Noble Savage Page 26

  Bending, Whitney picked up a valise. "Come, Miss Lachlan. There will be a special eastbound train through here in about thirty minutes. It will stop for us."

  Something about his smile made Katie wonder why she hadn't taken him seriously from first sight. "You won't get away with this. It's kidnapping!"

  "On the contrary, my dear. I will not only get away with it, I will be thanked by your parents when I have made an honest woman of you."

  "You're crazy if you thi--"

  Like a striking rattler, his hand closed about her throat, choking off her words. "I told you never to use that word." He shook her like a dirty rag, until Katie's vision grayed and a ringing filled her ears.

  She sagged in Muldoon's grip. Dimly she saw Whitney's hands retreat from her, watched as he carefully shot his cuffs and smoothed the pigskin over the back of his hands.

  "It is time," he said, his voice cultured and mild. The instant transformation from raging maniac to polished gentleman was remarkable. And terrifying. "We must go."

  The prick of a knife at her spine propelled Katie out the door and down the stairs. As they emerged from the hotel, the clamor in the street swelled until it drowned out all other sounds. The mob, which last night had comprised perhaps a hundred men, was now easily five times that size and all but filled the street.

  "This way. Quickly." Whitney led them in the direction of the depot, staying close to the fronts of the buildings. No one paid attention to them as they passed empty saloons and card rooms, businesses with boards nailed across gaping windows with only shards of glass remaining. She could feel tension in Muldoon's hand gripping her arm, could see alarm in the way Whitney darted quick glances over his shoulder every step or two.

  They were in front of the Railroad Saloon when two men stepped into their path. "I told you, Moses. That there is the gal Savage had with him," the shorter said. He had a bloody bandage around one shoulder.

  Katie recognized him immediately. Both of them. They were Breedloves--the men who'd stayed behind to beat Luke.

  Her skin crawled as the one named as Moses looked her up and down, his gaze almost palpable on her body. "I never said she warn't, Kiah. All I said was, we maybe oughtn't to mess with her. She looks like a lady to me."

  Whitney glared at them. "Get out of my way, you ignorant ruffians!"

  "I reckon you ain't man enough to move me, city boy," Kiah Breedlove said. Katie was inclined to agree with him. He was several inches shorter than Whitney, but easily twice as wide through the shoulders.

  "Muldoon, do something!"

  "Shore would like to see him try," the taller one--Moses--said. He drew his gun. "Now then, mister, you turn loose of that gal and step over here next your boss," he ordered Muldoon, "else I see how close I can come to takin' one of his ears off."

  Whitney's voice went up an octave. "Muldoon!"

  Katie felt the knife prick deeper, then ease off.

  "That's right, man. Drop the knife and you won't get hurt. Now, let the gal go."

  Muldoon's grip loosened and she was free. Katie stepped aside, prepared to run.

  "Hold on there, gal. You ain't goin' nowhere." Kiah caught her wrist. He held her fast while his brother searched Whitney's pockets, removing his purse and two silver-chased Derringers. The revolver in his other hand never wavered from its aim at Whitney's head.

  "My guns!" Katie said, before she could bite off the words.

  Kiah Breedlove looked at her, a derisive smile on his lips. "Your guns?" He laughed. "You hear that, Moses. The lady says them fancy guns are hers."

  "They are mine. He stole them from me."

  "Wal, they're mine now." Moses checked the rest of Whitney's pockets, taking a watch and cigar case, both gleaming gold.

  "You can't treat me like this!" Whitney sputtered, as the men helped themselves to his cigars. "I'll have the law on you!"

  "We surely can, mister," Moses said. "There ain't no law hereabouts."

  Katie almost smiled. It was good to see a bully tamed. Now if someone would just come along and tame the Breedlove brothers.

  From behind them, the roar of the crowd swelled in volume, and half a dozen shots rang out. "Hey, Moses, let's get goin' afore we get caught up in that mess." Her captor struck Whitney's lackey across the face with the butt of a big knife. Muldoon dropped into the muddy street and sprawled there, unmoving. His wasn't the only body lying in the street.

  "I demand--"

  "You ain't in shape to demand anything, dude," Moses told Whitney, pulling him between the saloon and the Union Bakery next door. "Bring the girl, Kiah."

  Dragged along by a strong grip on her wrist, Katie decided resistance was useless. For the time being. She could scream her head off and nobody would hear her over the crowd's roar. "What are you going to do with me?"

  "Malachi wouldn't let us kill Savage," Kiah told her over his shoulder, "so we reckon us takin' his woman will teach him not to go around killin' folks."

  Katie had to force her voice to remain steady as she said, "I am not Luke Savage's woman."

  "Close enough. He won't take kindly to you being used by us'ns." He leered at her, licking his thick lips. "I ain't had me a woman in a coon's age."

  Chapter Twenty-five

  The crowd's noise had changed from a roar to a deep-pitched growl, like the snarl of an enraged grizzly--and likely just as predictable. As long as the Breedloves had that rabble to worry about, she had a chance. Slim, but a chance. But where's Luke?

  Their other captive was not so grateful. "You'll hang for this outrage! Do you know who I am?"

  "Far as I can see, you're a big-mouthed dude with more hair than wit. Now shut your mouth!" Moses gestured to Kiah, who tightened his hold on Katie's wrist. "You keep your knife right up agin that there gal, Kiah. She may be worth something to us." Stepping a foot or so out into the street, he looked both ways, then quickly eased back into the shelter of the alleyway.

  "Ain't nobody lookin' down this way," he said, drawing his revolver. "Let's go." He nudged Whitney with the barrel. "Now, mister, you're gonna walk alongside me like a man out for a Sunday stroll."

  "Stay quiet, little lady, and don't be tryin' to get away," Kiah said in Katie's ear. "I got me a good hold on you."

  She stepped out smartly. From the corners of her eyes, she could see the roiling, milling collection of men, could see how close they were to its edge.

  The newspaper office must be where the mob was centered. She remembered seeing a sign on the front of a board-and-batten shack. The Frontier Index.

  Well, the newspaper people couldn't be in a much worse fix than she was, right now. If they had a plan of escape, she sure hoped it was better than hers.

  The street seemed a mile wide. Ahead of her, Whitney walked docilely at Moses Breedlove's side. Perhaps he had more brains than she'd credited him with. But she'd no more than had the thought when he started yelling. "Help! Kidnappers! Save me!"

  A few men on the edge of the crowd turned to look, but loud as Whitney's cry had been, it disappeared in the unrelenting growl of hundreds of angry men.

  Moses shoved Whitney ahead of him, into the gap between two buildings. "You pull that again, Mister, and I'll shut your mouth for good."

  Whitney stumbled, fell to one knee. Before he could rise, Moses knocked him down and kicked him. "Get up, or I'll shoot you like the yellow dog you are."

  "No!" Rolling over, Whitney levered himself onto an elbow. "I'll pay you...fifty dollars. A hundred--"

  Moses pulled his foot back to deliver another kick.

  "Hold on, there," Kiah said. "A hundred dollars you say?" he asked Whitney.

  "Yes. Yes. Anything! Just let me go!"

  "Is he good for it, gal? Or is he just blowin' gas?"

  Perhaps if they were concentrating on Whitney, she might...Katie forced herself to nod. "Oh, yes." She paused, cleared her throat. "Yes, indeed. His family's very important back in Boston. If you hold him for ransom, his father will probably pay much more than a hund
red dollars to get him back."

  The attention of both Breedloves was centered on Whitney. Katie jerked free of Kiah's grasp and dashed back toward the street.

  She'd taken only a few steps before she was tackled and fell, face-down, in the muddy street. Kiah Breedlove lay atop her, his fetid breath hot against her cheek.

  "I ain't got time for you now, pretty lady, but later on me and you's gonna get better acquainted." He lifted himself off of her, lifted her to her feet with an iron-hard grasp on her wrist.

  Fear surged through Katie in an icy wave.

  * * * *

  "The cemetery," Luke said. "We were up the hill...Damnation!" He probed gently at his jaw, wondering if he had a loose molar, too. "I've got to go back up there."

  "What for?"

  "We left something...something important up there. At least I think we did." She hadn't taken the fiddle case with her. He was sure she hadn't. "Help me up."

  "Lad, it's a good mile to Cemetery Hill. Now if this lady friend of yours is in such danger, it doesn't make much sense to waste any time," Sam said.

  "No, you're right," Luke admitted. "Damn!" His head ached so bad he couldn't string two thoughts together. "I wish I knew what to do."

  "I think I can help you. Jacob, send that boy of yours up to the cemetery. Tell him to look for...What was it you left up there?"

  "A fiddle case. About so long, black leather--"

  "Tarnation, lad, it don't take a fiddle to save the gal."

  "Believe me, Sam, what's in that fiddle case could go a long way toward getting her safely to her pa. I just hope the Breedloves didn't find it."

  "You're telling me it's full of money?"

  "Not full, but all we've got between us. And there's a shotgun in it, too. They took my rifle."

  "You tell the boy about where to look. He'll find it if it's up there. And he'll be back here before the cat can lick its ear."

  "I'm obliged," Luke said, feeling like a heavy pack had been lifted from his shoulders. "Now, let's talk about how we're going to find Katie."

  * * * *

  "I tell you, that is all the cash I have!" Whitney had sung the same tune for several minutes now, with much the same words interspersed with threats of what his family would do to anyone foolish enough to hold him for ransom. His face was growing increasingly red, his voice ever more shrill. Katie was reminded of her younger brother in one of the tantrums he was prone to as a toddler. Any minute she expected to see Whitney drumming his heels and shrieking.

  Moses pulled a filthy rag from his pocket and stuffed it into Whitney's mouth, then used his neckerchief to tie it in place. The cloth cut into Whitney's cheeks just as a similar gag had all but strangled Katie just last night.

  If she weren't so scared, she might laugh at the justice of it all.

  A fusillade of shots sounded from the street, followed by a swelling of the crowd's roar. She could hear individual shouts now, with occasional screams as counterpoint. Even the ground seemed to tremble, as if a locomotive was passing nearby.

  Both Moses and Kiah were watching the street, peering down the gap between buildings. Their bodies were tense. Was the riot moving in this direction?

  Katie swallowed past a huge lump in her throat. She was determined not to let the Breedloves see how terrified she was. Pa, you never told me that sometimes there's nothing a body can do.

  At last Moses said, "C'mon. Let's get out of here." He forced Whitney to his feet. "Bring the girl. We gotta try to make it to the stable."

  For an instant, Katie thought about fighting him. Only for an instant. She changed her mind as a scream sounded from the street. A woman's scream. Terrified. Hopeless.

  That could be me.

  They continued along behind the stores and saloons. The livery stable was at the upper end of town and a little removed from the other buildings. Even last night, when Katie had escaped from the stable, it hadn't seemed quite as far away as it did now.

  Each time they passed one of the gaps between buildings, Katie looked into the street. And each time it seemed to her that the tumult had increased. Some men now carried torches, waving them about above their heads. Shots were more frequent, too, until sometimes they sounded so closely together that it was hard to distinguish one from another.

  So far none of the rioters had ventured into the alley, for which Katie gave fervent, if silent, thanks. Unfortunately, neither had any honest men. With each step closer to the livery stable, her chances of escape lessened.

  They were behind the last of the saloons when two men stepped out into their paths. A third stood back a ways, in the shadows. A battered hat concealed his face, but his coat...

  Kiah and Moses pulled their captives to a halt. "Say a word and I'll cut you, gal," Kiah muttered into Katie's ear. His grasp on her wrist tightened.

  She watched and waited.

  "Leavin' town, boys?" the bearded leader of the trio asked.

  "No sense stayin' where's there's a war bein' fit," Kiah said. "Had enough of that a few years back."

  "We're bounty hunters," Moses said, when Whitney pulled away from Kiah, grunting against his gag. "Don't want to take a chance on losin' our reward for this here bank robber."

  "Ahuh! And the lady?"

  "He told them I was his wife," Katie said, "and I'm not. But these men believed him." She ignored the man in the shadows, spoke to the other two. "Won't you please help me?"

  Moses growled, but said nothing.

  "Don't you listen to her. She's his wife and as bad as he is," Kiah insisted. "Why she killed--"

  The bearded man cut him off with a gesture. "We ain't got time to argue. Turn her loose."

  "The hell we will!"

  The leader's shotgun moved until it was aimed right at Moses. "We've got troubles enough without takin' on more, so we won't interfere with you as long as you let us have the lady. And get out of town right quick."

  Kiah released her, giving her a slight shove. Katie stumbled as she crossed the short distance to freedom, making sure she never got between the shotguns and the Breedloves. For a moment, she wondered if she should speak up for Whitney. Even he didn't deserve the kind of treatment he was apt to suffer at the hands of ruffians like these.

  But only for a moment. He'd have abandoned me in a minute, to save his own life. And if he were free, I'd never know when he'd be sneaking up behind me. The Breedloves might mistreat him, but they'd keep him alive, as long as they thought he was worth money to them.

  With the three shotguns trained steadily on them, the Breedloves escorted Whitney to the livery stable. They saddled quickly, then mounted Whitney behind Moses on a big, rawboned buckskin.

  "Stop!" Katie cried as they prepared to ride out. "My guns!"

  "Miss, we ain't got time--"

  "Whitney stole my guns when he kidnapped me. You wouldn't want me to be without any protection..." She made her chin tremble, a trick that had never worked with her brothers.

  It did this time. "Give the lady her guns," the bearded man said, lifting the barrel of his shotgun.

  Moses Breedlove glared, but dug the derringers out of his coat pocket and handed them down to her.

  Kiah was cursing luridly as the Breedloves and their captive rode away.

  Once they were gone, Luke stepped from the shadows. He grabbed Katie in his arms and held her close for a moment.

  "I thought they'd killed you," she sobbed against his chest. "Oh, Luke..."

  "No time," one of the others said.

  "He's right," Luke told her, easing her away from him. "Katie, you're going to have to go back to the hotel for a while."

  "No! Don't leave me!" She'd come too close to losing him already.

  "I've got to." He took her arm and hurried her along. "You ought to be safe enough, long as you stay out of sight."

  "Where are you--"

  "Miss, he's got a job to do for us, and you'd just be in the way." For coming from such a big man, the voice emerging form the beard was curiously soft and ge
ntle. "I give you my word we'll send him back to you, soon as we can."

  When they reached the street, all three men clustered tightly around her as they crossed, walking at a moderate pace. Katie felt like she was in the middle of the riot, but they got across without incident. Luke escorted her upstairs.

  "Mind you lock this door. And don't open it to anybody you don't know."

  "But--"

  "Katie, love, there's got a war goin' on in this town, and I don't have time for your questions now. Lock your door."

  He pulled it shut in her face.

  * * * *

  The wagon was waiting at the hotel's back door. Luke and an older man who'd been introduced as One-eye climbed aboard, while the others mounted horses. They took a roundabout way out of town, up the shallow valley to the east, then over the hills and back to the railroad. An hour's travel took them to the water tank where Luke and Katie had spent the night. Then it was a matter of minutes to load the wagon.

  They were tying a tarpaulin over the load of Dynamite when Sam and two other men rode up. "They've fired the newspaper," he said, "and there was some talk of breakin' into your store, Jacob. Let's hustle."

  Grabbing the fiddle case from where it sat on the wagon's seat, Luke said, "Somebody lend me a horse. I've got to get back to town right now!"

  One of the men who'd accompanied Sam dismounted. "Take mine. You can leave it at the livery when you--" The rest of his words were lost in the wind as Luke spurred the horse toward Bear River City.

  * * * *

  Luke had seen anthills stirred up by a cow's foot that didn't look as busy as the street outside the hotel did. Flames rose from a building farther down--one of the saloons, he surmised--and none of the storefronts in sight retained their windows. Not that all that many had had them last time he looked.

  Clots of men on the outskirts of the growling, shifting crowd fought teeth and toenail. Not fifty feet from him, Luke saw the flash of a knife. A man fell, bleeding in the cold mud. Shots sounded almost incessantly and, combined with the sound of hundreds of male voices, produced a howl of rage like he'd not heard since Antietam.