"No," Brogan said, "we have to find out who that is. It may be more than one."
Lucas motioned to Marcus to come closer. "They may have thought you were alone and seeing more of us, have gone to find others."
"Hadn't thought of that." Marcus' eyes scanned the surroundings.
The men split into two groups to search for whoever it was that shot at them. Moments later, a bullet whizzed past Lucas' shoulder and he fired in return. They dismounted and rushed to take cover behind trees.
"I'm Deputy McKade," Lucas cried out. "You are outnumbered, best you come out."
His answer was another gunshot.
Whoever hid behind some rocks was alone. Lucas motioned silently with his hand to the men that he was going closer.
He crept as quietly as possible to where he could get a clear view of the man. The man was younger than he expected, gangly and nervous. His hands were shaking badly, which explained his bad marksmanship. When one of his men shot into the air taking the young man's attention, Lucas hurried closer until he was only yards away.
"Put the gun down."
The young man yelped but didn't drop the gun. Instead, he holstered it and turned to Lucas with both hands up. "I didn't do nothing."
"You shot at me."
He seemed to search for what to say next, his eyes darting to and fro, as if hiding something. "I just wanted to use the cave."
"You could've asked." Lucas lowered his gun. It was easy to see the man was simple and not quite understanding the ramifications of his actions. "Where you headed?"
"Taking my sister-in-law to see my Pa."
He looked around and didn't see anyone else. Clearly, the young man was delusional. "Well, get on then. Don't go shooting at anyone."
"You really Lucas McKade?" The young man's wide eyes took Lucas in as if assessing something. "I heard of you, just can't remember what." He hit the side of his head with his fist. "I reckon I'll think of it."
At this point, the other men came up and looked to Lucas, who motioned for them to lower their guns.
The ride back to Silver City was uneventful and slow. The storm made for muddy ground, which caused the horses to slow down to a trudge. Uncomfortable in his still soggy clothing and tired from lack of sleep, Lucas couldn't wait to bathe and then head over to see Camille.
Brogan and his team had gone in a different direction just to ensure there wasn't a camp they'd missed.
When the town came into view, it was just as they'd left it, the usual mid-afternoon activities. Nothing had changed, which was good news. Bill Burns and his gang had not arrived and perhaps the sick man had just repeated an old story, or even made it up. Although he doubted the latter.
If Burns was, indeed, planning to come for him and Brogan, it wasn't anytime soon. There had been no signs of any groups of men in the surrounding areas.
****
Camille had never been so overcome with a sense of helplessness than at that moment. Bound and gagged, she lay in the back of her own wagon. Although Billy Charles had pulled her wagon under the shelter of trees and placed a blanket over her, she was wet and cold from the rain. To top things off, he'd left, promising to find shelter and not returned in what seemed like hours.
Tears slid down her face as she wondered if this was how she'd die. It had been foolish of her to try and talk Billy Charles into letting her go. In retrospect, she should have run and screamed for help. He wouldn't have shot at her. At least, she didn't think he would've. Despite anything, he'd always seemed to like her. Even while tying her up, he'd kept reassuring her he hated having to do it.
She struggled once again in an attempt to loosen the rope around her bound wrists. The pain of the raw skin finally made her stop and she let out a cry of frustration.
Footsteps sounded and she moaned as loudly as possible, only to stop when Billy Charles lifted the blanket and peered down at her.
"You cryin'?"
His face crumpled as if he, too, was about to cry. "It's not too far to the house. In a few minutes, we can cut you free and you can clean up." He grinned down at her.
Camille glared at him, which made his wide smile disappear.
Several people gathered in front of the stables and watched with interest as the three soggy men dismounted and saw about the horses. Lucas ensured his horse had plenty of oats and water before beginning the work of brushing the animal down. He was almost finished when a stable hand came up and leaned on the fence. "Deputy McKade, ya hear about Miss Johnston?"
His head jerked straight up. "No, what happened?"
"Can't find her. Came and bought this mare late yesterday. When Pa asked if she wanted to rent stable space for it, she said no, that she was leavin' for a while."
Lucas put the brush away, his heart racing. "The mare is still here. Did she say when she planned to go?"