horses where they won't see them and disguise ourselves, they might be lucky enough to live. You can do all the talking, and we could just tie them up and leave. But if they get loose and go for help we could have a posse chasing us. If there is any chance that they recognize me then I think we have to get rid of them. Is that going to be a problem for you?"

  "No. I said I didn't kill them Chinese, I didn't say I wouldn't have if necessary. I just didn't do it that time. I'd rather they not be around to identify us, because I'm never going back to prison. I'd rather die than be locked up again."

  "Okay, do we have a deal then?"

  "It's a deal. So glad you looked me up. I do like the way you think, kid."

  They picked up their glasses and drank to their new partnership one more time.

  Two days later they got some supplies and left Salem. They took the Santiam River Road toward Mill City. It was a beautiful spring day in the Willamette Valley. The trees were starting to bud and wildflowers were blooming everywhere. A slight breeze was blowing, but it was warm enough to ride most of the day without their coats. They tried to avoid other riders as they didn't want to be noticed by anyone traveling in the same direction as they were. Twenty six miles later they arrived in Mill City. When they stopped at the general store, Jude went in and bought a bottle of whiskey to share, and they rode a couple miles outside of town and camped by the side of the river.

  Sam cut a branch off of a nearby tree to use as a fishing pole. He dug up some worms and went fishing. An hour later, he came back to camp with three good-sized trout.

  "I've been dreaming about eating some fresh caught fish, ever since I been in that place."

  Having already gutted the fish down by the river, he took his knife and cut a couple of smaller branches, and whittled them down to a point. After he skewered the fish, he held them over the fire that Jude had blazing by the time he returned. Jude poured them each a tin cup full of whiskey, and they sat back and ate the fish, drank their whiskey, and they both quietly thought about the coming days and the crime they were planning. Darkness brought the cold, so a second cup of whiskey warmed their innards. Jude banked the fire, and they rolled up next to it and fell asleep.

  The next morning they ate jerky, hard rolls, and drank some coffee, before they got back on the road. Forty five miles later, they arrived on the outskirts of Marion Forks; where they camped and shared a can of beans and the third fish that Sam had wrapped up in pages from an old magazine he had brought with him from jail. The two men got along fine, although neither one trusted the other. Jude thought greedily about the gold in his father's saddle bags and didn't want to share it. Sam had told him that Bane thought the gold nuggets weighed a total of about twelve pounds. The going rate for gold in 1899 was four hundred dollars an ounce, which meant about one hundred thousand dollars eighteen years ago. He thought it could be worth a lot more now. One hundred thousand sure sounded like a lot more than fifty thousand. Jude really didn't want to share that gold, but he knew he might have to split that money. Sam was thinking about that gold too, as he had been for the last twenty-seven years. He didn't think Bane's brat deserved any of it, but since he seemed to know where it was, he thought he might have to share it with him when they found it.

  The two men rose early the next morning, ate their breakfast, and took off for Sisters on the Santiam Wagon Road through the Cascades. It was still cold, but the sun was shining as they passed by Mount Washington and Three Finger Jack. Frozen snow still covered the mountains, but the path through the mountains was clear, and Jude didn't hear any wolves on this trip. The town of Sisters was bustling as they arrived. They were out of whiskey, so they stopped to pick up a bottle and some bread and cheese. They rode slowly through town, trying not to draw any attention, as they ambled to the other side of town to build their camp on the banks of the Deschutes River. They would cross the river the next day on their way to Prineville.

  They spent the next night outside of Prineville, where they discussed their planned robbery while they drank their whiskey. They were both excited to get th
e job over with. When they got close to Mitchell, they headed through the woods behind the town so as not to be seen and made their camp deep in the woods, but not too far from where Jude knew the wagon drivers would camp.

  Their plan was to cut through the woods, so they wouldn't be seen by anyone in the town. They both had kerchiefs to wear on their faces and could pull their hats down as far as they could over their ears. They would leave their horses back in the woods, so they couldn't be seen or heard, before they snuck into the camp while the two men slept.

  They rolled out their bedrolls early to try to get some good sleep, but both men were anxious about what would happen that night and lay awake planning their moves.

  It was getting dark when Jude and Sam picked their way through the woods toward the targeted campsite. They took their time. There was a small deer path which was easier walking and led where they were going. They got off and led their horses most of the way, often having to pull back large branches to lead their beasts through the thickets. It wasn't raining or their trek would have been much worse. They found their way through and ended up by a creek in the woods. Jude knew that the supply wagon would stop on that creek, not too far from the road, so they hobbled their horses by the creek and built a small fire. They ate some bread and cheese and waited. Jude knew the moon would be full that night, and they needed that light to be able to make it the rest of the way to where the supply wagon, the two men, and their bag of money would be waiting for them. With the light of the moon they could just follow the creek, and by the time the moon was fully up in the sky the two men would be sleeping. They waited patiently. About ten o'clock, they left their makeshift camp and quietly started walking along the creek. There were places where the bank was high, and they had to climb, but they walked as slowly and quietly as possible. Sam carried the rifle that Jude had brought with him, and Jude had the pistol in its holster. They had their kerchiefs around their neck, ready to put over their faces, and were both wearing the oilskin dusters that were worn by almost every cowboy in that time. Jude did not want to be recognized. They both secretly planned on not letting the men live if they woke them, but just in case the two men they planned on robbing somehow survived, they did not want to be identified.

  Finally, they heard the noise of horses and men lightly snoring and they stopped moving. Jude checked the way the wind was blowing, as he didn't want the horses to smell their scent and warn their owners of their arrival. The plan was to get in and out of the campsite without waking the men. Jude was supposed to go for the money, while Sam stood on the edge of the woods with his rifle aimed at the two bedrolls.

  Jude tried to walk quietly to the supply wagon, but his foot slipped on a rock, and his boot made a lot of noise as it hit the hard dirt next to it. Both men woke up.

  "What the heck?"

  "Don't move! Just stay where you are!" Sam moved closer to the men, as Jude entered the wagon looking for the money bag.

  One of the men threw off his bed roll and reached for the gun he had laying by his head and started shooting. Jude recognized Pat McNeil as Sam fired and the man fell to the ground. Willy Jones jumped up and ran into the woods, and Sam chased him.

  Jude rustled quickly through the wagon, until he found the bag of money, as he knew where the man usually hid it. He stuffed it in his pants and jumped from the wagon. He saw McNeil crawling toward the woods, and he pulled his pistol from its holster and fired into his back. He heard two shots in the woods as the man on the ground quit moving. Jude waited with his gun drawn, until Sam came out of the woods pulling the dead man by his legs. He pulled Jones over by McNeil who was lying on his stomach. Sam checked them both to make sure they were dead and nodded at Jude. Jude nodded back, smiled, pulled his coat back and showed him he had the money bag, and the two men left the way they had come. The supply wagon horses were scared and trying to get loose, but the men ignored them as they didn't want them to be found until the men were found. The two criminals went quietly back to their campsite. When they arrived they took off their coats and kerchiefs, put out the fire, scattered the ashes, then got on their horses, and started toward the road. They would ride as far as they could on the main road, by the moonlight, and camp when the moon went down behind the mountains. Hoping to be a good fifteen miles down the road by then, they wanted to make it look like they had been there all night. No one else would be traveling at that time of night. They didn't think the dead mens' bodies would be discovered until at least late morning, and they hoped to be far away when they were found.

  The first thing Jude did after they made camp was to empty the money on his kerchief on the ground. Sam watched carefully while he counted the money. There was almost two hundred fifty dollars in the bag, so Jude divided it and handed Sam one hundred twenty-five dollars. Then he handed Sam a slip of paper from his pocket where he had added up all the things that he had purchased for Sam when he got out of prison. Sam looked at it carefully and gave Jude twenty-two dollars out of the money he had just received. They shared the rest of the last bottle of whiskey, drinking it straight from the bottle, then they tried to sleep, but they were both so full of adrenalin from what had happened that they lay there wide awake. After seeing that Jude was still awake too, Sam sat up and spoke to Jude.

  "I can't sleep, and it looks like you can't either. It is starting to get light out already. I say we eat some chow, drink some coffee, and get on our way toward Prairie City. I'm sure we will sleep soundly tonight after a full day's ride."

  "Okay, I'll make coffee, if you want to rustle up some grub."

  Jude took the old pot they used for coffee down to the nearby stream to get some water, but kept his eyes and ears alert. He didn't trust Sam for one minute, but hoped that the man wouldn't try to kill him until after they found the saddle and its contents.

  "Sam, I'm thinking it might not be a good idea to head straight back to Baker City. The last time I was here I left with those two wagon drivers. They have been back a couple of times without me, but still I'm thinking after they find these guys, and then I show up, that I might be the first suspect. How about we head south until we find a way to make some money, stay south for a few months and then head back this way. I think I'll grow me a beard and maybe nobody will put me together with them. What do you say we head south through the Ochoco Mountains and see where that takes us."

  "Yeah, I'm with you. I sure don't want anybody to recognize either one of us, and I have no desire to go back to prison. Let's just see where the road takes us."

  They packed up their supplies, found a mountain trail, and headed due south from Mitchell. Ponderosa Pines dotted the trail through the rolling terrain. They were surprised to find large grassy prairies filled with brilliant wildflowers and grazing deer and elk. Fifteen miles later, they found a sign where Big Summit Prairie had been printed in bold letters. Continuing south, they found the north fork of the Crooked River. Toward the end of the day, they came upon sagebrush flatlands and a town called Paulina. They bought some more supplies and made camp on the Crooked River outside of the small town.

  The next day, they followed the river to its headwaters and then turned southeast, until they found the Silvies River, by the small town of Burns, Oregon. They decided to visit the saloon in that town, where they overheard some ranchers drinking and bragging about how many head of cattle they owned. One of the ranchers started talking to them and asking them if they were cowhands. They said they would be needing some cowboys to help round up their cattle from the open range in the fall, when it came time, and wanted to know if they were interested.

  Before Jude could say anything, an idea was forming in Sam's mind, so he answered the rancher.

  "Sorry, mister, we are ranchers too. We aren't big like you fellers are. We have a small ranch with a very small herd, so we will be busy rounding up our own cattle."

  Jude was surprised, but was smart enough to keep his mouth shut when he heard Sam speak.

  "Oh, where is your ranch?"

&n
bsp; "We are quite a ways from here, down toward Malheur Lake. We just came from purchasing a few head up by Baker City. One of our hands is bringing them down to us next month. We are just traveling back home now."

  Another rancher decided to introduce himself. The man was huge, probably two hundred fifty pounds and six feet four at least. Sam thought immediately that he was trying to intimidate them. He had a thick handle bar mustache and black eyes that seemed to bore right through the two criminals.

  "Thomas Needham here sir, can I ask your names?"

  "Sam Johnson is my name, and this here is my partner and my cousin, Jude Johnson."

  The man bent over and held his hand out to shake hands with the two men, who remained seated. Jude shook his hand, but swallowed hard as he tried to remain acting confident.

  "Howdy, boys! What is your brand? Wouldn't want to get my cattle mixed up with yours when doing our round-ups."

  "Our ranch is the Circle J, so you will know our brand right away."

  "It's nice to meet you fellas. Good luck with your cattle business, I hope it is as profitable for you two as cattle ranching has been for us."

  "Thank you, Mr. Needham. We are counting on it being a huge success."

  The man turned around and walked out of the saloon, and the other ranchers followed shortly after him. Jude and Sam had another beer before they left to go back to their camp by the river. Neither man spoke about what happened until they got back to camp.

  "What was that all about back there, Sam? Do you have a plan floating around in your brain? I just played along as I had no idea what you were thinking?"

  "Yeah, when I saw those ranchers and realized there was a lot of cattle around here something came to me. I used to do some cattle rustling back in the day, and I learned a lot from watching other rustlers get caught. A good rustler just steals a few cattle at a time, and just the young ones who haven't been branded yet. Cows start calving about this time of year, and they don't brand them until roundup time in the fall. In the meantime, we get ourselves a branding iron, find a place to round up, and hide the ones we take from the open range, until time to take them to the stockyards and sell them. They get about eight dollars a head right now. We can take a few at a time, before any of the ranchers are aware they are missing. We could easily make about eight hundred dollars with only one hundred head of cattle. There were at least ten ranchers in that saloon. They wouldn't miss ten head each. What do you think?"