Half an hour later, Jarrod pulled the wagon in front of the sheriff’s office. All were shocked to learn that the gang had hit the Hunter place in the hush of night to abduct the young daughter, Melissa. One down, two to go. Time was running out.

Once Heath gave his detailed description of the presumed leader, the three brothers headed out to their next destination: the hotel.

“Why the hotel?” Nick asked inquisitively.

“Process of elimination, Brother Nick,” Jarrod replied in a humorous vein. “The man pulling the strings is unmistakably a passing stranger in this town. Once he fulfills his assignment, he’ll be on his way. Therefore he must have a temporary shelter, lodging either at the hotel or a boarding house.”

Nick crinkled his nose in agreement. “That makes sense.”

“Heath mentioned he spoke with a light Spanish accent. For that reason we need to look at the register for any name that might fit the profile.”

“Like Gonzalez, Morales…”

“Exactly.”

Jarrod widened the entrance door to allow room for Nick to assist Heath inside the hotel hall before leading the way to the front desk. Behind them was Chad stepping down the stairs and heading out to meet with his two partners whom he spotted a few blocks down the street.

He tapped Pete on the back. “They’re still in there?”

Leaning ungainly against a pole, Pete removed the straw from his mouth and motioned to the dressing shop across the street. “Yep! Both sisters. They must have a lot of shopping to do since they’ve been in there for over twenty minutes.”

“My client’s getting restless. The Barkley girl tried to escape last night and had to subdue her the hard way. He’s not taking any chances. He’s leaving tonight and wants those two girls along for the ride.”

“We’ll do our best.”

“See that you do. I’ll ride ahead and meet you at the spot.”

Jarrod’s convincing arguments persuaded the hotel clerk to let the two brothers study the register. Five out of the dozen guests staying at the hotel bore Spanish names, including a dubious one which Spanish-American combination better fit Heath’s description of the voice and appearance.

“This Chadwick Montoya, what does he look like?” Nick queried.

“Tall, dark-haired. Always impeccably dressed,” the clerk described.

“Does he sport a black leather vest and a signet ring in his right hand?” Heath added.

“I’ve seen the vest but I don’t recall a ring.”

“Think! When he signed the register,” Nick pressured.

“Nick, it’s okay. We have enough information. We can easily check the ring once we find this Montoya guy,” Jarrod reassured in order to turn Nick’s attention away from the distressed clerk.

“You might want to know that Mister Montoya is checking out this afternoon.”

The news of Montoya’s imminent departure filled the three brothers with dread.

“Dammit Jarrod! We’ve got to nail him fast!” Nick barked.

“Is he still in his room?” Jarrod asked the clerk.

“No, in fact I saw him stepped out a few seconds after you came in.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Nick grabbed Heath by the arm and led him out of the hotel with Jarrod in tow. Both brothers began scanning the street for anyone fitting Montoya’s description while Heath pricked up his ears to pick up the familiar accent.

As they swept the area with ears and eyes wide open, they passed behind Pete and Alan whose bits of conversation caught Heath’s attention. He pulled at Nick’s arm to stop.

“Heath what is it?”

Heath turned toward the sound of the two familiar voices. “These two men there, what do they look like?”

“Medium height, short dark and light-brown hair. Why?”

“I recognize their voices. They’re Montoya’s accomplices.”

“Are you sure?” Jarrod asked.

“Pretty sure.”

Heath grabbed a hold of Nick’s arm as the three brothers casually walked up to Pete and Alan.

“Excuse me gentlemen.”

The two shady characters turned to Jarrod. “Yeah, what do you want?” Pete asked with an annoyed inflection about his voice.

“I believe you know my brother here?” Jarrod took one step aside to reveal his brother’s presence to the two men whose eyes widened in surprise. “Yes I can see that you do,” he finished on a sarcastic tone.

“We ain’t never seen him before, mister,” Alan shrugged unconvincingly.

“He swears you did.”

“How can he, he’s blind,” Pete sneered, elbowing his tittering partner in the side.

A fuming Nick stepped up to the two chuckling men and stood in a defiant stance with fists on hips. “Well how would you know he’s blind if you say you haven’t seen him before?”

Pete gave Nick a strained smile. “Well he’s Heath Barkley, ain’t he?”

“We heard it from folks around here that he was blind,” Alan volunteered to cover his partner’s blunder.

“How long have you been in town?” Nick further probed the two men he could see nervously shifting their weight from one foot to the other.

“What’s it to you, Cowboy?” Alan replied coldly.

“You know a man named Montoya?”” Jarrod piped up quickly upon seeing his seething brother glaring down on the brazen man.

“Montoya?” Pete asked innocently, shrugging as he shot his partner a shut-your-mouth look. “Never heard of him.”

The sneers were eating away at Heath’s patience. His eyes narrowed in contempt as he felt the vials of wrath about to pour out on the two snakes. Gripping his brother’s arm was all he could do to avoid jumping down the men’s throats. An idea sprung into mind. It was a long shot but well worth the try. “Nick, Jarrod, check their guns.”

“Gentlemen, would you mind showing us your guns?” Jarrod asked on a subtle tone.

“What for?”

“Just do it, Mister,” Nick’s snapped, pulling out his own gun to train on the two perplexed men.

They both slowly unsheathed their weapons and dangled them in front of the two brothers. “Satisfied?”

“Mind if I take a closer look?” Jarrod asked as he took Pete’s gun to study the frame. “Hey Nick! Take a look at this!” He handed the six-shooter over to his brother. One look at the stock with the golden eagle told Nick of its rightful owner. “Well, well, well, that’s a pretty neat gun ya got there boy. Where d’ya get it?”

“I bought it for myself,” Pete hissed, somewhat insulted at the tinge of insinuation in Nick’s voice.

“Really?” Nick turned the gun over and flashed the stock in Pete’s face. “Is your name Heath Barkley?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Says here,” Nick brushed the tip of his finger against the tiny chiselled letters, “Heath Barkley.”

Pete gave his partner an obvious look of defeat. Still neither would admit their guilt.

“Why don’t we all take a little trip down to the sheriff’s office so you can explain how you came to be in possession of my brother’s gun.” Jarrod suggested amicably with a taunting grin as he gripped Pete’s arm to steer him in the right direction.

Nick’s desire to manhandle the other guy was curbed by the light tug on his arm reminding him of his dutiful role as his brother’s guide.

The two miscreants offered no resistance as they were led down to the sheriff’s office at gunpoint. On their way, Nick nudged Heath on the side and whispered, “How d’ya know?”

“It was a wild guess,” Heath whispered back.

“I take it that’s why you’re the best poker player in town.”

Based on the incriminating evidence against Pete and Alan, it didn’t take long for Fred Madden to throw them in jail in spite of the vehement protests that a blind man’s testimony was not valid in a court of law.

“I beg to differ with you, Boys. Recognizing a voice is as solid a evidence as identifying a face,” Fred snapped back as he bolted the door behind them. “You’ll stay in there until the circuit judge rides through town in two weeks.”

“Two weeks!” Pete spat, his knuckles turning white from wringing the bars.

“Yep! Unless you spill the beans and tell us everything you know. Then I’ll see what can be arranged.” He cast them a taunting grin. “Have fun! Dinner’s a six.”

Pete angrily pounded his fists against the cell bars. “You’ll be sorry, Sheriff.”

Pete’s warning flew over Fred’s head as he walked back to his main office.

“Dammit! I knew we should have killed that blind guy.” Pete returned to Alan who was stretched out lazily on the cot with his hands laced behind his head.

“What do you think we should do, Pete? We can both keep quiet about Montoya and risk a life sentence for being accessaries to kidnapping or we can dish the dirt on the guy and be free.”

“Free? If we spill our guts Montoya will have us gunned down.”

“We can always go down south of the border.”

“Do you think that’ll stop him?”

Alan swung his legs down on the floor and glanced up at his tormented partner nervously striding up and down the confined space. “I don’t know about you but I ain’t about to be a patsy for Montoya. We made enough dough on those deals to start anew down in Mexico or maybe somewhere up in Canada.”

“It ain’t that simple Alan.”

“Look…it’s obvious they’re on to us. Once Montoya gets word of us being in jail he won’t think twice about running out on us. If we should go down I wanna bring him along for the ride.” He clasped Pete’s shoulder from behind and gave it a light squeeze. “He ain’t worth throwing a chance at freedom. We ain’t killed anyone. We ain’t wanted men, yet.”

Pete turned around to stare Alan squarely in the eyes. “You really wanna do this?”

“Don’t ya?”

Pete heaved out a heavy sigh before walked up to the cell door to call out to the sheriff.

Shortly after the two men’s confession, the Barkley brothers hopped on their wagon and drove out to Freemont’s Pass where Montoya was scheduled to meet with his two partners. Nick was riding alongside the wagon in which his two brothers were taking place, scanning the area for any sign of the sought-after Spaniard.

Montoya had already set the trap for his two lovely victims: a broken wheel on a wagon he had rented at the town livery. He studied his work while patiently waiting for his partners to show up. The sound of distant thudding hooves caught his attention. He squinted to make out the riders.

“Howdy! Having some trouble there?” Nick asked.

“Nothing I can’t fix.”

“Your name Chad Montoya?”

“That’s me.”

Heath turned to Nick and said in a hushed voice. “Nick, that’s him; that’s the voice.”

Nick whipped out his gun and trained it on a stunned Montoya. “You’re coming with us Montoya.”

“What’s this all about gentlemen?”

“Just drop you gun on the ground very slowly,” Nick instructed, eyeing the man’s every move. “You recognize our brother here?” Nick motioned to Heath.

“No I don’t believe I do,” Montoya fibbed with a composed poise.

“He says he does. And don’t say it’s not possible on account he’s blind because you two idiot partners already made that mistake. They told us all about you Montoya and where to find you.” Nick waved his gun impatiently in front of the man. “Come on! Get on that horse and let’s go.”

Montoya walked back to his horse tethered to the side of the wagon. He spotted the armed rifle lying at his feet. With lightning speed, he grabbed it and dove to the ground, firing two consecutive shots.

No sooner had he heard the first shot being fired that Heath pushed Jarrod down on the seat and shielded him with his upper body. The report of the rifle was still echoing in the air when Montoya’s triumphant glee wrapped Heath in an icy clutch of dread.

“Jarrod!” Heath shouted as he tried to shake his brother awake. “Jarrod, you alright?”

“Don’t bother, Blind Man. He’s dead. And so’s the other one. I guess it’s just you and me,” Montoya crowed.

Heath remained composed in the face of a man he knew held the power to steal his breath with one clear shot. He was at his mercy. “You’re going to kill me?” Heath gulped.

“I should for all the trouble you’ve caused me but I won’t. Not yet anyway.”

Heath’s right hand travelled up to his brother’s chest to feel his ribcage. He smiled inwardly at the presence of a strong heartbeat. He quickly retreated his hand at the sound of Montoya’s footsteps approaching for fear of revealing his brother’s condition to his enemy. Although his heart quailed at the grim thought of Nick having met with his fate his soul remained undisturbed, assuring him that the connection had not been severed.

“Get down from there,” Montoya ordered with a sharp eye trained on the unpredictable adversary. He eyed Heath warily as he slowly alighted from the wagon, weapon at the ready to ward off any sudden move. He grabbed Heath by the hair and shoved him down at his feet; then pulled the hammer back on his rifle and aimed at his victim’s head. An evil grin crossed his face as his finger caressed the trigger before pulling it. The deafening dry click of the empty rifle sent a chill coursing down Heath’s spine, shaking the very core of his vulnerability. He plastered on a stone face to belie his emotions so not to provide his tormentor any satisfaction.

“Get up! I’m taking you to see the boss. He’ll decide what to do with you.”

Heath staggered to his feet and groped the empty space in front of him before shuffling on with the barrel of Montoya’s rifle pressed against his back. “That’s far enough.” Montoya went to his horse and untied him. “Tell me now. When those two jug heads spilled the beans, did they happen to tell you where to find your sister?”

“No they wouldn’t tell. We only got them to reveal the meeting place and that was enough to us,” Heath volunteered with a straight face so not to arouse suspicion as to the real situation at hand. He knew that Fred and his posse were already on their way to the mansion to search the premises.

“Allow me to doubt your word, Blind Man. I don’t trust you.” He stepped behind Heath and bashed him on the head with the rifle butt, knocking him out instantly. Montoya crouched down beside the limp form sprawled on the ground and sneered, “Consider yourself lucky that I knocked you out, my friend. I could have figured on tethering you behind my horse and force you to walk five miles. But since I need to get there fast to warn my boss of the sheriff’s impending arrival, I can afford to waste time; therefore you’ll ride with me.” He slid his arms underneath Heath’s armpits to hoist him up; he then swung him across the animal’s neck and covered his body with a blanket before straddling his mount and spurring him at a light trot.

A few yards down the main road to the mansion, Montoya dismounted and steered his horse into a thicket. He tied him to a tree then checked the condition of his prisoner before he treaded warily across the thick vegetation to a small opening in the underbrush, where he hunched down to observe the activities occurring outside the mansion. He groaned inwardly at the sight of a group of men, no doubt part of the sheriff’s posse. He patiently waited for the sheriff to exit the house and leave the premises with all of his men before walking back to his horse.

He gripped a chunk of Heath’s hair and tossed his head back to check the color of his face. He raised one eyelid to ensure that he was still unresponsive and not faking unconsciousness. Satisfied of the result, he led his horse out to the thicket and rode him into the barnyard and therefrom, straight into the stables. He slid the load off his horse’s neck and dragged him to an empty stall where he laid him in the hay.

“Montoya!” the acrid voice called from behind.

“Hey boss!”

“You’re a fool showing up here after what you’ve done!” he said tartly.

“I didn’t do anything Mister Paulsen. It was those two scatterbrained I hired.”

“The sheriff was just here asking questions about the two girls.”

“I know I saw the posse up front.”

“Who’s that?” Paulsen asked, motioning to Heath’s body lying at the bottom of the stall.

“That is the man who’s responsible for this mess. He was travelling with his sister Audra Barkley when we abducted her.”

“I specifically told you no witnesses.”

“He’s blind so we figured he couldn’t identify any of us.”

“You idiot! Don’t you know their kind can easily pick you out in a crowd just by the sound of your voice or a whiff of your body scent? Why did you bring him here?”

“I thought I’d grant you the pleasure of disposing of him seeing how he cost you your last two fine specimens.”

“You didn’t get the girls?”

“Couldn’t risk it.”

“This means we’ll need to head out tonight with only the two we already have. I’ll be happy to get rid of them, especially the feisty blonde.”

“Do you want me to tame her?” Montoya offered with a devilish grin.

“Don’t you dare touch her! We’ll chloroform her if need it be.” He turned to Heath and kicked his boot. “Put this one in the cellar with the others. I’ll decide what to do with him later. Right now we need to plan our escape without anyone noticing.”

“Perhaps you should wait until the dust settles before heading out. Could be risky with the sheriff and his men loitering about. They have their eye on us.”

“Can’t wait. I need to get these girls out of the country as soon as possible.”

“Alright.” Montoya grabbed on to Heath’s shirt to pull him towards him, after which he slung him over his shoulder and carried him out to the back of the barn near a shrubbery where he set him down. He bent down to sweep the twigs off a particular spot on the ground to reveal a trap door. He pulled on the leather strap to lift open the thick wooden hatch, and then slid Heath’s body down the hole where it crashed onto the floor below with a thud.

“Heath!” Audra shrieked in horror then quickly motioned to her friend Melissa to fetch the canteen. As she attempted to force a few sips down her senseless brother’s throat, he started to choke. Audra eased him into a sitting position and leaned the back of his head against her shoulder. He groaned at the searing pain radiating down the back of his neck. “It’s alright Heath. You’re with us.”

His sister’s soothing voice broke through his haze, prompting him to open his eyes. “Audra?”

“That’s right.”

Heath squinted and blinked hard repeatedly at Melissa’s blurry figure kneeling before him.

“Heath, what’s the matter?”

“Audra…Audra I think I’m starting to see again.”

“Heath, are you sure?” she asked with reserved expectation.

Heath rubbed his eyes with his fists to clear the haze still clouding his view. The images were still blurry but he could distinguish colors and shapes. “Could you help me up, please?”

Audra beckoned her friend to lend a hand in hoisting her brother to his feet. Once upright, he was overtaken by a powerful fainting spell. As he started to sway Audra gripped him by the arm to hold him steady. “Heath, maybe you should sit down.”

He leaned against the wall to breathe away the dizziness. “No I’m okay,” he heaved out before taking a cleansing breath. “I’m okay.” He gave her a faint reassuring smile before he groped his way towards a pile of crates with Audra following inches behind. “What are those?”

“Apples.”

“Audra and I have been eating a lot of those,” Melinda added wryly.

“Haven’t they been feeding you proper?”

“Just water. They said we had enough to eat down here.”

“Why the….” Heath cursed, pounding his tightly clenched fist against one of the crates that fell onto the floor. Some of the apples rolled over at his feet. He crouched down and picked one up, feeling the round shape between his fingers. Then an idea sparked into mind.

Meanwhile Fred and his posse made it to Freemont’s Pass just as Nick was regaining consciousness.

“Easy Nick,” Fred coached as he helped the dazed man take a sip of water out of his canteen.

“Thanks Fred.” Nick raised a hand to his left temple to find the source of his searing pain. He winced at the touch of the bleeding gash.

“Got a nasty dent in you head, Nick. Better let the doctor look at it.”

“Not now Fred. We’ve got to find Audra.” Nick hooked Fred’s shoulder to hoist himself up. “Jarrod? Heath? You okay?” He shouted as he wobbled over to the wagon where two of Fred’s men were checking Jarrod over.

“Jarrod’s alive but his pulse is weak from the loss of blood. That bullet went clean through his shoulder.”

Nick hastened the pace over to his unconscious brother. “My God, Jarrod!” he exclaimed in shock, eyes bulging out of their sockets at his brother’s lividness. His eyes raked the surroundings for any sign of Heath. “Heath? Where’s Heath” he asked frantically.

“Take it easy Nick,” Fred pacified with a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “He isn’t here.”

“What? That means Montoya’s got him. I’ve got to look for him.” Nick made a mad dash for his horse before Fred could stop him.

“Nick!” Fred shouted while he strode up to the distraught Barkley. “Nick. Stop!” Fred grabbed Coco’s bridle to prevent the horse from obeying his master’s command. “Nick you’re not going anywhere in your condition.”

“Out of my way, Fred. I mean it!” Nick warned between gritted teeth, feeling the blood simmering beneath the surface.

“Nick, where do you intend to look for Heath?”

“I’ll start with that house Montoya’s goons told us about.”

“We just came from there. My men and I searched the house and the stables. They were no signs of Audra or the Hunter girl.”

“He has them hidden somewhere. I know they’re there” Nick insisted with veins throbbing at his temples, causing him to wince in pain. “And I’m sure Montoya’s taken Heath back there as well. We’ve got to hurry before…”

“Alright!” Fred replied before Nick could finish his thought. He turned to the two men attending to Jarrod’s wound. “You men take Jarrod back into town to Dr. Merar’s. Others you come with us.” He swung on his mount’s back and signalled the men to ride out to the Paulsen mansion.

While the posse was stampeding toward their destination, Paulsen and Montoya were arguing as to the best escape plan. With the house staff being discharged for the day, both men were out of prying ears.

“I still say we ought to wait until the dust settles before moving out.” Montoya insisted composedly.

“That can take forever, especially now that you nabbed that blind guy. They’ll be sweeping the area looking for him.” Paulsen lashed out as he continued to nervously pace the floor while wringing his clammy hands. “I promised the client his merchandise would be delivered by Friday. Half the money is better than none at all.”

“I’m not risking a jail sentence for kidnapping for a measly two thousand bucks.”

“Then I’ll ride out without you,” Paulsen said crushingly as he walked back to his desk.

Montoya turned to him with a sneer. “Fine then! You just give me my share and I’ll be on my way.”

“Like hell I will!” Paulsen produced a handgun from out of the desk drawer and shot Montoya in the chest.

His body jerked back with the force of the impact. He groped his chest and stared down at his bloody hand with horror before he glanced up at Paulsen still training the smouldering weapon on him. The second shot brought the final curtain of darkness on him and he slumped to the floor, dead.

“One down, another one to go,” Paulsen said bitterly, alluding to his last victim, Heath Barkley. He flipped open the cylinder to check the remaining bullets and then snapped it back close. He slid the weapon in his belt and went to the corpse on the floor to drag him inside a closet. Once he cleaned the bloody mess on the floor, he made his way out back. He took a small wooden ladder that he brought to the underground cellar. He pulled open the trapdoor and slid the ladder down.

“Hey you down there! Climb up!” she shouted authoritatively.

Heath grabbed a hold of Audra’s and Melissa’s arms and whispered. “Remember. I’m still blind.”

Both girls nodded their acknowledgement before they followed Paulsen’s instructions. Audra was first, followed by Heath and then Melissa. Paulsen closed the trapdoor without unfastening his eyes from his prisoners. “Come on, walk on,” he ordered with a poke in Heath’s back. The two girls, who had a hold on his arms, pretending to guide him toward the back entrance of the house, flanked Heath.

“Get down!” Heath shouted, shoving the two aside before he swirled on his heels and hurled an apple at Paulsen.

A shot ran out as the posse came riding onto the premises.

The stray bullet lodged itself in a tree. Before Paulsen could take one more aim at him, Heath lunged at his attacker and wrested him for the gun. A witness to the struggle, Nick leapt off his horse and dashed over to his brother. Frustration and fear registered on his face as he waved his gun at the two men rolling on the ground in a heap, unable to take a clear shot at Paulsen.

His heart jumped to his throat at the sound of a gunshot that halted the tussle. “Heath!” he gulped nervously before he bent down to check his brother who lay motionless on top of Paulsen’s body.

“I’m alright,” Heath gasped out. “I’m alright.” He raised a hand up to request assistance in rising to his feet. Nick held on to Heath’s arm as they both took sight of Paulsen’s fatal belly wound. “If that trigger’d been pulled two seconds earlier…” Heath needed not finish his thought as the squeeze on his shoulder told him that Nick knew all too well.

“Audra!” Andy shouted while rushing towards his dream girl who was helping Melissa off the ground.

“Andy!” She fell into his arms to welcome his soul-stirring hug.

He pulled back and gave her body a cursory examination for any sign of blood. “Did he hurt you?”

“No. I’m okay.” Her reassuring smile wrung a grin out of the young suitor who pulled her back into a warm embrace.

Beside them, Melissa and her father followed suit in a clench of their own. The worried father stroked his daughter’s hair and gazed into her sparkling blue eyes that assured him she hadn’t been touched or roughed up in any way.

“Nick, I thought…I thought Montoya had…” Heath’s quavering voice faltered when the emotions overflowed.

“Nah! Come on! I’m alright. Jarrod’s worse off, though. He took the slug in the shoulder. A couple of men drove him back to Doc Merar’s.” He gripped Heath’s shoulders when he saw the panic rise in his brother’s eyes. “Don’t worry. He’s gonna be alright. He was breathing strong when I left him.”

Heath raised his hand to Nick’s nasty head gash. “Nick’s you’re bleeding.”

Nick waved Heath’s hand away. “Don’t you fret about it none. It’s only a scalp wound.” He froze and frowned at his brother’s gesture. “Wait a minute! Now there ain’t no way you could have known that unless you…” Nick’s puzzlement switched to exhilaration at the sight of his brother nodding the answer to his unspoken question. “You can see?”

“It’s still fuzzy but yeah, I can see ya.”

In a euphoric laugh, Nick picked up his little brother and twirled him in the air. “Nick, you’re squeezing me,” Heath teased with a choked voice. Nick put Heath down and playfully tousled his hair. “Ahhhhhhhhhh not the hair, Nick!”

“Why do you care? You’re already a mess!”

“Hey Sheriff!” One of the men shouted from the house. “Better come and take a look at what we found inside.”

Everyone followed Fred into the house where Montoya’s bloodied corpse laid curled up in a closet.

“That’s Montoya,” Nick confirmed.

“It’s over, honey,” Melissa’s father whispered to her daughter standing by his side with a strong grip on his arm. “It’s over.” He tapped her hand and brought her into a fatherly hug. “Your mother and I were so worried.”

She disengaged the embrace to gaze at her saviour. “Thanks to Heath. He told us what happened and how you were able to find us.”

Heath reciprocated Melissa’s grateful smile and although his vision was still blurry, he could read the appreciation shining in her glinting blue eyes.

“What do you say you all take a trip down to Dr. Merar’s to enquire about Jarrod and get yourselves a checkup,” Fred suggested. “I’ll stay here with the others to search the premises and take care of the bodies.”

“You sure, Fred?” Nick asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Go on!”

Nick assisted Heath out the door and to his horse where he gave him a leg up into the saddle, as did Andy and Melissa’s father for their girls, before riding towards town at a light trot.

At the doctor’s office, they waited patiently for Jarrod’s surgery to be over. Moments later, all sprung to their feet when Dr. Merar drew the curtains from the examining room.

“Doc how is he?” Nick asked with a harried expression.

The weary doctor’s reassuring smile was self-explanatory. “He’s going to be fine. He will need to curtail his activities for the next few days to get plenty of rest. Following those instructions to the letter, I predict a full recovery within the week.”

A ripple of sighs of relief ran through he emotionally charged room at the doctor’s prognosis.

“Can we see him?” Audra asked.

“He’s still under the effect of the anaesthesia. Go in for five minutes only. Heath and Nick I want to examine you both in the other room.”

“Sure Doc.” As Nick went to take Heath’s arm to usher him into the examining room, his hazel eyes read in his brother’s smiling blues that he no longer required assistance. His answer reflected in a broad elated grin. “After you, little brother.”

While Nick and Heath were under the doctor’s care, Fred and his men returned to town with the two bodies that they dropped at the undertaker before parting ways. He returned to his office to find a deputy marshal waiting for his return.

“Sheriff Madden?”

“That’s right.”

“I’m Deputy Marshal Jonas Ramsay,” the impressively tall man said as he flashed his badge. “I’ve been tracking Rod Paulsen’s whereabouts for the last few months and got word that he might be in the vicinity.”

“He is. Rather he was.”

“Meaning?”

“Me and a few men just took his dead body to the undertaker.”

“He’s dead?”

“Yep!” Fred motioned to Paulsen’s two cohorts locked up in the jail behind him. “These two back there were both working for him and a man named Montoya. They told us where to find him.”

“Paulsen’s been operating a white trade slave ring recruiting men all over the country to help him gather young women to sell abroad for slavery. There’s a large reward for his capture dead or alive.”

“Really? How come I never heard of it?”

“Can’t answer that. But I can tell you that you will be rewarded the large sum of five thousand dollars.”

The staggering amount took Fred aback. He sat in his chair to digest the news of the reward before he let a knowing grin cross his face. “As much as I’d like to take credit for Paulsen’s capture and reap the reward, I can’t. That money doesn’t belong to me but to the man who led us to him.”

“And who is that?”

“Come with me,” Fred said as he stood from his chair and crossed to the door. “I’ll take you to him.”

They walked down to the doctor’s office where they saw Nick with a bandage around his head exit with Heath standing tall beside his brother with a beaming expression that said a lot about his condition.

“Boys, how’s Jarrod?”

“He just woke up a few minutes ago. Doc said he’ll be okay.”

“That’s good news.” Fred motioned to Jonas standing to his left. “This here is Deputy Marshal Jonas Ramsay. Deputy, this is Nick Barkley.”

“How d’you do?” He shook hands with Nick.

“Fine.”

“And his brother Heath Barkley. He’s the man you’re looking for.”

Heath extended his arm to shake Jonas’s hand with a bit of apprehension. “Looking for me?” he asked with a slight quiver about his voice.

“Sheriff Madden tells me you’re responsible for Paulsen’s death?”

“Euh…I didn’t mean to kill him, Marshal. It was self-defense,” Heath defended.

Jonas pulled out and envelope from his breast pocket and handed over to Heath. “This is for you.”

Heath took the envelope with a puzzling look on his face. He glanced at an equally perplexed Nick before turning back to Jonas. “What’s this?”

“Your reward, son. Five thousand dollars for the capture of Rod Paulsen.”

Heath’s jaw dropped to the ground at the weighty bank draft he held in his hand. “I didn’t know there was a reward nor did I care. I was only concerned with saving my sister.”

“What are you going to do with all of that money, Heath?” Nick asked.

Heath’s attention was suddenly drawn to the sounds of merriment coming from the orphanage playground a few blocks down the street. He smiled and turned to Nick who knew exactly what his brother had in mind.

“HE gave me my sight back. It’s only fitting I should give HIM something in return.”