Amanda Grady stood in the door of the barn with a heavy heart, watching the riders depart in the moonlight. She knew what she had to do. She just prayed she had the strength to do it.
There was no time to change her clothing or to gather any supplies. She approached the first stall and came eye to eye with the horse Harrison had ridden to meet the stage, a fine chestnut mare, long in the legs with nice lines. The mare and the woman looked into each other's eyes. "I am very sorry to disturb you, honey, but we've got to go find Hannibal Heyes," Amanda murmured. The mare's bridle was suspended from a hook just outside the stall, and Amanda deftly and gently placed it on the compliant animal. She stroked her neck and praised her as she led her out of the stall. Having been raised on a farm, she had ridden horses all her life, very often barebacked, so she didn't bother looking around for Harrison's saddle. Instead she threw a blanket over the horse's back, clutched a handful of mane, and hauled herself up. She wished she knew the mare's name as she urged her out of the barn. "Get me to Bridgerton and I promise you I'll make it up to you," she whispered in the mare's ear as they cantered down the lane in the opposite direction as the gang had gone.
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Hannibal Heyes was looking forward to seeing his partner later that day. His new friend, Mayor Wade Thomas, had told him the stage was expected to arrive about noon. There was to be a welcoming party to meet it. The children of the town would all be holding bouquets of wildflowers for their new teacher. The School Board members had hung a banner in front of the stage coach office reading, "Welcome to Bridgerton, a Town with a Future" in large, block letters with fancy curlicue flourishes. Mrs. Bridger had arranged a luncheon in the Bridger mansion and all the town's leading citizens were invited to attend and meet the new schoolteacher. Heyes had achieved a modicum of local celebrity for having won a staggering $12,000 at the poker game and thus was included on the guest list. Moreover, he had graciously donated $1000 to the town, figuring correctly that it would buy a large portion of good will – a lesson learned from the boys' experience in Hadleyburg. The mayor and sheriff had told him that the brand new schoolhouse, still smelling of freshly sawn boards, had a mortgage of $1000 left to pay and that the founder of the town and owner of the bank, a Mr. Harold Bridger, was demanding an exorbitant interest rate. Heyes assumed his partner, as the teacher's official escort, would be included as well. He grinned to himself as he pictured the Kid's face when he told him how much he'd walked away with from the game! And he was sure Kid wouldn't mind the donation. In fact, they'd get half of it back once the Kid got paid.
Heyes still held the opinion that Bridgerton was a real nice town with real friendly folks. More than one of his new poker buddies had suggested he and his partner settle there permanently. But not only was Heyes ready to move on, he knew it was the only smart option. The former outlaws couldn't afford to get complacent. It was time to go. Heyes was thinking all these thoughts while eating his breakfast in the local café. He missed Kid's company and he paid tribute to his partner by teasing the pretty young waitresses in his absence. They blushed and gushed for him just as much as they had done for his golden-haired partner, which made Heyes feel pleased and a bit smug. He was smiling to himself, sipping the last of his coffee, feeling like all was right with the world, when a small boy, possibly about six years of age, dashed into the café.
"Mr. Smith," lisped the lad, "Mr. Smith, I have to tell you something, but it's a secret."
"Okay, Petie," answered Heyes agreeably. "Why don't you whisper it into my ear?" He leaned down from his table and tilted his head toward the boy, smiling indulgently, his dimples doing their usual damage to the females in the room.
"There's a lady wants you to meet her behind the livery stable," whispered Petie. "She gave me a dime to tell you!"
"Thank you, Petie," said Heyes. And here's another dime from me."
The little fellow raced out of the café clutching his newly earned riches, making a beeline for the penny candy display at the local mercantile, Heyes reckoned.
Hannibal Heyes drained his cup and reached into his vest pocket for a dollar coin, enough to pay for his meal and a generous tip, which he tucked neatly under the edge of his plate. He rose, nodded his thanks to the one waitress currently in view, and strode out of the café. He had no idea who this mysterious "lady" might be, but he was perfectly willing to honor her plea for secrecy, at least until he found out more. He acted for all intents and purposes like someone who was simply taking his morning constitutional, ambling toward the outskirts of town, where the livery stable backed up to a patch of woods composed of aspen trees that were so skinny they had survived the axe during the town's rapid growth, at least for the time being.
Heyes took a path into the woods which he knew from experience branched off and looped around, passing very close to the rear of the stable. As he approached, he noticed a girl in her teens or twenties, wearing a once pristine white print dress, now rumpled and travel-stained, leaning against a handsome chestnut mare, who was covered in lather and looked about done in. He couldn't help but notice that despite her obvious exhaustion and bedraggled appearance, the young woman was quite lovely.
Hearing his approach, she looked up and asked anxiously, "Mr. Smith? Are you Mr. Joshua Smith?"
"Yes, I am," he replied, flashing a dimple. "What can I do for you, Miss?"
Relief flooded her pretty features. "Oh, Mr. Smith, your partner has been captured by bandits! They're taking him to Granite Hill to turn him in for a reward! They think he's Kid Curry!" she gasped urgently.
Heyes instantly shifted into Outlaw Leader mode. This wasn't the first time one or the other of them had been recognized by fellow outlaws. His manner went from cordially genteel to all business as he barked out questions tersely, absorbing the pertinent information as quickly as possible.
"Where? When? How many? Is Thaddeus alright?"
"They left the way station between here and Granite Bluff about 4:00 this morning. There were six of them. Thad – uh, Mr. Jones – was fine when I saw him last, but his hands were tied and he was gagged." Tears seeped out the corners of the young woman's eyes. She looked ready to collapse. The horse wasn't in much better shape.
Heyes' mind was already calculating how long it would take him to make Granite Bluff. The gang might make poor time considering they were leading one horse with a bound prisoner on it, he speculated. He pictured a map of the area in his mind. He knew there was a short cut through the mountains which would shave several hours off the trip. It would be rough traveling, but it would be worth it. As he traced the route in his mind, he remembered a place he and Kid had hidden out in years ago just a couple hours outside of Granite Bluff, an abandoned mining town. He smiled as a Hannibal Heyes Plan began to form in his mind.
"Miss Grady, I presume," he said, eyebrows slightly raised in a question. When she nodded in the affirmative he added admiringly, "You've got a lot of sand for a schoolmarm, ma'am. Thank you for what you've done."
She nodded mutely, her eyes wide. "Will you rescue him?" she almost whispered.
"Of course I will," he answered, grinning rakishly, his dimples peeking out. "We always rescue each other."
His roguish confidence made her believe he could do anything he set his mind to. Impulsively she reached out and hugged him. When she released her hold, she swayed suddenly and would have hit the dirt had he not caught her in his arms.
"Are you alright?" Heyes asked with concern, helping her to a fallen log and sitting her down.
"I'm fine. You need to go. I wish I could help –"
"You already have. What are the school board members going to think?" he added, shaking his head in amusement.
"I don't care what they think. I'd do it again if I had the chance! It was all my fault they caught him! If I hadn't delayed him leaving -"
"Wait. He was leaving? Why was he leaving before he'd finished the job?"
"Mr. Bridger and Mr. Brock. They figured it out too. Thaddeus overheard them talking. They were planning to turn him in to the sheriff as soon as we got here. And you, too. He said he had to come here to warn you. I should never have … distracted … him," she added ruefully.
Heyes got the picture immediately and shook his head from side to side, mentally chiding the Kid for yet again falling for the charms of a pretty girl. "So when the folks at the way station woke up this morning, they must have thought you and Thaddeus ran off together…" Heyes said slowly, realizing what she'd risked to bring him the news. Then he asked, "Why'd they take him to Granite Bluff?"
"We tricked them into thinking you were there. We wanted to lead them away from you," was her answer.
"So when they get all the way to Granite Bluff and figure out I'm not there, that's going to make them mighty mad…"
Amanda stared at the dark-haired man. She could almost hear the gears in his head turning. If she hadn't already been convinced that Thaddeus was Kid Curry and that this man was Hannibal Heyes, she certainly was now.
Abruptly, Heyes, jumped to his feet and grabbed Amanda's hand. "C'mon!" he ordered.
"You have a plan?" she asked, hurrying to keep up with his long strides.
"The beginnings of one," he answered, then led her around to the front of the livery stable. "Carson!" he called out, "There's a mare out back that's been ridden hard and needs seeing to. And as soon as you're done with that, get my horse saddled and ready to ride." Ben Carson gulped at the sight of the much-admired local poker champion Joshua Smith pulling a young lady along in his wake and hustled to do his bidding.
"Listen carefully," Heyes explained in a low, urgent tone as they walked through the town. Actually, Heyes was walking, but the petite school teacher was trotting along just to keep up. "This is what happened: You were never with Thaddeus and he was never trying to leave. You were sitting in your room, reading. The gang snuck into the inn and grabbed you. You were already dressed because you couldn't sleep."
"That part's true." Amanda offered helpfully.
"They planned to hold you for ransom. Thaddeus woke up when he heard noises. He followed you and tried to stop them, but they overpowered him and took him prisoner as well. But Thaddeus managed to cause a distraction which enabled you to get away and you rode straight here to get help. I happened to see you approaching town as I was out for my morning walk."
"But what about the kid?" she interrupted.
"I'm getting to that part!" he said impatiently, then realization dawned. " – oh, er, um, you mean the kid you sent to me with your message. Damn! Oh, I beg your pardon, Miss Grady. But I had forgotten about him. His part in the story makes it seem as though you had something to hide."
"Well I do! If what you said happened had actually happened, wouldn't I have gone back to the way station instead of coming all the way here?" she asked.
"But you couldn't because you knew what Bridger knew – well, thought he knew."
"We don't have to keep pretending, Mr. Heyes," she whispered urgently.
"Call me Smith," he reprimanded.
"Sorry."
By now they had almost reached the sheriff's office, which Amanda gathered was their destination.
"Okay, I'm not goin' to mention that, but if it does comes up, you just say you didn't want the townspeople to get a bad first impression, you being all …well," he gestured vaguely at her disheveled appearance. "… And your horse couldn't take another step anyway."
"And I knew that you would help your partner so I sent for you – which is also true."
"You seem very concerned about being truthful," he couldn't help point out.
"Sorry."
Just before the sheriff's office, Heyes suddenly stopped and pulled the young teacher into the telegraph office. He grabbed a pencil stub and scrawled a quick message on the pad.
"Well, good morning Joshua," began the telegrapher with a friendly smile," and who might this young lady – "
"Horace, please! Send this to Granite Bluff right away!" Heyes interrupted, dropping some coins onto the counter. "And keep the change!"
"Should I wait for an answer, Joshua?" Horace inquired, but the pair had already left.
Horace shrugged his shoulders and began tapping out the message:
To Thaddeus Jones, Granite Bluff: Change of plans. Meet me in Lead Gulch. JS
Sheriff Mike Smith was sitting at his desk catching up on paperwork when suddenly the breathless couple burst through the door.
"Mike!" shouted Heyes." There's been a kidnapping! A gang of outlaws kidnapped your new schoolteacher, but thanks to my partner's quick thinking, she got away!"
The sheriff stood, attempting to absorb the information along with the sight of the young woman before him, her long hair a tangled mess, complete with a couple twigs and a leaf or two. Her face was smudged with dirt, two vertical white streaks betraying the tracks of her tears. Her left cheekbone was marked by a bloody scratch. One of her sleeves was torn at the shoulder, flapping open to reveal an angry welt on her slender upper arm. The rest of her dress was soiled and rumpled.
"Miss Grady?" Mike managed to say, dumbfounded.
"She needs medical assistance immediately. And I'm going to go rescue my partner!"
Heyes turned and left the sheriff's office as abruptly as he had entered.
Amanda Grady did the only sensible thing. She fainted.
