Chapter 17

Nothing happened that night to disturb their sleep, so they were up and ready to leave pretty close to their regular schedule. It was Li Sun's turn to ride with Andy, but she was feeling a little under the weather; a couple of the women looked at each other and nodded their heads as if to say, "Aha! Morning sickness!"

Since Li Sun couldn't make it, Ann asked if she could come along. She had been held captive so long that she wanted the opportunity to roam around a little bit. Andy told her to come on, but she might wind up with a sore ass from sitting in the saddle so long at one time. Ann promised to tough it out, so she strapped on her pistol and climbed into the saddle.

Andy kept them to a slow pace for the first hour, only moving a little faster than the cattle herd would. Ann started to act a little skittish during the second hour of their ride and Andy finally had to ask her what was the trouble. "We're gittin' close ta where my family lives. I didn't think about it when I asked ta ride with ya, but I'm scared of meeting my pa or one of my brothers. They could git mean ifen Abraham told 'em 'bout meetin' me in town."

"Don't ya worry yerself 'bout that, Ann. Ya're a Hopper, now, an' we look out after our own. Ifen trouble starts, ya jus' let me handle it. I don't 'spect it to git that far, but ya be ready ta ride back ta the herd fer he'p ifen I need it."

"Thank ya, Andy, I hoped that ya would say sumpthin' like that. Y'all are awful sweet ta me."

"Now, ya jus' relax and enjoy the ride ... Oops, here's sumpthin' we need ta check inta."

They had come to a pole blocking the road. Two mounted men were standing by at either end of the pole and they had their hands on their guns. "Hold it right there. This here's a toll road. We charge 15 cents fer every steer and every nigger what uses it, an' ya look like ya're ridin' fer a cattle drive. So git ready ta pay up."

"What gives y'all the right ta block a public road an' demand money fer its use," Andy asked in a quiet, but menacing, tone of voice.

"We kin do it cuz we got here first. We got a permit from the county ta charge the toll. It's ta pay fer repairin' the damage yer cattle cause."

"I suggest that y'all back off and let us through without no trouble. Ifen our cattle cause more than fair wear an' tear on yer road, we'll pay fer fixin' it, but I 'spect that my pa ain't gonna wanna pay no toll. 'Sides, we ain't gonna use the road, we're jus' gonna cross it."

"That don't make no nevermind. Jus' settin' foot on the road is enough fer us ta collect the toll."

"Ann, ya better ride back ta the herd an' tell Pa what we run inta. He'll need ta know soz he kin get the toll ready." Andy knew that Josh would never pay the toll, especially one so exhorbatant. But he also knew that Josh would need to have time to prepare for whatever he decided to do. Most likely, he would just drive the herd over this toll station and to hell with anybody who got in the way.

As Ann turned to leave, one of the men yelled out, "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, MISSEY! YA AIN'T GONNA WARN NOBODY 'BOUT NOTHIN'!" He started to draw his gun as he said this. The man probably figured that his commanding voice and threat would be enough to stop a mere woman, because he was not very forceful as he drew.

On the other hand, Andy was just the opposite as he shouted, "GIT, ANN!" and pulled his own pistol. He shot the man who was slowly drawing and then the other one as he tried to draw. Andy didn't wait to see if the men were even wounded, much less dead, he just made every effort to get Ann safely away from a potential firefight. She reacted well and rode away as fast as her horse could carry her, and Andy was right behind.

They road about 100 yards and stopped when they saw that they were not being followed. Ann asked, "Do ya 'spose that them were the only ones at the toll place? I don't see nobody followin' us."

"I don't know and I need ta check. Ya stay here while I go see what I kin find."

"I wanna go with ya. Don't make me stay behind."

"I don't know ... Kin ya shoot a man ifen ya need ta?"

"I think so. NO! I know I kin, ifen it's important ta ya. I know I kin back ya up ifen ya need me. Please let me he'p."

"OK, we'll both go soon's I reload. I want ta be sure I've got every shot I kin git in a situation like this." Andy reloaded the cylinders that he had used and was ready. They rode slowly toward the toll station and nobody could be seen around it. There were two bodies on the ground, and two horses were casually grazing nearby. Andy leaned over and pulled the crossbar down and out of the road.

Andy had Ann ride about 10 feet behind him so that he would have a clear field of fire in any direction. They rode about a mile along the road and didn't see anybody else. They turned around and rode back the way they had come. Andy said, "Ya know? I'll bet those two set up this scam on their own. That wuz a pretty crude roadblock, they could have set it up just this mornin'. Ya keep watch while I check 'em out."

Andy dismounted and thoroughly checked both bodies for any identification they might have. He found nothing, so he dragged both bodies away from the road after relieving them of their weapons and valuables that they would no longer need. He collected the two horses, and they returned to the herd. They dropped off the loot, reported on the incident, and returned to scouting.

Later that day, Ann said, "Ya see that there house surrounded by them trees? That's where I lived. I'm shore tempted ta see ifen I kin talk ta my ma fer a few minutes. Will ya go with me?"

"Shore I will! Ya kin even stay ifen ya change yer mind 'bout it. We jus' want what's best fer yer happiness."

This was enough to start Ann to crying gently, but she rode toward the house with Andy trailing behind, trying not to upset her even more. They rode up to the kitchen door, and Ann dismounted to knock on the door. She hoped that her mother would come to the door and not alert anyone else who might be in the house.

An elderly woman came to the door and saw that it was Ann standing there. The woman nearly fainted and had to grab hold of the door jamb to keep from falling. She got control of herself and rushed to embrace Ann, almost smothering her with teary kisses. Ann reacted the same way, and neither one said anything for over 5 minutes. Finally, Ann broke away enough to ask, "Did Abraham tell ya 'bout seein' me in town?" At a confirming nod, Ann continued, "This here is Andy Hopper, the man what rescued me from Glover an' his bastards. Andy is the sweetest man ya could ever hope ta meet, but he is deadly in a fight. Ya can't imagine how much I love him, an' how grateful I am ta be rescued."

"Oh, Dear, yer arms are covered with scars. Where did they come from?"

"The scars are all over my body. We wuz sex slaves an' them bastards use to whip us ta force us ta do disgustin' and sickenin' things ta an' fer them. I wuz kept in chains the whole time they wuzn't torturin' me, soz I couldn't escape. I wuz a sex toy an' a torture victim right up 'til Andy rescued me."

"Well, ya can't stay here. Ya know what yer pa is like. He's a real fanatic 'bout women an' how they should be pure an' cling only to their husbands. He won't allow ya back in the house, no matter what I want, an' yer brothers are 'bout as bad. Is there someplace ya kin go?"

"She kin stay with us, Ma'am. We love her and she's jus' like a part of our family."

"OK, I guess that would be best. Her only other choice would be whorin' in some saloon. I hate this, but I don't know what else ta do. Ya better go now, Darlin'. Yer pa will be comin' back any time, now, an' ya don't want him ta see ya. It'll jus' set him off into one of his fits, an' I don't know how many more of 'em either one of us kin take. It's a wonder he ain't died of apoplexy by now!"