Go
HERE to begin this Lost Story.
ANDREA CARTER AND TROUBLE AT THE LINESHACK
Lost Scene #14
I think you will have to agree that this "Lineshack" story no longer resembles
Trouble with Treasure very much. There is no bad-guy deputy, just bank robbers (well, we are down to one bank robber, thanks to Mitch's good aim earlier in the story).
And you might as well know that this story goes very differently for Andi and Mitch than
Trouble with Treasure, but that's not for a few more chapters, and you will find that some of the "Duke" conversations are similar to the "Hugh" conversations in
Treasure. I actually did use this
Trouble at the Lineshack as the original template for
Treasure.
The sharp sound of a pistol
cocking froze Andi to the spot. Her heart rose to her throat. She dared not
turn around. Instead, she steadied herself against Taffy and breathed a prayer to still her pounding heart.
“Now take it easy, girl,” a man’s
rough voice warned. He reached out and helped himself to the rifle that was
leaning against the corral post. “Turn around real nice and quiet-like, so I
can take a good look at ya. No tricks, you hear me?”
Andi slowly turned to
face the man. Her stomach clenched as she recognized him from the bank
robbery a couple of weeks ago. The horrible memory of this beast shoving a gun into Justin’s side. The sound
of his voice. His rough appearance.
He looked worse now. He was tall
and heavy-set, with dark, hooded eyes, a sharp nose, and a mean-looking mouth. A
dirty, unkempt beard was beginning to grow, framing his face in a wild way. He
was chewing a generous wad of tobacco, and his clothes showed definite signs of
trail-wear.
Duke
Dylan. Andi
shivered. The third member of the Dylan Gang.
“Well, ain’t this a happy coincidence!”
Duke clearly recognized Andi too. “We meet again. Howdy there, girl.” He let
loose a stream of tobacco juice to his side, then returned his gun to the
holster. “Mighty far from home, ain’t ya?”
Andi’s throat felt dry as dust. She stood there and stared at
the man, not saying a word.
“Don’t ya remember me? We met a
few weeks back at the bank.”
Andi didn’t answer.
Duke chuckled. “Well, no matter. I
appreciate a gal who knows how to keep her mouth shut.” He indicated the horse.
“Might as well unsaddle that horse, girl. You ain’t goin’ nowhere.” He turned
toward the cabin and cupped his hands. “Eli! Rob! Get your filthy hides out here and introduce me to your friend!”
Andi’s blood boiled. He thinks I’m a friend to a couple of dirty
bank robbers? Not likely!
Her anger helped her unsaddle
Taffy without keeling over in terror. She loosened the cinch and let the saddle
drop to the ground. Her hands shook too much to carry it.
Duke lifted the saddle and tossed
it over the top railing. He waited while Andi unbridled Taffy and led her mare
back inside the rough enclosure. When she returned, Duke was grinning.
“You got a name, gal?” He spit
another stream of tobacco juice and waved toward the cabin. “Where are those lazy brothers of mine? Probably
drunk and passed out.” He grabbed her arm. “I’m talkin’ to you, girl. I asked
for your name, and you’d better tell me.”
“Andi,” she whispered.
“That ain’t no name for a lil’
angel like you.” Then he frowned. “There’s somethin’ fishy going on around here.
Are Eli and Rob in that cabin?”
No answer.
He squeezed her arm harder. “Answer
me.”
“No, they’re not,” she whispered.
“Well, I reckon we should mosey
on inside and see who’s squattin’ in my cabin.”
He pulled out his gun and laid the cold steel against Andi’s neck. “If there
are any surprises, Angel, you will be
very sorry.”
Andi felt herself dragged along
by the stranger. She hoped Mitch had been able to hear when the man had called
out for his brothers. Would it be too much to hope that he would do
them both the favor of blowing this awful man’s head off as soon as they walked
through the door?
They came up on the porch, and
Duke stopped. “Hey, you in the cabin! I’ve got this little angel of a girl here.
I wouldn’t aim nothing at me unless you want her to get it. I’m coming in to
swap howdies.”
Duke burst into the cabin,
pushing Andi in front of him. He took a sharp breath. “Who’s that?” He waved his
pistol at Mitch, who lay motionless on the cot.
“My brother,” Andi answered. “He’s
. . . sick.”
“Too bad.” Duke led his captive
over to a chair. “Sit.”
Andi sat, puzzled. What was the
matter with Mitch?
Duke headed straight for the bed.
He threw back the covers, and his eyes grew wide at the sight of the
half-healed gunshot wound. He grinned at Andi. “Your brother don’t look so good
for a fact. What’s his name?”
“Mitch.”
“Mitch what?”
“Mitch Carter.”
Duke's eyes opened wide. “Not the Carters who run that big
spread some miles out of Fresno?”
Andi nodded.
“Wake
up, Carter.”Duke shook him.
“Sometimes he stays unconscious
for hours,” Andi lied, hoping Duke would believe her. In reality, Mitch had
been improving marvelously the last couple of days. What was he up to? Why did he pretend to be asleep?
“Is there anything in this
dump to eat?” Duke demanded. He tossed the blanket over the sick man and looked around.
Cans of beans and sacks of cornmeal rested on a shelf. “I’m starved,” he told
Andi. “What do you say you fix me somethin’ t’eat?”
Andi ignored him. She felt sick.
“Hey, I’m talkin’ to you.” Duke
yanked her up from the chair and shoved her toward the supplies. “I want you to
fix me something to eat, and I want you to do it quick. Got it?”
“All right,” she replied,
reaching up to the shelves.
Duke’s gun shifted until it was
pointed right at her. “I’ll keep this gun on you, just in case big brother
wakes up and has any stupid ideas.”
* * *
[POV
Mitch]
Mitch lay as still as he could,
pretending to be asleep. He would eventually have to wake up, but he didn’t
want to do that until he had a plan. Right now his plans were foggy. The outlaw
never put up his gun. He seemed to enjoy waving it around to frighten Andi.
Mitch wondered if having his own gun
hidden under his pillow was such a smart idea after all. In a shack this small, and with the
dizziness he kept experiencing, there was about as much a chance of hitting his
sister as there was of hitting the man.
It was a bad situation all the
way around. He hated to lie in bed and listen to the comments that came from
the man . . . but he had no choice for now.
*****
“You’re not very talkative, girl,”
Duke commented as he watched Andi finish up the hastily prepared meal. She had
found the last of the trout from that morning and fried it up along with
heating up some canned beans.
She brought the food over to him and tossed it
onto the table, where it clattered noisily down on the table.
Duke grabbed Andi’s arm. “I like
my food served cheerfully, girl.”
“Let go of me,” Andi said between
clenched teeth, yanking her arm away from him.
Duke picked up his fork and
pointed it at her. “You, Angel, are not very friendly. Not friendly at all.” He
stabbed at a piece of fish and stuffed it into his huge mouth. “But,” he
conceded with a smile, “You can cook fish. I’ll give you that.”
“I hope it chokes you,” Andi
mumbled.
Duke chuckled. “You’re kinda
sassy too.” He raised his huge hand. “But I got a cure for that, so if you
don’t want to feel the back of my hand, you’d best learn to talk polite.”
Andi turned around and headed
toward the cot.
“Nope.” The gun came back up. “You stay away from big brother, hear me? I don’t trust either one of you.”
He motioned her back over to the
table. “You sit down right here by me, where I can keep a close eye on you. I
don’t like tricks, and I hear the Carters can be mighty tricky at times. You
obey me, hear?”
Andi sat down hard in a rickety chair across
from the man.
“That’s better.” Duke grinned. “We
can get better acquainted, you and me. Can you do anything else besides cook
fish?”
“I can shoot pretty good,” Andi
lied boldly.
“Do tell!” He laughed and slapped
his knee. “Yep, you an’ me are in for some interesting times, I think.” He
nodded at Mitch. “Tell me something, Angel. When’s that brother of yours gonna
wake up? I want to talk to him about a few things.” He lowered his voice. “You
wouldn’t have happened to find any . . . well . . . sacks, would you have?”
“Nope.” Andi stood up. The rich
odor of the trout she’d cooked Duke sent her stomach grumbling. It was time to
find something to eat.
“I told you to sit down, and I
won’t tell you again!” He pulled her roughly back into her chair.
Andi winced and rubbed her wrist. Her heart drummed her fear. She blinked back
tears and glanced at Mitch. What are you
waiting for? Why don’t you pull out
your gun and shoot this awful person?
“Why do you keep looking at that
poor fellow like that?” Duke laughed. “Anytime I like, I can
give him a matching hole in the other leg—or through the heart.”
“He’s my brother,” Andi answered
in a shaky voice. “I’m worried about him.”
“You should be worried about
yourself, Angel. What if he dies? Then you’d be stuck here with me.”
“He’s not going to die,” Andi snapped.
He’d better not! she amended
fiercely.
“Well, I won’t kill him, if
that’s what you’re worried about—leastways not unless he gives me cause.” He pushed
back his plate. “Where’s the whiskey?”
“It’s all gone. I used it on Mitch’s
leg.” Andi took a deep breath. “When are you going to let us go?”
Duke leaned forward. “Appears to
me that your brother ain’t ready to leave any time soon. What’s the rush? Ain’t
I good enough company for the high-and-mighty Carters?”
Andi looked down at the table and
didn’t answer.
Duke stood up and stretched. He glanced at Andi, then shook his head and turned toward Mitch. “I
don’t think anybody can sleep that long, sick or not.”
Duke prodded Mitch on the sore
leg with his gun, and he woke up with a start. “Howdy, Carter. How did ya get
that wound? Shoot yourself in the leg?”
Mitch opened his eyes and held
Duke’s mocking gaze.
“You don’t look so good.” Duke
leaned over Mitch and shoved his gun into his chest. Andi watched in horror. “Now,
Carter, I want to know exactly what happened to my brothers. I’ll tell you this
much. I found blood outside behind the rocks, and here you are--all shot up.”
“It’s my blood,” Mitch said
softly, looking into the man’s eyes. “The gun went off unexpectedly. That’s all.
Haven’t seen anyone else around these parts.”
Duke’s meaty fist made contact
with Mitch’s jaw.
“Leave him alone!” Andi threw
herself at Duke. She grabbed his arm. His gun flew from his hand and landed
by the door.
Mitch grabbed at the chance. Shaking
his head to clear it, he reached under the pillow and brought out his gun. “Andi!
Get away!” He cocked the gun, but he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger. It
was too close.
“Hold it, Carter.”
Andi knew Mitch had lost his
chance—because of her. She had clawed at Duke, putting herself in the line of
fire. She doubted Mitch would get another opportunity.
Duke reacted faster than Andi could
blink. He wrapped his arm around Andi’s neck and tightened his grip. Andi
yanked at the meaty arm but it was no use. She couldn’t breathe; she couldn’t
get loose.
He was choking her, breath by
breath, and it hurt.
“Toss your gun on the floor, way
over there.” He nodded toward the door.
Mitch flung his pistol. It landed
in the dirt at Duke’s feet.
Keeping a firm grip on Andi, he reached
down and picked it up. He handed it to Andi, who was still trying to catch her
breath. “Open it and get rid of the bullets.”
She did as she was told, snapping
the cylinder shut.
Duke took it from her and put it
up on a high shelf. “I believe in having only one loaded gun at a time.”
“All right,” Mitch said. “You’ve got my gun. Now let her go.”
“When I’m good and ready,” Duke
barked. He sounded furious.
Andi knew why. Duke should have
searched his helpless prisoner. He’d have found the weapon at once. He seemed
jumpy and insecure now, and he clearly needed to show them who was boss.
“Now tell me
what I want to know! Where are my brothers?”
“All right,” Mitch replied. “They’re
dead. But I killed them in a fair fight. Self-defense. One of them shot me in
the leg.”
“Where are they?”
“In the ravine.”
“Well.” Duke’s voice turned
quiet. “I’ll get you for that, Carter. Nobody does in a Dylan without gettin’
repaid. You won’t like it, I’m sure. But we’ve got lots of time to worry about
that.” He let up on his choke-hold of Andi.
She coughed and gasped, drawing
in deep breaths of air. Her whole body shook.
“One good thing, though.” Duke
laughed. “All that money from the bank job’s mine now.”
“Let my sister go,” Mitch
repeated.
“Like I said when I’m good and
ready.” He held her securely, yet loosely, then turned back to Mitch. “You haven’t got a gun anymore, and I’ve got
your sister.” He bored his gaze into Mitch’s until the younger man nodded.
“What do you want to know?”
“The money, of course. Where is
it?”
Mitch shook his head. “I really
don’t know. I was unconscious the first few days. I haven’t seen or heard—”
Duke pushed Andi away. He
towered over Mitch, rage in his eyes. He raised his fist and brought it down on
his wounded leg.
Mitch gasped. Andi turned white.
Duke brought out his gun. With
careful deliberation, he rested the barrel against Mitch’s good leg, at a point
just opposite his wound. “Now, Mitch Carter, if you don’t tell me what I want
to know by the time I count to ten, I will place a bullet in your other leg. You
will be a cripple for life.”
He took a deep breath. “One, two,
three.” He looked at Andi, who was biting her lip to keep from crying out. “Four,
five six—”
“Stop it!” Andi jumped up. “He
really doesn’t know where the money and gold are. He told me to hide it and not
tell him where.”
Duke pulled the gun away from Mitch’s
leg. “Where?”
“Andi!”
She turned to Mitch, her face wet
with tears. “I don’t care about the money. I only know that if he shoots you in
the other leg, you’ll die. Maybe if we give him the money, he’ll go away and
leave us alone.”
“It’s possible,” Duke agreed with
a grin.
“I’ll get the sacks,” Andi said.
“If you don’t come back, this gun
will go off. I promise you.”
“I said I’d get it,” Andi snapped.
“You don’t have to threaten me.”
She left to find the sacks she
had hidden only a week before.
Good news! Starting next Monday, Andi's Journal is coming back. I wonder what she's up to since the Milestones Christmas story. It's spring on Memory Creek ranch, so there might be surprises in the air.
