savagely. His arms tightened around her as if he intended to break every
rib in her body, but as suddenly he released her, thrusting her into the
dirt.
The dust rose high around her. Tess started to cough and choke. Chavez
wrenched her up and helped her onto the pinto pony. The horse protested,
letting out a shrill sound and prancing back and forth.
"You will ride!" Chavez yelled, his eyes black upon her. Trying to
maintain her balance, Tess reached for the reins.
She wanted to protest; she wanted to fight.
But she said no more. She held the reins and leveled a glare at Chavez.
She didn't want to be bound once again. At least she was not tied, and
the pinto pony was sound and sturdy. Her dreams had escaped her, but now
they were finding a rebirth. There were a hundred men surrounding her,
but feeling the power of the horse beneath her, the determination
reawakened within her that she would escape. She would survive.
"Ride!" Chavez roared again. She was going to obey him, and he knew it.
He started to laugh.
"Miss. Smart. Yes, Miss. Smart, you must ride! Nalte is waiting!" The
Comancheros shrieked again. Men lifted their rifles in the air; some
chanted.
Horses pranced around, and their hooves hit the dust. Then they were
off.
Tess found herself holding tight to the pinto lest she be thrown and
trampled in the stampede.
"Damn?"
High atop a cliff where the mountain range began its craggy rise to the
sky, Jamie threw himself against a rock near his perch overlooking the
broad, dusty plain below. He closed his eyes in pain, then opened them
to stare across at Jon, who was still squatting on the flats of his
feet, stating down at the riders who were racing away in a cloud of
dust.
They had ridden hard and long, and they had nearly caught up with Tess
before David and Jeremiah had come upon the Comancheros. Nearly. Not
quite. They had come in time to watch the Comancbero kill yon He, usen's
men in cold blood, and in time to see Tess hit the mustachioed Mexican
bandit.
And they had come in time to watch the men ride away with her.
"There was nothing to be done. Not now," Jon said unhappily.
Jamie nodded bitterly.
"Tonight. We have to catch up with them tonight." He was silent for a
moment, then he pulled off the low-brimmed hat he was wearing and
slammed it against the dirt.
"What the hell is the matter with that woman? Doesn't she realize that
Chavez is a cold- blooded killer? He's going to rip her to shreds if she
keeps that up! I could rip her to shreds myself right at this moment." ~
"She can hardly know that we're sitting up here watching her," Jon
reminded him.
Jamie stood up, retrieved his hat and set his hands on his hips as he
stared at the sun. Twilight was coming soon enough. He didn't want to
follow so closely that they stood a chance of the Comancheros doubling
back on them, but he didn't want to be very far behind.
"She's getting closer and closer to Nalte's territory. I have to get her
back before she winds up in Apache hands." He paused.
"Before Nalte discovers that he hasn't been brought ..."
"A virgin bride?" Jori suggested.
Jamie scowled. He was staring down where the dust still rose in the wake
of the horses.
"I met Cochise once," he murmured.
"I admired the man. He was willing to meet with me under a flag of truce
in spite of the number of times the cavalry betrayed his trust. He is
our enemy, he is dangerous, but I would not hesitate to go to him. I
wonder if this Nalte is a man like Cochise."
"Nalte is powerful," Jon said.
"He is the head of his family, and the chief of many families. He
usually makes war with the Mexicans because of the war they have made
upon him, but he will deal with the Comancheros because they bring him
the arms he needs to fight his battles. He is fiercely against the
reservation life, and will battle for his land to the bitter end. But
from what I have heard, he is still a man with ethics and honor."
Jamie inhaled and exhaled.
"I just don't know. I'm going to try to get her back tonight," he said.
"I daren't risk waiting to deal with Nalte."
He turned and started sliding down the cliff toward the small clearing
in the rock where they had left the horses.
"Coming?" he called to Jon.
"I'm fight behind you," Jon assured him.
The Comancheros rode hard alongside the range until the daylight waned
and night began to fall upon them,~ Then they moved into the mountains.
The terrain became very rugged, and their pace slowed.
Chavez dropped back to ride beside Tess.
"This is Nalte's territory.
You will meet your bridegroom very soon." He sneered at her, very
pleased with himself. Tess said nothing, but watched the man with as
much disdain as possible.
"Wait until you meet Nalte. He is tall and as strong as the rock.
He crushes arrogant little girls between his fingers. He is fierce in
his paint and breech clouts and he is merciless upon his enemies."
"Chavez, he cannot be anywhere near as repulsive as you," she said
pleasantly. So pleasantly that it took several long moments for the
smile to fade from his weathered features. He shook a fist in her face.
"I have not given you to Nalte yet, little girl! You hold your tongue,
or you will pay!"
He rode forward again. Tess shivered but kept her eyes straight ahead in
the growing darkness. She could feel the horses and the men bunched
around her, could feel their eyes upon her, could smell the sweat of
their bodies. But she kept her eyes on the trail, looking neither left
nor fight, trying desperately not to acknowledge them--or her own fear.
The rocks stopped suddenly. They had come upon a small plateau studded
with crude buildings barely discernible in the dusk. An open fire with a
huge spit set above it burned in the center of the clearing, and there
were women there and a number of armed men awaiting them. Tess figured
it had to be a headquarters of sorts for Chavez in the mountains.
Perhaps his last stronghold before it became Nalte's territory in full.
She remained on her horse as the men rushed into the clearing, yelling,
screaming, calling to their women, cavorting as they dismounted.
Chavez rode over to her.
"Welcome to my home, little girl." He laughed.
"Mi casa es su casa. Always, my house is yours. Tomorrow, Nalte's tepee
will be your home!" He roared with laughter, as if he had just said the
most amusing thing in the world.
He dismounted from his horse and lifted her down from hers. He pulled
her close against him, still roaring.
"Maybe I will keep you myself. You have so much to learn about manners.
Maybe you are like a very fine horse to be broken, eh? A magnificent
mare to be ridden and tamed, eh?" Tess struggled fiercely against him.
He enjoyed her distress and continued to smile. She shouldn't fight him,
she thought.
He enjoyed it so very much.
But just as she went limp, a sharp female voice called out, "Chavez!"
His features hardened. He did not release Tess, but turned around and
stared at the dark-haired, buxom young woman coming toward him. She wore
a white peasant blouse and a full, colorful skirt. Her brown feet were
bare. She was young and pretty but her features were wide and her hips
showed signs of broadening With age and the birth of children.
She scowled furiously at Tess and scolded Chavez in Spanish.
"Woman, shut your mouth!" Chavez roared at her. She did not stop talking
until Chavez turned, his fist raised as if he would hit her. The woman