Casca 52- the Rough Rider
Page 16
Daylight woke him and he sat up. Throbbing pain reminded him of his wounds and he looked over his body once more. Much less a mess and the broken bones were whole once more. He flexed his arm and although it ached, it was useable.
A few moments of tugging and squirming and swearing, and his right wrist was free. The chain now dangled down to the ground. Feeling much better he drank from the river and then continued upstream. The river wound and bent through the land, mostly below the level of the ground around, so he moved out of sight from anything that was up on the flat plain.
Towards midday he came to a bend and some trees and here was a lumber shack. Casey crouched and peered at it from the bend. Maybe some tools there to get this damned thing off? A saw, maybe? He crept closer, hearing nothing. The hut looked abandoned as he got close and peering through the cracked window confirmed it.
The door was broken open easily and he rooted around the interior, eventually finding a rusty hacksaw blade lying in a corner under a rough-cut table. Sawdust was everywhere as were cobwebs and dead flies, and it had been lying under a dusting of this. It would take some time to free him from the remaining manacle, but he set to it, sawing along the top of the iron band to begin with, then after a while and a few breaks, he contorted himself to stand on the manacle in order to bend it slightly. The soft footwear he had on wasn’t a great deal of help but his weight was enough to create more of a bulge at the top just where he had been sawing and it became easier to attack the bit he was concentrating on.
Finally, after a couple of hours of tiring work, he did manage to saw enough to be able to break the remainder by standing on it. He happily threw the hacksaw blade and chain into a corner and flexed his arms. His injuries were healing fast and another night spent here should more or less make him as good as new.
The next day was hot and sunny and he set off along the river once more, noting the felled trees amongst the brush. The small trees had been left alone. He was getting hungry and needed food. Drink was no problem, obviously, and he wanted a change of clothing.
Smoke. He smelled it. He crept over a small rise where the river bent back on itself and saw ahead, on both sides of the river, a small settlement. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. So how to bullshit his way through?
He glanced at his convict rags. No, he’d have to ditch this, so he ripped it off his torso and, bare-chested, strode confidently along the river bank. Here the sides were less steep and were much easier to walk up and down. There was a bridge spanning the river, a single span wooden plank bridge, and there must have been about ten houses here. On the far side of the houses he saw a hillside that had been scoured clear of trees, bushes and soil and was an ugly scar, with rocks and soil deposits piled up near the river. Gold prospecting. He’d seen this before.
There was a road running through the place and he reached and walked down it, glancing from side to side at a likely place to get food. Children playing in one garden. No. A silent place opposite. No. He checked and discounted the properties on the near side of the river, and then crossed over the bridge to the far side. One house had a fire going in the back garden and so he walked up to it, curious. A middle-aged woman was throwing pieces of wood and furnishings onto it.
“Hi,” Casey said, peering at her.
She looked at him and stared in surprise at his torso. “Hi. You not from around here, stranger?”
“No, passing through. Lost my shirt in a gambling game,” he grinned. “Punishment for being no good, I s’pose.”
She huffed. “Gambling. As bad as drinking.”
“You burning your household goods?” Casey asked, intrigued.
“Moving west to California,” she said. “My man, God damn his soul, quit two weeks back and ran off with some young floozy. Just burning his belongings before I go live with my sister in San Francisco.”
“San Francisco, eh?” Casey thought for a moment. That sounded good. Maybe it was time to quit the States. “Funny thing, I’m headed there myself.”
“Oh yeah?” she looked at him and smiled cynically. “Co-incidence, is it now?”
“Ha, I know what you’re thinking. But no. Going to India, at least that’s my plans.”
“India? What for?”
“Planning to get a job teaching soldiers how to be soldiers. Always jobs going in the British army.” It had been an idea in his head, now it crystallized. It would get him away from the States long enough for the search for him to die down, and a change of identity. “If you like, we can travel together.”
“Oh yeah, just like that, mister?”
Casey grinned. He pointed to a pile of men’s clothing by the fire. “At least let me search through those and see if any fit me before you burn them.”
She shrugged. What the hell? “Sure, go ahead.”
Casey nodded a thank you and climbed over the fence and rummaged through the clothes. A shirt fitted, if a little tightly. He then checked the trousers and thought one was pretty close so he removed his ragged trousers, much to the woman’s shock. She looked away, turning red.
Casey shrugged into them and walked about. Not bad. It’d do until he got to San Francisco. “Thanks.”
“Pleasure, ah, Mister?”
“Longman. Cass. Mrs?”
“I prefer Emily. Don’t want my name to be associated with that piece of no-good adulterer.”
“Sure, Emily. Look, I can help carry stuff; I have none of my own. How you getting to ‘Frisco?”
“Train. There’s a station in the next town. You can buy a ticket there.”
“Is that a yes then to me coming along for the journey?”
Emily paused, then nodded. She needed the company and he could carry stuff. And he had a real nice body. She had seen far more than she ought to have had, and hell, she was in the frame of mind to get back at her no-good husband. If he could have some fun, why not her? It wasn’t as if the marriage was going to carry on anyway. She’d get a divorce once she was settled in with her sister.
Casey grinned. Once again he had charmed his way out of a fix.
Casca series available new in paperback, all $12.95 except the Warlord which is $11.95
Although prices are listed in USD, they are postable to any country. Conversion to your currency will be made at the time of purchase.
CASCA: THE ETERNAL MERCENARYCASCA: GOD OF DEATH
CASCA: THE WARLORDCASCA: PANZER SOLDIER
CASCA: HALLS OF MONTEZUMA CASCA: JOHNNY REB
CASCA: THE CONFEDERATE CASCA: THE AVENGER
CASCA: NAPOLEON’S SOLDIER CASCA: THE CONQUEROR
CASCA: THE ANZAC CASCA: DEVIL’S HORSEMAN
CASCA: SWORD OF THE BRO’HOOD CASCA: THE MINUTEMAN
CASCA: ROMAN MERCENARY CASCA: THE CONTINENTAL
CASCA: THE CRUSADER CASCA: BLITZKRIEG
CASCA: THE LONGBOWMAN CASCA: BARBAROSSA
CASCA: SCOURGE OF ASIA CASCA: BALKAN MERCENARY
CASCA: EMPEROR’S MERCENARY CASCA: THE CAVALRYMAN
CASCA: THE VIKINGCASCA: THE AUSTRIAN
CASCA: THE LOMBARDCASCA: THE COMMISSAR
CASCA: THE SARACENCASCA: THE ROUGH RIDER
Available from author’s Casca website - www.casca.net/shop
Tony Roberts website www.tonyrobertsauthor.com
Other series by Tony Roberts – prices on website
Kastania series
Empire of Avarice
Prince of Wrath
House of Lust
Path of Pride
Throne of Envy
Gods of Gluttony
Dark Blade series (ebook only, kindle or kobo)
Dark Blade
The Heir of Gorrodan
Okra’s Tower
Faerowyn’s War
The Black Island
Siren Series
Siren
Sirensong
Katie
Siren’s Return
Love’s Refrain - available Spring 2020
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novel and prices.