“Anne, it’s me.”
A moment later the bolt was thrown and the door opened. Anne’s eyes were bright and her cheeks scarlet.
“Dan, come in quickly. I saw him in the lobby.”
“Who?
“That man. Peterson—he’s here.”
CHAPTER 23
Anne locked the door again and hurried across the carpet to the door of Uncle David’s bedroom. Dan followed her, peppering her with questions.
“Are you sure? I didn’t see him. Did he speak to you?”
“Yes, I’m sure, and no, he didn’t speak. I went down to get some fresh water, and I saw him. He ducked into the dining room, but I am certain it was him. I couldn’t mistake those calculating eyes anywhere, even if there are other men with mustaches like that.”
Uncle David was leaning on the dresser, pulling clothing from the top drawer and tossing it into the valise Anne had set next to him on the floor.
“Adams, we’ve got to leave.” He shoved the top drawer closed and tugged on the drawer pull for the second.
Anne stepped forward to help him open it. She suspected his wound was giving him more pain than he admitted to. “Here, Uncle David, let me do your packing. You sit down and rest.”
“Should I go back and get Owens?” Dan asked.
“No time,” David said. “We need to slip out of here before Peterson realizes it.”
Anne threw Dan a glance trying to convey her concern. “Are our horses still tied out front?”
“Yes. They were when I came in. I could send word to the stable to have your uncle’s horse ready.”
David moaned.
“What is it?” Anne asked. “Are you ill?”
“No, I just remembered. I sent Captain home with a friend last night for safekeeping—or so I thought. I don’t even know where Ernie lives, though.”
“Ernie?”
His blue eyes took on a harassed air, and the fine lines at their corners deepened. “He’s the cook, downstairs in the kitchen. He helped me last night—maybe saved my life. I thought I might stay in hiding longer, so I had him take Captain away. Didn’t want the assassin who shot me to take him, or for Reed to sell him when I disappeared.”
“I can go ask this Ernie where the horse is now,” Dan said.
“Hold on,” Anne said. “This Peterson is only one man. Why are we letting him scare us so badly?”
“Because he shot your uncle in cold blood and wants to finish the job?” Dan asked.
“We should be able to outsmart him. Besides, if we’re going back to Eugene, we need to get the rest of our things from Mrs. Zinberg’s house.”
“True.” Dan frowned. “If we rode back to Eugene on horseback, we’d be vulnerable to attack at any point along the way.”
“But where else could we go?” Anne asked. “You and I don’t need to go back to Eugene. We could go right to Corvallis. But Uncle David may want to get back to his farm.” She turned uncertainly to her uncle. “You wouldn’t be any safer at the farm than you are here.”
“That’s right,” Dan said. “We need to deal with Peterson now. I’ll bring Owens back. He went over to release Hastings. If we—”
“There’ll be a steamship embarking in the morning for Portland and Oregon City,” David said. “If we could get on it without Peterson’s knowledge, we could get away without riding through the wilderness where he could ambush us. And much as I hate to admit it, I’m not sure I could stay in the saddle for two or three days.”
“You’re not really fit to travel.” Anne laid her hand across his forehead. “You feel overly warm right now. I think we should fetch the doctor.”
“He said he’d come by today,” David said. “Of course, if he goes to that room where I was last night, he won’t know where I’ve gone.”
He took a step toward the connecting door and staggered. Dan jumped forward and grabbed his left arm. “Sir, you need to sit down. It’s all well and good to carry out heroics when you’re healthy, but this is not the time. You need bed rest and a doctor to care for that wound.”
“The man is ruthless,” David said, but he let Dan lead him to the bed and sank down on the edge with a low moan. “Perhaps you’re right, but…I can’t bear to think of Peterson getting his way.”
“He won’t come and attack you in this room while Daniel and I are with you,” Anne said.
“But he’s waiting for me to leave the room. He’s frustrated that he didn’t get me last night. He might shoot me in a crowd now. He may be willing to take that risk if it’s the only way he can get to me.”
Anne watched Daniel. He seemed deep in thought. “What do you think, Dan?” she asked softly.
“Well, I think your uncle is right about Peterson’s intentions and his resolve. But we should be able to stop him. And if Owens can’t catch him, we can at least find a way to stay safe here until David is strong enough to travel.”
“Perhaps the steamer is the best idea,” Anne said, though she remembered with apprehension her seasickness on the voyage from England. “He wouldn’t expect that.”
“I don’t want to lose Captain,” David said.
“And I don’t want to lose Bailey again.” Anne placed her hands on her hips. “Dan, why don’t you go down and speak to the cook and find out where Uncle David’s horse is? And perhaps you could inquire discreetly about taking horses on the steamboat?”
“I’ll see what I can find out, but I hate to leave you here with that scoundrel in the building.”
“Just go down and see Ernie,” David said, easing back onto the pillow. “Then we can decide what to do. And go down the back stairs.”
“Where are they?” Dan asked.
“Go out the door and turn left. Past the main stairway, and all the way to the end of the hall, on the left again. They go right down into the kitchen. Ernie should be there.”
Anne went over and lifted David’s feet and slid them up on top of the quilt. “You rest. I’ll finish packing while Dan goes.” She nodded at Dan and he slipped into the sitting room. She followed.
He’d paused by the hall door, waiting for her.
“Lock it behind me. I’ll speak to you when I come back.”
“All right,” she said. “Don’t let that monster see you.”
Dan shrugged. “He may have seen me already. I didn’t notice him when I came in, but I was avoiding looking directly at anyone. I didn’t want Reed or one of his lackeys to stop me and ask questions.”
“All right. Just hurry back.”
He left, and she bolted the door and tiptoed back into the bedroom. David appeared to be sleeping, with his left arm across his eyes. She wished she had a blanket to put over him. No one had learned what happened to the missing bedclothes, but she suspected Ernie had carried them to her uncle’s new room the night before.
Quickly she emptied the dresser and armoire, folding his clothing into the valise. He had a variety of clothes—well-worn work clothes and presentable dinner wear. The nicest coat and trousers weren’t high-toned formal clothing, but nice enough for any restaurant in Scottsburg or St. Louis, for that matter.
Dan was gone a good ten minutes. When he returned, she was waiting near the door.
“I found Ernie,” Dan said. “He’s happy to hear that Mr. Stone is feeling better but was dismayed when I told him you’d seen Peterson lurking about. He doesn’t know the man, but I told him it was the same person Mr. Stone believed shot him. Ernie took me to the door between the kitchen and the dining room and let me peek out at the diners.”
“And?”
“He’s there all right, eating his luncheon. Brazen of him, don’t you think?”
“Decidedly.” Anne drew him further into the sitting room but kept her voice low. “I think Uncle David is asleep. I’ve packed all his clothing, but I haven’t gone over this room for personal items. Dan, what shall we do?”
“Oh, that’s the other good thing. Ernie says he can bring Captain—your uncle’s horse—around to the
inn’s stable tonight. I was thinking that perhaps the three of us could get away to Mrs. Zinberg’s and spend the night there. In fact, we might smuggle you out through the kitchen quite soon, and you could ride out to her house and tell her I’ll come later and bring your uncle.”
“What would you and Uncle David do in the meantime?”
“I’d stay here with him until the doctor sees his arm, and I’d also send an alert to Owens. Maybe he could pick up Peterson on some pretext or other and hold him until we get away.”
“And ride for Eugene? I really don’t think Uncle David could bear the strain or the jolting.”
Dan gritted his teeth. “Well, this Ernie chap is very knowledgeable. He doesn’t think we could take our horses on the steamer. But he says we could get a bigger boat in Reedsport and take the horses on board if we paid extra. He said boats leave there for the Columbia quite often.”
Anne considered that. Uncle David would be sailing farther from his farm, but if she could get him to Eb and Elise’s ranch, he could recover in peace. Elise would help her care for him, and she could return Bailey to Rob Whistler.
“I think I like that plan, though I confess I’m prone to sickness when at sea.”
David awoke in a haze. Dr. Muller sat in a chair beside the bed, leaning over him, and was unbuttoning his shirt.
“Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Stone. I’m glad your niece is here to help you. But she tells me you intend to travel soon, and I’m not sure you’re ready. Can I have a look at your arm, please?”
David tried to sit up. His whole body was sore, but his arm felt like molten lead and his head throbbed. He clenched his teeth and tried again, letting out a soft moan.
“Let me help.” A young man stepped around the bed to the other side. It took David a moment to place him. Anne’s friend…Adams, that was it. He wondered if Adams hoped to marry Anne then slapped himself mentally. Of course he did! The young pup was besotted with her, though he managed to keep a rather cool exterior. But he’d followed her hundreds of miles for what? A bushel of trouble? No, he was in love with Anne, no question.
Between Muller and Adams, they got his shirt off without making him sit up, but the pain in his arm now eclipsed everything else.
Muller handed something to someone else. Anne.
“I want him to take a teaspoon of this dissolved in water. Can you fix it, please, Miss Stone?”
“Yes.” She left the room, for which David was grateful.
The doctor deftly untied the strips of cloth holding the bandages in place. When he pulled them off, a different pain screeched up David’s arm.
“Well, now, that looks as though an infection is starting.” Muller shook his head. “I’ll have to cleanse it again. I’m sorry, sir.”
“I think we’d better forget about riding out of here tomorrow,” Adams said.
“I should think so,” the doctor replied. “Now, don’t you worry, sir. I’ve got your niece fixing something that will help with the pain. I shan’t poke around too much until you’ve got that in you.”
Dan stood in the hallway talking to the hotel manager and Constable Owenss.
“I’ll check all around town and see if I can find out where this so-called gentleman is staying,” Owens said. “Meanwhile, Mr. Reed, if he’s seen hanging about this hotel, you call for me, and I’ll come run him in.”
“Yes,” Reed said. “We must protect our guests. Mr. Adams, I assure you, if I’d known someone meant to harm Mr. Stone, I’d have called in the constable at once. And to think the gunman was right here in our dining room this morning.”
“Don’t you fret,” Owens said. “I’ll raise a posse. We’ll scour this town.”
“Oh, and you’ll see to the extra rooms for Miss Stone and me?” Dan said.
“Certainly, sir.” Mr. Reed bowed slightly and turned away.
“Well now, gents.” Up the stairs came Whitey Pogue. “You still here, Adams?”
“Whitey, I thought you went back to your cabin,” Dan said.
The old man lifted his hands and shoulders in an elaborate shrug. “Got no horse now. It’s too far to walk this afternoon. Reckon I’ll wait until morning.”
“Well, if you don’t mind sharing, you can bunk in with me here tonight. I’m going to move our stuff from the boardinghouse so that Miss Stone can be nearer her uncle.”
“Sounds dandy,” Whitey said. “They got good, big rooms here—bigger’n my cabin, hey?”
“Yes,” Dan said with a smile. “What did Sam Hastings say when you told him about Millie taking the roan?” Dan asked Owens.
The constable snapped his fingers. “Meant to tell you, but all this talk about an assassin drove it plum out of my head. He said that Millie person is his sister.”
Dan stared at him. “His sister? They surely don’t look alike.”
“Well, half sister, he told me. He said he guessed it was all in the family, and if she took his horse, he could take hers. He set off for the hotel’s stable, and that’s the last I saw of him. Didn’t see any reason to stop him.”
Dan shook his head. “Wait until I tell Anne. We misjudged those two, at least on that score.” He looked about the hallway and the stair landing. “I do hate to leave Anne here alone. Perhaps I should go get our luggage from Mrs. Zinberg while the doctor is still here.”
“I could fetch it,” Whitey said. “Reckon I could get everything using your horse, Dan’l?”
“You fellows work it out. I’m going to get some men together and start looking for Peterson.” Constable Owenss strode toward the stairs.
Dan decided Whitey might be safer transporting the baggage than he would be, since Peterson knew him by sight. He gave the old man plenty of money to cover their bill with Mrs. Zinberg and a note from Anne to the widow, detailing the packing of her belongings.
He returned to the bedroom in time to help the doctor clean up and settle the patient comfortably.
“He’ll be out for some time,” Muller said. “I gave him a hefty dose of laudanum. The fool thinks he can get up and take on thugs and ride off to Eugene. Well, he needs to stay put for at least two more days. I’ll come by first thing in the morning and look at that arm again, but if the infection spreads, he may be here a long time.”
Anne refused to leave her uncle’s bedside, so Dan went downstairs and asked for a tray for her. He’d had no lunch—only a couple of cookies off the tea tray, but the dining room was deserted and the desk clerk told him he couldn’t be served until five o’clock. When the clerk wasn’t looking, he ducked through the dining room and peeked into the kitchen.
Ernie hovered over the huge black stove, stirring pots, and a boy of about sixteen sat on a stool peeling a mound of potatoes.
“Mr. Adams,” Ernie said, looking up in surprise. “I hope Mr. Stone is all right.”
“He’s got a slight infection in his wound.”
“Dear me. I hope it’s not serious.” Ernie shook his head.
“I’m not sure. The doctor seemed concerned, but I don’t think he wanted to worry Miss Stone too much. And speaking of the lady, she’s had no luncheon. Well, none of us has. They said at the desk that we’re too late—”
“Nonsense. I can make you some sandwiches. How many people?”
“Two, I guess.” It was probably safe to assume Mrs. Zinberg would feed Whitey something when he got to her house, and David would most likely sleep the afternoon away. “Just Miss Stone and me.”
“Mudge, get some pie and a couple of apples,” Ernie said to his helper. The boy laid down his paring knife and hurried to obey.
“We’re taking rooms here until Mr. Stone is able to travel,” Dan said.
“Probably best.” Ernie swiftly sliced a loaf of bread and set about smearing it with mustard. “Anytime you want a tray, just let me know.”
Dan sat down on a stool near the stove, glad to have found an ally in Ernie.
Millie loaded a tray with a coffeepot, two dishes of venison stew, and half-a-dozen slices of p
ie and shoved open the door to the dining room. She quickly delivered the stew and began making rounds about the dining room, refilling coffee mugs and selling pie to men who’d thought they would skip dessert.
Now that her prospects of marrying a rich English gent had fizzled and she no longer feared discovery by Anne Stone and Dan Adams, she’d figured Elkton might be a good place for her to pause. She was tired of running and scrambling and hiding. Andrew Willis was happy to have her back, and word of her return spread swiftly through the town. The dining room was packed for every meal, with freighters and miners forming a line outside while they waited for tables to free up.
With Millie in charge, Andrew had left on a three-day trip to Eugene to lay in more supplies. Millie’s first actions had been to hire a waitress and a dishwasher. She met the waitress, Virginia, halfway around the dining room.
“You got any more fried chicken?” Virginia asked. “I’ve got four more customers who are hankerin’ for it.”
“I’ll go dish it up.” Millie handed her the coffeepot.
“Send Stubby out to collect dirty dishes, too,” Virginia said. “I don’t have time. The customers are still three deep outside waitin’ to get in.”
Millie hurried back to the kitchen. Where were all these men coming from? She supposed a lot of them were headed to the goldfields farther south.
“Stubby! Go pick up the empty dishes. Quick now.” The grizzled man whom she’d hired for the job hated to carry the heavy trays of crockery, but Millie had warned him he’d have to during their busy times. If he couldn’t do the work, she’d hire someone younger. That had shut him up.
She put the money she’d collected for pie carefully into the two-gallon crock Andrew used for a cash box and shook her head. Andrew was such a trusting fellow. If she were of a mind to steal all his receipts for the day, it would be easy. But she’d promised herself she wouldn’t do that.
She wasn’t exactly sure what had happened to her between the Miner’s Hotel in Scottsburg and here, but something was going on inside her. She’d decided first off to quit making her living by pilfering merchandise and cadging meals from men. Maybe it was the stolen dress that started her thinking she’d like to be honest. Anne Stone lived the way Millie wanted to live—but she’d never lifted a man’s wallet and fled town in disgrace. Millie wanted what Anne had—dignity. Respect. Dare she think that someday she might attain self-respect?
THE Prairie DREAMS Trilogy Page 57