Thanksgiving In Clover Springs

by Rachel Wesson

  “Don’t thank me yet, Ellen. They’ll be back. Where is she?”

  “Who, Sheriff?”

  “Now don’t you play me for a fool, Ellen. It’s all over town you have Little Beaver’s friend staying with you. How is the little lady?”

  “She’s recovering. Slowly. She suffered horribly. She won’t tell us who hurt her. How did you know she was here? We thought we were being careful.”

  “Mrs. Shaw and some of her friends came by to lodge a complaint. I told them I would look into it. I didn’t get much of a chance. They obviously thought the army would suit them better.”

  Chapter 25

  Little Beaver came running into the orphanage. “Asha, are you alright? Did they hurt you?”

  “No. I am fine,” She lied, her insides shaking. Every noise had her jumping. He was coming back to get her. He would never leave her be. Closing her eyes, she saw his cold blue eyes, heard his voice.

  “Asha.”

  She opened her eyes looking in the large brown eyes staring down at her. He seemed concerned but that couldn’t be. Her mind was playing tricks on her.

  “Asha, we have to do something. Go somewhere.”

  She yearned to move closer to him, to let him put his arms around her and take her somewhere safe. But there was nowhere they could go. Not together. They both knew that. She had to be practical. She had to protect him, she had hurt him enough already.

  Hardening her heart, she wouldn’t look at him. She couldn’t. He would see her true feelings, her act wouldn’t work.

  “Go away. Do not come back. There is nothing for you here.” She turned her attention back to her work, the tears in her eyes making it impossible to see the stitches.

  Asha knew he was watching her but she didn’t turn around. If he wanted to talk to her, he would do so in his own time. She continued working on the rabbit skin vest she was making for Rosa. The skin shook in her hands and she pricked her finger more than once and still he stayed silent.

  “Asha, this is yours.”

  He held out something in his hand. Her heart beat frantically as she put the skin aside to take the item. It was her wristlet. He had kept it all this time. Tears filled her eyes but she squeezed them shut. She held out her hand willing it not to shake. She didn’t want him to see how much he still affected her. She wasn’t about to lose her pride as well as everything else. But his hand closed over hers.

  “Why didn’t you send for me? I would have protected you.” His tortured tone drove the pain further into her heart.

  “There was nothing you could do.”

  “You dismiss me just like your father did. He didn’t deem me worthy because I had never been to war. You share his disdain.” Little Beaver let his hand fall.

  She couldn’t help it. She had hurt enough people and this brave man was one of them. She put her hand on his but wouldn’t look up at his face.

  “I do not share his disdain. I argued long with my father. I explained over and over you couldn’t go to war when the chiefs had decided to go live on the reservation.” Asha took a deep breath trying to get her thoughts in order before she said something to hurt him more. “My father, I think he envied you your freedom.”

  “I went to see him to try to convince him. I told him I was prepared to live on the reservation. I brought some fine horses with me. Some to bribe the white sergeant and the rest for your father.”

  Asha knew he had come. A proposal like that was hard to keep secret in the village. Some of the women told her Little Beaver had left on hearing of her shame. She waited silently to hear his side of the story.

  “Your father was very weak when I entered his lodge. His wife told me he had been ill for some days. Yet when I asked again for you, he stood up and shouted at me to leave. He told me I had brought bad luck to his lodge and his family. It was my fault you had done what you did.”

  Asha gasped. Her father knew what she had done. All this time she thought she had kept that secret from him. Shame engulfed her.

  “So it is true, you left when you heard of my shame. Yet you kept my wristlet. Why?”

  “I left because your father was so upset. I didn’t want to bring him more pain. You know our ways, Asha. We were brought up to honor our parents and old people. I looked for you but couldn’t find you. The soldiers told me to leave.”

  “Why did you look for me? To heap more shame on my head. You made your feelings clear that night in the barn. When I first came here.”

  “I am not proud of my behavior that evening.”

  She looked up. Seeing the shame on his face mixed with pain and despair was too much. She looked back down at the floor. The silence lingered. She knew she shouldn’t ask but she had to know.

  “Why were you looking for me at the reservation?”

  “Why do you think? I was going to get you out of there. Away from him.”

  Startled, Asha looked at his face and saw he meant what he said.

  “But you said…”

  “Never mind what I said. When your father told me you had become the squaw of a soldier I wanted to kill you. And then myself. But your mother gave me a hint that it was not what it seemed.”

  “My mother. But she hates me.”

  “No, Asha. She hates herself. You are her child and she couldn’t protect you. It is easier for her to pretend you are dead than live with the reality.”

  Asha didn’t agree but she wasn’t going to argue about her parents and their treatment of her now. It was more important to find out what Little Beaver had to say.

  “Why didn’t you try harder to find me? If you knew what was happening. I thought I was your…”

  “You were. You are.”

  “No, it is too late now. There is no future for Little Beaver and Asha. Not together. I have my path and you have yours.”

  Asha turned to go back indoors.

  “Wait, Asha, you can’t mean that. I tried to get you out.”

  “Yet you failed.”

  With that stinging retort, she threw the wristlet on the ground and marched indoors. She nearly knocked Wilma over on her way. She suspected the woman had heard them talking although she couldn’t have understood their conversation. That was one benefit of being an outsider. You could speak without worry of being overheard.

  Still, the look on Wilma’s face suggested she understood something significant had happened. She lifted her arms as if to touch Asha, but at the glance she sent, let them fall to her sides. Asha kept going until she reached the room she slept in. Curling up in a corner of the room, she allowed herself to cry. All this time, her father had known of her shame. She couldn’t bear it.

  Chapter 26

  Little Beaver kicked a stone. You handled that brilliantly you donkey. All he had done was make a bad situation much worse. He could have cut his tongue out at the look on her face as she realized her father had known of the abuse. How could he have told her something like that? Honor was valued among their people. He could have let her believe the lie she had told herself, although deep down she should have known secrets like that wouldn’t be kept.

  Wilma came out the door Asha had entered. Little Beaver knew the woman had seen something of the disagreement but she didn’t understand their language.

  “Asha is hurting badly, Little Beaver. She has been through so much and this baby is a constant reminder of her pain. Be gentle with her,” Wilma murmured.

  “I am a donkey. I don’t know what to say or do.”

  Wilma smiled her gentle smile. “Why don’t you and I take a walk and you can tell me how a courtship used to happen.”

  “You mean when my people were free.”

  “Yes, and living on the plains. Maybe if I understood more of your customs, I could help you reach Asha’s heart.”

  Little Beaver held the woman’s gaze for a couple of seconds. “Thank you for your offer, Wilma, but there is no room in Asha’s heart for love. It is full of hate.”

  “There is always room for love. You take it fr
om me. Asha had feelings for you once, yes?”

  Little Beaver nodded.

  “Those types of feelings don’t die. They are just hidden under the pain and frustration. Together we can find a way to reach them.”

  Little Beaver wanted to believe Wilma but he had tried the talking route. It was time for action. He had let Asha and his people down. He had to make amends.

  “Wilma, you have big heart. Look after her.”

  Before the woman could protest he was gone.

  Chapter 27

  Little Beaver rode to his thinking place. He had to plan his next move. Taking revenge on the man who had stolen Asha’s innocence and their future. He would need some help. He couldn’t do it alone.

  He headed in the direction of the reservation. It was a long way but he needed time to clarify his thoughts. He made camp some distance from the fort. He sent out a couple of signals so Black Elk would know he was coming. Waiting until dark, he made his way past the sentries.

  Whispering so they wouldn’t be overhead by anyone who could report them, he told his old friend his plan. His heart beat faster. He had taken a chance coming here. Black Elk could resent him, too, for choosing freedom rather than staying with his people. Black Elk had been good to him when he was a child. His father, Sleeping Bear had a reputation as a mean man. Black Elk didn’t approve of the harsh treatment of a child so he had often taken Little Beaver hunting and tracking with his own sons. Still it was a risk presuming on a friendship from so long ago.

  “I will help you. I thank Maheo my daughters are not in this place. Yellow hair has ugly heart even by white man’s standards. His own men do not like him,” Black Elk confirmed. “But how are you going to attract his attention?”

  “Leave that to me. I want you to be as surprised as the rest. I do not want you to be suspect, my old friend.”

  “I have lived a longer life than most. This is not what I foresaw in my future. My family is starving and I must provide. The others, they do not approve of me either.”

  Little Beaver knew his friend was speaking of their people’s reaction to him working as a scout for the Army and Little Beaver living in Clover Springs. Both were seen as a betrayal.

  He couldn’t think about that now. He had to make good on his promise to protect Asha. Yellow Hair would never touch her again.

  Saying goodbye to Black Elk, Little Beaver set off on the long journey back to Clover Springs. He hated what he had to do next but it had to be done.

  It was late evening when he arrived in town. Tying his horse to the rail outside, he pushed open the door of the jailhouse. Thankful the sheriff was sitting at his desk, he threw a quick look into the cells. They were empty.

  “What’s up with my favorite deputy?”

  “Me only deputy,” Little Beaver replied, hating the fact his voice was shaking. He didn’t want to let the man in front of him down.

  “You going to take the weight off?” At Little Beaver’s confused expression, the sheriff indicated the seat in front of his desk. “Want coffee?”

  “No, but thanks.”

  “Suit yourself. It’s good. Would put hairs on your chest.”

  “I don’t need …” Little Beaver stopped as he realized the older man was jesting. “You got me again.”

  “Not hard to do is it. Now, what’s on your mind? You look like a bee stung your…”

  Little Beaver interrupted before the sheriff got to finish. “I must give you this back.” He held out his hand, opening his fist to show the sheriff his badge. The man just eyed it and went back to drinking his coffee.

  “I got my own badge. What do I need yours for?”

  “I cannot be deputy anymore. I leave now.” Little Beaver stood and put the badge on the desk. “Thank you for everything you did for me.”

  “Why do I get the feeling this is goodbye? I thought you would be staying in Clover Springs. Especially now.”

  “I do not know what you mean.”

  The sheriff chortled as he ran a hand over his beard. “Listen, my Indian friend. You may be able to track better than most men, trap animals with your eyes shut but when it comes to women, you are just as bad as the rest of us mortals.”

  Little Beaver stayed silent.

  “I know your friend is staying at the orphanage.”

  “I have no woman friend. Not in the way you mean.”

  The sheriff stood and tucked his shirt back into his waistband before walking around his desk. He stuck his foot up on the chair and leaned on his knee, looking Little Beaver in the face.

  “We both know you got feelings for the young Indian girl staying with Miss Ellen over at the orphanage.”

  “At one time I did. Not anymore.”

  The sheriff hit him on the back. “That’s a fine line but I ain’t biting. It’s written all over your face.” The sheriff lost his teasing tone and his face turned serious. “I’m telling you now, man to man, you leave revenge out of this. There’s nothing you can do about the way she was treated.”

  Little Beaver opened his mouth to protest.

  “Listen to me. You are an Indian. I don’t hold with treating people different according to their skin color. But I ain't stupid either. Charlie Staunton and his friends are waiting for the day you cross the line. Then they will pounce on you. I might not be able to save you.”

  Little Beaver stood taller, crossing his arms over his chest. “I no need saving.”

  “You might not need it now, but if you insist on carrying out that plan in your head, Charlie Staunton will be the least of your worries.”

  Although stunned, the sheriff had guessed his plan, Little Beaver made no sign his boss was right.

  “I give up job and head back to live on reservation. It is only right I re-join my people.”

  The sheriff took his foot off the chair and walked back around his desk to his seat. He sat for a few minutes in silence.

  Little Beaver wondered if he had been dismissed. He turned toward the door.

  “Little Beaver, I am your friend. Friends do not lie to each other. You would no more voluntarily go live on that reservation than I would join the ladies sewing circle.”

  Little Beaver held the sheriff’s gaze but didn’t say anything.

  “I am putting your badge in this drawer for safe keeping. Someday soon, I hope I will pin it back where it belongs. On your chest. In the meantime, think long and hard about your future. That girl of yours has suffered enough. She don’t deserve any more pain or blame at her door.”

  The sheriff’s words hit home but he wasn’t about to admit it. Hearing him call Asha his woman turned his heart over. Only it wasn’t true. Maybe there had been a time when they had a chance to be together. But that day had gone as soon as the soldiers pushed his people off their lands. Asha was not his woman but she was a member of his people. For that reason, he would kill the man who had hurt her. Keep telling yourself it’s not because you love her, you might end up believing it.

  Little Beaver bowed to the man in front of him before holding out his hand.

  “Sheriff, thank you for believing in me. Thank you for my job. Most of all, thank you for your friendship.” He shook the sheriff’s hand quickly before leaving the jailhouse.

  Little Beaver took one last look at the orphanage. Despite the late hour the shutters weren’t closed, he could see Asha inside working on her skins. If he survived and came back, he was determined to make her his. They belonged together. She would believe that, too, once he had avenged her honor.

  With a soft cry to his horse, he galloped off.

  His next stop was at Charlie Staunton’s homestead. The man happened to be in his yard, his unfriendly expression erasing any guilt Little Beaver felt for telling him lies.

  “What you doing here?”

  Little Beaver smiled in response to the antagonistic tone. “Just checking on you, Charlie. Wanted to make sure you and the children were doing okay.”

  “Why wouldn’t we be? Did someone say something?” Ch
arlie bristled.

  “No. But there’s been reports of Indian activity in the area. Someone said it was the dog soldiers who rustled the cattle. Don’t think so myself, but it’s my job to call to the outlying ranches and warn them.”

  “What? You think they are likely to attack us?” Charlie looked around him as if expecting a band of Indians to ride down the hill at any second.

  “Not likely, but you can’t be sure. With the long drought and now the snow, food isn’t as plentiful in the mountains. They might be hungry. But I am sure you will be fine.” Little Beaver made no attempt to look sincere.

  “Well, you wouldn’t tell me the truth anyway, would you? Can’t think why Willis trusts you with a badge. You're probably in with the dog soldiers yourself.”

  Little Beaver smiled a secretive smile. “Now don’t be spreading idle gossip. Nobody around here would believe that.”

  With that, Little Beaver hollered a war cry and rode out of the ranch as if the devil himself was after him.

  Only when he was out of sight did he turn around. Now he had to wait to see if Charlie took the bait. He was hoping the man would be stupid enough to believe he was the leader and report his information to the soldiers still watching Clover Springs. Charlie would want to collect a reward, so he wouldn’t bother telling Sheriff Willis.

  If the Great Spirit was with him, the soldiers would tell Captain Shopshire and Black Elk would lead them to the camping grounds of these ghost dog soldiers. The plan wasn’t watertight but it was the best he could come up with, short of riding into the fort and shooting the captain in front of his men. He didn’t rate his chances too highly but that is not what stopped him. He could only imagine the revenge the Army would seek on his people. He had to lure the captain away from the fort. Hopefully Charlie Staunton would behave as expected.

  Chapter 28

  A few days after Little Beaver left, Aaron came rushing into the orphanage.

  “Ellen, Samuel, we got trouble coming. Where’s Wilma and Asha?” Aaron was almost breathless as he rushed into the orphanage.