Chapter 1 The Capture

On top of the hill, a man sat on his horse. He had another saddled horse with him. He peered down at the small ranch, his attention focused on the modest cabin. There were two people in that cabin, and he had a plan for one of them. Taking a deep breath, the man slowly made his way down the hill. He had to go through with his plan while he still had the nerve to do so. Within several minutes, he reached the property. The man left both horses behind the barn and discretely sauntered towards the house.

"I've been waitin' to eat these fish ever since I pulled them outta the river." The young boy's eyes were as big as his dinner plate as he eyed the walleye his pa had fried up

"I'm still upset that you skipped school. I raised you to know the importance of a good education." The man placed some fish on his son's plate. "I pay money for you to go to school, not to go fishing"

"I said I was sorry." The boy had already apologized several times.

"Are ya sorry for skipping school or for getting caught?" his pa asked with raised eyebrows.

"A little of both," the boy confessed. "Look at the bright side. We get to eat some mighty good fish."

The man smiled at his son. "I can't argue with that."

The boy and his pa had been enjoying the savory walleye when suddenly the door to their small house was kicked in. Before the man could react, the intruder had taken the barrel end of his rifle and hit the man in the back of his head. The boy's pa slumped back in his chair. He was out cold.

"Pa!" the terrified young boy screamed as he watched the stranger hit his pa over the head with a rifle.

The intruder grabbed the scared boy. "Come on, boy. You're coming with me."

The boy struggled to get loose from the man's tight grip, but failed miserably. "Let me go!" he cried.

The man's grip tightened even more. "Don't try to fight it. It won't do ya no good." The stranger pulled the boy outside. "Give me your hands."

When the boy didn't cooperate, the man grabbed the boys' hands and tied them together. He then took a bandana to blindfold the boy and another one to keep him quiet. The man took the frightened boy and hoisted him up onto a saddled horse. He put the boys' bound hands on the saddlehorn. Once the boy was situated, the man mounted his own horse.

"Hang on boy," instructed the man. He took hold of his horse's reins and the reins of the horse the boy was sitting on. Wanting to get out of there quickly, the man used his boots to kick the horse's sides. The horse started to take off. Still having a tight grip on both reins, the man was able to get the boys' horse going. Not expecting the horse to move so quickly, the boy jerked forward. His grip on the saddlehorn tightened.

The man looked over and laughed. His laughter was dripping with evil. "I told ya to hang on." He took a deep breath. "Ahhh. Do ya smell that? That's the smell of rain coming. I welcome the rain. It'll cover up our tracks. It might even storm. I've always loved a good storm, ever since I was a boy. How about you?" He looked over at his victim. "Forgot, ya can't talk right now. Just enjoy the ride, boy."

It was not long before the first drop of rain fell. One drop turned into two drops. Two drops turned into three drops. After those three drops, Mother Nature opened her skies and released the rain. The man did not care that he was getting soaking wet. The rain was on his side. It was covering their tracks.

They had been riding non stop for a solid two hours. The man looked over at the boy. Even though it was pitch black out and he did not expect to meet anyone, he could not take the risk of someone seeing him riding with a young boy that was blinded, gagged, and hands tied. He made the decision to remove the bandanas and the rope.

"Whoa," he pulled the reins and brought his horse and the boy's horse to a halt. He dismounted his horse and walked over to the boy. "I'm gonna remove the blindfold, gag, and rope. It won't do ya no good to yell. No one ain't gonna hear ya. And it won't do ya no good to try to get away. So don't even try it."

With the bandanas removed, the frightened young boy blinked his eyes several times, trying to focus his vision. After a minute or two, his eyes had gotten used to the darkness. He looked over at his captor. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Names ain't important," the man responded.

"Well then why did ya take me?" The boy hoped he would get an answer for his second question.

"My boy is in prison in Yuma because of your pa," the man replied. "Since I don't have my boy, your pa won't have you."

The boy got an answer, but not one he wanted to hear. "My pa is also friends with the Marshal," the frightened boy told his captor.

"I hate lawman," the man seethed.

"My pa will find me," said the boy. "He can track an ant in a corn field."

The man slowly shook his head. "Not with this rain. It's kinda hard to track when there ain't no tracks," the man pointed out. "Come on. There's a cave not too far from here. We'll stay there for the night."

By the time the pair had reached the cave, the rain had decreased to a light drizzle. The man dismounted his horse and instructed the boy to do the same thing. "Loosen your horse's cinch," the man directed. The boy did as he was told and loosened his horse's cinch. He mimicked his captor's action and wrapped his horse's reins around the branch of a tree near the cave. When both horses were secured to the branch, the man grabbed the saddle bags off the horses and walked into the cave. The boy followed.

The cave was an old mining cave. There were blankets and a few other supplies in the cave. It was obvious the man had made previous plans to stay in the cave. "I'll start a fire. You best get outta those wet clothes 'n wrap yourself in a blanket. Wring them out as much as ya can, and hang 'em over there so they can start drying."

The man did the exact same thing he told the boy to do. He removed his wet shirt and pants, leaving his union suit on. The boy had not realized how cold he was with his wet clothes on, until he took them off and wrapped himself in a dry blanket. He put his wet shirt and pants next to the man's. By this time a blazing fire was roaring.

The boy went as close to the fire as he could without catching his blanket ablaze. He looked over at the man who had snatched him from the comforts of his home. "Why is your son in prison?"

"I told ya he's in prison because of your pa," the man barked.

"He must've done something bad to go to prison. Men don't go to prison for no reason," the boy reasoned.

"If ya must know, he was sent to prison for multiple bank robberies. He was sentenced to twenty years. By the time he gets out, I'll be an old man. I might even be dead. And since your pa sent my boy to prison, I've decided to return the favor by taking his boy. He's gonna know what it's like not to have his son with him."

"How old is your son?" The boy felt that it was a good idea to know as much about his detainer.

"He's twenty-four years old," the man replied. "And you're gonna replace him."

"But I'm only ten years old. How can I replace him?" The boy did not want to take the place of this man's son.

"You just will," said the man. "Now that's enough questions. You best get to sleep. I plan on leaving here at the crack of dawn."

The man got himself into a comfortable position and was soon fast asleep. His snoring was echoing throughout the cave. The boy had trouble falling asleep and it was not just because of the deafening snores coming from the man. The thoughts in his head were loud enough to keep him awake. His foremost thought was his pa. He had no idea if he was dead or alive. His next thought was how could escape. Something told him he was going to be a prisoner for a while.

TBC