Star's Hope
Chapter Fourteen
Ben pushed Buck toward the cabin Jeffery had told Roy they'd taken Brooke hoping to find some evidence, even a small piece of paper, which would tell them where this Cunningham fellow had taken Brooke. Little Joe, Hoss, Candy and the men with them rode just as hard. Each of them were thinking how they'd feel if this had happened to their wife, sister or niece. That, the thought of their own women, fueled their desire to help Ben find his.
The posse was thinking about Brooke; Luke had waked up and, once he realized both Jamie and the woman were gone, had let out a stream of cuss words turning the sky blue. He hurried and saddled his horse, grabbed his rifle and, as Jamie had predicted, headed for the 'logical' path for the woman to choose. After all, hadn't he been told if she did try anything it would be to go to the Ponderosa because 'the Cartwrights are known to help the Paiute?' Well, he'd bought that squaw fair and square; he was getting her back!
It was because of the decision to head straight for the Ponderosa that Luke bumped into, and was surrounded, by the posse. Jeffery had, under pressure, given Mr. Cunningham's description to Ben and the others. Before Luke could say a thing, Ben had had his pistol on him and barked louder than anyone had ever heard him yell, "WHERE is my wife!"
Luke's eyes widened in astonishment. He had sincerely believed it when he was told the woman he'd be brought had no attachments to any man, yet here he was surrounded by a group of angry looking men and a man claiming to be the woman's husband, yet paying someone to bring you someone, even an Indian, was against the law. At least he had truth to feed the men; he had a feeling they'd see through lies. "I don't know anything about anyone's wife. All I know is I'm looking for the lad that works for me, and my cook. They've up and disappeared!"
Ben wasn't giving up that easily; this man fit the description too well not to be him. "What do they look like? Maybe, we've seen them." He would have asked other questions, but Brooke's looks could not be changed. Not drastically enough not to recognize her description.
Luke didn't want to answer, but the guns on him forced him to. "Boy's sixteen with red hair. Cook has black hair; she's Paiute, don't speak English."
Some of them men started to lower their rifles only to have Ben shake his head, "It's Brooke! She doesn't talk English to anyone she doesn't like! Question is, where are the two now?" He looked around the vast area that surrounded them.
"You come with me." Foster held his rifle on the stranger. He wasn't surprised by the man's words or actions.
Feigning innocence, Luke retaliated, "What for? I haven't done anything wrong. I told you; I'm looking for the boy and my cook, not his wife!"
"You fit the description given, and the men that gave the description are guests of our jail. If they say you're innocent, fine; you'll be free to go. If not, they'll have company." Again, the man would have cursed and ran, but there were too many men. Mr. Cunningham did not fight the deputy as he took his rifle and pistol from him.
"Tyler," Foster spoke to one of his better friends, "come and help me transport our friend back to Virginia City." Tyler did as he was directed.
Ben looked from east to west, north to south, every inch of the land he could see and thought. The fact that the man had been heading the direction his, Ben's, house lay told him the man, if guilty, had known where to look first. Brooke would want go straight home, but where was she? He and the men were on the main path that led to his home. He turned to Candy, "Go ahead and go back to the house, just in case she does show up there."
Candy turned his horse around, "Yes, sir." As he headed away, Candy prayed Mrs. Cartwright would be found all right.
Never one to sit still, Little Joe spoke up after remembering rundown cabin Brooke had talked about once. "Why don't I take some men and head east?" Ben said nothing, but nodded. Little Joe took four men and rode off. Hoss and the others simply waited for Ben to speak.
"Where are you, Brooke? Was that the gentlemen those two creeps took you to or are you still a captive out there somewhere?" Ben felt everything from anger to despair to hope run through him. "Take some men and head west." He looked at the family friend, Jake. Like Hoss, he was a giant of a man. He did as Ben asked. Ben then turned Buck onto a nearby path; the rest of the men followed him.
Ben's thoughts turned to the night-time as he rode along. The nights were cold and he worried about Brooke, if she was fleeing from the man Foster had just taken into town. Would she find shelter? Would she be all right? Most of all, was she in the company of the boy the man had talked about and what kind of standards did he hold to? He started praying like he'd never prayed before.
Ben's prayers weren't the only ones being said. Brooke had led Jamie to a small cave she'd seen on more than one occasion when she was out riding with one of the boys. It was set far enough back that no one traveling any of the paths would see it, but she and Jamie, if they stood in certain areas near the cave, could see what they needed to without a problem. "Good thing I brought the heavy blankets," Jamie said as he took off the blankets he'd taken when they fled and started laying them down, "I promise, I won't do anything to you or to your baby."
Brooke's face showed her surprise. Because Jamie had never said anything, she'd assumed he, like the others, had not taken time to notice. Jamie simply smiled and chuckled as he said, "I'm a lot of things; I'm not blind." The rest of the evening Brooke told Jamie all about the Ponderosa, her stepsons, stepdaughter and the dreams she had for the baby she carried. "We go north tomorrow. We be home tomorrow night, I hope," she said as she headed for the blanket Jamie had laid out for her. "You want, I ask Ben you work for him."
Jamie smiled as he too lay down on his blanket. If this Mr. Cartwright was as nice as his wife, the job would be worth keeping, if the man hired him that is.