When he felt he was getting nearer the fire, he dismounted and left John Henry standing alone, untethered. He knew the old gelding was not going anywhere, and he wanted the horse to be able to respond to a whistle.
He crept closer to the campfire and saw some-body hunkered down by the fire, his back to him. Off to the right a horse was picketed, a big gray mare. Decker moved into the circle of light quietly and, approaching the figure, discovered how small the person was. He left his gun in his holster and decided to just use his hands.
He grabbed the man around the chest and straightened up, lifting him up off his feet.
“All right, friend, let’s have a talk.”
The man kicked and struggled and then said, “You ain’t lettin’ me breathe, damn it!”
Startled, Decker opened his arms and let his captive drop to the ground. The voice had not been a man’s but a woman’s—or more to the point, a girl’s.
Felicia Wheeler.
“Damn you, Decker,” she swore, getting to her feet, “you trying to kill me?”
“You little whipper!” he said, staring at her. “What the hell are you doing dogging my trail—and if you swear again I’ll cuff you.”
“You—” she said, and cut herself off.
“Come on, explain yourself.”
“I want to be there when you find Brian Foxx.”
“Why?”
“Two reasons. I told you I’m interested in people like him—and you. I want to see who comes out on top.”
“And the second reason?”
“When it happens, I want to write about it.”
“Write about it?”
“But not for my grandfather’s paper. Nobody would see it. I want to write about it and send it to someplace big—someplace like Denver, or San Francisco…or maybe even New York.”
“And you’ve been following me all this time?”
“I followed your trail to South Bend, and then trailed you from there for a few days until I spotted you and laid back. You ain’t found nothing yet, have you?”
“No—except you, and you’re going home.”
“I am not!”
“What about your grandfather?”
“Grandpa can eat out for a while. All he lets me do is cook and clean.”
“Isn’t that what a woman is supposed to do?”
“Well, at least you admit I’m a woman!”
“Half a woman, anyway”
“I’m fourteen!”
“Like I said, half a woman. All right, come on.”
“Where?”
“Gather up your stuff. We’ll go Tomy camp and spend the night there. In the morning you’ll start back.”
“I ain’t.”
“You will or you’ll wish you had.”
“Why?”
“Because you’ll run your ass off trying to keep up with me.”
“I can travel as fast as you can.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, let’s collect your gear, junior. You just might get a chance to prove that.”
When they got back to his fire, they reheated her coffee and each had a cup.
“What are you gonna do when you find Foxx?”
“Take him in.”
“Where?”
“Wherever we’re closest to where he’s wanted.”
“Did you think any about what I said back in town when you left?”
He knew what she meant, and he really hadn’t thought about it that much.
“Two men, Decker. Think about it. How else could they pull jobs in different places at the same time?”
“But they’d have to look the same.”
“You never heard of twins?”
“Twins!” He shook his head. “That’s farfetched, Felicia. You been reading too many dime novels.”
“Then you explain it.”
“It might be two men, one made up to look like Brian Foxx.”
“Made up?”
“Like an actor.”
“But how would they be identical? Wouldn’t somebody notice
“Maybe they’re not identical. All we have are some physical descriptions to go on. Lots of people can sound identical that way.”
“Why don’t you want to admit that I might be right?”
He frowned, not liking the idea that she might be right. Twins! It sounded silly.
“You’d better get some rest, youngster,” he said, instead of answering. “I’m gonna run your tail off tomorrow.”
She grinned and said, “You’ll try, but don’t forget, I tracked you this far.”
As she rolled up in her blanket, he admitted to himself that he was pretty damned impressed with this fourteen-year-old—and a girl, at that!
Chapter XV
Decker upped his pace the next day to try and tire out Felicia and the mare she called Nellie.
When they mounted up that morning, Felicia cast a critical eye John Henry’s way
“He must have been a fine horse in his time,” she said.
“He’s a fine horse anytime.”
“He’s a little old, don’t you think? What is he, about eleven? Twelve?”
“He’s nine.”
“And he’s a little small.”
“He’s big enough.”
“I don’t think he’ll be able to keep up with Nellie.”
Decker mounted up and said to her, “Shut up and ride.”
Felicia was a surprise to Decker. She was able to keep up most of the way and never complained about the pace.
When they camped for dinner, Felicia volunteered Tomake it if Decker would build the fire. They went about their chores and eventually were seated around the fire, eating bacon, beans, and biscuits with coffee.
During the meal Felicia tossed an admiring look John Henry’s way.
“I’m sorry about what I said about John Henry this morning.”
“He doesn’t mind,” Decker assured her. “He enjoys proving people wrong.”
“Doesn’t he ever get tired?”
