Sage nodded. "If they return, I'll be waiting and armed."

Travis saw it then, the McMurray spirit in her. All her life he'd worried about her, protected her, and how he knew that she would take care of herself.

"You'll have Mike to help. He's young, but he's the best."

Sage straightened and reached for Duck.

Mrs. Vivian rattled up in her carriage. While she was screaming and demanding to know what was going on, Travis loaded the widow and Sage, with Duck in her arms, in Mrs. Vivian's carriage and headed toward the Baileys.

While Travis changed into his leather trousers and his winter coat, Dr. Bailey bandaged the widow's arm and Sage unpacked the guns.

When Travis stormed toward the door, he noticed Sage had strapped a double gun belt around her waist. "Dottie's agreed to stay with me until you get back to help with the boy."

Travis nodded. The widow would be good with Duck, and the doctor would see that her wound was treated properly.

"Be careful," Sage whispered as she followed him to the door.

"I will," he answered as he kissed her head. "Make sure everyone is safe. Don't leave the house, and keep a gun within reach."

Duck blocked the door. Travis knelt on his good knee and pulled the boy to him. "I have to go," he whispered, "but I swear I'll be back." He had no idea how much the boy understood of what he said. But Duck had seen the blood and heard the screams. He knew what Travis had to do. "I have to go save Rainey. She's been kidnapped."

Duck nodded and stepped back as though he understood. Tears silently ran from his blue eyes. Sage moved behind him and held his shoulder as Travis left.

A few minutes later he pulled the buggy up to the boardinghouse just as the Rangers rode in. Seven men, all ready to ride for as long as it took.

Dillon was already ordering the men to spread out and enter the alley from either side.

Mike jumped down from his mount. "We'll bring her back."

Travis moved close to the young ranger. "I need a favor," he asked.

Mike might have argued with an order, but a favor was another story. "Name it," he said.

"I need to borrow your horse and I need you to stay with Sage until I get back."

"But-"

"Rainey's mine. I have to go after her." Travis's words registered against his heart. Rainey was his; she'd been his fairy woman since the moment they met. He added, "And I have to know Sage is safe."

Mike understood. He handed over the reins. "We'll be waiting when you bring her back. I'll guard her with my life."

Travis smiled. "I had a feeling you would."

Without another word, Travis hurried into the boarding-house. Nothing had changed since he'd left. The sisters were still crying, Mrs. Vivian was still yelling, and the man in black was still dead.

Travis and the Rangers went through the house, following the same path the kidnappers had used for their escape. Travis missed nothing. Several dining room chairs had been overturned. The back door had been left open.

A young black woman sat on the porch steps crying.

Travis motioned for the others to look around while he knelt. "Mamie," he said, remembering the name Rainey had called her. "Did you see anything?"

Mamie kept crying. "No, I was cleaning across in the saloon," she whispered. "But I heard the shots and I ran to see what was happening. Just before I reached the back door, Mr. Haskell slapped me so hard across the face I hit the floor. He told me to stay clear or we'd all be dead. Mr. Haskell sounded like he'd seen the devil. I ain't never seen a man look so scared.

"When I finally got to my feet, he didn't even notice me leaving."

"McMurray!" Dillon yelled from halfway down the alley. "They went this way. Two horses traveling fast." Dillon looked directly at Travis. "You riding lead?"

"I am."

Dillon nodded and followed Travis to the horses. "I've left men assigned to clean up. I'm riding with you."

"Thanks," Travis answered, knowing there were none better than Dillon.

He checked the saddle and shoved his cane in with the rifle. The hardest part would be swinging into the saddle, he told himself. From then on, there would be no stopping.

Dillon stood close, one hand on the reins, ready to help if needed.

Travis bit his bottom lip and forced his body up. His muscles responded to the years of climbing into a saddle and he swung up in one fluid motion, not feeling the pain until he landed.

"Ready to ride?" Dillon asked.

"Ready," Travis answered as the other Rangers circled around him.

They shot out of town at full gallop following the trail easily.

He hadn't been on a horse in months and his leg ached all the way to the bone, but he didn't stop, couldn't stop, because his heart hurt twice as much.

CHAPTER 26

At the river, the Rangers split up. Dillon took two men and moved downstream. Travis, leading an extra horse, rode with Roy Dumont heading upstream. The kidnappers were obviously trying to hide their tracks, but they'd leave a trail coming out of the stream long before a Ranger would give up looking.

"I'll fire a round if we see where they exit," Dillon said. "You do the same."

Travis knew there was a good chance they'd be too far apart to hear one another's shots, but he also knew outlaws were often not the brightest men around. Last year he'd worked a stage robbery where the bandit shot his own horse in a display of gunfire meant to frighten the passengers. Riding in the stream might be a good way to hide their trail, but it was also more dangerous and slower.

Roy Dumont didn't say a word as he took the left bank of the stream and began to look for sign. With the man in black dead, only two men stood between them and Rainey.

Travis would worry about who else might have been in on the plot to get even with him later.

He planned as he rode. Now was not the time to hope; he had to use all his skill and look at the facts. He had to get to her fast. Once the men discovered she wasn't Sage, they might kill her-or worse. Surely they knew the Rangers would be after them. The Rangers would have been even if someone kin to a Ranger hadn't been the target. How dare the outlaws think they could commit such a crime within blocks of the Ranger headquarters? The Normans were either stupid or very sure of themselves.

Seth and Eldon would probably ride until their horses gave out, which would be long before any Ranger's horse stopped.

If their horses made it until dark, there would be lots of places they could hide in this country. With only a sliver of a moon to see by, tracking could be difficult. If the Normans had any sense, they wouldn't light a fire. In the dark they might not know they had the wrong woman until morning. If they did set up camp, even in the firelight they'd see that Rainey wasn't Sage.

Travis pushed harder. He had to reach Rainey before dark. Her abductors might have decided they had gotten away with the crime if no one caught up with them by sunset. They'd build a fire and have their first good look at Rainey. With her blond hair she couldn't fool them into believing she was Sage for a moment.

He closed his eyes, thinking how frightened she must be. And she had a right to be. Seth and Eldon planned to make Travis suffer. They probably saw it as only fair to kill his sister since Travis had killed their brother in a gunfight.

Travis forced his mind away from thinking about how they'd kill her.

"Here!" Roy yelled as his horse climbed up the left bank. "Two sets of fresh tracks."

Roy slipped from his mount and knelt. He read the sign easily. "One is riding heavy-that's the horse with the girl and the stout man you said the widow described. It has to be Seth. The other mount stumbled coming out of the water. He won't last long if they keep riding him so hard."

Slipping back on his horse, Roy raised his rifle and fired once.

"You think Dillon heard?" Travis asked. They'd only split up thirty minutes ago, but Dillon and his party would be moving faster traveling downstream.

Roy shook his head. "Looks like we're going this one alone."

To Travis's surprise, Roy winked and added with a smile, "More fun that way." He must have seen the worry in Travis's eyes because he added, "Don't worry, we'll get her back."

They rode on for an hour across rolling countryside before Roy stopped again to study the ground. Travis wanted to look, but he knew if he got off, he might not be able to climb back in the saddle. His leg had finally stopped throbbing and was numb. He'd be no help to Rainey on foot.

While Roy read the trail, Travis cut one of the leather straps off the back of Mike's saddle and laced it around the top of his leg, tying himself to the saddle.

He took a drink from his canteen, realizing he hadn't eaten since yesterday. He wasn't sure he could eat anything until he found Rainey. He thought of how frightened of the dark she'd been. She wouldn't go into the alley alone, and now she was miles from anything she knew. She must be mad with panic. She had no way of even knowing he was looking for her.

"I'll find you," he mumbled to himself. "No matter how far they take you, I swear, I'll find you."

"The horse that stumbled coming out of the water is near finished." Roy removed his hat and wiped his brow. "The man riding single, probably Eldon, turned off here. If he doesn't stop, he'll have to put the horse down."

Travis saw a stand of thick oak maybe half a mile away. "He's planning to hold up in there. My guess is he's already found him a safe place to hide where he can see if anyone's coming."

Roy nodded. "He won't see me. I'll go get him." He covered his eyes and looked up at Travis. "Can you handle the other outlaw alone? I could ride with you and let this rabbit go."