A Daughter's Quest by Lena Nelson Dooley Page B

horse without leaving me their name. Constance Miller.” Charlie leaned the pitchfork against the back wall of the stall and picked up the handles of the wooden wheelbarrow. “Anything else you need? I gotta go dump this mess.”
    “How long ago did she leave?”
    Charlie stopped short and set the barrow down on its legs. “You sure do have a lot of questions this morning. Why do you want to know?”
    “Miss Miller is a new friend of mine.” Hans knew in his gut where Constance was going. Why didn’t she ask him to go with her? Guess she hadn’t believed him when he’d warned her about possible dangers out there. “I thought I might try to catch up with her. I’m not sure she understands all the dangers that could lurk outside town.”
    “Why didn’t you say that right off?” Charlie started down the row of stalls, then stopped. “Blackie here is the fastest horse in this stable.” He opened the gate, went in, and closed it behind himself. “He’s a little skittish, but you can handle him okay.”
    Hans started for the tack room to pick up the saddle he used when he rode. “You didn’t tell me how long she’s been gone.”
    “About half an hour, I reckon.” Charlie led the horse toward Hans.
    Hans made quick work of saddling Blackie. Then he leapt into the saddle and hightailed it down the road heading east out of town. He didn’t want to ride the horse too hard, but anything could be going on out there. It wasn’t often that renegade former soldiers or other highwaymen roamed this road, but it could happen at any time…even today.

    When Constance left the edge of town, she urged the horse into a gallop but soon slowed down. The countryside spread around her with an abundance of grass, trees, and wildflowers in a rainbow of colors. She wanted to enjoy all the glory of spring that surrounded her. Unlike her first time outside town when she felt as though the sky pressed down on her, she realized how comfortably the gentle rolling hillocks undulated across the landscape. The beauty of the land bubbled with life, and birds soared above the trees she passed occasionally. Small fluffy clouds rested against the robin’s-egg-blue sky but didn’t block out any of the sunlight.
    Since the horse could move faster than a wagon, it shouldn’t take as long to arrive at the farm, so she wasn’t really in a big hurry. It felt good to be on the back of a horse, and it was easier to ride the road cut across this wide-open prairie instead of up and down mountainsides, where the animal had to pick its way between rocks and brush. She didn’t have to watch where her horse stepped as closely here as she did back home.
    Even though Constance saw farmhouses, they all sat far from the country road she traveled. A feeling of isolation and loneliness crept upon her. Then she remembered the warning Hans had given about the possibility of meeting outlaws out here. Why hadn’t she thought of that before she left town? Maybe she should have asked him to come with her, but surely he was too busy.
    Constance watched the shadows among the groves of trees she passed. Could someone be hiding there waiting for an unsuspecting traveler to come along? If so, the outlaw wouldn’t get anything from her. She hadn’t brought a handbag, and most of her money was hidden under the mattress in her room at the boardinghouse. She knew she should think about putting it in the bank, but she hadn’t expected to stay in Browning City so long.
    Blaze must have sensed her apprehension, because he became skittish, side-stepping a little. Constance had to concentrate on controlling the beast. Then she heard it. The sound of approaching hoofbeats. Her heart beat a loud thunder, and fear tasted metallic on her tongue. They were still a long way off. She glanced over her shoulder and saw a lone rider gaining on her. Should she turn off the roadway and hide? It was probably too late for that.
    They had been riding so long that she didn’t want to