Love Inspired Historical November 2014 (88 page)

Joseph looked over at Frank. “Are you coming?”

The older man nodded slowly. It was clear he still couldn't wrap his mind around Slade being behind everything, but hopefully, during the ride, with Wes to help explain what he knew of the man, it would become clearer.

Now he just needed to pray that they'd reach Annabelle and Nugget in time.

Chapter Twenty-One

W
hen they reached the turnoff for Nugget's father's cabin, they didn't turn, but rode on.

“The cabin's that way,” Annabelle said, twisting to get Tom's attention.

“We're not going to the cabin, Miss Know It All.” He yanked on Annabelle's hair in imitation of Slade.

What was it with these men and her hair? At least it gave her an excuse to pull out yet another hairpin to leave as a marker. She dropped an extra one, and another closer than what she ordinarily would have in hopes that they'd pick up on her clue and keep going.

What must her father be thinking right now? Had they gotten word of Joseph's death? Did he know Slade was the culprit, or would her father be wondering who could have taken her?

Did they even know they were gone?

Annabelle pushed those thoughts out of her head. She wasn't going to give up. She simply couldn't. Too many bad things had happened already, and she wasn't going to let this have the same end.

They reached an outcropping of rocks, which must've been the other side of where Joseph's father had built his cabin.

“There!” One of Slade's men pointed in the direction of a rock formation.

Tom dismounted, then yanked her off the horse. “Walk.”

She did as she was bade, eager to catch up with Slade and to check on Nugget.

When they got to the base of the formation, Slade turned toward Annabelle. “Get the kid to tell me where the silver is.”

Annabelle started toward Nugget, who raced into her arms. “That man is mean.”

“I know.” Annabelle hugged her tight. “Is the silver here?” she whispered.

Nugget nodded. “Papa said I shouldn't tell anyone.”

How could she convince a child to betray her father's confidence? Worse, how could she get the information about the silver to Slade in such a way that he'd let them live, at least long enough for them to escape?

“You know that the mean man is going to hurt us if you don't tell him?”

Tears ran down Nugget's face. A child so young should not be responsible for all the things she'd had to face.

With a look braver than her age, Nugget wiped an arm across her face, took Annabelle's hand, then tugged her in the direction of Slade.

“In that cave,” Nugget said, pointing at a small fissure in the rock.

Slade went to the spot Nugget indicated, staring into it. He tried squeezing into the space, but his body was too big.

“How'd he get the silver out? Is there another entrance?” He returned his attention to Nugget.

She shook her head, then said quietly, “I got the silver for him.”

If there was anyone Annabelle wanted to hurt more than Slade and his men, it was Nugget's father for putting a child in this position. How could he?

Slade, though, had no such thoughts, as a wicked grin crossed his face. “Then get it for me.”

Nugget glanced in Annabelle's direction. “Annabelle has to come with me. There's enough room. Mama used to come so's the bats wouldn't get me.”

Bats. Annabelle swallowed. Well, if she had to choose between bats and bullets, she supposed bats were the best option.

“You wouldn't be trying to pull anything, would you?” Slade got right in Nugget's face, but the little girl remained unmoved.

“She's a child,” Annabelle said. “What exactly do you think she's going to pull?”

Slade turned to his men. “Where's the dynamite? Let's just blast it out.”

The men whispered amongst themselves, then Bart came forward. “Slim used it all on Joseph. There isn't any more.”

For a moment, Annabelle was sure Slade was going to shoot him on the spot. Then Slade looked over at the one she presumed to be Slim.

“Then Slim had best get in to town and get us some more.”

Slade returned his attention to Nugget and Annabelle. “I guess it's time for you to prove there's really silver in there. Go in and get me some silver.”

Nugget scrambled into the cave, and Annabelle followed, barely able to squeeze into the tight space.

“Nugget?”

Annabelle could hear a soft scrape, then a light shone in the distance.

“Crawl on your belly to my light.”

She did as the tiny girl ordered, finding herself in a large cavern.

“Papa told me to come here if anyone ever tried to get me to tell them where the silver is.”

Nugget shone the lantern around to indicate an empty cavern that had shiny flecks of some sort of mineral adorning the wall. Unfortunately, it wasn't gold or silver. That much Annabelle knew. “Mama called it my secret house.”

Annabelle closed her eyes. They were safe for now, but once Slade realized they were not coming out, he'd just get dynamite and blast them out.

“But how do we get out?”

Nugget shrugged. “Papa always came.”

“But your papa is dead. Is there any other way out?”

Annabelle took the lantern and looked around for some sign that the cavern had another exit. Every fissure in the cavern appeared tighter than the one they'd just entered. Nugget went to one of the spaces and pulled out a blanket.

“I want my mama,” she said, plopping down on the hard ground and wrapping the blanket around her.

Annabelle joined her and pulled the little girl into her lap. “I know. I want my mama, too.”

Because her mother would know exactly what to do. She always did. At some point, Slade was going to get impatient for the silver. And if he found dynamite, and the rocks exploded around them, they surely wouldn't survive.

Lord, please. Help me find a way to get us out safely. We can't have come this far for nothing. My faith is so lacking, but the Bible says that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed... Surely I have that much in me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be calling on You now.

Annabelle wasn't sure what else to say, so she cuddled Nugget closer to her and tried peering around in the limited light. If Nugget had faith that her papa would come get her, there had to be another way in if the way they'd entered was too small for a man.

“Nugget? Will you tell me where the silver is?”

The little girl sighed. “You won't tell the bad men, will you?”

“I won't tell them.”
Please God, let me not break this promise.

But Nugget seemed to know Annabelle was weak. “Yes, you will.”

So Annabelle continued her search, shining the light and running her hand along the surface of the cave walls. She stumbled over a pile of rocks.

Could this be it?

She started digging among the rocks, moving them aside in hopes that they would lead to a passageway. Each rock seemed heavier than the last, but it didn't make a dent in the pile.

“It's not there,” Nugget said, moving to stand beside her.

Great. Annabelle let out a long breath. She'd been working to get them out of the cave, and Nugget was still trying to protect her father's silver.

“Then where?” She tried keeping the exasperation out of her voice, but she was running out of options.

Nugget looked at her with big, watery green eyes. “I promised my papa.”

“Then at least tell me how he got in.”

Shadows crossed Nugget's face, and she'd liked to have thought that it was because Nugget was carefully considering the idea. That meant there had to be another way.

“Papa came in from the big rock.” Nugget pointed, and when Annabelle swung the lantern, her heart sank. The big rock was bigger than the two of them put together.

“Some other bad men came for Papa once, and he told me to stay in here until it was safe.” She walked to the spot where she'd found the blanket, then pulled out a canteen. “The food's gone, but Papa left us water and this lantern.” Nugget held up the lantern that illuminated the cave.

This was not what she was looking for. But maybe, if she got Nugget to tell more of the story, she'd find out something that could help them. “How long were you in here?”

“Ages.” Nugget let out a long, dramatic sigh. “But then Papa pushed the big rock out of the way and he saved me.”

“Annabelle!” The echo through the cave reminded her that they didn't have ages. They had only as much time as the men had to bring dynamite in from town. Which, if they rode hard, only gave them a couple hours.

She turned toward the opening from which they'd come. “We're still looking. It's all a bunch of rocks.”

“You best find me some silver.”

If only Annabelle and God had been on good enough terms that He would listen to her prayers. But maybe...

Lord, please help us. Help me find a way to save us. To save Nugget. You saw fit to save me when all of these good people died in spite of all my prayers. Why did You have to take Joseph, too? And now to leave me in this situation where only You can save us? This time, if You have to take someone, let it be me instead of a little girl who hasn't done anything wrong.

Because that, of all things, was her greatest fear. That somehow, God would once again take someone she loved and leave her behind to regret.

Annabelle took Nugget in her arms. “They're not going to be patient much longer. Please, if there is silver, tell me where to find it.”

The little girl looked up at her with tears in her eyes. “You don't believe me?”

But this...breaking a child's heart, was probably the worst of all her sins. Faith was supposed to be about believing in things unseen. These men had never seen the silver. Joseph had never seen the silver. But they were all willing to fight for it. How much so should her faith be?

She couldn't even believe in silver when she was supposed to believe in God.

“I just...” Annabelle hated the way her heart churned. “I've seen no evidence...no...”

A voice inside the back of her head asked her if she hadn't seen evidence, or if she hadn't seen the evidence she'd wanted to see.

Annabelle took a deep breath. “I'm sorry, Nugget. If you say there's silver, then I believe.” She had to choose to believe.

Annabelle looked Nugget in the eye. “I know your father said to wait here for him, but what did he say to do if he didn't come?”

The uncertainty in the child's eyes didn't give her any comfort. But Annabelle had to do something. Otherwise, sitting here, thinking about the men after her... Men who'd killed Nugget's father. And Joseph... No, she couldn't think about him. Not now. Otherwise, the pain might completely immobilize her.

Nugget's voice piped up. “Papa said for me to sing some songs so I wouldn't miss him so much while I waited for him to come. I could sing one my mama taught me.”

The earnestness in the small child's voice gave Annabelle the strength she needed to keep fighting. “That sounds like a great idea.”

As Nugget began singing “Rock of Ages,” Annabelle looked around for something to use as a lever. If the rock moved one way to get Nugget out before, surely she could find a way to make it work again.

* * *

Joseph slowed his horse just before the turnoff for the cabin. Maybe his pa had left more clues there. Something to tell him where to find the secret rock house or Monkey Rock.

Lord, please. Help me find Annabelle and Nugget.

Something glinted off a rock in the sunlight and caught his eye. He stopped and looked closer. The letter
A
, made out of Annabelle's hairpins.

“Frank!” He twisted in his saddle and waved at the other man. “I've found something.”

Without waiting for Frank's answer, Joseph jumped off the horse and picked up the pins. He searched the area around where she'd left the clue. She'd been here, but which direction did they go?

Frank joined him where he stood and examined the pins. “I've always appreciated that she didn't worry herself into a tizzy the way so many ladies do. I just wish...” He shook his head.

Joseph put his arm on the other man's shoulder. “Don't wish. We're going to find her and Nugget, and we'll bring them home safely. Then you can tell her all the things you wish you could have told her.”

Like that fact that he was kidding himself to think he could only be her friend. No other woman would have the kind of gumption Annabelle did. And in the face of being kidnapped, she still found a way to fight. She'd given his sister her heart and loved her in spite of all the reasons a respectable woman wouldn't be so kind to Nugget. Even though she had to face her own grief to do so.

If anyone could hold her own against Slade and his gang, Annabelle could.

Joseph held up the pins. “Annabelle left us some clues. Do any of you see anything that looks like a monkey rock?”

The men scanned the area, and Joseph's stomach sank at the realization that none of the rocks in the area looked like a monkey.

“I found another pin!”

Frank's shout gave Joseph more hope. Annabelle had left them a trail. Surely as they followed her clues, they'd find a monkey rock.

They were headed east, by the looks of things. He turned toward the other men. “What's east of here? Anything that would be like a monkey?”

Wes's face turned white. “I know where they are. It's not monkey rock, it's long key rock, and it looks like a long key.”

He watched as the other man shook his head slowly. “I can't believe the silver was there the whole time. He even tried to get me to buy the claim off him, said he needed to send money home. Said he didn't want just anyone to have it.”

Hearing of his pa's honor, or what looked to be it, caused Joseph's gut to churn in an unfamiliar way. No matter how much he thought he knew about his pa, it seemed like there was always something more to be learned. Just as he'd been unable to fit Annabelle into a box, so too, had he failed to do so with his pa.

Joseph went to his horse, prepared to travel to Long Key Rock, but as he headed in the direction of the pins, Wes stopped him. “That's the way they went, but I know a back way. They won't be expecting us from that direction, so maybe we can get a jump on them.”