Page 36 of The Enchanted Land

Morgan wished more than anything in the world to see Seth riding in now, to get her away from this awful Cat Man and the two tall, thin men who came with him.

“Get on the horse.”

Morgan’s skirt caught under her leg as she straddled the horse, exposing a large expanse of calf.

“Woowee, gonna like that!” Joe nudged Ben in the ribs as they leered at Morgan’s smooth leg. The party started away.

“What happened?” Jake held his head in his hands and looked up to see the four riders go off into the moonlight. “I’ve got to go after them” he began.

“Untie me first,” Joaquín’s voice floated up to Jake, and he stumbled toward the dark man and slowly untied the ropes binding his arms. Jake stumbled, still stunned from the heavy blow to his head.

“Careful old man, you get too excited and we’ll never find anyone.” Joaquín put a helping hand under Jake’s elbow.

Jake jerked from Joaquín’s grasp and straightened his aching body. “It’ll be a long time before I need help from the likes of you.”

Joaquín watched, amused, as Jake painfully made his way to Frank’s body.

“Well, you ain’t dead yet, so I guess you’re too mean to kill.” Jake’s voice showed his relief as he held Frank’s head in his arms. “You!” his voice held the contempt he felt for Joaquín, “help me get him back to the wagons.”

As Jake cleaned Frank’s head wound and his own, Joaquín began gathering the horses that the bandits had dispersed.

“What happened, Jake?” Frank moaned.

“They took the little girl.”

Frank started up from the cot. “I’ve got to go get her. You know what they’ll do to her?” His voice cracked with the effort of talking.

Jake pushed him back down. “You couldn’t swat a fly, and I can’t see well enough anymore to go trackin’ them, and that heathen out there ain’t gonna help. So that leaves the boy.” To Jake, Seth would always remain a boy, the closest thing he had to a son. “I’m gonna go now and find him.”

“Jake, you can’t go. Send Joaquín.”

Jake spat on the wagon floor. “I wouldn’t trust him not to spend his time staring at the stars. No, this is a man’s job, and I’m sending a man I can trust—me. I’ll see you as soon as I can manage.”

He turned and left the wagon, saddled one of the horses, and left the camp, his destination unknown.

It took Jake all that night and into the next before he saw Seth’s campfire. He called into the camp before he entered. “Seth, it’s me, Jake. Are you there, Seth?”

Jake was nearly exhausted and Seth helped him from his horse. “What’s wrong, Jake?” he demanded.

“It’s Morgan,” he gasped out.“They took her.”

“Morgan! What do you mean, old man? Who took her?” He grabbed Jake’s shoulders.

“Three men, one they called Cat Man … looked and sounded like a cat, too. They came to rob us. Frank was on guard, but they knocked him out—bad wound, too. Then they got me and Joaquín. They took the little girl with them and headed due west.”

“When? When did they leave?”

“Last night about this time. I been lookin’ for you ever since. Frank was too bad hurt to go after her, and I figured my old bones wouldn’t hold up. So I came straight to you instead.”

Seth began saddling his horse and packing his saddlebags.

“There’s game strung up in that tree. Take it back with you. Then when Frank’s better, take the wagons and go on to the ranch. I’ll get Morgan, and then I’ll meet you at the ranch.” His voice was grim. As he straddled his horse, he looked into the horizon and then back to Jake. “I’ll get her, Jake, and they better not have hurt her.” His eyes were cold.

He rode off toward the west and was soon out of sight. “I hope for their sakes that they haven’t hurt her,” Jake muttered before he turned back to the fire. He had been without sleep for thirty-six hours, and he collapsed onto the ground.

Morgan had been on the horse for two days and two nights before they stopped and made camp. Until then, they had stopped for only brief periods to rest their horses. They had eaten pieces of dried beef while traveling. She had become proficient at sleeping on her horse. Cat Man held the reins while she slept.

At first Morgan wasn’t even fully aware that they had stopped. She sat on her horse while the three men began to build a fire.

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