I don't know what happened but half of chapter 16 disappeared. One day it was eight pages long and the next it was only four. ???????? So anyway here's the rest of chapter 16 which will now be known as chapter 17. And thanks to everyone who is reading. I hope you are enjoying it. If you feel so inclined, I would love to have some feedback. Please feel free to leave me a comment.
She glared at him as she removed the ruined shirt, wadded it into a ball and angrily heaved it several feet away. She kicked her shoes off and stepped out of her britches giving them a fling with her foot as she did so. She may as well have been naked as she stood there in her thin camisole and bloomers. His perverted gaze raking her up and down. She very hurriedly pulled the dress over her head. It was a beautiful dress her mother had made for her last summer. The pale blue tiered skirt was made of light cotton and the white lace trimmed bodice was made to fall off the shoulder in a cascade of ruffles. The airy garment left her shoulders and her arms exposed and the lightweight fabric allowed the chilled evening breeze to pass straight through to her uncovered legs beneath. She realized then she had left Joshua's coat by the river that morning. If it got too cold tonight, she was going to be even more miserable than she was already.
He leered at her while she put her boots back on her socked feet. Evie turned away from him and took refuge under Rusty's neck as he sauntered closer to her, with a leering smile on his face. He took a strand of her hair in his vile smelling hands and rubbed it between his fingers. "Nice. Real nice." He brought the hair to his nose and inhaled the scent of it. He closed his eyes and savored the sweet aroma for a moment. Evie shivered from revulsion. "It sure is easy to see why that coward was anxious to save your sweet ass. I can't blame him for wantin' to taste your wares." He ran his putrid hand across her cheek and down to her throat. How different this wretched low life's touch was from Joshua's. She shrank away from his cold creepy caress. How different it was form Joshua's gentle touch. Joshua's touch had left a trail of fire that lingered on her skin long afterwards and left her aching and wanting to experience more. Again the memory of her beloved Joshua and what this reprobate swine had done to him and to her family, had her anger bristling to the point that she literally had to bite her own tongue to keep from telling him what she really thought of him.
"And since he's done spoiled the goods, I may as well get me a little sample." When he cupped her chin to bring her face around to his cold clammy lips, she couldn't resist anymore. She spun around as she slapped his stinking hands away from her face.
"He didn't spoil anything, you idiot," she ground out between clenched teeth. " I lied to you to distract you so you would leave him alone. And you swallowed it hook, line, and sinker. He would never take advantage of a helpless grieving girl! And now he's coming for me and hope he kills you, you filthy beast. And if anybody's a coward it's you! You beat a defenseless thirteen year old boy to death....."
She didn't get to finish her rant before his backhand caught her right cheek and nearly spun her around on her feet. Her hand flew up to clutch her aching jaw. The stinging pain made tears well up in her eyes before spilling over onto her cheeks. She didn't have the strength to fight as he forcefully bound her chapped wrists again. Once they were in the saddle, he held the knife to her throat. "You say one more word to me, and I'll cut your tongue out. A mute woman'll bring even more than a virgin one."
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They only had about three hours of daylight left. Kid scanned the area where he had just dismounted. He walked to the creek side. "They watered the horse here. These droppings look pretty fresh. We can't be but about an hour behind them." When Heyes didn't respond he looked behind him to see where his partner had gone. He was crouched about three yards away examining something he'd picked up from the ground.
Heyes heard Kid approaching him from behind. He didn't speak. He wordlessly held up the shirt, sliced in half for his partner to see. Kid took the shirt and studied it. He passed the garment back to his partner and they held a mute conversation with their eyes for a moment. Wordlessly, they headed back to their mounts. That's when Kid stumbled over the pair of pants. Again, blue eyes conversed with brown and their pace quickened back to their mounts.
He knew what Heyes was thinking. And he feared the worst himself, but he needed to reassure his friend. "Don't jump to any conclusions, Heyes. She's not gonna be any good to Kid him dead or....." He didn't finish that thought when his usually calm and passive partner turned a narrow incensed gaze in his direction, as if to say "I dare you to even say that he touched her in that way."
Kid studied his partner for a moment. He was gently holding the mutilated clothes that Evie had been wearing. Then his gentle hold became an iron grip as he clutched the clothes in an angry fist. A subtle change was coming over his friend. It would have gone unnoticed to anyone else, but not to the Kid. Heyes breathing was quicker and deeper. His eyes had become flat and almost emotionless. His lower jaw worked back and forth as if he were tasting the rage that was boiling up from deep inside of him. This was not good. Jed Curry had known Hannibal Heyes for twenty-seven years. In those twenty-seven years he could count on one hand how many times he's seen him this angry. And every one of those times had been when someone had harmed someone he cared about. As he watched him now, he had no doubt that this was one of those times. He would have to keep a close eye on his cousin. Although the times he's been this mad were few, they had also almost lead to disaster. He recalled a time at Valparaiso when a he had received a spanking for something he didn't even do. Hannibal had been so angry at the injustice to his younger cousin, he had sneaked into the teachers' quarters and placed several snakes in the bed of the teacher responsible. They never found out who did it and Heyes never admitted to him that he had, but Jed knew. The teacher hadn't been bitten and the snakes weren't deadly, but the poor teacher had been so frightened, she had resigned the next day. He'd seen the smug smirk on Hannibal's face as he'd watched the teacher placing her bags and her trunk full of belongings into the waiting coach. The look on his face had said, "That's what you get for hurting Jed." Only it wasn't Hannibal the boy he was looking at now. It was Heyes, the man. And the person he cared for hadn't received a spanking, she'd been taken by a murdering rapist. And he wasn't armed with harmless snakes this time, he was armed with a rifle. And the man who'd taken Evie had a big ole target right in the middle of his chest.
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A dim orange glow behind the mountains in the west was all that remained of the sun. The inky blackness of night would soon take its place, making it impossible to go any further. Evangeline was miserable. She was cold and hungry. Her entire body was riddled with scrapes and bruises. She ached all over and her head still pounded. But all of that was nothing compared to the sorrow she felt in her heart as her hopes of Joshua finding her before nightfall sank with the sun. Would she ever see him again? Would she ever get to tell him how much she loved him? Harlan had tied her bonds to his belt, forcing her to remain next to him wherever he went. She stretched the two feet of rawhide as far as it would go to distance herself as much as possible from him. He had refused to make a fire, not wanting to create any signal that could be followed. But at least he had laid out the bed roll from Joshua's saddle. She reclined onto the bedding, and was hit with another wave of sorrow. She could still smell Joshua's unique masculine scent on the blanket. Her mind wandered back to the last night she had shared with him. It had only been twenty-four hours ago, but it seemed like days. She missed his so much. She longed to feel his warm, solid frame snuggled behind her. But all she felt was the cold night breeze as it blew through the thin gossamer material of her dress. She curled up on her side and tucked her bound hands beneath her cheek. How unfair life had turned out to be for her. Her mother had wanted her to find her "Gabriel." Well she had found him. At the expense of her parents and brother, she had found him. The one person in the world she would die for. Would go to the ends of the earth for. And just like her namesake in the story it seemed she was destined to lose him before she could ever really enjoy having him. Her foul smelling captor reclined next to her and she was reminded again of all the torturous deeds he had committed towards her and her family and now Joshua. Her anger and her love for Joshua combined to light a new fire inside of her. And just like her namesake from the book, she would not give up hope. She'd find a way to escape this madman, and she would find her way back to Joshua. No matter how long it took or how far she had to go.
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“Heyes we've got to stop. It's getting too dark and dangerous to keep moving."
"Do you think he's stopping?"
"Yeah, I do. You can't see your hand in front of your face out here. He's not gonna risk injuring the horse by riding in this kind of darkness. Let's get a fire going before we lose the last bit of daylight. We'll start out again at first light."
Heyes reluctantly dismounted and dropped to the ground next to some fallen trees. He didn't realize how tired and how sore he was until now. Kid had insisted he rest instead of helping set up camp. So he watched unseeing as Kid built a fire and unsaddled the horse and mule. His mind was haunted by unwanted visions of Evie, alone, hurt, crying for help. Calling his name. And she hadn’t been wearing his coat when he took her. She was probably cold and hungry and scared. A sharp pain in his jaw, jolted him briefly from his thoughts and he realized he was grinding his teeth when he thought about that pig touching her.
"Here, you need to eat something." Kid was standing over him offering him a cold biscuit stuffed with cold leftover bacon from breakfast. He shook his head and refused the meal.
"You ain't eat since breakfast, Heyes. And with a head injury, you need to eat to keep up your strength."
"Do you think she's had anything to eat since breakfast, Kid? I can't eat knowing she's probably hungry."
Kid sat down next to his friend. "I know how you must feel, Heyes, but you're not gonna be any good to her if you're falling over, weak from not eating. You know she would fuss up a storm about you not taking care of yourself if she was here. Go on take it."
Heyes unwillingly took the food, just to make Kid feel better.
Kid ate in silence as he observed his friend pretending to eat. The subtle changes that had come over him since they’d discovered Evie’s discarded clothes had not disappeared. If anything they seem to intensify with the sinking sun. And he'd been practically silent since they'd found the clothes too. When Hannibal Heyes was this silent it was because he was asleep or he was planning something. When he got this way he was planning something that he wasn’t going to share with the Kid. Something foolish and dangerous.
“Heyes, whatever you’re planning over there, just put it out of your mind right now. We’re gonna catch up to that jackass. And when we do you’re gonna let me take care of it, you understand?"
When Heyes turned away from him and stared out into the surrounding darkness without replying, Kid became even more worried. Hannibal Heyes didn’t let Kid Curry say something like that without some sort of clever comeback. Not unless he already had his mind made up to do something foolish and dangerous. But when Heyes picked up the rifle laying at his side and began to inspect it, making sure the lever action worked and that he had plenty of ammo, Kid became downright nervous.
"Kid, when we catch up to him," Heyes said with and eerie calm, "if the worst has happened, I don't think I can stop myself from killing him."
He had never heard Hannibal Heyes sincerely threaten to kill anybody in his entire life. It was strange to hear those words come from his mouth. It sounded like something he would say to Heyes. Only when Heyes said it, it was almost scary. That settled it. He was going to have to take the lead this time and do all the figuring in this situation. Because his partner had obviously taken over the role of the man with the itchy trigger finger and barely checked seething rage. And Kid knew his friend too well not to take the change in his mannerisms serious. He knew from his own experience that the rage was gnawing at Heyes and he wouldn’t be satisfied until he’d seen Evie’s tormenter suffer. He would have to be the one with the wiser, calmer mind this time. If not, he was afraid his partner would end up with two nothches on his gunbelt.
"Heyes, I don't blame you for feeling that way. Shoot, I'd like to kill him myself, but you know we can't afford to ride into town and tell the sheriff that you've killed two people. Even if they did deserve it. We just can't take the risk. It's bad enough that we gotta tell him you've killed one man. So just get that notion out of your head right now. You'll just have to settle for him rotting away in a jail cell for the rest of his life. Or at least until they hang him. Which you know the will. Any way, what happened to me doin' the shootin' and you doin' the thinkin'?"
"Kid I ain't been thinking straight since I found her passed out cold in that valley."
"But you're not thinking about killing him anymore, right?"
He hung his head, "No, I guess not."
Kid didn't reply. He just put his hand on his friend's shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze, as his blue eyes gave him a sympathetic gaze. Then he yawned. "Think I'll catch me a little nap."
Hannibal Heyes stared out into the dark wilderness that spread out in all directions. A person alone in this kind of darkness could go insane with fear. He closed his eyes to get some idea of how she must feel. He could hear the roar of the rolling river rapids, swollen from the recent rains. He could hear insects, coyotes, and all manner of critters and varments prowling in the undergrowth nearby. A wave of sickness passed through him that had nothing to do with his injury or hunger. His heart was sick because she was at the mercy of that snake, alone in the fathomless blackness of night, and he was helpless to do anything about it. His helplessness mixed with the anger he felt and formed an emotion that went far beyond rage. He added more bullets to the Winchester repeater that lay across his lap and cocked it. He was glad he hadn't made any promises to the Kid. She better not have a scratch on her, mister. Because if she does....God help you.
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Halfway down the shore Evangeline waited in silence,
Not overcome with greif, but strong in the hourSo of affliction...
Then she beheld the face of Gabriel pale with emotion.
Tears then filled her eyes, and, eagerly running to meet him,
Clasped she his hands, and laid her head on his shoulder and whispered...
“Gabriel! be of good cheer! for if we love one another,
Nothing, in truth, can harm us, whatever mischances may happen!”
The loud crack of a tree branch falling startled her from her dream. She had drifted off in spite of her best efforts to stay awake. She had been dreaming that Joshua had found her and they ran into each other's arms, and fell to the ground in a passionate embrace, followed by a long smoldering kiss, while the passage from the book resounded in her head. Once again she was struck with the irony of her situation. When she had been with Joshua, her dreams had been filled with horror, and when she had awakened, it was to Joshua's welcome and comforting presence. Now, the only peace and comfort she found was in her dreams, and when she was awake she was living in a nightmare. As if to affirm her waking nightmare, her captor rolled over to face her, snoring his rotten breath into her face, and loudly passing gas. What if Joshua never finds me. What if I can't escape. I'll be forced to live a life of servicing disgusting, foul smelling men like this one. One after another. God, I'd rather be dead. She lay sleepless in the darkness, the sounds all around her making her afraid. When she was a little girl and she had been frightened, she'd always wanted her daddy. He always made her feel safe. But she wasn't a little girl anymore. And it wasn't her daddy's voice she longed to hear telling her it was going to be alright. It wasn't her daddy's arms she yearned to feel holding her and keeping her safe. It was Joshua's.
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Four a.m. About an hour and the first gray light of dawn would begin to peek over the eastern horizon. He looked affectionately at the sleeping face of his partner, illuminated by the soft glow of the firelight, and smiled. When he was sleeping, Kid Curry, transformed into little Jed Curry. Who would guess that behind that innocent, childlike countenance lurked the steely eyed glare of a deadly gunman. Never before had he wished he could be as good with a gun as the Kid was. Not until now. He had thought about taking Kid’s Colt, but he still had it strapped to his leg and Heyes knew he would wake if he tried to remove it. Besides, he wasn’t the Colt type. He was no fanner or thumber. He preferred cool, calm and deadly, to fancy and fast. And a rifle would do just fine. Heyes stealthily saddled Kid’s bay gelding by the fire light. He wanted to be ready to ride as soon as the first rays of sunlight split the eastern sky. Kid was going to be mad when he woke up and found him gone. He was going to be ready to kill him when he realized he’d left him the mule to ride. But he’d get over it. Kid had always watched his back, and he agreed with him that nothing good ever came out of their splitting up, but there were some things in a man’s life he just had to do alone. And this was one of those things.
And he knew Kid wouldn't let him do what he had to do. He would insist on taking care of it himself, or just turning him over to the next sheriff they came across. But he couldn’t do that. This man had gone too far. He’d stepped over the line the minute he’d touched her. Hannibal Heyes had always lived by the “don’t get mad, get even” philosophy. But there were some occasions when a man was justified in getting mad and gettng even. The sun was beginning it’s slow ascent into the eastern sky. He mounted the waiting horse. Heyes gave one last glimpse at his slumbering friend. “Be seeing you, Jed,” he said silently to himself as he turned the gelding and headed south through the endless sea of trees.