by Carol Cox
His arm tightened around her, pulling her close. She heard him draw in a sharp breath. “So you’re a part of this? I have to admit I didn’t see that coming.”
Tom Sullivan smiled, his silver hair gleaming in the lamplight. “Not just a part. It’s been my operation all along. Sorry you had to find out this way.”
Ellie’s head swiveled from Steven to Tom and back again. She leaned close to Steven and whispered, “So you aren’t one of them?”
He drew back, and she saw a flash of sorrow in his eyes before he pulled her close to his side again.
“No,” he murmured. “The only reason I’m here is to protect you.”
Tom’s laughter bounced off the limestone walls. “You planned to play the hero, eh? Too bad it didn’t turn out that way.” He turned to the watching men. “Go ahead with what you were doing. We need to get this silver moved out.”
He took a stance a few feet in front of Steven and Ellie. “You have to admit, it’s been a good plan.”
Steven looked around at the stacks of crates waiting to be moved. “I understand that you had a plan.” His calm tone belied the tension Ellie felt quivering through him. “What I don’t understand is why. The Constitution is a good mine, and it’s doing well. Why resort to this?”
A paternal smile creased Tom’s face. “You think small, Steven. Great men think big, and I intend to be a great man in this territory. We’re moving toward statehood, and I plan to be governor someday, maybe even a U.S. senator.
“Who knows?” The gleam in Tom’s eyes turned Ellie’s veins to ice. “The White House may even be in my future.”
As he talked, the other men carried crates from the room, returning empty-handed to repeat the process in a way that reminded Ellie of a line of worker ants.
Steven watched the crates of silver disappear into the darkness. “But stealing from the other mine owners? From men you called your friends?”
Tom shook his head. “A political career takes capital. More than the Constitution is likely to produce in my lifetime.”
He leaned against an outcropping of rock. “Things are changing in the territory, and quickly. I needed a way to amass wealth in a hurry. Once a man’s position is established, nobody questions where it came from.”
Steven’s hands knotted. “You’ve put together quite a little enterprise.”
Three men appeared and lifted the last of the crates, disappearing once again into the cavernous depths. As they left, they carried the remaining lanterns with them, leaving only two sitting on the floor near Marvin Long’s feet.
Tom indicated the departing men with a nod. “I couldn’t do it on my own. As you can see, I have men from the other mines who provided information and helped stage the robberies. As for Donald, here . . .”
A frown crossed Tom’s face. “Donald, why are you just standing there instead of helping?”
Long’s lips curled in a sneer. “He’s a turncoat, boss. He was gettin’ ready to snitch on us.”
Tom’s brows lifted. “Oh? That’s a shame. Ah, well, that just means more for the rest of us to divide.”
Marvin Long snickered.
Ellie found her voice. “What about Mr. Freeman?” In spite of the evidence of her own eyes, she still hoped that somehow he hadn’t entered this den of thieves of his own free will.
“I can guess what Jake’s contribution was,” Steven said in a stone-cold voice. “You’ve had him melting the ingots down and recasting them to hide the silver’s origins. Am I right?”
Tom chuckled. “Good guess. Yes, our friend Jake has been quite busy during his evening hours.”
“Now what?” Steven looked mad enough to spit nails. “How can you expect to get away with this?”
Tom pushed away from the outcropping and shrugged. “The men are dividing up the shares right now. The others will take theirs and head out for parts unknown. I’ll stay here, ready to greet my political destiny . . . and no one will be the wiser.”
Steven scoffed. “You don’t think anyone is going to question so many people disappearing, all in the same night?”
Tom chuckled again. “I’ve dropped a few hints here and there about a new silver strike over in New Mexico. You know how mining towns are. Word of a new strike gets around, and people leave in droves.
“Speaking of disappearing”—Tom gestured to Marvin Long—“why don’t you bring our guests along to the other end?”
Picking up one of the lanterns, he walked over to the passageway and reached up to a two-by-six protruding from the supporting timbers.
“Are you familiar with mining operations, Miss Monroe? Boards like this are messengers of a sort. If one drops down, it indicates there has been a shift in the rock. Sort of a warning that a cave-in might be imminent.”
He gave the board a hard pull and stepped back as a shower of rocks and dirt cascaded to the floor, blocking the exit back to the mine. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and used it to cover his mouth as clouds of dust billowed up.
When the dust settled he continued. “Your aunt almost met her end in a similar collapse, but she didn’t seem to get the message. It’s a pity you seem to have inherited her lack of caution.” He motioned them around to the other side of the rock formation.
Tom led the way, holding his lantern aloft to light their path. Steven and Ellie followed, with Donald behind them. Marvin Long brought up the rear, carrying the second lantern in one hand and his gun in the other.
“What is this?” Steven asked after a few yards. “It isn’t one of your mine shafts.”
“It’s a natural cave.” Tom sounded as nonchalant as if they were discussing the weather. “We discovered it by chance when we followed a vein this direction and broke through. I had a feeling it would come in handy someday. It opens up on the other side of the hill, well away from town. There’s nothing at all to connect it with me or my mine.”
Ellie took comfort from Steven’s presence as they walked on. To keep hysteria from overtaking her, she concentrated on the rock shapes that cast weird shadows in the light from the moving lanterns. They passed one oddly shaped column after another, their path winding around until she had no idea how far they had come, or from what direction.
An eerie formation rose on her right, reminding her of a troll from one of the Grimm brothers’ fairy tales.
Another appeared, this one in the shape of a large rabbit. Ellie felt her tension ease a fraction and kept her mind focused on her whimsy.
Ahead on their left, Tom’s lantern illuminated a massive pillar of rock. As they passed, Ellie decided it bore a marked resemblance to Althea Baldwin’s profile.
Their route twisted and turned until it finally opened up into a smaller version of the cavern they had been in before.
“Here is where we must part.” Tom turned and pulled a small revolver from his jacket pocket. “Marvin, I believe we have some rope a little farther down the tunnel. Would you be so kind?” He leveled the gun at his three captives while Long hurried off.
“You’re going to tie us up and leave us here?” Ellie’s voice sounded reedy and thin, even to her own ears. “How will we find our way out?”
Steven turned to her, his eyes filled with a grim sadness. “He doesn’t mean for us to leave. We know too much.”
Dread washed over Ellie in a wave. “But there are people in town who will miss us.”
Steven looked back at Tom. “She’s right. I already have a profitable mine. I’m not likely to go off chasing rainbows like the others.”
Marvin Long trotted back carrying several lengths of hemp rope. At a nod from Tom, he pulled Donald’s hands behind his back and wrapped the rope around his wrists.
Tom watched him bind the hotel clerk’s hands and feet with an expression of approval, then turned his attention back to Steven.
“No, your tale will be much more romantic than that. You’ll be going after something worth even more than gold. I’ll let it be known that you came to me and asked me to buy your mi
ne while you and Miss Monroe eloped to San Francisco. I’ll make sure a note to that effect is found on your desk tomorrow morning.”
Long moved over to Steven. Ellie flinched at his grimace when his bonds were yanked tight.
She shrank away when Long’s rough hands reached for hers, but he pulled them behind her back with the same strength she remembered from the assault in the alley. She looked straight at Steven, trying to convey a silent question. Wasn’t there anything they could do?
His bleak expression was answer enough.
Tom checked to make sure all the ropes were tight, then he and Long picked up the lanterns and started toward the exit. They hadn’t gone more than a few steps when Tom stopped suddenly and turned back.
“Good-bye, Miss Monroe. It’s a shame your visit to Pickford had to end this way. And don’t expect your aunt to sound an alarm about your disappearance. Once I leave here, I’m going to pay her a visit and stop her snooping once and for all.”
With that, he walked away down the tunnel, taking Marvin Long and their only source of light with him.
Fear clutched at Ellie with a clammy hand when the darkness closed in around them. Rustling sounds emanated from the locations where the men lay bound, but she couldn’t see a thing in the inky blackness.
“Jessie?” Steven’s voice calmed her, even in their dire predicament. “I’m wedged between two rocks, and I can’t move very far. See if you can scoot over here. Maybe I can work your knots loose.”
She inched her way toward the sound of his voice. Before she had gone more than a foot or two, her skirt snagged on a protrusion of some kind, bringing her to an abrupt halt. “I can’t move any farther,” she cried. “What are we going to do?”
No sooner had she spoken than she heard a scratching sound, followed by the bright flare of a match. Blinking against the light, she saw Donald standing in front of her, his hands and feet free. While she looked on in astonishment, he pulled a candle from his pocket and lit the wick.
“How did you do that?” she gasped.
In the candlelight, Donald’s smile took on a sinister gleam. “Let’s just say I learned a lot practicing those rope tricks.” He looked down at her and Steven. “You’re both nice people, but if I let you go, you’ll turn me in.”
Steven eyed him steadily. “That would mean adding murder to what you’ve already done.”
“You’re going to leave us here?” Ellie felt her last hope drain away. “No, Donald. You can’t.”
He took two steps back, and then his shoulders slumped. “You’re right, I can’t.” With a few deft movements, he untied the rope holding Ellie’s hands, then moved to release Steven, as well.
Ellie shook her hands free and reached to undo the knots binding her ankles. Yanking her skirt free of the jutting rock, she scrambled over to Steven. Just as she reached him, a muffled whump filled the room, followed by an ominous rumble.
The candle flickered wildly. Ellie pressed close to Steven. “What was that?”
“Dynamite.” He whipped a bandanna from his pocket and handed it to her as a cloud of dust rolled into the room. “Here, put this around your face. I think they’ve just dropped the ceiling on the exit.”
He tugged his shirt up over his mouth and nose. Behind him, Ellie saw Donald do the same. Long minutes later, the air cleared enough to let them breathe without too much difficulty.
Ellie pulled the handkerchief from her face. “What do we do now?”
“Let’s check that exit. This is one time I hope I’m wrong.” Steven held out his hand to Donald, who reluctantly surrendered the candle. Steven cupped his hand around the flame. “Thank goodness that blast of air didn’t snuff it out.”
No one spoke as Steven led the way in the direction Tom and Marvin Long had taken. By Ellie’s estimation, they walked about a hundred feet before reaching a forbidding pile of rocks and dirt.
Steven surveyed the rubble. His grim expression did nothing to allay Ellie’s mounting terror. “How bad is it?” she asked.
“There’s no way to know, but it was a large explosion—we’ll never be able to dig our way out.”
Her breath came in ragged puffs. “Are you saying they’ve won? We’re going to die down here?”
Steven pressed his lips against her forehead. “Don’t give up hope. We aren’t done for yet.”
“What have you got in mind?” Donald was making an obvious attempt to look brave, but the thread of panic in his voice echoed the fear in Ellie’s heart.
“We need to get back to the other end. There isn’t as much debris there. We can move it with our hands.”
Donald eyed the candle. “How long do you reckon that light’s going to last?”
Steven grimaced, as if he wished the other man hadn’t raised the question. “A new candle will last about an hour and a half.”
Something in his voice set off a warning bell in Ellie’s mind. “Is that a new one?”
Steven hesitated, then shook his head. “It’s already burned about a third of the way down.”
Ellie made a rapid calculation. “So that means we have an hour of light left?”
“We would, if we were sitting still, but we’re going to be on the move. I’d give it thirty minutes. Forty, at the outside.”
Donald’s voice rose half an octave. “It’ll take us half that long just to walk back . . . and that’s if we can go straight there without getting turned around.”
“In that case, we’d better get moving,” Steven said. “The important thing is to get there. If we have to, we can go on digging in the dark.”
If his remark was meant to be encouraging, it failed miserably. The panic Ellie had tried to hold at bay ever since being captured by Marvin Long tore through her like a monster’s claws.
She wanted to say something courageous to reassure Steven she wouldn’t be a burden and could accept her fate as calmly as he seemed to, but her throat felt as though a giant had wrapped his hand around her windpipe. She couldn’t have spoken even if she could find the right words.
Lord, I read that you always watch over your people. I sure hope you’re watching right now.
Steven stepped out with a confidence Ellie hoped was well-founded. Their route from the mine through the cave had followed so many twists and turns, she didn’t see how anyone could find his way back through that maze.
They marched along single file, the crunch of footsteps on the cave floor the only sound marking their passage. Ten minutes later, Steven stopped.
“What is it?” Ellie’s voice sounded unnaturally loud in the echoing gloom.
“We’ve gone this way before. I recognize that column over there.” He held the candle high, indicating a limestone pillar.
Donald’s voice reached an even higher note. “You mean we’ve been going around in circles?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Ellie’s gaze fastened on the dwindling candle. According to Steven’s reckoning, they had twenty minutes left, no more than thirty. How could they ever find their way back in the dark?
They couldn’t.
The knowledge hit her like a blow, and she clenched her lips together to hold back a moan. She looked around at the eerie formations, wondering what it would be like to be stranded in the darkness with those otherworldly shapes for company.
Donald raised another thought. “We could wander around in circles in this cave for a year. . . . Except we won’t last anywhere near that long.”
Steven’s mouth tightened. “How about keeping your thoughts to yourself, unless you have something helpful to say?”
“What about footprints?” Donald persisted. “Aren’t there any we can follow?”
“None that are clear enough to show me which direction to take.” Steven wiped his free hand across his brow, then set off along a narrow path to their right. “Let’s try this way.”
“Wait!” Ellie held her ground.
Steven turned. “What is it? We don’t have time to waste.”
“
That’s the wrong way.” She pointed to the left. “Bring the candle over here.”
Steven complied, impatience showing in every movement. “What makes you think this is the right one?”
Ellie swept her arm out in a triumphant gesture. “Althea told me. See?”
Steven and Donald exchanged glances, and then Steven rested his hand on her shoulder. “Mrs. Baldwin isn’t here, Jessie. It’s easy to let your imagination run away with you in a place like this.”
“I am not hallucinating.” Grabbing Steven’s hand that held the candle, she raised it higher. “Look at that rock over there. It looks like Althea Baldwin’s profile. See?”
“Okay,” Steven said slowly.
She wanted to shake him.
“Don’t you understand? I noticed her before, when Tom led us through here. She was staring the way we came from then, so all we have to do is follow her nose to the mine.”
Steven whooped and gave her a hug that nearly squeezed the breath out of her. “Good for you, Jessie. Let’s go!”
Ellie allowed a ray of hope to rise within her for the first time since the explosion blocked their exit from the cave. Maybe God was going to get them out, after all.
The men seemed to catch her optimism and moved along more quickly. Ellie’s elation grew as she noticed other familiar formations. There was the big rabbit, and farther along, the fearsome troll.
Just beyond the troll, Steven halted again.
Ellie trod upon his heels before she realized he’d stopped. “Now what?”
“I need something I can set this candle on.” He held out the stub of wax, burning ominously low between his fingers. “It’s getting too hot to carry in my hand.”
Ellie stared at their rapidly diminishing source of light and voiced the thought she was sure must be on Steven’s mind, as well. “We’re not going to make it back to the mine entrance, are we?”
He gave her a quick squeeze, then broke off a thin, flat slab of rock jutting out from the cave wall. “We know we’re on the right track, thanks to you. We’ll go as far as we can in the light. When the candle burns out, we’ll take it one step at a time. It’ll take us longer, but we can feel our way there as long as we know we’re heading the right direction.”