Molly covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Even under their terrible circumstances, Henrietta found a way to survive. She’s a strong woman. No wonder she’s done so much and is still able to keep going. A thought struck Molly, and she whispered to Henrietta.
“May I ask how old you were when you settled the land with your husband?”
A slow smile spread across Henrietta’s lips. “You’re trying to figure out how old I am. I was not quite nineteen when we married and moved here.”
“But…” Molly mused. “That means…”
“Yes, I’m not the sixty-five or seventy-year-old widow people assume I am. My hair was light, and I saw gray hair come in early. My mother was the same. Now, it looks mostly gray and with the widow’s weeds, people assume I’m an old lady. I heard a group of women at last summer’s church picnic trying to guess my age. They were years and years off. To be truthful, I have yet to see my fiftieth year.” She put a finger to her lips. “Don’t let these men know. They won’t worry as much about controlling me if they think I’m old. We might get a chance to escape.”
“Your secret is safe with me,” Molly promised.
Henrietta added, “When I decided to sell my farm and move into town, everyone thought it was due to age. To be honest, it was due to too many memories. They were good memories, but I felt lonely. My husband is buried in the church cemetery, and it is easier to visit the grave than ride in from the farm. I was fortunate there was a house under construction when I decided to sell. I bought the house and became the cranky town widow.” She smiled with a twinkle in her eye.
~ * ~
Sarah still sat in the same spot clutching the bank bag and praying when the sheriff returned.
“Did Giles get the money?”
“Yes, it’s here.” She held up the bag. “He didn’t want to carry it around town when he went to get his saddle bags. He’ll be right back. Sheriff, why do you think they asked for three-thousand dollars?” Sarah looked up at the sheriff as he eased his way back behind his desk.
“I don’t have a clue. It’s an odd amount. I would expect a round figure maybe a thousand or even five-thousand. It’s possible whoever is behind this may need that amount of money. I don’t understand the criminal mind.”
“Did you learn anything?” Sarah leaned forward hoping to see or hear anything positive.
The sheriff shrugged, “The boy who delivered the note was the station master’s son. He said a poorly dressed stranger asked him if he could tell time and then gave him the note and a few coins. The man had a brown beard and mustache and was tall and muscular which describes half the men around here. He told the boy to wait to deliver it. I’m sure the stranger needed the time for the abduction. At first, I thought he might be working alone, but the boy said he rode out of town as soon as he gave him the note. There must be at least two of them.”
“What are you going to do? You have to find them,” Sarah insisted. She shuddered and fought back tears.
“We will. I have several men on the way into town to help search. I checked the back of your store. The light snowfall left tracks. I could tell there was a scuffle of some sort and large men’s boot prints and smaller female boot prints. They stop where wagon tracks begin. It’s cold enough out that the snow isn’t going to melt. We’ll follow the tracks and see where they lead.” He nodded at Sarah.
Sarah leaped to her feet when Giles returned. He had changed into old clothes abandoning his suit to his office.
“Are you going with them,” she asked trembling.
“Of course, I want whoever did this to pay. They wanted to take you from me, sweetheart, and took your friend. We’ll find them and bring them to justice. I won’t give up, I promise.” He wrapped his arms around her, and she melted into his arms. He lifted her face with his hand and kissed her.
Sarah tried to smile, but she couldn’t stop shaking. “Please save them. Who knows what horrors they may face? Please.”
“We will. Now, I want you to go to Nell’s and stay there. Keep the shop closed. Don’t go back for any reason. We can’t be sure if someone in town is watching. Miss Molly and Mrs. Biggs’ best chance to get through this is if their abductors believe they have abducted you. I hope the women have figured that out and aren’t volunteering that the men made an error. Stay in back or upstairs out of sight. Word will travel around town eventually, and no one should see you. Promise me. It is to keep you and the ladies safe.” He pulled her close and kissed her until she needed to pull away to breathe.
“I promise,” she whispered. “You must promise me to be careful.”
“I will.” Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of boots on the boardwalk outside the office.
“The men are here, time to go. Are you ready, Giles?” The sheriff asked.
Giles nodded and escorted Sarah out the door and watched as she hurried down the boardwalk to Callahan’s.
By the time she reached the restaurant the tears fell freely, and she rushed through the door and straight into the kitchen. Fortunately, the restaurant was empty, and no one paid any attention to her as she rushed to Callahan’s.
She looked at Nell and Cal and blurted, “Someone abducted Molly and Mrs. Biggs. It was supposed to be me. What if they kill them?” She broke into more tears and collapsed into a chair at the small table in the corner.
Cal put the tea kettle on the stove, and Nell sat across from Sarah. She took her hand and asked softly, “Sarah, tell me what happened.”
Sarah related the events while Cal set teacups and a plate of cookies on the table. Nell poured tea, and Sarah tried to drink, but her hands shook.
Cal stood and leaned against the wall his arms crossed over his chest. “I would have gone with them, but I understand why Giles wanted me to remain here. He’s right, Sarah. You can’t let anyone know you’re in town. No one out front can see you sitting at the table here, but I think you’d be safer upstairs. You can stay in our extra room but stay away from the windows. Pull the curtains closed. Try not to worry about Molly and Widow Biggs. Molly grew up in a brothel. She knows how to handle a lot of dangerous situations. As for the Widow Biggs, I would not want to be on her bad side. They’ll be all right.”
Nell offered, “I bought two new books at the mercantile yesterday. They’re next to the settee. After you finish your tea, go up and read. I’ll bring you some supper when it’s ready.” She stood and hugged her friend.
“No, I’ll not have you wait on me in your condition.” Sarah insisted.
Nell chuckled, “You sound like Cal. My condition is doing well. Doc Winters says as long as I don’t tire easily, I can continue to work in the restaurant. Imagine if I had three children to take care of, I’d work harder than I do here. Everyone has to stop worrying about me.”
“Three children,” Cal groaned.
Sarah smiled, then her smile faded, and she bit her lip hard.
“What’s wrong,” Nell asked.
“Word of my abduction will spread across town. Rachel, Della, Celia, and Eloise will be upset. Poor Eloise, she’ll worry about me and not be able to find Mrs. Biggs.” She bit her lip again and furrowed her brow.
“Don’t worry. All of them will find their way here to speak to Nell,” Cal said. “We’ll invite each one back here or upstairs if they’re upset. We can trust the four of them, but no one else. With luck, the search party will return soon. Go upstairs and try to relax. It’s quiet right now; Nell can keep you company until we get more customers.” He lifted his chin toward the stairs.
Sarah reluctantly agreed and followed Nell upstairs.
Chapter 15
Back at the isolated cabin, Eli watched the two women as he played cards with an invisible partner. The two women had been whispering and now they were smiling. What were they talking about and why would they be smiling?
“Enough whispering. What are you two planning? You can’t escape. We’re too far from anywhere for you to run off and the old lady wouldn’t make it half-way
across the field.” He leaned back in his chair and laughed.
Molly and Henrietta stared at him but didn’t say a word.
He looked at them and asked, “What were you talking about?”
Molly knew she needed to answer. “I was only telling Mrs. Biggs about my childhood.”
“Oh yeah, well tell me. I’d like to hear something besides Bert’s snoring,” he snapped.
What did these men know about Sarah? Molly did her best to remember what Sarah said about her childhood. “I’m an orphan,” she began. “I grew up in an orphanage. Not much to tell.”
“How’d you end up the lawyer’s lady?” He grinned at her and Molly inwardly shuddered.
“I was a mail-order bride, but my husband died. I came here to see my friend and met Mr. Bowen.”
Eli nodded slowly. “Sounds like you had a hard time. Me and Bert did, too. Pa died when we were twelve and fourteen. Ma said she had enough money to keep the farm going. Had a rough couple years and then Ma died. She didn’t have the money but borrowed it from the bank. The man running it was a scoundrel and he took the farm from us. Now, we get back what was taken from us. I’m gonna buy me a nice farm somewhere as soon as your fella brings the money. I have enough saved now. Your money is gonna help me settle it. I’m gonna build a big barn first. I can live in a barn ‘till I get enough money for a house. Then maybe I’ll get me one of them mail-order brides.” He laughed again and tipped the chair over and fell to the floor.
Bert flew off the cot shouting, “What was that?” He waved his gun from one side of the room to the other blinking sleep from his eyes.
“Nothing Bert, I knocked over the chair. Things are all right,” Eli stammered.
“Keep it quiet, I’m tired,” Bert yelled and dropped back onto the cot. In less than a minute he was asleep again.
Molly saw Henrietta shiver. “Eli,” Molly said. “Can we have a fire? It’s cold in here. Maybe we could make some coffee.”
“Sorry, no fires. Someone may see the smoke. I have water if you’re thirsty and some biscuits,” he said and walked toward the cot where Bert slept. He pulled a blanket from the foot of the cot and tossed it at Molly. “You two will have to share this. It’ll be a cold night.”
Molly could see the sunlight fading quickly. It would soon be dark. How would anyone find them? Her hope lifted for a moment when she heard the sound of a horse’s hoofs.
“Bert, get up,” Eli said. “The boss is here.”
Bert jumped up and headed out the door. He came back a few minutes later. “Tie ‘em up, Eli. We’re leaving. Bowen has until sunrise to leave the money. We need to be close by when he does.”
Eli tied Molly and Henrietta’s hands behind their backs and tied their ankles. He looked at Henrietta and said, “I don’t trust you. You talk too much. I don’t want you making any plans.” He grabbed two rags off the table and stuffed one in her mouth and one in Molly’s. He slapped his hat on his head and went out to meet Bert.
Molly heard them ride off. She stood and hopped over to Henrietta and turned her back to the older lady. With her fingertips, she searched her face until she felt the rag and pulled freeing it from Henrietta’s mouth.
“Thank you. I think I might have passed out of that was in my mouth all night long. Can you bend over and get your mouth close to my hands? I’ll try and pull out your gag.”
Molly complied and soon her mouth was free of the gag, and she took a deep breath. “Thanks, now let’s see if I can untie your hands. Eli isn’t very bright. If he expected us to stay put, he should have tied us to the chairs.”
“Thank the Lord Bert didn’t tie us up. Do you think you can undo this rope?”
“I’ll try. Stand and I’ll try and undo them,” Molly said.
In short order, she had loosened Henrietta’s bonds, and Henrietta was able to remove them and then untied Molly’s hands. Both women untied their ankles and sat on the chairs looking at each other.
“Now what should we do?” Henrietta asked. “From the amount of time we spent in the wagon, I think we’re too far from town or another farm to walk to get help. I wouldn’t know which way to go. It’s getting cold outside.”
Molly looked out of the window. “They left the wagon but took the horses. I can see the wagon tracks in the snow. If it wasn’t so cold and we knew we were close to town, we could follow the tracks back. I pray someone knows we’re missing and follows the tracks here.”
“Let’s start a fire in the stove,” Henrietta suggested. “Maybe someone from town looking for us will see the smoke. It’s getting dark, and once the sun goes down it won’t matter because no one will see the smoke, but we’ll be warmer. Maybe there’s coffee.”
“Good idea. Can you start it while I look for something to use as a weapon? If they come back, I intend to fight. I’ll get them coming through the door before they know what hit them,” Molly laughed and picked up a broom. She swung it around. “This might work, but I’d like to find something heavier. “I’m going to see what’s in the wagon.”
Henrietta started a fire in the stove and found some coffee and the coffee pot. She put it on the stove just as the door opened. Her eyes widened as she saw Molly walk in carrying a rifle and a handful of shells.
“Those two are the dumbest men I’ve ever met. There was a box in the back of the wagon with men’s clothes and the rifle.” She dropped the shells on the table and loaded the rifle. “This is better than the broom. I’ll get them before they get to the door if they return.”
Henrietta laughed. “I imagine they intend to return in the morning after collecting the money and gather up their belongings. They’ll be surprised. I’d rather see them shot than us, and I believe Bert wanted to do just that.”
~ * ~
The sheriff spoke to the five men waiting to ride with him. “The wagon tracks head west out of town, yet the boy told me the man who paid him to deliver the note to Giles rode east out of town. We need to split up. I believe whoever the man is circled around since the wagon tracks lead West, and the falls are northwest of town. Giles and Roy will ride with me out to the falls. We’ll watch for the men. Tim, you Louis and Joseph follow the tracks. If you lose the trail or come up empty, come back to town. We’ll wait for sunup to see if anyone picks up the saddlebags and then head back here. Watch yourselves. ”
Tim nodded and mounted his horse. “Let’s go; daylight is waning.” The three men took off following the slight impressions left in the snow.
Sheriff Clay addressed Giles and Roy. “I think we’ll arrive at the falls before whoever took the women. They have about an hour head start, but they need to take the women wherever they planned and then make their way to the falls. There’s an abandoned logging site about a half-mile from the falls. We’ll leave the horses there and hike through the woods. We should be able to get a drop on them as soon as they arrive.” He turned his horse and galloped down the street heading for the camp.
Stopping before they near the forest, Sheriff Clay looked at Giles. “You need to drop those saddle bags. Don’t stop or get off your horse. Ride past and toss them down. Then hightail it back here. We’ll move through the trees to watch the bags after you return. It shouldn’t take us long to get to a good spot.”
Giles nodded and rode off.
The men arrived at the logging camp and watered their horses at the nearby stream before tying them to low hanging tree branches. Giles returned in less than a half hour.
“I didn’t stop, but I got a good look around. I didn’t see anyone, but there are a lot of bushes on that rise near the stream. Anyone could tie a horse on the other side of the rise and watch me from those bushes. We need to catch them, Sheriff. Those lowdown...” He bit back the words he wanted to let fly and breathed deeply. “They have two of our women. Who knows what they’ll do to them.”
“I know, Giles,” Sheriff Clay answered. “We’ll get them.”
Roy said, “We still have a good hour of daylight left and should be able to get
to the falls before dark. They set out and found a secluded spot to watch and wait for the men to collect the saddle bags.
~ * ~
Tim, Louis, and Joseph saw the wisp of gray smoke before they saw the cabin. They tied their horses to a nearby tree and approached the cabin on foot. Although the sun had set, Tim could see the wagon tracks lead to the cabin in the filtered moonlight.
The winds the previous night had blown most of the remaining leaves from the tree. The leaves crunched under his feet even after the snow softened them somewhat. Tim whispered, “Push the leaves out of your way before you step. It’s so quiet out here; they may hear us approach.”
He crept as close to the cabin as was safe and took cover behind a tree. Louis and Joseph followed sheltering behind nearby trees. All three drew their weapons ready to fight the abductors and free the women.
Louis whispered, “What now?”
“We need to see if anyone is around. There’s smoke, but the cabin seems quiet. The wagon is here, but no horses,” Tim answered.
Joseph offered, “Maybe they left the women and took off for the falls.”
“Yeah, that makes sense, but if it were me, I’d have left someone behind to guard them,” Tim said.
“Maybe they’re stupid,” Joseph said.
Louis offered, “Wait; I doubt they would leave someone behind without a horse. It could be they either took the women along on horseback or left them here tied up.”
“I’m going to call out to whoever is in there. Stay covered. They may answer with a bullet,” Tim responded.
Henrietta sat up from the cot, “This is worse than sitting. How did that man sleep on this thing?” She stood and stretched her back.
“I don’t know, but we’re going to need to get some rest. If they come back to kill us, we’re going to need our strength,” Molly replied squinting to see Henrietta through the small amount of moonlight streaming through the gap in the shutters.
Sarah's Heart Page 14