Tender savage

by Conn, Phoebe

  reason to dwell on the matter. For the time being, Viper and she would have to live each.day as it came and pray tomorrow would take care of itself.

  Reluctantly, Erica put aside the pleasant thoughts of her husband and rose to her feet. She stretched her arms above her head, and feeling slightly stiff, vowed to make it a f)oint to sleep in the bed that night. It took her a long while to get the fire started from the dying coals that remained from the night's blaze. Then she realized she would have to fetch water to bathe. It seemed silly to get dressed to bring water, then undress to bathe, so she merely wrapped herself in the quilt, picked up the wooden bucket sitting on the ledge by the fireplace, and went outside to find the well. When it was not in view, she hiked up the end of her makeshift garment and started around toward the back of the house. The bushes and shrubs had been cut back to allow for a path, but she circled the structure without finding the well. Since she knew there had to be a source from which to draw water somewhere, she decided to try the far side of the bam.

  The morning air was chilly, and she hugged the quilt more tightly to her throat as she approached the barn. The path was a well-worn hollow, and she was certain if she just followed it she would soon find the well, but as she turned the corner of the barn she came to an abrupt halt, for not ten feet away sat what she was certain was a cougar. The big cat was eyeing the stallion through a crack in the barn wall. His tail was swishing back and forth with a menacing beat as his tongue swept over his whiskers in a hungry slurp that carried clear to Erica's ears. She began to back up slowly, hoping to escape the predator's notice, but the animal saw her out of the corner of his eye and turned his full attention toward her.

  Armed only with a bucket. Erica hurled it as she shouted a threatening curse, but rather than frightening off the cougar, she succeeded only in angering it. He was a handsome beast, his fur a dark yellow on his back and sides, his muzzle and belly white. He snarled at her, then, with a wobbling gait, started for her at a run, swiftly gathering the speed necessary to lunge for her throat.

  Not about to provide the cougar with a tasty breakfast. Erica threw off the quilt, and while the beast was

  momentarily blinded in its thick folds, she turned toward the house. Crossing the yard in a furious sprint, her blond hair flying, she was an amazing sight. Viper had just entered the yard with three large trout, and seeing his lovely bride dash nude into the house, he did not stop to ask what had frightened her so. He tossed the fish on the porch and drew his knife. By the time the cougar shook off the quilt and rounded the comer of the bam, Viper was ready for him. With a scream more terrifying than any banshee's, he challenged the beast to a fight to the death.

  Sighting the Indian, the cunning cat slid to a halt, then spun on its hind legs and loped off into the underbrush, but not before Viper had seen the wound in his left hind leg. Thinking that the injury must have accounted for the animal's daring in venturing out in broad daylight, the brave returned his knife to its sheath and picked up the fish on his way into the house. Erica had pulled on her dress, but her pretty blue eyes were still filled with fright as she greeted him.

  "Did you see the cougar?" she asked breathlessly.

  "Yes, I saw him, and I saw you, too," he added with a devilish chuckle. "It is no wonder the cat was chasing you if you were parading about without your clothes."

  Erica blusned deeply at that remark, but she was still too frightened to be offended by his teasing. "I was looking for the well. I was dressed too, in the quilt."

  Viper pulled her into his arms and pressed her face close to his chest as he listened to her tearfully relate the rest of her tale. "You are safe, and that is all that matters," he assured her. "Cougars hunt at night. That one was wounded or he would not have been out now, nor would he have come so close to the house. I will have to go after him before he comes back. Wounded animals are dangerous, and I cannot let him roam free when next time you might not be able to outrun him."

  Erica was still shaking. "I've never had to lug water from a well. Not once in my whole life. Where is the damn well, anyway?"

  Viper released her and looked around for the bucket. "I'll go and get the water. Did you leave the bucket outside?"

  The distraught blonde wiped her eyes on the back of her

  hand as she tried to recall what had happened to it. "It must be by the barn. I'll come with you."

  "Are you sure you want to?" When she nodded Viper took her hand. They recovered the bucket and quilt, then located the well hidden behind a shady elm tree across from the house. "I will chop the wood and bring the water. Erica. I do not want you to have to work harder as my wife than you did as your father's daughter. I want you to be happy with me."

  "I am happy," Erica insisted proudly. "It is only that I know very little about being a farmer's wife."

  "I am no farmer," Viper replied curtly, insulted that she might consider him one. "I like to hunt and fish for my food, not wait for it to grow out of the ^ound."

  "Will we be able to eat the cougar?" Enca wondered out loud, the prospect most unappetizing.

  "No, we will keep his pelt, but not eat his flesh." Viper picked up the bucket in his left hand and again took her hand in his right. "Now let's have breakfast and worry about trapping the cougar later."

  With Viper's instructions Erica managed to fry the trout in the cast iron skillet the owners of the house had left behind. He then showed her how to peel the tender white meat away from the bones and carried their two plates to the table. While he thought the meal delicious, he could tell by her preoccupied stare that Erica thought otherwise. "You do not like fish?" he asked.

  "Oh, yes, I do, and this is very good," Erica insisted as she toyed with the remains of her trout. "I was just trying to think of some clever way to convince you to take me hunting with you. I don't want to sit here all day with nothing to do. The fact is, I'm afraid to stay here by myself. So, won't you please take me along with you?"

  Viper frowned slightly as he considered her request. "You will only be in my way."

  "No, I wouldn't," Erica argued. "I promise to stay behind you and be very quiet. You could even let me carry your bow and arrows if you like, or the rifle, whichever you won't need."

  "I planned to take both," Viper confided. "The cougar is hated by farmers because he will get into a herd of sheep or goats and kill more animals than he can eat. Unlike

  other animals, he has a need to kill, rather than only a need to satisfy his hunger. In that way, he is like man." He looked up then, and found the innocence of Erica's deep blue gaze unsettling. "I do not wish to give him a second chance to kill you."

  "Well, neither do I," Erica agreed. "But I won't be safe here alone if someone comes. There may be more braves out looking for horses," she reminded him, although she still didn't think the man he had fought had wanted their stallion.

  Viper nodded thoughtfully, afraid what she said might well be true. "All right. Finish your breakfast and I will take you with me. We must track that cat before his trail grows cold."

  Erica leaped to her feet. "I'm ready. Let's go now." She sat down on the ledge of the fireplace to pull on her stockings and shoes, then looked up with a triumphant smile.

  "How am I to hunt when you are so pretty?" Viper inquired, his question far more serious than he knew she would believe.

  "Maybe you can find other game, too," the excited blonde suggested, taking his question for a compliment that required no reply. "We really should have more in the way of food."

  Viper rose to his feet, then scraped the fish left on their plates off into a bowl he placed outside on the porch for the cat. Turning back to her, he ordered gruffly. "Takeoff your slips, that way you won't make so much noise when you walk."

  The f>erceptive blonde knew she wasn't welcome on the hunting trip, and since she had had to talk him into taking her, she didn't think she could demand he be more charming. "I suppose your buckskins are quiet?" she asked instead.

  "Like the whisper of the wi
nd," Vip>er assured her. He watched as she discarded the lacy undergarments, then slun^ his quiver and bow over his shoulder. He picked up his rifle and opened the door. "Stay right behind me. If I raise my hand, stop. Do not speak to me unless I first speak to you."

  He was so serious about their mission that Erica did not

  argue. "I will be like your shadow, quiet but always nearby."

  That promise brought a smile to the brave's lips. "If I had a pretty wife who was as quiet as a shadow, everyone would envy me."

  "Everyone will envy you whether I am quiet or not, now let's go." Erica slipped past him to go through the door, then waited for him to lead the way. The tomcat looked up only briefly, then went back to devouring the last bits of trout in the bowl.

  Vii>er had certainly filled her life with adventure, Erica thought as she followed him into the forest, which lay on the north side of the bam. The farmer's cornfields were on the south, and she wondered who would harvest his crop. She didn't know the first thing about picking corn in the fields, and from what Viper said, neither did he. Well, they'd soon learn, she swore to herself, because surely it would be a sin to let the com rot in the fields when his people were going hungry.

  IJnaware of the practical slant of his wife's thoughts, the brave walked with a light but sure step, stopping frequently to study the breaks in the underbrush for clues to the cougar's direction. The animal had run only a short distance then had lain down to rest before moving on. It was traveling steadily north, but Viper hoped to overtake it before it reached the safety of its lair. They walked one hour, then two. Viper turned back often to make certain Erica was keeping up with him, but she was never more than an arm's reach behind. She, too, had worn her cougar claw necklace, and he winked at her, thinking them a very strange hunting party, indeed.

  When Viper heard the big cat moan, a low, mournful sound off to the right, he raised his hand to warn Erica he was about to stop and change direction so she would not run into his back. The underbrush was thick, but up ahead he caught a glimpse of the cougar they had been tracking sunning himself on a rocky ledge. Blood was trickling from the wound in his back leg and he turned his head to lick it away.

  Viper could not get a clear shot from where they stood, so he gestured to a tree with an overhanging limb. Erica nodded that she understood, then held his rifle as he

  climbed up and found a secure place from which to shoot. Regaining possession of the weapon, he took careful aim, then suddenly changed his mind and handed her down the rifle. Taking his bow and an arrow from his quiver, he then again took aim at the wounded cougar.

  Erica didn't want to watch the animal die, even though she understood why he could not be allowed to live. She told herself it was the humane thing to put him out of his misery, but she turned away as Viper drew back his bowstring. A slight movement in the bushes behind them caught her notice, and she realized to her horror that the cougar's mate had begun stalking them. Before she could shout a warning to Viper, the female broke through the foliage and came running toward her, mouth open wide, her wickedly sharp teeth gleaming with the bri^t threat of death as she sprang into the air. Without allowing her total inexperience with a rifle to affect her actions. Erica pulled the trigger and watched in terrified fascination as the female's snow-white belly turned a brilliant red. In the same instant an arrow pierced the cougar's throat. Slain twice, the animal fell to the ground only inches from the blonde's feet, twitched convulsively, and died.

  Erica turned to look up at Viper and found his astonished glance filled wtih admiration. His first arrow had also found its mark, and he leaped down from the tree to join her. "You were right," he shouted enthusiastically, "everyone will envy mel" He picked her up off her feet and spun her around, then set her down and kissed her soundly. "It is not every brave's wife who has the courage to shoot a cougar at point-blank range."

  "Your friends will be impressed?" Erica whispered weakly.

  "Yes. You are not only pretty, but also brave. They will like you," Vif>er assured her with another fervent kiss.

  "Oh good," Erica mumbled as he drew his knife to begin skinning the first of the dead cougars. She then collapsed in a heap at the base of the tree, the rifle balanced precariously across her knees. She felt faint and sick to her stomach, but as long as Viper was proud of her, she would not complain.

  One week melted into two, and Erica grew accustomed to the easy routine Viper had set. Each morning he would catch fish for their breakfast. Since she had proven her value, if he went hunting later, he would take her along. Sometimes they gathered berries together in the woods, always eating more than they ever managed to carry home. In the afternoons they would ride the stallion to the river to swim or merely to sit under the trees and enjoy each other's company. The evenings were spent in front of the fire, where Vip)er would recount die more colorful adventures from his youth to amuse his adoring bride. She had enticed him into sharing the feather bed at night, but it was clear to her, despite the fact that they were enjoying the comforts of the small farmhouse, that the man still considered himself an Indian through and through. It was a placid life, which gave them both pleasure, but it also had the elusive quality of a beautiful dream, and they each knew it could not last.

  Often when they were together, Viper would be so preoccupied that Erica knew better than to disturb him with idle conversation. She resj>ected his privacy and did not pry, since she was certain he was silently dwelling upon the course of the uprising. She knew they were honeymooning in a valley torn by warfare, but she did not force the issue by asking him to discuss it any more than he already had. She enjoyed the hours they shared

  too greatly to spoil them with talk of bloodshed, but she said prayers each night that the Sioux and the white men would soon be able to again live in peace.

  After repeated washings and days spent in the sun. Erica's only dress had faded to as pale a shade of blue as that of a robin's egg. The soles of her slippers were nearly worn through, and she could scarcely imagine how they would survive the winter if they did not fina heavier clothes and a source of food. The fall weather was lovely, but she had heard the winters were harsh in Minnesota, and she did not want to spend several months wrapped in their one quilt huddled in front of the fire.

  As they roue to the river one afternoon, Erica could no longer keep her worries to herself. "Where did your people get things like flour and salt. Viper? Were there stores at the Lower Agency?"

  Viper was not unaware of the source of her concern, for he too had spent considerable time wondering how they would pass the winter months. "The government gave us flour and salt as paurt of their bargain to pay for our lands. Traders at the agency sold food, but they cheated us and charged more than it was worth. Then the Indian agents ignored our complaints and paid the traders' claims out of our money. Everyone cheated us. It was like a joke to them, but not to us."

  "I certainly don't find it amusing, either, but if a shortage of supplies was a problem before, won't the uprising have made the situation even worse?"

  "Yes," Viper agreed, "but now that we can hunt again on land the settlers have left, we at least have a chance to provide for ourselves. We had none before."

  Every word he spoke was so damning. Erica was amazed the uprising had not taken place several years earlier. The Sioux had shown remarkable restraint, in her view, when they had been treated so badly. She was riding behind him that day and rested her cheek upon his shoulder. "You are so bright. Viper, you would make a fine spokesman for your people."

  Viper disagreed. "No, I would not, for I know my words would be wasted. We have sent the wisest of our chiefs to Washington, Their pleas were heard but quickly forgotten. Talking does no good at all."

  "And the killing will?" Erica asked skeptically.

  "We will have to wait and see," Viper responded thoughtfully. "I should find my friends and learn what has happened."

  "Will they still be living at the Lx>wer Agency?"

  Viper hesitated
a moment, then, certain she would never betray him, told her the truth. "There was talk of moving our camp up past the Yellow Medicine River so the warriors' families would be safe."

  As they reached their favorite spot on the river, Erica looked around apprehensively. She never relaxed until she was certain there were no signs anyone had visited the site since they had left the previous afternoon. "Isn't the Yellow Medicine River a long way from here?"

  "Yes," Viper agreed with a sly grin. "If we were to follow the Minnesota River, it would be a long trip. But if we followed the Cottonwood to its source and then went north it would be no more than a day's ride." He slid down off the stallion and then helped her down to her feet. "You were not afraid the first time you talked with me. Would you be afraid to visit my camp?"

  While Erica thought she would be wise to be cautious where his p)eople were concerned, she did not want to admit the thought of meeting them frightened her witless. Without answering his question, she started walking toward the river, unbuttoning her dress with a carefree nonchalance as she went. They always swam nude, and she liked the feel of the water against her bare skin. She liked the way Viper's body felt against hers, too. Swimming nude would have created a scandal at home, but here in the woods it seemed a very natural thing to do.

  Viper tethered the stallion where the animal could graze, then followed his bride down to the water. They spent so much time out of doors that her fair skin had turned a light golden tan, and if possible, her hair seemed even more blond. He walked up behind her, wrapj^ed his arms around her narrow waist, and gave her a loving hug. "I must go soon, Erica. Do you want to come with me, or stay here?"

  "You know I cannot stay here alone," the troubled blonde complained. "If you leave, then you will have to take me with you." She placed her hands over his, wishing with all her heart he would choose to stay there with her instead.