The Iron Horseman (28 page)

“I
love you, Cadie.”

“I
know, Dad. I love you too.”

By
the time the sun had started to descend behind the elevated horizon, they’d
finally reached their destination. Rushing waters could be heard echoing
through the canyon valley. Levi didn’t dare travel any closer to the bridge in
case there were unsavory eyes watching them. His time with military
intelligence had taught him a lot about reconnaissance work. And right now,
they would be better served with the light of day in their favor. Even if this
blamed storm continued. He looked up.

Although
the rain had lightened over the past couple of hours to a slight drizzle, he
was soaked through. He glanced over at Cadence. The skirt of her dress clung to
her horse’s back and her unkempt hair, which had come loose from its ribbon, hugged
her face, but she wasn’t shivering.

They
only had a short amount of daylight left. For days the rain had been coming
down and he wondered if it would ever stop.

“We’ll
make camp here.” Levi pulled to a halt in front of a small cluster of Juniper trees
that hid an indentation in the rock of the mountain that would offer some extra
protection from the elements for the horses as well as hide them all from
immediate view.

This
area was perfect. The vastly curved trunks of the trees provided areas to which
he could secure the canvas tent top that he’d hauled along the way. It also
didn’t hurt that as he was prepping the area under the trees, he discovered
that a flat slab of stone lay just beneath the top layer of soil. While it was
wet, the surface could be dried off and hopefully, would prove to keep them
drier than lying directly in the mud.

“Why
aren’t we heading on down to the bridge?” Cadence asked, pulling up alongside
him. “I can hear the river. We can’t be too far, and there’s still plenty of light.”

“Not
enough,” he said, taking the weighty bundle off his horse and hanging it up
over a particularly angled part of one of the tree trunks. “We need to prepare
for the night and be ready to go at dawn’s first light.” He doubted Cadence was
familiar enough with the area to venture out on her own, but he walked over to
her, his hand raised in an offer of help, just to make sure.

Reluctantly,
she allowed him to help her down. They’d only taken a couple of breaks to walk
around and water the horses along the way and he knew she would likely be extra
sore. After he tied the horses up behind the trees in the would-be cave, he
pulled out a handful of apples that he’d been saving for them until they’d
arrived. Apollo nickered in approval and the sorrel snorted, her ears forward,
and pawed lightly at the ground.

“You
did great.” He rubbed Apollo on the nose and the sorrel on the side of her
head. “We’ll give you both a good brushing and a dozen more apples when we’re
done here.”

“I
don’t know how you cowboys do it.”

“What’s
that?”

“Ride
around on your horses all day and not want to die by day’s end.”

Levi
laughed, but not so loudly to be heard at any sort of distance. The element of
surprise was the best advantage they had.

“Come
on over here and help me get this up and then you can walk a bit.” He picked up
one side of the canvas. “Just lift that end and we’ll attempt to secure each
corner to a different section of one of these trees with one end higher than
the other so the rain will roll off. I think there is enough space we can make
a cozy little shelter.”

He
chuckled to himself as Cadence gingerly bent down to pick up her side of the
material.

Poor
girl.

Once
they’d strung the cloth into position, Levi retrieved his rope from his saddle.
It proved to be a little too short.

“Need
this?” Cadence asked, holding out the knife he knew she kept just above her
boot.

“Thank
you.”

When
the shelter was as secure as it was going to get, Levi backed away to see if
the white canvas was hidden enough from view. It definitely could be seen, but
he didn’t think it was cause for too much concern this late in the day.
Especially, if the men they were looking for were down in the valley.

Levi
grabbed the bedrolls he’d stuffed into a potato sack. They’d stayed mostly dry
beneath the canvas and he rolled them out on the ground over the rock slab. He
placed the head of one bedroll at one side of the rock and the head of the
other on the opposite side.

“I’m
afraid we won’t be able to start a fire tonight,” he told Cadence when he
caught a glimpse of her stretching backward, her hand on the back of her hip.
“Can’t risk being seen,” he added.

Cadence
turned to look at him. Dark circles befell her eyes and several times he could
have sworn she concealed a yawn.

“Walk,”
he told her. “It will help, but don’t go too far. The descent into the valley
is a steep one and with all this rain, I’m worried there might be a slide.”

As
if by his mere mention of it, a few rocks slid out of place and tumbled down
into the valley. But then, the rain stopped.

Ha.

Levi
hurriedly walked over to his saddle bag, retrieved a dry shirt and pair of
britches, and grabbed the small knapsack of foodstuffs he’d collected from the
dining car aboard the train. He was hungry and he was sure Cadence was
too—though, he imagined, she’d never complain about it.

She
returned after just a few minutes with a dry skirt, her rifle, and the lantern
in tow. “I thought this might be helpful,” she said, handing him the light,
then slipping past him and ducking into the shelter. “How long do you think the
rain will stay away?”

Levi
turned his back to the trees, looking up at the storm clouds that still loomed
over them.

“Hopefully,
all night, but I think we have a couple of hours at most.”

“You
can come in now,” she said quietly.

This
oddly reminded him of a particularly cold and rainy night they’d spent in the
back of a wagon on their way to Laramie. He closed his eyes to the memory. It
wasn’t going to be any easier this time around, sleeping so close to her.

When
he stepped beneath the shelter, his eyes were drawn to the wet skirt hanging
from one of the lower branches at the far side of the makeshift little room.
Cadence was already snuggled deep into her bedroll.

“Thank
you for all of this,” she said with a deepening lilt to her voice. He noticed
her hand rested on the stock of her rifle. Her eyes were already closed and he
imagined she would be asleep in no time. He just prayed that the weather would
hold.

At
least through the night.

“Goodnight,
Cade,” he said quietly as he climbed beneath his own blankets.

“Mmmmhmmm.”

Cadence
awoke to the pungent aroma of pinewood burning and light penetrating the limbs
of their makeshift shelter, warming her face. She opened her eyes and sat up
straight, surprised that she had been able to sleep all through the night. She
glanced over to see Levi’s empty blanket already rolled and the covering
overhead gone.

“I
thought he said we couldn’t have a fire,” she mumbled to herself under her breath.

The
top of the bedroll was damp from the morning dew, yet she’d slept surprisingly
well. Warm even. Cadence pulled Levi’s buckskin coat closer around her,
reveling in the warmth it had provided both on the journey here and throughout
the night. She tossed the bedding from off of her, got to her feet, and quickly
rolled it up. Hopefully, they would be able to find the culprit who’d been
charged with destroying this bridge and whoever was behind all of these attacks
before it was too late.

The
final ceremony for the achievement would undoubtedly be postponed. She only
hoped all of their efforts had not been in vain. The Transcontinental Railroad
was not only the completion of a dream, but the beginning to a new future.

Cadence
picked up her rifle and took a step toward the break in the trees they’d used
as the doorway.

“Glad
you’re up,” Levi whispered as he stuck his head inside of the tent. His face
was very close to hers. “We’ve got movement down below.”

Cadence
shrugged the jacket from her shoulders and handed it to Levi. “Thank you. I
wouldn’t want anything to happen to that.” She smiled and swerved around him
out into the morning’s air. “I may need it again,” she called back.

The
horses had already been saddled and their camp picked up and loaded onto
Apollo’s back. Cadence again slid her rifle into the holster on the mare’s
saddle, then felt her pocket for the trinkets she’d grown accustomed to having
with her at all times. For a moment she panicked at their absence, but then she
quickly remembered that she had left the journal and Lincoln’s spike with her
father, but her pearl gripped six-shooter was still there, readily available.

Smoke
rose from what looked to be a small camp below. “And here I thought you were
cooking up something delicious to eat.” Her focus moved to the enormous bridge
that spanned the valley and a new respect for nature suddenly took root. She
watched as the tremendously high waters slashed against the wooden supports of
the bridge.

“And
that is exactly why I said no fires,” he pointed at the huge white cloud rising
from the camp below. “Looks like there’s just one man, but there are two tents,
so there may be as many as four.” Levi lifted himself into his saddle. “Well,”
he said after a moment, “you coming?”

“Yes,
sir.” She stuck her boot into the stirrup and pulled herself up.

Owwww.
Her legs were still
stiff and protested at the mount.

As
they rode along the ridgeline, the sound of the rushing river filled her ears.
It was louder than she’d expected. “Are they sure that bridge will support a
whole train?”

Levi
stopped at a flat area with very little vegetation and nodded toward what
looked like a trail carved into the side of the mountain. “We’ll head down from
here.”

She
pulled up alongside of him. “Look at it.” The bridge seemed small from their
vantage point, which made her apprehension that much stronger. “I don’t know
that I’d even want to walk across it, let alone be on a fast moving rail car as
it traversed.”

“There
have been multiple trains that have passed through here, but I must admit, it
is
a little unnerving whenever we cross one of these bridges. I just worry that
Durant has been so focused on winning that he’s allowed the men to cut
corners.” He clicked his tongue and started forward. “This rain has made the
river swell. It looks as if some of the bents have been compromised by the high
water levels.”

“What
can we do? That doesn’t sound like sabotage or an attack.” Cadence had been
unprepared for such a steep hill and she leaned down as far as the saddle horn would
allow, keeping only one eye open. Her horse, however, seemed more nervous than
she was as the mare kept trying to back up, sending rocks and debris down the
hill at Levi. When he looked back and saw her, he quickly turned his mount back
up the hill. He reached out and grabbed the cheek piece of the sorrel’s bridle.

“Whoa,
girl,” he said soothingly. “Cade, you need to lean backward as you ride down
the hill to shift the weight evenly. If you lean forward, there is a good chance
that both you and the horse will tumble, heads first, down this mountain. And
then where would be our element of surprise?” He laughed.

Cadence
immediately switched her position and leaned backward. It felt like she was
more in control this way. “One way or another, Levi Redbourne, someone will be
surprised.”

He
laughed again. “Come on.”

It
must have taken near an hour, Cadence suspected, for them to navigate the
descent of the trail as the sun had risen a great deal in the sky since they’d
begun. Storm clouds still hid its position on occasion as the light turned to
shadows for short lengths of time.

Smoke
from the camp they’d seen from above came into view through the scrub of trees,
jagged rocks, and other foliage. Levi pulled his rifle from his holster and
Cadence did the same.

Ping.
A shot glanced off a rock to Levi’s side. Apollo reared, squealing his protest.

“I
won’t miss next time,” a voice shouted over the roar of the river. “Now, get
down off your horses.”

How
did people keep getting the drop on them?

That’s
twice
,
Cadence thought.
I’m losing my touch.

They
both dismounted and carefully made their way to the camp situated just above
the sloped embankment. Cadence looked up at the bridge. It was a completely
different picture as now it towered over them. As the sun dipped behind the
dark grey of the clouds, it grew even more ominous. No wonder it had been named
Devil’s Gate, for surely the devil himself had built it.

“Toss
your guns next to the tent,” the voice instructed.

They
both did as he’d told them.

“Step
away.”

The
river was full and seemed to be moving very quickly. Any closer and they would
both be going for a swim.

Cadence
squinted at the landscape, searching for any clues as to from where their
attacker might be watching. The sun peeked out from behind its mask and glinted
off the barrel of the man’s gun. He was hiding behind a bush no more than ten
feet from them.

“Did
you see that?” Cadence whispered.

Levi
nodded discreetly, but did not respond.

Cadence
took another step toward Levi, hiding herself behind his large, muscular frame.
She handed him the sorrel’s reins and slowly pulled her six-shooter from the
folds of her skirt. She peered around Levi’s shoulder, hoping she would appear
the frightened female.

The
man was crouched down, his knee exposed through the shrubbery. She needed to
take a shot, but did not want to kill him. They needed answers and a dead man
wouldn’t provide them.

“On
my count,” Cadence said coolly, “you need to get out of my way.”

“There’s
no need for anyone to get shot today,” Levi called out to the man. “I’m sure we
can work something out.”

“What
are you doing?” Cadence whispered.

“Saving
a man’s life,” he responded under his breath. “I’m sure we can make some sort
of deal,” he said more loudly.

A
few seconds passed.

“What
kind of deal?”

“The
kind that makes you a rich man.”

One
of the horses snorted. Cadence saw movement on the ground. A shadow moved as if
someone was creeping up behind them. She whirled around. A hefty bearded man
approached, knife in hand. Before she could raise her gun, he lunged at her,
grabbing her by the hair and pulled her backward into his arms. The hand he
used to hold the knife rested on the bone just below her neck and the blade
grazed her cheek.

Levi
whipped around, his hands in the air, ready for a fight.

The
brute had obviously not seen her pistol.

Carefully,
Cadence twisted her arm behind her back and shoved the barrel of her gun as
close into the man’s ribs as she could get.

“If
I go,” she spat, “you’re going with me.”

“That’s
mighty big talk for such a little lady,” the burly man challenged. “You hear
that, Abe. The girl says she’s going to shoot me.”

Abe
stood up from behind the bush. A clear target. He’d lowered his gun.

Cadence
pulled back the pistol’s hammer with a click. She heard the man swallow hard.

“That’s
right.” Levi stood up straight and turned so his back was no longer to the man
behind the shrubbery. “I’d listen to her if I were you.”

Cadence
wrapped her fingers around her attacker’s wrist. She hoped Levi would recognize
the move as one taught to Pinkertons and military officers for tactical combat.
If she could gain the proper leverage, she would be able to twist his hand away
from her and relieve him of his knife, but she would need Levi’s help in
neutralizing Abe.

“She
is the bravest, most selfless person I know,” Levi continued. He looked at her
with a curt nod. He’d understood. “But she’s fearless when she needs to be.”

Now.

Cadence
stomped on her captor’s foot.

Levi
threw the reins in the air, dropped to the ground, and rolled toward the
rifles.

The
man’s hand was beefier than she’d realized, but she was still able to pull down
on her unsuspecting captor’s wrist while pushing her thumb firmly against the
back of his hand and she jerked it hard. The knife fell. She kicked it away as
she twisted away from him, reaching down for the blade in the process.

“Damned
hellcat. I think you broke my hand.”

Levi
shot one of the branches off the shrub next to Abe, who stopped in his tracks.

“Next
time,
I
won’t miss,” Levi said with a smirk, motioning for him to join
them in camp. Once he stepped foot on the semi leveled ground, Levi flicked his
wrist and the man dropped his gun.

“What
are you and
Abe
doing here?” Cadence asked, her pistol pointed at the man
who’d threatened her.

“It’s
a nice day for hunting,” Abe said derisively as he looked down at the fire.

A
good sized rabbit was roasting on the spit. “Now I know what smelled so good,”
she told Levi off-handedly as she made her way slowly back to Apollo, not
taking her eyes off her prisoner. Thankfully, the horse hadn’t bolted when Levi
had fired the shot. “You taught him well.” She rubbed the side of the horse’s
face and then pulled a length of rope from Levi’s saddle.

Drip.
Drop.

Cadence
looked up into the sky.

Not
again
.

She
tossed the rope over to Levi as the sun retreated behind another grouping of
large threatening clouds. “This weather’s not going to hold.”

“Are
there any more of you?” Levi asked, pushing Abe down into the dirt and tied him
to an oversized rock, smooth on one side, jagged on the other.

“Don’t
take more than two of us to skin a hare,” he responded, his cheeky grin
revealing several blackened teeth.

“There
are going to be a lot of people coming on that train,” Cadence thought she’d
try to appeal to their compassion. “Is that how you want to be known…just what
is your name anyway?”

He
met her eyes, still clutching his hand. He spit in her face.

Bile
rose in Cadence’s throat. Her jaw clenched and her fists tightened.

Levi
handed her his handkerchief before landing a punch across the man’s face.
“Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to treat a lady?”

She
wiped the sticky mess from her nose and cheeks. “This isn’t going to get us
anywhere. Check the tent. There’s got to be something around here that will
give us a clue.”

Levi
agreed. “You okay?” he asked her, looking at the man whose nostrils flared and
his teeth bared.

“Ol’,
let’s see, how about Bart? Ol’ Bart here and I are going to do just fine,
aren’t we?” she took a step back and shot at the ground in front of the man,
who barely flinched, though he still cradled the hand she’d hurt. “I recognize
that symbol,” she said to Levi, pointing to the ring on Bart’s finger. “It’s
the same one Annie had on her bracelet. The same as the medal on the journal.”

Bart
growled.

Levi
glanced around the camp, then threw back the fold of the first tent. “Look at
this,” he said, holding the flap open to reveal a box of explosives. Six sticks
were missing.

“Cade!”
Levi screamed. “Look out!”