Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (30 page)

They rode into the barn and found the two burros in a stall.  There was enough feed in a sack to give them enough to make it through the day.  The remainder, he divide
d between Arabian and Red Bird.

They left them to eat and went to the cabin.  The stench inside was horrible.  “How do people live like this?” she said.

He s
hrugged.
“I have no idea.  From the odor
, I wonder if the
y
peed on the wall
s
instead of going outside.”

They found nothing of value except a pile of skins in the corner of the cabin.  Kate decided the only thing she would take was an unopened sack of dried beans.  Man went through their
belongings, found two more wanted posters,
and put them in his pocket.
  Kate took the lid from a cooking pot that was on a shelf.  “Look here,” she said.

She pulled out several wallets and put them on the table.  There were also several gold rings and pocket watches.  He went through the wallets and found names.  “From robberies, no doubt,” he said.  She located a cloth sack and put the valuables in it.

“That’s it,” she said as they went out the door.  Man pushed it closed and they went back to the barn.  He put the sack with the loot and t
he wanted posters in his saddle
bag.  Kate put the beans in hers.

The horses had finished the feed and were waiting.  The two burros were gone.

Man mounted and led the way.  It was easier on the horses g
oing
back to their cabin
as they had a
trail in the snow to use and didn’t have to push through the drifts.

It was past noon when they unsaddled the horses and put them in a stall.  Kate took
the
sack of beans into the cabin and washed what she mentall
y measured as two cups in water, picking out
smal
l rocks
often found in beans.  She put them in clean water to
soak
.

“I have several options for you to eat,” she said.  “You can have stew, stew or stew
.  What do you want?”

He rubbed his chin in deep thought before he said, “I think I’ll have the stew.”

“Wise choice,” she said as she began to heat it in a pan.

“Are we going to make another circle
t
his afternoon?” she asked
.

“We need to make a short one,”
he replied
.  “I think the horses are up for
not more than a four mile circle.
  Tomorrow we can make a wider swing when the horses are fresh.
”

Chapter 12

Al Valdez and Bob Engledow were not more than ten miles from where Marshals Man and Kate were staying, but they had no idea
anyone was
looking for them.  They felt safe and secure after making a clean getaway from the store.  The snow had been
perfect to cover their tracks and the continuing snowfall increased their
confidence that n
obody would be out looking for them in this weather.

Clarice Carbon screamed every time they took the gag from her mouth, but after several hard slaps, she stopped.  After letting Lucille escape from them, Bob put a light chain around her ankle with a bolt to keep it secure. 
The other
end was fastened
to
the
heavy table. 
The chain
was long enough she could
go to the fireplace, table
,
and the bed
,
but wasn’t long enough to reach the far side of the cabin.

Of course, the two men were aware of her mental state and kept their weapons and anything she could use to hit them on the
safe
side of the cabin
where
she couldn’t reach.

Bob
had taken
the chain from
the general
store
while abducting Clarice. 
Tying Lucille with rope didn’t work, but
there was no w
ay Clarice could get the bolt
out of the chain without tools
, and the tools
were in the wagon.

At first, she
’d
fought them every time either took her to the bed, but with each passing day,
she fought less. 
T
he pain from their blows when she hit at them
or tried to bite them
was taking its toll on her resistance.
  She
mostly lay unmoving, enduring.

They had settled into a routine
by the end of the first week
.  She did the cooking and cleaning and sat on the bed a
t all other times.  Tears
no longer
seeped
from her eyes each time they took her, but the hate for the two me
n
had built
to the point she
’d
vowed to kill them if she ever got the chance.
  She’d
rather
die than
continue
as a
prisoner
to the two
ruthless
men.

***

Man and Kate were dressed for the snow, ice and wind when they mounted the horses for a short circle to see if any cabins were close.  As usual, Man took the point and Arabian broke the trail for Red Bird and Kate.  However, after a mile, he dropped
back, Kate urged Red Bird to the
front,
and they continued to search. They spotted two abandoned cabins, but whe
n they rode close enough to see,
they were empty and obviously hadn’t been used recently.

One of the cabins appeared to be
in better shape than the one they were using.  She gestured toward it. 
“
We may want to move here,” she said.  “Do you want to go look inside and see the condition of the barn?”

He nodded.  “We know they’
re not between he
re and where we’
re staying.  Starting here
tomorrow
will
save a long ride before we start looking
again
.”

She turned Red Bird toward the cabin a
nd reined him into the barn.  The big horse
went to a pile of hay in the corner and started eating.  Arabian was anxious to join him.  The hay was from the prior year, but it was still editable and
t
he horses needed the filler.

Man looked at the droppings on the ground and said, “None are fresh.”

They went to the cabin and they both had to pull the door open as the snow was banked against it.  Kate chuckled when she
saw
the inside.  There was a table with two chairs and a nice bunk.  There were pots on a shelf and a trunk against one wall.  “Whoever was here last year intended to come back this winter,” Man said.  “Likely trappers used it
,
and for some reason, they didn’t come back.”

Kate opened the pots and found dried vegetables and fruit.  In
another,
she found rice.  Man went to the trunk and opened it. “Come look,” he said.  She hurried to see what he
’d
found.  It was filled with b
ooks, magazines and newspapers.

“They stored them here to keep the varmints from using the paper as nest
s
,” she said.  She w
ent to the bunk.  The frame was made from rough-cut lumber, and was sturdily built.  The bed
was strips of rawhide weaved from side to side and from top to bottom. She sat on it and then lay back.  “With the buffalo robe and a couple of blankets on the bottom for padding, this will beat sleeping on the
hard
floor.”

They walked outside and around the other side of the cabin and found a shed attached to the wall of the cabin.  An ample supply of firewood was under it.
“Nice,” she said.  They walked on around the cabin and found another shed with an assortment of traps under it.

“We go back,” she said, “and move today.  We have time before dark if we get moving and the trail is already forged.
  This is so much better.
”

They found the two horses happily munching on the hay.  “That’s enough for now,” Man said as he pulled Arabian away.  Red Bird had to get in one more bite before Kate pulled his
head around.  “Don’t be so greedy,” she said.  “We’ll be b
ack later and you can have
more.”

She turned to Man. 
“We’ll have to keep them in the stalls or this haystack will be gone by tomorrow morning with the two mules and these two horses gorging themselves,” she said.

“If we manage it right, we could have enough hay for them to get some every day for a week or more,” he said.

With hay in their stomach
s
, the two horses were m
ore eager to challenge the snow
drifts on the ride back to the
cabin.  Suddenly, Man jerked his rifle from the scabbard and snapped off a shot.  Kate had her Walker
in
hand by the time she heard the shot and looked to see what
had
ca
used his reaction.  A
buck with
a nice rack
took a few steps and collapsed in the snow.

“Wonderful,” she exclaimed.  “Fresh venison
steak
tonight.” 
They rode to the carcass and dismounted.  Man tied his rope to the back legs and hosted the deer in the tree.  Kate had her
Green River
skinning knife out and together they removed the
hide, cut the meat into chunks,
and wrapped it in the skin.  They t
ied it behind her saddle and
continued to their cabin.

“I’ll get the
mules ready,” he said.

“I’ll
put our packs together,” she said as she disappeared into the cabin.  In less than thirty minutes, the two closed the door of the cabin and were on the way to their new locati
on.

As soon as Arabian and Red Bird saw the barn
,
they wanted to run.  They remembered the stack of hay an
d were eager to get back to it.

They let each of the horses get a couple of bites and then put them in a stall and let the mules eat hay.  They were as hungry as the horses and had to be pulled away
after they
’d had their share
for the day
.

Man
removed the packs
from them
and Kate took one inside the
cabin
then
came back for the deer meat and the other pack.  Man was busy unsaddling the horses and taking the packsaddles from the mules.

He picked up their rifles and walked to the house whistling a happy tune.  It had been a good day even if they had seen no sign of the kidnapping killers.  They would start another search tomorrow.

He found Kate cutting the meat in manageable strips and chunks.  She saw him and said, “The back strap is already cooking.”

Man smiled and licked his lips in anticipation of fresh venison.   “I have some of the dri
ed fruit I found cooking.  W
ould a hot cobbler go well for desert tonight?”

He hurried to her and gave her a healthy hug and kiss.  She giggled as she said, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

He gave her butt a playful
pat
,
and bega
n taking their bed to the cot.

Their supper was a huge success, especially the fresh venison and cobbler.  When they
’d
finished, she jumped from the table and hurried to get the dishes in the pot she used for washing.  She looked
over her shoulder and saw him holding his shirt in his hand
.  “Wait for me,” she teased.

He woke first and went to feed the horses.  He looked
outside, groaned,
and
quickly shut the door. 
“What
’s wro
ng?” she asked.

“I
t
must have snowed another foot and it’s coming down so hard I can
barely
see the barn.
There’ll be no searching today.
”
 

She stood and went to pee
k out the door when he opened it.  She groaned at the white wall of snow and had to agree.

“I’ll feed the animals and be back,” Man said.

Kate
was dressed and bending over the fireplace when he came back.  “I need more wood before you take your coat off,” she said without looking toward the door.