"Do we have to tie her up?" Ricky asked as they made their way through the woods. After they had taken a horse from the Plumfield stable, Jo's hands had been bound, in which they had removed her gold wedding band, and had attached her to the saddle upon which the leader rode. With the other two men walking as well, the escape had proceeded very slowly.
"She knows these woods too well. Don't want her getting loose."
"Well, can we at least stop? Even my legs are tired."
"Let's do it so he shuts up," the tall man said, dropping a bag full of supplies that he had taken from Jo's home.
The leader jumped from the horse and leaving Jo tied to the animal, wandered into the woods in search of water. Jo stood beside the horse, unable to sit down and spoke soothingly, comforting herself as well as the trusted creature. Ricky, seeing her fear, approached her with a canteen. "Thirsty?"
Jo looked at him with apprehension. "No," she said firmly, knowing full well what was contained in the bottle.
"I'm real sorry about all of this," Ricky said tentatively. Jo looked at him briefly and then went back to the horse. "Really, I am. We shouldn't have done all of this. But we're in so much trouble already. Needed to make sure that we were safe."
"And what about my family?" Jo spun around to him. "What about their safety?"
"I know, I know. I really am sorry." Jo refused to answer him and Ricky took this response to heart and wearily walked away.
The leader suddenly appeared between the trees. "We gotta keep moving. We're too close to town. We'll be seen now that the sun is up." He mounted the horse and settled himself in for a long ride.
"Let her ride with ya," Ricky offered.
"No," Jo interrupted. "I don't need to ride. I'm fine."
The leader smiled. "See? She don't need to ride. Now let's go."
Jo gave Ricky a regretful look before the leader kicked the horse and they resumed their journey.
XXXXX
"When did they leave?" Laurie asked as a large group gathered in Plumfield's parlour. As soon as Asia thought it safe, Nat raced straight to Jo's family to tell them of the situation. In doing so, the sheriff and several others of the townspeople had offered up their help in searching for the kidnapped teacher.
"Just before sunrise. Must have been after six," Asia answered, her face filled with worry and guilt.
"It's almost eleven o'clock. They've got a good five hours on us," Laurie continued, "We must divide into groups and split up in the woods. It is anyone's guess as to which direction they are heading."
The sheriff nodded. "At least two men together. We will cover most of the property outside of the estate and then start heading in separate directions." He turned to Asia who was sitting in the same chair from several hours prior. "You said they took a horse."
She nodded. "They took Marty and some other things from the barn. I'm not too sure what." Asia closed her eyes. "Jo didn't even have a coat. She is still in her night clothes."
"All the more reason to find her quickly," the sheriff replied, trying to comfort the troubled family. "We might be able to pick up the horse's tracks. Let's get moving."
Several of the men started for the door, Laurie close behind. The sheriff stopped him with a hand on the arm. "I hate to do this to you, Mr. Laurence," he began, "but somebody's gotta stay here with them. Just in case. Since it's family, maybe it would be best…"
Laurie looked back into the parlour and after seeing the shocked faces of his wife, daughter and the rest at Plumfield he reluctantly nodded. "Just find her. Please."
The sheriff smiled. "We're doing all we can."
XXXXX
"Mrs. Jo gonna be surprised that we're back early," Dan said as Nick drove the wagon into town. "I can't believe he only gave us half the shipment."
"It's a business thing, Dan," Nick replied giving the young boy a sideways glance. "He knows Mr. Gerson's driver. Figured that we were takin' his pay so wanted to keep something for him. Although, I don't know if the rest of that feed is ever gonna make it to Concord. Who knows how long it will be until he's well enough to be movin' things."
The wagon pulled up front of the general store and both Nick and Dan jumped out to begin unloading. Mr. Gerson, seeing their arrival, rushed to the front door. "Mr. Riley! I'm surprised to see you here."
Nick smiled as he tossed a bag over his shoulder. "It's a long story but we've only got part of your feed here. We were lucky to get that much."
Mr. Gerson shook his head. "So, you haven't been home yet, have you?"
"Of course not. We wanted to get this to you first," Dan said as he entered the store with a bag. "Where do you want it?"
Nick stared at the shop owner for a moment and noticed his expression. "What's wrong?" he asked, throwing the bag back into the wagon. The tone of his voice stopped Dan in his tracks.
Mr. Gerson swallowed hard before beginning. "There were some men. They broke into Plumfield last night." Dan's eyes widened at the news while Nick anxiously waited for the information he knew he didn't want to hear. "One of them was gunshot and I guess he ended up dying in front of one of the children."
Dan was about to ask whom when Nick interrupted. "What happened?" he asked through a clenched jaw.
"The rest of the men ended up taking Mrs. Bhaer with them." At that, Nick spun around and leaped into the wagon. "The sheriff has organized search parties all over the area. They are going to find them," Mr. Gerson finished. However, the words of consolation went unheard by Nick and Dan. After Dan climbed in, Nick maneuvered the wagon around and raced from town, leaving Mr. Gerson on the sidewalk with a guilty conscience and no feed.
XXXXX
Amy Laurence sat in the parlour slowly stroking her daughter Bess' hair as the young girl hugged her mother's waist. Meg Brooke sat across from her sister in an old rocking chair and held Rob on her lap. Both women were in a state of shock but understood that they were still needed, as there were so many children to console.
"We were so frightened Mother," Bess said. "They had guns and were screaming." She closed her eyes to try and remove the image from her thoughts.
"I know, Sweetheart."
"Aunt Meg?" Rob began, "Is Mama gonna be okay?"
Meg looked down at the youngster and gave him a half-hearted smile. "Of course, Darling. She's going to be just fine." She looked up at her niece. "Bess, why don't you take Rob upstairs with the other children. Demi and Daisy are resting in his room."
Amy agreed. "You have been up the entire night. You need to rest as well."
Seeing her mother's intentions, Bess nodded and taking Rob by the hand, led him up the long staircase. After the children were out of sight, Amy broke down. "Oh Meg!" she cried. "I hate to think…"
Meg rushed to her younger sister's side. "Then don't. There are so many people out there looking for her and they've been gone for such a short time. Someone is bound to catch up with them."
Suddenly the front door was flung open and from behind it appeared Nick and Dan. "Have you heard anything yet?" Nick said out of breath.
Laurie emerged from the hallway, shaking his head. "No, nothing." With that, Nick pushed past Laurie and marched into the kitchen. He rummaged through the cupboards, throwing fruit, bread and other foods onto the counter. The others followed him in, uncertain of how to respond.
"Dan," Nick called over his shoulder, "Go upstairs and grab as many blankets as you can find. Then go into the bathroom and find the bandages and the iodine. I might need 'em."
"Nick, you can't go out there alone," Laurie cautioned. "These men are armed."
Nick stood up from the cupboard he had been searching in and turned towards the voice. "I'll be armed too." The shocked looks of the two women brought Nick's temper into check. "I can't sit around here and wait, Laurie. Not while she's still out there."
"Besides," Dan said coming from the bathroom, "he won't be alone. I'm goin' with him."
"Dan, I don't think that is such a good idea. It's too dangerous out there," Laurie pleaded.
"But I'm a good rider. And I can handle a rifle."
"You're not handling a rifle," Nick interrupted. "But I might need ya anyways."
"Nick, you're not serious," Meg appealed. "Dan is just a boy."
Nick wrapped the food and medical supplies in cloths and shoved them underneath his arm. He made his way back through the group and stopped in the middle of the hallway before moving towards the door. "That is just it. He'll keep me from doin' somethin' I might regret."