“Wait!” He gestured at the news articles dissolving in his wet shirt.
“All right.” She stopped.
As they used their bodies to shelter his hands from the driving rain, he smoothed out the newsprint pages inside the covers of his journal.
Are Those Really Canals on Mars? dissolved in his hands.
“It’s all ruined,” she said.
“Not yet.” Hurrying the journal into his shoulder bag, Aidan thought he heard thunder clapping, but no lightning flashed in miles and miles of blue-black sky. A bear came crashing through the thorny bushes, moaning and rearing up on its haunches. Aidan grabbed Redwood and thrust her behind him. The bear half-heartedly slashed at them with stubby claws. Aidan fended off the clumsy attack with a slap on the nose. The bear danced this way and that, desperate for a tree to climb — nothing ’cept scrub bush and spindly grass back toward the lake. Trees were a good run away and hardly taller than the bear. Aidan sang a few burra-burras and heya bobs.
“Bears don’t scare me, like those guns.” Redwood pointed down the dim road.
Aidan could just make out three men and three rifles zigzagging through dunes. “Damn it!”
The bear sneezed, scratched its nose, and sat down, hidden from the trackers by the bushes. A mournful expression had Aidan wondering if bears could weep. Redwood, after not touching Aidan for weeks, leaned her thighs, belly, and tiddies against him. She just let go into his back, lying down on him. Whistling breath through her teeth, she laced chilly fingers ’round his chest and pressed her face into his wet hair. Something was brewing with her. Aidan was cold, soaked, and too tired for any stuff. Woman picked the worst moments to let him know she wanted to try love-making again. Something or somebody was always in the way. The bear blasted them with sour breath and chewed out a sound, asking for help, no doubt on that.
“I can’t,” he muttered to the bear at his feet and the woman at his back.
“You feel so good,” Redwood whispered.
All Aidan wanted was to get back to Walter’s place. He’d turned a storage hall into a cozy bedchamber. Walter was off romancing Rose most of the time, and Walter’s daddy didn’t mind Aidan banging on the banjo in the middle of the night. Sometimes the old fellow told stories that Aidan didn’t quite understand, even when he begrudgingly offered up a little English. Listening to Lakota tales, Aidan would fall into a good sleep and dream deep ’til morning, without hankering for a drink or worrying on anything.
“I’m not right yet. I want to be strong for you. I want to be a whole man, not a broke-down drunk.” Aidan wasn’t sure Redwood could hear him mumbling in the loud rain.
An engine backfired, and Nicolai drove off in one of the borrowed trucks. Wheels growled in the muddy gravel. The frightened bear made fearful noises and curled up in a mound. A paw was mangled and bloody.
“Damn it!” Aidan said again, and then cut off a string of cussing.
Redwood took a step ’round him toward the bear. Gurgling almost like a cub drinking from its mama, Redwood waved her storm hand toward a second transport truck. The animal cocked a big head to the side and, favoring three paws, bounded through dense foliage right for the motor vehicle.
“He’s wearing a chain on his neck,” Aidan said.
“A she-bear — ain’t wild, just real sad,” Redwood said.
Iris threw back the flap of the storage truck like she’d been expecting company. She stepped aside and the bear gamboled in. Gazing from Iris to Redwood, Aidan laughed.
“Baby Sister and I can speak heart-to-heart sometimes.” Redwood smirked, as if getting caught in a scheme. “Iris is just showing spirit. You’re all for that.”
“What’ll we say to these fellows?” Aidan squinted at the trio toting guns and scurrying in circles, a regular comedy act, and getting closer.
“You’ll think of something.” Redwood pressed her wet body against his soggy shirt. “A she-bear at the beginning of the picture would work as well as a cougar.”
Aidan sighed. “I don’t have the heart to turn her over, either.”
Redwood brushed his cheek with her fingers, then left him to deal with the hunting party. He crashed through the bushes away from the truck, making enough noise to wake the dead. When he was sure the three hunters were rushing his way, he shouted and hollered and carried on. “My god it’s a bear. Bear! Bear!”
Luckily, under dark clouds and buckets of rain, wasn’t much clear vision. The downpour made a mess of the tracks, and a bear on all fours would have been hidden in the bushes. Aidan pointed the men back toward the lake, claiming the fearsome creature had raced past him. Bears were fast, and who’d believe the truth anyhow? “Claws just missed me!” They swore this was a dancing bear and not all that dangerous. Aidan eyed their rifles and backed away. They slogged on in the mud.
Aidan climbed over the tailgate and into the back of the truck. “A fugitive from a traveling sideshow.” He didn’t know whether the bear stench filling his nose was fear or funky relief. The animal sat in the corner atop worn-out costumes, watching the three humans warily. Aidan couldn’t fault her for a low opinion of them. They were acting crazy. He turned to Iris. “Where were you all morning? Did you turn that bear loose?”
Iris’ eyes got big, but she didn’t answer.
“Those men will come back when they don’t find her or any tracks,” Redwood said.
“What’s got into you?” he asked Redwood, not talking ’bout the bear. She knew he wasn’t and clamped her mouth tight.
“Don’t worry on that now,” Iris said. “Hurry and drive us away. Please. They’re mean to bears, you can see.”
They all stared at the frightened creature. Redwood sat down by the bear, not too close. She kept her head low and her hands folded. After only a moment, the bear scooted close enough to put her wounded paw right in Redwood’s lap.
Iris tugged at Aidan’s arm. “Don’t she remind you of Star?”
“Who?” Aidan said.
“That bear from back home,” Redwood said.
“All right, all right,” Aidan said. “When the picture’s done though, we find a place to set this bear free.” He leapt out the back, hurried to the front cabin, and started the engine. Despite expert lessons from Mr. McGregor, he didn’t like driving, especially in a storm. The road was a stream of slime, but they couldn’t just wait for those fellows to come back and find them with the bear.
Zigzagging through mud and stones, he made a fast getaway.
Twenty-four
Chicago, 1913
The Pirate and the Schoolteacher
Nicolai Minsky and his valiant camera crew, Oscar Jones, Henry Wilson, and Freddie Fastfoot, braved the wilds of Wisconsin and tempestuous Lake Michigan to capture many wonderful scenes for The Pirate and the Schoolteacher. And although they shot the beginning after the end and all the other scenes out of order too, this was how the moving-picture play came together on screen for audiences far and wide.
The camera eye opened up to Hog Hollow, a Sea Island town off the coast of Georgia. A sailing boat bounced on stormy seas and lovely Schoolteacher Redwood set down her chalk on a mound of books. She stared mournfully at the open water through her classroom window. Her pupils - Clarissa and George’s kids and Iris - exploded through the door to gather seashells.
Rose, playing a Seminole woman, tended a garden behind the school and smiled at the children running by. Wildfire, a Seminole farmer and Rose’s brother, strode into his cabin with a deer over one shoulder and a bow over another. Following him, Walter Jumping Bear, also a Seminole farmer, dipped a carved wooden spoon into a bowl of Sofkee, a dish made with corn hominy and meat. In a gesture of welcome and goodwill, Walter drained the deep spoon.
Outside, Milton, the Baptist Minister, dragged himself through the sand with a Bible against his chest and a heavy weight on his shoulders.
TITLE: WITHOUT MONEY FOR TAXES, EVERYONE IN HOG HOLLOW MIGHT LOSE THEIR LAND.
Clarissa, a good Christian woman, watched
Milton from the church. Coming upon flowers strewn on the church steps, Milton broke into a weak smile.
TITLE: HOPE IS ALWAYS A GUEST AT OUR TABLE.
A wave crashed against the now shipwrecked boat. Sailing men struggled between rocks, waves, and broken boards. On shore, a black bear chased Pirate Saeed, a salty rogue in tight breeches and puffy white shirt. A sword dangled from his hip. Desperate for escape, the Pirate dashed into frothy water, slipping and sliding, while the sure-footed bear gained on him. Animal and man ran across the path of Farmer Wildfire, now dressed in a voluminous beaded coat. Wildfire drew his mighty bow, aimed, and felled the bear (who could always be coaxed to roll on her back for honey from Iris’s hands). But alas, Pirate Saeed was dragged down by a fierce, low-riding current. Wildfire threw off his coat and jumped in the water after him.
On the beach with her young charges, Teacher Redwood rescued a red leather journal floating in on a wave. She traced watery words with her finger as they washed away in the salty ocean brew. The back pages of the journal were dry and the words safe. Reading the sayings and poetry, Redwood sighed and dabbed her eyes.
TITLE: THE AFTERNOON KNOWS WHAT THE MORNING NEVER EXPECTED.
Struggling over slippery rocks, Wildfire managed to haul Pirate Saeed to the beach. Heaving deep breaths, the Pirate hugged his rescuer, grateful to be alive. Teacher Redwood waved at them from down the shore.
Meanwhile Walter and Rose sat in a canoe, eating smoked fish. An orchid rode the waves toward them. Walter plucked the flower from the water and offered it to Rose. She set the flower in her lap as wreckage from the sailing ship floated by. Startled, they searched the sea with wide eyes. Drowning men flailed against choppy water. Rose gasped and pointed.
TITLE: “YOU MUST SAVE THEM!”
Walter wedged the canoe between rocks and, joined by his daddy, also a Seminole farmer, he dashed into the water. Rose scrambled to the beach. Walter and his daddy battled fierce waves to drag waterlogged sailors, Eddie and a seedy-looking Gang, to safety. Rose and Teacher Redwood ministered to the gasping men on the beach. The red leather journal rode in Redwood’s pocket. Overjoyed at the sight of it, Pirate Saeed staggered toward her and almost passed out at her feet. As she bound his bleeding forehead, he touched the journal in her pocket. She smiled.
TITLE: “YOURS?”
Pirate Saeed stood up slowly, finding his land legs. He took the journal from her hands and bowed. When the lovely Teacher cast her eyes on this handsome, poetry-loving Pirate, romance sparked between them. He pressed the red leather to his heart and kissed her hand.
TITLE: “WILDFIRE SAVED ME FROM DROWNING. YOU RESCUED ME FROM HEARTACHE AND MISERY.”
Later, inside the church, the Teacher served the Pirate a warm mug. Clarissa, the Teacher’s good friend, wrapped him in a blanket. Minister Milton shook his head as he walked by Eddie and his dastardly Gang, who dripped dark water on the wooden pews. A sword and pistol tucked in Eddie’s belt flashed in a sunbeam. The Preacher halted behind the Teacher, touching a scarf that trailed from her waist like a stream of clear water. He loved her too, and Friend Clarissa saw this with a mournful sigh. A collection box sat below the altar, stuffed with Sunday’s offerings - all the hard-earned coins of the congregation.
TITLE: STILL NOT ENOUGH TO PAY THE TAXES!
Eddie eyed the money. Pirate Saeed followed his greedy glance and scowled.
Outside the church, Wildfire paced as Rose and Walter talked. The Pirate emerged, wet, but warmed by a mug and the love of a good woman. Wildfire grabbed him by the shoulders. The startled Pirate clasped the hilt of his sword. Walter offered him dry Seminole clothing - much like his own. Relieved, the Pirate handed the Teacher his journal to hold as he slipped behind a bush. Wildfire and Walter laughed and dragged him to the cabin. As they entered, Wildfire offered a wooden spoon of Sofkee. After a moment’s hesitation, the Pirate emptied the spoon down his throat. Wildfire and Walter grinned as the Pirate drank a second spoon.
Meanwhile Eddie and his dastardly Gang slipped into the empty church. A candle burned under the cross. The collection box sat behind the altar. The Gang laughed and danced as they emptied coins and bills into a leather bag. Eddie cinched the pouch tight and tied it to his waist.
Coming out the cabin behind Wildfire and Walter, the Pirate strode into the garden. Teacher Redwood smiled shyly at him in his dry Seminole clothes. Her pupils did a rhythmic tap-dance welcoming him to Hog Hollow. Minister Milton joined in with a turkey buzzard jig. Balancing on one leg, his arms flapping like great wings, he bent over and picked a handkerchief from the ground with his teeth, so like Mr. Buzzard pecking flesh. The Pirate set down his sword and applauded. After only one false start, he did Mr. Buzzard’s dance with Milton. The children jumped up and down in glee. The Teacher’s melancholy was put to flight. When she beamed at him, Pirate Saeed boldly pulled her out to dance. She resisted only a second, and then they whirled and spun to everyone’s delight. At the end of the dance, the Pirate fell to his knee and clasped her hand to his heart. Despite his roguish nature, he loved her too.
In the church, Friend Clarissa held an empty collection box. Frantically, she searched near the altar for the money. Despairing, she ran outside and pulled the Minister and Teacher away to show them the empty box. Teacher Redwood covered her mouth.
TITLE: “WE ARE LOST. THE TAXES! OH! OH!”
Rose frowned and pointed to behind the church. Walter and his daddy also noticed Eddie and Gang crawling out a back window. They raced away. In anguish, the Pirate buckled on his sword and ran off in hot pursuit. The Teacher pressed the back of her hand against her forehead.
TITLE: “I AM BETRAYED.”
Eddie and Gang ran through sand dunes, stumbling over one another. The moneybag banged against Eddie’s sword. Suddenly the Gang scattered like leaves in a breeze. Behind them raced an angry Pirate Saeed, followed by Walter and his daddy. They all darted through waving grass at a furious pace toward the shore.
On the beach, water lapped at sand, and crabs scurried every which way. Milton jumped from behind a rock and gripped Pirate Saeed, who looked daggers at Eddie and Gang escaping.
TITLE: “WE SAVED YOU, OFFERED HOSPITALITY, AND THIS IS THANKS?”
Minister Milton waved the collection box in the Pirate’s face, and the two men struggled. The Bear, who wasn’t shot dead after all, loped toward scurrying crabs. An arrow was stuck in her shoulder and waved about with every move. Seeing the Bear approach, Minister Milton abandoned his fight with Saeed and turned to run. Twisting and turning in sea grass, he got tangled in his feet and fell - a splendid comic turn. The Bear sniffed Milton’s hind parts and, uninterested, plunged into the water. Pirate Saeed leapt over the Minister to chase Eddie, who lifted the moneybag in triumph. Hands on her hips, Teacher Redwood blocked the Pirate’s way. He somersaulted to avoid crashing into her. With a desperate look at Eddie racing away, he turned to face her. She flung the journal at him. Pirate Saeed caught it. He opened to a page and pressed this into her hand.
TITLE: TELL ME WHOM YOU LOVE AND I WILL TELL YOU WHO YOU ARE.
Teacher Redwood’s heart almost broke, but could she trust him?
Walter’s canoe tossed in the waves, looking like an escape plan. Eddie and Gang converged and ran for it. Wildfire popped up in the canoe. The Gang ran away except Eddie, who waved his gun, ordering Wildfire out the boat. As Eddie got in, the boat collided with a rock and splintered. Eddie leapt clear, but his gun went flying through the air. It landed near the bear. She pawed the weapon and lobbed it toward Wildfire. Eddie dashed through the water to the beach. Wildfire wrestled with the bear, who finally released him to chase fish. Wildfire scrambled after Eddie.
The Gang raced down the beach on horseback now. As they overtook Eddie, a stout fellow leaned down and pulled him onto the saddle behind him. Wildfire barely missed getting run down by the thundering horses. They galloped on toward the Pirate and Teacher, who were still fussing with each other. Minister Milton sank to the sand in front of
the empty collection box. Rose and Friend Clarissa shook their heads sadly. Teacher Redwood’s pupils shrieked and danced in circles. It seemed that all was lost.
Eddie and Gang, their horses’ hooves pounding the sand, were almost upon the Pirate and the Teacher. She faced the galloping beasts down and wasn’t about to budge. Pirate Saeed pushed her aside, leapt on the last horse, and knocked off the rider. Wildfire gripped the fellow and hogtied him. In this fashion Saeed leapt from horse to horse and unseated each member of the Gang. Wildfire and Walter subdued all the thrown riders and tied them up before they could catch a breath. Finally Saeed jumped on Eddie’s horse. They struggled and then flew through the air, leaving the rider-less horse to gallop on down the beach.
Pirate Saeed and Eddie did a most acrobatic fight on the beach, tumbling and somersaulting around punches and kicks. Teacher Redwood, Minister Milton, Walter and his daddy, Wildfire, Rose, Friend Clarissa, and all the Pupils ran down sloping dunes to surround them. Eddie pulled his sword and slashed at Saeed, who rolled away quickly and pulled his own shiny weapon. Everybody gasped and fell back as the two swordsmen parried with deadly metal. Eddie’s Gang, tied up in the rising tide, struggled to no avail.
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