Chapter 12

'How'd you get on with the sheriff?' Hoss asked as Adam joined him at the table in the saloon later that evening.

'Well I told him what happened, he's going to try and keep an eye out but there's not much he can do without solid evidence.' He placed his beer down as he took a seat. 'You find anything out?'

'Not much. There's a couple new loudmouths in town but I ain't heard anythin worth listenin to yet.' He placed his empty glass down. 'I don't think we're goin to find much out here tonight.'

'Maybe, maybe not.' The sound of the bat wings opening and closing caught his attention, nudging Hoss he spotted Ruben walking in. 'Maybe we just found something after all.'

'Yeah maybe.'

The two boys watched as he went over to another man standing by himself in the corner of the room, speaking to him for a minute.

'You seen him 'round town before?'

'No I haven't.' Adam replied, trying to make out what they were talking about. They spoke for a few minutes more then parted ways, the other man leaving while Ruben went to the bar. He pushed his half drunk glass to his brother as he stood up. 'You keep an eye on our ranch hand friend.'

'Where are you goin?'

'I'm going to see where this guys headed.'

Cautiously he went out of the saloon, keeping an eye on the man as he mounted his horse down the street and waited back for a moment before he got on Sport. Keeping back a safe distance and out of sight he began to follow the man.

He rode on wondering if he was on a wild goose chase but he had a feeling if he followed long enough he was sure to find some answers. The man obviously didn't want anyone following him, he kept stopping and looking around but Adam was smart at his game and kept hidden in the shadows.

He recognised the land they were on after a time, mentally making a map of where this guy was going in case he needed to lead a possee back to wherever he was going if necessary. He was on Ponderosa land now, heading up into the high country. There were a mountain of good hiding places up in the high country if you knew where to look. He wondered for a moment just exactly where this guy was headed then could see faintly in the distance the soft glow of a campfire.

Adam was even more cautious now, slowing his horse down as they approached camp but the man he'd been following didn't even seem to notice his presence. For that he was thankful. He kept back aways, watching. The man rode right into the camp, another man coming to take the horse he'd been riding when he dismounted. Quietly he dismounted his own horse, tying it up to a tree then crept closer to the came.

There was probably close to twelve men he could see in the camp, the man Ruben had spoken to was speaking with another man who was at the campfire. They were all laughing and drinking, celebrating something obviously by the noise coming from the camp. It didn't take much guessing to come to the conclusion that this was Missie's father and his henchmen. If it wasn't, it was an equally unwelcome group of people trespassing on their land. He waited a little longer then snuck back to where he'd tethered his horse. He'd seen enough.

The house was still and quiet as a black figure slinked through the yard towards the house. He could see there was still lights on inside but the windows upstairs were dark. He rubbed his hands together. If he was careful, he'd be in and out without them even noticing.

Quietly he ran to the house, watching for a moment then climbed up the post onto the roof of the house. His moccasined feet were silent as he made his way across the shingles to the window of the girls room. He arrived at the window, slipping his knife under the sill and slowly lifted it open. The girl was asleep in her bed as he crawled through the window. A board creaked underneath him and he waited with held breath for a moment. There was no stirring, either of the girl or any noise from downstairs.

He lent over the figure in the bed, the girl still asleep and he grinned. It was almost too easy. Here was his promotion on a silver platter and it was his for the taking.

The man clasped his hand over the girls mouth and nose, the girl waking with a start. 'Not a word, not a sound or I'll break that pretty neck of yours.' He hissed close to her ear. The girl nodded, her eyes open wide with fright. 'Good, good girl.' He sat her up, shoving a gag into her mouth roughly then proceeded to tie her hand and foot. The girl struggled when he slung her over his shoulder but a quick punch to the side of her head fixed that. Her head fell limply against his back.

The girl knew her best chance of getting out of this was doing what the man wanted and she forced herself to lie limply. Thoughts raced through her mind as she found herself being carried across to the window. Who was this person? What was going to happen to her? They reached the window, the girl trying to keep calm as he crawled through the window with her still slung over her shoulder. She needed to leave some sign that someone was taking her against her will otherwise they'd think she'd run away instead. A nail half poking out of the architrave caught her eye and she held her arm up, letting it catch her arm. She'd have bitten her lip if she could from the pain, her arm bleeding freely but there was blood on the window now. She knew they'd find that when they found her gone.

The man didn't notice what the girl had done, being too busy in getting out of the house quietly. Softly he made his way across the roof again and climbed down the post then once he was clear of the house he made a run for his horse.

The girl looked in satisfaction as her bleeding arm left a trail of blood on the ground. Her arm hurt like hell but at least there was a trail for them to follow. She gasped for air as he flung her over the back of the horse, tying her on behind the saddle. The man mounted, turning his horse and raced away from the house with the girl strapped on behind.

'How'd it go?' Joe asked, getting up to meet Adam as he returned late in the night. 'Find anything?'

'Found their camp.' He replied tiredly as he took his hat off then his gun belt and hung them up on the rack. 'They're holed up in the valley near Settlers Creek.'

'Settlers creek, that's what, twenty miles from here?'

He nodded. 'And on Ponderosa land to boot.'

'What are we going to do about it?'

'Wait for Pa to get home. There was a good number of them too, he's done some recruiting between the murdering and now.'

'Why wait? Why don't we ride out and get rid of them at first light?'

'Because we don't know what their plan is yet. We wait for Pa to get home then we do some planning of our own,' The door opened and closed again, Hoss coming in to join them. 'What'd Ruben get up to?'

'Well, I don't rightly know exactly.' He replied, fiddling with his hat in his hands. 'One of them saloon girls came over, you know how it is. When I turned around he wasn't there anymore.'

'So you mean to tell me that a saloon girl distracted you from your job?' He nodded and Adam sighed. 'At least while you were distracted I found out where Missie's father and his men are camped.'

'You did?'

'Yes, I did.' He replied with a glare of dissatisfaction at his younger brother. 'They're camped near Settlers Creek. If it ain't him, it's another group of people that'll have to be moved on anyway. Pa should be back in the morning, we'll discuss with him what we'll do about it.' He looked back at Joe. 'Missie still sleeping?'

'Like a log the last time I checked on her.'

'Good, she needs to get some rest.' He glanced at the clock, it was after midnight. 'And it's time for us to get some sleep too.'

As much as Missie wanted to sleep she forced herself to remain awake. She needed to be awake, she needed to be alert and keep her wits about herself if she were to be able to escape. She knew it was hopeless trying to get away when she was tied to the horse but she needed to figure out what to do. She didn't know who had got her or why but had a sneaky suspicion that somehow her father was involved. She watched the landscape closely, trying to remember where he was taking her so when she got away she could get back to the ranch. If she got away that was.

The night dragged on, the girls eyelids growing heavy but she knew she couldn't sleep. Besides, the throbbing in her head kept beating a steady rhythm that helped keep sleep from her. Her arm had stopped bleeding too, she just hoped it'd left enough of a trail so they could find her.

She was almost asleep by the time the horse was slowed, the girl becoming aware of the fact that they'd stopped. She kept her eyes closed, keeping to the look of being unconscious as best she could. She could hear men speaking, laughing as someone roughly untied her from the horse.

'You've done good Slim, very very good.' Donnington purred as he observed the still form lying on the back of the horse. 'Did you have any trouble?'

'She didn't want to come but you know how persuasive I can be.' He grinned, slinging her over his shoulder again. 'Where do you want her?'

'Over by that tree, we'll leave her there till morning for now. It's late.'

'Alright-' He unceremoniously dumped the girl on the ground, her body lying limp where he dropped it. 'Now, about my pay-'

She could hear voices getting further and further away from her till she was left in silence. She waited for sometime to make certain no one was around then forced herself to open her eyes. She was in a camp of some sort, where exactly she didn't know but still had a fair idea of how to get back to the ranch. Her heart was racing in terror but she forced herself to remain as calm as possible. She needed a level head to get herself out of the situation she found herself in. She could feel that the ropes binding her were too tight to get out of, she'd been so surprised she hadn't been able to position her wrists right so she could get out of the ropes.

She laid there, finally allowing herself to let out the pent up tears she was holding inside. She was scared, no terrified was the better word. Adam promised he'd keep her safe, where was he? She was so cold, so cold, in pain and terrified. Her father had her again, this time he wouldn't let her get away so easy.

Finally she surcumbed to her exhaustion, her tears drying on her cheeks as she closed her eyes. She didn't want to sleep but she knew she needed to rest if she were to have any hope of escaping from these men. It was cold, so cold and she was only wearing her thin nightgown. She drew her legs into her chest to try and keep warm, hoping and praying that someone would come find her soon…