Across the Sweet Grass Hills

by Gail L. Jenner

  “If you’ve got a problem you take it up with me,” he said coldly. He threw the pot down and Schluter scrambled to retrieve it.

  Liza bit her lip. “Uh, well, I wasn’t sure where—”

  He took several steps toward her.

  “Uh—where I—we should put our things,” she finished lamely.

  Cole reached out and grabbed one of Liza’s braids in his big, square hand. He tugged on it and she stumbled toward him. He laughed wickedly.

  “These are better than reins,” he snorted, swinging his gaze over to Schluter. “Get the gear on that white mule. And take the girl with you.”

  Liza’s hands shook and she fought to keep from calling out as Schluter half-dragged, half-pushed Bull Child into the trees. The little girl’s moon face was filled with terror.

  “She’s mute,” said Liza softly.

  Cole’s next statement brought Liza back to the moment.

  “I don’t countenance anyone’s defiance,” snapped the lieutenant. “Ask Schluter. He’ll tell you.”

  She straightened her shoulders, resisting him as he yanked on her other braid, this time jerking her to her feet. As he pulled her close, he slid his hands from her braids to her shoulders. “I don’t tolerate any sort of disrespect,” he added. His breath was foul and she closed her eyes to shield herself from his leering eyes.

  “You know,” he said, tracing one finger along her chin, “I could have you one way or the other. We both know that. I could force you, which wouldn’t be half-bad. Or I could coax you. And I’m sure you wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to that papoose of yours.” He leaned closer to her ear. “I wouldn’t mind having a piece of her, either.”

  Liza’s heart skipped a beat, but she held herself stiffly. And then she remembered the massacre. She knew he had been there, one of those who enjoyed the killing and torturing.

  “Anyway,” he said, pulling back, “I guess I’ll let you decide how it’s going to be.” He rolled his tongue across his callused lips and shoved her away.

  But his words burned as Liza stumbled over to the trees and mounted the horse Private Schluter held. Bull Child reached for her, and Schluter quickly lifted her up to Liza. Her small legs were hardly visible as she huddled down inside the enormous buffalo robe Schluter threw up to them.

  Then Liza spied two scalps hanging from one of Lieutenant Cole’s packsaddles. One was blonde and one was a mousy brown…white men’s scalps.

  CHAPTER 34

  It was midday before Cole called a halt. Liza, her bladder so full she could barely sit up, slid off her horse. She started for a bush nearby.

  “Where do you think you’re headed?” snapped Cole.

  “Please,” was all she said.

  He leaned close to her and whispered, “Don’t forget, I have the child.”

  She didn’t respond. He knew full well she wouldn’t leave Bull Child.

  When she returned, she was surprised to see Schluter building a fire. Morosely quiet, he dropped a handful of branches across the gasping flames.

  Bull Child squatted nearby, her eyes as wide and face as pale as on the day Liza had rescued her.

  She dropped to the wet snow and moved close to the lit­tle girl. Wrapping her robe around her, she spoke softly. “Don’t worry,” she said in Blackfeet, “Red Eagle will come soon. I know it.”

  Bull Child looked up at her as if to be sure she had under­stood. Then she snuggled closer.

  Liza hadn’t realized Cole was near enough to hear her until she heard him chuckle. “A real Indian lover,” he said. He raised one eyebrow and squinted down at the two of them.

  She squeezed Bull Child’s fingers, as much to reassure herself as the child.

  “I figured as much,” he continued. “You look too Indian to be anything else. You know, the papoose looks like you. Makes me wonder if you might really be her ma?”

  Liza squared her jaw and narrowed her eyes. She wasn’t going to reveal her fear or back down, even if it meant letting him make false assumptions.

  “I thought so,” Cole said. Unexpectedly, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. She had to scramble to keep from falling.

  Bull Child reached for her other arm.

  “Tell her to let go,” growled Lieutenant Cole, his blue eyes raking her face, “or I’ll start with her.”

  Liza pleaded with Bull Child until the child reluctantly let go. At the same time, Cole’s hard fingers tightened around her arm and he led her away from the camp.

  “Don’t let the child out of your sight!” he hollered back to Schluter. “And don’t come bothering me, you hear?”

  Liza couldn’t see his face, but she heard Henry Schluter mumble a reply. Dear God, she wanted to scream! Wouldn’t he help her? What kind of man was he?

  There was a small, narrow gully half hidden by an out­cropping of rocks a short distance from camp. Looking around, Cole grunted and led her to the edge where he pushed her ahead, his eyes reflecting bitter desire. Liza slid down the embankment, then slipped on the icy slope. She landed on her back, but instantly rolled over and got to her knees. She tried to jump to her feet.

  Before she could regain her footing, Cole had one hand wrapped around her wrist. “I already gave you the odds,” he said. “I figure you’re smarter than to try anything stupid. Who knows? You might like it better than you think.”

  Liza struggled to keep still. Her heart pounded like a drum in her head and her stomach rolled as she saw the deter­mination in his eyes. “You’ll have to drive that blade through me first,” she heard herself saying. Her voice sounded oddly calm.

  Shoving her forward into the snow, Cole kicked her in the back of her legs and she dropped. He slid one boot along her backside, laughing as she tried to push it away. “Turn over. I want to watch you—”

  “You’re an animal!” she cried, but Cole only laughed harder as he reached down and flipped her over. His hands were like vises, and she realized he was even stronger than she’d imagined.

  His steady, cold gaze terrified her, and suddenly she felt her body shrink as he tilted his head. His tongue slid over his lips slowly, deliberately. He raised his eyebrows as the fingers of his left hand curled around her throat.

  She closed her eyes.

  Then he was on her. His heavy body pinned her to the snow and his weight was unbearable. She gasped and twisted under him, grappling to get her arms free. As he pushed his hands down to the edges of her tunic, she screamed. This made him laugh again, a blood curdling howl.

  If only she could get one hand down to her moccasin.

  She still had Bull Child’s knife.

  Under his terrible weight, she fought to breathe. All the while, her stomach rebelled at the stale, putrid smell of his open mouth and filthy body.

  But time stood still as she lay there, pinned, and it wasn’t until she felt Cole harden against her and push her knees apart that she managed to free her fists, drawing them up to his chest. “No! Get off!”

  “You can’t win,” he chuckled in her ear, his tongue touching her earlobe. One hand slid across her belly, the other against her breast. “But go ahead. I like a good cat fight.”

  Liza cried out again. He was hurting her now, his fingers squeezing the soft flesh of her bosom. But as he tried to thrust his hand under her tunic, she brought her knees together with a jerk.

  Stunned, he roared in pain and she was able to move at last, but the slick snow kept her from getting away.

  It was then she heard a man’s voice. “Get off her.”

  “Help!” she screamed.

  Instantly, Cole covered her mouth with his left hand, his enraged expression sending a wave of fear through her. “What the —?” he snarled.

  It was Schluter. “Get off her.”

  Liza strained to see him but he was behind her. When Cole leaned forward she caught a glimpse of the trooper.

  He stood on the edge of the gully, looking down. His dark hair had fallen across his narrow face. His gaze was cold
and hard, and he held a rifle. “I said, get off her.”

  “Didn’t I tell you to keep away?” snapped Cole, his fin­gers encircling her throat once more. “I ain’t done with her yet.”

  Schluter, extending his rifle, shook his head. “You get off her, Lieutenant. I cain’t stomach no more. It’s been eatin’ me an’ eatin’ me. You shouldn’t have kilt Edelstein n’ Potter. They was good ’nough men. An’ you ain’t gonna hurt her.”

  Cole frowned as he looked away, but his movements were swift and sure. Releasing her suddenly, he pulled out his knife and it sailed through the air before Schluter or Liza real­ized what had happened.

  The private instantly fell, the blade lodged in his thigh. Blood rushed down his faded blue pants and across the snow.

  “You bas—” he moaned. “You kilt Edelstein and now, I’m gonna kill you—” Crying out with pain, he jerked the knife out of his leg.

  Cole scrambled over Liza, hoping to grab Schluter’s gun before he did. Liza got to her knees. She grabbed for Bull Child’s knife just as she heard the sound of a rifle being cocked.

  She turned, the small knife in her hand.

  With eyes blazing, Bull Child was standing at the top of the ravine, Schluter’s long gun in her hands. Shaking, almost unable to hold the gun still, she stared down at Cole.

  “I will kill you,” she said in Blackfeet.

  Liza’s voice cracked as she circled Cole. “Bull Child,” she whispered. “Let me have the gun.” She reached the child’s side and placed her left hand around the barrel of the rifle.

  But Bull Child shook her head defiantly. Her lips quiv­ered as tears ran down her cheeks. She raised the gun.

  Lieutenant Cole laughed. He seemed to enjoy this new twist. Chest heaving, he glared at the small Indian girl. “You’re going to pay for this,” he said, taking a cautious step forward.

  “Don’t try it,” whispered Liza, raising her blade.

  ****

  The sound of an approaching horse startled Liza. Turning, she spotted a man on a pale yellow horse. “Red Eagle?”

  Cole turned at the sound of the name, his blue eyes bright with rage. Jumping forward, he knocked the gun out of Bull Child’s hands. But before he could retrieve it, Liza rushed at him, driving the knife into his side.

  He screamed as he fell back, and in the next instant, Red Eagle was off his horse and lunging for him. The two men rolled down the slope, a trail of blood following them to the bottom of the ravine.

  Liza’s heart pounded mercilessly, her eyes never leaving Red Eagle. The two men began to grapple over Red Eagle’s knife, which he drew while struggling out of Cole’s grasp.

  “I should have finished you when I had the chance,” Cole growled to Red Eagle, getting back to his feet. “I should have killed you the first time I saw you.” He staggered as blood con­tinued to run down his leg.

  “Yes, you should have,” returned Red Eagle coldly, his hard gaze never leaving Cole’s face.

  Tears sprang to Liza’s eyes. She could hardly believe Red Eagle had found them.

  “The gun!” Schluter hollered as he got to his feet.

  Liza spun around to grab it, but Schluter took it from her. “He’s mine,” he said, the look of pain on his face replaced by a look of hatred.

  She nodded and stepped back, pulling Bull Child to her.

  “Now, I’m gonna finish what you started,” whispered Schluter, sliding down the snowy bank. He pointed the gun at Cole. “Step aside, Injun,” he said to Red Eagle. “I got no call to fire on you.”

  Red Eagle did not move; circling Cole, he kept his knife poised. “The lieutenant is mine,” he snapped back.

  “Not this time,” Schluter said, and taking aim, he fired.

  Cole, stunned that he’d been shot, fell backward. His eyes had remained pinned on Red Eagle, but as blood flowed from his belly, he turned to Schluter. “Damn you,” he said, then col­lapsed in a heap.

  Red Eagle drew back as Schluter limped over to where Cole lay. The trooper leaned over the lieutenant’s body. “He weren’t no good. I just wish’t I had kill’t him sooner.”

  Liza was crying as she stumbled toward Red Eagle. Too numb to speak, she felt his arms about her, drawing her close, the familiar smell like a heady perfume. She shook all over, her legs growing weak as he whispered her name. “Liza.”

  Her name was like silk on his lips. “Oh, Red Eagle.”

  His lips moved across her cheeks eagerly, tracing the trail of her tears until he found her mouth. He tasted like leather and the cold woods around them, and his heart pounded as loudly as her own.

  “How did you find us?” she whispered at last, pulling away slowly. She started to wipe away tears, but Red Eagle’s fin­gers were there first. The rough skin of his fingertips sent spasms through her belly. She laughed, her hands reaching out for him. “I knew you’d come,” she said. She pressed her face against his chest and breathed deeply, relaxing for the first time in months.

  His voice trembled as he slid one hand along her back and shoulders, and she tingled at his touch. “I would have never stopped searching,” he said, his words hardly audible. “I had to find you. You know that, Liza Five Shots?”

  She nodded at the sound of her name. “And I would have never stopped waiting,” she replied. She leaned back to look up at him, her words tumbling out. “All I could do was think about you, dream of you, pray for you. I should have told you before you left.”

  Hushing her with a touch of his fingers, Red Eagle said, “It was as it should be. But we will talk later.”

  Liza rushed on. “I even told Bull Child you would find us. Bull Child?”

  The girl was still standing on the edge of the ravine, her wide, dark eyes bright.

  “Come here,” Liza said, beckoning her gently. “This is Red Eagle, the man I told you about.” She glanced up, catching Red Eagle’s bemused expression.

  “You have learned the language well,” he said softly. Then he, too, spoke to Bull Child. “Do not be afraid.” He held his hand out.

  Bull Child, hesitating only for a moment, ran to Liza and Red Eagle. With her chin held high, she pointed to the dead lieutenant. “He—he was one of the yellow-dog s—soldiers who came to our village. I—I saw him. I saw his eyes,” she said. Then she spat in his direction. “I am glad he is d—dead.”

  Tears threatening anew, Liza dropped to one knee and pulled the child closer. She had never heard Bull Child’s voice until today. “So am I, little one, so am I. But everything will be all right now. Red Eagle is here and we can go home.”

  “Yes,” Red Eagle said. “We will go home, together.” He touched Liza’s cheek gently, smiling.

  Liza looked up at him, hungry to draw him close again, hungry to be alone with him. “Home is wherever you are,” she said. “Nothing except you, my father, and Bull Child matters.”

  Red Eagle pulled her to her feet. His eyes were clouded. “Liza.”

  She held her breath as she studied his rugged features. “What is it? Father? He’s dead, isn’t he? Dead—? Oh, Red Eagle—”

  He didn’t respond except to rub her shoulders. “We will travel across the Sweet Grass Hills, Liza. There we will start over. Your father wanted it for you. A new start. And I promised him.”

  Liza stilled the tears, then took a slow, deep breath. She had known, she realized now, someplace deep inside.

  Yes, for Father’s sake, she would think about what he had dreamed for her. She looked deep into Red Eagle’s eyes. Her life had become inextricably linked to his, and it was good.

  And across the Sweet Grass Hills was the place they would begin anew.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes,” she whispered. “And Bull Child will be our family.”

  Red Eagle nodded, then kissed her, fully, deeply, without reservation.

  ****

  “Damn, ain’t anybody gonna help me?”

  The sound of Henry Schluter’s voice startled them all. Leaning on one elbow, the trooper
was trying to sit up, but with his hands wrapped around his bloody leg, he couldn’t stay upright. “I’m bleedin’ like a stuck pig,” he whispered. “Can you help me?” He raised worried eyes to Liza. “I cain’t move the damn thing.”

  Liza rushed to his side, kneeling. She squeezed his shoulder. “Red Eagle is the best doctor I know.”

  “Well, I’d let Satan hisself cut on me if I thought he could save me,” groaned Schluter. “I don’t wanna die in this place. Please.”

  “The army shoots deserters, does it not?” Red Eagle asked as he joined Liza. “Maybe I shouldn’t waste my time.”

  Schluter moved nervously under his gaze, sweat lining his brow and lip.

  Without saying more, Red Eagle removed his knife and cut away the bloody fabric of Schluter’s pant. “The cut is not deep,” he said, glancing up at Liza.

  “Thank heaven,” mumbled Schluter. Then, looking from Liza to Red Eagle, he said, “I swear, I didn’t know what kinda bastard Cole was. If I’d a-known, I’d never have gone along. I ain’t a killer. A fool, mebbe, but no killer.”

  Red Eagle took a slow, deep breath and his eyes narrowed.

  Liza knew the question that burned in his heart.

  Schluter squirmed. “Please don’t kill me. I ain’t worth the pot you’d piss in.”

  Red Eagle glanced from Schluter to Liza then back to Schluter. “DeTrobriand can have you,” he said at last and with bitter finality.

  He wiped the bloody edge of his knife along Schluter’s leg. “If it would bring my people back, I would strip the hide off every dog-faced soldier from here to the Missouri. But nothing can return them to the land of their grandfathers, and nothing can heal the scars cut across this land. The army, the miners, the settlers, you are all thieves.” He spoke the last words softly.

  Then, as easily as he might lift a child, Red Eagle pulled Henry Schluter to his feet. He turned to Liza. “We have a long way to go.”

  “We’re ready,” returned Liza.

  Bull Child reached up and took Liza’s hand.

  Together, they started forward, ready to follow wherever Red Eagle led.

  REFERENCE BIBLIOGRAPHY