“Whoa there girl, easy now,” Hazel said as she, Rose, and Adam slowed from their gallop.

         “Well, we made it before dark,” Rose said as they entered the town of Clear Springs.

         “Yeah, I sure am glad we did,” Adam said as he dismounted Sport in front of the Clear Springs stable. “I sure didn’t want to spend the night outside the safety of four walls, especially since we heard that those two thieves and bushwhackers were in the area.”

         “Yeah, I’m glad we ran into that family on our way in; I know I sure didn’t want to wake up and find all my stuff gone and a knife to my throat,” Hazel said as they walked in.

         “Howdy,” Rose said pleasantly to the stable keeper as he walked out of a horse stall.

         “Well, howd-” he started, suddenly stopping and swallowing hard. He had a panicked looked as he looked at Rose and Hazel. “How-howdy.” This came in a faint stutter. He was clearly terrified. Hazel looked at him strangely.

         “Um, water and all the oats they want,” she said after a few seconds of awkward silence. The man suddenly seemed very skittish.

         “Yeah, okay,” he said as they took their saddles off of their horses and set them on a wooden rail in the stable. Suddenly the man burst into tears.

         “I swear I had nothing to do with that threat. I told them not to hand in Jim! I swear I did! Oh, please, just don’t shoot me!” he cried as he dropped to his knees and groveled in the dirt. Hazel took a step back, puzzled.

         “Uh, we’re not going to kill you or anybody,” Rose said. Adam walked over and pulled the man up to his feet.

         “Now, just calm down, friend; no one is going to get hurt,” he said, turning him around as he looked back at Rose and Hazel. “I’ll meet y’all back at the hotel.” There was something in his voice and eyes that Hazel and Rose sensed and knew they needed to obey.

         “Yeah, okay, see ya there,” Hazel said as she and Rose walked out.

         “What do ya think all that was about?” Rose asked Hazel as they made their way over to the hotel.

         “I don’t know, Rose, but he looked like he’d just seen a murderer or something,” Hazel replied.

         “Yeah, let’s just check in and wait on Adam,” Rose replied. “Oh, and just so this is settled before Adam gets back, you’re not sharing a room with him.” She smiled slightly and gave Hazel a small shove.

         “Hey,” Hazel said playfully, shoving Rose back with a laugh. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not like that; you know I’m better than that.” They walked into the hotel.

         “There’s no one here,” Hazel said, looking around the lobby of the hotel.

         “Yeah, let’s just sign in and wait on Adam,” Rose said, a hint of nervousness creeping into her voice. They signed their names into the book on the front desk and grabbed two room keys, one for them and one for Adam. They went upstairs and dropped their saddle bags off in their room. When they came downstairs Adam was walking through the door.

         “What was he talking about?” Hazel asked almost immediately.

         “Well,” he said as he walked over. “Either the old man is out of his mind, drunk, or he thinks you’re someone else.” He took a look around. “Where is everyone?”

         “Don’t know; there was no one here when we walked in. We signed you in and got ya a key,” Rose said, handing Adam a room key.

         “Let’s just go to bed; I’m tired, and I wanna get a good night’s rest before we take a look at that cattle,” Hazel said with a yawn.

         “Yeah, okay,” Adam agreed as they walked upstairs.

         “Well, goodnight, Adam,” Rose said as they reached their rooms.

         “Uh, Rose, I’ll be inside in a minute,” Hazel said as she pushed Rose into their room and closed the door. Rose stood inside their room with her ear to the door for almost five minutes. She jumped back as Hazel opened the door and walked back inside. She had a big smile on her face which she tried unsuccessfully to hide.

         “What happened?” Rose asked excitedly, blocking Hazel from lying down on the bed.

         “Nothing,” Hazel replied as she tried vainly to get past Rose.

         “Oh, I told you what happened when Joe and I went on that picnic; you know the one when I was kidnapped,” Rose said, blocking Hazel again. Hazel picked up Rose and tossed her onto the bed next to hers.

         “Yeah, but I never really asked ya to tell me; I just gave you a questioning look, and you spilled your guts. I don’t have to tell you anything,” Hazel said with a grin. “Now, goodnight.” She kicked her boots off and relaxed to go to sleep.

         “Yeah, goodnight,” Rose said in a playful, defeated tone. She also lay down to go to sleep.

~                                  ~                                  ~ 

         Across the street in the saloon some men were gathering to talk.

         “It’s them all right,” one said, looking at the others. “I’m sure of it.”

         “Are you sure, Jed? I mean, what if we’re wrong? You know your eyes aren’t what they usta be,” one of the younger men replied.

         “Of course I’m sure. How many gals do ya see carryin’ guns at their sides?” he replied. “Use your eyes; you’re still my grandson, and you’re still young enough to get switched.”

         “We can talk to them and find out tomorrow,” a third man replied.

         “Yeah, okay, Mark,” Jed replied. Mark, Jed, and Jed’s grandson John left the saloon to go back to their homes until morning.

~                                  ~                                  ~ 

         The next morning Rose, Hazel, and Adam headed over to the stable to find out if their horses had been taken care of. When they walked in there was another man in there with his horse. His eyes grew three times their normal size, and he quickly rushed out, making an effort to stay as far away from them as possible.

         “It’s the Jenkins; it’s the Jenkins! They’re back!” he yelled as he ran into a building. People started coming out and some men brought guns with them.

         “What is he talking about? Who the heck does he think we are?” Hazel asked as she watched him. They made sure their horses were happy and then walked out.

         “I’m going to send Pa a telegram telling him to bring around five or six men to help us drive back the cattle,” Adam said. He walked over to the telegraph office as Rose and Hazel walked over to the saloon for a quick drink. As they entered the same thing happened. Some men’s hands went down immediately to rest on their guns. A few women screamed and rushed out of the room.

         “Well, Miss Jenkins, what can I get for ya?” the bartender asked nervously as Hazel walked over, followed by Rose.

         “Excuse me, what did you say our name was?” Rose asked politely.

         “Je-Je-Jenkins,” he stuttered, fear apparent in his eyes.

         “Our names are Jennings, not Jenkins,” Hazel replied, although it didn’t help at all.

         “I don’t know who the Jenkins are, but you’ve obviously got us confused with someone else,” Rose added just as Adam walked in.

         “Well, Joe will be comin’ up with four other men to help us drive the cattle back,” Adam said. “He got that stray herd rounded up pretty quick.” He noticed Rose’s face lighting up.

         “Hey, Adam, we found out why everyone is terrified of us,” Hazel said as she walked over to him and they found a table while Rose ordered three beers. “They all think that Rose and I are the Jenkins sisters. You know those two girls who have hit four stagecoaches in the past three days? Their poster was up in Virginia City. I was talkin’ to Ben about it. We could be mistaken for their twins.” Rose had now walked over to the table with three beers and quietly sat down to join the conversation.

         “Hey, guys, heads up; there’s a group of men with rifles coming this way,” Rose said in a low tone. Sure enough, a group of about five men walked into the saloon, all of them armed to the teeth. Hazel and Rose turned quickly, guns out of their holsters.

         “Now just cooperate nice and easy, and your friend here won’t get hurt,” Mark said, his gun aimed at Adam.

         “Tie ‘em up,” Jed said. A bunch of men grabbed both Hazel and Rose. They fought back but immediately froze when Adam fell to the floor as a man behind him hit him over the head with the butt of his gun.

         “Adam!” Hazel screamed, trying to get to Adam.

         “One more move, you resist, and he’ll stay on the ground permanently,” Jed threatened, pointing his gun at Adam who was lying motionless on the floor.

~                                  ~                                  ~ 

         Rose and Hazel’s hands were tied behind their backs so they couldn’t fight back, especially with the fear that Adam would be hurt, but they weren’t going to make it easy. They were roughly shoved into the back of a cart as they were lead out of the saloon.

         “Ya know, I never thought that the Jenkins sisters would go soft,” Jed said as he kicked the horses that were pulling the wagon into motion.

         “I already told ya!” Hazel cried. “We’re not the Jenkins sisters!”

         “Our name is Jennings,” Rose said, a bit of urgency in her voice. She had seen the two nooses hanging from a tree ahead of them. “This is a lynching party!” Hazel jerked around almost falling off the back of the cart because she couldn’t use her hands to balance herself.

         “What?” she cried. “We told you; we’re not the Jenkins!” She cried out in desperation.

         “Stop trying to fool us; there is no mistaking you two. You’re going to pay for all the pain you’ve caused us,” Jed said as he stopped the cart under the nooses. “That brother of yours killed my boy in cold blood, and we’re going to see that you two never carry out that threat you made after we hung him.” Ice appeared in the man’s voice. He turned and nodded to Mark and John. They roughly grabbed Hazel and Rose and put the nooses around their necks, tightening them before they could pull their heads out.

         “This is murder, an illegal lynching!” Rose cried. “We are not the Jenkins!”

         “Enough, now you pay,” Jed said.

         “No, you can’t!” Adam screamed, rushing forward. He had regained consciousness and gone to find them. He was stopped and held still, however, by two men. “They are not the Jenkins.” He struggled frantically. Another two men came to hold him still. Jed nodded to John who was standing next to the cart now.

         “Hazel, Rose!” Adam cried, helpless to do anything.

         “Wait just a minute,” came a harsh voice from the edge of the crowd, a woman’s voice. Everyone turned to see two women sitting on horses. They were almost identical to Rose and Hazel except for the fact that they were wearing dresses, however dirty the dresses were, and had a lighter complexion.

         “But, but, but,” Jed stammered, looking from Rose and Hazel to the two rough-looking girls on horses.

         “We never told ya you could lynch anyone,” the one who looked like Hazel said with malice in her voice

         “Especially anyone that looks like us,” the one that looked like Rose added with an evil laugh. They starting firing shots into the air as everyone began to panic. The horse that was attached to the cart reared back as if it were going to bolt.

         “Adam!” Hazel screamed. She and Rose back pedaled for a few seconds, then the cart came out from underneath them. Two shots rang out. Just as Rose and Hazel reached the end of the cart, Adam had fired two shots. Both bullets had gone clean through the nooses that Hazel and Rose had around their necks, severing them completely. They fell to the ground as Adam rushed over. He had been released when the men holding him panicked and ran. He cut the nooses off their necks before he untied their hands because the ropes were starting to constrict their airways.

         “Are you two okay?” Adam asked as he untied their hands.

         “As good as we can be for almost being lynched,” Hazel replied sarcastically. Rose nudged Hazel, then turned to Adam.

         “You saved our lives,” she said. Adam smiled. He didn’t get a chance to reply because Jed, Mark, and John had walked back over. The Jenkins had disappeared, and people had started to retreat to their homes.

         “We feel mighty foolish right now,” Jed said as he helped Rose up.

         “Yes, we’re all very lucky that Adam is such a good shot,” Rose said. “Because if he hadn’t shot those ropes Hazel and I would have died, and you people would have been guilty of murderin’ two innocent people.”

         “We can’t tell you how bad we feel about that, or how sorry we are,” John said.

         “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Hazel replied.

         “Anyone could’ve mistaken you for them; you look exactly alike. I mean, we were scared, and we weren’t thinking,” Jed said in his defense.

         “You can say that again,” Hazel said under her breath.

         “Yeah, but we told ya repeatedly that we weren’t the Jenkins,” Rose said as they walked back into town and entered the hotel. “Joe!” Rose ran over to where Little Joe was standing with four other cowhands. She and Joe immediately kissed.

         “Oh, brother,” Adam said, rolling his eyes.

         “What’s the matter?” Jed asked.

         “They haven’t seen each other in a week,” Hazel replied. “This may take a while.”