Jessie brought the pine needles nestled in his hands up to his nose and inhaled deeply. He didn't know why but the smell of pine needles always seemed to sooth him. As he lay back in the tall grass of the meadow, he heard the wind whispering through the trees. He thought if he listened hard enough he just might be able to hear what it was they were whispering about.

As he lay back in the warm soft grass looking up at the blue sky he chuckled to himself as a cloud resembling a rabbit bounding through a field floated into view. How many times had he lay in this very field watching cloud animals float by with his Mama he wondered. Oh how his Mama enjoyed watching the clouds float by on a warm summer day. She always saw a different shape in every cloud; no two were ever a like to her. She would point to one and say, "Jessie, just look at that one there, doesn't it look just like a wild stallion racing with the wind?" He was sure as he looked into her sparkling green eyes that he could just see that big old stallion running up in the sky racing the wind.

His mother always managed to surprise him; she always made him feel that his dreams, opinions and concerns about things really mattered to her. Her interest in these things never seemed patronizing to him in any way, if she was he would surely have seen it in her eyes and he never did. After all how many times did his mother tell him that you could view a person's sole by just looking into their eyes. The older he grew the more he realized just how right his mother was.

Thinking about his mother made him jump up and brush himself off. He still had chores to finish and here he was just dreaming the day away. How would his father feel if he found him just lying around looking up at the clouds? He could answer that one, disappointed, that's what his father would be. After all his father relied on his help running the ranch. With that last thought he took one last look up at the fleeing cloud rabbit and started to run towards home through the meadow.

Coming over the top of the hill behind his house, he heard his little sister's shrill cry. Looking down from the top of the hill he could see his red headed little sister running around in circles pulling at the back of her dress. It looked as though she had been having a tea party in the yard with her dolls before something disrupted it. There were dolls and cups scattered everywhere on the ground around the area she was running and yelling. Next to the dolls rolling on the ground clutching his sides laughing was his little brother Thomas. Jessie could see muddy tear tracks running down through the dust on Thomas's freckled face as he laughed hysterically.

"Get it out, Thomas! Get it out!" cried Carrie as she continued running and jumping around in circles pulling at the back of her dress her red hair flying about. "It's biting me! Get it out Thomas!" Carrie cried again waving her hands.

This only seemed to make Thomas laugh even harder. Through bits of laughter Thomas managed to choke out, "Don't worry Carrie it's just a little old frog, they aint got any teeth!" he laughed as he rolled around on the ground holding his sides.

“Thomas!” Jessie yelled out as he raced down the hill to help his little sister. “Get that frog out a Carrie’s dress now!” he yelled trying to control his own laughter.

By the time he reached his sister she had managed to shake the poor frog free of her dress and was now sitting in the dirt with her arms and legs folded, tears streaming down her face.

“It’s OK Carrie, it was just a little frog, and he’s gone now.” Jessie said as he rubbed his hand across his sisters back trying to calm down her sobs.

“It’s…not…. the frog…. Jessie!” sobbed Carrie. “ He ruined my tea party!” she wailed pointing to the over turned teacups and dolls scattered about in the dirt around her.

Jessie tried hard to stifle his giggles as he took Carrie’s hand and helped her up out of the dirt. “Come on Carrie, let’s get you cleaned up and then I’ll help you set up the tea party again, OK?”

Carrie looked at her big brother, her green eyes smiling through her tears, “Thanks Jessie.” She said calmly.

Sometimes Jessie wondered about that little brother of his, how could he be so mean to his twin one moment and then in the next be so loving? The 7-year-old twins were very similar in most ways but so very different in others. They were both fiery red heads like their Mama, with bright green eyes and a face full of freckles.

Thomas was always on the move, when he was born Jessie thought someone must a put jumping beans in that boys pants, he never stopped moving. Thomas loved collecting bugs, snakes, and just about anything else that moved or crawled. Most of his Mama’s canning jars always ended up out back in the shed holding one or more of Thomas’s many little treasures. Mama was constantly yelling at Thomas for coming home muddy and wet. It’s seems that one of Thomas’s favorite gathering sites was the small creek that ran through the meadow behind their house. He often found Thomas there turning over rocks looking for some new specimen to add to his collection.

Thomas’s energy always amazed Jessie that boy was always in motion he never stopped. He always had his nose in everything, except bath water that was. But Thomas did have a gentler side to him as well. There were times when Carrie would wake up crying from a bad dream or become scared during a bad storm; Thomas would always be the first one there to comfort her. He would crawl into bed with her, cradle her in his arms and talk softly to her until she fell back asleep. If Carrie weren’t feeling well, Thomas would wait on her hand and foot, read her stories, and even play dolls with her. Anything to make Carrie feel better, Carrie always seemed to brighten when Thomas treated her this way. But once she felt better look out, Thomas was up to his old tricks again and his favorite target was his twin.

Carrie was almost the complete opposite of her twin brother. She was always helping Mama with the housework and taking care of their little sister Mary Beth. Mama even made an apron for Carrie that was just like her own, Carrie loved wearing her apron and helping Mama, it made her feel so important. Whenever she could Carrie was always having tea parties with her dolls, and with Mama if she had time. Carrie would serve tea to her guests with her little finger stuck up in the air while she poured the air tea and passed out her pretend cookies, how silly she looked Jessie often thought.

Jessie remembered asking her one day what she planned to do when she grew up, “I’m gonna be a Mama silly,” she replied, staring at him as if he had just asked the dumbest question in the world. “And I’m gonna marry Papa too,” she added in boldly.

Jessie just about fell over laughing, “you can’t marry Papa silly, he’s already married to Mama,” Jessie laughed.

“I can marry Papa!” she wailed, “you can’t tell me who I can marry Jessie, your only ten!” And with that she stomped out of the room, tossing her red hair over her shoulder as she left. Boy once Carrie had her mind set on something it was hard getting her to change it.

Carrie continued to cheer up as Jessie helped her dust off her dolls and set up the tea party again. Once the tea party was under way Jessie started to make his way towards the barn, he still had chores to finish before supper. As he rounded the corner of the house he saw his father hooking Daisy and May up to the wagon in front of the barn.

“Where you off to Pa,” Jessie asked.

“Head’en over to the Butlers, Jake says the winter grain we ordered is in,” replied James Thorton.

The Butler’s had a ranch a few miles north of theirs. Jake and Kathy Butler were an older couple without any children of their own. The Butlers had invited Jessie’s entire family over for supper when they first moved here from Minnesota a year ago. Ma and Pa took a real liking to the Butlers, as did Jessie. Other than the Butlers they really didn’t know anyone else in the area. Pa and Jake Butler often ordered grain and seed together so they could get it at a discounted price. It seems the more you bought the cheaper the price was.

“Need any help?” asked Jessie, crossing his fingers behind his back hoping his father would say yes.

“No son, you’d be doing me a big favor if you could stay here and get the loft ready for the grain. I should be back around supper time.” He replied.

“OK Pa,” answered Jessie looking down at his shoes and kicking up dirt.

Noticing Jessie’s disappointment James added, “Don’t worry Jessie, they’ll be plenty of other times you can come with me, after all we have this whole ranch to fix up, right?”

Jessie lifted up his head and looked at his father, “ Don’t worry Pa, I’ll have that loft spit polished clean by the time you get back,” Jessie chimed cheerfully.

Climbing up on the wagon and grabbing the reins James replied, “That’s my boy, I’ll see you in a while.”

If only James could have foreseen the future he would have insisted Jessie come with him. He enjoyed traveling with his son, Jessie shared the same love for the outdoors and the ranch that he did. That boy may be only ten but he does the work of a full-grown man. If only James had known how much time he had left with his son, he surly would have invited him along.

Jessie watched as his father drove off through the pines towards the Butler’s ranch, he really wished his father had taken him along. He enjoyed having his father all to himself sometimes although those times seemed to be to few and far between for Jessie. He adored his father and spent every moment he could with him. When they were alone together his father seemed to be more at ease and open with him, he seemed to relax more, and Jessie loved that. He thought his father knew just about everything, he was great with all types of animals and was just about the best judge of horseflesh in the state. He taught Jessie how to handle himself in the woods, which plants he could eat and which were deadly. He taught him how to set snares and clean and cook his own food, and how to use the stars at night to help him find his way. Yup, his Pa was just about the best Pa around, Jessie thought as he walked towards the barn to ready the loft.

Jessie opened up the barn door and headed for the ladder up to the loft. Climbing up the ladder a strange sensation passed through his head. “Was the barn getting darker?” he thought out loud. It suddenly seemed that the higher he climbed on the ladder the darker it got. “That’s crazy,” he thought out loud, “it’s the middle of the day, it shouldn’t be this dark in here.” As he climbed up onto the loft it felt as if he was looking through a dark curtain, as he struggled to see he felt a sharp pain in his side. He could also now hear someone yelling at him, but who could be yelling at him up here in the loft he wondered.

“Get up Boy!” a very gruff voice growled out at him.

Jessie again felt the sharp stabbing pain in his side; as he struggled to see where the voice was coming from he started to remember where he was.

“NO!!” he screamed. “Please let me stay with them! Please!” he wailed.

Hank looked down at the boy curled up on the floor and kicked him again, did that boy just say NO to him? “Get up now Boy! Don’t you ever talk back to me!” he snarled at Jessie, looking at him through anger filled eyes.

Jessie cried out in pain, his ribs hurt but his heart felt as though it was being torn into a million pieces. “Please let me stay………please!” he pleaded, as he lay curled up in a ball on the dirty floor.

Hank reached down and grabbed the boy by his upper arms and lifted him effortlessly off the floor. He held Jessie out in front of his sizable frame and started to shake him back and forth like a rag doll. Jessie started to kick at Hank in an attempt to get free of his grasp.

“Wake up Boy!” Hank snarled, “Or your gonna wish you were dead!”

Jessie’s green eyes shot wide open, they were dead he thought, they were really all dead! All of the fight left in him died, and he hung limply from Hanks grasp.

“It’s about time boy!” Hank bellowed at him as he dropped Jessie to the floor. “Now get moving and pack up those supplies boy. We’re heading out a here shortly, we gotta job to do.” Hank unlocked Jessie’s wrists from the chains that stretched up from the floor, gave him a small shove with his foot and turned around to leave. As Hank closed the door to the cabin Jessie realized he was once again alone.

Staring at the floor he rubbed his sore wrists as the tears started to flow. It had seemed so real this time he thought; he could still hear them, see them, even feel them. Had it really been almost nine months since he’d last seen his home? Oh God, he thought shuddering, tears falling down his cheeks and onto the dirty floor; they’ve been gone for over a year now! All of them, gone forever!

Jessie slumped down onto the floor and drew his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs he began to rock back and fourth sobbing. Get a hold of your self-Jessie, he thought, if Hank comes back in and finds you like this he’d beat the tar out of you. Or god forbid Matt should find you like this.

Matt was Hanks right hand man, he wasn’t as big or old as Hank but he was certainly much scarier. Matt had a thing for knives, he liked using them on people, and Jessie was no exception. Jessie was terrified of Matt, the man had black eyes, Jessie was sure he had no sole at all. “He couldn’t have one;” thought Jessie, “Not with what he’d done to all of those innocent people.”

Jessie wiped his face on the remains of his tattered shirt, not much left of this he thought to himself, I bet one more washing and they’ll be nothing left to put back on. “No use fretting about it,” he thought as he started to gather up the necessary supplies for the trip

“Boy!” bellowed Hank, “You done in there!”

“Almost, I’ll have everything ready in a minute,” replied Jessie, trying to keep his voice from cracking. Jessie quickly gathered up the rest of the supplies and hurried out the door.

They were all ready mounted up and ready to go when Jessie came out of the cabin. Hank was in the lead followed by Matt, then rode Marcus, Dave, Sam, and the brothers Peter and Henry. Dan was driving the wagon, my Pa’s wagon, sighed Jessie.

“Load those things in the back of the wagon and then get down out a sight boy!” Yelled Hank as he started moving the men forward.

Jessie stowed the supplies under the tarp and then crawled underneath himself. He hated traveling this way, the tarp smelled and the air underneath was stale. He hated lying in one position for so long too, his badly healed bones groaned at every bounce in the road. He never knew where Hank was taking them, but he did know he never liked what they did once they got where they were going.

Hank McDonald lead his gang down the hillside and away from the secluded cabin towards Emerald. The sun had just peeked its way up and over the top of the hillside, “Good,” he thought, “we’re going to make it in plenty of time to catch that stage.”

Matt Shaffer walked his horse around to the back of the wagon. He wanted to make sure that little whelp was good and covered; he didn’t want anyone asking questions about the boy. Why Hank had insisted on bringing that boy along all those months ago still baffled and angered Matt, he told Hank that kids were nothing but trouble and that all he was doing by taking that kid was just asking for it.

“You stay down and stay quiet until I come and get you, boy,” Matt snickered at Jessie as he rode back up to the front to meet Hank. Jessie shook and curled up into an even tighter ball as he heard Matt’s voice, Matt terrified him. He remembered the night they came and took him away from his home, Matt didn’t want Hank bringing Jessie along, and he remembered their conversation like it happened yesterday…

“You can’t be serious Hank!” yelled Matt; “We can’t have a kid tagging around behind us on the trail!”

“The decision is final Matt, he’s coming with us!” Hank hollered back. “We can use him, trust me on this one.”

“Your just asking for trouble bringing that kid along Hank, I can take care of him right now if you want,” sneered Matt. Sliding his knife out of the sheath on his belt, he moved closer to where Hank held Jessie. Jessie stared at the knife and then at the man who carried it, he had black hair and cold black eyes. Jessie was terrified at the blankness the man’s eyes held, nothing, there was nothing in his eyes but cold blackness. Didn’t his Mama always say you could see a person’s sole in their eyes, this scared Jessie. He knew this man was capable of anything, and he was sure that none of it was good.

“How about it Hank, can’t a guy have a little fun.” Matt smiled at Jessie as he brought the cold steel tip of the knife up to the boys face.

“It wouldn’t take me long to skin him, Hank there’s really not much to him.”

Jessie tried to back away but Hank was a huge figure of a man and he had a tight grip on Jessie’s shoulders, there was no way to move him. Matt brought the tip of the knife up to Jessie’s nose. All Jessie could do was stare at the knife; there was no way to move away from it. Matt put the tip of the knife into Jessie’s left nostril and flicked the knife sideways causing it to cut open the nostril. Jessie cried out in pain as the tears started welling up in his eyes.

“Leave the boy alone,” warned Hank, “I have plans for the boy.”

“What’s the matter Hank,” inquired Matt, “Your not going and getting soft on me now is ya?”

“Like I told you I’ve got plans for the boy, and having him all marked up won’t help any.” With that Hank picked up the boy, threw him over his shoulder and headed towards the wagon.

Jessie could barely feel the blood running down his face as he hung limply across Hanks shoulder. Matt had terrified him, my God Jessie thought, his eyes his eyes were black! Black! Jessie barely felt it as Hank dropped him into the back of the wagon, he felt Hank tie his wrists and then his feet together but he couldn’t shake the image of Matt’s black eyes from his head. The way the knife seemed to reflect in his eyes, dead and cold. The next thing he knew he was under the tarp and Hank was talking to him.

“Stay quiet and keep out a sight boy, don’t give me a reason to sick Matt on you now,” Hank warned in stern voice. The last thing Jessie heard before passing out was the sound of Matt’s snickers.

And now here he was still stuck in the wagon under the very same tarp listening again to those awful snickers. He could picture the dead black eyes staring at him through the tarp, the thought of those eyes made him shiver. How was he ever going to get away from these men? He remembered the one and only time he had ever tried to, and the terrible consequences that occurred because of it.

It was a few months ago, he had been riding in the back of the wagon when he felt the swaying stop, Hank had ordered him out of the wagon and untied his hands. He instructed Jessie to set up camp and get things in order for their return in a few hours. Then Hank mounted his horse and rode away with his gang.

“He forgot to tie my hands,” Jessie thought out loud, “this is my chance to get away”. Following the horses hoof prints he figured he could find his way back to the main road, he knew they had been on a main road for a while because the wagon ride had been relatively smooth. After feeling the wagon turn the ride became very bumpy even going as slow as they were, he felt they must be forging their own trail.

Jessie followed the hoof prints through the woods out to a field full of beautiful wild flowers. “I’d almost forgotten how beautiful the outside world really is,” Jessie said to himself. Running through the flowers lost in thought Jessie followed the trail left by the gang, there it was, a road! Someone is bound to come by, this road looks pretty well worn he observed. I wonder where it leads? He had no idea where he was, Hank always tied him up and made him travel under the tarp of the wagon, so he never knew where they went.

Right now that didn’t matter to him he was free! Away from those terrible men and especially away from those cold black eyes. Jessie began to run down the road, it felt as if he had been running for hours he was beginning to think he couldn’t go on much further when he spotted a horse and rider in the distance. All the energy drained from his legs and he sat down in a heap in the middle of the road, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. A rider was coming down the road, he was actually going to get away, and he was going home! Tears started to stream down his dirty face, as the rider approached he tried to stand, “Help me please,” he cried looking up at the rider.

The rider pulled up his horse and jumped down next to Jessie. “What’s the matter son, you lost?” he asked. The boy looked terrible, he was filthy, his hair was matted, his cloths were dirty and torn, and he was so thin.

“Please help me mister,” Jessie pleaded grabbing the riders hand, “I need help getting home.”

The boy’s green eyes were so sad, the rider could see the boy’s desperation in them. “What’s your name son, and where are you from?”

“Jessie Thorton, sir, my family has a ranch near Willow Creek outside of Merced,” Jessie said with enthusiasm.

“Pleasure to meet you Jessie Thorton, my names Adam Houston,” the rider answered while shaking Jessie’s hand.

“Now what has you so far away from home, and where are your folks?”

Jessie looked up at the rider, he sounded and acted as though he genuinely wanted to help. “He seems to be just about the same age as my Pa,” Jessie thought. His cloths were a little dusty and worn but he’d probably just been on the trail for a while. The riders brown eyes spoke volumes to Jessie; he could see the look of concern and caring they held. Yes, he could trust this man, he had to, he had no one else to turn to.

As Jessie started to speak he suddenly became frightened, what if this man didn’t want to help him after he told him about Hank and his men. What if he just rode off and left him there………

“Come on son, tell me what’s wrong it’s the only way I can help you,” Adam spoke in a low voice as he knelt down and looked the boy in the face.

As Jessie started to speak, tears also began falling down his cheeks. He explained everything that happened from the time Hank and his men had taken him from his home until he came to be standing in the road here. The man pulled out a handkerchief and started wiping Jessie’s face, “Don’t worry son, and let’s take you up to the sheriff in Westley. He needs to hear this story for himself, I‘ll bet he’s going to want to gather up a posse and hunt that gang down.”

Jessie felt total relief wash over his body, the man was going to help him, he wasn’t going to leave him all alone and run away! Adam caught the boy as he collapsed into his arms, “Don’t worry son, you’ll be back home before you know it.” With that he picked Jessie up and carried him over to his horse. “I’ll put you up in the saddle first then I’ll mount up and hold onto you from behind OK son?” asked Adam.

A smile and a heart-felt thank you were just about all Jessie could muster as Adam mounted and the two rode off towards Westley.

Jessie was beginning to wonder how much longer it was going to take to get to Westley when he saw them. He bolted straight up in the saddle eyes wide open with fear. “Their coming!” he screamed. “Please we have to get away!” he said in a panic frantically looking around for a place to hide.

Adam was looking for a hiding place as well; maybe the riders hadn’t seen them yet. Hopefully the glare from the sun had hidden them from view. But where could they run, he certainly didn’t want to tangle with these men. Especially after hearing what the boy said they did to their victims, hearing the boy describe the awful images had made his blood turn cold. He turned his horse off the road and headed for the tree line, hopefully he could lose them in the hills. He knew it would be difficult but he had to try.

“I told you Hank, I told you that kid would be nothing but trouble!” Matt shouted as he stomped around the wagon.

“Shut up Matt, he can’t be very far away!” spat Hank. “Peter, Henry mount up! You two come with Matt and I to track down the boy. Marcus you and Dave get everything set by the time we get back. Dave and Sam you two ride back and make sure no one’s following us, I expect you to take care of them if they are.” Mounting his horse Hank added, “ Once we find the boy we’ll bring him back here and then head back to the cabin. Make sure Marcus it looks as though no one was ever here.” With that Hank grabbed the reins of his horse and headed of towards the road with Matt, Peter, and Henry following close behind him.

Hank was furious with himself, how could he have forgotten to chain the boy? He knew deep down the boy would run if he had the chance, he could see it every time he looked in the boy’s eyes. They’d had the boy for almost 3 months now, of course he would run, all he wanted to do was get back to that precious ranch of his. “I should have burned that damn ranch to the ground,” Hank thought out loud. “That way he’d have had no where to run.”

The men galloped through the field up to the road, dropping down off his horse, Matt looked at the footprints in the dust. “Looks like someone came along and picked up the boy, they’re ridding double, headed north.”

“Probably towards Westley,” replied Peter. “It’s the closest town and the roads pretty open all the way there.”

“Well they can’t be moving all that fast riding double,” Henry spoke up, “We should be able to overtake them easily before they reach Westley.”

“Come on let’s move! Who ever he is he’s going to be awful sorry he ever laid eyes on that boy!” Hank shouted ad he started to gallop off down the road towards Westley.

“Please we have to move faster!” pleaded Jessie. He was panicking now; he knew what was in store once Hank caught up with them. He’d consider himself lucky if it was Hank that caught up with them first; if it was Matt he was as good as dead.

...Continued