Tyra's Gambler

by Velda Brotherton

  Sam and Micah stared with wide eyes before turning to chatter to each other and point at her.

  “Boys, don’t be rude.” Tyra grabbed her bandana, dipped it in the water heating on the fire, and rushed to the woman’s side. Both men stood over her, as if not sure what to do first.

  Zach cut the ties around her wrists, then fetched a blanket and covered her bare breasts. “What in thunder you reckon happened to her?”

  Josh shrugged. “Indians? Comanche still wander around these parts, don’t they?”

  Zach scanned the area. “I don’t think so. From what I’ve heard of them, she wouldn’t be here in one piece.”

  “You stay with the women and boys,” Josh said. “I’m going to take a look around. Keep your eyes open.”

  “Be careful, brother.” Zach turned to Tyra. “What can I do?”

  She glanced up from bathing the woman’s face and cleaning the wound on her cheek. “Get her one of my shirts. Not very clean, but I’m going to rip up the top of her dress…it’s torn already. I can make it into a bandage of sorts, wash it in this hot water and try to cover that dreadful cut. She’ll need something to wear.”

  While he went to fetch the shirt, she removed the ripped bodice and bound the woman’s cheek. With one long narrow strip she fashioned a bandage by wrapping the strip under her chin and tying it over the top of her head. Though crude, it covered the open cut to keep out the dirt.

  When Zach returned with the shirt, she asked him to lift the woman by her shoulders and help her put the shirt on. They almost had that accomplished when the woman came to, kicking and screaming. A flying fist caught him on the chin, and an elbow thudded into Tyra’s stomach, knocking the breath out of her.

  He held her shoulder while she gasped for air. “You okay?”

  She nodded and helped him calm down the poor terrified woman.

  “Listen, listen to me.” Tyra panted from the effort. “You’re safe. Can you tell us what happened?”

  Tyra bent to listen, but what came out of their strange visitor’s mouth made no sense. It sounded more like a child stuttering to talk.

  “It’s okay. Just lie back and rest. We’ll talk later.” Tyra’s words did not soothe, but rather appeared to disturb her.

  Eyes wide, she shook her head several times, grabbed Tyra’s hand and squeezed so hard her fingers popped. She jerked free and made the sign of the cross, only crossing the right shoulder first, unlike local Catholics.

  “Someone has scared this poor woman half to death,” Zach said. “Did you see what direction she came from?”

  “Not really. I was fixing to drink coffee, and there she was. Maybe that way?” Tyra pointed off to their left.

  “South? There’s nothing there but villages, mostly Mexican. You don’t suppose someone there hurt her like this? Who would do something like this?”

  Tyra smoothed tangled hair from the poor battered face. “Can you tell us your name? Where you live?”

  The woman’s face might have been pretty at one time, but a hard life had left it marked with creases that turned down the corners of her mouth. With great effort, the battered lips formed a name. It sounded like “Anastasia,” but Tyra couldn’t be sure. More words followed.

  “That’s not English.” She glanced up at Zach. “She’s speaking a foreign tongue. Do you know what it is?”

  “I think it’s Slavic.”

  “What?”

  “She’s from Russia.”

  The woman nodded her head vigorously. “Da, da.”

  “That must mean yes. Russia? How do you…? Never mind. How in the world did she get to Texas?”

  He smiled. “Where you from, Tyra?”

  “Well, England, but…”

  Again that grin that flashed his eyes. “And how did you get here?”

  “Okay, I understand. But what do you suppose happened to her?”

  “Doubt we’ll know till she can tell us, and we may not be able to understand a word she says.”

  The woman yanked on Tyra’s hand, pointed toward the water in the pan.

  “She wants a drink, I think.”

  “I’ll get it.” He rose and fetched the canteen, sloshed some into one of the tin cups, and brought it to her. He knelt beside Anastasia, reached to raise her head and put the cup to her mouth, and might as well have pointed a gun at her. She climbed over Tyra, knocking her flat on her back, and disappeared into the trees, a shrill scream trailing behind.

  “What the hell?” Zach stumbled to his feet, reached out a hand to Tyra. “You okay?”

  Holding on to him, she rose, brushing dust off her britches. “I guess. What is wrong with that woman?”

  Sam tugged on Tyra’s shirt tail. “I seen her. I know her. She was at the awful place.”

  “What awful place?” She was only half paying attention to Sam. He must be mistaken about knowing this woman.

  Micah nodded. “He’s right. That’s Stasi. Some men brought her, left her there. Told the nuns to keep her till they come for her.”

  “Some men? What men? Nuns. What nuns?”

  “In a church.” Micah and Sam said the words together.

  Zach and Tyra stared at each other. Nuns? Out here? Tyra shook her head. They must be wrong.

  “Boys, go saddle up, get your stuff, and be ready to ride.” Zach gave the order, and the two boys didn’t hesitate to obey.

  Josh rode up, leaped off his mount, and yelled, “We got a boatload of trouble coming. Get packed up and let’s get out of here.”

  “We can’t leave her behind,” Tyra shouted.

  Zach glanced toward the trees, then back at her. “You get our stuff and make sure the boys are mounted. I’ll find her. Bring my horse. Hurry.”

  “Goddammit, there ain’t time.” Josh tossed things into a blanket, knotted it around them, and tied it behind his saddle. Foot in the stirrup, he yelled, “Come on! Now! They’ll find her. She’ll be okay. I’ve got the boys. They’re after me. Wearing badges.”

  But Zach ran toward the trees, even as the pounding hooves of many horses approached. Tyra hesitated, not sure which way to go, then made up her mind. She wouldn’t leave Zach here to deal with this alone.

  “You and the boys go on, I’m staying with Zach. Go, Josh. Take the boys. We’ll catch up.” Without waiting to watch them ride off, she hurried in the direction Zach and the woman had gone, leading both horses.

  The approaching riders shouted at her, a gun fired, and they were on her.

  Chapter Ten

  Two of the men clawed at her. She kicked and screamed, catching one between the legs with the point of her boot. He doubled over, and she let go Zach’s horse and leaped onto Morgan, who panicked, reared up, and came down on the other man, who’d had her leg. She dug in her heels, yelled loud, and rode toward the scrub pine on the incline of the hill where Zach had disappeared following the woman.

  The heat from the sun burned her shoulders. Sweat dripped in her eyes. Morgan lurched, hooves digging for purchase to climb higher around the craggy bluffs. Zach’s chestnut stood in the shadows, chewing on gamma grass. Zach was in there somewhere, as was Anastasia. The Morgan halted a moment, allowing her a look down.

  After scrabbling around getting back on their horses and organized, six men headed up after her. They were bent on finding and killing their prey, but damned if they’d catch her. She urged the horses ever deeper into the thick stand of pines and scruffy undergrowth. Zach and Anastasia were on foot. She had to find them. After tying the animals deep in the shadows, she went to ground, much as a pursued fox might, staying low, moving from tree to rock to not be seen. The two of them had to be nearby. Though the men below had no sense of a quiet approach, she still feared being crept up on from behind. Every sound could be Zach and the woman—or a predator. Before the pursuers got near enough to hear, she had to locate the two of them.

  Keeping her voice low, she called to Zach several times and moved with stealth in an ever-widening circle. There was little time left befo
re those coming after her closed in. Even in the late morning sunlight, shadows and brush offered plenty of places to hide. Not only for her but for them, as well.

  At least the woman had stopped screaming. Maybe Zach had found her, or maybe she’d had the sense to hide. Every step Tyra took crunched dried branches and last year’s leaves underfoot, a thunderous sound. Surely they would hear. Why were they after this woman? Or what if they weren’t? Maybe somehow they’d learned that Josh, who had escaped hanging in Cuero, was hiding out here. A rustle in the shrubbery was too near for comfort. She froze behind the trunk of a large scabrous tree trunk and held her breath, the back of her neck shivering.

  A hand smelling of smoke and dust clamped over her mouth. Her heart all but jumped into her throat, but she stilled a desire to fight back. To make noise.

  “Tyra, it’s me,” Zach whispered.

  She nodded, and he took his hand away, wrapped her in his arms when she turned to him. Her heart pounded in rhythm to his.

  The men grew nearer, rode about in circles, cursing and yammering at each other. Thank goodness they were too stupid to be quiet. Close, so close she could smell them. She glanced over her shoulder, and Zach gestured toward a thicket. Through the heavy leaves, she made out the crouched figure of Anastasia. Hiding. Possibly too terrified to make a sound.

  “The whore has got to be out here.” A coarse voice.

  “She couldn’t have gone far.” Raspy tones.

  It was Anastasia and not Josh they were looking for. Somehow that didn’t make her feel much better.

  “We’ll find her. You, Wes, and Cord, ride out, see if you can pick up a trail. That one feller got away. Had a couple boys with him. Catch him and shoot the bastard. The kids too. The rest of you, search these woods. She must be hiding in here somewhere. Don’t shoot her—he wants her alive.” He directed two of the remaining men to go off to the south, while he and one other started back toward Tyra and Zach.

  “We have to get out of here,” Zach whispered.

  “What about her? We can’t leave her.”

  Any moment and the raucous men would spot the horses.

  “The minute I try to fetch her, she’ll start screaming. We gotta git out, now.”

  “You go, Zach. Go. I’ll get her.”

  He gazed into her eyes a moment. “Not leaving you here, honey.” A tone not to be argued with.

  Something plucked at her leg, and Tyra glanced down to see Anastasia, on her hands and knees, looking up at her. “I go. I go.”

  Zach crouched near Anastasia. “Where are the horses? She can ride with you. Let’s get out of here. Now.”

  Tyra gestured toward the thicket where she’d hidden them.

  He nodded. “Take her and go. I’ll make some noise over yonder to distract them. Then you come get me.”

  “No, no. You come with us.”

  “Tyra, listen, please. Take her out of here. Just don’t leave me behind, is all. I’ll be right over there.” He gestured, then took off before she could stop him, making so much noise loping through the underbrush and dried pine needles and broken branches in a stumbling, limping gait that the men searching lit out after him.

  Damn it, if he got caught she’d shoot him again. Grabbing Anastasia’s hand, she ran full tilt to where the horses waited, leaped into the saddle, kicked loose the stirrup and pulled the small woman up behind her. Clicking her tongue, she urged both animals toward the periphery of the search area, then around the outer edge to where Zach had said he’d be. He wasn’t there.

  Deep inside the thicket a shot rang out, followed by another. Shouts, running, more shouts. Zach popped out of the woods and hit his saddle running, his forward motion propelling him onto the chestnut’s back with a grunt that hurt her.

  “Ride, ride,” he said, and Tyra took off, leading him away from the woods and farther up the incline above the flat lands to a scattering of large boulders. The frail young woman had a death grip around her waist. Morgan was big and strong, nearing sixteen hands, and the two of them weren’t heavy, but if they didn’t find someplace to hide out, and soon, they could ride him to death. Their pursuers’ confused shouts faded. Hopefully, they’d hunt for them a while longer in the shadowy thicket before realizing they’d gotten away.

  Only problem was, Josh had ridden out to the southwest and they were headed north. They might never find him and the boys again, could only hope he got away. Clearly the men had been sent after the woman by a mysterious “him” who wanted her alive. These men wanted Anastasia in the worst way, and it looked like anyone who helped her was in the line of fire.

  At least half a dozen men were after them, too many for them to stand and fight.

  Ahead, Zach rounded some boulders and went out of sight. When she followed, Josh appeared up ahead, waving his hat. He’d circled around and come back for them.

  “This way. Hurry.”

  He led them up a narrow path and over the crest of the hill to where Sam and Micah waited. Headed down, they circled into a creek bed, followed it for a while, then headed up under an overhang. The horses’ hooves sprayed water and clattered on bedrock. Their pursuers would be sure to hear them. Sliding from his saddle, Josh signaled Tyra, Zach, and the boys to do the same and took their horses.

  “Wait here. I’ll be back.”

  He was gone too long. Had the men found him? Tyra sat deep in the shadow of the bluff beside Anastasia. Sam and Micah chased off, pitching rocks at each other. Her heart ached with fear for Josh’s safety. “What if they found him? Somehow circled around?”

  “Josh knows what he’s doing. Just settle down and wait. Where’d the boys go?” Zach rose, checked in all directions. “Do you see them?”

  Tyra moved from Anastasia’s grip and looked around. “They were here just a minute ago.”

  “I’ll go take a look.” Zach made a quick circle around the bluffs. “Don’t see the little buggers. We don’t dare go hollering for them. Without the horses here, we can’t rightly go very far looking for them.”

  “Let’s wait till Josh gets back. They might have tagged along with him.”

  Tyra sank back down and put her arms around Anastasia. The boys had picked a bad time to wander off. Still, they’d been on their own for a long while, could probably take as good a care of themselves as any of the adults, maybe better. Zach was right, they couldn’t go making a lot of noise hunting them.

  Anastasia huddled against Tyra, crying softly. It was cool in the shade, and the smell of damp earth hung in the air. Sunlight sparkled on the water below. So deceptively peaceful, yet death hovered nearby.

  Josh appeared in silhouette and she drew a great sigh of relief. Surely the boys were with him. Panting, he slid down beneath the bluffs and sank beside his brother on the hard-packed earth. Picked up a stick and drew in the dirt.

  “Where’s Sam and Micah?” Zach and Tyra asked the question almost in the same breath.

  Josh looked all around. “I don’t know. Where are they supposed to be?”

  “They’re gone. We figured they tagged along with you.”

  He shrugged. “Nope, not that I saw. ’Course they could’ve. Wasn’t something I was looking for.”

  “But could they have maybe followed you? Took their horses and lit out?”

  “I expect so, but why would they do that?”

  “Maybe got tired bein’ with us?”

  Josh rose with a sigh. “Okay, I’ll go back where I left the horses. See if theirs are still there. Then we’ll know whether to hunt for them or simply let them be. There’s a meadow the other side of those trees. Figured the animals would be safe and quiet there. Don’t think those riders can track us over the bedrock. If we’re lucky, they’ll give up looking, so let’s just settle down and be quiet for a spell.” He glanced toward Anastasia. “How’s she doin’?”

  Tyra put her arm around the trembling woman. “She’s scared but okay.”

  “You have to keep her quiet, especially if they pass close by.”

&
nbsp; She nodded without speaking, patted the woman’s shoulder, and put a finger over her lips. Mouth tight and skin gray, Zach leaned back and closed his eyes. His leg was probably giving him hell after all the chasing around. She laid a hand on his thigh and he covered it with his. She was damned sorry for causing him pain. Wished she could make up for it somehow. Probably best if she didn’t say anything, though.

  Tyra wanted to go with Josh to look for the boys, but Anastasia clung to her with such fear that she decided to stay.

  Zach rose. “I’d go with you but don’t want to leave the ladies alone.”

  “The ladies will be fine, thank you.” Tyra bristled at the idea that having her along could cause a problem of any kind.

  Josh took off at a trot. “You stay here, brother. I can get there faster than if I have to slow down for you, old man.” His laughter faded as he went out of sight.

  “Old man,” Zach muttered, but lowered himself onto his butt near Tyra.

  For a long while the only sound was that of the water and a few bird songs. Anastasia fell asleep, and Zach and Tyra leaned against each other and held hands, not talking, just content to be together. His head soon dropped to her shoulder, and soft breathing told her he was asleep.

  Josh returned so silently he startled Tyra. He squatted near her. “Their horses are gone. So are some of our supplies. They’ve took off. Reckon they had their fill of us.”

  “Oh, Josh, will they be okay? They’re so young.”

  “No younger than your Zach there was when he shot his first Union soldier.”

  The suggestion was so upsetting to her she kissed the sleeping man on the cheek. Wished she could take away the terrible memories of war that must still haunt him. “Then what do you think we should do?”

  “Let them be, honey. Just let them be. They’ll be fine. Besides, what would we do with them anyway? They have no business riding the trail Zach and I will ride, and you don’t need to be responsible for two little hon-yocks like them. I sensed they were plumb terrified of those men. Knew something about them we don’t.”