When she was breathing a bit better he helped her up and onto his lap, where he surrounded her in his arms. She sought his chest, leaning against it and snuggling into the protective cocoon he offered.
They stayed that way for several minutes, neither saying a word. They both needed the closeness, knowing they were about to embark upon a dangerous adventure. They both felt the love they had for each other, and neither wanted to move. Finally, he kissed the top of her head. "Are you okay?"
"Yes."
"Are you going to argue with me in front of people again?"
"No."
"Are you going to listen to me when I'm trying to keep you safe?"
"Yes."
"Thank you." After another kiss to her soft, beautiful hair, he patted her bare bottom gently. "We better get going."
They went to their bedroom and got what they needed for their bedrolls, and stopped in to check on Pete quickly. "Where's Maria?" Austin asked.
"She just left. I assured her I'll be fine, so she went to get some food ready for you two to take with you. I'm glad you two stopped in here before you left. I want to warn you about Sam Wyler. He is a very mean, heartless man, but he hides it well. When I first met him he seemed like a nice man. He was very polite and I believed him and what he was saying. He maintained that front until I had asked too many questions. Then I saw the real Sam Wyler. Please, be very careful of that man."
"We will," Austin assured him. "Thank you for the advice. I'll pass it on to the sheriff. My bunkhouse cook, Amos, is going to be spending a lot of his time in here with you while we're gone. Amos is a good man, you'll like him. Please keep resting so you can get your strength back."
"Thank you, both of you. I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you for what you've done."
"By getting well. That's all we want," Austin said as they hurried downstairs.
Sure enough, when they got to the kitchen, Maria was waiting for them. "I take it you two worked out what needed to be worked out and you're ready to go now. She held a bag out to Austin. "There's enough in there for both of you for tonight, and breakfast tomorrow. Be careful and watch out for each other."
"Thank you, Maria," Georgia said, hugging the lady she'd grown so fond of.
"Yes, thank you," Austin echoed.
"You're welcome. Now get going so they're not waiting on you."
The couple hurried outside, where they saw Cord walking up to the house, leading their two strongest geldings, saddled and ready to go. "I'll take care of the ranch while you're gone, boss. You two be careful."
"Thanks, Cord." The look Austin gave his foreman said more than a hundred thank yous could have, and Cord nodded in return. Austin turned to help his wife up onto the large gelding, but chuckled when he saw her already mounted and turning the horse toward the lane.
"You better hurry, boss, if you want to keep up with her," Cord teased as his boss quickly mounted and turned to follow his wife out the lane.
***
An hour later, Mr. and Mrs. Barrington joined Sheriff Montgomery and his deputy, Clark Byner. The sheriff introduced them to Henry Sherman, the deputy who had brought the message of the kidnapped lady. Ben Conard, who was the mayor's brother, was also at the sheriff's office. Over the next few minutes they were joined by Jacob Hanson, the local blacksmith. The sheriff asked, "Is your boy going to be okay running your shop while you're gone?"
"He should be. He's been helping me quite a bit and knows a great deal. If anyone wants anything special, they'll just have to wait until I get back."
"Okay. Thanks for coming with us," Grant said.
Earl Calhoun, who ran the livery in town, was the next to join them. He assured the sheriff the two boys who worked for him would be able to handle everything until he returned. Leo Miller, the town school teacher, showed up next. Finally, Max Bailor, who owned one of the saloons in town, came riding in. The sheriff quickly told the group everything he knew about Sam Wyler and where he may be, and explained what their plan was. After checking to be sure everyone had a good weapon and plenty of ammunition, he led the way, and they were off.
Deputy Sherman said they thought he was heading south along the Silt Creek, so they headed for a ranch south of the Rippling Waters ranch. They stopped and told the rancher what they were doing, and with his blessing, headed for the creek. They followed it downstream, looking for any signs of mining activity or a spot someone may have camped. They had five people riding close to the creek who were concentrating on looking for signs of activity, while the other five scanned the area all around, including behind them, watching for any sign of movement.
They continued following the creek until it got too dark to see the signs they were looking for, so they found an outcropping of large stones that would provide some safety, and made camp. The men took turns watching out while the rest got some sleep. The next morning, they ate breakfast and started out again.
As it neared noon, one of the men shot a couple rabbits for lunch. They made camp, and while some of the men skinned the rabbits and got a fire started, the rest went to the creek to fish. Georgia fried some potatoes Grant had brought along and made coffee, and they soon all sat down to some lunch.
As they were cleaning up their camp, readying to start off again, Austin pulled Georgia aside. "How are you doing?"
She saw the concern in his eyes and knew what he was referring to. "I'm fine. I was sure I'd be sore for at least two days, but honestly, the pain was gone by the time we stopped last night."
"Good," he said with a quick kiss to her forehead. "I'm proud of you. You haven't complained once, or asked to stop for any reason."
"I told you I could do this. I just hope we find him pretty soon and the lady's okay, so we can get back home. I hope Maria's doing okay with Pete."
"I'm sure she is. Amos is going to go in to spend time with him every day, and Cord promised he'd check on Maria every day, as well. They'll be okay, but I hope we find him soon, too. I'd like to get this guy behind bars where he belongs. I'll feel better knowing he's not hiding in our woods waiting for another chance to attack Pete."
"Me, too. It'll be good to get back to our normal life. It won't be too long before school will be starting again."
Austin nodded. "It'll be sooner than we think."
They headed back to the group and they all started back down the creek.
***
Ben Wagner finished milking cows for the evening early. It was still light, so he got his horse and went for a ride. It was a nice evening, and he took his rifle, hoping to do a little hunting while he was out. A rabbit for his mother to make stew the next day would be nice.
Luck was with him, and he got a nice rabbit. When he went to the thicket it was close to, he saw a paper crumpled up, stuck among the thorns. Six months ago he wouldn't even have looked at it, but now that he was learning to read, he was curious. He got the paper out and studied it. His reading wasn't that good yet, but he was able to make out enough of it to know he needed to show it to his dad. He folded the paper up and put it in his pocket, grabbed the rabbit, and hurried home.
Elliott and Vera were sitting on the front porch when he came back toward the barn on the run. His parents were instantly concerned, seeing him push his horse that way. They knew something was amiss. Seeing them on the porch, he didn't stop at the barn, but went to the house. His dad was waiting for him and helped him down. "What in tarnation has you running that horse like that, son?"
"I went rabbit hunting. I got one, but when I went to pick it up, I found this." He pulled the paper out of his pocket, and the three of them studied it, reading as much of it as they could. Together they were able to make out a good portion of it.
Elliott looked up from the paper to his wife and son. "This is a telegram to that Wyler man who shot Pete. It's about mining. He must have been mining on our land some, like the sheriff asked us about. This is from someone who's telling him about another place to mine, south of here."
"That's wher
e the sheriff and the posse, including the Barringtons, were going to look for him, isn't it; down south of here?"
"It is," Elliott answered, "but they were going to follow the Silt Creek down, thinking he'd still be looking there. According to this note, the spot he found is in the Black Creek. They're looking for him in the wrong creek."
Vera was concerned. "What should we do?"
"Reckon we should give this to the deputy in town? Maybe he'd know how to get word to the posse," Ben suggested.
"I would, but look at the name on that telegram, who it's from. It says J. Silas. Ain't Silas the name of that deputy in town?"
"It is," Vera said. "Sheriff Montgomery introduced the new deputy to a few of us that were in the general store just the other day when we went to town for supplies," Vera said. "The sheriff said the new guy, Deputy Byner, I think he said, will be training with himself and Deputy Joe Silas, who's been there longer. He introduced himself as Joe Silas. You don't suppose this is him, do you? If it is, it sounds like he's in on this guy doing this illegal mining."
"If it's him, or even some of his kin, I don't think we want to give this telegram to him," Elliott said.
"What should we do with it, Pa?"
Elliott thought for several moments. "I'm not quite sure, but if it's from that deputy, it worries me."
Vera saw the concern in her husband's eyes. "Why?"
"If he's in on this mining and getting money from it, he knows about Pete. He was out there the other day, so he knows Pete's not dead, and he knows where he is. He also knows the sheriff and the Barringtons left on a posse. He may have got word to this Wyler fellow. He may decide to go to the Barringtons' ranch while everyone's gone and kill him once and for all so he can't talk or testify in court against him. Or he might go after the posse with the Barringtons and kill them before they find him."
"Oh, my," Vera said, following her husband's logic. "We have to do something."
"I agree," Elliott said. "First off, I think we need to go make sure Pete's okay over there."
"And Maria," Vera added, thinking of their poor neighbor. "She's been through enough, losing her husband and all."
"I agree. Ben, let's you and me run over there and talk to Cord, Austin's foreman. We'll show him this and talk to him. There's a few words on this I can't make out, but he'll be able to. That might help us figure this out. We'll talk to him and let him help us decide what to do. I'm thinking maybe we need to get Pete out of there. We can bring him to our house to finish healing. Then maybe Ben and me need to follow Silt Creek south and try and find them to warn them."
"That sounds like a good idea, Elliott. While you and Ben go over there to talk to Cord, I'll get the extra bedroom ready for Pete."
"Why don't you put him in the extra bed in Ben's room? I'd like to bring Maria over here, too, if you don't mind. I don't like the idea of her being there in that house alone, just in case Wyler were to show up."
"I think that's an excellent idea. I'll get both beds ready for guests. Ben, is that okay with you, if you share a room with Pete?"
"Sure, Ma. I think that's a good idea. Let's go, Pa."
"Why don't you leave the rabbit here," Vera suggested. "After I get the extra beds made up, I'll skin it. It'll give me something to occupy my mind while I wait for you two to get back. Maybe I won't worry as much."
Elliott handed her the rabbit. "Try not to worry, wife. Cord will help us and we'll get this figured out. Everything will be okay." He quickly saddled his horse and he and Ben took off for the Rippling Waters Ranch.
Cord had just gotten to his foreman's cabin and taken his boots off after eating supper with Maria at the main house, when he heard someone riding up. Visitors after supper were not usually a good thing, so he pulled his boots back on and opened his door to go check it out. He almost ran smack into Elliott, who was ready to pound on his door.
"Elliott, what brings you and Ben out this late? Is something wrong?"
"It might be, Cord. Can we come in a minute?"
"Sure." He opened the door and they all went inside. "Now, what's wrong? You look worried. Is Vera okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine, but look at what Ben found on our land this evening while he was rabbit hunting." He pulled the telegram from his pocket and watched as Cord read it. He looked back up at Elliott, and back down to the telegram, obviously thinking. "This could mean trouble."
"That's why I'm here," Elliott said. "What's your thinking on it, and I'll tell you mine."
"Well, I'm not exactly sure," Cord admitted. "But I'm glad you didn't take it to the sheriff's office. J. Silas might be the deputy in town."
"That's what worried me, too. If he's in on it, he could have got word to this Wyler guy. He knows Pete's alive, and he knows where he is. He also knows Austin and his wife are both gone right now, and that there's a posse after him."
"Which makes Pete not safe here right now, if he knows both Barringtons are gone," Cord said.
"Or it could mean Wyler's going after the posse, maybe planning to sneak up on them and get to them before they can get to him. If he got this Silas guy and a few others to help him, they could track the posse and attack at night when they're sleeping."
"They certainly could," Cord agreed. "We've got to do something. First thing we need to do is get Pete out of that house, and Maria, too. If he comes looking for Pete, I don't want him finding Maria in the house alone."
"Me, neither. Vera's fixing up beds for both of them right now. They can stay at my place. But I'm thinking maybe me and Ben should follow Silt Creek down and try and find the posse. We can warn them, and show them this. It sounds like he may be mining in Black Creek. They'll never find him if they stay on Silt Creek."
Cord was thinking, and nodded his head. "If you're sure you're okay with Pete and Maria staying with you, I like that idea. I'd like it a lot more, though, if you let me put one or two of our men over there, too, just in case. And I think someone needs to go down and warn them, but I'm not sure it should be you and Ben. Someone that knows about your farm should stay here to do the chores. Is Ben old enough; if he were to stay here, would he know what needs to be done and how to do it?"
"Yes, Ben knows an awful lot about what needs done on the farm. I hadn't thought of that. Someone needs to milk the cows and take care of the chickens. Vera can't do that and take care of Pete."
"Why don't you let Ben stay here. I'll send a couple men over to stay there, too, and they can help Ben do the chores while they watch the house and make sure the women and Pete are okay. I'll go with you to try to find the posse."
It was Elliott's turn to think a couple minutes now. "That sounds good, but what about this ranch? Austin and Georgia have been awful good to us, and I don't want his ranch going downhill because all his men are at my place or with me."
"This place will be fine. We've got some good men here, and I'm sure they'll step up while we're gone. We just hired a new hand. He's young, but eager to prove he's worth keeping. They'll be fine. Besides, Austin and Georgia could be in trouble. That comes before the ranch."
"Yes, I agree with you there," Elliott said without any hesitation.
"Okay, it's decided. Let me go talk to the men. You may as well come along. If they have any questions, you know as much about this as me. Let's explain it all to them, and we'll get a couple men over to your place. I don't know how long all this will take, but once we get Pete and Maria to your place, we'll see what time it is. If we think we may be able to get a couple hours in yet tonight if we follow the creek, I think we should do it. We'll find a place to camp for the night and get an early start in the morning. The sooner we find them the safer it'll be, and the more likely they can go to the Black Creek and find Wyler, if he's still there."
"Or he may be on his way right here. Let's get this going. We'll go talk to the men, then we'll go talk to Maria and Pete. We'll move them yet tonight, too."
It took two hours to get things organized, but they helped Pete into a wagon and got him ove
r to the Wagner home, along with Maria. Two men were staying there, as well. One would sleep on the couch, and the other offered to sleep in the barn, thinking he'd hear if anyone came snooping around the place. They were all afraid if Wyler came looking for Pete and found out he was gone, he'd start looking at the neighbors' homes.
When all was settled, and the remaining hands at the Barrington ranch knew the story and what to do the next few days, Cord and Elliott decided to head south. "I think we can still get a couple hours in. After a few hours of sleep, we'll get an early start in the morning. They'll be going slower, looking for signs of mining, so hopefully we can make better time and catch up to them tomorrow, or at least the next day," Elliott said.
"I agree," Cord said. Vera had some food ready for them to take with them. They took it and left, anxious to get started south.
Chapter Thirteen
Austin, Georgia and the rest of the posse were slowly following the Silt Creek south, looking for any sign of activity along the creek. Sheriff Montgomery came alongside Austin and Georgia. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little frustrated," he admitted.
"Me, too," Austin answered. "I haven't seen any signs of mining, or anyone camping out. You're the sheriff, so it's your call. What are you thinking?"
Grant shrugged, and shook his head. "I'm not real sure. We don't have a whole lot to go on. I'm tempted to look along a different creek, but on the other hand, he could just as well have figured to go further south, out of the area after shooting Pete, but if he found gold in this creek, it makes sense to think there may be more gold further down."
"Your thinking is sound," Austin agreed.
"I think we'll keep going today and tomorrow on this creek. If we don't find anything, we should be fairly close to Collinwood. The sheriff there is a friend of mine. I'll talk to him and see if he's heard of anything or has gotten any telegrams. If I don't have any luck there, we'll talk to a couple land owners and see if they've seen any activity or strange men, or if there are any other creeks in the area big enough that he could have been mining there. Then we'll head back north following another creek."
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