"Word only gets out through outsiders," Wyn said in a dead voice. "No one in the mountains would ever turn in one of their own to the law."
Pain singed through her at his unspoken but clear accusation. She determinedly fought it back. "As I said, we can argue about whose fault this is later. Where's Robert?"
"Probably out at his still," Wyn admitted. "And . . . ohmigod!"
"What?"
"The young'uns are supposed to all be up there studying, but I saw Mairi heading off into the woods a few minutes ago. If she's going to see Leery, like I suspect, she won't go anywhere near where Robert has his still. But if she hears anything going on in the woods . . ."
"Let's go!"
Sarah picked up her skirts and turned, but Wyn grabbed her arm. "Whoa! You're not going anywhere. I'll go find Mairi and send her home. Then go warn Robert."
"The day Jute and I got sprayed, I saw the sun glint off something way on up the mountain," Sarah told him. "Copper shines like that, and Mr. Caruthers told me the most expensive items in setting up a distillery were the things I'd need made of copper. One way or another, I'll get a saddle on that horse. I'm going with you to find Mairi, then I'm going up there to that still!"
"And what if the authorities are already there? What if you ride straight into a raid and get arrested? I'm sure your fiancé would appreciate that!"
She shook off his hold. "I'm going, Wyn. I only saw one horse in the barn, but if I have to walk, I'm going. I won't wait here and worry about what's happening — both to Mairi and Robert."
He stared at her in fury, then sighed in defeat. He whistled shrilly, and a horse neighed, then Sarah heard pounding hooves. Seconds later, the horse Wyn usually rode cantered out of the pasture beyond and into the corral. Wyn caught the halter and led it toward her.
Less than five minutes later, the two horses were both cantering up the trail she and the children had walked the day of their field trip. She hadn't taken time to change, and Wyn hadn't suggested she do so. That alone told her how afraid he was they might be too late. Whether too late for either Mairi or Robert, she couldn't know for sure, but perhaps there was absolutely no danger yet. Perhaps Mairi had indeed taken the other fork in the trail, which Wyn had mentioned while he saddled the horses and which led to Leery's rather than Robert's still. Perhaps the authorities hadn't arrived yet, and they could warn Robert and Cabbage in time for them to hide the evidence of their illegal activities.
Heart pounding, she made sure her horse kept pace with Wyn's. Try desperately though she might, she couldn't keep the fear from curdling her stomach. She would die herself if anything happened to Mairi, and Sissy would never forgive her if her inappropriate actions sent Robert to prison. None of the MacIntyres would, nor would anyone else in the mountains. She would worry about that later, though. Right now, there was still a chance nothing would happen.
At the split in the trail, Wyn quickly dismounted. He knelt, then pointed at a shoe print in the dirt.
"She went toward Leery's," he said in a relieved voice.
But some sixth sense told Sarah he'd made a mistake. She looked down the other fork in the trail, pointing at what she saw. "Maybe she started that way, but she must have changed her mind and walked off the path on her way back to this fork. That's the same type footprint over there!"
Wyn stood and, looping his reins over his arm, hurried over to the other fork, the horse trailing behind him. When he straightened with a grim look on his face and sprang into the saddle, Sarah knew she'd deduced correctly.
A gunshot sounded, and Sarah cried out in dread. Wyn's horse was already in a gallop by the time she realized he was leaving her behind. Leaning down on her horse's neck, as she had seen some jockeys do, she hied it after him. She heard another shot as she rounded the bend in the trail where Wyn had disappeared a second ago and caught a brief glimpse of Wyn's rider-less horse before her own horse slid to an abrupt halt. Then it reared, neighing shrilly. Sarah landed in a heap on the ground, breath knocked out of her.
She fought the swirling blackness, struggling desperately to breathe. Interspersed with her ineffective heaves for breath was her terror over what had happened to Mairi and Wyn. But suddenly Wyn was beside her, lifting her into his arms and carrying her behind a barrier of rocks. He laid her down and she gratefully drew in a breath, her vision clearing as she saw Mairi crouched in the shelter. When she held out her arms, Mairi hurdled into them. Then her worried eyes centered on Wyn, crouched beside her, unerringly going to the blood on his forehead.
"My God! You've been shot!"
"No," he denied. "The bullet hit a rock, and a piece flew off and creased my face. Are you all right?"
"I'm fine. What are we going to do?"
"You're going to keep your head down and hold onto Mairi. And stay quiet."
Obviously certain she would obey him, Wyn turned from her and belly-crawled to the edge of the pile of rocks. He eased his head around them, and Sarah held her breath, this time on purpose. She hadn't had more than a glimpse ahead of her before she lost her seat on the horse, but she remembered the area from her previous trip. They'd ridden further up the trail than she and the children had gone that day, but the surroundings were similar. Huge pines, oaks and maple grew thick in places, yet every once in a while there would be an open space. Most of the high banks they rode beside were made of rock, bare to the sunlight that managed to make its way through the trees, since the rains kept the dirt washed free from the surfaces.
All at once, Wyn scrambled to his feet. "Goddamn it, Cabbage!" he shouted. "It's me! Put that damned rifle away!"
Silence stretched out for several tense seconds, and finally Sarah heard someone return Wyn's shout. "Well, that might be you over there!" a voice yelled, which she recognized as belonging to the man who had brought Robert to the house the day he'd been burned. "But you better hide your ass before whoever's over on the far side of that mountain gets a good bead on you!"
Wyn dropped back behind the rocks a split instant before the next shot rang out. Sarah actually heard the bullet whiz by, sounding like an angry bee. It thudded into a tree behind them, splintering shards of bark over them, and she clutched Mairi tighter.
"My God," she breathed, forgetting for an instant that Mairi would hear her words. "They're trying to kill us."
"Why do they want to kills us, Miss Sarah?" Mairi whimpered.
"Shhhh, darling," Sarah soothed. "I didn't mean that. They're just trying to scare us off — make us go back down the mountain."
"I think we ought's to go then," Mairi said. "They's got guns and we don't. I was going to see Miz Leery when I heard some people yelling up this way and came here instead. I wish I'd've went on to Miz Leery's."
"Wyn and I will protect you, Mairi. I promise."
"Give it up!" a voice yelled from the opposite side of the clearing from where Cabbage Carter had taken shelter. "We're with the Bureau! Everyone here is under arrest!"
"You heard him," yet another voice called. "Come out with your hands up, you damned hicks!"
Mairi pulled back and frowned at Sarah. "Isn't that your man from back in New York? What's his name?"
"Stephen! It is, Mairi." Sarah shifted Mairi from her lap. Keeping one arm on the young girl to make sure she didn't move from behind the protection of the rock, she stuck her head up.
Wyn cursed and grabbed her, jerking her back immediately. But this time no one shot.
"Let go of me!" She caught Wyn off guard and pulled from his grasp to stand up completely. When Wyn started to rise beside her, she caught him with an unexpected push with both hands on his shoulder, which knocked him back down. "Stay with Mairi," she ordered, then raced out from the rocks into the clearing.
"Does anyone out there have the nerve to shoot a woman?" she yelled. "Stephen! I recognized your voice. Tell those men you were mistaken about what you thought was going on here. Tell them to leave!"
"Damn it, Sarah!" he screamed. "Get out of there!"
"No! If yo
u know what's good for you, Stephen, you'll do as I say." She quickly scanned the open area in front of her, realizing whoever owned the still had managed to dismantle it and move it before the federal authorities arrived. All that remained was a dark spot where a fire had been built, and a few pieces of scrap wood.
"There's nothing here, Stephen! You were wrong!"
The voice evidently belonging to one of the federal authorities spoke next. "He has the information he learned that he can testify to! We'll call him into court, and that should be enough to send these men to prison."
"Not if he realizes he misunderstood that information!" Sarah told them. "Stephen, I think you better come down here and talk to me!"
"Jesus, Sarah," Wyn whispered loudly. "Get back here and get on your horse. Leave. They won't bother you, now that they know who you are. Your fiancé will tell them what could happen if they messed with someone of your social status."
"But they'll bother you," she replied. "And Robert and Cabbage."
"But . . ."
"Psst!"
Sarah stiffened and cautiously sidled her eyes to the right. Behind a huge tree, she saw Robert.
"Oh, God," Wyn said around a groan. "Get on your horse and get the hell out of here, Robert. They won't know who you are, if you duck down on your horse's neck."
"No," his brother-in-law said. "I won't let you get arrested in my place."
"Both of you shut the hell up!" Perhaps it was her swearing that shocked them, but both Wyn and Robert fell silent. Taking advantage of their surprise, she said, "Don't either of you move."
Mairi echoed her. "Shut up and let Miss Sarah take care of things. Leastwise, they aren't shootin' at her!"
Wyn's angry gasp made her smile a tiny bit, and a little of the fear left her as she realized Mairi was right. They weren't shooting at her. They weren't shooting at anyone, now that she was standing in the clearing.
"Stephen!" she called once more. "Come down here and talk to me! Now! If you don't, consider our betrothal broken!"
For a long moment, she actually thought Stephen might ignore her. The other man's angry voice ordered Stephen to stay where he was. Finally, though, she saw Stephen for the first time since she'd left New York. He half stumbled, half slid down the side of the mountain across the clearing, at last making his way to the more level ground where the still had been built. She hurried over to meet him, in order to have at least a semblance of privacy for their talk. Thankfully, Wyn let her go without further protest.
Stephen's face was more haggard than she had ever seen it, and it grew even worse as she talked to him. He refused to meet her eyes, gazing past her shoulder and breathing hard, drops of sweat covering his forehead. Only when she got to what she considered the end of the conversation did he face her, a faint hopefulness in his eyes.
"That's all?" he asked. "That's all I need to do, and you'll do what you just said?"
"It's your only chance, Stephen," she told him. "A chance for a clean start. I won't do this again. It's time you grew up and became a man."
"I can, Sarah," he said earnestly. "You'll see."
"No, I won't see," she told him enigmatically. "But I'll do this for you once and once only. You need to accept this and do what I ask, not only for me, but for yourself, Stephen."
He stared at her for a long, heartfelt moment, then nodded and took her hands in his. After squeezing them firmly, he dropped them and called to the man up on this mountain side, "Miss Channing's right! There's nothing illegal going on here. I was wrong. You can go on back to Washington!"
"Damn it, VanderDyke . . . !" the federal authority began.
"I mean it!" Stephen yelled. "I won't testify against these people. If you try to force me, I'll say it was all a mistake! And Miss Channing and I have enough influential friends to see that you lose your job, if you don't do what I say!"
Sarah held her breath until the man on the mountain side stood. He shook his rifle angrily, then strode on up the mountain. A few seconds later, she heard horses' hooves and caught sight of the man riding away, leading another horse behind him.
"Looks like I need a ride off this mountain," Stephen mused wryly. "He took my horse."
"You can ride down with me," Sarah offered.
Robert stepped from behind the tree, a rifle polished to high perfection in his hands. Stephen gave a start, having caught sight of Robert's face, Sarah was sure. Then Cabbage Carter walked down the hillside toward them. When he reached them, he and Robert glared at one another, but they kept their guns pointed at the ground.
Sarah sensed rather than heard someone else move and saw only the back of Wyn as he left, holding Mairi by the hand. Without a word, he strode over to where his horse had waited nearby and swung Mairi into the saddle before he mounted behind her. Keeping his neck and back stiff, he rode away.
To distract herself from the pain in her heart, she turned to Robert. "How did you know you needed to move the still? That the men would be coming today?"
"We've been seeing some strange tracks in the mountains," Robert told her. "Wyn saw some first and told me about them, and Cabbage came to me last night, saying he had a feeling we oughta both move our stills. We helped each other do it."
He held out his hand, and Cabbage reluctantly took it. "I still think my shine's better'n yours," Cabbage said.
Robert laughed and shook his head. "Looks like we'll both be around to make some more and let our customers decide for themselves."
Yes, Sarah thought. But in another, safer way.
She longed to discuss her plans with Robert, but she and Kyle had both agreed it would be easier to talk the men into accepting her financial help if they first heard of the distillery from their minister. She held her peace and looked around for her horse. After she sent Stephen to capture the horse, he helped her mount and climbed on behind her to ride down the mountain. Robert and Cabbage followed, but Cabbage left them at the fork in the trail.
Back at the store, she found all the MacIntyres on the front porch. Dan had a forbidding look on his face, and Sarah gathered her courage again. Murmuring to Stephen to stay on the horse for his own safety, she slid to the ground after Robert dismounted and walked over to assist her.
"Wyn already told everyone what happened," Dan informed her as she approached him. "Then he took off for a ride somewhere. He wouldn't tell me where."
"I'm very sorry this happened, Dan . . ." she began
He held up his hand. "It wasn't your fault. Wyn explained things, and it would be a sorry person who couldn't see that you were trying to help, not hurt anyone. 'Sides, Kyle's been tellin' me a little of what you have in mind, and I been agreein' with him. But we'll talk more about that later. Right now, we've gotta get that feller off the mountain a'fore more folks find out what happened. There's them that will shoot him without blinkin' an eye over what he did."
Sarah glanced back at Stephen, whose face was white with fear as he apparently digested Dan's words. "You're right. And he needs to go now."
Dan took charge, issuing orders in a voice expecting obedience. "Robert, you get back on your horse and ride with him down to Razor Gully. See he gets on the evening train a'fore you come back. Best the both of you keep your mouths shut 'bout what happened till he's well gone. Them folks in Razor Gully ain't as quick with their trigger fingers as some of the men up here on our part of the mountain, but the sheriff down there won't appreciate your stirring things up if you let on as to what he done." Dan jerked his head at Stephen, an unpleasant sneer on his face.
"The rest of you just pretend we ain't never seen that city slicker," he continued. "Word will get out soon enough, but it ain't worth the stir it will cause if he ends up dead. A story like that might hurt the sales of that there liquor we're gonna be famous for."
Dan wheeled his chair around, then disappeared inside the store. The rest of the children and adults followed him, leaving Sarah and Robert the only ones out there with Stephen. Sarah went back down the steps and over to Stephen.
"I hope you understand how much danger you're in until you get out of here, Stephen."
"I do," he said, his fright clear in his voice. "And believe me, I won't say anything either. Just let me get out of here and I'll forget I even heard of a place called Sawback Mountain."
"Then you better get going." She nodded toward where Robert now sat on his horse. "The sooner you get moving, the more chance you'll have of getting on the train before anything happens to you."
Stephen reined his horse around, then halted it. His eyes met Sarah's. "I want to say this before I leave, Sarah, even if it means I might be letting danger catch up to me. I always knew I wasn't worth your little finger, and never could see why I was lucky enough to have you choose me. I think what happened today — and seeing you again, knowing what I'm losing because I'm not man enough for you — might make me a better person. I hope so. But whatever happens, I wish you happiness, Sarah Channing. I've never met a woman who deserves it more."
Stephen lifted a finger to his forehead in a salute to her, then kicked his horse in the ribs. A few seconds later, he and Robert were out of sight.
Chapter 23
"E-S-T-A-B-L-I-S- . . . um . . . H-M-E-N- . . . T! Establishment!"
A huge grin on his face, Jute whirled to face Sarah. "That means a place where folks can buy stuff — like our store!"
"That's right, Jute," Sarah said. "And I do believe that makes you the winner of this stage of the competition. In fact, you spelled a word a couple years beyond your grade level."
Jute grinned from ear to ear, then swaggered back to the bench where the other students sat. Just before he took his seat, he placed one hand across the front of his waist and bent his other arm behind his back. Briefly, he bowed to his audience. Then he scooted onto the bench and reached into his lunch pail, pulling out Swishy, much to the dismay of several young girls near him.
"Miss Sarah said if I made the final," he told the audience at large, "I could let Swishy watch me get my prize."
Tennessee Waltz Page 28