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They had just unloaded the horses when Angus appeared out of the darkness.
“What did you see?” Mac asked him.
Angus was looking at Matt. His face was covered in blood that had dried to a dark brown and he looked scary. “You have any soap?”
“Sure,” Mac said with a half grin to emphasize his sarcasm. “What you want it scented with? Roses?”
Angus looked at T.C. “Can you find something that he can clean himself with?”
T.C. couldn’t conceal his pride in being asked to help. Quietly, he left the camp to go into the darkness.
Angus sat down beside
Mac. “I went to their cabin. I didn’t go inside or let them know I was there, but I watched. I didn’t see anyone, but I did see a lot of footprints around the place. Something isn’t right, but I don’t know what it is.” He lowered his voice, and nodded toward Matt. “To tell you the truth, I’m afraid to deliver him to the fort. He can tell Wellman’s daughter that he doesn’t want her, but I don’t trust Austin not to decide he wants to hurt the boy anyway.”
Mac was just starting a fire but he put it out. “I think we should have a cold camp tonight. And tomorrow—”
“I’m going to take Aldredge back east. I don’t think he’s safe here. You take the soldiers back to the fort.”
“And let Austin have them?”
“I leave it to you to make them understand that if they want to live, they’ll have to stay away from Betsy Wellman.”
“And how will they understand me?” Mac asked, only half joking.
“Make them understand you. I’m going up there to sleep.” Angus looked up at a hill well above them. “I wish this were over. I’d rather—”
“I know,” Mac said, “fight the Campbells.”
Smiling, Angus stood up and slipped away into the darkness.
A few minutes later, T.C. returned with big leaves filled with an almost white clay still wet from where he’d dug it up at the side of a stream. His pockets were filled with long green leaves. “Put this clay all over your face, and when it’s dry, we’ll go down to the stream to wash it off.”
“Are those plants poisonous?” Naps asked, a bit jealous that T.C. was no longer as useless as he felt.
“They’ll help heal your wounds,” T.C. told Matt as he handed him the clay. They had only moonlight to see by, but the clay almost glowed, and T.C. made sure that Matt covered all his blood-encrusted skin. When he was done, T.C. led him down the hill to the stream to help him wash it off. When he was clean, T.C. twisted the comfrey leaves and gently applied them to the deep cut on Matt’s head. Together, they went back up the hill to where Mac and Naps were waiting for them. After arranging the order of the watch, Mac settled down to sleep.
About an hour before dawn, Angus woke him, his finger to his lips to be quiet. T.C. was standing to one side, a rifle over his shoulder. Angus made gestures to tell Mac to pack and get out of there, then he woke the other two. Matt awoke easily, but Angus had to put his hand over Naps’s mouth to keep him silent. Within minutes, they had their horses saddled and were ready to leave the camp.
As Angus put his foot in the stirrup, the first shot rang out, and it was followed by a volley of gunfire that echoed through the woods.
Before the sounds cleared, Naps had fallen. Angus grabbed the young man before he hit the ground, but he couldn’t keep the frightened horse from running away.
Shots began to come at lightning speed. Angus pulled Naps to safety behind some trees while Mac tried to get the horses. Only Angus’s horse remained steadfast amid the whizzing bullets.
“Down!” Angus shouted to T.C. and Matt. “Get down on the ground and stay there.”
Angus’s only thought was that he had to get the men under his care to safety. He glanced down at Naps. Blood was seeping out of his shoulder and his eyes were closed, but Angus didn’t think the injury was life threatening. “Don’t move a muscle,” he said to the boy.
Naps didn’t open his eyes, just grimaced against the pain and nodded.
Crouching and running at the same time, Angus made his way to Mac, who was standing behind a tree, his rifle ready to shoot.
“You see anyone?” Angus asked over the gunfire.
“Not a person, but the shots are coming from three places.”
Angus was glad that Mac had kept calm enough that he hadn’t run into the open firing. Three of the horses had run away, and that meant they were low on ammunition. If this was to be a long battle, they’d need all that they had.
