Except for their weapons, horses, and saddles, the two kidnappers had very little of value between them. Hawk dragged the bodies away from the camp, then unsaddled their horses. “If it’s all right with you,” he told her, “we’ll eat some supper and sleep here tonight. Then, in the mornin’, I’ll take you back to your family. My horse needs a rest, and maybe theirs might, too. At least, you’ll have your own horse to ride. I know your family is mighty sick about what happened to you, so we won’t waste any time gettin’ you home.” He suspected there was a good chance there might be another issue of great concern to her, so he thought to reassure her. “I won’t ask you if those men violated you, but I’ll tell your father that I rescued you before they had any chance to hurt you.”

She said nothing at first, but big tears welled up in her eyes as she nodded her thanks. Then she tearfully admitted, “The one called Luke tried to lie with me, but I fought him and he was too drunk to do anything.”

“Your father will be glad to know that you ain’t been harmed in any way,” Hawk continued. “And he’ll be happy when you bring him two good horses and saddles.” This surprised her, for she assumed that he would take all of the two men’s possessions for himself.

Finally convinced that she was safe now, she thanked him for her rescue and volunteered to take over the cooking of their meager supper, tending the sizzling meat with one hand while holding the blanket around her with the other. Amused by her attempts, he cut a three-foot length of rope from one of the kidnappers’ saddles and gave it to her to use as a sash for her robe. With both hands free, she gave him a great big smile with a nod of her head. He was sorry he didn’t have any fresh-killed game to cook, instead of his meager rations of jerky and bacon, but she seemed grateful for what he offered.

* * *