The Family Jensen (18 page)

Matt heard a faint fluttering sound just before the gun blasted. He was already throwing himself forward, hoping to dive out of the way of the bullet, when he saw the man’s head writhe backward on his neck. The man gave a gurgling scream and dropped both Moon Fawn and his gun as he started to paw at the shaft of the arrow that pierced his throat. Blood spurted out around it.

Matt scooped up his gun, but he didn’t need it. Torrance held his fire as well, as the wounded man staggered around in a wild, grotesque dance of death. Finally, as blood continued to pour like a river down the front of his shirt, he collapsed. The way he landed drove the arrow the rest of the way through his throat, so that the head stuck out the back of his neck. He twitched a time or two and then lay still.

Up on one knee Matt leveled his Colt at the doorway, but no one else appeared in it.

“Cover me,” Torrance said. “I’ll check inside.”

Matt nodded. Torrance ducked through the door, moving fast and crouching low in case anybody in there took a shot at him. Matt didn’t hear anything from inside. A few moments later, Torrance reappeared, shaking his head.

“Nobody in there but some hombre who was already dead,” he reported.

One of the men who’d been wounded the day before hadn’t made it, Matt knew, and his companions hadn’t gotten around to burying him. He must not have been dead long.

Matt holstered his gun as he stood up. He moved quickly to Moon Fawn’s side and knelt again to pick up the little girl.

“It’s all right,” he told her, not knowing if she spoke English. He tried to make his tone comforting enough that she would realize he was a friend, even if she didn’t understand the words. He went on, “You’re safe now, and I reckon there’s somebody here you know.”

He stood up with Moon Fawn in his arms and turned to look around.

“Starwind!” he called. “You can come out now. It’s all over.”

“What the hell?” Torrance asked.

“Where do you think that arrow came from?”

With a slight rustling of brush, Starwind appeared and came striding out of the trees. She had another arrow nocked, and she cast a wary eye toward Torrance as she approached.

“West, you son of a bitch,” the gunman said. “You were in with the redskins all along. That business about looking for a job was a lie.”

“Well, it’s not like we were pards for a long time before you found out the truth,” Matt said dryly. “After all, we just met this morning, like you told that hombre when he was threatening to shoot me, remember?”

“I wouldn’t have let him kill you,” Torrance protested. Matt didn’t believe that for a second.

Matt had his left arm supporting Moon Fawn. He kept his right hand close to his gun. He didn’t fully trust Torrance. Not even close.

“You can put that arrow away, Starwind,” he told the young woman.

She glared at Torrance and said, “This man works for Bannerman.”

“Yes, but he didn’t know anything about Moon Fawn’s disappearance. He even helped rescue her. You must know that if you’ve been trailing me.” Matt smiled faintly and shook his head. “I should have expected as much when you were gone this morning. You were just waiting for me to leave the village so you could pick up my trail, weren’t you?”

“You never knew I was there.” Starwind’s voice held a note of pride.

“That was because I never expected to be followed. Now that I think about it, though, I reckon I should have expected it, because I knew how blasted stubborn you are.”

Moon Fawn was starting to squirm in Matt’s grip. She held out her arms toward her aunt and called, “Starwind!”

That appeal helped Starwind make up her mind. She took the arrow and slid it back in the quiver, then stepped over to Matt and held out her arms to take her niece from him. She drew the little girl into a tight embrace.

“That’s touching as all get-out,” Torrance said, “but who the hell are you really, West? That’s not even your name, is it?”

“Name’s Matt Jensen,” Matt said.

“Jensen!” Torrance’s lips drew back from his teeth in a snarl. “We were just talking about Smoke Jensen a while ago. Are you any relation to him?”

“We’re brothers. Adopted, I reckon you’d say. Look, don’t get a burr under your saddle, Torrance. All I was trying to do was get that little girl back safe and sound to her family.”

“Then why did you lie about who you are and get a job with Bannerman? You thought he’d kidnapped that kid, didn’t you?”

Matt shrugged. “She didn’t seem to be anywhere else in the valley.” He inclined his head toward the cabin. “And this
is
one of Bannerman’s line shacks.”

“That doesn’t mean a blasted thing! None of us knew those varmints were here, and we sure didn’t know they had the girl. Hell, West—I mean, Jensen—I was as surprised as you were.”

“Do not believe him, Matt Jensen,” Starwind warned as she held Moon Fawn and patted the child on the back. “He works for Bannerman. He cannot be trusted.”

“He killed two of the kidnappers,” Matt pointed out. “I reckon that’s got to count for something.”

Torrance snorted in disgust. “Damn right it does. I risked my neck for that kid, and I don’t appreciate some squaw shooting her mouth off about me.”

Matt saw the flare of anger on Starwind’s face and knew he had to intervene before things got out of hand.

“We’ll take Moon Fawn back to the village,” he told her. “While we’re doing that, Torrance can go back to the Circle B and tell Bannerman what happened.” Matt looked at the gunman. “Is that all right with you?”

“I suppose,” Torrance answered in a surly voice. “Then if I were you, I’d make myself scarce in these parts, Jensen. I don’t cotton to being lied to. Next time we see each other, it won’t be as friends.”

“Don’t reckon we ever were friends,” Matt said, his own voice soft with menace. He was getting tired of Torrance being so prickly. It would have been fine with him if the man wanted to have it out right there…except for the fact that Matt wanted to see Starwind and Moon Fawn back safely in the Crow village with Crazy Bear.

Torrance jerked his head in a curt nod and headed for the timber where they had left the horses. Matt and Starwind waited until the gunman had emerged from the trees on his mount and trotted off toward the Circle B headquarters. Then Matt fetched the dun while Starwind went to get her pony.

“What about them?” Starwind asked with a nod toward the dead men sprawled on the ground on front of the cabin.

“They’re the Good Lord’s worry now,” Matt said. “Or more likely,
El Diablo’s
.”

“You look different,” Starwind commented as they rode toward the Crow village. “And that is not the same horse.”

“Nope, it’s not,” Matt agreed. “I figured there was a chance some of the men we tangled with yesterday might work for Bannerman, and I didn’t want them to recognize me when I rode out to the Circle B to look around.”

“See? You thought they worked for Bannerman, too!”

“It seemed to be the most likely explanation. But from the looks of what happened today, the fellas who had Moon Fawn weren’t Bannerman’s men, even though they were using one of his line shacks for a hideout. Torrance explained to me that Bannerman’s hands haven’t started moving all the stock up here for the summer yet, so there wouldn’t be many people around. If those men were careful, they could avoid being seen.”

Starwind leaned over to talk to the little girl riding in front of her on the paint pony, clutching the doll she clearly hadn’t let go of since the ordeal began. “Moon Fawn, how did you come to be with those men?”

She shook her head, clearly not wanting to talk about it.

“You have to tell us,” Starwind urged. “We have to know what happened.”

Fighting back tears, Moon Fawn said, “You…you are angry with me.”

“No! No one is angry. We were just frightened for you, that’s all. Now, can you tell us how they captured you?”

Moon Fawn swallowed. “I…I was riding up the valley…like you do, Starwind.”

Without letting the little girl see her, Starwind grimaced. Matt saw the reaction and knew that Starwind was still blaming herself for what had happened, at least a little.

“They came out of some trees and asked me who I was,” Moon Fawn went on. “I didn’t want to talk to them, but I was afraid not to. When I told them, they said I had to come with them. I tried to get away…I made my pony run…but I was not fast enough. They caught me and took me off my pony and carried me back to that place where you found me.”

“Did they hurt you?” Starwind asked softly.

“No.” Moon Fawn fought back a sob. “They just scared me. But they gave me food, and they didn’t beat me.”

“I reckon that’s good,” Matt said, “or else Crazy Bear might’ve found some way to torture them even though they’re already dead.” He smiled over at the little girl. “Moon Fawn, can I ask you a question?”

She returned his smile tentatively and nodded.

“Did you hear the men talking much?” Matt asked. “Did you hear them say why they took you to that cabin, or who they worked for?”

“No. They said that since they had me…my grandfather would have to tell them where it was.”

“It?” Matt repeated.

Moon Fawn nodded solemnly.

“They didn’t say what this
it
was? Did they say what they were looking for?”

“No. But they sounded like it was very important, and they wanted it very much.”

Matt and Starwind exchanged puzzled glances. The young woman gave a little shake of her head, indicating that she had no idea what Moon Fawn was talking about. Neither did Matt.

But they could figure that out later, he supposed. The important thing was that Moon Fawn was safe, and they were nearly back to the Crow village. In fact, the dogs had started to bark a greeting.

That brought people out to see what was going on, and as soon as they spotted Moon Fawn riding in front of Starwind, shouts of excitement and joy filled the village. Crazy Bear ran to meet them, his long legs carrying him swiftly over the ground. He wasn’t the proud chief of the Crow at that moment; he was a loving grandfather filled with relief that his granddaughter was all right.

He plucked her off the back of Starwind’s pony, held her high above his head, and the smile that wreathed his face transformed the grim, ugly visage into something almost beautiful.

“Moon Fawn,” he said in a voice choked with emotion, “you have come back to us!” He looked at Matt and Starwind. “Your aunt and our good friend have brought you back to us.”

Mala caught up to him then, took the child from him and hugged Moon Fawn, too. Crazy Bear turned to Matt, who had dismounted. The chief held out his hand.

“Thank you, Matt Jensen,” he rumbled. “Like your blood brother before you, you have proven to be a good friend to the Crow.”

Matt shook with him. Matt’s own hand wasn’t small, but Crazy Bear’s paw swallowed it up almost like it wasn’t there.

“I’m just glad I came along when I did and was able to lend a hand,” Matt said.

“Where did you find her?” Suspicion suddenly turned Crazy Bear’s face back into something savage. “Bannerman had her!”

“No, she was being held in one of Bannerman’s line shacks—”

“I knew it was him!”

“But he didn’t have anything to do with it,” Matt forged on. “In fact, it was one of Bannerman’s men who helped me rescue Moon Fawn. He risked his life, too, Crazy Bear.”

The chief frowned. “How can this be? Bannerman is the enemy of the Crow. He wants our hunting grounds for his cattle.”

Matt shook his head. “That’s not the way it looks. Those men used the Circle B line shack because they thought no one would be around. They planned to use Moon Fawn to force you to tell them where something is.”

That puzzled Crazy Bear. “What something?”

“That’s what we don’t know. They never said what it was while Moon Fawn was around. Do you have any idea what the thing could be? Obviously, it’s something valuable, and it’s hidden somewhere.”

Crazy Bear could only frown and shake his head. “I have nothing valuable except my home and my family. I do not understand—”

A sudden shout from one of the men cut short the celebration. Matt turned and saw the warrior pointing across the grassy meadows. A large group of riders was coming toward the village. Matt recognized the man in the lead as Reece Bannerman.

So did Crazy Bear. “Bannerman!” he exclaimed. “He comes to make war!”

That seemed unlikely to Matt, but he couldn’t think of any other reason for Bannerman and a bunch of the Circle B hands to be approaching the Crow village. Bannerman had at least some of his hired guns with him. Matt spotted Lew Torrance among the horsemen.

Crazy Bear shouted orders in the Crow tongue. The warriors raced to their lodges to get their rifles or bows and arrows. If Bannerman wanted a fight, the Crow would give him one.

A lot of blood would be spilled on both sides if that happened. Matt wanted to head off trouble if he could. He reached for the dun’s reins and told Starwind, “Go with your father.”

“I will go with him,” she said, “and I will fight at his side!”

“There’s not gonna be a fight,” Matt muttered as he swung up into the saddle.

He hoped he was right about that. Bannerman had at least thirty heavily-armed men with him. They were outnumbered by the Crow warriors, but their superior firepower made the odds roughly even. Even enough that quite a few men might die, Indian and white alike.

Matt heeled the horse into a run that carried him toward Bannerman. He met the cattleman and the other men while they were still a couple hundred yards from the village and held up his left hand in a signal for them to stop.

Bannerman reined in with obvious reluctance, and his men followed suit.

“Get out of the way, West, or Jensen, or whatever the hell your name is!” Bannerman snapped. “I’ve got business with those redskins.”

“Why don’t you tell me what your business is?” Matt suggested.

“You speak for them now, is that it? You’re that big of an Indian-lover?”

“If you’d seen that sweet little squaw he’s friends with, boss, you might understand a little better,” Torrance drawled. “She could make any man an Indian lover.”