Bad Blood at Harlow's Bend by Scott Connor

Author:Scott Connor [Connor, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Robert Hale
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 10

Lorimer avoided looking over his shoulder and used the changes in direction when they skirted around the side of the winding creek to look back in a natural manner.

They had only one follower, an observation that made him relax as he reckoned the Devlins wouldn’t have split up. With it being more likely that the follower was Sheriff Roswell, a man he didn’t welcome meeting, he relayed his concern to Abigail and that they should speed up, but she only furrowed her brow.

‘That’s nothing to worry about,’ she said. ‘Plenty of people come this way.’

He sighed, accepting his dark mood had stopped him from considering that being followed could be an innocent happenstance. He tried to foster a calmer mood by slowing down and over the next few miles the rider gained on them.

Abigail’s reports on their progress suggested they would soon see Finlay’s house, thereby arriving at their destination before the rider reached them, but then hoofbeats pounded behind him. Lorimer looked back and confirmed the follower had broken into a gallop.

He turned to Abigail, but she was staring ahead while sporting a shocked expression. When he saw the reason he joined her in being concerned.

A second rider was heading towards them and this man was clearly Griffin Devlin. Lorimer glanced back and in the last few moments the other rider had come close enough to let him see it was Reinhold.

‘Head to the water’s edge,’ he called to Abigail.

‘We’ll get trapped there,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘We should make a run for Finlay’s house.’

She gestured ahead and, figuring she knew the area better than he did, he beckoned for her to pick a route. She speeded up to a fast trot and rode towards Griffin, a move that at first looked foolhardy, but when Lorimer hurried his horse on and drew alongside her he saw that she was aiming to reach a long, narrow mound before Griffin did.

Sure enough, as she approached the end of the mound she swung away from the creek and pounded along, taking a route inland that kept the mound to their left and even higher ground to their right. A hundred yards on Lorimer checked on their pursuers and found that Reinhold was approaching the end of the mound, but he was slowing down, presumably to wait for Griffin.

Cheered by this observation Lorimer rode on, and when he next checked on the situation behind them Reinhold had stopped. He whooped with delight, making Abigail glance back and join him in looking pleased, but then Lorimer had an alarming thought.

When the brothers had attacked Manford Wigfall they’d surprised him by coming from an unexpected direction. He glanced around and figured the higher ground inland would be hard to climb, so if Griffin had doubled back with the intention of riding around the mound in the opposite direction, he and Reinhold would trap them.

‘Head to the creek,’ he called to Abigail. Then, not giving her time to consider his order, he drew his horse to a halt and turned to the mound.

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