Page 30 of Inventions of the Heart

“There’s only one way down the mountain, and no forks in the road for most of the way. There was a slim chance he’d turn off, but he didn’t. Carl picked him up at the bottom.”

“Why didn’t you tell us about doing this?” Mama rode behind Laura, who rode behind Caleb, who rode behind Nick.

Nick looked back to meet Mama’s eyes. “Because there are folks in your home who eavesdrop, ma’am. And there’s a telegraph wire. Careful as we are, I was afraid someone would hear what I was up to. As it was, I feared confederates of Beaumont’s would notice that men had ridden off ahead and behind him.”

“So your men followed Beaumont to Zane’s ranch?” Caleb got the questioning back on track.

“He hadn’t left San Francisco yet, but Carl watched close.Two others helped him. Men Old Tom knew were loyal. They took turns following him. He and a good-sized group of henchmen found where I’d been working—the Two Harts Ranch.” Nick punched himself on the thigh. “I was in San Francisco earlier this year. I’m not sure how he found out about me, but I didn’t make any secret of my name or my presence there. And someone knew I worked for Zane. I expect Beaumont to be heading for Zane’s ranch right now.”

“We should have wired Zane.”

“No telegraph on his ranch, but there’s one in the nearest town, which is none too near. But someone in Dorada Rio could ride out with the message.” Nick frowned. “We’ll ride past Hatcher’s Creek.” It was the closest town at the bottom of the mountain. “We can wire Zane then. It’ll be a while reaching him.”

“Include in the wire,” Mama said, “that I’ll pay a man handsomely to rush the message to him.”

Nick nodded. “Good idea.”

The trail widened a bit and grew somewhat less steep. Nick picked up the pace, and there was no more talk. Only urgency.