CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The next morning Jasper decided to try fishing again. This time, he had more luck. The sun was just starting to come out, just showing itself on the water. Maybe even fish liked to enjoy the sunshine, because they were closer to the surface than they had been the day before. Jasper watched them swim, dark scales flashing silvery in the light, and got his spear ready.

He lost more fish than he managed to spear, but by the end of it, he’d gotten three fish. Trout by the looks of them. Two of the three were small, but they’d certainly make a better meal than the plums and the bits of fish from Tab’s catch the night before. Jasper gutted the fish, then fried them on a hot stone, something like Slip had done with the onions.

“We got ourselves that fish fry,” Slip said, licking his fingers.

Jasper felt better with something other than wild greens in his stomach too. His spirits didn’t seem as high as Slip’s, but it felt good to walk that day, Tabitha trailing beside him. Her dislike of Slip didn’t seem to fade. Maybe Valdez had trained her not to trust men in cuffs, or maybe Slip just wasn’t the sort dogs took to. He seemed put out by it, grumbling whenever the dog would growl at him. Jasper certainly didn’t mind it; he didn’t have to watch Slip as careful with Tabitha beside him.

The land around the creek got rockier as the day went on, and Jasper decided to lead them up the embankment. Before they left the water’s edge, he tried his hand at fishing again; this time, he speared three good-sized fish. That would do for dinner, at least. Tabitha hadn’t caught so much as a minnow this time, though she seemed to have a good time swimming in one of the deeper parts of the creek.

Jasper made Slip carry the fish as they walked. He seemed in good spirits; maybe the promise of supper did that. He’d sometimes drift away from Jasper, but each time he did it, Tabitha would run up beside him and herd him back to the path they were supposed to be treading.

“I see why Valdez liked that dog,” Jasper said, then felt another pang of guilt. He buried it. He wasn’t the one who had ambushed the stage. Valdez would have died with or without his desires. He refused to feel guilty for them.

“Only because she’s the greatest,” Slip said. He tried to pet her after declaring her the greatest, and she nipped at his hand in warning. He’d apparently decided not to hold her dislike against her and didn’t seem to mind being herded by the mutt.

The bank of the creek wasn’t the only thing that was rocky in this part of the forest. Fewer trees sprang up here, more rocks, and Jasper wondered if the way they were walking might become impassable.

Slip didn’t seem concerned about it, though that almost made Jasper more concerned.

The light started to die, and clouds had moved in. “We need to find a place to sleep,” Jasper said. There would be no moonlight to see by if those clouds stuck around.

“Let’s split up, cover more ground,” Slip said with a cheeky grin.

Jasper was unimpressed with the joke. He pointed toward a rise a little ways off. “That way.”

He hoped he’d find a nice alcove in the stone, sheltered from the wind that sometimes swept through here, but what he found was better. He found another cave.

“Well, look at that,” Jasper said, ducking down and poking his head inside.

Tabitha had been right by his side, but she shied away from the cave opening. She gave a small whine when he dropped to his knees to see if he’d fit inside, and pawed at his arm, like she was telling him not to go.

“She doesn’t like it,” Slip said, his tone wary.

Jasper looked over his shoulder at Slip. His face looked wary as well. Jasper rolled his eyes. “She doesn’t like you either.”

That didn’t lift the wariness from Slip’s face, though Jasper hadn’t expected it to.

“Stay here,” Jasper ordered. “Right there.”

Slip sat down on the ground where he’d been directed. “Trust me not to run now?”

He didn’t answer that question. Instead he said, “Tabitha, watch him,” in the same tone Valdez had used back on the stage. Her focus shifted, bright eyes on Slip, and he knew she’d at least bark if Slip tried to run.

Not that Jasper thought he would.

The cave opening was fairly small and didn’t look particularly natural. Someone had widened it, probably with pickaxes. Miners most likely. He wondered if they’d found anything. Probably not. If they had, there wouldn’t be just rocks and trees and water here; there’d be men. There were always men where gold was.

Once he’d gotten through the opening, the cave widened. It was tall too; Jasper could stand up in full, though if he raised his hand, it brushed the ceiling. Big enough for two, certainly, plus the dog. There wasn’t any light in the cave, so he couldn’t see how far back it went. He’d have to get wood to make a fire if they were going to stay the night in here and cook those fish. If the cave was too small, they might have to do that outside or risk choking on smoke. Jasper took a deep breath. The air smelled fresh enough, like it was flowing through the cave to somewhere else from here. Jasper had no intention to find out where that somewhere was, and he hoped no creatures were coming from the other side. He didn’t relish bats or bears waking him up out of a deep sleep, though if he had to choose, he’d have taken the bats.

Jasper crawled back out. “We got ourselves a place to sleep.”

“Whatever we do, we can eat first, right?” Slip stood and started to walk toward the closest trees. Tabitha gave two sharp barks. “You’ll get some fish too, Deputy Dog. Stop your barking.”

She sat back on her haunches and regarded him skeptically, and Jasper ducked his head, trying to hide his smile. “Let’s go. Get some firewood.”

It didn’t take long to collect enough wood for a fire and some dried leaves for kindling. Before heading back inside, Jasper made a makeshift torch with a solid piece of wood and another piece of fabric torn from the lining of his coat. Soon, he’d barely have a coat if he kept it up.

He got the torch burning, then gestured to Slip. “You first.”

Slip did not look please with that, but he did as Jasper said, grumbling something insulting under his breath. Slip was taller than Jasper, lanky, and he had to crouch down, even on his knees, to fit inside the small opening.

Inside, Jasper could see the cave went back farther than he could see with the light the torch gave off. It seemed to be less a cavern than a crack deep in the rock; it stretched up higher the farther back it went, but never seemed to get wider than it was where they stood. Against the stone wall lay a broken pickax and a lantern with its glass all shattered. That might come in handy, Jasper thought, and set about figuring out if he could light it.

Tabitha had crawled in after Jasper, though she still didn’t seem fond of the cave. Her tail was tucked between her legs, and though she wasn’t whining or growling, her fur was bristling and her muscles seemed coiled, like she was ready to pounce on any threat that emerged from the dark.

Slip stacked the firewood they’d brought in a few feet off from the entrance, then gestured down the cave passageway. “I’m going to find some stones to go round the fire. Unless you think I’m gonna run off into the dark.”

Jasper didn’t dignify that with an answer. The lantern seemed to be in fine condition aside from the broken glass, and it had some oil left in the bottom, though he had no clue how old it was. He decided to take the chance and lit the wick. The lantern flared to life and the cave got the smallest bit brighter.

“Are you planning on roasting those fish on a spit? Because I tell you, though I am hungry, I like some vari—” Slip’s words cut off and suddenly became a scream.

Jasper grabbed the torch and the half of the broken pickax with the blade and ran toward him.

For a moment, Jasper thought he’d just disappeared. Or maybe he had run, after all. Or the ground had opened up and swallowed him whole.

At that thought, Jasper’s steps stuttered to a stop. The ground had opened up alright, sometime hundreds of years before, leaving a gaping hole in the rock that had half swallowed Slip Casey.

He was holding on to the side closest to Jasper, one forearm pressed against the dirt, the other hand clutching the edge. His body looked twisted, like he’d been half turned around when he fell. He had turned back to ask about the fish, Jasper realized, and walked right into a hole. He really was the unluckiest outlaw.

Before Jasper could give him a hand and haul him up, Slip started to drop deeper into the hole. “Help!” He tried to heave himself up but then immediately dipped back down. “I think my foot’s caught. I can’t pull myself up.”

Jasper crouched down, looked inside the crack in the earth. Closer to one of the walls, it was narrower, and it was there that Slip’s foot was caught. The other side was wider, perfectly wide enough to swallow up a man. Jasper brought his torch closer. Even with the light, he couldn’t see a bottom.

“Stop exploring and pull me up!” Slip cried. He tried to push himself up as he said it, then gave an anguished yell when his foot still wouldn’t move.

“Stop your hollering!” Jasper yelled back. His voice echoed down the tunnel, like a dozen Jaspers were telling Slip Casey to be quiet.

But even a dozen wasn’t enough because Slip just kept talking. “I don’t want to die in a cave. You’ll just leave me here like we left Westin, and I don’t want to rot and get eaten by bats.”

“Bats don’t eat people,” Jasper snapped back, though honestly he wasn’t sure that was true. True enough, he supposed, if it would stop Slip from rambling. “And you ain’t gonna die here. Just be calm for a second and we’ll get you out.”

This time Slip listened and quieted down. His breathing was still sharp and fast and loud, but other than that, all Jasper could hear was the slight whistle of the wind and the occasional whine from Tab, who clearly didn’t like what she saw and smelled.

Jasper lay down by the edge and stared down at the rocks that held Slip’s foot captive. He wasn’t sure how the man’s foot—large to begin with and then covered with a big leather boot—had fit through them. There was room enough to slide it to the side and get it out, Jasper thought, but he couldn’t see properly in the dark and with Slip’s lanky, shaking limbs in the way. It would have been better if he had some rope, he thought for what felt like the dozenth time since leaving his stage behind. If he had rope to tie around Slip’s torso, he could make sure pulling his leg loose wouldn’t send all of him tumbling down into the deep.

Jasper wondered how deep it went, and fought the urge to toss a rock down to see if he could hear it land at the bottom. He didn’t think that would help the already panicking Slip keep his calm.

“Alright,” Jasper said. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”

Jasper put his torch to the side, then looped one of his own arms between Slip’s; the chain between the handcuffs at least wouldn’t break as easily as a hand’s grip. He made sure he was planted as firmly as he could be on the ground, and grabbed ahold of Slip’s shoulder with his other hand.

“Alright,” Jasper said, his voice as calm as he could make it. Slip wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “I want you to drop down a little.”

“Drop down?” Slip’s voice went shrill with disbelief. “You want me to drop down?”

“A little, yes! Your boot is caught. You have skinny chicken legs, so you get it down a little farther. Then you can swing your leg right out.”

“I drop down farther, I’m gonna fall.”

Jasper gripped Slip’s shoulder tighter. “I’m not going to let you fall.”

Slip’s panic was as clear in the firelight as it would have been at the brightest part of the day. He must have been at least five years older than Jasper, but for a moment he looked like a child, his eyes wide and afraid. Then he nodded. “Drop down a little, then pull my leg out.”

“Just so,” Jasper said, and braced himself.

If Slip had tried it on his own, he probably would have fallen. As it was, when he lowered himself, he nearly lost his purchase on the edge. Jasper felt Slip’s weight dragging him closer to the edge, and pulled backward as hard as he could, his arm straining against the metal of the chain.

Then Slip caught a firmer hold on the edge, though he still felt heavier than before. “You gotta pull me up,” he said. “I’m just dangling here.”

“Kick off the edge,” Jasper said. Slip was heavier than he looked, and even though Jasper had tried to get the best angle he could, it was certainly not ideal. For the first time, he wished he’d taken off the man’s cuffs.

“And get my foot stuck again?” Slip demanded.

But Jasper felt his body swinging a little and he must have kicked off against something, because it gave Jasper the added leverage to help haul Slip out of the crack and back onto the solid ground of the cave floor.

Jasper untangled their arms and Slip lay there, panting, staring at the endless black above them.

“Your foot okay?” Jasper asked.

Slip looked over at him, his eyes a little hazy, before they sharpened and he scrambled into a sitting position. He brought his hand to his boot, feeling along his leg until he seemed satisfied nothing was broken, bone or leather.

“I’m fine,” he said, then let out a breath. “You saved my life.”

Jasper climbed to his feet, brushing the cave dust off his shirt and pants, even though he was just going to sit back down in it. “Well, I couldn’t very well let you fall down a hole.”

“Dead or alive, remember?”

“In this case, ‘dead’ implies that I have a body to deliver.”

Slip snorted. “Can we get out of this place now?”

Jasper looked around. “We got four walls and a roof here. Best shelter we’ve had since day one.”

Slip looked back toward the crack he’d almost died in. “It’s a death trap.”

“Just don’t fall down the hole,” Jasper said. He walked back to their firewood and set about spitting and cooking the fish.

Slip pressed himself against the cave wall and grumbled to himself unhappily until the smell of sizzling fish seemed to pull him back toward the fire.

“You just like things that almost kill me,” he said as he settled across from Jasper.

“Eat your fish.”

Slip looked over at Tab. “He doesn’t even deny it!”

She narrowed her eyes at him and let out a low growl. Slip threw his hands up, exasperated, and Jasper had to resist the urge to smile. He did give Tab a scratch behind the ear when he gave her her portion of the fish, though.