The Teacher's Star

want you to get to safety.”
The girl ran without looking back. Delia hiked up her skirt and lifted a leg over the window’s sill. Leaning her torso forward to push the rest of the way out, she felt the pull of a hand fisting in the back of her dress.
“Well, look ‘ee here. The little girl’s changed into a woman.” And so she’d ended up tied to the chair she’d freed Eenie from only moments before. This had to be the gang Rol wanted to arrest. He’d been waiting until he could find the herd, he’d said. Well, Delia knew she was near them as she could hear the lowing. Ironic that they were hidden on the very ranch where the marshal lived.
Now, if she could manage to break the weak wood of the chair, she could escape and tell him. She rocked and wiggled, hearing a satisfying crack break the silence of the room.
At sudden noises, she froze. Outside, repeating blasts of a rifle joined the pops from several handguns. The sound added momentum to her wiggling motion as she worked against the remaining ropes.
A crack of wood sent her tumbling to the right side. Still, the ropes held. With the tipping of the chair, she could slide her right shoulder down and—
She had it! The shoulder was free. Her arm moved under the previously snug rope. Sliding her hand backward, Delia’s heart pounded a wild dance tune as she realized she’d soon be out of the bindings.
At another crack of the chair, she tumbled backward. With her legs and skirts flying upward, she heard the door thud open.
No! Just a little more time, Lord. That’s all she’d needed. Just a bit and she’d be free and gone from the room.

Chapter 10
Pounding hoofbeats and a shout calling his name drew Rol away from his horses. He should have been out searching the area for signs of the rustlers. Odd, but it was becoming harder and harder to leave his work training the new broke animals.
The noise pulled him away from them. The sight of Will, Sheriff Knight’s deputy, atop a horse had him standing speechless. The man’s round form bobbed like a ball on the waves of a lake as he struggled with one hand to keep his seat. At the same time, Will was waving his hat and yelling Rol’s name.
Reining his horse in suddenly, Will brought it to a halt close to him. The deputy gasped, starting and stopping several times as he tried to get his breath. Rol thought both the ride and the yelling stole what energy this heavy man had.
Finally, his words began to make sense. “Sheriff says—” He worked for another deep breath and let it out. “Your women are in danger.”
Rol wanted to run for his stallion and his rifle. Common sense stopped him. He knew he needed more information.
Reaching up since Will remained mounted, he gripped the man’s arm and shook it. “Where are they? What ranch?” It had been the piece of the puzzle he could never solve. Which ranch hid them?
While still wheezing, Will managed a cackle. “This one, marshal.” He emphasized the title. Evidently, he didn’t think much of the thieves hiding on the very ranch where a U. S. marshal lived.
Ignoring the man’s disdain, Rol calmly continued to gather facts. “Any idea where?”
The man easily spoke now, his breathing regular again. “Yep. Kids stole a map from Jubal Yarborough. Imagine that!”
His hands fisted, yet Rol kept his voice even. “But what about the spot? Where on the ranch?”
The man paused as if delivering the key line in a melodrama. Rol was beginning to nurse a dislike for the lummox. “Some box canyon near a line shack. Sheriff thought you’d know it.”
Nodding, Rol felt relieved that he did remember the spot. Only a vague relief though, since his wife and daughter were in danger. He’d know real relief when they were both safe.
Putting everything but the job to round up the gang out of his mind, Rol saddled the black stallion. Leading him out of the shed, he momentarily started at seeing Will waiting for him. “You going with me?” Doubt hung heavy in his voice.
“Sheriff knows the spot and’s headed there. Said for me to come with you. He’d need us both.” Will gave a firm bob of his head with the words, sending his hat off. The man became a juggler, trying to catch it. Rol watched the comedy and almost clapped when the man managed to snag it before the hat fell to the ground.
Unable to stop it, Rol groaned before agreeing. “We’re riding fast. They’re a ways from here.”
This time it was Will’s turn to groan. “Just did a fast ride.”
The marshal grinned darkly. “Time to man up and do another.” With that, he and the black streaked out of the yard.
He ran over what clues he’d gathered as he galloped toward the line shack that was the furthest out. While he’d lived in the area, no loads of hay had been seen near here. Hank Lucas never mentioned pastures that showed unexpected signs of cattle.  Did he have a man that patrolled the fences on this far piece of the ranch? Could be an inside man kept Lucas unaware?
Paps knew about Rol’s true job as a marshal. He passed on tidbits of news to help him locate the gang. Even Paps hadn’t heard or didn’t know about the gang hiding out on his ranch.
Of course, the old man didn’t run cattle and no horses would be kept in those far pastures during winter. Many of the animals had already been trained and sold in the summer and fall. The rest were in the barn or in corrals near the homestead.
Possibilities raced along with Rol as he covered the