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T wenty- F our

Josh saddled up two horses, and four of his men added four more.

“We have Brody back now, Josh. We should probably go on one last treasure hunt and get to the end of the Westbrook half of the map.”

“You’ve said that five times, Tilda.”

She flinched. “Do you think I’m turning into a nag?”

She didn’t say it like she was mad about it. More like she feared it might happen, and she didn’t want that.

Josh suppressed a smile to think of his sweet Tilda being a nag. The woman just didn’t have it in her.

“We’ll go to the telegraph office in town and wire the Stiles, give them details of the new baby.

We’ll ask if your pa’s name used to be Cabrillo and if he knows of any connection to the conquistador.

Cortés and his crew didn’t get called ‘conquistador’ because they were friendly, so you might not want to count them as kin. ”

“Should we tell Carl there might be a lost treasure out there?”

“We could tell him we found a map that led us to that armor without mentioning gold and see if it taps into old family lore. Now, in the full light of day, I’m thinking it’s likely a waste of time. Still, we’ll ask the man if he knows anything.”

Josh boosted her into the saddle, then swung up onto the chestnut mare he sometimes favored. Just as they headed out of the yard, Lock came dashing out of the doctor’s office, waving his arms. “Where are you going? We need to follow that map the rest of the way.”

“You know we can’t go quite yet, Lock. Right now we need to settle the trouble with Tilda’s family, and Zane has to stick close to the house for a while until Michelle is up and around.”

Thayne came running right behind Lock. “Last night was so busy with us all thinking of Aunt Michelle, we didn’t tell you that she went over the armor half the day, then sent a wire to a man she knows at a college back east who studies old artifacts.

He was all excited and said he’s bringing a team out here to study the armor. ”

“They’re gonna want to search for the rest of the treasure, Josh,” said Lock. “We’ve got to find it before they get here. If they find it, they may decide it’s theirs to own.”

Brody came out next. He was holding a slip of paper.

“If this title to a piece of land is what I think it is, Grandpa MacKenzie owned that land. I have a map I think will lead us straight to the same piece of land Mayhew’s map leads to.

Surely no one can come here and lay claim to any artifacts if they’re on MacKenzie land.

And Michelle thinks we should start our own museum. Maybe here at the ranch.”

Josh dragged a hand over his face. “Does she want tourists to come to our museum? In addition to the orphanage and the fruit trees and her houses for the cowhands and the doctor and what all else? At this rate, we won’t have any room for cows.”

Brody nodded and said, “Maybe we could convince her to set up the museum in Dorada Rio or maybe Sacramento.”

Josh chuckled. “More likely she’ll end up convincing us. After all, she’s a real convincing woman.”

“She also said,” Brody added, “that each one of those gold doubloons is worth at least a thousand dollars. The armor is valuable, too. And after talking over the buried conquistadors you found, she thinks Grandpa probably dug them up. And whatever gold coins he found there, he kept them. Who knows if there’s anything more to be found at the end of Mayhew’s map.

Grandpa was coming back to send for us when he died in that cave.

Michelle doubts there’s any more gold, but there might be more artifacts. ”

Lock groaned as if he’d just had all his dreams shattered. The boy wanted gold. A natural enough inclination, though it appeared the MacKenzies had found all they were going to find.

“We found a total of fourteen coins, Lock,” Brody pointed out.

“That’s fourteen thousand dollars. Which is enough money to live on for the rest of our lives if we’re frugal.

Those coins will give us a mighty comfortable cushion.

So there’s nothing to groan about. We could build a bigger orphanage, hire more teachers, and help more children. ”

Lock’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t start giving our treasure away before we’ve even found it all.”

Josh said, “If there ain’t any more gold, and the MacKenzies’ land lies under the end of Mayhew’s map, then it doesn’t matter if that team of artifact teachers shows up and helps us hunt.”

“Gold coins may be small enough to steal, but they can’t sneak past us carrying a suit of armor. Right now, though, we need to head to town and see if Tilda is related to a conquistador.”

“What?” Brody, Thayne, and Lock all shouted as one.

Ellie was coming toward them. Looked like the menfolk had made an escape, and she was only now catching them. She smiled at Tilda and said, “You’re related to a conquistador?”

Tilda shrugged. “Maybe. It’s just something Cord suggested last night, seeing as the names Cabril and Cabrillo are similar. He thought we oughta go ask Carl about it.”

“When we get back,” Josh said, “we’ll ride out for the treasure hunt. We shouldn’t be gone long, unless Ben’s lawyer has turned up and the trial is today. Treasure hunting sounds a lot more interesting than getting to know Tilda’s surprise family.”

Tilda’s expression told him she wholeheartedly agreed.

Lock seemed to accept the idea, leastways he quit nagging.

Josh and Tilda turned their horses toward the trail leading to town, the four cowhands right behind them.

Yep, Josh would much rather be going on another treasure hunt.

* * * *

Tilda was riding straight to the jail. At this point it seemed as if she’d gone to the jailhouse every time she’d been in Dorada Rio. She was wearing a blue shirtwaist and the new black riding skirt Josh had bought for her yesterday, so at least she was well dressed.

They found the Cabril family with the sheriff. Carl and Maddie sat in chairs on one side of the bars, with Ben on a cot on the other side.

“Has your lawyer shown up yet?” Josh asked.

“He’ll be on the morning train into town,” Carl answered. He rose and started toward Tilda, but Josh stepped in front of her.

Carl stopped.

Peeking around Josh’s shoulder, Tilda said, “I’ve come here this morning to ask you one question.”

Josh glanced back at her. Right now it was all she could do to be in the same room with the Cabril family.

Carl raised a staying hand. “First let me tell you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“I hope we’ll be able to clear up all this unfortunate business about Ben’s treatment of you.”

“Is that what you wanted to tell me?”

Shaking his head, Carl continued, “I’m staying in California, Maddie too. We’re hopeful Ben will soon be freed from jail. If so, he’ll return to New York City and manage the Cabril holdings there.”

Tilda was struck by that. Carl was placing a lot of trust in Ben. Was the kidnapping out of character for him, then? One desperate act in a lifetime of honor? Her father certainly seemed to trust him.

Carl went on. “Eventually, he may sell everything and move here, too. But, Tilda, I was serious about my wanting to get to know you. Maddie wants that as well. Ben too, but he handled things so badly that you’re hostile to him, as well you should be.”

“Father.” Ben surged to his feet. “You demanded I bring her home. I do as I’m told. I did not—”

“Enough, Ben,” Carl’s voice thundered.

Tilda frowned as Ben’s face distorted in the wake of his father’s anger.

She was surprised to feel a pang of sympathy for Ben.

He’d been around ten when he found his father.

A boy who had his father for the first five years of his life before being abandoned by him, then suddenly lost his mother only to be restored to his father—moving from one life to another so fast had to be hard, a shock for him.

What would that boy do, even as a man, to win his father’s approval and love?

Carl went on storming at his son. “You’re going to be very fortunate to not end up in prison over this catastrophe. You need to stay out of this and hope you get to go back east. Now hush.”

Ben sank back on the cot, rested his forearms on his knees, and let his head sink low.

Tilda studied Ben. He didn’t seem angry, more like the chastisement of his father had cowed him.

That didn’t seem quite right. He didn’t look to be the kind of man to back down easily.

Of course, he was a liar and a kidnapper, so maybe he was being wise or even sneaky.

Had Carl demanded Ben bring her home? Was the kidnapping Ben’s idea, or was it in fact Carl’s?

“I’ve already begun the search for a house in Dorada Rio,” Carl announced.

“If we can’t find one that’s appropriate, we’ll stay in the hotel until one can be built.

We intend to spend our lives out here, getting to know you, Tilda, and trying to make up for all the wrong I did as a foolish, arrogant young man. ”

Carl leaned sideways to look around Josh at his daughter.

Josh finally stepped aside so that Tilda could see her father face-to-face.

“When I was young, an up-and-coming businessman in a huge city, well, it seemed all the men in my station of life had mistresses. In my arrogance I saw nothing wrong with that. And nothing wrong with letting her bear my children, and nothing wrong with being a worthless father who thought sending some money every month made up for my sinful choices. Then I got married, right about the time you and your sister were born.”