With Levi’s help, Cade managed to get up in the saddle, but got less than a hundred yards before realizing he couldn’t make it. In actuality, it was Levi who decided when he saw fresh blood seeping through the crusted hole in Cade’s shirt and him starting to list to one side. Levi caught him just before he fell off the horse. With a small hand ax that he carried on his belt, Levi was able to fashion a travois to carry the wounded man. It was a patchwork contraption held together with rope from Cade’s saddle and some vines from the trees. Loco didn’t like it at first, but with Cade’s calming voice to settle him down, the horse finally accepted the strange attachment. “It’ll be a heap longer goin’ up than the way I came down this mornin’,” Levi said. “With the horse and travois, we’ll have to wind around a lot before we get to my place, but it’s doable.”
The trip up the mountain seemed endless to the wounded man as the makeshift transport bumped along over roots and small stones, each jolt bringing a sharp pain shooting through his chest. The trail wound back and forth across the mountain with turns sometimes so steep that it was all Cade could do to keep from rolling off. Before he was halfway up, he began to wish that he had just told Levi to leave him to die by the river.
Chapter 6
Willow paused to listen, her bone-scraping tool held motionless over the elk hide she was working. Levi’s bay mare whinnied again, causing the Indian woman to look in her direction. She noted the horse’s ears flickering nervously as if another horse might be approaching the cabin. With no further hesitation, Willow dropped her scraper and hurried to get the rifle that was propped by the door. Taking the rifle, she positioned herself inside the cabin door and waited. In a few moments’ time, she was surprised to see Levi come riding up astride a mottled gray horse, pulling a travois.
It had been a long, rough ride up from the valley of the Gallatin. Cade’s chest felt as if it were being ripped apart as the travois poles bumped and jarred over the rocky trail that wound up the side of one mountain, across a narrow saddle to a second mountain, and around to the eastern side of that one—weaving through thick stands of pine and spruce and patches of juniper. Cade thought it would never end. Mercifully, he passed out before they finally arrived at Levi’s home.
For the second time in one day, Cade awakened to find a strange face bending over him. At first, he didn’t remember where he was, but the dark brown eyes that gazed down into his softened as he stared back, and the full lips parted to grace him with a warm smile. “He awake now,” the woman announced to her husband. “I am Willow,” she said to Cade. “You have bad wound, but you are strong. You will be well, but you must rest your body.”
Levi walked over to examine the patient. “You was out for a while, Cade, but I knew Willow could fix you up. She’s put me back together more’n a few times. The slug’s still in there, but Willow don’t think it hit your lungs or your heart. She thinks you got a broke rib or two, though. We’ll get you back on your feet again, but it’ll take a little time.” He didn’t mention that he had told Willow about finding him facedown in the river, and that he was convinced Cade was dead when he pulled him out. From the look of the patient when he finally got him to the cabin, Levi was halfway convinced that Cade had gone back to being dead.
“I’m much obliged to both of you,” Cade said. “I don’t know how I can repay you for what you’ve done.”
“Never you mind about that,” Levi said. “There’s game aplenty in these mountains, and we got room in the cabin, so you ain’t puttin’ us out none. You just get yourself healed up.” Still not quite sure it was the smart thing to do, bringing a stranger to recover in his mountain hideaway, Levi decided he might as well make Cade feel welcome. On the surface, Cade seemed to be a decent enough young man, although Levi couldn’t help but wonder what kind of mischief he was involved in that resulted in getting himself killed. All he knew at this point was that someone had bushwhacked Cade and his partner. As to why, Cade had not offered to explain.
The days that followed had a tendency to slide by in a daze of fitful patches of sleep and half consciousness that left Cade weak and at times disoriented. It seemed that every time he awakened, it was to see Willow’s eyes searching his. She assured him that he was getting better, but he was not convinced until the fourth day, when he felt like eating.
“I expect it’s time I tried to see if I can get up from this bed,” he told Willow as she changed the poultice she applied daily to his wound. She quickly took his arm to help him when he struggled to sit upright. He immediately leaned back against the log wall when the effort caused him to feel a little dizzy.
“Not strong yet,” Willow said. “Need food.” She left him, and returned in a few minutes with some dried meat. “Bear meat,” she said, holding it out to him. “Make you strong.”
“I kilt that bear last spring, no more’n fifty yards from the cabin,” Levi said, entering the cabin just then. “He was a big’un. Made a nice robe, too.”
After a short while, the feeling of dizziness left him, and he was able to eat the meat Willow offered. His ability to take food seemed to encourage both his hosts, and Willow nodded to Levi, smiling.
“Danged if I don’t believe you’re gonna make it,” Levi said. “I told you my woman would pull you through.” He cocked his head to one side to state, “It didn’t look too promisin’ there for a while, though.” He paused for a moment when his wife handed Cade a cup of coffee. “Hope you like the coffee . . . it’s your’un.” He paused again. “I found it in your saddlebags,” he confessed sheepishly. “Like I said, for a while there, it was less than even money whether you’d make it or not.”
Cade grinned. “You’re welcome to it. I already owe you and Willow more than I can repay.”
“We ain’t had no coffee for quite a spell, have we, Willow? I just about forgot how it tastes. Matter of fact, I reckon you’re the first white man I’ve seed since I built this cabin. Curiosity is my biggest weakness, I guess. It’s got me in trouble more times than not, but if it weren’t for curiosity, I’da never pulled you outta the river. Anyway, I had to take a look in your saddlebags when you looked like you was goin’ under.” That thought caused him to recall another. “That’s a mighty spooky horse you’re ridin’. I thought I was gonna have to shoot him before I could unsaddle him.”
Cade laughed. “Yeah, Loco’s a little particular about strangers.”
Feeling stronger by the minute, Cade sipped the hot coffee while he took a closer look at his benefactors, having been too sick before to care. “How long have you been up here in the mountains?” he asked, his curiosity aroused. “This high up, it must get pretty rough in the winter.”
“It does at that,” Levi answered. “I lost track. Maybe Willow knows better, but I reckon it’s been two or three years now.” He glanced at Willow for confirmation.
“Two winters,” she confirmed.
“Seems longer sometimes,” Levi uttered softly, “but it’s better’n livin’ down below.”
Cade looked around him then, observing for really the first time the small cabin he was recuperating in. Levi had done a commendable job of construction. The log walls were tight and chinked with sod, the stone fireplace looked neat and sturdy, probably capable of putting out plenty of heat in cold weather. There was a rifle propped in one corner, an early model Henry by the look of it. Next to the rifle, an unstrung bow and quiver rested against the fireplace.
Noticing Cade’s eye settle upon the bow, Levi elaborated. “A man better learn to hunt with a bow if he lives up here. Cartridges is too scarce to waste . . . and a bow don’t make no noise.”
“That’s a handy skill to have,” Cade said, “especially if you don’t want anybody to find you.” Levi raised an eyebrow, but did not respond at once, causing Cade to believe he might have struck a sensitive area. There might be a reason for Levi to avoid visitors. “It’s unusual for a man to live in hard country like this unless he’s pannin’ gold or somethin’. It ain’t none of my business w
hy you’re way the hell up here, but I would appreciate knowin’ if there’s a need for me to keep my rifle close.”
Levi exchanged a brief glance with Willow before turning back to Cade. He hesitated a few moments before answering. Then, deciding that his story was safe with Cade, he explained. “Curiosity got me again,” he said with a grin. “I was havin’ me a little drink in the saloon down in Bozeman a couple of years back when these four fellers came in and set down at a table. They got to drinkin’ pretty heavy and started talkin’ louder and louder. I couldn’t help but hear what they was talkin’ about. They was goin’ on about a little Blackfoot woman they had in the wagon. They bought her from a band of Crows that had captured her, and they was gettin’ lickered up to have a go-round with her, arguing about who oughta be first.
“Well, I slipped on outside to have a little peek in their wagon, and there she was, tied hand and foot, with a gag in her mouth. She looked at me with those big ol’ eyes, scared and shakin’ like a lamb at the slaughter . . . and I was done for.” He glanced again at Willow, who smiled warmly at him. “Yessir, I felt so sorry for her, and what was waitin’ for her when them fellers got enough whiskey in ’em. I said, ‘Levi, you ain’t never done a smart thing in your whole life, and you’re about to make another dumb move.’
“Well, I cut her loose. That was all I was gonna do, but she looked so lost and scared. She didn’t know which way to run. I couldn’t leave her to make it on her own, so I told her to climb up behind me on my horse, and we hightailed it outta there. We didn’t get away clean, though. One of them fellers came out to the wagon just in time to see me gallopin’ off with their woman. He jumped on his horse and came after us, hollerin’ and shootin’. Hell, I shot back. I wasn’t even aimin’—couldn’t, bouncin’ around on a gallopin’ horse. Don’t you know I hit him—killed him deader’n hell from the looks of him when he came off his horse.
“Come to find out the four of ’em was brothers; Willow told me that. So now I got three of ’em comin’ after me for stealin’ their woman and killin’ their brother.”
“So you ended up here in the mountains,” Cade surmised.
“Yeah, after a few days of runnin’ and hidin’. I gave her the choice of tryin’ to go back to find her own people, but she decided to stay with me. So we decided to go back up in the mountains and build us a cabin. It’s worked out pretty good so far. At least she ain’t tried to run off after two or three years.” He glanced over to receive an affectionate smile from Willow. “And I s’pose them three brothers have give up by now, but I don’t know for sure, and there ain’t no use being careless. The hard part is not being able to go down to Bozeman to get supplies like coffee, flour and beans, and cartridges. The only place I can get a little flour once in a while is by tradin’ hides at a tradin’ post on the far side of the mountain. That’s the reason I was down in the valley where I found you. I was lookin’ to trap beaver and maybe catch a few fish to eat.”
“I reckon I cut your fishin’ short,” Cade said.
“You did at that,” Levi said with a chuckle, “and you were the only thing I caught all day.” Then he asked, “Who were them fellers that jumped you and kilt your partner?”
Cade told him the whole story of the gold dust his late friend, Luke, had hidden in the river and their journey from Miles City to retrieve it.
“Damn!” Levi exclaimed, thinking about the little grassy clearing by the river. “I most likely fished or trapped right over that gold three or four times durin’ the last couple of years.” His mind reeled with thoughts of what it would have meant to him to discover its existence. “Sixteen pouches,” he repeated, shaking his head in wonder. “No wonder them fellers was after you.” He inhaled sharply and grimaced. “And now this feller Snider’s run off with all of it.” He knew the answer to his next question before he asked it. “So now you’ll be goin’ after this feller?”
“Just as soon as I can stay on my horse,” Cade replied calmly.
“It ain’t gonna be easy,” Levi said. “By the time you’re strong enough to ride, it’s gonna be a mighty cold trail.”
“I s’pose,” Cade agreed. The odds were not in his favor. Lem Snider could have gone in any direction. There would be little chance that any sign of his trail would be left by the time Cade had healed enough to go after him. He was going to need a lot of luck, but there was no question about whether to hunt him or just decide it was wasted effort, rationalizing that the gold was never his in the first place. The truth be told, Cade’s motivation sprang less from the possession of the treasure, and more from the determination to seek vengeance for Luke’s murder. He had never really had a close friend before Luke. It stuck in his craw that a murdering skunk like Lem Snider could get away with killing a good man like Luke Tucker. There was also the little matter of the bullet Snider had left in Cade’s chest.
With the passage of each day, Cade gradually regained his strength, thanks to a strong constitution and the excellent care of Willow. She was a fine-looking woman, and seemed always to wear a smile upon her face. Levi was extremely proud of her and the fact that she had chosen to remain with him when freed from the four brothers who had bought her. The Blackfoot were a handsome people, and Levi, a homely man, felt himself especially honored to have such a woman as his wife.
Levi spent much of his day tracking the game that populated the rugged mountains surrounding his cabin. As he had first boasted, there was game aplenty, but his existence there had naturally pushed the deer and other game farther and farther away. So there were many days when his hunting resulted in limited success. He admitted to Cade that he and Willow had talked about leaving their mountain retreat and heading north along the Musselshell toward Canada to find Willow’s people. He was afraid of getting old and being unable to provide for the two of them where they now were. In spite of Levi’s stated preference to live apart from other people, Cade could sense the loneliness his host denied when finally it was time for him to leave.
“I’m much obliged to you folks for takin’ such good care of me,” Cade said as he tucked the dried venison Willow had wrapped for him in his saddlebag. He checked his rifle to make sure it was seated in the saddle scabbard, then turned back to extend a hand to Levi. “If I can ever repay you, I will.”
“Be careful,” Willow said, smiling. “Don’t get no more shot.”
Cade laughed and replied, “I’ll try not to. You take care of Levi. He’s a good man.” He stepped up in the saddle.
Levi stepped up close beside his stirrup. “I can’t help my curiosity, Cade, and maybe it ain’t none of my business, or maybe it’s a secret you can’t tell, but I gotta ask you somethin’. When I pulled you outta that river, you was dead. I mean, you had to be, but you came back. You got a little peek at what it’s like on the other side, didn’t you? Could you tell? I mean, were you there long enough to see other dead folks?”
Astonished by the question, Cade took a moment to answer. “Hell, Levi, I wasn’t dead, I just passed out, I reckon, but I sure as hell wasn’t dead, or I wouldn’t be here right now, would I?” Loco began to stamp nervously, eager to be on the move again. Cade held the gray gelding back a couple of seconds while he smiled and tapped his forehead in farewell, and then he was off, following the shorter trail down, now that Loco was unencumbered with the travois. He had intended to leave that morning, but it was already midday by the time he finally got started.
Levi stood with his arm around his wife’s shoulders, watching until Cade dropped below the rocky shelf and disappeared in the trees. “He seen the other side,” he assured Willow. “He just ain’t supposed to tell anybody about it.”
Chapter 7
Dorsey Braxton pulled up at the edge of the trees that bordered the Gallatin River, surprised by the scene he had come upon at the riverbank. “Look what I found,” he called back to his two brothers, who were following behind him. Being the eldest, Dorsey usually led. He and his brothers had spent more than two years, off and on, combi
ng the mountains between the Absarokas and Virginia City, looking for the man who shot their younger brother. Their lack of success in finding the man and the Blackfoot woman did nothing to discourage Dorsey’s lust for vengeance, and he kept coming back to the valley of the Gallatin. He was convinced that this was the most likely country Levi Crabtree would have picked to hide in.
“Damn,” Cobb Braxton uttered when he pulled even with his brother and saw the remains of two bodies. “Looks like somebody had a little piece of bad luck. The buzzards didn’t leave nothin’ but rags and bones.”
Gentry Braxton guided his horse around his two brothers and dismounted to take a closer look at the pile of rocks that was Luke Tucker’s grave. “Reckon what’s so special ’bout this one?” He started pulling rocks away until he had made a hole big enough to see what they guarded. “Another dead one,” he announced. “The buzzards didn’t get to this one, but the worms are doin’ a pretty good job.”
“Anything on him worth takin’?” Cobb asked.
“Hell, I don’t know. I can’t see that much. If you wanna see him, you dig him out. He’s smellin’ too rank to suit me.”
“Does it look like that bastard we’re after?” Cobb asked.
“How the hell do I know? I ain’t ever seen the son of a bitch. Franklin’s the only one that saw him.” The youngest of the four brothers might have gotten a good look at Levi Crabtree moments before Levi shot him, but Franklin was dead when they got to him.
“How long you reckon he’s been dead?” Dorsey asked. Something else had caught his eye at the edge of the clearing.
“Hard to tell,” Gentry replied. “Two weeks, maybe.”
“About the same as these marks cut in the dirt, if I had to guess,” Dorsey said. The hoofprints were barely discernable, but there were two reasonably sharp marks left by what surely must have been a travois. “Somebody hauled somethin’ or somebody away from here. Wonder what it was?”
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