LEGEND of the DAWN: The Complete Trilogy: LEGEND of the DAWN; AFTER the DAWN; BEFORE SUNDOWN.

by J. R. WRIGHT

  “I’ve got Laudanum,” Cola said at the bed, where she and Bright Moon helped him settle down, the two of them gently lifting the injured leg.

  “The whiskey’ll do fine,” he said, remembering when Breanne had taken Laudanum after the beating she got from Hans. He remembered her as being more drugged at the time than he wanted to be at the moment. Drunk for a day or two was one thing; drugged on opium for weeks on end was another.

  “I’ll bring fresh bandages. Bordeaux will want to see those wounds when he returns. He’s down at the village doing some trading this afternoon,” Cola said, then hurried from the room.

  Bright Moon rushed out after her and soon returned with her baby and held him up for Luke to see.

  “He’s… He’s beautiful, Bright Moon,” he said, not knowing what else to say. The baby was beautiful, but he hesitated to say that about a boy. Somehow it didn’t seem fitting. Little Tom was dark, but not as dark as her, and clearly had blue eyes. The blue eyes, he figured, were a given, since both father and mother had them.

  “Beau-tee-full…,” Bright Moon repeated, even though not familiar with the word. “Him beau-tee-full.” She smiled broadly and left the room with him in her arms, seeming quite content.

  Momentarily, Cola returned with a pint of whiskey, figuring a bottle would be easier for him to drink lying down.

  Luke raised up a bit and took a long pull from it before saying, “Chaska was here?”

  “He was. He’s a fine looking boy, Tom. You must be proud of him. He favors you.”

  “I don’t know what to think about any of this. It has all come on so fast.”

  “He only stayed two days. Fortunately, Bright Moon gave birth while he was here. He got to see the baby. It certainly made it easier on Bright Moon. She was so happy he came. When he left he promised to return in summer.”

  “Good,” Luke said, “I’m glad he finally made it here. The boy can do anything, once he sets his mind to it.”

  With that bit of fatherly admiration, Cola smiled, seeing the twinkle of pride on his face. “I’m going to remove those soiled rags. I’ll be gentle, okay?”

  “How did he take to the store? I know he’s never been to one.”

  “It took Bright Moon to get him inside, but once he was, he seemed quite amazed with all we had. Bright Moon gave him a liquorish stick, her favorite, but he didn’t seem to care for it. He did like Bordeaux’s jerky though. Ate a pound of it, at least,” Cola laughed.

  “I’ll pay you for it,” Luke said.

  “You’ll do no such thing! Bright Moon is like a daughter to us. I guess that makes us all family, Tom.” She laughed again. That is, until she uncovered the leg wound. “Oh, God!”

  “What is it?” Luke asked, rising to his elbows.

  “This doesn’t look good,” Cola said, covering her face against the putrid smell. “Bright Moon!” she shouted toward the adjoining room.

  Bright Moon appeared at the door near instantly.

  “Honey, I need you to run to the fur shed next door. Ask the workers there to gather some maggots. I’ll need at least two dozen,” Cola ordered, knowing the fur shed had plenty of maggots crawling around on the fresh animal skins year round, since it was kept heated. They served to clean the pelts of any remaining bits of meat or fat, therefore aiding in the preservation process.

  Once Bright Moon was gone, Cola focused on Luke. “It’s gangrene, Tom,” she said and went to the kitchen for clean rags and a basin of hot water.

  Luke took another drink of the whiskey and lay back, glaring at the ceiling. He wondered how he would ever warn the tribes along the Niobrara and Cheyenne Rivers in the condition he was in. Old blood and guts Harney would soon be on the way. They needed to know in time to clear out of the area. Knowing Bill Harney, if he couldn’t find the people he was searching for, he may just as well shoot up an innocent village simply to gain favorable press in the east, where most believed the only good Indians were dead Indians.

  An hour later, with the pain not subsiding and maggots crawling over both of the wounds, Luke said, “I believe I’ll try some of that Laudanum now. Maybe it’s best I sleep through this.”

  After two days of fever and agonizing pain, the swelling began to subside. Luke slowly got his appetite back and awoke later in the day with a massive hunger. The maggots were still there, having been changed out with fresh ones twice. During this time, Cola and Bright Moon had taken turns placing wet rags on his forehead around the clock. Luke vaguely remembered waking with chills several times and seeing one or the other’s concerned face looking down on him.

  He was near naked now except for blankets that covered everything but where the maggots roamed about. And now that he was fully conscious and realized the state of affairs, he wondered who had undressed and obviously bathed him while he was in another place, frolicking with Breanne in a freezing cold stream. Perhaps it was such dreams – a succession of them – that had made the hours of chilling bearable. Funny how much discomfort a person can endure when eminent sex is forthcoming, he thought, especially with someone near and dear.

  Would he ever get over her, he wondered? He hoped not. After all, she was, even at this late date, what drove him. His memory of her was his fortitude, his survival, his life. He never wanted to wake up without her being the first thought on his mind.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  “How we doing?” Cola burst into the room with a steaming bowl in her hands. “Soup!” She smiled, sitting on the bed, prepared to spoon feed him. “I had Bordeaux butcher a chicken. Nothing better than chicken soup after a fever to get your strength back.”

  “I’m grateful,” Luke said, “but I think I can feed myself.” He started to rise up.

  “Not today,” Cola pushed him back, then leveled a spoon toward him. “We must let our little friends there on your chest do their job a while longer. If you sit up, I’m afraid they’ll fall off. Here now, open wide.”

  Luke reluctantly did as she asked. The soup, mostly broth, was delicious, and he said so. “I can’t recall the last time I had something so tasty.”

  “It’s the sage,” she said. “Indian medicine. It will help with the healing.”

  “How is it you talk so well?” Luke asked between spoons.

  Cola laughed. “The day Bordeaux took me from my people, I was so angry I called him every filthy word in Omaha I knew. Well, finally he turned to me and said, ‘Cola, if you ever expect to win an argument with a white man, you’ll need to learn the language.’ From that day on, he coached me. And here I am, twenty-one years later, speaking just like ya.” She laughed again.

  “You must have been young?”

  “Not so young for an Indian girl. Nobody wanted me because I was so skinny and tall, that is, until Bordeaux came along looking for his second wife. His first one died in childbirth. I was sixteen.”

  Breanne was sixteen when she ran off with him, Luke remembered. But then, he was only seventeen at the time. “So, you were happy to have been chosen by Bordeaux?”

  “Are you kidding me? I couldn’t believe my father had bartered me away for a few boney old horses. And to a white man, no less. I was furious. It took me a solid month – or more – before I went to his bed.”

  Luke thought to ask why they had no children, but reconsidered, figuring it none of his business. “Who had the pleasure of bathing me?” he had to know.

  “That was Bright Moon’s idea. She felt it was her duty, seeing as how you are the baby’s grandpa. She thinks the world of you, Tom.”

  “And, I her. I just hope it works out so they can be together some day,” Luke said. “Chaska was forced to take another woman from the village for his wife. He was told he must do that if he ever expects to become chief someday.”

  “Bordeaux told me,” Cola said sadly. “Bright Moon doesn’t know?”

  “She does. I told her. Chaska asked me to. But I think she’s blocking it out,” he said. “It was good he came when the baby was born. I think he knew it was
near time. Otherwise, it seems strange he would wait so long and then come at that exact time.”

  “Could be she was holding back, if that’s possible,” Cola said and laughed again.

  “He lives!” Bordeaux came into the room. “What’s all the laughing about?”

  “Just the man I need to speak to,” Luke said.

  “What can I help you with, Tom?” James Bordeaux asked, scoffing his bushy winter beard.

  Luke cast his eyes to Cola. He had finished the soup, and now it was obvious he wanted her to leave for some man talk with her husband.

  “I’m going.” She glanced at Bordeaux, then did so, taking the bowl with her.

  “First off I need a hand to the outhouse,” Luke said and began picking the maggots off his chest and putting them in an empty fruit jar next to the bed.

  “Sure.” Bordeaux reached for Luke’s long coat that Cola had hung on a peg beside the door. “What else is on your mind?”

  “I need someone to warn the tribes along the Niobrara and Cheyenne Rivers that Harney is coming.”

  “Already done, Tom. Chatawinna (Left Handed Woman) and a group of warriors, fearing reprisal, left out from the Brule camp here yesterday. They promised to warn all of the friendly tribes clear up through the Powder River Country. With a little luck, they should all be out of harm’s way before Harney gets here. What do you figure, another month or two?”

  “Probably two, but it takes time to move so many people off the plains.”

  “Don’t I know it! I was the one that talked the Brule and Oglala into moving here. It took them forever to travel four hundred miles, about.”

  “Thanks for taking care of that, James.”

  “Actually, I just told them. It was Chatawinna’s idea to do the rest. He’s got some crazy hair up his ass that Harney will attack the village here at the fort, the way Grattan attempted to do.”

  “There would be no justification for that, with Little Thunder and his warriors gone from here.”

  “Exactly!” Bordeaux helped Luke on with the coat, then offered a shoulder to put his weight on as they left out through a side door.

  “I’ve been riding that calico mule of yours some to keep him exercised,” Bordeaux said on the way through shallow snow to the outhouse. “That’s quite an animal.”

  “Never had better. I’m thinking of buying two more for the wagon when I go west.”

  “So you’re really going to do it?”

  “Just as soon as I finish with this Harney thing and draw my pay.”

  “Happy to hear it, Tom. You will stop by on the way?”

  “You can count on that. I want you to meet Sarah. I’ve told her a lot about all of you.”

  “Now you lost me. Who’s Sarah?”

  “Didn’t I tell you about her?”

  “What else is new?”

  “I thought I told it all the last time I was here. I guess I must have left that part out.”

  “So tell me through the door,” Bordeaux helped him into the toilet and shut the door.

  Once the story was told, Bordeaux said, “What about those letters I wrote to friends in the east inquiring as to the whereabouts of that Breanne Bruyere. You still want them to go out with the first mail in the spring? I should have some answers back before fall.”

  “She has to know she has a son.”

  “How will I get word to you if she is found?”

  “I’ll stay in touch no matter what,” Luke replied. “I may settle not terribly far from here. It depends on what I find further west.”

  “You do that. That way you can come visit every now and then,” James said when Luke emerged from the toilet. “Bright Moon will like that. When you’re not here, she asks about you near every day.”

  “That one has won my heart,” Luke said, hobbling through the snow. “Maybe I’ll just take her along when we go.”

  “Not on your life,” Bordeaux said sternly. “That’s the daughter we never had, you’re talking about there. If Cola heard you say that, she’d turn Indian on you. So if it’s your throat you want slit, just keep it up,” Bordeaux laughed.

  “How come it is you never had kids, James? You and Cola?”

  “Just one of those things. Hell, we may have some yet. God knows it’s not for a lack of trying,” he laughed again.

  Two more weeks passed before Luke could painlessly ride. And when he could, he headed directly for the Paha Sapa.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  No doubt Luke was on the alert when he entered the Lakhota village six days later. He didn’t trust Spotted Horse and circled wide on purpose before slowly riding in. Another incident like he had at Little Thunder’s camp may just be the end of him. These people had guns, and he had supplied them the ammo.

  Luke did not stop, or even glance at the many that gathered around him, until he reached the center of the village. It was there he halted the calico mule and waited. Brave Fox’s tepee was on the left, marked with a running bull buffalo above the flap-covered opening.

  As it turned out, it was Chaska who made his appearance first. “Father,” he said, dashing up from the side. “It is good to see you. Come from Dakotah village. Old chief there still. Woman die having baby. All gather to mourn baby and woman.” He dropped his head in sorrow, which was expected by those gathered about.

  “Chaska,” he greeted. “What woman are you taking about?”

  “Chaska woman, Little Elk, and baby gone… Little Elk daughter of Dakotah chief, so whole village morn.”

  “I’m sorry!” He ordered the mule down, stepped off, and took Chaska in for a manly embrace. “Your pain is felt, my son. You will miss her.”

  “Yes, Chaska will miss Little Elk.” Tears formed at the wells of his eyes. “But now can go get Bright Moon. Make her my woman, share tepee. Old chief say this day when tell of fine baby boy named Tom. Old chief think he grandfather now. Anxious to see grandson.” Chaska smiled ashamedly. “Sometimes he does not remember he is not my father anymore.”

  “Let him be,” Luke said. “Two fathers is a good thing, if you have room in your heart for both of us.”

  “Yes,” Chaska agreed. “Two fathers good.”

  “What will Spotted Horse have to say about that?” Luke asked with concern.

  “Spotted Horse say nothing. Spotted Horse dead.”

  “Dead?” Luke was visibly shocked. “What happened?”

  “Fall off horse chasing buffalo. Break neck,” Chaska said, tongue protruding from the mouth, bulging eyes, and all. “Evil spirits come for him. Send one old cow to tempt. Old cow run off cliff. Like fool, Spotted Horse follow. Both die.”

  Luke wasn’t at all disappointed to hear Spotted Horse was gone. As a matter of fact, he was gleeful. The man was a threat to Chaska’s safety as well as his own, when he visited. “Who then will replace Spotted Horse as council chief for the Lakhota?”

  “Old chief say Chaska will sit, listen for many moons, then become only chief when Brave Fox die.”

  “And he has told the elders of the tribe this, so there will be no confusion when the time comes?”

  “Old chief has spoken to all. They agree wise one who brought them to this place of plenty should lead someday as white buffalo spirit.”

  “That’s good,” Luke smiled. “You will make a fine chief when the time comes.”

  “White father proud?”

  “Father is very proud,” Luke took him in for another embrace. “But now I want to tell you why I’ve come. There is a large army coming in a month or two. I want you to know so you can keep a look out for them, just in case they should decide to come here.”

  “Should we move, then?”

  “I think they will find you wherever you go in these parts. It’s best if you just have a good escape route to further back into the hills, for when the time comes. They would be fools to trail you in there. It’s the perfect place for an ambush…”

  “Ambush?” Chaska asked, not knowing the meaning of the word.

 
; “Lying in wait behind high rocks, to attack with your guns by surprise,” Luke said, using signs along with the words so he may be better understand.

  “Ak kee chee dah ah pay,” Chaska said in Lakhota.

  “Exactly! Wait for the soldiers to come.”

  “Good! Chaska will see that the old and the children are put in a safe place beforehand.”

  “You are very wise, my son.” Luke again smiled with pride.

  “Come with me and tell the old chief what you tell Chaska. He will be glad to see you again, now that Spotted Horse is not around to shame him at every step.”

  “Lead the way,” Luke said and stepped aboard the mule. Walking was still painful for him.

  Chaska started off on foot through the tepees for the Dakotah camp nearby, noticing many from the Lakhota village following as before. “Apo” (Dawn), was heard repeatedly, as it had been when Luke rode in.

  At the center of the Dakotah camp was a circle of mourners that numbered near a hundred. Luke knew these things could go on for days. Often the bodies were near in total decay before they were taken to the prepared scaffold miles away for the final rest.

  Luke could see from atop the mule that the body of the girl, Chaska’s wife, was completely wrapped and tied inside a buffalo robe, except for her beautiful face, which was completely exposed for now. At her feet were an abundance of things that belonged to her: a pair of fine moccasins laced with porcupine quills, a blouse and leggings equally decorated, along with a white man made cooking pot, perhaps her most prized possession, since there were so few of them in this village.

  Luke stayed back as Chaska pushed through the group to where the old chief sat near the body, flanked by chiefs of the Dakotah, one of them the girl’s father. He returned to Luke minutes later, asking that he join them there where they sat.

  “Are you sure?” Luke was surprised. Such things were usually closed to outsiders. But then perhaps he was no longer considered an outsider since he had given them the gift of powder and lead in their time of need. Or maybe because word had gotten out that he was Chaska’s father.