Free The Loner: The Blood of Renegades by J. A. Johnstone Page B

crescent hanging in the western sky when they stopped again. For the past hour they had been following the railroad through rugged, humpbacked hills. When they came to a dry wash that cut through those hills, Conrad called a halt.
    “I don’t want to try to get the buggy through that wash until we can see better. Those banks can be tricky. We don’t want to bust a wheel or an axle. Besides, the horses can use some rest again.”
    “So can I,” Selena said.
    Conrad and Arturo picketed the horses to make sure the animals didn’t stray. While they were tending to that chore, Conrad suddenly smelled smoke and turned to see that Selena had gathered some broken greasewood branches and kindled a fire. The flames leaped brightly.
    “What are you doing?” he asked as he strode over to the fire. The sharp tone of his voice made Selena look up in surprise.
    “Why, I thought you and Arturo might like some coffee this morning,” she said. “Besides, it’s a little chilly again.”
    “Yes, but you didn’t even try to hide that fire.” Conrad started kicking dirt on the flames, causing Selena to gasp and move back hurriedly.
    “What are you doing?”
    “Putting it out so Leatherwood won’t be able to follow it right to us.” Conrad glanced off toward the flats east of them. “That is, if he hasn’t already seen it.”
    “But I thought you said he’d be a long way behind us.”
    “You can see these hills for a long way out there,” Conrad told her. “If Leatherwood pushed his men hard during the day yesterday and rode on through the night, he could be close enough behind us to have spotted that fire.”
    “Oh, my God,” Selena breathed. “I’m sorry, Conrad. I didn’t even think of that. I . . . I just wanted to do something nice for the two of you.”
    “Chances are he didn’t see it. The fire was pretty small, and it didn’t burn for very long. But there’s no point in running that risk when we don’t have to. I’ll build a fire pit from some rocks. That way we can have coffee and some hot food without giving away where we are.”
    “You’re right. Of course you’re right. From now on I won’t do anything like that without asking you about it first.”
    Conrad went back to the horses, and when he was finished with them he built that fire pit, stacking up rocks in a ring until he could start a blaze inside it without the flames being seen. Arturo took over from there, boiling coffee and frying some hotcakes and bacon. After the hectic, dangerous day-and-a-half they’d had, it felt mighty good to sit and eat and wash the food down with hot coffee.
    “Before the day is over, we’ll be in Nevada,” Conrad said. “Might even find a town by then and get you on the train. There should be a westbound along sometime today.”
    “I can’t thank you and Arturo enough for everything you’ve done,” Selena said. “If not for the two of you, Leatherwood and his men would have taken me back to—”
    Conrad held up a hand to stop her. He lifted his head and listened intently. He had heard something out of place, like the stealthy scrape of boot leather on rocky ground. He dropped his plate and started to his feet. His hand streaked to his gun. As the Colt came out of the holster, men appeared in the gray dawn light, surrounding the camp and leveling rifles at him and Arturo.
    “Don’t move!” a voice rasped. “Drop that gun, mister.”
    “Please, Conrad,” Selena said, sending a shock through him as she went on, “Do what he tells you.”
    The man who had given the order chuckled. “Yeah, you better listen to my wife, mister.”
    Slowly, Conrad turned his head to look over his shoulder at Selena. She had drawn a small pistol from under that loose man’s shirt she wore, and had the gun pointed at him.
    “Well, hell,” Conrad said.

Chapter 14
     
    “Starting that fire wasn’t just a thoughtless accident,” Conrad went on. “It was a signal.”
    The gun in Selena’s hand didn’t waver as