Chapter Seventeen

Previously:

First, he was going to have to figure out what he was going to do in his current situation. However, before he had time to come up with an original idea, Nick, Elizabeth and Tabitha came into view. An evil grin slowly spread across Brian's face as he quickly moved into a group of trees and waited.

Nick slowed his horse's pace down a little, as did Elizabeth-when she realized what Nick was doing. "What is it? Did you see something?" She asked casting her eyes around, but seeing nothing.

Nick continued looking for another few seconds before shaking his head. "No, nothing I've seen. It's just…" he growled low in frustration. "It's just a feeling, like we're being watched or something."

Elizabeth wanted to tell him he was imagining things only there would be one problem in doing such a thing…she was now getting the same impressions. She moved closer to Nick and gestured for Tabitha. Since Nick wanted his hands free-if he should need to go for his gun, he stopped his horse and shook Tabitha just enough to wake her up.

Tabitha's confusion showed as Nick pointed towards her stepmother while Elizabeth told her stepdaughter that she-Tabitha-needed to switch horses. While she didn't want to, Tabitha obeyed. Soon, she on the same saddle as her mother-though she was facing Elizabeth, in order to be able to hold onto her. They started moving again, only this time Nick rested his hand on the top of his pistol. It was a movement Tabitha did not miss.

With the confusion still in her eyes, the young girl pulled away from her mother just enough to sign to Elizabeth. "What wrong?"

"I don't know." Elizabeth signed even as she talked back-even as she did her best to keep her eyes open. She did not like the feeling she was getting. On an impulse, she signed started signing quickly to her stepdaughter.

Tabitha's widened eyes and slightly pale face told her stepmother that her stepdaughter didn't like what she was being told. As much as she couldn't blame the child, Elizabeth simply signed the same thing over again.

"Maybe we're just…" Nick started to say only to hear the sound of rustling in the bushes and trees they'd just passed. Before he could say or do anything, a terrified looked appeared on Tabitha's face…she could see behind her mother while Elizabeth and Nick heard what sounded to be the cocking of a pistol.

"Stop those horses where you are and throw down any weapon you have." A voice full of desperation snapped…though if anyone asked Brian what he planned on doing, and he'd replied honestly, he'd have said besides stealing the horses…he had no idea.

Not knowing who the man was, and just what he was capable of, Nick and Elizabeth stopped their horses. Nick removed his pistol and threw it down on the ground. He did the same with the rifle that Mr. Jackson had insisted Nick take with him; it had been hanging in a sheath attached to the saddle.

"Now get off!" Brian ordered, his impatience could be heard loud and clear.

Nick dismounted slowly as did Elizabeth. However, when Tabitha remained in the saddle, Brian yelled at her to do the same.

"She's profoundly deaf." Elizabeth, who had quickly signed 'obey' to her stepdaughter-without Brian seeing the sign- before dismounting her horse, told him. "She can't hear a word you say." She stepped away from her horse and stepped closer to Nick. Seeing her move closer to Mr. Barkley, Tabitha did exactly as her mother had told her to do. Before Nick or Brian knew it, Tabitha had swung around in the saddle and was disappearing through the trees.

Brian started cursing and actually took a few shots, though it did no good as he couldn't see through the trees to get a good shot.

"What are you worried about?" Nick, who didn't want the man to actually get lucky enough to get a good view of Tabitha, barked. "She's DEAF AND *DUMB; how is she going to tell anyone anything?" Okay, so Nick knew the answer only he was hoping the man in front of him was *stupid enough to believe if you couldn't hear with your ears or talk with your mouth, you couldn't communicate. In this case, Brian obliged him by turning his attention away from the escaping child and onto Nick and Elizabeth.

For Tabitha's part, once she was moving away from Nick and her stepmother, she never glanced back. Looking back slows you down, child – that's what her father and stepmother had repeated more than once to her. She didn't want to be slowed down. She had to get to town, had to find someone who would give her time to write. After all, she could tell them what the man who had got the drop on them looked like…she could take them back to where the man had stopped them. Oh, she might be a little bit off, but not by much. She had an excellent memory and a good sense of direction. She felt confident she could get whoever came back with her close enough that they'd be able to find tracks sooner or later.

She wasn't sure how long or how far she rode only, because she was so intent on getting to town, she didn't see Jarrod, Heath or the other men who were riding up the road before she came bursting out of the trees and back onto the road. That being the case, she almost collided with the two Barkley brothers.

"Whoa!" Heath, Jarrod and the others-who had heard shots being fired- pulled back while Tabitha pulled back on her reins and got control of her horse-who had started going from side to side. "Where's the fire?" Heath asked, keeping his eyes on the young child-even as Jarrod and the others were looking around, in order to try and see if there was someone else behind her. They were shocked when the child merely started frantically pointing the way she'd come in. Once again, Heath asked her what the problem was…only to have her pretend she was writing and then pointed towards them, and then again pretended to write. The whole time she was looking at them as if to ask them if they had something she could write with-and on.

"She can't hear us." Jarrod said, as he quickly pulled some paper out of his vest while Fred pulled a pencil out of his-he'd meant to leave it at the law office only he'd forgotten to. Jarrod handed the paper and pencil to Tabitha, who hurried and scribbled -Bad man with gun has my stepmother and Nick Barkley! Please, help!- She then gave a very condensed description of the man. Afterwards, she handed the note back to Jarrod.

Jarrod wasted no time reading it out loud. Needless to say, he had all the men's attention by the time he was through reading.

"Brian!" Fred growled, and then asked Jarrod to ask her if she could take them to Brian, Nick and her stepmother…. or at least to where she last saw them.

Jarrod was more than happy to oblige, and soon they were all following Tabitha back the way she'd came.

*A/N As I learned in my American Sign Language class back when I was going to college- there is a common misconception that dumb and stupid mean the same thing. They do NOT. All "Dumb" means is one can't talk with their mouth.