Slade picked up another rock, then looked at him. “I guess we’ve all made it sound like he was a pretty bad guy. Truth is, when he wasn’t drinking, he was a decent fellow. Pleasant enough when you came across him in the street. But he got into scuffles in the saloons, and there were accusations of cheating.”
A drunk and a cheat. But it didn’t add up. “None of this makes any sense to me. If my pa wasn’t a horrible person, then what could he have done that would have people trying to harm Annabelle and Nugget?”
The rocks clattered where Slade dropped them to the ground. “My theory is that some of the people he cheated at cards are trying to get their land back.”
Which would mean— “So there is silver?”
“Naw.” Slade shook his head. “They’re dirtier than Bad Billy. They probably want to seed the mines to make it look like there’s silver, sell it to some sucker to make a tidy profit. Then, the sucker runs out of money and is so desperate for a way home, they sell it back for a pittance. And then the cycle begins again. Happens all the time.”
And Slade was suggesting that he do the same thing. After all, no one would buy this land except for the hope of finding gold or silver.
Maybe Joseph was a sucker, too, but he had to believe that his pa hadn’t completely died in vain. There had to be silver out there somewhere. His family was counting on him. And he wasn’t sure he could live with himself given the alternative.
“Let me think on it. I’m not ready to completely give up on my pa’s dream.”
Slade nodded slowly. “You do that. Lots of folks waste everything they have on hopes of finding gold or silver. Most of them lose everything. I’d hate to see that happen to you.”
Another reminder of Annabelle and her words on the subject. She had more wisdom than anyone gave her credit for. She just didn’t understand the difficulty in separating the wise decision from the only chance he had at getting enough money to save his family.
The ride home wasn’t nearly as pleasant. In fact, the storm he had thought they’d so cleverly missed had come upon them with a vengeance—punishment for the stupidity of thinking they could avoid nature.
Joseph pushed his horse hard, trying to keep up with Slade, but Slade was a more skilled rider on a faster horse, and he didn’t seem at all concerned about leaving Joseph behind.
Nothing about the site where Joseph’s pa had died looked even remotely possible for having silver. At least according to Slade. Which meant that all the maps and even his pa’s strange code had done nothing to help.
It was tempting to stop in town at one of the land offices to see if he could sell the claims. But all he could think of was the sadness on Annabelle’s face about miners and their false dreams. Could he sell that to someone else? Could he live with putting another family through what his had been through?
No, he couldn’t.
His horse slipped on the wet rocks. Continuing was becoming a suicide mission, but as he glanced around, he saw no safe place to take cover.
Lightning struck nearby, sending tiny ripples of electricity through him and making the horse’s hair stand on end. Not deadly, but a warning of the power of nature. The horse reared, and Joseph did his best to control it as rocks slid under them, the edge of the ground giving way.
Though Joseph managed to get the horse settled, it had caused him to lose sight of Slade against the wind and rain. Another loud boom reminded Joseph that they were too high, and on a horse, he was almost the tallest thing around.
“Slade!” The shout went unanswered, and Slade was nowhere to be seen.
More ground gave way, and Joseph fumbled, trying to get out of the saddle, but his foot remained stuck in the stirrups. Both man and horse slid down the embankment. Behind them, rocks crashed, following like an avalanche, only with rain and mud and boulders.
“Come on.” He signaled the horse and spurred him sideways, out of the path of the rocks, but with his stuck foot, was largely ineffective in controlling the spooked horse.
The horse reared and sidestepped as rocks whizzed past his head. Joseph ducked and pressed his body close to the horse, not sure which was the more dangerous move—remaining on the animal, or taking his chances among the rocks.
As he looked up, he heard a boom, then another shower of boulders headed his way.
The next lightning bolt lit up the sky, for all the good it did. All it showed was the direness of the situation. A wall of water rushed down the side of the hill. Frank had warned him about flash floods, but never did he imagine that the water would rush past like a raging river at spring thaw. Joseph looked for an escape. At the rate they were going, they’d be caught in the water in no time. If a boulder didn’t catch them first. He spotted a break just to the right. Now if he could convince the horse to take it...
Tugging as hard as he could, he turned the horse toward the open space. It, too, spotted the chance at safety, and bolted in that direction.
Faster than he’d ever imagined a horse being able to go, the animal charged into the opening, then raced down the mountain. It was all Joseph could do to cling to the horse and pray that they would both somehow arrive at the bottom safely.
When they got to the bottom of the hill, a tree slid past them. Rocks were still coming down to the left of them, and a huge pile of boulders, rocks, trees and miscellaneous debris had
