Matt worked his way through the note a third and fourth time, jotting down all the letters that had dots of ink at their crest. Some were easy to identify, like the O and C in o’clock. Others were less obvious. He and Jonah debated the merits of several letters with Preach throwing his opinion into the mix every so often, while the rest of the men paced and waited.
After narrowing down the suspects, Matt composed two horizontal lists along the bottom of Josie’s note. The first line contained the letters he and Brooks agreed upon, spaced far enough apart to cover the entire width of the paper. Beneath that were the more questionable letters, aligned with the open spaces of the top line in order to preserve the overall order of appearance.
“Yer wastin’ time, Hanger.” Having apparently reached the limit of his patience, Burkett stomped over to his mount and collected the black gelding’s reins. “We gotta get movin’ if we’re gonna reach the exchange point ahead of schedule. You can play word games if you want, but me and my men are heading out.” He drew abreast of Matt and held out his hand. “Give me the map.”
Matt’s attention never left the letters. D-E-S-E. Then possibly a T or a G, but neither made much sense with the R-T pairing next on the list of certain letters. If he crossed them out . . .
His pulse jumped as the letters left began to form a word. D-E-S-E-R—
“Hanger!” Burkett snapped.
Matt’s head jerked up.
“The map.”
No way was he forfeiting this paper until he figured out Josie’s message. “Ten minutes,” he bargained, praying he’d have it figured out by then. If not, he’d just scratch his line of letters into the dirt and keep working. “Water the horses at the creek. I’ll hand the map over when you return.”
Burkett scowled. “Fine. Ten minutes.” He withdrew his hand and took hold of Percival’s bridle. “But I’m taking Percy with me.”
“Good. Wallace can take our other horses.” Matt tipped his head toward Mark, who immediately collected the reins of both his and Jonah’s mounts. “Preach, I’m gonna use your back.”
As Burkett led Percival away, Matt swiveled toward his corporal, who was already bending to offer the use of his broad back as their new work surface.
“I think the first word is desert,” Matt murmured to Jonah, though even as he said it, he realized how little sense it made. There were deserts in Texas, but none nearby. They were all out west. This was hill country. Thick vegetation. Ample water. Wildflowers and trees. This was about as non-desert as Texas got. Matt’s throat rumbled with frustration. Maybe Burkett was right. Maybe he was trying too hard to see clues that simply weren’t there.
“Not desert, Captain,” Jonah said, his finger tracing the next several letters in the list. He paused over an E, then skipped past an L, N, H, and A before tapping a D in the list of possible letters. “Deserted.”
A new surge of excitement pumped through Matt’s veins. A deserted what? House? Town? Cave? He immediately started scanning the next set of letters. F-A-R. Farm. It had to be. He skipped several letters like Jonah had, then jabbed his finger at the M in Mr. Taggart. The title had been left off the first time the outlaw was mentioned in the note, so Josie must have purposely added it here to provide the needed M.
Smart girl.
It took longer to figure out the next part of Josie’s message. The letters didn’t seem to make a real word.
“Speco or maybe Secoc . . .” Matt tried to sound out the nonsense words. The plodding hoofbeats of horses returning from the creek shot a dose of urgency into his blood. “Nothing fits,” he muttered as his eyes traced the same letters over and over.
Preach twisted his neck as if attempting to peer at his own back. “Try skippin’ the middle and jump to the end. Maybe you can work it out backwards.”
Matt glanced at Jonah, who shrugged.
“Couldn’t hurt,” Jonah said as he turned back to study the note. “We know for sure the last letter is K. It’s probably why she took the time to sign her last name.”
“We also know there are two E’s next to each other,” Matt added. “There could also be an L or an R.” Eek. Leek. Reek. He glanced at the letters again and pounced on the C. “Creek! Seco Creek!” He grinned like an idiot and squeezed Jonah’s shoulder, wiggling him back and forth as if he were a flag flying in a windstorm. “We found her! Thank God above. We found her.”
Burkett dropped the reins to his black and charged forward. “You found my Jo?” He looked from one man to the next, but his gaze zeroed in on Matt. “Where is she?”
“At a deserted farm near Seco Creek.”
The fire lighting Burkett’s eyes cooled and hardened into coals. “Seco Creek stretches for miles. She could be anywhere.”
Matt shook his head, the scent of the hunt still fresh in his nostrils. “Not anywhere.” He stepped away from Jonah and clapped a hand on Burkett’s shoulder. “She’s at a deserted farm. A specific place. A place locals will know.”
“Only if you find the right locals.” Burkett circled his arm to dislodge Matt’s hand. “If we had two or three days, you might find her. But we barely have enough time to get to the exchange point. We can’t afford to go on some wild goose chase.”
“Not all of us, no.” Matt gestured to his men. “I’ll take the Horsemen. We’ll cut cross-country and ride to Utopia. The town lies between Seco Creek and Sabinal River. Someone is bound to know of an abandoned farm in the area. It makes sense for Taggart to keep her close to the exchange point.”
“But that will add several miles to your trip,” Burkett warned. “Miles we can’t afford.”
Matt paced a few steps, frustration mounting. He understood Burkett’s reluctance. This was a risky play. But it was the best play they had.
He stopped pacing and faced Burkett head-on. “You said it yourself. If we let Taggart call all the shots, there’s a good chance Josie ends up dead. Charlie too. But if we can find their hideout and attack when they’re not expecting it, we’ll be the ones with the advantage.”
“And my children could still end up dead.” Burkett’s gaze hardened even further. “You go into that camp, guns blazing, and chances are high that my Jo gets caught in the crossfire.”
Matt didn’t blink. “Retrieving your daughter unharmed is the mission, Burkett. I won’t make a move until her position is secure. You have my word.”
Josie’s father held his gaze for a long minute, then finally dipped his chin in a small nod. When his face lifted, his eyes had softened, the crack in his anger letting some of his fear leak through. “What if you don’t find them in time?”
Matt swallowed. It was a possibility. Likely even, as much as he hated to admit it. If they couldn’t find a knowledgeable local, there would be too much ground to cover for them to find the farm on their own.
“I’ll abandon the search in time to reach the exchange point by the assigned time.” He narrowed his gaze. “I’ll need you to hold off your approach until three. Don’t go in early. Even to position your men. Taggart’s bound to have spies watching the place, just as he did here. If they see you coming, they’ll send word to Taggart. He’ll gather Josie and his men and leave the farm before we have a chance to find them.”
Matt knew he was asking a lot. Asking Burkett to give up the one small advantage he held in order to trust a group of men he didn’t know to pursue a larger advantage that could either make all the difference or no difference at all.
“Can you give me that time?” Matt asked.
Burkett’s eyes closed even as the muscles in his jaw ticked. He stood silent, his face slowly tipping toward the sky as his hands balled into fists. He was a fighter by nature, a man used to being in control. Exactly like Matt. And exactly like Matt, he had to fight his instincts and surrender to the One who held the highest ground. The One who could see beyond the plans of men.
Ever since he’d surrendered his rifle to Taggart, Matt had been surrendering more and more control to the Almighty. He’d had no choice. Never had he been less equipped for a rescue mission than when he’d lain bound, wounded, and stripped of all weapons and belongings. Yet from that moment of deprivation, God had stepped in to take charge. He’d provided boots and transportation. Horses and a guide. Then better horses along with weapons and manpower. Now he’d even provided directions. Ambiguous directions, to be sure, but directions all the same. Matt had to believe that more details would be forthcoming if they followed in faith and allowed the Lord to navigate.
After a long, tense silence, Burkett’s chin came down and his lids lifted. His dark green eyes, so like Josie’s, met Matt’s, a plea tinged with desperation giving them an unnatural sheen. “I’ll wait until three.”
He extended his hand, and Matt grasped it.
Burkett tightened his grip, his stare boring into Matt’s soul. “Bring my children home, Hanger.”
Matt gave a brief nod. “I will, sir. Or die trying.” After studying the map on the back of the note a final time, he handed the paper over to Josie’s father. “God go with you.”
Burkett nodded. “And you.” With a thump to Matt’s back, he returned to his horse, mounted, and set off for the main road at a walk. Albert and Eddie followed close behind.
Knowing daylight was a precious commodity they couldn’t afford to waste, Matt signaled his men to mount up.
Preach looked at him as Matt swung onto Percival’s back. “We’re gonna have to push these horses harder than Burkett would want to cover the amount of ground necessary to carry out this plan of yours, Cap.”
Matt drew the reins around and aimed Percival not west toward the main road, but north to cut off a corner that would place them ahead of Josie’s father and his men.
“I know. We’ll have to take care. We can’t press them past their breaking point, but we’re going to have to get as close to that point as possible if we’re going to find that farm before Taggart takes Josie to the exchange.” He looked at each man in turn. “Keep me updated on the status of your mounts as we go. If we need to rest, we will. It just can’t be for long.”
“We can dismount and walk with them too, Captain, to lighten their loads,” Preach said.
“And use lanterns after dark,” Jonah added.
“Whatever it takes to find her.” This from Wallace, whose arm must be throbbing but whose face gave no indication of anything but strength and determination.
Matt’s chest swelled with pride in his men. His friends. Their mission might consist of finding a needle in a field of haystacks, but with God, nothing was impossible.
“Preach?” Matt looked to his corporal for the one thing they lacked before setting off.
The big man grinned. “‘If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed . . . nothing shall be impossible unto you.’ Time for some mustard, boys!” With a whoop, he set off at a lope.
Matt leaned over Percival’s neck, the thrill of the hunt stirring his blood. “Time to see what you’re made of, young knight. Let’s go.”