Go West Chapter
by DiVoran Lites
Chapter forty nine
Ellie
Leaving the horses at the bottom of the trail, Ellie and Lia hurried toward the waterfall. When they turned the corner, they were surprised to see two figures standing at the edge of the pond with their backs to them. The tall one wore a ratty looking stove-pipe hat with greasy black hair flowing over his shoulders. The other man, short and round was talking. The minute the men sensed Ellie’s and Lia’s presence they swung around. “Well, looky here,” said the short one. His voice was high-pitched and gleeful, with a touch of innocence in it. “Here they is. Can you believe our luck? Grab them before they get away.”
By the time Ellie and Lia realized the men meant to seize them, it was too late to escape. Both tried to fight them off, but Ellie ended up held fast by her wrist.
“Give me that one, too,” the tall man grabbed Lia away from the other man and held a wrist in each hand.
“Let go of me.” Lia struggled but couldn’t pull loose.
“Ha ha.” The tall man said. “Quite the feisty one, ain’t you? That should make Ma happy. She can beat up on somebody besides us.”
Remembering granddad’s folksy saying, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, Ellie counseled herself to relax and tap into the power of God that she had been experiencing lately. “May I inquire, sir, what you are going to do with us?” she said in a cool voice.
“This here bean-pole is my brother Furstus, and I’m Lastus.” The hairy man, who resembled a bear, smoothed his beard, grinned a wide grin, and made a bow. “He was the first born and I was the last born. That’s why Ma called us Furstus and Lastus. Do you get it? What we’re doing here is setting us up some brides. Mama needs help scraping deerskins, washing clothes, and cleaning the fireplace. She don’t want no help with cooking, but she is looking for some grandchildren and she expects me and Furstus to supply ‘em.”
“Get down there where we left them horses,” Furstus dragged both women stumbling along behind him as if he were a horse pulling a cart. He didn’t pause even when Lia almost fell. Ellie steadied her and made a shushing sound to quiet her. She figured that the less noise they made, the least annoyed their captors would be.
Summer reared once when she saw and smelled the interlopers. Ellie expected her to bolt, but when her hooves came down she stood quivering. “Hold on, girl, it’s okay,” Ellie said softly. Summer recognized her voice and stayed long enough for Ellie to mount. The mare held steady while Furstus tied Ellie’s wrists to the saddle-horn. Knowing men could sometimes be rough and rowdy, Ribbons stood still while Lastus tied Lia’s hands behind her and her feet together and threw her over Ribbon’s saddle. Ellie was startled into objecting. “Don’t do that to her. You’ll hurt her.” The heavy-set man frowned but the other one laughed.
As they rode uphill, Ellie recognized the terrain from former trips into the mountains. The caves she had seen from the shelf road could be approached in a round-about way and soon the women found themselves off the horses and sitting on the cold stone floor of a cavern.
“Take these ropes off immediately!” Lia demanded, her voice growing stronger as she began to speak Italian and release her ire.
“Let’s kill them and get it over with,” Furstus eyed the knife and licked his lips. He then gave a high-pitched laugh that seemed calibrated to terrify anyone within a five mile radius.
DiVoran’s Promise Posters, Paintings from Go West as well as other art can be purchased as note cards and framable art
