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Page 247

| grabbed her at the pit of her stomach when she saw several dead sheep trampled by those that were running crazed in all directions. |

| Then she spied Ashton among the men. Wiping the streamers of rain from her face, she wheeled her horse around and rode toward him. When she reached him, he gave her a frenzied look. |

| ''What the hell are you doing out here in this damnable storm?" he shouted, reining in beside her. |

| She gave him a silent stare, knowing it was best not to tell him the truth, yet hating to have to lie. He had told her not to go to Stanford's sheep station. |

| Yet how could she not tell him? Bianca was obviously in some sort of trouble. She needed help! |

| She started to tell him the truth, but was stopped when Crispin came riding suddenly up to Ashton, his face a mask of despair. |

| Ashton turned to Crispin, searching his friend's eyes and seeing too much there that made his insides knot up. Crispin had gone to check on Rufus. By the look on Crispin's face he had not brought back a favorable report. |

| "Well?" Ashton shouted through the howling wind and pouring rain. "How's he doing, Crispin? Did some of the men stay behind to give him a helping hand? Damn it! I should've gone there myself at the first signs of this storm. Out there all alone in such weather, Rufus is defenseless." |

| Crispin lowered his eyes, then looked slowly back up at Ashton. "I'm sorry, Ashton," he said, his voice haunted. He emitted a loud sob, then choked back another one. "Ashton, when I got there the sheep were gone andand Rufus's neck was broken!" |

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