Escape From Gold Mountain Read online

  The question crossed Loi’s mind: if Shorty would go up against a Chinese hatchet man, many of whom had knives that resembled ax heads with only a short handle attached, could he fight well enough to survive, and maybe even win?

  Shorty’s grunt brought her attention back to the scene outside the cabin door. From where she sat, Loi could see the clear weather had deserted them. Heavy clouds had blown in over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and now covered the late afternoon sun.

  “Miss Ling, it looks like a storm is moving in. I think we both need to go outdoors for privacy before it hits.”

  After they returned, Loi watched Shorty drag one of the sleeping pallets next to the fireplace. He helped her sit and handed her two wool blankets. She clutched their soft folds in her arms, grateful for the warmth they promised her later that night.

  “I hope these will help you stay comfortable tonight, especially as cold as it might be by morning.”

  Loi folded her hands as Shorty poured them each a cup of tea. He next filled the pot with water from the outside rain barrel and put it next to the grate. He stepped back behind her so he could remove his neckerchief to enjoy his drink. She continued to face forward as they sipped their tea in silence.

  Shorty’s question interrupted her thoughts. “Do you have a comb or brush in your valise, Miss Ling? If you wish, comb out your hair. I can even bring you some of that warm water to wash up some.”

  Momentarily stunned, Loi sat without moving. This man who was her captor, who held power over her, had treated her with consideration from the time he returned with the food he was sent to buy. What was more, he had gone out of his way to bring her food for her tastes. Now, he offered to help her so she could clean and groom herself and be more comfortable?

  “Yes, please. In bag, Ling Loi have bowl.”

  After Loi pulled a white china bowl with black Chinese characters on the outside, she held it up for Shorty to take. He once again rose from behind her, and, with his back to her and his face covered, he squatted in front of the fireplace to fill it halfway full with water.

  ~o0o~

  After Luke prepared the water and turned around to hand it to Loi, he realized she had removed her quilted coat. It bunched around her and she sat on the hem of it. Enough light remained in the room for Luke to tell her blouse was pink in color with a light green and black floral design. He suddenly felt a tug on his heartstrings. Something about Ling Loi drew him to her.

  Luke quickly resumed his seat behind her and let his eyes study everything in the room except Ling Loi. He realized he would be foolish to allow himself to develop feelings for this woman. As soon as she was returned to safety, free of Charley Jardine and the man’s schemes, Luke planned to leave the region and put distance between him and Charley, Tex, and the illegal activities the pair had suckered him into.

  Luke’s resolve faltered. He turned to watch Ling Loi. Mesmerized, he stared at the back of her head while she combed out her hair. It reminded him of the times he had witnessed his mother and sister brush out their hair. He fought back a longing for home.

  Luke leaned back and stared at the ceiling. More than once he had talked himself out of bouts of homesickness brought on because he missed his mother and the sister he had left behind as he took steps to rid his life of the plague that was his stepfather. He refused to feel sentimental now, especially over a young woman who had come from a land on the other side of the world. Within the week, she would return to her native people. She would resume following their customs which were so foreign to what he knew.

  “Tex didn’t bother you, did he?” As soon as he blurted out the words, Luke questioned the wisdom of asking. He hoped the man had abided by Charley’s decision to take her back untouched. However, it was too late to worry about any demands Tex might have made on her while Luke had been gone. Was it his curiosity or jealousy asking? Why did he feel it important to know?

  Loi shook her head. “No. Tex no want Ling Loi.”

  Ignoring his sense of relief, Luke blew out his breath in disgust at his current situation. Maybe he would have been better off if he had taken the twenty dollars and left, and then tried to forget that he knew Ling Loi had been abducted by two of the biggest scoundrels he had ever met. The problem with his decision to stay was that he knew he was starting to care about Ling Loi. It was not just a matter that he felt concern over what would happen to her. He was starting to care about her personally, and that he could not afford to do.

  He jerked his attention back to Loi’s question.

  “Mr. Tex, Mr. Char-Boss no back tomorrow?”

  “It’s possible, Miss Ling, but I don’t expect it. I think they’ll be gone longer.”

  “No miss. No Christian missionary like Miss Johnson. Name only Ling Loi. Sometime Miss Johnson call Ling Loy name Joy. Joy mission name for Ling Loi.”

  Luke’s forehead wrinkled briefly as he processed what she had revealed. “Joy, huh?”

  “Hai. Yes. Jesus born, angels sing joy. Miss Johnson say Ling Loi joy, like angels.”

  Luke didn’t respond at first. He was familiar with the Christmas story and the part about the angels appearing to the shepherds. As a young boy, while his father was still alive and the family lived in town, he had played the role of one of the shepherds in the school pageant. Mostly, he recalled he had been allowed to attend the white school because his father had made such an issue of it. He was legally married by white law to his wife, and his children were legitimate. As such, even though they were a quarter Ojibwa, they had the right to attend.

  Their cozy world fell apart after his father left on a buying trip for his mercantile and never came back. Through her grief, Luke’s mother had wisely realized she no longer possessed a means of support for her family. Their position in the white town no longer secure, she packed up Luke and his younger sister and moved them back on the reservation with her mother’s people.

  Luke brought his thoughts back to Ling Loi and what she had shared about being called Joy by a Christian missionary. “I’m sure you are a joy. Tell me, how did you know a Christian missionary name Miss Johnson?”

  “English mission, in Canton, China. Miss Johnson teach English. Father, Reverend Johnson, teach Jesus. Teach Bible. Many very good stories. Jesus god very high man, like Buddha.”

  Luke mulled over Loi’s words. Evidently, she had first learned English at a Christian mission. As for Jesus, after his father’s death, Luke had not concerned himself much with a church where most of the members looked down on his family because of their tribal blood. At the same time, many of the beliefs of his mother’s people filled him with a sense of peace. If pressed, he would probably call himself a Christian in spite of the prejudices of the white Christian church members.

  As for this Buddha person Ling Loi mentioned, Luke had never heard of him.

  “Ling Loi, calling a woman ‘miss’ does not mean she’s a missionary. In America, when talking to an unmarried woman, it is polite to say ‘miss’ and her last name—her family name. That is why I called you Miss Ling.”

  Loi cocked her head as she listened.

  “Family and close friends may call a woman by her first name, in your case, Loi. Do you understand?”

  Loi nodded, but the tone of her next question hesitant. “How say man names? What call man not Christian missionary?”

  “To be polite to men, you say ‘mister’ and then their family name.”

  “You—Mr. Shorty?”

  Luke exhaled and looked away. The last thing he deserved after what he had done the past month was to be addressed with respect. “No. Shorty isn’t my family name or my first name. It’s a nickname. Just call me Shorty. And don’t call the other two ‘mister’ either. Just Tex and Boss. Don’t call Boss Char or Char-Boss or he’ll get mad and who knows what he’ll do.”

  Loi didn’t miss a stroke as she continued to comb her hair. “Shorty, you no like Tex and Boss. Why you stay with them?”

  As he considered her question, Luke sighed
and scooted back to lean against a wall. Why was he with those two miscreants? “Because I’m an idiot, Miss Ling. I was almost out of money and needed work.” He watched her movements slow as he shared bits of his story, but far from all of it. He left out his real and assumed names, and the fact he was Ojibwa, not white. It was safer for both of them if she only knew him as Shorty. He didn’t know how much she understood, or if she cared. To her, he was an enemy. If she had the chance once she returned to Lundy, she could tell enough to get him arrested and put in jail—or hanged. Yet, it felt good to get some of his frustrations off his chest.

  “Boss give Shorty twenty dollar. Why Shorty not go far away, not come back?”

  Luke stood and took several steps away, his back to her as he considered how to answer. “He owes me much more than he offered me. And…truth be told…I didn’t like leaving you alone with them.”

  Luke rubbed his forehead. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them, even if they were true. If he really wanted to protect her, he should use this time to get her away from Tex and Charley Jardine—and probably away from the Chinese hoodlums, too. However, with what few supplies they had, the two half eagles in his boots, and one horse, they would not get very far.

  Loi’s words once again captured his attention. “Tex, Boss, very bad men. Shorty need to leave Tex, Boss. Go far away.”

  “I plan to, Miss Ling. As soon as I see this business through and get you back to where you’ll be safe with the Chinese, I’ll get my money from Boss one way or the other. Then I’m leaving California and I don’t plan to come back.”

  ~o0o~

  Facing away from each other, Loi knew Luke did not see her lower her gaze to her lap where she dropped her hand that still held the comb. He planned to go away, but she could never leave.

  Several seconds later, Loi resumed combing her hair, her movements slower than before. While she listened to Luke tell how he foolishly allowed Tex and Boss to ensnare him in their criminal schemes, she almost began to sympathize with him. Almost. So many times, after learning Boss and Tex were bad men, he could have escaped, but he wanted money first. Boss was right. Shorty was greedy.

  Loi squeezed her eyes shut as she recalled him saying he stayed to help her get back to safety. Did he not realize there was no safe place for her? No matter if she returned to Lundy or was sent to Chinatown in San Francisco, the men who controlled her would be angry she went missing. They would take their frustrations out on her.

  For a moment, Loi felt a surge of vindication at the thought that if the hatchet men came after the white Americans who had stolen her, they would also suffer. Only, if the hatchet men were to find her now, the two men who deserved punishment the most—Boss and Tex—were nowhere around.

  She heaved a sigh of regret, chastising herself for such thoughts. Loi realized there was more than the greed for money involved. Boss and Tex held some kind of power over Shorty to force him to do their will, just like her brother in China had held power over her and forced her to go with the snakehead who sold her to the On Yick tong who had power over her now.

  Shorty treated her well—for now. However, Loi knew, in the end, she could not trust him. Once he received the money Boss promised him, and once he believed she was safely back with the Chinese, he would desert her to her fate, just like everyone else in her life.

  .

  .

  .

  .

  Chapter 20

  ~o0o~

  T he rain stopped by morning. When Luke stepped outside the cabin, clouds scuttled eastward, blocking the sun, but blue sky appeared overhead. He knew with the dust knocked down, they would shortly enjoy a clear, sunny day. It was not the sort of day Luke wished to spend trapped inside a cabin watching over a hostage.

  After feeding his horse, Luke brought out a burlap bag with the other half of the chicken tied inside. He had hung the uncooked chicken in the far corner of the cabin the night before. However, with a fire going to keep the room warm for Loi, he figured it would stay cooler in the shade of the trees until Loi was ready to cook it for supper.

  After mounting his horse bareback, he searched several yards from the cabin until he found a tree with a sturdy limb up high, but with not too many branches between it and the ground. It took several tries before he successfully slung the rope over the branch. Besides the other varmints in the area that would love a meal of chicken, Luke knew it was about time for bears to go into hibernation. They still scavenged for any food they could find to build up their body fat for the coming winter. Hoisting the meat beyond their reach would provide the best chance of saving it for him and Loi. He tied off the rope holding the cache.

  Luke rode back to the pole barn Tex had rigged up but stopped as he turned to return to the cabin. Loi walked toward the cabin from the tall cluster of boulders he had taken her to before. She held the bandanna in her hand as she studied the ground, no doubt to keep from stumbling on the uneven surface. Luke smiled as he waited in the shadows until she reached for the outside wall of the cabin before he called her name. She quickly slid the blindfold in place.

  “No see, Shorty. Honest.” Feeling her way, she followed the log walls until she reached the door where Luke joined her.

  “I know, Miss Ling. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you needed my help. Can you eat flapjacks sprinkled with sugar without feeling sick? I want to save what little rice I have for supper tonight and tomorrow.”

  Loi nodded, and Luke led her to the log stool before he put the cast iron skillet on to heat. He poured another cup of tea made earlier and placed it in Loi’s hands before he gathered the ingredients for their meal. All five eggs had made the trip to the cabin without breaking open, but Luke picked out the one with the large crack on it to use in his batter. Once cooked, he sprinkled a small amount of sugar on Loi’s two cakes and handed them to her.

  As Luke rolled his flapjacks and began to eat, he reflected that, if they were back where he had grown up, he would have topped them with syrup made from the maple trees on his people’s land. Tapping the trees and gathering the sweet sap from the maple forests was a large production—one that provided much-needed income for the tribe. His mother, like many of the women, maintained a second wigwam among the maple trees during sap season.

  Afterwards, Luke cleaned up the cabin. He glanced at Loi and experienced a pang of regret. With being blindfolded and having nothing to do, he imagined she felt bored as well as frightened. At least he kept partially busy fixing food and taking care of the cabin. He entertained the idea of taking her for a ride. If she sat in front of him and promised to keep her eyes forward, it might work. Then again, it would not be smart for her to see where they were. Even though he planned to leave as soon as he got his money from Charley, no one knew the future. He might need to come back to the cabin.

  Luke heard his mare snort and stomp in agitation. He jumped to his feet. “Stay here, Miss Ling. I’ll be back as soon as I check on the horse.”

  Luke stood next to his horse and grabbed its halter while he stroked the animal’s neck and withers with the other. “Take it easy, girl. I know you’re getting restless being cooped up here. So am I. But we’ll be going soon.”

  In spite of the soothing words, the horse remained restless. Luke considered taking her to the stretch of grass down by the creek to graze. It wasn’t so far that he couldn’t keep an eye on her. As long as he kept the horse hobbled, he did not need to worry about her running off.

  Just to be sure the area was free of varmints that might disturb his mare, Luke slowly walked the perimeter of the clearing. He kept one hand on his pistol grip and the other fingered his knife and the hatchet hanging from the loop in his belt. He sensed the scarcity of wildlife noises, quieter than he would have expected after a rain and the return of the sun. However, nothing looked out of place.

  Luke returned to the cabin to get his leather hobbles from his saddle. He also grabbed his Winchester rifle.

  “Shorty. Need outside.�
��

  Luke secured the loops of the hobble in his belt. “All right, Miss Ling. Let’s take you someplace different.”

  Once outside, Luke moved to stand behind Loi. He knew he was taking a chance, but he wanted to give the woman an opportunity to see something besides the back of her eyelids. Since the clearing was surrounded by trees and rocks, there were no identifying characteristics that would help her guide someone to the cabin. “I’m taking you in a new direction. Now, listen. I’ll take your blindfold off and you walk in front of me. But first you promise to not turn around and look at me. Agree?”

  Loi nodded, a hint of excitement in her voice. “Yes.”

  Luke pulled up the neckerchief he wore around his neck until it covered the lower half of his face. “All right. Take the blindfold off of your eyes and walk forward. I’ll guide you from behind.” At her nod, Luke gently placed his free hand on her shoulders and started forward. Loi removed the bandanna and slid it on her arm. Taking the small steps her feet allowed, she moved her eyes from side to side to view her surroundings. Luke walked directly behind, occasionally grasping her arm to steady her.

  The horse continued to create a commotion in the stall. Luke reached for Loi’s shoulder to stop her. He turned her so she faced away from the pole barn. “Stay here. Don’t move or turn around. I’ll be right back.” Without waiting to see if she obeyed him, Luke trotted over to once again check on his mount. Finding nothing, he returned to Loi and resumed walking her towards the destination he had in mind.

  Soon he arrived at a flat spot immediately behind a trio of boulders that rose several feet above him. Before them, the ground began a gradual slope down to a small meadow, the same one where Luke planned to take his horse to graze. The tree in which Luke had hung the other half of the chicken grew close to the edge of the tree line next to the same grassy field. The stream he used for their water ran through the far side. Aspens that rose steeply into the next hill bordered the opposite bank of the creek. It created a pretty scene for viewing. Knowing she had no idea where they were, and her feet prevented her from fleeing, Luke decided to leave her there for longer than usual while he stood guard.