She laid out his smallclothes, trousers, and shirt.
“Where’s my razor? I want to shave.”
She smiled at that. “Get dressed first, Uncle David. Call to me when you’re ready, and we’ll see. Oh, and don’t tumble off the bed trying to put your socks and shoes on. I can help you with that.”
“I’m not an infant.”
“Indeed.” He sounded like an earl in that moment—one whose dignity had been questioned. She checked the water pitcher and went into the sitting room, closing the connecting door.
Dan’s distinctive knock came at the hall door, and she let him in.
“Owens and his men haven’t found a trace of Peterson. Once he left his boardinghouse, he simply disappeared.”
“He probably rode out of town quietly that night.” Anne glanced toward the bedroom door. “Uncle David is dressing. I must stay in case he needs help, but we’d like breakfast here. Have you eaten?”
“Not yet. I’ll go down and speak for it.”
“Thank you. We all need to eat a good meal. If the doctor approves, we may be able to leave today.”
“Do you think so?” Dan asked.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to keep Uncle David down much longer. He wants to shave.”
“He feels like a sitting target here,” Dan said. “Do you really think Peterson would stick around?”
“You saw his persistence. He followed my uncle thousands of miles. I don’t think he’ll give up just because Owens is looking for him.”
“I suppose you’re right. Personally, I feel safer in here with walls around us and an officer of the law nearby. Well, I’ll go down and ask for room service.”
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind a bit of exercise,” she said. “If you don’t mind staying here and playing valet if needed, I can order breakfast and then stop by my room to freshen up.”
“All right. Just be careful, Anne.”
She smiled. “I will. Did you want anything in particular this morning?”
“Eggs, maybe, and some flapjacks.”
She went out and listened for the bolt to slide, then went down the stairs. At the second-floor landing, she peered over the railing and surveyed the lobby before continuing on her way. Peterson must be gone. At any rate, he wouldn’t come back here where people would recognize him. But would he hire someone else to keep watch for him? The memory of Thomas G. Costigan on the wagon train brought an uneasy shiver. Anyone she met in the hotel might be in Peterson’s pay, ready to pass the word to him when David left his quarters.
Anne had barely left when the bedroom door opened and David came out, walking slowly toward the table and chairs near the window. Dan rose and stepped toward him.
“Let me help you, sir.”
“Thanks, but I need to practice using my legs. Can you help me get set up to shave, though?”
“Are you certain you want to do that?”
“Completely. But I’m not sure I can stay on my feet long enough to do it or have a steady hand if I’m swaying back and forth. Maybe you could put the basin of water and soap and razor on the table out here and prop up a small mirror so I can see what I’m doing.”
“I’ll get the one hanging over your washstand. Have a seat.”
Dan waited until David had lowered himself with a sigh onto one of the chairs. Quickly he gathered the things he’d asked for from the bedroom, along with a couple of towels.
“Anne went down to order breakfast,” he said as he reentered the sitting room. “By the time you’re finished, it will probably be here.”
Anne returned fifteen minutes later, wearing a fresh gown and with her hair cascading down the back of her neck in a most becoming style. Dan didn’t know how she did it, staying up most of the night in her uncle’s sitting room in case he needed her, but she managed to look so beautiful each day that she took his breath away. How he would go on without her when they finished this odyssey and she shooed him back to the farm, he couldn’t imagine. He’d have to insist she sleep this afternoon. If David wanted to leave when his niece hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in days, he’d put his foot down.
An hour later, with breakfast done, the doctor came with an ebony cane for David to use to steady himself and took him into the bedchamber to check his wound. Anne and Daniel waited in the sitting room. Anne sat still on the settee with her hands folded in her lap while Dan paced from the window to the door and back, over and over. He wished he could remain as peaceful as she did. The confinement chafed on him, as did the uncertainty of their situation.
At last she broke the silence. “Dan, I know you want to get back to the farm and help your brother. Why don’t you leave me in Uncle David’s care? You’ve seen how much better he is.”
Dan wheeled from the window and strode over to the settee. He sat down beside her and looked earnestly into her eyes.
“I can’t do that. For all we know, that killer is still out there, just waiting for your uncle to leave these rooms. I wouldn’t walk out and leave you in such a perilous situation.” She lowered her eyelids, and he regretted speaking so frankly. “Besides, what makes you think I’d rather be puttering around the farm with Hector than here with you?”
Anne’s eyes flew open wide for a moment then she looked away. “You didn’t plan to be gone so long.”
“No, but nothing could make me happier than staying by your side. I could wish the circumstances were less trying—that your uncle was well and that you could both travel on and resume your lives. But that would mean separation. Dearest Anne, please don’t think ill of me for mentioning it. I’ve tried not to speak of this too often, because I know you don’t share my sentiments.”
“I won’t say I do not care for you, Dan.”
He was silent for a moment, unwilling to trust his voice. He sat back and cleared his throat. “That at least is a comfort. But I’m not sure you mean to give me hope.”
“Hope is such a fragile thing. But I’ve discovered it fluttering inside me, even as I failed time after time to find my uncle.” She started to move then hesitated. He eyed her cautiously, and at last she reached over and touched his hand. “Your presence has meant a great deal to me. In fact, your solid determination to finish the quest for the simple reason that it mattered to me has worked a slow, quiet course in my heart, until I find the prospect of parting company with you distressful.” She looked away and whispered, “I believe we need hope. All the hope we can get. It’s precious, don’t you think?”
He turned his hand and clasped hers, not too firmly lest she pull it away. His heart thudded. “Precious indeed. Thank you.”
The bedroom door swung open.
“Well, I can’t say I approve,” Dr. Muller said as he entered, “but Mr. Stone insists on traveling. His wound looks better—not so red and swollen. I believe we’ve got the infection licked. I’d rather see him rest a few more days, though.”
Dan glanced at Anne. “Perhaps we could persuade him that Miss Stone needs rest herself before we move on.”
“I’m fine,” Anne said. “The fact that he’s better gives me strength.
I’m willing to leave now if that is what he wants.”
Dan nodded. “I can check on the steamers and see when the next one leaves.”
David insisted on paying Dr. Muller generously, in case they did not meet again. Dan went down the stairs with the doctor and parted from him on the street. He strolled at a quick pace to the waterfront. No large boats were docked, so he ambled down to where two men were stacking crates on the end of the largest dock.
“No steamers today?”
“Should be coming in this afternoon,” one of the men said.
“And going out again…?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks.” Dan started to turn away then swung back to face them. “How big a boat is it? Will they take horses?”
“Doubt it. The deck area’s pretty small, and they usually have it crammed with freight.”
Dan
walked slowly back to the hotel. He didn’t want to leave Star behind, and he was sure David wouldn’t want to part with Captain, either. As for Anne, she was committed to returning Bailey to Rob Whistler.
They reacted about the way he’d expected. After more discussion, he saw Anne to her room, where she promised to nap. David insisted he could fend for himself, so at about three o’clock, when the steamer’s whistle sounded, Dan headed back to the landing.
He watched the passengers disembark and several men go aboard to make arrangements to have their cargo unloaded. When the dockhands started working, he made his way among them and up the gangplank.
The captain wasn’t difficult to find. He stood just outside the pilot house, his blue eyes sharply watching the activity around him while he talked to two Scottsburg business owners.
Dan approached him and waited for a break in the conversation about freight.
“Help you, sir?” the captain asked.
“Yes, I wondered if you’re heading out for Oregon City tomorrow.”
“That’s the plan, yes, sir.”
“Would you take three passengers?”
The captain scratched his chin. “Could. Not much of a load going from here.”
“And do you take horses?”
He frowned. “Look around you, man.”
Dan gazed at the limited deck space on the small, squatty stern-wheeler.
“It can get pretty rough between here and the coast. You crowd three horses in here with passengers and cargo, and it can turn into a muddy ride. Then you get into open water, and you can’t guarantee a thing. I have not slings to secure large animals with.”
“So you wouldn’t?”
The captain shook his head. “Don’t care to risk it. Sorry.”
Dan swallowed hard. “Not even from here to the coast? We might be able to get a bigger ship there.”
“No doubt you could, but no, I won’t take ’em on my boat.”
Dan nodded. “I understand. Thank you.”
Discouraged, he plodded back to the hotel. In his mind, he ticked off several options. They could sell the horses, which didn’t seem agreeable to any of them. They might leave the horses in Scottsburg, to be retrieved later, but when? They could ride back to David’s farm in Eugene, or to the coast, both of which promised to be dangerous.
He entered the lobby and headed for the stairs. As he passed the desk, the clerk said, “Hsst. Mr. Adams.”
Dan paused and looked at him. “You wanted to speak to me?”
“Come closer, sir.”
It was almost a whisper, and Dan was instantly alert. He walked over to the desk and said clearly, “Any messages for me?” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “What’s up?”
“There’s a man sitting yonder—don’t look.”
“I understand. What about him?”
“He asked for Miss Stone.”
Dan tensed. “Is he a guest here?”
“No. I told him we couldn’t give out information about our guests, like you said. He went out, but a little while later I went to get something, and when I came back he was sitting over there with the newspaper in front of his face. I ignored him. We’ve got no rule about people waiting for guests in the lobby, but…well, I thought you’d like to know.”
“Thank you.”
Dan walked deliberately over to the stairs and mounted them without looking toward the man indicated by the clerk. When he reached the first landing, he rounded the corner and paused long enough to look down and toward the sitting area. A young man with sandy hair and a heavy beard and mustache stared up at him over the top of an open newspaper. When he saw that Dan had noticed him, he averted his gaze to the paper.
Dan strode along the second-floor hallway to the far end. He looked over his shoulder then opened the door to the back stairs and ran lightly down them to the kitchen.
Ernie and his helper looked up in surprise.
“Mr. Adams,” Ernie said. “I hope nothing’s wrong upstairs?”
“No, our friend is gaining strength. But I wonder if I could ask a favor of you.” He explained about the stranger watching the front entrance.
“I can go out through the dining room and see if he’s still there, but if Mr. Reed sees me, he’ll get upset.” Ernie scowled. “He thinks I should stay in the kitchen all the time.”
“I’ll go,” his helper said.
Ernie’s face brightened. “Sure. We’ll send Mudge.”
His helper whipped off his apron and handed it to Ernie. “What do you want me to do?”
“You heard me describe the fellow in the lobby?” Dan asked.
“Yeah.”
“Just see if he’s still out there and tell me what he’s doing.”
Mudge walked out through the empty dining room. Dan and Ernie, peeking through a crack at the partially opened door to the dining room, had a limited view of the lobby beyond.
“Where’d he go?” Ernie asked after a half minute.
“Looked like he went over near the stairs,” Dan said.
Half a minute later, Mudge breezed back in.
“Well?” Ernie asked.
“He wasn’t sitting there, so I asked the desk clerk. He said the fella went up the main stairs after you did, Mr. Adams.”
Dan looked at Ernie for a second then dashed up the back stairs. At the second-floor landing, he paused to calm himself and stealthily opened the door to the hallway. Halfway between him and the main stairway, a man leaned with his ear against the door of one of the guest rooms.
Dan strode down the carpeted hall.
The sandy-haired man whirled. His eyes popped wide and he backed away, but Dan was too quick. He grabbed him by the lapels and shoved him against the wall.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
CHAPTER 25
David held his revolver trained on the scruffy man Adams had herded into his sitting room while Adams tied the fellow to a chair.
“What will we do with him?” Anne stood by wringing her hands.
Adams secured the knots he’d tied and stood looking at David. “He admitted he was hired to find you.”
“Did Peterson hire him?” Anne asked.
“Someone did. He wouldn’t say who.”
David stepped toward their prisoner and aimed the gun point-blank at him. “I’m tired of this. Who’s paying you? Give us a name.”
“I don’t know,” the man sputtered. “He said he’d pay me a dollar a day to watch the hotel lobby and try to find out your room number and tell him if you ever left the room. He wanted to know if you planned to leave Scottsburg. It was more than I’d made panning for gold, and it sounded like easy work, so I took it.”
“What did he look like?” Anne asked.
The man strained against the cords Adams had tied him with as though he wanted to move his arms when he talked. “I don’t know. He was about forty, I’m guessing. Thin face. He had a mustache.”
“A little pencil mustache?” Adams asked.
“Yeah. Skinny fella. Wore a suit like a dandy.”
“We’d best turn this man over to Owens,” David said.
“What? I didn’t do anything!”
“You’re in the employ of a killer,” Adams said.
The prisoner’s face blanched. “I swear I didn’t know. I thought he just wanted to get in with Mr. Stone. I had no idea he wanted to harm anyone.” He looked up at David. “No offense, mister, but he said you wouldn’t give him the time of day and he had a business deal he wanted to talk over with you. He wanted me to tell him where you’d be, so he could find you outside the hotel. Said they wouldn’t let him wait around the hotel anymore.”
“More like, the constable is watching to see if he comes here,” David said.
“So what do we do now?” Anne asked again. “I could go for Mr. Owens.”
“We need to leave this town,” Adams said. “If we stay here, Peterson’s going to find a way to get to your uncle. But we can’t—” He broke off and glan
ced at the prisoner. “Let’s not discuss it in front of him.”
“All right, I’ll guard him,” David said. “Get Owens, and we’ll be rid of this baggage.”
Adams hurried out, and Anne went over and locked the hall door behind him. The prisoner’s eyes followed her every move.
“Why don’t you go lie down?” David said.
“I don’t think I care to be alone right now.”
David could see the sense of that. With the certainty that Peterson was still about, lying in wait for them, sending Anne to her own room down the hall might not be the most brilliant plan. “At least sit in my chamber,” he said.
Anne threw an uneasy glance at the prisoner and nodded. “All right. I shall think about our options.”
All was quiet until Dan came in twenty minutes later with Owens in tow. Anne came and stood in the connecting doorway.
“Well now,” the constable said, looking over the prisoner. “Billy Harden. You went bust on your claim, I heard. What are you up to now?”
“Nothing,” the prisoner said. “I swear.” The version he gave the constable squared with what he’d told them before.
Owens leaned toward him with glinting eyes. “Where’s this man at now, Billy?”
“I don’t know.”
“But you had a way to report to him. Where were you going to meet him?”
The prisoner was silent for a moment. “Will you let me go if I tell you?”
“No.”
“But, Mr. Owens, I didn’t do nothing.”
“Maybe it was all in ignorance—that wouldn’t surprise me a bit,” Owens said, “but now you know that man meant to harm Mr. Stone. So tell me what you know.”
“What do I get if I tell you?”
“You don’t get strung up, that’s what you get.”
Billy stared at Owens. “You can’t hang nobody without a judge says so.”
“Oh, can’t I?”
Anne looked horrified, and David threw her a surreptitious wink. Owens wouldn’t have the stomach to lynch a prisoner, but they couldn’t have Anne ruining his strategy by protesting too heartily. His niece had been through a lot, but it seemed she was still tenderhearted enough to spare a criminal.
THE Prairie DREAMS Trilogy Page 59