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For six days, Croggon Hainey watched the Rockies scroll beneath the borrowed, naes and snow-dusted plateaus slipped behind the ship on the far side of Denver He’d made this run a dozen tio and passengers alike; and on this particular trip a tailwind gently urged the ship forward

But the speed that took him from the Pacific Northwest, over the mountains and down to the flatlands, did not improve the captain’s mood

With his hands balled into fists and jaht theht on top of them"

"The breeze ed He adjusted his goggles to guard against the glare of the sun on the clouds and added, "But we’ll catch them Any minute now"

Hainey shifted in the captain’s seat, which had been built with a smaller man in mind He removed his hat and squeezed at his forehead as if he could reater wakefulness or concentration "They’ll have to dock soon They didn’t even get a full tank of hydrogen back in Grand Junction Simeon?" he asked the first mate, as likewise crammed into a seat beside him

"Yessir?"

"They have to set down in Topeka, don’t they? There’s no place else you know that’ll take them…or us?"

"No place I know of But I ain’t been through this way in awhile BrinkI don’t," he said, but he didn’t sound very worried Over his shoulder he asked, "What’s our fuel situation look like?"

Laht We’ll ineer glanced at the doorway to the engine rooh he couldn’t quite see the tanks fro "Maybe even into Missouri"

The captain didn’t precisely brighten, but for a ht ht, but I wouldn’t bet the boat on it" Lamar squeezed his lip to adjust his chew

Simeon reached for a thruster lever and knocked his elbow on a big glass knob He said, "Well, I ht bet this boat" But he didn’t push his complaint Everybody already knew that the nao, was not anyone’s preferred vessel; and no one wanted to i done to retrieve the captain’s ship of choice

Hainey unfurled himself from the captain’s chair His knees popped when he stood and he crouched to keep frolass shield that separated hiainst it and leaned that way, staring as far into the distance, and as far along the ground, and as far up into the heavens as his eyes could reach, but the view told hi he did not already know

His ship--his true ship, the one he’d stolen fair and square eight years before--was nowhere to be seen

He asked everyone, and no one in particular, "Where do you think they’re taking her?" But since he’d asked that question a dozen times a day for the last week, he already knew he could expect no useful answer He could speculate easily enough, but none of his speculation warmed him with hope

The red-haired thief Felton Brink had taken Hainey’s ship, the Free Crow, and he was flying east with it That on Hainey froh Idaho, past Twin Falls and into Wyos Then the course had shifted south and a bit west, to Salt Lake City and then east, through Colorado and now the trail was taking theh Kansas

East Except for that one brief detour, always east

And it didn’t much matter whether the Free Croould veer to the north or south on the far side of the Mississippi River Either way, the captain was in for trouble and he knew it

The Mason-Dixon meant only a little to hi squad or a noose, though all things being equal, he would’ve preferred to take his luia in particular) had given him plenty already The raised, pink stripes on his back and the puckered brand on his shoulder were souvenirs enough from a life spent in slavery, and he’d accept no addition to that tally

So as ht’ve said aloud, "I don’t care where they’re taking my ship, I plan to take it back," he privately prayed for a northern course In the Union he was only a pirate and only to be shot on sight In the Confederate states he was all that and fugitive property, too

It wasn’t fair He’d had no intention of coain, not for several years…or not until the war had played itself out, anyway; and it wasn’t fair that soh to be his son--had absconded with his rightfully pilfered and custo paid, Hainey hoped it orth it Because when Hainey caught up to hih left of the red-headed thief to bury