Page 57 of Falling for the Cowgirl
She knelt and helped him, finding another charred stick and lighting it on fire as well. Within minutes they had a small blaze going. By adding the dried bones in small increments, they could buy enough light for an hour or two. If they got lucky, they wouldn’t need more time than that before the forest fire moved on and it was safe to leave the cave.
“Hope Hance and Otis are okay.” She pressed a hand to her forehead to ward off the frustration with herself for putting their lives in jeopardy.
“Where did you leave them?” Jericho crouched low and blew on the flames.
“On the other side of the summit. They were too tired to hike to the top.”
“Let’s pray the wind didn’t blow the flames that way.”
At the very least she prayed they’d been able to take refuge in the cave they’d passed.
“Might as well sit a spell.” She lowered herself to the ground—a mixture of granite and dirt. While the floor wasmostly smooth, the walls were jagged, as if they’d been hacked at to make more room. The rocky remains of such hewing had long ago been removed, leaving no debris behind except the line of stones.
Jericho stood and paced around, studying the walls and crevices.
“See anything?” Her eyes followed his every move. He was much too dashing in his suit coat and trousers.
“It hasn’t been occupied recently.” He swiped at a spiderweb dangling across the ceiling. “But from the remains of the fire and bones, I’d say people have used the cave within the last five years at least.”
“Maybe Irregulars during the war?”
“It’s possible.”
Since Colorado was still a territory of the United States and hadn’t yet been given the status of statehood, it hadn’t officially entered the war for either the Union or the Confederacy. Instead, both sides had leveraged the territory to their own advantage, primarily in using gold and silver mines to finance the war efforts. The governor had called for regiments of Union soldiers. But Confederates had formed militia groups as well. While no major battles had occurred between the two warring sides, the Confederates had engaged in irregular skirmishes, thus gaining the name Irregulars.
Jericho brushed a hand over the trail of stones, and as he did so, Ivy’s racing thoughts came to an abrupt halt. She pushed up from the ground and joined him in front of the formation. The fire wasn’t big and didn’t provide much light, but it was enough to recognize the rocks had been placed in the pattern of a rattlesnake.
Chapter
18
“Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Ivy radiated with excitement.
“Blazing smoke.” It had taken him a minute, but he’d finally recognized the winding snakelike pattern. The front stone was shaped like a head, and each of the other rocks varied in size, none bigger than a bushel basket, easy enough for a man to carry.
“This has got to be what Hance is looking for.” Ivy knelt and picked up the front rock. “Reckoned it’d be on the outside of the mountain marking the spot, not tucked away deep in a cave.”
“I think it’s in both places.” Jericho crouched beside her and ran his hand along the ground, feeling for any indentation that would signify the granite had been cut. “Back a ways as I scanned Windy Peak with my spyglass, I noticed a line of rocks curving up from the bottom of the ravine.” He’d aimed directly for it.
With the fire roaring toward the peak from the connecting mountain, he’d been frantic with the need to find Ivy andthe men. He hadn’t expected to see her scrambling around the summit and attempting to outrun the fire, but he’d been so relieved, he hadn’t had time to revel in the fact that he’d found her.
“That means the treasure’s in here somewhere.” Ivy stood and began to search around the cave, prodding and poking at the walls.
“Don’t get your hopes up too high.” He continued to run his hand along the ground, moving the rocks and checking under each one.
“You know if I find the treasure, I’m gonna have to hog-tie you and leave you behind?” Her tone was turning lighthearted, and he loved this playful side of her, knew it was his fault that she wasn’t like this more often around him.
“Hate to break it to you, but you’d never be able to hog-tie me.” He bantered back, hoping to keep the mood light for as long as possible. Because sooner or later, all that had happened at the Independence Day celebrations would come calling. They couldn’t hold the frustrations at arm’s length forever.
“Oh, I’ll hog-tie you.” She was on her hands and knees feeling along the perimeter. “Leastways until I can take my part of the treasure on back to Mr. Steele and buy that piece of land.”
Buying the land. That’s why she’d agreed to the treasure hunt with Hance. Because she was seeking a new way to earn money now that she couldn’t join in the cowhand competitions. He should have guessed as much. “You might think you’re the best roper this side of the Rockies, but you haven’t gone against me.”
“Think you’re good at it, do ya?”
“Don’t think it. I know it.”
She laughed lightly. “Reckon we oughta have a competition then. To prove who’s the best.”
