The bandits were getting a little impatient with Charles and the lack of results, and were discussing what to do with his sisters.
They could leave them where they were, and they would soon die of exposure without help. Or they could do what they had threatened to do, and take them into forced labour.
Their leader was contemplating the issue very carefully. He had been paid to find and chase the children, and the information he had received from his employer was scant. Just follow the children, and when they laid low to keep tabs on them. Stupid orders, but he had been promised a lot of money. Much more than he was usually offered. No stipulation had been given about the children's safety, and the ultimate result was not suggested.
His employer was not someone he would like to cross, but he'd had no word from them for several days. Perhaps he was to let the children die. If he knew more about his shadowy employer he would blackmail them with exposure and get even more money, but his boss was clever.
He had enjoyed playing with the boy. Obviously from a wealthy family, that boy. It would have been amusing for Charles to have been imprisoned or hung for robbing the Alcalde, but no word came from that sector either. The boy seemed to have vanished. He would have thought that Charles would return to help his sisters, and that made his disappearance more interesting.
If his employer had wanted him to keep the children alive and unharmed, he might be in trouble, but that hadn't been stipulated.
"Hey Max," his second in charge said. "What'll we do now?"
"Easy Joe. Patience," Max said, shifting.
"Joe's right, we can't keep sitting around in the cold. Those girls are probably frozen solid anyway, and…"
"Quit whining, Jack," Max spat, and then smiled. "We all know about your issues."
That brought a chuckle from the group. Jack had been worried about piles on his posterior for hours and had been complaining loudly for several hours.
A man dashed inside, and warmed his hands before the fire. He looked as if he had been running hard.
"Boss, there are some horsemen coming this way," he said softly, as Max raised an eyebrow.
"How close?"
"A bit of a distance, but they are getting closer."
"Are they sticking to the road? Or are they going cross country?"
"The road so far. I watched them for a while, and they kept looking up at the mountains. Suggests that they are planning to ride cross country."
"I see," Max said, rubbing the stubble on his chin for a moment. "I suggest we load up and prepare to move, or to fight."
"How many?" He said, unable to believe it wasn't his first question.
"Three."
"So not much of a posse," Max shrugged. "We sit tight until they get too close, and then we shoot them. No problem."
The men were already priming their rifles with their faces grim.
zzz
Diego shifted in the saddle, and flexed his shoulders a little. He hadn't ridden so far at such a slow speed for a while. Toronado loved to run, so he usually gave him his head. Sebastian was slowing and stopping, and Diego dismounted to help him.
"What do we need to do?" Diego asked, resisting a desire to glance behind him at his own father who was a little slower in joining them.
"We are stopping to rest the horses. We'll go behind those rocks over here, and build a fire pit. We'll make coffee," Sebastian said, leading his horse behind the rocks. "Alonso."
His uncle said the name seriously, and Diego knew his subterfuge was at an end, even if it hadn't before.
"Before Alejandro gets around here, I want to know what you did with my son, Diego."
"He is safe. I knew he wasn't fit for this, he wasn't well."
"No, what did you do with him?"
"I drugged him, and he should be feeling better now. He may even join us soon," Diego said, glancing behind him. "Please, I don't want my father to know. I want to do this as a man, not a scholar. Please don't give me away."
Sebastian finally smiled slightly. "Dig me a decent fire pit, and we'll see," he said.
Diego frowned slightly. Not a promise. He searched his mind for the idea of a fire pit, and thought hard. Sebastian obviously wasn't going to tell him how. Alonso would have already made one by now, Diego thought, with even more envy.
"The horses should stay close. Once the fire is going, they will need it as much as we will," Alejandro said, talking to Sebastian.
Diego took the unloaded rifle from the saddle of his horse, and knelt in the snow. Digging down through the snow was hard work, but a hole in the snow would just drip thawing moisture onto any fire and douse it. The soil was loose after he got through the first inch, making the digging with the rifle butt easier. He dug out a large pit, and then a smaller hole, carefully creating a tunnel from the small hole to the larger hole.
"Well done, Alonso," Sebastian said with interest. "I'll deal with the fire, and you can go collect some more firewood and tinder. The fire will eat through my stores very quickly."
A cold walk was in store for Diego, but it was better than allowing his father to discover his fraud. He would have to walk a far way to find any brush and shrubs, but the wet tinder and wood would soon dry near the fire pit. He nodded and smiled slightly. He had passed his first real test.