There was no doubt about the other two. Ben had twisted Erickson’s head right off his body, and Dog had done for the third man.
Ben sagged against a tree trunk. As Frank hurried over to him, the giant smiled and said, “Fraaaank.”
“I don’t know where you came from, Ben, but I’m glad you got here when you did,” Frank said. “Were you hit by either of those shots?”
“Hiiiit?”
Carefully, Frank reached out. “Can I look under your coat?”
Ben didn’t make any move to stop him. Frank pulled the crazy quilt of pelts back and saw fresh crimson welling from a black-rimmed hole in Ben’s shirt.
“We need to get you some help, Ben,” Frank said. “I’m going to take you home.”
Ben pulled back and started to shake his head.
“Nancy’s there,” Frank went on. “I’m going to take you to see Nancy. You want that, don’t you?”
“Nan…cy,” Ben rasped. “See…Nan…cy.”
“Come with me then. Can you make it?”
Ben pushed away from the tree and took a staggering step. “Maaaake…it.”
There was no time now to find Wilcox and the other loggers, Frank thought. Grimshaw and the rest of Bosworth’s gunmen were on their way to the Chamberlain mansion. They had probably heard the shots, and that might speed them up even more. He would have to hope that Chamberlain’s men would be able to hold off any attack until he and Ben could get there.
Frank didn’t think that Bosworth would order a direct attack, though, at least not at first. The man was too devious for that. He would probably offer to trade Nancy’s safety for Chamberlain signing over that timber lease to him. Once that happened, then Bosworth would pull his double cross. With a signed lease in his pocket, no one was safe from Bosworth.
Stormy and Goldy started to shy away from Ben, but Frank stopped them with a word. He hated to ask Ben to run all the way to the mansion, but he didn’t have much choice.
As he was swinging up into the saddle, though, he heard a crashing in the brush, and then Wilcox, Peterson, Trotter, and Neville burst out into the open, brandishing guns. They jerked the weapons up when they saw Ben, who let out a furious roar and spread his arms as if he were about to charge them.
“Hold it!” Frank bellowed at the top of his lungs. “Put those guns down! Ben, stop! They won’t hurt you!”
For a tense second, the loggers didn’t lower their weapons. Then Wilcox motioned for the others to do as Frank said. “My God,” he said in a hollow voice. “I remember Old Man Chamberlain’s kid. That really is him, isn’t it?”
“Yeah,” Frank said. “Do you have that wagon with you?”
Wilcox jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Back there about a hundred yards. We heard the shootin’ and came to see what it was about.”
“Lead the way,” Frank ordered as he lifted the reins. “We have to get to the Chamberlain mansion as fast as we can, because there’s about to be a showdown there between him and Emmett Bosworth. And I reckon Bosworth has a trick or two up his sleeve.”
“If we help you with this…critter…we get to fight Bosworth and his bunch?”
“I’d say there’s a good chance of it.”
Wilcox nodded. “Come on, boys, let’s get that wagon. It’s about time Bosworth got what’s comin’ to him.”
“What about the Terror?” Neville asked.
Frank said, “Leave him to me.” He turned to the huge, foul-smelling giant. “Ben, listen to me. These men are our friends. They won’t hurt you, and you don’t need to hurt them.”
Ben didn’t look convinced. He waved a massive paw at the loggers and rumbled, “Cut down…treeees.”
“I know, and you don’t like that.” Frank was starting to understand why Ben had attacked the loggers. To Ben’s twisted way of thinking, he was just trying to protect the trees from them. All the other men Ben had gone after had attacked him first. “Right now it can’t be helped. We have to save Nancy. She’s in danger.”
“Nan…cy? Daaaanger?”
Frank nodded. “That’s right. Are you with me, Ben?”
Ben lifted both hands and curled them into fists the size of nail kegs. “Wiiiith…you,” he said. “Help…Nan… cy.”
“That’s right,” Frank said.
He just hoped they wouldn’t be too late.
Grimshaw had seen the Chamberlain mansion from a distance before, but it was even more impressive up close. Impressive—or downright bizarre, take your pick, he thought. He couldn’t imagine living in such a crazy place.
Chamberlain’s men must have seen them coming, because half a dozen of them rode out quickly to intercept the riders approaching the mansion. They were tough, hard-looking men, but they wouldn’t be any match for his bunch, Grimshaw told himself. For one thing, his men outnumbered Chamberlain’s men almost two to one.
Bosworth was already here. Grimshaw recognized the fancy carriage parked in front of the mansion. That meant Chamberlain probably knew already that they had the girl. From the angry looks on the faces of Chamberlain’s men as they approached, Grimshaw knew that was true.
He turned in the saddle and motioned for Radburn to bring Nancy up alongside him. Chamberlain’s men would
