THE IMMEDIATE PROBLEM was that Mingo and Yadkin had left a good two days ahead of them, and were no doubt on the other side of the river by now. Of course, Daniel had no intention of leading them to the wagon of supplies. His only goal at the moment was to get them away from Rebecca. Now that he had been successful, he was quickly trying to formulate a plan that would shift the balance his way. He had no expectation of overpowering five men by himself - even if he hadn't been badly injured. There seemed no clear path before him, and yet he had to give the appearance of a man with a definite direction.
"Your wife sure is a pretty lass." Kenny said coming alongside him. "I want you to know that when this all over and you are dead, I plan to keep her as my own."
Daniel raised an eyebrow at the man beside him, recognizing his attempt to enrage him. "I thought you were from Ireland like her?" He asked.
"Aye, I am." Kenny puffed out his chest in anger.
"Well, you must not remember the women from your village because my wife will not be kept - not by you, and not by me. She won't be kept by any man. She's a wild thing. If you have hopes of taming her after I am dead, may God have mercy on your soul."
"Perhaps, she just has never met a real man - one who can tame a woman."
Daniel laughed out loud at this. "Son, it is clear that you've never been married." He continued to laugh as Kenny fell back to come alongside Augustus Gray.
"When the time comes, I'm the one who gets to kill him." He told Gray.
"Oh, now, don't get all riled up, Ken. He's right anyways. You ain't never been married." Gray shook his head. "And I kinda hate to side with him, but that hellcat won't get tamed by the likes of you."
"If he's leading us on a wild goose chase . . ."
"How can he?" One of the other men asked. "We been living out here near on two years. We know this area. He's leading us now toward that old cave."
"Did any of you check the cave? It is big enough to hide a wagon." Gray asked them, but they all shook their heads.
"We were too busy looking for Pete and Remy." Kenny answered.
"You didn't find them neither." Gray sighed. "Ben, why don't you and Albert cut around the back way and meet us at that cave. You can make sure he ain't leading us to an ambush." The men nodded and dropped behind from the crew. The rest of them caught up to Daniel who was being held by the final man of their party.
"Where'd everybody go?" Daniel asked. "I sure hope that nothing happened to them."
"I'm sure you don't." Gray told him. "Don't worry. They are nearby. You are safe in our company still."
"Oh, good." Daniel said, but deep inside he liked the odds of three against one much better than five.
***DB***
Her wrists were raw and bloody and stung like the dickens but she was free. She stood alone in the wilderness as darkness fell. She was struck by the odd thought that she had never been alone in the wilderness. She had spent a large chunk of her life alone at the cabin - well, alone with the children, but she had never been alone this far from the safety of the fort. She felt equal measures of terror and excitement.
She tried to think of where Daniel would lead them. Mingo and Yadkin had a good two days lead on them. Although, the fully loaded wagon would slow them, they weren't stopping to enjoy the sites like she and Dan had been. She tried to consider the problem carefully. He would need to lead them somewhere and hopefully somewhere that would push the odds in his favor.
Perhaps he would lead them to the cave that wasn't too far from the river. She decided it was as safe a guess as any, and pausing briefly to regain her bearings, she headed toward the cave.
The fact that darkness quickly fell, actually worked in her favor. Navigating by the stars was far easier to her than by hills or mountains. The stars were forever true and would not lead her astray. She was thankful also for her breeches. They made creeping through the darkness much simpler and she had no rustling petticoats to give her away.
Though it was now full spring, it was a colder night, and she was glad that she had made Daniel take his jacket back. Although, the cold made her shiver from time to time, she knew he needed it. She was hoping that they would allow him to rest from time to time. He was still weak and badly hurt. Most of all she hoped to arrive before he tried to do anything - she feared a fight would be the end of him.
***DB***
At the pace they were travelling, they would reach the cave after midnight. Daniel was woozy on his feet and in great pain, but they seemed determined to drive him into the dirt. Perhaps it was a simple tactic; exhaust him so there'd be no fight left in him.
"Fellas, I hate to be the one to complain, but I would appreciate if we could rest a mite. I am weary, and would better serve you if I had a minute's rest. I'm afraid if we keep going at this pace, I'm liable to wander right past that storehold. My brain don't work as fast when I'm done in." He told them.
"Keep going." Kenny barked at him.
"I'm tired, too." Gray said. "We can rest an hour or so. It isn't like he can bring any harm to us. Look at him! He's fairly green with pain."
They settled into small grove of trees. It was fully night now, and Daniel couldn't help but worry about Rebecca. He chewed at the corner of his lip, studying the three men who sat watching him, rifles over their laps.
"You fellas been out here for awhile now?" He asked. "I imagine this'd be a good spot what with folks coming to and from Salem."
"What difference does it make to you?" Gray asked him. "We will take your supplies and be out of your life. You can go back to wherever you came from. It makes no never mind to you."
"That may well be true. But I don't think you are planning to send me loose when this over, any more than I believe my wife is safe where she is just now. I am telling you this, if you sent those men after her, I will kill you with my bare hands, and no men or guns will ever stop me."
"You don't seem to be in a good position to make threats, Boone." Gray laughed. "That's not where I sent them, though. As far as I know your woman is still tied to that tree." He sighed. "As for what the future holds, who am I to say how it all plays out. One can never tell."
***DB***
She heard them, long before she could see them. They were sitting in a close circle but she was surprised to see only three men with Daniel. A sudden hope flooded her system. They could manage with three men. Both Gray and Kenny had rifles, but none of the other men carried any firepower, although they all had knives. She kept a ways back, considering her next move. They didn't appear to be settling in for the night, perhaps just short stop. The sound of an owl, high overhead, startled her, but also made her smile. It was her chance.
***DB***
They all heard the owl but none of them paid any real attention to it. When it's cry changed in pitch and tone, Daniel felt the hair on the back of his neck bristle. She was free. She was here. As frustrated as he was that she continued to put herself in harm's way, he was grateful too. She was steady in a fight - that had been proven again and again in their years together. He knew he could rely on her and two against three seemed a definite possibility. He knew she was waiting for him to signal back. He rose up, a little too suddenly, and got dizzy from the effort.
"What are you doing?" Kenny raised his rifle, actually Rebecca's rifle, at him.
"I'm ready. Let's get this over with." He said loudly. "The sooner I'm rid of you, the sooner I can get back to my wife. I don't trust that you haven't sent your men after her."
"Time will tell," Gray said rising. "Take it easy, Kenny." Kenny lowered his rifle, and Gray turned to reach for his rifle.
Daniel turned, more stiffly than he would've liked and struck his fist into Kenny's face. He felt a rush of joy to not only injure the man, but also to be doing something. He felt, rather than saw, Rebecca, who rushed in, a large tree branch in her hand. She struck at the man closest to her, while Gray lifted his rifle, aiming it at Daniel. But Daniel somehow was able to stagger forward and up, knocking the gun back and to the ground. He dove at Gray, confident in Rebecca's ability to manage the third man.
The fight lasted less than twenty minutes, but in the end Daniel found himself on the ground gasping for breath. Gray lay unconscious beside him, and to his left Kenny lay still, a terrible wound where he'd been hit on the head. He'd risen up, knife in hand ready to stab Daniel when Rebecca had struck him in the head. When Kenny fell to the ground, he finally felt a moment of relief. Unfortunately, he also felt the pain of all his injuries. He wanted to rise and check on Rebecca but found instead he could barely lift his head from the ground.
"'Becca?" He called out weakly.
"I'm fine." She leaned over him. "He didn't shoot you?"
"No, ma'am. You've got a bruise on your cheek, ah grah. Are you sure you are alright?"
"You should see your face. You look terrible, Dan."
"I do? That's strange because I'm finally feeling pretty cheerful just now." He grinned at her, and she leaned down to kiss him. "How'd you get loose, darlin?"
"Every knot can be untangled." She responded with a shrug, and he chuckled, but then his eyes grew wide.
"Roll!" He yelled and without hesitation she rolled to her left, just as Albert dove at the two of them, knife in hand. He fought hard, but in his weakened condition was unable to avoid the knife blade which grazed his shoulder. He was distracted, too. He could hear Rebecca, clearly struggling with someone. Adrenaline flooded his system and he found himself, rising up, and throwing his attacker to the ground, before turning to see, someone struggling with Rebecca who was fighting valiantly. He looked around and found the large branch she had used earlier, and using the last bit of his strength, struck at the man, who fell heavily. Unfortunately, he landed on top of Rebecca, pinning her beneath him.
"Dan!" She called out. "Help me."
He somehow manage to push the man off her, but had strength for little else. He sat panting his knees bent and his head down.
"You all . . ." He struggled to speak. "You all right?"
"I am, but Daniel!" She was kneeling in front of him, then. Pushing him backwards, lowering him gently until he lay looking up at her. "Your shoulder!"
"He just nicked me, I think." But he winced as she peeled back his jacket. "Aww, my jacket is torn!" He complained.
"I can fix it." She shook her head at him, sitting back on her heels. "I'm thinking a ripped jacket might be the least of your troubles just now."
"Troubles?" He said. "I thought we just finally managed them all."
"Well, she glanced around. We may have tipped things our way. What are we gonna do about all of this?" She indicated the men around her. "We've got no rope to tie them up."
"We don't." Daniel said. "But he does." He indicated Kenny who lay on the ground. "His right coat pocket. Give me a minute and I'll help you love."
She laughed at this, shaking her head at him. "Daniel, don't be ridiculous. Lie still for pity's sake. I can manage to tie up a few unconscious men."
She was right, of course, he could not help her. He lay on his back staring up into the starry night listening as she first managed to tie up the men.
"I can't tell if Kenny is breathing anymore." She told him, "But I'm taking no chances, and tied him up, too." She wiped her brow, sitting beside him, and leaning over him checked his shoulder. "The bleeding has stopped."
"That's good." He responded weakly.
She glanced around behind her. "Dan, do you think you can walk? Even just a step or two? I don't want to be here when they wake."
"I can manage," He told her.
The truth was, he could barely rise, and it took the two of them together to get him upright. He leaned heavily on her, and felt he could drop with any step. They made their slow way away from their attackers. He fought the urge to stop with every step, as she pushed them further and further away. Finally, when they were both drenched with sweat from the effort, and he could walk no more, he said, "'Becca, love, I can't. Ta bron orm, mo grah."
"I'm the one who is sorry." She said, lowering him to the ground. "I can't go on. I am too tired."
She had led them to a small curve off the path. It was hidden by a low row of bushes. He took comfort that we were somewhat hidden away. He lay on his back, and was only vaguely aware of her leaning over him, speaking quietly to him, and checking his wounds. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry he'd dragged her along on this horrible, ill-fated trip. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was that she was hurt, worried and exhausted. He wanted to say how much he loved her and what a wonderful, powerful companion she was; steady and strong. He wanted to put his arms around her, and hold her tight. In the end, he was able to do none of those things. He couldn't speak or even open his eyes, for the moment she lowered him to the ground he lost all consciousness.
