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threats of death.
    Ryland jerked once and faltered, but he collected himself and sped on, finally diving through the screen of trees and out of sight.
    Katherine had no time to think. Men were screaming. People were running toward her. Hoofbeats thundered behind her, and she turned dully.
    "Come on!" Ryland was aboard the giant horse and racing toward her. "Come on, woman!" he shouted again, but Katherine could not yet fathom the vulnerability of her own position.
    "I'm innocent," she whispered numbly, still believing in justice with fanatic childishness. "I'm innocent," she said more loudly, and turned to declare that fact to the men behind her.
    A gun exploded close at hand. The bullets twanged between her legs. Katherine bent, staring at the hole bored cleanly through her nightshift. Then, lifting her head with numb slowness, she reached abruptly for Ryland's outstretched arm.
    The stallion never stopped. The momentum of his power aided by Ryland's strong grip whipped Katherine up behind the saddle.
    Bullets shrieked past. Katherine wrapped her arms about Ryland, pressed her face into his back and prayed with her eyes closed.
    The sound of bullets became less frequent, but hoofbeats could still be heard. Katherine refused to open her eyes and prayed more fervently, gripping Ryland with petrified fingers.
    Soldier's hoofbeats echoed down a hard-packed street. He took the corner with the litheness of a huge cat, and Katherine nearly fell, slipping dangerously down the horse's side and feeling a scream rip from her throat,
    Ryland's hand clutched her thigh, holding her steady as she clambered upright again.
    They were going back toward Grey's house! Why? Was he insane? Every able-bodied man in Silver Ridge was waiting to send them to meet their Maker.
    Soldier turned slightly, and his hoofbeats were muffled on grass. Their passage was barely audible here. Finally understanding Ryland's plan, Katherine prayed their pursuers had continued on in their original direction.
    The clamor of town was left behind. No more gunshots. No hoofbeats followed as far as Katherine could tell, but her heart raced along on such a noisy course that it was impossible to know for certain.
    They seemed to ride forever. Blackness turned to gray around them, and still they continued. The terrain was never level, but tilted up and down dramatically, throwing Katherine from side to side.
    Trees whizzed by as ghosts of shifting shadows. They hit a downhill slope at a gallop. Soldier barely slowed but set his big haunches and slid, dodging trees with breathtaking agility. He leaped. There was a sensation of being airborne, and then they splashed into water that suddenly rushed around and past.
    It sprayed upward, soaking them all as Soldier struggled to keep his footing amongst the moss-covered rocks.
    Miles sped by in jolts and jerks, but finally the stallion stumbled to a trembling halt, his breath coming hard and fast.
    "Are we stopping?" Katherine asked, turning her head to skitter a glance behind. "Shouldn't we hide? Mightn't they still be following?"
    Travis Ryland said nothing. His shoulders slumped as, without fanfare or warning, he fell from her grasp into the roiling water.
     

Chapter 5
    Katherine stared silently down at Ryland's sinking body.
    "Dear God," she whispered, gripping the wet cantle. "Mr. Ryland!" she screamed, but Ryland failed to answer, for he was unconscious and drowning.
    She half fell from the horse, floundered in the rolling stream, then struggled after Ryland's gently floating body. She grasped him with stiff fingers, turning him faceup.
    "Mr. Ryland," she whispered shakily. The water was turning pink around them. Nausea turned her stomach. She wasn't good with injuries. In fact, splinters were known to make her light-headed.
    She swayed woozily then closed her eyes with a snap. If she fainted, she would drown, she thought with unexpected common sense, and opened her eyes to find the source of his lost blood.
    "Don't panic,"