She suddenly smiled. “You think so?”
“Yes, I do. I’ve always liked black hair.”
“Well, I’ve wondered about you, too.”
“What about me?”
“You don’t fit in out here, Riordan. You couldn’t even ride a horse except for that awful one you rode to the ranch. You learned a little bit, and everybody thinks you killed that Dent Smith by accident. Everybody thinks you would be killed if you got in a gunfight. You wear a gun, but you never shoot it. Never take practice.”
“Hoping I never have to use it again.”
There was silence except for the clopping of the horses’ hooves on the hard ground, and finally she turned to him and said, “You aren’t married, are you?”
“Me? Why, no. What made you think that I wasn’t?”
“You don’t act like a married man. I’ve had enough of that sort trying to make up to me.” Riordan had no answer for that, and finally she asked, “What are you doing out in this country? You don’t belong here.”
Riordan considered telling her the story but then decided not to. “Just wanted a change. I grew up in the city and grew tired of it.”
She continued to probe, but he continued to evade her questions.
They rode for several hours, and then he said, “I think we ought to go back.”
“Go back? We haven’t found anything yet.”
“I was going to stay all night, but that’s impossible.”
“Why? You afraid of the dark?” She smiled at him, a sly light in her eyes.
“No, but it wouldn’t look right.”
“What wouldn’t look right?”
“Why, a single man and a single woman out camping after dark. Your father wouldn’t like it.”
“He knows I can take care of myself. So does my grandfather. Let’s find a creek somewhere and camp out.”
“All right.” They found a small branch of clear water. There was some grass, so they put the horses out on long lariats, and Riordan found enough wood to build a fire. The darkness fell quickly, and by the time he got the fire going, he pulled out a frying pan and said, “I brought some beans and some bacon but only one plate and one set of hardware.”
“Let me do the cooking.”
“You probably do it better than I could.”
Soon the air was filled with the smart smell of bacon cooking and beans bubbling. It gave them both an appetite.
Carefully she filled the one plate full of beans and added the bacon to one side. She picked up the fork and said, “Things taste better cooked outdoors.” She took a bite of the bacon and said, “Ooh, that’s hot! We’ll take turns. You take a bite, and then I’ll take a bite.”
He took the fork awkwardly, scooped into the plate piled high with beans, put it in his mouth, and then added a bite of bacon. They had their meal that way. Finally he said, “Aren’t you sleepy?”
“No, I always hate to go to bed at night. I might miss something.”
“You wouldn’t miss much out here. Not much happens at night.”
“I know.” She was sitting across from him. She pulled her feet up and held them by putting her arms around them. The fire was burning brightly, and it caught the glow of her dark eyes. “What’ll we do if we catch up with the outlaws?”
“Turn around and run like the devil. Go get Judge Parker and some marshals.”
“I think that would be wise. I’d hate to see you get in a gunfight. Have you ever shot that pistol of yours at a man other than during the one fight with Dent Smith?”
“Once or twice.”
“Are you any good? But you must be because you shot the head off that rattler.”
Riordan shrugged. “Not the best in the world, Miss Rosa.”
“Miss Rosa? Well, at least it’s not Miss Ramirez.”
“I think that’s a pretty name.”
“It’s not my real name. It’s just a nickname.”
He stared at her. “What is your name?”
“Rosario.”
He stared at her. “That’s a pretty name. What does it mean?”
“It means rose.”
They talked for a while, and then she asked him, “What’s your first name?”
“I don’t like it, so I don’t tell people what it is. Riordan’s good enough.”
“Pretty formal.”
Finally he got the blanket rolls off of the horses and handed one to her. “I hope the snakes don’t get us.”
“I don’t want to hear about that. Snakes scare me to death.” She suddenly said, “I’ve been meaning to tell you something. She put out her hand, and he took it. “Thank you for all you are doing for me and my family, Riordan.”
Riordan felt a jolt at the touch of her hand.
She looked at him with what could only be described as adoration in her eyes. “I’ve always had to be on my guard with men, but somehow I know I can trust you.”
Her hand was strong and warm, and without warning, Riordan felt a warmth toward Rosa that he’d never felt for any other woman, including Marlene. At that moment the two were caught in the mystery that sometimes draws a man and a woman together—and he realized with a shock that if he suddenly took her into his arms, she would not resist.
The moment drew out, and she whispered, “Aren’t you going to try to kiss me, Riordan?”
“I don’t think that would be fair. I mean we’re all alone, and I’d be taking advantage of you.” He shook his head, saying, “Any man standing in my place would want to kiss a beautiful woman like you, but I’ve made a promise to myself that I’d never take advantage of any woman.”
Rosa startled at his words. “You are unlike any other man I have ever known. You can explode with violence, yet there is a gentleness in you.” She then seemed embarrassed at her words and withdrew her hand. “We’d better get some sleep.”
They both rolled up, he on one side of the fire, she on the other, and for a long time Riordan lay there listening to the soft sound of her breathing. It was a strange situation for him. Most women he had known would not think of doing what this woman had done—spend the night, in effect, with a strange man. He knew she was afraid of snakes, but he seriously doubted that she was afraid of anything else. His last thought was, I can’t get her in a dangerous gunfight. We’ll go back first thing tomorrow.
The sun was up. Riordan and Rosa ate the remains of the beans and bacon for breakfast. He said, “Let’s cut around and head back toward the ranch in a roundabout way. We might run across them.”
“I doubt it. This is a big territory.”
The two of them rode slowly, and they came to a long ridge.
“That’s Nolan’s Ridge,” she said. “Nobody knows why it’s here. It goes a long way.”
“It’s not very high.”
“No, it isn’t.”
They attained the top of the ridge, and just as they crested the top, Riordan heard a woman’s voice screaming.
Instantly be became alert and spurred Red forward, and Rosa came with him. He looked down and saw a wagon with a man lying still beside it. Two men were there, and one of them had a woman down on the ground and was tearing at her clothes.
He turned and said, “Stay here, Rosa.” He rode down but was aware that she had paid no attention to him.
The sound of the horses caught the attention of the two men, and the man savaging the woman on the ground got to his feet quickly. The two of them were rough looking.
As soon as they pulled their horses up, Rosa said, “That big man there killed Blinky. He was with Pye.”
“That’s right! I’m Boog Powell, and I killed him. Now what does that get you?”
Riordan studied the two.
He was a huge man running to fat but obviously very powerful. His eyes were small, and he was grinning. “You two head out of here right now and you’ll be all right. If you stay around, I can’t guarantee your safety.” Powell laughed, saying, “What you gonna do, baby face? Shoot me with that peashooter?”
Riordan made up his mind instantly. “You two are under arrest for murder.”
The woman on the ground was pale, and her clothes were torn. She whispered, “They shot the driver. Didn’t say a word. Just rode up and shot him!”
Riordan said, “I’m a federal marshal. I’m going to take your guns and take you in.”
“You ain’t takin’ nothin’!” The other man beside Boog was a tall, skinny man who was grinning. “I’m Alvin Darrow. I done killed two of your marshals. You can be number three.”
“He’s the fastest gun in the Territory.” Boog grinned. “You better not draw on him or you’ll be dead in a minute.”
Darrow said, “That little peashooter wouldn’t hurt nobody anyway.”
Riordan was aware that Rosa was beside him and wished she were not. He was willing to take his chances, but he feared for her. “You’re both going back to Judge Parker. You can go alive or you can go dead. Your choice.”
Darrow laughed, and he reached for his pistol. Indeed, he was fast, but before his gun even cleared the holster, Riordan drew and fired. Darrow was still standing, but there was a black spot in the middle of his forehead. He began to go down slowly as his muscles relaxed. He fell to the ground, kicked several times, and then lay still.
Boog Powell found himself looking right into the muzzle that had just killed one of the fastest guns in the Territory. “I ain’t shootin’,” he whispered hoarsely.
“Drop your gun on the ground, Powell.”
Powell did so, and Riordan got off his horse. He picked up the two guns and tossed them away saying, “Your friend there is going to Judge Parker dead instead of alive. You try to run away and you’ll arrive at the fort the same way, as I’ll get you, too. And there’ll be two bodies, each tied across their horses.”
Riordan turned quickly and walked to the woman who was struggling to sit up, but she was crying with pain. He saw that her face was battered and bruised and knew she had taken a bad beating rather than submit. “Be still, miss. You’re going to be all right.”
“My side. My side hurts so bad.” He touched her side, but she said, “No, no, don’t!”
“I think you’ve got some cracked ribs there. Hopefully they’re not broken. Have you got medicine in the wagon?”
“Yes, it’s in a box just beside the seat.”
He looked up at Rosa, who had come to kneel on the other side of the woman. “Get it, will you, Rosa?”
Rosa jumped up and ran to the wagon. She found the wooden box and brought the whole thing back. She took a brown bottle, opened it, and smelled the contents. “This is laudanum.”
“Give her a big dose of that. If it’s broken ribs, I know what that’s like.” All the time his glance kept going back to Boog Powell, who did not move. He gave the woman the bottle. She managed to gag some of the liquid down.
“What’s your name, ma’am?”
“I’m Hannah Bryant. I hired the Mexican to take me to the Blackwood Tribe school, and these men just rode up and killed him without saying a word.”
Rosa asked, “What kind of school?”
The woman’s face was twisted with pain as well as swollen with the blows. “I’m a Monrovian missionary.”
“Never heard of that church,” Rosa said.
“We preach the Gospel and teach it at the same time.”
Rosa exchanged glances with Riordan.
He said, “Not very wise for a woman to cross Indian Territory.” She did not answer, and he said, “I’ll be right back.” He went over to Boog Powell and said, “Tie your friend on his horse.” He waited until Boog lifted Darrow and placed him facedown on the horse, feet sticking out.
Boog started to argue, but one look at Riordan’s eyes changed his mind. “All right. Just don’t shoot.”
Riordan said, “Now put the man you killed on the other horse.” He waited until Powell had secured both men then said, “Turn around.” When Boog turned around, he said, “Put your hands behind you.” Quickly he pulled a cord from his pocket that he always carried and tied the man’s hands securely. Then he took the lariat off the rope, made a slipknot, and stuck it over Powell’s head. “I’m tying the other end to the wagon. You try to run, you’ll hang yourself and won’t have to hang on Judge Parker’s gallows.”
“You can’t do this!”
“You watch me.” He went back and saw that the laudanum had taken affect on the woman. Her eyes were closed, but she was still conscious. “I’ve got to put you in the wagon. We’ll make a bed up there. Would you see to that, Rosa?”
“Sure.” Rosa went to the wagon, found some quilts and blankets, and made a bed of sorts for the woman. “We’ll take her to our ranch. She’ll need a doctor.”
Riordan carefully picked the woman up and put her into the wagon.
“You’re stronger than you look.” Rosa grinned at him, got into the wagon, and spoke to the mules, but then turned to say, “This makes two men you’ve killed. I never saw anyone who could pull a gun as fast as you. It was the same with the snake. But you still don’t look like a gunman.”
“I’m not.” His words were spare. He saw this upset her a bit, as she said no more while she drove toward the ranch.
CHAPTER 15
The sun was climbing higher in the sky as they rode on. But as Riordan stared down at the woman, she was crying out with pain.
“What’s wrong with her?” Rosa asked, her brow furrowed with thought.
“It’s the ribs. I had some broken one time. I know what to do for it, but I’ve never treated an injury like this myself.”
“How do you treat a broken rib?”
“You make some long strips of cloth out of a sheet or something. Then you put them around the rib cage as tight as it can stand it. It will still hurt, but nothing like it is now. You see, as it is now those cracked ribs are rubbing against nerves, but this would stop some of that.”
They dismounted from the wagon, and Rosa found a muslin sheet. She took a knife out, slit it, and made a long strip about two inches wide. “Is this about right, Riordan?”
“Yeah, tear up the whole sheet like that.”
Rosa finished all the strips, and he said grimly, “Let’s get back in the wagon. This is not going to be fun.” They entered the wagon, and he said, “You’re going to have to sit up, ma’am, while we wrap your ribs.”
“I can’t. It hurts too bad.”
“I know it does, but this will make you feel a lot better.” He found a box and lifted her up, paying no attention to her cries, until she was sitting. He was in front of her, and he started removing her dress.
She gasped, and her eyes flew open. “No, you can’t undress me!”
“Look ma’am, we’ve got to get your ribs tied up.”
“No, I can’t let you look at me.”
“Get in the back here, Riordan,” Rosa said.
He saw what she intended and instantly got up. He took his place behind the woman. He also made sure Boog wasn’t looking her way either.
Rosa said, “Look, Miss Bryant, all the men can see is your back, so let me take your dress down and we’ll get you tied up. You’ll feel better.”
The woman whimpered, but she nodded. Rosa took the remnants of the dress down, and she said, “Pass me the end of one of those strips, Riordan.” She took it and lapped it over, and then holding it tight, she passed it under the woman’s arm.
The woman cried out more than once, but the two kept at it.
Riordan said, “It’ll have to go up over her shoulders to hold it in place.”
Rosa brought the strip up between the woman’s breasts and back down her back, and finally her whole body was, more or less, encased. Rosa tied it off.
Riordan said, “That’s good. Take some more of this laudanum, and you can lie down.”
The two got her lying down, and soon her breathing became uneven and short, but at least some of the pain was gone.
They got down off the wagon, and Rosa said, “I didn’t like doing that.”<
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“I didn’t either. Broken ribs are no fun. Could you drive the wagon back?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll keep track of our friend out there. You want to go as slow as you can. You can’t avoid all of the holes, but just do the best you can. All right?”
“Sure.”
He turned and then suddenly said, “You know we’re closer to your ranch than anywhere else. We can’t get her to a doctor in Fort Smith. It’s too far.”
“No, we can make the ranch by tomorrow sometime. Maybe the medicine will help until then.”
“Let’s hope so,” he said.
They made their way as slowly as possible. From time to time, when Hannah Bryant started moaning with pain, Rosa stopped the wagon and gave her a little more of the laudanum. “I hope I don’t kill her with this.”
“A broken rib makes you feel like you’re dying. I remember that about it.”
That night Riordan said he would keep watch on their “friend.” As he kept his eye on the outlaw, he couldn’t help but be impressed with Rosa, as she stayed near Hannah the entire night, offering as much comfort as she could. She was certainly a woman with many different sides to her. And he found he was interested in learning more about all of them.
It was almost dark the next evening when they arrived back at the ranch. Ringo and Ned came running out. “What’s wrong?” Ned cried out. “Who is this hairpin?”
“He’s under arrest for murder,” Riordan said. “Lock him in the smokehouse. If he tries to get away, shoot him in the head.”
Everyone in the house came out then, and Rosa explained, “We came across two men. They’d killed this woman’s driver and were attacking her.”
“Who are they?” Ringo demanded.
“The live one is Boog Powell. The dead one is named Darrow.”
“Darrow?” Ned said, “He’s a bad one! He’s killed more than one marshal, and he’s faster than a snake.”
“How did you get the woman away from them?” Ringo asked.
Riordan said nothing, and when Rosa saw he was silent, she said, “He told them they could go in alive or dead, and this man Darrow went for his gun.” She shook her head and said in a strained voice, “He never even got it out of his holster. Riordan here pulled his gun and shot him right in the forehead. Darrow was dead before he hit the ground.” The scene played over in her mind of how he pulled his gun with incredible speed and shot the man exactly where he intended for the bullet to go. She had never seen such a thing in her life, and it made her wonder more about the strange man that had come into her life.
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