Free Arizona Gold by Patricia Hagan Page A

them become ill and leave before their destination? Do you remember anyone named Kitty Parrish?”
    He might as well have hit her across the face with a war club, because Kitty was jolted so hard to hear him say her name that she actually took a few stumbling steps backward. Then, seeing how his eyes went wide at her reaction, she knew she had made a serious error and sought to cover by pretending she was about to collapse again.
    His hand shot out to catch her. “What’s wrong? Can’t you stand?”
    “I…I haven’t had anything to eat. I’m weak.” Dear God , she thought in surging panic, they were looking for me . That was why they had attacked the stage and it also explained why they had not bothered to take the strongbox or rob Rufus and Hank. But what did they want with her? And how did they know about her, anyway? Her mind began to spin, making her dizzier than she already was. Had Opal Grimes asked them to kidnap her—maybe even kill her—to keep her from getting to Tombstone? Maybe Opal had found the gold and didn’t want to share, but if that were true, why would she have written in the first place and sent half of the map? None of it made any sense.
    “It’s your own fault,” Ryder snapped. “You were offered food, and if you don’t learn to eat what you’re given from now on, you will starve.” He began to untie her wrists. “I think you’ve got sense enough not to try and run away. Now walk behind my horse.”
    Mounting, he turned to ask, “What are you called?” She thought of one of the stock tenders she had met along the way. “Billy Mingo.”
    “Very well, Billy Mingo. Keep your mouth shut when you meet my mother, because she understands and speaks English as well as I do. And if you dare sass her, I’ll give you the beating you deserve to teach you obedience. Understand?”
    “How…how long are you going to keep me here?” she stammered.
    “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”
    He started the horse forward, keeping his gait slow. Kitty tried to follow without stumbling, aware that curious faces were beginning to line the path on either side. She did not want to appear any weaker than she already had, lest they think her too scrawny for a boy. And now it was more important than ever to keep her secret.
    Kitty seethed as she plodded along behind Whitebear. Opal Grimes was responsible for her plight. Opal was the only person who had known she was on her way and when she would arrive. Well, heaven help her when she did escape, Kitty vowed, because she was going to find out exactly what was going on…and why Opal wanted her dead.
    Her head jerked up as she heard a loud, angry voice and saw a woman rushing toward Whitebear. She was wearing a dress made out of some kind of animal skin, with beads on the front and fringe along the ankle-length hem. Kitty thought she might be pretty if her face were not twisted in an angry scowl. And, oh, how she wished she knew the Apache language so she could understand what was being said. It was about her, she could tell, because the woman was looking from her to Whitebear and speaking loudly, crossly.
    “Why have you taken this boy captive?” Ryder’s mother demanded. “You, who always preach that the Chiricahua must stop the savage ways of the old world, and now you dare bring a slave.”
    Ryder knew that his mother’s reaction was motivated by the terrible memory of how his father had been captured and mistreated until he accepted his plight.
    “If I hadn’t taken him,” he endeavored to explain, “Coyotay would have, to punish him for shooting him. As it was, I had to stop him from slitting the boy’s throat.”
    “But he is too small to make a good slave. And what of the woman you were seeking? Where is she?”
    “She wasn’t on the stagecoach. I don’t have any idea where she is.” He dismounted and handed his horse over to one of the youngsters who were anxiously waiting to do the bidding of the returning warriors. “All I can do