WHERE THERE`S LIFE...
In all her born days, Kate didn`t know when she`d ever seen such a filthy-looking crew.
The unprepossessing trio had suddenly topped a rise and then sat there on their horses,
watching Kate and Jason approach. And, more to the point, effectively cutting off Kate and
Jason`s route back to San Antone. As her horse and Jason`s had plodded toward the three,
she`d been able to distinguish them more clearly.
Unshaven, they looked as though they hadn`t bathed in weeks. Dirt caked on their clothes;
their hair, what she could see of it, was matted and greasy. The middle one of the trio
grinned at her. The other two stared solemnly at her. Each of those two held a six-shooter
in his hand; the grinning one cradled a Winchester in his arms.
She glanced at Jason. He gave a barely perceptible shake of his head and, with a gentle
tug, reined in his pony. Then he sat back, apparently serene, watching the three approach.
She`d known him too many years, though, to be fooled. A slight twitching at the corner of
his mouth betrayed his concern. The trio nonchalantly moseyed toward them.
"Well, now," said the fellow with the Winchester, bringing his mount to a halt
a few feet in front of Kate but addressing Jason, "isn`t this a pleasant
surprise?"
A large man, well over six feet and brawny but starting to run to fat, his belly
noticeably bulged over his belt. He gestured toward the man on his left, a short, squat,
walleyed, older man. "That`s Walleye. Say howdy, Walleye."
Walleye spat tobacco juice through a missing incisor. The stream almost hit her horse`s
foreleg. "Howdy."
The spokesman and evidently leader of the three then gestured toward the remaining member
of the trio. "That`s Carlos. Nice fellow. Most of the time. But he can get real
nasty. Likes the ladies, though. Sometimes acts like a Mexican, sometimes like a Comanche.
That`s because he`s half and half. Say howdy, Carlos."
The half-breed, fondling his pistol, leaned forward in his saddle and suddenly showed his
white teeth in a feral grin. "Si. Buenos dias, senor." Grin broadening, he
squinted at Kate and ran his tongue along his upper lip. "Y senora."
Kate couldn`t suppress a shudder. Jason nodded. "Good afternoon."
The brawny one nodded. "And I`m Donald Marsh. You can call me Donnie if it suits
you. Now who might you be?"
"I`m Dr. Jason Marlow of San Antonio." He nodded toward Kate, "this is
Mrs. Marlow."
"A doctor, are you?" Grinning, Marsh turned to his companions. "Well, what
do you think of that, me boyos?"
The two said nothing, merely continuing to stare at Kate.
Marsh turned back to Jason Marlow. "Well, now, Doctor, what are you and the missus
doing out here on the prairie?"
"I delivered a baby up near Boerne. We`re on our way home."
"Why`s the missus with you? It may be 1873, but it`s still kind of dangerous out
here on the prairie, you know."
"I know, but Mrs. Marlow assists me."
"Boerne`s a long way from San Antone. How come you go so far?"
"Because," interjected Kate, "my husband is very skillful. Women
appreciate him. And if a woman wants him, my husband is willing to go a long way. And so
am I, because women appreciate my being along to help out."
"I see." Suddenly Marsh`s grin disappeared. "You got a Christian name,
Mrs. Marlow?"
Kate glanced at her husband. He gave a slight nod. She turned back to her inquisitor.
"I`m Kate Marlow."
The man nodded. "That`s better. I always like to know who I`m dealing with. More
congenial like, don`t you think?"
She didn`t know what to say. The man was repulsive. She was downwind of him and, even
though ten yards from him, her nostrils were assailed by an unpleasant body odor. The less
she had to do with this ruffian, the better she`d like it. She gave a slight shrug and,
without thinking, sniffed and gave a quick, disdainful jerk of her head.
Marsh grimaced. "What`s the matter?" he growled. "You too good to talk to
me? You a high and mighty princess?"
His sudden ferocity startled her. "No, of course not."
He grinned. "That`s better. I don`t much care for bitches who think they`re too
good. They have to be taught a lesson."
"Donnie`s a good teacher, too," interrupted Walleye. "He used to teach
school."
Kate could see Jason was seething inside. He addressed his wife`s tormentor. "Mr.
Marsh, I have patients to see, and Mrs. Marlowe has clients who are waiting for
her."
Marsh sat back in his saddle. "Clients, huh? Well, do tell. What`s she do that she
has clients?" The word came out sounding like an epithet.
"Mrs. Marlow is a prominent lawyer in San Antonio."
Marsh leaned forward. "Is she now? Well, well, who`d have thought it? Times are
changing, aren`t they? So, not," he glanced at Kate and leered, "that I`d ever
do anything illegal, but with all the do-gooders around these days, who knows? I might
need a lawyer some fine day. So tell me, Doctor, what kind of cases does your little woman
handle?"
Kate`s indignation had been growing. Donnie Marsh`s use of the term "little
woman" was too much. Her resentment boiled over. "Sir," she flared,
"you will kindly mind your manners. I am not to be discussed as though I were a
chattel of my husband. But in answer to your question, I look after the rights of women
and children."
Donnie Marsh regarded her thoughtfully a moment or two, then spat in the dust at the feet
of her horse and pointedly turned to her husband, clearly dismissing her. "Quite a
feisty little spitfire you have on your hands, Doctor? Tell me, how tall is she?"
"I don`t see it`s any of your business," snapped Kate, "but I`m five nine.
And if you have any further questions, you`ll kindly address them to me. I told you, I`m
not a piece of furniture to be discussed as though I were my husband`s property."
Marsh ignored her tirade. "And, Doctor, how much does the little woman weigh?"
Kate, hands on hips, eyes blazing, defiantly snapped, "I weigh 150 pounds, if that`s
any of your business."
Marsh glanced at her, then turned back to Jason Marlow. "She`s a fine figure of a
woman, Doctor, but how come you haven`t trained her better, taught her some manners?
Taught her to speak politely to her betters? Or does she wear the pants in the
family?"
Kate couldn`t restrain herself. "Why you miserable, slovenly, reprobate, you. I`ve
sentenced better men than you to chastisement they richly deserved, and if I had you
before me in my courtroom, we`d see about this business of betters."
Marsh wiped his nose on his sleeve. "And what, pray tell, Mrs. Marlow, is this
nonsense about your courtroom?"
"I, sir, was an acting judge in the Arizona Territory for a year, before I met and
married Dr. Marlow."
Marsh again turned to Jason Marlow. "That right, Dr. Marlow?"
Jason nodded. Kate flared again. "Are you doubting my word?"
Marsh grinned. "Maybe not, maybe not. What was your maiden name, Kate?"
"Not that it`s any of your business," she snapped, "but my maiden name was
Caine."
Marsh suddenly burst out laughing. "Oho, so that`s who you are. I might`ve known.
I`ve heard of you. They tell me you`re somewhat of a legend in Arizona. `Caning` Kate
Caine, you were known as. Oh, yes, ma`am, I know all about you. You were the female judge
who liked to handle things herself, liked to apply a switch or cane to the bare bottom of
men you decided to find guilty. And sentence as you saw fit. A real terror, weren`t
you?"
He leaned forward and glared at her. "Matter of fact, it was you who humiliated my
brother that way, and he wasn`t even guilty of what he was charged with, despite what you
claimed." Marsh nodded. "Well, well, what do you know, Judge? Small world, isn`t
it?"
Kate drew herself up. "It is at that, Mr. Marsh, and you`d better watch your tongue.
I still have friends in high places in Arizona."
Marsh grinned. "But Arizona`s a long way from here, Judge."
Jason shook his head and held up his hand. "Please, Kate." He turned to Donnie
Marsh. "Mr. Marsh, it`s still a long ride to San Antonio, so if you and your friends
will excuse us, we must be moving along."
The thug smiled. "Not just yet, Doctor. We have business to attend to."
Suddenly he raised his rifle and pointed it at Jason`s chest. Kate stifled a scream.
"Now," snapped Marsh, "you two just sit nice and still and hold out your
hands. Walleye here is going to tie the little woman`s hands, and Carlos will take care of
yours, Doctor."
"And," said Jason, "if we don`t sit still? I mean, you`re planning to
shoot us in any event, aren`t you?"
Marsh grinned and shrugged. "Well ... maybe, maybe not. Who knows? But look at it
this way, Doctor. Right now you and your little woman are still alive, and, as my sainted
mother used to say, `where there`s life, there`s hope.`" Marsh scowled. "But if
you don`t do what you`re told, you`ll surely be dead. Right pronto."
"Jason," snapped Kate, "do as he says."
Marsh turned to her and giggled. "Very wise, Kate, very wise. And I see you do give
the orders in your family, don`t you? Now hold out your hands. Both of you."
Marsh`s two henchmen tied their victims` hands securely. Then Walleye took the reins of
Kate`s horse, and Carlos those of Jason`s. Promptly they set off for a stand of
cottonwoods about a mile away. Approaching the wooded area, it appeared, even from a short
distance, to be an unremarkable growth of trees and dense brush, but as they penetrated
deeper into the forest, Kate realized it was more extensive than it had first appeared.
Eventually they came upon a good-sized clearing with a small stream running through it.
Along one bank of the stream, cooking utensils and food supplies along with four bedrolls
gave evidence someone had camped there for quite some time. Kate wondered to whom the
fourth bedroll belonged.
Marsh gestured with his weapon. "All right, you two, get down."
Despite her bound wrists, Kate managed to dismount without the humiliation of falling by
hanging on to the saddle horn and sliding to the ground. Jason did the same. Walleye and
Carlos dismounted and tied all four horses to trees, then turned back to their captives.
Without saying a word, as though this were something they did routinely, the two tied
Jason to a tree, facing outward so he`d have a good view of whatever was to take place.
Then they slipped a lariat over Kate`s head and let it slide down around her waist. Marsh,
still mounted, reached down and seized the end of the rope from Carlos and drew up the
slack. Kate found herself hauled along like a dog on a leash.
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