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Authors: Maggie Osborne
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compliment. It seemed to her that eagle-eyed was a good thing to be. But she couldn't think of anything to say back to him.
"Have you been in an Indian fight before?"
Relief dropped her shoulders. Now she had something to say. "A few times. All the tribes have horses and guns now, but ammunition is difficult to get so they don't do much practice shooting. Unless an Indian is almost on top of his target, he's likely to miss his shot. But if they use bow and arrows, well, that's a different story."
They had left the fort in a hurry and Tanner hadn't shaved this morning. Fox noticed the dark shadow of stubble and thought he might look good wearing a beard. On the other hand, she preferred clean-shaven men.
She wondered if Tanner realized that even with a hint of the east in his voice and even wearing quality boots and clothing, he was as formidable a figure as Hanratty and Brown. And no one looking at the three men together would mistake who was the boss. Hanratty and Brown both depended on weapons to establish authority, but Tanner managed the same thing in the way he carried himself and in the confidence and superiority he exuded.
Some might label him arrogant in the way he took charge of matters or even the cocky way he tilted his hat, but Fox liked arrogant men. She didn't like men who mumble-fumbled over making a decision, or who were content to follow rather than lead. Of course, arrogant men could be hard to get along with since they had an annoying propensity to believe they were always right.
"Do you think someone will try to steal your gold?"
He turned his head to meet her gaze. "No, I don't."
There was proof of what she'd been thinking. Reason and argument would not convince him that he was wrong. He was going to have to learn the hard way. She hoped she was wrong, but she didn't think so, Maybe that thinking made her a little arrogant, too.
"See those trees ahead? That would be the station. There'll be good forage for the animals since the station is between a lake and the river. The grass is more abundant there than out here." Slowly she scanned the hilltops. "Looks like the day is going to end well." In fact it was impossible to tell. But if Fox were a Paiute she'd attack out here instead of letting the targets get within thick adobe walls. She figured her Indian concerns were over for the day.
The station was small, large enough to house ten men maybe, but not comfortably. Adobe walls enclosed a frame house and a corral.
"There's something eerie about deserted places," Tanner remarked as they rode into the enclosure.
Fox glanced at him in surprise. She'd been thinking the same thing. Already the house appeared derelict. One corner of the roof sagged and bricks had fallen from the chimney.
"The pony express went out of business only four months ago," Fox said, eyeing the house. Nature was harsh out here. It didn't take long for heat and cold and blowing sand to leech the life out of creatures and structures.
A quick inspection showed the house had been stripped clean of furnishings and anything useful. An odor of grease and smoke lingered in the walls.
Fox stood on the stoop examining the enclosure and concluded they'd be more comfortable outside than inside the house. She turned her head toward the adobe corral where the men were unloading the mules, about to call to them when an arrow chunked into the wall of the house. That the shaft missed her by only a foot was a matter of luck. If the Indians could have seen her over the walls, they would have been more accurate.
Swearing, she jumped off the stoop and hit the ground running toward the corral where her rifle was still in the scabbard hanging from her saddle.
"Indians!"
The men looked up as an arrow sailed over the wall and pierced the pannier on the money mule.
Fox swore. "See those platforms with the ladders against them?" The ledges jutting from the adobe near the top of the walls provided a view and firing site. "Scatter. I want one of you
"Have you been in an Indian fight before?"
Relief dropped her shoulders. Now she had something to say. "A few times. All the tribes have horses and guns now, but ammunition is difficult to get so they don't do much practice shooting. Unless an Indian is almost on top of his target, he's likely to miss his shot. But if they use bow and arrows, well, that's a different story."
They had left the fort in a hurry and Tanner hadn't shaved this morning. Fox noticed the dark shadow of stubble and thought he might look good wearing a beard. On the other hand, she preferred clean-shaven men.
She wondered if Tanner realized that even with a hint of the east in his voice and even wearing quality boots and clothing, he was as formidable a figure as Hanratty and Brown. And no one looking at the three men together would mistake who was the boss. Hanratty and Brown both depended on weapons to establish authority, but Tanner managed the same thing in the way he carried himself and in the confidence and superiority he exuded.
Some might label him arrogant in the way he took charge of matters or even the cocky way he tilted his hat, but Fox liked arrogant men. She didn't like men who mumble-fumbled over making a decision, or who were content to follow rather than lead. Of course, arrogant men could be hard to get along with since they had an annoying propensity to believe they were always right.
"Do you think someone will try to steal your gold?"
He turned his head to meet her gaze. "No, I don't."
There was proof of what she'd been thinking. Reason and argument would not convince him that he was wrong. He was going to have to learn the hard way. She hoped she was wrong, but she didn't think so, Maybe that thinking made her a little arrogant, too.
"See those trees ahead? That would be the station. There'll be good forage for the animals since the station is between a lake and the river. The grass is more abundant there than out here." Slowly she scanned the hilltops. "Looks like the day is going to end well." In fact it was impossible to tell. But if Fox were a Paiute she'd attack out here instead of letting the targets get within thick adobe walls. She figured her Indian concerns were over for the day.
The station was small, large enough to house ten men maybe, but not comfortably. Adobe walls enclosed a frame house and a corral.
"There's something eerie about deserted places," Tanner remarked as they rode into the enclosure.
Fox glanced at him in surprise. She'd been thinking the same thing. Already the house appeared derelict. One corner of the roof sagged and bricks had fallen from the chimney.
"The pony express went out of business only four months ago," Fox said, eyeing the house. Nature was harsh out here. It didn't take long for heat and cold and blowing sand to leech the life out of creatures and structures.
A quick inspection showed the house had been stripped clean of furnishings and anything useful. An odor of grease and smoke lingered in the walls.
Fox stood on the stoop examining the enclosure and concluded they'd be more comfortable outside than inside the house. She turned her head toward the adobe corral where the men were unloading the mules, about to call to them when an arrow chunked into the wall of the house. That the shaft missed her by only a foot was a matter of luck. If the Indians could have seen her over the walls, they would have been more accurate.
Swearing, she jumped off the stoop and hit the ground running toward the corral where her rifle was still in the scabbard hanging from her saddle.
"Indians!"
The men looked up as an arrow sailed over the wall and pierced the pannier on the money mule.
Fox swore. "See those platforms with the ladders against them?" The ledges jutting from the adobe near the top of the walls provided a view and firing site. "Scatter. I want one of you
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