By Historian
CHAPTER SIX
Becky and Julia sat helplessly as the four thieves took their pick of horses. The stable contained their best horses, and the first horse taken out of a stall was the stud Randy. A thief put a bridle on Randy, then two other thieves bridled the two other stallion, Buck and Beau. The only other male horse was Little Phil, a colt born shortly after Julia’s arrival the previous year.
That left the mares. Whisper and Athena were both in foal. That left the other three: Lillybelle, Ariadne, and Atalanta. Becky’s concern grew, as her own beloved Atalanta was the finest mare in the stable. If these were indeed smart thieves, they were great judges of horseflesh.
Becky’s worse fear were confirmed when a thief put a bridle on Atalanta. Furious, Becky began to kick and grunt. The thief paused long enough to slap Becky before leading the horse outside the stable, when the thieves mounted, the galloped into the night.
Fortunately, the hoof beats roused Tommy, who rushed into the barn and freed his employers.
“Are you all right?” Julia asked her cousin.
“Damn them!” Becky exclaimed. “They took Atalanta!”
“Not to mention Beau, Buck, and Randy.”
“Tommy, saddle up Ariadne and be quick about it!”
“In the dark?” he asked.
Becky bristled, then relaxed. “You’re right, Tommy. We’ll set out first thing in the morning.”
In fact, Becky slept late. She was miffed at the fact she’s slept so long, but appreciated the fact she was refreshed and ready to face the day. The day’s agenda was fairly straightforward: ride into town and let Sheriff Burke know what happened. “Where do we go afterward?” Julia asked.
Becky had no real answer. Somebody needed to look for the thieves or to track down the missing horses. “I wonder what happened to that Pinkerton detective?” she wondered.
“I have no idea.” Julia said. “If Mister Bell wants to make something of those telephones of his, perhaps he should make one where you could speak to somebody over a long distance.”
The two mounted up and rode into town. “You said you spoke to this
Mister Harring yesterday.” Becky said.
“Yes, the besotted fool.” Julia replied.
“I think we should pay him a visit.”
They rode out to Harring’s place with, Ariadne replacing Atalanta as Becky’s mount.
On arrival at the shack, they noticed four horses tied to some of the trees behind the shack. “I don’t believe it.” Julia said.
“There’s something far too easy about this.” Becky commented.
The four horses were easily recognizable to the cousins. They were Randy, Buck, Beau, and Atalanta. “You think the thieves left the horses here to put the blame on Mister Harring?” Julia asked.
“Why not?” Becky put in. “You called him besotted fool earlier. Surely a horse thief would want to get far away from the scene of the crime. So why leave the horses behind?”
As they spoke, a group of people emerged from the woods. They were hooded, so their faces could not be seen, the four thieves quickly mounted the stolen horses and rode off.
Becky and Julia galloped in pursuit. The thieves soon were riding up a hill and, as events turned out, up a hill. A cabin with a log barn sat atop the hill.
“That must be where they’re hiding the stolen horses.” Becky concluded. “Yah Ariadne!”
The two mares and their riders lurched forward toward the cabin. The thieves were already trying to put the horses into the barn. Becky’s fury was at its peak when she reined in next to the barn and announced, “Give us back our horses!”
Two of the thieves grabbed Ariadne’s reins and the other two did the same for Lillybelle. Becky realized –too late-- that she had endangered herself and Julia needlessly. “Down!” commanded a voice, distorted somewhat by the mask, but unmistakably female.
Becky and Julia dismounted and were herded into the cabin. Two of the armchairs inside were set back to back and Becky and Julia were compelled to sit in them, but not before bandannas were secured tightly across their mouths. Each wrist was lashed to an arm of the chair and their ankles bound. For a final effect, a large coil of rope was used to tie the cousins to each other.
Their work finished, quartet stepped outside and removed their hoods. All were women as the approached the barn, their leader said, “We’ll have to post a guard until our buyer shows up.”