Chapter 7 – Bait

The day passed, and we were almost halfway on our journey back to Wilsons Corners. I hadn't seen or heard anything out of the ordinary all day, and I was beginning to think that my mind was playing tricks on me again. It wouldn't be the first time that happened, and I was sure it wouldn't be the last.

This afternoon even 'the kids' had been quiet, riding without too much talk going on between them. Every once in a while I could see Harper watching Danny as they rode, and she left little doubt in my mind that her insistence she'd never marry would very easily fall by the wayside. There was more than love in her expression, though; there was admiration, and something I couldn't put my finger on. Maybe it was respect, for everything the young man had been through and how much it seemed to have reshaped him. Once his life looked to be headed in the wrong direction; now it appeared he was determined to live abiding by the law, instead of ignoring it.

By the time we made camp for the night, I was starting to hope that our potential pursuer had decided to abandon that very pursuit. Everything seemed quiet and settled, and I had no problem with Harper volunteering to take the first watch of the night. I was sleeping somewhat peacefully when I was more or less startled out of that sleep by a commotion that I identified almost immediately. The sound of scuffling and muffled protests could be heard, and it was obvious – we had a visitor of human kind. Unwelcome, from the sounds I heard. I opened my eyes as I reached for my gun, but I only had a moment to see anything before I felt the pain in my head and everything went black.

I have no idea how long I was unconscious – it was daylight the next time I struggled to open my eyes. The pain in the back of my head throbbed with every breath that I took, and I groaned loudly as I rolled over and braced myself against the ground. I heard a voice mumbling something but it took me a minute to realize it was Danny Mills and recognize what he was saying – "Harper's gone. He's taken Harper."

I felt something cold and wet on the back of my head and moaned. I reached for whatever it was and heard the voice tell me, "Lie still. There's a lotta blood." Of course there was. It was a scalp wound, and they always bleed a lot. I didn't argue with it, though; my head hurt too bad to argue. Finally I gathered my wits about me enough to ask, "Was it Maxwell?"

"It had to be," the voice answered. "I didn't see him, it was too dark. And then something hit me, but not as hard as he must have hit you."

"I bleed a lot," I responded, as the boy finally came into focus. He was bent over me, holding the wet rag to the back of my head. I took it out of his hands and tried to sit up; he had to help me. Everything was spinning pretty good, so I sat very still. "Her horse gone?"

"Yeah. So's the mare."

"And ours?" I expected them to be gone, too, and was surprised by the answer I got.

"No, they're here."

"Help me up," was the next thing out of my mouth. He did, and held onto me when I swayed and tried to fall back down.

"Can you ride?" Danny asked.

"Yeah. If you can saddle my horse."

"I can do that. Sure you don't wanna sit back down?"

I remembered in time not to nod my head. "Maybe I better. Just a few minutes."

Danny helped me back down, gingerly, and I pressed the rag to my head again. At least this time it came away with no blood. I stayed down until he had the horses saddled and the fire out and then managed to get to my feet on my own. I still wasn't as steady as I'd like to be, but I was good enough to make it to the sorrel without toppling over. Once I got up on my horse I felt better. "Find tracks?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, they went east." Not the way to Wilsons Corners. Just where was Maxwell headed?

"Anything this way that you know of?"

Danny nodded again. I wish he'd stop that – he was nodding and my head hurt every time he did. "Used to be a little settlement called Shankstown a few miles from here. Last I heard they were all gone, though. Abandoned the town. Think he could be headed there?"

"Son, I have no idea. Let's just follow the tracks and see where he leads us." I'd used the term 'son' without thinking. At this moment he seemed so young, and because of the pain in my head I felt so old. Danny didn't seem to notice.

I was surprised at how good a tracker the boy was. Of course, Red was making little or no attempt to cover those tracks. It quickly became obvious that he wanted us to follow him – him and Harper and the supplies he'd stolen from us. We rode until mid-afternoon, with what was left of Shankstown finally coming into sight. My head was still pounding and I needed to rest – Danny looked like he could use some time out of the saddle, too. I had some jerky in my saddlebags, and a can of beans that I'd forgotten to pack on the bay mare, and we decided to make do with that for supper rather than risk a gunshot when one of us caught a rabbit.

"Any ideas?" Mills asked when we'd disposed of the jerky and beans.

"Wait till dark, then see what we can find out," I told him. "He'll probably make a fire; we should be able to spot him then."

"You think she's okay?" There was nervousness and something else in his question – fear, maybe?

"I think so. No reason to hurt her. He needs her alive to use her."

"I swear, if he hurts her . . . "

"Don't think about that. He wants you to lose your head, go rushin' in there after her. Stay calm and think it through before you do anything. We've got a better chance of gettin' her out unharmed that way."

So we waited. I kept running it over in my mind, trying to figure out just what kind of a game Maxwell was playing. If he really thought Danny still had the money, why would he take the girl hostage all the way out here? Wouldn't he be better off to wait until we got close to Wilsons Corners, and go after Mills there? Or did he have something else in mind? Maybe it wasn't the money he was after at all. What then?

The sun went down, ever so slowly, and night time took its place. We sat in the dark silently and waited for some sign of life, but it was over an hour before we saw any light in the abandoned town. We left the horses tied where they were and snuck around the back of what used to be Main Street, all the way down at the other end of town. Of all the buildings to pick, we found ourselves at the back side of what used to be the jail. What an ironic sense of humor Mr. Maxwell seemed to have.

There was a light inside – it looked like a lantern of some sort. The horses were tied out back, including the bay mare loaded with supplies, and Danny stayed with them while I snuck up to the window. I could see all the cells; Harper was lying on a cot, locked up inside one of them. A shadowy figure sat perched in a chair further up front, feet up on the desk in front of him. Casually smoking a cigar. I scooted on back to Danny.

"It's him, alright. Sittin' at a desk in the front, waitin' for us, no doubt."

"Harper? What about Harper?" There was that tone of fear in his voice again.

"She's there. Locked up in a cell. Bait, Danny. He's used her as bait."

"We gotta get her out."

I nodded and whispered, "We will. Soon as we figure out how."