Slocum and the Lady Reporter by Jake Logan

Author:Jake Logan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

10

Slocum felt torn between the two camps. The miners who had survived the explosion and the claim-jumpers’ attack were regrouping. He thought three of them remained to defend their property, but the rest were in disarray.

That confusion didn’t extend to the outlaws who had captured Elizabeth. Slocum raced down the hill in time to see a dozen men surround Elizabeth and herd her away, going deeper into the valley. He lifted his pistol but the range was too great. He didn’t want to hit her—or waste his ammo. He would certainly need it when he tracked the owlhoots down and rescued Elizabeth. Slocum hoped he could do it before something terrible happened to the lovely woman.

He brushed himself off and made his way back to where he had tethered his horse. The gelding looked up, big brown eyes accusing him of all kinds of torture. The horse had eaten the leaves and grass within the limits of the reins and obviously sought more.

Slocum didn’t bother explaining to the horse how desperate the situation might become if the claim-jumpers got Elizabeth to their camp. It had begun to look as if every man in this secluded valley was an outlaw of some kind. The men trying to steal the Valhalla Mine were up to no good; now they were kidnappers. He wished he could blame Marshal Williams for all this, but the lawman’s province was clearly exceeded up here amid the mountains and the silver and gold mines.

Williams might do nothing to keep the peace in Nirvana, but this was out of his jurisdiction by miles and miles.

Slocum bent low in the saddle and studied the dirt kicked up by the gang as they took Elizabeth away. Following this trail was a snap. A blind man could see where the horses cut up sod along the road and left heavy hoofprints in the soft dirt. By the time he had ridden a mile, Slocum had identified each of the horses according to markings on their horseshoes. One had a notch out of the right front shoe. Another was ready to throw a back shoe. Yet another had a peculiar design, as if the blacksmith had been more of an artist than a farrier and had worked in fanciful figures that were lost in the damp dirt and dry dust of the road but still noticeable.

Then there was Elizabeth’s horse. Joe Arnot had not intended the horse to be ridden. The gait and length of stride were uneven, showing the horse spent more time pulling a wagon than allowing anyone to ride it.

Now and then Slocum stopped and looked around to be sure he wasn’t riding into a trap. He doubted the kidnappers even knew he was around. If Elizabeth had blurted out to her kidnappers that he might come to rescue her, saving her might be as dangerous as defending the Valhalla Mine. She was a clever, quick-thinking woman, though, and Slocum doubted she would give her captors even the slightest edge.

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