He dropped to his knees beside her again and laid out the things he’d brought. “Here’s some food for you.” He pointed toward the beans, then made a motion as though bringing some to his mouth. “And a blanket. Let’s get you warm.”
Opening up the covering, he reached to wrap it around the girl’s shoulders. Again, she shrank back, but he kept on with his action, and she allowed him to wrap his blanket over her own. It would be better to remove the wet covering, but this would have to do for now. She didn’t look like she’d allow him to take it.
Next, he picked up the bowl and placed it in front of her, taking the spoon and lifting it up with a bite of beans like he was going to feed her. He stopped halfway to her mouth, then set the spoon down and motioned for her to do it. “Eat.”
Her wary gaze dipped from his face to the food, then rose to his face again. She reached for the bowl, never moving her focus from him. When she took the first bite, he let out a tense breath. Now surely she’d eat the rest.
He kept his senses on alert for sounds in the barn around them as she ate, and when she’d scarfed down half the beans, he pushed the cornbread and water closer to her. This was a lot of food for such a little thing, but she looked hungry enough to swallow it whole.
While she ate, he scanned the rest of her body. She was curled up in a ball, but something didn’t look right with her legs. One muddy moccasin peeked out from beneath the blanket, but the angle seemed odd. He needed to know if she was hurt or sick so he could help her. But it would take some coaxing to get her to reveal any injuries.
When she’d finally eaten the last morsel and drained the cup, he pulled the dishes away from her. She wrapped the blankets tighter around herself, tucking into a ball. Pain slipped over her features with the movement, but she dipped her face into the shadows so quickly he caught only a glimpse. The moccasin peeking from the blanket never moved. Could she have a broken leg? It seemed like she’d be in tears if that were the case.
He motioned to his chest. “I’m Nathaniel.” His name was such a mouthful for this sprite, he switched to the shortened version. “Nate.”
Then he pointed to her and formed a question with his face.
She stared at him with a blank expression. Did she understand at all? Maybe she was too young.
He tried again, touching his chest as he spoke. “Nate.”
This time, when he pointed to her, she hesitated only a minute before speaking in a tiny voice. “Itu.” At least, that’s what it sounded like. The word came out barely louder than a breath.
“Itu?” He repeated the sound as closely as he could.
She gave a single nod.
All right then. They were making progress.
He inched backward so he could work his leg out from under him. Patting his calf, he said, “Leg.” Then he pointed to her leg. Would she understand and pull the blanket away?
Hesitation touched her features. He tapped his leg again and said the word, then motioned to hers. He was pretty sure she understood, but whether she would comply was another matter altogether.
Her lips formed a tight line, and something like fear slipped through her eyes. Then slowly, she eased the blanket away from her leg.
He was careful not to shift, not to do anything that would frighten her. As the covering pulled away, it revealed a moccasin that covered the child’s lower leg. Just above the ankle was a red gash that split the leather in a jagged tear.
But the thing that stole Nathaniel’s breath was the gruesome, unnatural angle of her foot.
Chapter Six
This may well be my greatest shock of all.
~ Nathaniel
AS NATHANIEL PEERED closer at the child’s leg, he had to swallow down the bile that threatened to rise. What had caused that injury? An animal attack? A steel trap? What did her leg look like underneath the moccasin? That foot had to be broken.
The shoe needed to be removed, but only the top part could be unlaced. If the bone was severed, the lower leather would have to be cut off. Even if he accomplished that, he’d never set a broken bone before. He had a few salves with his supplies, but probably not anything as strong as she’d need if her wound was festering.
In short, he needed help, someone with more knowledge and medicine than he possessed.
Reuben was his closest neighbor. Maybe someone there could either help or ride for a doctor.
Should he try to take Itu there? If her leg was broken, moving her on horseback would be excruciating. And if her guardian returned and found her missing, what would he or she do? Reuben’s cabin was almost an hour’s ride away. If he left her here, then when he returned, the girl might be gone.
He hated to inconvenience his neighbors, but he couldn’t in good conscience move this child in her condition. It would be helpful if he could get a look at the wound before he left, though. That way he’d be better able to determine the extent of the help needed.
“Itu.” He motioned to the leather covering her leg. “I need to cut your moccasin off.”
Her wide eyes searched his, but she didn’t pull away as his hand neared. He reached closer and touched the buckskin at the top. He could almost feel her body tense, but she didn’t flinch as he untied the lacing and began to work the cords loose. His fingers were so big and clumsy, taking twice as long as they should have to pull the ties free.
The leather gradually separated, revealing puffy, bluish skin. The farther down he went, the deeper the bruising. Whatever had wounded her had done a great deal of damage.
The laces ended before he reached the gash in the leather, and her leg was so swollen, he wasn’t able to look down into the shoe to see more. He’d have to cut the rest off, which would require pulling out his knife and frightening the poor girl even more.
He chanced a look up at her. Terror and pain mingled in her wide gaze, and the whites of her eyes had turned red from unshed tears. She was a remarkably brave child to be in this condition—alone—and not falling into hysteria.
Another glance at the leg convinced him not to cut the moccasin off just yet. Maybe the leather would keep the swelling down and hold the foot in place until he returned with someone who could tend the injuries correctly.
He pulled the blanket back over the wound and looked into Itu’s eyes. “I’m going to get someone who can help you. A healer. Stay here until I return.”
She stared at him, a glimmer of trust in her gaze. At least, he hoped that was trust.
“Stay here.” He held out a hand, palm toward her like he was training a dog to the command. She didn’t make any sign she understood, but he’d have to go in the hope she’d still be here when he returned.
He pulled Raven back out of the stall and saddled him with the quick precision he’d learned from all his training in the cavalry. This was one good thing that had come of those four years.
The rain hadn’t lessened when he stepped outside. He mounted and pushed the horse into as fast a trot as he dared over the slick ground. It seemed to take hours to reach the Scotts’ place, but finally he spotted the break in the trees that signaled the trail to their clearing.
At the porch, he jumped from the saddle, hearing the sound of a dog barking inside. The door swung open as he jogged up the steps. Finally under the shelter of the porch roof, he paused to catch his breath.
“Come in, Peak. What’s wrong?” Reuben stepped aside to allow him access, but Nathaniel didn’t move forward. There wasn’t time for chit-chat, and he had no wish to soil their floor with his muddy boots and dripping clothes.
He shook his head. “I’m in need of a doctor.” His breath still came in jagged gasps, and he paused to suck in a deep draft of air.
“What’s wrong? Are you sick?” Reuben’s wife joined him in the doorway, worry clouding her features.
Again he shook his head. “A girl. Found her in my barn. Her leg is swollen, looks like it might be broken.” Now his breath was coming easier. “She’s young, maybe five years old. I didn’t take her moccasin
off all the way, so I’m not sure if it’s an animal bite or if she stepped in a trap. She needs someone who can set the bone and give her something for pain and healing.”
Mrs. Scott disappeared from the doorway, and Reuben’s face had turned grim. He reached for his coat from a peg on the wall. “We’ll come do what we can. Cathleen was a nurse once. If she can’t help, I’ll go for one of the doctors.” He spun away, leaving Nathaniel standing in front of the open doorway.
From the voices he could distinguish, Mr. Grant was also inside, and the two men exchanged quiet conversation. Women’s tones sounded from the room, and he couldn’t miss the soft cadence of Miss Grant’s voice.
In less than a minute, that same woman appeared in the doorway, coat on and a man’s hat atop her head. “I’m going to saddle the horses.”
He stepped aside to let her through but couldn’t seem to take his eyes from the unlikely combination of her pretty face under what must have been her father’s worn felt hat.
She didn’t give him a second look as she marched off the porch into the rain. He could certainly help ready the animals.
After hurrying to untie Raven, he jogged with the horse to catch up to her, sloshing in mud as they went. She had a long stride and didn’t stop to wait for him. In the barn, she pointed to the third stall down. “You can saddle those last two for Reuben and Cathleen. I’ll get these others.”
She gave the command easily, all efficiency as she set to work. Apparently, there would be quite a group going to tend little Itu.
He tied Raven and dove into his task, making quick work of readying the animals. Once again, he was grateful for the quick efficiency he’d learned in the cavalry. As he hoped, Miss Grant wasn’t quite finished with the two she’d taken on, and he stepped in to take over with her father’s horse.
They worked together in silence, and he could feel the tension radiating from her. When she led her gelding to meet him in the barn aisle, her pretty face looked troubled. “Was there any sign of how the girl came into your barn? Who would have left her there so injured?”
His chest squeezed as that terrified little face flashed through his mind. “I’m sure they’ll be back for her. I just hope we can tend her leg before they take her.” A renewed urgency pressed through him.
She nodded and reached for the reins of her father’s horse. “Let’s go.”
Within minutes, they were mounted and formed a formidable party—Reuben, his wife, Mr. Grant, Miss Grant, and of course, Nathaniel. He couldn’t help feeling he was back in the B Troop, heading out with a contingent of cavalry.
He could only hope they didn’t frighten Itu so much they made her situation worse.
When they reached the clearing where his cabin lay, they reined down to a walk. Thankfully, the downpour had slowed to a misty drizzle. He scanned the area for signs of Indians, but all seemed quiet.
He halted his horse outside the barn and slid to the ground. “She’s in the last stall, but I think if we all barge in there, we’re going to scare her. I’ll go in first just to make sure she hasn’t been stolen away.”
Reuben slipped from his own horse. “I’ll come too, just in case her people are in there. I know some Crow.”
“Good. Maybe you can tell her we only want to help.” He reached for his knife as he pulled open the barn door. He’d left the lantern in the stall with Itu, and light still shone from that corner.
No Indians jumped out at them, but he and Reuben checked each stall just in case. All was quiet as they advanced. Not even a peep from the little girl he prayed was still where he’d left her.
“Itu?” He spoke her name as they approached her hiding place. “I’ve brought someone to help you.”
No tiny voice answered.
He peered over the stall door and breathed out his relief. The tiny figure huddled under the blanket he’d brought her. “I’m glad you’re still here.” He stepped inside with Reuben on his heels, then dropped to his knees in front of her.
“This is my friend, Reuben.” He motioned to the man kneeling beside him.
Reuben spoke a string of sounds in what must be Crow.
The girl’s eyes widened. She answered in the same kind of high-low cadence. Reuben spoke again, and the girl’s response sounded like the same answer she’d given before. Maybe Nathaniel’s ear wasn’t attuned to the sounds the way it should be.
Reuben responded again, but his brow wrinkled with his words. Was it bad news then?
The girl answered, her reply shorter this time.
Nathaniel could wait no longer. “What did she say?”
Reuben turned to him. “She’s not Crow. I think she’s speaking the language of the Hidatsa, but I’ve never seen them this far west. The two tongues are similar, so I might be able to communicate with her some.”
“Can you tell her we have other people who’ve come to help her?” He couldn’t leave the others out in the weather any longer. “I’m going to bring them in.” He offered a smile to Itu, then eased back out of the stall.
He filled the others in as they led the animals inside.
“I’ll tie the horses.” Miss Grant reached for the reins from her father and Mrs. Scott.
Nathaniel couldn’t leave her to tend five animals by herself, but he wanted to be there to introduce Itu to these new strangers. For some reason, he felt a fierce need to protect the child from anything that might cause more stress to a girl who must already be terrified and in a great deal of pain.
He and Miss Grant quickly secured the horses, and she followed him toward the back stall.
Reuben was speaking to the child in the same melodic language he’d used before, but her eyes had grown impossibly round as she stared at all the adults crowding around her.
Her gaze locked on Nathaniel as he entered, and he moved around to the wall so he could be near and reach a calming hand to her. She seemed almost relieved when he laid his palm on her blanketed shoulder.
“These are friends.” He motioned to the others and tried to offer a smile. “Help.”
She still kept her solemn gaze on him as though he held the answers to all her trouble. Help me, Lord.
He pointed to her leg, covered again by the blankets. “Leg.” He touched the covering.
Reuben spoke something in Crow, and her gaze darted to him. The man must be close to fluent. Nathaniel would have to ask him sometime how he’d learned.
Itu cautiously eased the blankets aside from her leg as her focus returned to Nathaniel’s face. He tried to give her an encouraging smile and nod.
When her moccasin finally showed, Nathaniel reached forward and separated the leather that he’d already untied, revealing the grossly swollen and bruised flesh. “I haven’t cut the rest of the moccasin off to see whether the bone is broken where the leather is torn here, but I’m pretty certain it is.” He kept his tone soft as he pointed to the rip just above her ankle.
“That’s definitely from a trap. Wolf or small animal, probably. If it was a bear trap, she’d still be screaming from the pain.” Reuben’s voice was low, but held a certainty that bespoke experience. He reached for the knife at his belt as he spoke another slew of Crow.
Itu’s eyes flashed terror when she saw the blade, and she shrank back against the barn wall.
“It’s all right.” Nathaniel added a little more certainty to the hand resting on her shoulder. But truly, if he were a tiny girl hurt and alone, with adults staring at her and a man brandishing a hunting knife near her injured leg, he’d be panicking, too. She needed a mother to hold and soothe her. How could anyone have left her here in this condition?
He raised his gaze to Mrs. Scott, Reuben’s wife. She was the nurse, right? Surely she knew how to calm a fearful child. But she was murmuring with Simeon Grant, both of them eyeing the girl’s leg. Probably planning which medical approach would be best.
His focus wandered to Miss Grant. Her eyes held a depth of sadness as she watched Itu, but she seemed to feel him looking at her. She met
his gaze, and maybe he showed his worry in his eyes, for her chin bobbed in a tiny nod. She quietly moved around beside him.
Nathaniel shifted back to allow her room next to the girl.
Itu stared at Miss Grant with those luminous eyes, and the woman leaned low so she was face to face with the girl. She raised a hand to stroke the dark stringy hair from Itu’s cheeks, and Nathaniel could almost feel the gentleness in the caress.
The child’s eyes softened a little, and Miss Grant held the pose for a long moment. Then she straightened and worked herself against the wall beside Itu, wrapping her arms around the girl. She continued stroking her hair and began humming a soft melody, as though the rest of them weren’t there.
Miss Grant’s gaze shifted to Nathaniel, and her eyes formed a sad smile as she lay her head against the little girl’s. Her humming never ceased, and he could feel the way it relaxed even his own muscles.
Little by little, Itu snuggled into her. She didn’t even seem to notice when Reuben moved the knife closer and cut a slit down the leather of her moccasin. The buckskin separated to reveal more swollen, purple skin and an angry gash in the flesh. No bone protruded through the skin—a good thing. But the unusual twist of the foot below the ankle had to mean a break.
A glance at the other’s faces, with the grim pinch of Reuben’s mouth and the deepening lines across Mr. Grant’s brow, proved they were just as concerned about the injury.
Chapter Seven
How is it the pain of this child can so fully infect my own heart?
~ Hannah
NATHANIEL WATCHED AS Mr. Grant turned to Reuben’s wife. “I’ve set breaks like that before, but only because we don’t have a doctor near where we live. Do you think it’s realistic to wait for one of your doctor brothers to come secure the limb? How far away did you say they live?”
“In Butte,” Mrs. Scott said. “It’s about a five-hour ride each direction. I’m sure one of them would come if someone went for them. It would be tomorrow before they could get here, though.”
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