Free For Honor’s Sake by Connie Mason Page A

out his name, “Delgado, damn you!”
    Rod, an expert in tracking his prey, even in the dark, abruptly came upon the wagon parked just off the trail in the chaparral. At first he saw no sign of life, but then the struggles being waged in the wagon bed caught hs attention and he slithered along the ground stealthily until, with a tremendous roar of outrage, he flung himself upon the man laboring above the inert form of the woman beneath him. Intense rage added to Rod’s already considerable strength as he lifted Kelly’s huge frame and tossed him effortlessly from the wagon, falling upon him with a vengeance. The only thing that saved Kelly’s life was a muffled groan coming from the wagon bed. Fearing that Julie might be badly injured, Rod left Kelly lying on the ground more dead than aliveand rushed to the aid of his wife.
    Julie lay unmoving amidst the tattered remnants of her torn clothing, her bruised body pale in the filtered moonlight. Acting swiftly, Rod retrieved the blanket roll from the back of his saddle and tenderly wrapped it about her chilled flesh, murmuring soothing words meant to console her. When he spied the smeared blood between Julie’s outstretched thighs his gentle words turned to loud curses, all evidence pointing to her brutal ravishment by Brute Kelly. A growl of outrage tore through his throat as he turned from his wife, fully intending to finish off the despicable raper of innocent virgins.
    But when Rod turned back to where he left Kelly lying on the ground, he was startled to find that the man had roused himself sufficiently to crawl off into the shadows and disappear while Rod had been busy tending Julie. Another moan coming from the wagon bed dissuaded him from giving chase and he hurried back to his wife’s side to find her coming out of her swoon, wide-eyed with fright.
    Kneeling by her side, he tenderly gathered her shaking form in his arms. “You’re safe,
querida
,” he crooned softly, rocking her back and forth like a hurt child. “No one will harm you again. I’ll take care of you.”
    Julie’s fuzzy brain registered the fact that a man she had never thought to see again was holding her in his arms, whispering words of comfort and love. If she was dreaming she wished never to awaken. “Rod?” she managed to croak. “Is it really you? How …? I don’t understand how—”
    “I’ll answer all your questions later,” he quickly assured her. “After I get you back to the boarding house. Will you be all right in the back of the wagon?” Julie nodded, too stunned and bruised to speak.
    Rod wasted no time in tying the reins of his own horse to the back of the wagon, pulling himself onto the seatand driving as fast as the darkness and Julie’s comfort allowed. It was nearly dawn when finally he carried a sleeping Julie into the house.
    Three people immediately rushed up to greet him. “Thank God, you’ve found her,” Mae breathed, heaving a great sigh of relief. “Is … is she … all right?”
    “Did that bastard hurt her?” asked Marty, her lip curled into a snarl. Wong Li stood beside Marty, silent concern etching his worn features.
    “Julie is sleeping,” Rod said quietly, cradling her inert form in his arms. “I believe she’ll be all right once she recovers from the shock. She is strong and will soon forget what that bastard did to her.” Though Rod did not put it into words, his meaning was all too clear.
    “Oh, no!” uttered Mae softly, the back of her hand muffling the sound. “How could he? How could he hurt a sweet innocent thing like that?”
    Marty exploded into a tornado of fury. “I hope you killed that no good skunk,” she sputtered loudly, her face flushed with anger. “Did you make him suffer first?”
    “He got away, Marty,” Rod admitted sourly. “Julie needed immediate attention and Kelly crawled away into the darkness while my back was turned. But I can’t concern myself with him now. I must see to my wife.”
    “I’ll help