Chapter 49: Taken by Surprise

~Out here you better have a gun, and a gun in the wagon ain’t good for nothin'.~ —Louis L’Amour

Bessie turned around in surprise, and Jake grabbed his chance. He swung around, knocked the gun out of Jem’s hand, and grabbed his wrist. With his left hand, Jake punched Jem’s unshaven face. Jem reeled but quickly gained control of himself.

“Round two, huh?” He smirked at Jake. “Don’t worry, this time I won’t leave you breathin’.”

The gun had been tossed aside, and the two men made a dive for it. Jake managed to kick it away with his left foot. He then turned and attacked Jem with his fists. Jem was prepared and deflected the blows while trying to deal some of his own.

Locked in their fight, the two men had no time for Bessie, who found herself facing Tarak alone.

“Don’t move, woman,” Tarak warned. “I’ll shoot, and I won’t feel bad about it.”

“Who the hell are you?” Bessie asked, aware of the fight going on between Jake and Jem, and trying to decide what would be the best course of action.

“My identity is no business of yours,” Tarak said calmly, walking up closer to her. “I know who you are, and I know you are up to no good.”

“Asop, just do it now!” Bessie suddenly called out.

Realizing there was a third member hiding somewhere, Tarak dropped his rifle and, in the blink of an eye, grabbed Bessie’s arm and twisted it behind her. He pulled the knife from his belt and held the blade at her throat.

“Hurt Jake, and I will kill her,” Tarak threatened to the Asop he couldn’t see.

“Don’t worry about me, kill the Indian!” Bessie screamed. A few seconds passed, and nothing happened.

“Just do it, Asop, do it!” Bessie was almost pleading now. “Forget about me, just do it, do it for Calhoon. He’ll kill us both if Jake gets away this time.”

A loud shot rang out. Tarak looked wildly at Jake, half expecting him to be dead on the ground. But no, Jake and Jem had paused their fight at the sound of the gunshot. They were both covered in dust, dirt, and blood, but neither of them was mortally hurt. Jem’s gun lay far off in the dust.

Sam walked out from behind the boulder closer to the town, dragging the slumped figure of a man by the shirt collar.

“All right, break it up!” Sam called. He dropped the wounded man on the ground and pointed his shotgun at Jem. “You, get up now. Jake, get off of him.” Jake roughly lifted Jem off the ground, twisting his hands behind his back.

“What happened to Asop?” Bessie screamed. “Did you kill him?”

“Not quite,” Sam reassured her. “He’s alive, but wounded and out cold. Should have thought twice before attemptin’ to shoot Jake here.

“An’ you,” Sam turned toward Jake, “might have specified which edge of town you meant. I had no idea which direction to head in. Made a lucky guess, which thankfully proved to be lucky indeed.”

Bessie struggled to free herself from Tarak. “You planned this?” she hissed at Jake.

Jake looked Bessie square in the face. “You are travelin’ with your brother to California, you stopped by here and met me ‘by accident,’ and you want me to just dump everythin’ and come away with you?

He shook his head. “Honestly, you thought I would buy that? What sort of a dumbass would I have to be? Anyone with half a brain would have thought I agreed too quickly. I guess you were desperate, and that clouded yer judgment.”

Bessie grit her teeth in anger as she gazed at Jake with hatred. “You have no idea how much trouble you caused for me, personally. You nearly broke everythin’ I had with Asop. The poor man almost went insane with jealousy when I was courtin’ you. Not to mention, Calhoon nearly blasted my brains out when you went and disappeared. I hate you, Jacob Wade, I hate you.”

“Well, you’re in good company,” Jake snapped back. “So does Rachel, and the two of you can just go on hatin’ me together. And guess what? I don’t care!”

“Right, folks,” Sam cut in. “Puttin’ all these personal feelings aside, you three are under arrest, an’ I’m takin’ you into custody.”

“Since when do you have the power to arrest people?” Jake asked.

“Since I became a deputy,” Sam flashed his badge with a smile. “An’ I even got a pair of handcuffs for free, courtesy of Sheriff Grant. I’ll snap them on you, mister.” He walked up to Jem, who was being held by Jake.

“An’ you, missy,” he said, turning to Bessie, “you’ll have to make do with some rope.” Pulling a cord from his pocket, Sam proceeded to tie Bessie’s hands behind her back.

“Where is Calhoon?” Jake demanded of Bessie. “You said he was comin’ after me.”

“I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’,” Bessie retorted, turning away from Jake.

At this point, a loud barking was heard in the distance. Tarak turned his head sharply in the direction of the town. There seemed to be some sort of commotion going on there. Tarak then turned back to Jem and, without warning, knocked the man senseless.

“I think the noise has something to do with Calhoon,” he told Jake. “Leave the deputy here with the outlaws. Two are knocked out, and I don’t think the lady will be much of a problem.”

Jake didn’t need to be told twice. He wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve and hurried after Tarak. As they approached the town, the unmistakable figure of Roy could be seen running and barking and nipping at boots and skirts. The townsfolk grumbled and cursed and kicked the dog.

“What has gotten into him?” Mrs. Farrington shrieked. “At this rate, I’ll have Miss Preston put him down. He’s gone crazy, he has.”

Tarak glanced over at Jake. “Dog is trying to say something. The townspeople are all too dumb to listen.”

“That’s Dannie’s dog!” Jake sputtered out.

Pushing Mrs. Farrington out of the way, he knelt down by the canine. “Roy, Roy, where’s Dannie? Where’s Dannie?”

Hearing the familiar voice of Jake, the dog turned to him. He barked and jumped and bit Jake’s boots.

“Take me to her!” Jake ordered, rising to his feet. “Mrs. Farrington, find the sheriff and tell him that Miss Preston is in trouble, and we may have a dangerous outlaw on the loose somewhere in this town. Have the women and children stay inside. Tarak, follow me.”

The dog ran forward a little, then ran back, then ran off again. Tarak and Jake hurried after him.

His recent fight with Jem had left Jake battered and bloody, but he didn’t feel the pain from the blows that had been delivered to him. All that was on his mind was for him to get to Dannie as fast as humanly possible.

Judging by her dog’s behavior, Jake feared that Calhoon had gotten to her first.