by Win Blevins
“When I got to the bone, I kept right on cutting. After a while I handed them the piece of finger. They were right surprised.
“The buck asked kind of gruff if I could take my entire self apart like that for them, bit by bit. I smiled my ogre smile and told them I could. We just had firelight, so this child judged he could get away with it. Had the white wig with the scalp plug on. Ran my knife light around the plug and popped it right off and waved it for them to see.”
Just then Jim walked back into camp. Pine Leaf and Yellow Foot both sat up suddenly. “No one,” Jim squealed, squinching his nose. “Absolutely no one on our trail,” he added. “We is home free. To the west.” He pointed.
Pine Leaf lay back down and closed her eyes.
“So what big story was you spinning out?” Jim said to Hairy.
“I was telling the lad how I used my magical powers to become a chief among the Blackfeet,” Shakespeare said.
“Wagh!” Jim shook his head. “Go right ahead. And tell us all how come you let us fret a whole day without letting us know you was close by with troops.”
“Wagh!” exclaimed Shakespeare, like a whale spouting, “this child’s feelings was hurt. My friends showed up half a thousand miles from home. I was going to introduce ’em to my new compadres and give ’em a dog feast. Then it turns out my friends never cared nothing to come after me. They was chasing some little gal. Didn’t even think about their partner Shakespeare.”
“If the Blackfeet are maybeso such good friends,” said Pine Leaf with her eyes closed, “how come you don’t stay with them?”
“Well,” said Shakespeare, “I’m afeared to teach ’em mesmerism, and I’ve had so much fun teaching ’em three-card monte my welcome’s getting thin.”
He poked a thumb inside his shirt and brought out a grizzly-claw necklace, a really big one, with the claws separated by those fancy blue beads the Russians traded. And smiled his ogre smile at Silk.
“Wagh!” said Silk Jones. It sounded more like a squeak than a roar.
They stood beside their horses atop Marias Pass. They’d seen no sign of anyone on their trail all day.
“We can cross back to the east side in four sleeps,” Jim Beckwourth said.
“Or we can go dally among the Flatheads or the Nez Perce,” Shakespeare said. “Fine Injuns. Fine Injuns.”
“Or we can go to Californy,” put in Silk.
“I thought you were going to do big battle for me,” Pine Leaf said.
“Well,” said Silk, “I’ll leave that to Antelope Jim.”
“Sure am glad to see you, partner,” Hairy said again.
Silk looked at him. “I come five hundred miles to get a fair maiden for my castle,” Silk teased, “and what do I rescue instead? A fat, old man with a talent for mischief.”
“One of many talents this child has,” Shakespeare said amiably.
“Do me one favor, will you, Hairy?” Silk went on. “Don’t get killed anymore? Please? Fake or real?”
“Ah, lad, don’t you know?” said Hairy with an expansive smile. “Shakespeare’s immortal.” He reached over and bear-hugged Silk with one arm. “Immortal,” he said softly in Silk’s ear.
Acknowledgments
My son Adam, by word and deed, inspired lots of this novel. His spirit seems to me, genie-like, to live in every page. To him my thanks and my love. Thanks also to my friend Murphy Fox, who answered many questions about Indian customs and Montana topography.
About the Author
Win Blevins is the author of thirty-one books. He has received the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Contributions to Western Literature, has twice been named Writer of the Year by Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers, has been selected for the Western Writers Hall of Fame, and has won two Spur Awards for Novel of the West. His novel about Crazy Horse, Stone Song, was a candidate for the Pulitzer Prize.
A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Blevins is of Cherokee and Welsh Irish descent. He received a master’s degree from Columbia University and attended the music conservatory of the University of Southern California. He started his writing career as a music and drama reviewer for the Los Angeles Times and then became the entertainment editor and principal theater and movie critic for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. His first book was published in 1973, and since then he has made a living as a freelance writer, publishing essays, articles, and reviews. From 2010 to 2012, Blevins served as Gaylord Family Visiting Professor of Professional Writing at the University of Oklahoma.
Blevins has five children and a growing number of grandchildren. He lives with his wife, the novelist Meredith Blevins, among the Navajos in San Juan County, Utah. He has been a river runner and has climbed mountains on three continents. His greatest loves are his family, music, and the untamed places of the West.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by Winfred Blevins
Cover design by Mimi Bark
978-1-4976-4984-2
This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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New York, NY 10014
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