A few tears dribbled down Roy’s cheeks. “We understand. We saw what he did to Mom earlier and how he hit Cliff. He’s like a mad dog.”
Chapter 6
Two days later a police officer came to their home. He handed Man a wire. Roy and Dan anxiously waited for him to open the envelope.
Kate saw the police officer and came out in time to hear Man read it.
“Suspects reported by a constable in Lewiston,” Man said.
“That’s on the road toward Boise,” the police officer said.
Kate rushed back inside and began changing into her work skins. She was buckling her twin Walker Colts on when Man came into the bedroom. His buckskins were on the bed. “I’ll have our two packs ready by the time you get ready. Winter is overdue and I have our extra blankets, the buffalo robe and bear skin ready.
“I asked Dan and Roy to get the mules ready and saddle our horses,” Man said.
When they walked out, the two mules and horses were ready. Man and Roy put a pack on one mule while Dan and Kate did the same on the other mule.
“Take care of things while we’re gone and make sure Cliff’s horse is fed and watered,” Man said as he pointed Arabian south. He reached for the lead rope of one mule and Kate took the other from Roy.
“Bring Mom home,” Roy said.
Kate turned back in the saddle and gave a short wave. “We’ll do our best.”
Man pulled up at the telegraph office as they passed through Coeur d’Alene and sent a report to Chief Marshal Meek.
They pushed hard and rode into Lewiston at noon the next day. Kate pointed toward a sign. “There’s the constable’s office.”
An older man with a full white beard was seated with his feet propped up close to the pot-bellied stove. A cold north wind blew in during the night.
He stood when he saw the badges. “You would be Marshals Man and Kate. I got a wire you were on the way. Do you want a fresh cup of coffee? I just made it.”
“Yes,” Kate said. “It’s cold out there.”
They sat at a table and the old-timer brought cups and put them in front of Kate and Man. Without being asked, he said, “I was out serving a warrant and spotted a covered wagon hidden off the road about a hundred yards. I had seen the notice to be on the lookout for a wagon with two men and a woman. They spotted me and one of the men shoved a woman in the back of the wagon. Her hands were tied. The other pulled his rifle and aimed at me and I turned tail and got the heck out of there. I’m the only law within fifty miles and at my age, there was no way I could take on two armed men with rifles. All I had was my ol’ .45. I came back to town and sent a wire to Chief Kincaid and to Chief Marshal Meek. I got a reply that you two were on the way.”
Man and Kate had finished the coffee. “Will you show us where they were camped?” Kate asked.
“Of course,” the constable said. “Since I was expecting you, I’m ready to ride. By the way, my name is Constable Shad Dasher.”
“Nice to meet you Shad,” Kate said. “We’re tied up in front.”
“I’ll get my horse and meet you,” Shad said.
He led the way out of the small community. “They’re gone by now, of course,” he said. “I came out after I sent the wire to see.”
“We expected that,” Man said. “When they saw you they knew you would notify us. Maybe we can pick up their trail.”
“You had better get on it in a hurry. If the ache in my bones means what I think it does, we’ll have a snow cover come morning.”
It was easy to pick up the tracks of the wagon. Man went on ahead and Kate turned to Constable Dasher. “Thanks for your assistance, but we need to get on their trail. From the feel of that biting wind, I expect your joints are right about snow tonight.” She was leading both pack mules as Man was riding with his head down following the wagon tracks.
It was easy to follow the tracks, as there had been no traffic worth mention during the day. The cold snap kept the people at home.
Man followed the tracks until darkness prevented him seeing them. Kate had been scouting to both sides of the road searching for a place to make camp. When Man turned Arabian back toward Kate, she waved for him to follow. She led the way to a rock shelf overhang that partially protected them from the frigid wind.
Man tossed their packs and saddles under the rock, then led the horses and mules to a grassy flat to graze. The grass was brown, but it would offer protein and filler. He gave them a generous ration of oats and hurried back to where Kate had a small smokeless fire burning. She was putting jerky and dried vegetables into the water that was heating in a pot she’d placed on a flat rock close to the fire.
“I’ll have supper ready in a few minutes,” she said. “You need to spread out the buffalo robe and make our bed. When I went for water I felt tiny ice crystals in the air.”
“I know,” he said. “They stung my face as I was coming back from staking the horses.”
He finished with their bed and came back to the fire, sat on a rock, and waited for Kate to hand him a bowl of food. He finished eating first and stood. “I’ll bring the animals in closer to give them protection from the weather and find a place to sit out of the wind and snow if it falls tonight. I doubt they’ll attack, but as we always say, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”
“Wake me and I’ll relieve you,” she said. She handed him four blankets.
He picked up one of his rifles and moved away in the darkness.
It was around two in the morning when he tapped her on the shoulder. She pushed up to see, but it was too dark to make out more than a faint outline of Man’s face. “It started snowing about midnight and I expect we have three inches on the ground. Tracking them will be impossible tomorrow.
If they were going to come looking for us, it would have been before now. Get some more sleep and when it’s light, I want to go on. So far, they’re sticking to the road going south. This snow may last for a day or so, or it could be here next spring. There would be nothing gained by staying here.”
“I’ll build up the fire and watch while you sleep,” she said.
Man shucked off his heavy coat and boots and slid under the blankets and bearskin. He knew there was no talking her out of doing sentry duty.
It was still snowing when Man fed the horses and mules oats and brought them under the overhang of rock to saddle them and load the packs. Kate had finished cleaning the bowl and their plates after eating warmed stew from the night before.
They rode side by side, as there was no need to look for tracks in the unblemished snow covering the ground. It was noon when Kate pulled to a stop. She pointed. “I see tracks in the snow.”
Man handed her the lead rope for the mule and urged Arabian ahead to look. “Wagon tracks,” he said. They came from off the side of the road. I expect Al and Bob camped here last night. They’re about three or four hours ahead of us.”
The tracks came back to the main road and Man inspected them. “As before,” he said, “one horseback rider in front and a horse led behind the wagon.”
“I’m going to take a quick trip to their campsite,” Kate said. “I doubt I’ll see anything, but maybe I can spot signs Lucille was there. I would like to know if she’s still alive. I know that not finding anything won’t mean they’ve killed her, but if I find something, it’ll ease my mind.”
Man nodded. “I’ll go on. You can easily catch up with me.”
She took the mules and followed the tracks back to the outlaws’ campsite. As soon as she was close enough to see tracks, she saw the smaller prints of a woman. The tracks went from the back of the wagon to a clump of bushes and then back to the wagon.
She touched the sides of Red Bird with her spurs and loped back to where Man was riding, following the wagon tracks.
“Lucille is still alive,” she said.
“Good,” he said.
Kate started scanning every possible ambush site in front of them through her binoculars. They were close enough for the killers to try to stop them. They had to suspect that Marshals Man and Kate were on their trail.
Kate rode behind Man on his beautiful Arabian with the lead rope for the mules tied to her saddle horn, watching ahead, hoping to catch a glimpse of ambushers should they be waiting.
They continued to ride until darkness started to settle around them. It came early in the mountains and the heavy overcast skies contributed to the premature darkness.
As before, Kate rode out to the side of the road searching for a place to camp while she still had enough light to see. She located a huge tree surrounded by heavy brush that would partially shield them from the cold wind that blew out of the north.
She rode to where Man could see her and waved her hand. He saw her, turned Arabian toward her, and loped to where she waited. “This is the best I could find,” she said.
“It’ll do nicely,” he said. He stepped down and reached for the lead rope to the mules. I’ll help with our stuff,” he said, “and stake them out to graze before it gets too dark to see.”
She quickly found her cooking pot and handed it to Man to fill with water. “I’ll try to find something dry enough to start a fire,” she said and she walked into the brush. She had a small fire burning when he came back with the pot of water. “I located an animal burrow,” she said, explaining where the dry branches had come from.
“Elk steak, vegetables, and apple pie sound okay for supper,” she teased as she cut thin slices from a piece of dried jerky and dropped them in the heating water.
“Same old, same old,” he teased. “Fresh cut Elk steak every night,” he jabbed back at her with a grin.
A noise in the trees alerted both of them and they jumped to their saddles and pulled their Winchester rifles. Man rolled to a nearby rock and Kate crouched behind a log. Both had their rifles aimed at where the sound had come from.
They waited, each straining to see into the darkness of the foliage. It was silent for several minutes, and then the sound of a twig snapping when somebody or something stepped on it reached their ears.
Kate moved to her right to the end of the log to offer a better angle of fire should it be needed. Man saw her movement and dashed to another rock. They would have the intruder caught in a crossfire.
Again, they waited, neither making a sound. The movement of branches and leaves caught their attention and they aimed. It could be a deer or some other animal. Man decided a shot would be risky even though fresh venison would be welcome. The sound would carry and alert Al and Bob there was somebody close.
They anxiously waited, keeping their rifles aimed at the point of movement. Something crawling on the ground came out of the brush. It was brown in color, but the shape was wrong for a deer or wolf.
Whatever it was moved again and suddenly a head appeared. It was a woman covered with a blanket crawling through the brush. Man and Kate recognized her. Lucille Shobert.
They cautiously moved forward, staying behind cover. It was possible they were using her as bait to lure them into the open for a shot.
Kate circled to the right and Man to the left to be in position to see if there was anybody behind the woman. Nothing moved as they watched. From her actions, Lucille hadn’t seen them as she continued to crawl forward. Every few seconds she looked over her shoulder and raised her head to listen.
Kate whispered, “Lucille.”
The frightened women immediately fell forward and pulled the blanket over her head.
Man moved forward, darting from rock to tree, anything to offer protection for a shot aimed at him.
Kate was now standing behind a tree moving her rifle from side to side, scanning the line of brush behind Lucille.
Man made it to where Lucille lay on the ground and dropped to his knees beside her. “It’s Man,” he whispered. “Are they behind you?” He pulled the blanket from her head.
She started to scream, but Man covered her mouth with his hand and only a faint sound was emitted.
“It’s Marshal Man,” he said. “You’re safe now. If you understand, nod your head, no sound.”
She nodded and then circled his neck with her arms. He lifted her small frame and carried her back to camp. Kate was still covering the brush where Lucille had emerged.
Man placed her on a rock beside the fire. She was freezing cold and he realized she was naked under the blanket when he was carrying her.
Kate backed toward them, still guarding against a possible attack.
“I escaped,” Lucille said. “They put me in the wagon and took my clothes. Bob said if I was naked it would prevent me from running away in the freezing night with snow on the ground.”
Kate uncovered her feet and saw they were bare and bloody. She opened the blanket enough to see Lucille’s knees. They were in worse shape than her feet.
Man pulled her hands out and they were covered with blood. “How far did you crawl?” Kate whispered.
“I don’t know,” Lucille said. “For over an hour, maybe more. They left me in the wagon, tied with only a blanket. They said you were following and they were going to ambush you. I came to warn you.”
“I’ll get Lucille in some clothes of mine and get her ready to ride,” Kate said softly. “She can ride Red Bird and I’ll make do on a mule until we can get to a town. We have to go back because they’re in front of us.”
“Do you know where they are waiting?” Man asked.
“No, I heard them talking. I couldn’t see out of the wagon. They took everything but the blanket and tied me. I got loose using my teeth.” She held up her wrist and they could see the bloody rope marks. Her ankles were the same. “How are my boys? Are they okay?”
“They’re fine,” Man assured her. “They weren’t harmed.”
“And Cliff? He was hit hard.”
“The doctor’s taking care of him. He’ll be fine.”
Kate went to one of the packs and brought Lucille pants and shirt as well as an extra coat she always carried. She helped her dress. But there was nothing she could put on her feet. They were in awful shape.
She wrapped them in a soft white cloth she carried for bandages. Man came back and lifted Lucille into the saddle on Red Bird. Kate wrapped her legs and feet in the blanket.
Together, they managed to put both packs on one mule and Kate jumped up on the other using a blanket for a saddle. Man led the pack mule and Kate picked up Red Bird’s reins. They turned back toward Lewiston.
It was a long ride in the darkness, but Arabian seemed to know the urgency and could follow the road in the darkness. Lucille was a real trooper. They knew she was in pain, but she never complained or made a sound.
It was mid-morning when they rode into the small community and stopped at the office of Constable Dasher. Man dismounted, went inside, and came out a minute later with the constable.
The older man pointed out directions. “Go to the next corner, take a right and look on your left. You’ll see a sign for Doctor Moran.”
He turned and hurried back inside to the fire. He had come out without his coat.
Man led the way to the doctor’s office and carried Lucille. Kate was ahead of him and opened the door. A woman dressed in a white nurse’s uniform came to meet them, inspecting the woman in Man’s arms.
“This way,” she said.
A doctor dressed in a white coat followed them into the room. “What happened?” he asked.
“She escaped from kidnappers and crawled through the snow and rocks,” Kate said. She uncovered Lucille’s feet first. “Her knees and hands are the same.”
Kate turned and gesture for the doctor to follow her out of the room. When they were out of hearing range from Lucille, she said, “I’m sure she was raped by two men. They had her in captivity for a f
ew days.”
The doctor nodded and they went back into the examination room. The nurse motioned for them to leave. “We’ll be at Constable Dasher’s office,” Man said. “We need to send a few wires.”
They put the packs back on the mules. Kate mounted Red Bird and followed Man as they rode to the telegraph office.
The first wire was to Chief Marshal Joe Meek and the second to Chief Kinkaid in Coeur d’Alene. Man advised both that as soon as Lucille was able to travel they would put her on the train home and continue after Al Vasquez and Bob Engledow.
They went back to Constable Dasher’s office and found him dozing in front of the stove. He heard the door open and stood. Kate rushed to stand beside Shad with her hands extended toward the heat from the pot-bellied wood stove.
“It’s getting colder by the minute out there,” she said.
“It’s that time of the year and we’re behind on snow,” Dasher said without a glance toward her. “Winter came in like a lamb, but mark my words, we’re in for it now. Mother Nature had been teasing with us a mite, but now she’ll put the whammy on us. Snow will be withers deep to a tall horse within a week.”
“I hope not,” Man put in. “As soon as we get Lucille on the train, we’re going after those two killers again.”
“Good luck on that, marshal. If’n I was you, I would load them horses and mules on the train and get back to Coeur d’Alene as fast as possible unless you want to spend the winter in the loft of my barn. That’s the only place to sleep in this town. We ain’t got no hotel or boarding house.”
“Is that an offer for tonight?” Man asked.
“Sure is,” Constable Dasher said. “I keep hay and extra blankets up there for weary travelers that ain’t got no place to sleep. It sure ain’t much, but it’ll be dry and out of the wind. The animals will have shelter.”
“It was a long night on the trail,” Kate said. “Is there a place to eat in Lewiston?”
Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard Page 7