“Then how did you lose him?”
Van swallowed hard, then answered. “Rode into a storm. Rain washed out all the tracks before I could catch up.”
They were several miles north of Bidwell’s Bar, well off any known trails, and tucked into the narrow valley that served as camp. Van had ridden in just before dark to spin his excuses. Cord’s men lazed around them on barrels or empty crates. The men’s eyes fell on Cord; he felt the weight of them, watching, waiting for him to deal out Van’s punishment.
Cord studied the surrounding peaks, forcing himself to look away from Van. Van, their best tracker, had failed him. According to DeMourey, that cowboy had been riding with just over two thousand dollars’ worth of cash and gold, all from an unknown mine that Cord and his men could have easily swooped in and stolen.
It was perfect. It had been perfect until Van failed.
Cord’s hand twitched near the butt of his pistol. He glanced at Van, sensing the fear there, and Van flinched away. Cord forced his fingers to close into a fist and remain there. He took a step closer to Van, then struck him across the jaw.
To Van’s left, Dunlap sat on an empty flour barrel. Farther back, Red leaned against the trunk of a small tree. Both looked smug. Cord opened his palm, took a quick step, and slapped Dunlap hard enough to rock his head back. The blow staggered him, but Cord grabbed his shirt and held him upright. A long cut ran down Dunlap’s cheek. Blood trickled from it. Dunlap’s mouth twisted into a snarl, and his hand reached down.
Cord struck him with a wicked backhand, and this time he let Dunlap fall.
Red took a step forward but Cord’s pistol was already drawn, hammer back, covering him.
“Go ahead and try me,” Cord said.
He shifted his gaze to Red. From the corner of his eye, he saw Jacob standing off to his right, smirking and holding a cigarette in one hand. John stood to Jacob’s left and rear, rifle in hand and with the barrel pointed casually in his direction. Jacob eyed the bigger man, drew deep on his cigarette and puffed out a smoke ring. He smirked again, admiring his handiwork.
Dunlap lay sputtering on the ground.
“Wh—why?” Dunlap said. “I’m not the one who lost him.”
“No, but your play in town made him more cautious,” Cord snarled. “Van would have found him easily if you hadn’t bungled your earlier attempt.”
Dunlap wiped the blood from his cheek. His right eye was already swelling. Red took a step toward the fallen man, pausing when Cord brought his gun up to shoulder level.
For a long moment, no one moved. Wisely, Van had taken Cord’s punch and shifted himself out of the line of fire.
Finally, Jacob laughed and said, “Seems like we need to go have another talk with this assay man. Maybe he forgot to mention something we need to know. Something important. Like where the cowboy’s mine might be.”
“I give the orders here,” Cord said. “He forgot nothing. I made sure of it.” He felt calm inside now, controlled. Jacob wasn’t like the others. Jacob was dangerous. Jacob knew how to use a gun and use it well. Someday Cord would have to kill him, but he needed to be sharp when they clashed. “Van, where were you when you lost him?”
Van paused, looking up at the sky for a bit. “I was over that country a few years ago with Jack. There was a town nearby, tiny little place on some creek or river. Can’t put my finger on it but the storm hit me a little west of there. South of the San Francisco trail, maybe.”
Cord holstered his gun, his mind going over what he knew or had heard of the country south of them. It wasn’t much.
“Van, go down to that town and ask around. He didn’t buy supplies in Bidwell’s, but he has to be getting them from somewhere. Maybe someone there knows who he is,” Cord said. His eyes fell on Dunlap then. “Dunlap, keep an eye out in town. If he rides in again, let us know and quick.”
“Why should I?” Dunlap said. “I’m done with you.”
“That may be, Dunlap, but I’m not done with you. You will keep an eye out for him; you will let me know as soon as you see him,” Cord growled. “If you don’t, I will come for you. There won’t be a hole deep or dark enough for you to hide in.”
Dunlap winced as Red helped him to his feet. Cord ignored both.
“And us?” Jacob said.
Cord ran his gaze over the rest of his men. “The rest of you keep doing what you’re doing. While the others search, we’ll find another score to tide us over.”
* * * *
When Jim returned to the ranch, David had already panned yet another sack of gold dust. He was just stowing it into the hidden cubbyhole when Jim rode in.
“I found a pocket,” David said proudly.
He’d been a wholly different person since their discovery. On the outside, he’d been happy enough with their new life in California. Worried. Worried often, but he’d talked of plans and dreams both for himself and for his children. Still, there had been a haunted, hollow look about him.
Jim thought all that kept the man alive through the winter had been those hopes and dreams. Hopes that had waned with every trial they faced. Now they had found something real and tangible. Now he was happy, happy like Jim had never seen him.
With Ellen and Abigail and the others now knowing the secret, the whole family felt the same. Ellen said she couldn’t wait to surprise Colton with the news when he returned.
Jim looked for him to come riding into the valley any day now.
David gave him a strange look when Jim pulled the remaining gold from the Appaloosa’s pack and added it back to their stash. The look grew stranger yet when Jim passed him a thick roll of cash.
“The price is up,” Jim smiled. “The assayer said it’s running about a third higher than what you figured.”
“A third?” David clutched the cash to his chest. His knees wobbled and Jim helped him to sit on the wooden pail they used to haul water. “A third.”
“He couldn’t afford to buy all of it,” Jim smiled.
“He couldn’t?” David said.
“Man named DeMourey. He also said we’d get even better prices in San Francisco. So I sold him most of it. Figured we’d take the rest there and cash out.”
David stared down at the roll. He ran his thumb over the end, flipping through the bills. “This is more money than I’ve ever held,” he said.
