Priscilla by Charlene Raddon

Author:Charlene Raddon [Raddon, Charlene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-09-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

The sound of distant gunfire set Priscilla's heartbeat racing. Her legs shook.

Irish O'Malley and his partner wanted Braxton dead. They'd proved that through their attack at the jail and the second one two days ago when Braxton and Etta cornered them in one of the row-houses. Were they making another attempt?

Sick to death of worrying about him, she grabbed her father's army Colt, which she had taken to keeping close to her, and raced down the street. She refused to sit around half the day waiting to learn if he still lived.

About to turn into the alley leading to the jail, a noise or movement caused her to look toward the miner's row-houses. Beyond the abandoned homes, Braxton and the marshal were galloping up the hill.

Damned if she'd be left out to fret and worry over Braxton. She'd done enough of that yesterday. She ran to Etta's and saddled her usual spotted mare. By the time she reached the hilltop, she saw no sign of either Braxton or Etta.

The outlaws would seek shelter, a place where they could hide and ambush the lawmen searching for them. Priscilla scanned her surroundings. To the west lay the Black Bear River but cover there was hit and miss. No. Her bet would be on Wildcat Mountain. The forest offered far better hiding places. Nudging her horse, she rode that direction.

Three-hundred yards from the trees, Priscilla reined in. A horse and rider had emerged from the underbrush at the base of the foothills, pigtail flying out from under a wide-brimmed hat.

Etta!

What had she been doing in the woods? She hated going there. She'd have sent Braxton to look for the outlaws on the mountain rather than go herself.

Priscilla watched and waited. Once the marshal had disappeared toward town, Priscilla rode to the spot where Etta had emerged. She found only an animal trail, but it appeared to have been used recently. Curiosity drove her to check it out. Maybe Etta had needed to relieve herself. Maybe she thought she'd heard something moving up here.

The farther Priscilla went, the denser the growth became, yet the narrow game trail continued, and she followed. Abruptly, the trail ended, and she noted some flattened areas in the underbrush where deer had bedded down. About to give up and turn around, she glimpsed something dark ahead amidst some large boulders.

To reach it, she had to dismount and go on foot. A few feet from her goal, she tripped and barely caught herself in time to keep from falling. She looked down and saw an odd rock, rounded at the side and flat on top. It appeared to be quite large, but shrubbery hid most of it.

A pine martin scurried away through the brush, its long tail flicking, and a jay scolded from the trees. Priscilla pushed aside a tall bush and there in front of her, rose a cave with a strange, almost squared off opening like a doorway. Before she could go deeper, her horse gave a frightened whinny.

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