Silver Springs

by Carolyn Lampman

  “The worst!” she made a face. “My father just arrived for a surprise visit.”

  Chapter 30

  “His royal highness hasn’t finished breakfast yet, but better safe than sorry, I always say.” Martha looked down the hall, then carefully closed the door to the room Angel had made into her office. “Clyde’s gone.”

  “Are you sure?” Angel demanded. “He’s supposed to stay in Cheyenne in case I need to get a message to Mother Featherlegs. He’s always either at Rosie’s saloon or Finnigan’s.”

  “I didn’t say I couldn’t find him,” Martha replied. “I said he was gone.”

  Angel sighed. “All right, let’s start over. Where exactly is Clyde?”

  “The undertaker’s.”

  “What?”

  “From what I gather, somebody took exception to the way he played cards last night and shot him.”

  “Damn!”

  “You don’t need to swear,” Martha said disapprovingly. “I wasn’t aware you even knew the man.”

  “I didn’t really, but he was our only link to Mother Featherlegs and her gang. We’ve got to get a message to them today if they’re going to steal the mules.”

  “Can’t you send somebody else?”

  “I could if we knew exactly who to trust. Unfortunately, I have no idea who James Treenery and my father may have hired to watch our movements. One word whispered in the wrong ear would mean disaster.”

  “What about Ox?”

  Angel shook her head. “He was supposed to leave early this morning on a horse buying trip. He’s probably already gone. Besides, my father is suspicious enough of him.”

  “Guess you’ll have to think of someone else then.”

  “I already have.” Angel sat down at her desk with a determined look on her face. “The stage leaves in a little less than an hour. I’m going to be on it.”

  “Why?”

  “The gang plans to attack it just this side of Silver Springs Gulch. I can get word to Mother Featherlegs through them.”

  Martha was aghast. “You can’t honestly be planning to meet with them on purpose! They’re nothing more than a group of thieves and cutthroats.”

  “That’s true. However, they do know which side their bread is buttered on. If anything happens to me, they’ll lose the most lucrative business venture they’ve ever had. They aren’t likely to jeopardize it.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Of course,” Angel said with more certainty than she felt. “Would you mind throwing a few things in a bag for me? It doesn’t have to be much. I should be back on tomorrow’s stage.”

  “Or joining Clyde at the undertaker’s.”

  “You always think the worst, Martha.”

  “Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong!”

  Angel reached up and gave her hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.” She pulled a piece of paper across the polished surface of her desk. “In the meantime, I need to write a note to my father. All I have to do is come up with a good reason why I won’t be here until tomorrow evening sometime.”

  “How about momentary insanity?”

  “Very funny. Why don’t you concentrate your efforts on helping me succeed?”

  “Maybe because I hate hopeless causes.” With that, Martha stalked out and slammed the door behind her.

  Angel glared at the door. “Thank you for your vote of confidence,” she muttered. How she wished Ox were here to help her solve all these little problems! Unbidden, the memory of his kisses popped into her head, and she pushed them away in irritation. The last thing she needed was to be distracted by the thought of the way Ox tied her up in knots. With a resigned sigh, she dipped her pen in the ink and began to write.

  In spite of Martha’s disapproval, Angel boarded The Flying T forty-five minutes later. As she tried to settle herself on the hard seat, she couldn’t help comparing the Spartan accommodations to the luxury of The Silver Springs coaches. No wonder The Flying T was losing business. She was enjoying a feeling of smug satisfaction when the other passengers began to enter the coach.

  A pretty blonde woman was the first. Her eyes widened when she saw Angel sitting on the far seat. “Oh.” She glanced back over her shoulder, then gave Angel an apprehensive look. “H...hello.”

  “Good morning.” Angel couldn’t imagine why the other woman was so nervous. “Lovely day to travel, isn’t it?”

  “I...I guess so.”

  A moment later, a distinguished gentleman with graying hair climbed in behind her. She touched his arm. “You remember Mrs. Smythe, don’t you?”

  He cleared his throat. “Yes, of course. How nice to see you again.”

  They knew Alexis! Angel forced herself not to panic. They were obviously uncomfortable for some reason. Maybe she could brazen it out. “It’s been a while,” she murmured.

  “Yes. Your husband’s funeral, I believe.”

  Angel nearly sagged with relief. The two evidently knew her sister casually. Thank heaven for that. Now if she could just figure out why they felt so threatened by her—

  A second later, that faded to insignificance as the fourth passenger climbed into the coach.

  “Father!” she exclaimed in alarm. “What are you doing here?”

  “Good morning, Alexis,” he said sitting down next to her. “I decided to go to Silver Springs Gulch with you.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m sure carrying on the business while young Treenery is gallivanting off across the country is very difficult for you, my dear.”

  “Thank you for your concern, Father, but I really don’t need any help. It’s just a routine delivery of papers.”

  “Nonsense. This is a man’s job. Besides, I haven’t been to visit our station there in a long time.” He smiled at the couple on the far seat. “I see we won’t be traveling alone.”

  For a terrified instant, Angel thought she was going to have to introduce them to her father. She was frantically searching for a way out when the other man reached across the coach and shook hands with him.

  “Good to see you again, Brady.”

  “Pickens,” Richard said, returning the greeting. “What brings you out of the bank during the week like this?”

  Angel was astonished to see the other man darken. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he was blushing.

  “I’m escorting Mrs. Hanford to Silver Springs Gulch to...ah—”

  “I’m going to visit my brother,” the blonde put in quickly. “Mr. Pickens has kindly offered to accompany me there, since he has business in town.”

  “How fortunate for you,” Richard Brady said politely. “Have you met my daughter, Alexis?”

  Mrs. Hanford nodded. “Yes, of course. Her late husband—”

  “Ah, yes, the bank. I had forgotten.” Richard Brady settled back against the seat. “This should be a pleasant trip, since we all know each other so well. I find myself looking forward to it.”

  Angel had a hard time keeping a straight face. So this was Sandra Hanford, Alexis’s arch rival. Though Angel had never met her or Thomas Pickens, she knew who they were, and it wasn’t hard to figure out why they were so uncomfortable.

  Thomas Pickens, Oscar Hanford, and Duncan Smythe were the co-founders of the prestigious Smythe, Hanford & Pickens banking firm. Considerably younger than either of his business partners, Thomas Pickens had quite a reputation as a ladies’ man. Rumor had it his latest amour was the beautiful young wife of the aging Oscar Hanford.

  It was small wonder Sandra was so dismayed to find Alexis traveling with them. The two women had disliked each other for as long as they’d been acquainted. No one would willingly choose to take an enemy along on a romantic tryst.

  Angel stole a sideward glance at her father. From the smirk on his face, it was obvious he was enjoying the tense situation. He was apparently still angry over Hanford’s and Pickens’ refusal to let him take over his son-in-law’s place in the bank. It was too bad Alexis wasn’t here. She would have
enjoyed making Sandra squirm a bit for all the spiteful things the blonde had done to her over the years.

  Frankly, Angel wished all three of them were anywhere else but on the stage with her. Contacting Mother Featherlegs was going to be difficult enough without an audience that expected her to act like Alexis.

  Conversation was desultory, and that suited Angel just fine as she tried to think of a scheme to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes. She was still trying to come up with a plan when the first shots sounded outside, several miles short of Rawhide.

  Thomas Pickens leaned forward to look out the window. “What the hell?”

  “Probably outlaws,” Richard Brady said tightly. “We’ve had a lot of trouble with them through here.”

  “Outlaws!” Sandra let out an ear-piercing scream and threw herself into her lover’s arms. “Oh, Thomas, save me!”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” He wrapped his arms protectively around her and ducked down so there was no chance of being hit by a stray bullet.

  Angel glanced at them in disgust. It never ceased to amaze her how cowardly some people were. Sandra was even worse than Alexis. With that thought came the sudden realization that she needed to show a bit of hysteria herself. Alexis was not the type to sit calmly, waiting for outlaws to overtake the stage.

  “Oh, Lord,” she moaned, rocking back and forth on the seat. “I’m too young to die.”

  Richard Brady gave her a revolted look. “For Christ’s sake, Alexis, pull yourself together. They’ll be more interested in the strongbox than in you.”

  “Are you certain of that?”

  “No self-respecting bandit is going to bother with a hysterical female when there’s money to be had.” He reached into his coat and pulled out a six-gun. “Now, if this character will just get close enough so I can shoot him...” Richard’s voice was nearly a growl as one of the outlaws rode up beside the coach.

  Angel caught just a glimpse of the man, but it was enough. Only George was that big. If her father succeeded in shooting him, she wouldn’t be able to contact Mother Featherlegs. “Father, be careful!” she cried, throwing herself against him as though for protection.

  The force of her body jarred his grip loose and the pistol fell out the window. “Alexis, what the hell are you trying to do?”

  “He could have shot you!”

  “Or I could have shot him. Damn it, Alexis, I swear you haven’t got the sense God gave a piece of hard tack.”

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, staring down at her hands.

  “It completely baffles me how I ever wound up with such a dunderhead for a daughter. Even your mother had more sense than you do.”

  Angel curled her fingers in her lap. How did Alexis put up with this kind of abuse? She’d been with her father less than three hours, and already she was strongly tempted to strangle him.

  Right now, she needed to concentrate on passing her message without giving everything away to her father. Still staring down at her lap, she opened her eyes as wide as she could. The dry, dusty air coming in through the window soon did the trick and her eyes filled with moisture. By the time the stage came to a halt, the tears were starting to trickle down her cheeks.

  Angel knew the teariness wouldn’t last any longer than the irritation that caused it, but it would be enough for effect. “I’m frightened,” she whimpered. “What’s going to happen to us—” The plaintive question ended on a scream as the door next to her crashed open.

  Her startled shriek was completely convincing because it was real. Like the rest of the passengers, Angel had expected the attack to come from the side where the riders appeared. Fear skittered down her spine as the sun glinted off the barrel of a Colt .44 pointed straight at her.

  “All right, everybody out!”

  Swallowing nervously, Angel lifted her gaze to a pair of glacial blue eyes. Even with the lower half of his face obscured by a bandanna, she recognized him with a shiver of apprehension. Jake the Snake.

  An instant later, his eyes widened in recognition. “Crazy Alice,” he whispered in a horrified voice.

  Angel could have sworn he paled as he backed away. Hoping Sandra’s noisy sobs were distracting the men enough to cover Jake’s peculiar reaction, Angel climbed out of the stage and cowered against the side. “Please don’t hurt us,” she whimpered loudly enough for her father to hear.

  “We have nothing of any value,” Richard Brady said, following her out of the stage. “I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time.”

  Jake paid no attention as he continued to stare at Angel in wide-eyed horror. “I didn’t know,” he mumbled, backing even farther from her. “Honest.”

  Angel pretended to shrink away in fright as she searched frantically for George or even Dangerous Dick. If one of them didn’t appear pretty quick, Jake would be begging her not to hurt him.

  “What’s the problem, Jake?” a gruff voice asked from overhead. “Get their valuables and stop playin’ around.”

  Jake looked up, and Richard Brady took advantage of his inattention by diving at him. The two of them hit the ground, and the fight was on.

  Sandra’s screams brought George around the side of the stage in a hurry. He watched the men rolling around on the ground for a moment before giving the passengers a cursory glance. A second later, his gaze swung back to Angel in startled recognition.

  From the corner of her eye, Angel could see Sandra and Thomas were both watching the fight on the ground. Unobtrusively, she opened her hand so George could see the note hidden in the palm.

  George gave her a nearly imperceptible nod as Jake finally got the best of Richard Brady and pulled him to his feet.

  “Look out below,” said a gruff voice from above just as the strongbox came tumbling down from the top of the stage. Another man Angel had never seen before jumped down right behind it. “I think we struck pay dirt. It’s heavy as hell!”

  “You’re wasting your time,” Richard Brady said between his gasps for air. “The payroll isn’t in there. You’ve attacked the wrong stage.”

  “Then how come you were so protective of it?” Jake asked suspiciously as he shoved Richard Brady back against the side of the stagecoach.

  “I was protecting my daughter, not the strongbox.”

  “Daughter?”

  Richard nodded toward Angel as he wiped a hand across the bloodied corner of his mouth. “You can see what a courageous soul she is,” he said sarcastically.

  As George inched closer and closer, Angel frantically searched for a way to pass him the note. With her father standing at her elbow, a simple transfer would be impossible.

  The third outlaw nudged the strongbox with his toe. “Pretty heavy to have nothing in it.”

  “It’s filled with rocks,” Richard Brady admitted. “I thought we might run into trouble, and I figured the thieves would just take the strongbox with them, rather than taking the time to open it here.”

  “So how come you’re being so helpful now?” Jake asked suspiciously. “Doesn’t look to me like you want us to open it.”

  “I don’t, not here anyway.” Richard shifted uncomfortably. “There are three sticks of dynamite right next to the lock. If they get jarred, we’ll all blow sky high. I don’t know how they survived the fall from the top of the stage.”

  “You set a trap?” George asked in surprise.

  Richard shrugged. “You’ve been hitting us pretty hard.”

  “And I say it’s a bluff.” Jake pulled his pistol and fired at the lock three times in rapid succession.

  Sandra screamed, and Angel fainted—right into George’s arms. “Get this note to Mother Featherlegs as quick as you can,” she whispered in his ear.

  “Stop that!” Richard Brady said, clearly worried.

  George lowered Angel to the ground. “I didn’t do nothin’ to her,” he protested as she slipped the note into his vest pocket. “She fainted.”

  “I was talking to your idiot henchman,” Brady said angrily. “I’m not ready
to die.”

  Jake twirled the pistol around his finger and stuck it back in his holster. “Figured he was lying about the dynamite.”

  “Damned show-off. Any fool knows you can’t shoot a lock off a metal box,” George muttered as he lumbered to his feet. “All right, grab the strongbox and let’s go.”

  “What for?” The third outlaw looked at him in confusion. “It’s full of rocks.”

  George rolled his eyes. “If you believe that, you’re dumber than Jake, though I’m not sure that’s possible. Now pick up that strongbox, and let’s get the hell out of here. Could be the sheriff’s right behind ‘em.”

  Less than five minutes later, the stage passengers watched the three disappear down the road in a cloud of dust.

  “Damn it to hell!” Richard cursed, kicking the wheel of the coach. “There goes a small fortune.”

  “But there wasn’t any money,” Angel said in surprise.

  “Shut up and get in the stage.”

  “I heard you tell Ox the strongbox was empty.”

  “That’s what I wanted him to believe. I figured it would be safe to transport the payroll if Treenery thought it was empty.”

  “You purposely misled him?” Angel’s expression was properly bewildered, though deep inside she was delighted. Ox had predicted her father would try something of the sort and hadn’t bothered to cancel the planned attack. The loss of a full payroll would be devastating to The Flying T.

  “Everything would have been fine if you hadn’t fouled it all up with your caterwauling,” Richard grumbled. “This is all your fault.”

  Angel fought down a surge of anger. Sandra had made twice the fuss she had. How could Alexis have put up with their father all these years? Angel could hardly wait to see his face when Alexis and Brandon showed up. It would be almost as satisfying as shutting down The Flying T. Revenge was going to be sweet for both twins.

  Chapter 31

  “They got away with the payroll and the mules?” James Treenery shouted, pacing back and forth in the tiny office of The Flying T.

  “We don’t know that it was the same gang.”