Chapter Two

Congratulations Vin, It’s A Girl!

On the night that Daniel was born, Vin Tanner realized that he finally had the son he wanted. Strangely enough, by then this traditional need to have a son had dwindled into a living testament to the existence of a sense of humor in all things connected to fate. Vin supposed that it was a sign of growth that by the time that Daniel came along, he no longer cared what gender his child would be, having learnt an important lesson long ago that it did make the least bit of difference. There was a time when it made a world of difference but that that time was long past because Vin had learnt that children could surprise you when you least expected it.

His daughter had taught him that.

When Samantha Tanner had been born, Vin was not upset that she had been a girl. Not at all, she was a beautiful little girl that had captured his heart the moment he had first laid eyes on her. From the onset, she was an exotic looking child because her features were an amalgamation of Alex and him. He could not help being bewitched by his Sammie, no matter what her gender. As an infant, she had tugged at his heartstrings the same way her mother had and he adored his little girl with just as much passion. However, he could not deny that somewhere deep inside of him, was this feeling he suppressed because he had no business having it, which could be best described as a little disappointment.

Prior to her birth, Vin had feared having a daughter because there was so little he could teach to a girl. What use would any of his knowledge be to a girl? The things he knew, to ride, shoot and to track was of absolutely no use to a girl and he felt somewhat sorry that he could not pass them on because these were important things to know. This was what he had spent his life becoming and as selfish as it was, he did not want to see it lost. He did not want to think that the sum of his life’s experience would simply fade away with him. Vin wanted to leave something of himself with his children and came to the conclusion that it simply could not be that way with a girl.

Buck had told him it was natural to have such doubts. He himself had held similar worries when Elena Rose had been born but as the days passed, he discovered that he had a way to understand women that he never had before, to see how their thoughts were shaped, how their personalities developed, simply by watching his daughter. Elena had taught him a great deal and the really important things she needed to know did not matter whether or not she was a boy or girl, Buck could teach her those things all the same. He told Vin that it would be the same with his own child when it was born, that gender was a conception left behind by traditionalist and the women they loved were a living testament to that fact. Inez, Mary, Alex, Rain, Audrey, Casey and Julia were all women who accepted life on their own terms and dared to be different because they could. Buck pointed out to Vin that labeling as being incapable of accepting the lessons he had to teach was unfair on a child not even born yet.

He was pleased to say that when she was born, Vin learnt that Buck was right. That there was a great deal he could teach Sam, even if they weren’t the things he had wanted to pass on but had rather taken for granted in their importance. The values that had defined him, the dedication to truth, to keep one’s word, to always be there for friends and watch their back no matter what. Those were things that did not need gender to be taught; they were what made a person worth knowing. Sam had absorbed all this in and though she was not what he expected, she did not fail to make him proud at every turn. From the earliest, she displayed Alex’s analytical mind while at the same time inheriting his stubborness and determination to never give up on anything.

Like most children, she disappeared with her friends once she was old enough and Vin saw Sam only in the evenings when she came into supper. Usually, her playmates were young Mikey and Elena Rose but when she turned seven, started to spend more and more of her time with Penelope Standish, with Adam Dunne running after the two all the time. Neither of the two children seemed adapted to life outdoors, Penny liking her fancy clothes just like Ezra and Adam was more into book reading. Vin accepted all this with a deep sigh of resignation, telling himself that it was unreasonable to believe Sam would turn out any differently; after all she was female. His daughter had good qualities and he loved her for all the things she was not and all the things that she was.

Therefore, he was quite stunned the day he discovered that he did not know anything about Sam at all.

**********

"Why do you got to do this every time we leave your house?" Penelope Standish asked as she waited impatiently for Samantha Tanner to discard the dress she was wearing and slip into the overalls that she had squirreled away in the bag she had been carrying when they came away from the Tanner residence.

"Because!" Sam said impatiently as she fastened the straps over one shoulder of the old pair of denim overalls that had once belonged to Michael. She had cut the legs so they weren’t too long for her and would have foregone the whole business of shoes if not for the fact that it was unwise to wandering around in the woods without them.

"Because?" Penny waited impatiently for an answer as Sam stepped out of the cover of the tree she had used to change and appeared finally ready to get on with their day. "Because what? Why can’t you just wear what you want?"

"You can come out now Adam," Sam called out and Adam Dunne emerged from the place he had withdrawn to allow Sam her modesty while she changed out of her clothes. "Because my dad expects me to be a proper young lady like my mom." Sam continued with exasperation in her voice, as if she had not already explained this to Penny a hundred times before. "He’d just die if he knew I was running around like this."

"You mean like a boy?" Penny teased.

"Not like a boy," Sam gave her a look. "Boys are dumb. They’re always rushing off doing things before they think about it."

"Hey!" Adam protested. "I’m not dumb."

"You’re but you’re not the regular kind either." Sam pointed out.

"What’s the regular kind?" He looked at her.

"Every other boy." Penny retorted. "Except Peter."

"Why’s Peter so different?" Sam asked as the trio resumed the journey from town to their favourite watering hole.

"Well he almost killed daddy when he said he wanted to build things with his hands." Penny replied, still reliving the incident at the dinner table when Peter claimed quite proudly that he was going to be an engineer that he wanted to work with his hands and build things. Mommy had taken it quite well but daddy, she sighed, she did not think she had ever seen his so horrified and that included the time when Peter tried to shave with his razor.

"So what’s wrong with that?" Adam asked pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "Your dad used to be a gambler, he used his hands all the time."

"In daddy’s opinion, a gentlemen should not be reduced to performing menial labor." She recited for them the words she and Peter had grown up with. Grandma Maude was just as determined about this fact as daddy was.

"Gentleman?" Sam snorted with disbelief. "We talking about the same Peter who can spit further than any one of us?"

"I can’t believe he’s my brother, a lady of my refinement." Penny said in a breathy voice. The ‘actress’ voice Sam and Adam had come to call it.

"Oh brother!" Sam groaned before she and Adam started giggling. It was not long before Penny joined them.

As friendships went, the triumvirate that was composed of Samantha Tanner, Penelope Standish and Adam Dunne was a peculiar one. Their differences were so distinct that it was almost impossible to understand why they could be friends at all. While Sam was rough and tumble, Penny was always the lady and Adam seemed to be more introspective, enjoying them both while rarely making content, preferring to observe the two strong willed young girls who were his best friends. To their parents however, the dynamic of their friendship was not so odd because it was just as unlikely as a gunslinger, a tracker, a gambler, a healer, a scoundrel, a preacher and a kid forging a bond that had lasted more than a decade and likely would continue for the rest of their lives.

The watering hole was in actual fact the offshoot of the river that ran past the Wells’ property. The children had been visiting it for as long as they were old enough to do so. Billy Travis and Lilith King had begun the tradition when they had started taking Mike, Elena Rose and Sam there and then later on, the others as well. Now it was their favourite home away from home, even though Billy and Lilith no longer joined them. Billy was too busy at West Point these days and Lilith was helping Mrs Larabee at the paper. They continued to visit the watering hole, always together because Billy had been relentless about making them understand that there was safety in numbers. Billy’s reason for this had something to do with their parentage. Apparently, he was of the belief that the children of the seven were just as capable of getting into trouble as their parents.

Of course, he spoke from experience.

Everyone was already there when Sam, Penny and Adam arrived at the watering hole. Elena Rose was sitting on the edge of the embankment, her feet disappearing into the water. She saw them first and immediately waved brightly.

"Where have you been?" Elena asked. "We thought you got lost in the woods."

"That’s not likely with Sam around." Mike stated as he, Tommy and Peter were engaging in a game of skipping stones. "Although you can’t say the same if it was Penny."

"That’s a lot Mikey." Penny retorted, making a face at the blond boy who frowned at her at the use of a name he considered completely babyish.

"We had to stop so Sam could change." Adam said dutifully as he started scouring the ground for an adequately polished stone to join the game.

"Are you still doing that?" Elena Rose looked at her in exasperation. "Why don’t you just tell your dad you hate to wear dresses!"

"Because it would kill him!" Sam grumbled. "He thinks girls don’t know how to do anything but be pretty and nice. He wants me to be like mom."

"Your dad’s pretty understanding Sam," Mike pointed out. "I’m sure he’d be okay with. Not like mine. I’m sure I’m gonna get sent to military school if I don’t shape up."

"Your dad is dreamy." Sam sighed with a wistful smile.

"Got to agree there." Elena Rose retorted, knowing the mere suggestion usually got under Mike’s skin like nothing else. Uncle Chris was pretty dreamy but though she was not about to admit it, she liked his son a lot better.

"Oh please!" Mike groaned and covered his ears and started chanting ‘I’m not listening’ loudly.

The girls giggled loudly, enjoying their leader being reduced to such circumstances and he was their leader, no matter how he might like to deny it. Michael always knew what to do and if he did not immediately, it usually did not take him long to figure it out.

"Look, I’m sure your dad doesn’t mean it." Peter said once they had amused themselves at Mike’s expense long enough and had resumed the business of stone skipping, a contest now expanded to include the new arrivals. "I mean he’s gotta love the stuff you do, its just like him."

"No he doesn’t," Sam muttered. "He thinks that a girl should be like my mom, all proper and ladylike. You have no idea how long it took to convince him that I really did want to learn how to ride a horse and he still won’t let me do it unless its side saddle."

"That’s how a woman is supposed to ride a horse," Penny declared. "Unless of course you had a carriage and footmen, then you just had to sit in the back and let them take you wherever you’re going. Grandma Maude says that the only way to travel."

"Grandma Maude also carries rocks in her suitcase that are meant to be from Rome." Peter retorted. "I wouldn’t listen too much to her."

"Its image Peter!" Penny threw up her hands. "Honestly, I don’t know how you can be so smart and be so dumb at the same time."

"You don’t have to help dad carry them up the stairs when she visits." He returned.

"That’s it!" Penny glared at her brother and shoved him into the water.

Peter let out an indignant cry before he landed, creating a loud splash that bathed his sister in a twist of poetic justice. Penny squealed and Peter nodded in Tommy’s direction. The lanky young boy immediately grabbed Penny by the shoulders as he jumped into the drink, ensuring that he did not go into the water alone. Both of them disappeared amidst the laughter of those who remained and Penny surfaced long enough to shove Tommy’s head down when he attempted to resurface. Very soon Adam and Elena Rose had joined them, leaving Michael and Sam behind. He was about to dive in when he saw Sam still thinking about what had been said earlier. They all knew about Sam’s secret although none of them would divulge it for anything. It was part of the blood oath they had made when they were even younger than they were now, when Sam had made them promise.

"You can’t go on like this." Mike stated when they were somewhat alone. "He’s the best tracker in the Territory, he’ll find out."

"I know." Sam nodded solemnly. "I hate hiding it from him. We never have secrets but I know he looks at me and just sees a girl."

"Sam, Uncle Vin loves you." He pointed out with absolute certainty of that fact.

"I know he does," she did not doubt that for one minute. "But I get the feeling that he would have liked me to have been a boy."

"I’m sure that ain’t true. I mean look at your mom, how many lady doctors are there? I’ve never even heard of another one around here. Your dad’s crazy about her."

"That’s different," Sam retorted. "Mom doesn’t like to climb trees and she doesn’t know how to follow tracks in the dirt, or use a slingshot or any of the things that I do. If I tell dad, I’m sure he’s going to be mad. I’ll get shipped off to a convent or boarding school, right next to the military school you’re going to."

"Gee thanks," Mike gave her a look. "At least we can be miserable together." He added after a moment with a grin.

"Maybe that’s not a bad thing," Sam cocked a brow at him. "Someone’s got to watch your back while you’re surrounded by all those cadets who are gonna want to kick your butt right after they meet you, not to mention all those pretty girls who’ll try and steal you from Elena Rose."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about." Mike said stiffly and somewhat defensively. He hated how Sam seemed to read him so well. "She’s just another girl."

"Right," Sam retorted. "You know my mom calls that denial."

"Denial huh?" Mike declared and moved forward to shove her into the water with the others when she side stepped him and elbowed him hard enough to send him straight over the edge. He fell in with a loud splash, eliciting a rowdy bout of laughter from those watching as Sam help her hands together over her head in a gesture of victory. Mike emerged soaked a short time later, sputtering a litany of words they would never use in adult company.

"The winner and still standing, Sam!" Tommy applauded as Sam took her bows.

""You still got to be faster than to get me." Sam giggled before jumping into join the rest of her friends.

************

Vin Tanner had spent the day in Eagle Bend at the horse sales, looking over potential acquisitions for the Lucky Seven ranch. Although Chris had planned to accompany him on this particular excursion, an accident with an especially spirited stud had landed the former gunslinger with a number of broken ribs and ensured that he was house bound for at least a day while his bones knitted. Chris was not at all happy to be under the nursing ministrations of his wife, aware of how militant she could be about his health and was even less impressed when Vin had set out on his own. Buck was needed to take care of the large number of horses they had at the ranch and Vin did not need assistance looking over horses he probably would not buy anyway. Besides, even if he did make a purchase, it would not be the first time either of them had ridden back to the ranch alone with new stock.

As it turned out, there was a number of good breeding horses presented during the sales and Vin did make a purchase of two of the animals, a chestnut and a palomino. He had been ready to conclude his buying spree when the last lot, not expected to be sold, was a dapple-gray pony. Ponies had very little use to most horse ranchers who were usually interested in work horses or breeding stock. Ponies were more for the big cities in the east where horse riding was a past time of the wealthy not a way of life. Vin tended to agree with that viewpoint except that when he saw the animal, he immediately realised that Sam would adore it.

The pony was also the right size for a child her age and she had expressed an interest in riding, especially when she had demanded he teach her. At the moment, she had no horse of her own and Vin could not help thinking that it was rather sacrilegious considering she grew up on a ranch. He knew he probably should discuss this with Alex first but threw caution to the wind because a man had a ride to buy his little girl a pony, no matter what his wife says. Besides, Alex was the one who kept telling him that Sam took after him. If she objected to this little gift, he was certainly going to remind her of it, he thought with a little smile as he made the purchase.

He set off for Four Corners a good deal before sunset. Having no wish to be travelling alone with three horses behind him in the dark. The Territory was still a dangerous place and horse thieves were still a fact of the day. Vin was prone to being just a little more cautious whenever he was alone. For more than a decade, he was always accustomed to having someone watch his back, therefore when he was alone, he tended to be more cautious. Besides, horse thieves tended to select their targets by frequenting the same yards where horses were bought, keeping a close eye on who bought what and who was most vulnerable to attack.

Vin hated it when he was right.

To their credit, he had to admit that they were good and patient in their planning. They waited until he was almost home, having trailed him all the way to Eagle Bend before moving in for the kill. They were smart enough to wait until he had lowered his guard, confident in the belief that he was too close to home to encounter any difficulties. The thieves, three of them had waited along a strength of road he took to get home, heavily shrouded in trees with the barest hint of a trail It was as private as one could imagine for such an ambush. In retrospect, Vin supposed he should have known better but it was late in the day and he was tired. Moving three horses on one's own was an exhausting practice and he was certain that they were just as eager to him to see an end to their journey.

He sensed something was wrong when the horses started to react a little, not much but enough to tell him that there were others in the area and there was reason to be cautious because their riders were not showing themselves. Vin immediately went for the mare's leg that sat in its holster at his hip but knew he was in trouble because they had closed in on him at the very worst possible time. He was surrounded on all sides with no way of getting past them and with the horses, it was difficult to outrun them if they chose to give chase. He could abandon the horses he supposed but he was not really eager to do that and there was no guarantee they would not come after him anyway. Horse thieving was still a hanging offence and he was certain they would not want him alive to finger them for the crime.

Unfortunately, there was very little he good to do about it when they opened fire. The horses immediately reared up in fright at the sudden eruption of gunfire. Not only did their fright give him a very confused line of sight to fire back but in their haste to escape force his own horse on its rear legs and threw him out of the saddle. Vin's sawn off rifle had escaped his grip when he landed and he was damned lucky he did not shoot himself fatally but the landing had been bad and the snap of a bone told him irrevocably that his arm had been broken. Vin let out of a soft cry as the snap of excruciating pain shuddered through his body and the next thing he knew was this dizzying moment when all he could feel was the red haze of pain behind the background noise of men riding up to him.

"Git the gun," he heard one of them say.

There were at least four of them; he counted as the voice spoke amongst themselves trying to decide what they were going to do with him. Vin tried to lift his gun to fire at the one coming at him but as he made the attempt, he was struck in the face by a boot. It was not so much the pain of the blow that made him groan again when he went sprawling but rather the fact that he landed on his broken arm when he stopped. He could feel bone scraping against bone, a sensation that almost gagged him with disgust until he tasted the blood in his mouth and decided to pull himself together if he wanted to survive this.

"Alright," he grunted, opening his eyes and focusing on his attackers. "Take the goddamn horses!"

Two of them were older men that he had seen a couple of times down in Purgatorio. The ugly, grizzled kind who had lived a life of larceny without ever knowing anything else or wanting anything better. The third was a boy; a young hot shot with shiny guns that sort of reminded Vin of JD when they had met up by the way the kid was twirling them. However, the manic gleam in his eyes indicated he was nothing like the present Sherrif of Four Corners. The kid was not just itching to show off his guns but eager to get blooded. The last man, the leader was wearing a tan duster and his face mostly hidden by the slouch hat he was wearing but Vin could tell that he had hard eyes and that he was a cold ruthless killer.

"Sorry Tanner," the leader spoke. "No can do."

The fact that he knew who Vin was worried the tracker a great deal.

"We leave you and you'll send your six friends after us." The man continued. "Can't have that."

"Let's kill him now Murphy!" The boy said excitedly, practically foaming at the mouth at the chance of using his weapons. He scared the hell out of Vin because he looked as crazy as he sounded.

"Settle down Virgil," one of the other men sniggered.

"Don't call me that!" The boy named Virgil burst out angrily, waving his guns in their direction. "My name is Spears!"

"Shut up all of you!" Murphy growled and silenced them all with the threat in his voice. "We can't kill him. No way I want Larabee after me but we are gonna give him something to think about if he thinks of coming after us, especially if we have his pet tracker."

"Go to hell." Vin grunted in pain, his eyes glaring at the man in hatred for using him that way.

The man returned his icy stare with one just as menacing before he replied. "Not before you do, tracker. Not before you."

************

By the time it was four o'clock, the children were more than ready to go home. They set out from the watering hole, taking one of Sam's short cuts that always ensured they got where they were going a good deal sooner than they would if they took the normal route, laughing and chattering about the day they had just spent together. Wet hair plastered to their faces, the heat feeling delicious against their skins after a day spent in cool water, it was the kind of summer and the kind of childhood that left the most indelible impression in one's memories. They would soon part ways as Penny, Tommy, Peter and Adam would continue into town and Michael would walk Elena Rose home, though he would swear black and blue that it was to keep Sam company.

Sam was still in her overalls and knew that she would have to divest herself of it soon in order to put on her dress once again. She wished she did not have to. She felt so much more comfortable in this old overalls that Mike had given her rather than this stupid dress with too many layers. She could not imagine how older women wore this and wondered how Penny could stand all the clothes she wore. It was so inconvenient, she thought with a frown. They were almost to the crossroad where they would have to split up to go to their respective homes when suddenly Sam noticed something in the tracks ahead that made her freeze.

"Daddy." She whispered and her face went ashen.

Mike caught it first and followed her gaze. To him the tracks on the ground was nothing more than a lot of hooves prints but there was something about what Sam was seeing that frightened the hell out of her. "Sam what is it?" He asked.

"Everybody stay still!" Sam cried out. "Don't mess the tracks!"

Everyone was confused and wanting to react but Mike could see by the way Sam was studying them she was seeing something in those incomprehensible indentations in the dirt. "You heard her, stay put!" He ordered and when Mike said it, no one disobeyed.

"Peso was here." She looked up at Mike.

"How do you know?" He asked.

"I know the tracks Peso makes," she said trying not to panic. She knew how to read the tracks because she had listen to her dad even though he thought she had no concept about what he had been talking about and also because she used to ask Uncle Chano when they went to the Indian Reserve about reading them. In truth, Uncle Chano and even Chief Kojay taught her more about reading tracks than her father so she knew what she was seeing now meant that he was in trouble. "When he was just a colt, he had a little accident, did something to one of his hooves. He's okay but daddy has to make sure he's shorn all the time so that it doesn't get to be a problem. You can tell by the way his hoof is shaped. See." She pointed to the marks in question and Michael could see something in the shape of the track that was slightly irregular.

"Okay he was here," Michael said gesturing at the others to keep their questions silent for the moment so that he could get to the bottom of this. "How do you know he is in trouble."

"There are a lot of tracks around here," she studied the ground. "I mean a lot. At least six horses or seven I think and daddy is hurt or something, I’m not sure. Something happened to him."

"How do you know that?" Michael exclaimed, unable to imagine how she could make a leap like that. He could believe her about the horse tracks but that was even too precise for her.

"Look there," she pointed out the indentations in the dirt of an object that was long and thin. "That's the shape of a rifle but the barrel ain't long enough. Like its been cut."

"Hell." Mike hissed because they all knew of only one person who carried a sawn off rifle and that was Uncle Vin. "Can you tell which way they went?" He asked even though it was a moot point. Sam was her father's daughter and if she only dared enough to confide in him, Mike was sure she'd find out how much the two of them were like.

Sam was already following the tracks and she nodded. "They're heading away from town."

"We have to tell someone!" Elena Rose finally found her voice. "We have to get back to town."

"I'm not leaving him!" Sam turned around and blurted out. "I can find him!"

"Sammie are you insane!" Penny exclaimed. "If your dad in trouble, we got to tell Uncle Chris!"

"But it could be too late!" Sam cried out, staring at Mike to back her up on this. "They could take him anywhere!"

"Even if you find him you're no good to him if they catch you too!" Tommy pointed out. "We have to go back!"

"I won't!" Sam said defiantly and began walking. "You don't have to come with me! I can do it myself."

"No you won't." Mike stated firmly.

"Yes I will Michael!" She retorted.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE SAMANTHA!" Mike snapped and made them all jump at the harshness of his voice. She came to a halt and stared at him in shock at having raised his voice to her.

"Mike..."

"Now you listen to me," he strode towards and met her gaze firmly. "You will not go alone after those men. If they've taken your father, what do you think they'll do to you?"

"If I don't follow them, they could be anywhere!" Sam declared.

"I know that." Mike sighed. "That's why I'm going with you."

"Michael Vin Larabee have you lost your mind?" Elena Rose protested as she hurried up to them both. "Neither of you are in any position to go chasing after these 'outlaws' or whatever they are. We need to go back to town and get help!"

"And that's what you're going to do Elena." Mike stared at her. "You and the others are going to go back to town and find my father and tell him what's happened. Sam and I are gonna follow the tracks. We'll follow them as far as we can."

"Michael, this is dangerous." Tommy said firmly.

"That's why we have to go." Mike looked at him. "Sam's right. Its getting dark soon, we got to follow the tracks as far as we can. By the time you get back to town and get my dad, it will be almost sunset, it will be almost impossible to trail Uncle Vin."

"But they're on horseback." Adam pointed out. "You two are on foot!"

"I know but the horses can't ride forever, they have to rest besides we don't plan on catching up to them, just getting a rough idea where they're headed."

"Michael..." Elena started to protest.

"I'll come with you." Peter Standish declared.

Penny turned to her brother in shock. "Peter! No!"

"I don't think too many of us should go." Mike responded, not wishing to risk any more of their lives than necessary.

"None of us should be going," Peter returned sharply, "but since you and Sam are hell bent on doing this thing, I'm coming along with you and I'm not taking no for an answer."

"Me too." Tommy retorted.

"Oh no!" Mike declared. "I draw the line. We'll be in enough trouble with our folks as it is. Besides, if we do get into trouble, the less of us there are the better it will be. Besides, Tommy you got to stick with Adam and the girls, make sure they get back safe."

Tommy wanted to protest but Mike gave him a look that was not just a demand to be obeyed but a request to not make this any harder than it already was. Mike was afraid of having anything to do with outlaws that might kill them, even if it was just to following them for a bit. However, Sam would do this no matter what they said to her and she was his friend, he could not abandon her.

"Alright Mike," Tommy nodded, understanding the request that was asked of him.

"Mike," Sam spoke for the first time since this debate began. "You don't have to."

"Yes I do, someone’s got to watch your back while you’re surrounded by all those outlaws who are gonna want to kick your butt right after they meet you." He said with a little smile.

"Thank you Mike," she said softly.

"But if I get sent to military school because of this I will never forgive you." He declared firmly.

What he did not say what that if they all got killed, he would never forgive her.

************

The horses had been riding all day and even though it was dangerous to do so, the kidnappers had little choice but to take a break in their journey. Their animals were tired and needed watering and as much they would like to put as much distance between themselves and the scene of their crime, to ignore the obvious was to court danger as equal to the one they were attempting to flee. It was well into dark and Murphy had deduced that it would be still a few hours before someone in Four Corners was wise to Tanner’s absence. The man after all had been buying horses in Eagle Bend, there was no reason for his friends to believe that had met with foul play until they had exhausted all other possibilities which worked out quite well for Murphy and his gang.

They had a corral past the border where most of their stolen animals were kept and Tanner’s selection at Eagle Bend would bring a handsome sum although Murphy could not fathom what had made the former tracker make a choice of the dapple gray pony. It had no value as a working horse and sparked Murphy’s interest as to why someone with Tanner’s experience in horse ranching would make such a purchase. The opportunity to ask came when they had made camp for the night. Tanner’s arm was busted pretty badly so there was no need to tie him up. The men took turns watching him and ensured that he did not make any foolish attempts to escape.

"How come you bought the gray tanner?" Murphy asked over the campfire.

"None of your business." Vin drawled, trying to keep the pain from showing on his face.

"Come on," Murphy urged. "You don’t tell us and we’ll put a bullet in its head. Got no value for sale anyway."

Vin glared at the man at his callousness but knew it was an empty threat. The pony may not have been worth much but it was worth something and these men were too greedy to waste anything. The other three sniggered as if Murphy’s threat had power to move him. It did not but Vin answered just so the man would shut up and leave him be.

"It’s for my daughter." Vin retorted.

"I heard you were married." Murphy responded. "The town doctor or something ain’t she?"

"The colored one?" Spears goaded, trying to get a rise out of Vin.

"Shut up." Murphy ordered. They had yet to see any trouble out of Tanner and he did not want the kid’s big mouth to inspire the tracker into creating some. "Can’t be too old if you’re buying her pony. How old is she?"

"She eight." Vin grumbled, not liking to talk about Sam at this point because thinking of Sam made him wonder if he would see her again. He was almost certain that they had no intention of letting him go. He did not mind dying but he hated leaving his wife and daughter. His girls were the most important things in his life and secretly, he hoped that Murphy was wrong. That Chris would know better than to wait too long before he started looking. Vin had a feeling he did not have that much time. Once they made it across the border safely, they would kill him.

"Ain’t that a little young to be riding a horse?" Brennan, one of the duo he knew from Purgatory.

"That’s why I got her a pony." Vin retorted, wishing they would drop the subject.

"Well ain’t you a good daddy?" Spears sneered. "Mine never gave me nothing but the back of his hand."

"That’s explains how come you turned out so well." The tracker said sarcastically, inspiring the laughter of everyone present except the kid whose face turned red with rage.

"Maybe I’ll go find your little bitch!" He hissed, scrambling towards Vin and making sure he could see into Spear’s eyes. "Get to know her a lot better."

Vin’s eyes turned into points of black obsidian. "You go anywhere near my daughter and I’ll kill you. That’s a promise."

Spears laughed because he did not think Vin was capable of much but when the tracker kicked out his foot and ensured the ball of his heel landed on the soft part of the man’s stomach, he learnt otherwise. Unprepared for the attack, Vin did enough damage to ensure the kid would think twice before thinking an enemy was down. Spears fell on his rear, groaning in pain at the powerful blow delivered to his gut. Instinct and rage made him draw one gun, prepared to shoot when a hand caught his hand before he could do anything as reckless as pull the trigger.

"Let it go!" Murphy shouted as he forced Spears to relinquish the weapon.

"I’m gonna kill him!" Spears growled, struggling to keep the gun and pull the trigger. It did not help that Vin showed absolutely no remorse and was enjoying the display of seeing Spears being restrained by Murphy.

"You will but not now!" Murphy declared. "Kill him now and you’ll have Larabee and the other five hunting you until the day you die. Trust me kid, fast as you think you are, you ain’t ready to deal with Chris Larabee."

"I can handle him!" The boy barked defiantly.

"Maybe you can," Murphy returned sharply. "But we ain’t finding out on this run. Now keep your head. They’ll be plenty of time for payback when we get these horses to Mexico."

That seemed to make Spears calm down and he lowered the Remington in his hand as he yielded to Murphy’s orders. "I’m gonna git you." He glared at Vin. "Count on it."

Unfortunately, Vin did not doubt that.

*******

Chris Larabee listened to the four children in front of him as they rattled their story off and could hardly understand a word of what any of them were saying. It was late afternoon when the children returned to Four Corners and they all knew from habit that at this time of night their fathers would be in their favourite watering hole, a tradition still followed since their first days in Corners. These days, the drinking session was much shorter and they scattered at suppertime to return to their respective homes to share the evening meal with the families that were waiting for them.

So it was rather surprising to see Elena Rose, Tommy Jackson, Penny Standish and Adam Dunne suddenly turn up at the Standish Saloon, a venue that was strictly out of bounds for them, babbling excitedly at the same time about danger. For few seconds after the children had entered the saloon, the fathers stared at their children in mute silence as the cacophony of frantic voice bombarded their senses and captured the attention of everyone, including the patrons as they attempted to decipher what was being said.

"Buck, you want to handle this?" Chris said amidst all the chattering, suddenly feeling that vein in his head starting to throb.

"Sure." His old friend said good-naturedly and turned to the children before him. "SHUT UP!" He boomed loudly.

Everyone including the patrons jumped at the sharp order however, it did produce the desired effect when silence followed.

"Subtle Mr Wilmington, really subtle." Ezra retorted giving Buck a look before facing the children. "Now one at a time. What is all this fuss about?"

"Its Uncle Vin!" Tommy exclaimed practically bursting from having to hold in his news about what they had been sent here to deliver. "We saw tracks and its looks like he's been hurt. And Mike, Sam and Peter, they followed the tracks and Mike told us to come back and to tell you Uncle Chris because you have to go after them!"

"You get all that?" JD stared at Chris.

"Did you say Vin is hurt Tommy?" Nathan asked.

"Well Sam thought he was," Elena Rose replied quickly. "She saw tracks in the dirt and said that it was Peso’s tracks and that she had to follow it or you wouldn’t be able to see in the dark or Uncle Vin and the bad men, there was six or seven of them, would get too far away if they didn’t follow it!"

"Sam knew all this from reading tracks?" Buck stared at his daughter in disbelief.

"Yeah!" Penny retorted. "She doesn’t want her dad to know but she can read tracks and do all kinds of neat things. She throws a slingshot better then any of us! She knows what she’s talking about!"

"I believe you my dear," Ezra calmed his daughter down and glanced at the others. "Well it appears the apple does not fall too far from the tree."

"Try telling him that," Buck shook his head in disbelief. For years, he had been telling Vin not to underestimate his child because she was a girl however, Vin was convinced he had nothing to teach a daughter about his skills. Now it appeared she had managed to learn all she needed to without his assistance. The irony of it did not lose itself upon those present.

"So you’re telling me that Sam, Michael and Peter are trailing Vin and the six men who might have him?" Chris asked for clarification.

"Uh huh." Tommy nodded. "Sam wanted to go herself but Mike wouldn’t let her, so he and Peter went with her and Mike told the rest of us to come back to town because it was safer and so that we could tell you what was happening." The boy tried not to sound nervous under the hard stare of Chris Larabee’s scrutiny but his father gave him a little smile to allay his anxiety, perfectly aware that Tommy was not the first person to flinch under the infamous Larabee glare.

Chris did know whether or not he should be mad at his son for embarking on such a dangerous course of action or to be proud of him for standing by his friends while taking into consideration their safety as well. However, for the moment he would forgo the debate because they had more important things to deal with. "Tommy, you know where these tracks are?" He asked the boy.

"Yes," Tommy nodded. "I can show you."

"Chris…" Nathan started to protest, uncertain whether or not he wanted his boy in any danger.

"Nathan we don’t have a choice." Chris stared at the doctor. "Its going to be hard enough to track them without wasting any more time than its necessary. We need Tommy to show us."

"I can do it." Elena Rose spoke up.

"No you can’t." Buck retorted without automatically.

"But daddy!" Elena protested.

"That don’t work every other time and it sure as hell ain’t gonna work now." He gave her one of those rare looks of stern authority, which meant she was not going to be able to get her way and he would not appreciate her trying.

"We need to move," Chris said firmly.

Even though it was highly unlikely that the children would catch up to men on horse back, if they had anything like the luck of their parents, it was a good bet that they would find trouble nonetheless. After all, Ezra was right; the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.

********

When he had agreed to accompany Sam in her efforts to track her father, he had anticipated that she would keep them on the trail taken by the men who had kidnapped Vin Tanner, not be led straight to them. Mike knew Sam had been perfecting her skill but he had no idea it was so refined. They had been walking for hours and their feet were getting sore but Sam refused to give up, seeing things in the dark that made Mike wonder how on Earth she could see any of it. Even though the moon was full and there was enough illumination to keep them from bumping into things, Mike did not think it was bright enough to see the tracks in the dirt to maintain their journey.

"Its not just tracks, silly." She shook her head, wondering how someone like Michael who was the smartest boy she knew could be so dense sometimes. "It’s broken branches and bent leaves. You just have to look real closely." She had said as if it was perfectly natural.

"It all looks the same to me." Peter answered, trying not to show all this darkness was starting to get to him.

"The land is special," she continued to say. "Uncle Chano says so all the time and the Indians know. Their people have been here forever and they know stuff."

"You know I can’t believe you’re afraid of telling your dad you know all this." Peter returned. "If my daughter could do all the things you could, I wouldn’t be mad."

"Well my daddy ain’t you," Sam frowned. "He doesn’t think I know how to do anything."

"Quiet!" Mike suddenly hissed while the two of them were talking.

"What?" Sam whispered after both of them went silent at Mike’s urging.

"I hear talking." Mike said quietly and they all immediately crouched down low in the bushes to listen more closely. They were in a thickly wooded area with trees and rocks scattered across the landscape making visibility difficult. In essence it was a perfect place to camp for the night if one wanted anonymity and while this worked to the advantage for the men they were tracking, for three children alone; this had entirely the opposite effect.

For a few seconds, no one spoke but rather listened closely. There were the usual sounds of the night, crackling intermittently through the stillness. Insects chirping loudly, an owl perched on a branch some way, singing its eerie song and in the far distance (fortunately) was the howl of a coyote. It was the kinds of sounds that made children huddle under the covers when the dark still frightened them and for Sam, Peter and Mike who were still of that age, their nerve was not as strong as the compulsion that had brought them to this point. However, they calm their anxieties enough to hear the voices that Mike had supposedly heard.

They listened closely for a few seconds, hearing at least four speakers talking. At first no one could be sure that it was the men they had been following. Their conversation was nondescript for awhile until the name Tanner was suddenly mentioned. Sam reacted immediately, her first impulse was to go forward but Mike wrapped his hand around her mouth and pulled her back before she could do anything that would not only get herself killed but the rest of them as well.

"But Mike!" Sam protested.

"We’re not going in there without a plan!" He declared, trying to keep his voice down. "If we can hear them, they’ll sure as hell can hear us. Now the only chance we got of helping your dad get away is if they don’t know we’re here, alright?"

"Listen to him Sam," Peter implored. "He’s right."

He was right and Sam could not deny it. "Okay, what do we do?"

Mike pulled his hand from her mouth and started thinking. "We got to see how bad your dad is hurt."

"That means we have to get in closer." Peter pointed out, not liking this idea at all.

A short time later, they had managed to creep up to the encampment without being detected. This was mostly due to the liquor bottle that was being passed around the four men. While they were far from drunk, the liquor had affected them enough to ensure their senses were not as sharp as they should be. The fire burned in the centre of the camp, illuminating the faces of the men present clearly for the children to see. Once again, Mike had to put a restraining arm on Sam to keep her from doing anything rash when she caught sight of her father. Vin Tanner was obviously in a bad way. The fact that they had not tied him up and the angle of his arm indicated that he was badly injured. His legs seemed all right so he was not completely helpless but if he were to escape from four, armed men, he would need help.

"We got to help him." Sam said as they withdrew for the moment, trying to decide what to do.

"We could distract them." Peter suggested. "Maybe do something to keep their mind of Uncle Vin so that he can get away."

"There’s four of them," Mike returned. "Three will go investigate a distraction and the fourth will stay behind and watch him."

"Yeah but one of us could help him when he’s alone." Sam declared.

"Sam, how good are you with that slingshot?" Mike asked after a moment of consideration.

"Good enough to help my dad." She said firmly.

"I hope that’s very good then because if you’re not, we are gonna in a lot of trouble." Mike pointed out.

Like they weren’t already, Sam thought.

***********

Someone was out there.

This much Vin Tanner knew because he was certain he had heard the approach of at least three people but could not see them enough to make out. He guessed that they had come close enough to see what was happening around the campfire and chose wisely to withdraw. At first, he considered that it might be Chris and the others but that did not seem right because there had been something odd about the sounds he had heard. Men made definite sounds against the dirt when they moved. Their bodies tended to snap branches and twigs as they progressed through the woods, no matter how quietly they tried to do so. It was always Vin’s habit to keep low when trying to track. He breathed shallow through his mouth and kept let only his legs move, the rest of him remained still disturbing nothing. It was a skill he learnt from the Cherokee and it was hard to master.

Whomever it was out there was either very good at it as well or diminutive enough not to disturb too much. He though perhaps it might be an animal but that seemed unlikely, he did not know many animals other than wolves and coyotes that traveled in packs and a fire would sent them in the opposite direction anyway, not draw them closer. Had Murphy and his men been less inebriated, they might have noticed this but a bottle of liquor could do a lot of damage to a man’s senses when its fire took hold of the brain. Vin watched them as they drink, getting rowdier by the minute while their eyelids grew heavy and their eyes unfocussed. He waited patiently for the right moment because as much pain as he was in, he had misled them on the extent of his handicap. All he needed was an opening.

It came sooner than Vin thought and rather surprisingly.

Something had spooked the horses. Coupled with their frantic neighing was the sound of hooves pounding away into the night. The four men jumped to their feet immediately, discovery doing wonders for their inebriation. Murphy immediately stared at Vin and looked at Quincy, the forth member of his gang and barked a slurred order. "Watch him! The rest of you come one!"

The three men hurried off into the darkness as Quincy turned a gun on Vin after they had disappeared. It was obvious Quincy did not like being alone even though he had a gun and the tracker was clutching a broken arm. To reinforce his own security, he found himself barking at Vin to stay put, that he would not hesitate to shoot. Vin did not answer, convinced that the opening he was waiting for had come, even though he was confused at how it had come about. He also kept a keen eye on where the other three had gone and knew that they were pursuing the horses they had stolen to acquire. Once again, Vin wondered whether or not Chris and the others had not found him because all this had the earmarks of a rescue attempt.

Quincy was pacing the ground anxiously, his gun in his hand waiting for the others to come back when suddenly, Vin heard a swoosh of sound just before a walnut sized rock cracked against the side of Quincy’s skull. The man cried out in pain as the rock bounced of his head, his hand flying to the gash it had left behind when suddenly another rock flew out of the darkness like a projectile, this one hitting him on the underside of his wrist. He screamed in pain and let go of the gun in his hand. There would never be a better time to act and Vin took a gamble and rushed forward. Quincy looked up at him just in time to feel a foot slam hard into the side of his knee, driving him to the ground in one swift movement. As Quincy dropped, Vin swung his first and connected with the man's jaw, sending him sprawling.

"Take his gun daddy!" He suddenly spun around and saw Sam standing before him, handing him Quincy's gun.

"Samantha, what are you doing here?" Vin exclaimed beyond horrified.

"No time to talk daddy," she put the gun in his hand and then proceeded to pull him away from the encampment. "We have to go!"

Vin was so astonished by the whole situation, he could do nothing for a few seconds but let his eight year old daughter drag him from the camp into the woods. Vin could only follow because for the moment, she was right, they could not stay. He did not understand how Sam could come to be here but he sure as hell knew that he did not want them to find his daughter. Suddenly the threat made by Spears towards Sam had taken on a terrifying reality.

"Where are we going?" Vin asked as they moved briskly through the woods and he was mildly surprised that she was more than able to keep pace with him, not to mention she seemed to know where she was going.

"Mike took some horses, so we could get away!" She said out of breath as they progressed through the dark.

"Mike's here too?" Vin gasped. This was getting worse by the minute.

"Don't worry daddy," she said confidently. "We sent the others for help so Uncle Chris should be here soon."

"Sammie how did you find me?" He demanded, needing to pause because the pain in his arm was just too much.

Sam swallowed thickly and stared at him through the moonlight, supposing that this was the moment of truth. "I saw the tracks where you hurt your arm. I saw your rifle in the dirt and Peso's tracks."

"You tracked me here?" He declared unable to believe it. "How?"

"When I went to the Indian reservation with mom, I got Uncle Chano and Chief Kojay to show me how to track." She said guiltily.

"Why?" Was the overriding question that screamed in his head. "Why Sammie?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't." She said quietly.

Vin felt an overwhelming sense of shame at that moment. He did not know who she was at all. He saw her everyday and had no idea her spirit was just as wild as his, that even though she was a girl, she was still all him.

"I never thought you wanted to learn." He said feebly. "I didn't think you cared about all that."

"I love the land daddy." She said in a small voice. "I love all of it and everything else that I don't know about it but I want to learn daddy, I want to know it all."

For a while they did not speak because honestly Vin did not know what to say. He felt an agony worse than his broken arm at that instant, stemming from a heart that was aching in disgust at himself. He had no idea who his little girl was and if he had stopped for a moment to find out, he might have discovered that everything he thought he could teach a boy was an open book she wanted desperately to read.

"Hey!" Michael suddenly emerged with Peter, they were both leading two horses, one of which was Peso and the other being one of the horses belonging to Murphy's gang. It gave Vin great pleasure to know that the animal, a bay gelding, was the one ridden by Virgil Spears. "We were waiting!"

"Sorry Mike." Sam replied hastily, still afraid of what her father's reaction would be to her exposed secret when this was all said and done.

"We have to go," Mike looked up at Vin. "They're looking for their horses but they're gonna know something's up if not already."

"Good thinking." Vin nodded as he strode towards Peso. "Can you ride the bay?" He asked Michael.

"I think so." Michael nodded. The horse was larger than what he was used to but he was confident that he could manage.

Mike and Peter was soon riding double astride the bay and Vin mounted Peso, with Sam clinging to his waist as they started to ride away. As soon as the horses broke into a gallop, Vin heard the distant sound of gunfire as if Murphy and his gang were shooting blindly at the dark in hopes of getting lucky and stopping them from making their escape. However, Mike and Peter had done a good job of scattering the rest of the horses so there was no pursuit for quite some time and by then, it would certainly be too late for Murphy to regain his hostage. They had not progressed very far before they ran into Chris and the rest of the seven.

The gunslinger was so grateful to see his son safe and sound that he did not hold the boy accountable for risking his life in such a dangerous venture, especially after Vin pointed out that Mike, Sam and Peter probably saved his life. While Nathan accompanied Vin back to Four Corners so that his broken arm could be tended to and the children taken out of harms way, Chris and the others continued after Murphy and his men. They returned a day later with prisoners and the horses that Vin had purchased at Eagle Bend, including the dapple gray pony he had bought for Samantha. Virgil Spears had been killed in the gunfight that followed the gang's confrontation with the peacekeepers and Murphy died of his injuries shortly after arriving at Four Corners.

Vin had not said much to Samantha about her desire to track and hunt and do all the things he was so fond of for a few weeks after the incident with the Murphy gang. Alex did not seem at all surprised by the revelation and blamed him for forcing their daughter to go to such lengths to hide her true self from him, citing that she hoped he learnt his lesson about thinking a girl so incapable of wanting the same things as he.

Vin supposed he deserved that but knew it was going to take more than a pony to make it up to her.

**********

She wished he would say something to her about what had happened with the Murphy gang but he did not.

Sam was certain that he was so angry that he did not want to talk about it. She could think of no other reason why the subject was avoided the way it had been. It was weeks after the incident with the horse thieves and he was still wearing his cast over his broken arm. He treated Sam just the same but she knew that there was something wrong, she could feel it. She could not guess whether it was because he was shocked at what he knew about her now or because he just plain angry but she knew that she did not like it. Trouble was, Sam had no idea how she could mend the rift she had created between them.

As was his habit for as long as she could remember, her father was planning to take a ride out of town for a few days. Mom had explained that it had to do with daddy needing to get away from the noise of town living for a while, to just go out into the country and listen to the quiet. Sam knew exactly what it felt like to want that. She knew the terrain around the ranch intimately because she had spent a lot of time alone, just listening to the creatures that roamed within, getting to know the land as Uncle Chano often said. Her dad would take Peso and his bedroll and just disappear into the wilderness for a few days before coming back to his life. It was a way of balancing himself out, he told her once.

On this occasion, Sam watched him quietly in the barn as he packed Peso, working up the nerve to talk to him and perhaps apologize for not turning out the way he wanted. He knew she was there watching him and he had said nothing, which further convinced Sam that he was definitely mad at her.

"Daddy, I'm sorry." Sam said finally as she stared at him, feeling so bad because she couldn't be what he wanted her to be.

Vin raised his eyes to his little girl, wondering why she was saying sorry when he was the one who had behaved like a danged fool and was preparing to tell her so when he came up with something better. "You like your pony?" He asked quietly.

"I love my pony." Sam declared sincerely of the animal she took great pride in brushing down every night and whom she call Silver because of its color. Okay, dapple gray was not quite silver but it was to her. "It's the best thing I ever got."

Vin crooked the corner of his lip into a little smile, perfectly aware of that it was. He had seen how she doted on the animal ever since it had come into her possession. "Well then you better get him packed if you're coming with me."

Sam's eyes widened in shock. "Come with you daddy?" She could scarcely believe what she had just heard.

"Uh huh." His smile started to broaden across his face. "Yeah, I thought we might do a little fishing, maybe you can show me what Chano taught you."

Her eyes glistened and for a moment, Vin thought she might cry from sheer happiness, which merely confirmed Vin he was finally doing the right thing. Took him long enough, he thought silent to himself

"I love you daddy." She swallowed and then turned to run to the house.

Vin was still smiling when he called after her. "And get rid of that dress you're wearing. Out there its just gonna get in the way. Put something sensible on."

Sam could only smile as she ran to do just that.

TO BE CONTINUED