Wild Winds

by Janelle Taylor

Genres: Historical Romance

Synopsis

With her trademark combination of intrigue, adventure and sensual romance, New York Times bestselling author Janelle Taylor crafts novels that hold readers spellbound time and time again, now, she recreates the rugged grandeur of the old southwest in her lushest, most romantic love story yet. Feisty and beautiful Maggie Malone is determined to earn her livelihood as a private detective--a daunting profession unheard of for a woman on her own in the wild West. And when her stepfather asks her to help his son escape the hangman's noose for a bank robbery he didn't commit, she rises to the challenge. The Yuma Prison break will place Maggie's own life in jeopardy--and leave her with grave doubts about whether she's done right or terribly wrong. . . Sworn to help clear her stepbrother's name by tracking down the men who framed him, Maggie meets Hawk Reynolds. An ex-Texas Ranger and half-blood Cheyenne, Hawk is on a vengeance quest to find his parents' killers--the same desperadoes Maggie is seeking. Destiny draws Hawk and Maggie to each other and to the stirring of an unbidden, irresistible desire. Together, they will ride into Tombstone and into a crossfire of lies, double dealings, and searing betrayal as they search for answers that will sow the seeds of suspicion between them--and arouse a passion fated to explode beneath the bright desert sky.

Release date: October 24, 2011

Publisher: Zebra Books

Print pages: 392

Sample

Wilcox, Arizona Territory

Friday, April 13, 1883

Margaret Anne Malone gaped at her stepfather in disbelief. “Did I understand you correctly, sir: you want me to help your son escape from the Yuma Territorial Prison?”

“That’s right, Maggie,” answered Newl Carver, his expression solemn. “You’re the only one who can save his life and prove his innocence. Having you come to visit us at this frightful time is nothing short of a miracle, a godsend, the answer to our prayers.”

Maggie suppressed a smile at Newl’s choice of words. As the owner and manager of the Paradise Club in Tucson, an establishment that dealt in “sins of the flesh"—drinking, gambling, and prostitution—he was not a man she could easily imagine praying. Yet, how could this man be a bad person when he had swept her mother off her feet in less than a month and enticed Catherine to his home in Tucson where they, according to her mother’s letters, had been blissfully happy for the last two years? She forced her mind back to the matter at hand. “I work helping to put men behind bars, sir, so why would you ask me of all people to break one out of prison, even though he’s your son? Besides, I doubt it’s possible for a single person—or even a gang of men—to carry out such a … scheme.”

“Thank you for not saying it’s crazy. I have no choice but to try. He’s my only child, Maggie. I’m desperate. If the man he’s convicted of wounding dies, Ben will be hanged for murder the next morning. I swear to you: Ben didn’t shoot or rob anybody. He’s been incarcerated for four weeks and his chances for survival grow slimmer every day, every hour—even if that bank teller recovers. Yuma Prison isn’t called the Hellhole of the West without good reason. He’s forced to work like a slave under the desert sun, from the time it rises until it sets. Those cells have iron gates for doors, so they’re infested with all kinds of creatures and bugs; and there’s nothing solid to keep out the bad weather. He has to sleep on an iron bunk stacked three high. He’s cramped in with five brutal men at night and is around hundreds of them during the day.”

Newl took a breath. “Shortly after he got there, he was attacked and beaten and, to make matters worse, those malicious guards punished him for the trouble by tossing him into that notorious Dark Cell for three days. I’ve heard about that place. It’s nothing more than a cave chiseled out of a rock hill with one tiny hole in the top. Ben was chained inside a cage that’s only five feet high, so standing was impossible; and he was given just bread and water once a day. It lacks any kind of sanitation and it’s only cleaned out every four months, so you can imagine the stench and filth. It’s said some inmates have gone mad or gotten deathly ill while locked in there. Ben told me a few of the guards think it’s funny to drop snakes and scorpions down the air hole to terrorize and punish the unlucky captive. One way or another, my son won’t survive such perils and hardships long enough to serve his sentence or earn a pardon. You have to get him out so he can hide in safety while you prove his innocence.”

Maggie had never met her stepbrother but she felt sorry he had to endure such torments. Still, he shouldn’t have broken the law. She tried to sound sympathetic, “Since Ben was tried and convicted, sir, the authorities must be certain he’s guilty, which I’m sure is difficult for you to believe.”

“He was convicted because the two witnesses at his trial were either mistaken or outright lied about him. I know he isn’t guilty.”

“Pardon me for asking, sir, but how can you be sure he’s innocent?”

“Because Ben was with me on a hunting trip, not robbing a bank in Prescott. I swore to that in court with my hand on a Bible, but the judge and jury didn’t believe me because I’m his father and because nobody saw us together to corroborate my testimony. If he had been tried in Tucson where everybody knows the two of us, this travesty of justice wouldn’t have occurred. People there know I’m an honest and honorable man.”

“If the witnesses were wrong or lying, sir, how do you expect me to expose that? I wouldn’t be able to convince them they’re mistaken; and they surely wouldn’t admit they lied intentionally, if that’s the case.”

“You’re a detective. You can rescue Ben and obtain the truth. You’re highly skilled at what you do according to what Catherine has told me.”

Maggie glanced at her mother who looked younger than her forty-two years and was elegantly dressed in the latest fashion from back East. But the blue gaze which matched the color of her own eyes revealed tension and fear. She noted how her mother allowed Newl to do the talking, never concurring or disagreeing with his shocking request. Even so, she knew that Catherine Malone Carver was a strong, courageous, and intelligent woman; she’d had to be to sell the family’s Texas ranch after Jed Malone’s death, move to St. Louis alone, buy a new home, and open a dress shop which she turned into a profitable enterprise. Yet, to prevent Maggie from quitting school in her final year and returning home to comfort and help her, Catherine had kept her father’s death a secret for months. Maggie had found the action angering and deceitful at first, but she had come to understand her mother’s motive and had forgiven her. Was her mother part of a deception now? A deception based on the good intention to help the man she loved? Maggie sighed.

Having an independent and adventurous streak, Maggie had helped her mother for a year before she went to work for a St. Louis lawyer. In the two years she worked for the man, she carried out many investigations for him, and one day had been approached and then hired by a detective agency whose owner was impressed by her skills. For the last two years, she had handled cases from St. Louis to Denver, to Kansas City, and recently in Sante Fe. Being so close to Tucson, she had decided to visit her mother and stepfather. She hadn’t visited earlier in order to give the newlyweds privacy to begin their new life together, and because she was so involved with her challenging work. Now, Newl Carver was asking her to not only risk destroying her job and reputation, he was also asking her to risk imprisonment and possibly her life to free his son. She didn’t know Ben Carver, who was four months older than she was, but her mother had written and said only good things about him.

After those jumbled thoughts raced through her mind, Maggie took a deep breath and said, “I can work on his case for you, sir, but I can’t get him out of prison or I’ll wind up serving time with him.”

“You have to try something, Maggie, anything. If not, Ben won’t live long enough for you to get him exonerated or pardoned. He can hide out with a close friend of mine in Sante Fe. If you can’t clear his name within two months, Ben will turn himself in and never tell anyone you helped him escape. Do this enormous favor for us, and I’ll pay any price you set.”

“Money isn’t a consideration. As I said, it’s impossible, especially with Yuma Prison involved. I’ve heard it’s built atop a steep rock bluff, has walls that are eighteen feet high and eight feet thick, and has guard towers on all sides, one manned by a Gatling gun. It’s bound by rivers on two sides and has deserts and mountains in all directions. True?”

“Yes, but you have an advantage that would help you pull it off.”

“I don’t understand your meaning, sir. What advantage?”

“Do you still correspond with your roommate from boarding school, Miss Abigail Mercer?”

“Yes, but what does Abby have to do with this matter?”

“Have you heard from her since January?”

“Probably, but I’ve been away from St. Louis for months, so I haven’t been home to get my mail. Which is also why I didn’t know about Ben’s troubles, as I’m sure Mother wrote to me about them.” As Catherine nodded her head, Maggie repeated, “Why did you ask about Abby?”

“Her father became a Yuma Prison commissioner in January, so the Mercers are living there now. You could conceal your true reason for going there under the guise of a visit to your best friend. With her father employed by the prison, you can find clever ways to extract needed information and can obtain access to the prison to study those inhuman conditions yourself.”

“How do you know about me and Abby?” Maggie asked, truly puzzled.

“Catherine told me she was your best friend after we read an article in the Arizona Sentinel about Mercer’s appointment. I take the Yuma paper so I can keep up with the news there, especially what’s written about the prison.”

“Knowing the Mercers still doesn’t give me a way to get Ben out.”

“That’s why I said your timing is a godsend: Ben’s working on road detail outside the prison walls, at least for now.”

“But he’ll be guarded, maybe even wearing leg irons. Surely you aren’t asking me to disarm the guards in daylight and ride off with him?”

“Certainly not. For your safety, nobody can be told you have a connection to us. Everybody in Tucson knows I have only one child, Ben. Since we’ve only visited in St. Louis and you’ve never been to Tucson, nobody there knows who you are if the Law comes to question us later. There’s no reason why Miss Margaret Anne Malone of St. Louis—guest of a prison commissioner and best friend to his daughter—should fall under suspicion for planning and carrying out Ben Carver’s escape.”

“But Abby knows all about me. I wrote and told her two years ago that Mother remarried: I told her your name. As soon as Ben escapes, the Yuma paper will be flooded with facts about him. She would surely realize something is wrong when the son of Newl Carver of Tucson escapes while I’m in town for a surprise visit.”

“If you confided in her, would she betray you to the authorities?”

“No, she wouldn’t betray me, but I can’t make her an accessory to a crime. Abby’s like a sister to me, so it wouldn’t be right to involve her in any way.”

“When the truth comes out and an innocent man is saved and the guilty are exposed and punished, you two will be heroines.”

“What we’ll be is hauled off to jail if we’re exposed during or after the escape, whether or not Ben remains silent or turns himself in later.”

“You’re a brave and clever woman, Maggie, I’m certain you’ll make this plan work.”

“I fear I lack your confidence in me in this particular matter, sir. I can’t imagine how I could get him away unnoticed and unharmed.”

“Don’t worry, my dear. I brought along everything you’ll need: a copy of his trial, articles about the crime, maps and sketches of Yuma and the prison, and the inmates’ daily schedule. I also included other items you’ll need to pass along to him: boots, ‘civilian’ clothes, money, a weapon.”

Maggie glanced at the bulging satchel Newl had placed on the floor. “How did you get all of this together so fast?”

“I prepared myself in advance for the time I would find the right man to rescue my son. But the right man turns out to be a beautiful and talented young woman, my stepdaughter. Ben’s stepsister.”

“’Thanks for your faith in me.” This idea is insane, Maggie, so tell him absolutely no and leave before he figures out a way to ensnare you in it! Don’t be deluded by grandiose visions of heroics and righting thwarted justice. It’s stupid and illegal, so don’t get involved! Besides, it’s an impossible task, isn’t it?

“I’ll confess I already have a detective working on Ben’s case, but he’s accomplished nothing useful in weeks. I doubt he’s doing more than collecting the high salary I’m paying him. You aren’t my second choice, Maggie, I just was reluctant to drag you into this perilous situation.”

She smiled her gratitude before asking the questions that raced through her mind. “Why would those witnesses lie? What made them think the culprit was Ben? Prescott is a long way from Tucson, so do they know Ben Carver? If so, how?”

“One of them is an old rival of mine,” Newl explained, “so he would do anything to hurt me. Years ago we butted heads over where the territory capital would be located. It was Prescott from ‘64-67; but Tucson snatched away that honor and kept it until ‘77 when it was moved back to Prescott. I don’t have to tell you how important it is to a town’s survival in this wild territory to be the capital. I was one of the main forces that got it moved and held in Tucson for those ten years. By the same token, he was one of the main forces that helped take it away from us. Needless to say, he knows me and my son well. He claimed one of the five robbers’ masks slipped down during the holdup and they recognized Ben before he could replace it. Hogwash! If Ben was a criminal and knew they could identify him, he would have killed them to protect himself. As for the teller who was wounded, he never saw that alleged mask incident. The other witness married my self-appointed enemy shortly after the trial ended, so that should explain her motive. I swear to you, Maggie: Ben was hunting with me that day, not committing crimes in Prescott. The other men you want to locate and put behind bars are Pete Barber and Slim Jones. Find them and their accomplices, and force the truth out of them. Save my son for me, please, my dear, I’m begging you. If I’m forced to watch my only child hang and for a crime he didn’t commit, it will kill me, Maggie, simply kill me.”

While in New Mexico, Maggie had heard of Pete Barber and Slim Jones and knew they were trouble, big trouble. As she watched her stepfather dry his misty eyes with a handkerchief as her mother tried to comfort him, she wondered if she should at least pretend to consider his urgent request rather than saying an emphatic no. What if, she reasoned, New! was right? What if Ben Carver was innocent? What if Ben’s life was in jeopardy? What if she could save him, prove his innocence, and bring the guilty parties to justice? Maybe this visit’s timing wasn’t a coincidence; maybe it was a propitious omen; maybe a divine force had guided her there to right a terrible wrong. Watch it, Maggie, you’re getting sucked into this whirlpool and may drown!

“I’m scared and I’m desperate, Maggie,” Newl continued, “and becoming more so with each hour that passes. I’ve taken every legal step I could find to get Ben out of this horrendous predicament, but nothing has worked. And Ben’s lawyer has used every loophole and trick he could think of, to no avail. That detective is stumped, too. I don’t want to hire a gang of outlaws to ride into Yuma to free him because innocent people could get injured or slain and that would make matters worse for Ben. If you don’t help us, Maggie, my son will suffer terribly and maybe die. At least go to Yuma and check out the situation for yourself, see if it’s possible to engineer a rescue without endangering yourself. Whatever you decide, I won’t hold it against you. But one way or another, I’m getting my son out while he’s still alive.”

Against her better judgment, Maggie told herself there was no harm in going to Yuma to analyze the situation. Surely that was kinder than refusing outright to do anything useful. Once she got there, perhaps she would find or think of something that might at least get Ben’s case reopened. And she’d see Abby. She pushed long strands of light-brown hair with golden streaks behind her ears and focused her blue gaze on Newl. She had gone into her line of work to face challenges, to experience stimulating adventures, and to uphold the law, so what better way, she reasoned, to achieve those goals than by agreeing to her stepfather’s request? After she looked the area over, if an escape didn’t appear just and feasible, she wouldn’t make the attempt. Besides, if she handled this, she could prevent the violence and bloodshed that would surely result from Newl’s alternate plan. “Give me a few minutes to study the things you brought along and to think about this matter from all angles; then I’ll give you my answer.”

Newl gave her a quick hug. “That’s fine. Catherine and I will sit quietly on the bed while you use the table and chair. Ben will love you forever for rescuing him, Maggie, and so will I. You won’t regret helping us; I swear it. If anything goes wrong, I’ll use every dollar and breath I have to rescue you.”

Maggie’s quick mind scoffed, If your money, power, and energies have failed to help your son, what makes you think you can use them to save me? Yet, she said, “Thank you, but I hope it won’t be necessary.”

Catherine worried aloud as she grasped her daughter’s hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze, “I know you’re highly skilled in your work, Maggie, but don’t take any risks.” She was so proud of her daughter, but she lived in constant dread of being informed Maggie had been killed or injured badly in the course of an investigation. What she wanted most was for Maggie to meet a good man, get married, have children, and be safe, and preferrably close by in Tucson. She urged in a strained voice, “If no safe opportunity arises, please don’t attempt a rescue. Like Newl, I would die if anything happened to my only child, my beloved daughter.”

The women embraced for a minute. Afterward, Maggie gazed into Catherine’s tear-filled blue eyes and said, “Don’t worry, Mother, if I can’t pull this off without endangering myself, I won’t try it.”

“You promise?”

“Yes, Mother, I promise. Now, relax while I go over this material.” Please, God, help me find at least one useful clue to save us all from certain jeopardy and misery.

Hawk Reynolds slipped out of a window to the room next to the one he had watched Newl Carver and his wife enter earlier that evening. While awaiting the cover of darkness, he had paced the floor and wondered what was going on in there. He had been informed by a friend in Tucson who worked at the Paradise Club that Carver was secretly seeking somebody to bust his son out of Yuma Prison. He had been en route to hire on for that job when he saw the couple arrive in town shortly after he did. He trailed them to this hotel and registered in the room next door. He suspected—from the satchel Carver had brought along, probably loaded with money, and from Carver’s covert actions—that Carver had found a man to do the dirty task for him, a position Hawk needed desperately if he was going to obtain his revenge. Not if, he told himself, but when. Those bastards were going to pay for what they had done to him and his family! Even if he had to eliminate his competition.

When night had fallen, Hawk sneaked along the porch roof to reach his target, his bare feet moving soundlessly on the shingles. He had removed anything that might make a noise, and knew his black garments masked his presence. Those were precautions partly learned from his mother’s people, the Cheyenne, and partly from experience in his line of work. He was relieved the two rooms were located at the rear of the hotel and his had been available. He was also fortunate that the recent new moon was still little more than a dark ball in the sky and helped obscure his actions. He saw ivory lace curtains fluttering in a steady breeze. He halted, pressed his back against the building, and listened.

Newl reiterated their plan to make certain it was clear, “Catherine and I will leave in the morning, and we’ll have no further contact here since we can’t risk any of us being seen together even in Wilcox. She’ll get off the train in Tucson and return home while I continue on to Yuma and tell Ben the good news. You’ll leave Monday afternoon; that will put you in Yuma Tuesday evening, after I’ve returned home so we won’t be there at the same time. I’ll take care of your horse while you rescue Ben.” He paused before asking Maggie, “Do you have everything you’ll need?”

“I think so. I’ll keep you informed of my location and progress using the code we discussed earlier. Tell your son to do whatever is necessary to stay out of trouble with the other prisoners and with the guards. If he gets himself tossed into the Dark Cell again or taken off road work, there’ll be no way I can get to him.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll do anything you tell him; I promise.”

“After this is over, Maggie, you and Ben can return home and settle down here.” As Catherine hugged her daughter, she whispered in her ear, “Take care of yourself. I love you.”

Maggie hugged her mother and whispered in return, “I’ll be careful, and I’ll be seeing you again soon, for a long and quiet visit. I love you.” She looked at her stepfather and said, “Good-bye, Newl.”

Newl sent her a wry smile. “I know I haven’t given you any choice in this matter, but I’ll make it worth your while after it’s settled.”

“I’ve told you I’m not doing this for money; as you said, I have no choice but to give it my best effort. Besides, I have a feeling Ben would do it for me.”

“Yes, Maggie, he would. Good-bye and good luck.”

“I’ll need more than simple luck to pull off a jailbreak from Yuma Prison without getting me and Ben in worse trouble. Good-bye, and I’ll send you a report soon, hopefully a good one.” But I doubt it.

Hawk was astonished by what he overheard. He was astounded that Newl Carver would hire a female for such a daring and perilous job. He wasn’t convinced even he, with all of his skills and training, could pull off a break at Yuma Prison, and was certain a mere woman couldn’t do so. From what they had said, he hadn’t learned why she was taking such an awesome risk. It didn’t sound as though she was Ben’s sweetheart or as if she really believed it when she said, “Ben would do it for me.” He wondered if she was a criminal whom Carver was forcing to do his dirty work, since she had said money wasn’t her motivation and she had “no choice.” Yet, they were on a first-name basis, as if they knew each other well. Who and what was this Maggie? What kind of “job” did she do that would qualify her to be considered for such a feat? Why was she willing to risk her life and freedom to help the Carvers? Perhaps answers to those questions had been given before his arrival, or during those whispered words between the women that he couldn’t overhear.

After the couple left, the woman bolted the door, then she approached the window, took a deep breath of fresh air, and closed and locked it. Before he could sneak a peep inside, the drapes were drawn. With caution, he crept back to his room. Somehow, he resolved, he had to get a look at her, but make certain she didn’t notice him. At least he knew her schedule and plans, so he wouldn’t have to risk exposing himself to glean those facts. If he shadowed this mysterious woman and she miraculously succeeded, Ben would be on the loose to lead him to his cohorts. Then the last three members of that gang would be within his reach; and they would all pay dearly just as the other two had! Plus, if she succeeded, Ben would surely trust and confide in her faster than the sorry bastard would in him! If not, he would wrangle the facts he needed out of Ben, and there would be nothing Maggie could say or do to stop him from exacting his revenge.

He told himself he wouldn’t feel bad about using her in any way necessary to get to Ben Carver, Pete Barber, and Slim Jones, even though she was a female and his mother and grandmother had taught him to respect and defend women. Since she had an unknown connection to Ben and was about to commit a serious felony for him, she deserved whatever misfortune fell upon her head.

For all he knew, this Maggie could be a member of Barber’s gang. During his travels, he had run into several highly skilled and daring female outlaws, females who often disguised themselves as men while committing crimes. For certain, she was in for the biggest trouble of her life if that was true or she tried to interfere with his plans! Maybe she owed Ben a favor for getting her out of peril in the past and she was trying to repay that debt. Perhaps Barber or Jones had asked or was forcing her to get their cohort out of prison.

No matter her motive or identity, if she failed in her task, he had a valuable ace up his sleeve to make sure he didn’t…

Maggie changed into a nightgown, doused the oil lamp, and got into bed. It wasn’t late, but she was tired. The train ride from Sante Fe had been noisy, bumpy and hot. And now, she had a heavy burden on her shoulders. She should have guessed that something was amiss when her mother responded to her telegram with such a confusing and mysterious message, saying to meet them at this hotel in Wilcox, a railroad town eighty-one miles southeast of Tucson.

What have I gotten myself into? This reckless action could cost me everything. How can I possibly carry off such a crazy scheme?

Even as she posed that last question to herself, Maggie’s adventurous and keen mind was spinning with clever ideas. She felt excited, frightened, reluctant and eager, all at once.

As she lay in darkness and deliberated the just-as-dark situation, Maggie realized the important question was not if she could do it but if she should do it. If Ben was innocent, shouldn’t she try to save him? If she refused and he was hanged or died in the prison, Newl would never forgive her, no matter what he had said earlier. That resentment and bitterness could wreak havoc on their family life, trapping her mother between her husband and daughter.

Her mother had to believe that Newl’s urgent request was the right and only thing to do. If not, Catherine would have somehow let Maggie know. There was no way Catherine Malone Carver would endanger her only daughter’s life and freedom just to please or to prevent displeasing her husband of two years.

Go to Yuma on schedule and study the situation at close range, Maggie told herself, then make your decision to either retreat or advance. Right now, get to sleep; you need the rest and a clear head for tomorrow.

On Sunday night, Maggie lay in the darkness once more with thoughts of her impending actions racing through her head. All preparations had been made and all precautions had been taken to accomplish them.

Yesterday, her mother and stepfather had left Wilcox, taking her beloved roan with them to be stabled in Tucson during their separation. She had purchased her train ticket to Yuma, along with one for Ben from that town to Sante Fe; that one would appear to be for her return trip if somehow seen in her possession. She had sent excess belongings with her mother to allow room in the secret compartment under a false bottom in her trunk for the items she must deliver to Ben. She had telegraphed Abby to ask if she could visit her this week, and Abby had returned a quick and enthusiastic response. She had written a page of explanations and instructions for Ben to carry out following his escape, which she would conceal with the other items somewhere near the prison, in case Newl lacked the privacy to reveal their plan to him. Later, she would write Ben a note giving their location and find a way to pass it to him. She had made sure to sign her name and identify herself as his stepsister to avoid any extra confusion on his part.

She had attended an Easter service at a small church this morning, and had eaten her meals downstairs at the least busiest hours; otherwise, she had kept to her room yesterday and today to study Ben’s case and to avoid calling attention to herself, though she now had a credible explanation for being in Wilcox while en route to the Mercers.

Tomorrow, she would bathe, dress, and eat before boarding the oneo’clock train to Yuma. She was fortunate that one of the newer styled cars had a sleeper compartment available so she would have privacy and rest along the way. The thirty-hour journey had many stops and a pace that was slower than a stagecoach’s swift run between waystations.

Heaven, help me if I’m exposed. As for my unknown stepbrother, if I discover he’s guilty after I bust him out. I’ll do whatever is necessary to track him down and send him back where he belongs!

It wasn’t too late to change her mind, Maggie told herself, but she knew she couldn’t do so. Ready or not, she would be on her way soon.

Maggie knew the sun would be setting around seven o’clock, her arrival time, but it would remain light enough to see outside for an hour or so beyond that time. Despite the train’s open windows, the air rushing inside the cars was hot and dry, the temperature still lingering above the mid-eighties. While eating in the dining area provided in this more costly hotel car, she had learned that it rarely rained in Yuma, but when it stormed, usually it was a harrowing and powerful assault with fierce thunder and lightning and strong winds. That, along with excess water from either or both of the nearby rivers, could create a dangerous flood that threatened to wash away the lowlying town.

She used a handkerchief to collect the perspiration gathered on her flushed face and hoped her blue day dress wasn’t getting wet and stained with the salty moisture. Her light-brown hair was secured with a matching ribbon at the nape of her neck, but that style did little to help cool her. She longed for a bath, a refreshing drink, for the rolling motion and noise of the train to cease. It had been two and a half years since she had seen Abby. Maggie could hardly wait to see her friend again and her elation steadily increased.

As Maggie’s thoughts roamed in many directions, she studied the arduous landscape which had remained almost the same since leaving the Maricopa Wells station, almost since pulling away from Tucson. At times, it had been thick with mesquite, palo verde, acacia, desert willow, white sage, creosote bushes, ocotillo with its lovely red blooms, prickly pear, and other varieties of cacti and wildflowers. On occasion, the saguaros had been so abundant that it looked like a vast forest of them. Their sizes and shapes were fascinating, and for a while, she had played a mental game of imagining the things those shapes reminded her of.

She had sighted kestrels capturing mice, doves nesting on the huge arms of those mammoth plants, great horned owls sitting atop lofty cacti limbs, and hawks circling overhead. She had been told the rattlesnakes, venomous gila monsters, scorpions, and tarantulas had to escape the blazing sun during the day while awaiting nightfall to seek their prey.

She journeyed through a near circle of distant and dark mountains and seemingly endless stretch of rugged . . .