by Lynn Landes
“I don’t know. We’ll rest a few hours and move again. We should make home in two days,” Harris glances over at her with a worried expression. “How bad was it?” Harris whispers.
The men move silently closer to the fire and sit. No one asks what he’s referring to, they know he means the massacre. “Like a scene from your worst nightmare. I’ve seen enough death,” Pierce’s eyes flash, and he stares at his brothers.
Steele pats his shoulder, and they look at Harris. “We buried them. What we could find of them.”
Harris glances at Vanessa, praying she didn’t hear that. “Steele!” Dane hisses.
“It’s alright, Pop.” Harris turns hard eyes to stare at his brothers. “You should know the things you found, she lived through. Many of them were still alive when the butchery began.”
Harris fills them in on the details and tells them of the soldiers who hunted her. Steele pulls out a second flask of whiskey and passes it around. They all drink as he continues. Pierce stares with wide eyes when he tells them of the wolf and Apache tracker.
Dane glances over at Vanessa and shakes his head slowly. “It’s a miracle that she survived at all.”
Harris nods in agreement. “I love her. I’m going to spend the rest of my life showing her.” Emotion paints his voice, “I was so stupid that I almost lost her. That won’t happen again. We need to get her home to rest and heal. I want to be married as soon as possible.”
Steele grins, “Mom will make sure of that.”
Dane laughs softly, “That she will.”
Chapter 37
Blood Eagle watches from the same spot as before. For nearly a week he camps, watches, listens and observes until, finally, on the sixth day General Barclay arrives by train.
As tempted as he was to sneak in his cabin and slit the man’s throat, something held him back. For one, the wolf has not appeared yet. He isn’t sure where he went or even if he will return to him. With that in mind, he decides to watch and gather as much information as he can before acting.
Night approaches, and he frowns in confusion when General Barclay gives the order to load the train with all but two of the Gatling guns. He watches as the General writes in his little notebook before tucking it inside his coat pocket. “Where are they taking them?” he murmurs.
A crew is being left to work the refinery and guard the Fort, but why bring the guns here to move them again? The crew is working late into the night, using kerosene lanterns to load the train. Obviously, they will move in the morning.
“Time to find out what this is about,” he mounts his horse and rides towards the Fort. “Indian!” Guards yell and greet him with guns pointed as he grows close.
Voices raise, and lanterns are lit, the Fort bustles with activity.
“I work for the General!” Blood Eagle shouts and rides slowly with his hands raised.
A runner scrambles to find the General as they keep all rifles trained on the strange looking Indian dressed in a duster, flannel shirt, hat and jeans.
“What the hell is going on?” Barclay shouts. He stomps behind a soldier and glares at Blood Eagle sitting on a horse with his hands raised. “You better bring good news!” He turns and shouts, “Let him pass. He works for me.”
The men glare but do as ordered. They watch as he enters camp and dismounts. “Take his horse,” General Barclay snaps.
The soldier approaches cautiously, and Blood Eagle watches his eyes widen in recognition. He grins and stops beside him, “Rub her down good and feed her. She’s had a long week.”
“Yes, Sir,” Ben replies and hurries away with his horse.
Barclay stomps inside the small cabin.
“You’re a hard man to find, General.” Blood Eagle glances around the cabin, making sure to take in the details. It is a simple one-room cabin with a cot, private fireplace, small desk against a wall and a table with two chairs.
“Not hard enough, apparently,” Barclay walks over to the two chairs next to the fireplace, stopping at a table he opens a small drawer in the table and shoves a small notebook inside. “Whiskey?” he asks and grins when Blood Eagle nods yes.
Two glasses are poured, and he waits until Blood Eagle drinks to question him.
“This is one thing white man got right,” he savors the golden liquid and smiles, “Thank you.” Both men drink, and the General watches him with shrewd eyes.
“You sought me out for a reason?” General asks.
“That I did. The problem you had is taken care of. Oddly enough the Doctor and his girlfriend were just above the ridge watching this very Fort.”
General Barclay slowly lowers himself into a chair as Blood Eagle continues. “I tracked them to Riverton and from there to the ridge above. Your other tracker is dead.” He pulls out a silver compass and tosses it on the table in front of the General.
Barclay stares at the compass and smiles before looking up at Blood Eagle. “Sit down and tell me about Rivers.”
He shrugs and sits down with a sigh.
“Not much to tell. Caught them sleeping. It was simple. I burned the bodies. I must admit I was curious to why they were watching the Fort. What’s going on here?”
The General eyes him and ignores the question. “Where are my trophies?”
Blood Eagles eyes the General and struggles to stamp back his disgust. “I didn’t think it was wise to carry them, being so close to an Army base. As I said before, I burned them.”
“That’s understandable, even though they both caused me a great deal of trouble. It’s late.” The General stands, and Blood Eagle follows him to the door.
“Feel free to stay, though I can’t guarantee your safety,” he grins at Blood Eagle.
“I understand. I’ll move on before the suns up. I’ll bed down with my horse in the barn.”
The General watches him leave and grins in the dark. Two soldiers step out of the darkness. “Follow him to the barn. Don’t kill him. It would be nice to have a prisoner.”
Blood Eagle knows they will come for him, but he also knows there is a time to fight and a time to be still. Sometimes the only way to get information is to sacrifice your own comfort.
He finds Ben, feeding his horse and hurries to his side. “Get out of here boy. They are coming for me.”
Ben hesitates, “I can help,” but Blood Eagle snaps at him.
“No, they’re out for blood. Go,” he shoves the kid and Ben nods and drops the bag, dashing to the back of the barn to watch from a stall.
The Soldiers enter the barn and surround him with pistols drawn. The leader grins and snaps a whip out, wrapping the bull leather cord around the Indians wrist with a painful crack. Blood Eagle is jerked from his horse to the ground with a thud.
“Look, boys. This here animal thinks he’s one of us. He even dresses like us.” Hatred glows in his dark eyes as he leans down over Blood Eagle.
“I work for the General!” he shouts.
“Not anymore!” The leader kicks him, and three others join in, beating and pummeling him. They rip his clothing from his body leaving him in his loincloth.
“Enough! I said don’t kill him.” General Barclay says with a sneer of disgust. The men back off, but no one lowers their guns.
“Barclay!” Blood Eagle coughs and rolls over wiping the blood from his face. His ribs burn, and he struggles to get up on his knees. “I’m under the protection of the Army,” he coughs out.
“No,” Barclay says leaning forward, “Our transaction is complete.”
Two men tie ropes around his wrists and jerk his arms out to his sides, causing him to scream out in pain. Laughter flickers through the group.
“Why are you doing this? I’ve worked for you for years.” Vengeance flickers in his eyes promising the General that he will retaliate.
“The mighty Blood Eagle, boys that’s his name.” His eyes trail up and down his body. “You disgust me. Playing dress up like a white man and soldier while betraying your own people.”
“Maybe,
but I’ve been paid really well to do what you ‘chien’s’ could not do,” Blood Eagle laughs at the outrage on their faces.
“What’d he call us?” one of the men shouts.
“I called you dogs!” Blood Eagle sneers and grunts when they leap on him once more.
“Stop!” General Barclay shouts and is forced to drag one man off the prisoner.
Blood drips down his face, from a swollen, split eyebrow. His nose is throbbing, and his jaw is on fire, but still, he does not fight back. “Now you look like a Bloody Eagle,” one soldier shouts and they all laugh.
When he looks up the blood runs in streaks down his face, and his black eyes glitter with defiance. “Why are you doing this?”
“That’s easy enough. You arrived just in time to witness the Apache, your own people, attack the town of Worland.” General Barclay walks closer, and they circle the prisoner. “Using stolen Gatling guns, they will surround the city, and open fire. No one will survive. Not one women, child or man. One Indian is captured and interrogated, and he confesses to murdering an entire town.”
“Worland is home to about three hundred and fifty, civilians, General,” Blood Eagle shouts! “You can’t just…”
“I’m not doing anything, Blood Eagle, you are.” He laughs at the look of understanding that crosses Blood Eagle’s face. “You are leading your people in an assault on the town. It’s a growing town, but they will not be prepared for the attack.”
“You would kill that many of your own kind for money?” Blood Eagle hisses in disgust.
“Have you not done the same thing? You and I belong to the same part of Hell.”
Ben listens with growing horror. This is not what he signed up for!
“Even our own Senators understood that we are at war with all of the tribes. This next massacre will prove that sometimes hard choices must be made. We can be part of bringing security to the mass of people moving into the West and get rich doing it.” Barclay whirls around disgusted. “String him up on the tree by the mess hall. I want everyone to see what happens to traitors.”
Blood Eagle is seized and dragged through the dirt into the center of the fort. He blacks out on the way and wakes up hanging from his wrists from a large tree. “I’m slightly disappointed in you, Blood Eagle. I’d hoped for an amazing display of your talents. Legends have been told about how you slaughtered twenty-three Indians all with a knife.”
“Twenty-six, and it was a tomahawk, not a knife,” Blood Eagle spits blood and dirt from his mouth as the General stomps forward.
“Today the legend of Blood Eagle comes to a sad end. It is a gift to go out in a blaze of glory like this. You will be remembered for the massacre of an entire town of peaceful civilians. Don’t worry, you will have a front row seat, as I slaughter them all.” General Barclay shouts orders for two guards to be placed on guard duty at all time.
“Don’t take your eyes off him,” he snaps and walks back to his cabin.
Blood Eagle dangles and ignores the taunts and laughter of the men who watch over him. It is true that he could fight back, but at that moment, he isn’t sure that he deserves to live. He sees his own crimes reflected in the madness of the General. Who is he to judge? Shame has his head dropping to his chest, and his hair shields his face from the soldiers guarding him.
Ben walks up to the soldiers sitting around a large campfire and offers to relieve one of them. “I always wanted to see a savage up close,” he says and walks over to look at Blood Eagle.
“Ain’t much to see,” the second soldier replies. “Not much of a Blood Eagle, he looks more like a sitting duck to me.”
The group laughs at his joke while Ben glances around to see if anyone is looking and reaches out and pushes Blood Eagle causing his to swing.
“Is he dead?”
“Not yet. The General wants him alive.”
Ben pulls out his sheath knife and grins at his companion. “But he didn’t say nothing about missing parts,” he suggests.
“Nope, he sure didn’t,” he draws his own knife stepping towards the hanging Indian. Ben strikes him from behind. He brings the handle of his pistol down on the back of the soldier’s head and backs up as he crumbles to the ground.
Eight men step from the darkness to aid Ben. “Are you sure about this, Ben?” One man asks. Two others grab the downed soldier to gag and tie him up.
“I didn’t agree to murder over three hundred people,” Ben hisses. “Women and children, for God’s sake! I’m here for the oil and money.” Ben glances around with fear and cuts Blood Eagle free. He falls to the ground and groans in agony. “Get up,” Ben insists, “you’ve got to go now!”
A shrill howl pierced through the dark night and Blood Eagle lifts his head. Blood war paint stripes over one side of his swollen face. He grins a feral smile with blood stained teeth, and Ben lifts him to his feet with an arm around his waist.
Strength returns flooding his body with a tinge of excitement. The second howl is louder and echoes with the call of the wild. “Thank you, Ben. Take your friends. You don’t want to be here for this. Take my horse and wait for me at the ridge.”
Ben doesn’t have to be told twice. They run to the barn and mount up, quickly leaving.
Blood Eagle draws in a breath, and the third howl floods his body with strength and energy. Rage rips through his soul as he looks around. He marches over to the trussed-up soldiers and searches for his weapons. On the ground near them, he finds his tomahawk. Lifting it, he tests the weight and grabs a gun.
Once he’d have enjoyed what is to come, but no more. They will be given a chance to join their friends or stay and die. Picking up the pistol he shoots It into the air a few times and tosses it on the ground.
Men run towards the sound and find one of the soldiers hanging in the place where the Indian once dangled. “Sound the alarm! He’s escaped!” Barclay shouts!
Soon the sound of the horn fills the night air. They cut down the soldier and leave him on the ground. Barclay frowns in annoyance counting the soldiers that are around him. Only ten! “Where the hell is everyone?”
“Sir! Look!” The kerosene lanterns that illuminate the cabins start snuffing out, one, by one. “Spread out! He’s injured and alone, don’t let him escape!” Drawing his own pistol, he scans the area and his eyes land on the train.
Blood Eagle is not someone to trifle with. It’s time to make a hasty retreat, he thinks. Movement between the cabins, catches his eyes and Barclay, shouts, “There! Get him! Twenty gold coins to whoever takes him down!”
Laughter erupts, and they whoop as they take up the chase. “Stay here and keep the fire going,” he points to the wounded soldier, sitting on the ground. “I’m going to check the train.”
Barclay runs towards the train, knowing that the engineer will be sleeping on it, tending the boiler with one other man. They take turns stoking the fire inside the beast of an engine. It makes the work in the morning of starting the engine much quicker. He runs to the engine.
A pair of red eyes watch from the edge of the trees. A low growl ripples in the massive chest of the beast. He moves silently, watching and waiting for the moment to strike.
Blood Eagle is sitting inside the Generals cabin tucking the small notebook into his pocket when he hears a sound behind him. Before he turns, he lifts the kerosene lantern, causing the shadows to change showing him three men, with pistols pointing at him.
“We’ve got you! Put your hands up and no one has to die,” one of the soldiers says. Blood Eagle turns to face them, and he realizes how young they are.
“We should talk before you act rashly.”
“Shut up! The General wants you! So, walk!” one orders gesturing to the door.
“Ok, Ok, but listen first,” he waves the Generals note book. “Did you know he’s been skimming seventy percent of the profits the oil you all bust your backs drilling and refining?”
“That’s the Generals!” one of the men snaps.
“Yep and it’s all
in here, in his own words how he has been setting up my People and stealing from you and the Government.”
“Why should we take your word,” the sound of the train being started has one of them running to the window.
“What’s he doing?” one of them shouts.
“What he always does, he’s running,” Blood Eagle hisses. “Time’s up boys choose now! Stay with me and work the refinery or join him and die?” He tosses them the book and hurries to the door.
Barclay is shouting at the Engineer to get the train going when a soldier run towards him. “General? What are you doing?”
“You’re just in time, get up here and shovel,” he orders ignoring their question.
“Yes, sir.” They begin shoveling, relieving the engineer who sits down mopping the sweat off his neck. “Hurry, now. We’re almost out of time.”
A few minutes later, the engine is hot, and he watches the darkness for any sign of the Indian. “It’s ready, General, where are we going?” the Engineer asks.
The bullet strikes him in the forehead, sending him flying backward into the wall of the compartment. Before he can turn the soldier is shot in the back of the head.
“We aren’t going anywhere.” He drags their bodies over and tosses them one at a time, from the train. “I am!”
Five soldiers are waiting for Blood Eagle the moment he steps from the cabin, a wolfs howl echoes through the roads between the buildings, causing everyone to jump in surprise. The train hisses as it releases steam and starts to move. The confusion gives him the opportunity he needs. Blood Eagle, leaps for the first soldier, swinging his leg low, he takes out his knee, dropping him and spinning on the second, with a kick to the stomach. He crumples to his knees falling over, and Blood Eagle lifts his tomahawk to deal a death blow when one of the soldiers from the cabin bursts through the door shouting.
“Stop!” He waves the Generals book and shouts, “We’ve been cheated!”
Nobody moves for a second. “Where did you get that?”
“The General left it behind when he ran like a coward,” he tosses the book to the nearest soldier. Blood Eagle steps back from the men and hopes for their sake that they are ready to listen.