Nothing ...
Again I moved, and suddenly, from outside and some distance away, a scream!
A long, protracted scream, a cry of sheer agony, the last cry of a dying man!
Who?
Keokotah? I did not believe it. Rather someone he had found. Keokotah could die, but if I knew him at all, he would die in silence.
Carefully I worked my way through the shadows, spear poised for use, my hand only inches from my knife. My grip on the spear was firm. I did not want it wrenched from my hands again.
Something? Something there in the darkness. I drew nearer, the spear poised for a thrust.
It was a man sitting against the building, something dark over his legs. Leaning closer I saw his head was over on one shoulder, his eyes were wide open, and he was dead.
Dead? He was the one I had sliced in the fight. He had run to open the gate and then retreated here, to die. The darkness across his legs was blood, for my blade had cut him clean across the stomach.
Angry with myself for being held immobile for so long by a dead man, I walked back across the yard to the gate. The bar was firmly in place.
From the high ports I could see their campfires, and from afar, smoke rising into the dawn from the Pawnee village. The Pawnees had drawn off and not attacked again. Why, I had no idea.
Komi and her companions would be waiting in the cave, wondering, not knowing. My fear was they would venture out and so reveal their hiding place, which was a good one, even if lacking the pleasures of home. And sorely did I miss her.
There was a stirring, a preparation in the camp of Gomez, nor could I make out what was taking place there except that they were readying themselves for something. An attack upon me?
Gomez himself was riding to the fort, but he was alone. Out of arrow range he drew up and called out, "Sackett? We are going after your friends, yonder! When we have destroyed them we will come back for you. Have the woman ready. If you surrender her now, you can go free."
Which of course was nonsense. He was a vengeful man and would kill me in an instant if he had me prisoner. Or he would do as promised and stake me on an anthill.
"You have lost men," I said calmly. "You will lose more if you attack the Pawnees. You will return to Santa Fe with your tail between your legs like a whipped dog."
"I will have her," Gomez said. "I will have the woman."
He turned his horse then rode off to join his soldiers, and I began to wonder why he had taken the trouble to inform me of his intentions. His men began to form up, and he put himself at the head of them. I wondered at the stupidity of the man. Fine soldier he might be, back in Spain, Flanders, or wherever the fighting had been, but you do not advertise your intentions when going out to fight Indians.
Several times he seemed to glance my way, and then I realized he was trying to lure me out of the fort to help my Indian friends, which could only mean that somebody waited nearby to move in the moment I moved out.
Carefully, my eyes searched the terrain, lingering on every clump of brush, every tree, ev--
There were two of them, two of his Spanish soldiers, and they were lying in wait not fifty yards from the gate. One held a musket in his hands and was obviously waiting for me.
In a land of Indians these men would not last long, for they were but poorly hidden.
I made ready my bow.
Chapter Thirty-five.
The morning was clear and beautiful. The sun was still hidden behind the eastern mountains, but the valley was lovely in the dawning light. A few smokes lifted their slim columns toward the sky, but aside from Gomez and his soldiers, nothing moved.
Far down the valley some low clouds lay, and a few white puffballs of cloud lingered against the blue sky, each catching a rosy radiance from the rising sun. The soldier who thought himself hidden in the brush was eager. He edged forward, musket ready to aim, waiting for me to emerge.
His eyes were upon the gate, yet when I straightened up above the roof parapet the movement caught his attention. His head turned and he saw me, bow bent, arrow drawn back.
For a stark, shocked moment he stared, and I loosed my arrow.
There is no good time in which to die, but he must have seen my figure outlined against the morning sky, with mountains and forest behind me. Who he was I did not know, nor whether he had been born in Spain or in Mexico. No doubt he was a good enough man in his own world, and it was a pity he had to come into mine, and not by his own choice, either.
His last glimpse of this world was of the sky at dawn and my dark figure above the parapet. Could he see the bow? Could he see the arrow in flight?
He came erect suddenly, clutching at the arrow's shaft, his musket falling among the rocks. He tugged, staring at me and perhaps hearing the quick scurry of his companion's feet as he fled. My second arrow missed the companion, and I saw the soldier I had shot fall over the rocks.
Then I went down the ladder and to the gate and opened it. The sun was higher, the valley bathed in light. There seemed to be a stir of movement down near the cave where Itchakomi waited. Shading my eyes, I looked and saw nothing.
Only imagination. Suddenly and from a distance I heard a wild chorus of yells and then musket shots and a scream from a wounded man. The Pawnees had been lying in wait and had attacked before the soldiers were halfway to their village. The sides must have been almost evenly matched as to numbers, but the surprise had been complete.
Coming to a higher bit of ground, I stopped. All was confusion, dust, occasional gunshots, and then silence. The dust fell, and men had died and left their bodies on the sun-blessed hills.
Some horsemen rode away, fleeing the fight. Others scattered on foot, pursued by Pawnees.
Gomez, if he lived, had failed again.
Walking on toward the fight I came upon a scalped Indian, one of those who had come with Gomez. Then I saw two Indians holding a prisoner. It was Diego.
"He is a good man," I told them. "Let me have him."
They merely stared at me.
"This one is a friend," I assured them, but they continued to stare, clutching his arms.
Asatiki, the old warrior, came toward us, and I explained. "This one is good," I said. "He is my friend."
"He fought hard against us."
"Aye, he is a fighter. He did what he was supposed to do, and no doubt did it well, yet he did not wish to come against you and told me so. It was the other one, the one of the gray horse. He was their leader."
"He got away."
"I am sorry for that. He is bad medicine. This one is not."
"He is their prisoner."
"Are you not their chief?"
"I led the war party. I am their chief. I cannot command, only suggest. Each is his own man. He comes and goes as he wishes. They followed me because they wished, not because I demanded it. He is their prisoner."
Again I turned to them. "Will you sell him to me?"
They did not reply, just waited, looking at me. When the attack on the fort had first taken place and the gate had been briefly open a horse had been ridden through, its rider killed. That horse still stood there on the stone-flagged court. "I will trade a horse for him."
It was a horse I dearly wanted. A horse could make a difference in many ways.
"Good horse?"
"One of the best." I had no idea. The horse had looked good at the one glance I had thrown his way. I had had other things on my mind at the time and no time to waste, but what horse trader plays down his stock?
"An excellent horse," I said, "very strong, very fast."
"We see."
Together we walked back to the fort, Asatiki with us.
"Wait," I said when we neared the fort. "I shall bring him out."
One thing I had seen in that hasty glance was a powder horn on the saddle, and I wanted that. In fact, I wanted the saddle as well. Hastily, I stripped saddle and bridle from the horse and rigged a hasty hackamore with a bit of rope. Then I led the horse outside. The powder horn
, by its weight, was almost full.
They looked at the horse and walked around it. I waited. Had they seen it with its equipment they would have demanded all of it, as I would have done.
"The horse," one said, "and a musket."
Taking a firmer grip on the lead rope I turned the horse back toward the gate. "The horse is a good horse. Too good. It is an even trade, horse for prisoner. If you do not like it, take the prisoner and burn him." I kept on walking toward the gate and as I started through one of the Indians spoke up. "We take! Give us horse!"
The other Pawnee threw Diego at my feet and grabbed the lead rope and started away.
"No good," Asatiki said. "You get two, three prisoner for horse."
"Maybe," I agreed, "but I do not know the other prisoners. This man is a good man. Sometime," I advised, "you have trouble. Speak to this man. If he can, he will help."
Asatiki shrugged. "White man forget ver' quick."
My eyes met his. "Remember this, Asatiki. I did not forget this man. His people are my enemies. This man is not, and I remembered."
Lifting Diego to his feet I cut his wrists loose. "Gracias," he said, rubbing his wrists to restore circulation.
"Go inside and keep out of sight. They might change their minds."
He did so, and I walked across to the man I had killed with an arrow. His musket was there among the rocks, and on his belt there was a powder horn. It was about half full. I retrieved my arrows as well and walked back to the fort.
Glancing back over the valley I could see Indians here and there, picking up what had fallen or gathering their wounded. It was time I went for Itchakomi.
"You have food?" Diego asked. "I am very hungry."
There was jerky and I offered him some. "You stay here," I said. "In a few days you can start back for Santa Fe. It will be safer then."
"How many escaped?"
"Who knows? Several riders and some men who fled running."
"He was a fool, that Gomez, but brave enough. He has fought in many wars but not against Indians. He did not know. He thought to frighten them with a show of power."
"Indians," I said, "do not frighten easily. War is their way of life."
My eyes went to the valley. The last thing I wished to do was to betray the hiding place where Itchakomi was hidden. When night came would be soon enough, and she would understand that the fighting was over. Some of them must have heard.
"Gomez would not listen," Diego said. "He would ride boldly into battle. He would awe them with his presence and the boldness of his approach."
"He escaped, I believe."
"Of course. He is a realist, and dead soldiers win no battles. He led them into an ambush but he did not stay to die with them. Next time he will be wiser."
"Maybe."
Getting to my feet I said, "Do you lie down and rest, Diego. I shall be back soon. You are safe here."
The Pawnees who had wandered about were drifting slowly back toward their own village. A moment I watched, and then I walked out, pausing now and again.
There were bodies to be buried and plans to be made. Also, I must put all my powder together and see how much I had. Not enough, but what I had would tide me over until I could find sulphur and make my own. If I was fortunate.
And I must think about the sacred fire for Itchakomi and how to bring it to her. How important it was to her I was only now beginning to appreciate, but to give her fire without ceremony would be empty. It must have the proper trappings of magic.
My valley lay green and lovely, falling away to the south, walled by mountains on either side. Up there were the caves of which the Ponca woman had told me long ago. Beyond those mountains was a mineral spring that might contain sulphur.
This was my land, the land that I loved, the wild land, the lonely land, where men had left no scars, no beaten tracks, no signs of their passing. These few bodies that now lay about would be buried, or if left would be food for buzzards, coyotes, and ants. Whatever those men had taken from the land they would now give back, and the eternal round of birth and death would continue.
Someday I might also have a son or a daughter, and we might sit together by the fires of winter while I told them stories of Barnabas, their grandfather, and of England whence he came. Sakim, too, must be spoken of, who came from the magic lands of the Arabian Nights. My father had told me the stories before even Sakim, but from Sakim's lips they had had a special magic, for he was of their world. He had lived the life.
This was my land. Here I would sink roots. Here I would grow and help things grow. Here, I hoped, my sons and daughters would grow and be here to greet the westward travelers when they chose to come.
Another musket lay where it had fallen. Somehow the Pawnees had missed it. It lay fallen among the rocks and brush, but there was no powder horn. Further on lay a dead Spanish soldier, a handsome boy, now minus his scalp. Another one who had come seeking his fortune, accepting the chances of battle in a far country. Others might be killed, he had thought, but not him. He would survive. Now all the bright dreams were ended with his hair hanging in a Pawnee earth lodge.
Asatiki was coming toward me, walking his strange, bow-legged walk, lifting his knees toward the outside as he stepped. He paused facing me. "It is time," he said.
"Time?"
"We go. We go back to our lodges, back to our village. Our people wait and are wondering."
"I shall miss you, Asatiki." I held out my hand. "I have known a warrior."
"And I."
We stood together, looking down the long green valley. "If you come to us, you will be welcome. Our villages are north and east, along the second great river."
"One day, perhaps."
We stood a moment longer sharing the silence, and then he walked away. I watched his back as he retreated. We would miss them, and we would miss him.
Turning, I glanced toward where the cave was. They must know the fighting was over, but they had not appeared. Impatient to see Komi, I started across the grass toward where the cave was hidden.
The Pawnees were not waiting any longer, but they were going now. Pausing, I watched their thin line point itself into the mountains, watched them go, each with a burden of hides or meat. They now had seven horses, and I was still without one. Of course, I had Paisano.
As I neared the cave, I called out. There was no reply. Suddenly worried, I quickened my step and called again.
I reached the small opening and abruptly I stopped. In the dust outside the cave there was a confusion of footprints, but one stood out.
A large, clearly imprinted moccasin track. Only one man I knew made so large a track.
Frightened, I ducked into the cave, calling out.
Nothing, no sound, not so much as a whisper.
They were gone!
Somehow, during the fighting, while all had been engrossed, Kapata had slipped in and stolen my wife away, stolen her and the others.
One more futile call, and a moment of listening. My heart beating heavily I came into the open air.
Keokotah was there.
"They are gone. Kapata has taken them."
He ducked into the cave and was back in a moment. "My woman is gone," he said. "Do you get meat. I find trail."
At a trot, I returned to the fort. Scarcely thinking. I made two packs of meat and what else we had.
How long had they been gone? An hour? Two hours? Three?
They would travel fast and they would strive to leave no trail. No trail unless to an ambush.
Quickly I loaded what powder I had into two powder horns and gathered a double handful of my silver bullets.
Keokotah was waiting for me. He pointed toward the canyon where grapes grew. "They have gone that way. They go to the river, I think."
"Of course."
We walked steadily on but my heart was numb. Once, I glanced back. Paisano was following us. My brain had only one thought.
Itchakomi was gone! Itchakomi, my love ... gone!
Chapt
er Thirty-Six.
Keokotah had followed this trail to the Arkansas not long after we had begun building the fort, but I had never gone to its end.
We ran, for our enemy was time. If they had boats waiting at the river we might never overtake them, and Kapata, now that he had captured Itchakomi, would waste no minutes.
It had been a long, bitter day, but we ran smoothly and easily. A mile, another mile. We slowed our pace. It would soon be dark, and their tracks would no longer be visible. Now we had to pick our way among the rocks, weaving through trees. In the bottom of the canyon it would grow dark quickly.
Also, they might try an ambush, although I doubted that.
Kapata had taken them during the fighting, with the end of the fighting still in doubt. He would not know if I were alive or dead, and I doubted if he would think of anything but getting safely away.
At the same time, I knew he would welcome a meeting with me. Particularly as he would like to show Itchakomi he was the better man.
Here and there we stopped to listen, while trying to make no noise ourselves. The canyon rocks carried sounds. How long had they been on the trail? At most, two hours. Hence they must be at the river or nearing it now.
They would have no campfire to help us to find them. They would offer no such invitation to the Komantsi that might still be about. My feeling was that the Komantsi had gone on to the south to steal horses in Mexico, but other enemies might be about. It was a time of change, and many tribes were on the move, displaced by others to the east who had obtained firearms.
We ran no longer, but walked, pausing often to listen. The canyon was behind us and we were moving into an area of scattered clumps of trees and occasional ridges. The general trend of the ground was sloping toward the river.
Here we were beset by a problem, for we had no idea whether they had gone directly to the river or had angled off to the east or west.
We stopped at a small stream, drank, chewed on some dried buffalo meat and listened. We heard nothing. It was completely dark and despite the stars overhead we could see nothing beyond a few feet.
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