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		DAMSELS UNDER GLASS: THE SERIES
		Jessie & Chelsea: THE  ADVENTURES  OF Shorty & the Cowgirl ———————————————————— by Van © 2002
		Chapter 5

ON THE TRAIL FROM KETTLE LAKE
TO COPPERHEAD CANYON
GETTIN' ON 'BOUT MID AFTERNOON

---

Other than stay in the saddle, Chelsea didn't have much to do.  Jessie was setting a rapid pace and Chelsea's mount was keeping up without much guidance from its short, blonde rider.  The pair of horses clattered down the trail, breaking stride now and then to negotiate a turn or at a particularly rough stretch of trail, but for the most part horses and riders were descending towards the desert badlands at a business-like (but not breakneck) trot.

"You have a real mean streak," Chelsea shouted at Jessie's back.

"What?" the tall redhead demanded, half-turning in the saddle, a smug grin on her freckled face.  "I thought you liked bein' tied up and tortured."

Chelsea blushed. "Not me, you silly goose.  Stealing Cody's kit and leaving her stranded on a mountain top?  That's mean."

Jessie was confused.  "Stranded?  Ain't you ever rode bareback?"

Chelsea blinked.  "'Bareback'?  No saddle?  Why would one want to..."  The blonde pixie paused in mid sentence and began giggling uncontrollably.

"What?" Jessie demanded.  "What? "

"Bareback riding!"  Chelsea gasped when she was finally able to communicate.  Jessie frowned in confusion.  "Bare-back riding!" Chelsea clarified.

Now Jessie laughed as well.  "Yeah, 'bareback' usually means only the horse is nude," she observed.

"Yes!" Chelsea agreed, still giggling.  "So... Cody's an accomplished... bareback rider?"

"I've never seen her ride as bare as she is now," Jessie laughed, "but she's the best rider I know, with any kind of saddle, including none.  She's Cheyenne good.  Why do you think I'm settin' this pace?"

Chelsea watched the trail roll under their horses' feet.  "How long can they keep this up?"

Jessie smiled and patted China's flank.  Cody makes sure all my stock have good wind," she drawled.  "This'll be a good workout for China and Heidi."

Chelsea looked down at her mount, a short palomino.  She leaned forward and patted her neck.  "Sorry, we've not been properly introduced," she said softly.  "Pleased to meet you, Heidi."

Heidi snickered and shook her head.  Jessie watched this exchange, a proud smile on her lips, then turned to face the front.  "They'll be fine!" she called back, "and so will Cody."

Cody didn't feel fine.  She felt pissed off!  She'd wasted most of an hour searching for the spare key to the cabin.  She knew there was one hidden someplace, but "Red" had been clever and not hidden it any place obvious... or unobvious...or obscure... or any place else Cody could discover.  Hell, it could be buried under a foot of dirt a mile up the mountain, the naked blonde thought, grinding her teeth as she searched. This is pointless, she finally decided, and made her way back to the corral (which she had already searched), placing her bare feet carefully so as not to cut or bruise herself on the rocky ground.

Her mount watched her approach, a puzzled expression on the gelding's intelligent face.  Cody made an effort to suppress her emotions.  It wouldn't do to spook her only means (other than her bare feet) of getting off the mountain.  She entered the corral and approached the appaloosa.  "Good boy, Harvey," she drawled, reassuring the slightly skittish animal.  She looked around the corral.  "Not even a scrap of rope to make a halter with," she sighed.  "Tell ya what, Harvey," the tall, nude blonde muttered, "you get me back to the Canyon without dumping me on my ass and it'll be an apple-a-day for a week.  Deal?"

Harvey snickered and bobbed his head, as if accepting the bargain.  Despite herself, Cody smiled, then clutched a handful of Harvey's mane and vaulted onto his back.  Not used to being ridden bareback, Harvey's nervousness returned, but abated as the familiar pressure of Cody's knees guided him in a walk around the small enclosure.

"Thaaat's right," Cody murmured.  "Goodboy."  She rode Harvey to the corral gate, leaned over and opened it, walked him through, then turned and closed the gate behind.  She turned Harvey onto the trail and they started away from the cabin.  Cody started at a slow walk, to get Harvey more accustomed to being guided by knees and mane alone, then slowly picked up the pace.

Before she knew it, they were miles from the cabin and making good progress.  The sun and wind felt good on her skin.  The wind lifted her long, blonde locks and they fluttered behind her tan face like golden ribbons.  To her surprise, Cody found herself actually enjoying the ride.  Equally surprising, her anger had faded, and was being replaced by, of all things, amusement.  The naked blonde found herself smiling, even laughing.  Ya got me good, Red, she mused.  It won't keep me from kicking your freckled behind from here to the Painted Cliffs, but ya got me good.

They had reached the half-mile stretch of trail opposite the National Forest, and as the ground was level, Cody eased Harvey into a canter, hoping to make up some time.  Now her hair was fluttering like a silk banner, and even though she leaned forward and maintained a good seat, her breasts were bobbing and oscillating in rhythm to Harvey's rapid hoof-falls.  The hot wind streamed over Cody's tan skin, and she exulted in the strong, rhythmic churning of Harvey's muscles under her thighs.  They were a third of the way to the far bend when Cody belatedly turned her head towards the opposite trail.  The naked blonde's jaw dropped and she felt her cheeks burn as she broke into an immediate blush.

Clustered about the public trail on the farside of the narrow valley separating McQuade land and the National Forest was an entire troop of Boy Scouts!  Ranging in age from gawky prepubescent to gangly adolescent (not counting two adult leaders), all were dressed in various versions of hiking clothes and parts of the Scout uniform and were sitting on or near their backpacks, taking an extended rest stop.  All had noticed Cody and Harvey, and all were staring... slack-jawed... in reverent silence... as the tall, tan, blonde, gorgeous, nude, and unmistakably female rider thundered past on the opposite trail.  At least three of the Scouts had digital cameras, two of which looked video-capable, and were recording Cody's Ride for Posterity.

Well... in fer a dime, in fer a dollar, Cody mused, and raised a hand to wave.  "Howdy, boys!" she shouted, then concentrated on getting Harvey around the bend and out of sight as rapidly as possible (without falling off).  Behind her back she heard the Scouts erupt into a chorus of cheers and a bugle sounded Charge... and then she was past.

...& thus Cody Linderman (anonymously) entered The Pages of Legend as "The Naked Lady on the Horse" in The Annals of Troop 97, Grand Canyon Council, BSA; & that stretch of trail shall Forever More be known as... "The Lady Godiva Rest Stop."

THE GHOST TOWN OF COPPERHEAD CANYON
LATE AFTERNOON

---

Chelsea had been somewhat preoccupied on the trip out, especially at the beginning while getting used to her "pack pony" role, but she remembered the ghost town situated in the lower badlands near the mouth of Copperhead Canyon proper.  The road, part of which branched off to become the trail to Kettle Lake, led right down the main street.  Now, on the trip back, with China and Harvey in a slow, side-by-side walk, to cool down before reaching home, Chelsea could examine the town at her leisure.  The buildings were obviously deserted, but those made of adobe were in pretty good shape.  In contrast, most of the stick-built structures were significantly on their way to becoming rectilinear heaps of warped, gray, sunbleached lumber.

"What is this place?" Chelsea asked.

"Welcome to the thriving metropolis of Copperhead Canyon," Jessie answered.  "It started out as a mining camp, grew into what you see, then the ore petered out.  No silver, no town."

Chelsea sighed.  "How sad."

Jessie smiled.  "It served its purpose.  There really is nothing around here to support more than a couple of Navajo sheep camps or some scrawny cattle for miles and miles.  That house on the end there..." Jessie pointed at a small adobe structure." ...is the only one that's habitable.  In fact, it's pretty comfortable, with all the amenities: water, septic, solar power.  We keep it as a guest house, a sort of hermitage... for guests who like isolation."

Chelsea examined the 'hermitage' as they passed.  The door was solid and the windows shuttered.  "Isolation" would be the order of the day.  As far as the visiting Brit knew, the ghost town was inaccessible other that through the main Canyon estate or by many long miles of very unimproved road.

"You mentioned a mine," Chelsea said as they exited the town and approached the looming face of the plateau that split to form Copperhead Canyon itself.  "Where is it?"

Jessie's smile broadened and she made an expansive gesture.  "It's all around us, but mostly there."  She pointed at the plateau.  "The main entrance to the working mine was blasted closed decades ago.  There are ways into the drifts and shafts... but it ain't safe.  These days it's mostly a condo for bats... mostly."

"Still, it could be fun to check it out," Chelsea suggested, examining the cliff face for any obvious caves or tunnel entrances.

Jessie turned her head to mask her expression.  "Yeah... it could be fun.  We can check out the old mine later, before we leave for school.  I'll be your tour guide."

"Super!" Chelsea responded (oblivious to her roommate and lover's very feral smile).

Controlled by the new Artificial Intelligence Jessie had purchased from TESSERACT (the automated system that integrated all the modern services (including security) at the McQuade estate), the heavy iron barred gate that blocked access to the Canyon rumbled aside, allowing the riders to enter.  The sandstone walls loomed over their heads and the track beneath their horses' hooves made a slow bend before the canyon widened and the corral, stables, and lower garage came into view.

"You start unloading Heidi," Jessie suggested," and haul all the tack to the stable, and I'll fill the trough so we can water and wash 'em down."

Chelsea slid to the ground and stretched.  "Will do, boss," she drawled in an exaggerated Western American drawl.  "Then we can mosey up to the Lodge and get us some grub."

Jessie gave her short Brit companion a rather sardonic sideways look as she unbuckled China's saddle.  "Anyone ever tell ya ya talk funny?" she mumbled.

Chelsea grinned and removed Heidi's saddle, then hefted the saddle and blanket and staggered towards the tack room.  She surmised it must be near the mostly bare room where she had been fitted with her "Pretty Pony" costume the previous day, and her hunch proved correct.  The short blonde dropped the saddle on a stand and returned for China's.

By this time both China and Heidi were busy drinking, even though the trough was still filling.  Jessie had a handful of straw and was giving both horses a brisk rundown.  "What are they, part camel?" Chelsea asked, watching the pair slurp the clear water.

"I'll make sure they're cooled down before feeding 'em," Jessie answered.  "They're fine. They're used to the desert."

"I'm glad somebody is," Chelsea remarked, picked up the remaining saddle, and headed for the tack room.  That left only the saddlebags, which had been thrown over the corral's top rail during the unloading.  Chelsea headed back towards the corral for the third time, heard a friendly shout, turned, and found Teri and Delores walking towards her from the direction of the Lodge.

Teri was dressed in what Chelsea took for her usual Archaeological Institute Director uniform: hiking boots, jeans, and a stylish (and semi-expensive) Western blouse.  Her long, brown curls were pulled back into a mildly rebellious ponytail and tied with a scarf.  A friendly smile was on her smooth, tanned face, several coils of white cotton clothesline in her right hand, and a lead of the same kind of rope in her left.

Delores was at the end of the lead.  The Mexican beauty was also in uniform: a very short and tight maid's outfit of black cotton and frilly white lace, showing a lot of leg and significant décolletage.  A tiny lace cap was pinned atop her head, her glossy black hair falling loose about her shoulders.  Black heels were strapped on her feet; the wide, gleaming, leather bands buckled around her ankles more attached cuffs than straps.  She was also wearing several yards of thin, almost cord-like, hemp rope, and was gagged with silver tape.  The lead in Teri's hand began as a noose tied loosely around the gorgeous captive's throat.

"What's this?" Chelsea demanded.  "The worm has turned?"

Teri laughed.  "Hardly," she purred, giving Chelsea a welcoming kiss, then turning to gaze at the helpless maid.  "This is a learning-by-doing exercise... more of my escapology training."

"I see," Chelsea said, eyeing Delores' bonds critically.  The perky blonde stepped behind the prisoner.  The Latina's wrists were crossed and tied.  "Full marks," she said, fingering the wrist ropes, but then she indicated the bands of braided cotton pinning Delores' arms to her torso and frowned.  "This won't do.  May I?" she asked, pointing at the arm rope's terminal knot.

Delores mewed through her gag and shook her head, but Teri smiled (evilly) and nodded.  "Of course," she purred, her eyes still locked with her captive's.  "Mi damsel es tu damsel. On your knees, Brown Eyes," she ordered.

Delores gave an exaggerated, long-suffering sigh, and settled gracefully, carefully choosing her ground so no pebbles hidden in the dust would bruise her knees.

"Thank you," Chelsea said (to Teri).  "You're most kind."  The grinning Brit then untied the knot and pulled free the final third of the long thin ropes binding Delores' arms.  Holding the remaining original bands neat and tight, she set to work.  "Your initial through the armpits and over the shoulders loop is a good start," the petite pixie lectured.  "It provides a solid anchor that won't slip; however, simply wrapping the rope around the arms and body usually allows for slack, once she starts wiggling and writhing.  You prevent that by hitching a couple of the bands between her arms and body..."  Chelsea's actions matched her words." ...and pulling things tight."  Delores complained, but could do nothing to prevent the ropes around her body from being snugged significantly tighter than they had been before.  "Now," Chelsea continued, "to anchor things below you can use a crotch rope, as I showed you before..."  Delores complained again (and Teri blushed, prettily).  "...or, we can use the wrists... thusly."  Chelsea threaded the free ends of the hitching ropes through Delores' wrist bonds, from either side, passed the ends up and under the anchor loop behind the grimacing maid's neck, and hauled down.  This caused the maid's wrists to be wrenched up several inches (and also caused Delores to renew her gagged complaints). The ropes were then tied off through the arm bonds, well away from the helpless maid's questing fingers.

Chelsea stood and stepped in front of the kneeling captive.  Teri put her arm over the perky blonde's shoulders and the two watched Delores twist her upper body, testing her improved bonds.  "See how pulling the wrists up in back locks the elbows in the arm bonds and makes everything even tighter?  She won't be wriggling her way loose from that, I guarantee."

Teri gave Chelsea's shoulder an affectionate squeeze, then leaned down and kissed her lips.  "Thank you, Ms. Brightman," she said, a twinkle in her eyes.

"You're most welcome, Dr. Fournelle," Chelsea answered with a giggle, then knelt in front of the still struggling captive.  She lifted Delores chin (who stopped struggling and locked eyes with the short blonde), then ran her small, strong, tan fingers over the silver tape covering the prisoner's lower face, testing the tightness and smoothness of the obviously very effective gag.  The tape was plastered over Delores' lips in multiple tight strips, at least one of which completely encircled the captive's head, passing under her hair in back. The bright silver made a pleasing contrast to the Latina's smooth, brown skin.  Chelsea traced the margin of tape and bulging cheeks with one finger.  Clearly, something substantial had been stuffed in Delores' mouth before the tape was applied.  The petite Brit smiled at the twinkle in the Mexican maid's big brown eyes.  "Poor Delores," she cooed, leaning forward and kissing the captive's taped lips.

Chelsea stood, then helped Delores to her feet as well.  Leaning down and brushing the dust from the prisoner's brown knees, the pixie pointed at the coils of clothesline still in Teri's hand.  "What's the plan?" she asked.

Teri smiled and gazed at the bound and gagged maid.  "Oh... I thought I'd find a nice shady post down by the corral, back mi amiga here up against it, and bind her to it from shoulders to ankles, so tight she can't twitch, of course... and give her the evening off."

Chelsea smiled, noting the obvious affection in both pairs of eyes as captor and captive regarded one another.  I wonder if Jessie and I look like that, the blonde Brit mused, like a couple of moonstruck lovey-dovies... probably.

Teri turned back to Chelsea.  "Oh, I have something important to tell you.  Margo called and—"

Just then the sounds of a veritable riot erupted from the direction of the corral, around the bend of the canyon: thundering hooves, angry shouts... and laughter?

"What the hell?" Teri muttered.

"Uh... I surmise Cody's back," Chelsea mumbled.

Chelsea, Teri, and Delores rounded the corner (with Delores bringing up the rear, impeded by the height of her strapped-on heels).  Cody had indeed returned.  The tall, tan, nude blonde was atop her employer, who was face down in the dust of the corral, laughing uncontrollably as her 'Head Wrangler' tickled her ribs.  Chelsea and Teri started forward to aid Jessie, then saw that although she was clearly upset, Cody was smiling (rather evilly) and the "Mistress" was in no real danger.

"What's this about?" Teri demanded.

"Ask the pip-squeak," Cody muttered, then rolled Jessie over on her back, ripped open her Western shirt, and began tickling the flushed, weakly struggling redhead's ribs directly.

Meanwhile, Chelsea had explained the "joke" Jessie had played on Cody: locking her clothes, saddle, and tack in the Kettle Lake cabin and abandoning her nude and dripping wet, halfway up the mountain.

Teri shook her head in disapproval. "And you did nothing to stop her?" the outraged archeologist demanded.

A sheepish smile on her pixie face, Chelsea looked from Teri to Delores.  The bound and gagged maid was glaring her disapproval as well.  "Uh... I helped... actually."  Teri and Delores continued glaring at her.  "I told her it was mean," the chagrined pixie mumbled.

Teri struggled to suppress a smile... and finally succeeded.  "It was mean and stupid," Teri said.  "Abandoning someone naked in the desert?"  Teri frowned as she hitched Delores' tether to a rail and watched the drama unfolding in the corral.  China and Heidi were watching as well, their ears twitching inquisitively.  Harvey, his flanks heaving, gleaming with sweat, and lightly flecked with foam, was more interested in the water.

Out in the dust of the corral, despite Jessie's energetic struggles, the giggling redhead was back on her stomach.  Cody had nearly finished removing her employer's jeans, reducing Jessie's costume to bra and panties.  Pinning one arm with her knee, her butt atop Jessie's lower back, the grimly smiling blonde pulled her opponent's boots and socks off one by one, then pulled the belt from the flapping jeans.  She reversed position and used the belt to bind Jessie's elbows behind her back, then lifted her gaze to her human audience.  "Toss me some of that rope, would ya Doc?" she shouted.

"Sure thing," Teri answered, looped a hank through the coils in her hand, then tossed the bundle.

"Thanks," Cody called, then shifted her gaze to Chelsea.  "Don't go anywhere, Shorty!"

Chelsea took a step back, then shrieked as she was tripped into Teri's arms.  (Delores had hooked one foot behind the would-be fugitive's boots.)  Before she could react, Chelsea found her elbows locked together behind her back by Teri's left arm and her wrists held together by her captor's right hand.  She struggled weakly.

"Stop it!" Teri hissed, her lips close to Chelsea's left ear.  "You've been a naughty girl and it's time to take your medicine."

Chelsea sighed and ceased her struggles (although she probably could have wiggled free).  "It's a fair cop," she muttered, eliciting a gagged giggle from Delores and a warm smile and kiss from Teri.

Meanwhile, out in the corral, Cody was busy binding Jessie's wrists and elbows behind her back... then her knees and ankles, tightly together.

The bra and panty-clad redhead followed the progress of her increasing loss of freedom with amused interest.  "You never could take a joke, Blondie," Jessie said.

"I can take a joke just fine, Red," Cody growled, cinching her grinning prisoner's ankle bonds and tying the final knot.  "Now I'll have to think up somethin' really funny for you to appreciate."  Dusty and dirty, sweat running tracks across her tan skin, Cody stood and faced her audience outside the corral.  "Get in here, Pip-squeak!" she shouted.

Chelsea swallowed nervously.

"Be brave, Little One," Teri whispered in her ear and gave her a gentle shove forward.

Chelsea swallowed again, and ducked through the rails of the corral... then timidly advanced towards her amused and helpless semi-nude lover, and nude, waiting, soon-to-be captor.

"Strip, Shorty," Cody ordered.

"Strip?" Chelsea responded in a soft, whining voice.

"Better do it, Short Stuff," Jessie said, still laughing, "or she'll—ahh!—stop!" The bound redhead convulsed on the ground, helpless to defend herself from Cody's tickling fingers.

Cody finally relented, and Jessie looked up at her captor, gasping and smiling.  "You be quiet," the tall blonde ordered, then lifted her gaze to Chelsea, "and you... do as yer told!"

Chelsea glanced at Teri and Delores (found no support), turned back, unbuttoned her shirt, shrugged out of the sleeves, and dropped it in the dust.  She then stooped and unlaced her boots, kicked them off, unzipped her jeans and pulled them down and off, then removed her socks.  Finally, she stood facing Cody, dressed only in bra and panties (and boonie hat), her arms crossed over her chest.

"All of it," Cody growled.

"You can leeeave your hat on!" Jessie sang from her helpless, prone position in the dust.  Teri and Delores laughed (or rather Teri laughed and Delores made amused noises).  Cody smiled and gave her bound boss a kick in her panty-clad rear with one bare foot, eliciting an "Oof!" and more laughter.

"No, you can't!" Cody barked at Chelsea (her lips twitching with stillborn laughter of her own).  "...the hat, I mean.  All of it!"

Chelsea tossed her boonie hat on the pile, where it was soon joined by her bra and panties.

Cody selected a coil of rope and crooked a finger towards the blushing, equally naked pixie.

Chelsea swallowed gravely and walked to Cody, who spun her around and set to work binding her wrists.  Soon the short blonde was in the dirt next to her redheaded lover, bound identically and inescapably at wrists, elbows, knees, and ankles.

By this time Teri had entered the corral and was standing beside Cody.  "You should be very ashamed, young lady," she scolded Jessie.

"Hey," Jessie protested, still smiling.  "It was a joke. Besides, I'm a big girl an' can do what I want... if I'm willin' to pay the price.  I'm the boss around here, remember?"

"And you're my student," Teri countered, "remember?  I need Undergraduate Fellows with common sense.  Pull a stunt like this in the field and you'll never get near one of the Institute's digs again.  Your duties will be writing checks… and that's it!  Understand?"

Suddenly and properly abashed, Jessie blushed and blinked sheepishly.  "Yes, ma'am," she mumbled.

Teri nodded towards Cody.  "Apologize!" she ordered.

Jessie looked up at her Head Wrangler.  "Sorry," she said... then laughed, as did Cody.

Teri sighed, spun on her heel, and walked towards Delores.  "I give up," she said, untying Delores' lead and heading back in the direction of the Lodge.  "I was going to let Delores enjoy the ambiance of the corral at sunset," she called back over her shoulder, "but it's overcrowded with sweaty horses and naked idiots!"

Delores looked back and hummed a farewell, then captor and captive were around the bend of the canyon and out of sight.

"'Sweaty horses'!" Cody quoted, and hurried towards the stables.

Prostrate in the dust, perhaps three yards apart, Jessie and Chelsea watched their naked captor depart.

Chelsea sighed and glared at Jessie.  "Another fine mess you've gotten me into," she complained.

Jessie grinned and tested her bonds.  They both tested their bonds.  Cody might not be into "tyin' and bein' tied", but she knew her knots.

"Roll over here and gimme a hand," Jessie ordered.

"You roll over here," Chelsea huffed. "This is your fault."

"Let's meet halfway," Jessie suggested and started wiggling and rolling towards her naked, bound lover.

Chelsea rolled her eyes, then her body, and soon the captives were face to face.

"Come here often?" Jessie quipped, then craned her neck forward and kissed Chelsea's dusty lips.

"Stop it!" Chelsea snapped.

"Ohhh, don't be mad," Jessie purred, wiggled closer, and kissed her pouting friend again.

"I said stop it!" the frowning blonde mumbled, and started to roll away.

Jessie laughed and rolled onto Chelsea's squirming, bound body, half-pinning the helpless Brit with her own bound body, then proceeded to rain kisses on her lover's dirty, sweaty face.

Chelsea writhed and complained.  "Stop it!  Stop! I said... Oh!"  The tirade turned to giggles, and she began returning Jessie's kisses with pecks ofher own... then the captive's paused and locked eyes... and the lovers locked lips in a savage, deep, prolonged kiss.

"Sucking face, eh?" Cody said.

The prisoners broke contact and smiled up at their captor, Jessie rather impudently, Chelsea somewhat sheepishly, with a charming blush.

Cody shook her head in mock disapproval.  The tall, naked, dirty blonde was carrying a bucket.  She dumped its contents on the ground and the bound captives beheld a ferrier's knife and several rolls of "vet-wrap," the self-clinging, elastic, cloth bandages used by veterinarians to bind animals' wounds.  "Well, if you like locking lips that much..."

She then proceeded to stuff Chelsea's panties in Jessie's mouth and give the redhead a tight vet-wrap cleave-gag, leaving her boss' coral lips bunched in a figure-eight pout.  The knife was used to cut off Jessie's panties, which were stuffed in Chelsea's mouth, and the helpless pixie soon found the corners of her mouth compressed together and her lips protruding above and below a narrow band of stiff cloth bandage.

Cody then rolled Jessie onto her back, Chelsea on top of the complaining redhead, pressed their lips together, turned their heads slightly to opposite sides so the prisoner's gagged pouts interlocked, then proceeded to wrap an entire roll of vet-wrap around both captive's heads, enforcing an inescapable gagged kiss.

"There," the gloating blonde purred.  "Now you can suck face all night."

The quite literally lip-locked lovers squirmed and complained, but could do nothing to prevent Cody from using the rest of the vet-wrap rolls to refine their intimate predicament.  She began by wrapping Chelsea's fingers, hands, and wrist bonds, then rolled the captives over and did the same to Jessie.  The redhead's bra (her only remaining clothing) was cut free, snatched from her body, and tossed on the pile of clothes.  Chelsea and Jessie whined and complained, squirming and wiggling in their inescapable bonds.

"Oh, you like grindin' yer tits together too?" Cody asked (rhetorically), and proceeded to wrap the lover's together around their arms and torsos (squashing the tits in question tightly together), then wrapped their thighs and calves. When she was finished, the prisoners were hardly what you would called mummified, but their most energetic struggles were reduced to minuscule wiggles.

Cody stood with hands on hips and gazed down at the fruit of her labors.  A pair of green and a pair of blue eyes glared up at her from a tousled riot of long red and short blonde locks and tight, neat bands of vet-wrap.  Sweat-slick, dirty, freckled skin slid against sweat-slick, dirty, tan skin as Jessie and Chelsea squirmed in their bonds.  "I can see how this tyin' up stuff can be fun," the grinning blonde drawled.  "Now... if you'll excuse me... I have some other dumb animals to care for."

Bound together as they were, neither captive could watch Cody perform her duties with anything you could call leisure, but as they writhed and rolled, mewing complaints through their gags and directly into one another's stuffed mouths, Jessie and Chelsea were able to follow the progress of first China, then Heidi, and finally Harvey being washed down with a hose, scrubbed with a stiff brush and soapy water, rinsed, then led towards the stables to be fed. All of this took most of an hour, and by the time Cody returned (still naked, but now substantially cleaner, and with her blonde hair hanging in a wet ponytail down her strong, tan back) all the captives had accomplished was wearing some shallow furrows in the corral floor and covering themselves with the fine, gritty dust.

Cody dragged the hose towards her prisoners and smiled down at the wiggling, mewing, helpless pair. "You two look hot, bothered, and dirty," she remarked, and triggered the hose. Chelsea and Jessie writhed, wiggled, and shrieked through their gags as the cool water jet stung their skin. Cody whistled tunelessly and played the stream up and down over the bound captives. After about a minute, the torrent stopped.  The bound prisoners were soaked from head to toe, but were anything but clean.  Dripping and squirming, they found themselves lying in a puddle of clinging, squishy mud.  As they wiggled and rolled, more and more of the brown sludge coated their skin, squished between their bound, naked bodies, and matted their hair.

Cody dragged the hose away, then returned.  Smiling sweetly, she kicked dirt from the edge of the puddle over the miserable, mewing captives.  "There," she said.  "You two enjoy the rest of your evening.  You shouldn't be too cold out here this time of year.  I'm going to take a dip in your nice, cold pool; then take a sauna in your bedroom, Red; then rummage through your closet 'til I find something to wear."  She put her muddy foot on Jessie's naked rump and rolled the bound pair 'til she could see Jessie's green eyes gazing out of the mud covering the kissing captive's joined heads.  "You are my size, after all, and I know ya got some nice blouses and dresses and such ya brought back from those shopping trips to Tucson, Phoenix, and Albuquerque."  Jessie mewed in complaint through her gag (and Chelsea's mouth).  "Don't worry, Red," Cody cooed, "I won't rip up the clothes I don't like... I'll try not to, anyway."

Jessie and Chelsea squirmed and writhed in the rapidly drying puddle, the increasingly less liquid and more gritty mud squishing between their helpless bodies.  The pair sent pitiful, begging noises past their gags... but Cody was gone.

The captives continued struggling, but it was pointless.  The ropes and vet-wrap were too tight, too well placed, the knots unreachable (even if their fingers had been free).  Conversation was impossible (and the vibrations caused by the act of trying to speak unsettling, an irritating, tickling hum to the captive not making the attempt).

Eventually, the filthy, helpless pair simply lay in their bonds, not trying to escape, wiggling and rolling now and then to attempt to relieve the discomfort of lying in one position for too long a time.  The shadows grew around them as the sun set.  The air was still hot and dry, and an eerie quiet settled on the darkening corral.

Suddenly, the whining sound of aircraft engines could be heard overhead and echoing through the canyon.  Chelsea had the best view, but both saw the orange flash of reflected sunset on metal and blinking lights as something passed overhead... and then the noise faded... in the direction of the badlands.

Minutes passed... the gloom deepened to true darkness... then the captives heard boots approaching, followed closely by a quiet chuckle.  A dark presence knelt nearby, a flight bag was dropped to the ground, a blade flashed, and Jessie and Chelsea felt their hateful, mutual gag being removed.

Jessie's lips were freed first.  She spit out Chelsea's panties and grimaced, licking her lips.  "Who are you?" she demanded.

"Seems every time I visit this place you need rescuin'," a pleasant soprano voice answered in a lilting, New Zealand accent.

"Lourdes!" Jessie gasped.  "Am I glad to see you!"  She recognized Margo's personal pilot and her good friend, who had played such an important role in her emancipation from her cousin Victoria's tyranny.  Jessie could see scant details in the dark, but there was enough light to make out Lourdes' short, dark hair and TESSERACT flight coverall.  Strangely, the Kiwi pilot was wearing what appeared to be sunglasses.  "Is Kat here too?" Jessie inquired.

Lourdes smiled, her teeth gleaming in the dark as she removed Chelsea's gag.  "Fraid not," she said. "Kitty-Kat's busy in Seattle."

"Ugh—Hello Lourdes," Chelsea said, spitting out Jessie's panties and joining the conversation.  "I'm so glad you're here to rescue us."  The bound pixie squirmed and smiled sweetly.

"Yeah!" Jessie piped in.  "Ya gotta help us!  My wrangler went crazy and tied us up.  Ya gotta help us capture her before—M'mmpfh!"

Lourdes' hand had shot out and was tightly clamped over Jessie's mouth.  "Nice try, kiddo," she laughed.  "I've been in communication with The Good Doctor, and I know why you two are naked and tied up in the dirt."

"I told her she was being mean," Chelsea said, nodding towards her fellow prisoner and affecting her most pitiful pout, the one that had never failed to melt her father's heart (and had earned her more than one shopping trip to London).  "Does that help?"

"Talk is cheap," Lourdes said with a chuckle, then released Jessie's hand-gag.  "Teri also told me she never had a chance to tell you I'd be droppin' by."  Lourdes sat on the ground, crossing her legs in a graceful semi-lotus. Jessie and Chelsea turned their tousled heads and filthy faces towards their non-rescuer.  "Margo has me ferryin' one of her new hypersonic company planes to Europe.  It occurred to her this was a good chance for Ms.Brightman here to visit her ancestral home one last time before startin' school... and for you, Ms. McQuade, to accompany her."

"Super!" Chelsea said with an enthusiastic wiggle.  "I'm sure Mumsy and Father won't mind if— "

"Done!" Lourdes interrupted. " Margo already spoke with 'Mumsy.'  His Lordship is out of town, something about agricultural investments in Central Africa, but Her Ladyship is looking forward to your homecoming... and meeting your new chum... in the flesh, so t'speak."  The grinning pilot eyed the squirming, nude captives' abundant albeit decidedly dirty flesh, then turned her attention to Jessie's grubby face.  "Well?"

"Oh... sounds like a blast," the redhead answered.  "We will be back in time for registration, right?"

"Guarantee!" Lourdes said with a smile, then started to stand.

"Wait!" Chelsea said.  "Uh... we have to pack and find our passports—"

"—and I have to make a few business arrangements," Jessie added, "so—"

"Give it up, you two!" Lourdes laughed.  "I'm not untying you.  The tilt-wing leaves noon tomorrow, the hyper-jet's waiting in Denver, and Delores will be offended if we don't let her pack for you both."

"Oh!" Chelsea sighed. "At least tell me one thing."

"Okay," Lourdes said, hefting the strap of her flight bag onto her shoulder.

"Why are you wearing sunglasses in the middle of the bloody night?" Chelsea asked.

Lourdes and Jessie laughed, Lourdes removed her glasses and reversed them.  The inside surfaces of the lenses were softly glowing.  "They're night vision glasses," she explained.  "Not up to current military specs, but they keep you from bumping into things."

"Cool!" Jessie and Chelsea said together.

"See you in the morning," Lourdes said, waved, spun on her heel, and disappeared into the night.

"Lourdes, pleeeez!" Chelsea complained.

"Have a heart!" Jessie added.

Their pitiful entreaties were answered only by chirping crickets and the distant croaking of frogs from down the canyon in the direction of the pool.

"Rats!" Jessie sighed.

"Big, fat, slimy rats... with fleas!" Chelsea agreed, sighed as well, then squirmed in her bonds.

"Hey, stop it!" Jessie growled.

"Oh... you want me to do something different?" the blonde captive said with a coy grin.  "I'm afraid my options are rather limited.  She squirmed again, grinding her breasts against Jessie's.

"Just you wait," Jessie purred, then rolled until Chelsea was on the bottom.

"Ooff! Get off me, you horse," Chelsea complained.  "Get off or I'll—M'mmpfh!"

Jessie was kissing her fellow captive's lips hungrily, thrusting her tongue deep into the giggling pixie's eager mouth.

The kiss continued for some time... then Chelsea twisted her head to the side.  "You're incorrigible."

"Then don't encourage me," Jessie purred, and nuzzled Chelsea's ear.

The petite blonde giggled. "Stop! That tickles, and it's not encourage-able, it's... oh, never mind."  She returned her face to the front and locked lips with her redheaded, freckled, fellow captive.

Watching the snuggling, kissing prisoners via security camera from the comfort of the Lodge, Teri and Lourdes smiled.

"Young Love," Teri sighed, taking a sip of her chamomile tea.

"How long ya gonna leave 'em out there?" Lourdes asked.

"Oh... another hour?" Teri suggested.  Lourdes laughed and nodded.  "Don't worry," the archeologist said with a wry smile.  "I know they have a busy day tomorrow.  I'll see they get cleaned up, fed, and put to bed... not that they'll get much sleep, of course... unless I tie them to seperate beds."

Stringently hog-tied at Teri and Lourdes' feet, Delores squirmed in her bonds and giggled through her tape-gag.

Teri smiled, reached out with one boot and gently kicked the helpless maid's flank.  "Quiet, you!" she ordered, and returned to watching the screen.