Frontier Courtship by Valerie Hansen Page A

mask her cautious movements.
    Arguing loudly, her attackers moved off a bit, thereby giving Faith the opportunity she needed. Her cold fingers touched the leather flap over the top of the holster and lifted it out of the way. Under the cover of the slicker she eased the heavy pistol from its sheath and raised it to point toward the two men in case they noticed she was fully awake and getting to her feet.
    She need not have worried. Neither man was the least bit interested in her at the moment. Stuart was pushing at his smaller companion’s shoulders over and over. Ab was fighting back with angry words.
    “I don’t care what you say. I done the right thing and I’m not sorry.”
    “You will be when the cap’n hears.”
    “Go ahead. Tell him. I ain’t goin’ back there, anyhows.”
    “Oh, yes you are.”
    “No I’m not.”
    Ruing the added weight of her wet, muddy skirt and petticoat, Faith edged herself partially behind the weary horse she’d been tied to, then pulled the black slicker off the pistol barrel. Having the gun would do no good unless she took careful aim before ordering the drovers to surrender.
    Gathering her courage, she shouted, “All right. Hands up, both of you!” How weak and puny her voice sounded in the vastness of the open prairie!
    Ab lifted his hands over his head with a wild laugh. “Ha-ha. I see somebody remembered to bring a gun!”
    “Shut up, old man,” Stuart ordered. He began edging away from his companion, making a split in Faith’s target.
    Not sure which man to continue to point the gun at, she wavered, her eyes blinking fast against the falling rain.
    Lightning flashed. For a moment she was blinded. Something told her Stuart was lunging for her, but not wanting to shoot without being certain, she held her fire.
    He hit her low, like a cowhand bringing down a steer from the back of a running horse. The blow made her squeeze off one wild shot.
    In an instant he’d wrestled her to the ground and torn the pistol from her grasp. The next lightning flash showed him standing over her, the menacing-looking Colt pointed right at her head.
    “Nice of you to bring your own gun, Miss Faith. It makes my job much easier.”
    “I was always good to you.” She hugged herself to ease the pain in her side. “Why are you doing this to me?”
    Stuart cocked the hammer of the pistol to bring another loaded cylinder into play. “Don’t want to,” he said. “It’s just the way things worked out. No hard feelin’s.”
    His uncaring attitude made Faith boiling mad. He might actually kill her, but she wasn’t going to Glory without giving him a piece of her mind no matter how much it hurt to breathe and talk.
    “No hard feelings?” she spit out. “You bet there are, mister. I’m going to be mad as a hornet at you if you pull that trigger. Maybe I’ll even come back to haunt you. Do you believe in ghosts?”
    Ab appeared at Stuart’s elbow. “You’d better listen to her. There’s talk on the train she’s got special powers. Just might be able to do as she says.”
    “I didn’t hear no such talk.”
    “Well, there was.” The thin man raised his trembling right hand. “I swear.”
    “Bah. Get away from me, you old fool. I got work to do.” With that, he raised the pistol higher and took aim.

     
    Connell hadn’t been more than a quarter of a mile behind the riders when they and their burden had stopped. He thanked the Good Lord over and over when he recognized Faith’s discarded bonnet and realized exactly who he’d been following and what was apparently going on.
    He’d dismounted to approach on foot when he heard her shout “Hands up!”
    A single gunshot cracked amid the thunder.
    Faith cried out.
    The sound tied Connell’s gut in knots.
    It was clear that at least one of the men had doubted she’d really shoot to kill, because Connell had seen a dark, crouching figure run at her and knock her to the ground.
    When the man scrambled to his feet, Connell glimpsed