At one point Jess said, “Do you remember that family in the wagon? The settlers who aimed to build a cabin in the foothills?”
Jordy chuckled. “The husband sure was a trusting soul. The look on his face when Cutter stuck him!”
Cutter’s cruel features curled in one of his rare grins. “I got him low down, and he squealed like a stuck pig. It took the yack a long time to die.”
Is it any wonder my thoughts turned to the dark depths to which a perverse soul may sink? I slept fitfully, tossing and turning, and must have woken up half a dozen times.
Toward dawn my eyes suddenly opened. I lay on my back, staring up at the stars and contemplating the fickle nature of fate. It depressed me, so I rolled onto my side to try and get back to sleep.
For a few seconds I could not make sense of what I was seeing.
Jess Hook and Cutter were snoring. Jordy Hook was supposed to be keeping watch. He was seated by the fire, which had dwindled to tiny flames, his forehead on his knee, his rifle by his side. He had dozed off.
An arm’s length from him, on her belly, was Blue Water Woman. As I set eyes on her, she slid one arm forward, then a leg.
She was not waiting a day or two.
She was making her bid now.
My insides churned. If Jordy or one of the others woke up, there was no telling what they would do to her.
Blue Water Woman inched forward. She was close enough now to touch him. Her hand snaked toward the knife on Jordy’s hip. He mumbled in his sleep, and she froze. When he stopped, she extended her arm all the way and lightly grasped the hilt.
I scarcely breathed. I glanced at Jess and Cutter. They slept on, undisturbed.
Blue Water Woman started to ease the knife from its sheath. She had it almost out when that which I feared most, occurred.
Jordy Hook grunted, opened his eyes and sat up.
Chapter Fifteen
Some moments we never forget. They are indelibly seared into our memories. When we think of them, they are as fresh as when they happened.
This was one of those moments for me. I thought for sure Jordy would yell and the others would leap up, with dire consequences.
But quick as lightning, Blue Water Woman drew his knife and plunged it into his ribs. Jordy’s back arched and his mouth opened. She clamped her other hand over his lips before he could yell, and like a punctured water skin he deflated and sank onto his side on top of his rifle. She tugged at the weapon, but it would not come free. She snatched one of his pistols instead. Then, yanking the knife out and beckoning to me, she rose into a crouch and moved toward the horses.
I was on my feet and at her heels in a twinkling. I was stunned, my mind sluggish. We were halfway to the string when I realized that if we rode off, I would have to leave my journal, paintings and sketches behind. I could not do that. I stopped.
Blue Water Woman reached the first horse. She glanced back, and motioned.
I shook my head. I refused to leave my work in the hands of cutthroats who might destroy it.
She motioned a second time, urgently.
I had to make her understand. I hurried toward her to explain.
That was when the horse, apparently smelling the blood on the knife, whinnied.
Jess Hook rose onto his elbows. He saw his brother. He saw us. His hand swooped to his pistols and he roared, “Cutter! They’re trying to get away!”
Fingers wrapped around my arm, and I was pulled bodily into the dark. I did not resist. Too much was happening too fast.
A flintlock boomed and lead buzzed past my ear. Suddenly my life took precedence over my work, and when Blue Water Woman broke into a run, so did I. Fortunately, she retained her grip on my arm. It was pitch-black in the forest, and I could barely see her. Trees and other objects streaked by. How she managed, I can’t say.
The crackle of underbrush warned me of pursuit. From the sounds, only one of them was after us. I suspected it was Cutter. Jess would be checking Jordy; his rage would be boundless.
Blue Water Woman was uncanny. She threaded swiftly through the trees, avoiding obstacles with a facility that made me marvel. And she did so while making no more noise than a wraith. I wish I could say the same, but compared to her, I was a blundering ox.
I stepped on a dry twig. At the crunch, the night behind us flared with thunder and a tree I was passing thudded to the impact of a slug. I ran faster.
Soon we came to a slope and started down. I was running blind, relying completely on Blue Water Woman.
A sudden blow to the forehead rocked me on my heels. I had blundered into a low tree limb. Everything spun. My knees were wobbly. I staggered and groped for Blue Water Woman. Her hands found my arm, and she pulled me down to the ground and placed a palm over my mouth. Her warm lips brushed my ear.
“Be still, Robert.”
Cutter was crashing toward us. Apparently he had thrown stealth to the wind. The crashing stopped about fifteen feet away, and I spied his silhouette. He cursed and turned right and left.
He had lost us!
From the camp came a shout.
“Cutter! Get back here! Jordy’s hurt bad! I need your help right away!”
Swearing anew, Cutter wheeled and flew back up the mountain.
I was both elated and vexed. Elated that we had gotten away but vexed at leaving my work, which was everything to me. I was also disturbed that Jordy still lived.
Blue Water Woman did not move. I was growing impatient when she at last whispered in my ear, “We can go on.”
“You, not me,” I said.
Her face loomed so near that our noses practically touched. “What are you saying, Robert?”
“I can’t leave my work. All I have gone through will have been in vain.”
“You cannot go back. They will kill you.”
“Maybe not,” I said hopefully. “But it is a risk I must take. In the meantime, fetch your husband and the Kings.” I started to stand, but she still had hold of my arm and did not let go. “Release me, if you please.”
“I cannot let you do this.”
“Don’t worry about me,” I said. “The important thing is that you are safe.” Even more important were the fruits of my weeks of labor, but I did not come right out and say that.
“When I said I cannot let you, I meant it.” So saying, Blue Water Woman pressed the tip of the blade against the back of my right hand. A sharp pain shot up my arm. I tried to recoil but she held me fast.
“What in God’s name are you doing?” I demanded.
“You are coming with me whether you want to or not. Refuse, and you will never paint another animal or make another entry in your journal unless you learn to do so with your other hand.”
Her meaning was clear. “You wouldn’t!”
“I will save you however I must.”
“It is my decision to make, not yours. You have no right to force me against my will.”
“I will not have your death on my conscience.” Without taking the tip of the knife from my hand, Blue Water Woman pulled me to my feet and we resumed our flight.
I was horror-struck. One misstep, and the blade would slice into my hand, severing tendons and nerves.
Gradually, my horror gave way to simmering fury. We had gone about two hundred yards and I had lost sight
