“And why is that, my jealous daughter?” he asked sarcastically.
Clarissa knew this was not the time to use her ace in the hole, so she replied, “Because Nathan would never allow it. She’s a little savage, Papa. She’ll humiliate you before your friends and clients.”
He laughed. “She isn’t as uneducated as you seem to think, Clarissa. She was ravishing today. I think you’ve got something to worry about over there. You sure Travis isn’t hiding around here somewhere? He’s the only one with the guts and wits to steal that money.”
“Don’t be foolish, Papa. I received his telegram the other day. He couldn’t possibly have gotten home by now. You said you had the money last week, so the timing is all wrong for Travis to be involved.”
“What about Monroe and Hayes? You think they have enough brains and courage to pull something like this?” he speculated.
“I thought you sent them to Abilene. Have they returned?” she asked uncomfortably, not wanting Wes around without her knowledge.
“They should return today. It’s hard to believe somebody could get into my home and safe without anyone seeing a thing!”
“What about Silas, Papa? Or that Fargo? They’re around all the time, and you could have left your safe open by mistake.”
“They wouldn’t dare rob me or try to trick me,” he scoffed.
“You set Fargo up to deceive you with me, Papa. How can you be sure that’s the only time he’s tried it?” she reasoned, having no further use for the repulsive man after her bout with him the night before.
“Taking my daughter behind my back isn’t the same as robbing my safe, girl. But feel free to work the truth out of him if you want. I don’t like having somebody around I can’t trust, especially when I don’t know who the traitor is. You keep your eyes and ears open good.”
Clarissa was not deluded; she realized that Harrison was wondering if she were to blame for the theft. From now on, she had to be very careful, for he would be watching her, or having her watched. She believed the most likely person was Silas Stern, their foreman. She looked at her father and suggested, “Why don’t I see if Silas knows anything? He’s the one who could pull this off with the least trouble, and he has an eye for me.”
“You do that, girl, but make sure Fargo doesn’t see you and get jealous. And, while you’re investigating this matter for me, make sure Fargo and Monroe are whistle clean.”
“Papa!” she wailed in frustration. “I can’t go bedding all those men at the same time just to ask questions.”
“You want us to succeed with our plans, don’t you?”
“Of course, I do, but—”
“No buts, girl. You have your talents, so put them to use to make sure this situation doesn’t get out of control. We’re too close to having it all, Clarissa. We can’t allow anyone to ruin it for us.”
As always, she raged inwardly, he was using his “we” and “us” strategy again! Oh, she would obey his orders, but for her own reasons. If the money was actually gone, she wanted to know who had taken it and how. If the money was gone…
Monday morning, Nathan refused to let Harrison enter his home to discuss the purchase of his ranch. The two stood on the front porch and argued. “This afternoon, I’m sending a telegram to the Cattlemen’s Association in Dallas,” Nathan told his unwanted visitor. “If I can’t come up with the money to pay off that loan, I’ll get them to find me a suitable buyer for the ranch. I won’t sell her to the likes of you, Harry.”
“You won’t have any choice in the matter, Nate. I’ll outbid anybody who comes to her auction.”
“You mean you’ll get those varmints you hired to scare off any other bidders,” Nathan accused. “You think I haven’t realized that nobody ever bids against you. You got Sam’s and Harvey’s and Jim’s places, but you aren’t getting mine. I’ll see her burned to the ground first.”
“We could come to a satisfactory understanding, Nate. You have needs and I have needs. Why don’t we become partners? You sign half of this ranch over to me and let me take your granddaughter as my wife, and I’ll pay off your debt. When you get enough money to pay me back, I’ll turn my half of the ranch over to you.”
“Lord help us, you’re completely loco, Harry! I wouldn’t let you near my granddaughter, much less marry her. Get off my land!”
“What if Rana doesn’t feel the same way, Nate? She might want to become the wife of the richest and most powerful man in this area. What will you have to offer her after next Thursday? Nothing!”
Having overheard their entire conversation, Rana crept out the kitchen door and signaled to Mace, who was heading in from the west pasture and was not yet in view of the porch. She ran toward him and related her cunning idea.
Mace grinned, reached down, lifted her, and set her before him on his horse. They rode leisurely toward the stable with their arms around each other. When Harrison glanced their way, they pretended not to notice him or any others as they kissed. At the stable, Mace eased her feet to the ground and then dismounted. Leading his mount toward the corral and keeping Rana snuggled close to his side, he whispered in amusement, “That should give Caldwell an eyeful and discourage his interest in you.”
Rana looked up into his sparkling eyes and grinned. “It is good Travis has a handsome, unmarried friend to play this game with me.”
“If Travis weren’t my best friend and you were willing, we’d get hitched today,” he murmured affectionately and chuckled. “I think we should ride somewhere until Caldwell leaves. We don’t want him any madder at you than necessary.” When she agreed, they mounted his horse again, this time with her sitting behind him and clinging to his waist, and headed off toward the nearest pond.
When they returned a short while later, Nathan laughed and remarked, “That was a clever trick, girl. You should have seen Harry’s face when he saw you two all snuggly and kissy.” Nathan then related the details of Harrison’s visit to Mace and the two men once again praised Rana’s courage.
Clarissa returned from her shopping in town to make several infuriating discoveries. Harrison had read her second telegram from Travis from Sedalia, Missouri. Her father’s jealousy and wrath had been inflamed by the apparent romance between Rana Michaels and Mace Hunter, and he was furious that his attempt to bargain for Rana’s hand in marriage had been rejected so peremptorily. In his rage he had ordered Wes and Jackson to poison two water holes on the Crandall ranch.
“Papa, are you insane?” she asked, panting in alarm. “What happens when we take over that ranch? How could you do something so rash? That little slut isn’t worth ruining everything!”
“You let me handle my business, girl,” he replied sharply. “At least we know Kincade isn’t in this area. That’s a real sweet message. So he misses you, does he, and can’t wait to get home? I’m going to fix Nate good, and that granddaughter of his won’t get Mace Hunter. What have you learned about that missing money?”
“I saw Fargo last night and Silas this morning. I don’t think either of them were involved. Do you think it’s safe for me to fool around with that Wes Monroe or Hayes?” she inquired innocently.
“Do what you have to do, girl. Just find out where that money is,” he demanded irascibly. “They should be back at their cabin by now.” He watched with a total lack of emotion as his daughter turned on her heel and left the room.
Clarissa went directly to the cabin and asked to see Wes alone. Jackson eyed her curiously, then walked a short distance away. She explained to Wes why she had come to see him, and her reason surprised him.
“You mean that old fool’s lost the Crandall money? And he sent you here to seduce information out of me? What kind of bastard is he? I told him it was crazy to poison those water holes. The lying bastard said he wanted to make certain nobody else wanted that ranch. And tell me, woman, why is this Kincade sending you telegrams?”
“He’s afraid he’s going to lose everything, so he’s trying to court me to get Papa’s holdings through m
e. I’ve been faking interest to get information about Nathan’s situation.”
“Like you’re faking with me, maybe?”
“Don’t be silly, Wes. If I didn’t trust you, would I tell you such things? Papa’s real upset over that money—Or, I should say, over who this traitor is. I think he suspects me the most, so we’ll have to be really careful from now on. It’ll all be over in two weeks. Once I fire Silas and Fargo, I’ll be needing a new foreman and guard,” she suggested provocatively, reaching over to fondle his chest.
“Who do you think took that money?” Wes probed.
“I don’t know. Maybe no one,” she declared, thinking aloud. “Maybe Papa’s up to something. Silas and Fargo don’t have enough courage or cunning to do a job like this. I was hoping it was you, Wes.”
“Well, it ain’t.” Wes thought about the lost money, money he had intended would come to him, one way or another. Something strange was going on… His thoughts suddenly veered off in a new, more enticing direction as Clarissa began to disrobe.
Tuesday morning, Mace reported the grim news to Nathan about the poisoned water holes and dead cattle. “I’ve got Todd and some of the boys fencing them off and Cody’s moving the cattle to another pasture. Seems like we made Caldwell real mad yesterday.”
“Should I pretend to be nice to him again?” Rana suggested.
“That won’t work, girl, ‘cause he’s seen you with Mace. Anyway, it wouldn’t stop him from trying to pull us down. He wants to scare me into accepting his offer for the ranch and for you. We’ll stand firm.”
Around midnight, the hands were called out to battle fires in two wagons of hay that had arrived too late that afternoon to be unloaded and their contents placed in the barn loft. By the time the flames were discovered, it was too late to save the hay or the wagons. Luckily they had been left in a dirt clearing, which prevented the fire from spreading to nearby structures or the dry grass.
Nathan watched the flames slowly lessen and he cursed Harrison Caldwell. He had not alerted the sheriff to the poisonings and he would not inform him about this fire. It would not do any good, for there was nothing to connect Caldwell to either crime. At least no one had been injured and no structure had been destroyed. Nathan raged against Caldwell’s game of harassment and intimidation, and prayed he could withstand it.
So far, two men had been slain, and the Rocking C owner hoped he could prevent any more deaths or destruction. Nathan called together his head men and ordered, “Mace, I want you to post more guards at every vulnerable area on this ranch. Cody, do whatever you can to keep any of the men from getting nervous and quitting like they did at McFarland’s place. Todd, you set a man to watch the married houses. Post him near the fire bell so he can sound it if trouble strikes over there. Make sure you tell Rachel and Lettie and Mary Beth to be real careful.”
On Wednesday, there were two more fake telegrams from Travis: one sent to Clarissa and one to Nathan, both from St. Louis. The one addressed to Nathan was a trick to persuade Harrison that it was not a ruse at all, for Nathan suspected that Harrison knew about his telegrams and their contents. He hoped so, for both messages made Travis sound depressed and lonely. In them he confessed that he was failing in his tasks and would head home in a few days if nothing looked promising.
By eleven o’clock that night, Rana was so tense she could not rest or sleep. For some reason, she kept thinking about what had happened to the women on the McFarland ranch. She felt she had to make certain that Lettie, Rachel, and Mary Beth were safe, for she had this terrible feeling something was wrong over there. Dressing in her dark clothes once more, she collected her weapons and stealthily began her journey on horseback. She dismounted some distance away from the houses and walked to where the bell was located. To her horror, she found Darby Davis lying on the ground, his throat slit. Knowing there was nothing she could do for the unfortunate man, she cautiously crept to Darby and Lettie’s home to discover that everything seemed peaceful within. She crept to the neighboring Raines house, but saw no one inside. Then she moved on to Cody’s home to find that his new bride was not within. Alarm filled her.
Suddenly her alert ears caught a muffled noise from the trees not far away. She furtively headed that way and was stunned to see the two women, their hands bound and their mouths gagged, being taken away by four masked men. Their nightclothes were ripped and the men were running their hands over the helpless women as they urged them toward their waiting horses. Their intentions were obvious and Rana was consumed by rage. She gingerly moved closer, then fired several arrows at the villains.
There were too many trees and victims in the path of her arrows for her to be able to do more than wound two of the men. She rapidly drew her pistol then and fired over their heads. In fear of being seen or caught, the cutthroats mounted their horses and fled swiftly. Rachel and Mary Beth ran toward the bell to ring out its warning, though the gunfire had been a sufficient call for help. Rana watched them rush into their homes to conceal their torn garments. Knowing they were safe and that others would arrive soon, she made her way to her horse and home in order to protect her identity.
In less than an hour, Nathan and Mace were back at the main house. They had guessed who the rescuer had been and wanted to find out what she had seen, for they knew what she had done. Still, they hadn’t revealed her secret to anyone. Now the people of the Rocking C were as curious about this intrepid ghost’s identity as were those on the Circle C.
Thursday morning Darby Davis was buried, and three hands were assigned to guard the women at night. That afternoon, a telegram arrived from Fort Wallace in Kansas saying that a rancher named Josiah Barns was not interested in buying a partnership in the Rocking C Ranch. Nathan, Rana, and Mace were overjoyed by the message, for it told them that Travis was safe and on his way home, though still far away.
“Even if he rode day and night, I don’t see how he could possibly make it here by next week. Thank the Lord we got our cattle money back,” Nathan remarked, then smiled at Rana. “Looks like that’s what’s going to save us. We need to defeat Harry soon, Mace, ‘cause the chores can’t get done with so many hands acting as guards all over the ranch.”
“When Travis gets home, we’ll handle Caldwell for good.”
Rana was too excited to sleep much that night. The message had told them he was on his way home, but not how his mission went. She wondered what had taken place in the land of the Lakotas. She knew the men would be on full alert tonight, so she would not have to go riding. She could lie in bed and dream of Travis.
Thursday night saw no further trouble, to everyone’s relief. Bart Davis moved in with his deceased brother’s family to protect and support them. That afternoon, Nathan received another telegram, this one from Dallas. It informed Nathan that his papers were ready, and the rancher decided to go after them promptly in order to avoid any problems later. After all, he reflected, there wasn’t anything he could do on the ranch between today and tomorrow. He told Mace to keep his eye on Rana and made her promise to stay home unless something terrible happened.
When disaster did strike late Friday night, there was nothing Rana or anyone else could do about it. The river was suddenly blocked by a dynamite blast, and all water flowing to Nathan’s ranch was cut off. The poisoned water holes had been drained, and only heavy rain could fill them. The situation would become critical in a few days, after the streams dried up and the cattle became thirsty. But worse was yet to come, and on Saturday morning it did, in the form of Clarissa Caldwell.
Chapter Seventeen
Rana went to answer the door and found one of the ranch hands standing there nervously with a woman who, judging from her appearance and brazen manner, could only have been Clarissa Caldwell. The wrangler apologized for disturbing her and explained that the lady had been most insistent. Rana smiled her understanding and politely dismissed him. But before Rana could discourage Clarissa from visiting, the dark-haired woman stated belligerently, “I came to talk to you about you
r mother, and I’m not leaving until I do, so you might as well let me come in.”
Rana realized that Clarissa was in a mood to be stubborn and hateful, and she knew this meeting could not be avoided forever. Deciding it would be best to hear the woman today and in private, Rana invited her into the sitting room. She knew her grandfather would be annoyed with her, but that could not be helped. “Speak,” Rana said, as if giving Clarissa permission to begin. The woman was silent for a time as she eyed the portraits hanging over the mantel. Then Clarissa looked at her as she had the portraits, coldly and with bitterness, like a winter blizzard.
“I thought it was time we met and talked. Considering how well I knew your mother, I can understand why everyone’s been trying to keep us apart. I thought you might want to hear the truth about Marissa and Raymond, and I’m sure you’d like to have this,” Clarissa speculated, handing Raymond’s picture to Rana, who noticeably trembled and paled. “I see you remember the brutal bastard.”
Rana stared at the picture of the gambler with black hair and brown eyes who had haunted her dreams for years. “Why do you come here?” she asked, looking at the antagonistic woman before her.
“I wanted you to know what a bitch and a whore your mother was. Do you know what those words mean?” she asked hatefully, then explained their meanings and how they applied to Marissa. She told Rana how Marissa had been forced to whore to earn money to support her daughter and husband. “Marissa slept with countless men, including plenty of those who work for my father. She’s even slept with some of the men on this ranch, like Todd Raines. She had poor Todd believing she loved him and was going to marry him, but she got herself pregnant and had to run off and get married to hide her sin. When Raymond found out she had tricked him, he hated her and punished her by making her whore for their living.”
“Tricked him? I do not understand. Why do you speak such evil lies about my mother? You were not her friend?” she probed.
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