Stone and timber collapsed into the passage.
A wall of dust and debris filled the chamber.
Men shouted.
A lantern shattered.
The darkness swallowed everything.
Daniel plunged forward into the freezing water.
He crawled through the narrow opening, scraping his shoulders against stone.
The current pulled at his legs.
Behind him, the collapse continued.
He heard Briggs shouting orders.
Then Ashcroft's voice, distant and furious.
"Find another way around!"
Daniel kept moving.
The tunnel narrowed.
Cold water rose to his chest.
He could barely breathe.
He reached forward and felt a sharp stone edge.
His hand slipped.
He struck his forehead against the ceiling.
Pain flashed behind his eyes.
For a moment, the world spun.
Then a voice called from ahead.
"Daniel!"
Abigail.
He lifted his head.
A faint light flickered beyond the darkness.
"Keep going!" he shouted.
"Where are you?"
"Behind you!"
"Are they coming?"
"Not through that passage!"
He crawled faster.
The water grew deeper.
Then the tunnel opened suddenly into a low cavern.
Abigail stood knee-deep in water, holding the lantern above her head.
Rachel and Lucy waited beside a narrow stone ledge.
Abigail's face changed when she saw him.
"You're bleeding!"
Daniel touched his forehead.
His fingers came away red.
"Just a scratch."
"You look terrible."
"Been told worse."
Rachel stepped forward.
"What happened?"
"Made the mine a little smaller."
She stared at him.
"You collapsed the tunnel?"
"Part of it."
Lucy looked frightened.
"Did you kill them?"
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't know."
Abigail studied his face.
"Was Ashcroft there?"
Daniel looked at her.
"Yes."
Her expression hardened.
"The man who killed Eleanor?"
"The man who ordered it."
Rachel raised her revolver.
"Then we should go back."
"No."
"He deserves—"
"Rachel."
Daniel's voice was firm.
"If we go back, we die. And everything your father and Eleanor worked for dies with us."
Rachel stared at him.
Then slowly lowered the weapon.
Daniel looked toward the far end of the cavern.
A narrow opening showed a faint patch of daylight.
"That way."
They moved toward it.
The passage climbed sharply.
The stone floor became slick with moss.
Lucy stumbled twice, and Abigail helped her regain her footing.
Daniel walked behind them, listening for pursuit.
At last, they emerged onto a narrow ledge overlooking the northern valley.
Morning sunlight broke through the clouds.
Below them, a river wound through a forest of golden aspens.
The air smelled of pine and wet stone.
For one brief moment, the world seemed peaceful.
Then Rachel pointed toward the valley floor.
"Daniel."
He followed her gaze.
Three mounted men waited beside a cluster of boulders.
One held a rifle.
Another was smoking a cigarette.
The third sat beneath a tree, apparently asleep.
Ashcroft's men.
Daniel pulled the sisters back behind the rocks.
Abigail whispered, "What do we do?"
Daniel studied the terrain.
The ledge ran west along the mountainside.
A steep ravine separated them from the main trail.
Beyond it stood a dense stand of pines.
If they could reach the trees, they might escape unseen.
But Lucy was exhausted.
And the men below would spot them the moment they crossed the open slope.
Daniel looked toward Abigail.
"Can you run?"
She nodded.
"Rachel?"
"Of course."
"Lucy?"
The youngest sister swallowed.
"I'll try."
Daniel shook his head.
"Trying isn't enough. I need to know."
Lucy lifted her chin.
"I can run."
He studied her.
Then nodded.
"Good."
He removed his hat and placed it on a broken branch near the ledge.
Rachel frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"Giving them something to look at."
He positioned the branch so the hat appeared above the rocks.
Then he removed a small tin cup from his saddlebag.
Abigail stared.
"Why do you have that?"
"Never travel without coffee."
He tossed the cup down the opposite slope.
It struck a rock.
The metallic sound echoed through the valley.
One of the gunmen looked up.
Daniel waited.
The man rose.
He pointed toward the hat.
Another reached for his rifle.
Daniel whispered, "Now."
They ran.
Abigail led Lucy across the slope.
Rachel followed.
Daniel stayed behind them.
Loose stones slid beneath their boots.
The ravine opened ahead.
A fallen pine lay across it, forming a narrow bridge.
Abigail crossed first.
Rachel helped Lucy onto the trunk.
Then a shout came from below.
"There!"
A rifle cracked.
The bullet struck the rock beside Daniel.
He turned and fired once.
The gunman ducked.
"Move!" Daniel shouted.
Lucy stumbled on the log.
Abigail caught her.
Rachel reached back.
Together, they pulled her across.
Daniel stepped onto the fallen tree.
Another shot rang out.
Bark exploded near his boot.
He kept moving.
Halfway across, the trunk shifted.
Daniel froze.
The old roots groaned.
The tree began sliding.
He jumped.
His boots struck the far edge of the ravine.
For one terrible second, he hung over empty space.
Then Abigail grabbed his coat.
Rachel seized his arm.
Together, the sisters pulled him onto solid ground.
The tree collapsed behind them.
It fell into the ravine with a tremendous crash.
The gunmen shouted in frustration.
Daniel rolled onto his back, breathing hard.
Rachel stared down at him.
"Still think you don't need help?"
He looked at her.
Then laughed.
It was a short, surprised laugh.
The first genuine laugh he had made in years.
"No, ma'am," he said.
"I reckon I was mistaken."
Abigail knelt beside him.
Her hands trembled.
"You could have died."
Daniel looked at her.
"So could you."
"That's not the point."
"What is?"
She opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
For a moment, the fear in her eyes became something deeper.
Something neither of them was prepared to discuss.
Finally, she whispered, "Don't do that again."
Daniel nodded.
"I'll try."
Rachel looked toward the trees.
"Can we discuss your terrible judgment somewhere safer?"
Daniel rose.
"Good idea."
They disappeared into the pines.
Behind them, the men on the far side of the ravine began searching for another crossing.
And deep beneath Blackstone Ridge, Edward Ashcroft stood before the collapsed tunnel, his face twisted with rage.
Wade Briggs emerged from the dust, coughing.
"He's gone."
Ashcroft looked at him.
"I can see that."