Nate didn’t wait to hear any more. He remembered what was in the pantry. Rising, he went to throw his shoulder against the door, but then he had a better idea. He darted to the window and compared its width to the width of his shoulders. He could make it. Taking half a dozen quick steps back, he set the Hawken down, lowered his head, and hurtled at the red curtains.
Inside the cabin, Tyne screamed.
Throwing his arms out in front of him, Nate dived through the window. The curtains proved no hindrance. They tore free under his weight and wrapped around his head and shoulders. He landed on his side, and rolled. For a few anxious moments he imagined Philberta about to shoot him as he struggled to free himself from the red folds, but when he cast them aside she was in the pantry, one arm around Tyne’s waist and the other at the girl’s throat, trying to hoist a struggling Tyne up and impale her on the meat hook.
“Nate!” Aunt Aggie cried. Ropes bound her wrists to the arms of the rocking chair and her ankles to the legs. Blood seeped from a bullet wound in her right shoulder.
Philberta saw him. A look of raw hate and crazed ferocity came over her. Suddenly screeching in rage, she lifted Tyne off the floor and turned her so Tyne’s back was to the meat hook.
“Mr. King!” Tyne wailed, kicking and twisting, tears streaming down her face. “She’s going to kill me!”
Not if Nate could help it. He was not aware of drawing his bowie but it was in his hand when he reached the pantry door.
Philberta couldn’t lift Tyne high enough. Suddenly flinging the girl against the shelves, she reached behind her. When her hand reappeared, she held the two blood-spattered knitting needles. “I’ve had enough of you!” she shrieked, and was on him in a whirlwind of flying arms and needles.
Parrying with the bowie, Nate gave way. He wanted Philberta out of the pantry and away from Tyne. His ploy worked. Snarling and hissing, Philberta came after him.
Nate retreated faster. He bumped into the table and shifted to dash around to the other side to put the table between him and Philberta. But she was too fast. A needle sliced into his arm. She raised her other arm to stab him in the face. That was when he drove the bowie into her chest, clear to the hilt. Philberta gasped, and threw her head back. The gasp became a gurgle as Nate twisted the blade, severing her heartstrings.
Philberta looked at him and the light of insanity faded from her eyes. Or so Nate thought until she said, “Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep.” And then she was gone.
Nate pulled the bowie out and stepped back. Suddenly Tyne was there, throwing her arms around his legs and crying into his buckskins. “She’s gone,” Nate said. “It’s all right.” But it would never be completely all right for either of them, ever again.
Aunt Aggie cleared her throat. “When you two are ready, I am tired of sitting in this chair.”
Nate picked up Tyne and carried her over. A few strokes and the deed was done. Aggie took the girl in her arms and held her close, and together they walked out of the cabin into the clear bright light of day.
The Wilderness series:
#1: KING OF THE MOUNTAIN
#2: LURE OF THE WILD
#3: SAVAGE RENDEZVOUS
#4: BLOOD FURY
#5: TOMAHAWK REVENGE
#6: BLACK POWDER JUSTICE
#7: VENGEANCE TRAIL
#8: DEATH HUNT
#9: MOUNTAIN DEVIL HAWKEN FURY (Giant Edition)
#10: BLACKFOOT MASSACRE
#11: NORTHWEST PASSAGE
#12: APACHE BLOOD
#13: MOUNTAIN MANHUNT
#14: TENDERFOOT
#15: WINTERKILL
#16: BLOOD TRUCE
#17: TRAPPER’S BLOOD
#18: MOUNTAIN CAT
#19: IRON WARRIOR
#20: WOLF PACK
#21: BLACK POWDER
#22: TRAIL’S END
#23: THE LOST VALLEY
#24: MOUNTAIN MADNESS
#25: FRONTIER MAYHEM
#26: BLOOD FEUD
#27: GOLD RAGE
#28: THE QUEST
#29: MOUNTAIN NIGHTMARE
#30: SAVAGES
#31: BLOOD KIN
#32: THE WESTWARD TIDE
#33: FANG AND CLAW
#34: TRACKDOWN
#35: FRONTIER FURY
#36: THE TEMPEST
#37: PERILS OF THE WIND
#38: MOUNTAIN MAN
#39: FIREWATER
#40: SCAR
#41: BY DUTY BOUND
#42: FLAMES OF JUSTICE
#43: VENGEANCE
#44: SHADOW REALMS
#45: IN CRUEL CLUTCHES
#46: UNTAMED COUNTRY
#47: REAP THE WHIRLWIND
#48: LORD GRIZZLY
#49: WOLVERINE
#50: PEOPLE OF THE FOREST (Giant Edition)
#51: COMANCHE MOON
#52: GLACIER TERROR
#53: THE RISING STORM
#54: PURE OF HEART
#55: INTO THE UNKNOWN
#56: IN DARKEST DEPTHS
