Land Of Promise

by Cox, Carol

  “Lester?” Misgiving spread through Elizabeth and wrapped itself around her heart. “Martin Lester?”

  “That’s him. Never did think much of him, to tell you the truth, but that gal with him seemed a nice enough sort.”

  “A girl?” Dread gripped her heart. Hard. She felt Michael’s supporting hand on her back.

  “Mm-hm. Pretty little thing, too. Not the type I would have expected to take up with him, if you know what I mean.”

  Michael saved her from having to respond. “Thanks for the information,” he said. He laced his fingers through Elizabeth’s and gave them a reassuring squeeze. “At least we know which direction they went.”

  Twenty

  “It’s wrong, Michael. It doesn’t make a bit of sense.” Elizabeth shifted on the seat of the wagon Michael had provided and studied the empty landscape in front of them. The early morning clouds had built into thunderheads that covered the afternoon sky.

  “If Jenny went off with someone willingly, the last person she’d pick would be Martin Lester. She was terrified of the man.” At least she could put to rest her fears that the sight of their embrace had sent Jenny on the run. She clung to that knowledge as her only shred of comfort.

  “Whether it makes sense or not, it’s the only lead we have.” Michael urged the horses forward over the rough terrain. “They were seen together. There’s a reason for it; we just don’t know what it is yet.” He slapped the reins against the horses’ rumps and pressed his lips together in a tight line. “But we will.”

  They pressed on, following the faint trail that had turned off the south road some miles back. Up ahead they spotted a prospector plodding toward them. He stopped and rested his arm on his mule’s neck, waiting for them to approach.

  “Afternoon,” Michael said, pulling the team to a halt.

  “Howdy.” The grizzled man gazed at them with undisguised interest. “If more folks start coming out this way, I may have to move on to someplace less crowded. Appears this spot is becoming right popular.”

  “Oh?” Elizabeth could feel Michael’s quiver of excitement as he leaned forward. “How’s that?”

  “You’re the second wagon I’ve seen come through here since morning. Two in one day! This is turning into a regular highway.”

  Michael’s fingers tightened on the reins. “Another wagon, you say? Where was it headed?”

  “Same place you are, I reckon.” The man tilted his head and regarded them quizzically. “The only thing farther out this way is that old claim Zeb Andrews abandoned six months back. Funny, those other two fellows asked the same question.” He slapped his hat against his thigh, sending a cloud of dust into the air. “You’d think if a passel of folks were headed to the same place, they’d have some idea of where they were all going, wouldn’t you?”

  Elizabeth focused on the only part of his commentary that mattered. “Two fellows? You mean there were two men in the wagon?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Two men and a pile of gear in the back. That and a gunnysack that was squirming to beat the band.”

  He grinned. “I told them if they were planning to drown a cat, they were looking in the wrong place. There isn’t a drop of water in that creek bed that runs through Zeb’s old place except when there’s a downpour. That’s why he up and left.” He pushed his tattered hat back on his head and scanned the leaden sky. “This just might be the day it’ll catch some rain.”

  Michael shot a quick glance at Elizabeth. “What did they say about the cat?”

  The prospector chuckled. “The driver wasn’t real sociable, didn’t say much of anything. The fellow with him just laughed and said they had a cat in there, all right. A wildcat that needed taming.” He cackled. “Whatever it was, he turned around and cuffed it once, and it settled right back down again.”

  He wiped his brow, leaving a grimy trail across his forehead. “I don’t know, maybe they had a dog they were going to train. Seems funny they’d have it all tied up in a sack like that, but you never can tell about some folks.”

  “They sound strange, all right,” Michael agreed. “The one who did all the talking, what did he look like?”

  “Big fellow, broader than you. Looked like a brawler. Kind of a sour type, except for the one time he laughed. Friend of yours?”

  “No,” Michael said. “I wouldn’t say that.”

  The man peered into the back of their wagon, empty save for canteens of water and some food Elizabeth had hastily packed. “You ain’t planning to train no dogs, I see. You out hunting or something?”

  “We might be.” Michael’s tone was ominous. “We just might be.” He shook the reins, and the horses started off, then Michael turned around and called back over his shoulder, “How far ahead is that claim you mentioned?”

  “Couple of miles or so. Not much there, just a dried-up creek and Zeb’s old shack.”

  “Much obliged.” Michael settled back in the seat and clucked at the horses.

  “Are we on the right track?” Elizabeth asked. “He said two men.”

  Michael nodded with a grim expression. “Did you recognize the description of the second man?”

  Elizabeth shook her head.

  “I did. It fits Burleigh Ames like a glove.”

  “From the Nugget?” She looked at Michael with a growing sense of horror. “Then the bag in the back of their wagon. . .”

  “Was Jenny.”

  A wave of numbness shrouded Elizabeth’s brain. Maybe it would have been better if Jenny had run away. She could feel anger then, hurt and disappointment, instead of this feeling of being caught in a nightmare that wouldn’t end.

  “How much farther?”

  “Less than a mile now. Just before we reach the top of that rise, we’ll leave the wagon and walk the rest of the way.”

  A thought struck her. “You did leave word for the sheriff, didn’t you?”

  Michael hesitated a moment. “No.”

  Elizabeth jerked back as if she’d been slapped. “What? If he gets back from Big Bug anytime soon, he can head out here to help us.”

  Michael guided the horses away from the track and headed them into a clump of manzanita. “Not much cover,” he said, “but it’s the best we’re going to get.”

  He took his time setting the brake, then faced her squarely. “There’s something you need to understand. Martin Lester is Jenny’s legal guardian, duly appointed by her father. And she’s only eighteen, still a minor. In the eyes of the law, he has every right to take her back.”

  Elizabeth gaped. “After the things he’s done? Surely—”

  Michael laid his fingers across her lips. “But he never actually did anything prosecutable. The law won’t hang a man for what he threatens to do, only for what he succeeds in doing. Even if the sheriff were here right now, his hands would be tied.”

  Thunder rumbled in the distance. “Then that means. . .”

  Michael nodded. “We’re on our own.”

  ❧

  “That’s the place?” Elizabeth stared at the sorry excuse for a cabin in the hollow below them.

  “It has to be,” Michael answered. “I can see the tail of their wagon sticking out past the corner.”

  Elizabeth rubbed her ankles, tender after their hike, and took stock of their position.

  On the far side of the ramshackle structure, a dry creek bed meandered off into the distance. Between the rolling hilltops and the basin where the cabin lay, the slopes held only grass, the sole exception being the cluster of small juniper trees where she and Michael had concealed themselves.

  “How are we going to cross that open ground without them seeing us?”

  “We can’t,” he said. “We’ll have to wait for nightfall.”

  “That’s hours away yet! Think about what could be happening to Jenny in the meantime. They may not even be expecting anyone to be tailing them.”

  “I’m not about to take that chance.” Michael held up his hand to still Elizabeth’s protest. “Let’s say I leave you
here and make it to the cabin without being seen. That still leaves them with a two-to-one advantage. And they have Jenny.”

  He leaned back against a juniper trunk and stretched his legs out in front of him. “And that’s assuming I make it. Let’s say they spot me before I reach the shack. Not only can they pick me off at their leisure, but that leaves both you and Jenny alone out here, at their mercy, and with no hope of rescue. I’m not going to risk either one of you like that.”

  “So if you wait until dark and get down there safely, then what?”

  Michael smiled. “Then the odds will be different. I’ll have you with me.”

  “You didn’t really expect I’d stay behind, did you?”

  “Chivalry says I ought to leave you here or even take you back to town and return here myself, maybe with more men. But there’s no guarantee Ames and Lester wouldn’t be gone by the time I got back. And to tell the truth, Elizabeth, there’s no one I’d rather have backing me up than you.”

  That declaration sustained her all through the long hours of waiting, with the two of them sheltered beneath the junipers. Elizabeth impatiently traced the course of the sun across the sky, passing the time by making plans with Michael.

  And praying. Prayers for Jenny, that somehow she would be protected during their enforced wait. For her and Michael, that the rescue they had worked out would go without a hitch, bringing Jenny back to safety and keeping the three of them safe.

  Prayers for the two men inside the cabin came harder. I know You love them, Lord, no matter what they’ve done. You died for them, just like You did for me. But I just can’t find it in myself to feel much compassion for them right now.

  The sun set with agonizing slowness. Elizabeth watched its descent toward the horizon, willing it to hurry up and drop behind the mountaintops.

  Shadows lengthened and stretched across the barren ground from the distant hills, finally reaching the hollow where their objective lay.

  The time had come. Finally! Elizabeth sat up under the sheltering branches and stretched. She welcomed the chance to do something tangible. She dreaded it just as much.

  Beside her, Michael checked the loads in his pistol and shoved two brass shells into the shotgun at his side. “Ready?”

  Even with the cover of darkness, their movement across the open ground felt all too exposed. Elizabeth watched the cabin window, now glowing with lamplight, for signs of anyone keeping watch. An occasional shadow crossed the opening, but no one stopped or looked out.

  At the edge of the grass, Michael reached for her arm and pulled her to a stop. “This is where we separate,” he whispered, drawing her close. “Do you remember everything?”

  She nodded. They had gone over their plan often enough during the weary hours of waiting.

  He placed the shotgun in her hands. “Remember, it’s going to take me awhile to lead their horses a distance away. While I’m gone, I want you just to sit tight. Don’t try anything on your own.” He gathered her in his arms and held her tight. “Promise me you’ll be careful. It ought to work, but there’s always the possibility of something going wrong. Whatever happens, take care of yourself. If anything happened to you. . .” He seized her shoulders and pressed his lips to hers in a brief, hard kiss. Then he was gone.

  Elizabeth waited a moment, listening to the faint rustle as his boots swept through the grass. The hint of a breeze grazed her cheek. Over near the creek bed, a lone cricket set up a steady chirping.

  And in the cabin, Jenny waited. The thought spurred Elizabeth into action. Making no more noise than Michael had, she slipped through the shadows until she reached the end of the shack. The cricket ceased its chirping; otherwise, nothing else seemed to take note of her nocturnal prowling.

  She flattened herself against the weathered wall and edged toward the open window. Her foot caught on an object, and she reached down to probe the obstruction with her fingers. A half-buried tin can stuck up out of the ground. She stepped around it, careful to make no sound. Evidently, Zeb hadn’t been too careful about keeping the place picked up. She crept ahead on her hands and knees, the shotgun making her progress awkward.

  Voices murmured through the window. Elizabeth reached her goal and sat beneath it, trying to control the trembling in her limbs. Michael should have reached the horses by now.

  The windowsill lay just inches above her head. Did she dare rise up and look inside? She balanced on the balls of her feet and inched upward, then jerked to a stop. Elizabeth yanked impatiently at the hem of her skirt, where it had gotten caught under the toes of her shoes.

  She tried again, feeling the sharpness of the rough-cut wood as her fingers crept up the wall. Her head had just reached the level of the windowsill when a man’s back appeared in the opening. She ducked back down out of sight, panting, and strained to hear what was going on inside.

  Boots scraped across the floor. She heard the clatter of dishes, and the scent of bacon drifted out into the night.

  “About time we got fed.”

  Elizabeth froze, focusing her attention on the deep voice.

  “Right about that,” the second man responded in a higher-pitched tone. “I was about to starve. It’s hard to think straight when your belly’s empty. She can cook, anyway. At least she’s good for something.”

  Elizabeth let out a sigh. At least Jenny was still alive, from the sounds of it.

  “She better be good for more than that. I traded you that whiskey in good faith, and I need to get something back on my investment. And I don’t mean singing.”

  So the deeper voice belonged to Burleigh Ames. That meant Martin Lester possessed the high, whiny tone.

  “You will, you will,” Lester assured him. “Just give her time to warm up to the notion. I found this place and got her out here for you, didn’t I?”

  “For all the good it’s done us so far. She hasn’t even said a word.”

  “We just needed a place out away from people and a little time to convince her that life will be a whole lot easier if she gets over her highfalutin’ ways and decides to cooperate.”

  Ames grunted. “She’d better get around to cooperating pretty soon. I’ve got a business to run.”

  “Don’t worry. She gets hungry enough, and she’ll come around. Fixing all that food for us when she hasn’t had a bite to eat since I picked her up last night should persuade her soon enough.” Lester snickered.

  Ames responded with a rumbling chuckle that made Elizabeth’s blood run cold. How much longer would it take Michael to lead the horses far enough away?

  “Just like breaking a horse, I reckon,” Ames said. “With some, you’ve gotta use more persuasion. Hey!” His voice sharpened. “Get away from the door!” Footsteps pounded on the wooden floor.

  “You get back there and clean up the supper dishes,” Lester snarled. “If you decide to sweeten up and change your tune, we might let you eat breakfast with us in the morning. You’re fixing flapjacks, did I tell you? And I brought some eggs along, too. Or you can be stubborn and wait until lunch. Or dinner. Or the middle of next week, for all I care.” His voice took on a more threatening note. “Or we can stake you out somewhere and leave you for the Apaches to find. What do you think about that?”

  His menacing tone changed to a yelp of alarm. Elizabeth heard a loud, clanging noise, followed by a series of scrambling sounds and angry yells. Only her fear of getting ahead of the plan and spoiling their chances kept her from jumping up to peer through the window.

  “I told you to stay away from that door!” Ames’s bellow cut through the room. “Tie her in that chair again. We can’t take a chance on her getting away.”

  “I’ll teach you to sling a pan of hot grease at me,” Lester shouted. “Get over here and sit down. I’ll snug these ropes up so tight you won’t get another chance to run, you little wildcat.”

  “Watch her teeth!” Ames called.

  Lester cursed. Elizabeth heard the sound of a hand striking flesh, followed by a cry from Jenny.
<
br />   “Maybe now you’ll keep still.”

  Elizabeth clamped her lower lip between her teeth. If Michael didn’t come back soon, she would be sorely tempted to take action on her own.

  “Here,” Ames said. “Have something to settle your nerves.”

  Glasses clinked, and Elizabeth could hear liquid gurgling. Liquor on top of their already violent mood?

  Hurry, Michael!

  Twenty-one

  Michael slid out of the darkness as if in answer to her silent call and pressed his mouth close to her ear. “Have you been able to look inside?” he asked in a barely audible whisper.

  “No.” She kept her voice as low as his. “But I’ve heard more than enough.” She quickly recounted what had transpired and could tell Michael’s anger equaled her own.

  “If they’ve started drinking, we can’t afford to waste any time. Are you ready?”

  Elizabeth nodded. After what she had just listened to, she was more than eager to see their plan through.

  She gripped the stock of the shotgun in both hands and crouched beneath the window. Michael should just about have had enough time to reach the door. Any moment, he would kick it open.

  There! She heard the sound of splintering wood and the crash as the door slammed back against the wall. She sprang to her feet in time to see both men leap back in surprise and reach for their guns.

  “I wouldn’t,” she called.

  Their heads swiveled toward the sound of her voice, any temptation to discount a mere woman’s order nullified by the twin barrels she aimed at them.

  “What do you think you’re doing, busting in here like that?” the scrawny one yelled. Elizabeth pegged him for Martin Lester. She recognized the other from the description the prospector had given them: Burleigh Ames. Even from across the room, the man emanated a sense of malice.

  But where was Jenny? She hadn’t made a sound since her cry of pain, and Elizabeth couldn’t see her from where she stood.

  “Just keep your hands in the air,” Michael ordered. To Elizabeth, he called, “You can come inside now.”