Sky vs. Spies

Fiction by Frank Knebel

Chapter 10

Deputy Al MacKeever stood looking doubtfully toward the canyon mouth. He pushed his Western-style hat back and scratched his head just above his dark hairline.

     “This is about as far as we can go, Amy,” he said to Deputy Cole. He pointed to the ground in front of them. “It’s too rough even for one of these babies---“ He nodded back toward the Jeep—“and even if we could get down the slope, the end of that canyon looks too narrow to drive through.”

     Julie and Amy looked ahead. It was not far to the mouth of the canyon, and it appeared that they would have to go in single file just to get the horses through. The two exchanged a glance. Julie nodded.

     “I think you’re right, Al,” said Amy. “We’ll have to go on alone from here.”

     Deputy Ben Norris, standing beside MacKeever, turned his youthful, lightly freckled face to the older man. MacKeever looked at the two women with obvious concern.

     “You want us to go in with you?”

     Amy shook her head.

     “You’d have to go on foot and that’d only slow us down. I’d rather have you wait here and make sure we’re not being followed.” She looked uneasily to the north and west. “I’ve had this funny feeling…” She trailed off.

     “Yeah, me too,” said MacKeever looking in the same direction.

     “Have you seen anything, Al?” asked Norris. He dropped his hand to the handle of the revolver in his holster and unsnapped the little strap over the hammer.

     MacKeever shook his head.

     “Nope. Just a couple noises and a feeling that something was moving out there.”

     Amy put her hand on her revolver.

     “We can take on anything that’s in front of us if you take care of what’s behind.”

     MacKeever rubbed his chin. Finally, he nodded.

     “Yeah. That’s probably the best plan. Ben, turn the Jeep so we can keep an eye out that way.”

     Julie smiled at the two men.

     “Thanks Al, Ben,” she said. “I’m sure we’ll be all right.”

     As MacKeever waited for Norris to move the Jeep, Amy and Julie mounted their horses.

     “Let’s take it slow now,” said Amy. “Sky gave us the most sure-footed horses he had, but we’ll still need to be careful.”

     “Right. Let’s go.”

     The two women turned the horses’ heads to the canyon entrance and began picking their way down the rocky slope. The two deputies took up their vigil.

Rowlands raised one hand as a ‘halt’ signal to his little party. Giving the others a signal to wait, he clambered up the sloping sides of the wash and cautiously looked over the edge. After a few seconds he half-slid, half-climbed back down. Joanna Dorrin, Gentry and Lynch waited.

     “Well?” asked Joanna.

     Rowlands wiped the dust from his lips with the back of his hand and took a few gasping breaths.

     “The deputies stopped near the mouth of the canyon, and the women have gone ahead,” he said softly. “The canyon isn’t far off and I can see an opening. If it goes all the way through, we can surprise ‘em.”

     Joanna smiled and nodded.

     “You have done well, Rowlands. You will be rewarded.” She turned to the others. “You will all be rewarded.”

     The other two men grinned. Rowlands frowned at them.

     “Let’s get moving,” he urged. “You can count your money later.”

     He started down the wash again, the others following.

It was getting very warm in the trunk of the sedan. Copper Ryder was sweating profusely. She had hoped that the moisture of their perspiration might make it possible for them to slip out of their ropes, but so far that was not the case. Her wrists were still held securely behind her. The sweating did allow the girl slide her arms a bit against her sides and back, but the rope loops showed no signs of loosening.

     The young woman groaned into her gag. She wondered why the women had hogtied them. Locked inside a car trunk, what means of escape was supposed to be thwarted, what movement foiled? Copper knew that there was no real reason other than the added discomfort to their leg muscles. Their two captors were true sadists, delighting in exercising every possible bit of power over their prisoners. That was also the reason that they were naked. She was surprised that they had not been blindfolded as well, even though neither their nudity nor the hogties meant anything in terms of security.

     Every breath the girl took through her nose reinforced the overwhelming sense of captivity: the stale smell of the blanket on which they lay, the rubber of the spare tire a few inches from her head, her own and Summer’s sweat, and the strong female smell from Summer. The first few minutes of their journey had been off road and the jolting and bouncing had caused her nose to bump into in her fellow captive’s pubic hair. Then, thankfully, the ride became smoother, though they were still going rather slowly. The girl supposed they had reached some kind of trail. Copper guessed they were now on a paved highway. Their speed was obviously greater, and the whine of tires was seldom interrupted by bumps. They were on their way to the villains’ hideout, and the girl shuddered at the thought of what might lay ahead of them.

     She struggled to free her hands again. Her attempt failed, but she realized that even had she succeeded it would have meant little.

     “Oh, Sky,” thought the desperate girl. “You’ve got to help us!”

Sky Ryder paused and took a sip from his canteen. He had covered about half the distance to the canyon. The two deputies were sitting in the front seat of the Jeep at the top of a little incline that led into the gorge. From the absence of horses, Sky guessed that Julie and Amy had gone ahead. With the deputies protecting the rear, Sky was confident that the women were well protected. But his war experience had taught him never to be complacent or underestimate an enemy.

     The tall rancher started walking again, picking up the pace a bit as he did.

Julie Atkins guided her horse through the narrow, but gradually widening canyon. Ahead she could see a long, thin pool of water down the center of the canyon, whose walls were now twice the height of a woman on horseback. At its widest part, where perhaps four riders could comfortably ride abreast, there were a few small trees hiding in the shade of the sheer walls.

     Amy brought her horse alongside Julie. The beautiful deputy’s gaze was fixed on the trees ahead.

     “That must be the place up there,” she said.

     Julie nodded.

     “I can’t see anything yet, but it has to be. Come on.”

     She gently kicked her heels at her mount’s sides and trotted ahead, Amy hurrying to keep up. The ground was level and firm enough that the horses and riders had no trouble with a faster pace. Suddenly, Amy pulled up.

     “There!” she called, pointing to the trees on the northern side of the cut. “I see it!”

     Julie looked. Some of the same kind of material she had seen the day before on Summer’s ranch hung from a limb to the ground. A breeze passing through the canyon caused it to flap slowly. She could see lines stretched tautly from the near end of the material to something caught between a large rock and the bottom of the tree trunk.

     Julie urged her horse ahead, followed by Amy. The pair covered the last hundred and fifty yards at a quick trot. They threw themselves from their saddles and hitched the horses to another scrub tree thirty feet away. Both women advanced and knelt beside the small pack of instruments.

     Amy looked at Julie.

     “Is it what it looks like?” she asked.

     Julie turned to the deputy.

     “We have to get them back to---“

     A bit of dirt kicked up just in front of them followed by the thunderous echo of the shot. They looked up to see three men and a woman with drawn guns advancing. They were still beyond effective pistol range.

     “Hold it!” yelled the mustachioed man who had fired. “Stand up and drop your guns!”

     Amy drew her revolver and quickly squeezed off a shot at him. The bullet hit a rock a few feet to his left. The gang took cover and began firing at them.

     “What’ll we do?” asked Julie.

     Amy squeezed off another shot and looked around. With their horses tethered in the open, flight was impossible. The walls of the canyon were practically vertical with no obvious caves or recesses for cover.

     “This is the best spot around,” she replied. A couple more shots rang out, causing them both to duck. “See if you can find someplace to hide that pack while I hold them off.”

     Julie looked around.

     “Hide them?”

     More shots were heard. Amy spotted a target and fired again.

     “The sound of the shots will bring Al and Ben pretty quick,” Amy said. “If we can hold them for a few minutes, they may decide not to tangle when the odds are even. But for now, hide the pack.”

     “Good thinking, Amy,” said Julie.

     She took a knife from her pocket and cut the lines holding the pack to the balloon remains. The pack was not especially large but it was heavy enough that she had some difficulty lifting it enough to move it.

     “I’ve got it,” she gasped.

     Several bullets struck the tree and the rocks around them.

     “Good girl,” said Amy. “I’ll try to keep their heads down.”

     After tossing away her hat, to reduce the risk of being seen more easily, Amy reloaded her pistol and moved ahead a few feet, seeking a target. When she saw something moving ahead, she began firing. Julie carried and pushed the pack back to some rocks at the canyon walls. Amy fired without haste, but emptied her revolver fairly quickly. She was reloading when she heard a tattoo of gunfire coming from the mouth of the canyon.

     “Now what?” thought the deputy as she pushed a fresh round into one of the cylinders.

Wilke watched the two deputies by the Jeep. The reddish-haired, freckled younger one was standing by the vehicle apparently stretching his legs, while the older one was checking the area to the west with his binoculars. Duncan was sitting beside Wilke, his back against the rock Wilke was leaning on, his hat pushed forward to cover his eyes.

     The boom of an echoing gunshot came from the canyon. Both deputies were immediately alert. Duncan quickly stood up. More shots were fired.

     “What happened?” he whispered.

     “I dunno,” replied Wilke. “But I think that Rowlands found the women in the canyon. Let’s go.”

     Wilke took his pistol from his belt, took aim at the standing deputy and fired.

“Amy’s in trouble Al!” cried Norris. “We’ve got to go---“

     The young man dropped to the ground as a gunshot rang out from nearby.

     “Ben!” shouted MacKeever.

     The veteran deputy did not lose his head. He dived out of the Jeep as more shots were heard, two of the bullets striking the hood of the Jeep. Using the vehicle for cover he crawled behind it and found Norris. As he grabbed the man’s collar and pulled him behind the Jeep, he was relieved to hear Norris moan. The young man had been hit in the right shoulder. The wound was bleeding freely, but MacKeever could see that no vital organs were in danger. He tore Norris’ shirt open and pressed his handkerchief over the wound. Norris groaned again, but opened his eyes and looked up dazedly.

     “What happened?” he asked.

     “You’re hit, Ben. Shot. But it’s not too bad.” He grabbed Norris’ left hand and put it on the handkerchief over the wound. “Just hold that there while I take a look.”

     Bullets continued to hit the ground around him. MacKeever drew his own revolver and looked for the source of the ambush.

“I got one of ‘em,” said Wilke with grim satisfaction as he and Duncan fired at the Jeep. “And the other one’s pinned down.”

     “Yeah, but now they’re hidden behind the car with no way to get at ‘em,” said Duncan. “They’ve got us nearly as well as we’ve got them.”

     Wilke looked around. It was true. There was little cover or concealment on either side of the rocky top of the ridge they had chosen to watch the deputies. Any attempt to get around the deputies’ position would expose the one trying.

     Wilke wiped his lips with the back of his sleeve. He began reloading his pistol while watching the Jeep. No return fire had come from the deputies as yet.

     “Look,” he said to Duncan, “I’ll try to circle around to the right. The other deputy’s probably too busy taking care of his pal to shoot back but, if he tries, you keep him busy.”

     Duncan looked at him doubtfully.

     “All right.”

     Wilke looked uncertainly at the still silent Jeep. When Duncan was poised, Wilke started down the ridge to the right. There was no shooting. Wilke found momentary cover behind a rock. He nodded to Duncan and started to move farther to the right. A shot rang out from the Jeep and Wilke fell heavily, dropping his pistol and grabbing at the fresh wound on the outside of his upper left thigh. He lay there groaning.

     “Wilke!” called Duncan. “Are you all right?”

     “Of course I’m not all right!” howled the wounded man. “Get over here and help me!”

     Duncan glanced uneasily at the Jeep. He fired two quick shots and took a step in Wilke’s direction only to have a bullet strike his covering rock a foot or so from his head. He ducked back under cover for a moment then looked out, preparing to shoot again. Another bullet struck close to him. A third shot came from a slightly different direction. A tall man on foot with a canteen slung over his shoulder was hurrying to cover. Duncan had never seen him but knew instinctively who he was. Sticking his pistol into his belt, the man slid down the reverse slope of the ridge and ran for his life.

     “Duncan! Duncan, come back here!” yelled Wilke. “Come back here, you yellow coyote!”

     Sky Ryder ran to the Jeep. Deputy MacKeever stood up.

     “Thanks for the help, Sky,” said MacKeever. “Can you look after Ben while I go out and get that fella that’s hit?”

     More shots came from the canyon.

     “What’s that?” asked Sky.

     “We were just about to go in and help Amy and the Captain when those hombres started shooting at us,” said MacKeever.

     “I’ll be all right while you bring that guy in, Al,” said Norris. His face was pale but his voice was strong enough. “You’d better go help Amy, Mr. Ryder.”

     Sky handed his canteen to the young man.

     “I’ll do that, Ben,” he said. “Al, when you get back, radio the Sheriff to get out here with every man he can spare.”

     “Right, Sky.”

     As MacKeever went out to get Wilke, Sky ran toward the canyon entrance. The shooting had now stopped.

Rowlands fired another shot at the woman deputy. Gentry and Lynch, to his right did the same. The gun battle was achieving very little except to use ammunition. Rowlands looked around.

     “What are you doing, Rowlands?” asked Joanna.

     Rowlands calmly regarded his usually imperious employer as he reloaded his revolver.

     “We’re not getting anywhere like this,” he said. “Were going to have to get behind them somehow.” He took another look. “There’s only two of them, but there’s not much room to work in here.”

     He turned to Lynch and Gentry.

     “Move a little more to your right, both of you,” he said. He pointed to the canyon wall ahead. “See if you can get up on that ledge, Gentry. You might be able to shoot down on them.”

     “If I don’t get picked off first,” he replied.

     Rowlands snapped the cylinder of his revolver closed.

     “The Captain may not have a gun. The Deputy’s the only one shooting, and we’ll keep her busy. Go on.”

     The two men moved slowly to the right.

     “The men know that Captain Atkins must be taken alive, don’t they?” asked Joanna.

     “Yeah. They know. That may not be so easy in a gunfight, but we’ll do what we can.”

     She seemed on the point of a demanding outburst, but apparently realized the man’s practical point of view. She simply nodded.

     Rowlands fired at Amy. Lynch did the same.

Amy Cole loaded her last extra rounds into her revolver. Movement to her left front indicated that something was happening.

     “Julie!” she whispered urgently. “They’re getting closer. Have you finished?”

     There was no answer from Julie, but two more bullets hit the rocks around her, one causing a whining ricochet.

     “Julie!” Amy called softly.

     A falling rock to her left front drew her attention. She saw a man moving from one cover to another. She fired but missed.

     “Amy!” came Julie’s whisper from behind her. The deputy turned to see Julie crawling back toward her. “It’s all right. It’s hidden.”

     A slight movement a few feet above and to the right of Julie caught Amy’s eye. A middle-sized man had appeared on a small ledge-like formation against the canyon wall. He raised his gun to point at Julie. Amy quickly brought up her pistol and fired. The man seemed to disappear from his perch. There was another noise to Amy’s right but before she could turn she felt a gun barrel against her head.

     “Drop it, Deputy,” said a familiar male voice.

     Amy let her weapon fall. A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. She looked into the face of the stocky mustachioed man she had encountered a few days ago. The man she had just missed came through the little stand of trees and dragged Julie to her feet. A commanding looking dark-haired woman followed the man with the mustache. She looked around.

     “Where is our other man?”

     Rowlands prodded Amy in the side with his pistol.

     “This little deputy here is as good as she is beautiful,” he said with a wry smile. “She got Gentry right through the chest. I’ll bet he was dead before he hit the ground.”

     Lynch nodded.

     “He’s dead all right.”

     Joanna Dorrin regarded the two women coolly.

     “All right. Tie them. We must move quickly.”

     Rowlands took the handcuffs from Amy belt again.

     “Come on, Deputy. You know the routine by now.”

     Amy put her hands behind her back to be cuffed. Lynch took rope from his pocket and began tying Julie hands. Joanna watched the men work with amusement. She dug into the bag she carried and handed both men a ballgag.

     “Gag them as well,” she said. “Even if there is no one to hear them, I want them silenced.”

     Rowlands held the ball up to Amy’s mouth. The deputy opened and allowed him to pull it between her teeth. As he tied the rope ends at the back of her neck, Joanna took Amy’s chin in one hand and forced her to look up at her.

     “Yes, quite lovely,” Joanna noted. “Just the kind who needs breaking.”

     Amy kicked dirt on Joanna’s boots. The woman chuckled then gave the helpless deputy a ringing slap across the face. Julie was now gagged but took a step forward with a muffled protest.

     “Oh, the beautiful Captain objects, does she?” said Joanna. She raised a hand and stepped toward her. “Well, I will certainly no play favorites.”

     Before she could strike Julie, Rowlands stepped forward.

     “Aren’t we losing sight of what we came for?”

     Joanna lowered her hand.

     “Ah yes, we are. You are invaluable at times, Rowlands.”

     The man surveyed the lines connected to the balloon.

     “Cut,” he announced. “I’ll bet that the Captain’s the one who cut it loose. What did she do with it?”

     “I’m sure that she will be glad to tell us,” Joanna said. “Won’t you, Captain?”

     Julie, unable to speak, did nothing.

     Joanna smiled. She walked back toward Amy but kept her eyes on Julie.

     “Well, after a little play with her friend, I think that the Captain will be more cooperative.”

     She took hold of Amy’s uniform shirt and ripped it open, revealing a well-filled lacy white bra. Joanna took one of Amy’s breasts in each hand and began to squeeze them together. The deputy’s knees buckled and she groaned into her gag. Julie tried to step between them but Lynch held her by the arm.

     The echo of noises and shouts came from the canyon entrance. A tall man was coming toward them. Both gagged prisoners exclaimed into the balls.

     “It’s Ryder,” said Rowlands.

     “I thought that Wilke and Duncan were going to stop anybody coming that way,” said Lynch.

     “If Ryder’s here, you can probably take both of them off your Christmas list,” Rowlands said dryly.

     “We cannot leave without the balloon instruments,” Mrs. Dorrin insisted.

     “We’ve got the Captain,” said Rowlands. “They’ll trade them for her.”

     Joanna Dorrin looked at him then at the man coming toward them.

     “Yes. You’re right. Bring the women.”

     With Julie and Amy in tow, the three survivors headed back the way they had come.

Summer Smithers tried for perhaps the twentieth time to shift to a more comfortable position. Once again, she found it impossible. The ropes keeping her pressed against her young neighbor were unyielding. It was now quite warm in the trunk and Summer did not know how much longer they would be able to stand it.

     She tried to adjust her shoulders a bit to ease the strain on the spot that was taking the weight of her upper body. As she did, she felt her breasts against Copper’s belly. It was odd, she thought, that her nipples were hard. It was the fear, she supposed; something akin to the reaction she had riding a roller coaster or watching a scary movie. In some ways the body did not discriminate as to its sources of excitement. And yet there was none of the pleasure of the thrill ride or the dark theater here. She was really in danger. She felt it much more now than when the three men had bound and gagged her to steal her car a few days ago. These two young women took pleasure in their power over other women, and she and Copper were now their playthings.

     How odd it was! Her earlier adventures with Sky had resulted in her being bound and gagged against Copper. Then she and Sky had used recreations of her peril and rescue for their own romantic play. And now, in her efforts to re-light the romantic fire, here she was, bound and in danger again. Only she now knew in her heart that any rescue by Sky would not rekindle their relationship. Now there was Julie. And here she was, naked bound, and gagged in the trunk of a speeding car and headed for unknown torments at the hands of two young women.

     Now Copper tried to shift her position. Oddly enough, against her own sweat- covered belly, Summer could feel Copper’s nipples. They were also hard.

     The car slowed. The car made a turn, pressing the two women against one another again. When the car straightened, it continued to go slowly, obviously on a softer surface, probably an unpaved road or drive.

     The thought that their journey was coming to an end was no comfort to Summer.

Sky returned to the Jeep riding one of the horses and leading the other carrying Gentry’s body slung across the saddle. The appearance of a body and the horses without their former riders told Deputy MacKeever that something was wrong.

     “What happened, Sky?” he asked as the big rancher dismounted.

     MacKeever was putting away the first-aid kit as Sky rode up. Deputy Norris, his uniform shirt gone and the arm of his bandaged shoulder in an improvised sling was sitting with his back against one of the wheels looking much better. He had tucked his revolver into the left side of his belt while he watched the prisoner. The big, hawk-nosed man was sitting in the open, his hands cuffed in front of him so he could apply direct pressure to a thick piece of gauze over his leg wound.

     “The gang got into the canyon somehow and ambushed the girls,” Sky said. “I saw them being taken away, but I was too far away to do anything.”

     “Were they all right?”

     Both deputies were looking earnestly at Sky.

     “They both must be pretty healthy. From what I could see, the gang had them tied up. And Amy got this fellow here” - he jerked his thumb over his shoulder – “in the gunfight.”

     “What do you think they want with them?” asked Norris.

     Sky shook his head.

     “I don’t know, Ben. But we’ve got to get on their trail fast. Is the Sheriff on his way?”

     “As fast as he can get here, Sky,” said MacKeever. “He’s pulled Tyler and Rivera to help and the State Police are sending some men too.”

     Sky looked at the wounded prisoner then back at Norris.

     “Ben, do you think you’ll be all right with this guy for a few minutes?”

     Norris drew his pistol with his left hand. He fired, taking off the top of a small cactus some thirty yards away.

     “I think I can handle him,” the Deputy replied.

     “Good. Al, I want you ride with me to the Hummingbird then bring my horse back with you. I’ll get in the air and see if I can help find the gang. With some luck, I may be able to direct the Sheriff right to them.”

     “Got it, Sky.”

     They went to work untying Gentry’s body from the other horse.

Fred Merrill drove into Summer Smithers’ driveway. Her station wagon was not parked beside the house. He peered at the nearby garage. Its doors were standing open and there was no car inside.

     He put the car in neutral, considering whether or not it would be a waste of time to ring the doorbell. With nothing to lose, he pulled up to the front door and left his car idling while he tried the bell. After two rings he knew it was useless. Climbing into his car again, he paused long enough to take a couple bites from the sandwich beside him on the front seat as he wondered how best to use the rest of his lunch hour. With no particular end in mind, he pulled out of the driveway and headed east.

     He drove slowly so that he could watch the land to his right for any sign of Summer. Two or three cars whizzed past him as he searched. There was no sign of her or any of her men. But Merrill did notice one thing rather strange: the gate to a little dirt road sometimes used to truck in water for the stock had been left open. It was too early in the season for that road to have been used.

     He pulled off the highway to check it and continued down the road, following the fresh tire tracks in the dirt.

Sky Ryder kept the Hummingbird low as he headed north. He could see MacKeever taking the horses back to the Jeep, and in less than a minute he passed Norris and his prisoner waiting there. Far to the north he could see the rotating beacons of several cars on the county road. But there was no sign of any of the gang or their prisoners. He did not even spot any cars. They must have hidden them well or have come from another direction. He headed east, toward the spot where he and Julie had found the first piece of the balloon. It seemed unlikely that the gang could have come from there, but there was little else to try.

     Another ten minutes in the air brought him within sight of the highly reflective wreckage. But now there was something else there. A single engine Piper Cub was sitting in the same spot in which he had landed yesterday. He went down for a closer look.

     The area seemed deserted. The plane’s propeller stood motionless, and there was no one about. Sky took a closer look at the plane’s identifying number.

     “Sheriff’s Car One to Hummingbird. Do you read me, Sky? Over.”

     Sky took up the handset.

     “I read you, Winch. What’s the story? Is Ben all right? Over.”

     “He’s fine. The Doc’s looking over the man you and Al caught here, and we’ve identified the dead man as a small time hood from California named Gentry. I brought some of your men to bring your station wagon and horses back to the ranch. Over.”

     “Any sign of the gang? They’ve got Julie and Amy you know. Over.”

     “Nothing yet, but we’re going to be looking. Do you need any help? Over.”

     “I’m back at the place we found wreckage yesterday. Ted Barry’s plane is out here right next to it. Check with the airport and see if it was stolen. Maybe the gang’s using it. I’m going down to stake it out. I might catch them coming back if I’m lucky. Over.”

     “Be careful, Sky. Give me a location and I’ll send Tyler and Rivera over to help you. Keep me posted. Over.”

The car stopped. Within a minute, the trunk was opened, blinding Summer and Copper with their first look at daylight in over an hour. The two young women peered gleefully at the two captives.

     “Aren’t they cute?” squealed Myra. “Such pretty girls tied up in such a sweet little bundle!”

     Donna ran her hand over the women’s sweating sides.

     “They almost glisten when they’re all sweaty like this. It’d be a shame to cool them off.”

     “Oh, but they really need it,” insisted Myra. “How should we cool them?”

     Donna pretended to be giving the matter deep consideration.

     “I know!” she said. “Let’s take them for a swim in the pool!”

     “Great idea!”

     As the two bound women shook their heads and protested into their gags, Klee and Bradford appeared and untied the hogties and the ropes that held the Summer and Copper tightly together. They lifted the women one at a time out of the trunk, then hoisted them over their shoulders. From odd angles, Copper and Summer could see that they had been brought to an opulent ranch-style home set in a stand of pine trees. The men did not carry them to the front doors of the house, but took them around to the back. A high board fence kept them from seeing what was there until Donna ran ahead and opened the gate. The captives were carried onto a concrete and flagstone patio surrounding a swimming pool. Copper was lowered from Klee’s shoulder to her still bound feet before Bradford let Summer down. Copper screamed into her gag. Summer strained to see what had terrified Copper.

     There were two cinder blocks sitting beside the pool, and Donna and Myra were running ropes through the openings in them.

     “Oh my God!” thought Summer. “They’re going to drown us in the middle of the desert!”

A half-hour later found Sky hidden behind some rocks thirty yards from the plane. He had found nothing out of the ordinary in the cabin, but there was a chance that the gang might return. He kept a watchful eye to the west, his revolver ready.

     There was a noise to Sky’s right. Shifting his position quickly and quietly, he waited.

     “Sky? Is that you over there?”

     It was the voice of Fred Merrill.

     “Fred?” he called.

     The big man stood up and stepped out from a tangle of tress and sagebrush. Sky holstered his gun.

     “I thought there was somebody watching,” Merrill said. “And when I circled around to the left, I could just see the nose of the Hummingbird over there where you hid it.”

     “I thought that maybe the gang had stolen Ted’s plane to get out here. They’ve captured Julie and Amy Cole, you know.”

     The big man looked grim.

     “I hadn’t heard,” he said. “But it’s even worse than that.”

     He drew out a bundle hanging from his belt and opened it. It consisted of two sets of women’s clothes.

     “Miss Copper was wearing some of these this morning. And I figure the rest belong to Summer Smithers.”

     Sky held up Copper’s shirt. He nodded.

     “Now they’ve got all four of them,” he said.