the perfect portrait of a stricken spouse. The sympathy alone should gain me a lot of votes in the next election.”
Fargo was beginning to realize that the senator was one of the most dangerous men he ever went up against. He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. Politicians didn’t have the best of reputations. He just never imagined they could be such vicious bastards.
The flap opened again. Fargo twisted, expecting Owen and Lichen, but it was the pint-sized rattlesnake.
“Gerty!” Rebecca exclaimed. “Quickly. Go fetch Mr. Harris and the other men. Tell them I need to see them right away.”
Gerty smiled sweetly at the senator. “Should I, Father? Should I do as my
They both laughed, and the daughter went over and put her arm around her father.
“My God,” Rebecca breathed.
“Must you always be so melodramatic?” Keever criticized her. “All of us die. It’s just a question of when.”
Rebecca didn’t give up. She appealed to the girl, saying, “Did you hear him, Gerty? Your father plans to murder me, and to have Mr. Fargo killed by the Sioux. You must tell the men. Not Owen or Lichen but the others. Run, child. Our lives are in your hands.”
“Isn’t she funny, Father?”
“Gerty?” Rebecca said.
“All the times I’ve told you and you didn’t hear me.” Gerty put her hands on her hips and glared. “I
All the blood drained from Rebecca’s face. “How could I have been so stupid?”
“Oh, please,” Keever said in disgust. “You brought this on yourself. All you had to do was play the good wife. But no.” He patted Gerty on the shoulder. “Would you be a dear and go see what is keeping Mr. Owen?”
“Certainly, Father.”
But the girl had hardly taken a step when in came the man in question and his shadow.
“Well?” Senator Keever prompted.
“Bear Claw was as good as his word. The white buffalo is with a herd about half a day’s ride west of here.”
“You’re sure you can find it?”
“Easy as pie. Lichen and I will take the first watch. As soon as the others are asleep, we can slip away. You’ll have your trophy by tomorrow night. I guarantee.”
Keever beamed. “I couldn’t be more pleased. You have done excellent work, and you’ll be properly rewarded.”
“All of you are unspeakably vile,” Rebecca said.
The senator sighed. “Mr. Lichen, would you be so good as to bind my darling wife? No need to be gentle with her. In fact, I insist you tie her so tight, it cuts off her circulation.”
“My pleasure.”
Rebecca bolted, or tried to. She shoved Lichen and was almost past the senator when Gerty flung out a foot and tripped her, spilling her hard onto her hands and knees. Owen’s revolver arced, and at the
Fargo swore through his gag.
Smiling, Keever placed his hand on Gerty’s head. “You did fine just then, my dear.”
“Anything for you, Father.” Gerty looked at Rebecca and then at Fargo. “Anything that gets these two dead.”
19
Skye Fargo was a keg of black powder set to explode. He had been tricked, used, and beaten. He had been lied to and led around like a bull with a ring through its nose. Worst of all, he was being set up to take the blame for a heinous act that would see the prairie run red with blood.
Lichen bound and gagged Rebecca and dragged her to the back of the tent. Drawing a knife, he cut a long slit, hooked his hands under her arms, and hauled her out, wriggling to squeeze through the canvas.
Senator Keever was acting extremely pleased with him self. “I’d leave my darling wife here with you, you understand, but I can’t run the risk of the Sioux not killing her. Some buck might take it into his fool head to take her for his woman, and the next thing, word would get out and the army or someone else would barter to get her back. So we dispose of her now.”
“How?” Fargo asked through his gag.
“What’s that? Did you ask how? I’ve left that up to Mr. Lichen. Just so he does it quick and gets back before I leave to go shoot the white buffalo.” Keever smoothed his jacket. “Come along, Gerty. We’ll go sit by the fire. We must do as we normally would until all the rest are asleep.”
“Yes, Father.”
Owen went to follow them and paused at the flap. “You won’t believe this, hoss, but I’m sorry it has to be like this. You and me, we’re a rare breed. We’re one of a kind.”
If not for the gag, Fargo would have said that there was a big difference between them. He had a few scruples; Owen didn’t have any.
“And in case you’re wondering, I’m doing this for the money. The senator is paying me ten thousand dollars. I lead him to the buff, I get him out of the Black Hills safe and healthy, and I have more money than I’ve ever seen at one time in all my born days.”
All Fargo could do was glare.
“For what it’s worth, I argued with him over having the Sioux kill you. I’d as soon do it myself. Quick and clean. Not because I like you but because no white man deserves to die as you’re going to die.”
The flap closed, and Fargo was alone. He wasted no time. With a heave of his shoulders he was up on his knees. He slid his fingers under his pant leg and down his boot. A tug, and the Arkansas toothpick was out of its sheath. Carefully reversing his grip, he cut at the rope binding his wrist. The rope was thick but the toothpick was razor sharp. The instant the rope parted, he sliced the loops around his legs.
Quickly, Fargo dashed to the back of the tent and squeezed through the slit. The woods were quiet save for the sounds from their camp. Staying low, he worked around toward the horse string. All the horses were there. Which meant Lichen had dragged Rebecca off on foot. They couldn’t be that far.
Fargo turned into the woods. It could be Lichen was going to kill her close to camp so that later, if anyone came to investigate and found her remains near the site of the massacre, they’d assume the Sioux had killed her, too.
Yes, the more Fargo thought about it, it sounded like something Senator Keever would do. The man was as crafty a bastard as ever drew breath.
Every sense alert, Fargo wound through the trees. He was afraid that in the dark he would miss them. He went fifty feet, a hundred, a hundred and fifty. A rustling noise to his left gave him hope. He slowed. On cat’s feet he stalked around a blue spruce. For a few seconds he couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing. There appeared to be someone lying on the ground. But it wasn’t one person, it was two.
Rebecca was on her back. She was still bound and gagged.
Stretched out next to her, freely running his hand over her body, was Lichen.
“Stop it, damn you. Try to knee me one more time and so help me God, I’ll slit your damn throat and be done with it.”
Rebecca tried to shout through her gag but all she managed were throaty gurgles.
“And stop that, too. They can’t hear. It’s just you and me. Your husband gave me permission to do whatever I please, and it pleases me to have some pleasure before I feed you to the worms.”
Fargo edged forward. He was in the open but Lichen’s back was to him.
“I’ve got to hand it to that husband of yours. He doesn’t miss a trick. It must come from all the conniving and
