"If you persist in following me, I shall be forced to ride into town and report you to the authorities."
His laughter held no humor. "Go right ahead, Gennie," he shouted over the sound of the horses" hoofs, "and while we"re there, I will report you as a horse thief"
The statement deflated her, and Gennie reined the horse to a slow trot. "Have it your way, then," she said. "Men always do."
He looked surprised. "What does that mean?"
The telegram in her pocket was explanation enough, but he was the last one to whom she"d show it. "I"m leaving soon, Daniel," she said. "Won"t you let me have this one last ride?"
Another laugh. "You are a dramatic woman, Gennie. You act as if you"re going away today."
"Tomorrow," she corrected as she directed the animal off the road and onto a narrow path that lead along a tributary of the river, praying Daniel would not try to follow on foot. To be certain of it, she spurred Blossom to a canter. She heard Daniel shout her name a few times, but the horse easily outpaced him. When she felt she"d put enough distance between them, Gennie slowed the horse to a trot, then, where the river flowed under the railroad trestle, dismounted.
While the horse drank, she held the reins and tried to remember how to walk. Unaccustomed to the jostling of even the slowest of rides, Gennie decided she may have caused some sort of permanent damage. She couldn"t walk more than a few steps without wincing from the effort. Thankfully, Blossom would take her all the way home. After that, a warm bath should do the trick.
A shot rang out and the horse startled, yanking the reins from Gennie"s fingers. Another shot, and the horse bolted, disappearing in the direction they"d come.
"Wonderful. Now I"m in a fix." She sighed.
"Miss Cooper?" a decidedly male and somewhat familiar voice said.
Gennie turned to see Isak standing behind her, his hand on the gun at his hip. His face held no humor. "Isak? What"s wrong? Did Daniel send you?"
Isak shrugged off his frown and gestured to the thicket. "Yeah, Mr. Beck sent me. Let"s go home."
She followed with difficulty, wincing with every step. "How far are we going?" she asked after a few minutes. "Even though you"ve been a great teacher, I"ve not got the stamina I should."
"Not much farther," he said. "You can make it."
They emerged into a clearing, a coach parked at its center.
"Oh good," Gennie said. "I was afraid I"d have to walk all the way home. At the rate I"m going, that would take all day."
"After you." Isak handed her inside the darkened interior.
Gennie reached to raise the shade, and a hand went over her mouth. Another covered her eyes. She kicked against the dark form and heard a grunt.
The hand disappeared from her mouth, and she tried to scream. Before she could, however, something that tasted like sweat and bitter medicine filled her mouth.
"Daniel," Elias called. "The horse is back, but Miss Cooper"s not." He tore out of the house to meet Elias. "I knew I shouldn"t have left her alone." He caught his breath. "Surely she"s with Isak." "Isak?" "You didn"t think I would leave her without a bodyguard, did you?
I sent the lad to watch her." He paused. "She certainly didn"t want me around."
"About that," Elias said. "I"ve been meaning to ask-"
Isak raced toward the carriage house, his face red and his breath coming in gasps. "Mr. Beck, Mr. Howe," he managed, "they got her. Those men, they got her and took her away."
"What men?" Daniel shook the lad to get his attention. "Where is she now?"
"Didn"t recognize them." He shrugged. "Last I saw her, she was over by the train trestle north of the city. You know, the one that"s over Jackrabbit Creek?"
"Take me there," Daniel demanded as he practically threw the young man in the buggy. "Elias, you take the wagon and go fetch the law. You know where that trestle is?"
"I do," Elias said.
"What"s going on here?" Tova stepped outside, a dishcloth over one shoulder.
Daniel turned to her. "Send Sam over to the school and tell him to take Charlotte to the Finch place until Elias or I come for them. It"s important you tell him exactly that. Do you understand?"
Tova nodded. "Sam goes to the school and brings Charlotte to the Finch home until you come for him. Anything else?"
Daniel looked from Tova to Elias, who wore a worried look. "Yes," he added. "You go with Sam. I"m not taking any chances with those I love."
The old soldier gave a nod of approval, then turned to Tova. "Hurry yourself up. I don"t take chances with those I love, either."
Daniel circled the drive and turned the buggy toward Jackrabbit Creek, unable to even look at the lad beside him. As the road narrowed to a path, he urged the horses on.
"I didn"t know she"d leave with them," Isak said. "I really didn"t know. He said he was a friend of hers."
"All right, kid." Daniel urged the horses forward, knowing he trod a fine line between speed and running the buggy into the river.
When they reached the trestle, Daniel pulled the horses to a halt. A dry wind blew the heat off the packed ground and circled the buggy like a dust devil. Daniel shielded his eyes against the glare of the sun and tried to see something, anything, that might tell him where they went.
If only last night"s rain had touched Denver. Instead, the ground remained hard, a poor surface for discerning the direction of any traveler.
Direction. Daniel slapped his thigh.
"When you helped her into the coach, which way were the horses pointing?"
Isak gestured to the west.
"All right, then," Daniel said. "Let"s go."
He pointed the horses north until he reached a place in the river where they could cross. There, in the wet dirt on the opposite bank, he found tracks.
"What now?" Isak asked.
"Now we pray!" Daniel urged the horses to a gallop. "This pair won"t go much farther at this pace."
"What"s that?" Isak pointed to a black spot in the distance.
"Looks like a coach." Daniel pointed the buggy toward the horizon.
The coach moved at quite a clip, but Daniel"s horses were faster. As he closed the distance, Daniel saw the coach"s team had no driver, and one door hung open.
As he moved within range, he saw that the coach did, however, have a pa.s.senger. Lying half on the floor and half on the seat was Gennie Cooper. He"d know that blond hair and cornflower blue dress anywhere.
Daniel began to pray. Then he devised a plan.
"I"m going to need your help, Isak." Daniel regarded him with a quick but serious look. "If you"re really a part of this, then I could die trying to save Gennie."
The young man shook his head furiously. "I"m telling the truth, Mr. Beck. You just tell me what to do and I will do it."
"All right." Daniel gestured to the runaway coach. "Take the reins and get us as close to it as you can. When I think I can, I"ll jump over and see if I can"t get the thing stopped."
The boy"s eyes went wide, but he nodded and did as he was told. When they were close enough, Daniel shouted Gennie"s name.
She turned toward him, still holding tight to the seat in front of her. "No," she said. There were more words, but the thundering hoofs kept them from being heard.
Daniel watched the distance become shorter, and his prayers became more fervent. With less than a foot between the coach and the buggy, he prepared to jump.
"Move out of the way," he shouted, and she did, crawling onto the seat opposite the open door.
A shot rang out, and Daniel almost landed on the prairie.
Gennie pointed to the roof and shouted something about a man. A second look showed a fellow lying p.r.o.ne on top of the carriage. A length of rope had been tied to the reins, giving him the ability to halt the carriage at will.
It was a setup. Odd that the man couldn"t hit him from barely a foot away.
Daniel reached for his Colt, then decided it was foolish to jump with his weapon at the ready. He turned to Isak. "The minute I jump, you turn this rig around and get out of that man"s range. I"ll not have your blood on my hands."
"Yes sir," Isak said.
"I want you to fetch the Pinkerton. You remember Hank Thompson, don"t you?"
"I do, sir. What should I do when I get him?"
"Bring him out here so he can investigate."
"Yes sir. I"ll do it fast as this team"ll take me there and back."
"All right, then." Daniel gave Isak another hard look, then jumped, landing with a rolling thud in the spot where Gennie had just been lying.
Another shot split a hole in the roof, and Daniel scooted out of the way. "Are you harmed?" he asked Gennie.
"No," she shouted over the noise, "but that man up there"s got to be stopped."
"I"ll get him."
Daniel made to leave, and Gennie grabbed his arm. "Don"t get yourself killed, Daniel Beck."
"I promise. Now hold on and stay out of the way." He paused to check the ammunition in his Colt. "Whatever you do, stay away from the windows and door."
She nodded, then swiped at a tear. "For the record," she said as she let him go, "this is not the kind of Wild West adventure I was looking for."
He crawled to the door, wedging himself into the opening. With his boots on the seat, Daniel managed to swing up to take a closer look at the fellow atop the coach.
A bullet zinged past his ear.
All right, Lord, that didn"t work. What now?
Daniel swung around to see if he could reach the driver"s seat, and another bullet sounded, this one nowhere near him. He spied the rope and devised a plan.
The man on top had obviously rolled to the left, for the rope was shifted far to that side, as were the reins. Daniel slid back into the coach and climbed over Gennie"s legs to peer out of the shade. The end of the rope hung just out of reach.
"I"ve got a plan," he told Gennie. "You sit still and this thing will be stopped in no time."
Her eyes wide and ringed with tears, Gennie managed a nod. "What can I do?"
"Your job is to stay alive!"
Daniel slid out the window and snagged the rope. A hard tug sent the horses into a turn that nearly sent him spiraling off onto the ground. Daniel held tight to the rope and prayed the horses would stop before he landed under them. The man above tried to aim his gun at Daniel and keep his grip on the reins while the carriage careened over rutted ground.
"Be careful!" Gennie called.
"Yes, dear," Daniel managed.
He tightened his grip on the coach window, trying to reach the driver"s seat. In order to lunge forward and grab the reins, he"d have to give up his hold on the rope. Praying once again, Daniel counted to three, then hefted himself up onto the seat and gave the fellow on the roof a push. A bullet nicked his shoulder as the man disappeared over the other side of the coach and landed with a thud that was almost drowned out by the clattering of the horses" hoofs.
For a moment, Daniel could only hold on tight and try to catch his breath.
He leaned forward and swiped at the reins, but missed and nearly toppled from the seat. On the second attempt, he managed to lean forward enough to snag them. The spooked horses, however, refused to stop for another half mile.
When the coach rolled to a halt, Gennie fell out the open door, then scrambled to her feet.
She met him halfway, clinging to Daniel as soon as he jumped from the driver"s seat. He wrapped the frightened woman in an embrace and rested his chin atop her head. By the time Isak swung back around to pick them up, Gennie had almost stopped crying.
"You"re bleeding," she said, and the bawling began again.
"It"s just a scratch." Daniel let out a long breath and waited until she quieted again. He lifted her chin. "I promised you a Wild West adventure, and even though we didn"t get back to Leadville, I think I delivered."
She swatted him on the arm, then started crying again.
Gennie allowed Daniel to help her toward the house, but drew the line at letting him carry her.
"I"m perfectly capable of walking," she said, "though the doctor better get here soon, or I"ll be forced to st.i.tch up that wound of yours myself."
"It"s just a scratch." Daniel dabbed gingerly at his shoulder with her handkerchief. "Besides, I"ve seen your st.i.tching. I"ll take my chances." He paused and looked past her. "Is that Jeb Sanders? What in the world is he doing in Denver?"
Gennie grabbed Daniel"s arm and pulled him back. "I"ve seen that man before."
"In Leadville," he said.
"No, here." She paused. "He"s the one I told you about. I let him in because he said he was a friend of yours, but he wouldn"t leave his name."