Ransom by Frank Roderus

“You’ve set around long enough.”
    â€œWe are tired,” Jessica snapped back at him. “We need to rest longer.”
    â€œWhat you need, bitch, is to do what I damn well tell you, that’s what you need.”
    Jessica lifted her chin and glared at the mean, miserable man. “I shall not,” she declared.
    â€œKid, go get on your horse,” Ederle commanded.
    Loozy looked at her mother and when Jessica did not respond, neither did Loozy.
    Ederle bent down with his face close to Loozy’s and said again, “Get on your horse. It’s time we move.”
    Louise gave her mother a fearful glance but again refused to respond to the gruff outlaw’s commands.
    Ederle shifted his attention to Jessica. He stepped over to her, bent down, and said, “Get up. Get on your horse.”
    Jessica silently defied the order, her chin high and her will steeled, her heart caught high in her throat.
    â€œSuit yourself,” Ederle said.
    A sense of relief flooded through Jessica. She could defeat this awful man if only she—
    The left side of her face suddenly felt on fire and her whole body rocked sideways, immediately followed by every bit as much pain on the right side of her face as the man slapped her—hard—with his whole hand and then backhanded her in the other direction.
    Jessica could feel a trickle of blood across her chin and onto her neck.
    She screamed. And screamed again the louder when she saw the man take Loozy by the hair and drag her to her feet.
    â€œAll right. Please. Whatever you want,” she pleaded, scrambling to her feet and tugging at Ederle’s arm as she begged him to leave Louise alone. “Don’t hurt her. I’ll . . . I’ll do whatever you say. Please.”
    Ederle gave her a look of triumph and an appraising stare that she could feel clear through to the bone. It would not do, she realized, to tempt this man into doing more than he intended.
    â€œPlease.” She took a deep breath and with a foul taste in her mouth because of it added, “Sir.”
    Ederle snorted. But he released his grip on Loozy’shair. He motioned toward the horses browsing nearby. “Get on. We’ll go now.”
    â€œYes, sir.” Jessica beckoned Loozy with her as she hurried to gather up their horses and prepare to leave.

Chapter 9
    â€œThey didn’t go past Nate’s place,” Taylor said, disappointment heavy in his voice.
    â€œRight. That’s what the man said,” Hahn responded.
    â€œYeah, but you don’t understand what that means.”
    Hahn did not speak but his eyebrows rose in inquiry.
    â€œYou see this slope over to the north? That’s the best an’ easiest way up top. It’s the way we generally take cows up and down come the spring an’ then the fall. Real easy travel. It’s the direction that string o’ horses was going the last time we seen actual tracks. I figured to pick them up again right over yonder,” he said, pointing. “Now . . .” He shrugged.
    â€œWe’ve lost them?” Hahn asked.
    Taylor nodded. “Looks as if we have.”
    â€œThen where . . . ?”
    â€œYou want an easy answer, I don’t have none.” His arm swept across the jagged, peak studded horizon. “They’re out there, Hahn. Someplace out there.”
    â€œWhat do we do now?”
    â€œWhy, we find ’em, of course.” Taylor wheeled the brown horse back the way they had just come.
    * * *
    â€œBig man! The great tracker. Outdoorsman. Idiot is what I say. You’ve gone and taken us out of town to no purpose. If we had stayed where we belong, we could have . . . I don’tknow. Could have identified one of the spies perhaps. Caught him and made him talk. Or reasoned with him. Bribed him. Something! Now we’re miles away from where we need to be. We have no idea where the gang is or where they’ve taken Jessica and Louise. And you,