Chapter 15
The snow was falling outside Andrew’s tent in fits and flurries. It wormed its way in through every gap and chink in the canvas.
Emily sat beside Michael on a bench and snuggled up to him beneath a pile of blankets, resting her head on his shoulder.
“So, let me get this straight,” Andrew said. “You thought that by stealing the copper and giving it to this El Aguila person, you were protecting the camp from more bandit attacks?”
Stevens, Adams, and Perez nodded.
“It was Stevens’s plan,” Adams said.
“That’s not true!” Stevens snapped. “When I was in San Antonio dropping off a shipment, I met El Aguila. He bought me lunch and a whiskey, and we talked. He was very reasonable. He said that he wouldn’t hurt anyone else in the camp if we paid him the tribute he was due.”
“Of course,” Robert scoffed. “He thinks he’s owed something.”
“He does. He says this is his territory and we’re all trespassing,” Stevens insisted, his expression desperate.
“I didn’t believe him at first. I thought he was full of hot air.
But he assured me that all he wanted was some of what we were mining, and then he would leave us alone.
After San Cristo, I couldn’t do it anymore.
I just couldn’t keep living waiting for the next attack, never knowing if I or maybe one of my friends would be killed.
You keep talking about doing something about the bandits, but you do nothing.
You hope that little traps will keep us safe.
They won’t. Now, if the shipments stop, El Aguila will burn the camp to the ground. ”
“Then we’ll go to his camp and burn it down first,” Troy said vehemently. Lizzy was being tended to by Julie, and Emily knew Troy was only away from her side with extreme reluctance because Andrew had asked him to be at this meeting.
Michael shook his head. “We don’t know enough about him and his camp and his men. We could walk right into a trap that would see us all killed for sure. More firepower might be a better answer.”
“Or, we could work with the law and find a way to get this El Aguila arrested and shipped off to jail,” Robert said. “Don’t underestimate the power of a good case. We could get him and all his cronies arrested and rotting in a cell.”
“There won’t be time for any of that,” Stevens said desperately. “If we don’t make the next shipment in a few weeks, the camp won’t be here anymore.”
Andrew shifted in his seat. “We’ll need to talk this through a lot more.
But I think what we can agree on is that Stevens, Adams, and Perez, you’ll have to keep making deliveries to this man for the time being.
It’s a loss for us, but so far it has kept El Aguila and his men from causing more harm. ”
“See!” Stevens said, looking at the others as though he was suddenly proud of himself.
“Don’t misunderstand me,” Andrew said, his tone harsh and angry.
“I’m not saying you did the right thing.
I’m saying that the only way to keep us all safe and alive is to keep El Aguila thinking that nothing has happened and that you aren’t compromised.
The moment he finds out, I suspect this little truce will be done. We need time to work out what to do.”
Stevens sagged. “So, I’m in a heap of manure no matter which way we look at it?”
“You dug your own hole,” Michael snapped. “And then you threw my girl and Lizzy into one. So don’t go looking for sympathy!
Emily blushed and huddled closer to him. Catching his slightly embarrassed smile when he glanced at her, she offered him one of her own to make sure she knew she liked being his girl.
“This is all going to take a lot of thought and discussion. I think we can excuse you, Emily,” Andrew said. “There’s no reason for you to sit here through all of that.”
“Thank you,” Emily said. “I want to go and see Lizzy anyway.”
Although her friend had opened her eyes and seemed somewhat coherent on the way back, Emily felt guilty for not staying with her.
“Please tell Lizzy I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Troy asked her, his eyes full of worry.
Emily nodded. “I will certainly do that.”
“I’ll come and find you in a bit when we’re done here,” Michael said.
“I’ll see you later,” Emily said and gave his hand a squeeze.
She pulled on the heavy coat Michael had loaned her earlier and hurried for the medical tent.
Lizzy was lying on a cot, bundled in a blanket. Her face was oddly flushed.
“How is she?” Emily asked Julie.
“She’s fine,” Julie said.
“And the red cheeks?” Emily asked.
“I think it’s from the sudden warmth,” Julie said. “There are three blankets covering her. She also had a warm cup of tea not so long ago. Don’t worry. I don’t think she’s feverish. How are you? You didn’t even come in for me to check you.”
“I wasn’t hurt,” Emily said. “Stevens only hit Lizzy because she insisted on resisting him.”
“I can hear you!” Lizzy said. Her voice sounded thick. “Maybe if you’d helped me, he wouldn’t have hit me.”
“I don’t think that’s how this would have ended,” Emily said. “After my last blow to the head, I didn’t fancy another stint in here, trying to unscramble my brains.”
“At least I know what kind of friend you are,” Lizzy said harshly.
Emily was stung.
“She’s a great friend,” Julie said. “If Emily had let herself be knocked out along with you, you would both have lost precious time. And for heaven’s sake, Lizzy, would you please knit yourself some new socks?
These things are dreadful! Your head injury was bad enough, but you easily could also have lost a toe to frostbite. ”
She held up a pair of knitted socks that looked as though they were made from spiderwebs. There were so many holes in them that Emily was amazed Lizzy could even get them on. The heel and toe were both gaping, and the middle was riddled with ladders.
Lizzy shifted in her mound of blankets, and there was a muffled noise that Emily couldn’t understand.
“What was that?” Julie asked.
The mountain shifted and Lizzy sat up. “I said that I don’t know how to knit. There. Are you happy now?”
“You were never taught to knit?” Emily asked in surprise.
“No, I didn’t want to learn. I didn’t think it would be necessary,” Lizzy said, her cheeks going even redder. “I thought there would be time, and the forge was so much more interesting.”
Emily smiled. “Then I know what to make you for Christmas. A new pair of socks.”
Lizzy stared at her and seemed to sag. “I’m sorry I was angry with you now.
You were right not to antagonize Stevens.
I was silly. I just got so mad at myself for getting us into that mess in the first place.
If we had ignored the voices in the woods, we could have been back in camp before Stevens came along and none of this would have happened. ”
“It’s fine,” Emily said, taking a seat on a stool beside Lizzy’s cot. “Now everyone knows the truth about the sabotage. And I made up with my uncle while he was saving us, so there’s that. I don’t think that would have happened if we hadn’t gotten ourselves in trouble.”
“You and Felix are talking again?” Lizzy asked. “That’s good news.”
“So, do you know what they’re planning to do with Stevens and his accomplices?” Julie asked. She took a seat on the cot opposite Lizzy.
“It’s all still being debated,” Emily said. “When I left, they were talking about trying to spy on the bandits and find out more about them before rushing in and trying to arrest or kill them all.”
“Well, with luck, they will talk a long time and we can all rest here,” Julie said, leaning back on the cot and putting her feet up.
Emily fetched her a blanket. She got them all tea, and with a blanket of her own, she spent the afternoon talking with her two friends.
The men did talk a long, long time and finally agreed that they had been handling the bandit situation all wrong. Clearly this El Aguila was far smarter than most. He seemed to have an agenda of sorts, and Michael and some of the others were interested in finding out what that was.
“Andrew thinks it will be better for us all in the long run if we can string El Aguila along for a while, pay his tribute and all that, and infiltrate his organization somehow,” Michael said when he came by the medical tent to find Emily.
“It’s going to take a lot more discussion and effort to form a plan to deal with him once and for all. ”
“Of course it will,” Julie said. She sighed. “I’d better get back to work. Lizzy, you seem fine. I think you can head home. Tim and Troy will be looking for you.”
Lizzy nodded and smiled. “What will happen to Stevens and the others?” she asked. “You never said.”
“They’re in trouble,” Michael said. “But they won’t be arrested.
Andrew wants them to work around the camp, trying to make up for their mistakes.
Adams and Perez, who both have family here, are happy to do it.
Stevens has a sister, but she moved on with the other refugees, so he’s alone.
He might be more trouble, but Robert and I will keep an eye on him. ”
“You should get him locked up,” Lizzy said angrily.
“We will when he doesn’t need to make deliveries to El Aguila anymore,” Michael said. “Then we can make sure that he pays for all that he’s done.”
Troy came to fetch Lizzy and took her back to their tent, then Michael and Emily took a slow, snowy walk to the campfire and dinner. As they walked, they huddled close together and talked about the day and all that happened.
“I think we should keep a watchful eye on things and try to have a happy Christmas. There’s not much else we can do. Everything will shut down for a few days, and in that time, we can reassess,” Michael said.
“That sounds dreadfully dull,” Emily said. “Unless … maybe we can spend a lot of time … talking.” She flushed beet red at her boldness and turned even redder when Michael clearly caught her meaning.
“I like talking to you,” he whispered, gathering her into his arms and resting his forehead against hers. “Talking and … doing other things. Emily, I’m in love with you. You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do know. And I love you too,” she whispered back, winding her arms around his neck and lifting up to meet his lips.
She melted into the kiss like the snow hitting the ground and thanked the Good Lord above for saving her yet again and for bringing her to this wilderness full of danger but also love.