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The dust did not stir today, Chase noticed, yet the air was thick. Sweat trickled down his forehead, and he batted it away like a pesky fly.
He glanced at the Captain who was catnapping. Chase had to give the man credit, not once had he complained about anything, but kept trudging forward. He checked Lee, he was asleep. He found the Captain's binoculars and checked the horizon. They were still hours from the station. But their energy was lagging and in the shape they were in, they wouldn't be much help at the station.
Chase felt frantic. He needed to get to the station now.
He woke the Captain…"Sorry, but Katherine is in immediate danger now, I must go on ahead to help her."
"How do you know that?" the Captain wailed, his own lack of energy making him grumpy.
"It is enough that I know. And too complicated to explain. Can you stay here with Lee, take care of him?" Chase asked.
"You're going to tackle him alone?" The Captain frowned. "Are you crazy, he'll kill you on sight."
"I don't plan to be a target, Captain. But as I know how to sneak up on people, I can surprise him. Now…will you be alright with Lee?" Chase looked him in the eye.
"You really think she's in danger?" The Captain watched Chase react.
"I know she is…and if I don't get to her quickly, it will be too late." Chase gathered together what he thought he might need. "Whatever he's looking for, she doesn't know where it is, and he's getting impatient to find it. Something else is wrong, but I don't know what for sure."
"We'll be okay, you go on then. If you don't succeed it will be up to me," the Captain nodded with a passionless grin, and saluted him. "Give me a time frame to go by, so I'll know I must try to finish it."
"It will take me three hours maybe four to get there, then I must stake him out, find out what is going on, what he's doing, and what defense he has. Then along about dark, I will make my move, so I will have darkness on my side. If I’m not back here by sundown tomorrow, come on into the station." He waited till the Captain agreed then he shot him a sideways glance. "My thanks, Captain."
Chase scouted about for several long minutes, then came back to the camp. "I killed a rabbit and another snake for you." He held them up so both Lee and the Captain could see. "Cook it as I did, it will nourish you. Give you strength. Whatever you do, don't let anyone know you are out here. The Indians could come back, but again, they might just wait it out and see if the heat gets you, but there is much to watch for out here. The secret to surviving in the desert, Captain, in case they didn't teach you in the army, is to not move about and to be still. The less exertion, the less need for the water. You'll have enough if you go sparingly till tomorrow night. Then one way or another, you will need to head for the station."
"As long as I have my gun and knife, I can make it." The Captain reassured him.
"Captain, I will leave half for you, half for me. I will be back, and we will get to the fort," Chase instructed.
"How far is the next watering hole?"
"The station is the nearest water… Due south.
The Captain nodded. Getting his bearings on direction he checked the sun, firming his lips as to his own fate.
Not having to pull the travois would make the journey light and more bearable. Chase checked his supplies, his knife, his gun, and took the binoculars. Then after talking to Lee, he returned to the Captain, "I'm leaving now. Just don't move around much, rest as much as you can. If you want to try to make it to the station, wait till nightfall and try it. It will be easier to move at nightfall. Cooler and you can rest until then."
The Captain nodded, "Understood…. And Rivers?" he called to Chase before he left.
"Yeah…" Chase was busy checking for needed supplies.
"I was wrong about you. Just wanted you to know that." The Captain smiled at him. "Your attempt to save Corporal Lee, the woman, and even me with the snake has proven I was wrong. I let ego get in the way of my thinking. It will not happen again."
"Takes a real man to admit he's wrong, Captain." Chase smiled back. "I'll be back…soon I hope."
"Good luck…"
"Yeah…you too."
***
Chase worried over Katherine now, she hadn't been the same, and her spirit was not the same. What could Hawks have done to her to make her so? He was silently thankful that the Captain hadn't asked any more questions about how he knew so much. It was too complicated to tell him, and even then he might not believe it.
Traveling at a steady speed, he was only a mile from the station when he crept down low. He had taken the binoculars from the Captain so he could see from a distance. It was midday and the station looked silent. No sign of either one of them.
Chase waited. They could be resting from the intense heat, or eating. If there was food. He wondered if Katherine had eaten. Surely Hawks fed her something. Hunger alone could make her despondent after three days.
Checking once more he scoured the entire station, and then he saw her. She was getting water from the spring. Katherine drank then went back to the tree. She sat away from Hawks, but Hawks looked asleep. They were nestled under the oak tree. He could try it now, but in the daylight it was much more of a risk. He didn't want to do that. Even though he could see that Katherine was threadbare.
