The Bandit Scout

Chapter 16 - Trapped

The second day of Chief Gomez's travel to Rider Ranch coincided with Ralph Rider's return to the Ranch. Daylight was almost over, and they still had eight hours of travel. Chief Gomez had them stop by a stream to rest and water the horse. Before the Comanche had eaten, they fed the horses a small amount of grain. The Comanche used that time to eat something out of their saddlebags.

After some discussion with the Comanche, there was a consensus that they should continue. They would arrive well after midnight. Most seemed to think that they should stop the four Comanche before they did anything that would interfere with the plan for the Comanche to stop being bandits.

It was in the wee hours of the morning when the Comanche approached Rider Ranch. Both the men and the horses were weary and nearly exhausted. They were riding straight in without any stealth, and before they reached the Ranch compound, guards spotted them and raised the alarm. Lanterns were lit, and troops were pouring out of the barracks. Ralph Rider and Carmen came from the main Ranch House, and Carlos McTavrish was close behind them. Carlos double-timed to catch up to Ralph. Carlos whispered to Ralph, "I cannot find Stella."

The Comanche continued at a walk until they were in front of Ralph. Chief Gomez stopped his horse, lifted his hand in greeting, and said, "Boss Ralph, when I returned to my camp the day before yesterday, I learned that my Camp Commander tasked four Comanche to come here and seek targets of opportunity. We came here as fast as we could to let you know. My men and our horse are exhausted at this point, but after a few hours' sleep, we will assist in finding the four and returning them to our camp."

"Sam," called Ralph for Sam Briggs, his foreman. Sam stepped up. "Yes, sir."

"First, find a place where these Comanche can rest. Have Hands take care of their horses. Then, organize a search of the compound for Stella Brooks. I don't think she is here, but we must make sure. Carlos, what are your thoughts?"

"Ralph, as you know, we planned for Stella to begin retracing her path through the badlands tomorrow night. Stella only accepted that plan grudgingly. She wanted to go alone. I think she has slipped out tonight to do it her way."

Ralph said, "We will take that as a working assumption until we learn otherwise. Nothing is more important than protecting Stella from the four renegades. No, that is the wrong word. They are operating on orders they received when we were enemies with the Comanche. Chief Gomez has proven that they are no longer so. Chief Gomez, you and your men dismount. Thank you for your extraordinary effort to warn us. Sam Briggs will find you a place to rest. We will care for your horses. Our cook will prepare some food for you."

Sam told them, "We have an empty barracks that will hold all of you."

Carmen ran up to her father and hugged him. She saw he was on the verge of collapse. Even the younger Comanche must be nearly the same. "Boss Ralph, can I arrange for the Comanche to eat in the barracks?" She was already learning her way around the compound and knew the mess hall and kitchen location. Ralph gave his permission, and she went with her dad to the barracks they would use. As soon as she saw the site of the barracks, she went to the kitchen and found the Head Cook. He had already gotten the word of what was needed. Stella told him that the Comanche had ridden hard for two days returning to their camp from the mountains, and then two more days coming here to warn the Ranch. They would likely be asleep when the food was ready."

The cook told her, "We will fix them something like sausages and bread that will keep until they awake." He called his chuckwagon crew to get them started preparing the food. Then he said to his team, "Where is Gus Sloan? Is that SOB corking off again?" But nobody had seen him.

Ralph and Carlos were studying a map that covered the Ranch and some of the badlands back in the Ranch House. Ralph pointed out to Carlos, "You can see these ridges and arroyos run southeast to northwest." Pointing out a particular arroyo, "We will call this Arroyo #1. This is the arroyo that Stella went up initially to about here." He pointed to a place well up the arroyo. "We think that she ran all night to get to that spot, which she reached at dawn. It is incredible that anyone could cover so much ground so quickly. Even more so, a woman did it. Running, she left signs of her passage. But with daylight, she started moving to the north, crossing the first ridge to Arroyo #2. Then she crossed the second ridge to Arroyo #3 and the third ridge to Arroyo #4. Capt. Riker was clever and figured out her plan, capturing her about here in Arroyo #4. We can figure that she will not vary too far from a straight line as she follows her previous path from here in Arroyo #1 to here in Arroyo #4."

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As soon as he had a firm plan in his mind, he called in his team. Ralph, Carlos, the Medico, Carmen, and Sam Briggs met with the Mounted Platoon Lieutenants in the study in the big house. Showing the Lieutenants the map, he said, "By now, Stella is already near Arroyo #1. We believe that the four Comanches Chief Gomez warned us about will attempt to capture Stella and force her to reveal the location of the Katana Documents. Your mission is to find Stella. If she has avoided capture, update her on what has happened here and then support whatever she decides to do. If they have captured her, free her and provide whatever support she may need. I suggest sending a team of ten troops up Arroyos #1 and #4. Then, perhaps, a squad of twenty could go up Arroyo #2, and the rest could go up Arroyo #3. Patrol well to either side of the expected crossing points." Ralph did not say that if the Comanche captured Stella, she would have suffered torture. "Sam, muster every hand that you can and move them to the entrance of Arroyo #3. Bring a few wagons with supplies. We don't know how long we will be there."

Carmen was conflicted. She wanted to go with Ralph, but also wanted to talk to her father. Since Sam Briggs was going with Ralph, she needed to look after the Ranch while Ralph and Sam were away. Her worry for Stella was overwhelming.

The sun was up when they left the big house to mount up. Frank Stevens reached out for Carlos' arm and said quietly, "Follow me."

When they were leaving the Ranch, Frank led them away from the troops. When they could talk without being overheard, Frank said, "I have studied the terrain carefully, and I have gotten into the minds of these four Comanche. Trusting me is a risk for you, but you know that I love Stella as a daughter. We should go up Arroyo #3. There, I can use my tracking skills, and we will find Stella before the rest. I am basing this on knowing Stella and the Comanche. Also, from carefully studying the badlands terrain. Are you with me?"

"Medico, I have known you since my days at Unihold. I must believe what you are telling me. Is this the fastest way to the entrance to Arroyo #3?"

"It is. Now concentrate on your riding. Be as smooth as possible to make it as easy as possible on your horse. We are going to push our horses to their limits. Every second that we can save means a lot to Stella."

The sun was getting close to its zenith when they arrived at the entrance. Their horses were nearly exhausted. The arroyo was not as smooth as the plains they had been traversing. But the slower pace the terrain forced allowed the tired horses to carry them a little further. Before they reached Stella's crossing point, Frank halted them and said, "We will go on foot from here on. I will have to move slowly. If I misread any sign of Stella's or Comanche's passage, we could fail to save Stella."

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Daylight was breaking as Stella moved up the arroyo. When she arrived at the place where she had started crossing ridges, sunlight touched the top of the hills. It seemed that the day had progressed further than it had last time, but that was to be expected. As the spring of the year advanced, the sun rose earlier.

She could see signs of the Mounted Troops that searched for her last time. Nothing else had changed. After a short rest from her long run, she started moving north, climbing the first ridge. Stella's memory for terrain detail was exceptional. Everything looked as it had before. The rise was steep and dense with trees and bushes. Even with all of her skills, it was still slow going.

By midmorning, she had crossed the first ridge and the next arroyo and was climbing the second ridge. Her observational powers did not indicate anything of concern. As she topped the second ridge, she saw the cliff she had to negotiate to get to the arroyo below.

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The Scout approached the trap so quietly that the Comanche did not know she was there until they saw her a few meters from the net. She stopped after stepping onto the net, then looked all around and listened carefully. Stella did not sense anything wrong. She did not know she was stepping on a net. The Comanche's camouflage work was world-class.

She slowly took another step, moving into the rock slide that would take her to the bottom of the next arroyo. Suddenly, the ground all around her jerked several meters upward, trapping the Scout in a net. She immediately began climbing out of the net, but four men surrounded her and wrapped her in rope, restricting the movement of her arms and legs.

They cut the top of the net free and laid the Scout on the ground, still surrounded and entangled by the net and ropes. Two of the men took a position at her shoulders and put a knife to her throat. Another man told her to stop thrashing and to be still, or the blades would cut her.

Despair almost overwhelmed Stella, but her training told her that she must endure and wait for an opportunity to gain her freedom. The men, whom she saw were Comanche, rolled her face down and slowly freed her arms from the net and ropes. Stella did not expect the Comanche to be her allies, but she was surprised to be attacked by them. One Comanche put the point of his knife at the top of her neck with enough pressure that she was sure that it would penetrate to her spine if she moved. With a man on each arm, moving her arms behind her back, there was little she could do anyway. A Comanche straddled her, sitting on her butt, while her forearms were crossed and held in place. The Comanche, sitting on her, lashed her arms together.

As soon as her hands were tied, her elbows were pulled close together and tied tightly as well. Stella thought this was very similar to what Gus Sloan had done not so long ago. The Comanche knew her reputation as a fighter and gave her no chance to take any action. They managed to force a large rawhide ball with straps attached into her mouth with some difficulty. Inserting the ball stretched her jaws painfully. It was soft but large, filling her mouth and pressing down on her tongue. The rawhide pulled between her back teeth and into her cheeks. They tied the straps behind her neck very tightly, pulling cruelly on the corners of her mouth and cheeks.

Of course, the Comanche did not stop but continued removing the rope and net from her legs and tying them tightly together at the thighs, above the knees, and the ankles. The lead Comanche told her, "We know your reputation as a fighter, Stella Brooks, and we will take no chance with you. We will take you to our camp, set up nearby, where you'll tell us where you have hidden the items you took from Rider Ranch. You will decide how painful the questioning will be for you. Think about this while we carry you to our camp. Now, you are a beautiful young woman. If you hold out and do not tell us what we need to know, we will ruin your beauty, and you will become a broken, crippled, and hideous hag. The transformation will be as painful as we can make it, but we'll ensure you can still communicate. You do not want this, and we do not want to do it. But unless you tell us where you hid what you took, it will happen."

Fear clutched Stella's heart. It took all of her control not to throw up onto her gag, which she knew would be deadly for her. She steeled herself for what would come and focused on looking for some opportunity for escape. The Comanche rigged her for transport in the usual bandit way. They cut a thin pole just strong enough to support her weight. It was about two and a half meters long. They threaded it behind her back between her elbow and wrist ropes. The Comanche tied her ankles, thighs, and hips to the pole. Sometimes only the ankle and elbow ropes were attached, which would make it more painful. They were showing her that they could be merciful. The earlier speech and this were all part of a head game.

One Comanche was in front of her, and one behind her, carrying the pole on their shoulders. The trip down the incline to the arroyo below was slow. The Comanche picked their way carefully, but it was still jarring and painful for Stella. Once in the arroyo, the rest of the trip to their camp was easier on Stella.

The camp was several clicks further up the arroyo. It was also located away from the arroyo's stream and hidden in the trees.

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At the Comanche's camp, Stella was lowered to the ground and untied from the pole. They untied her from the pole and stood her on her feet. Overhead, a sturdy limb was above them, but higher than a tall man could reach. Two pulleys were attached to the branch, two outstretched arms' distance apart. A rope looped through each pulley. They tied one end of a rope from one pulley to her wrists. They pulled the other end of the rope, and it lifted her hands behind her.

Stella knew she wasn't going to enjoy this as she had with Carlos twice before. As the Comanche kept pulling the rope, it bent her over at her waist. They continued until her arms were at a very unnatural and painful angle from her body. The rope pulled her head and shoulders higher than her waist. Stella had to stand on tiptoes to relieve some of the pressure on her shoulders. The end of the rope the Comanche had been pulling was tied off on a nearby tree. Stella's face was breaking out in a sweat. She was hurting, and she knew it was only the beginning.

A Comanche untied her halter and removed it. Another was untying the rope around her legs. When the rope was off, he loosened her belt and pulled down her pants until they were bunched around her ankles. Stella knew that humiliating her was part of their process. Knowing that did not make it less unpleasant. They removed her pants from her legs and tossed them by the halter.

The Comanche leader said, "We will each give you a taste of what is to come. Then we will go for our meal while you think about what you will tell us."

With that, the Leader swung a heavy blow with his right arm. His open hand hit Stella on her left cheek and ear, sharply rotating her head to her right. She moaned into her gag. Her head was ringing. Then he hit her with his left hand. Before her head stopped ringing from the blows, a second Comanche stepped up beside her. He delivered a powerful uppercut with his fist, driving into her stomach. The impact was strong enough to lift her feet off the ground. All the air in her lungs was expelled through her nose. Stella felt paralyzed. The pain from her abdomen spread instantly throughout her torso. She couldn't use her lungs, and she thought that she might die and end this. But there was a will to survive deep inside of her. As air seeped past her nostrils and into her lungs, she started breathing once again. She lacked sufficient awareness to anticipate another blow. He punched her high on her side. This punch cracked a rib because Stella did not tense her muscles to prepare for the strike.

Stella's mind was in turmoil, as well as her body. She was thinking that their mental game was working. But if she wanted to stop and tell them what they wanted to know, she couldn't. Her gag made her unable to communicate. A third Comanche standing behind her was holding a heavy leather belt. He did a forearm swing and crashed the belt into her right hip and buttock. Stella lurched forward as far as she could, bound as she was, screaming into her gag. The Comanche continued with a backhand swing that caught her left hip and buttock.

"I thought I was getting a taste from each," she thought. "This is a full plate." Tears wanted to pour out of her eyes, but she fought them down. She couldn't help reacting to the pain, but didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. In fact, Stella was also fighting to stay conscious. She could feel blackness waiting to engulf her. But if she lost consciousness and hung limply from her hands pulled high behind her back, tendons and ligaments would tear, and she would be crippled for the rest of her life, which didn't look to be very long.

The fourth Comanche was standing in front of her, and she saw him start his open-handed swing. Instead of her face, he slapped hard against her right tit. Being bent over from her hands being pulled high behind her put her breasts in a very vulnerable position. The reaction of her nerves clamped her diaphragm, stopping her breathing once again. Before she regained the use of her lungs, he swung again with his other hand, hitting her left breast.

The bandits walked away to prepare their meal, leaving Stella hanging painfully from her hands. She slowly restored her breathing. In her mind, she had many fears. Her pain was excruciating. She was unsure if she could endure it without revealing what they asked. She feared failing the Alliance and Ralph Rider. Most of all, she feared failing Carlos. If she had submitted to his will, she would not be here. She was almost ready to do anything to stop the pain.

The Comanche were satisfied that they had softened her up for questioning.