Apache Caress (25 page)

“Let me go find out,” Sierra said, rising. “I’ll ask the conductor.”

As she started out of the compartment, Cholla caught her arm. “After all we’ve been through, you wouldn’t betray me?”

“No.” She shook her head. “You know better than that. You gave me your word you’d free me if I helped you get back to Arizona, so I gave you my word I’d help you get there. I won’t break it.”

Cholla looked away at hearing her words, and she wondered about that, but she shrugged it off as she went in search of the conductor.

“Is there a problem?”

The whiskery old man touched his cap with respect as he looked over her expensive dress. “No, ma’am. The connection coming from Austin was a little bit late, and we held up for them–holidays and all, you know. They’re in the station now and loading. We’ll be moving in just a minute or two.”

Sierra nodded with relief and turned to go back to her compartment. Through the dirty window of the car, she thought she saw a cavalry officer on the platform. The man looked vaguely familiar, but she shook her head and dismissed the thought.

On reentering the compartment, she explained the delay to Cholla. Still, he did not visibly relax until the westbound train finally whistled a warning, then began to puff and chug out of the station.

They didn’t leave their compartment as the train traveled west. The Texas Hill Country view gradually gave way to the flat, barren plains of West Texas where only lately Comanches had roamed. It was somewhere in New Mexico Territory that the pair finally exhausted the contents of their huge picnic basket.

Cholla said, “What should we do? I have gone hungry many times as a scout, but I don’t want you to.”

Sierra shrugged. “Trace gave us plenty of money and there’s always food available at the stations. I’ll just get off at the next stop, get whatever’s available, and bring it back with me.”

He looked worried. “Suppose some soldier sees you and recognizes you?”

“Now who would know me? Besides, I’m a wealthy Spanish
señora
traveling to Tucson for the holidays. No one would dare question me, I’m too rich and powerful!”

The both laughed, and Cholla reached out, pulled her to him, kissed her forehead gently.

“I’m going to miss you when we finally get there.” Sierra sighed.

He looked away without answering.

He’s not going to miss me, she thought. He’s going to be glad to be rid of me. I suppose I’ve been nothing but trouble and a hindrance to him. When he needs a woman, he’ll find an Indian or Mexican girl to share his exile.

At the next station, Sierra got off and went into the grimy little dining area. The food looked bad, but then passengers didn’t expect any better. Maybe someday those Harvey House Restaurants would reach this line, or the trains might actually have dining cars where people could eat as they traveled. But for now, Sierra would just have to buy what she could and take it back on the train for the two of them.

A great many passengers had pushed their way into the crowded little eating area. Sierra played her role of elegant Spanish
señora
and was waited on quickly. The tortillas and barbecue she chose appeared to be of better quality than what the other passengers were being served. She filled her basket, added some expensive fresh fruit. Finally she started out of the smoky, crowded building.

Somewhere near the counter, she heard the rattle of a paper bag and an annoying crunch.

“Blast it all! Hurry up with that new bag of candy. My train won’t wait forever!”

Sierra looked up. A cavalry lieutenant was berating the help and creating a scene.
Quimby Gillen
. Sierra’s heart skipped a beat and she almost dropped her basket. What on earth was he doing here? Then she remembered looking out the train window in San Antonio and seeing a cavalry officer with a familiar face. Why hadn’t she recognized the lieutenant? They were obviously riding the same train west! Merciful heavens, what was she to do?

He turned his head, looking her direction, chomping the hard candy. She wasn’t sure whether he saw her. Was he alone or was there a whole patrol on the train? As calmly as she could, Sierra left the building, hurried across the platform, carried the basket into the compartment.

“Have any trouble?” Cholla took the food from her.

“No, of course not.” She didn’t look at him. He might see her apprehension, and there was no use worrying him when he couldn’t do anything about the situation.

She went to the window of the compartment as Cholla dug into the basket, pulled out some barbecue.

“All aboard!” the conductor shouted.

Sierra watched the passengers rush from the adobe building, get back on the train. Sunlight reflected off the silver bars on his bright blue uniform as Gillen strode across the platform, swung up on the car ahead of theirs.

“Sierra, what’s wrong?” Cholla momentarily stopped eating.

“Nothing.” What could they do? If they tried to get off here, Gillen would surely see them from the window. There were a number of soldiers standing around on the platform, some idlers watching the train pull out. All Gillen would have to do was shout to those men and they would overpower Cholla.

The train began to move out slowly, chugging as it pulled away from the squalid adobe station.
Should I tell him?
She decided against that momentarily. He would want to fight his way off the train, and unless they could get the horses off, too, they’d be afoot. She couldn’t remember how many men she’d seen among the passengers. Only a couple of soldiers. But the male passengers might be counted on if Gillen needed them. It occurred to her abruptly that she could betray Cholla, go up into the forward car and alert Gillen. At the next station, there’d be a telegraph office where the lieutenant could send out a call for help, armed soldiers waiting at some station down the way. No, she wouldn’t do that. Cholla had given her his word and she intended to help him get away.

Cholla watched Sierra and wondered. Her mood had changed since she had gotten off the train to bring back the food. The very fact that she wouldn’t look at him when he questioned her alerted him that she wasn’t telling the truth. Something had happened back at the station, and Sierra was lying about it. Had she betrayed him? There would be a telegraph office at that station. Had Sierra sent a message ahead so an Army patrol would be waiting to board the train and arrest him farther west?

He studied her, and when she looked up and met his gaze, Sierra glanced away. She knows, he thought abruptly. Somehow she had figured out that Cholla meant to break his word about freeing her. She knew that he was determined to take her across the border whether she wanted to go or not. And maybe, if she’d guessed that he didn’t intend to keep his word, she would not keep hers either. Had she also found out the other secret–about how her husband had died?

There was no way to know for sure, nothing to do but wait. Now that the train was moving again, he didn’t see any way to stop it and get the horses off. It was no good being stranded afoot and without weapons in this hostile country. One thing was certain, he didn’t intend to be captured or to give up his hostage without a fight.

With indigestion plaguing him, Lieutenant Quimby Gillen leaned back against the uncomfortable horsehair seat as the train pulled out. The food along the route was almost impossible to eat, and his teeth were bothering him again. I ought to give up sweets, he told himself, then rattled the paper bag absently as he crunched a hard candy while other passengers turned to glare.

The woman
. Who had she been? Gill had seen just the elegant beauty’s back as she’d hurried out of the station. Had she gotten on the train? He had lost sight of her in the crowd. If she had been on this train since he’d got on at Austin, why hadn’t he seen her? Gill had been through all the day coaches. Why had she looked so familiar to him?

The train picked up speed as it left the station, and Gill was too preoccupied with his aching teeth to think about much else for a while.

It was a couple of hours later that he suddenly sat bolt upright and slammed his fist into his hand in a fury, startling the drowsy passengers around him. Blast! Of course she looked familiar to him.
Sierra Forester
. Was she on this train and was that Injun with her? More than that, where were they now? He got up and worked his way through his car toward the front. It was hard to keep his balance in the swaying, dirty car. He entered the next car, looking at every face. The train was crowded with holiday travelers and poor immigrants headed west. He searched every car to no avail as the minutes passed.

Maybe he had been mistaken. Maybe he was becoming so obsessed with this chase, he was beginning to see his quarry everywhere. Gill leaned over and looked out the window at the barren landscape. It was almost dusk. What should he do? He was traveling alone to Fort Bowie in virtual disgrace; his patrol had been sent to another assignment. If that big Apache was on this train, Gill didn’t want to face him in a showdown alone, even though, as a soldier, Gill carried a sidearm. Looking around, he decided there weren’t enough men traveling on this train to organize any kind of a force. Besides, Gill himself was probably the only one carrying a weapon.

He sought out the whiskered conductor. “How many cars on this train?”

“Seven.” The conductor pushed his cap back. “Then there’s the caboose and the baggage car. Oh, and of course the compartments.”

Compartments. Those are for the wealthy, Gill thought, so they don’t have to mix with the ordinary people, so they can be comfortable. But where would the Apache and Sierra get the money for a compartment?

“Conductor, I thought I saw a lady I used to know on this train, but then I couldn’t find her–attractive, wearing an expensive blue dress.”

The old man’s pink face lit up, and he nodded. “Ah, yes, the señora and her husband. They have a compartment, of course.”

“Of course.” Gill thought a minute, uncertain of what to do. He didn’t want to confront Cholla alone; he knew the Apache’s bravery and fighting skill too well. He wanted a bunch of armed soldiers backing him up if and when he took that Injun bastard off this train. That the pair was riding in a compartment made no sense, but none of that mattered right now.

All Gill could do was go back to his seat and wait. He turned to the conductor. “How far to the next station?”

The old man took off his cap, scratched his head, “Oh, an hour. Why?”

“Something important has come up.” Gill thought about it, decided against sharing his knowledge. While he didn’t care too much if passengers got hurt in the capture, that might upset the brass and get him in trouble. Besides, Gill didn’t want to risk anyone on this train trying to cut himself in on the reward. “Alert me when we’re getting close to the station. I must get off there and send a message ahead.”

“Sure thing, Lieutenant.”

Gill went back to his seat. Yep, he’d send a wire. It would take a little time, but farther on the Army would have an armed patrol waiting to take Cholla off the train. All Gill could do now was wait. He wondered if Sierra Forester knew he was aboard. Of course she didn’t, or she and the Injun would have gotten off somewhere along the line.

He laughed to himself now as he stared out at the pale lavender and gray dusk, popped another peppermint in his mouth. Blast it all! He could hardly wait to see that pair’s surprised faces when the soldiers boarded and searched them out. It was going to be so ironic. Gill would put chains on the Apache, take him on to Bowie Station and get orders to ship him right back out to Florida. If Sierra would be friendly, maybe Gill would change his testimony and say he’d been mistaken, that she hadn’t helped Cholla escape back at Sundance, that she’d been forced to leave with the savage. For not sending her to prison, Gill expected her to be very grateful. Maybe it was going to be a good holiday after all.

His spirits light, Gill hummed a few bars of “Jingle Bells” under his breath, rolled the candy around in his mouth, and settled back to wait for the next station.