Horse With No Name Page 18

  She had no time to saddle Stanley. The horse, as intuitive as any of his brethren, picked up on her energy and tossed his head as she fitted his bridle over his ears.

  She knew Walt wasn't in the forge because there was no noise coming from that workshop. And Merrick wasn't around. She had noticed his office door was closed when she'd run down Main Street minutes earlier.

  Taking Stanley's reins in hand, she walked him down the center aisle of the livery. Using the scissors, she stabbed the paper and affixed it to the livery door, much as the rabbit had been attached to her front door. Julia didn't have the advantage of a stirrup so she pulled Stanley over close to the fence that bordered the livery yard and awkwardly climbed up on the bottom rail. She threw Stanley's reins over his head and gathered them at his withers. The animal stood still, suppressing his excitement. She hoisted herself up onto his back. It wasn't pretty, but she got it done. She spent a few precious seconds adjusting her skirt; she wasn't wearing her jodhpurs. Just a pair of wool tights under her skirt. Her inner thighs would pay for that in the morning, she knew, but she had no choice. She squeezed Stanley's sides. He didn't need the encouragement. The horse leapt forward, nearly toppling Julia, but she held on, grabbing a fistful of his mane. A light touch on his right reign sent him in the right direction. They galloped down Main Street, heading out of town.

  I'm definitely going to be away from the classroom for longer than five minutes, she thought. Hopefully Katherine has everything in hand and remembers to check in on Elsie.

  Anker was most likely heading toward his ranch. Julia took the road out of town that he'd use. After ten minutes of nearly flat out running, though, she couldn't see Anker's wagon up ahead. She slowed Stanley to a trot, thinking.

  In her mind, Julia pictured the Double A ranch. Where would Anker be headed if not to his home? What else would he be doing?

  Spurring Stanley into a canter, she aimed him for the top of a shallow hill that was up ahead. When they reached the crest, she slowed Stanley to a walk, and then halted him, scanning the horizon in every direction. She saw several head of cattle in a field half a mile away and possibly a white-tailed deer grazing near a small stand of trees. When she turned all the way around, placing her right hand on Stanley's rump, she could see Horse laid out below her, like a drawing on a map. If she had been higher up and perhaps fifty yards to the west, she might have been able to see the Double A itself. Julia turned back and faced Stanley's ears. She had no choice but to carry on to the ranch and see if Anker was there. As she clucked Stanley into motion again, movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned the horse so that he was facing the town and leaned forward, squinting. It looked like Anker's wagon - at least, it was a small wagon with two figures in it. It was on the opposite side of town from where Julia was, heading toward the lake.

  Julia was unsure. It could be Anker and Hunter, but from this distance there was no real way to tell. She groaned aloud. Stanley flicked his ears at the sound but stayed still. The wagon kept moving, driving past the few buildings near the shoreline, until it disappeared behind the lumber yard building.

  Julia waited, willing the wagon to reappear, but after what seemed like months, it did not. She groaned again, louder this time, and swore under her breath.

  "Well, Stanley," she finally said, "bloody hell. I'm going to take a guess that that's Anker. Let's hope I'm right."

  She tapped Stanley's sides.

  Thirty-one

  By the time Julia reached the back of the waterfront building, her rear end was aching from the strain of riding without a saddle. She slowed Stanley to a walk and cautiously approached the corner of the building. Taking a chance, she slid off the horse and, walking to the edge of the building, she peered around the corner. She almost yelped when she saw Anker's wagon parked not six feet away. Backing up, she led Stanley to the front of the building and tied his reins loosely to a hitching rail there.

  Anker was wheezing with the rattling breath of an asthmatic. His face was red with exertion and damp with sweat. He looked as though he could have a heart attack at any moment. He was busy pushing the row boat down the beach and didn't seem to have heard Julia approach.

  Julia snuck up to the wagon where Hunter sat on the driver's bench. His complexion was blanched. He looked at Julia with eyes that were sunken into his face, his skin the pale green-yellow of someone with the flu.

  Julia briefly wondered why Hunter hadn't just run while his captor was distracted, but as she approached the wagon she saw that his hands and feet were tied in front of him with thick rope. Glancing to where Anker still worked to get the rowboat down to the water, she stayed low on the far side of the wagon. Hunter's eyes grew wide when he saw her, but he kept quiet and held his hands out without prompting. Julia began to try to untie the knots. They were stuck fast and Julia could see Hunter's small wrists were being squeezed. Anker continued to grunt and strain with the small boat. Julia could hear the scrape of the bow on the sand and small pebbles of the beach. She gave a silent prayer, asking that Anker continue to be preoccupied.

  The knots in the rope wouldn't budge. Julia tried putting her fingertips in the creases where the rope overlapped itself, to pry the knots apart, but made no progress. She reached down and tried working on the knots around Hunter's ankles. These were tied with less force and began to slip away. Julia pulled frantically at the rope, untangling it. Hunter squiggled his feet a bit as well, kicking them loose. The rope fell onto the beach and Julia decided that the best plan for them was just to run. Hunter would have to do this while his hands were still tied. She grabbed his elbow and made a motion with her eyes and head, letting him know they were going to make a break for it.

  "Hey!" Anker's voice rang out, startling Julia, causing her to jump. "Get away from him."

  Julia turned, straightening her spine, and faced Gerard Anker. She tried to steady herself. "Mr. Anker. This is ridiculous. Let Mr. Hunter go."

  "Step away, Miss Thom. This is none of your business."

  "It certainly is my business. I don't know what you have planned, but you need to let Mr. Hunter go right now."

  Anker took a deep breath and wiped his face on his coat sleeve. The breeze off the water was cool, and Julia felt herself shiver, though she wasn't sure it was from the cold.

  Very casually, as though he was reaching for a handkerchief, Anker reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small revolver.

  "Step back, Miss Thom, or I will shoot you. I promise."

  Though he was sweating and red-faced from exertion, Anker did look absolutely serious. His face was filled with a fury Julia had not seen before. Still, she tried to talk him out of whatever he had planned.

  "Mr. Anker, be reasonable. What on earth has Mr. Hunter done to you to make you so angry?"

  "He knows what he's done." Anker stepped forward and pushed Julia aside, roughly. He grabbed Hunter's right arm and pulled him to the edge of the wagon's seat. Julia recovered her balance and stepped back toward Anker, reaching out for his left arm.

  Anker whirled around and jabbed the revolver into Julia's stomach.

  "I said stay back."

  Julia's corset protected her from the full force of the jab, but it still hurt. She took a step back, holding her stomach and meeting Hunter's eyes.

  Anker pulled Hunter out of the wagon roughly and jerked him forward. Hunter fell to his knees, and Anker yanked him up again.

  Anker turned once more to Julia. "If you take one step, I will shoot you."

  She believed him.

  Anker led Hunter down to the shore where the rowboat sat, half-in and half-out of the water, its pointed bow rocking slightly with the motion of the lake. The two men reached the boat, and Anker roughly pushed Hunter into the vessel.

  "Go to the back," he said.

  Hunter climbed over one bench seat and turned around, sitting down facing the bow, and the shore. Anker glanced at Julia and pointed his gun at her. "Remember, I've still got this," he sai
d.

  He put the revolver back in his pocket and then bent over to push the bow out into the water. The boat, heavier now with Hunter in it, resisted Anker's effort. But after two or three heaves, Anker was able to get some momentum going. Once in motion, the boat slid into the water.

  Anker hopped in as the boat began to slide. He positioned himself on the bench seat opposite Hunter, his back to the bow of the boat, and reached for the oars. The little boat was bobbing in the shallow water. Julia saw that Anker would need to swing it around so that he could row away. Moving as little as possible, she unbuttoned her coat and waited until Anker's attention seemed to be mostly focused on the task of lifting the oars out of the boat and into the water. He looked awkward and uncertain in his movements. He was a rancher, not a sailor. She shrugged her coat off her shoulders and waited.

  One oar clicked into its lock, and then the other. Anker pulled mightily with his right arm, on the port side, and the bow of the boat began to swing to Julia's left. She seized the moment and ran, arching wide to her left, trying to stay out of Anker's sight while the boat spun. In five running strides, inefficient because of the sand, Julia hit the water, diving to the starboard side of the small rowboat. Her dive was basically a belly flop because the water was so shallow near the store, her intention being to stay so close to the boat that Anker couldn't shoot her.

  The cold of the water sucked the breath out of her lungs. She had misjudged how fast the boat was swinging around, and it hit her as she lifted her head out of the water. She struggled to swim in the path of the bow of the boat as it swung around. She could see very little of what was happening above her and her ears were full of the sound of water. The boat knocked her sideways, pushing her into the lake bottom and rolling her over slightly. Her dress tangled around her legs, the heavy cotton fabric instantly waterlogged. A wave caught Julia in the face, and she swallowed a good measure of lake water. She sputtered and coughed, trying to roll back over onto her stomach. Her right hand struck wood and she grabbed hold of the gunwale. The water was deeper now, the bottom of the lake dropping away quickly.

  From above her there was shouting, and she tried to make herself as small a target as possible. The boat drifted farther out into the lake, so when Julia tried to touch down she could just barely feel the lake bottom. She grabbed the gunwale with her other hand and risked pulling herself up above its rim. Anker and Hunter, she realized, were both standing up in the boat. Hunter's hands were still tied, and he was struggling to keep hold of Anker's arms. Julia saw the metallic flash of the revolver in Anker's hand. Hunter was trying to prevent Anker from shooting one or both of them.

  Julia took a deep breath and called out to Hunter as loudly as she could, "Can you swim?"

  Hunter and Anker continued to wrestle, and it looked like Anker was gaining the upper hand. He was able to pull one hand free and began striking Hunter on the face with it. Because Hunter's hands were tied, he had to use them both for the task of warding off Anker's blows.

  "Can you swim?" Julia called again.

  But Hunter was too busy wrestling with Anker to either hear or answer.

  Julia had no choice. She dropped down from above the gunwale and, positioning both hands low on the boat's side, she pushed.

  The boat rocked slightly but remained upright. The men inside, however, were jostling it and rolling it with their physical momentum. Julia took a deep breath and waited, her hands in position. When the boat rocked away from her she pushed again, pressing her toes just barely into the lake bottom and using the boat's momentum to her advantage. This time the rowboat tipped, the small keel nearly catching Julia on the chin.

  The boat didn't flip over entirely, but the rocking was enough that Julia heard a splash on the far side as both men hit the water.

  Thirty-two

  In the end it was Hunter that Julia had to save from drowning.

  Julia swam around the stern of the boat and found Anker making a lot of noise and flailing his arms about, but he was moving toward shore decisively and Julia could tell he was in no danger. Hunter though, was another story. With his hands still tied, he was doing his valiant best to tread water. Despite all his effort, his face was barely peeking above the waterline. Julia, who was herself exhausted, swam to him, her waterlogged dress threatening to pull her under. Her breathing, as ever, constricted by her corset, she focused on staying calm and taking long smooth strokes. When she reached Hunter, he looked at her with fear in his eyes, though he tried to sound brave when he spoke.

  "Go catch Anker. He'll get away."

  "Don't be ridiculous. You're going to drown."

  She swam up close to Hunter and put one arm around his chest. "Lean back," she said. "Try to relax."

  Hunter was stiff with fright, and when he tried to do what Julia suggested he panicked as he felt the water rush up over his ears. He began to sink and Julia grabbed him, pulling him up by his jacket collar. Her legs were working madly, trying to keep them both afloat. Her teeth were beginning to chatter.

  "James," she gasped, "you're going to have to trust me. Do you know how to float?"

  Hunter spluttered and said something but Julia couldn't hear him.

  She grabbed Hunter by the shoulders and turned him around, so that he was facing away from her again. Scissoring her legs back and forth, she managed to keep both their heads up above the water. Into James' ear she said, as calmly as she could, "It's okay. We're going to make it. Take a deep breath for me."

  The man did and Julia tried to as well, but caught a small wave in her mouth.

  Coughing, she waited a beat and then said, "Can you lean back? Can you just relax a bit and float?"

  She felt Hunter hesitate and then felt him relax slightly.

  "Good. Good, you're doing great. Keep doing that. See if you can lean back toward me, and let your legs rise up to the surface as well."

  Hunter did so, but when he let his head fall back toward Julia the lake water again climbed up his face and over his ears. He startled and dropped his legs again and began to flail.

  "No, James you were doing great," Julia continued to hold onto the man's shoulders. Her legs were beginning to fail her though, and she felt herself getting weaker. More and more small waves caught her in the face, because she wasn't as able to hold it up above the waterline. She knew she had a very limited time until both she and Hunter succumbed.

  "Listen," she continued, trying to stay calm. "When you lie back, the water is going to come up on your cheeks. It's going to feel like your face is going to go under. But it won't. I promise. If you stay relaxed and just float, I'm going to tow you to shore. Okay?"

  Hunter grunted, but Julia wasn't sure if the noise was agreement or just physical effort. He did as she asked, hesitating at first. He leaned back and Julia could see his bound hands resting on his belly. This time, when the water encroached on his face, he stayed still.

  "Great," Julia breathed, more to herself than Hunter. "That's good. Okay, let's go."

  With one arm, she held onto a handful of Hunter's suit jacket. With the other she made long sweeping movements in the water, pulling them forward. She was fading fast now. The weight of her clothes and Hunter's clothes was pulling her down, almost as if someone was holding onto her waist and pulling. Her face was numb. She risked a glance back at Hunter and saw that his lips were blue.

  Taking long strokes with one hand, and making them as smooth as possible, so as not to jostle Hunter, she slowly made her way toward the shore. The lake knocked her in the face now and then and she'd stop to cough and splutter. Every once in awhile she pushed her legs down and tried to find the bottom of the lake, but each time she was disappointed.

  Her breath started to come in ragged gasps. She tried to lift her head to see the shoreline but couldn't focus and gave up. How was it possible they'd come out this far in the boat? It had felt like they'd only floated out a few feet but now it seemed like miles back to shore.

  And then Julia began to doubt herself. It felt
like they weren't making any progress at all. Her legs felt like jelly and each kick they gave was weaker than a brand new kitten's. Her dress felt like it weighed several hundred pounds. She couldn't go on. She dropped her head to the side, submerging one ear and half of her face, trying to breathe above the waterline.

  "Miss Thom?" Hunter said in a weak voice.

  "Yes?"

  "You can let me go if you need to."

  Water splashed over Julia's face. She closed her eyes and felt herself sinking.

  Suddenly the water around her was roiling and churning. Her eyes flew open but she couldn't see because her face was slapped by a wave. Arms came toward her and grabbed her. She held onto Hunter, and lashed out at the figure with her free hand. It must be Anker trying to finish them off.

  "Let him go, Miss Thom. It's okay. We've got you."

  Her eyes cleared and she looked up. Theodore Cranna's pale skin and shock of red hair filled her eye line. She heard grunting beside her.

  Cranna was in the water with her, pulling her up from below the surface. Beside her was a rowboat. She glanced right and could see Arthur Sullivan, the steamship captain, leaning over the side of the vessel and pulling Hunter out of the water. Cranna treaded water, holding onto Julia. When Sully had Hunter safely in the boat, he reached for Julia. There wasn't much elegance about it but with Sully pulling from above and Cranna pushing from below they got Julia into the boat as well. She fell onto the floor of the vessel coughing, her chest rattling with water.

  Cranna pulled himself up into the boat, all gangly limbs and sharp elbows. When he got himself settled on his knees in the bow Sully began pulling mightily for shore.