Moments later, Clayton opened his eyes. He was still flat on his back on a rock floor, but there was more light here than in the tunnel. He had been moved. As he began to focus through the haze of pain, he could see he was in a room inside the cavern. There was a large plank door which probably led back into the mine tunnel. Torches burned brightly in the holders on each wall of the room. He was lying next to an oak table, on which a kerosene lamp gave off an added glow of illumination. Above him, peering down at him were the faces of Lionel Thorpe, Bert Fleming, and Major Pearson. Off to their right and a little behind them, Francy Jones stood close to the wall watching. Next to her, bound in wooden chairs with their hands lashed to the chair backs sat the little Indian boy, Little Elk, terror etched on his young face, and a raven haired Indian girl. Jack deduced that this was probably White Fawn. He had found her, but all was lost now. They were all prisoners. For how long, he dared not guess for however long it would be, they would never leave here alive.
“So, Mister Clayton,” Lionel Thorpe chided. “You are, unfortunately, still alive. You are indeed a most amazing man. Miss Jones did warn me you would be a challenge. She said that no one can just kill a man like you. She said, we’d have to outsmart you. Well, you were wrong Miss Jones,” Thorpe sneered glancing to his right. “He wasn’t so smart after all. Rushing in here so brazenly was not the most intelligent strategy.” He raised his arm and pointed a pistol muzzle inches from Clayton’s face. “And now Miss Jones, you will see that I will now just kill him. Just an ordinary man after all, you see.” He eared back the hammer of his pistol and it clicked into full cock. The sound clearly ringing in Jack’s ears.
“No, you can’t do that to True Arrow!” the boy screamed from his perch on the chair. “I’ll tell you where it is, but don’t shoot him! Please don’t shoot him!”
Lionel smiled and without taking his eyes off Clayton, he said. “That’s a good boy. I knew you’d come around. He released the hammer slowly taking it off cock, then held the pistol straight down to his side and turned to face the boy. “All right, where is it?”
“Let him up.!” Little Elk demanded.
Thorpe told himself, he could wait. The kid had spunk. He liked that, but he was still going to kill the boy and his sister and Jack Clayton, just as soon as he got what he wanted. He nodded to Fleming and Pearson to move back and give Clayton room to get up. “You heard the kid.” Thorpe ordered. “Get Up!”
Warily and slowly, Clayton climbed to his feet. He wobbled unsteadily at first, fighting the dizziness. Gradually his head was clearing. “What are they after, Little Elk?” Jack asked the boy directly.
“The stone.” The boy answered. “White Fawn gave me the stone. She said to take it to Brave Bear, but I did not give it to him.” Then to White Fawn, “I am sorry, sister. But I was afraid of Brave Bear and I trust True Arrow. I am sorry I disobeyed you.”
“You were wise, Little Elk.” She said. “You knew best after all.”
“So what is so important about a stone?” Jack asked.
“Not just a stone.” White Fawn answered. “A sacred stone. It belongs to Chief Crazy Horse. It protects him from harm. He always wears it into battle.”
Jack appeared puzzled. He knew the Indians were superstitious, but he was not and he could never believe in a stone with magical protective powers. He started to formulate a question for Thorpe.
“Yes I do believe in the sacred stone.” Thorpe answered the unasked question. “Crazy Horse has miraculously survived on many occasions. Maybe only, because he believes in it, is why it works. But it seemed to work last night when my men could not bring you down with their bullets. The boy was with you and he had the stone. You too were protected. And how would you explain the boy’s survival in the river. Pearson found him hiding in a little cove among the reeds, the current never swept him away. Pearson didn’t know about the stone at the time, so he didn’t look for it until he arrived here. The boy apparently hid it someplace on the way.”
“What….?” He could not believe in a sacred stone, but he did remember how they eluded the bullets and how they had hidden from the Ghost Riders the night he found Little Elk and the soldiers had miraculously passed them by.
“It’s true all right,” Thorpe said. “The night my men raided the village, they couldn’t get close to White Fawn while she had the stone. Only after she gave it to Little Elk could they get her. The boy was left behind protected by the stone.”
“Why did you tell your brother to take it to Brave Bear? He was in league with these men.” Clayton asked the girl.
“I did not know that at the time. Brave Bear ordered me to steal the stone from Crazy Horse and take it to him at the fort. He told me if I did not, the Ghost Soldiers would come for me and Little Elk. I always obeyed my husband no matter what he demanded, but this time he shamed me. He sent me to Crazy Horse’s teepee the night before he left for battle. I do not do such things. But I obeyed. I waited for Crazy Horse to fall asleep and then I took the stone from around his neck and replaced it with another. He rode off with the warriors, the next morning without noticing.
“I was so ashamed, I could not force myself to go to the fort and face Brave Bear. I had finally decided that I must do as Brave Bear wished, but I had waited too long and the Ghost Soldiers came and took me away. I know now they were just evil men and Brave Bear was evil too.”
“Enough of this talk,” Thorpe declared. “Now, kid, you are going to tell me where it is.”
“Why is the stone so important to you anyhow?” Jack interrupted.
Thorpe glanced from Clayton to Pearson. “Want to tell him?”
Pearson swallowed hard. “When Crazy Horse and his braves rode out the other day, they were on their way to the Rosebud river country in Wyoming to join forces with all of the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes. They will be a massive army and our own stupid General George Armstrong Custer is on his way there right now with his seventh cavalry. He doesn’t know it, but he’ll be massacred. He won’t have a chance with a force of that size. Even if he had gotten that arms shipment that brought you into this, he wouldn’t have had a chance.”
“And you want a massacre?” Jack asked incredulously.
Thorpe grinned. “You really are stupid aren’t you?” He chided. “You saw all the gold we are taking out of these hills. We are not supposed to be here. This is Indian land. But once the public becomes infuriated over this massacre, they will sanction the government to wage a full scale war. Crazy Horse will be rendered useless without his stone and the government will lay claim to these hills. In my position I will be first in line to claim legal title to all of this.”
Clayton smirked. “You’re crazy.”
“Crazy and rich.” Thorpe grinned.
“I thought you said you’d had enough talk,” Bert Fleming interjected impatiently. “Where’s the stone kid?” He extended his arm and placed the muzzle under Little Elk’s nose. The boy’s eyes crossed, staring at the barrel. He trembled and perspiration dripped off his chin.
“I..I hid it.” He stammered.
“Yeah, yeah, we know that. Where?” Bert’s voice raised with more menace.
“In… in the canteen. On..on the saddle.”
“Come on kid, you can do better than that. We searched every inch of that rig, including the canteen.” Fleming clicked back the hammer of the colt.
“Back off Bert,” Francy pleaded as she came forward. “Can’t you see how terrified he is?”
“He should be,” Bert growled.
“She’s right, Bert.” Lionel said. “He can’t think straight. Back off.”
Bert eased the hammer down and stepped back. Francy stepped in and stooped in front of the boy. “Just calm down a little. Think carefully and tell us where you hid the stone.”
“I did hide it in the canteen, but not on the black horse.” Little Elk explained meekly “I had crawled out of the river bottom and found my horse and the black on the river bank. When I heard the army man coming, I put the stone in
the canteen on my horse and then ran back into the reeds where I had been hiding. The other men didn’t find me there during the night, so I thought he wouldn’t find me either.” He glared at Pearson. I didn’t know the stone was protecting me. I should have kept it and he never would have found me either.”
Thorpe and Fleming looked at each other, satisfaction creeping across their faces. It really was true. The stone did have protective powers, incredible as it may seem.
“When the army man dragged me out of the river and took me to the horses, I climbed on the big black so he would not find the stone.” The boy continued.
“That’s fine, boy.” Pearson said. “You did just fine.”
“You won’t kill True Arrow then?” The boy pleaded.
Thorpe smiled thinly. “No boy, I won’t kill him.” He glanced at Jack, a threatening glint in his eye. Clayton knew what he meant was, he wasn’t going to kill him right now, but he would later on.
“Promise?” The boy demanded.
“Oh, yes. I promise.” Lionel chuckled. Jack said nothing. Thorpe knew full well that Jack understood.
“Pearson,” Thorpe said. “Take Latrell with you and go back to where you found the kid. Find that horse and get that stone.”
“What if the kid’s lying and it isn’t there.” Pearson asked.
“Then as soon as you get back, if you don’t have it I’ll just have to kill them all. Now get going and get back here pronto.”
“Right!” Pearson answered. “We’re on it.” He picked up his hat from the table and hurried through the door way, pulling the plank door shut behind him.
“I hope you’re telling the truth, kid,” Fleming warned. “You heard what the man said would happen if they come back without the stone and we find you had lied to us.”
“If they find the horse, they will find it. I tell the truth.” Little Elk spat the words defiantly.
Fleming chuckled. “I hope so, kid.” Then turning to Thorpe, “What’ll we do with this galoot while we wait?”
“Tie him up until Pearson and Latrell get back and keep him here with a gun on him. Don’t leave him alone. I want no slip ups. No chance of him getting out of here. Now,I want to alert the men as to what is going on I’ll be right back.” He opened the door and walked out.
“All right, G-Man.” Fleming kicked another chair out from under the table. “Sit down!” He shoved Clayton into it. The chair legs scraped on the rock floor as it slid backward with the impact of Jack’s body.
“Francy,” Bert ordered. “Get the rest of the rope and tie him like the others.”
The girl hurried to a corner and retrieved half a length of rope. The rest of it had been cut off to bind the other two captives who now sat facing The G-Man sitting in his chair.
Expertly, she wound the rope around Clayton’s arms and muscular body. Luckily or perhaps not so luckily the first strand fitted above and the second strand fitted below the pistol still hidden beneath Jack’s shirt. Jack stiffened his body. He had expected her to find it, but she hadn’t. She worked quickly with professional skill as she pulled Clayton’s arm through the vertical slats of the chair back and wrapped the rope around his wrists tightly. Jack grimaced and grunted as she pulled the binding tight and dug into his flesh. “There. That should hold you.” She stepped away and faced him. “I still think you are an extraordinary man. You don’t die easily.”
“Your faith in me, Miss Jones is overwhelming.” Jack said, a hint of smile on his face and a slight nod.
“Oh for Pete’s sakes, Francy. You got a thing for this guy?” Bert said with annoyance and a hint of jealousy.
“ Of course not, Bert. You know he’s only our ticket to a wealthy life. You know you’re the only one I care about.” Her voice grew soft and her lashes flashed coyly as she moved around him, coming close and raising her arms to clasp them around his neck and half turning him away from Jack. He smiled and reached his arms around her and pulled her close, lips almost touching, their breath on each other’s face. Suddenly, his eyes widened then closed as his knees buckled, sagging him into a heap on the floor.
Clayton stood over him, pistol still held high after rendering a crushing blow to the back of Fleming’s head. Fleming’s pistol was now in his left hand as he had plucked it from his holster as he fell. The girl had stepped back to let him fall, a smirk of self satisfaction on her face.
“Mind telling me what this is all about?” Jack demanded with a mix of annoyance and appreciation.
“He thought I was working with him, but I wasn’t. Rudy knew he was mixed up in this and had me play along to find out just what was coming down. “Bert knew who you were all the time back on the Union Belle. He had expected a hired assassin to kill Rudy, and when you showed instead, he knew things had gone wrong.”
“They did. I killed his man.”
“I was sure you had.” She acknowledged glumly, then added. “Rudy’s orders were to stick with him to get the goods on Thorpe, if it were Thorpe and whoever else might be involved. We didn’t know about Pearson or anyone else for that matter. Thorpe has big contacts in Washington who also want the Indian’s land. Rudy thinks there is a wide scale conspiracy.”
“I do too,” Jack agreed. “Someone has known every move I have made for quite some time. Somehow, Thorpe and Fleming knew I was on the way to Fort Lincoln to find out something about that arms affair I was involved with in Texas last month.” He was referring to the foray he had with Alexander “Lucky” King who also had contacts in high places. “Thorpe sent the would be assassin after me first before he was to get Rudy”
Bert started to move and moaned.
“We can talk about this later,” Jack said tuning to look at the prostrate man on the floor. “We’d better take care of your friend here.” He squatted behind the awaking man and pulled Bert’s bandanna loose from his neck, pulled him to a half sitting position and wrapped the bandanna around Bert’s head with the cloth bound tightly across his open mouth. Fleming was still in a stupor and offered no resistance. Clayton pulled the man’s hand behind him and reached the loose rope still lying on the floor where he had left it after escaping from his chair. “Untie Little Elk and White Fawn while I tie this jasper up. I’ll tie him better than you did me.” Jack said as he worked at the bonds. “You made it look convincing to your friends when drew the rope so tight it hurt me. Then when you didn’t tie the knot, I was totally confused. But, I am a man who plays along.”
“I counted on that,” Francy chuckled.
Fleming was just coming to, when Jack finished binding his hands and legs behind him leaving him bent in a sort of reverse fetal position. “Sorry, Bert” Jack said as he pistol whipped the man again He rolled limp on the floor.
Francy quickly freed the two captives of their bonds and they had risen from their chairs and were rubbing their wrists and legs, trying to restore circulation.
“True Arrow,” Little Elk called excitedly as his ran to Clayton and wrapped his arms about the G-Man’s waist. “I’ve got to tell you!” He sounded desperate.
“Tell me what?” Jack answered.
“I lied! I Lied!”
“What about?’ Jack was confused.
“The stone. They will not find it. I didn’t hide it in the horse’s canteen.”
“No? Where did you hide it?” Jack pushed the boy back a step and held him at arm’s length.
“I didn’t.” Little Elk said ashamedly. “I lost it. I…I must have lost it in the river.”
So, Jack thought, the stone didn’t have any magical protective powers after all. Jack never believed it anyways. How could Thorpe and his cohorts have been so stupid? “Then it was not the stone that saved you in the river.”
“No. I didn’t even know it was supposed to. White Fawn never told me what the stone was. The army man found me where I had floated into the reeds. When he brought me out, it was for the first time. The stone was already gone. They will kill us when the army man gets back.”
“Well,
we were already in a spot anyways. There’s too many guards for us to fight. I don’t know if it is possible, but we’ve got to find a way out of here or at least hide until we can sneak away after dark. They’ll be looking for us, especially after Pearson and Latrell return with the news. They should be back in about two hours and it’s a good five hours before dark.”
****
Chapter Twenty
Escape to Nowhere