DISCLAIMERS: Don't own them; don't make any profit off of them. All of the Magnificent Seven characters belong to MGM, Mirisch, Trilogy, and CBS. The original characters belong to me. Please do not use them unless you ask. All original characters portrayed in every fan fiction on this website, including characters' names, are fictitious and have no relation to nor reflection upon anyone living or dead.
"Daddy's gonna find us an' then you'll be sorry." The belligerent little girl wasn't scared of him at all.
The other one was just as belligerent, her little crossed arms and tapping foot promising retribution to anyone not doing her bidding. "Ours's got no problem killin' you." The little blue-eyed girl smiled at her kidnapper. A chill ran up his spine at the bloodthirsty look the tiny girl gave him.
The other little girl, an exact copy of the one tapping her foot at him agreed with her sister. "Then he's gonna give what's left of yer bodies to Our Chris and Our Ezra. Then, they're gonna kill you all over again."
"An' Our Nathan's gonna cut out yer tongues, an' Our Josiah's gonna crush you like a bug."
"Our JD an' Our Buck're gonna fill you full of so many holes, yer gonna leak when you try to drink water."
Tug and Iza were growing paler at the tales the little girls had been spinning. Their fancy clothes marked them as daughters of a very wealthy family, too valuable to kill, but no one thought they were going to be any trouble. They should have made perfect little hostages. They should have been stricken mute with terror, but here they were continuing the diatribe that had started about an hour after they had been taken from the train depot. Used first as shields against the men who had already killed two of their men, Cal had told the others as they fled, that maybe their pa would pay lots of money to have them back.
Not that Cal intended to allow their daddy to get them back alive, but Iza and Tug had no choice but to grab the two little girls once Cal and Hank had ordered the two newest gang members to take charge of the hostages. Now, they were beginning a reign of terror that seemed to have no end. For what must have been the hundreth time, Iza and Tug wondered why they had been given the duty of watching the little girls. The devilish little bookends had given every sign of complete, terrorized submission while being carried off by Cal and Hank, but once the leader and his second had ridden ahead after dumping the troublesome pair upon Iza and Tug, the hostages' attitudes had undergone a complete change. Now, it was Tug and Iza who found themselves the recipients of pint-sized twin terrors.
Israel Simon Bean and Jeremiah Thomas Barnes, 'Iza' and 'Tug' respectively, were cousins. No one in their home state of Kentucky cared for them much. They were too scared of the surly boys. Tug had already beaten his parents once when they had tried to spank him back when he was fourteen for Iza and Tug were two of the orneriest men ever to set foot upon this earth. If someone pointed out what a fine, sunny day it was Iza or Tug would swear it was raining and dump the unsuspecting soul into the nearest container of water to prove their point. Their size made it hard for anyone else to retaliate. Now twenty, both men were huge, bigger than their own fathers, bigger than anyone else in the whole of Kentucky. No one could understand why both men were the way they were because their parents were considered to be as kind and agreeable as any farmer and dry goods store owner could be. Finally, both boys had fled Kentucky the day Iza's pa had greeted them at the farm with a double-barreled shotgun trained directly at them both. His words had been short and to the point.
"Tug, Iza, yore family n' me decided we're too pore to be feedin' the two of ya. Yer ma's're near dead from workin' their fingers to the bone tryin' to clean up the filth you two always drag inta tha house. Time you boys were on yer own. There's money in that bag there. Now git an' don't come back." In other words their parents were tired of living in fear of what the two men would do to them. They wanted them gone as far from their homes as possible so the families could live a normal life once again.
Grumbling, Iza had grabbed the shotgun. Turning it in his hands, he had clubbed his pa on the head, knocking him down to the ground. They laughed as they ransacked the house, taking everything his parents had that was of any value. Setting fire to the house, saddling his pa's two favorite thoroughbreds, leaving Iza's shrieking mother trying to drag her unconscious husband from the burning building, they fled their childhood homes. Neither young man was too unhappy to leave. They had a dream; one, in fact, that had them stealing money from Tug's pa for the last six months. Their plan was to go to San Francisco and get on the first ship sailing to Australia. Iza had read about the funny looking 'critters' they had there and had a hankering for seeing them. Tug normally did whatever Iza told him to, so seeing kangaroos and such was something that sounded exciting to him.
They stopped once in Texas to pay court to two young ladies whose father was smaller than they were, but who wore a badge and was faster with a gun than either young man had ever seen before. They were good with rifles, but handguns had not been needed in Kentucky as much as their trusty hunting rifles, so they had decided to spend their remaining money on six shooters. The two working girls they had met at Fort Stockton had more than made up for the loss of the two fillies back in Dallas. Unfortunately, they had fallen in with an outlaw gang and ended up trying their new guns out on a stagecoach five miles from Fort Stockton. Iza and Tug watched in fascination as Cal Jenkins and his boys had killed all the people on the stage. Five bodies lay on the ground as they left the stage behind.
Iza and Tug had no problem beating someone up to get what they wanted, but they seldom had any reason to. They were so big that most folks just gave them what they wanted. Now they had become part of a gang that had murdered people. Cal had made it plain when the cousins had joined his gang. Do what he said when he said and things would be fine. You could leave the gang whenever you wanted to, but it would be in a pine box. Their gang had been successful because no witnesses had ever been left alive, and no gang member wanting to leave was allowed to leave alive.
That was why Cal had an opening for two new men. The last two men who had wanted to take their share were left dead about ten miles outside of Fort Stockton. One had been shot; the other had had his throat cut. Any other ideas that were not Cal's were unacceptable. The wanted posters and the Rangers chasing them only added to the excitement of the adventure for Iza and Tug. They were Cal's men now, and they were paid well for their loyalty. Cal and his other men already had wanted posters. Their bounties were all dead or alive, so they had little to lose and everything to gain by killing any possible witnesses.
Finally, the cousins had decided that after a few more robberies with their new gang, they would be able to see Australia in style, for they would be rich beyond their wildest dreams. They would have no problem with the language for they spoke English like them. They would just have to go along with Cal until they could slip away to find that ship to Australia, but that was not to be soon.
Cal had decided it was time to clear out of Texas, since the Rangers were too close to identifying them. The money stolen from the stage was spent too soon in a small town south of the border called Purgatorio. Tug and Iza had not liked the men Cal Jenkins had been trying to recruit and were relieved when Jenkins had killed both as they walked away. Purgatorio, even though it was common for men to be shot or stabbed to death at all hours of the day, became mighty unfriendly to Cal and his men that particular day. That would change the next time Cal and his boys rode in with plenty of stolen gold and money. Jenkins led his men into the Territories where he had been born as soon as Hank Two Feathers had returned from wherever Cal had allowed him to go.
Both Two Feathers and Jenkins had ties to the area, and they had no warrants except for petty theft there. However, the railroads were building here; and large amounts of gold were being shipped to pay the laborers. Cal's policy of leaving his home ground free from any of his more excessive exploits was shattered with the greed for the gold that was beckoning to him and his men.
Cal's gang was called the Ghost Riders in the Territory due to the fact that no one knew who they were. Warnings of the gang's departure from Texas into the Territories had made it as far as Four Corners but had yet to make it to San Francisco when John Terrell left on a train to check his railroad's progress and to pay his men. Having heard that John Terrell had always made his payments on time to his workers, Cal had decided to hit the train carrying the monthly wages for the railroad employees. So, the gang had set out for a little town just north of Brecken. It was only a small town, barely a watering station for the train and a place for the more distant cities to send their goods and passengers for transportation.
The train, carrying Terrell's family as well as the gold, had just delivered the monthly wages for the railroad workers at this small depot; but robbing it proved costlier than the stagecoach in Texas. Jenkins, worried that newcomers Iza and Tug would make some deadly mistake, ordered them to take the horses and make sure they were ready to ride as soon as Cal and the others had taken as much of the gold as they could carry. Hank Two Feathers and Cal had ignored Herman Dawson's warning that he had heard that Terrell had close connections to the Magnificent Seven in Four Corners, and that the Seven might had ridden to join Terrell in protecting his gold. Cal had assured Herman that Hank had checked out this station last week and there were no more than seven men who split the guard and clerk duties between them at any given time. He ignored the warning that Terrell was known to travel with extra guards whenever his family traveled with him. Jenkins, hardly one to pay attention to anyone but Hank Two Feathers, had ignored Herman's concerns and attacked the train just as Terrell was supervising his men unloading the gold. Gunshots thundered, and the smell of gunpowder permeated the afternoon air. Men were wounded and killed as Terrell's superior numbers soon overcame Jenkins' initial surprise.
Thirty minutes after the brutal attack, Sam Gettings, who had worked for John Terrell for ten years, lay dead on the floor of the station house. Three of Terrell's new men had also been killed or wounded along with two of the gang members. One of the outlaws, badly wounded, had been caught. In their desperation to escape Cal and his second in command, Two Feathers, had grabbed two little girls to shield them from John Terrell's wrath. The little girls had been in one of the train cars the men had run through in order to get to their horses that Iza and Tug were guarding. Knocking down the hellcat and her demon boy who tried to stop them, Cal had grabbed one of the little girls while Two Feathers had grabbed her identical twin. John Terrell was torn between following the outlaws and checking on his wife and son.
Deciding his daughters might be wounded or killed if he or his men tried shooting the outlaws, Terrell had finally chosen to check on his remaining family. Alexandra was bruised and would have a very large black eye, and young Jamie had a bruised shoulder. He was cuddling his baby sister who was crying loudly. Alexandra was silent. Only her eyes spoke volumes. She wasn't worried for herself. She wanted her babies back unharmed. Looking into her husband's eyes, she had no need to speak. She saw the deadly look and knew that shortly, more men than the outlaws knew existed would be hot on their trail. John wasted no time.
While Alexandra worked to calm her screaming baby, John sent two telegrams. One was to the sheriff in Brecken and the other to Judge Travis. Giving little Belle to her nurse, Alexandra had gone with her husband while he questioned the dying outlaw. She felt no sympathy for the man as her husband refused to allow the doctor to make the dying man comfortable. When he finally had all the information he needed, he allowed the doctor to give Herman Dawson a healthy dose of morphine to allow the gut shot man some relief from the awful pain. Then, John Terrell sent one final telegram, to Vin Tanner in Four Corners. Soon, their deadliest ally would be riding north hell bent for leather with six equally determined men riding beside him. Tanner would not stop until he had returned his twin cousins to his aunt and uncle.
The mortally wounded gang member died shortly after telling Terrell the gang was headed south for the border. To say John Terrell was angry was to say that Chris Larabee took exception to anyone but Vin Tanner calling him a cowboy. The reward for the identification leading to the capture or death of the gang members was now $50,000 for John Terrell was very protective of his men and even more protective of his twin daughters. If you even harmed one of his men, you had better be willing to fight your way out of the Territory. Kidnapping his daughters and upsetting his wife had signed the gang's death warrants.
Within minutes of sending the telegrams, Terrell had organized his men. Ten good men would escort Alexandra and their two remaining children to Four Corners. The rest, except for the skeleton crew left at the station, rode with Terrell. The train moved on with the gold to Brecken where it would wait until the twins were returned to their father. The rail workers had all decided to wait for their pay until the two little girls had been returned. Every man there knew that their boss would be more than generous when he got his girls back, especially to the men who rode with him and deferred their pay just in case the gold was needed for ransom.
A grim Chris Larabee had handed Vin Tanner the telegram within minutes of having received it from the frightened telegraph operator who had run as fast as he could to the saloon. As Larabee had read the telegram, his face had gone completely still. The look in his eyes caused Buck Wilmington to put his hand on JD's arm to stop the harmless chatter the young man had been amusing his friends with. Nathan and Josiah watched in trepidation as a look they rarely saw on Larabee's face was revealed. Someone was going to die. Someone had done something to anger their leader to the point he was ready to shoot first and to hell with any questions. Ezra Standish had stopped in the middle of shuffling the cards in his hands ready for whatever Chris needed from him.
"Ezra, go get Vin. The rest of you get ready to ride."
The gambler asked no questions as he jumped to his feet and went in search of his missing friend. Taking one look at Ezra's face, Tanner had abandoned his post at the jail. Yosemite was sleeping off a rare bout of drunkenness inside one of the cells. The door hadn't even been locked as Vin had decided to let the man go as soon as he woke up. Yosemite had just been riding his horse down the middle of the street backwards when his horse had decided to step up onto the boardwalk for the cubes of sugar it knew JD Dunne carried in his pockets. Yosemite had been knocked off his horse to land at the feet of a mildly curious Tanner. That was the only way anyone had known the normally solid man was drunk in the first place. Vin and Josiah had carried Yosemite into one of the empty cells and had flipped a coin to see who would stay the first shift with their inebriated friend. Josiah had lost, thus leaving Vin the morning shift. Tanner left the sleeping man without a second glance knowing it would be another hour or so before Yosemite would emerge silently with no explanation for his lapse from his normally sober self.
"What's up?"
"I haven't a clue, my friend, but our esteemed leader received a most distressing missive from our distraught telegraph operator, and he demanded I bring you post haste."
"What's got a bee up his butt? Someone rob a bank?"
"I would say someone has apparently threatened and possibly harmed someone he cares for. I have not seen that particular visage on Mr. Larabee since we apprehended Mr. Fowler." Vin was really worried now, and he broke into a sprint instead of the purposeful walk he and Ezra had started out with.
Chris Larabee was waiting for Tanner by the tracker's horse. JD was exiting Mrs. Potter's store with what appeared to be bundles of supplies while Buck and Josiah were putting their hastily assembled saddlebags on their horses. Nathan sprinted up with bags, one of which carried medical supplies. Vin got a sick feeling in his stomach as he looked at his best friend. There was a hint of fear in the normally unfathomable green eyes.
Handing the telegram to Vin, Chris spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, including Mary Travis who was standing off to the side with a worried Mrs. Potter.
"It's from John. The Ghost Riders robbed the train when it stopped to deliver the monthly wages. They took the twins as hostages."
It was in that moment of comprehension that Vin Tanner's face took on an expression that frightened even his closest friends. His normally amused blue eyes became even deadlier than Larabee's.
"Alexandra or John hurt?"
"No, but Alexandra's bringing Jamie and Belle here. John's got ten men escorting her. He's taken another ten an' he's gonna meet up with the sheriff an' his posse from Brecken. Says one of the gang told them they were headed this way 'fore he died. John wants us to catch them between us."
"We'll catch 'em all right. Then, if just one hair on those girls' heads is parted the wrong way, I'm gonna gut all of 'em." He turned fierce eyes on his friends. "Y'all hear me, them that hurt my girls are mine."
"We only ask that you allow us to help you render whatever justice you deem necessary my friend." Ezra spoke for every one of the other men. They all had a special bond with Tanner's twin cousins, and God help the men who had taken them when they caught up with them.
"We're with you, brother. We love those little girls like they were our own." Josiah was ready to deliver some Old Testament justice, and his other friends agreed with him.
"Let's go get our girls, boys." Chris nodded his agreement to Buck and the ladies' man jumped into his saddle. Larabee was right behind him as he mounted his own horse. Looking at Mary, Chris paused long enough to shoot her a look that promised no harm would come to the twins.
"Wire the Judge an' tell him what's goin' on, Mary. Take care of Alexandra when she gets here."
Mary nodded as the seven men rode out. She prayed they would return with the twins, but she held no hope for the kidnappers.
Vin stopped at the top of a hill overlooking a trail normally traveled by outlaws on their way to Mexico.
"If they're headed to the border an' don't want to be seen, this is the best way. Apache use it sometimes comin' back over the border from raids. If it's true they got Hank Two Feathers with 'em, he'll bring 'em this way."
"When'd you hear Two Feathers was with them?" Chris was frowning until he realized the answer just as Vin looked at him, his eyes sharp under the brim of his hat. "Chanu told ya?"
"Yeah, saw him yesterday out on patrol. Was comin' to tell ya that his pa sent him to tell me, but then Yosemite got all juiced up and ran into that sign. Things got busy after that. Figured I'd tell you in the morning."
"I can see why it slipped your mind." Chris knew that if Vin had thought the information was vital, he would have told him as soon as possible. Nothing Chanu could have told them would have prevented the twins being kidnapped.
"He get this from someone reliable, or has our brother been in the sweat lodge again?" Josiah had stepped up to Vin's other side in order to hear. The others were listening intently while keeping sharp eyes searching for any danger.
"Two Feathers' sent some gold to Light on the Water, his ma's mother."
"He's got a grandmother on the reservation?"
"Seems she don't approve of the white men he rides with, an' he's tryin' to get in her good graces by sendin' her gold. She thinks gold is evil an' the ruination of her people. Don't want any part of it. Gave it to Kojay to get rid of, but he decided that any reward from the gold would buy a lot of food and medicine for his people if one of us turned it in for him. He sent Chanu to tell me he'll keep it safe 'til we get to it, an' to tell me who Two Feathers is ridin' with." Vin looked over at Buck this time. "Cal Jenkins." Buck's eyes narrowed in renewed anger. Wilmington and Jenkins had met once before when Jenkins had shot Buck's deputy, a kid who had more in common with JD than his looks. He hadn't killed the boy, but the young man could not walk without a crutch since then. Buck happened to tell Vin about Jessie Parks once after JD had been sick with a fever from being shot by a would be thief. Buck had been worried and talking about anything and everything that would help him cope with the uncertainty of his young friend's survival. Vin, worried himself, had listened without comment, but he had kept in mind that he wanted to help Buck whenever the big-hearted man finally ran Cal Jenkins to ground. "I told Chanu to hold on to it until I could ask Judge Travis what he wants done with it. Figure it would be safer with Kojay than in a bank or in the jail."
"May I inquire as to the monetary value of the gold the future corpse sent his wizened crone of a grandmother?"
"Enough to make your eyes roll back in your head." Vin sent a reassuring look in Ezra's direction. "Enough to feed everyone on the Reservation for the next year."
Erza, who grinned in return at Vin's teasing, felt the release of the tight knot that had gripped his insides, since Chris told them that the twins had been kidnapped. His apprehension was manifested in the knowledge that Vin might be operating on pure emotion for who loved those little girls even more than he? Vin did; he loved the twins fiercely, and it was not only because they were his kin. Before they ever had ever known that they were his cousins, they had chosen him as their favorite. For that alone, they had Vin's undying loyalty. Most of all, Vin loved them simply because he found them irresistible. How could anyone fail to love them? And his seven friends felt the same way about them. However, they all knew emotions could interfere with the retrieval of the twins alive and in one piece. Ezra had feared that if they were all reacting through anger and fear instead of the cold, logical, calculated planning that had kept them all alive more than once in the worst situations that the twins would not survive. A cool headed Larabee and Tanner were the key to the twins' safe return, and if teasing Ezra for his weakness for gold offered Tanner an emotional outlet, then Ezra would gladly allow himself to be of service. It was why he had asked the question in the first place.
The quick and succinct exchange worked to settle all the men down. They were ready to do whatever was necessary to retrieve their troublesome terrors alive and untouched. The rest of the ride was carried out with hundreds of questions about the terrain, what was known about the outlaws, where the twins might be taken, etc., until Chris called a halt to rest the horses. It was two hours later, and Vin was mentally picturing every step of the trail and exactly where the best places to rest their horses and make camp the gang would choose. By his figuring, they would discover the camp in about six hours, right before dawn. If they were lucky that is, he could sneak in and get the twins out of danger before the outlaws knew what was going on. Then, while Josiah and Nathan took the twins to safety, the rest of them would take the gang down. He only wondered if he should allow JD to stay and watch the carnage because he knew that Jenkins and Two Feathers would never be taken alive. Buck walked up as Vin stood silently by his horse as it drank freely from the far end of the pond of water that bubbled up from an underground spring.
"Got somethin' on your mind, Bucklin?"
"Jenkins ain't gonna give up, and he's gonna kill our darlin's if they give him any sass at all."
"They won't sass him or Two Feathers. I done taught them 'bout men like Jenkins an' how to act if they ever got snatched."
"You told them 'bout murderin' bastards like that an' Alexandra let ya without tannin' your hide?"
"I might have forgotten to tell her what I was teachin' my girls. I just figured her an' John would want the girls to know how to take care of themselves."
"Holy hell, Vin. No tellin' what the darlin's are gonna be up to. They're like you an' Ezra. Give 'em a challenge an' they start figurin' out a way to beat the odds." Buck began remembering their first meeting with the twins, and the hell they had put four of the seven through before they had gotten home to Four Corners. Only Vin was able to see the look of unholy glee on Buck's face. "Those two make more trouble without plottin' than a bull in a china shop. If we're lucky, they'll have killed off most of the gang 'fore we catch up with them."
JD, hearing the exchange snorted with suppressed laughter, thinking Vin would tear him a new one if he were caught laughing at the dangerous situation the twins were in, but he saw Vin's feral grin matching Buck's. "You taught them how to slow 'em down without getting' caught, didn't ya?"
"Let's just say me an' Ezra decided to teach the girls how to survive." Vin left it at that, but they all knew it meant more than simple survival skills, especially with Ezra and Vin involved.
JD was wondering how much the twins had learned from their two favorite mentors, Vin and Ezra. He knew the twins already had their very own version of the Larabee glare, but no telling what Vin had taught them about survival without their parents' knowledge. JD didn't blame Vin, though, because he knew the tracker had seen things in his bounty hunting days that had disturbed him greatly and reinforced his desire to bring men who would harm the weak to justice. It was Ezra who'd answered JD's question for Standish had decided upon his first meeting with the twins that no one would ever be able to pull any kind of a con on his beloved young ladies. He had joined with Vin in teaching the twins how to read anyone, male or female, using their own instincts and judgment. The girls had proved to be sponges in absorbing everything the two men chose to teach them.
"No, I believe I have imparted as much as is appropriate of my experience in the art of the con to our lovely young ladies, and very apt pupils they have proven to be. Even my dear mother has mentioned a time or two the God-given talents they both possess. I merely refined it along with the most appropriate lessons in survival that our illustrious friend here has deigned to teach to them."
"Dear God, I almost feel sorry for the Ghost Riders." Six men looked at Josiah, who in turned grinned sheepishly. "OK, not much, but almost; all right, those bastards deserve whatever's comin' to them." Josiah was kneeling by the by the spring just where the water bubbled up. He was filling the last of the canteens. Nathan and Chris had been discussing the closest safe haven where they could take the twins and meet with them after Vin had gotten them out safely. They had also discussed what they would do to help Vin and Ezra should the worst possible scenario take place, and they found out the outlaws had murdered the twins without waiting for any ransom. Nathan had approached Chris for his opinion, since the man had already lived through the most horrible loss any man could face. It was unthinkable they would fail in this, but Chris acknowledged that Nathan was right. Should the unthinkable occur, the two men who would grieve more than any of them would be Vin and Ezra, who had taken the two little girls firmly into their hearts.
Chris knew the chasm of grief and the uncontrollable hatred that would consume his two friends along with the unfounded guilt that they should have been able to save the two little girls. It was amazing that those two little girls had them all wrapped so tightly around their probably grubby little fingers. Chris prayed that Cal would at least keep the twins alive until he crossed the border or went to ground in his lair. No matter, Larabee would hunt them just as surely as he had hunted Fowler and Ella for killing his family. He would not allow the unimaginable grief to consume his friends as it almost had consumed him. Nathan stood silently, for once understanding everything that Chris was thinking behind his guarded eyes, and the healer silently vowed to see that no harm would come to the little girls. He, too, would walk through hell to save his friends from that kind of grief.
"It's time to stop the chatter and go get our girls."
"Chris is right. Time you boys stopped boastin' 'bout all them shameful ideas y'all done planted in those innocent little minds. Don't you grin at me like that, Buck. I seen you teachin' them two little girls about men who might pretend to like them for their daddy's money." Nathan pretended to be outraged, but no one took him seriously.
The ladies' man looked chagrined for only a second before he slapped Vin on the back. "You hear him call those two little hellions, innocent?"
"Well, they're our hellions, aren't they Vin?"
"You bet, JD. Time we got 'em."
The six men mounted and rode off as the sun dwindled in the sky. They would travel until they were forced to stop and rest the horses. At this pace they should catch up with the Ghost Riders shortly before dawn, while the gang was bedded down thinking they were safe from any attack from the south. If the Seven were lucky, they would trap the four remaining members of the gang solidly between Terrell's and Johnson's combined forces. As it was, they had no idea that the four outlaws would not have the twins with them when the seven finally confronted them.
"Mommy ain't gonna be happy cause you got my new dress dirty." Lison was glaring at Tug.
Lisha had folded her arms across her little chest and glared at the two men pulling out jerky and hard tack from their saddlebags near the makeshift camp. "You'd better tell her it's your fault we got so dirty." Iza almost grinned. He couldn't believe the little girls were so fierce. It was if they were totally unafraid. Sure, they got quiet when Cal and Hank were around, but Iza was beginning to believe that the twins were not your normal little girls. Their little eyes and ears took in everything. Nothing was missed, and everything was catalogued quietly without fuss or bother. Each little girl watched her sister's back for any threat. Whenever Cal or Hank showed up they got very quiet, almost invisible since every movement was calculated so as not to bring the attention of the two hardened criminals. Someone had taught these little girls very well.
Iza looked over to find Tug had taken off his bandanna and was trying to rub some dirt out of Lison's dress. All Tug had managed to do; however, was make the dirty spot bigger and rub the dirt in deeper. Lison sighed in disgust. Tug winked at Iza in response. Tug, too, had recognized how cunning the twins were in dealing with their kidnappers. It was almost as if they had sized them all up and knew the danger would come from Hank and Cal.
These two little pint-sized bits of trouble were growing on Iza every minute he was in their company. He absently rubbed the bruise forming on his knee where Lisha had kicked him, quite by accident of course. Sure she did it by accident. In fact, those twins were downright mean. Iza almost snorted, but Cal and Hank were coming back. The cousins watched as Lisha and Lison all but disappeared in front of them. If the twins weren't wearing ruffles and lace on their green dresses, both men would have sworn they had blended into the scenery. Iza kept the smile to himself.
Hank purposely dropped the dead rabbits onto the ground in front of the twins. They jumped back, and he took it to mean that he had succeeded in frightening them. He didn't want any crying or noise, so he decided to ensure the silence by terrorizing the twins until they could not talk at all. It was bad business these two little girls who looked exactly the same. It had really spooked him after he had grabbed the little girl at the train station when he saw Cal carrying what he thought was the same little girl he had just picked up. He had almost dropped the one he was carrying it had shocked him so badly to see identical twins. Surely they were special, and that kind of special was usually well protected by the Spirit World. It didn't keep him from trying to ensure they were too scared to cry or even scream, but it would make him think twice about harming them.
Two Feathers remembered his grandmother's warning about stealing gold and how it would turn on him, blinding him and leading him to his death. The twins' yellow hair was golden in the sun, and their hair shone even more golden in the fire's light. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end every time he was near the twins. He kept telling himself they were harmless little girls, but that nagging suspicion in the back of his mind upset him and caused him to try and lessen that threat by scaring them. No one but Cal knew that after they had put several hours of hard riding between the hunted and the hunters, he had refused point blank when Cal had ordered them to kill them.
Shame had overcome him when Cal had laughed at his refusal to kill the little girls and had guessed it had something to do with his grandmother's beliefs. Hank was, therefore, still too wary of twins to pay any closer attention to them than he already was. His wounded pride kept him from realizing the twins were not frightened by the dead animals, but were disgusted that the man had just thrown their future dinner into the dirt. Mommy would not like that at all. Iza and Tug saw the twins' disgust, and they were secretly pleased at their charges' attitude and grit.
Cal, for his part, had no reservations about killing the twins, but Hank's refusal had thrown him. It was the first time that he had given an order that Hank had refused to carry out. This disturbed him more than he would admit, and he was too busy wondering how he could profit from the situation without leaving the twins behind as witnesses. So, it was that Cal and Hank missed the growing signs of attachment Iza and Tug were exhibiting towards the girls.
Meanwhile, the posse was closing the gap, but not as much as the Seven were. Vin Tanner was literally aching to ride on, but the necessity of allowing his horse to be watered and rest was really eating at him. He was so impatient, he left the reins of his horse to JD and stalked away down the trail.
"I'm gonna go up the next ridge an' see if I can spot anything." He didn't wait for anyone to answer or follow him. Ezra saluted Chris with two fingers to his forehead and hurried after Vin leaving his horse to Josiah. The preacher just grinned and shook his head at Chris.
"Those two ain't gonna stop till the twins are safe or they drop dead from exhaustion."
"That's what I'm afraid of." Chris looked even less happy than Vin to have to wait for their horses to rest, but wait he did. Buck moved over beside his longtime friend saying nothing at first. Finally, when he could contain it no more, he spoke.
"I feel like I'm racing with the devil. At the finish line's our darlin's an' the devil himself is thereŠ."
"Standin' over them, ready to take them if we don't cross that line first." Chris finished Buck's statement for him.
"We'll beat the devil this time, Chris. We'll get there before any harm comes to them."
"We'd better, Buck. I ain't burying anyone else I love, especially a child, and especially not two little girls who think we all spun the moon. I can't go through that again, an' I don't think I can be strong enough for Vin an' Ezra if any harm comes to those girls."
Nathan looked over at Josiah and JD. The healer was worried about the twins and his friends. How two little girls could claim such a big place in his heart in so short a time amazed him.
"We'll get there in time, boys, because our fight is a righteous one. God put those little girls on this earth for a reason, and I refuse to believe it was for them to die so young." There, he had said it at last. Josiah had voiced the fear that they had all shrunk from saying for the entire ride from home. Put the way the big man had with words and feeling the same faith that surged through Josiah in their own hearts, the men felt renewed hope and strength go through them.
"I believe Josiah is right, boys," Nathan straightened his shoulders and looked first Chris, then the other men each in the eyes. By voicing their fears aloud, Josiah forced each man to acknowledge that the twins could die. For each man the thought that some outlaw would kill their beautiful little girls was unthinkably abhorrent. It went against everything they stood for and believed in. So, they naturally did what came normally to them when faced with an adversary that forced them into a defensive position with their backs against the wall.
Against all odds, they closed into a tight circle trusting only one another to watch their backs. They would fight as one defending what was theirs until they could fight no more, and with that realization and closing of ranks, five men threw doubts and fears from their minds. Together they would convince their two friends that they would indeed prevail, and together the Seven would return the twins safely to their parents. They could not and would not fail one another no more than they could fail the twins.
Suddenly, the grim despair trying to overcome Chris Larabee disappeared. "Devil ain't gonna win this one. Let's go get Vin an' Ezra an' ride." The five men moved as one to catch up to their friends.
Vin, unaware of the epiphany his five friends had undergone, was standing on the top of the ridge looking through his spyglass. Ezra had walked quietly up beside him. One quizzically raised eyebrow was all it took.
"Big brother does not like any of us wandering off in territory such as this with out backup."
Vin's only answer was a snort of agreement and a renewed search of the rocky terrain. It was getting dark now, and everyone would have to call a halt to their travel whether they were the kidnappers or the rescue effort. Vin began going over the trail in his mind. This one was more difficult and took longer than their usual trail to Brecken; but, if they only stopped for four or five hours to rest the horses sufficiently, they should be upon the kidnappers within six maybe seven hours depending on how long the twins could delay them. For once, he had no need to communicate in words to Ezra. The man was following Vin's thoughts as easily as if Vin were speaking to him in his own mind.
"How long before we know anything?"
"Six, maybe seven hours at the most."
"How far behind do you think their father is?"
"Knowin' John, he's gonna be makin' up as much time as possible. With his money, he probably had Sheriff Johnson meet him with fresh horses, so they should only be a few hours behind 'em."
Ezra paused before asking the next question because if he admitted the truth to himself, he was just a little afraid of the answer. "Are you confident, Vin, that our young ladies are," Ezra paused again. Sighing, almost like he was mentally straightening his shoulders before battle, the gambler finished his question. "Do you think our twins can possibly overcome these odds?"
"Ya mean, are they up to the task?"
"Yes, I mean precisely that. Have we taught them to be cautious enough when dealing with these miscreants, or could we possibly have gone a trifle overboard when instructing them to be confident in their God-given talents?"
"You ever lie to them, Ezra, lettin' 'em think they pulled one over on ya? Ya ever let 'em get too big for their britches?" Vin was as serious now as he had ever been.
Ezra was just as serious answering Vin's questions as honestly and objectively as he could. "No, my friend. Allowing two such individuals such leeway and false pride as that could only be detrimental. I have endeavored to be as diligent and honest with them as you." Vin smiled, nodding in agreement.
"I bet that kind of honesty hurt, too." Vin's remark startled Ezra into a short burst of laughter.
"I must say that Mother would be appalled that I used honesty as my guide in dealing with our young ladies rather than her methods of instructing through demonstration." Both men shared a look of amusement. "Besides, our young ladies can ascertain a tale of mendacity with as much accuracy as your ability to shoot young Mr. Dunne's bowler from his head at 200 hundred yards and part his hair down the middle as you did so."
"They're real good knowin' when they ain't being told the truth. They get mad at ya if they think you're letting them get by, ya know?"
"Indeed I do know." Both men turned as the others walked up leading the horses. Chris's grin almost made Vin and Ezra nervous, but they were used to that feral grin by now. At least they knew his savage amusement was not directed at them, but at the punishment he would soon inflict upon the kidnappers. Overall, however, both men sensed their friends had somehow eliminated the doubt of success from their minds.
"We figured we'd better walk the horse, so you boys wouldn't have a head start on us when ours tire out from us ridin' more than you," Chris explained. He was being downright pleasant; something he only did before he followed his pleasantry with a fist or a bullet to whoever had been foolish enough to cross him.
"Yep, we're gonna get our twins back together," Nathan had been the quiet one up till now. Now, he was ready to rescue the twins for he had no doubt that they would succeed. They just had too, for he believed that together they would overcome the odds. Those two little girls had more hearts to break and more men to drive crazy before their time on this earth was through. God did work in mysterious and wonderful ways. Nathan was ready to ride as many hours as it took before they had to call a halt for the night. Dawn would have them within reach of the girls, and between their father and the Seven, the kidnappers didn't stand a chance.
Lison and Lisha knew that Tug and Iza were the two weak links out of the four men. They were little, but they certainly were not dumb. In fact, they were very smart. Despite their fear, they had complete faith that their daddy and Ours were on their way to save them. They only had to stay good and quiet for the two mean men. It was only when they were out of earshot that that they both went to work on the two men who were easy prey for their active imaginations. It had taken all day, but they had Iza and Tug firmly in their corner by the time they stopped for the night; Tug and Iza were no longer their kidnappers but their allies. Refusing to allow anything to happen to the two little girls who were "grittier than eggs in sand", the cousins were determined to save the twins no matter the danger. Tug and Iza just could not seem to think of a way to do it that would keep them all alive.
Ours had taught the twins that they were not to prod a mad rattlesnake, and Cal Jenkins and Hank Two Feathers were worse than rattlesnakes. The twins just didn't know the words to use to describe the two hardened criminals, although they were certain Ours or Daddy could find the words to describe them. Acting terrified and remaining silent was their best way of staying safe while those mean men were in control, at least until they discovered how to escape with Tug and Iza. The cousins in turn had started allowing them to get bolder in their actions while they sat back and remained silent. The twins had even gone so far as to allow the men to carry them when the twins found they were too tired to go on. With night falling, the girls knew the time was coming to look for an escape. Our Ezra often said that adults tended to overlook silent children as they felt they were no threat. The twins had also learned how completely inept the two cousins were when it came to stealth and subtlety. How they had ever managed to stay alive this long without the twins to tell them what to do truly amazed the little girls.
When Cal and Hank could not hear them, the twins did everything they could to test their limits, and each time Iza or Tug would cave in and let them have their way. Several times they had talked Iza and Tug into stopping using the excuse they had to go to the restroom. Iza or Tug would insist it was their idea to allow the girls to stop and take care of business with Jenkins and Two Feathers ignorant to the fact that the twins were actually calling the shots. In actuality, the twins were trying their best to leave a trail that Ours or the men they knew their daddy would hire could track. They had already figured out, since the man called Hank was always backtracking or riding ahead checking things out that he was the one they had to be especially careful around.
A little foot print out of the way in the dirt near a rock could be spotted by someone looking for it, and Ours had promised he would always look for a hidden footprint or something like that should the twins ever need him to track them. The little girls sensed how uncomfortable Hank was around them, and they began to use that to their advantage. Whenever the man rode past them, the two girls open their big blue eyes as wide as they would go, and the very sight of those sky blue orbs glinting in the sunlight would send the superstitious man riding in the other direction. Hank would get an uncomfortable feeling like he was being watched, and sure enough the twins would be staring at the back of his head. Cal even noticed how jumpy his second in command was getting.
Iza and Tug never even noticed the little signs the girls left along the way, and Hank Two Feathers never thought the girls were smart enough to do something that sly. That plus the fact they were really getting on his nerves made him somewhat negligent, and he never really looked for the little footprint here or the piece of fabric there that the twins were leaving behind. Truthfully, both Iza and Tug were beginning to admire the spirited little girls and did not want to see them killed by Jenkins and Two Feathers. Without realizing it, the two cousins began shielding the little girls. It also helped things considerably that the two men were growing increasingly terrified of what the little girls' father and this "Ours" fellow would do to them if the twin girls were harmed in any way. Neither wanted to get killed by an irate father, and as long as the twins were quiet Jenkins and Two Feathers were happy to ignore them.
It was only a matter of time before someone caught up with them to help the girls, so Iza and Tug began taking as much heat from Cal and Hank for any delays the twins would devise. One such delay had nearly caused Hank Two Feathers to fall off of his horse just before they stopped for the night. It was dusk, and they had stopped to give the horses a breather. While her sister watched her back, Tug and Iza pretended not to see as Lisha slipped over and neatly loosened the cinch just by tweaking the strap a certain way. Tug and Iza would have laughed their heads off if they had not been so scared that the other two men would catch them.
All along the way, every time they had stopped, one of the girls had marked the trail and another would pick up some pebbles. As the sunlight gave way to the dusk of the evening, one of the twins had tossed a pebble out into the darkness. Riding ahead of them Hank would swivel around on his saddle to check out the noise. Neither he nor Cal noticed the twins were wide-awake and alert having slept for hours while Tug and Iza carried them. Now, they were on the dead Dawson's horse riding between the cousins. Hank was suspicious of the cousins but not the twins. The last time he turned to check out the noise, the saddle finally was loose enough. Two Feathers fell with a thud to the ground. The others, still mounted, looked down and laughed. The twins, however, did not laugh. They saw the look on Hank's face and knew the time was almost upon them when they needed to make their escape.
Despite their desire to kill them quick, Jenkins and Two Feathers both knew that killing children, especially ones whose daddy had plenty of money, would be the same as putting loaded guns in their mouths and pulling the triggers. Killing witnesses as a means to scare everyone into thinking you were invincible was one thing. Kill two little girls, marketable ones at that, and you might as well put a message in the surrounding newspapers telling the vigilante mob where they could find you.
Cal still could not believe it was Two Feathers who had made him think of this plan. He knew for certain by how strangely Hank was acting that Hank would refuse his order to kill the girls. Having a spooked accomplice instead of his steady right hand had forced Cal to find a way to keep the twins alive but unable to cause Cal and Hank any trouble. Neither man had dreamed that Tug and Iza had decided their future and fortune lay in any reward they got for bringing the twins back safe and alive. To do that, they had to get rid of Cal and Hank. So far the girls had kept them altogether, but now was the time when it was every man or twin for himself or herself.
Jenkins and Two Feathers were planning on taking the twins with them. Once into Mexico, they would make Terrell pay double the gold they had lost in the robbery attempt. Then, they would cheat the father of his daughters and possibly sell the twins to some rich and influential, but childless couple in Mexico. This would ensure Cal and Two Feathers a hiding place for many months to come. It made perfect sense to them, but Cal was wondering if Tug and Iza were worth all the trouble they were having with them. The two men were slowing them down when they needed to cross the border as quickly as possible. Two Feathers had already reported that Terrell's men had joined with the posse from Brecken, and they were only hours behind them.
It was right after they had passed the fork in the trail that Two Feathers had fallen off of his horse, a victim to the loosened cinch and wayward pebble. Even Cal had joined in the laughter, and Hank could no more bear the humiliation than he could rid himself of the feeling that the twins spelled his doom. Humiliation morphed into a murderous rage. He jumped to his feet with murder his intent. Somehow those two cousins had turned from deadweight into his personal devils. No one laughed at Hank Two Feathers and lived to tell the tale. Cal knew it was time to deal with the two strays he had picked up along the road.
"You boys're holdin' us up. Hank here don't think yer worth keepin'."
Hank grinned evilly at the cousins as he fingered the hunting knife he carried in a sheath on his belt. There was one in his boot and another hidden inside a pouch sewn into his back collar. His smile made Tug gulp. Iza had broken out into a cold sweat. Cal Jenkins's hand was on the butt of his six-shooter; his gray eyes were hard and cruel. Two Feathers' eyes glittered with bloodlust. Both the leader and his second were calculating the odds of keeping the twins and losing the two men who were holding them up. They had no idea that the twins were the ones really delaying them, and Iza and Tug were just caught in the middle wanting to protect the troublesome but clever little girls.
Iza and Tug might have been bullies and thieves, but they had never killed anyone, much less two little girls. Iza dropped the lead rope of the horse carrying the twins and moved toward Two Feathers. If the man with the knife attacked him, Iza knew he could put up a good fight. Tug moved over to the right where he was in front of the twins but still had room to move. He shifted the shotgun he had been carrying in his hand and pulled on the trigger gently while bringing the shotgun up towards Cal Jenkins.
The twins were too scared and too busy to watch what happened next. Our Ezra had warned the twins of men who would kill one another over the slightest provocation; Ours had added to these words of wisdom with some advice of his own. 'When caught in the middle between men and guns, run like hell and find cover before the shootin' starts!' They had not understood Ours then, but now they knew exactly what he had meant. Watching everything, including the passing landscape very carefully, the twins knew they had a good chance of hiding until help came if they could get into the caves in the mountainous area. They were in a rocky area where a horse might be of little use, even one carrying as light a load as the twins. If the men continued arguing, the twins might have a chance to run away and hide until Daddy or Ours found them.
The turn to the right would take them out of sight and back to the fork in the trail that Two Feathers had chosen this path from. They had a better chance if they could send the horse in one direction back on the trail and double back on foot in the direction they knew their daddy was coming. Hiding in the many caves they had seen coming this way would keep them safe from any of the men who might survive the inevitable fight. The two girls didn't know how close the Seven were to them or that their lives were not in that much danger since both sets of men had plans for them that required them remaining alive and healthy. All they knew was that all hell was going to break loose, and they had a chance to escape.
Lison looked over to her right. Lisha shielded her sister's movements as she sat in front and watched the men. Lison tapped her twin gently on the leg with her little boot. Lisha instinctively took a look to the right as the attention was off of them. Leaning back so her ear was right next to her twin's mouth, she waited for her sister to tell her the plan. The oncoming confrontation was their chance to run and hide.
"Sissy, we got to hide," Lison whispered as quietly as possible in her twin's ear. "There's a path over to the right. If they start shootin', we run for it." Lisha carefully pinched her sister on the leg to let her know she agreed with her. The only problem was if the horse would respond to the reins if she tugged on them, or if it would stand still waiting for the man to pick up the lead rope. The little girls prepared themselves as they waited for their chance.
"You boys need to give us them gals, an' go back to the fork in the trail. You can go off in another direction. That'll split up the posse, an' give us a chance to get them girls to Purgatorio. You boys can meet up with us there once you lose the posse." Iza trusted Cal Jenkins' as much as he trusted a cat with a fat, juicy mouse. He knew that once his and Tug's backs were to Cal and Hank, that they would either get shot or knifed in the back.
Jenkins and Two Feathers wanted all of the gold the twins would bring. Iza knew the twins would be dead girls if those two killers got hold of them. He didn't know that Cal already had grand plans for the twins, which meant keeping them alive. Either way, he and Tug were not going to be bullied by two men smaller than they were. Iza and Tug were used to giving orders not following them, so there was no way he and his cousin were going to let these two outlaws kill them or those two little girls. If he and Tug could get the two girls back to their daddy, the daddy might be so happy that he would let the cousins go. It was worth the fight anyway. Iza kicked his horse in the side, spurring the animal right at Hank Two Feathers, catching the man and Cal Jenkins by surprise. They had been expecting an easier time in taking the two cousins down.
Tug pulled the trigger all the way back on his shotgun as he leveled it at Cal Jenkins. The twins had already tugged on the reins of the horse, so when the startled horse took off running, they were going back towards the fork in the road and what they hoped was freedom. Ours and Our Ezra had told them to get to safety as fast as possible. They were not under any circumstances to lose even a precious second to look behind them, so off they went totally missing the big fight.
Ignoring the escape of the two little girls, Iza jumped Two Feathers right as the man drew out his knife. The impetus of launching himself from his horse at the man standing on the ground below him forced a litany of cursing from the two adversaries. Hitting the ground with a resounding thud, Iza's full weight pinned Hank to the ground. Hank still managed to hold onto his knife. Neither man paid any attention to the explosions of a shotgun and a six-shooter, echoing simultaneously throughout the mountainous area. Two Feathers tried to stab Iza, but the larger man grabbed Hank round the neck with his large beefy hands and started choking the very life out of Two Feathers. Hank struck out with the knife and stabbed Iza in the arm. It loosened Iza's hold on his neck only temporarily as the big man grabbed Hank's throat anew.
Lifting Two Feathers by his neck Iza slammed Hank's head into the rocky ground, forcing Hank to drop the knife. Iza squeezed the flesh beneath his fingers and watched as Hank Two Feathers flailed helplessly at the stronger man desperately trying to reach the knife just inches from his hand. Grabbing up a rock near him, Hank managed to hit Iza in the head causing the bigger man to once more weaken the punishing grip around Hank's neck giving the man just one gulp of air in his starving lungs before Iza recovered enough to tighten his hold once again. Just before losing consciousness Hank managed to grab the knife and jab it forward, trying to plunge it deep into the soft flesh of Iza's belly.
Two Feathers' eyes bulged as he tried to breathe, one arm haphazardly slapping ineffectively at Iza, garnering his remaining strength to rip the knife upwards into bone to gut the man, but succeeded only in slicing a deep, wicked gash along the front stopping at the belly button. Grunting, Iza still held Hank's throat in a powerful grip. It seemed as though the wound only served to strengthen Iza long enough for him to crush the last miniscule breath of life right out of the furious outlaw. Then, Iza collapsed on top of Hank Two Feathers, too spent to see how his cousin had fared against Cal Jenkins. Gasping for air and trying to keep the burning sensation in his gut from making him lose the contents of his stomach, Iza watched as his blood began to swell up between the fingers he was pressing onto the wound and watched as the scarlet drops dripped onto the rocky earth beneath. Iza finally managed to turn at the sound of a horse galloping past him.
Jenkins had pulled his gun shooting from the hip as the shotgun blast exploded scaring the horses and causing them to rear and dislodge their riders. Tug had been thrown to the ground, a gunshot wound to his arm; the force of the bullet had thrown him clear off his horse. The wind exploded from his lungs, and he lay stunned for a moment, struggling to breathe. Those few moments allowed Cal Jenkins to crawl to his feet and stagger towards his horse. He, too, had been flung from his horse as the impact of the shot gun shell threw him backwards. His horse's panicked reaction only added to his airborne acrobatics.
One of the shells had actually penetrated his side, tearing into his sensitive flesh and burrowing its way deep within his body. The pain in his back made him think that the bullet had come to rest against his spine. Cal felt as if the bullet had torn him up good inside, but he was determined to get out of this mess. The plight of his cohort in crime, Hank Two Feathers, was forgotten as his world narrowed to one simple act. Cal Jenkins had to find a safe place to hold up until he healed. Then, he would make John Terrell pay for foiling his plans. Dragging himself to his horse as fast as he could, Jenkins crawled into the saddle.
Tug, who was holding his hand to the wound in his arm trying to stop the flow of blood, had just managed to regain his footing when he saw Jenkins point his horse straight at him. Jumping for all he was worth to the side as Jenkins' horse missed him by inches, Tug landed on his feet not far from his wounded cousin. With Jenkins riding hell bent for leather and his own horse several hundred feet away, Tug managed to lift himself off of the rocky terrain and drag himself over to where his cousin lay bleeding profusely from the knife wound. Tug had no idea if Jenkins was riding in the same direction as the twins or just the opposite for he had lost track of the twins when the fighting had started. God help them all if he was on the same trail as those little girls. That was the last thought in his mind as Tug dropped unconscious onto the rocky ground.
"Sissy? It's awful quiet, an' no one's come lookin' for us. You think they killed each other off?"
"Shhhh, Sissy! Them mean ones might of gotten Tug an' Iza. You want them two to find us right off?" Lisha glared at her twin. They were about half a mile from where the fight had taken place.
"I'm hungery." Lison was not a happy camper. Roughing it with Ours and Our Ezra close at hand to keep them safe and well-fed was one thing. Hiding from kidnappers was definitely not as much fun as playing pretend and doing everything Ours told them to do in order to survive.
"Hungry, you're hungry not hungery," Lisha automatically corrected her sister. Being fifteen minutes older than her twin made her the responsible big sister, or so she had been told. Our Ezra had said her status as the oldest twin behooved her to behave more maturely. At first Lisha had thought Our Ezra was talking about some beehive or some such thing, but Mommy had interpreted for her. Once she had discovered that the oldest child should always set a good example for the younger ones, she had decided that it fit in with her plans to take care of her younger sisters anyway. She loved her brother Jamie, but he was just a boy. Lison knew that one day he would grow up to be like Daddy or one of her Seven, and he would need a responsible sister to help train him properly. It was just amazing all the things a girl had to know.
Lisha decided she had enough to do taking care of all of 'her' men without having any children of her own. She had informed her sister of that fact, and Lison had agreed that young Belle would have to be the one to have children, not them. Lison was going to help her sissy take care of all of 'their' men. Lisha had welcomed that. Keeping an eye on Daddy was hard enough at times without reinforcements.
"I don't care which one it is, I'm still it! We got anything to eat?" She began digging in one of the saddlebags she had thrown haphazardly upon the ground. Tossing out items at random, she stopped when something sharp dug into her hip. That something immediately caught her attention, driving food right out of her mind. Digging into her pocket of her now dirty pinafore, she held her discovery up like it was a twenty dollar gold piece. "Sissy! Look at this!" Lison held up a sling shot. "Remember? Our Buck taught us how to use these, and Ours taught how to hunt with them."
Lisha grinned at her sister, not only remembering the camping trip, but what other weapons they had at hand. She immediately dug into her back pocket, extricating the sling shot Our Buck had given to her as well. Before, they had only their little pocket knives that Ours and Our Ezra had given the girls nearly a year ago with instructions to hide them at all times in their boots. The two little girls had done so faithfully, never once allowing anyone else to know about their pocketknives. Ours had said Mommy and Daddy might not like the idea of them carrying around knives, but they might come in handy one day. He had taught them how to use and care for them, and he had eventually taught them how to hunt with the slingshots Buck had insisted on teaching the girls to use.
Our Buck had discovered they carried pocketknives one day when one of the twins had nonchalantly handed Buck the pocketknife when he was trying to cut the twine for a kite he had made them. Not to be out done by Vin or Ezra when it came to 'his darlin's', he had made them each a sling shot and taught them how to use it. Buck had been nearly bursting with pride at how good his two pupils turned out to be with the slingshots. He had finally bragged to Vin and Ezra about their abilities, and he had become another camping partner. That meant JD tagged along as well. Chris had just rolled his eyes when he had been invited to join them on one of these camping trips, speaking only to warn them not to camp too close to his place in the hills. He liked the view just like it was and didn't want any accidents to change the scenery one bit.
The rest of the seven and the twins' parents wisely decided what happened on these camping trips was something better left alone for they didn't need any more nightmares. The last camping trip had ended with rabbit stew courtesy of the twins. Of course no one had dared ask where the JD's burned finger tips on one hand and blackened hat had come from, nor to where the missing section of Buck's beloved mustache had disappeared. The only thing that had been said had been a cryptic remark by Ezra followed by loud protests from Buck and JD to be finished with Vin's remark that if a person was dumb enough to lean too close when teaching little ones to build a campfire, they deserved what they got. Larabee had exchanged an 'I've got to hear every last detail,' look with Josiah and Nathan and then had returned to his meal.
Going straight to the source, the three men had laughed heartily as the twins had described every gory detail of how JD's hat had somehow gotten too close to the twig Lisha was trying to light the rest of the kindling with. JD had yanked the scorched hat from his head dropping the rest of the wood onto the burning kindling which had sent sparks flying right into Buck's face, thus setting one side of his mustache on fire. JD had then burned his fingers helping Buck save the rest of his mustache.
The three men had waited patiently till one of the objects of their amusement walked by them on the boardwalk. They had all noted that Buck had not yet been to the saloon nor anywhere else but meals since his return from the camping trip, and when he did, his face was nearly obscured by his hat. The mystery was solved when Inez, exiting Mrs. Potter's store had run into the rogue. That was when everyone saw that Buck had shaved off his beloved mustache rather than answer any more curious questions as to what had happened to half of it. Inez took one look at him and burst into laughter, which had set all of his friends off once again. The twins had to work long and hard finding a woman who had not seen the rascal with his mustache, so he would forgive them. The new seamstress was just the ticket. Within minutes of her wide-eyed response to the handsome devil helping her with her luggage from the stage, his bruised ego had been fully restored.
Remembering their adventures with their beloved seven only made the little girls want to go home as quickly as possible, and the only way to do that was to stay free and safe until they were found by their daddy or the seven. They had no doubt that they would be found. Tug and Iza were not much of a problem as they could be controlled, but the twins did not want the mean men to find them. So, they took stock of their meager supplies.
The frightened horse, which hadn't been difficult to get to run flat out, had finally slowed down. The big bay was a cantankerous cuss, since it had discovered that its riders were not as heavy-handed as his previous rider. It had taken both twins using all their strength combined to pull the big animal to a halt. Deciding they were better off hidden in the rocky terrain, they had immediately used the first boulder they had come to and dismounted. Lisha had dropped three of the canteens that Hank had strapped to their horse, saddlebags, the blanket, and whatever else she could find a use for to Lison who in turn dropped the supplies on the dirt beside the boulder before helping her sister climb down. Slapping the reins on the horse's butt, they sent the horse down the trail. Then, they had taken to the high ground just like Ours had taught them. Finding a large outcropping of rock that would provide shade from the sun, both girls had taken stock of their supplies.
It was getting really dark and the air was getting cooler. They immediately searched for any brush they could use for a fire for all of their seven had told them it was necessary to build a fire for survival. Once they had the small fire going, they searched the saddlebags that had been discarded when they had found their slingshots. Then, they gathered an arsenal of small rocks for their slingshots. After a meager and very tough meal of jerky and hardtack, both girls wrapped themselves together in the blanket and dropped into an exhausted slumber. They never noticed the fire going out. It was a heavy yet peaceful sleep that included dreams of their daddy and the seven waking them in the morning to take them home. They had no way of knowing just how many groups of people were looking for them.
The news of the kidnapping had already spread like a wildfire in harsh summer heat, and there was another group of men searching for the twins whose motives were not as innocent as the men already searching. Coming from his ranch were Guy Royal and his men. Since his alliance with James to rid the area of the seven had ended in failure and the loss of most of his wealth, Guy Royal wanted revenge on both the seven and the railroad he had failed to extract the fantastic sums his control over the land would have brought him. What better way than to find the little girls whose daddy owned the railroad? It had not escaped the power hungry land owner's notice that Terrell was in fact an uncle by marriage of that damned tracker who had interfered ruining his plans by helping the old widow Wells. Tanner would sweat bullets knowing that Guy Royal had his cousins. His few men who were paid enough to venture into Four Corners had told him how much the twins were seen in the company of Tanner and his fancy gambler friend. It was revenge so sweet the thwarted man could not help but use his remaining men and resources for one last strike against the men he hated so much. With his twenty men, Royal set out from his deserted ranch having no doubt as to who would take custody of the twins.
The seven were not worried about Guy Royal at the moment. They had stopped once more to rest their horses, and Vin Tanner had once more walked ahead to check things out. This time, however, he saw more than rocky terrain covered in lifeless vegetation and even less water. He saw a man trying like hell to ride a spent horse as fast as he could. Even in the failing light, Tanner recognized the rider. His heart dropped to his feet, and then a terror-fueled anger he could not control coursed through his veins. He judged the distance and lit out at a dead run, nimbly jumping over rocks and brush. He jumped at the last possible moment shocking his bewildered friends.
Buck saw his friend leap into what looked like air and disappear. He heard a gasp behind him and turned to see JD standing behind him, his eyes bulging out in surprise. They both took out running in the direction they had seen Vin leap; all six men at a dead run to see what had caused Vin to react so swiftly and without a word of warning. All of them were greatly disturbed, but each one knew that whatever had prompted Vin to react in this manner had to do with their quarry. They all rounded the corner around which they had seen their friend disappear and came to a sudden stop, stunned to see Tanner so out of control. There, lying immobile under the irate tracker who was holding a big Bowie knife to his throat was Cal Jenkins. Tanner's knees pinned the man's arms to the ground as effectively as wooden spikes through Jenkins' hands. He no longer looked like the hardened murderer upon which his reputation had been built. Lying there sputtering and stuttering was the man no lawman had been able to catch before. A horse covered in lather was drooping next to the men; it was far too exhausted to run no matter how frightened it had been. Wild eyes turned slightly begging the others to help him.
"Ggget this mmaddd man offfa mmee!" he begged, but Jenkins only met cold silence. Looking back at the enraged man who had flown out of the very air to knock him from the poor animal he had nearly ridden to death, Jenkins begged for his life for he saw nothing but death in the wild blue eyes of the man pinning him to the ground.
"I got no problem killin' you! I already asked once. Start answerin' now else I'm gonna start slicin' you from ya neck to your balls. Where are those little girls?"
"Now Mr. Tanner, I must protest. You promised that I could practice my surgical skills on the next miscreant who refused to answer any of your more pertinent questions. Why I even bought a new set of the most extraordinarily sharp carving knives." Jenkins blanched, his eyes rolling in fear at Ezra's casual mention of sharp knives and surgical skills. JD only added to his terror.
"No, he didn't, Ezra. Vin promised to show me how to skin a man alive. You got to cut the last man up in little pieces, so it's my turn now." JD's grin turned evil as he couldn't help adding, "I hope this one yells as loud as the other one."
Jenkins bucked, trying to dislodge the crazy man off of him. These must be the seven peacekeepers form Four Corners. He'd heard stories of how Chris Larabee's gang would stop at nothing to see justice done. He'd always thought the stories were just talk, but he was a believer now. Jenkins tried to dislodge Tanner one more time using his legs, but the fancy dressed man took that moment to put his elegant boot on Jenkins' left leg while the younger kid obliged his friend by immobilizing Jenkins' right leg with the pressure of his booted foot. Cal was babbling now, but the torture session had just begun.
"Now, both you boys are wrong. Vin promised Josiah he could go Old Testament on the next murderin' son of a bitch. I heard him. So did Nathan, here."
"Buck's right. 'Member, him an' Vin ain't never seen Josiah crush the life out of a man. Y'all have, Ezra. It's a sight you just don't believe less y'all see it with your own eyes, and this here fella sure does deserve getting his insides squashed. 'Sides, it'll save me having to patch him up 'fore we hang him."
Larabee walked over and stood over the helpless man. He looked down and grinned. Jenkins almost swallowed his own tongue. A feral sound finally emerged that matched the lethal growl that had issued forth from Tanner only moments ago. "You're all wrong," the voice was barely a whisper. Taking out his gun, Larabee pressed the cold metal against Jenkins' face. "This here murderin' bastard took two little girls who just happen to be Tanner's kin. Ain't no way he's gonna let anyone get the truth outa this dead man but him. Ain't that right, Vin?" Still the voice was a whisper, but it sent shivers of terror down Cal's spine. Tanner's response was the final straw.
"Now Larabee, don't go scarin' the man so bad he can't answer me." Cal's worst fears were realized. This was the Larabee gang. If he'd known those damn little girls were kin to one of Larabee's men, he would have just taken his chances and tried escaping without taking them hostage. "You know how impatient I get when I don't get the right answers as quick as I want 'em." Tanner's voice had dropped to a deadly growl as he took the razor sharp point of his knife and nicked Jenkins' throat with it.
"Bback there. I'll take ya, just don't kill me. Please don't let him kill me. It ain't right. You can't kill me without a trial." Jenkins could not get his mouth to move fast enough. At Tanner's raised eyebrow, Cal opened his mouth and sang like a canary. "It's about two hours back. We weren't gonna hurt them little girls. We was gonna give 'em back, but them two new guys," Jenkins was on a roll now. If he could put the blame on those damn cousins, he could tell the judge he had tried to save the little girls. The girls would be too scared to remember what really happened. "They jumped my partner an' me just as we decided we'd better give them girls back 'fore we had every lawman in the territory after us. You gotta believe me mister. Them girls were alive when them others jumped us. They killed my partner and went chasin' after them girls. They got them girls now. I was ridin' ahead to get some help. I want them girls as safe as you do. You gotta believe me! We got to go save them little girls now!"
Jenkins felt Tanner relax above him the minute he had said the girls were alive and back with Tug and Iza. He just knew they believed him, that is until Larabee knelt beside Tanner and looked down at Jenkins.
"Somehow I don't think you're tellin' us the whole truth. Now, Tanner here learned a few things from the Kiowa and Comanche 'bout gettin' to the truth. You sure those little girls are alive?" Jenkins looked from Larabee then back to Tanner. He shook his head frantically.
"They're alive, I swear it!" Jenkins blurted out.
"Good. Trust me, we'll get those little girls back all right, safe and sound, too. Or, I'll let all my boys have a hand in killin' you. Slow an' painful. Believe me when I say if so much as one hair on their heads is out of place, I'm gonna gut you an' leave you for the buzzards." Chris could speak more than three words in a day if there was a need, and he could be as eloquent as Ezra, even if it was in his own unique way. Vin bit his lip keeping his grin from forming. Now that he knew his girls were still alive and close, his quirky sense of humor came roaring back.
"Yes sir, whatever you say Mr. Larabee. I'll take you to 'em. You just patch me up an' give me some water an' a horse an' I'll,..."
He never got the rest of his worthless promises out of his mouth before Buck had stuffed a gag in it. "You're not goin' with us. We're gonna truss you up like the animal you are, an' if you're a good boy, we might come back an' get ya before ya die out here," Buck smiled at Jenkins doing a credible job of matching the lethal qualities both Larabee and Tanner had exhibited, "unless some wild animal gets ya first." Buck shrugged as if that possibility didn't bother him much. "You best be here when we get back," Buck grunted as he tied the rope tightly around Jenkins' ankles, "cuz if you get any ideas of tryin' to get loose an' runnin' away, I'm gonna come after you myself. Things could get ugly then, an' I don't like ugly. You understand?" Jenkins nodded his head as his hands were pulled behind his back by Tanner. Buck said one more thing as Vin tied Jenkins' hands securely behind his back. "This is for Jessie Parks!" Buck hit Jenkins, then, knocking him out with a fine right hook to the villain's jaw. As the outlaw's head hit the rock wall they had propped Jenkins up against, Vin looked at Buck as Chris and Ezra returned leading their horses. The others followed having witnessed Buck knocking the prisoner unconscious.
"Damn, that had to hurt." Buck raised a curious eyebrow. Vin shrugged his shoulders, "Too bad he missed it." Involuntary chuckles erupted from Buck and Ezra, and Chris merely snorted in agreement. JD laughed outright, strangely unperturbed at leaving his prisoner trussed up like a turkey on a spit. Neither Josiah nor Nathan felt any remorse at leaving the helpless man behind. Jenkins had shown no mercy to any of his victims, so why bother wasting any on him? Tanner's grin was wicked as he mounted his horse. "C'mon, boys, let's ride."
Continued in Part Two
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