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Episode Eleven concluded with:
Lila
dismounted, tied up her horse, and walked toward the flicker of red that came
from the cave entrance. Suddenly, the young woman stopped. She thought she had
heard something. She stood still and listened. Her horse nickered and small
critters made scampering sounds in nearby bushes. The woman inhaled deeply. “I
have to stay calm,” she whispered to herself. “There’s too much at stake.”
With a sense of determination, Lila Tantrall calmed her jitters
and entered the cave.
Episode Twelve
Rory
Kagan walked briskly toward her and the two young people embraced. Their coming
together seemed more an act of desperation and exhaustion than romantic
attachment. Both of them seemed to sense this situation as they slowly broke
away from one another.
“Our
families aren’t trying to kill each other,--yet!” Rory said. “Besides that I
ain’t…” Rory paused, then tried again with better grammar, “I have no news to
report.”
“I
do,” Lila replied. “But I don’t know if it’s good or bad.”
“Oh.”
“Father
has hired a detective. Rance Dehner. He is with the Lowrie Agency in Dallas.
Father wants him to find out who is behind the murder of the Ashley family and
the vandalism wreaked on the homesteaders.”
“Vandalism?”
“All
the destruction, barn burnings, fences being pulled down, that sort of thing.”
“Oh,
yeah. Sure.” Rory’s worries extended
beyond the possibility of a land war. Would this educated, refined young woman
become fed up with his farm boy ways?
Lila
was unaware of Rory’s anxieties over his lack of education. “Do you think your
dad will be impressed? I mean, hiring a detective certainly shows that my
father is not responsible for all the terrible crimes that have been taking
place.”
Rory
began to pace about the cave as he scratched his head. “Sounds sensible enough,
but pa don’t cotton much to common sense these days. Maybe he’ll see straight
on this, but I don’t think so.”
The
young man gave a joyless laugh that bounced off the walls of the cave as if it
were mocking him. “I hope this Rance fella is a better detective than us.
Remember our big dream about findin’ the real owlhoots and turnin’ them in to
the law?”
The two young people stood apart, both feeling
the disappointment of their failed idealism. Then they once again embraced,
clinging to each other tightly as their lips came together.
“My,
my, ain’t that sweet!”
The
couple hastily broke apart. Standing near the cave entrance were two men with
hoods over their heads and guns in their hands.
Rory
kept one arm around Lila as he snapped at the intruders. “What are you doin’
here?!”
The
outlaw who had spoken laughed, “Why, I thought you’d be right glad to see us.”
“What
do you mean?”
A
note of amusement stayed in the outlaw’s voice. He was thin, with two buttons
missing from his red shirt. “You two was
talkin’ ‘bout findin’ out who was doin’ all the killin’ and burnin’.” He raised
his gun a little higher. “Well, now ya found them.”
Tomorrow:
Episode Thirteen of Night Riders
