Escape From Gold Mountain Read online

  Luke bit back the bitter threats he felt like hurling Charley’s way. Instead, he glared at the man, taking into account the calculating gleam in the Canadian’s eyes and his hand hovering near his knife.

  Luke’s mind raced as he considered his options. He could take the money and go, even if it meant fighting his way out. He already knew enough short-cuts through the surrounding remote territory to get far away quickly. However, if he left under these circumstances, would Charley end up fingering him for the abduction just as he once threatened to blame him for the cattle rustling?

  Although he gave no indication to the others, an awareness of the Chinese woman seated on one of the log stools not far from him jarred his conscience. He wondered—in addition to being cattle rustlers, thieves, and abductors, were Charley and Tex also murderers? If he left, she had no protection from them. She was not his concern, but he hesitated at the thought of walking away and later discovering the worst had happened to her.

  Luke tossed the reticule back to Charley. “I want all my money.”

  Charley turned to Luke with a grin. “That’s what I thought. I can count on your loyalty because of your greed, eh?”

  Luke refused to answer. He picked up a twig which he ignited by shoving it through the grate over the coals in the fireplace, and then he walked over to the kerosene lantern and lit it. “What if you find there is no more? Maybe they don’t pay the Chinese whores the same as white women. Maybe that’s all she made. But, to steal her off the stagecoach?” Luke shook his head in disbelief. “Once you found out she didn’t have a lot of money on her, why didn’t you just cut your losses and let her go?”

  Charley stepped forward until he towered over Luke. “You’re forgetting I told you how long the winters can last up this way, Shorty. Two hundred and sixty is not nearly enough until we can start getting around again next spring. The miners who told me about the money said it amounted to thousands. I’m not settling for less.”

  Tex took his last sip of coffee from his cup, stepped to the doorway, and tossed the dregs aside before closing the door behind him. He turned and faced Charley. “When y’all hired me for this here job, y’all said I’d get one hundred dollars for taking the main risk of getting her off the stage, plus I’d get a cut of the take. You figured it would be thousands. Where is it, Boss?”

  The grimace on Charley’s face revealed the same concern. “I don’t know. The men that told me about it sounded sure they’d be sending that much.”

  Tex snorted his disgruntlement. “Y’all put your faith in a couple of gossiping miners? Way I see it, I’ve just about had enough of your schemes. Just give me what you took off her and I’ll make do.”

  Charley snapped with impatience. “No one asked you, Tex. You won’t get your share until I got all the money.” He paused as a thought occurred to him. “Maybe she has more in her boots. Hold her by the waist, Shorty, while I check.”

  Luke felt the woman stiffen as he put one arm around her shoulders and slid the other behind her knees. He lifted her in his arms and sat on the stool she had been using. He pushed her one arm behind him and grabbed her other hand in case she fought him. He turned so Charley could reach her feet.

  It was not until Charley began to remove the boots that the woman began to struggle.

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  Chapter 12

  ~o0o~

  A s a result of the prostitute work she had been forced into, Loi had become inured to men seeing most of her body. Her feet were another issue. No matter who came to her room for her to pleasure, she always wore soft, embroidered silk stockings. Some Chinese customers found her large feet that had been unbound years earlier disgusting and proof that she was not highest quality. Her feet had grown some since her parents unbound them, and the broken arches were not as severe. Some of her toes had straightened so they no longer curled underneath the sole of her foot. Still, her feet appeared stunted and deformed in the eyes of the white men who were brought to her. Caught midway between having beautiful bound lotus feet like a high-class woman and large, ugly extremities like a peasant, Loi refused to allow anyone see her feet.

  As soon as Charley began to tug on the first boot, she resisted him far more stringently than she would have if he had proceeded to strip her. She did not wish these white hoodlums to shame her by making sport of her misshapen appendages. She refused to willingly swallow this bitterness.

  Charley growled his annoyance. “Hold still, you little whore. I won’t hurt you as long as you stop fighting me.”

  Loi cried out her objection in rapid Cantonese as she did her best to fight off the man trying to bare her feet. Tears filled her eyes as she realized she did not have the strength to stop him from removing her felt boots.

  ~o0o~

  After he looked inside both boots, Charley threw them down in disgust. “There’s nothing in there. Do you think she put money inside those stockings she’s wearing?”

  Tex grabbed an ankle and held it so he could see it by the light of the campfire. “Got no idea, Boss. I don’t see enough room in them to hide much of anything—not even paper money. Look how small them feet are, and how they’re shaped all funny-looking.”

  Luke, who had all he could handle to keep from dropping the struggling woman, spun in a half turn which jerked her foot out of their hands. “Maybe they’re this way because her family bound her feet when she was young.”

  Both men stopped and turned to Luke as he sat on the log stool, still holding Loi in his arms. Charley glared at Luke with suspicion. “We already thought of that. I’ll check them just the same.” Once again, Charley grabbed a foot and pulled it towards the light of the fire so he could see to remove the stocking. As soon as he pulled the soft fabric off, Loi wailed her distress as she jerked her foot out of his hand and wedged it between Luke’s calf and the log he sat upon.

  While Charley turned the stocking inside out to check for hidden money, Tex cursed and blew out a breath. He shook his head. “Did y’all see that? No wonder she can’t hardly walk.”

  Luke managed a glimpse of her foot before she hid it. More importantly, he sensed the heightened distress the woman in his arms experienced at having her foot exposed to view. Her body heaved with sobs as she curled into a fetal position. Her hands covered her head which she pressed towards her knees. He instinctively tightened his arms around her to comfort her as much as to keep her from falling on the ground.

  Charley swore and stomped in a half circle while waving the stocking. He then turned back to face Luke and the woman. “Not a penny. I want that money they were sending with her. I’ll get it one way or the other, even if it means beating it out of her.”

  Luke stood and settled the woman on the log, placing himself between her and Charley. He held his hand out. “If there was no money in that stocking, I doubt there is any in the other. Give it back, Charley. Let the woman get dressed.”

  Charley’s face morphed into a murderous scowl as he took a step forward and jabbed his finger in Luke’s face. “You aren’t the one giving the orders, Shorty. You better remember, I’m the boss. Now, I heard it said the Chinese were sending thousands to Chinatown with the painted Chinawoman. I want that money!”

  “Money go Dai Fow, Chinatown, San Flancisco, Wells Falgo Expless. Ah Chin, Lundy tong boss, boss of Ling Loi, send same day buy Ling Loi ticket.”

  All three men turned to look at Loi. They studied the top of her head as she continued to sit on the log, her bare foot hidden behind her other leg.

  Tex spoke first. “Don’t that beat all? The little Chinawoman speaks English. Y’all best watch what you say.”

  Without a word, Luke turned back to Charley and snatched the stocking out of the man’s hand. He then stepped to where Loi’s boots had been dropped on the dirt floor of the cabin and picked them up. He kept his voice quiet and steady. “Now you know where the money is. It’s obvious she doesn’t have any more money than what you already found on he
r. Let her get dressed.” He slapped the footwear against his leg to knock the dust off as he stepped over to Ling Loi. He gently placed the boots and stocking in the woman’s hands before he straightened up and turned back to face Charley.

  Charley had yet to speak. Luke stayed within two feet of the woman and remained alert as he watched Charley study their captive while he mulled over the information she had given them.

  Luke folded his arms and glared at Charley. “Now you know the money’s long gone. Have some coffee and dish up some beans. You can take her back tomorrow and drop her off somewhere close to town so she can make her way back. Give Tex his two hundred and me my fifty, and you can keep the take from the cattle. We can all go our own ways.”

  Charley turned his head until the gaze from his narrowed eyes met Luke’s. “I keep telling you, but you don’t listen. I make the decisions. I’m not taking the Chinawoman anywhere yet. She brings in big money with her whoring. Those Chinese will pay to get her back.”

  Behind him, Luke sensed the woman rising to her feet. He stepped back and gently reached for her upper arm to steady her until he knew her footing was secure.

  “Lundy boss for Ling Loi not pay money, he say Ling Loi worthless slave. No want. Ling Loi need go San Flancisco. You take.” Like many Chinese, Loi had difficulty making the “r” sound when she spoke English.

  Charley pursed his lips as he studied her. “You speak pretty good English. I’ll bet you understand even more.”

  “Very small English. You take money, take Ling Loi Dai Fow, San Francisco Chinatown. Ling Loi slave of On Yick tong high man, make him much money in Dai Fow brothel. Ling Loi not go Dai Fow, On Yick tong high man very angry. Very bad for Ling Loi. Very bad for American bad men. Send boo how doy, hatchet men, cut American bad men very bad. Maybe kill.”

  Charley grunted and shook his head in disbelief. He stepped forward and grabbed the woman’s arm. With great effort she managed to keep her balance. “Ling Loi, huh? That your name? Ling?”

  The woman pointed at herself. “Ling Loi. Go Dai Fow, San Francisco.”

  “I think her first name is Loi.”

  Charley spun to face Luke. “Who asked you? You figure you’re an expert on the Chinese, Shorty?”

  Luke shook his head. “No. But like I told you, I left the ship in San Francisco. I saw some Chinese while I was there and got curious. I asked around about them a little. I was told they say their last name first.”

  “Family name most important. Say first. Family name Ling. You take Ling Loi San Francisco, Chinatown. Take very quick, maybe hatchet men not come, no kill American bad men.”

  Tex turned his head and spit on the ground in disgust. “Little Chinese men with hatchets don’t scare me none. And, I don’t care nothing about the little Chinawoman’s name. What I want to know is, how much money are y’all planning to ask from them Chinese up in Lundy to get her back, and how you planning to do it, Char…?”

  Charley cut Tex off. “No names! I already told you, no real names, eh?”

  “If you say so, Boss, though y’all sure wasn’t so careful with mine.”

  “Stop your whining. We’ve bigger things to worry over. If what she says is true, and the Lundy Chinese won’t pay for her, maybe we’ll need to go wherever they were sending her to for the ransom. What did she say they call the Chinese bosses there in San Francisco? Hatchet men or something?”

  Loi spoke up, hoping her warning would convince these men to let her go. “Boo how doy. Hatchet men. Very bad. Work protection for On Yick Zyu, he high man—big boss. You take Ling Loi San Francisco quick, maybe boo how doy no come.”

  All three men turned to the Loi as they considered her words.

  The side of Luke’s mouth twitched with amusement. Although the woman had no doubt been raised to be submissive and defer to men, he had to admire her show of courage and defiance as, with the blindfold covering her eyes, she stood up straight. Only the slight trembling of her body revealed her fear. She had no idea what she risked standing up to Charley, let alone ordering him to take her to San Francisco.

  Luke broke the silence that followed. “Heard they’re some bad hombres. They might be small, but they’re quick and deadly. You don’t want to tangle with them.”

  “Like I said, little Chinese hatchet men don’t scare me none.”

  “I wouldn’t invite trouble from them if I were you. I’ve heard what they can do.”

  “You must be quite the coward, Shorty,” Jardine shot back defiantly.

  Luke bristled at the accusation. Because of his earlier training among his mother’s people, he knew, of the three of them, he had the best chance of successfully fighting off a knife or hatchet attack from a Chinese hatchet man. “You want me to prove I’m no coward, Char…oh, excuse me, Boss? You might be pretty free whirling that knife around while you’re drunk, but you willing to take me on sober?”

  Charley offered Luke a quick, hateful glance, then narrowed his eyes to study the small woman before him. “No, I don’t need to prove anything to you, Shorty. Save it in case any of those hatchet men show up looking for her. I’ve decided I don’t need to deal with the Chinese in San Francisco. I’ll let those Chinamen up in Lundy worry about them, eh? If they want her back, they can pay to get her back. They’ll do it, too, so they don’t have to worry about the hatchet men from San Francisco coming after them for losing their woman.” Charley turned back to Tex. “You keep an eye on her while I’m gone, Tex. I’m planning to leave for several days.”

  “Boss, I don’t cotton to tending nobody. Tell Shorty to.”

  Luke shook his head in disbelief. “You’re really planning to hold her for ransom?”

  Charley’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “You’re a bit slow, eh? Of course, I plan to hold her for ransom. One way or another I’m getting money out of her.”

  Tex shot his hand out to grab Charley’s arm. “We’re not set up for that, Boss. There’s not enough grub but for a couple of days. We don’t got no blankets for her, either.”

  Charley glanced at his arm and snapped back. “You like drawing breath, Tex? If so, get your hand off me. Get us set up for it, then. In the meantime, maybe she can share your blanket.” Charley tossed the reticule with the twenty dollars back to Luke. “Shorty, in the morning, go into Bodie for more food and extra blankets. They don’t know you there.”

  “I tried for a job at the Standard Mine a month back. They’ve seen me.”

  “So, you’re a down-on-your-luck miner who’s buying enough supplies to head back home. Get what we need for another week or so.”

  “I’m not paying for supplies for all of us out of my portion of the money.”

  Exasperated, Charley reluctantly agreed. “All right. Just do your part, and you’ll get your full fifty when it’s all over. Just use this for now. Tex will be watching the Chinawoman while I go to Lundy to arrange the ransom.”

  Luke slowly stood, his eyes flickering between Charley, Tex and Loi. “You sure it’s a good idea to leave her here alone with Tex?”

  Tex straightened to his full height. He leaned forward until he loomed over Luke. There was no mistaking the growl in his voice. “What y’all trying to say, Shorty?”

  In spite of the height advantage Tex had on him, Luke refused to back down. “I figure all you care about is the money. What’s to stop you from taking off and leaving her here to fend for herself?”

  “Not a bad idea. I’m fixing to find better ways to spend my time.”

  “No, Tex, I told you to stay. That means you better stay if you want your cut.”

  “Where’s she going to go, Boss? She don’t know where she is, and she can’t get far with them feet.”

  Luke jumped into the conversation. “If she’s alone and something happens to her, then it’s Char…Boss and I who are left to deal with whoever might come after us.”

  “Nothing’s going to happen to her. Look, China-lover, much as I don’t relish tending her, you and Boss can’t get rid of me that easy. I�
�m going nowhere without my money.”

  “Shorty, let me worry about Tex. You’re the least known of the three of us, so it’s up to you to go into town and get what we need. They’ll pay less attention to you in Bodie, so don’t go to Bridgeport unless you have to. If you’re so worried about the Chinawoman, don’t drag your feet getting back. Then you’ll have plenty of time to take your turn with her, eh?”

  Luke huffed in disgust. “I don’t rape women.”

  Exasperated, Charley snarled back. “She’s a whore, Shorty. You can’t rape a whore, especially a Chinese one.”

  An edge of determination in his voice, Luke held his ground. “I don’t force myself on unwilling women, I don’t care who or what they are.”

  “Then don’t! Your loss. Just do what you’re told if you want your fifty dollars.”

  Luke glowered at Charley. He was too close to breaking free of the miscreant to risk a physical confrontation. “I’ll go at first light. Nothing is open now.” He grabbed his spoon and enamel plate with its steep sides, scooped up some of the beans cooking over the fire into the dish and handed it to their captive. “Eat what you can, Miss Ling. There’s no outhouse here, but I’ll take you out so you can find a private place. After that, we’ll work out where you’re going to sleep.”

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  Chapter 13

  ~o0o~

  T he sky barely started to turn from black to a pinkish-gray when Luke threw his saddle over his horse. He glanced at Charley approaching him as he tightened the cinch. Tex stood in the doorway of the cabin, his cup of coffee in one hand and one of the flapjacks Luke had cooked up rolled in the other.

  Earlier, Luke had offered a pancake with a little sugar sprinkled on it to Loi. She had held it gingerly and wrinkled her nose at what was probably to her a strange food. Then she ate it. When he offered her a cup of coffee, she had stared at the ground and shook her head. “Ling Loi drink tea, no coffee.”