Chapter 14
Grace woke up groggily the next morning an hour before the bandits had awakened. The sun rose halfway behind the mountains casting bright yellowish colors in the sky. The mulberry bush she had been tied to was standing luckily next to the flowing river which would make it possible for her to reach for a drink. Yawning, Grace sat up and stared over at the put out campfire where the bandits still slept, including Lewis. Despite her punishment of no food or water for three days, Grace walked cautiously to the river feeling confident that the bandits would not be waking up till much later. As much as she feared being punished severely for whatever reason, her mouth and body would have been dehydrated all afternoon in the warm weather if she didn't get a sip. All she had to do was eat and drink while no one was watching.
But who was that bluebird from last night? Grace thought curiously while still sipping up a few more drops. She said that her name was Honey and she helped clean those whip strokes on her back to clear away the stinging pain. Would she be back soon or had she been forgotten? Distracted by those questions ringing in her mind, she failed to hear someone groaning by the campfire until it was too late.
Grace stopped drinking and looked over her shoulder to find that one of the bandits was close to awakening because of the way he was raising slowly. Thinking fast, Grace sprinted from the river and went back to the same spot where she slept and tried to pretend that she was still asleep. Just in time.
"Dang sun," she heard him moan. "Hurtin' my eyes." He rubbed his eyes for several minutes to gain his vision. To him, it still felt too early to get up and start making breakfast. But if he went back to sleep now, some of that good food in the traveling bag might have been wasted. "Well might as well start fixin' breakfast," he yawned as he moved out of his sleeping bag. Digging through the bags, he took out a few sourdough biscuits, coffee bags, and dry strips of bacon. "Now this is what I call a mornin' meal."
Grace who was still feeling groggy from the lack of sleep could hear the man turn on the fire and the sizzling of something cooking in the frying pan. Right now she could smell it all the way from where she sat as the calf was now drifting off into slumber.
In her dream, Grace had been running for her life out in the woods whilst being hunted down by Tuck. The situation was similar to a game of cat and mouse, yet he was the predator and she became the prey. She could barely keep her feet on the ground as Tuck's heavy breathing could be heard far away. Through the trees, she saw a clearing and darted toward it as fast as she could. But soon Grace skidded to a halt when she realized that she had been close to falling off the edge of a cliff. Although there was nothing dangerous in the river, the currents appeared more deep and powerful enough to lead her to a dangerous area such as a whirlpool or a waterfall. With Tuck's barking growing closer, she thought fast and did the only thing possible. She had jumped off the edge barely missing Tuck jumping at her.
SPLASH! Grace awoke panting nervously. The bandits were already wide awake and eating breakfast. She couldn't remember how long she dozed off. Grace saw Tuck sitting by a boulder chewing on a meatless bone. When he set his eyes on her, Grace turned her gaze to the other side. Shrugging, he could only go back to gnawing. He was in no mood to be dealing with her.
It was scary for Grace to think about the dream of her being chased by a Doberman who thinks only about pleasing his masters through stealing and hunting without any guilt. The thought of jumping in the river would have been a foolish choice. She'd be swept away or drowned. And Grace did not want to think about what would happen if the lawmen found her dead. Her small friend's heart would surely break if that were possible.
"I'm a bit surprised that deputy had discovered my identity," Sam said hesitantly. "And I was certain folks would've forgotten about me then and instead turn their attention to the Yeller Gang."
"Old memories seldom fade I tell ya," replied Hickory while drinking coffee in a silver cup. "And it takes a real keen eye to catch an old crook."
"Humph, lawmen don't know when to mind their own business if ya ask me," added Tom. "What if they're still on our trail and its over with?"
"Enough already!" Sam blurted out. The bandits were taken aback. "It's bad enough havin' your cover blown and I don't wanna hear about how they might catch up to us. Is that clear?"
"Sure thing boss," the group responded altogether.
"Good, besides we're miles away from town and this whole forest area might as well be our new hideout for quite some time. Why would the lawmen wanna waste their precious time searchin' the entire state? It would take weeks for them to reach this place; maybe even months or years. Until then, we are safe."
Overhearing his comment, Grace rested her head on the grass beneath trying to ignore everything he said. She simply did not want to believe that the lawmen would never find her. She had to be strong.
Meanwhile, out in the canyon area
"What is it boy?" Sheriff Jones followed to where Dan was barking at a thorn-studded hedgehog cactus. The bloodhound had pulled out a sort of green paper material with his teeth and handed it to Ned for him to examine. "Money eh; who says money don't grow on trees? Good boy Dan, now we're gettin' somewhere."
"Find anything?" a deputy called out to Ned from behind a jagged rock.
"Yep, it seems those ruffians have left behind a few dollars," answered Ned eyeing the dollar. He made a disgusted look after sniffing to realize that it had been smoldered in cigarette ash. "Ugh, and it sure smells bad." Dan made the same look as his nose caught the unpleasant scent. It made them both feel as if they had tasted something foul.
"Let me see that," Ned handed him the dollar. "Ugh, what in carnation have these hooligans been smokin'?" He pinched his nose with two fingers while waving the dollar like a handkerchief.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say the stolen money had been stashed inside a sack filled with tobacco ash," Ned sat up from the cactus and scratched his bearded chin. "I don't care that much about the smell, this means that we must be on the right track." Ned found two more tobacco-scented dollars under the cactus and placed them in a bag where nobody could smell them. The deputy handed him the other one.
"Let's keep searchin' for more clues."
At the plateau area
That afternoon, Grace was feeling wide awake and refreshed with the sun high overhead. But the reason for this was because she had been able to sneak a few ripe berries for herself while the bandits were not looking her way. They had been too busy all morning discussing more of their plans to pay the least amount of attention to her. Even Lewis would not glare at her since he thought that he had her under his control for the rest of this journey. And Tuck had been gnawing at the bone with his sharp teeth.
Grace was not bothered by this one bit. It felt good to be free of their bullying, and snide remarks for now. Today was the first day for her being denied of any food or water, but did Lewis obviously think he could stop her from grazing and snacking on berries? Maybe, but for a violent drunkard, he sure was pretty stupid in many ways.
Then she cringed from a slight ache between her shoulder blades. The cuts from the whippings had not yet healed completely. And Honey told her last night that they needed time to heal. But where was she?
"I wonder if Honey still knows I'm here," Grace whispered thoughtfully. "She was kind enough to take care of me." She glanced behind her left shoulder to see if she could get a better look of those whip strokes across her back. But because Grace could not turn her head all the way, it was difficult to tell how badly her bruises had become. All she could see was the side of her ribs. She sighed, knowing it was probably best if she didn't see them. "These berries are delicious." Grace picked out a few more berries for herself when she thought the bandits still had their backs turned. The juicy, sour flavor melted in her mouth.
"Ya know, if we are to keep on survivin' out here, we'll be needin' all the food to last for more than a week," Grace overheard Sam talking to his men. "Which one of us wants to go out and pick some berries?"
"What are you kiddin'? That's women's work," Gene argued as he was polishing his guns.
"I'll do it," Lewis suggested, knowing that he had learned a few kitchen skills a while back. "I've lived on the farm long enough." He sat up. "I'll take my calf with me."
Hearing what he said, Grace's jaw dropped. Panicking, she swallowed down the last bits of the berries and wiped the juicy stain off her mouth. She hoped Lewis wouldn't catch her nibbling when she was not supposed to.
"Come on you," Lewis ordered darkly as he undid the knot around the mulberry bush. "We have work to do." Tugging on the lead, Grace sat up and followed him.
In the forest
Lewis led Grace further until they came across a thicket of blueberry bushes. These looked like a real appetizer. But she would not be allowed to bite a single one with Lewis holding on to her. Late summer was the one time of year for berries to grow; but Grace did not yet know anything about seasonal changes.
"Don't move now," Lewis spoke to Grace as he set down a bag which would soon be filled with berries. Grace watched as he plucked the darkest and fattest kind. Her mouth had watered with anticipation. But she feared being caught tasting one and imagined how Lewis would react to this. So there was nothing more she could do but stand still patiently.
"Psst, Grace in here," a voice whispered from behind the blueberry bushes.
"Who's there?" Grace asked, turning her head around for the voice.
"In the bushes dear," the voice replied. Grace peered into the blueberry bushes and there was Honey sitting on a tiny branch.
"Honey!" Grace almost shouted loud enough to attract Lewis's attention. But he still kept picking.
"Sshh," Honey whispered. Grace blushed when she realized that she almost got herself caught. "I told you that I be back. And I'm glad you're no longer hurtin' inside."
"Where have you been?" Grace asked curiously. "Did you see any tall men ridin' on horses somewhere?" Honey shook her head.
"Sorry sugar pie, I ain't seen nothin' like that lately."
"Oh," Grace gave a disappointed sigh.
"Now don't you lose hope yet," Honey reminded her. "Just because I ain't seen no riders don't mean they're not out there." The bluebird saw Grace smile weakly from hearing her say that. "Would these riders you ask of be considered…lawmen?" The calf nodded. "Then these other men with you are outlaws. And you're bein' held hostage."
"How did you know?"
"How else would I have known by those cuts and endless cryin'?" Honey replied softly. Then she shrugged herself off when she remembered what to tell Grace. "Now listen closely sugar…" Grace peered deeper to listen, "…I'm afraid I can't see you durin' the daytime, because o' him…" Honey pointed to Lewis still berry-picking. The bag was halfway full by now, "…and that big brute dog is sure to smell me out. But don't you worry cause' I'll still be watchin' over you from where they can't see me. I'll come and meet you tonight right after the men are asleep. I know of a place where we can talk privately without havin' to worry about them hooligans followin' us."
"You mean…escape?" Grace felt both hopeful and nervous by asking that.
"Um, well…not exactly sugar," Honey stuttered. How was she going to explain to Grace that it may be too dangerous to help her escape through these woods and out into the dry prairies? There are many predators known to lurk in those areas and she didn't want to put Grace in any more danger than the one she was already in. "It's more of a secret hideout place. But I'll explain it all tonight."
"Ok, I understand," Grace said gladly. Then without warning, Grace grunted when she felt someone grab her by the scruff of her neck and pull her roughly out of the blueberry bush.
"What did I say about no food or water for three days?" Lewis lectured as he tugged on the lead to move Grace closer to him. With the bag of ripe blueberries completely full, he closed the lid and threw the handle around her neck so that she would be forced to carry it all the way back to camp. "Let's go."
Grace obeyed without hesitation. Honey watched her pitifully as Grace was trying hard to keep that bag from slipping off her head. Its weight seemed heavy for her. The bluebird held on to her promise that she would be back for her tonight.