from him,' Travis said.
'That was years ago,' Millie interjected. 'I was pretty then.'
'You're prettier now,' Travis told her. 'John's still carrying his shotgun, isn't he?'
Millie blushed with pleasure and hurried out of the room.
'What are the two of you doing up in high country?' John asked with yet another worried glance at One-Eyed Jack.
'I'm escorting Emily to Golden Crest. She's meeting someone there.'
Emily was relieved he hadn't given Mr. Perkins any other details.
Travis couldn't stomach looking at One-Eyed Jack's infernal grin another second.
'Emily, tell Jack to stop smiling. He's giving me the chills.'
'I think his smile is charming,' she replied. She reached across the table and patted Jack's hand. 'Don't pay any attention to him, Jack. He's just in a contrary mood.'
'Want me to shoot him for you, Miss Emily?'
The question didn't faze her this time. 'No, Jack, but thank you for offering.'
Travis decided to ignore both Emily and Jack. He turned to John again and remarked, 'You're light on guests tonight.'
'We won't be light for long,' John replied. 'Ben Corrigan stopped by on his way home from River's Bend to visit with Millie and me for a spell, and he told me five men from Murphy's outfit are headed this way. They'll expect to spend the night, but if they give me any back talk at all, I'm tossing them out. They're all low-down, thieving troublemakers.' He turned and raised his voice so his wife could hear him in the kitchen. 'Millie, you'd better hide the money you've got tucked inside the cookie jar.' Turning back to his guests, he said, 'Travis, I'd keep an eye on your woman if I were you.'
Travis nodded agreement. He didn't bother to correct John's misconception that Emily was his woman and, in fact, had to admit he kind of liked the sound of it.
The realization made him frown. She was soon going to be O'Toole's woman, he reminded himself, and he would probably never see her again.
'Looks like I won't be getting much sleep tonight,' he said, accepting what he was going to have to do to keep Emily safe.
'Why is that?' Emily asked.
He doubted if she'd get any sleep either if he told her what Murphy's men were capable of, and so he decided not to answer her question and changed the subject instead.
'What other news did Corrigan have to tell you?'
'He mentioned there was a United States marshal poking around up here.'
Jack Hanrahan's head snapped up, and he was suddenly mighty interested in the conversation. 'What for?' he muttered. 'The law ain't no good in these parts.'
Jack was wrong, but neither John nor Travis felt inclined to tell him so.
'The marshal's searching for some men, and from the rumors Corrigan heard, they're about as bad as men can be. Word has it they've killed a woman and a child. The little girl was just three years old, and the bastards ought to hang for that. The marshal wants to haul them back to Texas to stand trial.'
'The marshal's from Texas?'
'That's what Corrigan told me.'
'Did he mention his name?'
'I don't recollect that he did. Why are you so interested in the marshal? I'd stay away from him if I were you. Corrigan said that when he was introducing himself to him, he was suddenly feeling real thankful he'd led such a law-abiding life. The marshal gave him the shivers, all right, with those cold blue eyes staring down at him. Corrigan told me he hopes he never runs into him again. That's what he said, all right.'
'I'm looking for a man who goes by the name of Daniel Ryan. He stole something from my mother, and one way or another, I'm going to get it back. All Mama Rose remembers about him is that he's big, he has blue eyes, and he's from Texas.'
'You aren't thinking the marshal's the man you're after, are you?'
John didn't give Travis time to answer him, but continued on. 'It could be just a coincidence. Lots of men have blue eyes,' he reasoned. 'Maybe the gang he's after comes from Texas too, and one of them could have blue eyes.'
'Mama Rose told me Ryan was very refined. They were close to our territory when they parted company at the train station, but he had already mentioned to her that he was headed north.'
'I don't suppose the men the lawman's searching for are refined. Still, you could be climbing up the wrong tree, thinking the marshal's the thief. There might be other Texans roaming through these hills. You know how they like to bring their cattle up to graze on our land.'
Travis shook his head. 'None of them would bring their herds this high up the mountain. Besides, the man I'm looking for was spotted in River's Bend a couple of days ago, and didn't you say Corrigan had just come from there?'
'I did,' John replied. 'It sure looks like Corrigan met up with the man you're wanting, all right. If the Texan keeps to the northwestern trail, he'll have to come through this area, and you just might run into him too. If you don't mind my asking, what'd he steal from your mother?'
'A compass she was going to give to one of my brothers.'
'A compass don't seem valuable,' Jack said. 'Is it?'
'It is to my brother,' Travis told him.
'Maybe I'll steal it off the Texan and keep it for myself,' Jack boasted. 'Which brother was supposed to get the compass?'
'Cole.'
'Never mind, then,' Jack hastily decided. 'I don't want him trailing me.'
'You don't want any of the Claybornes trailing you,' John said, clearly exasperated. 'Not if you want to live to be an old man.'
He turned back to Travis again and shook his head. 'It isn't unheard of for a lawman to turn bad, but it sure makes me sick to think about it. It just isn't right.'
'John, it's real doubtful the marshal is the man I'm looking for. I can't imagine a lawman putting his reputation on the line for such a petty crime. The compass is valuable, yet it's insignificant compared to the gold shipments and banknotes the marshal has surely recovered in the past.'
Emily had listened to the discussion and couldn't resist offering her opinion. 'If the marshal has your mother's compass, I'm sure he'll bring it back to her.'
Travis couldn't resist teasing her. 'That's what Mama Rose believes, and it's going to break her heart when she finally realizes she's been duped. The Texan has had plenty of time to bring it back. He's keeping it, all right. Still, I'm not certain the marshal is Daniel Ryan.'
'I sure wish I'd gotten his name from Corrigan,' John interjected.
Emily was becoming passionate about the matter. She shook her head at both men and said, 'If the marshal accidentally took the compass, returning it is probably the last thing on his mind. Remember, he's searching for criminals.'
'If he accidentally took it? What kind of an argument is that, Emily? No one accidentally steals anything.'
'It could happen,' she argued. 'You're making assumptions based on nothing but a few paltry coincidences. Surely you can see that I'm right.'
He hid his smile. Emily was filled with righteous indignation as she defended the man she had never even met. She was correct about jumping to conclusions, of course, but he wasn't going to tell her so. The debate would end then, and he was having such a good time arguing with her, he wanted to continue on. He liked the way her eyes sparkled whenever he said something she took exception to, and she found it impossible to make a point without waving her hands around, a trait he thought was delightful, even though he had to dodge getting hit a couple of times. He also liked the way her voice turned so earnest and trembled with her demand that he be reasonable.
Come to think of it, he liked just about everything about her. She was going to be difficult to leave in Golden
