Page 52 of Mountain Captive

How to get rid of the man so that Rand could free Chris? He thought back to his military service. He had been a surgeon, not a soldier, but he had heard hundreds of stories from the men and women he cared for, and had seen the results of their efforts on both themselves and the people they fought. The classic approach for dealing with a lone sentry was to sneak up and overpower the guard. Even if the man was only half-awake, Rand didn’t see how he could possibly get close enough to do any damage before the guard shouted for help.

A sniper could take him out, but bullets made noise, and Rand wasn’t a good enough shot to be sure of hitting the man with a pistol shot from any distance. And the idea of killing someone who had done nothing to harm him repelled him.

He took out his binoculars and scanned the man carefully. If he was armed, the weapon was well hidden. Rand was taller and heavier, so in hand-to-hand combat, he had a good chance of overcoming the guy. He just had to get close enough to launch a surprise attack.

Rustling in the bushes to his right startled him. He turned, one hand on the weapon at his side, in time to see Harley disappearing into the underbrush. He resisted the temptation to call the dog back. What was he doing? This wasn’t the time to take off after a rabbit.

“Who’s there?”

The guard was staring toward the underbrush where the dog had disappeared. He must have heard the rustling too. The man moved toward the sound. A few more paces and he would be practically on top of Rand. Rand took a careful step back. He started to replace the pistol in its holster, then thought better of it and moved into the underbrush after the dog, both the guard’s and the dog’s movements helping to drown out any noise he made.

“Who’s there?” the guard demanded again. “Come out with your hands up, or I’ll shoot.”

He’s bluffing,Rand thought. The man didn’t have a gun. Unless he had drawn one just now. From Rand’s position in the clump of scrubby pinion trees, he could see only the side of the man’s head. He froze and waited, holding his breath, as the man pushed past him. Then Rand raised his pistol and hit the guard on the back of the head.

The man’s legs folded under him, and he toppled with a groan. Rand caught him before he was flat on the ground and dragged him backward, behind a shelf of rock and mostly hidden by a pile of weathered logs that was probably once a miner’s cabin. He felt for the man’s pulse—strong and steady—then used a bandanna from his pack as a gag and tied him up with rope he also took from his pack.

Harley returned and sniffed at the unconscious man. When the guard was safely silenced and trussed, Rand patted the dog. “I don’t know if you meant to distract him and make him walk over, but it worked.” He straightened. “Come on. We don’t have time to waste. Let’s find your mom.”

Harley raced ahead to the gate across the opening to the mine and barked. “Chris!” Rand called, keeping his voice low. “Chris, are you in there?”

“Rand? Harley?” Then Chris was standing there—or at least, a woman who sounded like Chris but was dressed in a shapeless gray dress that came almost to her ankles and a blond wig that sat crookedly on her head. “Rand, what are you doing here? Where’s the guard?”

“The guard is tied up behind some rocks. And I’m here to get you out.”

“There’s a lock on the door.” This, from a girl who appeared beside Chris—the same girl Rand had seen emerging from the woods on his visit to the camp with the sheriff and his deputy. Serena.

“This is Serena.” Chris put a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“We’ve met before,” he said.

“You’re the man who tried to help Lana,” Serena said. “How are you going to get us out of here? The gate is locked.”

Rand moved over to examine the chain and heavy padlock. Then he turned his attention back to Chris. “I’m going to have to shoot the lock off.” He drew the pistol once more.

Chris looked alarmed. “Someone will hear you.”

“They probably will,” he said. “So you have to be prepared to run as soon as I get the gate open.”

Chris pulled the wig from her head and tossed it to the ground, then shucked the dress off over her head, revealing the jeans and top she had been wearing yesterday. “I’m ready.” She took the girl’s hand. “And Serena is coming with us.”

Serena pulled free of Chris’s grasp. “I’m too slow. I’ll hold you back.”

“No. I promised I wouldn’t leave you. You’re coming with us.”

“You’re coming with us,” Rand agreed. He hefted the pistol. “Stand back, then get ready to run.”

CHRISCOULDHARDLYbelieve Rand had found her, but she had no illusions that getting away from Jedediah and the others would be easy. They would have to have luck on their side.

Serena huddled against her. Chris clasped one of the girl’s hands tightly and pulled her closer. The child was trembling. “It’s going to be okay,” Chris whispered.

A deafening blast of gunfire shook the air. Chris flinched and wrapped both arms around Serena. “Come on!” Rand shouted as he dragged open the gate. “Hurry!”

They scrambled out of the cave and up the steep slope to the left, loose rock sliding beneath their feet. Harley bounded ahead of them, leaping from rock to rock like a mountain goat. Chris grabbed hold of clumps of grass to pull herself up, while Serena scrambled on hands and knees ahead of her. “This way,” Rand urged.

As they topped the rise, shouts rose behind them. “They’re coming!” Serena cried.

“Run!” Rand urged.

---