Naps looked surprised, as it seemed that in an instant T.C. had gone from being his equal to his commander.

By sundown they’d traveled over fifteen miles, and Mac knew they were close to the McNalty cabin, but he wasn’t going anywhere without Angus. Besides, there was a swift-moving river nearby, and he didn’t want to cross that in the dark. “We’ll camp here and wait.”

“But what about the McNalty family?” T.C. asked, but Mac had had enough of the young man’s being the leader. It took only one look before T.C. was silently removing the saddle from his horse and helping to set up camp.

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.

“Good man,” Angus said as he put his hand on Mac’s shoulder. “I know this area, so give me a minute with the boys, then we’ll get out of here.”

Mac didn’t answer but raised his rifle, took careful aim and fired. In the distance there was a cry. Mac had shot one of them-but that made the bullets come at them faster.

Still crouching, Angus went through the bushes to where T.C. and Matt were hiding behind a rock. “Are you all right?”

“Fine,” T.C. said as he fired a shot.

“No new injuries,” Matt said as he reloaded.

With the growing light, Angus could at last see Matthew Aldredge’s clean face. He was indeed a handsome young man, with blue eyes and a strong jaw. Angus could see the huge cut in his scalp and thought about how Matt had sewn it together by himself. He’s a much better man than Betsy Wellman deserves, he thought.

Angus looked at T.C. “Do you know what a cardinal sounds like?”

“Yes.”

“When I give the whistle, I want you two to come immediately. Do you understand me? Stop shooting and come to me.”

Both young men nodded, then Angus made his way back to where Naps lay on the ground, looking up at him. “I’m going to take you to a place that’s safer than here. Can you walk?”

“Sure,” Naps said, which made Angus frown. He recognized false bravery when he heard it. Naps might have several injuries but he’d rather die than let the others know he was badly wounded.

Angus looked down at him and saw a dark spot on his trousers. When he touched it, Naps gave a muffled cry of pain. It looked as though the boy had been shot in at least two places. “I’m going to carry you.”

“I can walk,” Naps said. “Just tell me where to go and I’ll get there.”

“Shut up,” Angus said, “and don’t give me any trouble.” Bending, he lifted Naps and slung him over his shoulder, then started walking north. It wasn’t easy to move quickly with the sturdy young man weighing him down, but Angus did it. He’d camped in that area a few times and knew that nearby was a small cave. It was up a steep hill and difficult to get to, but it had once sheltered him from a ferocious storm.

As Angus climbed, he tried to plan what he was going to do. If he could get all the men into the cave, they would be protected on three sides. Based on the number of gunshots he was hearing behind him, there were at least four gunmen. When he heard a sound to his left, he stopped and listened, but it was an animal, so he kept moving.

The struggle to get up the hill with Naps’s body across his shoulder gave Angus something to think about other than that he’d been an idiot. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out that Captain Austin was behind the whole thing, but Angus still hadn’t taken the necessary precautions. He’d been so concerned that Austin would harm the McNalty family that Angus hadn’t looked after the men under his care. Austin might not know the countryside very well, but with the traders coming into the fort often, he’d had access to men who did. Several of the French traders were ruthless and still bitter that they’d lost the American territory to the English.