“How?”
“I’ll find a way.”
Then he was gone. He just crawled out of the cave and disappeared.
Rose was uncomfortable. George wasn’t like himself. There was a ruthlessness in him she had never seen. Determination she knew and expected. But this was different. This frightened her. She wasn’t sure she liked it.
“Can’t we at least see what’s going on?” Zac begged.
They had spent a long, tense, boring day hiding deep in the cave waiting for George to return. She had stayed awake, but she had encouraged Zac to sleep. Now he was bursting with energy while she could hardly keep her eyes open.
“You’re not to go near the opening,” Rose said. “You never know when one of them might be crossing the creek. And keep your voice down.”
“But they won’t catch me. You never did,” challenged Zac. “Neither did George.”
“That may be true,” Rose admitted, “but this is no game of hide-and-seek. If those men find you, you know George would give himself up, don’t you?”
The boy nodded.
“They won’t believe there’s no gold. They’ll kill us all. Now do you understand?”
Zac nodded again.
“Good. Now why don’t you tell me a story. I don’t think I could think of another one if you held a gun to my head.”
Rose woke with a start. She had fallen asleep with Zac telling her a story about the dog he was going to have George buy for him when they sold the herd. She wondered why she felt so warm until she realized that Zac had pulled a quilt over her. He really was the dearest boy. She’d have to do something really special for him when everything got back to normal. In the meantime she’d better see about something to eat. It was dark enough in the cave to be late afternoon. She sat up expecting to find Zac right next to her.
He was gone!
She felt a desire to spank him within an inch of his life even as fear for his life caused her breath to come quick and shallow. Maybe he was just near the entrance. She scrambled through the labyrinth of roots, all the while cursing herself for falling asleep. Zac would never have left had she been awake.
The mouth of the cave was deserted. Zac was truly gone. She had to find him. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to the child.
She didn’t even want to think about how George would feel. From the way he acted this morning, he wouldn’t stop until every McClendon was dead. That would destroy George and all her dreams. She couldn’t allow that.
Rose crawled out of the cave and listened. After a few moments she heard shots somewhere far to the west. So George and Salty had drawn the McClendons off. She felt a little better. The fewer McClendons left, the more likely nothing had happened to Zac. Rose crawled back into the cave, picked out a rifle, checked to make sure it was fully loaded, and started out again.
After half an hour of searching she had found no trace of the boy. She also found no McClendons. It was as though they had never been there. She didn’t dare approach the smoldering remains of the house—McClendons were bound to be there—but she didn’t think Zac would have gone to the house. She wondered if he might not have returned to the cave by now.
But she didn’t make it back to the creek. She had hardly gone twenty yards when old man McClendon leapt out at her from behind a thick tree trunk. He wrenched the rifle from her hands.
“I knew you’d turn back to your den.” He chuckled. “I know about those caves. I hid there once myself from some Indians. I thought you’d find them.”
It was useless to struggle. He might look old, but he was amazingly strong. Besides, she wouldn’t get two yards before he gunned her down.
“We’re going back to wait for your husband,” McClendon said. “I don’t expect he’ll stay out much longer.”
Rose knew she couldn’t allow McClendon to drag her back to the cave. If he ever got her inside, George wouldn’t be able to save her.
She struggled just enough to slow him down, trying all the while to decide where to make her stand. But no place seemed to be a good spot. Rose soon realized that if she was going to do anything, she had to do it soon. She thrust her foot between McClendon’s legs to trip him. At the same time, she hit him in the middle with all her strength.
The old man hardly flinched. He didn’t stumble. He hit her just above the temple with the butt of his rifle. Rose collapsed in a heap at his feet.
“I’ll crack your skull if you try anything like that again,” he threatened.
Rose offered no resistance when he picked her up and started dragging her toward the creek. She fought to remain conscious. She had to warn George. Summoning all her strength, Rose let out a long shriek.