The sun had already set as Ricky slumped down on top of an old log. They had been traveling non-stop for most of the day and the leader had finally decided it was safe enough to stop for the night. Jo had been untied from the saddle briefly in order to tie her to a nearby tree. "You keep an eye on her," Ricky was ordered. "If she disappears, you will too."
The night brought with it a cold breeze and the trees were not enough shelter to guard against the icy wind. Jo leaned alongside the large oak, curled up in a small ball. Noticing the shivers that ran through her, Ricky made his way over to her side. "Are you cold?"
Jo gave him a disgusted look and said nothing. "I can get you a blanket," he offered. Again, silence was the response. Ricky took a seat next to her, trying desperately to make friends. "They always do things like this," he said, gesturing towards the other two men. "They can never just leave somethin' well enough alone. I knew Jimmy was going to die but they got so drunk and well… you know."
Jo looked up at him. "You are in as much trouble as they are."
"Yeah, I know. And I shouldn't be. I don't like what they're doin'. Always robbing folks and shootin' people. Not exactly nice stuff."
"Then why do you stay with them? You could leave."
Ricky shook his head fiercely. "If I ever tried to leave, they would kill me. I've been travellin' with the three of them since I was twelve. I know everything they've ever done. I would be too much of a threat to 'em."
"Yes, but on the other hand, you will most likely hang if the sheriff ever finds you," Jo said as she shifted positions. She gave a painful hiss as the rope cut into her wrists.
"You're bleedin'," Ricky exclaimed noticing her hands. He jumped to his feet and ran over to one of the bags and after rummaging through it, produced a knife. Jo looked at him astonished as he approached, unsure of the purpose of the blade. He sat down in front of her and taking her hands gently into his lap, began to cut away at the rope. Taking a few glances over his shoulder to ensure that his partners were unaware of the act, he cut through them and looked at the deep cuts the rope left in Jo's skin. He proceeded to cut strips of cloth from his shirt and carefully wrap them around her wrists.
"I'm gonna have to tie ya up again but hopefully it won't hurt has much."
Jo gave him a small smile as he finished the bandages. "I'll make 'em a little looser too. That way they won't cut as bad." He returned the ropes to her wrists. "Just don't run away. The guys won't like that too much." After he finished, Ricky stood. "Try and get some sleep. You're gonna need it."
Jo nodded. "Thank you," she whispered and settled down into the grass.
XXXXX
"Maybe we should stop for the night. The woods are getting thick and it's too dark to see," Nick said stopping his white stallion.
"But we should keep going. They've probably stopped. We could run right into 'em," Dan protested but his drooping eyes were agreeing with Nick.
"We will stop." Nick dismounted his horse and began to remove some of the blankets and supplies from the saddlebags. Dan followed suit and soon had started a small fire to keep them warm.
"Mrs. Jo is going to be alright, isn't she, Nick?" Dan asked after they had settled in.
Nick looked him straight in the eyes, his face showing great concern. "I hope so, Dan. I really do."
Dan looked up through the tree branches and stared at the covering of stars in the night's sky. "Nick, can I ask you a question?" he said after a few moments.
Nick sat up and looked at the young man. "Sure."
"What did you buy in Boston?"
Nick was startled. Where did this come from? "What do ya mean?"
"Well, before we left for Concord, you went into one of those stores across the street from the hotel. I'm just wondering what ya bought."
A small smile escaped Nick's lips. Dan looked at Nick's expression and smiled as well. "It was a ring, wasn't it?"
Nick nodded slowly. "Jo's birthday is about a month away." He sighed and glanced upward.
"We'll find her, Nick. I know we will. And she will be so happy about the ring."
He looked back at the boy. "I hope so, Dan. I really do."
XXXXX
"There has been no word from anyone. It's been a whole day," Amy whispered the following afternoon. The hope of finding their sister was slowly diminishing and the dreadful thoughts that tend to accompany time were settling in.
"I just hope they are bein' decent to her," Asia said, setting down the teapot onto the kitchen table. "If they don't, God help 'em."
"This just frustrates me to no end," Laurie complained, pacing back and forth. "There must be something that we can do."
"No one else needs to out in that woods," Meg warned. She dropped her chin to her chest. "We do not need anyone else that we love, lost."
"I wish we knew where they were heading. We could alert the authorities and have them waiting for these crooks," Laurie included.
"New York," a small voice said from the back stairwell.
Everyone looked up the stairs to find Rob standing in the shadows of the landing. "What did you say, Sweetheart?" Asia asked, coaxing the youngster into the kitchen.
"New York. The one man said that they would be there if the other man wasn't shot." Rob made his way to the bottom step and looked sheepishly at the adults.
Laurie's eyes became bright. "You're sure they said New York?" The small boy nodded. "It's worth a try. I'm going to the telegraph office and send word to the sheriff there."
"Laurie, really," his wife scolded, "They can't be in New York already, especially with only one horse. It would take them days. And we can't even be sure that they are heading that direction."
"Be that as it may, perhaps they can send some people out and search the surrounding area. They might reach there eventually." The rest nodded in agreement. "I'll try anything at this point."
XXXXX
Jo's legs had become numb. The previous night had been bitterly cold and although she awoke to the feeling of a blanket wrapped around her, the effects of a night in near freezing temperatures had taken their toll. Walking wasn't made much easier being attached to an animal; the rider was not sympathetic to the situation. However, Ricky had turned out to be somewhat of an ally. In the rare instances of rest, he was constantly ensuring she had water and whatever food was made available. Jo's feeling of hatred towards him had considerably lessened and had the circumstances been different, she felt that the possibilities of a friendship were great.
The group had once again stopped for the night, the density of the forest had become thin and with a small town so close, the leader decided that they would make camp.
"Let's go get some 'supplies'," the tall man said to the leader as he nudged him in the ribs.
The leader smiled. "Yeah, it's been a couple days since we've had any. Ricky," he called huskily to the younger man, "you keep a close watch on her. With that town nearby, we don't want anyone suspicious." Ricky nodded, anxious to see the men gone for a while. "And don't you even think about settin' her free. We're takin' the horse and we'll hunt the both of ya down. That's a promise." The leader grabbed Ricky by the collar. "Got it?"
"Yup, I get it," he replied nervously. The other two saddled up and rode off towards the light of the nearest tavern.
Ricky made sure the duo had actually left before setting up a small fire and turning to Jo who had once again been tied to a tree. "If ya promise not to run, I'll untie ya for a while." Jo nodded slowly and after Ricky loosened the rope, followed him to the fire.
A few moments of silence passed as capture and captor sat uncomfortably with one another. "So," Ricky finally spoke, "you're a teacher?"
"Yes. I own Plumfield," Jo spoke quietly as she tried to relieve the pain that was ever stronger in her wrists.
"Ya own it?" Ricky was astonished. "A woman ownin' a house as nice as yours. You're lucky."
"Yes, I am. My husband and I inherited from my late aunt. We developed it into a school."
"Husband?" Ricky began to sound nervous. The thought of an angry husband hunting him down sent chills down his spine.
"He died two years ago."
"Sorry to hear that."
"Thank you," Jo whispered as tears came to her eyes. She was tired and the idea of her family was bringing strong emotions to the surface. A few stray drops made their way down her cheeks and she hastily wiped them away.
"You miss them, don't you?" Ricky asked seeing the tears.
"Yes, very much." She looked up into the man's eyes. "Please, you won't have to do anything. I'll just walk away and not say a word to anyone."
"I'd like to do that, really I do. But I can't. They will kill me and probably you. It's happened before."
Jo looked at him incredulously. He nodded slowly in disgrace. "We were in the Dakota Territory, at that time there was five of us. We robbed a house that was in the middle of this small town. Everything was goin' fine 'til we got cornered in a side of the house, the back kitchen I think it was. The man was so angry; he pulled his rifle and shot Michael dead. The rest of us just started shootin' too. Eventually killed the man but the woman saw everythin'. We were afraid she'd run off and tell people and we didn't know our way around the place. So they made me…" Ricky swallowed hard, unable to finish his sentence.
Jo looked at him. "They made you kill her?"
He nodded. "Never done anything like that before. And the other fellas didn't seem to care. Just stood there laughin'."
Jo shook her head. "You could have told them no."
"They said it would've been me. I didn't know what else to do."
"But you would have died knowing you didn't kill her," she said angrily.
"It's not that easy…"
Jo interrupted, "Yes it is. You would rather keep your own life than risk it and know that you haven't ended someone else's?"
Ricky stood abruptly. "I'm gonna tie you up again," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the tree. He took the rope and tying them extra tight, returned to the fire. Jo sat huddled against the trunk, keeping her mind on the anger she felt instead of the pain and fear.
"I was sorry about it," Ricky spoke after what seemed like hours.
"I'm sure you were," Jo replied and rolled over to try and sleep.
XXXXX
"And then when that girl…" the leader slurred, "She was a purdy girl." The two men staggered back to the campsite, barely able to keep themselves from falling. Jo awoke to their loud voices and turned to see one of them fall over Ricky who was lying beside the now extinguished fire. "Hey, what's he doin' here?"
"Ricky! You missed some fun," the leader hiccupped. "There were these pretty girls…and they were real entertainin'!"
"What does he need a pretty girl for?" the tall man jumped in. "He's got one right here."
At that, Ricky sat up. "No, I don't," he stammered.
"Sure ya do. She may not be real fun but she sure is purdy." The leader began to stumble towards Jo. "She'd have to do anything ya told her or else." He pulled his gun from its holster and pointed it at Jo. "Ain't that right, Girly?" Jo stared at the man, her jaw tight with fear.
"Just leave her alone," Ricky ordered. "She don't deserve anything like that."
"She does so! All women do," the tall man joined the leader. "They always are tellin' us what ta do. Well, ya could teach this one where her place is." He grabbed Jo's arm and pulled her to her feet. "You give Ricky the only thing women are good for." Jo began to struggle as the tall man tried to drag her towards Ricky. However, the rope held tight to the tree and Jo refused to move. "See! Women ain't good for nothing!" The tall man pulled his arm back and slapped Jo across the face. She fell against the tree, her head hitting against the jagged bark. Barely conscious, she curled herself into a protective ball.
"Ah, leave her there. Ricky couldn't do anything with her anyways," the leader slurred. "I'm tired. We'll do somethin' about her tomorrow." He tripped in the direction of the fire and collapsed to the ground. The tall man followed suit and fell at Ricky's feet. Jo slowly looked up at Ricky who remained standing by the fire. Tears poured down her cheeks as she whimpered with relief and pain. Ricky shifted his eyes downward in regret, not able to meet Jo's weepy gaze and wandered over to the opposite side of the camp. The two drunken men were the only ones to sleep that night.