“Nomad is a prisoner,” was one of his statements, “and so is a woman from Cinnabar who calls herself Pizen Jane. I’m not just certain of her, but she bravely stood up before Nomad when that outlaw threatened him.”
“She and Nomad will both be slain, if they have not been already,” said Clendenning.
“It may be. I’m hoping otherwise. But I saw I could do no more then than I had done, and that if I expected to aid them I must have assistance. So I rode here to get it.”
“You shall have it, Cody.”
“I want twenty good men, well armed and provisioned. We’ll not be able to get back there as quickly as I came from there; but we can go as fast as possible. I shall rescue Nomad and root out that devil’s nest. If he has been killed, there will be some desperadoes of the Sepulcher Mountains who will pay for it with their lives.”
“You can start as early in the morning, Cody, as you like, and you shall have the men,” said Clendenning; “I’ll give the orders right now.”
He turned to the door.
“Stop, major; I want those men right now, without a moment’s delay.”
Clendenning turned back in surprise.
“But you’ll have to rest, Cody; you can’t go back without proper rest.”