Yawning
Yawning,
Audra entered the dining room and looked around.
Alone again. She had hoped
that by getting up early she could at least join Heath for breakfast.
But once again she was alone. It
certainly had been lonely this past week with everyone out of town.
Nick
and most of the hands were on a cattle drive. Jarrod had extended his stay in
Sacramento to speak at a State Lands Commission hearing.
Eugene as usual was away at Berkley and Mother had gone to Philadelphia
to visit an ill cousin.
And
Heath might as well be gone too, as much as she’d seen of him this week.
He was up before sunrise and didn’t drag in until after dark.
She knew he was trying to do the work of all four Barkley brothers.
She smiled at the thought, amazed that any of them could have ever
doubted Heath was a Barkley. Not
only did he look like father, he had the same drive, determination and
stubbornness of all the Barkley men.
Well,
she thought, breakfast was no fun without her brothers there to tease her.
Not that she would ever admit that to them of course.
She helped herself to some eggs from the sideboard and poured herself a
cup of coffee. Even Silas seemed to
have vanished.
Carrying
her plate and cup to the table she didn’t notice as Heath burst into the room.
“Boy howdy, I’m hungry enough to eat a mule!” he exclaimed.
Audra jumped, spilling her coffee on the floor.
“For heaven’s sake Heath, you’re worse than Nick – look what you
made me do!”
“Sorry
sis”, Heath smiled at his younger sister.
“Got a heap of work to do today and ---say, what are you doing up at
this hour anyway?” “Well, she
pouted, it’s no fun eating alone and since you’re always working I figured
this would be the only time I could enjoy your company.”
“Well”, he said, as he started eating before he even sat down, “I
gotta get going. The fence is down
again in the north section and some cattle strayed off.
Third time this month too---I thought Nick said he was going to fix that
break before he left”, he muttered, more to himself than to Audra.
He
looked up from his food at his sister. “Why
don’t you go into town, and visit with your new friend Sarah?
I’ll probably be late again this evening.”
“Oh, I’ve been to town three times already this week, and anyway,
Sarah is busy with the paper. Why
don’t I come with you,” she asked impulsively.
“I could look for those strays while you mend the fence.”
Heath
put down his fork and stared at his sister.
“You’ve got to be kidding, Audra.
That’s a hard day’s work I’m talking about not some shopping
trip.” Audra annoyed, pushed back
her chair. “Heath Barkley, you
think that’s all I’m good for – shopping!?
Why I don’t see anyone in this room that I can’t outride or
outwork!” “Is that so?”, he
retorted. Audra couldn’t tell if
Heath was smiling or smirking at her. “Well
sis, finish up and saddle up, it’s going to be a long day.”
By
midmorning Audra was beginning to think she’d spoken a little hastily.
It was awfully hot and dry for late October and she hadn’t seen a
single stray all morning. Well, she
thought, she might as well head back to where she’d left Heath working on the
fence. Maybe he was ready to take a break.
Coming out of a copse of oaks above the fence line Audra could see Heath
below. His shirt was off and he was
working up a sweat with the post-hole digger.
Yep, she thought – definitely looked like he could use a break.
She started to holler down to him when she noticed a group of riders
behind Heath. Who could that be,
she thought. There’s nothing back
that way but a narrow, slot canyon. She
reined up, watching from the edge of the trees.
Heath obviously heard them too, for he turned around.
He instinctively reached down for his gun, but realized he had left it
hanging ten yards down on a fence post. Not
recognizing the riders he casually walked towards his gun.
He didn’t quite make it however. One
rider quickly covered the distance between Heath and his gun.
“Just
you stay where you are Barkley and don’t try nothing and no one has to get
hurt”, said the stranger. Heath
was worried – he now recognized the man.
Dutch Hanlon – a hand Nick had fired last month, as much for his quick
temper and smart mouth as for his laziness.
Dutch had said then the Barkley’s hadn’t seen the last of him.
Heath had seen Dutch a few times recently in town, hanging out in the
saloon with some other no account losers – probably this bunch with him now.
Heath’s
mind shot back to the present. Audra!
Where was she? Oh God, he
never should have let her come along. Please
don’t ride up now little sis, he thought.
Heath
turned to Dutch, “What do you want here?
Nick told you to get off and stay off Barkley land.”
“Well, MISTER Barkley”, Dutch drawled, “I reckon that’s a mite
hard to do when I’ve been helping myself to your cattle this past month.
Right under your high and mighty Barkley nose too.
The boys and me have made off with near 25 prime head,” he boasted.
Heath
thought – why is he telling me all this?
His concern for Audra and himself was mounting.
He had to get his hands on his gun.
But how? As if Dutch had
read his mind, he looked down at Heath and sneered – “But why bust our butts
stealing cows when we got prime Barkley stock right here?”
“What
are you talking about, Dutch? Heath queried.
“You – I figure that high and mighty mother of yours will pay a
pretty penny to get one of her precious boys back.”
At that moment Audra’s horse whinnied.
As Dutch turned to look in her direction Heath lunged for his gun.
He almost made it. Almost.
Dutch slammed his rifle butt down on Heath, narrowly missing his skull,
but smashing down on instead on Heath’s shoulder.
Heath both heard and felt his collarbone snap.
He cried out in pain, dropping to his knees, another blow catching him
along side his head. Mercifully he
passed out. His last thought was of
his sister “God, I hope they
didn’t see Audra…..”
Audra
pulled her horse further back into the trees, repressing an almost overwhelming
urge to ride down to her brother. “Heath,
oh Heath, what should I do?” Her
mind was in a whirl. More than
anything she wanted to go to her brother’s assistance.
But, instinctively she knew it was better to stay back. At least for now.
She watched as the man who had clubbed Heath looked her way.
Audra unconsciously held her breath, but he eventually turned his
attention back to Heath. He
motioned to his men and two of them dismounted and threw Heath over his horse
belly down, tying him into his saddle. They
remounted and headed towards the mouth of the narrow canyon.
Audra
was torn. Should she go for help or
follow them? Stockton and the ranch
were both several hours ride there and another several back.
Lord knows what those men might do to Heath in that time.
She couldn’t leave her brother. Audra decided to follow them. She
had no plan, she just knew it was up to her to help Heath.
At
the mouth of the canyon one of the four riders stayed behind – probably to act
as guard Audra thought, and another lit out in the direction of the ranch.
The other two, including the man who had beaten Heath, headed deeper into
the canyon.
Audra
stayed to the high ground and circled to the east.
She knew that canyon was boxed in, but she also knew there was an old,
steep trail down from the northeast side. It
was very steep, but Audra was positive her sure-footed mare could make it.
And if she hurried she should make it down there before they got that
far. That was assuming they were
going all the way back, she thought.
The
trail was even steeper than she had remembered and well grown over with
manzanita and sage. The little mare
was a dream though. Got them both
down without a single slip. Audra
tethered the animal well back in the tall brush and sat down to wait.
She
had almost dozed off there in the hot, afternoon sun, when she was startled into
wakefulness by the sound of horses heading her way.
Peering out, she too recognized Dutch Hanlon and another man she’d seen
around town.
Dutch
glanced her way and her heart nearly stopped—but he kept riding.
Leaving the mare behind, Audra followed on foot, staying concealed in the
dense chaparral. About 100 yards
further on the riders stopped. A
crude corral had been erected and inside was their missing cattle.
The men dismounted, cutting Heath loose and yanking him off the horse
onto the ground. The impact caused
Heath to let out a quiet moan.
Audra’s
heart went out to her brother. “Please
Lord”, she mouthed silently, “give me the strength to help him out of this.
“ She listened as the two men
talked.
“$10,000?
Do you really think they’ll pay it Dutch?
After all this one ain’t really a Barkley, just the old man’s bastard
offspring.”
“Sure
they will”, Dutch answered. “I’ve
seen em all together – tighter ticks on a coonhound.
All of em. They’ll pay, no
doubt about it.”
“But
Dutch, how will we get the money?”
“Joe’s
gonna ride in to the ranch, hand the note to that old servant and ride back out.
He’ll be gone before they know what’s happened.
The note’ll tell them to leave the money west of the ranch by that old
silver mine. And tomorrow night
we’ll ride over there, come in through that hidden, back entrance – grab the
cash and hightail it to the Nevada line. It’ll work just fine.”
“What
about him?” the other man said, pointing at Heath’s prone figure?
“Him?
We’ll kill him.” Dutch said flatly.
“By the time they realize he ain’t coming home, we’ll be long
gone.”
“Why
don’t we just kill him now, then?”
“Cause
I want to make sure Joe gets through with the note.
Now quit jawing and tie him up. He
may come to soon.”
Audra
tried to think. It would be dark
soon - long before the rider sent off to the ranch could get back.
Maybe once it was dark she could somehow get Heath loose without being
seen. And, maybe she could get him
up on the mare and lead him back up the narrow trail.
And maybe from there she could get him into town and to a doctor and the
sheriff. But maybes weren’t going
to help Heath. These men meant to
kill him and they’d do that to her to, probably worse if they caught her.
Audra shuddered. “Oh Nick,
Jarrod, I need you.” They’d
know what to do. They’d always
been there to look out for her. Her
big brothers – her protectors. Now
it was all turned around. Nick and
Jarrod weren’t here and these men would soon kill Heath if she didn’t do
something and do it soon.
Heath
slowly regained consciousness. He
was face down in the dirt. When he
moved the bones in his collarbone ground together almost causing him to pass out
again. His hands were tied in front
of him and his feet seemed to be bound. The pain was almost unbearable.
He turned his head to the side and saw Dutch and another man drinking and
talking. Heath shut his eyes, both
from the pain that small movement had caused and because he saw no sense in
letting Dutch know he was awake. His
throat was dry as cotton and he badly needed a drink of water.
But he knew it was best to keep quiet.
He needed to think. Where
was he and more importantly where was Audra.
Did she know what had happened to him?
Was she able to get away? How
was he going to get out of this? These thoughts tumbled in his mind as he
drifted back into unconsciousness.
Audra
looked at Dutch and the other man for at least the six-dozenth time.
Both had drank a lot of whiskey and one had fallen into a noisy sleep.
Dutch too seemed to have fallen asleep.
He was sitting up with a bottle in his hand, but his head had drooped
down to his chest and his regular breathing would indicate that he too was
asleep.
She
knew she had to act now. Summoning
all her courage she crept up to Heath. Covering
his mouth with her hand she gently shook her brother.
His eyes opened and slowly focused on her.
She held her finger to her lips and removed her hand from his mouth.
“Audra!,
what are you doing here?” Even
through the pain, Heath’s concern for his sister showed both in his voice and
his eyes. “You’ve got to get
out of here – NOW”, he hissed. She
shook her head an emphatic NO and pulled on his good left arm trying to help him
up.
One
of the men stirred and Audra froze, supporting Heath.
The man soon resumed his snoring and she again allowed herself to
breathe. “Come on,” she
whispered. “I have a horse.
We are getting out of here – together.”
She
supported her brother’s weight as best she could as she helped him back into
the brush where the mare was tethered. Using
both her and Heath’s belts she managed to fashion a crude swathe and sling for
his arm. And by using a rock as a
stepping stone she managed to get Heath into the saddle.
He clung to the horn with his good hand, swaying slightly in the saddle.
So
far so good she thought, leading the mare as quietly as she could to the back of
the canyon wall where the steep trail began.
They started up the slope. They
had made it almost three-quarters of the way up when the mare stumbled, sending
a shower of stones tumbling below.
Dutch
was immediately awake. “Where is
he!?” he shouted. “Dammit Jack,
wake up”, he yelled, kicking his partner.
“He’s gone.”
But
how?, Dutch asked himself. Just
then the mare sent down another shower of rocks.
“Up
there!”, Dutch cried, pointing up the canyon wall.
“Somebody’s with him”.
The
two men grabbed their horses and set out after Heath and Audra.
There
was no reason for quiet now. Now it
was a race to get to the top before they caught up with them.
Audra ran, leading the mare on towards the crest of the canyon.
The men were mounted however, and were making better time than Audra
could leading the mare and Heath. In
desperation, she turned and pushed on some of the larger loose rocks on the side
of the trail. To her amazement
several gave way starting an avalanche of rocks below her.
She heard one man’s scream and saw a shadow tumbling below her.
The second man continued to climb although temporarily slowed by the
jumble of rocks now on the trail.
At
last she pulled the tired, frightened mare over the top of the canyon edge.
“I’m sorry girl,” she whispered in the horse’s ear.
“You’re not through yet.” With
that, she pulled herself up in the saddle behind Heath and spurred the horse to
a gallop.
With
no moon, she knew running in this rugged terrain was dangerous.
But, compared to what was behind – and maybe – in front of her, it
was worth the risk. She held the
reins in one hand and kept her other arm wrapped around her brother’s waist.
“Hold on Heath”, she comforted him.
As
the horse flew around the canyon’s mouth, she almost ran down the rider left
behind to guard the area. The
man’s horse reared in surprise tossing the startled rider to the ground, then
galloped off without him. Audra was
too terrified to even notice.
Glancing
behind her she saw Dutch Hanlon gaining on them.
He passed right by his partner, not even slowing down to see if he needed
help.
Audra’s
little mare was tiring fast. Her
sides were heaving and she was beginning to slow.
Audra knew in her heart that they weren’t going to make it.
Then she remembered the barbed wire fence.
“Come on girl,” she urged the horse.
She ran her right up to the fence, leaned forward gripping Heath with all
her might – and jumped. The
little mare barely cleared the fence. Audra
felt the horse’s hooves brush against the wire.
Looking
back she saw that Dutch had been concentrating on them and had not seen the
fence. Until now.
His horse abruptly planted his feet refusing to jump.
Dutch flew over the saddle into the strands of wire.
Audra
stopped just long enough to see that Dutch seemed to be caught up in the wire.
She turned and headed, a little slower now, for Stockton.
They
had slowed to a walk. Audra was
trying to hold on to Heath and the reins with one hand, while helping Heath take
a drink of water from her canteen with the other.
“I think we’re safe now, Heath”, she murmured.
“But, we’ve got to keep moving.
I’ve got to get you to a doctor”.
She wanted to get Heath down so she could get a better look at his
injury, but she was none to sure she could ever get him back up in the saddle
again. So, they kept on.
Audra
was supporting more and more of Heath’s weight and each time the horse stepped
forward Heath groaned through gritted teeth.
“Hang on Heath,” she said gently – “it’s only a little
farther.”
……sure
enough as they rounded a bend in the trail, she could see the lanterns from the
bars on Stockton’s waterfront glowing in the distance.
Yawning,
Audra made her way downstairs and
into the dining room. Isn’t this
how yesterday started, she thought to herself?
But, what had happened in between the past two mornings (my God had it
only been 24 hours!) was almost too much to think about.
They’d
made it into town. The doctor had
set Heath’s collarbone and bound his arm tightly to his chest.
The doctor said he probably wouldn’t be using that arm for a couple of
months. Well, she thought, being
laid up for a while was certainly preferable to what she had feared in her heart
would happen only a few short hours ago. She
still couldn’t believe she had got them both out of there.
The dear lord certainly had been on her side last night.
The
sheriff had seen her ride into town with Heath.
He told them Silas had ridden in only an hour earlier, in a panic, with a
wild story and a ransom note. He
had been rounding up a posse when they’d ridden in.
He shook his head in disbelief when she told him the whole story.
“We’ll head out right now, Miss Audra- we should be out there by
morning and I promise you we’ll round those men up.
They won’t be bothering you or your family again.”
She
and the doctor had wanted Heath to stay in town – at least until morning.
But Heath, stubborn as ever – had insisted on getting home.
Audra shook her head, thinking to herself, that
she was sure Heath was actually thinking of the work he thought he needed to be
doing. Well, she’d darn well make
sure he did nothing of the kind. She’d
keep him in bed if she had to tie him in.
It
had been daylight when they’d arrived home.
After seeing Heath settled in bed and resting comfortably she’d taken a
long bath, trying to soak away all thoughts of the past night.
Now she was in need of a cup of coffee.
Truthfully though, she was pretty proud of herself.
Her brothers’ might tease her about her clothes and her beaus but she
now knew, what she’d always known in her heart – that she could be just as
brave as any Barkley – man or woman.
Lost
in her thoughts, she didn’t see Heath slowly make his way into the room.
He stopped, leaning tiredly against the door.
Audra looked up. “WHAT ARE
YOU DOING OUT OF BED!”, she scolded as she went to his side.
“Audra”,
he said quietly and earnestly. “I had to thank you for what you did.
You saved my life last night.” He
rushed on as she helped him to a chair… “You were amazing and I’m so sorry
for getting you into all of it, I should have never let you come along, you
could have been killed.” “Oh
for heaven’s sake Heath, hush”, she cut him off before he could embarrass
her further. “What are you
talking about? I didn’t do
anything you wouldn’t have done for me – it’s what family does – look
out for each other”. I’m glad I
was there. I love you, and Nick and
Jarrod. I’d do anything for my
brothers. And anyway, I told you
yesterday that I was tired of eating breakfast alone.
Now I’ve got you here for all three meals”, she smiled brightly at
her brother.
Anything
Heath might have planned to say to his sister was drowned out by the front door
banging open and Nick’s booming voice yelling, “Audra, Heath I’m home”!
“Silas, where’s breakfast?!”
Audra
smiled, shaking her head. “In
here Nick, and quit that bellering, you sound like a fishwife.”
Nick ambled into the dining room. Seeing
Audra first he rolled his eyes and said, “still in your nightgown Audra?”
“I suppose you’ve just been lazing around the house since I’ve
been……. He stopped when he saw Heath. “What
happened to you?” he said with obvious concern.
It’s
a long story. Get us some breakfast
why don’t you and quit picking on Audra.”
Nick looked perplexed but went to the sideboard to fix them plates of
food.
Audra
smiled happily to herself. Things
were back to normal.
*****End*****
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