The children were taken into town along with most of the nuns by early evening. Some of the nuns, Sister Michael included, had refused to leave the Reverend Mother and she and her little army were in the chapel in evening vespers.
The treasures of the Church had been re-sealed in their underground vault and the cellar stairs had been blocked off with heavy furniture.
Scott and Slim had coordinated the dispersal of their manpower, and each building had men at the doors, some of the windows and at least one man on each roof. They were stretched thin, but Scott still hoped for Murdoch to come with reinforcements.
The moon was rising and with it, the rolling hills around the orphanage shown golden around the silvery building they protected.
Slim and Jess were barricaded behind an overturned wagon in the forecourt of the main house. They would be the first to see anyone coming from the front. Others were positioned on all sides in case of an attempt at infiltration. Scott wasn’t really expecting anything to happen before morning, but took into account the advantages of a nighttime assault. He wouldn’t underestimate his opponent.
Scott walked over to where Jess and Slim waited together. “How you two doing?”
Jess had been quiet, barely speaking and obviously unhappy with the current plan. Slim glanced at Jess and answered for both of them. “Well, I dunno about ol’ Jess here, but I’m a mite peckish.”
Scott smiled. “I heard Sister August mention something about sandwiches after they finish vespers.” Scott stepped over to stand beside Jess. “Jess, I know you want to go, but we’ve got to believe that Johnny is taking care of Kate and Isabelle.”
“How do we even know fer sure Johnny’s even with them?” Jess spat angrily.
Scott smiled. “If I know my brother, he’s in the thick of it.” He laid a reassuring hand on Jess’ shoulder. “He’s the best chance they’ve got and I trust him with my life. Us tryin’ to get into that camp would be useless and do nothing but get us all killed.”
Jess sighed, ”I reckon,” clearly unconvinced, but powerless to do anything about it.
Slim straightened and swung his rifle around, peering into the semi-gloom. “Someone’s comin’.”
The others ducked down and brought their rifles to bear. Scott strained to see, and even more to hear. It sounded like one horse. He rose up and stood, stepping around the wagon.
“Who goes there?”
“Scott?” The voice was distant, but clearly recognizable. It was Murdoch.
“Murdoch! Come on in.” He turned to the others and shouted. “It’s Murdoch! Don’t shoot!”
Scott could now see Murdoch’s big chestnut with the white blaze come trotting down the road and through the gateway. Disappointingly, he appeared to be alone. Scott walked out to meet him.
“Good evening, sir. We’re glad you could make it.”
Murdoch swung down and led his horse as they walked toward the house. “I hope we’re in time to help.”
“We?”
Murdoch turned and swung his arm over his head in a big wave and whistled an ear-piercing trill. “I brought a few friends,” he said as he smiled and continued walking. “So, where’s your brother?”
Chapter 44
Johnny rose stiffly from where he’d squatted behind Elizondo’s tent. The men inside had been drinking and not talking a lot. He was about to leave to go back to the main campfire before he was missed, when one of the voices asked a question. The mention of women made his only good ear figuratively perk up. He missed some of it, but he caught “do with the two women?”
Johnny heard one of them pacing, probably Elizondo. “Kill them if we have to. Trade them if we can. It matters not to me. Either way, the house will be mine tomorrow.
Johnny could feel his heart begin to pump harder. So much so that he idly wondered if they would be able to hear it inside the tent. What women? He could hear his blood rushing through his bad ear. He pushed his hand against it to squelch the pain. He could hear his heart in the ear, if nothing else.
He scanned the area of the tents. He’d identified some of them already. Supply tents, a food tent where Elizondo’s personal cook worked. He hadn’t seen any women, but it was a big camp. He’d been forced to stay with the other hired men most of the day. To wander off by himself would’ve drawn attention.
He’d watched as Brubaker, Virgil and the rib-kicker had left earlier in the day, but had not seen them come back. He decided he’d better do some scouting around, despite the danger. He didn’t like the sound of Elizondo’s casual statement about killing women.
Sticking as close as he could to the shadows, he ducked under the edges of tents to peer into the darkness. Most were deserted with only boxes and burlap bags piled up. As he was coming from behind a small hut, he spotted the cook coming from the cook tent.
The cook was not there for any of the hired men. They were expected to cook their own beans and biscuits. The cook apparently went everywhere with Elizondo and served him and his favored associates only.
Johnny ducked back behind the hut and watched as the old man took a tray covered with a cloth toward the woods. A small stand of trees cast extremely deep shadows about thirty yards away. He had thought the camp ended at the cook tent, but apparently there was something else further back.
As the old man approached the trees, another man with a lantern met him and guided him into the dark copse. Johnny followed at a safe distance. In a few minutes, he watched as the cook was ushered in to a white tent, lit from inside and with two guards at the door. One of the guards broke away and started to circle the tent. Johnny figured anyone could get under the edge of a tent if they really tried. This one appeared to be heavy canvas and was staked down well. They obviously didn’t want someone getting out.
He waited until the old man left and one of the guards accompanied him with the lantern. The second guard stayed at the flap opening. Johnny silently made his way to the back of the tent and lay down on his belly. He lifted the stiff canvas. It wouldn’t rise but a few inches. He had to lay his head on the ground and look under with one eye.
Kate! They had Kate in there! He saw only her back, but it was her red hair piled on top of her head with the wispy tendrils that he liked so much that told him. There was also a smaller woman, a girl really, with a long braid, also red and with wiry, curly tendrils around her face. The girl was sitting profile to him on a wooden box. He could see her face was wet and she was slowly eating as if she had to, not wanted to.
“Kate!” Johnny whispered as loudly as he dared. Kate straightened and immediately turned toward the sound of his voice.
She squinted her eyes as if to see in the dark corner. “Johnny, is that you?” She was about to get up and come over.
“No! Don’t come over here. It’s me, Kate. I’m gonna get you out of here. You just sit tight and don’t do anything. I’ll figure a way out of here.”
They all three jumped as they heard the guard outside shout to his companion. After a moment of panic, they relaxed when the guards were only changing shifts. Johnny got to his feet and slipped back into the dark woods, and then circled around to go back to the camp.
Chapter 45
“You get lost, Madrid?”
Virgil McCoy was waiting when he got back. He’d circled around and come into camp from the opposite end from where the copse of trees was, but McCoy had been watching for him.
“It’s a nice night, just took a little stroll,” Johnny said as he squatted by the fire and poured himself a cup of coffee.
McCoy watched him for a minute and then ambled off.
“Boy, he sure don’t like you much, mister.” The voice came from the other side of the fire.
He looked up to see who had spoken. “No big surprise there.” Johnny smiled, “We go way back.”
The speaker was a blonde, squatting beside the fire, picking his teeth with a skinning knife. Johnny recognized him as one of the Tripps. The other sat against a tree a few feet away.
He didn’t know one from the other, they looked so damn much alike, but he recognized them. They were both skinny, blonde, blue-eyed and stupid. They were also killers. Not gunfighters; too cowardly to stand up straight in front of a man. One would engage the mark in a straight-on gunfight, while the other would hide and ambush the victim just as he drew his gun.
It was murder, pure and simple. Johnny had only known them to do it for money, but there had been talk about some rapes and murders of women down in Texas.
Johnny couldn’t figure why the law hadn’t caught up with the Tripps; they weren’t all that smart. Just dumb luck he supposed. The fact that they were here ratcheted Johnny’s un-ease up a notch. He had to get Kate and the girl out of here tonight.
“Yer Johnny Madrid, ain’t ya?” the blonde said, sucking air through his teeth in his excitement.
Johnny fixed him with a steely gaze that almost physically pushed the man back a few inches. He didn’t answer, just put down his coffee and walked away. The over-excited voice drifted behind him.
“Hey, well, see ya later, Mister Madrid! Sure glad you’re with us!”
Johnny felt his skin crawl as he tried to keep from turning and blasting Tripp to hell. He’d met pure evil a few times in his life; men who killed for the sport, or worse, tortured for the sport. The Tripps weren’t in that league yet, but they were knockin’ on the door and beggin’ to be let in.
