Mountain Woman Snake River Blizzard (31 page)

“I’ll bring in enough for today and tonight while I’m at it,” he said.  He made four trips and s
t
acked the logs beside the fireplace.  I’m glad the owner of this cabin had enough forethought to cut wood before they left.  It would be hell trying to chop down a tree with snow over waist deep.”

When they finished eating breakfast, he put the trunk on the table and pulled out several newspapers and magazines.  Kate started looking at the books.

“The newspapers are from the Utah Journal from last June,” he said.  “The news won’t be news anymore, but it will make interesting reading.”  She selected a
few
book
s
and went to the bed to get comfortable to read.  Man sat in the
chair, put his feet up,
and leaned back as he held the newspaper in front of him.

He read for a few minutes and glanced her way.  “What are you reading?” he asked
.

“
A woman’s guide to household management.” 
She
flipped rapidly through the pages
.  “I don’t think I’ll
get much use out of it, though.  I’m never home long enough. 
Still
…
there are
some interesting recipes in here.”

“Anything on venison jerky stew?” Man teased.

Kate chuckled. 
“
If you can believe it, no.  Nothing
about
preparing
fine
cuisine on the campfire, either.”
  She
lifted another book.  “How about
Crime and Punishment
?”

“You’re kidding,” Man said.  “Somebody wrote a book about our lives?”

“Cute,” Kate said.  “I think I’d rather read recipes.”

They were both engrossed in reading until
Man
stood and rubbed his st
omach.  “Do we have any
more venison
from last night and, hopefully,
some of that fruit
cobbler?
”

“We do,” she said.
“Let me finish this chapter and I’ll heat it.
  I’m learning how to manage a household of servants.
”

“
Yeah, that’ll come in handy. 
I’ll go check the horses and mules,” he said and pulled his heavy coat on.  He opened the door and said, “Damn it, it’s still snowing like crazy and another six to ten inches have fallen this morning.”

She put
the book down and ran to look.

“I can’t see the tracks I made going to the barn this morning,” he said.
  He pushed his way
out and she helped close the door.

Chapter 13

The snow didn’t stop until the following afternoon and another two
feet had accumulated.  “I wish we
had our snowshoes from our old home near The Fort,” he said.  “I’ve never seen
snow this deep.  I
t’s up to my neck.  I expect there are drifts ten to twelve feet deep.  It may be a week before we can
start searching again and that’
s if the sun comes out and it starts melting.”

“At least we have a good cabin and ample fire wood,
” she
said.
“
But I hate having to wait.  I hope
Clarice is still alive.”

“Unless she got away and
died in the blizzard,” he said,
“
I expect they’ll keep her alive.  B
ut
I hate to think of her situation
.
  This weather is trying my patience.
”

“
I know,” she said.  “I’m
trying not to think about it.  We can’t find her in a blizzard.  We’re only human.”

Man nodded agreement but began to pace the small cabin.

The snow clouds moved away during the night and the sun was shining brightly when Man went to the barn to feed the livestock.  He came
back to the cabin and said, “A Chinook
came in during the night.
 
I expect the temperature is twenty degrees warmer and the icicles are already melting.  When we move out to search, we
need to watch
the
mountainsides
for a potential avalanche.
A loud nose like a gunshot could br
ing tons of snow down on
us if we aren’t careful.”

The snow started to settle and melt and by
the next
morning, it was down to just over waist deep.  “I think we can make a short circle this afternoon,”
Man
announced when he came back from feeding.  The horses are well rested and need the exercise.
”

Arabian knew what was expected and he lunged and plowed his way forward in the snow, but after about thirty minutes, Man saw him heaving and motioned for Kate and Red Bird to come to the front
and forge the trail
.

Kate was the first to spot a trickle of dark smoke against the white background.  She pulled Red Bird to a stop and waited for Man to join her.  “I see smoke,” she said as she pointed.

He pulled his binoculars from his saddleba
gs and adjusted them
.  “A cabin and barn,” he
said.

They let the horses rest for a few minutes, and then went forward.  When they were within a half mile of the cabin, he gestured for her to veer to the right.  H
e turned Arabian to his left
to go in behind the barn.  There were no windows in th
e cabin and the door was closed so unless somebody came outside, they could approach the cabin with relative safety.

Kate dismounted,
tied Red Bird to a tree limb
,
pulled her rifle
,
and went to the side of the cabin.  She peeked around the front and saw Man coming from the barn.  He went to the other side of the house and stopped at the corner where he could see her.

“What
now?” she asked
without sound.

He gestured for her to go behind the cabin and meet him.  They
met at
the back
to talk.  “This
may be them,” he said.  “There’
s a covered wagon and two mules in the barn as well as two horses.  I saw sacks of feed th
at may have come from Carbon’s s
tore. 
The trick will be getting Clarice out safely.”

“A thought,” she said.  “I can take Red Bird to the barn without being seen.  We can wait for one or both to come out to feed their stock.  If only one comes out, we
’ll
have
only one
to deal with.  I
f both come out, we c
an
end it here and now.”

“Circle wide
so
as not
to
leave
tracks in the
snow
,” he said
. 
“There’
s a door on the other side of the barn.
I’ll be waiting and we can put Arabian and Red Bird inside and settle in to wait.”

She went back
to where Red Bird was tied,
made a wide circle behind the ca
bin
,
and met Man behind the barn
.  He had managed to push t
he door open enough to get the
horses through.
  He led Arabian in first and she followed with Red Bird.  Together they pulled the door closed.

They
took the horses
to the far side of the barn and tied them to a fence
.  They pulled their rifles,
jacked a bullet into the firing chamber
,
and replaced it in the magazine.  The twin Walker Colts were next
and the empty slot was filled.

They walked to the front and peeked outside the door.  All was quiet and smoke was still coming from the
chimney.  He spoke in a low
tone, even though the possibility of
being heard was
remote.

“Which side do you want?” he asked.

“
I’ll take this side,” she said as she gestured.  “I can sit on the sacks of feed.  When one or both come out, I suggest we stand beside the door and let them come inside befo
re we jump
them.”

“Good plan,” he said and went to his side.  He found a bench to sit on and leaned back against the wall to wait.  She settled on the sacks of feed.

The sun was almost down to the top of the mountain in the west when Al Valdez came out of the house.  They both saw him at the same instant and hurried to stand on either side of the barn door.  Al had his coat pulled up high on his neck and his hat pulled down as a shield from the cold and blowing snow.

The temperature was falling rapidly as the sun got lower in the sky.  They let him come inside the barn a few steps before Man stepped out, leveled his pistol at Al’s back, and said, “You’re under arrest.  Drop your gun belt and put your hands in the air.”

The outlaw was fast.  He dove to the ground and came up with his pistol blazing at Marshal Manchester.  Man screamed in agony as the bullet tore into him.  Kate fired with both Walker Colts the instant she saw Al draw, but her bullets were a split-second late to prevent Valdez from shooting.

Both of her slugs went into his chest, but he had enough strength to bring his pistol around for a shot at her.  She pulled both triggers the second time and the killer was pushed backward as his pistol fired harmlessly toward the roof of the barn.

Kate ran to Man and removed his coat to see the wound.  It was bleeding profusely from a hole in his right shoulder.  She ran to her saddlebags and brought a bandage.

A shot rang out from the front door of the outlaw hideout and clipped her leg.  It burned, but she wasn’t injured seriously.  She rolled away from Man as another bullet plowed up the dirt where she was kneeling.  She jerked both Walkers and fired twice.  The two bullets slammed into the cabin door, but neither drew blood.

The door closed and she scrambled back to Man.  He was unconscious, but alive.  His breathing was shallow, but she could see his chest moving.  She hurried to the barn door, filled the bandage with snow, hurried back, and put it on the bleeding wound.  She hoped the cold would help stem the loss of blood.

She managed to pull him up enough to see his back.  The bullet had traveled upward and exited on top of his shoulder.  She packed the exit wound with snow and knew that was all she could do now.  Her primary concern now was Bob
Engledow
, and getting Clarice out alive.

She reloaded the pistols and went for her rifle lying on the feed sacks.  It could become a
stalemate with Bob inside the cabin with Clarice and Kate in the barn with Man wounded.  Bob clearly had the advantage.  Thankfully, he didn’t know Marshal Man was down
and out of the
fight.

Kate went back to Man while she had a chance and found the bleeding had almost stopped.  She replaced the snow packs on both wounds.  With grim determination, she went to the barn door.  “Bob
Engledow
, give it up.  Valdez is dead.  You can’t escape.  We have the cabin surrounded.  Come out with your hands in the air.”

She knew he wouldn’t give up so easily, but she had to try.  There was silence for a few seconds and then she heard a woman scream in pain.

Bob
Engledow
shouted from inside, “If you don’t leave, the woman dies a horrible death.”

Clarice screamed again.  “Kill this bastard.  He’ll kill me anyway, regardless of what you do.  Riddle the cabin with bullets now.  He’s in front of the door.”

Kate didn’t shoot.  She suspected Bob had Clarice in front of him as a shield in case they shot through the door.  It became deathly silent inside the cabin.

“Come out now,” she ordered, “or I’ll burn the cabin and force you out.”

“If you do that,” Bob threatened, “Clarice will burn alive.  I have her chained and she can’t escape.”

“I don’t care,” Clarice shouted.  “Burn the cabin.  Anything is better than what I’ve been through.”

While she had a moment, Kate went to Man and found he was conscious.  He managed to whisper, “I can’t move.  It’s up to you now.”

“I know,” she assured him.  “I never dreamed that little bastard could draw and shoot that fast.  I’ll get him.  You’ll be fine.”

“How bad am I hit?” he asked.  “
I can’t feel my right
arm.”

The bullet went into your chest on the right side, angled, and came out the top of your shoulder.  It’s high enough no vital organs were hit.”  She hoped.  “I got the bleeding stopped by packing the two wounds with snow.”

He nodded, his eyelids drooping.