The Enchanted Land Read online

  “She won’t. We’ll just tell her she better not.”

  “I’m with ya. Who goes first?”

  “Let’s flip for it.”

  Morgan heard a low chuckle and then, “Damn!”

  “You hold her and I’ll stick her.” The voices were very near.

  Morgan turned over quickly to look into the two leering faces. She managed a gasp, before a hand closed over her mouth and then another held her two hands. She began to kick as she felt other hands on her ankles, then sliding up her legs to her thighs.

  “Skinny little thing, ain’t she?” Both men chuckled greedily.

  Then, just as her skirts were tossed over her head, her legs were released and she felt something heavy fall across her right leg, below the knees.

  “You didn’t have no call to hurt Ben,” whined one of the men. “We was just gonna have a little fun. We wasn’t hurtin’ nobody.”

  “Let her go.”

  Morgan was humiliated to her soul. Why was she lying here, pinned to the ground, her body exposed to men she hated?

  When Joe released her, she immediately pulled her skirts from her face and covered her legs.

  Joe grabbed Ben and dragged him away from her. As Ben began to recover his senses, Cat Man jerked both of them in front of him by the fire. Although Cat Man was very slim, he had a great deal of power in his spare frame.

  “Now listen to me, you two, and listen good. This woman is a present to Boss, and Boss doesn’t want leavings. I want her untouched and I want her treated with respect. If I leave her here for you to guard, that’s what I expect you to do. Is that clear to you two thickheads?”

  “Yes, Cat Man.” Their voices were contrite. “We didn’t know she was a present. You didn’t tell us.”

  Cat Man’s lithe body relaxed, and he smiled that strange, malignant smile of his. “Well, boys, now that you know, don’t forget it. Now get me somethin’ to eat.”

  “Yes, Cat Man, yes.” They stumbled against one another in their attempts to obey.

  Cat Man walked to Morgan. “They won’t bother you now.”

  Morgan was beside herself with rage. “What gives you the right to give me as a ‘present’ to anyone? I’m not something you can own.” She kept her teeth clenched, trying to control her anger.

  Cat Man looked at her in puzzlement for a few seconds and then laughed his peculiar laugh. It flashed through her mind that he worked at it, that he tried to look and sound like a cat.

  He said quietly, “You are a woman—something to be owned, something to be bought and used. You’ll make a pretty little ornament for Boss.” He turned and left her before she could reply. “Give her some beans, Joe.”

  Joe brought her a plate of pinto beans, but she could hardly eat, because anger had made a lump in her throat. She climbed back under the covers to resume her sleep.

  The next thing she felt was a hand on her shoulder, shaking her awake. She smiled as she thought of Seth and snuggled under the covers again. It wasn’t even morning yet, sc why was Seth trying to wake her? A hand on the side of her breast made her eyes fly open, and she looked into Ben’s grinning, vacant face. His eyes were glittering. She shivered and jerked away from him.

  As she sat up, she realized that the shoulder of her dress was torn at the seam, and as she looked at it she remembered the previous night’s happenings. Joe and Ben watched her as she rolled up her blankets, as Seth had taught her, and strapped them to her horse.

  I must keep my sanity through this, she thought. I must remember Trahern House and Kentucky and… Seth. Yes, Seth. She clung to her image of him.

  They rode hard all day, stopping only once to water and rest the horses. Morgan splashed her face and hands. The water was so cool and good after the long, hot days. She was less sore than she had been the day before, but the insides of her thighs were raw from the saddle.

  “Let’s go.”

  “Ah, Cat Man, why do we have to keep runnin’? There ain’t nobody followin’ us.”

  “Yeah, I’m gettin’ tired. What you say me or Ben go back a ways and see if we see anybody, and then if we do, we’ll kill ’em?”

  Morgan gasped and put the back of her hand to her mouth.

  “Looks like the woman thinks somebody is following us.” They all turned to stare at her standing by the water. “Who do you think is following us? Couldn’t be that old man, and the young one didn’t seem to care if we took you or not. Ben, here, near killed the one on watch, or did you finish the job, Ben?”

  “I don’t know, didn’t look to find out.” Ben smiled at Cat Man.

  “Well, then the only one left is this husband of yours. He was away, but I don’t think there were other men with him—too small a train. If someone had taken my woman, I don’t think I’d go miles in the opposite direction trying to get help. No, I guess I’d ride out for her myself. Is that what you’d do boys?”

  Ben and Joe grinned idiot smiles at him.

  “So, little lady, I figure there’s only one man following us, and I reckon the three of us can take him on. You agree, boys? Tonight we’ll stop early, and one of you can ride back a ways and see if you can find this husband of hers.”

  When she again mounted her horse, Morgan had something to worry about besides her own problems. She prayed that they wouldn’t be able to find Seth. She never even questioned her certainty that Seth was following.

  In the late afternoon they rode over a ridge to see a little adobe house nestled against the back of a hill. It was the first adobe house Morgan had ever seen, and she wondered at the flat roof. In Kentucky, the rain and snow would eat through the roof in a few years. Yet this house had the look of having been there for a long time.

  As they stopped to look down at the house, a woman came out the side door, gathered an armload of wood from a pile, and carried it back inside the house.

  “Cat Man! Maybe we can have a little fun with that one, huh?”

  Cat Man smiled at Joe. “Let’s go see if maybe they’ll give us something to eat.”

  Ben grinned. “Yeah … and then the woman.”

  As they started their horses down the steep hill, Cat Man turned toward Morgan and gave her a malevolent look that she knew was a warning.

  “Good afternoon, ma’am.” Cat Man’s voice seemed kind as he called out to the other woman, and Morgan looked at her with wonder when she showed no fear of the four strangers.

  The woman was usually more cautious of strangers, but since they had a woman with them, she relaxed.

  “Afternoon.” She smiled at them timidly.

  “Who is it, Meg?” A man came to the door. He also showed fear for a few seconds, until he saw Morgan. Then he smiled. “We don’t get many visitors up here, so we have to be pretty cautious.” Morgan saw the rifle in his hand. She glanced at Ben, who had moved his hand to his sidearm.

  “Won’t you come in and set a spell? Meg can rustle up some grub, and you can tell us any news. We don’t get out of here very often.”

  “Well, that’s right neighborly of you. We sure appreciate that.” Cat Man’s voice sounded sincere. He got off his horse, and then helped Morgan from hers. Again he flashed her a warning look.

  After the four of them had washed at a small stream, they sat down at a large table covered with the strangest food Morgan had ever seen. She wondered how anyone could have prepared so much food so fast, until she realized that each dish had the same basis—a red sauce and pinto beans.

  In spite of her situation, she enjoyed the food. Her favorite was a roll made of a kind of corn bread, but very flat and thin, wrapped around a mound of mashed pinto beans. It was covered with onions and the thick, hot, chili sauce, and then sprinkled with white cheese.

  “This is very good,” she murmured.

  Cat Man laughed. “My wife,” he watched her intently lest she contradict him, “is new to this country and our food.”

  Don’t trust him! she wanted to scream to these people, these generous people who offered him hospitalit
y.

  “You sure can cook good, ma’am,” Ben said. He pushed his plate away, having filled it three times.

  Morgan helped the woman clear the table, and as they went to the end of the room where the washtub stood, she tried to manage a way to warn the woman. But she constantly felt Cat Man’s eye on her. Maybe they’ll just go away, maybe they won’t hurt them, she offered a silent prayer.

  When the dishes were done, she returned to where the others were sitting and smoking home-rolled cigarettes. Cat Man pulled a chair close to his own, smiled at Morgan, and patted the seat of the chair. To all the world it must have looked like a loving gesture between a husband and wife. With her back to the others, she allowed her face to show all the hate she felt for him. That secretive, catlike smile never faltered.

  “Where was it you said you was headed?” the man asked Cat Man.

  Before Cat Man could answer, Morgan saw Ben look at him with questioning brows. Cat Man nodded slightly toward him, and Morgan gripped the arms of the chair until her knuckles were white. If it was going to start, it would be now.

  In an instant, Ben’s arm reached out and grabbed the woman, Meg, around her ample waist. She was a large, strong woman, and she began to fight Ben with success.

  Her husband reacted instantly, quickly crossing the room to his rifle. The second his fingertips touched the rifle barrel, a shot exploded beside Morgan, and she saw him crumple. Ben and Joe stopped to stare at the man lying in the corner. Meg jerked free and ran to him.

  “John, John,” she whimpered.

  “I’m all right, Meg.” His eyes caught hers, and motioned to the rifle at his side.

  “Touch the rifle, and he won’t live another minute.” Cat Man had dropped the fake-sincere voice and returned to the lower, sly voice Morgan knew so well. “I didn’t mean to kill him. I thought he might like to watch the boys here in action.”

  Both John and Meg looked at Cat Man with horrified eyes. Morgan whispered, “No, no.”

  Cat Man turned to her. “Sit!” he ordered, “unless you want to see them both dead.”

  Shaking with fear, she sat down again, turning her head to the wall.

  “She’s yours, boys,” Cat Man said with a sneer.

  As Joe and Ben advanced on Meg, she began to scream. John raised himself up, holding his bleeding thigh, and started again for the rifle.

  Ben kicked the rifle away and then started to kick John.

  “No!” Cat Man told him. “Tie him up and gag him—so he can watch.”

  At the sound of tearing cloth, Morgan jerked her head around to see Meg’s large body exposed. Ben held her arms, while Joe fondled her large, sagging breasts and turned to grin at Cat Man.

  John writhed under the ropes and gag, but his eyes remained fixed on his wife. Meg stopped fighting and stood as if she were made of stone, staring at the ceiling.

  Morgan couldn’t stand it any longer. “No,” she screamed, “you can’t do this! You’re animals! Stop it!”

  Cat Man slapped her hard against the mouth. “Shut up, or I’ll let them have you,” he growled.

  He sat down and pulled Morgan into his lap, putting a thin hand across her forehead, holding her head toward the sight of Ben and Joe holding the woman. “Look,” his voice was soft. “Look at what I’m saving you from.”

  Ben roughly lowered the woman onto a rag rug. Morgan looked away, but it was difficult with Cat Man holding her head in his steely grip.

  Joe pulled his pants down and mounted the woman. Morgan closed her eyes and ears to the sight. She tried not to think, but Cat Man’s rapid breath in her ear made it impossible for her to escape the reality.

  “Me next.” Ben’s voice was as excited as a five-year-old’s.

  As Joe left the woman and Ben removed his pants, Morgan looked at Meg, her head turned away from her husband, staring at the wall by Cat Man’s feet. Her eyes were glazed, like a dead person’s.

  When Ben gleefully climbed on top of the prostrate woman, Cat Man’s hand stole to Morgan’s right breast and began to fondle and knead it. She tried to pull away, but his iron grip held her.

  “Like a rabbit! You finished faster’n a rabbit,” Joe laughed at Ben.

  Joe’s ugly jeer made Cat Man drop his hand. His breathing returned to normal. Morgan jumped from his lap. He grabbed at her, catching her skirt and tearing it at the waist. He smiled at her, narrowing his eyes.

  “Ben, look for any money and pack some food.”

  “I was thinkin’ about goin’ agin.” He looked down at the nude woman on the floor. She hadn’t moved since they had put her there. Ben turned at a sound from John, and Morgan saw his eyes were pleading. She knew that John’s look of entreaty was more likely to encourage their cruelty than to stop it.

  Morgan grabbed a quilt from the back of a chair and covered Meg, and then put her arms under Meg’s shoulders to lift her up. It was like holding a rag doll. Tears sprang to Morgan’s eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she whispered to the unresponding woman.

  “Leave her alone. We got to go. Ben, you find any clothes to fit…” He looked at Morgan and grinned. “I don’t even know your name.”

  She wanted these people to know their names, his name as well as hers. In a cold voice, she said, “It’s Morgan, Cat Man.” Perhaps this would help Seth to find her.

  His eyes shifted to the man on the floor at his feet. He knew why Morgan has used his name. It didn’t matter to him. He liked people to know who he was. He liked it when his name caused fear in people’s eyes.

  “Find some clothes for Morgan,” he called, his eyes never leaving hers.

  “What about these?” Ben held up a pair of boy’s jeans and a plaid shirt. Joe held a pair of boots.

  “Good, I think they’ll do real well. Now go outside and get the horses ready. I’ll be out in a minute.”

  “Can’t we see the little girl put the clothes on?” Ben whined.

  “No! Now go do as I say.” The two men hurried to obey.

  When they were gone, Cat Man turned back to Morgan. “Now get dressed.”

  Reading her reluctance correctly, Cat Man quickly drew his gun and shot close to the head of the man against the wall. He hardly even looked where he was shooting. Meg, at Morgan’s feet, turned her head to look at her husband, but she did not move otherwise.

  Morgan began to remove her clothes. When she was totally naked, she stood straight up to stare at Cat Man, who was holding the clothes she was to put on.

  Cat Man had seen her nude before, but now that he saw her body in daylight, he began to regret his decision to give her to Boss Martin. Her skin was flawless, her waist so small, and the curve of her hips made him ache to touch her.

  Cat Man tossed the clothes to Morgan. “Put these on—fast.”

  The pants and shirt were made for a young boy, and were too small on Morgan’s curvaceous body. The pants fit over her hips and legs like a second skin, and the shirt strained across her breasts. It was one more cause for misery. How much longer could she bear this?

  Seth had been tracking them for three days. He knew they were traveling fast, because he had found only one campfire in the three days. For a while he seemed to have lost their trail. Now he looked down on a cabin nestled against a hill. There were animals in pens around the place, but no sign of human life. Cautiously, Seth made his way down the hill toward the adobe house.

  A rifle shot rang out, and Seth felt it whiz by, close to his left ear. Quickly, he turned his horse and was soon out of sight of the house.

  He had followed the trail of Cat Man and Morgan to this cabin, and he meant to find out what they knew about his wife. He decided to wait until dark before going to the cabin again. He found a circle of piñon trees that gave privacy and shelter, and he stretched out on the fragrant needles to obtain some long-needed sleep.

  When he awoke, the moon was high, and gave eerie shadows to the trees and shrubs around him. Quietly and stealthily, he made his way down the ridge to the back of the little house. A
bout fifty yards from the woodpile, he tied his horse and then approached the house. He didn’t know how many people were in the cabin, and he didn’t want to take the chance of walking into a hostile group.

  As he ran to the woodpile, he heard a noise from the door and watched to see a tall, slim man open the door slightly and look out. Holding a rifle in front of him, he limped slowly to the woodpile, looking around constantly.

  When he seemed satisfied that he was alone, he propped the rifle against the stack of wood and began to fill his arms.

  Seth sprang over the mound of cut logs, and before the man could even turn, Seth had a gun in his ribs and one powerful arm around the man’s neck.

  “Don’t hurt us, mister. We been hurt enough,” the man pleaded.

  “I have no cause to hurt you. I just want to ask some questions. Did three men come by here just recently, with a woman?”

  Before the man could answer, the door to the cabin opened. Both men turned toward the sound.

  “John … John, are you all right?” Her voice was full of fear.

  When she made out her husband’s form in the moonlight, and then Seth’s much larger form holding him, she screamed and began crying hysterically, incoherently.

  “Let me go to her. I’ll answer your questions, but just let me go to her.”

  Seth released the man, and he went to comfort his wife. As he held her in his arms, he looked up at Seth, his face sad.

  “I don’t mean you any harm,” Seth said quietly. “I’m just trying to find my wife.”

  John nodded his head. “The little blond woman?”

  “Have you seen her?” Seth’s voice was jubilant.

  “Meg, it’s all right.” John’s hand stroked his wife’s hair. “He’s not here to hurt us. Why don’t you go inside, and I’ll be in in a minute?”

  Sobbing, Meg went back into the house, and John shut the door behind her.

  “Yesterday, about sundown, three men rode up. They had the woman with them.” His hands were clenched into fists at his sides.

  “Did they give you any idea where they were going?”

  “No.” Seth could not help but wonder at the hatred in the man’s voice.