Shadow Walker (16 page)

“They’ll find you,” Dawn said with more conviction
than she felt. This place was too well hidden for anyone to find.

“Who will find us? That railroad man?” Sam gave a hoot of laughter. “It will take an expert tracker to follow our trail. And if I ain’t mistaken, them were storm clouds gathering in the north. Our tracks will be washed away before morning. It will take a damn Injun tracker to find us, and even then I ain’t sure it can be done.”

He lit a match to some dried twigs soaked in coal oil that had been stored there for that purpose and held the makeshift torch aloft. “Let’s go farther back into the cave so we can build a fire and fix some grub. I’m starving.”

“Me, too,” Spider echoed, “but I reckon Dawn here can ease my appetite a mite.” He gave her a gap-toothed grin as he shoved her forward.

They followed a winding path down a long passageway. Dawn stumbled along, taking careful note of their progress. Somehow she would escape this place and these men. Her desperate situation infused her with strength. She’d meant it when she’d vowed never to become a victim again.

At the end of the passageway the cave widened into a large dry room with a sandy floor. Dawn noted signs of recent occupancy. Blankets were scattered around, a few pots lay near a cold firepit flanked by firewood, and bundles of supplies had been placed against a dry wall. She could hear gurgling water somewhere nearby.

Sam led the horses toward the sound of water, and Spider built a fire, which provided sufficient light for Dawn to get her bearings. What she saw did nothing to ease her fears. Everything necessary
for survival was here: shelter, food, blankets, fuel.

But would she survive?

“Fix us some grub, Dawn,” Sam said when he returned to the cavern. “There’s canned beans and some other stuff yonder in those bags.” He tossed a sack at her feet. “Here’s coffee, flour and bacon. Fetch water, Spider.”

Dawn found the coffeepot and filled it with the water Spider had fetched. Once the coffee was boiling, she mixed up biscuits, opened cans of beans and fruit, and fried bacon. An hour later the men were shoveling food into their mouths while Dawn watched with a marked lack of appetite. Once their bellies were full they sat back and grinned at her, their thoughts turning to appetites that had nothing to do with food.

“Take off your clothes, Dawn,” Spider ordered. “Cobb told us you had the sweetest pair of titties he’d ever seen on a woman. We wanna see them for ourselves.”

“Yeah,” Sam chimed in. “I ain’t never had a half-breed before. I heard they’re hotter than all get-out.” He grasped Dawn’s arm and pulled her onto his lap. “Need any help getting out of them duds?”

Dawn clawed at him when he tore away the neckline of her dress. He fell back with a howl of rage. Taking advantage of the respite, Dawn jumped to her feet. “Don’t touch me! Did either of you help me when Billy beat me senseless? Did either of you pull him off me? No, you enjoyed watching him brutalize me. You’re all animals. I want nothing to do with either of you.”

Turning abruptly, she raced toward the dark
passageway leading back to the entrance of the cave. She’d take her chances with wild animals before sacrificing herself to the human animals inside the cave.

“Catch her!” Spider cried.

Sluggish after their meal, they were not as fleet of foot as Dawn. Plunging into the dark passageway, Dawn hugged the wall, feeling her way as she went. The night was dark; she could smell dampness and rain. Thunder rumbled overhead. No light appeared at the entrance to guide her steps. Suddenly the wall fell away beneath her hands and she realized that she had come across a crevice or tunnel running perpendicular to the main passageway.

Without hesitation she ducked inside, propelled by the pounding footsteps behind her. Immediately she was pitched into a blackness more suffocating than anything she could imagine. It was like being thrust into the bowels of hell. Seconds later Sam and Spider pounded past. Spider held a torch, but to her immense relief neither man stopped long enough to inspect the tunnel she had ducked into. She dragged in several shallow breaths to calm her speeding heart.

She hoped they would think she had reached the entrance, and prayed they wouldn’t remember the tunnel when they failed to find her. Crouching low, Dawn forced herself to remain calm. She had no idea where this tunnel led. Fear of the unknown kept her from exploring the dark corridor.

The pounding rain hindered Shadow Walker but did not stop him. He was a relentless tracker.
He followed the bandits’ tracks into the mountains, past towering trees and racing streams. When the rain began, he looked for signs other than the tracks that had washed away with the downpour. He found what he was looking for in bent twigs and disturbed bushes. And in scraps of cloth torn away from Dawn’s clothing. It was long past dark when he stopped abruptly beside a tangle of dense bushes.

The back of his neck prickled; his body was tensed as he listened. Awareness spoke to Shadow Walker, telling him that he had reached the end of his journey. Shadow Walker reined Warrior in sharply. The stallion danced sideways in the pounding rain as Shadow Walker studied the signs. At length his sharp gaze settled on the thick bushes growing out from the steep incline ahead of him.

A smile curved the hard planes of his lips as he dismounted and slipped behind the tangle of shrubs. He found the opening into the cave and entered. Nothing stirred. Shadow Walker harkened to the sounds of silence, to the forces of nature, to the wind and the rain. And he sensed evil.

Shadow Walker paused just inside the mouth of the cave, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness before continuing. He carried a rifle in one hand. His other hand hovered above the knife at his waist. Then he heard pounding footsteps and smiled grimly. Moments later a pinpoint of light appeared from the darkness of a narrow passageway. Balancing on the balls of his feet, Shadow Walker waited. Acting rashly might endanger
Dawn, and he couldn’t let that happen. If they had harmed her in any way, he would make their deaths as unpleasant as possible.

Shadow Walker hugged the wall as two men burst into the outer cavern. They stopped abruptly, unaware that they weren’t alone.

“The bitch couldn’t have gotten this far,” Spider spat angrily. “She must have ducked into a side tunnel.”

“We’ll find her,” Sam growled. “When we do, she’ll wish she hadn’t run. Come on, let’s go back.”

Shadow Walker could see them clearly now, outlined by the light of the torch Spider held. He stepped out from the wall. “Stay where you are.”

The sound of another voice so unnerved the men that they froze in their tracks. “Who’s there?” Sam’s voice cracked from fear. Neither man was exceptionally brave.

“Your worst nightmare,” Cole said, stepping into the circle of light.

“Son of a bitch, a damn Injun,” Sam said, diving for his gun. His hand never reached the barrel. Cole’s knife spun away from his body, landing squarely in Sam’s heart. He was dead before he hit the ground.

“Throw down your guns,” Shadow Walker ordered as Spider stared at his dead partner.

“Don’t shoot,” Spider said as he unbuckled his gunbelt with his free hand and let it drop to the ground. He still held the torch aloft with the other. “What do ya want? I got money. I’ll split it with ya.”

“Where’s Dawn?”

“Dawn?” His eyes narrowed as he stared hard
at Shadow Walker. “Who are you?” Suddenly comprehension dawned. “You’re that railroad detective! What are ya doing dressed like a damn Injun?”

“Where’s Dawn?” Shadow Walker repeated.

Spider gulped convulsively. He felt as if he were staring death in the face. Acting on pure instinct and raw fear, he tossed the torch at Shadow Walker and made a mad dash toward the cave entrance. Shadow Walker’s rifle barked just before he deftly caught the torch. Spider fell face down and lay still.

From the cloying darkness of her narrow hideaway, Dawn heard a gunshot and stiffened with panic. She could see nothing, hear nothing except the sharp echo as it ricocheted from wall to wall. For the space of a heartbeat she considered stepping into the main passageway and risking exposure, but fear immobilized her. She retreated deeper into the tunnel, hugging the wall, listening for the sound of approaching footsteps.

Shadow Walker stared at the two dead bodies dispassionately. Two brutal deaths might have bothered Cole Webster but they didn’t faze Shadow Walker. It was astonishing how effortlessly he had reverted to his Indian ways after nearly four years of living in White society.

Holding the torch high to light his path, Shadow Walker stepped over the bodies and proceeded
down the long, winding passageway. His one consuming fear was that he was too late to save Dawn. He failed to notice the side tunnel and passed by without giving it a second glance, entering the central cavern a few minutes later. A fire still burned in the firepit. Shadow Walker was stunned at the cozy setup the outlaws had maintained. He spied the saddlebags immediately and knelt to inspect the contents. Glittering gold coins spilled out of the cloth bags. He shoved the coins back inside and resealed the flap. Then he moved deeper into the cavern, discovering the spring and horses. Dawn was nowhere to be found.

Desperation rode Shadow Walker. Close inspection of the cavern failed to reveal a single clue to Dawn’s whereabouts. He recalled hearing the outlaws mention that Dawn had escaped, and they were looking for her. He knew she hadn’t left the cave, for he would have seen her. There was but one option available to her. Dawn had to be hiding somewhere within the dank reaches of the cave.

Turning on his heel, he retraced his steps, this time taking time to inspect both walls of the passageway. He stopped abruptly before a gap in the wall, noting the existence of another tunnel. Intuition told him that was where he would find Dawn. He called her name, hoping she would recognize his voice.

Huddled just inside the entrance of the tunnel, Dawn caught a glimpse of moccasins and bare legs. Indians! The thought of being found by hostile Indians terrified her nearly as much as being held by outlaws.

She saw a flickering light coming toward her
and feared she had been discovered. She retreated deeper into the tunnel. The unmistakable sound of mice and other burrowing animals brought her to an abrupt halt. But the advancing light and unknown danger spurred her on. Then she heard someone call her name and froze. The voice was neither Spider’s nor Sam’s. It couldn’t be the Indian calling out to her, she decided, shaking her head to clear it of nonsensical thoughts. She knew no Indians and none knew her. Catching her breath, she retreated deeper into the tunnel.

Shadow Walker called Dawn’s name again. He could hear her harsh breathing, sense her fright, and wished to put a stop to her heedless flight. Suddenly he heard her scream, and his heart pounded out of control. He sprinted forward, eating up the distance between them. When he held the torch up, his heart nearly catapulted out of his mouth.

Dawn clung to the lip of a crevice with the numb ends of her fingertips. The ground had fallen away beneath her and she had stepped off into thin air. She had reached out wildly, grasping a rocky ledge and clinging to it. But she was slipping fast, and would soon plummet to her death. She closed her eyes a brief moment to pray, and when she opened them he was standing before her.

His massive legs, bare to his breechclout, tensed powerfully as he set the torch down and knelt to grasp her arms. He pulled her up slowly, effortlessly, swinging her around to safety and clasping her against the hard wall of his chest.

Seeing nothing but the war paint smeared
across his face, the eagle feather in his hair, Dawn struggled in his arms, trying to escape this new menace.

“Dawn, stop it! It’s Cole. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“No! Don’t touch me!”

He gave her a little shake. “Calm down. Look at me. It’s Cole.”

Dawn’s blue eyes widened in disbelief as Cole picked up the torch and raised it so she could see his face. “Cole …” She recognized his burnished hair first. Then his eyes, gleaming like emeralds in the darkness. “Oh, my God. I thought you were … How did you find me?” She peered cautiously around him. “What happened to Sam and Spider?”

“They’ll never hurt you again. I’ll explain everything when we get back to the central cavern.” Holding the torch aloft, Cole led her back along the tunnel to the main passageway, and from there to the central cavern, toward the dull glow of ashes in the firepit. “Sit down while I stir up the fire.”

Dawn dropped to her knees on a blanket, watching Cole as she tried to reconcile his appearance with that of the Cole Webster she knew. She hardly recognized him wearing Indian garb, his face painted in garish colors. She was quick to admit that he made an impressive sight. “Do you have an Indian name?”

“I am known as Shadow Walker among the People. It feels good to become Shadow Walker again. While I was pursuing the outlaws I almost forgot I was White.” He finished with the fire and settled
down beside her. “Are you cold?” he asked when he felt her shiver against him.

“I don’t know what I am. I can’t stop shaking. Are you sure we have nothing to fear from Sam or Spider?”

“They’re both dead.” His voice held a brittle edge. She could tell he felt little remorse over the deaths.

“You killed them?”

“Yes. We’ll take them to Pueblo tomorrow and turn over the gold to the local sheriff. He’ll see that the gold gets to its rightful destination. It will take a few days to clean up the tracks and get the trains running again. We might have to spend several nights in town.”

“Do we have to stay here tonight?”

“It’s a gully washer out there. At least we’re safe and dry in here.”

Being alone with Cole in this isolated place was daunting. Dawn licked her lips, searching for words. “Are you hungry?”

He gave her a heart-stopping smile. “Starving. Those two scoundrels had a sweet setup here. Is there something you could fix without going to too much trouble?”

“There’s coffee in the pot next to the fire. I can heat some beans and fry more bacon.” She started to rise.