Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (9 page)

“I see your reasoning,” the clerk said.  “
What would you like us to do?”

“When your men are making their rou
nd, be watchful,” Man added.  “If it’s them, t
hey
have a camp somewhere close.  They have a wagon as well as saddle horses.  Should you spot them, please let us know where they’re camped.  We can circle them and hopefully bring them in
without bloodshed.”

“I’ll get this to Chief Kinca
id first thing tomorrow morning,” the
police officer
said.
 
“
I won’t leave until after he gets here.”

“Thanks,” Kate said.  “We appreciate it.”

They rode toward home.  “Want to drop by and say hello to Lucille?” Kate said.  “A man asked abo
ut her today.  A friend of hers.  H
e wanted to know if I thought it would be okay to make a social call to see her.”

“Did he?” Man asked.

“
That’
s the reason I want to see
her,” Kate said with a smile.

As they rode by the home of Bob
Engledow,
they slowed and it looked the same as when Kate
had
searched the house.  “Do you want to peek in and for a quick look?
” Kate asked.  “The door is unlocked
.”

“Yea
h,” Man said.  “It won’t take but a second.  I
f he’s slipping back here and we didn’t check, talk about mud on our face.”  He reined in and stopped at the gate.  Kate waited while he went to the front door
,
pulled his Walker Colt
,
and stepped inside.  He came out a minute later with his pistol holstered sh
aking his head
.

They rode on to
Lucille
’s
and saw a buggy parke
d in front.  Kate smiled at Man.
“I think
Cliff
Land
ers is here.  Shall we stop or
turn back?”

The decision was taken awa
y when
Lucille and
Cliff
walked out on the porch.
She closed the door,
took his offered hand
,
as they walked to his buggy.

They saw Kate and Man
coming.  Lucille released Cliff’s
hand for a moment, but then took it again,
an
d they waited for the two m
arshals.

“Hello,” Kate said when they were close enough to speak in a normal tone.

“Hello to you,”
Cliff
said.

Man and Kate dismounted and Lucille said, “I know
you’ve met Kate, but do you know her husband?”

“I haven’t had the privilege,”
Cliff
said.

Man took a step forward with his hand extended. 
Cliff
took it and said, “
Cliff
Landers.”

“Homer Manchester, but please
call me Man.  E
verybody does.”

“We stopped by to check Bob Engledow’s house,” Kate said.
“And since we were this close we decided to say hello.  We didn’t know you had company.”

Lucille gave Kate a concealed knowing grin.  She knew Kate was curious about
Cliff
.

“It’s no
secret.  E
verybody knows we’
re looking for Robert Engledow and
Alejandro Valdez
,
”
Man added.

“Yes, that’s the talk of the town,”
Cliff
said.  “Are they suspected of the robbery at the mine and murder of Highsmith?”

“We want to talk to them,” Kate replied.  “
We’
d better be getting on toward home before it’s too dark to see.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Man said.  He
mounted
Ara
bian and he and Kate rode away.

“I suggest we circle and come in from the opposite direction just in
case Engledow and Valdez decide
to wait for us and get clear shots in the darkness.”

He turned Arabian and Kate followed.  They
cautiously
came in behind the barn
and
stepped down. 
They pulled their weapons
and
went into the barn checking every place a hidden shooter could be concealed.

“Clear,” Kate said.

“I’ll take care of the horses,” Man said.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you?” she said as she hurried toward
the house
.  As a precaution, she stopped and listened before opening the door.
  She pulled her Walker Co
lt and stepped inside, but
an empty room welcomed her.

She had their supper on the table when
Man
ca
me in from doing the chores.   As usual, h
e had stopped at the well and washed his face and hands.  She noticed his hair was damp and he looked handsome
with a smile on his face
.  A flutter started in her stomach as she looked at him.

He glanced at her and then his gaze bore into her
smiling
eyes.

“Before or after we eat?” he teased.

“After.  B
ut h
urry,” she said with a laugh.

***

Robert Engledow and Alejandro Valdez rode back t
o their camp.  “Think we should
move on out?”
Al
said
.  “The longer we stay here the more likel
y we’ll be spotted.  Those two m
arshals and the police could trap us
here at our
camp or catch us on the road.
”

“I’m not leaving till I get what I want,” Bob said.  “That’
s how I make my way in this
world.”

Al frowned at his partner.  “
Or, until we’re forced to move on.  Right?  I’m not going back
to jail.  I don’t figure you want to go back, either.”

Bob rode leaning forward slightly and didn’t answer for a long moment.  Finally, he sat back.  “Nobody’s going to jail.  Trust me.   I’m not stupid.”

Al let out a breath of relief and spurred his horse into a lope.

***

Kate and Man wal
ked outside together and saw Roy and Dan
coming on their mule.  They waited until
the two boys dismounted and Dan
went to put the mule in the lot
and give him feed as usual
.

Man walked to the pile o
f poles and picked up one.  Roy
hurried to him and they carried it to the place it would be put on the wall they were building.

Kate stood and watched
the side of the hill.  Not to be obvious she was looking for the men watching the ho
use, she walked to where Man and Roy were working and helped Dan
brin
g another pole while Man and Roy
were putting another in place.

She helped with two more
,
and then went into the barn and pulled her binoculars from her saddlebags
.  She
climbed up in the loft and found a place where she could scan part of the hillside.  She sat back in the shadows and slowly moved the glasses from one side to the other.

She saw nothing, so she moved
her line of sight
higher and did the same slowly studying every tree and bush.  On the next scan, she saw movement.
  Her eyes focused on the spot behind a clump of bushes.

Patiently she waited, watching the place she saw a hi
n
t of movement.  She knew it could be a bird or animal.  She waited, hoping to see more or any sign of life.  Her patience paid dividends.  A man stood and stretched his back by shifting from side to side.  He stomped his feet on the ground, and then walked back into the trees and quickly disappeared.  But she
’d had a good look.  I
t was Robert Engledow.  A minute passed and
she saw a smaller man come to the place
where
Bob had been hiding. 
Alejandro Valdez, she thought.  She was
right.  T
hey had their home staked out.
Al
settled down behind the bush and she couldn’t see him anymore.

She climbed down and went out where Man could see her.  He saw her and she gestured for him to come to the barn.  “I saw Engledow
and another man.  From the descriptions, it’s Alejandro Valdez.
 
They’
re taking turns watching.  How do you want to play it?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” he said.  “I think the way we figured it is right.  They’re waiting for us to be separated so they can ambush us front and back.  I can ride away and you
follow, come in behind the shooter. 
Or we could do it the smart way.  W
e both go into town
together and ask Chief Kincaid for backup
.”

“If we did it that way, where would we have them meet us?
” she asked.
 
“
The ambush site could be anywhere along the road and policeman would surely be spotted by Engledow and Valdez.”

“What are you thinking?” Man asked.

“Since we know they are up there watching us, we do nothing today.  I can watch them and when they leave for the day, we tail them back to their camp.  And then we go for reinforcement
s
,
circle their camp with policeme
n and take the
m
alive.”

“I expect them t
o pack it in soon after
Roy
and Dan
leave for the day.  Since I know where they’re watching, we can pick up their track
s and follow.  This way, there’
s less chance of anybody getting hurt.  And
,
I’m not about to let you be the bait.
  Getting there at the right moment before they shoot would be tricky, at best.  I doubt there would be a
ny warning.  T
hey both fire from hiding with you between them.  A bullet in the chest and back at the same moment and I would be a grieving
widow
.  T
hat’
s not going to happen if I can prevent it.”

“Okay we do it the s
mart way,” he said.  He grinned.
“I would hate to make you a grieving widow
.
”

She playfully punched him in the stomach.  “Wipe that grin off your face, mister.  It’s not funny.
  You think you’re invincible, but you’re not.
”

Well before sundown, Man told the two boys to
stop for the
day.
  They looked at the sun and Roy
asked, “Why are we calling it a day?  We still have a couple of hours of daylight and we can finish this section.”

“Don’t look,” Kate said, “but there are two men watching us from the side of that hill behind the barn.  It’s Engledow and
Valdez
.  We suspect they’re planning an ambush if they can get us separated.  They don’t want to face both of us at the same time.  Act naturally and go home.  We’re going to
follow them to their camp,
get the police to circle
them and take them into custody.  H
opefully, without a fight.
”

Roy and Dan’s
face
s
turned to astonishment, and then
comprehension took control.  Roy
nodded.  Both had to fight the urge to keep from looking at the side of the hill.

“Should we go for the police?” Roy asked.

Man considered it for a moment.  “
Until we know where the campsite is, the police wouldn't
know where to meet us.  The campsite could be miles from here.  We’ll take care of it.”

“Get your mule and go home,” Kate said. 
“
Act naturally
and don’t look at the side of the mountain or look back
.
”

Man went into the barn to saddle Red Bird and Arabian so they would
be ready to follow the two out
laws.  Kate went inside to change into her working clothes.
  The boys followed him inside to get their mule.

“Should something come up and we’re not here tomorrow morning,
” Man said,
“
work on the walkway and shed. 
It’s possible we may
not be home for a few days.  They
may get out of the trap and run.  I
f
so,
we’ll be on their trail.  When
this is
finished, start tearing down the old fence on the forty acres.  Work on the north and west side first.   Replace it like the other fence around the rest of the land.
 
Take the wagon and get the supplies you need.  I’ve
made arrangement with
D&D
and they
’ll let you have what you need.”