She slowed her horse and spotted the cat just before it disappeared into a hole in the rocks.
“I’ve never seen one of those outside a zoo,” she said. “You’re got sharp eyes, Justin.”
Pesadilla was anxious about getting left behind, and Justin let her break into a slow trot to catch up with Charlotte’s mare. He was surprised to find that on the other side of a thicket of brush, the line had stopped moving.
“Wondered where you were,” Ty said as they caught up with the others. “I need to check on a lame horse.”
Corrie had gotten off her fat palomino and was standing beside it. Ty dismounted and picked up the palomino’s near front foot. He took out his pocketknife and scraped away the dirt packed inside the horse’s shoe.
“I think it’s just a stone bruise,” he said. “I don’t see anything stuck in it. He’ll just have to make it back home before I can do anything about it.”
Thunder rumbled again as Corrie climbed back on her horse. Ty started toward a trail leading up to the top of the bluffs, and Justin could tell that the palomino was limping noticeably. The horses in front of him got farther and farther ahead, until Ty had to stop to wait for the rest of the line to catch up. As the riders neared the top of the bluff, clouds darkened the sky, and thunder rolled closer than before. Justin began to wonder if he had assumed too soon the disasters that befell his group were over. This time it would be hard to blame Lee Boyd.
The line of horses stopped briefly at the summit of the bluff to allow all the riders to get to the top of the rocky path. The air was still and heavy. Not a single leaf fluttered. As soon as Mrs. Farr appeared at the top, Ty led them forward. Moving along a pickup trail that led into the trees, Justin lost sight of the sky again. He wasn’t sorry. A spattering on the leaves around him signaled that the rain had begun. Most of it didn’t get all the way through the canopy of leaves to the riders, and they forged doggedly ahead. Justin wished he had some idea of how far they were from the barn or some kind of shelter.
With a sudden roar, serious rain started to fall. At first, the noise was all that reached Justin, but before long the rain penetrated the trees, and horses and riders were drenched. Justin was glad he had worn a cap—at least the worst of the downpour dripped off the bill of his cap instead of down his face. Pesadilla lowered her head and turned her ears back to keep out water, her golden buckskin coat darkening with the drops of rain. The wind was the next thing to penetrate the trees. Branches whipped back and forth, and between the thrashing branches Justin could see bits of sky. The clouds were dense and dark green. Ahead of him, Charlotte’s hair was flattened to her head, and her horse was dancing in slow motion with her neck arched and her tail tucked in. He glanced back to be sure Lee and Mrs. Farr were still behind him.
A terrifying sizzle and flash ahead of them made Pesadilla wheel to the right. Justin grabbed for the saddle horn. Blinded by the brightness of the flash, he heard screams coming from near the front of the line of riders. There was an oppressive smell in the air, and red sparks appeared along the trunk of a large tree just to the left of the path. Justin’s head connected with a tree branch as the mare shied, and he ducked to keep from being dragged off his horse. When he looked up, the silhouette of Charlotte’s horse rearing on her hind legs was outlined against the glow of the smoldering tree. Charlotte was clinging desperately to the saddle, water flying from her hair, as the mare reared and plunged.
“Whoa,” Charlotte yelled. Her voice sounded frantic. “Whoa!”
A hissing noise and shower of sparks from the tree sent Charlotte’s overwrought horse into a full-blown panic. A game trail veered off to the right, and the mare plunged down it, throwing a shower of mud and grass behind her with her hooves. Charlotte pulled back on the reins, but the panicked mare didn’t seem to notice. Justin could see low tree branches ahead that looked like they would sweep Charlotte off her horse. He opened his mouth to yell a warning. At the last second she saw them and leaned forward along the mare’s neck. Justin felt a prickly wave of panic. If the mare kept running in that direction, she would soon come to the top of the bluffs above the river. Would she recover her wits in time to keep from stampeding off the bluff? A tremendous roar of thunder answered the question for him, and Justin leaned forward and dug his heels into Pesadilla’s sides. Unnerved by the thunder, the big buckskin leapt forward. Justin barely got her turned in time to head down the game trail where Charlotte and her mare had disappeared moments before. Powerful muscles thrust them forward as Justin leaned over the mare’s neck and spoke into her ear.
“Come on, girl. Run,” he urged.
As though she understood the problem, the big buckskin dug into the ground with each stride. Justin leaned lower. One low branch at this speed would be the end of him. Ahead he could hear Charlotte faintly, but he couldn’t tell if she was calling for help or trying to get the mare’s attention. Another explosive boom rumbled on for several seconds. Lightning flashes were coming so close together that Justin could see the way ahead of him even in the darkness under the trees. A clearing ahead gave him a glimpse of Charlotte and her mare, running out of control. Charlotte was leaning her weight against the reins and the mare had her head up and her mouth open.
“Turn her in a circle,” Justin yelled, realizing that there was no chance his words would penetrate the sound of rolling thunder and the turmoil that must be going through Charlotte’s mind. He thought he was gaining a little ground, but another copse of trees was ahead, and she plunged into the darkness again.
“Come on,” Justin entreated, tapping the buckskin with his heels again. The speed with which the tree trunks flew by was terrifying. In between flashes of lightning he couldn’t see the trees at all, just dark shadows. Branches slashed his face and arms. The thundering of his horse’s hooves changed to a clattering that Justin knew meant they were running over rocks. In the next lightning flash, he saw Charlotte just ahead. He and Pesadilla had gained a lot of ground. They broke from the brush, and Justin urged his mare up alongside Charlotte’s. Leaning over, he reached for her reins. If he could just get one, he could pull her in a circle until she slowed down. Stretching as far as he dared, his fingertips touched the rein. Charlotte was reaching out to hand it to him. As he wrapped his fingers around the wet leather, a streak of lightening illuminated the sky. He felt more than saw Charlotte’s mare go down with a scramble of sliding rocks. At the same moment Pesadilla sat back on her haunches and leaned hard to the left. Already hanging off the side of the big mare, Justin lost his balance and fell, hitting the rocks and then tumbling across them and over the bank to the river below. His mare was falling beside him, twisting desperately in the air to get a purchase on the riverbank with her feet. There was a terrible moment of impact, and then blackness.
Chapter Seven
Justin was aware of the sound of choking and vomiting. He spat out water, coughing violently. Vaguely, he recognized that the sounds weren’t all coming from him. Pain twisted through his head and neck and down his right arm. He couldn’t seem to get enough air. He felt hands grasp him under the arms, and he screamed with pain as he was dragged across the rocks. Water rushed all around him, but someone held his head above it. He opened his eyes for a moment.
“Help me, Justin,” a voice said. “Push with your feet.” The sound of gagging continued above him. Lightning flashed, giving him a flickering view of the river, jerky like an old-time movie. A horse lay in the shallow water, its neck bent at an impossible angle. Justin pushed against the rocks with his feet, groaning in agony as the pain knifed through his arm again.
“Is he alive?” It was Charlotte’s voice. She choked again, coughing up water.
“I think so, but I’ve got to get him to higher ground.” The voice sounded familiar. “Can you help me pull? I think his arm is broken and he can’t help much.”
Now Justin recognized the voice. It was Lee. Charlotte sloshed into the water. The rain beat down on them with unrelenting fury. Water ran into Just
in’s eyes so fast he couldn’t see much. He felt Charlotte wrap her arms around his knees and lift. Together, she and Lee stumbled toward the bank holding him between them. They stopped to rest every few steps, lowering most of his body into the water. Justin wanted to wipe the rain from his eyes, but he couldn’t move his arms.
“One more time and we’ll have you on the bank,” Lee said, panting. They lifted him together. He felt knives ripping through his arm and chest. Blackness came mercifully again.
When consciousness returned, Justin found himself propped against the limestone riverbank. A small ledge jutted over him, and some of the rain was deflected by it. His head was leaning against Charlotte’s shoulder. Sheets of rain blew across the river, obliterating the bank on the other side.
“Where’s Lee?” he croaked.
“He’s gone to see if he can find his horse and get help,” Charlotte answered. Her teeth were chattering. Justin was shivering, too.
“What happened?”
“Your horse went over the bank with you. Mine fell at the top and I slid over the bank, too. There was nothing to hold to stop myself from falling. I thought we were both dead.” She paused as if to get control of her emotions. “I swallowed a lot of water, but I don’t think I’m hurt much. You landed on some rocks. Your head’s pretty bloody. Where do you hurt?”
“Everywhere,” Justin said. “But it’s worst in my right arm and chest. My head hurts pretty bad, too.” He glanced down at his right arm. In the near dark he could see blood dripping below his elbow. His lower arm looked bent. He looked away quickly, closing his eyes. Charlotte was saying something to him, but he was too woozy to respond.
Justin didn’t know how much time had passed when he opened his eyes again. Rain was blowing under the ledge, and he was so cold. Lee was squatting beside him.
“Are you awake, man?” he asked. “We need to get out of this riverbed.”
“I can’t move,” Justin said. The river was rushing past with a roar that drowned out voices as Lee said something to Charlotte.
Justin saw something moving in the swirling water.
“What’s that?” he asked.
Lee looked at the river.
“It’s your horse,” he said. “It’s dead. The water has risen so much it’s washing her downstream.”
A wave of nausea swept over Justin.
“Justin,” Lee said again, shaking him gently. “We’ve got to climb up on top of the bluff. The river’s rising. If we don’t move soon, we’re going to get washed away.”
“I don’t think I can,” Justin said.
“You have to. I don’t have time to get help, and I’m not sure I could find the other riders anyway. When we get you to the top, I’ll go for help.”
Moving very slowly, Justin curled his legs under him and tried to get to his knees. The edge of the water had risen to within inches of where his feet had been. Charlotte gripped him under his left arm and helped pull him to his feet.
“Oh God, my arm hurts,” Justin groaned. His head whirled and his stomach lurched dangerously.
Lee put am arm around Justin’s back.
“Hold your bad arm against your body with your other hand,” he said. “If you keep it still, maybe it won’t hurt so much.”
One slow step at a time they started along the edge of the river. Lee steered them toward a spot where a small tree grew out of the side of the bluff. Justin’s head was spinning, and waves of nausea threatened to topple him over. Behind the tree that grew from the rocks, partway up the bluff, was a ledge. Above it, the rock face sloped more gently toward the top.
“That’s where we’re going,” Lee said. “All we have to do is get you to that willow tree.”
“There’s no way,” Justin wailed. “It’s six feet up to the tree.”
“We’re going to find a way,” Charlotte said with a determination he had never heard in her voice before.
Slashing at them in wind-driven sheets, the rain continued unabated. Lee took Charlotte’s place on Justin’s good side. He wrapped Justin’s left arm around his shoulders and hauled him forward. Above the sound of the pummeling rain, Justin could hear the roar of rushing water.
“Get up to the tree, Charlotte,” Lee told her. “I think a flash flood is coming. Hurry!”
Charlotte scrambled up until she could reach the trunk with her hands. The trunk was small and flexible, and it bent under Charlotte’s weight as she pulled herself up. Holding tight to the tree, she turned, bracing her body behind it, and reached down for Justin’s arm.
“Give me your hand,” she screamed. “Now!”
Justin reached toward her with his left arm, and she locked her hand around his wrist and pulled. At the same moment, water rushed around Justin’s feet trying to drag him downriver. He lost his balance and fell forward against the rocks. A shriek of pain escaped his lips. Charlotte held on with a grip like a bulldog. Lee had his arms around Justin’s legs and was lifting him up toward the tree. He found a niche for one knee and helped raise his weight upward. Charlotte eased his hand around the tree trunk, then reached down and grabbed one of his belt loops. Grunting with effort, she lifted his lower body up behind the tree. Justin lay back against the bank and planted one foot against the tree trunk to keep from sliding back down. Charlotte wrapped one slender arm around the tree and reached over the ledge again. Lee grabbed her hand and scrambled up, panting with effort. Charlotte sank to the ground and put her head in her hands, wiping at the water that ran in rivulets from her hair. Her face was smeared with mud.
“For a minute, I didn’t think we were going to make it,” she said
“We haven’t made it yet,” Lee yelled, pointing at the rushing water. It was rising rapidly onto the ledge.
* * * *
“Come on, Justin. We’ve got to get up higher,” Lee said, wrapping Justin’s arm around his neck and dragging him to his feet. Justin leaned his weight heavily on Lee.
“Can you come up behind us and help keep him from sliding backward?” Lee asked Charlotte.
“I can try,” she said, “but I’m not sure I can keep myself from sliding backward.”
“You can do what you have to do,” Lee said.
Justin was several inches taller than Lee, and through the fog swirling around his pain-wracked head, arm and chest, he was amazed at the power in the boy’s compact body.
“You can do what you have to do,” Justin repeated to himself over and over as he put one foot in front of the other on the slippery incline. Although Justin’s tennis shoes slipped on the mud and wet rocks, Lee’s boots seemed to find a grip as he half-carried Justin up the bluff. Charlotte held onto his waist from behind, pushing him steadily upward. Several times Justin fell to his knees.
“Let me stop for a minute,” he begged. “My arm hurts so bad.”
“Just a little more,” Lee promised, “Then we’ll rest.”
Justin’s head throbbed, and with each breath his chest burned with a fire that was almost unbearable. Pain shot up his arm with every movement. He fought back tears, knowing that the rain would hide them anyway, but afraid that giving in to them would make it easier to give up. The wind lashed them as they climbed, trying to dislodge their tenuous footholds. Justin closed his eyes. Lights swirled through his vision even with his eyes closed. He stopped trying to move his feet and felt them bumping along the ground anyway. His head sagged, and for a while awareness left him again.
He jerked awake at the sound of a horse snorting. He could feel that he was propped up in a half-sitting position. Something heavy covered his body, and he forced his eyes open. A saddle blanket was tucked around him. The smell of horse sweat was strong even in the lashing rain. The blanket was soaked like the rest of him, but he felt a little warmer. Lee’s voice came from slightly behind him in the dark.
“Wrap this cinch around his arm and apply pressure. The rain is making it bleed so much, and we need to try to stop it. Will you be okay to stay here with him?”
“‘ I�
��ll do what I have to do,’ isn’t that what you said?” Charlotte answered. “Do you have any idea which way to go?”
“Not really,” Lee said. “I’m hoping my horse knows the way to the barn. At least we’re on this side of the river. Crossing it now would be impossible.”
A tremendous clap of thunder made the horse whinny nervously. Justin could tell the lightning was still flashing even when he closed his eyes. He had never been so scared.
“I’ll give you a leg up,” Charlotte said. “I still think you’re crazy to try this bareback.”
“Trust me. This isn’t the craziest thing I’ve ever done,” Lee said.
Justin tried to turn his head to see what was going on. He felt the cantle of a saddle under his neck as he strained to look around. In the split second of illumination from a flash of lightening, he saw Lee riding off into the blowing rain as Charlotte watched him go. He began to wonder if this was a nightmare. If it was, he might have a chance of waking up before the pain got to be too much to bear.
Soon, he felt Charlotte sitting down beside him. She moved closer until he could feel her all along his legs and left side.
“I’m trying to keep you warm,” she said in his ear, “and get warm myself. I don’t know how long it will take Lee to find help, but I’m thinking it could be quite awhile.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?” Justin asked. “You could have gotten out of this storm a lot sooner.”
“Are you kidding?” Charlotte said indignantly. “And leave the guy who saved my life? That’s just not me.”
“Saved your life?” Justin groaned. “All I did was chase after you and catch up when it was too late.”
“Listen, Justin. If you hadn’t grabbed that horse’s reins, she and I would have sailed off the bluff into the river going full speed. I’d be dead. Now let me see your arm. I need to wrap this cinch around it and apply pressure. Those are my instructions.”
She reached across Justin’s body and gently wrapped the cinch around his arm. The slightest touch sent fire racing all the way to his shoulder and back down to his hand. Gritting his teeth, he tried to bear it without crying out.
Speak of the Tiger Page 6