Hannah's Dream (30 page)

"Meet us by the road," James said as he and Evan rode away.

Pete and his posse of one were waiting for them at the road.

"Only one man?" James said.

"It's Sunday.  The womenfolk won't let their men fight on Sunday."

"Don't they know he killed Grady?" James asked.

"He wasn't their ranch hand."

"Earl," James said to the other man.  "Glad you could help us."

"Grady owed me a beer," Earl said.  "I'm taking it outta that Frenchy's hide."

"I guess that's as good a reason as any to go after him," Pete said.

"Where do we start?" Evan asked James.

"These woods cover most of the mountain.  If he's been here a while, he's probably been holed up somewhere where he could sleep and eat.  You get any reports of drifters, Pete?"

"Nope.  Nobody come complainin' to me."

"That old sheep ranch would be the perfect place to hide," said James.

"Darn sheep," Earl said and spit.

"They're gone, Earl.  Nothing but little sheep ghosts out there now," James said, smiling.

"Darn sheep ghosts," Earl replied.

Adam rode up and stopped beside James.

"Let's move out," Pete said, taking the lead.

They rode through the woods and over the hill where Hannah did her painting.  They went through the woods on the other side of the hill and rode until they came to the abandoned farm.  There was no smoke coming out of the chimney, and they couldn't see a horse or any signs of life.

"Let's take a look," James said.

James took the lead and urged Ulysses forward.  He passed the shearing shed and was halfway across the pasture on the side of the house when they heard a shot.  James fell off Ulysses and Adam slid off Blue and ran to him.  Another shot rang out, causing Pete and Earl to race back to the woods.  James had been hit in the shoulder.  The bullet had gone clean through and the wound was bleeding in front and in back.

Adam dragged James to the old shearing shed.  He took off his shirt, put it over James's wound, and held it there as he tried to stop the bleeding.

Pete crawled up to them.

"I gotta get the horses," Adam said.

"I'll cover you," Pete said.  He had his gun in his hand.  "But I don't think he wants to shoot your horse."

"No.  I gotta take him home."

Adam was angry.  He wanted to catch the man and beat the living tar out of him.

You wanna make a run for 'em?"

Adam looked over the top of the shed.  A bullet whizzed past his head and he ducked.

"We could try and flush him out," Pete said.

"Like how, like start a fire?"

"Too close to the woods."

"Then how?"

"Let me think on it, will you?"

Evan joined them.  He also had his gun in his hand.

"We gotta flush him out," Evan said.

"No kiddin'?" Pete said.

"We could set the house on fire."

"Did you two discuss this before I got here?" Pete asked.

"No," Adam said.  "He's bleeding hard.  I gotta take him back."

"We ain't settin' no fire."

"Then what do you suggest?" Evan asked.

"I say someone goes through the woods and comes out in back of the house.  Someone goes to the front.  He sees the man in front and runs out the back."

"But what if he shoots the man in front?" Adam said. 

"That's a chance I'm willing to take," Pete said.  "Adam, you go to the front.  I'm gonna take the back."

Adam looked at Evan, who had a big smile on his face.

"Don't listen to him, Adam.  He's joshing with you."

Pete crawled back to the woods where his horse was waiting for him.  He climbed on him lickety split and rode through the woods coming out at the back of the house.  Evan watched the house to see if there was any movement by the windows.

"You can't see anything in those windows," he said.

"They're all covered but for the one over the kitchen sink," Adam said.  "I've been in there.  This side is the kitchen.  He must be at that window."

"Is there any place he wouldn't be able to see?"

"I'm trying to remember.  I think the other side of the house is a solid wall."

"And if I follow Pete I can get there?"

Adam nodded.  His hands were covered in James's blood.

"Take my horse and take him home," Evan said.

Adam kept his head low as he dragged James to the woods.  He saw Old Mike tied to a tree branch and hoisted James onto his back.  He got on and rode as fast as he could back to the ranch.

Evan crawled to the woods, then he stood and looked to his left.  He didn't see Pete, but it wasn't hard to reason that if you turned left, you would end up behind the house.

He found Pete shortly thereafter.  He was staring at something.  The door of the house was open.

"I think he skedaddled," Pete said.  "Orn' he'd be shooting at us."

"Let's go in," Evan said.

"I'm going after him."

"How're you gonna find him in these woods?"

"I'm gonna follow the tracks."

Evan looked down and saw hoof prints in the dirt.

"What if they stop?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," Pete said as he rode away.

He'll probably shoot you first, you stubborn little man
, Evan thought.

He held his gun in front of him as he approached the house.  It was quiet, but that didn't mean Pierre had gone.  It could be a trap with Pierre waiting near the wall for him.  He went to the side of the house and looked in the kitchen window.  The room was empty.  Then he walked around to the front.  

He opened the door and went inside.  The fireplace was full of ashes.  There were papers and old furniture scattered around the room.  Evan walked through the house but found no one there.  The bandy little sheriff had been right.  Pierre had high-tailed it out of there.

He began to shake with frustration.  He had him.  If he'd had his own people helping him, they would have gotten Pierre.  Unlike these country bumpkins, they knew how to apprehend a man.

Evan climbed on Blue, took Ulysses' reins, and headed back toward the ranch.  He didn't see Pete and assumed he had gone in the other direction.  He wanted to go after Pete but he was unfamiliar with the woods and it would be easy to get lost, so he went the way they had come earlier that day.

Adam rode to the porch of Marian's house.  He slid off his horse and began to pull James down.  The door flew open and Becky came running out of the house.

"Oh, my God!" she cried.  She saw the blood and began to cry.  "Oh, please God, no."

"He's alive," Adam said.  Becky helped get James over Adam's shoulder and Adam carried him to the settee in the parlor and laid him down.  Becky ran for towels and Marian, seeing the blood, ran to James' side.

"James!" she cried.  "Oh, James."

"He's unconscious," Adam said.  "I'm going to get the doc."

"Hurry," Marian said.

Adam jumped on Old Mike's back and sped off down the road.  Marian unbuttoned James' shirt and looked at the wound.  It was in his right shoulder.  Becky brought towels from the kitchen and placed them over the wound.  She put more towels behind his back where the bullet had exited.

"Help me pull the settee away from the wall," Becky said.

She and Marian pulled the settee to the middle of the room, and Marian sat on one side with her hand on his back covering the exit wound while Becky kneeled on the floor by his head and put her hand over the wound on his chest.  Becky looked at Marian and tears filled her eyes.

"I know, Becky, I know."

"No, you don't know."

"Becky, it's written all over your face when you look at him.  I know how you feel about James."

"I've been so afraid to tell you."

"Becky, we're not the Hugheses of Philadelphia anymore.  You are my dearest friend.  I want you to be happy."

Becky put her forehead on James' forehead.  She sobbed for several minutes.  Marian cried, too.

Hannah and Jimmy ran into the parlor and Hannah gasped.

"I'll kill him," Jimmy said.

"No!" Marian cried.  "Don't you leave this house!"

Jimmy stood clenching and unclenching his fists.  Hannah put her arm around him and drew him to her side.

"Don't," she whispered.  "Just stay here."

Chapter 52

Pete emerged from the woods near the edge of the south pasture.  James hadn't used the pasture since the sheep had been driven over the edge.  He was afraid the cows would wander over it, too.

Pete saw a horse standing in the middle of the pasture.  He also spied something at the edge of the cliff and rode over to inspect it.  He found a pair of shoes and a suit jacket lying near the edge of the cliff and slid off his horse to get a better look.

The evidence suggested the man they were looking for had ridden to the pasture, gotten off his horse, taken off his shoes and jacket, and jumped into the chasm.  Pete asked himself why the man would take off his shoes before jumping in.  Was it some kind of religious thing?  While Pete didn't understand why, he accepted the idea that the man had jumped off the cliff.  It made sense.  He was filled with remorse over what he had done and ended his life.  Pete had seen it before and since he hadn't had his Sunday dinner yet, he decided the case was closed, got back on his horse, and grabbed the other horse's reins.  He wanted to see how James was doing before he went home, so he headed to the ranch.

The doctor's buggy was parked outside Marian's house when Pete got there.  He went inside and saw Adam sitting at the dining room table with Hannah and Jimmy.

"He alive?" he asked.

"Of course, he's alive," Hannah said.  "He will live."

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Doc's with him," Adam said.

"Well, he's got as good a chance as any.  I'm headin' home."

"Wait, what happened?" Adam said.  "Did you find him?"

"He jumped off the cliff by the pasture.  Left his horse.  I tied it to your post."

"How do you know he really jumped?" Hannah asked.

"Most likely.  He left his shoes and jacket at the edge."

"That's 'cause he wants you to think he's dead," Jimmy said.

"Stay inside's all I can say," Pete said.

"That's not saying a lot, though, is it?" Hannah said.  She glared at Pete and he swallowed hard.

"We have to be sure," Adam remarked.

"The only way we can be is if we go to the bottom of that cliff.  You want to climb down there?"

Adam pounded his fist on the table.  "He could still be alive."

"Ain't likely.  A man don't leave his horse lessen he's gonna die.  I say the case is closed."

"Because he left his horse?" Hannah said.

"I wouldn't leave Blue unless I was fixing to die," Adam said.  "What he said is true.  A man doesn't leave his horse behind."

Jimmy nodded his head.

"You all think that way?" Hannah said.

They all nodded.  She shook her head.

"Well, my supper's waitin'.  I'll come by and see how James is doin' tomorrow."

When Pete had gone, they sat in silence for a minute.

"Would you like some tea, Adam?" she asked.

"Not much for tea," he said.  They were sitting next to each other and Hannah put her hand on his arm.

"Thank you for bringing him home," she said.

"I'd never leave James," he said.  "He's like my pa."

"He's like my pa, too," Jimmy remarked.

"I'm glad Owen came back," she said.

"Why wouldn't he?" Adam asked.  "It's his job to fix people."

"Something happened between him and Mama today before dinner.  He left without saying goodbye.  She said he suddenly remembered a patient he was supposed to see, but I didn't believe her."

"He didn't say anything to me."

"Well, maybe it
was
just a patient."

Adam thought about the social.

"I guess you won't be going to the dance."

"I can't think about that now, not until we know he'll be all right."

"Me neither.  I can't go unless he's good."

"I don't want to go no matter what happens," Jimmy said.

"You'll go if we go.  We can't leave you here alone."

"Not with that guy running loose," Adam said.

"You don't believe he jumped, do you?" Hannah said.

Adam shook his head.  "I think he's just playing possum."

Owen came down the stairs and Hannah got up and ran to meet him.

"Is he all right?" she asked.

"He lost a lot of blood but he should be fine.  We have to keep an eye on his wound, but the bullet went clean through so it should heal well."

"Oh, thank God," she said.

"Hannah, I wanted to apologize for leaving earlier..."

"You don't have to.  Mama told me you had to tend a patient."

Owen went to say more but stopped.  It was better to leave it at that.

"I told Becky what to do and she seems well able to handle things.  If you need me please come and get me."

"As long as James is all right, I will go to the social."

Owen hesitated.  She wondered why.

"I'll come for you at six."

"I'll be ready," she said.

She walked him to the door and bid him goodnight.  When she turned, Adam was standing in the doorway of the dining room watching her.

"So you're going with the doc," he said.

"He asked me and I said yes."

"I think I'll go home."

He passed her and went out the door.  She felt a tug in her chest.  She had the urge to grab his arm and kiss him, but she held her arms tightly to her sides.  She watched him as he headed to the stable and wondered how it would feel to dance with him.

Chapter 53

Emma Gray was a wealthy woman.  She had grown up in High Bend and lived there until she married her husband, Orville, and moved to Denver.  Orville struck it rich when he found silver in the mine he claimed.  Orville had passed away, but the mine was still full of silver and provided nicely for his widow.

Emma moved back to High Bend and built a big house near town.  Every year at the end of summer, she would host a social and invite everyone in the valley to come.  It was a chance for people on the farms and ranches outside town to see each other before winter set in.