Measure of Grace by Al Lacy Page B

rolled back in his head, and his sides were heaving as he sucked hard for breath.
    Unable to allow the dying deer to suffer any longer, Jordan decided to end its life by striking it on the head with the ax. Hurrying to the spot, he picked up the ax, and raised it over his head. But before he brought it down, the buck let out his last breath.
    He was lowering the ax when suddenly he heard a male voice shout, “Jordan Shaw! What are you doing here?”
    Turning, Jordan saw Ace Decker and Keith Nolan running toward him amid the trees.
    While they ran, Ace spoke in a low voice from the side of his mouth. “I have an idea how to get back at William Shaw for what he did to us if Jordan is alone. If I give you the nod, put your gun on him.”
    Nolan grinned. “Will do.”
    Though his father had fired the two men, Jordan decided to be friendly. Still gripping the ax, he smiled. “I heard the shot a while ago, then the deer showed up. He fell and died where you see him.”
    “All right,” said Nolan. “We’ll go down, get our horses and pack mule, and haul him home.”
    Running his gaze to the cabin, Decker asked, “Who’s with you, Jordan?”
    “Nobody. I’m here by myself.”
    Decker’s eyebrows arched. “By yourself? You’re stayin’ here in the cabin by yourself?”
    “Yes.”
    Decker flicked a glance at Nolan and nodded.
    Suddenly Nolan worked the lever of his rifle and from the hip, pointed it at Jordan’s midsection. In a cold voice, he said, “Drop the ax, kid.”
    Jordan frowned, shock showing in his eyes. “What’s going on?”
    “Why are you stayin’ here by yourself?” asked Decker.
    Jordan looked at the ominous black muzzle, then at Decker. “Why is he holding the gun on me?”
    “You’ll find out in a minute,” said Decker. “Now, answer my question. But do as Keith told you first. Drop the ax.”
    Letting the ax slip from his fingers and fall to the ground, Jordan said, “All right. I’ll tell you.”
    While the two former Bar-S cowhands listened intently, Jordan explained about his breaking the window at George Crum’s feed store, and being arrested and sentenced to fourteen days in jail by the marshal. He told them how he was released from jail a day early yesterday, and wanted to get away from everything and everybody for a few days, so he came to the old cabin, where he had stayed before.
    “So when you plannin’ to go home?” asked Nolan.
    Figuring it was none of their business about the problem between his father and himself, Jordan said, “I don’t know, yet. I’ll go home when I’m ready. Why are you pointing that gun at me, Keith?”
    “Because we just found a way to get back at your father for firin’ us over Buck Colburn’s death,” Nolan said evenly.
    Jordan’s face blanched. “Y-you’re going to kill me?”
    Ace Decker laughed. “Naw, we ain’t gonna kill you, kid. We ain’t murderers. But we’re gonna get back at your pa by makin’ him think you’re dead. We’re gonna take you to the cabin where we live in the foothills. You’ll be our prisoner. When you don’t show up at home in a few days, your ol’ pa will be lookin’ for you. When he doesn’t find you in a month or so, he’ll think you’re dead. This will cause him great sorrow, which will give us our revenge.”
    Jordan’s features were white. “But you can’t hold me like that. It’s not right. You’ll just get yourself into trouble with the law, and—”
    “No, we won’t,” said Decker. “Keith and I are plannin’ on leavin’ Idaho in a couple of months. Before we go, we’ll leave youtied up in a secluded cave we know about. It’s about two thousand feet higher than where we stand, right up there close to Castle Peak. By the time you work yourself free, we’ll be long gone. Ain’t nobody gonna find us. But it’ll sure feel good knowin’ we made your pa hurt inside, thinkin’ you were dead.”
    “Please,” said Jordan. “Don’t do this. It’ll make my mother and sister