Children of the rich -- Fiction; Love stories; Nevada -- Fiction; Ranch life -- West (U.S.) -- Fiction; Western stories
Finally Powers came and brought her a steaming cup of coffee and a
plate of bacon.
“Come, girl,” he said, with an attempt at kindness, “you must try to
eat something.”
Josephine accepted the food. She knew if she was to keep up her
strength she must eat, and she was almost starved. When she had
finished eating, Powers pointed to the shanty.
“You are to sleep in there,” he told her briefly, “and I advise you to
get some sleep now. There is a fine bunk in there, and don’t worry,
I’ll keep my eye on the halfbreed and see that he don’t bother you.”
“Who will watch you?” Josephine answered, eyeing him coldly.
“Oh, come, Josephine, and be sensible, I will give you all kinds of
time to learn to like me,” he answered, trying to appear humble.
“Small chance of me ever liking you after what you have done,” she
replied bitterly, turning from him in loathsome disgust.
Josephine was dead tired and went to the shanty to rest, but not to
sleep, as she felt she couldn’t trust the man. She lay there forming
plan after plan to escape, only to cast them aside as useless.
The day passed rapidly, and towards night she wandered about looking
her prison over and trying to find a means of escape. She knew the men
were watching her movements closely. They were sitting out near a fire
as the night was chilly. Later they started to play cards and gamble,
but she knew they were still watching her closely.
Seeing no possible way of escape she went back to the shanty and threw
herself down on the bunk in despair. As she lay there looking through
a crack in the roof at the stars, she could hear the men swearing and
still at their card game. Suddenly she sat bolt upright. The men were
talking in English now, and she caught a word that caused her to
listen breathlessly.
She heard the name of Mason and Bud spoken, and the conversation that
followed caused her blood to run cold. It was a diabolical plot that
they were planning to run Bud and his men into a trap carefully set
for them. All of a sudden the talking ceased, and she heard one of the
outlaws glide stealthily up to her shanty. Josephine’s heart almost
stopped beating as she feigned sleep. The footsteps halted and she was
conscious of eyes looking in on her through the one small window.
After a brief moment, that seemed ages to the frightened girl, the
footsteps softly retreated.
“She’s asleep,” she heard Powers say, after which they resumed their
conversation.
The plot had been formed by Powers, and as he unfolded it word for
word to the Mexican, Josephine could hardly keep herself from
screaming. The plan was for Powers to take her away and force her to
marry him. The halfbreed was to go with them, and as the two had a
little money saved, they were to strike some town near the coast and
start a gambling house.
First, Powers was to write a decoy note and the halfbreed was to take
it to Ricker’s and get the Spanish girl Waneda to deliver it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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