Courage by Jeffrey Poston

Author:Jeffrey Poston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lomas and Turner Press
Published: 2022-04-27T19:26:08+00:00

Chapter 17

The two guards threw the women to the ground and tore at their coats. Jason immediately brought up his Winchester and took aim at the man hovering over Renée. A gunshot echoed in the night and dirt exploded at the feet of Renée’s attacker. A short, wiry man approached Renée and stuck his gun to her attacker’s head. He spoke a few words. The attacker nodded furiously and backed away.

The small man carried an air of undisputed authority about him. He helped Renée to her feet and led her back to the rest of the hostages. Then the leader shouted more commands around the suddenly still camp. Jason couldn’t hear the words over the fierce crackle of the huge bonfire, but he understood the message. No one would harm the Frenchwoman.

The two would-be rapists dragged the Indian woman by her arms toward the west end of the horseshoe curve, out of sight of the rest of the camp. She kicked and screamed in vain. They were headed where Jason would be in a few minutes. Hopefully, he’d find a way to take advantage of them when they were most distracted.

As Jason crept through the boulders, intent on intercepting the men, he heard a coyote yelp close by but slightly higher in the rocks. He froze. Such an animal would never hunt or scavenge close to humans, especially not at night. He waited for the next sound, unsure whether the call was a coordinated communication or a warning. Almost immediately, he heard an unseen lookout perched on the boulder right above him turn toward the animal sound. The man’s boots crunched against rock as the man pivoted.

Jason knew had he taken one more step, he’d have been spotted and shot in the back. Somewhere in the darkness nearby he had an ally, someone on the same mission as he was. He waited for his cue to take action. He heard it in the swish of an arrow, a thump and a gasp from above. Jason moved quickly, knowing instinctively what to do.

He dropped his Winchester and scrambled up onto the boulder. He saw the feathered shaft sticking out of the shocked man’s chest, the arrowhead protruding from his back. He caught the man’s falling rifle with one hand and grabbed him by the suspenders with his other. Quickly, he yanked the man with him as he jumped off the boulder and was rewarded with a muted crack of neck bones as the man fell headfirst to the ground.

Jason ducked as he heard the would-be rapists behind him. He glanced over his shoulder. He saw one of the men throw the Indian woman to the ground by the collar of her coat. She struggled heroically, but the man hit her hard in the jaw. Dazed, she groaned, unable to fight off her attacker. The man pulled her coat off, turned her onto her back, and then yanked her deerskin dress up.

Unfortunately, Jason’s ally was screened from the woman’s attackers by a huge boulder, so he waited until the attacker rose slightly to pull down his pants.

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