Read Online Bride's Flight from Virginia City, Montana by Murray Pura - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Murray Pura
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sir.”
“Charlotte, this is your buckskin. What do you think, Cheyenne? Isn’t she a beauty?”
Cheyenne nodded and smiled. “Yah, sir.”
“Her name’s Marigold.” He helped Cheyenne into the saddle. “There you go, m’lady.”
Charlotte put her left boot into the stirrup. “Will you ride beside us, Mister Parker? Or should I say Deputy Marshal Parker?” She had caught sight of the badge.
“Matt’s idea,” he muttered, “and only temporary.”
Charlotte looked down from Marigold at Laycock and Martin. “Tell the men I appreciate all they are doing for the Spence Ranch. But I do not wish that to include getting themselves shot. If Raber’s men show up, I don’t want any of you to stand in the way. Let Raber do what he wants, so long as no one is hurt.”
They touched the brims of their hats.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Laycock. “We’ll look forward to the day you return.”
“As will I.”
She walked Marigold over to Matt. “Marshal, I have spoken with the children. They are looking forward to seeing their aunt Rosa again, so this long trip is something they are glad to take. As for drawing likenesses of the men, well, that is not something they feel they are able to do right now. But they understand how it might help you, and they are going to try and remember what some of them looked like and put charcoal to paper. When that happens, and I believe it will, I shall have the sketches sent to you by the fastest means at my disposal.”
Matt nodded.
As Charlotte turned her horse toward the road, she said in a quiet voice, “None of the men were masked, Matt, and neither was the leader that they called Angel.”
As she headed out with the others, Charlotte wondered if her ranch hands would listen to what she had told Martin and Laycock. Somehow she doubted it. She prayed they would make it through the next few days without a scratch. Then she wondered if that was too much to ask of God under the circumstances, given the kind of men who worked for her—loyal to a fault, hardworking, proud and brave—and the kind of men they would be facing—vicious, treacherous, and bloodthirsty. She shook her head and wished, not for the first time, that God would scour evil from the earth the way she scoured grime from her pots and pans. Then a place like Sweet Blue Meadow, already a jewel, would be a paradise without end.
But that’s heaven, Charlotte, she said to herself, and you’re not in heaven yet.
A mile from her ranch, they veered west toward the Rockies and a stretch of forest, taking a little-used track left over from the gold rush days. This route would bypass the town and any of its citizens who might be up and watching the main roads. Who would be watching for us? she wondered again. Who would help a man like Seraph Raber harm two innocent children?
She felt someone’s eyes on her. It was not an unpleasant sensation, as sometimes it could be, so she let the feeling linger a moment before she turned her head. She hoped it would be Zephaniah Parker, and she was rewarded with his concerned face and smile.
“Are you worried about me, Mister Parker?” she asked.
“No more than usual, considering what we’re going through right now,” Zeph answered, “but you did seem awfully faraway.”
“Did I? Perhaps I’m missing Sweet Blue already and wishing we were to Pennsylvania and back again. Do you recall the day you first came to this place?”
They spoke softly in the dark, and their horses trotted quietly through the rocks and pines alongside the others.
She saw Zeph nod slightly. “It was ‘69. Thousands of people living up and down the valleys here then. Some had gone up to Helena when they had their strike in ‘64, but men were still pulling a decent amount of gold out of the hills in Iron Springs and Virginia City. Matt was already here. He had dreams of making it rich and buying a big spread in Texas. When Jude and I showed up, he was a deputy, and it’s been the law for him
“Charlotte, this is your buckskin. What do you think, Cheyenne? Isn’t she a beauty?”
Cheyenne nodded and smiled. “Yah, sir.”
“Her name’s Marigold.” He helped Cheyenne into the saddle. “There you go, m’lady.”
Charlotte put her left boot into the stirrup. “Will you ride beside us, Mister Parker? Or should I say Deputy Marshal Parker?” She had caught sight of the badge.
“Matt’s idea,” he muttered, “and only temporary.”
Charlotte looked down from Marigold at Laycock and Martin. “Tell the men I appreciate all they are doing for the Spence Ranch. But I do not wish that to include getting themselves shot. If Raber’s men show up, I don’t want any of you to stand in the way. Let Raber do what he wants, so long as no one is hurt.”
They touched the brims of their hats.
“Yes, ma’am,” said Laycock. “We’ll look forward to the day you return.”
“As will I.”
She walked Marigold over to Matt. “Marshal, I have spoken with the children. They are looking forward to seeing their aunt Rosa again, so this long trip is something they are glad to take. As for drawing likenesses of the men, well, that is not something they feel they are able to do right now. But they understand how it might help you, and they are going to try and remember what some of them looked like and put charcoal to paper. When that happens, and I believe it will, I shall have the sketches sent to you by the fastest means at my disposal.”
Matt nodded.
As Charlotte turned her horse toward the road, she said in a quiet voice, “None of the men were masked, Matt, and neither was the leader that they called Angel.”
As she headed out with the others, Charlotte wondered if her ranch hands would listen to what she had told Martin and Laycock. Somehow she doubted it. She prayed they would make it through the next few days without a scratch. Then she wondered if that was too much to ask of God under the circumstances, given the kind of men who worked for her—loyal to a fault, hardworking, proud and brave—and the kind of men they would be facing—vicious, treacherous, and bloodthirsty. She shook her head and wished, not for the first time, that God would scour evil from the earth the way she scoured grime from her pots and pans. Then a place like Sweet Blue Meadow, already a jewel, would be a paradise without end.
But that’s heaven, Charlotte, she said to herself, and you’re not in heaven yet.
A mile from her ranch, they veered west toward the Rockies and a stretch of forest, taking a little-used track left over from the gold rush days. This route would bypass the town and any of its citizens who might be up and watching the main roads. Who would be watching for us? she wondered again. Who would help a man like Seraph Raber harm two innocent children?
She felt someone’s eyes on her. It was not an unpleasant sensation, as sometimes it could be, so she let the feeling linger a moment before she turned her head. She hoped it would be Zephaniah Parker, and she was rewarded with his concerned face and smile.
“Are you worried about me, Mister Parker?” she asked.
“No more than usual, considering what we’re going through right now,” Zeph answered, “but you did seem awfully faraway.”
“Did I? Perhaps I’m missing Sweet Blue already and wishing we were to Pennsylvania and back again. Do you recall the day you first came to this place?”
They spoke softly in the dark, and their horses trotted quietly through the rocks and pines alongside the others.
She saw Zeph nod slightly. “It was ‘69. Thousands of people living up and down the valleys here then. Some had gone up to Helena when they had their strike in ‘64, but men were still pulling a decent amount of gold out of the hills in Iron Springs and Virginia City. Matt was already here. He had dreams of making it rich and buying a big spread in Texas. When Jude and I showed up, he was a deputy, and it’s been the law for him
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