'Well…" Bridget began, "We moved a few days before it happened, and I wanted to check our entire new house…"

She found a lot of interesting items there - old books, letters, tied together with discolored ribbon, a photo album…Bridget wasn't aware of how much time she spent in the garret. But when she saw the darkened sky through the small window, she thought that her parents must be worried about her disappearance. They both were moody for the last few weeks, and she didn't want to make them angry.

Bridget tried to go downstairs as quietly as she could, but when she passed the second floor, she suddenly felt somebody's hand grab her shoulder.

It was her father, but she'd never seen him like this. His eyes were furious and his face was garbled with a spiteful grimace.

"WHY DID YOU SPY ON ME?" he yelled at her.

"I…I didn't," Bridget whispered, "I swear, I didn't…"

Father was always strict with her, but now he looked so terrible, as if he was out of his mind. He squeezed her shoulder again:

"Look at me, you rotter! If you ever spy on me again- I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

Bridget stood frozen in horror, when she noticed a knife in his free hand. Now she believed he could kill her.

Instinctively she moved back, lost her balance and rolled down. Father looked as she landed, his face was emotionless. Then he slowly went downstairs and left.

Bridget waited few minutes, while the door closed behind him, and tried to get up. She felt a throbbing pain in her back, but walked to her room and locked the door.

Next morning Miss. Filbern (she was Bridget's governess) opened the door with her key.

"Miss Hunter," she said, "there is no reason to lock your door. Anyway, you need to dress and go visit your father. He 's waiting…"

Bridget remembered his mad eyes and the knife in his hand…He was going to kill her yesterday, and she was sure, he would do it now…

"I don't want…" she muttered, "I can't…"

"You MUST!" Miss. Filbern insisted, "You must be obedient, young lady…"

Bridget began to dress with trembling hands. She got up, but her legs didn't obey her, and she slumped to the floor..

"Miss Hunter," Miss Filbern said coldly, "these tricks won't help you. Get up and follow me!"

Bridget tried to get up again, but she couldn't. She couldn't even move her legs anymore… Now the governess was frightened and ran for Bridget's parents. They called for their family physician, and he told them she broke her spine…

"Since that day I've been sitting in this wheelchair.." Bridget finished "but, please, don't tell anybody else, not even Grandma…"

"Did you ever tried to talk with your Ma?" Michaela asked.

"I did once…But she didn't believe me. She said father could never do something like this…but I'd seen it! He's tried to avoid me since then, but I was always scared that he would do it again at any time."

"Buddy, you're safe here." Sully said with a great effort to stay calm. "You can live here as long as you want."

"I'm worried for Ma." Bridget sadly answered, "If she stays with him…"

Michaela and Sully look to each other in puzzlement…

"Cloud Dancing was right." Michaela finally said, "The problem is not in your spine and legs…If you find strength enough to overcome your fear, you'll have a chance."

"But how I can do it?" Bridget looked desperately at her.

"We'll help you!" Sully promised.

"What do you think?" Sully asked Michaela later, "How about her chances?"

"I don't know. She went through a great trauma, and that's why her legs didn't obey her."

"But, if her spine wasn't broken, she will recover with time…"

"Perhaps…There are no statistics yet, but some physicians affirm that another awful or shocking experience could fix this kind of psychological trauma. It's just a hypothesis, however."

"But it's too dangerous for her. If her father is crazy, she can't be safe anyway."

"We need to talk with Bridget's mother. She is the only one who could explain it all…"

"We gave Buddy our word." Sully reminded, "If we hadn't, I'd return to England and kill him…But we can't break our promise."

"Well…perhaps I'll try to ask her to allow me to talk with her mother, not now, but in time…"

"She can stay here as long as she wants." Sully suggested, "I like to chat with her, and hope she likes it too."

"Sully," Michaela suddenly said, looking at him with concern, "I think she…she loves you."

"I'm glad to hear it. I love her too, as if she was my daughter…"

But Michaela shook her head:

"No, it's not what I mean. I believe her feelings for you are different…Do you remember Colleen, when she was about 14?"

Sully looked at her helplessly:

"That's ridiculous…I'm her uncle!"

"You're her hero first!" Michaela objected.

Sully sighed heavily:

"Oh, no…I don't want to push her away…"

"You don't need to push her away, but you must be careful, and try to talk with her at the right time…"

Sully sighed again:

"Well… I'll try. But first we need to help her find her way again."

"Buddy, can I leave you here alone for a short time?" Michaela asked, "I need to visit a patient urgently, and Robert E. didn't repair our wagon yet. I thought Sully would be back by now, but he's late…"

"Don't worry, Dr. Mike." Bridget answered, "Sure, I'll stay here by myself. I'll write something in my diary."

"Fine," said Michaela, pleased, " Sully will be here very soon. Please tell him to pick up Katie from Grace's and bathe her."

"I'll tell him…see you!"

When Michaela left, Bridget tried to write to her diary, but wrote just a few lines. Then she began to think about what Dr. Mike told her a few days ago.

"I can't walk because of my fear," she told herself, "I can't move my legs because I'm scared, so I need to stop it. I don't want to be scared anymore! I don't want…"

The kicking of somebody's heavy boot suddenly opened the front door, and two ruffians rushed into the homestead.

One of them put his revolver near Bridget's head and yelled:

"Any sound from you and you're dead!"

The second robber opened the wardrobe and threw all the clothes out of it.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Bridget cried, outraged, but the first robber covered her mouth with his dirty palm:

"Shut up, or you'll be sorry you're still alive!"

"She already feels sorry, Amos." said the second nodding to her wheelchair He began to stuff their saddlebags, and didn't pay any attention to Bridget.

"My…my uncle and brothers will be here very soon," she said, "and then you'll spend the rest of your life in jail!"

Amos grinned:

"We're not going to wait for them!"

He opened the door, but the second robber suddenly stopped him:

"Hey, Amos - the girl! Kill her!"

"I never killed kids, Sam." Amos muttered. He lingered, and Bridget dared to speak again:

"If you try to kill me, they 'll hear the gunshot, and find you…Leave me be, and I'll say nothing about you…"

"We'll take her!" Sam decided.

Bridget didn't resist. While the robbers took the supplies, she had few seconds to write in her diary:

"I WAS KIDNAPPED. HELP…" Amos returned, and Bridget closed her notebook and left it in her chair, silently praying that Sully would look into it…"

The robber pushed his colt to Bridget's ribs, and took her out of the chair…

Soon they left town, and rode west… After an hour of riding Bridget removed her ribbon and threw it on the ground while Amos wasn't looking at her. She hoped it would help Sully and Wolf find her...