It was
fortunate that the moon was up that night and, even though only half lit, still
cast light enough to make out the trail up the side of Silver Spring
Mountain. The sun would be following the
moon in a few hours when Seth reached the trapper's cabin. There was still no sign of pursuit although
he knew full well that Barrington would have riders fanning out as soon as he
found his daughter missing.
After riding
the range all day, then most of the night, he was tired and saddle-sore when he
finally halted by the dark cabin well hidden among the pines. The last part of the journey had been steep
and the air higher up was noticeably cooler than down in the valley.
He had not
heard any sounds from his bundle for a while and wondered if she had -
improbable as it would be - fallen asleep.
There was not much for her to do back under that blanket and nothing for
her to see.
Untying the
rope holding the bundle against his saddle, he lifted it onto his shoulder and
made for the cabin. The bundle grunted
and he knew that she was awake. Probably
had not even tried to sleep. For a
better part of the ride, she had been making noises under there, probably
curses and orders to untie her immediately.
Roberta was the kind of woman who expected men to jump at her command. That he had actually grabbed her, bound and
thrown her over his horse was probably quite a shock to the young woman.
Dumping his
bundle on the cabin floor, he went back out for the saddlebags. When those were dropped off inside the dimly
lit cabin, he returned to his horse to remove the saddle and blanket. Thunder snorted a complaint that he had been
forced to ride so far in the middle of the night.
Dumping the
saddle and blanket on the floor, he went to the saddlebags and fumbled around
in the dark to find a candle. He always
carried a few there, just in case he needed them. When a single candle was sitting on the table
and casting a very dim light round the small cabin, he finally turned his
attention to the woman he had taken. He
was tempted to just grab a corner of the blanket and heave, letting her roll
out and thump on the floor. But instead
he gently unwrapped her. As soon as her
face was visible, he found that she had worked the gag out of her mouth and was
ready to inform him, in colorful detail, just what an
idiot his was, that his parents were not married, how dare he treat her like
this, and that he was going to die as soon as her father caught up with
him. And a few other choice words about
his ancestry and extremely dim hopes for future salvation.
For the most
part, he ignored her and set about removing a blanket tied upon the top of one
saddlebag. That he stretched out on the
floor. He threw the one he had wrapped
her in over next to the first one. Being
ignored only made her madder and increased the volume of her complaints.
Finally her
turned to her and said simply, "Shut up."
"I will not,
you dirty low-life! I will..."
"You will get
gagged again if you don't shut up," he interrupted.
"I... You..." she sputtered angrily.
Seth looked
over at her, checking that the leather strips he had used to bind her hands
behind her were still in place. From the
redness on her wrists, she had been trying to work her hands out of there for a
long time. Her feet were still tied
together, so he was satisfied that she would not be going anywhere soon.
"My father is
going to find you and kill you," she finally stated in a half way normal tone.
"He'll try,"
Seth admitted.
"Oh, he
will. I promise you. And I am going to enjoy watching him shoot you." She stopped threatening him when he took a
long drink from a canteen. She was
licking her lips and looking at the canteen, obviously thirsty. Maybe it had been hot inside that blanket.
"Want some?"
he asked her.
She nodded,
but she did not want to beg for anything from this man.
"Fine. I'll give you water but only if you'll stop
talking. It annoys me."
"You'll have
to untie my hands so I can drink," she pointed out. "Besides, they hurt. You tied me too tight."
"You stay
tied 'cause I'm going to get some sleep before the sun comes up and I don't
want you wandering around or trying to conk me with a rock while I sleep."
She made a
rude noise but turned her face up when he came near with the water. Half of what he poured into her mouth spilled
over her blouse, but she drank eagerly as much as she could and did not
complain.
He put the
canteen on the table and unbuckled his gun belt to add to it. The rifle that he carried in with the
saddlebags went there also. Looking at
her as she stood there, he picked up the two guns and placed them on hooks set
over the fireplace. Spreading the
blanket that had been under the saddle on Thunder on the floor, he told her
firmly, "Now you listen here, I am going to get some sleep. You should, too. But it's cold up here, so I'd suggest that
you wiggle your butt over here and get next to me. We share these two blankets and keep each
other warm."
He was
spreading the blankets over himself, when he turned to her. "Coming?"
"I'd rather
freeze to death," she told him.
"Fine, go
ahead."
He blew out
the candle and settled down under the blankets.
The cabin
interior was not totally dark. Pale,
ghostly light from the setting moon crept in through the window and open
door. Roberta tested the leather strip
that bound her hands yet again but still could not reach the knot or pull her
hands out.
It had been
easy to put up a big front because she was angry. But now the anger seeped out of her and
tiredness took hold. She yawned, but
refused to settle down and seek slumber.
She eyed the open doorway and wondered if she could crawl out and try to
hide someplace so he would not find her in the morning. Maybe he would go on if he were unable to find
her. But although that would get him out
of her life, it would leave her bound hand and foot, and alone in the high
mountains. She was certain that her
father would, as she had promised, set out to find her. But how long would it be before they found this
cabin? If ever...
Roberta
wanted to cry and some tears did begin to seep out. This was not fair at all! She should not be treated like this. She was the daughter of an important man in
the territory, maybe someday to be the governor, and she should be treated with
respect.
Without
meaning to, she fell asleep while trying to think of ways she could escape.
When the
first light of dawn came in, Seth awoke.
He was not surprised to find that Roberta had crept over during the
night and was lying next to him, snuggled up as close as she could.
She was sleeping
still, and for a while he did not get up but remained in place looking at the
delicate features of this beautiful woman.
That long golden hair was in disarray but still looked fine. He longed to touch it, to feel its softness.