her. When Tanner had insisted on riding out to meet Captain Brightman she had wondered if they were going to bump heads over who was in charge of what.
"I'll decide the route," she said, feeling her way on this issue. "You decide personnel questions."
"Someone is cooking breakfast," Tanner commented as they walked into the chaos that accompanied breaking camp. "I smell bacon."
Fox was glad he couldn't see her face as she rubbed her hands on her trousers. He was smelling her. "Not in our camp. We'll skip breakfast and settle for an early lunch."
Peaches was awake and loading the mules; she passed him on her way to the ditch to wash the bacon grease off her hands and cheeks. He lifted an eyebrow and Fox murmured, "I'll tell you the story later."
Without the gold, they could have dispensed with Hanratty and Brown. But they had the gold. Fox suspected this wouldn't be the only time she would regret those gold coins.
Forty minutes later she led them out of the adobe walls surrounding the fort, ignoring the growl in her stomach.
At midday Fox signaled a brief stop, urging the party to grab something quick to eat and allowing the animals to graze although there wasn't much forage among the clumps of sagebrush.
When everyone had slaked their hunger on biscuits and ham and cheese, and had gulped down cups of scalding coffee, Fox addressed the company.
"I'm sure you've noticed that we're being followed." Peaches nodded, but the others hid expressions of surprise by squinting at the low hills rolling away from the river. "I don't know if it's the same group of Paiutes tracking us, or if it's different groups."
Tanner took a spyglass from his saddlebags and scanned the horizon. "I see them." He handed the glass to Cutter Hanratty. "Will they attack?"
Fox shrugged. "All I can say is they haven't yet. We're about four hours from the Carson Sink. It was a pony express station before they shut down the express. That's where I want to camp tonight. In the meantime, if the Paiutes decide to take us on, we'll spot them coming long before they reach us. The groups I'm seeing are no more than eight or ten strong, so I'd say we're about an even match." She tossed out the remainder of her coffee. "Let's go. And keep up the pace."
Swinging into the saddle, she suppressed a groan. Her fanny was saddle sore and her thigh muscles ached like blazes. Two long days were showing how soft she'd become during her time cutting ice. And if Fox was stiff and aching, she figured the others were, too. But the men would never complain as long as she didn't. Hanratty and Brown, maybe even Tanner, would rather step into quicksand than let a woman best them.
"The situation can't be too bad if you're smiling," Tanner said, trotting up beside her. The sun blazed high and hot, and he'd removed his jacket, riding in a vest and his shirtsleeves. From the look of it, he'd have a sunburn on his arms and face before they called it a day. When she said as much, he shrugged. "I spend most of my life inside or down in a mine shaft. The sun feels good. I doubt it's possible to ride out here for any length of time without getting a burn."
He was right about that. There wasn't a scrap of shade along this stretch, and nothing much grew near the river. White patches of desert alkali had begun to appear more frequently.
"How serious is the threat of an Indian attack?"
"Hard to say," Fox answered, trying to recall if she'd put on Peaches's sunburn protection. "Brightman's troops are looking for the warriors who slaughtered the Watson family. The investigation keeps the Indians resentful and angry. If they get themselves worked up enough there could be more incidents."
"And we could be one of them," Tanner said, scanning the hilltops. Frowning, he slapped his reins against his thigh. "How in the hell do you see that far? You must have eyes like an eagle."
This was the second compliment he'd given her and Fox didn't know what to make of it. At least she thought it was a
"I'll decide the route," she said, feeling her way on this issue. "You decide personnel questions."
"Someone is cooking breakfast," Tanner commented as they walked into the chaos that accompanied breaking camp. "I smell bacon."
Fox was glad he couldn't see her face as she rubbed her hands on her trousers. He was smelling her. "Not in our camp. We'll skip breakfast and settle for an early lunch."
Peaches was awake and loading the mules; she passed him on her way to the ditch to wash the bacon grease off her hands and cheeks. He lifted an eyebrow and Fox murmured, "I'll tell you the story later."
Without the gold, they could have dispensed with Hanratty and Brown. But they had the gold. Fox suspected this wouldn't be the only time she would regret those gold coins.
Forty minutes later she led them out of the adobe walls surrounding the fort, ignoring the growl in her stomach.
At midday Fox signaled a brief stop, urging the party to grab something quick to eat and allowing the animals to graze although there wasn't much forage among the clumps of sagebrush.
When everyone had slaked their hunger on biscuits and ham and cheese, and had gulped down cups of scalding coffee, Fox addressed the company.
"I'm sure you've noticed that we're being followed." Peaches nodded, but the others hid expressions of surprise by squinting at the low hills rolling away from the river. "I don't know if it's the same group of Paiutes tracking us, or if it's different groups."
Tanner took a spyglass from his saddlebags and scanned the horizon. "I see them." He handed the glass to Cutter Hanratty. "Will they attack?"
Fox shrugged. "All I can say is they haven't yet. We're about four hours from the Carson Sink. It was a pony express station before they shut down the express. That's where I want to camp tonight. In the meantime, if the Paiutes decide to take us on, we'll spot them coming long before they reach us. The groups I'm seeing are no more than eight or ten strong, so I'd say we're about an even match." She tossed out the remainder of her coffee. "Let's go. And keep up the pace."
Swinging into the saddle, she suppressed a groan. Her fanny was saddle sore and her thigh muscles ached like blazes. Two long days were showing how soft she'd become during her time cutting ice. And if Fox was stiff and aching, she figured the others were, too. But the men would never complain as long as she didn't. Hanratty and Brown, maybe even Tanner, would rather step into quicksand than let a woman best them.
"The situation can't be too bad if you're smiling," Tanner said, trotting up beside her. The sun blazed high and hot, and he'd removed his jacket, riding in a vest and his shirtsleeves. From the look of it, he'd have a sunburn on his arms and face before they called it a day. When she said as much, he shrugged. "I spend most of my life inside or down in a mine shaft. The sun feels good. I doubt it's possible to ride out here for any length of time without getting a burn."
He was right about that. There wasn't a scrap of shade along this stretch, and nothing much grew near the river. White patches of desert alkali had begun to appear more frequently.
"How serious is the threat of an Indian attack?"
"Hard to say," Fox answered, trying to recall if she'd put on Peaches's sunburn protection. "Brightman's troops are looking for the warriors who slaughtered the Watson family. The investigation keeps the Indians resentful and angry. If they get themselves worked up enough there could be more incidents."
"And we could be one of them," Tanner said, scanning the hilltops. Frowning, he slapped his reins against his thigh. "How in the hell do you see that far? You must have eyes like an eagle."
This was the second compliment he'd given her and Fox didn't know what to make of it. At least she thought it was a
Similar Books
