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  Frontier Mayhem

  The unforgiving wilderness of the Rocky Mountains forced a boy to grow up fast, so Nate King taught his son, Zach, how to survive the constant hazards and hardships – and he taught him well. With an Indian war party on the prowl and a marauding grizzly on the loose, young Zach was about to face the test of his life, with no room for failure. But there was one danger Nate hadn’t prepared Zach for – a beautiful girl with blue eyes.

  Blood Feud

  The brutal wilderness of the Rocky Mountains can be deadly to those unaccustomed to its dangers. So when a clan of travelers from the hill country back East arrive at Nate King’s part of the mountain, Nate is more than willing to lend a hand and show them some hospitality. He has no way of knowing that this clan is used to fighting – and killing – for what they want. And they want Nate’s land for their own!

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Copyright Page

  About the Author

  About Piccadilly Publishing

  WILDERNESS 25: FRONTIER MAYHEM

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  WILDERNESS 26: BLOOD FEUD

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  To Judy; Joshua, and Shane.

  WILDERNESS 25

  FRONTIER MAYHEM

  One

  Zebulon Clark was scared. He did not want to die. Given his druthers, he would like to live a long, prosperous life. Often he had imagined himself as an old man, seated in a rocking chair with an adorable grandchild perched on a knee. He wanted to end his days peacefully, to pass on to the other side quietly, in his sleep.

  Fate had other ideas.

  The first inkling Zebulon had of trouble was when the forest suddenly went quiet. Totally, utterly silent. All the birds stopped chirping. All the squirrels stopped chattering. The chipmunks no longer scampered playfully about. It was as if every living thing had abruptly died. Or was in hiding.

  Zebulon had halted and cocked his head to listen. He’d figured it was a roving grizzly or a prowling painter, and he had not been particularly concerned. After all, he had his trusty Hawken and a brace of flintlock pistols. Plus his butcher knife.

  Then a shrill whistle had pierced the ratified mountain air. A cry like that of a hawk – only a hawk was not the source. No, an earthbound predator had uttered that cry, and it was answered by another, then a third.

  Savages! The word pealed in Zebulon’s head like the clap of doom. He’d come to take it for granted the valley was a safe haven, that Indians rarely if ever came there. He should have known better.

  For months Zeb had gone blithely on with his work; setting traps, skinning beaver, each day adding to his collection of prime peltries. He’d long since acquired more than the packhorses could carry. The extras would be toted by his mount, and Lou’s saddle horse. So what if they had to walk clear back to St. Louis? The inconvenience was worth it.

  Lou had suggested they leave while the going was good. But Zebulon always refused. By the grace of God they had stumbled on a beaver paradise, and Zebulon was not about to leave until he had every last hide there was to be had.

  Lou had come right out and said he was being a mite greedy. Yes, he was, yet Zebulon couldn’t help himself. Not when it would add a couple of hundred dollars to the final tally. An entire year’s worth of income for most folks back home.

  “Another week,” Zebulon kept insisting. “Just one more and we’ll go. I promise.”

  One week had become three.

  Now, Zebulon could not help but wonder if his greed might cost them dearly. Turning, he retraced his steps, heading for camp. The traps slung over his shoulder clanked and rattled. Newhouses were costly, but not worth his life. Dropping them, he hurried on, what little noise he made drowned out by a gurgling stream on his left.

  The hawk cry was repeated, this time from a thicket on the opposite bank. Nervously fingering the Hawken’s trigger, Zebulon picked up the pace. His mouth had gone as dry as a desert; his palms were sweaty.

  Please, Zebulon prayed, please let them hold off until we load up and light a shuck. It would be folly to try and take the plews. Every precious second wasted was another closer to the grave. Anyone with half a brain would forget the hides and just ride. But they had gone to so much trouble. He owed it to Lou, and to his beloved wife. Bless her departed soul.

  It was over a mile to the clearing. A harrowing mile, every step possibly his last. Zebulon’s buckskins were plastered to his skin and his scalp was prickling as if from a heat rash when at last he spotted the horses and the bales and Lou sharpening a scraper on a whetstone.

  Zebulon opened his mouth to shout, but his throat was too dry. All he could do was squeak, like a pathetic tiny mouse.

  Lou had not noticed the danger. Which was understandable. The blue sky, the lazy pillowy clouds that drifted overhead, the gentle breeze rustling the slender aspens, all conspired to give a person a false sense of peace and security.

  Zebulon had to swallow three or four times before his vocal chords would work. By then he was at the clearing’s edge, and swore he could feel unseen eyes bore into his back. “Lou!” he said urgently. His pride and joy swung around, a warm smile nipped in the bud.

  “Pa? What’s the matter?”

  “Trouble,” Zebulon said, struggling to stay calm, to keep his tone level. He imagined Lou scalped and staked out naked, and inwardly quaked. Dear Lord! No! It was bad enough he had lost Lou’s ma to the fever. He wouldn’t lose their offspring, too! Not when he had promised Marcy to take special care of the child, to see to it that Lou grew up to be a credit to them both.

  “What kind of trouble, Pa?”

  Anxiety tore at Zebulon’s vitals. Lou was so young, so tender. Only sixteen. Sweetly innocent sixteen. It would be the ultimate injustice to deprive someone that age of life, and future happiness. “Injuns.” Zebulon’s voice was raspier than he intended thanks to a constriction in his throat.

  Lou scanned the woods. “What tribe?”

  “I don’t rightly know,” Zebulon admitted. “They ain’t shown themselves yet.”

  “Maybe they’re friendly.”

  “Not likely. Peaceable Injuns don’t skulk about swapping birdcalls. I got a powerful bad feeling about this.” Zebulon motioned. “Mount up and head for the pass. I’ll be along directly.”

  “And leave you here alone?”

  Raw emotion threatened to wash over Zebulon in a tidal wave of commingled grief and joy. “Don’t sass me now, child. It ain’t the right time or place.”

  Lou was moving toward another rifle, propped on a log. “I’m not a sprout anymore. I can do as I dam well please.”

  “For my sake. Go.”

  “No.”

  “Just like your ma,” Zebulon said softly, more to himself than to Lou. His darling Marcy had possessed a stubborn streak a mile wide. Otherwise, she had been as fine a wife as any man ever had. Tender, considerate, and playful under the bedcovers.

  Another piercing cry reminded him they did not have a moment to spare. He glanced at the peltries, reluctant to part with a single one. Yet some had to be left behind or they would lose their lives. “Saddle Old Jake and Fancy. I’ll load the pack animals.”

  “We’
re taking an awful risk.”

  That they were. Sensible trappers would ride off bareback and forget the hides. But Zebulon couldn’t, not even when his life depended on it. He ran to the bales and hauled one toward the string.

  Lou worked quickly, one eye on the vegetation. Zebulon’s obvious fear was more unnerving than the Indians. Somehow or other Lou had gotten the notion that Zebulon was not afraid of anything. To learn differently was deeply unsettling.

  Lou’s slim fingers fumbled with the cinch. Jaw muscles tightening, Lou concentrated. Stay calm! a tiny inner voice said. Do what has to be done and you’ll get out of this with your own skins intact!

  Or would they?

  Lou stiffened at the sight of a shadowy figure in the forest. A warrior had stepped from behind a trunk to brazenly watch what they were doing. Murky shadow hid the man’s features, but Lou could tell the Indian was painted for war, and that was all that really mattered. “Oh, Lord.”

  “What?” Zebulon stopped and gazed in the same direction. His blood became ice; his heart skipped a beat. Without thinking, he snapped the Hawken to his shoulder and thumbed back the hammer, but before he could fire the figure disappeared.

  Lou was glad. A shot would provoke the war party into attacking. “Forget the plews, Pa. Let’s skedaddle. I’ll cover you while you saddle Old Jake.” Lou moved a few feet to one side, puzzled when Zebulon stood there like a bump on a log. “What are you waiting for, Pa? Hurry!”

  “You’re asking me to give up two thousand dollars’ worth of beaver! More money than I’ve had at one time in all my born days. Money that can give us a decent life back in the States.”

  “Money ain’t worth dying over.”

  Zebulon did not seem to hear. “I can send you to school, just like your ma always wanted. She made me promise her, you know. On her deathbed. And I aim to stand by my word, come Hell or high water.”

  “Please, Pa. Just get on Old Jake.”

  “It galls me, child. Galls me something fierce. We’ve worked godawful hard for these pelts.” Zebulon felt a funk coming on, and didn’t care, “Getting up at the crack of dawn every day. Wading in cold water up to my chest. About freezing my toes off more times than I care to recollect. Lugging those heavy beaver. All the skinning and curing we’ve done. And for what? For a bunch of mangy red devils to steal it all out from under us and leave us broke?”

  “Pa! For God’s sake!”

  “I refuse!” Zebulon raged, wagging the Hawken. “Do you hear me, damn your bones! The Clark clan doesn’t give up easily! Try to run us off and there will be bloodshed! Mark my words!”

  An arrow whizzed out of the greenery and imbedded itself in Zebulon’s ribs with a loud thunk. The impact jolted him backwards and partially spun him around. Amazement etched his face. Then agony spiked through him like a red-hot poker. He buckled at the knees.

  “No!” Lou bounded to Zebulon’s side and grabbed him around the shoulders. Specters flitted among the trees, drawing closer. “Pa, we have to get you out of here! Help me! I can’t do it alone!”

  Zebulon tried to stand, but his legs refused to obey. Weakness overwhelmed him. The world whirled as if caught in the grip of a tornado, and his stomach roiled like butter in a chum. Bile rose in his gorge. “Leave me,” he gasped.

  “Never!” Frantic, Lou bent, wedged a shoulder under Zeb’s arm, and levered upward. The strain was almost more than Lou could bear. Sinews quivering, they staggered toward their mounts.

  The specters were closer, a ring of dusky warriors in buckskins, many holding bows, some armed with lances, a few hefting eyedaggs. Foremost was a tall man whose dark eyes danced with vitality. He strode into the open as fearlessly as if entering his own village. Red stripes had been painted on his forehead and cheeks, lending him an especially frightening aspect.

  Lou pretended the Indians were not there. Paying them no mind was hard, but the only way to stave off paralyzing fear. “Hold on, Pa. I’ll have us out of here in two shakes of a lamb’s tail. You can count on me.”

  Zebulon barely heard. His head pounded to the pulsing rhythm of his own blood. It was like the time they had visited the ocean and he had stood on a low cliff listening to breakers crash on rocks. Only this was inside him. He could hardly think. “Lou—” he began, intending to bid the child to flee.

  “Hush. I know what you’re going to say and you might as well save your breath. I can no sooner leave you than I can sprout wings and fly.”

  The tall warrior stepped between them and the horses. Folding his arms, he regarded them intently, particularly Lou. He acted more amused than anything else, making no attempt to resort to his lance.

  Lou was not accustomed to bearing so heavy a burden. Zebulon was a powerful man, weighing upwards 220 pounds. Twice what Lou weighed. Gritting from the exertion, Lou stumbled to a stop. “Out of my way, varmint.” When the warrior did not budge, Lou brought the rifle to bear, difficult to do one-handed. “I mean it! Shoo! Or in another minute you’ll be worm food.”

  If the warrior understood English, which was highly unlikely, he did not show it. Grunting, he pointed at Zebulon, then at the ground. The meaning was as clear as crystal.

  “Go to Hell,” Lou said, which was as close to a cuss word as Zeb would abide. The click of the hammer being pulled back was unnaturally loud.

  A warrior to the south yelled and whipped a bow up, an ash arrow already notched to a taut string. The man sighted down the shaft, squarely at Lou’s chest. For a span of five seconds Lou’s life hung in the balance. Then the tall warrior gestured, and the bowman reluctantly lowered his weapon.

  The odds were twelve to one. Resistance was useless. Yet giving up was never an option. Lou would rather die protecting Zebulon. To surrender would mean torture. Or so many a fellow mountaineer had claimed.

  Bracing both legs, Lou trained the rifle on the tall warrior’s sternum. “I won’t warn you again. Stand aside or else.”

  Incredibly, the tall man came forward until the muzzle was inches from his wide chest. He even had the audacity to reach out and hold the barrel steady. Other warriors fidgeted uneasily.

  Lou was flabbergasted, then recollected being told that Indians valued courage above all else. The tall leader was demonstrating his bravery for all to behold. Virtually daring Lou to shoot.

  “Kill him,” Zebulon gasped. His senses were still in turmoil, but he had enough presence of mind to realize that if they did not shoot their way out, they were goners. Befuddled when Lou did not obey, he said, “What are you waiting for? Do it, then run like a scalded dog. Don’t fret about me. I’ll be right behind you.” The last was an out-and-out lie. He could not take two steps, let alone run two feet.

  Lou’s eyes were locked on the tall warrior’s. It was a proverbial moment of truth, a crucial turning point. Lou’s finger closed on the trigger – but not firmly enough to fire. For Lou had never taken a life before, never so much as raised a fist in anger. Over and over in Lou’s mind resounded the Commandment. Thou shalt not kill!

  “Shoot!”

  Lou wanted to. With every fiber, every particle, every iota of being. But the finger on the trigger did not curl any further. Lou saw a smile spread across the Indian’s face, and the warrior leaned forward. “I’m sorry, Pa. We’re done for.”

  It was impossible for Zeb to be mad. People had to be true to their nature, and that was all Lou was doing. “We won’t let them do us in without a tussle,” Zeb vowed, girding himself to rise. They would die, but they would take some of their enemies with them.

  Lou let down the hammer and lowered the rifle. There was no use in pretending; the warrior could tell it was a bluff. Regret overwhelmed rising despair. “I’ve failed you, Pa. Ma must be rolling over in her grave.”

  “Nonsense.” Zebulon’s abdomen and upper thighs were slick with warm blood. He was not long for this world. Unless he acted soon, it would be too late.

  The tall warrior’s bronzed hand rose toward Lou’s pale throat, then stopped. Furrows creased
the man’s brow. His eyes narrowed and he tilted his head. He looked Lou up and down as if amazed. Without warning, he pressed a hand against Lou’s chest. Startled, he stepped back and announced his discovery in his own tongue.

  “May the Lord preserve us,” Zebulon breathed. “They know. Run, girl! Run!”

  “No. Clarks have grit. Isn’t that what you’ve taught me since I was knee high to a calf? I’m not leaving you and that’s final.”

  Panic mounted in Zeb. “Louisa May, I’m ordering you to get the hell out of here! Now! Before they force themselves on you!”

  “Ma would have a fit if she heard you cuss, Pa.” Zebulon would have added a string of oaths if he’d had the energy. Only a female would give a hoot about proper behavior when they were both about to be slit from ear to ear! “Leave me and go, child! Don’t let me pass on to my reward with your own death on my conscience. Please.”

  Lou held her ground. The truth was out. So be it. Ordinarily, her baggy buckskins and short hair were enough to disguise her gender, but the tall warrior had the eyes of a hawk. She placed a hand on her butcher knife. While she could not kill in cold blood, she would do whatever was necessary to keep from being violated. As her ma had always said, there were fates worse than death.

  The tall leader was talking to several others. An argument broke out, with much motioning and loud words. At the conclusion, the tall man stepped aside and indicated Old Jake and Fancy.

  “He’s saying we can leave!” Lou exclaimed.

  “Not without the plews,” Zebulon said. “Make them savvy. We can’t go without our hides.” An urge to cough doubled him over. Automatically, he raised a hand to cover his mouth. When the fit subsided and he lowered his palm, it was bright scarlet.

  Lou did not waste another moment. Setting the rifle down, she wrapped both arms around her father and practically dragged him to the horses. He objected, but he was in no condition to resist. Once next to Old Jake, she had a greater problem: how to get her pa up into the saddle. Unaided, she could never do it.