Mystic Mountains

hard. I don't care how we do it, but you're a going with me, an' that's a fact."
    "No! Help me, " she yelled, and his sweaty and sticky hand clamped over her mouth. Isabella gagged, kicking out at his legs.
    "Aw, don 't make it difficult." There was a thread of pleasure in his tone, as if he wanted her to fight. "Reg!" Using two fingers he whistled shrilly.
    A ramshackle cart pulled by a ribby pony trundled into view from where it had been concealed behind a high hedge. A young man of about sixteen, sporting a foolish grin, drove the decrepit vehicle.
    "Give us a hand, boy," Malloy ordered. He had one arm around Isabella's middle, one still covering her mouth.
    Isabella twisted and fought with all her might, using elbows and fists, lashing out with her feet. Malloy grunted under her onslaught but didn't loosen his grip. What she'd give for a knife right now. She'd not slice this man's thumb off, but put it through his evil heart.
    Ye gods! She should have gone along with her instinct and hidden a weapon in her apron pocket. But who would have thought something like this would happen here? She 'd become stupid and placid, thinking life would be all roses now she was living in the lap of luxury. What a fool! The world was full of lustful, greedy men, whether it be in the colony, aboard ship, or on the streets of London.
    "Now stop that, girlie, or I 'll have to knock you out," Malloy muttered near her ear. Isabella shuddered at the vile smell of his breath.
    The boy jumped down and reached into the bed of the cart. His high pitched giggle was at odds with his size and bulk as he tossed a piece of stinking sackcloth over her h ead. Isabella screamed, but was lifted off the ground and tossed over Reg's shoulder. "She's a real handful, dad," he said, as frantically she thumped him, kicking and screaming until her throat hurt. Reg stank as much as his father. The aroma mingled with the smell of the filthy sacking made her retch.
    "Shut your trap." Malloy whacked  her backside.
    "Let me go, you brute!" Isabella kicked harder, but her frantic efforts only made Reg laugh. When he tossed her onto the cart she landed with a thump that knocked the breath out of her. The cart rocked as Reg clambered in with her.
    "Hang onto her, Reg." Malloy chuckled, snorting as the cart rocked again when he climbed up to the front of it. "She 's a real lively piece, this one. Sit on her head if needs be. But keep her quiet, d'you hear? Bejesus, what a stroke of luck, eh? I can't believe she's fallen into me hands like a gift from above. Tiger high and mighty Carstairs is going to choke on his own spit when he finds how I've outwitted him." His crude guffaw made Isabella shudder. "Told you I'd find her sooner or later, didn't I?"
    "Yea, Dad." Reg 's weight fell across her middle. The wagon began to rumble off. Reg ran his hands up and over Isabella's body, settling on her breasts, squeezing until her eyes watered. "She's got nice round tits, Dad."
    The bile threatened to choke her. Dear God! How could they do this in the middle of the morning? Surely somebody would come to her aid. This brute and his weak-minded son couldn 't get away with kidnapping her in daylight.
    She could hear the b ustle of the town around her, and Malloy calling out to people as they passed. The noise grew louder, the stench overpowering as Reg moved about, pressing himself to her and making grunting sounds of pleasure, even while she punched and fought him.
    The cart rattled over cobbles before it came to a halt. Isabella could hear numerous accents and dialects, raucous shouts and catcalls. Her worst fears rose up to paralyze her. They were in the wharf area. Tiger had warned this was a place no self-respecting woman entered if she valued her life.
    A long-forgotten prayer entered her mind. No one would come to her aid now. Kidnappings, rapes and murders were commonplace amongst the riffraff in this part of the town. Whalers and sealers came into the bay to stock with provisions and the crews came here to brawl, drink and find women. Ships carrying goods from China, India and many other places around the world brought crews of many nationalities, and most of the men rarely got further than this area.
    God help her. How long before Thelma realized something had happened and contacted Tiger? They wouldn't know where to start looking for her. She was a long way from the doctor's house and might as well be the other side of the continent.
    Tiger Carstairs hadn 't given