The Temptress (Montgomery/Taggert 8)

Tynan took a tool that had once been a shovel and began to use it to remove a half foot of debris from in front of the cabin, throwing it into the crevasse far below. At one animal carcass, he stopped to examine it, then tossed it to the dog that was cowering a few feet away, its breath coming quickly against its ribs.

The old miner made a lunge toward the dog to grab the meat from the starving animal, and the dog, reverting to instinct, began to fight for its life. As Chris watched, the old man took an ancient pistol from inside the layers of filthy clothes he wore and shot the dog in the leg. The animal began to whimper.

With a look of triumph, the old man took the half-rotten meat from the dog, put it under his arm, and started back toward the shack.

Tynan, with unhurried steps, walked to the old man, took the meat from him and went back to the dog. “Chris,” he said as he examined the dog, “can you look at this? I don’t think it’s bad. He never could shoot.”

It took Chris a moment to react and move from Pilar’s side. With eyes wide, she went to where Ty kneeled by the dog.

“Put a bandage on its leg and, here.” He handed her his gun. “If he bothers the dog again, shoot him. It won’t be any great loss to the world.”

Chris watched, with her mouth open, as Ty gave the dog the meat and the wounded animal began to eat.

Ty put his hand under her chin and shut her mouth. “With this many flies around here, you can’t afford to be astonished. Fix the dog then go get us some water. And then there’s the cabin to be cleaned. You think this place is bad, wait till you step inside.”

“Does he have a name?” she asked, nodding toward the old man.

“Not any that he ever gave anybody. Of course, I never tried paying him for it.”

“You mean, you’ve been around him since you were born and you don’t know his name?”

“That’s right.”

“You came after my gold, didn’t you?” the old man wailed. “You want everything I have.”

“All I want is shelter in a place that’s hard to find,” Ty said as he went back to cleaning the area. “I sure as hell don’t want anything else from you.”

Chris saw that the dog was indeed only grazed then she went to get the water bucket. It was slippery with slime. “Ty, your leg,” she said, looking back at him. The tourniquet was gone and there was dried blood about the wound but now, with this new activity, it was beginning to bleed again.

“I can’t stop now,” he said. “Go get the water.”

As Chris took the bucket and started up the hill, the old man stopped in front of her. The foul smell that rose from him took her breath away. “He don’t have a mother. He killed her.”

Chris moved away from him as she’d moved away from the piles of rotting meat.

By the time she returned with the newly clean bucket and fresh water, Asher was back with a deer he’d shot and Tynan had cleaned a place under a lean-to for Pilar. Chris saw that his leg was bleeding steadily.

Asher prepared a fire and began to roast the meat while the old man crouched on the outside of the group watching them suspiciously.

Tynan eased himself down onto the ground near where Pilar rested on a blanket covered pile of hay. For just a moment, Chris saw pain register on his face. It was growing dark now and the only light was from the fire.

“We have to make some plans,” Ty said and he sounded very tired. “Prescott, we’ll have to take turns keeping watch.”

“Watch?” Chris asked. “But surely Dysan’s men won’t be able to find us here. The dogs won’t be able to track us after the number of streams we crossed, and, Ty, you need to rest.”

“I thank you for your concern, but it’s not Dysan who needs watching. It’s him.” He nodded his head toward the old miner. “If he thinks there’s a reward for us, he’ll find whoever wants us and bring them here. We have to stay awake to make sure he doesn’t leave.”

“Oh,” Chris said, taking meat from Asher and moving to lift Pilar. Tomorrow she’d try to make a broth but for now this would have to do. “Then as long as we stay here someone has to stay awake and watch him.”

“If we want to stay alive,” Ty said.

Asher cut off chunks of the roasted meat. “Pilar needs a doctor and she needs to rest. And you’re in worse shape than you let on.”

“I’ll be all right,” Ty said. “But I agree that we have to take care of Pilar, it’s just that I don’t know anywhere else that’s as safe as this—or it would be safe if he weren’t here.”

Asher threw the old man a piece of meat as if he were a dog, and the man grabbed it, hiding it from the others, eating it with watchful eyes. “What we need is some help,” Asher said as he looked at Chris. “If we could get a message to your father, he could send an army of men to escort us back to his place. I don’t think even Dysan wants to take on Mathison’s men.”

Chris drew her knees to her ch