“And so you came to my village to warn us that perhaps someone might be planning to use the dynamite on my people?” Strong Wolf said stiffly.
“It could possibly happen,” Colonel Mooney said, nodding. “Some of my men brought me up to speed on things that have happened in the area these past months. I was told about a man under a Chuck Kody’s employ.” He kneaded his chin contemplatingly. He cocked an eyebrow as he tried to think of Tiny’s name. “Ah, yes. His name was Tiny Sharp.”
“Chuck Kody is my wife’s brother, and Tiny Sharp was his foreman,” Strong Wolf offered. “Tiny Sharp disappeared a few months ago. No one has seen or heard of his whereabouts. Why do you mention him now?”
“I was told that he was a troublemaker,” Colonel Mooney said, clearing his throat. “I was also told that he had disappeared after having been discovered in many underhanded activities. Isn’t it true that he was your ardent enemy?”
“Yes, he was my enemy,” Strong Wolf said, nodding. “In truth, I expect he has no true friends. He is a man with a dark heart, a man who could never be trusted.”
The young colonel rested a hand on the pommel of his saddle and rested his weight against it as he leaned down closer to Strong Wolf’s face. “Do you think he is the man we might be after?” he said. “Do you think he might have stolen the dynamite? Do you know what he might have in mind for the dynamite?”
“I have not thought about him for some time now,” Strong Wolf said. “I have been involved in the affairs of my people.”
The young colonel sat straight in his saddle again and stared at the new schoolhouse. “That is a grand building you have there,” he said, then smiled down at Strong Wolf. “It is good that your children will have the same opponunities that the white children have. Someday I would like to come in and sit through the lessons, if the teacher would not mind.”
“The teacher is my wife’s sister,” Strong Wolf said. “I am sure she would not mind having an audience while she teaches.” He smiled over at White Beaver, who seemed pleased to have his woman discussed in such a favorable way, then gazed up at the young colonel again. “The teacher is a woman. She will soon marry my friend, White Beaver.”
White Beaver stepped closer to the horse when the young colonel offered a handshake.
“I would also like to attend the wedding,” Colonel Mooney said, eagerly shaking White Beaver’s hand. “I would enjoy becoming involved in all affairs of your village, and people. Until I met you, Strong Wolf, I greatly feared Indians. Now I wish to know more about them, to be with them.”
“And that can easily be arranged,” Strong Wolf said. “It will pleasure me to share our people’s customs with you.”
A great explosion in the distance, that which shook the earth beneath everyone’s feet, drew the conversation to a quick halt.
Having felt the explosion—it having even awakened Swallow Song—Hannah, Clara, and Swallow Song came from the cabin in a run. Hannah and Swallow Song clutched Strong Wolf’s arm as Clara went to cling to White Beaver.
Another explosion rocked the ground. A billowing of black smoke shot suddenly into the sky.
“That seems to have come from the direction of the mystery cave,” Strong Wolf said, watching the smoke turning the sky to something similar to black ink.
He turned to a young brave. “Saddle my horse!” he shouted.
White Beaver ran and got his own steed. Many warriors followed.
“I wish to come with you!” Hannah cried as Strong Wolf swung himself into his saddle.
“The child, Hannah,” Strong Wolf said, reaching down to place a gentle hand on her cheek.
“Then, please be careful and hurry back to me,” Hannah said, trying hard to remember that she must not ride a horse now, or do anything else that might risk the child’s life.
The Potawatomis and the soldiers rode off in the direction of the smoke.
Hannah sighed heavily, then gazed at length at the buggy she used while on her outings with Strong Wolf.
“No, Hannah,” Clara said; she seemed to have read Hannah’s mind. “We really mustn’t.”
“What can it hurt, Clara?” Hannah said, then gave Swallow Song a look when Swallow Song placed a gentle hand on her arm.
“Come inside, Hannah,” Swallow Song said in a motherly tone. “We will sit beside the fire while we wait for our men to return.”
Hannah sighed, then nodded. “Yes, let’s,” she said, flanked on each side by women she loved. Clara took her right hand. Swallow Song took her left.
They went inside Hannah’s cabin and sat by the fire.
To get their mind off their concerns, Clara read a novel, Hannah worked on Christmas decorations, and Swallow Song untied long tasseled strings that bound a small brown buckskin bag. She spread many colored beads on a mat beside her. On a lapboard she smoothed out a double sheet of soft white buckskin so that she could make a new pair of moccasins.
When they heard another blast, they glanced at each other, then lowered their eyes again and resumed their hobbies.
Chapter 42
Life goes on forever
like the gnawing of a mouse.
—EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY
“Clem, hurry up and get those rocks away from the cave entrance,” Tiny said, his fingers raw as he continued to throw one rock over her shoulder, and then another. “Damn dynamite. It ain’t worth spit. We should’ve been able to get inside that cave by now.”
“Just quit your jawin’ and keep on workin’ at it,” Clem said, throwing rocks aside as others slid in the way. “We’re almost there, Tiny.”
“Yeah, but will it be soon enough?” Tiny growled, looking guardedly around him. “One blast of dynamite was all that was needed to draw those damn Injuns here. I’m sure they even heard the blast at Fort Leavenworth. That’s all we need. To have both the soldiers and Injuns breathin’ down our necks. Hell, Clem, I heard there was enough gold in here to last a lifetime.”
“Who told you?” Clem asked, glad that he had run across Tiny again recently during a poker game at the back of a saloon in Saint Louis. “Was it a reliable source?”
“Sure as hell was,” Tiny said, laughing boisterously. “He had just read an account of this mystery cave in some book or another. He was trying to recruit someone who knew the area. I spoke up quite quickly and told him that I knew everythin’ about this damn mystery cave.”
“Yeah, you knew everythin’, yet you didn’t know about the pirate chest of jewels?” Clem said, laughing sarcastically. “Tiny, your brains don’t match your mouth. I’m probably dumb as hell comin’ back in these parts with you after high-tailin’ it outta here after our disagreement. I’m not eager to have a rope slipped around my neck.”
“And you won’t have no rope around your neck,” Tiny scoffed, stopping to wipe beads of sweat from his brow. “Just let’s get this damn cave open and get the jewels. We’ll then go back to Saint Louis and live the good ol’ life. I already know how I’m goin’ to spend my money. And you? What’s your plans?”
“Just stayin’ alive,” Clem grumbled, finally seeing some space between the rocks. “I hope there ain’t no Injun hocus-pocus connected with this cave. The smoke is mysterious as hell. Where do you think it comes from?”
“You idiot,” Tiny said, casting Clem an annoyed stare as he tossed another rock aside. “There are hot springs beneath the ground. The steam is what creates the smoke. Now hurry up. I’ve got a strange sort of crawling at the back of my neck. That usually indicates that trouble is near. If it’s Indians, I want to be far away before they come and see what’s happened here at the cave.”
“Tiny, I never thought to ask before, but what happened to the gentleman who told you about the pirate chest hidden inside this cave?” Clem asked, pausing to brush hair back from his eyes. “You just told me that he had told you about it, as he was recrutin’ men to come with him. When you told me about it, you didn’t tell me anythin’ about anyone else knowin’ about it.”
“That’s because no one else does,” Tiny said, laughing ruthlessly. “It’s only you and me now, Clem. Only you and me.”
Clem paled. “Are you sayin’ what I think you’re saying?” he said guardedly.
“Exactly,” Tiny snarled back at him, his eyes squinting with a look of dark, deep evil.
“God, Tiny, you killed him?” Clem said, taking an awkward step away from him.
“His neck snapped as easy as a rotted twig,” Tiny said, taking a step closer to Clem. He glanced at the cave, seeing the opening. His heart beat soundly at the thought of being so near to the actual pirate’s treasure chest. He needed no more help. The rest was a breeze.
He yanked his knife from its sheath with the speed of a lightning’s flash. In one lunge he had the knife imbedded deeply within Clem’s chest.
Clutching at his chest, blood spurting between his fingers, Clem gave Tiny a look of disbelief, then he slumped forward, his last breath taken after a brief spasmodic gasp.
“Now I’ve got it all to myself,” Tiny said, yanking the bloody knife from Clem’s chest. He wiped the blood on Clem’s breeches. He kicked Clem aside as he slipped the knife back inside his sheath.
Tiny shoved the last of the rocks aside. Reaching for a kerosene lantern that he had brought purposely to take with him inside the cave, he lit the wick. His hands trembling, his eyes wide, Tiny took slow, careful steps into the cave.
He ducked and gasped when a bat fluttered quickly past his head, and then another and another and another.
“Damn bats,” he whispered, his face hot with excitement as he spied the treasure chest up ahead, only a few footsteps away.
“I can’t believe my eyes,” he said, too stunned by the sight to move. “An . . . actual . . . pirate’s chest.”
He cocked an eyebrow when he noticed that the lid was somewhat ajar.
Then he gasped and teetered with a sudden fear when he saw several skulls and bones lying near the chest on all sides.
“I’m . . . not . . . the first . . .” he uttered.
Then he smiled. “But there ain’t no reason why I can’t be the last,” he said, taking sure steps forward now. “There ain’t no one here to stop me.”
Tiny knelt down on his knees before the chest. He set his lantern to the side on a tall rock, so that the minute he got the chest opened, he would see the jewels shining back at him.
“There just ain’t been no one as clever as me before to come for the stash,” Tiny whispered to himself, laughing in a crazed cackle. “Come to me, Mama. Come to me and let’s have some fun.”
The lid now almost open, Tiny’s eyes feasting on the shine of the jewels already, he could hardly contain his excitement.
Then he jumped with a start and let out a loud scream as the lid fell back, and a rattlesnake suddenly appeared and lashed out at Tiny.
The sting of the bite on Tiny’s left wrist sent him sprawling to the floor of the cave. He gripped at the wrist, moaning. He yelped and hollered.
He rolled on the floor away from the snake as it uncoiled from inside the chest and came slithering toward Tiny.
“Get away from me, you damn varmint!” Tiny cried, his eyes wide.
The snake kept approaching.
Tiny grabbed his pistol from his holster. He aimed, fired, and laughed when the snake’s head was severed from his body by the gun blast, and flew through the air.
Then Tiny’s laughter faded. Cold sweat covered his body when he heard the first squeak and squawl of timber overhead. Dirt fell on his face. Terrified, he watched the timber creak and sway as more dirt slid from the roof overhead.
“No!” he cried, trying to scramble to his feet.
He was light-headed from the bite. His wrist throbbed. His knees wobbled. His eyesight was becoming quickly blurred.
As spurts of strength would allow, he dragged himself an inch at a time toward the cave entrance as dirt kept spilling all around him from the roof of the cave.
Then he remembered the jewels.
Damn it, he thought to himself. He . . . had . . . to get at least some of the jewels before the cave came tumbling down onto his head.
He turned around on the dirt floor. He crawled past the dead snake’s head. He ignored the rocks that began to fall from overhead.
Finally at the chest, he heaved himself up to rest against it, his eyes blurred, yet still able to see the shine of the jewels.
Then suddenly a large boulder fell from the ceiling and crushed the lantern beneath it, taking away Tiny’s light.
He gasped and stiffened. He looked wildly above him. His scream became muffled when the rest of the roof caved in and buried him beneath it.
Strong Wolf scrambled down the path that led to the mystery cave, the soldiers as well as several of Strong Wolf’s warriors following close behind him.
Strong Wolf leaned his ear toward a sound that he thought was a man’s scream, yet it had been so muffled he was not sure.
They hurried on to the cave where they found Clem lying across the ground, dead from a knife wound.
They found Clem’s and Tiny’s horses tethered side by side.
But they didn’t find Tiny.
“Come and look at this!” White Beaver said as he lifted the empty box of dynamite.
“That’s what was stolen from the fort,” Colonel Mooney said, going to inspect the box. “The damn idiots used every stick.”
Strong Wolf knelt beside Clem. “This is the work of Tiny Sharp,” he snarled. He rose slowly to his feet and stared at the cave’s entrance. He could tell that the boulders that were once there had been replaced by others. “Tiny is inside the cave. The cave has caved in and buried him alive.”
“You’re sure?” Colonel Mooney said, kneading his chin as he studied the cave. “You are sure he is inside?”
“Is not his horse still here?” Strong Wolf said, nodding toward Tiny’s horse.
“You know for certain that is his horse?” Colonel Mooney said, staring at the horse.
“I know his horse as well as I knew the man,” Strong Wolf said, going to kick away a few of the rocks. “And the dynamite? It was used on the cave. That is how Tiny is inside.”
“But why?” Colonel Mooney said, scratching his brow. “Why did he go there?”
“Perhaps he discovered the mysteries of the cave and thought it worth the risk of his life to go after it,” Strong Wolf said blandly.
“Do you know what is inside the cave?” Colonel Mooney said, bending to a knee, studying the debris that had fallen when the cave had caved in.
“The man has taken the answers to his grave.” Strong Wolf said, turning to walk away from the cave. He turned to the young colonel. “And I would not consider trying yourself to find what the mystery is. I would say that spirits guard the cave, or why is it that no one is ever allowed to leave once they have entered it?”
The young colonel stared at Strong Wolf, then nodded toward one of his men. “Take this dead man with you on your horse,” he ordered. “We must see to his proper burial.”
“Yes, sir,” the man said, nodding.
Then the young colonel stopped and stared at the smoke rising from the land and water. A chill ran through him. He turned to his men. “Forget what you heard here today,” he said in a solid command. “I do not want to hear that any of you have returned here. There is no need in anyone else losing their lives.”
He turned and gazed over his shoulder one last time at the cave, then walked up the narrow path behind Strong Wolf.
Strong Wolf loosened his reins and swung himself into his saddle. “And now, with Tiny dead, we are certain of peace,” he said as Colonel Mooney eased into his own saddle. “Come. Have council with me. Share a smoke.”
Smiling, the young colonel nodded.
They rode away together as more rock tumbled in on Tiny’s body.
“Winter is near,” Colonel Mooney said, in light, friendly conversation.
“Yes, and should your men ever grow short of meat, just com
e to me and my warriors will gladly go on the hunt for you,” Strong Wolf said, smiling over at the young colonel. “Your table will never be without meat, even on the coldest days of winter.”
“Why, thank you,” Colonel Mooney said, returning Strong Wolf’s smile. “You are a most generous man for making such an offer.”
“It is made by a friend,” Strong Wolf said.
“Yes, a friend,” Colonel Mooney said, nodding.
The sun was lowering in the sky. The trees overhead were silent, the birds having flown south for the winter. Acorns suddenly showered the path as the breeze picked up and became a howling wind.
“This friend most certainly needs the warmth of a fire before heading on to the fort,” the young colonel said, drawing his jacket collar closer around his throat.
“We will be at my lodge soon,” Strong Wolf said, nodding.
The colonel gave Strong Wolf another smile and rode off, Strong Wolf at his side.
Strong Wolf rode tall in the saddle, his thoughts now on Hannah. Just thinking of her made his heart soar and sing! For now, at least, everything seemed perfect for him and his wife, and his people.
But he could not help but worry about someone else. White Wolf and Dawnmarie. They should have arrived by now. If they waited too much longer, they would be threatened by the ice and snow of winter.
He gazed up at the sky. The sun was setting, painting the sky the color of chokeberries. He wondered where White Wolf and Dawnmarie were now as they gazed heavenward?
Hopefully near!
Chapter 43
Ere the oldest star began to shine,
Or the farthest sun to burn,
The oldest of words, O heart of mine,
Yet newest, and sweet to learn.
—HILDEGARDE HAWTHORNE
The aroma of freshly baked plum pudding and bread wafted through the air as Hannah prepared the cabin for the arrival of her parents for Christmas.
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