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to find Tag and take him back to Philadelphia, so he could be in full control again. According to the attorney, he had to bring back proof that Tag was still alive.
    But still he knew that the real reason he had traveled so far from civilization was to find Joanna. She had become an obsession with him. Her face had haunted him for two years now. He felt confident that he would have her sooner or later—she wouldn’t get away from him this time!
    Howard realized his mind had been drifting and that Captain Thatcher was staring at him. “Can you recommend someone to me who might be willing to travel to this Blackfoot village, Captain?” he asked.
    The captain raised his eyebrow. “You are either a very brave man or a very foolish one, Mr. Landon. If you think you can just go riding into Windhawk’s village, you are badly misinformed. He would kill you first and ask questions later.”
    “I have no thought of going to this village myself.” Howard patted his pocket. “When one has money, one hires others to take risks for them. I am prepared to pay a substantial reward for the return of my niece and nephew. You can pass the word on to anyone you think might be interested.”
    Harland watched Howard Landon for a moment. His dislike for the pompous, arrogant man grew. There wasn’t anything in particular that Harland could pin his dislike on, but Mr. Landon struck him as an interloper and a fraud. He doubted that the man would find anyone who would go against Windhawk to get his niece and nephew back. Although Harland had been ordered by Colonel Jackson, the commander of Fort Leavenworth, to lend his help to Joanna’s uncle, Howard Landon had already received all the help he would get from him. There had to be a good reason why Joanna had run away from the man in the first place. Harland had no intentions of helping Mr. Landon get her and her brother back.
    Thinking he might throw Mr. Landon off the trail, he decided to give him what he considered a piece of useless advice. In doing so, however, Harland Thatcher had no way of knowing that his good intentions were unwittingly placing Joanna in very grave danger.
    “I believe if you are determined to find your niece and nephew, you would be well-advised to go to the fort that belongs to The American Fur Company. It’s located much closer to Blackfoot territory than we are here.”
    “What’s the name of this fort?” Howard asked, sensing the captain’s dislike for him.
    “Fort Union. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding someone who will guide you there with your loose purse strings,” Captain Thatcher said sarcastically.
    Howard’s eyes gleamed with a secretive light as he faced the young captain. “You might want to reconsider going after my charges yourself, Captain. As I told you, I’m offering a substantial reward for their safe return.”
    Harland frowned. “I have no need for your money, sir, but you might just possibly find some poor, misguided fool who will risk his life for your offer, Mr. Landon. I’ll give you a piece of good advice, although I doubt that you will follow it…Windhawk will never allow anyone to get close enough to Joanna and Taggart to take them away!”
    Harland’s eyes flashed for just a moment. It had nagged at him for months that Joanna had turned down his marriage proposal to return to Windhawk. He was from a very prominent family in Philadelphia, and he would have been willing to lay the world at her feet had she consented to become his wife. He remembered her smile, which could tear a man’s heart out. Visions of her red-gold hair had disturbed his dreams many times. And the thought of her sweetly curved body set him on fire even now.
    “If you are a betting man, Captain, I will wager that before the summer is out, I shall have both Joanna and Tag.”
    “You are a fool, Mr. Landon! Even if you do convince some poor simpleton to do your dirty work for you, he won’t live past the first week in Blackfoot country. A man