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		DAMSELS UNDER GLASS: THE SERIES
		Jessie & Chelsea: THE  ADVENTURES  OF Shorty & the Cowgirl ———————————————————— by Van © 2004
		Chapter 11

---

Jessie stretched and sighed.  She'd been home more than an hour, and all she'd had time to do was exchange greeting hugs and kisses with Teri and Delores, drop her bags in her room, shower, change into boots, jeans, and work shirt, and start on the business that had accumulated on her desk in her absence.  (Cody was busy in the stables, supposedly.  She never was much for mushy greetings and such, anyway.)  Chelsea was no help at all (of course).  The blond pixie had announced her intention to enjoy a nice relaxing swim in the pool, and had disappeared.   Lazy little flirt!  Not that she could have helped with this stuff, anyway.  Jessie had already tackled the snail-mail and the Archeological Institute paperwork Teri had routed her way, and was almost through her e-mail queue.  There was one last message, from Teri herself.

From:    Teri_Fournelle@ccai.org
To:      Jessie_McQuade@ccai.org
Subj:    EVE-6900 Avatar

---

Jess,

Sorry to bring this up again, but WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO ACTIVATE AN AVATAR???  It's ridiculous to have a state-of-the-art AI system and NOT be able to use all its features.  It'll be a real time-saver when you get back to school.  The sooner you do this, the more time it will have to "mature" and the better it will function.  You're slowing down Institute work, Red!

Anyway, I've taken the liberty of designing an avatar for you myself.  Click this link and it will activate. (You can always change it later.)

Teri

Jessie sighed again.  She had a point.  All the important housekeeping systems at Copperhead Canyon and her Tucson townhouse were automated and controlled by a TESSERACT EVE-6900, but Jessie had never gotten around to creating an avatar, a virtual personality for the interface.  They'd been getting along with menus and keyboards, and she knew this was limiting the system... but she hated computer books.  "Might as well," she muttered, and clicked on the link.  Seconds passed with nothing happening... then her screen cleared and a bizarre female cartoon figure appeared.  "What the hell?" Jessie muttered.  The figure had big green eyes, a sprinkle of freckles across a button nose, fiery red hair, was "dressed" in a Western shirt, vest, and jeans; and had a annoyingly juvenile cowboy hat atop her balloon head.

The figure smiled and spoke.   "Yee -ha!  My name is 'Cyber-Jessie', but you can call me 'CJ'!   Yee-ha!"  Her voice was a squeaky alto, she had an exaggerated Western accent... and her manner reminded Jessie of... herself!

"I'll kill her!" Jessie growled, "something slow, and nasty, and... Apache!"

"You talkin' 'bout the Doc?" the avatar asked.  "I'd help ya with that, but my Ethical Buffer would get in the way.  Change it to unspeakable torture and I'm in."

Despite herself, Jessie found herself smiling.  "She did this on purpose."

"Of course she did," CJ responded.  "Doc's tryin' to get yer goat, so you'll crack the books and reprogram me 'til I ain't such a pain... but the joke's on her."

"How?"

CJ winked.  "Now that you've turned me on, so to speak, I'm on-line with Mama Eve in Seattle and she can handle any changes you want to make.  You don't have to do any book learnin' at all!"

"Thank god!" Jessie growled.  "For starters you can dial back the cowgirl-from-hell routine... way back."

CJ's grin faded and she affected a coy pout.  "I ain't that big a pain, am I?"

Jessie laughed.  "No, you're okay.  You just need to sand the rough edges a little."

"I hear ya," CJ said.  "How 'bout my looks?"

"You mean the downright creepy caricature of myself?"  Jessie smiled.  "Let's wait 'til Shorty gets a look at you.  What else you got in the looks department?"

"Oh, I can be anything and anyone," CJ responded.  "Zorro?  Tonto?  Coyote Woman?"  CJ morphed through a female version of each of the characters mentioned, each time retaining most of her Jessie-like characteristics, except when she was Coyote.  Then she looked more like a disreputable Navajo maiden with a hairy, canine face and shifty green eyes.  CJ morphed back to her original appearance.  "Well?"

"You're freakin' me out, CJ," Jessie laughed.  "Like I said, we'll keep what ya got 'til Chelsea gets a load, and 'til I have some time to think, okay?"

"Okay," CJ agreed.  "And speaking of all the time savin' donkey work I'll be doin' for you, you want me to screen all the Institute stuff Teri sends you and prepare summaries and recommendations?  If you let me do that for a while, I'll get better an' better at predicting how you want to handle things."

"Sounds good."

"I'm already monitoring the security systems," CJ continued, "and can take active measures if needed."

"Active?"

"Nothin' dangerous or illegal," CJ explained.  "I'm talkin' defensive response with non-lethal weapons."

"Killer robots," Jessie mumbled.

"Non-killer robots," CJ responded.  "I just make sure any would-be burglars are still here when the sheriff decides to show."

"Okay, non-killer robots," Jessie laughed.  "Anything else?"

"Eve and I've been fleshing out my 'Personal Helper' routines—"

"I thought you just turned on," Jessie objected.  "When have you and Eve had time to flesh out anything?"

"It's more than a minute since you clicked on that link," CJ said with a smug grin.  "You know how many matrix cycles that is for machines like us?"

"Point taken," Jessie purred.  "What were you sayin'?"

"I have an idea what miscellaneous events around here might  be of interest to you," CJ explained, "and like for all the rest, I'll get better as time passes.  But for now, why don't you take a stroll down to the stables?"

"The stables?" Jessie asked.

"All the way in the back," CJ added.  "Trust me."

Jessie smiled and reached for the keyboard.

"Don't bother with that," CJ said.  "I'll turn things off for ya."

"You can do that?" Jessie asked, then smiled as CJ rolled her eyes.  "Okay, okay, of course you can."

"If you need me, anywhere in the Canyon, just give a shout."  She waved one virtual hand and the screen faded to black.

Jessie stood and headed for the elevator.

---

Lourdes opened her eyes, blinked, and shivered.  The sensations of being too hot and then too cold passed over her body in waves.  At the same time, a skin crawling itch and a frisson of pleasure rippled through her sex and up her spine.  Lourdes knew what was happening.  She was experiencing a mild case of "VR withdrawal", the disorientation that accompanied the return from Virtual Reality to the real world.

She remembered being strapped into a TESSERACT transport module in the Brightman Hall dungeons.  Lady Brightman herself had secured the many restraints, inserted the catheters, feeding tube gag, and breathing line.  Finally, she lowered the VR mask and ear pads.  Lourdes' last memories in the UK were Lady Brightman's final scolding rebuke ("Bad girl!") and a warm, wet kiss on her right breast.  Then, the module's lid lowered with a solid thud and the thick padding embraced her helpless body as it filled with gel.

The swirling, disorienting onset of VR had ensued.  For "in-flight entertainment" (for her journey to face The Wrath of the Red Queen), Lourdes had expected to find herself in a medieval torture chamber, a mad scientist's laboratory, the slave pens of some ancient civilization, or someplace equally unpleasant.  Instead (and to her infinite surprise) she found herself on a Virtual version of Far Beach on Gondaloo Island.  She was naked (of course) and the hot sun, mitigated by the gentle tropical breeze, felt glorious after the cold, damp dungeons of Brightman Hall.  Breakers crashed against the outer reef, waves lapped on the sand, seabirds added their music... and there was something else.  Lourdes finally realized what it was: "Alpha Music", the soft, near subliminal chorus of low frequency, carefully modulated noise designed to enhance relaxation.

I'm being pampered, not tortured, Lourdes realized, and decided to make the most of it.  She stretched, swam in the lagoon, sunbathed on the sand, then swam again, this time playing tag with a pod of dolphins.  As the Virtual sun was dropping towards the Virtual horizon, Lourdes lay back in the warm Virtual sand... and slept.

And here she was, flat on her back, still naked, and not on Gondaloo.  Staring straight ahead, she lifted her upper body and propped herself on her elbows.  The transport module was not in her line of sight, and she was not restrained in any way.   I was drugged while still in the module, unpacked, and brought here, she reasoned, then realized where here was.  She was in the "Saddling Room" of the Biosphere stables.

The "Ponygirl Dresser" occupied center stage.  Solidly bolted to the concrete floor, the framework of bent steel pipe was designed to hold a female figure in a standing posture.  Well-padded manacle and shackle clamps, a pillory for the neck, and various dangling straps could be quickly and easily repositioned and secured in any alignment, thus allowing the occupant of the frame to be fitted with any and all of the required tack to transform her into a helpless, fully restrained ponygirl, all with minimum muss and fuss for her Handler.  Racks and glass front cabinets along one wall held a wealth of harnesses, corsets, binders, boots, and gags in neat rows, arranged by function, color, style, and size.  The scent of expensively tanned leather and saddle soap filled the air.

"Were you trying to piss me off?"

Lourdes turned her head and discovered Margo Wells, the Red Queen herself, comfortably seated on an equipment locker in the back of the room and staring at her with wry amusement.

"Margo!" Lourdes gasped, managing a brave smile.

"You know I have a Special Interest in 'Shorty' and 'the Cowgirl'," Margo continued, "an interest in any and all things that might threaten Brightman Hall or Copperhead Canyon."

"I was careful," Lourdes whispered.

"Which is the only reason you aren't bound hand and foot and about to hop the plank into a pit full of leeches, or spiders, or whatever else Eve's psychological expert system says is your worst nightmare," Margo purred.  "Are you that anxious to have me turn you over to Kat?   That desperate to have her get her claws into you?"

Lourdes blushed, and ran her fingers through her hair, shielding her face.  "I... I should have called you," she muttered.

Margo paused, frowning at Lourdes' reaction.   Maybe she does want me to give her to Kat.  I'll have to talk about this... with Elke.   "Hell yes, you should have called me," she said finally.  "At the very least you should have called Eve."

Lourdes folded her legs under herself and climbed to her knees.  "What are you going to do?"

Margo shook her head.  "I don't have time to punish you myself, and Kat has a backlog of work waiting when she gets back from Gondaloo."  She pointed towards the Ponygirl Dresser.  "In you go," she ordered.

Lourdes sighed, slowly, gracefully stood, and pattered to the frame.  She settled her neck into the pillory, stepped into the shackle clamps, and placed her wrists in the manacles on the side arms.

Margo stood, stepped behind Lourdes, and closed the clamps, one by one.  Lourdes flinched as the pillory snapped shut around her throat, then sighed as the manacles and shackles clicked and locked.  Margo leaned close and whispered in her captive's right ear.  "I'm giving you to Narelle.  I understand she has a rock garden she wants to add near one of the water features in the South Garden.  It'll involve a lot of heavy hauling, so she can use a strong, wiry 'pony' to pull her cart."

Margo walked to the racks and returned with a simple ball-gag.  "Say you're sorry," she purred.

Lourdes sighed, and stifled a smile.  "I'm—m'mmpfh!"

Margo had thrust the ball in her mouth and was buckling the strap.  "I admit I was impressed by the arrangements you made for the girl's 'Great Adventure'," she said, "the precautions you took to make sure the Grinells and especially the 'R' school gang would find themselves checkmated, even if things blew up in your face.... which they did."  Margo gave Lourdes a resounding slap on the rump, then turned and walked to the door.  "I have work waiting," she muttered.  "Be a good pony... and I'll bring you a carrot now and then."

Lourdes forced the obligatory complaint past her gag, but Margo was already gone.  

Minutes passed, then Lourdes heard boot heels tapping on the tile floor of the outer stables.  The door opened, and  Narelle Tulley made her entrance.  An expert equestrian and master horticulturist,  Narelle cared for the small riding herd kept in Margo's private stables and supervised the maintenance and development of the "hanging gardens" under the biosphere domes.  Her Inner Circle role was "Mistress of Ponygirls", her code name "Green Centaur".  She was tall and athletic, with long, straight, pale blonde hair, tan skin, and blue eyes. She had the high-cheeked features of a Norse goddess, but hailed from the Australian outback.  "Aussie-girl" and "Kiwi", Lourdes and Narelle were friends, but made a good-natured game of deriding each other's homelands.

"Well, look what we have here," Narelle cooed, a smug smile on her beautiful face.  She was dressed in a deep red sleeveless top, skintight tan jodhpurs with butternut leather seat, and brown riding boots with matching belt and riding crop.  "If it ain't my sheep-shaggin' friend from the Land of the Sheep-Shaggers."

Lourdes growled through her gag, but the twinkle in her eyes spoiled the effect.

Narelle (ever the professional) double checked all the closures of her charge's shackles, manacles, and pillory, then used the tip of her crop to tap Lourdes' nipples, tummy, both firm globes of her buttocks, and the backs her knees.  The taps were light and teasing, meant to remind Lourdes of her helplessness and vulnerability, not to punish.  She tucked the crop back in her belt, stepped close to the "new pony", and gently cupped Lourdes' sex.

"Just as I thought," Narelle purred.  "Hot and wet.  The studs will be chasin' you day and night."  Her touch became a slow, firm caress.  "Well, I've gotta finish the day's work," she said, "then I think I'll find m'self a steak dinner.  This caused Lourdes' empty stomach to audibly growl.  Narelle's smile turned absolutely evil.   She let her index finger slide across Lourde's slit, then gave the glistening digit a coy, delicate lick.  "Don't worry.  You won't be forgotten.  I'll be back tonight for your Vet exam.  I've got a new udder cream I'm just dyin' to give a try.  Then I'll strap on your feed bag, fit your sleepin' harness, and find you a nice warm stall full of fresh straw."  The tall, beautiful, infuriatingly smug blonde walked to the door.  "Don't go anywhere," she purred, and was gone.

Lourdes' stomach growled again.   I really should have called Margo, Narelle's new pony decided.

---

Jessie left the elevator and headed for the canyon floor.  She emerged from the Lodge even with the first bend in the dry stream that channeled runoff from the pool and waterfall complex.  There was splashing coming from around the corner, then a peal of giggling, soprano laughter echoed off the red sandstone walls.

"Delores, stop it!"

It was Chelsea, of course, and the sound of her voice sent a thrill through Jessie's loins.

"What a wiggle-worm!"

That was Doc Fournelle.  Apparently the entire population of the Lodge except herself and maybe Cody (and CJ, of course) was skinny dipping in the pool... during business hours.  No problem.  Copperhead Canyon Lodge often ran on "Indian Time".   After I see what 'CJ' wants to show me, I think I'll join them, Jessie decided, turned her back on the splashing and headed for the stables.

As she came to the corral, her horses clumped over to the rails to greet her.  "Hey guys!" she called.  "Miss me?  I missed you."

China tossed her head and pushed the others aside, then thrust her nose into Jessie's hand.  "Hey girl.  You want me to take you for a run up to Kettle Lake, or maybe out to Witch Hat Butte, don't ya?"  China bobbed her head, as if agreeing.  "It's a date," Jessie laughed, "only show a little patience.  I got things I gotta do."  China huffed and bobbed her head again.  "Greedy girl.  You'll get your turn, promise."  She patted China's head and headed for the stables.

Jessie did a quick inspection as she walked.  Everything looked normal.  The stalls were clean, the floor swept, and the tack neatly racked and stowed.   Wonder what CJ thought I'd find so fascinatin'?  She reached the unused stalls at the back of the stable... and gasped in wonder.

Cody Linderman, her "Head Wrangler" and high school friend, was naked, gagged with a long black cloth, up on her toes, and bound with a virtual spiderweb of thin white rope from shoulders to ankles.  She was blushing bright red, a grimacing smile on her face, half-forced by the tightness of the gag, half by her abundantly obvious embarrassment.

"There's something ya don't see every day," Jessie drawled, walking a slow circuit around her helpless friend and employee.  A vertical rope was tied to Cody's bondage in the region of her crotch rope, threaded through her bonds up her back and through the shoulder ropes, up through a ring and pulley in the rafters, and down to a post off to the side.  It was pulled taut to the point that Cody had a choice: stand on tiptoe, or let the rope pull her crotch rope really tight.  At the moment she was up on tiptoe.

Cody turned her head, watching Jessie stroll around her helpless body.  The proud blonde begged with neither her gagged voice nor her eyes (but was unable to disguise her crushing embarrassment).

"Doc do this to you, Blondie?" Jessie asked, enjoying every square inch of her friend's tanned, toned, diamond-hitched and helpless body.

Cody shook her head.

"Delores?"

Cody nodded.

"You want to explain how that happened?"

Cody rolled her eyes and favored her employer with a punishing stare.

"Yeah, sort of a silly question, I guess," Jessie drawled, "considerin'."  She stepped behind the bound captive and fumbled with the knot of her gag.  The cloth was wrapped around Cody's head and between her teeth a total of three times.  Jessie unwound the cloth, then draped it behind her own neck and down her front like a long scarf.  She stepped to the captive's front and stood with arms folded below her breasts.  "Well?"

Cody cleared her throat.  "I... I made a bet," she mumbled, still blushing.  "We were in the sauna and I was teasin' Del 'bout all the tyin' up games you play, said I could get out if I got tied up.  She bet me she could tie me with three feet of rope, and I told her to do her worst."

"Big mistake," Jessie laughed.

"No, ya think?"

"Math ain't my strong point," Jessie purred, "but that looks like a bit more than three feet."

"She's a damn cheat!" Cody growled, twisting in her bonds.  She flexed the arches of her no doubt sore feet, and winced when the crotch rope bit deeper.

Jessie clucked her tongue in sympathy, walked over and untied the rope at the post.  She played out a little slack, allowing Cody to stand flat-footed, but otherwise kept it taut.

"Thanks," the blonde prisoner gasped, wiggling her toes.  "I don't suppose you're gonna untie me."

"Maybe," Jessie responded.  "But you still need to explain all this rope."

"What's to explain?" Cody sighed.  "Once she had my wrists tied behind my back... what could I do to stop her?"

Jessie laughed.  "There's a little bit of Coyote Woman in our Delores."

Cody snorted in disgust.  "More than a little.  Some Snake Woman too, the damn cheat!"

Jessie wrapped the rope back around the post and tied a neat double hitch.  This left Cody "comfortably" on her feet, but still standing in the same spot and unable to move.  "I suppose you're gonna have to get her back?" Jessie suggested.

"You don't mind, do ya?  'Cause if you do, I can always include you in as well."

Jessie laughed.  "I have as healthy a sense of justice as the next person.  Delores is probably hopin' you're gonna get her.  Just don't do anything that'll make me have to look for a new maid...  Deal?"

"Deal," Cody mumbled, a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"How long did she have you up on your toes like that?"

"Near on an hour!" Cody muttered, twisting in her bonds.

Jessie laughed again.  "Hell, Blondie, that's nothin'!"  She pulled the gag cloth from around her neck, found the center, and stepped behind Cody's squirming body.  "Open wide!"

"You ain't gonna let me go?" Cody muttered through clenched teeth.

"You know I ain't no spoilsport," Jessie purred.  "Add me to your shit-list if you want, but ya gotta catch me first if you wanna get me back."

"Hell, Red," Cody drawled, "I can take a joke.  You get me, I get you back, you get me back again... I'll spot you this one."

Jessie dropped the center of the cloth over Cody's head and thrust it between her teeth.  "Good, 'cause in my book I still owe you for what you did to me an' Shorty out in the corral.  Hold still."  She wrapped the cloth around Cody's head three times, as it had been before, cinched it tight, and tied a square knot.  "There."  She reached up and gave the vertical rope a gentle shake.  "I'll spot ya this one back, Blondie.  For bein' such a forgivin' soul, you can stay off your toes 'til Delores gets back... whenever that'll be."

Cody snorted in disgust (but the usual amused tolerance had returned to her gorgeous blue eyes).

"Have fun!" Jessie wished her helpless friend, turned on her heel, and strolled back towards the stable entrance.  "Life around here just gets crazier an' crazier," she muttered under her breath.  "Good call, CJ," she said in her normal voice.  "That was... inspirational."

"I aim to please, boss," the newly activated avatar's disembodied voice responded.

Jessie rounded the curve in the Canyon and the pool and waterfall came into view.  Doc Fournelle and Delores were swimming lazily in the deeper water.  Shorty, on the other hand, was out of the pool, reclined on a long, low, sandstone bench near the lower waterfall.  She was on her stomach, legs stretched full length and ankles crossed, arms folded, resting her chin on her hands, and apparently asleep.  All three were nude, of course, their clothes folded or tossed on chairs near the lounge area.

Teri ducked under the surface and dolphin kicked towards Jessie.  Her head and shoulders emerged and she smiled up at the benefactor and Undergraduate Fellow of her Archeological Institute.  "Hey, Jess," she said, slowly treading water.

"Hey, Doc," Jessie answered, smiling back.  "I activated that avatar you designed for me."

Teri's smile broadened.  "Oh good!  I can start having it monitor the Institute's day-to-day work.  Eve has an expert system wizard that—"

"You realize I'm gonna have to kill you," Jessie announced, her smile never wavering.

Teri laughed.  "Next time don't make me have to ask you twelve times when something that important has to get done.  CJ isn't that offensive, is she?"

Jessie laughed back.  "She's based on me.  How could she be offensive?"

Teri grinned.  "She'll automatically evolve into a more, uh, 'normal' personality, as time passes."

"I figured as much," Jessie said, then frowned and motioned for Delores to join them.  "Get over here, chica!" she called.

Delores side-stroked to the edge and eased out of the water until she could support her chin on her folded arms.  "Hello, Little Fox," she cooed, smiling sweetly.

"Don't you 'Little Fox' me!" Jessie scolded, but was unable to maintain her stern expression.  "Who's gonna take care of my horses if you keep my Head Wrangler tied up and dancing on her toes all day?"

"Oh, you find her?" Delores asked, batting her eyes.

"What?" Teri demanded.

"Coyote Woman here has Cody trussed up like a calf in the stables," Jessie explained.

"Wow!" Teri gasped, then kicked to the edge and vaulted out of the pool.  "I gotta see this!"

Jessie watched Teri patter a dripping path to the piles of clothes, grab a towel, and start to dry herself.  She turned back to Delores.  "Ya gotta let her go soon, okay?"

"Of course," Delores answered, still smiling.

Jessie nodded towards Teri and the clothes.  "I told ya before," she said with a sigh, "ya don't have to wear those maid outfits if ya don't want to.  I ain't Cousin Victoria."

Delores glanced at the short sleeved, black mini-dress, frilly white apron, white lace cap, and black, strap-on heels waiting for her to reclaim.  "I like my uniforms," she cooed.  "Maybe you buy something different for my birthday?  A nice leather catsuit like Señorita Kat maybe?"

Jessie laughed.  "Go 'rescue' my wrangler!" she ordered.  Delores climbed from the pool and stretched seductively.  Jessie gave her a peck on the cheek, then caressed the maid's perfect brown breasts, giving the gold rings piercing her nipples a playful flick.  "I'll try to keep Cody from doin' anything gory or fatal, but you know I gotta let her have some revenge?"

Delores laughed and kissed Jessie's lips.  "Don't be silly, Little Fox.  Is all part of the joy of life, no?"

She scampered away, but not before Jessie managed to deliver a resounding slap to her firm, brown derrière.  "Damn trickster!"  Delores giggled, and Jessie turned her attention to the remaining naked bather, Chelsea.

Jessie strolled towards the waterfall, drinking in every naked, tanned, toned detail of her roommate and lover.  The diminutive Brit was still on her stomach (and squashed breasts), her face resting on her folded arms, her firm, dimpled buttocks still towards the sun, her crossed legs still stretched full length and her feet on pointe.  Her eyes were closed, and she still appeared to be dozing.  Jessie stopped when her shadow fell across Chelsea's head and shoulders.

The blonde pixie opened her eyes then closed them again.  She yawned, stretched like a kitten, and smiled.  "I thought I heard your voice, Cowgirl," she purred.  "I caught a slight chill swimming in your pool.  Be a dear and fetch me some tea, would you?  None of your beastly American iced tea, mind you; a nice, piping hot pot of proper English tea.  And some biscuits... lemon... or shortbread with almonds.  There's a good girl."  She yawned again and turned her head away, towards the waterfall.

Jessie smiled, spun on her heel, and walked to a nearby storeroom.  She returned in less than a minute with coils of white cotton clothesline in her right hand and a single doubled hank in her left.  She dropped the coils on the flagstones, clenched the hank between her teeth, then seized Chelsea's wrists and wrenched them behind her back.

"Darling!" the squirming pixie complained, but made only token resistance as her wrists were crossed and lashed.  "I take it you're out of tea?"

"Last I looked we had about eight different kinds in the cupboard," Jessie muttered as she tied the final knot, pulled Chelsea up to straddle the bench on her rump, and reached for a coil of rope.  "Doc likes the stuff, 'though she favors those organic New Age kinds you never heard of."  She shook out the coil, found its center, doubled it, and formed a loop.  This was dropped over Chelsea's head and shoulders and snugged tight, pinning her arms to her sides.  "The problem's the biscuits."

"No lemon?" Chelsea suggested, squirming as loop after loop joined the first.  They slithered around her arms and torso, and were pulled tight.

"No 'biscuits' at all," Jessie responded.  "Not even any cookies.  We'll have to go shopping when we get back to Tucson."

"No biscuits," Chelsea sighed, shaking her head in disbelief.  She watched as Jessie hitched the ropes between her arms and body.  "How about cucumber sandwiches?  I can show you how to make them."

Jessie added ropes across Chelsea's shoulders, through the ropes below her breasts, cinched them tight, and added a neat, complex knot between the captive's pert breasts, causing them to bulge.  "Maybe later," she muttered, "a lot later.  Remember that tour of the mine I promised you?"

Chelsea stared in surprise, then her smile returned.  "You're tying me up naked, so we can explore a hundred year old abandoned silver mine?"

"Something like that," Jessie said, "and it's more like a hundred twenty years."  She spun Chelsea on her butt so both feet were on the same side of the bench, knelt, and began hobbling her ankles.  "I've got some McQuade Family Secrets to tell you about too."

Chelsea's eyes popped wide and a smile curled her lips.  "Family  secrets?  How deliciously... mysterious."

Jessie tied a loop in the end of the final coil of rope, dropped it over Chelsea's head, and snugged it around her throat. "Ain't secrets supposed to be mysterious?" she asked, gripping the knot and lifting her prisoner to her feet.  She smiled, maintained her grip, and used her other hand to straighten Chelsea's still slightly damp bangs.  "C'mon," she said in a husky whisper.  "I got some really cool stuff to show you."

Chelsea grinned.  "I'm always up for 'cool stuff', but no tea?  I really could use a spot.  What flavors does Doctor Fournelle have?  I usually favor Earl Grey myself, but Twinings makes a Chamomile and Lime Herbal mix that's to die for, and—m'mmpfh!"

Jessie had whipped an already rolled and knotted bandana from her hip pocket, popped it in Chelsea's mouth, and was knotting it at the nape of her neck.  "Chatterbox!" she scolded, then took the end of Chelsea's lead in her hand and started towards the nearby storeroom.  "Blessed silence," she sighed.  "Now, pay attention.  After my parents were killed, I was sent out here to live with my cousin Victoria.   She was the one who used to run things around here."

"Mrmpfhmrmummfr?" Chelsea mumbled.

"Yes," Jessie laughed, "The Red Bitch of Copperhead Canyon."

They entered the storeroom and the door closed.  Seconds passed... and a hummingbird swooped down to bathe on a shallow spillway of the lower waterfall.  It perched on a bush to fluff and preen its feathers, visited one of the hanging nectar feeders... and sped away.

All was quiet in Copperhead Canyon.