Forever Ecstasy

by Janelle Taylor

  Joe finished his report by telling Jim about his visit to the Columbia Fur post with Harvey Meade. On gut instinct, he decided to keep Harvey’s confidence about Simon and Zeke, as he’d already told Jim about his “souvenir” talk with Simon. “That report to Stede and Tom has a few questions I need answers to. After I spend a few weeks with the Crow and Dakotas, I’ll be back for them. Get your man to wait for their replies. I’d like to know more about the Pre-Emption Homestead Law and who’s buying up land. That issue can make for trouble and provide clues. I’ll be playing the white trader for a while. I might luck out on an Indian who drops clues about Snake-Man or Zeke. So what have you learned so far?”

  “To be honest with you, Joe, I haven’t done much investigating. I was afraid I’d endanger you if the wrong person discovered I was nosing around. We don’t actually have a formal case yet, just suspicions and rumors. If we can just get some proof documented, I’ll open one, secret, of course. Then you’ll be protected from any recriminating charges. Until this is official, our necks are stretched out for chopping off. Frankly, I need a letter of authorization from Tom, and from the President on behalf of Mr. Gaston. I’ll request them when I send this over. I like my rank, Joe, and I don’t want to risk losing it and my hide if you’re on your own.”

  “I understand, Jim. Get the papers you need. No problem.”

  “You realize that once you and I are connected, your cover is destroyed. That could be today. That beautiful girl outside won’t go unnoticed. It wasn’t smart to bring her along. She’ll draw attention to your visit.”

  “Sorry, Jim, but I couldn’t leave her alone out there. I figured she’d pass for a squaw. Plenty of men have them.”

  “But not men who keep visiting my office regularly.”

  “How else can I report information?”

  “There’s a hollow tree about two miles from here. From now on, I think we should leave our messages there. I’ll draw you a map. That’s where I’ll put the answer to this,” he said, tapping the missive to Fort Laramie, “when it arrives.” He sketched a map and explained it.

  “You’re right, Jim. We have to be careful from here on. Zeke is no doubt searching for me. He’s probably reported to his boss by now. We could be in big trouble if they come after us.”

  “You already are in big trouble, Joe. I haven’t told you what’s been happening while you were out of touch. It’s bad, for you and your Indians. For one thing, Zeke Randall has accused you of the murder of Clement Harris, made formal charges. He turned in evidence— a scrap of your shirt— and listed witnesses against you, and he demanded I use a patrol to hunt you down for arrest and trial. Then, there was a payroll theft by Red Heart warriors last Wednesday. The entire unit was wiped out.” Jim took two items from his drawer as he talked and placed them on the desk between him and Joe. “From what my best scout tells me, these possessions belong to Knife-Slayer and Night Stalker. Know them? The last one is the brother of the girl outside, right? The Red Heart chiefs son?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Joe’s mind whirled. Jim hadn’t done anything to help him this time. The officer alluded to the storm ahead of recriminating charges, murder, evidence, witnesses! During their May meeting, Jim hadn’t mentioned the 1841 Pre-Emption Law, needing letters of authorization, or Simon and Harvey. Jim had said only that Bernard Pratte and Orin McMichael were good men and doubtful suspects. Joe worried over why Jim had waited until after receiving a full report before putting him in a vulnerable position.

  Joe couldn’t allow this important task to blow up in his face. He had known such a mission would be perilous, but he had expected more help than he was receiving. He recalled Morning Star telling him that Payaba’s sacred vision prophesied both whites and Indians would work against him. Joe didn’t want to believe that James Thomas, Fitzpatrick’s friend, also a man who knew their every move, was his nemesis. He couldn’t help but glance at the captain’s long sleeves as he thought furiously.

  The evidence against his Morning Star’s brother and her people was mounting. He must decide if Jim was trying only to protect himself from problems over this explosive matter and protect the mission or if the officer had other motives…

  Joe prayed that Morning Star hadn’t overheard the two shocking charges. “Zeke Randall has the gall to accuse me of crimes!” he scoffed. “He’s the one hauling illegal goods to the Indians. He’s the one who captured an innocent girl and planned to have her abused by his evil boss. Can you imagine what Sun Cloud and his band, and probably all his allies, would have done if anything like that had happened to his daughter? If nothing more than preventing their retaliation, it justifies Clem’s death. But I told you, we didn’t kill him. Zeke did because he was becoming too much trouble. By now the vultures haven’t left me any proof.”

  “Don’t get heated up, Joe. Of course I didn’t believe him. I didn’t even make out a report and haven’t investigated his so-called evidence. Frankly, I’m baffled by why he came to see me about it. If he’s working for Snake-Man, it seems as if he’d want to avoid drawing attention to himself and his boss. And I doubt Zeke would take such a step without asking his boss first. He said he’d be checking back with me soon, so I’ll have to tell him something. If I refuse to act on his accusation, he’ll get suspicious of me, too. Once he thinks the Army’s involved, he’ll alert his boss and they’ll probably halt their crimes for a while.”

  Jim locked his gaze with Joe’s. “But if you don’t come around again, I’ll have a reason to not pursue you. I could say I’ve checked and that you’re gone. That’s why I suggested exchanging information through that hollow tree, and why I’m dismayed about having you here today. I have to cover myself, Joe. Whatever happens with this matter can either get me promoted or court-martialed. It can get you hanged, if you can’t prove you’re acting under legal orders. You’ve killed several men without evidence to back those slayings. You’re riding with Sun Cloud’s daughter and working for the Oglalas, the very Indians incriminated in so many foul deeds. This can get out of hand fast if we aren’t more careful.”

  Joe realized the officer was making valid points. “I do have the authority to work on this mission, Jim— from Tom, Stede, and from the President himself.”

  “Authority to kill suspects? By your own admission, you entered camps and attacked men without proof in your favor.”

  “They’re guilty!”

  “You know it, and I believe you, but what about the law if their friends push for justification? What if this Snake-Man is rich and powerful? What if Zeke and his boys aren’t working for him? Zeke said he was hauling weapons and supplies to trappers and customers in Powder River country. He has receipts to back those sales. Can you prove he did otherwise?”

  “He met with a Crow party. Morning Star overheard him say he was carrying them guns and whiskey.”

  “Did you actually see the goods exchange hands? No. It’s your word against theirs. You’re the blood brother of the infamous Sun Cloud, son of the infamous Gray Eagle. You’re traveling with the chief’s beautiful daughter. Your best friend was Sun Cloud’s cousin, whose death you want to avenge. The Indian girl as a witness, Joe? She’s from the same band accused of most of the attacks.”

  Joe grasped the full seriousness of Jim’s words.

  The officer continued. “You could be asking men who think they have good reasons to hate Indians, particularly the Red Hearts, to judge you innocent of slaying white men while aiding and befriending their enemies. You know how Zeke is either feared or revered. Would you want a jury of those men to decide your fate? If I allow you to carry on without approval and at least a few shreds of proof that you’re riding in the right direction, I’m in trouble.”

  “If I get Snake-Man and Zeke, neither of us will have to worry.”

  “If, Joe, that’s the hazardous word.”

  “After you receive word from Tom and President Fillmore, will we be safe from backlash?”

  “Yes. If you remain within th
e law,” Jim amended. “Nobody can break it, Joe, for any reason.”

  Joe nodded his understanding. “What’s this about a payroll theft by Red Hearts?”

  “A unit was coming from Fort Laramie with it. Fifty miles south of what’s called the Badlands, the unit was attacked, robbed and slaughtered. There was one survivor. He exposed the Red Hearts.”

  Joe remembered that Jim had said the entire unit had been killed. At full attention he asked, “When?”

  “Last Wednesday. The wounded man got here yesterday. Isn’t the Red Heart band camped on Sunday in or near the Badlands, hunting buffalo?”

  “Yes, but they’re not responsible for the slaughter. Sun Cloud promised no attacks, only self-defense. I trust him. You would, too, if you knew him. What made this soldier think it was Red Hearts?”

  “The matching symbols on their chests. You probably haven’t seen them prepared for a raid. They paint a red shape like a human heart on their upper left shoulders to show unity or to boast of who they are.”

  “Can I question him? Or can you do it for me?”

  “As I said, they’re all dead. Dawes, the soldier who made it here, died last night. It took him four grueling days to get here. He might have survived if he’d made it sooner. He lost too much blood along the way. He lived long enough to give a detailed account of the raid and to hand me those items. I had to file a report, Joe. It was a military defeat and other soldiers heard it.”

  Joe motioned to the headband and necklace. “How did he get those?”

  Jim lifted the knife charm and explained. “This was torn off an attacker’s neck while he was killing a soldier. Dawes pulled the headband off his killer during their struggle. He was left for dead. When he came to, he and the others were missing small scalp locks. I guess you know by now,” he interrupted his answer to say, “Indians don’t cut off the whole head of hair; they just carve out a button size piece to use for decoration. Anyway, Dawes still had Night Stalker’s headband when he awoke. He noticed that wanapin, as those charms are called, and figured it could help identify the warriors responsible. I don’t have to tell you how bad this looks for Sun Cloud’s band. That dying soldier had no reason to lie or to aid Snake-Man’s plot.”

  Joe glanced at the talisman, so like one he’d seen on a thong around Knife-Slayer’s neck. He fingered the headband with a brown stick figure holding a bow in one hand and a knife in the other on a black background of artistic beadwork, also so like one he’d seen on his love’s brother. “This leaky boat has bailers, Jim; it isn’t holding the poisoned water Snake-Man tossed in to sink it. Those two warriors wouldn’t be so careless, and they’d never leave behind something so valuable to them; wanapins are sacred objects. The band wasn’t under attack from a rescue party and didn’t have to get away fast, so they had time to recover them. It’s part of the frame.”

  “Let me take these along,” Joe suggested. “Maybe the Indians can tell me who made them. From what I’ve learned, they each have their own colors and patterns and use certain specific kinds of beads.”

  “I can’t give you the evidence, Joe.”

  “Just let me borrow them. I’ll return them in that hollow tree soon. I need to see if the Red Hearts recognize these imitations— and they need to see how cleverly they’re being framed, in addition. This way they’ll understand what we’re up against, let them know why the Army has reason to doubt them.”

  Jim mused a moment. “All right, but make it quick,” he agreed.

  “I can assure you the Red Hearts aren’t involved, and I’ll prove it.”

  “I hope so, Joe. I agree that so-called evidence was left there on purpose to make them look guilty. But what if it was other Indians, another Lakota band? Not many white men can pass for Indians. Getting that many who can fool a soldier is doubtful. Timing proves it wasn’t Zeke or George.”

  “Maybe they were Crow; they’re siding with Snake-Man. After we leave, we’re checking some Crow camps and we’ll visit Sun Cloud. If the Red Hearts were involved this time, I’ll be honest with you.”

  “What about her?” Jim asked, motioning toward the closed door.

  “Whoever is to blame, we’ll report it. She wants peace, too. If her brother and other warriors secretly attacked soldiers, she won’t agree with those actions and she’ll make sure they’re punished.”

  Jim watched him. “Sounds like you trust her completely.”

  Joe strained to keep his real feelings from showing. “I’ve gotten to know her well, Jim, so I do. She’s taught me all she could, and she hasn’t led me on any wild chases. What about this Corporal George Whatever?” Joe ventured, wanting to change the subject. “If he’s from Fort Laramie, maybe he knew about the payroll. Maybe he was over here to report it to his boss. The timing is perfect for his treachery. We need to learn who he is.”

  “I’ll handle that when I send this report to Tom. Check the tree in a few weeks. I know Simon Adams is from New Orleans. I plan to send a trusted man downriver on the next boat to do some checking on him.”

  “New Orleans?” Joe echoed, and Jim nodded. “We might have answers sooner than that. Stede Gaston lives in New Orleans. He might know something about him. If he does, he’ll put it in his response to my questions. I strongly implied Adams is our man.”

  Jim leaned back in his chair and kept his gaze on Joe. “You told me everything you’ve learned about him, didn’t you?”

  “One point I didn’t stress to you is his feelings about women.” Joe went over Simon’s words again, then related what Clem had said concerning Morning Star’s fate at the hands of their boss. “Those two patterns match, Jim. See if you can find out if he keeps Indian girls around and how they’re treated.”

  Jim stroked his smooth face. “That’ll be tricky, but I’ll try.”

  Joe glanced at the missive to Tanner’s father that revealed all the facts and clues he had gathered. It listed questions about Simon, George, and land buys. In a few weeks, he would have more pieces to this puzzle, hopefully enough to begin solving it. Then, he would be going home soon. That thought reminded Joe to ask Jim to mail a letter to Joseph and Annabelle Lawrence in Virginia.

  “That’s all for now, Jim. Thanks,” he said as he concealed the borrowed items.

  “Ride carefully, Joe,” the officer said, then walked him outside.

  Both men looked at Morning Star, whose expression was impassive. Jim nodded to her, and Joe joined her. The captain watched as the couple mounted and headed for the gate, then he returned to his desk.

  “Hide fast!” Morning Star warned, pulling her mount’s reins to the right. She walked Hanmani around a stable, Joe and the packhorse behind her.

  When they were out of sight, she explained her behavior. “I look out big door. See Zeke coming. He not have time to see us.”

  They hid until Zeke and Farley halted their wagon at the sutler’s store and went inside, then at a pace that wouldn’t attract unwanted attention, they left the fort at the mouth of the White River and rode north. Within a mile, they had to conceal themselves again when they spotted the suspicious scout named George heading for Fort Tabor.

  “That’s strange. Zeke and George arriving at the same time,” Joe observed. “As soon as that snake learned we’d been in Pierre, he headed straight here; probably came to see if we’re reporting to the Army. Then, that dubious scout shows up flying in his tailwind. Could be they’re in this area to collect that stolen payroll from those hired renegades. Damn. This eliminates Orin McMichael as our villain; Snake-Man is too smart to be connected so easily to his hirelings.”

  Morning Star asked Joe to explain the words she did not understand, then advised, “Too soon to e-lim-min-nate Orin. He give me bad feelings.”

  Joe knew why the man’s undisguised lust made her uneasy, but he took her suggestion to heart. “We can’t go back; it’s too dangerous. And if we hang around to spy on them, it’d be our luck they’d stay for days or leave by boat.” Joe didn’t tell her that if he were alone, he�
��d do just that. Knowing the open range they would have to cover while trailing those bastards, she would be in too much danger of exposure and capture. Besides, those men might do nothing more than visit, then leave and he’d have wasted days, energy, and supplies. He was eager to get moving to find hard evidence. “I’ll have to depend on Jim to observe them. At least he’ll finally get to meet that baffling scout. Let’s put some miles between us and this place. I’ll tell you everything when we camp tonight.”

  They camped before darkness would cover the land, choosing a shady grove on a calm river.

  Joe noticed how silent Morning Star had been along their journey; yet, he hadn’t talked much, either. He was deciding if he should tell her everything and, if so, how. If she didn’t know about the homesteading law, it was best not to mention it this soon. Her people felt that the Great Spirit owned the land and it was created for their use. To reveal that his government believed they owned her territory and was selling off parcels would only anger and distress her.

  Only their chores drew forth words. Soon, a fire and hot meal were underway.

  As they ate, Joe asked, “Did you have any problems at the fort?”

  “No. I watch soldiers, but they no come near me.”

  “Did you overhear anything we said?”

  “No. I stay with horses. I did not want men to think I listen. I know you tell me all when we camp.”

  Suppressing a pang of guilt, Joe began his revelations. He explained about Jim’s worries and precautions and related he had told the officer everything they had done and discovered. He knew his tone altered when he talked of Jim’s not knowing George and of the captain’s speculations. He saw concern fill her brown eyes when he exposed his and Jim’s peril if they didn’t get written approval for their actions and eventual proof to back them up. He realized she was as shocked and confused by Zeke’s murder charge as he had been.

  “You warned me of danger in killing men we chase. I not want you hurt for helping my people.”