'Are you going to tell them the fire was set? ' Daniel took the bottle
from Cole and put both of them on the ground next to a tree. 'Not yet,
' he said. 'I don't want to scare them any more than they already
are.
' Cole looked at the house. 'What a hell of a night, ' he muttered.
'Let's get everyone settled, ' Daniel said. 'There's too many people
here. I don't like crowds.' The marshals could hear Rebecca issuing
orders as they headed back to the front lawn. She had stepped forward
and had taken charge with a vengeance. She sounded like a military
commander who wasn't going to take no for an answer, and the crowd she
was ordering about responded like new recruits. They did whatever she
told them to do.
Jessica and Grace didn't know what they would have done if it hadn't
been for their friend organizing the townspeople. Neighbors were sent
home to fetch blankets for the women and the baby, Dr. Lawrence was
encouraged to open his home for Tilly until she could make other
arrangements, men were told to bring the wagon to the hotel, and a
brigade was established to haul water and put out the fire before it
spread to the field beyond.
No one was allowed to stand idle. There was work to be done, and
Rebecca was determined to see that it was completed as quickly as
possible.
Less than thirty minutes later, the bone-weary group headed to the
hotel. Although Grace protested vehemently, Daniel insisted on
carrying her. Cole carried Caleb, who was fast asleep before they
reached the street. Rebecca came up with the suggestion that Jessica
and Caleb take one of the marshal's rooms for the night and Grace take
the other one.
Since the hotel was full, the lawmen could sleep outside.
Cole and Daniel had other intentions. They weren't about to let the
women out of their sight. Daniel was going to stand guard in the
lobby, and Cole would stay upstairs to watch the hallways, but their
plans changed when they ran into Sheriff Sloan as he was tiptoeing out
of the hotel.
Daniel told him what had happened and ordered him to sit outside
Rebecca's door. Sloan readily agreed, for he was extremely embarrassed
that he hadn't even known about the fire. He had been otherwise
occupied, and from the smug, sated look on his face, Cole and Daniel
knew exactly what he'd been doing.
The night manager was appalled at the sight of the sootcovered men and
