I do NOT own The Big Valley or any of the original Barkley characters.

Blindsided

Chapter Twenty-Four

If it wasn't for the mere fact time was running out, Brigham would have told Nick and Heath they should wait until the moon was being more cooperative when it came to providing the light they needed to travel. As it was, the three slowly made their way towards the place Brigham had been told about on the day of his attack. When they got close enough to see, but still had the trees and bushes for cover, Brigham stopped the wagon, while Nick and Heath stopped their horses.

"I can't see…" Nick started to speak only to quickly shut up as two men walked out of the cave; they were talking. Normally, not one of them would have been able to hear what was being said, only the two men were arguing and their voices were raised.

"Two more nights!" Brad Hadley, a twenty four year old con artist and gambler who had gotten involved in this mess as he was now calling the deal he'd allowed himself to get involved in, was irritated. "I'll give them one more night and then we take these guns into Nevada ourselves! I ain't bein' paid enough to sit here and take these kind of chances! In fact, I don't see why we couldn't have done it ourselves in the first place!" Truth was he was being paid quite a bit, but sitting around doing nothing made him nervous; it always had. As a child, he'd caused his mother more than one sleepless night as she and his grandfather looked for him. His father was of no help; he couldn't be. Another man's bullet had put Mr. Hadley six feet under when Brad was a mere infant.

Twenty-seven year old Jonathon Tyler was getting fed up with having to listen to Brad's whining; it was all the man had been doing for the past week. Jonathon had not exactly learned the art of patience; that was, the art of having it with other people. His father, a professional gambler, had taught him patience only when it came to things that would directly benefit him. "Don't go pulling Trace's stunt," Jonathon yelled, Trace was Brad's cousin, "I told that idiot to be patient but no! He had to throw a temper tantrum and run off. Heaven knows where he's at! No! We'll wait until the agreed upon time! Eric is being patient, so am I, and you can too!"

Eric was Jonathon's nineteen-year-old brother. By himself, he wasn't half bad, but when Jonathon was around, he had couldn't seem to find his back bone. When Jonathon had told Eric how much he'd be earning guarding the guns for some friends of Jonathon's, Eric had been nervous. However, Jonathon had pressured him, and he gave in.

Brigham, Nick and Heath looked at each other. There was a third man! Only, where was he? In the cave? Standing watch nearby? None of them liked the fact that this Eric was being talked about but was nowhere in sight. "What exactly did that friend of yours say again, after he was drunk enough not to care about what he said?" Nick leaned forward in his saddle and kept his voice low, just in case either of the men they were watching, and listening to, had excellent hearing.

"He said the majority of guns were being kept within a short distance from here." Brigham likewise kept his voice low. "I assumed he meant Strawberry itself, not just the saloon. He said there were men guarding the guns waiting for the men who had been assigned to get the guns and smuggle them out of Strawberry and through the pass into Nevada." Brigham went on to give both Nick and Heath all the details Peter had let out of the bag. "I really thought I'd be looking for a needle in a haystack."

Nick kept an eye on the two men and the cave. If they were to get in and out of the without too much of a problem, it sure would make him feel better if they knew where this Eric was. He didn't like the idea of having any surprise visitors. Too many times unexpected visits turned into one huge headache.

A quiet Nick made Heath both curious and concerned. What on earth was the man thinking? "Nick?" Heath finally broke the silence. "Mind sharing?" He kept an eye on his brother.

Nick scratched the back of his neck. "Just not liking the fact that the one they just called Eric is nowhere in sight, and there's not much light." He turned and looked at Brigham. "The one gentleman said two more nights. Maybe, we should bed down for the night and keep an eye on the men for twenty four hours, see if the other man shows his face. After all, we've got enough food to last a couple of days." He didn't really like waiting, but he wanted to be able to see the men better; as it was now, they were barely visible.

Brigham didn't like the idea of waiting; he feared the delay would give the man time to change the others minds. Still, Nick had a point and there was still time. "All right, but you tell Audra why we were gone longer than what I told her. I don't want to be on the tail end of her temper." He didn't want to see Audra angry again, at least not angry with him.

Nick and Heath chuckled softly. Brigham didn't have to tell them about Audra's temper. Nick turned his attention away from Mr. McCallister and back towards the men. Once the men had disappeared back into the cave, Nick and Heath bedded down, leaving Brigham to stand watch for a few hours.