Jeb slowly and carefully reloaded before advancing forward. He didn't want to rush anything, especially when he was expecting a few people to rush him. And that's exactly what happened. After two steps forward to bandits came around the corner, each with a six shooter in their hands. Jeb shot the first right through the chest and he slumped to the ground. The second Jeb shot in his head, which disintegrated spraying brains and blood all over the tunnel walls. It was almost too much too be able to see through for a second. The smoke started to clear a little bit and Jeb's eyes started to recover from the flashed. He quickly rounded the corner with his pistol up, half expecting to run into someone waiting for him so they could blast him just like he had blasted the bandits. But that didn't happen, though. All of the bandits were making haste the other way down the tunnel. The way they were moving told Jeb that there was another entrance and exit that he was unaware of. Unless they were really that dumb to barrel full speed down a tunnel toward a dead end. Jeb wouldn't put it past them that they could be that dumb, but he went with his gut and figured there wasn't a dead end.
Jeb looked around the circle the bandits had formed. In the center of it was a bag filled with votes. Jeb picked the bag up and did a quick count of the votes. There were around thirty some bandits. Well, thirty minus two now. But that was still a lot of bandits. Jeb wasn't sure what to think about how he had spooked that many men in the opposite direction from by bouncing bullets around corners. Jeb stood silent for a few minutes and just listened. He was waiting for the ringing in his ears to go away so he could hear the young woman muffled cry for helps. The tunnel was too dark just around the bend so Jeb really couldn't see what was lying on the ground around him very well. A lot of the bandits had left packs and bags they had been sitting. If the young woman was stuffed in one of the packs or bags it would make her a little bit problematic to find. But, if the young woman made some noise it would make her much easier to find.
“If you can hear me,” Jeb said. “Make some noise. I know that sounds like a bad idea considering the situation, but I just saved the day. I think. So make some noise so I can figure out where you are at and hopefully find you.”
Looking around the floor of the tunnel Jeb listened carefully, afraid he would miss the muffled cries of the bound woman over the ringing in his ears. The ringing was bad, really bad. It sounded like a train was going by with its whistle going off at times, but other times wasn't nearly as bad and only sounded like a hollow ring left over from a door bell. Just when Jeb was about to give up and head back up the tunnel toward the surface he heard muffled cries coming from a burlap sack. Jeb drew his knife and cut the sack away from a small, tied up form. He considered cutting the person completely free but then thought better of it.
“I'm just going to carry you out. All right?” Jeb explained as he threw the person over his shoulder. “I'm not sure if the bandits are going to circle around once they get outside or not. If they do we'll be trapped in here, and there are a whole lot of them and only one of me.”
Jeb threw the small form over his shoulder and headed toward the surface, pumping his legs as fast as he could, driving his knees down toward the ground. The little specks of light got larger and larger, brighter and brighter as he headed toward the surface. When he got to the mouth of the mine he switched the form over to his left shoulder, drew his pistol and looked through a few of the holes in boards covering the mine's opening.
“Well,” Jeb muttered to himself. “Looks like there isn't anyone out there yet. And if there is I can't see them, meaning they are laying in ambush. If I go down it'll be good for you to run on your own, meaning I might as well cut you free and let you make a break for it in case I need to shoot some people.”
Jeb carefully laid the bound figure on the ground beside him and started to cut the ropes that bound her. She had a mask over her face, which Jeb removed as well. It took a second for him to recognize the woman staring up at him angrily.
“Betsy?” Jeb said in shock.
Betsy didn't say anything. Instead she pulled the gag out of her mouth, sat up, and looked around.
“Are you all right?” Jeb asked. “Did they hurt you?”
Betsy shook her head and then put her face in her hands.
“What do we have to do to make it to safety?” she asked. “You said there might be people outside. Is there plan?”
“Yup,” Jeb said. “There is a plan. It's called run and gun. One of the best plans a man can come up with and one of the hardest plans to foil. We'll make a break from this here bordered up mine shaft straight toward the small group of trees over yonder. That's where I've got my horse tethered up. I've got a rifle there you can use, it's a real small one I've cut down and it's a small caliber so there wouldn't be much kick.”
Betsy looked up at him.
“You really think we'll have to fight?”
“Lady,” Jeb said. “I don't think I know.”
Jeb crept over to the makeshift door cut into the planks covering the mine's open maw.
“All right,” Jeb said. “I'm going to go first and you're going to follow. If I go down don't stop to help me. Just run to the horse. If you think you can help me out with rifle work once you get to the horse feel free, but I won't hold it against you if you just bolt.”
Betsy stood up and dusted herself off.
“You make it sound so grim,” she said.
“It doesn't get much grimmer than this,” Jeb said. “Now we need to hurry. If they haven't circled around yet they are now, and they are probably sending someone back into the mine through whatever way they all ran out of here.”
Is if on cue noises came from the tunnel behind them, the sound of things banging around far off.
“They have some logs set in front of the other entrance,” Betsy said. “They are probably moving those out of the way so they can get in.”
“Wonderful,” Jeb said. “We need to go. Follow me.”