Free Gold Dust by Emily Krokosz Page A

walking along the deck. They had obviously been celebrating their expected gold strikes a bit early, for their
     steps were uncertain and their voices loud and slurred
    “Lookee here!” one said. “It’s our little waiter-girl.”
    “Waitin’ fer us, I’ll bet,” the other crowed.
    “How ‘bout comin’ with us, missy! We’ll have us a time, we will!”
    One of the men reached down and grabbed Katy’s arm. She slapped him away with the same lack of concern with which she might
     swat at a pesky fly. “Take your hands and keep them where they won’t get you in trouble, friend,” she warned.
    “Whooo-eeee!” the man said with relish. “She’s got as much spit as a she-cat!”
    “That’s the way I like ‘em!” his friend exclaimed. “Come on, missy! We’ll show you a fine time. Pay ya, too.”
    Katy got slowly to her feet. At her side, the wolf regarded the men with bored yellow eyes and yawned. “If you don’t want
     to lose a good number of your ugly yellow teeth, sucker-bait, I’d be on my way.”
    “The bitch is gettin’ nasty,” one of the men observed. “I think she needs shakin’ down off’n that high horse of hers.”
    The other agreed, grinning to display the teeth Katy had so disparaged.
    Katy sighed with seeming unconcern. Yellow-teeth grabbed at her, but she pushed him away with a strong shove. The other grabbed
     her from behind. She aimed her foot backwardin a kick that would have knocked his feet from beneath him, but he anticipated her move and jerked her off-balance while
     Yellow-teeth moved in with a lecherous chuckle, his hands reaching toward her breasts.
    Jonah needed no more provocation; he burst from the shadows, full of gentlemanly ire, and grabbed the arm of the man who reached
     for Katy. The drunk whirled and sent a meaty fist in Jonah’s direction. Jonah ducked and answered with a punch to the gut
     that should have sent the man reeling, especially considering he wasn’t very steady on his feet in the first place. The man
     hesitated a moment, shook his head, then grinned and took another shot at caving in Jonah’s face. This time he connected.
     Jonah staggered back and measured his length along the deck. A shriek of pure fury split the night air.
    Jonah hiked himself up on one elbow and watched dizzily as Katy sent the point of her elbow into the gut of the wretch who
     held her. When he doubled over in pain and turned her loose, she attacked Jonah’s assailant, spun him around, and landed a
     small but effective fist in his paunch and an expert left hook to his jaw. The lecher bounced off the deck cabin bulkhead
     and groaned. His groaning buddy backed into a corner created by the cabin and a canvas-covered pile of freight. He was held
     at bay there by the wolf, who eyed him with a quiet ferocity that left no doubt of the creature’s ability to wreak mayhem
     if he were so inclined.
    Jonah looked up into Katy’s concerned face. “Are you all right?” she asked.
    He gingerly touched his nose, decided it wasn’t broken, and sighed. “Yes. I’m all right. I should have known that you of all
     females didn’t need me rushing to your rescue.”
    “It was very sweet of you.” Green eyes twinkled at him. The woman had no mercy.
    She turned back to her chagrined attackers. “Why don’t you fellows go find a corner and sleep it off. Hunter, back off.”
    Hunter stepped back, still alert. His charge inched out of the corner.
    “Go on now,” Katy urged. “Before I tell him to take a piece of your fat backside.”
    When the two rowdies were gone, Jonah got to his feet. “Jesus! That ape packs a punch.”
    “What do you expect? He outweighs you by about a hundred pounds.”
    “You’d think someone that drunk couldn’t hit what he was aiming at.”
    “He didn’t. He was aiming at your throat to knock your Adam’s apple down your windpipe. Then you wouldn’t be hurting at all,
     would you?”
    “No, he wasn’t.”
    “Yes, he was. Whatever made you