“Is there nothing in this park that von’t kill you?” Lercher asked, heavy voice incredulous.
“Nothing, Private,” she called back. “Best you remember that.”
As they reined in in front of the hotel, she turned to Lieutenant Prescott again. If anything, he looked slightly bemused, brows down and mouth in a firm line.
“Have you planned what route you’ll take on your patrol yet?” she asked.
He raised his head. “My hope was to cover all the locations of most interest to tourists as well as areas frequented by poachers in the past. At the moment, we’re following the circuit road from the forks of the Firehole River to the Geyser Gateway.”
“A sensible route,” Kate allowed. “You’ll be able to keep the peace with the tourists. You may miss the poachers, though. They don’t generally stay at the hotels.” She gripped the smooth leather pommel with one hand and twisted as much as she could in the sidesaddle to point with her other hand toward the north.
“Start at the forks as you intended. I’ll show you other areas to patrol near there another day. As you head south, you’ll pass through some meadows—detour through them and watch for recent kills. That will alert you to poachers. They tend to leave a mess.”
“No hot pools or boiling geysers there?” Franklin asked.
“Not in that area, but the closer you get to the Geyser Gateway, the more you’ll find,” Kate explained. She swiveled again so she could point west. “Beyond the geyser field, you’ll reach Tangled Creek. It takes the runoff from the geysers, so it can be warm. I wouldn’t drink from it. Follow it up and around that hill, and you’ll find a footbridge over the Firehole. You might want to check that area as well.”
Now came the tricky part. She couldn’t trust any of them, not even Lieutenant Prescott, with the secret. Word might get out.
“Don’t go more than a few yards beyond the river unless I am with you,” she said, making sure to meet each gaze in turn. “That area has a number of hidden dangers. I wouldn’t want you to lose your horse or your life.”
They were all staring at her. Private Lercher’s blue eyes were wide, his big jaw hanging slack. Private O’Reilly leaned from the saddle and spit, but whether to emphasize her warning or disagree with it, she wasn’t sure. Well, her admonitions were for their own good. She hardly wanted another death on her hands.
She turned to Lieutenant Prescott. “That ought to be sufficient guidance to know your way around the immediate area. Was there anything else you needed right now?”
“No, ma’am, much obliged.” His voice held a note of relief. Had he thought her too authoritative? Well, how else was she to protect him and his men? Toby hadn’t listened to her, but the cavalry surely knew how to obey orders.
He nodded to his men. “Lercher, O’Reilly, you’re on patrol. Escort the others back to camp, start at the Fire Hole Hotel, and work your way south as Mrs. Tremaine advised. Waxworth and Smith will spell you this afternoon. Franklin and I will make a final sweep this evening. Dismissed.”
His men turned their mounts and headed out of the yard, studiously avoiding the geysers and mud pots.
“At least they’re following the path I suggested,” Kate said, watching them.
“For now,” he said. “Do you need help getting down?”
She buttoned up her skirt, lifted her leg over the pommel, and slid from the sidesaddle to land on the chalky ground. “No, but thank you for offering.”
He shook his head. “You’re an independent woman, Mrs. Tremaine.”
“That’s the best kind,” Kate told him with a grin.
“Can’t argue there.”
Well, that was a first. She’d met quite a few gentlemen in the last year who thought a woman couldn’t manage a hotel in the wilderness. His response was warm enough that she thought he’d smile, but he looked toward the road, where his men were disappearing around the bend.
“I hope they heed your warnings,” he said. “A few of them have been recruited in the last couple of years, but most are veterans of the Indian Wars. They don’t scare easily.”
“That’s a shame,” Kate said, gathering the reins. “Tell me, Lieutenant, can you reason with a native?”
He frowned, gaze coming back to her. “Depends on the native, but then I would say that about most people.”
“You can’t reason with nature. Scalding water is scalding, whether you meant to touch it or not. And grizzlies don’t wait for an explanation before attacking.”
Her hands were starting to shake. She gripped the reins tighter, and Aster, one of her riding horses, stamped her feet, head bobbing. She reached up to stroke the mare’s neck. At least she could calm her horse even if she couldn’t calm her thoughts.
“I recognize the dangers,” he told her. “I just wonder how many of my men will take your lessons to heart.”
“That’s their choice,” Kate acknowledged. “All I can do is warn them.”
“You can lead a horse away from scalding water,” he said, one side of his mouth turning up, “but you can’t stop him from returning.”
“You most certainly can,” Kate insisted. “You can lock him in the barn.”
He shook his head. “I can’t lock a cavalry horse in the barn or confine my men to camp. They have work to do.”
“Work I want them to do,” she assured him, just as Elijah drove the coach up in front of the hotel. “I just don’t want to see anyone hurt while doing it.”
He nodded toward the paint pots. “Even him?”
She followed his gaze and puffed out a sigh. Sir Winston had evidently decided to take one last look around before leaving, for he was bending entirely too close to the pot in easiest reach. She wrapped the reins about the hitching post. “Excuse me.”
She navigated the safest path out onto the field. In places on either side, the fragile amber-colored crusts were dented by recent footsteps. The fool! He could have fallen in a dozen times. Then she
