Only 05 - Autumn Lover

flaxen-haired stranger, or she was simply too tired to run a longer path to the marsh. The Indian girl veered back, bent her head, and clung to the bundle of clothing that swaddled the baby. Her bare feet flew over the earth.
    Elyssa was close enough now to recognize a Culpepper as the closest man. Gaylord Culpepper wasn’t far behind. They were gaining at a terrifying pace.
    And the first Culpepper was aiming his rifle at the fleeing girl.
    Elyssa didn’t know she had drawn and fired her carbine until it kicked against her shoulder. She kept levering in rounds, firing as fast as she could while Leopard thundered closer and closer to the hard-running riders.
    Abruptly the Culpepper shouted, threw up his hands, and fell beneath the hooves of his mule. Gaylord barely pulled his own mule around before he trampled his kin underfoot.
    Relief and sickness roiled equally within Elyssa. She ignored both.
    As she drew alongside the running girl, Elyssa jammed the carbine back into its sheath. Still running,the Indian girl held out her baby in mute plea that it be saved even though it was too late for her own life to be spared.
    The remaining men would be on them in moments.
    Elyssa grabbed the baby and cradled it against her side with her left arm. Simultaneously she kicked free of her right stirrup and held out her right hand to the straining girl.
    “Come on!” Elyssa shouted. “Take my hand! You can’t outrun them!”
    The gesture meant more than any words. The Indian girl sprang like a cat at the stirrup.
    Somehow Elyssa managed to hang on to the girl long enough for her to gain a foothold in the stirrup. She crouched with one foot in the stirrup and clung to the saddle horn with both hands.
    Elyssa turned Leopard and sent him toward the marsh at a dead run.
    Shots peppered the ground around them. It was only a matter of time until the raiders brought down the fleeing stallion.
    With one arm Elyssa supported the Indian girl as she clung precariously to the saddle. Elyssa’s other arm cradled the bundle of rags protectively against her body, shielding the helpless baby from bullets in the only way she could.
    “Hang on!” Elyssa said fiercely. “No matter what, hang on!”
    If the Indian girl understood, she said nothing. Her eyes were dazed, exhausted. Her face was livid with bruises.
    Leopard thundered toward the marsh without slowing down, no matter how rough the going. A quick glance back told Elyssa that Gaylord Culpepper was no more than three hundred feet away. He was riding easy in thesaddle, taking his time as he sighted down the barrel of his rifle.
    From the corner of her eye Elyssa saw Ladder S riders burst from the marsh almost a mile away. Bugle Boy was in the lead, running as though fleeing hell, narrowing the distance between Hunter and the raiders with gigantic strides.
    Hunter’s rifle was in his hands. He rode like a centaur, firing as he came.
    The range was too great for accuracy from the back of a racing horse. Elyssa knew it, just as she knew it was all Hunter could do until he got closer.
    And by then, Gaylord would have picked off the two women with the ease of a man shooting fish in a barrel.
    A shot came from the marsh just ahead and to the right of Elyssa. A split second later, a shot from behind her whipped by so close that she saw dust leap from the ground just to the left of Leopard’s flying hooves.
    Suddenly Leopard was into the marsh’s tawny embrace. Catlike, the stud hurtled down a narrow, mudcaked trail. Elyssa dragged the horse to a jolting stop just as the other girl’s strength gave out. The girl fell to the ground in a tattered heap of clothing.
    The sounds of firing erupted behind Elyssa in ragged volleys. Leopard stood calmly, breathing hard. Elyssa kicked free of the stirrups and slid off, holding the baby in one arm and her carbine in the other.
    The Indian girl made a ragged noise and held out her hands. Elyssa bent and handed the baby to its mother. Then a noise from deeper in the marsh made Elyssa spin around, carbine leveled and ready to fire.
    The Indian girl made a sharp sound and tried to rise, but her strength was gone.
    “Easy, Sassy,” said a voice from the reeds. “It’s Case.”
    Elyssa felt as though the world had been lifted fromher shoulders. She made a hoarse sound of relief and pointed the carbine barrel at the sky.
    Case emerged from the marsh carrying a rifle.
    The Indian girl seemed to recognize him. Slowly she relaxed and began crooning