Netty’s eyes flew open to the black of the desert night. She wasn’t sure if it was the cold of midnight or a sound that awakened her. Her senses told her she wasn’t alone. She had no fear of the animals that roamed the southwest, she knew the sounds of the night, but this was someone else moving in the dark, definitely a man. She stayed perfectly still, tightening her grip around her six-shooter that she had tucked beside her bedroll.
The intruder was coming from the other side of the wagon, her horses were tied a few feet away. The sound of his movements were amplified in the thin night air. More than likely he wanted to steal the ponies and would not yet know where she was. He was probably Desert Indian or Mexican. She carefully rolled under the jacked wagon, praying that nothing w
