The Reckoning

by Mike Torreano

  Ike charged in a lumbering, slow-motion effort. He slashed left and right as he closed with the Indian but couldn’t break through the brave’s defenses. Rain Water sidestepped, and Ike staggered past him. The young chief leg-whipped Ike, and Ike fell face down in the mud. He struggled to right himself as Rain Water came and stood over him, taunting him again.

  “You are not even an honorable foe, Ike Mc-Alister. You are feeble, like the Arapaho. You are slow, like the Cheyenne, and you are ugly, like the Kiowa. Even our squaws would find you an easy enemy. But it is not one of those scrawny braves who stands over you now—it is me, a strong Ute warrior. So I will kill you quickly to put an end to your dishonor.” As Ike lay exhausted in the mud, Rain Water called for a lance. He lifted the spear and was about to hurl it into Ike’s chest, when a woman screamed behind him.

  Sue lurched in the mud toward Rain Water, falling to her knees, but still coming at a crawl. When she reached Rain Water, she grabbed onto his buckskin leggings to pull herself back up.

  “Get away from me, squaw. This does not concern you.”

  Ike stared wide-eyed.

  Sue!

  He’d finally found her, but he likely only had a few more minutes to live because of it.

  Sue gasped for breath at Rain Water’s feet. “It concerns me Rain…Water, and…it concerns you.” She straightened up in front of the young chief. “You saved my…life, and I am beholden to you for that. But you cannot take my brother’s life…without taking mine also.”

  Rain Water took a step back and stared at Sue. “You claim this weak white man as your brother? A man of no honor? He deserves to die for attacking two of my braves and spying on our village. Get back, white woman, or you will feel the iron of my lance before your brother does.”

  “Then kill me now, Rain Water, because if you kill my brother, I will kill myself, and you will not have me.”

  “Your brother is not worth your sacrifice, Sue Mc-Alister. He makes a woman plead for his life.”

  Ike staggered up from the mud as Rain Water chided Sue. He had to find a way to save her. He dropped his knife into the mire and lowered his hands to his side. “Rain Water, I don’t need a woman to speak for me. You have beaten me and have the right to kill me. Do not listen to her.”

  Sue brought a knife out from beneath her dress and stuck it up against her throat. “I will slice my throat, Rain Water, if you kill my brother.” She drew the knife lightly across her neck, and a thin line of blood appeared under the blade as it traveled.

  Ike lunged for her, but Rain Water knocked him to the ground with a blow to the head.

  A murmur arose from the crowd as Black Tail Deer rose with assistance. Two women helped him into the middle of the circle. He straightened his bent back. “I will decide who lives and who dies today.” He looked around at his people. “I have lived long, and seen much. I know the treachery of the white man, who invades our land and takes what is not his. He ruins our hunting grounds and forces us to live on smaller and smaller lands. His ways are evil, and he is not to be trusted.” The village was silent. “But this man, Ike Mc-Alister, has done us no harm. He has brought two of our braves back to be cared for. His journey is to find his sister, and he has found her. I do not think we will kill him for that.

  “Bus-ter also has done us no harm in searching for his friend, Sue Mc-Alister. He has survived the gauntlet, and we will not make him go through it again. But Sue Mc-Alister was saved by Rain Water, and she is now his.” The old chief turned to his young lieutenant. “What will you do with her, Rain Water?”

  Rain Water’s face flushed as he listened to his chief. He hurled the lance into the mud close to Ike’s head and balled his fists before answering. “I will obey my chief and let the two spies go, but Sue Mc-Alister will stay here with me.” He looked at Ike with clenched teeth. “If you want to live, you and Bus-ter will leave and never return. Now!” Rain Water gestured to several braves nearby.

  As the warriors pushed him to Ally, Ike hollered that he wouldn’t leave without Sue. He knocked a brave down with a punch to the midsection, then was staggered by an Indian who struck him hard on his back with the blunt end of a tomahawk. Two Indians lifted him up on his horse and motioned for Buster to mount up as well. Ike lay slumped against the saddle horn. A brave smacked Ally on the rump, and she took off back up the valley. Buster’s horse galloped close behind, and it was some time before the two men could gather themselves enough to rein their horses to a stop.

  Rob and the professor descended from a high rim and caught up with the two riders on the valley floor. Ike had recovered somewhat by the time the other two reached him. “You all keep on for Cottonwood, I’m goin’ back.” He started to turn Ally around, but Buster grabbed hold of Ally’s reins tightly, the same way he did at the little stream weeks ago. “Let go of my reins, Buster.” Ike reached down for his gun, but his holster was empty.

  “Won’t do no good, Ike. Even though the chief has spared you, Rain Water will kill you on sight if you return. We only had one chance at rescuing Sue, and we just used it.”

  Ike tried to pull his reins away. “Let go, I’m goin’ back!”

  Buster held firm. “Nothin’ but two deaths can come of that. If you go back, you’re signing Sue’s death warrant. You heard her. They’ll kill you, and when they do, she’ll find a way to kill herself. At least this way, you’re both still alive.”

  Ike felt a familiar flush. Minie balls zipped faintly through his head again. He’d just found his sister and lost her at the same time. Can’t let her stay there. He looked at Rob. “What do you say?”

  Rob was grim. “Buster’s right. Goin’ back won’t do no good. You’ll just get yourself and Sue both killed.”

  The professor spoke up. “I agree, Ike. It is not…”

  Ike exploded. “Ain’t none of your business, Walnutt. This is my sister, not yours!”

  Walnutt leaned toward Ike. “What happens to you has been my business ever since we started this quest Ike, so don’t tell me it is not.”

  Ike stared back at the professor, then slumped in the saddle. All the air had gone out of him, and he wallowed in gloomy silence.

  Buster said, “Let’s go. Let’s get back to Cottonwood, and start sortin’ our lives out.” He pulled on Ally’s reins, and the horse with her crestfallen rider fell in behind his. Rob and the professor brought up the rear of the dejected foursome. They looked back more than once as they rode away.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  When Ike rode away, Sue started a jerky stride after him. Adrenaline helped her hobble until Kiska grabbed hold of her as two braves blocked her path.

  Kiska held a hand up to the warriors and they halted. She turned to Sue. “No follow white men. Gone.”

  Sue stared after Ike and Buster, and watched as two others linked up with them.

  Rob!

  Soon, the four riders were out of sight up the valley. Sue pushed Kiska’s arm away and turned back to the village. “I don’t need your help. I don’t want your help. Leave me alone.”

  Tears fell freely as Sue strode as well as she could back to her tent. She sat immobile inside while Kiska prepared the evening meal and put a plate down for her. She didn’t touch it. Killers had taken her parents. Her brothers were the only family she had left. If she couldn’t be with them, she’d be with no one. There was no escape from the camp, but she refused to live as a prisoner. She’d failed to exact revenge on Manning, and now she never would. The familiar sense of guilt over not being able to save her parents invaded her thoughts. There was nothing to live for and only one option left.

  She lay down on a ceremonial rug. Kiska brought a blanket and motioned for her to eat. She refused both, turned her back on her helper, and slept fitfully.

  The next morning she shivered awake, stirred by stomach pangs, but didn’t get up. Kiska approached with a wooden bowl of some type of mush. Plant roots pounded into a pulp she’d had before. The potion had a terrible smell, so it wasn’t difficult
to push the spoon away. Kiska left and returned with a small bowl of water and held it out to her. Sue shook her head. All day she lay on the rug on the dirt floor. Her pulse slowed to a low ebb, and her insides went silent. She drifted off to sleep several times but was always shaken awake by Kiska, who pushed food on her. Night descended and Sue still lay unmoving on her rug, refusing everything Kiska brought her.

  As the sun came up, she blinked her eyes open and heard a commotion behind her in the tipi. She turned to see another woman talking with Kiska. The woman came over and knelt down beside her, looking her over, studying her. Kiska said it was Rain Water’s wife. Sue didn’t care. She imagined being a captive here for the rest of her life. She looked back down at nothing.

  The Indian woman rose and stared down at Sue. “Why do you not eat or drink?”

  Sue heard her words as if she were speaking a foreign language and didn’t respond. The woman must know the answer. There were more questions, but Sue didn’t answer those any more than she did the first one. The woman spoke to Kiska, then left.

  Scenes from her childhood played in Sue’s head. Her mind drifted as she lay on the blanket. Chasing after her big brothers through the farm’s fields. The familiar smell of the ink press. Big lollipops in the general store. Her mother tucking her in at night as a child. Then, the horrible scene at the newspaper office and finding her mother afterward. The memories produced a rollercoaster of emotions as she despaired of ever seeing Ike or Rob again. Sleep swept it all away.

  The next day she was awakened by voices speaking Ute again. Perhaps the same woman. She didn’t turn to see. She slept most of the rest of the day away, and when she awoke, the sides of the tipi were darkening as daylight faded. Rain Water’s deep voice echoed in the small enclosure, then died away as the tent flap opened and closed. Kiska came and knelt by her.

  “Sue Mc-Alister, Sue Mc-Alister.” A hand shook her gently. Kiska said, “Wake up. You have been spared. Wake up.” Tears fell from Kiska’s smiling face. “Drink please.” Kiska lay down beside Sue and cupped Sue’s head. “Rain Water lets you go. You can leave village, Sue Mc-Alister.” Kiska nodded as she said it.

  Kiska’s words were like a dream. Sue lay in a stupor, curled in a ball. The stress of the wound in her side, the infection, and the fast she’d forced on herself made it too difficult to answer. She gazed at Kiska through glazed eyes. A yellow aura surrounded everything. She drifted in a hazy world of visions and sounds. Her stomach didn’t cry for food anymore, and her terrible thirst was fading as well.

  Kiska lifted Sue’s head off the rug and spooned a warm liquid into her mouth. Sue’s coughing fit stopped that. She longed to lay her head back down, but Kiska’s hand held her up. The wooden spoon came toward her again. This time, she swallowed some bitter-tasting brew and coughed again. The spoon appeared a third time, and she was able to keep a little of the thick liquid down. There was a hint of ginger and sour berries in the potion, but something else in it smelled so awful that her insides revolted.

  When the spoon appeared again, Sue pushed it away, spilling its contents on the dirt floor of the tent. Kiska was speaking to her, but her words echoed senselessly in Sue’s head. She opened her mouth and croaked, then pressed Kiska’s hand away and closed her eyes.

  Someone shook her shoulder. Kiska held the wooden spoon out to her again and said that Rain Water had freed her. This time Sue opened her mouth wide. The potion had the same terrible smell, but she drank some at Kiska’s urging. Anything that smelled that bad had to be good for her. Kiska was smiling and had tears in her eyes. Sue’s resistance was crumbling in the face of Kiska’s persistence. The woman’s words began to make sense. Free to leave. Must get stronger.

  After drinking several mouthfuls, Sue slept until dawn. Something poked Sue awake, and she rolled over. The morning sun was bright through the sides of the wikiup and was warming it. She turned to Kiska. “Was I dreaming last night? What did you say to me?”

  “First eat.” Kiska stirred a clay pot over a small fire and brought Sue a soupy broth in a bowl. Kiska put a hand out and lifted her head off the blanket.

  Sue took the spoon from Kiska and drank. Warm liquid coursed into her.

  Kiska took the spoon back. “Too much. Drink slow.”

  Sue let Kiska feed her until she fell asleep again.

  With constant small feedings over the next two days, Sue gained enough strength to start walking inside the tent without Kiska’s help. Her legs shook less, and her head was clear. She turned to Kiska. “Tell me why Rain Water is letting me go. He said he wouldn’t.”

  Kiska looked toward the tent entrance, as if she expected the young chief to enter any moment. “He has worries about you. He told my sister, ‘I did not bring her into this camp against her will, and I will not keep her here against her will.’ ” She paused. “Rain Water is an honorable man.”

  Sue considered that as she finished the meaty broth Kiska set before her.

  Four more days passed before she felt strong enough to make the journey back to Cottonwood. Kiska said, “Rain Water sends me to ride with you. He also sends four braves for your safety.”

  Sue was more than ready to go, even if she was still somewhat weak. Her joy at being released buoyed her spirits and gave her a reason to regain her strength these past few days. After two and a half days of an arduous mountain trek eastward in relatively good weather, the small troupe crested the last high pass and looked down on the northern end of the South Park basin. The small settlement of Cottonwood was nearly camouflaged by the brown landscape that surrounded it. When she reached the bottom of the foothills, Sue halted her companions and bid them goodbye. She trotted alone now for Cottonwood, while Kiska and the braves rode back up the mountain and disappeared over the pass.

  ****

  After a joyless trek back from the Indian camp, the four disheveled men dragged into Cottonwood late one afternoon. They’d pushed hard all day so they wouldn’t have to spend another night in the mountains eating tasteless food and sleeping on cold ground.

  They stabled their horses, rubbed them down, and filled buckets of oats and water for them. The riders trudged to the boarding house and as they walked into the foyer, Lorraine appeared in the doorway of the back bedroom. She started down the hall toward them, a hand to her side. Her eyes never left Ike, and when she reached him, she stretched an arm up around his neck and pulled him down toward her. She kissed him lightly at first, then followed that with a lingering one. She looked down at the bandage on his arm. “What happened?”

  “I’ll tell you about it later.”

  She hugged each of the others, took Ike by the hand, and led him back to her bedroom and closed the door. The others would have to make do.

  In the morning, the three men upstairs were roused by the smell of bacon cooking. They filed one by one into the dining room and sat. Lorraine was in the kitchen supervising Ike as he went about trying to prepare food. She pointed to a large platter up in a cupboard. He grabbed it and piled it high with the first warm food any of the men had seen in more than a week. Bacon and eggs, toast and butter. Strawberry jam. Ike served Lorraine first. It was simple fare, but filling. There was little conversation as they ate, and none about the Indian camp.

  Over the next several days, a forlorn Ike rested up. He took to riding south out of town alone nearly every day. He’d head in the general direction of Emerald Valley Ranch, then take different long, looping routes back to town. He tried to push the image of Sue holding the knife to her throat out of his mind, but it haunted him day and night. He roamed in no particular pattern, casting an occasional look toward the snow-capped mountains to the west as he rode.

  Lorraine cornered him after breakfast one morning as he was leaving the house. “Where you off to, cowboy?”

  “Thought I’d ride out south a ways.”

  “Why?”

  “I guess ridin’ out on the Park floor feels like doin’ something, and that’s better than the nothin’ I been doin’ lately
.”

  Lorraine blocked his exit. “You ever think about having a ranch of your own someday? Maybe around here?” She led him by the hand into the parlor, where she sat next to him on the upholstered couch.

  “Reckon I have thought about that. Thought about it more, lately. Ranchin’s hard work, but it’s gotta be better than farmin’.”

  Lorraine looked up at him. “What kind of ranch would you have?”

  “Cattle ranch, probably. I tried farmin’ back in Kansas, but farmin’ didn’t like me, so I got a hankerin’ to see if cattle like me any better. And this country’s come to have some sort of hold on me. I never was at peace back in Kansas after the war, but this place is growin’ on me.” He leaned down and kissed Lorraine lightly. “You’re growin’ on me, too. How’d you like to grow old on a cattle ranch with me?”

  Lorraine smiled and nodded. She reached up, wrapped her arms around him, and nestled her head against his chest. “I’d like that, but I don’t know how we’d do that ’cause between us, I don’t think we could scrape together more’n a dollar or two.”

  Ike kissed the top of her head. “I got that more or less figured out. There’s some money due me soon.”

  “Where’d you get any money, cowboy?”

  Ike turned toward her. “You remember what Hugh said about the loot the Reynolds gang buried?”

  “The professor? Yeah, he said the stage line hired him to recover as much of it as he could.”

  “Well, the company offered Hugh a reward for any money they got back. That was part of the deal they made with him. So, when we blew open the major’s ranch house safe, there was a small map inside showin’ where Manning hid the rest of the money he hadn’t spent yet. After we came back from the mountains, Hugh found the stash and returned it to Denver. He’s offered to split the reward money with us.”