Page 35 of The Enchanted Land

“You get out of here and let me see if she’s worth anything or not.” The first man left the wagon, and the second entered.

“What are you doing here? What do you want?” Morgan’s voice shook with fear.

“Nobody’s going to hurt you. Just get up and let me see you.” His voice gave Morgan chills. It was rough, but at the same time it was a sly voice, the voice of a person who could not be trusted. “Come on now, get up.”

Morgan obeyed.

“Now, I’ll just stand here, while you find a lantern and make some light in here.” Morgan was shaking as she found the lantern and the tinder box. If a snake could talk, she thought, its voice would sound like that.

“Cat Man!” The voice came from outside the tent. “What we gonna do with these two?”

Morgan jumped—a cat! Yes, that’s what his voice reminded her of.

“I’ll be there in a minute. Just hold on and don’t bother me again.”

Morgan heard low, throaty guffaws from the men outside the wagon. There seemed to be at least two others besides the creature in the wagon with her.

Cat Man sat on the cot. “Now,” he said when she had the lantern lit, “let me look at you. Come close to me.”

With her first glance at Cat Man, she let out an involuntary gasp. His face fit his voice. His eyes were an exaggerated almond shape, long and thin, and his nose was wide and flat. His mouth was small, thin-lipped, practically nonexistent. She almost expected to see long whiskers above his upper lip.

Cat Man smiled at her, a knowing smile that made his eyes even more catlike. “Come here,” he repeated.

Morgan inched slowly toward him. He seemed to enjoy her fear. When she was close to him, and while still holding her eyes with his own, one long, thin arm darted out and tore her nightgown from her.

Morgan covered her body with her arms.

“No.” His one word conveyed his meaning, and she dropped her arms, staring off to the side of the wagon.

“Ah, yes, you’ll do. Nice. Get some clothes on and come outside.” He left the wagon.

Without hesitation, Morgan did as she was told. She didn’t feel that Cat Man was usually disobeyed.

“What happened to all that purty hair I seen? Did she cut it off?”

“No, it’s still there. Now you two get them tied up, and then let’s get out of here.”

“What about her? We gonna take her?” This was from another man.

“Yeah. Now get busy!”

Morgan saw the other two men, both rather tall but thin, pulling Jake and Joaquín from the side of the wagon.

“What you goin’ to do with her?” Jake’s voice was angry. “Her husband’ll come after you. Don’t take her, she’s just a little girl.” One of the two men hit Jake across the head with the butt of his revolver.

“No!” Morgan gasped and started toward the fallen Jake, but Cat Man’s grasp on her shoulder, his thin, steely fingers biting into her flesh, halted her.

“He is a foolish old man. Now look at your other friend there. He’s more sensible.” She followed Cat Man’s slanted eyes to Joaquín, who was, as always, slightly smiling! He nodded his head faintly toward Cat Man. They seemed to understand one another.

In that one second Morgan had an insight into Joaquín. She realized that his only friend was himself, and that he didn’t care any more about her than about the dirt under his feet. Her face must have betrayed her feelings, because his smile widened and he tipped his hat to her. She shivered. Any hope of being saved from these men was lost.

“Did you go through all the wagons?”

“Yeah,” said one of the men. “And there ain’t nothin’ here. Just some old furniture, no money or nothin’.”

“Well, we’re not going away completely emptyhanded,” Cat Man stroked Morgan’s neck. When she pulled away from him, he let out a low, throaty sound.

“Get her horse saddled, Ben, before this husband of hers returns.”

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