by Rita Hestand
"Don't underestimate him," she reprimanded.
"I won't," Chase reassured her.
"Daylight is coming, get some rest. I put clean bandages on your brother, he is weak, but he's alive. We will change them often."
Chase looked at the soldier, "What do they call you, soldier?"
"Name's Nelson. Lee Martin Nelson."
"Lee, it is a good name."
"Never thought much about it. Just a name." The soldier nodded, the shadows gone from his face as he accepted his own fate.
"I am Chase Rivers, Lee."
"Chase Rivers?" The soldier nodded and smiled.
"Yes, Chase is my white name, Rivers is my Indian name. I will call you Lee. So, are you good with the rifle?" Chase asked.
"Not bad," he smiled. "They call me a marksman."
"Then you will stand watch first," Chase directed.
"Watch for what?" Lee glanced around not seeing anything in particular.
"The man…on the ridge." Chase directed his attention once more. "A man like that will try to sneak up on us. I say this because he cannot come to us and ask for what he wants. A man like that sneaks. So we will stand watch. He's after something, but we don't know what, yet. We'll wait, he'll tip his hand soon enough."
"Alright, I'm not sleepy anyway," Lee said eyeing the ridge above them with new interest.
"Good, I will relieve you in a few hours." Chase patted him on the shoulder.
Lee stared at him, seeming to size him up, and then nodded. "Perhaps," Lee said slowly, "I've misjudged you. If I have, I'm sorry. Out here, things can look one way and be another."
Chase smiled, he liked a man who could think on his own and come to his own conclusions. Lee was a fair man, a man he could trust.
***
Katherine smiled then spread the two blankets she carried on her back over herself and her brother and sat next to him. She felt a tear trickle down her cheek as she laid her head him. It was a comfort to have him near her. To know he was alive. She was so afraid he would die on her too. And she couldn't bear it.
For the first time thoughts of living entered her head again.
The soldier lay down on the other side of the campfire, his gun ready, his eyes alert. Chase was only a few feet away. He watched Katherine and Lee settle down, but Lee kept a watch.
They camped. A large boulder protected them from the sun as it came up high in the sky the next day.
The sound of grasshoppers buzzing woke Katherine. Checking her brother, she let him sleep and moved toward Chase who was not moving, but awake.
"Are we going on foot all the way?" she asked out of curiosity.
"No, we will find some horses," He whispered easily tolerating her questions.
"Horses? Where?" She glanced about them as though they might suddenly appear.
"Mustangs," He quickly explained.
"But we can't ride them!" she protested. "They're wild."
"We will ride them after I break them," he said and glanced at her. "A horse is only as good as its master. If the master is mean, the horse becomes mean; if the master is gentle the horse becomes gentle."
"And which are you?" she asked staring into his alert gaze.
"You will see," he smiled.
Katherine had dressed for the hot beckoning sun, wearing the still dirty dress. She wore an old flop hat that was sweat stained, but it shaded her eyes and face from the hot sun. How she'd love to find a cool creek and bath herself, but it wasn't a practical idea, with a camp full of men.
"How's your brother?" Lee asked as he came awake again.
"The same, but at least he's resting well," she said glancing over at him. "And the bleeding seems to have stopped."
"Is he all you have left?" Lee's face was a mixture of emotions.
"No, I have four younger brothers, but I sent them back east to an aunt, when our folks died. I reckon I won't be seeing them any time soon."
Lee nodded, "Lost my folks some time ago. I'm from Alabama originally. Guess you figured I was southern from my way of talkin'."
"You have no one left?" Katherine stared at him a long time.
"Got a brother, somewhere, but we both been wandering around since our folks died," Lee said almost as though his mind were a long way away.
"What happened…to your folks?" She asked curiously.
"Outlaws burnt our place down, Ma and Pa in it." He winced as though the memory bothered him. "Least, that's what I called them. Land-jumpers."
Katherine understood that.
"We had a little spread, with the best little creek running through it. But land grabbers wanted that water. Pa wouldn't sell it. My brother, Dillon, and I went into town for some supplies. We came home, it was nothin' but cinders. They lit out fast, left little trail. But I reckon one of these days I'll go back."
"Did you contact the Sheriff?" she asked, amazed at how brutal some people could be.
"Naw, the law sided with the Jeffries, it was only a matter of time before they run us out of there. Pa was a might stubborn about sharin' the water. I tried to talk some sense into him, but he had none of that. So Dill and me lit out, both in different directions. Haven't seen Dill since." Lee shook his head sadly.
"But it was your land…."
"Still is, legally. But we didn't have enough guns to fight 'em. We knew that much. And since the law wasn't on our side, we figured we'd just let them fight over it, and took off. At least we'd be alive that way. A wayward bullet killed my sister. That's when Dill and me decided that no piece of dirt was worth dyin' for."
"Do you regret it, the leaving?"
"Some, yeah. Figure maybe one day I'll go back, see what happened; straighten it all out, if I can," Lee said. "The deed to the land was recorded proper, Pa seen to that. But no tellin' what those Renegades did. With the law on their side"
"I am sorry for that." Chase came to stand beside them. "You've been cheated out of your land, like my people were forced to move from the north. We are not a wandering tribe of people, but we cannot live in peace anywhere, it seems. The land is good, everyone wants it. Same ole story, huh? Color don't matter."
Katherine ran her fingers through the dust letting it sift. She marveled... "Why is land so important? Why do we fight so hard for it? Why is it worth, a killing?"
Chase eyed her and smiled. "It is what you call…home."
"I couldn't leave the station," She protested. "Before…"
"You should have," he corrected. "Life is more important than dirt, Katherine. Someday you will understand that. Forced from their homes, the Shawnee moved many times. They did not like leaving, but each time they did. Further and further west, then south."
"I buried my folks there, it isn't just a piece of dirt, it was home," she explained. "It wasn't the dirt, it was…them. I couldn't leave them."
"It was a piece of dirt and your folks have gone to the maker of all things. They are happy now, as you should be for them." Chase instructed with an indulgent scowl.
"Have you ever lost anyone close to you?" she frowned her voice shrilling.
"Yes." His voice went lower.
"Then you should know it isn't easy to say goodbye to them. Missing them all the time…" her voice lowered too. "I wonder why I was left."
"Yes, you are right. We the living are the ones that suffer. But we also have to be strong, and go on. For Moneto left us here to finish…"
"Moneto?" Katherine frowned.
"He is the supreme God over the Shawnee, the same as you call your God."
"Finish what?" she wanted to know, as she stood and stared into his unrelenting face.
"Living." He answered simply.
Their eyes met and locked for a long moment.
When he was silent a long time she looked at him, "Who did you lose?"
"White Dove, my promised. She died by the hands of the bluecoats. Killed for nothing. They slaughtered women and children of the camp, as though they were the enemy. She had no chance to escape; they came in the midd
le of the night to the camp and killed them, while the warriors were on a hunting trip."
"I am sorry…for your loss." Katherine said, her voice softening. "So why did you become a scout for the bluecoats if they killed her?"
Chase studied the ground for a minute as though thinking about White Dove. "I was already a scout. These men, they were Jayhawkers, no longer with the regular Army. Renegades. Men who lost some of their own and wanted vengeance."
"Were they punished?"
"They were caught, a year or so later, and hung, by the real bluecoats."
"Was she…very pretty?" Katherine asked her eyes searching his out.
"Yes," he answered. Then he looked at her. "Why have you not married and had children?"
"We came from Missouri," she reflected. "I was fourteen when we left. There were a couple of boys I liked there, but we left and I never saw them again. After that, we moved a lot till we landed out here. My father was so proud of his station. He took pleasure in building it. But there was little other pleasure; the land was hard and unbendable. We could barely grow a garden. The well nearly dried up twice."
"And your mother?"
"She followed him, determined to be happy anywhere we went." She recalled with a whimsical smile.
"Then they were very happy together…?"
"I'd like to think they were…yes."
"Then Katherine, do not grieve for them any longer. They are with their maker and happy. It is you who should learn to live now," Chase insisted.
Katherine saw no future. "Don't you mean, learn to survive?"
"Do you know this man who follows us well?" Chase asked his attention going to the ridge.
"No." Katherine glanced once, but not again. She knew nothing. "My Pa knew him. I think he came from Missouri too. They talked a lot, but not around us women folk." Katherine explained trying to remember something that could help. "I wasn't sure why. Pa never invited him or his Indian wife in the house. They always spoke on the porch and never around us."
"Do you know what he wants from you?" Chase kept at her.
"No."
Chase seemed to study her a long while. "Blood vengeance, some kind of revenge?"
"Not that I know of. I've barely spoken to the man but a few times. It was my father that knew him, not I," she answered with a frown. "Josh thinks he might just be seeing after us since our folks died."
"You must know your enemies Katherine, in order to defeat them." Chase whispered, coming closer and looking into her eyes.
"You think…he's an enemy?" Katherine asked, studying him for a long moment. She felt uneasy that she was so comfortable with this breed.
"Does a friend stalk?" Chase smirked.
"I guess not…." She sounded surprised.
Chase began to smile as he looked at her. It was the first smile he had used in a long time and it came so naturally to him. "You are such an innocent." He spoke the words softly to her.
His words embarrassed her a little. She bowed her head and he brought it up to meet his gaze. "Never be ashamed of it, little one. I suppose the Creator has sent me to you, to watch over you and take care of you."
"The…Creator?" Katherine questioned, noting the way she quivered at his slightest touch.
"God." he acknowledged firmly. "You believe in God?"
"Is the Creator and God and Moneto one and the same, in your religion?" she asked curiously.
"They are similar yes. Perhaps not the same. In Shawnee, the Great Spirit is an old gray haired woman with brown eyes, a dog and a grandson named Cloudy Boy. The Great Spirit throws a net out to all who do good and earn favor, she brings them to heaven. The rest suffer a great consequence. The Shawnee live by a golden rule, much like your people. The rule says: "Do not kill or injure your neighbor, for it is not him that you injure, you injure yourself. But do good to him, therefore add to his days of happiness as you add to your own. Do not wrong or hate your neighbor, for it is not him that you wrong, you wrong yourself. But love him, for Moneto loves him also as he loves you." He smiled slowly at her.
"'Love thy neighbor.' It is the same in the white man's golden rule, only not many live by it."
"In some ways, the Shawnee and the whites are alike."
"But…Your God is a woman?" she asked in awe.
"No Katherine, I was educated into the white man's ways and my God is your God. But the Shawnee, they are a little different. They believe Wos-so mon-nit-to which is like your God sends favor to them if they do right. Like your God."
Katherine smiled silently, "My mother thought all Indians were heathen."
"Some are," he nodded.
"I'm glad you aren't," she said breathlessly.
He moved away from her, clearing his throat. "Yes, well, get some rest. I will take over the watch. Lee…?" he called out to the soldier.
"Yes," the soldier acknowledged as he came to stand in front of him.
"Did you rest?" Chase smiled at the young man.
"Some," he answered as he twisted his head in bafflement.
"I will hold the first watch. The man from the ridge still watches and we do not know if he means us harm or not. So when it is your turn, keep your eyes trained on the ridges."
The young soldier looked about, spotting Hawks. "What do you think he wants?"
"Don't know yet, just keep your eyes open," Chase told him. "Until he makes a move we won't know whose side he's on."
"All right."
"And Lee…?"
"Yeah,"
"The soldiers may turn on you when they catch up. You will have to make a decision then where you stand. Who you stand with. It will not be an easy one," Chase said casting him a quick furrowed glance.
"Yeah….but it looks like…I already chose sides, now don't it?" Lee answered with a sly smile. "Besides, the Captain is a hard man to deal with. He ain't gonna take too kindly to me being with you."
Chase nodded. "I am sorry it put you between your work, but it cannot be helped, and I will fight beside you, no matter what."
Lee looked at him curiously, turning his head as though he hadn't expected the loyalty.
"Thanks…"
Chase nodded.
Chapter Thirteen
It was early afternoon when Chase heard the rumbling of the ground. He knew they were coming even before he bent to put his ear to the ground. He raised up quickly. He checked the sky, the wind, and the distance. He knew they were coming. And he knew it was bluecoats.
"Get your guns ready," he hollered at everyone who was asleep.
Katherine came to quickly, "What is it?"
"I'm not sure, either the soldiers or the Indians. I think it is the soldiers, Indians would not be so loud," Chase said, checking his rifle, and handgun. "You will take cover behind the rocks."
"But…I don't see anyone?" she protested.
"You will. Now get behind the rocks, stay hidden," he told her. His face was stern and unyielding.
Then she saw them, it looked like a whole Calvary troop swooping in on them. Katherine ran to Chase's side, and took his pistol. "I can shoot," she insisted.
He nodded and motioned for her to stay behind him.
Lee was shocked. The split decision to turn on them or stay registered on his face for only a second as three of the officers approached the camp from the west.
The big one, the one who came to the station, dismounted and stepped closer. His arrogance walked with him. He held his reins in his hands, his other hand on his hip, close to his gun. His gun was ready but the look on his face was perplexed. "You there in camp."
Chase didn't move and motioned for the others to stay hidden. "What do you want Captain?"
"Come out of there, now. You are all under arrest." Authority echoed from the Captain's voice.
"All…?"
"All."
"But Captain we have a woman, a wounded boy and a soldier, surely you can't mean all of us. Isn't it me, you want?" Chase insisted meeting the Captain half way. "And if I come peaceable like, wi
ll you spare the others."
The Captain pulled his hat down over his eyes. "I want the woman and the boy for questioning. The soldier you speak of is either a turncoat or a prisoner of yours. And then there is you…the real renegade. But I'm taking you all in….understood?" The Captain stood his ground proudly, as though he knew he had some upper hand.
"We cannot allow that Captain," Chase answered with a slight smile.
"You are outnumbered. There is no way you could challenge us…" The Captains' smile had a bite.
Chase saw in the distance behind the troop the movement that assured him of a quick escape. The Comanche had followed too. And before they dealt with them, the Comanche would swoop down on them like a pack of flies.
"Captain, you better look behind you." Chase warned.
"Behind….me" he turned and as he did, an arrow whizzed by his ear. He aimed and shot a Comanche from his horse. Surrounded by Comanche a battle of bow and arrows and guns consumed the small canyon. Smoke and dust united to form a cloud so it was hard to see the victors of the battle. But the element of surprise was on the Indians side. The sun bore down from the east and made it hard to see the enemy.
Swords were drawn, and clanged loudly in the midst. The cracking of bone, the whir of the bows, the guns going off at random marred the still air. Gunpowder perfumed the air, as dust and blood met.
Blood splattered upon the rocks as the troops sought shelter. Soldiers fell, scalped in seconds. The Indians gave a whoop for each scalp. Horses reared and neighed loudly as pure fear stoked them.
It was not time to watch the bloody scene unfold. It was time to escape and putting Josh on his shoulder, Chase motioned for Katherine and Lee to follow him.
"There is an old adobe shack not far, come we will find shelter for the night."
"But…" Katherine's eyes widened in terror. "Shouldn't we stay and help them?"
Chase bowed his head, took a deep breath then stared at her long and hard, "We cannot help them. This is not our battle."
***
His voice was so final, so flat, so lacking emotion. Katherine stared nonplused at him.
The sound of the clatter and guns made Katherine shiver. She tried to put her hands over her ears. She couldn't bear to listen. There were screams and moans and whoops and hollering. There were yelps of pain and sighs of death and what was once brown with patches of green turned red.