He glanced back at her, and she knew he wasn’t the only one to look surprised by the strength in her voice. She felt it—bright and clean and sure. The fear was gone, replaced by a calm and a peace she wouldn’t have thought possible. That sort of peace came only from one place.
Thank you, Lord!
“Well done,” Will said. He edged back and took her hand, drawing her farther into the trees. As if assured they would be no threat, the grizzly lowered its head and continued on its way.
Kate took two steps and stumbled. Will’s hand was there to steady her. She shot him a grateful smile, straightened her shoulders, and headed back toward the hotel, clinging to him and her faith.
“Could Danny have been taken by those men from the Virginia City Outfitters?” she asked, voicing her second greatest concern as they neared the footbridge. “One of them threatened him.”
“We would have seen them ride back,” Will said, his presence a rock she could lean on. “And it’s open enough around the hotel. Alberta, Elijah, or Smith would have noticed a stranger.”
There was that. Yet why else would Danny be missing?
Private Smith was waiting on the veranda when they returned. Out on the geyser field, O’Reilly was calling, his figure partially hidden by the spray of a geyser. Danny’s name drifted back to her over the sizzle and pop of the mud pots. The call echoed from behind the inn in Lercher’s accented voice.
Smith straightened away from the railing as they drew closer.
“Waxworth rode south to check the road,” he reported in his drawl. “O’Reilly, Franklin, and Lercher are helping Elijah and Alberta search the property.”
“And what are you doing?” Will asked suspiciously, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Solving a mystery, I believe.” He handed Will a piece of rolled cloth. “A batch of these was delivered earlier from Captain Harris. He’d like them affixed to trees along the road and posted in public places.”
The printed muslin wrinkled in Will’s grip. “Later. Right now, our focus must be on Danny.”
Smith nodded to his hand. “If you look at it, it might tell you who took Danny and why.”
Kate’s head jerked up. “Took Danny? So, I was right? He was kidnapped.”
Smith spread his hands. “It’s a distinct possibility.”
Will unrolled the cloth, and Kate crowded closer.
Wanted, it read, for arson and poaching: Roy Jessup. The picture showed an older man with grizzled hair and crooked teeth.
“Jessup?” Will asked. “We’ve seen no sign of him near the Geyser Gateway.”
“I have,” Kate said, body starting to tremble. “That’s the man I know as Mr. Jones.”
Will stared at her. “Jones? Your elusive boarder?”
She nodded as he lowered the wanted poster. “Yes. But Alberta said he rode out earlier.”
“After offering to take Danny with him, I warrant,” Smith said.
Will rounded on him. “You knew.”
Smith held up his hands again, but this time in a gesture of surrender. “I met Jones while on patrol a while ago. We chatted. But I’d never encountered Jessup, so I didn’t make the connection. As soon as I saw that sketch, I knew. A shame, or I might have warned Danny.” He bowed toward Kate. “And you, Mrs. Tremaine.”
“But why?” Kate asked, glancing between them. “What could he want with Danny?”
“Can you think of a more willing guide to the area?” Smith asked.
Will couldn’t. Danny always wanted to share his special spot with people he considered friends, and he considered most people friends. Besides Kate, no one likely knew more about the Lower Geyser Basin than Danny. But Jessup had to realize they would come after him.
“Has Jessup ever shown interest in Danny?” Will asked her.
“Danny and the bison,” she acknowledged, shivering as if the day had cooled. “And me, for that matter, though I thought he was only trying to set up a dalliance.”
Something hot shot through him.
“Trying to set up a guide, more likely,” Smith said before Will could respond. “It was well known you were helping us, Mrs. Tremaine. He likely thought you and young Danny knew the best places to look.”
Will shook his head. “So, Jessup sneaks in under our noses, makes friends with Danny, tries to get him to tell him where to find the bison, and, when Danny resists, kidnaps him.”
“Will.” Kate’s voice was sharp. “What will he do? Will he hurt Danny to make him talk?”
It was possible. If Jessup hadn’t hesitated to start fires that could have caused a dozen deaths—near Mammoth Hot Springs and in the Lower Geyser Basin—he likely wouldn’t balk at harming a child. But Will refused to worry Kate with what might be.
“We need to find them,” he said. “We know Danny hadn’t told him the truth yet.”
Kate nodded, though Smith glanced between them as if wondering what Will meant.
“So, they must be somewhere else,” Will continued. “Where would Danny lead him?”
Kate started, eyes widening. “As far away from the bison as possible. The opposite direction.”
“Fairy Falls,” Will realized. “He hid from us there. He might hope to do the same with Jessup.” He whirled to face Smith. “Get Elijah, Lercher, and Franklin. I’ll call in O’Reilly. We’ll gather weapons and march in five.”
“I’m coming with you,” Kate said, head up and eyes flashing as brightly as the first day he’d met her. He’d pitied Ponsonby then for incurring her wrath. He wouldn’t want to be Jessup when she caught up to him.
“I was counting on you joining us,” he told her. “Fetch your rifle. We have a long walk ahead.”
Will was right. The walk to the falls seemed interminable. Though the sun remained high and the day warm, cold surrounded Kate as she gripped her rifle. Jessup had started fires, returned to the park when he had been warned to stay away, killed animals for profit. Would he stop at harming a little boy who stood in the way of his plans?
Trust, Kate. Remember, you don’t have to do this alone.
Alberta and Private Franklin had stayed at the hotel
