Spider's Web: Chapter 3
by Tami B.
Disclaimer: The following work has been written solely for the enjoyment of fans and not for monetary profit. The rights to the characters initially created for the Daniel Boone series belong to 20th Century Fox and Fess Parker. All other characters are of the author's own creation. No copyright violation is intended.
Daniel lifted his head in time to see the tree falling towards him. He jumped to the side, hoping to move out of the way of the tumbling timber, but he didn’t make it. His foot caught a root and it caused him to crash to the ground. As if by instinct, he rolled out of harm’s way just as the tree landed beside him. Sparks flew from the downed tree and ignited one of his shirt-sleeves. He smothered it with the palm of his hand and immediately rose to his feet, grabbed his shovel, and went back to throwing dirt on the newborn fires; all as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. There was simply no time to contemplate how close he had come to being killed. His main concern was to extinguish the fires. At that moment, it began to rain. Daniel wondered who had prayed for it. He wanted to thank them personally. Ives joined him and inquired about his well-being. After Daniel assured him that he was fine, the two men worked together to put out all the rest of the little fires.
Several hours later all the fires were finally out, and almost everyone returned to their beds. Still, as a precaution, Colonel Ives ordered a few soldiers to keep watch for additional fires as sometimes a new blaze could spring up from one they thought they had doused.
Daniel found Rebecca with the horses. The animals had settled down now that the smoke was abating. He led her back to their tent, where they instantly fell asleep and remained that way well into the morning. It was Rebecca who awoke her husband the next day. After they arose, they ate a light breakfast and then prepared to journey back to Salem. Skinny was anxious and Daniel didn't look forward to keeping her reined in, but knew he would have to. Hattie kissed Jake goodbye as Daniel shook hands with Colonel Ives, and soon the three of them were on their way back to Salem.
On the second night of their journey, Hattie excused herself as usual for her solitary time in the woods. It was then that Rebecca recalled she had not spoken to Hattie about being in Colonel Ives tent; presumably without his knowledge. She decided to bring the subject up with her husband as they stood together near the campfire. "Dan, I forgot to mention something to you the night of the fire," she admitted. "In all the excitement, it escaped my mind."
"That's all right, Becky," Daniel said. "What is it?"
"After you went to fight the fire, I saw Hattie coming out of Colonel Ives’ tent," Rebecca explained, all the while keeping a wary eye out for the young woman’s return. "She was looking around like she didn't want anyone to know that was where she had been."
Daniel's eyes went wide. Knowing Colonel Ives to be a stalwart and honorable man, he doubted Hattie had been his invited guest, or that he was involved with her. She had trespassed in Colonel Ives’ tent. Daniel thought he was beginning to understand why. The pieces were coming together. Unfortunately, he didn't like the conclusions he was drawing. Was this young woman Madeline Lorne all over again? "Becky, the answer to her suspicious activity is in that bag of hers, and I'm going to find out exactly what it is she's carrying.”
"How are you going to do that?" Rebecca asked him.
"Probably in a way you won't like, but it has to be done."
“She’s partial to that haversack of hers, and you saw how upset she got before when you ventured too close to it. Dan, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“I’m sure, Becky, and when I get done layin’ out the proof for what I suspect, I got a feelin’ she’s goin’ to be upset for an entirely different reason.”
“What do you suspect?” Rebecca inquired, but before he could answer, Hattie returned.
The young woman made her way towards them. Rebecca went to stir the pot of squirrel stew she had placed over the fire. Daniel had come upon the squirrels when he was doing his own wandering in the woods. He bagged four of them, and brought them to her for just that purpose.
Daniel moved towards the wagon as Hattie came to stand beside Rebecca, who engaged her in conversation. Then, he snuck up behind her silently, and quickly slipped her bag strap over her head. She grabbed for the strap, but Daniel easily snatched it away from her.
"What are you doing?" she screamed. "Give that back to me!" She started towards Daniel, but Rebecca moved in behind her and took her by her arms. "Give it back!"
"Not until I know what's inside."
"You can't do that!" Hattie shouted. "It belongs to me."
"Does it?" Daniel questioned. He knelt and reached inside the haversack. From it, he extracted a very small bag. After untying the strings at the top, he opened the bag and poured the white crystals into his hand.
“Oh my, Daniel, you have discovered my stash of salt,” Hattie said in mock horror. Then, her tone changed to anger. “You have stolen my bag for a little bit of salt that I was going to sell when the need arose. Are you so hard up that you will steal from a poor soldier’s wife?”
“Not hardly,” Daniel replied. He placed the bag of salt on the ground, reached into the dark interior of the haversack, and brought out numerous papers, bottles of ink, quills, candles, and another bottle, which he opened. It contained a light-colored substance. After placing the cap back on the bottle, Daniel looked in Hattie’s direction. "Unless I miss my guess this is what is commonly referred to as invisible ink." He held the bottle out towards Hattie. Daniel knew that the substance was a mixture of water and ferrous sulfate. At least, that was what Dr. Benjamin Franklin had told him awhile back. "Usually, only spies would have such a thing on their person."
"Invisible ink? What's invisible ink?" Hattie asked, looking innocent. "I have never heard of invisible ink. And I am not a spy."
Daniel took a piece of paper with writing on it that he had removed from the haversack. He walked towards Hattie and showed her the document. "This 'F',” he pointed to the upper left-hand corner of the paper before continuing, “means if I hold it over a fire then a message will be revealed; a message that was written in invisible ink." That bit of knowledge had also been imparted to him from Benjamin Franklin.
"I don't know what you're talking about. That's a letter to my husband. I wrote it sometime after we left his camp," Hattie explained nervously. "You can see it's addressed to him, and states how much I miss him."
“I can read the words that are visible. What about the ones that aren’t?” Daniel bent over the fire and held the paper above it. They all watched as the words written in invisible ink magically appeared below what Hattie had written. A soon as the process was completed, Daniel read the letter to himself. He then summarized it for Rebecca. "She’s reporting on Colonel Ives’ troop strength, number of cannons and guns, amount of powder, lead, and shot, and a few other things.” He nodded towards Hattie, and then spoke to her. “Now, tell me you're not a spy," he challenged.
Frightened by his discovery, Hattie broke free of Rebecca's grasp and dashed into the woods. Daniel handed his wife the paper and then ran after her. He could tell where she was because she was making enough noise to wake the dead. It wasn't long before he caught up to her, but just as he reached out for her, he tripped over an exposed tree root and crashed to the ground. He managed to catch her ankle on the way down and pulled her along with him. She kicked and tried to scramble away, but he held her firmly. Then, he got to his knees and snagged her wrist. As she struggled to free herself from his grasp, he let go of her foot and started to stand.
As he did, Hattie then noticed that her shoulder had landed in a spider’s web. She screamed in horror at the sight of the wispy strands trailing over her dress. “Spiders! Spiders!” she screeched in fright as she tried to stand. “They’re crawlin’ all over me!”
Daniel knelt beside the thrashing woman and brushed the spider’s web from her shoulder. He saw only one spider, a black widow, and not the hordes she was imagining. He thought nothing of sweeping it aside along with its web. His gallant action, however, did nothing to allay her fears. She continued to panic, and struggled with even greater intensity; her terror mounting. Finally, he decided to get her away from the area and rose to his feet to do just that.
"Let me go!" Hattie screamed and kicked his shin just as he was about to rise to his full height. He fell over with his arm flung outward; still keeping a grip on Hattie’s wrist. As he did, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his hand. Ignoring the ache in both his hand and shin, he concentrated on preventing Hattie from escaping. After he managed to right himself, he hauled Hattie to her feet, and dragged her kicking and screaming to the camp. Once there, Daniel told Rebecca to tie her up to the wagon wheel as he held her down. Rebecca did as he said, and then ripped a strip from Hattie's petticoat and used it to gag her.
As he watched her, Daniel suddenly became light-headed. He grabbed the side of the wagon. The muscles in his shoulders and back became stiff, and his head began to ache. His legs became weak and could no longer support him. Without a word, he dropped to his knees.
"Dan!" Rebecca shouted as she quickly came to his side. "Lay down."
Surprisingly, he complied, and turned over onto his back. He brought his hand up in front of his face and saw that it was swollen, and was turning red in the area where there were two small puncture wounds. "Becky, I think I've been bitten by a black widow spider."
"Thank heavens a Widow’s bite isn’t fatal," Rebecca said with relief. "But, you will be very ill. I brought some bandages. I'll go get them and then wrap your hand." She leaned into the bed of the wagon and removed the bandages and a cloth from a travel bag. She took Daniel's hand, cleaned the wound, and wrapped it. He appeared to have fallen asleep. Taking the cloth, she dabbed at the sweat that had beaded across his forehead and then covered him with a blanket and placed another folded one under his head to act as a pillow. Then she sat beside him, stroked the side of his face, and prayed.
The following morning, as Rebecca stirred a pot of mush over the campfire, she glanced at Daniel who lay sleeping by the wagon. She had cleaned the spider bite wound again on his reddened and swollen hand, and then rewrapped it in a fresh bandage. He had awakened for a few minutes at periodic intervals throughout the night, but had always fallen back into a deep sleep. It would have been an understatement to say that she was worried. Daniel had not been up front as to what was hurting or causing him discomfort. She had managed to get him to tell her that he had a headache and that his shoulders and back were stiff, but that was all. After hearing a moan, she turned to find him struggling to sit up.
"Dan, no," Rebecca said as she knelt at his side and gently tried to push him back down. He resisted, and she finally gave in and helped him to a sitting position with his back leaning against the wagon wheel. She knew it was pointless fighting him.
A wave of dizziness caused Daniel to squeeze his eyes shut and bring a hand to his head. "Aw, I feel like I drank some bad Blue Thunder," he joked. The dizziness passed and he opened his eyes to peer at his wife's concerned face. "And you look like you could use some."
As Rebecca shook her head, she pushed the hair from his forehead. "Now, you know Cincinnatus has always claimed that he's never made a bad batch of Blue Thunder in his life." She decided to play along since he had started to jest with her.
"He lied." Daniel then chuckled. His merriment was short-lived, however, as his headache intensified itself and his stomach churned. Closing his eyes, he rested his head against the wagon wheel.
"Dan, you ought to lie down," Rebecca suggested as she took him by the shoulders.
"Yes, Dan, you ought." Hattie mocked her from the wagon wheel she was tied to. Rebecca had removed her gag the night before.
Rebecca cast a scornful look her way. Daniel merely glanced in her direction. "Has she been giving you any trouble, Becky?" he asked in a whisper.
"She was a little mouthy during the night, but other than that she's behaved," Rebecca replied. “She’s still very angry over being captured and found out as a spy.” She stood and reached into the wagon for another cloth. Once she had retrieved it, she bent down and dried her husband's eyes as they had begun to water and the tears were running down his cheeks. The area about both eyes had become swollen and turned pink as well. "Dan, can you see all right?"
"It's a mite sore around my eyes, but I can see just fine. Why do you ask?"
"Just wondering if your sight was affected by the spider bite," Rebecca answered as she used the same cloth to dab his face and neck. Both had broken out in a sweat. The day was warm, but Rebecca knew it was the spider venom that was causing this reaction.
"Becky, take Hattie from the wheel and tie her to that tree yonder in the clearing," Daniel ordered. He used his head to indicate what tree he meant. "I need to talk to you in private."
Rising immediately, Rebecca dropped the cloth drop into Daniel's lap and moved towards Hattie. After untying her from the wagon wheel and binding her hands behind her back, Rebecca led her to the tree and secured her there. In that way, Hattie was still in full view, but not within hearing range.
"You can't treat me like this." Hattie screamed as she struggled against her bonds. "I'm a loyal subject of His Majesty, the High King of England."
"Tell it to someone who cares," Rebecca countered as she made her way back to the wagon. Once there, she found Daniel attempting to rise. His legs were shaking so badly that it didn’t seem that they could possibly support him. He had caught a hold of the side of the wagon and pulled himself up, but had only managed to make it halfway up before dropping back to his knees. His breath was coming in gasps. Rebecca laid her hands on top of his shoulders. "Dan, sit back down. You're too weak and sick to be moving around like that." She guided him to a seated position and as she did her hand fell to his leg and she felt the tremors there. A few moments later, he was once again leaning against the wagon wheel. The drawn look on his face told Rebecca how ill her husband was. Not long after, she placed her hand on his forehead and felt the heat from his fever and it confirmed her diagnosis.
Daniel closed his eyes momentarily and then opened them. He took her hand in his. "I reckon you're gonna have to do what I was settin' out to do," he said wearily. "Ride to Colonel Ives' camp and inform him that we have captured a British spy. Tell him that his mission has been compromised, and that Jake Brookes - if that's his real name - is most likely in the employ of the British."
"No, Dan." Rebecca was astonished. "I can't leave you."
"Becky, you have to," Daniel insisted. "Colonel Ives needs to know about the spy web operating in his camp so they can’t learn anymore."
"Colonel Ives can wait a couple of days. I won't leave you sick and unable to stand. You need tendin'."
Daniel shook his head slowly. "You don't understand. I'm not important. Getting’ word to Colonel Ives is. He must be warned. Take Skinny and go. She runs the fastest."
Rebecca folded her arms across her chest and arched an eyebrow. "Daniel Boone, I'm not going anywhere. You're too sick to think clearly, so it is you who doesn't understand. Your condition is serious. Whether you like it or not, you're helpless for the moment. So, I'm sticking to you like honey sticks to Israel's fingers."
Daniel straightened his back and tried not to wince at the stiffness. He used the cloth to dab at his eyes as they were watering again. "Becky, any delay could cost lives; lives sacrificed at my expense. Now, that's not right. The quicker Colonel Ives is notified, the quicker he can act to end this threat. Don't you see the seriousness of this? It has to be dealt with as swiftly as possible."
"All I see is my very ill husband asking me to abandon him." Rebecca unfolded her arms and straightened her skirt. "I won't do that. For once, Dan, you're going to have to accept that you're not going to get your way. I won't ride off to warn Colonel Ives or anybody else until you’re capable of taking care of yourself."
"Becky, it's the right thing to do," Daniel countered as if he thought that reason was sufficient.
"Right, wrong, or indifferent. I won't do it," Rebecca stated unwilling to compromise.
"The country may be at stake. Will you go for the good of the country then?" Daniel asked. She was being stubborn and unmovable, but he had to try to get her to see his point of view.
"Don't pull that one on me, Daniel Boone," Rebecca said sternly. "You're not going to shame me into doing your bidding. I don't happen to share your view that it's the country or you. I see it as you, and then the country - in that order."
He took hold of her upper arm and pulled himself towards her so that their faces were only inches apart. Rebecca knew a heartfelt speech was soon to follow. "Becky, do you remember when Jemima was three-years-old and we left her with my folks while we took a load of furs to sell in Philadelphia?" Daniel asked.
Rebecca nodded. She already knew what he was leading up to.
"On the return trip, I got sick and we stopped by the roadside to let me rest. Not long after that, Yad brought word to us that Jemima was very ill. You rode home swiftly and left me behind. It was the right thing to do. Our daughter needed you. And, that’s what I'm asking you to do now. Leave me for only a little while. Becky, go to Colonel Ives as quickly as you can ride because he needs to know about this spy web."
"Daniel, how low can you sink? Playing on my heartstrings like I was Sweet Talker," Rebecca said with a slight smile. It amused her somewhat that he was using everything he could think of to get her to do as he wanted. "When I went to Jemima, I didn't leave you alone. Yad stayed with you. If there was someone else here to care for you, besides that British black widow spider over there, I would go - reluctantly, but I would go."
"And if I demand you go?" Daniel asked.
"Besides your obvious physical sufferings, that spider bite has made you exceptionally thick-witted. I'm not some soldier you can order about. I am your wife, and I'd think you'd be pleased that I am showing such loyalty to you, my husband."
"Your loyalty to me was never in question." Daniel displayed a lopsided grin. "Becky, I'm not gettin' across to you how important it is to notify Colonel Ives. This thing is bigger than my piddling sickness or everything else. All I'm askin' you to do is ride to the army's camp, and then you can ride right back here. It's that simple."
"I understand that, but you have to understand what you're asking me to do," Rebecca said softly. She touched his face with the palm of her hand. "If something should happen to you while I'm away, I could never forgive myself. You're my husband; my responsibility, and mine to care for. That's my heart, Daniel, and no amount of words will change it. Let me put it to you this way - would you leave me?"
Daniel slowly hung his head. No matter what he answered, he was trapped in Rebecca's reasonable web. Sometimes she was too smart for his own good. "I promise you I'll be fine while you're away. Nothing will happen." His grin was half-hearted. He had tried to sound like Israel when a few days before he had begged to stay with Mingo while they went to Salem. Rebecca had given in then, but would she now?
"You didn't answer my question." She waited patiently for his response.
Daniel leaned towards her and then kissed her. When their lips parted, he grinned. "Does that answer your question?"
"No," Rebecca replied. She laughed as she watched Daniel's eyebrows jump in surprise. "I want to hear you say it."
Admitting defeat was difficult for Daniel, but he didn't see any way to extricate himself. If telling her that he would leave her behind would compel her to go then that's what he would have to do. Still, he knew his wife, and knew it wouldn’t work. All it would get him was a tongue-lashing like he had never had before, and still she would stay. In the end, he decided to make her happy and tell her what she was waiting to hear. "I wouldn't leave you," he said at last.
Rebecca smiled broadly. She took Daniel into her arms and held him close. "It's about time you saw things in the right light.” She rose and made her way to the pot that hung over the fire, and began to fill a bowl with mush for him. “You need something to eat."
"I don't know why I thought I could convince you to do what I asked," Daniel said as Rebecca returned and knelt beside him with his breakfast. He was feeling better and had become even more talkative. "On our honeymoon, I left you at Mr. Loomis' inn with money and instructions to return to Salem while I rode to deliver an important dispatch to New Orleans in accordance with Captain Grant's request. You didn't follow those instructions either, and joined me in New Orleans anyway. I again urged you to return to Salem, and you refused."
"After waiting so many years, I was determined to have a honeymoon, and I wasn't going to let you wiggle out of it."
“It was an enjoyable honeymoon after the fracas died down.” Daniel turned a lopsided grin. Then, he looked in Hattie's direction. "You better bring Hattie back over here."
"I'd rather leave her there,” Rebecca rose to do as her husband had asked. “but I’ll do what you say.”
"It's about time you did what I said," Daniel jested as Rebecca favored him with a mock sneer. Even before he had asked his wife to bring the trussed up British spy into their camp, Daniel had already begun to form a plan. Tomorrow morning he would ride to warn Colonel Ives. He trusted he would be vastly improved by then. It was too bad Mingo hadn’t come along. If he had, he would have been halfway to Colonel Ives' camp by now. He would have understood how urgently Colonel Ives needed to be informed of what was happening. After only a brief argument, Mingo would have taken Skinny and ridden like the wind. But Mingo wasn't here, and he would have to make do with Rebecca, and manage to overcome the sense of responsibility she felt towards him. He knew she would disagree about his decision to go, but he would attempt to erase her fears and in the end, she would have to let him do his duty.
The sun rose the next day and cast its bright yellow rays on the sleeping Rebecca and Hattie. Daniel, on shaky legs, was unhobbling Skinny just as Rebecca awoke and noticed he was missing. She called his name and when she saw him with the horses, quickly moved to join him.
"What are you doing?" Rebecca asked accusingly as she watched Daniel place the halter over the horse's head.
"I'm ridin' for Colonel Ives' camp," Daniel replied. He had to cinch the straps with his swollen hand, which made the chore difficult.
"Dan, you can't," Rebecca told him as she reached for his forehead. "You're still much too ill. Your legs are trembling. Your eyes are red and watering, and you still have a fever."
"Becky, I'm fine. It's just a little spider bite." Daniel dismissed her review of his obvious symptoms. He didn't add that he still had the headache, even though it was to lesser degree than the day before, or that, at times, his stomach had a sickly feeling. He ignored it all because of how important it was to warn Colonel Ives.
“I won’t let you go," Rebecca said. She didn’t intend for it sound like a challenge, even though she knew Daniel would take it that way. She also knew it had been the wrong thing to say as soon as the words left her lips. Daniel looked at her with his eyes narrowed and his jaw tightly set, and she saw the determination in his face.
"I'm leavin', Becky," he said sternly. "You take Hattie on to Salem and turn her over to the authorities there. I'll meet you when my business with Colonel Ives is done. I'll hitch Missy up to the wagon for you."
"Dan, wait here, and I'll go to Colonel Ives," Rebecca offered. Even though she didn’t want to go, she thought it would be better for him to rest in their camp rather than riding hard to Colonel Ives’ camp, and causing his condition to worsen.
"No, this is mine to do. It has been all along. Gettin' that spider bite just delayed me a mite." As Daniel moved towards Missy to hitch her to the wagon, he suddenly became light-headed and swayed. He had to grab a branch over his head to keep from tumbling to the ground. He realized he had also had broken out in a sweat and used his sleeve to dry his face.
"Please, Dan, rest in our camp, and I'll ride to Colonel Ives," Rebecca pleaded as tears welled in her eyes. It broke her heart to see her husband so sick. It was just like him to refuse to take care of himself because he saw a need greater than his own.
"No, you’ll take Hattie on to Salem like I said and turn her over to the authorities."
"I won't do it," Rebecca said firmly as she gathered her skirts and moved quickly to mount Skinny. She grabbed the reins and slapped the horse’s rump, and was riding away before Daniel could get within two feet of her.
Daniel swiped his sleeve across his brow again and stared after her. "Becky!" he hollered. "Rebecca, come back!" She rode on; her eyes on the road ahead. As Daniel watched her disappear, he tried figuring her out. The day before she had refused to do as he asked, and today she defied him again. What was he going to do with that woman? He vowed from now on he would leave her behind and bring Mingo instead. His friend simply did not give him the same kind of trouble as his wife. The man was a bit accident-prone, but he always went along with his plans.
"Has your wife left you, Dan?" Hattie asked snidely from her place near the wagon wheel. She had seen what was going on even though she had not been able to hear them. "Smart woman if she has. How she has abided being married to you all these years is beyond my understanding."
"Hattie, she’s left me for the moment," Daniel said as he walked towards the wagon and eased himself down beside the wagon wheel opposite of Hattie's, "but not for good. She'll be back. Until then we're going to wait right here for her."
“And how long will that be?”
“Not long,” Daniel replied. “It won’t be long at all. Why do you ask? Do you have some place you need to get soon?
"We certainly do," Luke said, stepping into the camp and pointing a pistol at Daniel, "and so do you. You have an appointment with the local British authority, Mr. Boone. Catching you is quite a prize." Luke moved towards Hattie and untied her.
"He won't give us any trouble," Hattie said. "He's been bit and it’s made him a sick man."
"Was it you that bit him, Hattie?" Luke jested.
"Yes, my darling, I have bit him. And like I told you a few days ago, I have him entangled in my web."
"That's my girl, but why were you tied up?" Luke asked.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Boone has learned of our activity. He knows we are spies.”
“It doesn’t matter now. He won’t be telling anyone. He’ll soon be headed for a prison ship in New York harbor,” Luke explained. "Now, I'll hitch up the wagon and we can get going."
"No, Luke. Wait." Hattie reached for Luke's arm. "Boone's wife just left here, riding hard. She must be going to warn Colonel Ives. One of us has to try to catch her."
"She probably has too much of a lead. There's no hope of catching her," Luke complained.
"You have to try. Take the other horse. You might be able to catch her by riding through the woods, rather than taking the road.”
"What about him?" Luke asked as he waved his pistol at Daniel.
"Don't worry about him. The mighty Daniel Boone is practically helpless. You better tie him up in case he's entertaining ideas of escaping, though." Hattie retrieved the rope from the wagon bed and gave it to Luke.
After passing Hattie his pistol, Luke tied Daniel's hands to the wagon wheel and then bound his legs together. Then he withdrew the woodsman’s knife from his boot and threw it into the wagon bed. "That should hold him. I'll stop Boone's wife and then return here." He retrieved his pistol from Hattie and slid it into his waistband. Then he kissed his wife. "Don't let Boone out of your web."
"You know I won't." Hattie kissed him once more.
Luke then quickly mounted Missy and rode after Rebecca. He had to believe he could catch her even though she had quite a lead on him. ‘Just a minor obstacle to overcome,’ he thought.
Hattie retrieved Rebecca's rifle from the wagon bed and set it down beside a stump. Then she prepared to make breakfast. "Hungry, Daniel?" she asked. "Oh, I forgot. You can't eat all tied up like that. You can eat later if I feel like giving you something."
"You're all heart, Hattie," Daniel said through gritted teeth. His shoulders and back were uncomfortable from the pressure of having his arms stretched to either side of the wagon wheel. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered him, but the spider bite had already produced stiffness in his shoulders and the position he was in was exacerbating it.
"Don't mistake me for having a heart, Daniel, because I don't...except where Luke is concerned."
As Daniel listened to her, he closed his eyes and fell into a troubled sleep.
As morning turned to afternoon, Rebecca rode on, weary and unarmed; her only thought was to reach Colonel Ives safely.
Close behind her, Luke emerged from the woods. As he made his way onto the road, he realized to his delight that Rebecca was not very far ahead of him. Kicking the horse to a greater speed, Luke smiled as he closed the gap.
Rebecca glanced over her shoulder and saw that she was being followed. She could only conclude the man was after her because he was riding Missy. Without a weapon, there wasn't much she could do. Her mind worked furiously as she tried to come up with some idea that would put an end to this threat. He was closing in on her, and if she didn't do something, he would soon pull alongside. Suddenly, she smiled. There was a bend in the road up ahead and if she made it there, she knew exactly what she would do. Rebecca wondered if the man behind her liked surprises, because she had a very special one planned just for him.
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