The Wolves of Seven Pines by E. L. Ripley & Ralph Compton

Author:E. L. Ripley & Ralph Compton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2020-05-04T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The moon hung in the air all but full, taunting them.

Never had Carpenter covered so much ground on foot, even as a young man, even during the war. At least in the war, they had marched like civilized people. This mad, ragged dash across the mountains was another matter entirely, and it didn’t suit him.

Silva fared little better. He was younger but not stronger.

The howling had died down hours ago, and Carpenter was more worried about bullets now. Fred had to be behind that rifle; he was the only one foolish enough to ruin everything with a greedy shot. It might have been Isaiah with him or O’Doul, or the both of them, or even John as well. It wouldn’t have been Hale’s younger hired men; clearly his true intent wasn’t known to them or even to his own son. William had tried in good faith to drive Silva out. He’d taken his father’s words at face value.

No, the only ones Hale would have trusted enough for this work were his own men, the ones he had known a long time. That was good; even the youngest of them was over forty, so they couldn’t be making much better time than Carpenter and Silva.

They found a shallow brook and waded upstream for at least three hundred yards before continuing into the brush. That would stand a good chance of shaking off their followers, at least for a while.

With the sun down, it wasn’t long until the cold set in, but it was only after they finally stopped moving that they started to shiver. Not a word had passed between them since the river, but Carpenter considered it a point of pride that he wasn’t groaning in pain with every move he made. He settled on the pine needles and put his back against a tree. He didn’t know how many days this body had left in it, but if they were days like this one, it wouldn’t be many.

Silva was just a shape in the dark. A fire was out of the question. A smoke, though? He didn’t have the strength to roll it.

“I take it they want what you buried,” he said finally. “Was that why William was watching you?”

“No. He wouldn’t have ridden on, if so. He was just to let his father know that I really had come back.”

“What did you bury?”

“My patent. Plans. Some money.” Silva sighed, propping his feet up against another tree. “It’s the patent he wants.”

Carpenter put his face in his hands and rubbed.

Driving Silva out and putting a stop to the factory had never been to Hale’s advantage; of course he’d never really wanted it gone.

He’d wanted it to be his.

“It don’t make sense,” Carpenter groaned, running his hand through his hair. “Why?”

“There is only one reason, Mr. Carpenter.”

“I know that.” He sighed. “He made money after the war. I know he did.”

“I can never know for certain,” Silva replied. “My inference was that he overplayed.”

“I wrote to the man. He wrote to me.

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