'How soon will I see them? ' 'They're meeting us in Red Arrow, ' he
answered. 'We'll probably get there before Cole and Jessica, but they
might surprise us and meet our train.'
'Red Arrow's the last stop then? Does that mean I have to ride a horse
to Blackwater? ' Her worry made him smile. 'You can ride with me, or
I'll find a buggy somewhere.' She stared down at her hands and
whispered, 'This is all wrong. If I had come forward sooner, Grace and
Jessica wouldn't be living in fear.'
'Why didn't you tell the truth in the beginning? Was it fear? ' 'Yes,
' she said.
'Ma'am, you can get into serious trouble lying to an officer of the
law, ' Deputy Cobb called out. His friend Spencer nodded his
agreement.
'You could go to jail for that offense, ' Spencer added.
'What does it matter? ' Rebecca asked. 'I'm already in trouble. I'm
going to be hunted by those criminals, and it will be a miracle if I
survive. I don't understand why they haven't tried yet. What are they
waiting for? Why haven't they tried to silence me? ' 'They've been
busy, that's why.' Daniel answered her question from the doorway.
He came down the stairs and handed Cooper a telegram. 'Another bank's
been robbed, ' he said. 'Sixty miles southeast of here.' Cooper
swore. 'Was it clean? ' Daniel looked grim. 'No.'
'What did you mean when you asked Daniel if it was clean? ' Rebecca
asked.
Daniel turned to answer her. 'He was asking me if there were any
carualties.' Rebecca paled. 'How many were killed? ' 'Three men, '
Daniel answered. 'All of them were employees of the bank.'
'Those poor men, ' she whispered.
Daniel had motioned to Cooper to follow him to the corner of the
garden. In a low voice he said, 'There was something different about
this one.'
'What? ' Cooper asked.
'Every desk inside the bank was overturned, and a copy of the Rockford
Gazette was nailed to the wall. There was blood all over it. '
'They're telling us they know we have a witness. 2^ Daniel nodded.
