Chapter Three

Darkness had long settled over the group. Frogs and crickets filled the night with their music and Ance found that sleep simply wouldn't come. The girl wasn't sleeping... and every single time she shifted or whimpered in that damned crate he heard it and it jerked him back to alertness. 

Ance heard movement from beside the wagon and he raised his hat slightly so he could glance that way. Vern was standing at the back of the wagon and in the moonlight Ance could see the lust filled grin on his face. Vern reached into the wagon and jerked the girl up by her arm. Her brown eyes were wide and her face pale as he tossed her in the dirt at his feet. The gag on her mouth kept her from yelling for help as Vern undid his pants and tossed up her dress. 

Vern dropped to his knees, using his legs to pin down the girl's. Ance saw the girl's eyes fill with raw terror just as Ance came up behind Vern and slid his eight inch knife across the man's neck, severing the arteries and veins and spraying blood across the girl's face and dress. 

Ance tossed Vern's body silently away and wiped his knife on his pants before turning his attention back to the girl. She was shaking like a leaf and swollen tears ran down her pale, blood splattered cheeks as she stared up at him with fearful brown eyes. 

Ance cursed under his breath. What the hell had he just done? 

With a shake of his head, he decided there wasn't a damn thing to be done about it now. He just had to take the girl and get the hell out of here before Barnaby or any of the others woke up and he had a massacre on his hands. As good as Ance was in a fight he wasn't much of a match against ten armed men in the open like this. 

Ance left the girl lying there as he grabbed up his saddle and saddle bags. He quickly readied his mare and then went back to the girl who had scooted back and was hiding halfway beneath the wagon. 

Stepping over Vern's dead body, Ance grabbed the girl, tossed her over the horse's back and hopped up behind her. Ance grumbled when she curled herself up against him. 

With a click of his tongue, Ance led his mare into the wilderness knowing he only had until dawn to put as much distance as he could between himself and a very angry Barnaby. 

Darkness had given way to the day before Ance decided to stop for a while. He really didn't have a choice. He kept drifting to sleep in the saddle and the girl had nearly toppled out several times. 

He found a shallow river that ran through a deep ravine and guided his mare down the rocky embankment. Hiding the mare beneath an overhang of bushes, Ance tossed the girl and his saddlebags over his shoulder and carried them both to a small overhanging of rock. He laid down his saddlebags and tossed the girl somewhat gently down onto the dirt. 

Ance pulled out a sack of hardtack and jerked beef as well as his canteen. He could see the hunger in the girl's eyes so he removed her gag and handed her both. 

She didn't speak, which he was grateful for; instead she simply pulled out a biscuit and nibbled on it between taking sips of water. Ance found his gaze drawn to her leg and the metal brace that covered it. He wondered what had caused the deformity... 

"I was born with a pretty leg," the girl finally spoke. Her voice was quiet, meek and raspy from so long without real use. "But I got real sick and my leg never got better. Mama said it was--" she frowned and her brow wrinkled up. "P..plol..popl.." 

"Polio," Ance grunted and she nodded as a smile curved her lips. 

"Yes, that's it."

Silence was again fell over them as Ance chewed on a piece of beef and stared at the stream. "Are you gonna hurt me?" the girl finally whispered. 

"If I was gonna hurt you, I damn sure would have done it by now," Ance informed her without sparing her a glance. "Now eat your damn food and quit talkin' or I'll put that gag back in your mouth. I enjoy the silence." 

Thankfully the girl was obedient and she gave him the silence he'd asked for as they finished their meager meal. Then she cleared her throat. "I need to... have privacy." 

Ance curled his nose. She smelled of urine and feces already--the crate had been soiled and her clothes were a mess. He nodded and pointed toward the bushes where the horse was hidden. "Go on then. But don't you wander no further than that because I won't save your life a second time." 

Ance still couldn't believe he'd risked his hide to save her life the first time! It had been a move that had been completely out of character for him. Ance didn't go around saving people--it wasn't in his nature.

The girl tried to stand but it was clear she was in pain. The blood now dried on her face stuck out in sharp contrast to the paleness of her skin as she stumbled and nearly fell on the rocks. 

Ance shot forward and caught her quickly. He grumbled under his breath. "Can't you walk?" he demanded harshly. 

"Yes..." she sucked in a shuddering breath and tears filled her eyes. "But I'm hurting real bad right now and it's too stiff...." 

"That's the last damned time I save somebody. Swear to God people are nothing but a damn hindrance," Ance muttered as he cradled the girl in his arms and carried her over to the bushes. "I trust you can do the rest yourself?" he snapped. 

"Y..yes.." the girl stammered as Ance turned his back and dug a cigar and matches from his pocket. He pushed back his hat and squinted into the rising sun until he heard her throat clear behind him and he turned to realize that she had finished. 

Ance scooped her up again and carried her back to their home for the next couple of hours. He spread out his bedroll and motioned for her to lay down. She crawled to the make-shift bed, dragging her leg behind her and curling into a ball. 

"We're going to rest here for three hours and then we have to move again," he stated. 

"Okay," she replied sleepily. 

Ance sighed and stretched out in the dirt. He put his hat over his eyes, rested his head on his hands and let himself drift off to sleep. 

***

They rode hard for the rest of the day after their nap and Ance didn't call a stop to their travels until it was nearing dark. He trusted there was enough distance between them and Barnaby for a small fire--Ance was a man who knew how to hide and knew how to keep from leaving a trail. The only way Barnaby was going to find them was strictly by chance and this country was too wide open for Ance to have much fear of that. 

They camped beside a small lake that evening and Ance managed to catch two fish using his duster coat from his saddlebags as a net. As those broiled over the fire, Ance pulled out a spare shirt and motioned for the girl to stand. 

It took her a few tries but she finally got her leg beneath her and stood up with a frown. "What?" she questioned. Ance was glad that she wasn't much of a talker.. If she had been he would have been forced to leave her somewhere by now. 

"Take your clothes off--even the underclothes--and put this on." 

"Why?" she demanded.

"Because you are dirty and you stink and I don't want to smell you." 

"You stink too," she informed him. 

Ance sniffed himself and curled his nose. "Yeah, well, I smell like dirt and sweat which is to be expected. You smell like piss, shit and blood so take your clothes off and let me wash them. I'll turn my back until you're dressed." 

Her face reddened with embarrassment but she moved to do as he asked. When she cleared her throat he turned to find her standing there in his shirt which swallowed her whole. The arms hung way past her hands and the bottom of the shirt nearly dragged the ground. "How big are you?" she asked, holding up her arms and trying to find her hands among the folds of fabric. 

"Big enough," Ance chuckled. He saw her dress lying on the ground. "What about your underclothes?" he asked, realizing she was still wearing them. 

"I can't take my brace off alone and I have to have it off to get them down all the way." the girl replied. 

Ance sighed. He crouched down and studied the contraption. It took some doing, a few curse words on his part and a lot of instructing on hers, but finally Ance pulled the brace off. 

The girl clung to him as her leg gave out and Ance winced at the whimper of pain she made. "Do you normally take something for pain?" he questioned. 

"No.. It doesn't hurt all the time. It hurts from being cramped in that crate so long." 

Ance just nodded, scooped her up once again and sat her close to the fire. "Don't let those burn," he warned, pointing at the fish. 

Ance carried her clothes to the water and grabbed the bar of lye soap he'd laid out earlier. Without a word he began to clean the blood and waste from them. He knew the girl needed a bath but he damn sure wasn't gonna help her do that... it would have to wait until he got her to Briggston and the orphanage he had in mind. 

Ance had to admit it was peaceful tonight. The girl was humming quietly enough for the sound to be awful pleasant and the crackling of the fire, splashing of water and croaking of bullfrogs helped add to the tranquility. 

"What's your name?" the girl asked, interrupting the peace. 

"Ance," he grunted. 

"Mine's Penelope." 

Ance glared over his shoulder. "I didn't ask," he grumbled. "And you're burning the fish."