Caroline winced a little, not sure she was comfortable with Addy's plan. If she did tackle the Indian by his legs, that left the boy still in control of that pistol which he could use to shoot her. And if Addy went for his gun hand or even both arms then she couldn't use the cloth strip as a garotte to strangle him.

But she did not get time to voice (however softly in volume) her worries for suddenly there was a flurry of shots in the distance. A LOT of shots!  Hard to judge just how far away in this rough country but obviously close enough they heard the firing!

Houusoo was about to snap at the white women to quit their jabbering and just sit there when he too was distracted by the same outbreak of gunfire.  His people were fighting the waischus, it had to be. They had found them quickly.  His heartbeat quickened.

Meanwhile Caroline decided no more waiting or plotting, she had a sudden idea. First off she grabbed a handful of dirt in one fist then she hissed to Addy, "I'm gonna get his attention alright."

Without hesitation she suddenly jumped up and screamed in panic.

"SNAKE!   DAMMIT!  A SNAKE!  IT BIT ME!"

She turned in terror toward the Indian, "SHOOT IT!  HELP!" as she fixed her eyes on the deep grass around them. It was quite a convincing performance really.

Just as she had known, when things started to happen, they started quickly, and as soon as Caroline started her act, Addy was at her side, shouting out her own alarm.

"Hurry!  It done bit her!"  

As the boy turned toward them, Addy had a very brief pang of regret -- it did look like he was concerned and wanted to help -- but there was no time for pity...

Kneeling in the dirt, she pushed Caroline's petticoat up, pretending that there was a wound there.  "Aw, Caroline!"

Houusoo moved closer, he was not used to actually using a revolver, previously he had only used his bow and arrow or watched others fire rifles and pistols. He didn't even cock the hammer back as required to fire one of these single action guns. His focus was on the grass, looking for the snake. 

Caroline waited just until she thought he was close enough then the act vanished in an instant. Of course she wasn't bit, the saloon girl now made her move. With one hand she threw the dirt right in the Arapaho's eyes while the other lunged for his gun hand wrist.

The struggle was on!

Only a split second behind Caroline, Addy sprang up, ready to slip the strip of slip around the boy's neck, but as his body and mind registered what was happening, he spun and struck out with his free hand, and although that missed Addy, the back of his head hit her in the face, causing her to stumble back, blood streaming from her nose.  At the same time, he instinctively pulled the trigger, the boom of the pistol loud in the close quarters.

Caroline had her hand on his wrist of the gun hand and luckily the gun barrel was pointed upward when it fired. The loud report so close startled the hell out of Caroline but it didn't make her stop trying to do her part in overpowering this young brave. Luckily, the dirt had spattered right in his eyes so he was not just battling his attackers but trying desperately to blink away the debris to clear his vision. 

Somehow he had lucked out as Addy had not managed to get their planned jump on him. Caroline redoubled her efforts for there was no stopping now. Time for another tried and true tactic that she had used more than once against some overeager customer who made the mistake of drawing up too close to her when she didn't want it.

With a violent upward lunge of her knee, she connected hard right in his breechclout and between his legs. Houusoo gasped in agony, it was the sort of place which literally made it hard for a male to even breath it hurt so damn much. At the same time Caroline now kept a firm grip on the wrist while using her free hand to go for his remaining wrist.  All the time fervently hoping Addy was not stunned or hurt but could get back into the fray.

Quickly, Addy shook off the pain in her face -- after all, she had grown up with a passel of brothers, and there had been 'accidents' -- although there was nothing she could do about how much her eyes were watering.  Still, she could hear where the fight was, and her vision was intact, albeit blurry.

Unfortunately, she'd dropped the garrotte, so that option was off the table.  But Caroline knew her stuff, and even Addy winced as the saloon singer gave the kid a sharp knee to the balls.  That hurt, a lot, after all, she'd had a passel of brothers, and on rare occasion, one of them had deserved similar treatment, and she knew how debilitating it could be, at least for the first few moments...almost as bad as getting smacked in the nose!

As Caroline tried to get control of his wrists, Addy lunged to tackle him from behind, driving her shoulder into his back and trying to get his torso and upper arms in a bear-hug!

Houusoo was driven hard to the ground, adding to the pain and misery he already was experiencing from the saloon girl's well placed knee to the groin. It was all too much, the revolver went flying from his grip, landing in some deep grass a few feet from the struggle.

Before he knew it, his arms were pinioned against his torso from the attacker behind him. Caroline let go of one of his wrists and punched him as hard as she could in the face. If she didn't break his nose she at least started it bleeding.

Caroline knew their original plan was out the window, forget their cloth strip idea but she did not forget the young Indian had Addy's knife yet. It wasn't a big knife but it would have to do. Seeing the hilt on his waistline, she yanked it out, brandishing it before Addy and their victim.

"Hold'im, I'll gut' im!"

She then stabbed him right in the belly shoving it in up to the hilt as the boy screamed. If someone would have told her that someday she would do this to another human being, Caroline would have denied she could ever do such a thing.  But there she was, doing her best to kill without hesitation. 

Houusoo was in agony but far from dead, still trying to struggle. Caroline pulled the bloody blade out then snarled "C'mon, die!" as she plunged downward into his belly yet again, only inches from the first wound, trying her best to ignore his screams.

Addy had to give the girl credit, she sure had plenty of moxie, if not skill!  Doing her best to hold onto the struggling boy, Addy rolled onto her back, trying to get her legs around his so he couldn't kick out, but he was squirming pretty good.

"Get 'im in th' heart!" she shouted, moving to readjust her slipping grip, only to lose control of his right arm.

Now Caroline had never opened a medical book in her life nor ever laid eyes on any sort of anatomical drawing either. She knew the heart was up in the chest somewhere but to pinpoint it? Nope!

The boy's right arm was free then and wildly flailing toward his attacker, he still couldn't see properly and was also in so much pain, it all was a rather futile defense.

Caroline stabbed downward yet again, this time deliberately choosing to plunge the bloody steel point right into his navel like maybe it would be worse there? She had no idea just so badly wanted him to just plain die on them already!

Houusoo was weakening , he half moaned, half sobbed as the woman pushed down hard until the blade disappeared right up to the hilt. None of these single stabs were of course immediately fatal but the net effect was ultimately deadly.  Still the young man clung grimly to life.

Caroline had had enough and fell off him, sickened by what she was doing, HAD to do. But there were limits and she'd reached it.

"Dammit! You kill him then!" she felt she'd done her share and more, let Addy end it all.

It's not like there was much struggle left in the boy, the knife embedded deep within his innards.

Feeling that it was safe now to let the kid go -- he wasn't quite dead, but close enough -- Addy scrambled out from under him, avoiding his flailing limbs, then grabbed the knife from his belly and poised it over his heart long enough to be sure of the target, then closed her eyes and plunged it down, leaning into the short blade, then twisting.

Houusoo was just barely conscious with maybe enough eyesight despite the dirt and his fading strength to dimly be aware of the woman above him. Then there was yet another agonizing burst of pain, his audible reaction a mere pathetic whimper, his limbs quivered and all went dark.

  Only after the movement stopped did she open her eyes and look at Caroline.

Caroline had just stood there, spattered in the Indian's blood and with bloody hands too, watching Addy make an end of the boy. It was done and there was time later for regrets and processing it all. She just nodded to her friend.

"C'mon."  Addy was on her feet, wiping the blade on her pants, then she held a hand to Caroline.  The kid's horse was still there, and they needed to leave, now!

Caroline reached for Addy's and the pair hustled over to the Indian pony which shied away from these strange persons and their sudden approach.

Caroline looked to Addy, "We gonna be able to get on him?"

That's all they needed now was for the animal to bolt and gallop off.

"We'll get on."  Addy was determined, and once she grabbed hold of the crude rope halter, she had control of the animal.  "Here..."  Cupping her hands, she made a step for Caroline, to give her a boost up.  "Just grab his mane."

"Won't he not like that?" Caroline asked but as she placed one bare foot into the hand stirrup up she went without hesitation and reached for the mane. Well, it did not look graceful nor did the young woman look all that comfortable upon the animal but she was up and mounted.

"He'll behave," Addy assured her, giving the rope at the horse's mouth an extra twist, enough to get his attention, but not to hurt him.  And as antsy as he was, he submitted, at least for now.

"God, I hope so," Caroline was up then but still less than confident. A true city girl since her Chicago childhood, horses had never been a creature she was comfortable with.

With Caroline settled, Addy considered going back for the gun, but she didn't want to let go of the horse, the mount was far more important to them than the gun, and eventually, the smell of blood would have the horse anxious to leave.

Grasping a hunk of mane just in front of Caroline, Addy took a little hop-skip, swinging up behind the other lady, then turning the horse away from the shooting, determined to put distance between them and the Indians, should any of them decide to come back.

"Hold on."  Of course, Addy had her arm around Caroline as she held the rope, so that would give some support as she gigged the pony into an easy lope.

"I'll try!" Caroline nodded, she too had considered the revolver but certainly the plan now was to avoid the damn redskins not fight'em.

There was still firing going on in the distance, the Indians were definitely shooting it out with somebody. Was it another ambush of theirs or was it maybe some white men trying to rescue them? Or neither of those?

"All that firing?  You think it might be the army or maybe a posse?" she asked her friend as the horse not loped away from the scene of their brutal fight with the Indian.

"Hope it's cavalry," Addy declared, pleased, at least, that the Indian pony had a good, easy gait, "but could be another band'a Injuns lookin' ta take what ain't theirs..."  Meaning horses, Carolines and Addys!  "Don't have no intention'a findin' out.  Gonna head fer town, once I get my bearin's."

Caroline didn't know much about Indians and their squabbles with each other though she felt it was unlikely there were Indians shooting each other. Still, Addy might know things she did not.

"Sure head which way you think best. I have no idea which way is Kalispell," Caroline shrugged.

She was along for the ride.

I

"Miss Orr huh? Don't really know her. She ain't chargin' you money for it I hope?" Caroline wondered aloud.

It was getting dark fast now that the sun had set, probably made best sense they wait it out and strike out for town in fresh daylight? Addy thought so and Caroline wasn't going to contest that woman's opinion. Besides she was tired.

Sighing, Addy turned away from the cliff they'd been riding alongside, a bit toward where the fighting had been, although they were still some distance.  "This danged pony sure is bony," she grumbled.  "Yer gonna need ta put some meat on his bones once we get home."

"His owner was pretty scrawny too," Caroline shrugged then blinked, "Wait!  What? Why do I need to feed the horse? I don't wanna own it."

Just as the pair had dismounted, there was noise behind them and both their heads turned to spot just who or what was making that noise. Hopefully some cavalry?

Bodawei had broken away from the rest of the fleeing war party and had headed back to let Houusoo know of the defeat and help the young brave kill the white women. Instead he had found the bloodied body sprawled on the ground. And of course their former captives now gone. Well, skilled hunter that the warrior was he could track and immediately followed the trail of the one horse leading away from the death site. He caught sight of the women just in time too, not much longer and it would have been too dark.

"Oh shit!" Caroline yipped.

Before the women could even think of remounting the pony Bodawei leveled his Sharps carbine and fired. The pony whinnied, stumbled, and fell off to it's side, struck with a mortal wound.