Chapter 19

What happened next at that point, Grace did not know. In her fatigue, not only did she believe she was still dreaming, but it was now suddenly turning into a nightmare. She felt something tug frantically around her neck and pull her roughly out from underneath the branches. She tried to focus on who had been responsible for this, but her vision was blurry.

"Hold still ya little runt!" the voice demanded as Grace now felt rough hands seize her shoulder blades and slam her entire body to the ground. She had bellowed in pain. "This time you're not goin' anywhere." With those dark words spoken to her, something else pinned her down on her rib as her front legs were locked on together by some kind of rope. It was then that this restraint realization had hit her. She was being tied up by some unknown human being. But who was it? Grace's eyes widened in horror when a memory returned to her; the bandits! She remembered how the outlaw gang had been drunk and of Honey leading her away to Silent Creek. Unable to kick due to the ropes binding her legs, she cried as if calling for help.

"Aw shut up!" the voice spat unkindly as Grace could see the shadowy figure dig into his pockets to pull out a long cloth of some sorts. "Maybe this'll keep ya silent!" He seemed to have wrapped the item around her snout before Grace realized that she could no longer cry out.

Now that she could no longer move any part of her body, the dark figure had picked her up off the ground and placed her body over another figure snorting heavily. It felt as if she were on top of a horse. Was she being carried over the horse of Scar Face Sam again? If so, then how long ago was she in hiding from the bandits?

When the horses hooves could be heard clapping on the ground, Grace could feel her legs bumping against its ribs. She could hold back no longer as anxiety overwhelmed her. Her fate was in the hands of the ruthless bandits who were now about to hold her hostage once again. There was nothing she could do to fight back against this situation out of her control; not while her legs were tied and her mouth was gagged. She tried to scream but all that she made was a soft moan. Unexpectedly she fell into a deep sleep.

Early the next day

With dawn approaching, the familiar shadow figure had been riding his horse through the forest all through the night with the bound captive placed over his saddlebow. So far, he and his gang spent the last couple of days searching for another hiding place that would be able to keep them safe from the stormy weather. Not a single day went with any sight of law enforcement tracking them down. But that didn't mean they were not still being followed. Where he was heading next was one other area where it was hidden securely in the eastern side of the plateau region; even further than where they had made their last camping place next to the river.

It had never occurred to Grace that the bandits would ever be that stupid enough to just leave her out here in the wilderness while they were still on the run. And they still wanted cautiously to make sure that none of them would leave behind any clues to have any other rider thinking of any suspicious activity wandering in these woods. The lawmen who they have encountered recently were already aware of them holding an innocent golden calf as their only hostage and might as well have started spreading rumors about it to other folks they encountered. Luckily for them, this plateau region laid miles away from roads and people. Moving out on one area at night to avoid being spotted was easier said than done. Already Sam and his gang of crooks had taken a liking to this new hiding place where there was enough live meat wandering the woods to last all year. He just kept on riding his horse forward as if he were a cattle baron on some important business.

Moments later, the rider's horse had arrived at a large cabin surrounded by large pine trees with enormous branches and a waterfall that rushed fifteen ft away. It had seemed rather old and abandoned for a long time because of its aging timber and unused tools left behind by whoever once lived here. The front wooden door hung from hinges, there were small glass pane windows, and a chimney made out of hand-cut boards.

Leaping from his horse and tying the long rein to a nearby post, he pulled Grace off and carried her inside.

"Sorry I'm late ya'll," he said proudly to a group of four men who were gathered around the fireplace having breakfast of biscuits, bacon, and coffee. "Had a little run in with a familiar runaway. Say where's Lewis?"

"He's in the bedroom restin'," answered Gene whilst drinking down his coffee. He and the gang were too busy eating to pay much attention to him carrying their runaway captive. "I reckon he's still a bit knocked out from the liquor."

"No kiddin'," Sam scoffed as he entered the bedroom where Lewis had been resting softly on a bed made of wood with a mattress in the center. There were pasted newspapers on the left side of the wall next to the bed to keep out the wind and rain. Two black trunks stood at the far right corner which the bandits would find useful for storing in their belongings. Parts of the ceilings and walls were a little dusty.

"Yo Lewis wake up!" he tapped Lewis timidly on the shoulder. Lewis snorted as he rose up with a start and found Sam standing next to him.

"What is it?" he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"Look what I found wanderin' alone at night," he jeered as he held out Grace in front of him.

"What the…there you are!" he reached out to grab Grace, forgetting about being tired.

When the bound calf regained consciousness, the first thing she became aware of was hearing familiar voices around her. Not those ones of kindness, but the cunning and crafty. Those kinds made her nervous and frightened as usual. With her eyes open, she realized too late that she had not been dreaming after all when she found that she was in a new place. It almost looked like the inside of Lewis's home, except that everything in here was made from wood. Gazing into the eyes of her "owner", she squirmed and struggled to escape from his grasp, but then she looked down at her legs and had forgotten that she still tied up and gagged. The memory of her recapture in the woods had been rather hazy.

"I hope ya didn't mind me doin' what I had to do," Sam said slyly pointing his gloved finger to the ropes. "I couldn't risk her runnin' off again or makin' a loud racket!"

"I don't mind at all," Lewis replied, still keeping a firm grip on her. "Perhaps it will keep her from runnin' out on me again." He gazed around the room trying to figure out where his prize calf should be tied up to. There were only the four legs that held the bed steady and straight. "Guess this will have to do." He sighed as he jumped off the bed.

Forcing Grace to sit straight up like a dog, he fished around his traveling bag and pulled out a rope made of hemp. With it, he wrapped the object from around her neck and to the leg of the bed. Then he decided to tie the rest below her chest to prevent her front legs from moving an inch. When he was done fastening her, Grace tried to open her mouth and cry, but each cry was muffled by the gag. Sam left the room to attend to other important matters.

"Don't think that hollerin' will get you anywhere bovine!" Lewis snapped a moment before swiping his hand across the side of her face. It stung her terribly. "Where were you for the past ten days that we spent searchin' for a new hidin' place? You didn't think I'd give up on you that easily now did you?" His tone turned menacing making Grace shiver. "It's all because o' your recklessness that I am a fugitive from the law and now see what I had to do."

Without warning, Lewis took hold of her blond hair in a painful grip. "How many times do I hafta warn ya? I don't even care where you might've been but startin' tomorrow, you won't be given a scrap o' food or drop of water for ten days. Let that make up for the length of time that you were out hidin' from me." He gave another blow to the face making her cringe. "I promised myself I'd give you fifty hits with my whip if you ever disobeyed me again!" suddenly his voice grew calm and steady. "…but not this time since I thought of a much better idea to keep yah from runnin' out on me again; somethin' I shoulda done a long time ago. But that'll have to wait till mornin'." With a yawn, Lewis went back to lying on the bed for a bit more rest from that intoxication. With his arms under the pillow, he succumbed to sleep. It proved that he was much too tired to continue ranting any further than he usually did. Tying her to his bed was punishment enough for now.

For a few minutes, Grace tugged frantically at the ropes binding her legs and to the bed. But it was useless; it hurt doing so. The ropes didn't even budge. Was this the end of her freedom and life in the outside world? Would she never see her mother and the little fawn again?

Grace felt herself growing nervous and defeated with those questions filling her mind. From what Lewis told her, she had been with the deer family for ten days in hiding. Even if they were not her own kind, they felt like family to her. But now it seems that she had lost another mother during the rainstorm. Maybe she should have allowed Orchid to jump in there and rescue Juniper. Then she wouldn't be back in captivity. But wouldn't she have been lost at the bottom area as well? Again her mind was as confused as ever. With the limited movement allowed her, she adjusted herself to get comfortable against the leg, despite the ropes. If she was to be denied of any food and water, then she might as well be tied up miserably to this bed for who knows how long. This time, there would be nobody to sneak in food for her or give her words of comfort. It was going to be nothing but misery in this cabin.

From the fireplace, she could hear the gang telling stories and boasting of their past successes. Don't they ever stop talking about it? Grace thought rolling her eyes in irritation. She didn't know how she would put up with this. Now she wished that the storm did not come so quickly. At this point she should be back with Orchid and Juniper feeling safe and loved, not being trapped in this cabin all tied up and helpless to move about. There was nothing more for her to do in this situation other than moan and struggle. What else were these outlaws planning to do other than keep her as some sort of prized possession? She listened closely to what they were saying.

"Boy ain't it a shame that lawmen give up too easily on tryin' to catch up and bring us to justice. That's life for an outlaw I tell yah." When those words were spoken, Grace thought she heard a small click before a strange odor could be smelt from the room she was in. He must have been smoking.

"Well we ain't seen or heard nothin' about them recently so they might as well have quit and gone on home; guess we're too good. While we're still here, we could sell some of these hides and antlers from that entire elk we've hunted. I hear shops in town will pay good money for them."

"Lewis hasn't been that much help to us recently for the past few days. All he's done is sleep all through the day. Sometimes I get the feelin' he's no longer interested in helpin' us no more."

"Let him rest all he wants," the voice of Sam interrupted. "In a little while, he'll be back on his feet in no time. Besides if it weren't for his cleverness and trickery, well uh…what would we be without him? Whenever we were trapped in a tight spot, he'd think of a way out."

"What about the money he gave you when we was still hidin' out in the desert? Where did he get all that?" one of them asked curiously.

"By sellin' all those stolen cattle, where else," Sam replied hastily. "When he was still a member of our gang, old Lewis claimed that if he'd help roundup every single one o' them cattle to town for sale, then the money would be ours to keep. I never woulda expected him to remember that long-made agreement, but he did. I also remember him mentionin' that he'd keep on helpin' us, even while startin' a new life as a rancher. That's why we need him on our trip back to outlaw town. We'll be there before the snow strands us in this place."

From the bedroom, Grace continued to overhear Sam talk to his men more about how Lewis and the gang had spent their time robbing banks, trains, and making money stealing cattle and pawning valuable jewelry. Her friend Sampson was right; her "owner" was in cahoots with these men before and is already thinking of rejoining them after the end of summer before the bitter snow. She didn't want to hear anymore of what Lewis was going to do to her since she already knew enough of it. Grace didn't know what was worse in this situation, being taken further away without hope of escape, or waiting for other terrible things to happen before she knew anything else. When she had overheard one of the bandits mention something about selling a few hides, she had a terrible feeling that they came from the animals around this forest. Her blood ran cold from realizing what would happen if they found out about Orchid and Juniper.

Grace began to hope that her momma would not take a dangerous risk of coming down to this area to search for her. She couldn't bear to think about that. These moments of her being trapped here had been a punishment that was too much to bear. Grace stared down at the wooden floor with tears soaking her gag and pleaded silently for all this to end.