Tender savage

by Conn, Phoebe

  "Then you are as much a murderer as I am," the brave remarked slyly.

  "That is neither here nor therel" Mark cried out in frustration.

  Viper shook his head sadly. "You are forgetting Joseph Godfrey. It will be his testimony that hangs me. It will not matter what you or Erica say. He knows where I fought, and he will surely say so."

  "Godfrey will present a problem, I admit that but—"

  Viper stepped close as he pointed out the truth Mark still hadn't seen. "The government of the United States wants to be rid of the Sioux for good. Since the army failed to kill us, the commission will. They may call their hearings trials, but it is still a war, only this time we have no weapons. Nothing will change for us until each white man has a conscience that troubles him as badly as yours does." Having no more to say. Viper walked away, but Mark stood for a long while staring after him, wondering if he could find the man's calm resolve if a death sentence were hanging over his head.

  Before returning to his tent that afternoon, Mark made it a point to find Song of the Wren. He handed over a leather pouch containing the gold coins he had promised her, but she was in tears as she grabbed it and ran away. When Erica greeted him with a pretty smile as he returned

  to his tent, he felt so guilty about his meeting with the Indian girl that he found it impossible to look her in the| eye.

  Mark looked so badly depressed. Erica grew frightened. "What's wrong? What's happened?"

  Unable to face her, Mark tossed his hat aside, unbuttoned his jacket, then stretched out on his bunk. He placed his hands behind his head before he replied, but he was still far from comfortable. "We've got to get out of here. Erica. As soon as my orders arrive, we've got to go. Viper doesn't want our help at his trial. He's refused it, in fact."

  "You've seen him?" Erica gasped in delighted surprise. "How does he look? May I go and see him, too?"

  The love he heaid so clearly in the excitement of her tone only made his already aching conscience hurt all the more. He could have saved her lover's life and married her. His pride had kept him from making what would have been the best bargain for them all. Now it was too late. "Yes, I've seen him. He looks as mesm as ever, and no, you may not visit him."

  "Is he all right?" Erica asked softly, depressed that her brief hope to see her husband had been dashed.

  "He's bitter, and I'd say deservedly so. He's no more guilty than most of the others, but with his attitude they'll hang him for sure."

  "There has to be something we can do, Mark. There just has to be." Yet as her eyes filled with tears, she feared all she would be able to do was weep. Kneeling beside Mark's cot, she laid her arm across his waist and rested her head lightly upKDn his chest. "Thank you for going to see him. Even if he won't let us help him, I appreciate the fact you made the effort. I know it was for me, rather than him."

  Mark lowered his left hand to her hair, combing the glossy curls through his fingers as he thought how little pleasure he had gotten from his ploy to win her affection by appearing to be sympathetic to Viper's plight. Some-bow, he had gotten caught in his own snare, and he felt thoroughly wretched for having tried to trick the woman who was so dear to him.

  "When Viper is tried, I'll be there," he assured her. "He may have remsed to allow you to attend, but he can't keep me from reading your sworn statement. If he was with you from August twenty-third on, then—"

  Erica rose up so she could look at Mark directly. "There were a couple of days in September when we were in Little Crow's camp. I know he rode with the others then, but he said they weren't involved in any fighting. Will that matter?"

  Mark pursed his lips thoughtfully. "It doesn't sound good. I know we got into an awful mess the last time we tried to stretch the truth, but I don't think you ought to mention the fact that he went back to Little Crow's band, even if it was only briefly."

  "All right, I won't. He was adamant about fighting only against the army," Erica recalled suddenly. "Won't that tell the commission something about his character?"

  "I doubt they believe the Sioux even have such a thing as 'character,' angel. Besides, any time a brave has admitted firing at anyone, the result has been the same: a death sentence. It won't help to say Vij>er chose his targets with care. If he admits killing even one white, he'll I^ng."

  "Well, I thought it might be worth a try." Erica rose to her feet, her resolve strengthened, if not her hopes. "Do you have some paper I could use? I'd like to get started making notes."

  Mark sat up and swung his legs over the side of the cot. "I wish I'd made that bargain with you. Erica. Viper would be in the Dakotas by now, and you and I woula be back home. We could have forgotten this whole ugly nightmare, as though it never happened."

  Erica opened her mouth to argue, for while the trials were indeed a nightmare, she would never, ever forget Viper. Realizing that was not what Mark would like to hear, she leaned down to kiss his cheek lightly. "You always do what you think is right. Since you're not responsible for this horrible mess, you mustn't blame yourself for what's happening to Viper."

  "Well, perhaps not, but—"

  Erica silenced his protest with a light caress of her fingertips. "No, none of this is your fault. Now find a pen, ink, and paper for me, so I can get to work on a statement that would make a stone weep."

  Mark had to smile at that image, but from what he had seen of the commission's decisions, their hearts were mcide of something far harder than stone.

  When Colonel Sibley had learned Erica was sharing Mark's tent rather than one with another woman, he had immediately called the captain to task, threatening to court martial him for flaunting an affair so openly. Mark had denied that charge vehemently in an attempt to convince his commanding officer that Erica was the most chaste of women and that she still considered herself Viper's wife, though she had not stated it publicly. They had been forced to share his quarters, he insisted, because of the hostility the other women had shown her. While Sibley found Mark's claim that their friendship was no more than a platonic one difficult to believe, he had no doubts about how the former captives viewed Erica, since he had heard more than one complain quite Qf)enly about the stunning blonde's lack of morals. Finally admitting Mark's fears for her safety might be well founded, he relented and did not insist she move into separate quarters of her own, but he continued to believe their scandalous living arrangements were cause for censure.

  That a brave's exceedingly attractive white wife was occupying an officer's tent was only one of Sibley's many problems. When the army had arrived to receive the-captives from the friendly Sioux, they had taken twelve hundred Indians into custody. Since that day, others had continued to surrender until their numbers had grown to nearly two thousand. He had sent the Indians out under gu2ird to gather corn and potatoes left in the fields at the Upper Agency, but each day the problem of feeding his Sioux charges was becoming more acute. Finally he had no choice but to move his troops and prisoners south to the Lower Agency.

  Pressing for retribution for the uprising. General Pope insisted the trials were to be completed promptly, and they were continued on October 25 in Francois La Bathe's log house, which had been one of the few not burned to the ground during the attack at the Lower Agency on August 18. As before, the commission's concept of justice was swift, with as many as forty cases being heard in one day. While Mark had no hope that he could change the verdict in Viper's case, he informed Lieutenant Rollin C. Ollin, the commission's judge advocate, or prosecutor, that he intended to offer evidence on the brave's behalf.

  It was plain to Viper from the astonished gasps from the

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  spectators crowded into the small house that he was the only one an army officer had volunteered to defend. A mixed blood, Antoine D. Freniere, and the Reverend Riggs were acting as interpreters, but they were told that Viper did not require their services. Vip)er had no intention of offering comments in any language, however. In his view the trial was a farce, and he would not dignify it by part
icipating.

  As soon as Viper's name had been called, Mark had leaped to his feet. He wanted to speak before any charges had been read, and since he had informed Lieutenant Ollin of his intentions, he was recognized and allowed to do so. Wanting to make the best impression he could for what he considered an entirely hopeless cause, he walked over to the Indian and stood by his side as he addressed the commission.

  "I would like to read a statement prepared in Viper's defense by Miss Erica Hanson, a young woman who became acouainted with him in July of this year." Erica had worked on this message with the care a scholar would give his doctoral thesis, and Mark knew it by heart. While Viper stared at him with a malevolent frown, he read Erica's words in so sincere a manner that he knew the stoic brave would be moved, even if no one else was. In phrases she had taken great care to give an almost childlike innocence and beauty, Erica described a friendship that had deepened into love, prompting Viper to come tor her when the Sioux attacked New Ulm. She stated that she had been his constant and willing companion from that day until he was arrested on October 6 and brought to Camp Release to stand trial, an action she tactfully described in her conclusion as totally unwarranted and unjust.

  Mark tapped Erica's neatly penned statement against his fingertips as he added a few comments of his own. "Since it has long been the government's intention to encourage the Sioux to take up farming, I wish to point out that this brave was living quite peacefully on proF)erty abandoned near New Ulm at the time I found him. He offered no resistance to my demand that he accompany me to Camp) Release for what I mistakenly assumed would be a fair trial. Since it has now become obvious to me that such a prospect is doubtful, I would like to join Miss Hanson in requesting whatever charges there might be

  against him be dropped immediately, since punishing such a fine individual would serve no useful purpose whatsoever. Thank you."

  Mark did not move to return to his seat, but remained beside Viper as the men on the commission broke their astonished silence to whisper excitedly amongst themselves. The people waiting to appear as witnesses against other braves made no secret of their opinion of Mark's comments, however, and had to be- ordered to stop shouting obscenities or leave.

  Colonel William Crooks finally succeeded in restoring order among the members of the commission and the audience, as well, but he had been as infuriated by Mark Randall's speech as everyone else. Quickly reviewing the lengthy list of charges against Viper, he scoffed at Mark's claim that he had taken up farming at the height of the uprising.

  "Captain, quite frankly your interest in this brave simply amazes me. It matta-s not at all what he did after August twenty-third, when he was so active a participant in the uprising prior to that date." He continued by quoting the charges against Viper to make his point. "We have an eyewitness who places him in the midst of the slaughter that took place here at the Lower Agency on the morning of the eighteenth. He was also involved in the ambush of Captain John Marsh's troops that afta^noon at the Redwood Ferry. He has been identified as having been among Litde Crow's force while Fort Ridgely was under siege. That he went to New Ulm to find Miss Hanson is doubtful, since our witness states he was responsible for torching at least half of the townl Clearly, taking a wife was merely an afterthought.

  "This is no peace-loving farmer who has taken a white bride, but a brutal and cunning murderer responsible for the deaths of countless innocent civilians, and a good many soldiers, to say nothing of the destruction of a great deal of valuable property. That you would speak up for him sickens us all. If you have anything to say for yourself. Viper, say it now, as I think we have devoted quite enough dme to your case and are ready to pronounce your sentence."

  ViF>er simply stared at the colonel, his gaze colder than ice as he remained silent, but the fury of his contemptuous

  glance was far more insulting than any words could have been. Knowing the commission could do little to him for ( befriending the brave, Mark made one last comment. "I i will never Delieve the word of a man who has bought his ( own life by betraying his former friends. That you would I accept the testimony of such a pitiful witness makes you every bit as guilty of murder as any Sioux you've condemned."

  Mark was forcibly removed from the log house at that point, with an escort to Colonel Sibley's headquarters, but as he was shoved out the door he heard Crooks sentence Viper to hang, followed by the raucous cheers of the white audience who heartily agreed with him that justice had again been served.

  After learning what had happened at the trial, Henry Sibley was so totally exasperated with Mark Randall's behavior that he could take no more. "There is a steamboat scheduled to arrive at the Lower Agency tomorrow around noon. Both you and Miss Hanson will be on board when it leaves, or you'll find yourself facing a court martial on charges of misconduct you will find impossible to refute."

  Knowing the mood of the officers who would sit on any such disciplinary board, Mark knew he had no choice but to leave. "We'll be on board," he assured Sibley without argument.

  "You will have to report to General Pope in Saint Paul, but I'm certain that will merely be a formality. Since he believes, as I do, that the Sioux should be executed for their crimes rather than provided with excuses for them, I'm certain he will see to it that you are provided with orders for an immediate return to duty with your former unit."

  Undoubtedly with the provision he be placed in the front lines, Mark thought to himself. Strangely, that p)ossibility didn't bother him in the least, and with a surprising calm, the still confident captain told Sibley he had enjoyed serving under his command and was instantly dismissed.

  Upon his return to their tent. Erica needed only a brief glance at the furious expression on Mark's face to know how Viper's trial had gone. They had both known beforehand what the verdict would be, but still, she was devastated to think Viper would hang, and she clung to

  Mark for comfort, thinking him the one true friend she had left in the world. When she had calmed down sufficiently for him to tell her they had to leave for home the very next day, she knew she should never have allowed him to become so deeply involved in her efforts to save her husband's life.

  "I never meant to ruin your career, Mark. I never meant to do that," she apologized in a voice hoarse with anguish.

  Mark brushed away the last of Erica's tears with his fingertips, then pulled her down beside him on his cot. "I'm an architect, not a soldier, and once the war is over it won't matter what sort of military record I had. I knew speaking up for Viper wouldn't make me popular, but I did it anyway. Besides, it will be much better for you to leave now rather than, well, rather than to wait until—" he faltered then, unable to speak Viper's fate out loud.

  "Until they begin the executions, you mean?" Thoroughly sickened by that thought. Erica had to swallow hard before she continued. "How can I go, Mark? I don't want Viper to think I've abandoned him."

  Mark pulled her into his arms again, patting her back gently as he tried to think of some way to convince her she had no choice but to leave when he did. Then the jjerfect solution occurred to him. "Viper didn't want you at the trial, sweetheart. He'd never want you standing beside the gallows. I think seeing you there would hurt him worse than having to die. He s too proud. You can't want to make him suffer any more than he already has. You can't do that to him."

  Reluctantly admitting he was right. Erica closed her eyes to force back a fresh flood of tears. "I want to tell him good-bye, Mark. Won't they please let me do that?"

  Mark took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "There's no point in my going to Sibley with that request, but I know enough of the men on guard duty that I might be able to arrange something. Don't get your hopes up, but let me see what I can do. Now why don't you try and rest? If I can work this out, it will have to be after midnight, and I know you'll want to be wide awake."

  Intrigued, Erica quickly agreed. "All right, I'll rest, but the minute you have a plan, please wake me up and tell me about it. Will you promise to
do that?"

  "Yes," Mark agreed, determined to give the woman he

  loved so dearly a few last minutes of happiness with the brave she adored. Hell, he didn't care if they did court-martial him for it, it would be worth it to see Erica smile again, even if it were for another man.

  When Mark arrived at the compound where the condemned Sioux were being held. Viper was surprised, for he could not imagine why the officer had come to see him when there could be nothing left for him to say. He supposed he should offer some sort of thanks for the help the officer had tried to give him, but he found words of gratitude impossible to speak.

  "Erica and I are leaving tomorrow. We've been ordered to go, actually," Mark admitted with a rueful smile. "Naturally, she wants to see you one last time." When Viper began to shake his head, Mark reached out to take his arm in a friendly grasp, but the brave smacked his hand away. Ignoring that insult, Mark continued, "Can't you do this for her? She's heartbroken. Although I will never understand why, she loves you. Now after the guards change at midnight I think I can sneak her in here for a few minutes and—"

  "Nol" Viper insisted dramatically. "This is no place for a woman or good-byes." Scowling deeply, he thought a moment, then offered another plan of his own. "Is the house where they hold the trials empty at night?"

  "What?" Mark was simply dumbfounded by that question, but he managed to gather his wits to respond. "There's no way I'll help you escape. I'm sorry for what's happened to you, but I'n be damned if I'll sf)end the next ten years in prison for helping you escape, and believe me, that's exacdy where Sibley would see I went."

  Viper swept that objection aside with an impatient wave. "I will not try to escape. I want only to see Erica alone. We will not run away. I will not turn her into a fugitive again. She deserves more. Now can you do it? Can you arrange for us to meet at La Bathe's house or not?"