“The legendary gold?” Raven stared at his brother in the moonlight. “I didn’t even really think it existed—”
“It does,” Bear assured him, “gold, fabulous riches from our own mine in that place the whites call ‘Montana.’ The location of that has been lost, so the iron kettles of nuggets in Joseph’s possession are all there is now. You and I are going to hide all but a little of it.”
“Hide it?” Raven’s dark eyes widened. “Where?”
“I have been studying on that,” Bear answered. “The kettles are heavy, so our band can’t move fast and take it with us. You and I are going to hide these riches so they won’t fall into the hands of the whites should they surprise and defeat us. You know whites would kill anyone for this amount of gold.”
Raven paused, the grave enormity of their task mirrored in his face. “What is the plan?”
“We will wait until after everyone is asleep so they won’t know we are gone. Then Joseph will hand over the nuggets and we will drag them by travois to a spot I have thought of and bury it. Since there are two of us, if one of us is killed, the other will know where it is so maybe someday our people can reclaim it.”
“This is a great honor,” Raven said somberly.
“I know, but I think you will not disappoint me.” Bear put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I am sorry that we have had this trouble over Willow.”
“I was a fool,” Raven said, ducking his head. “She never loved me; only you from the first moment she saw you. I was too much in love with her to see that it wasn’t me she cared about.”
“Raven,” Bear said thoughtfully, “we have many miles ahead of us before the tribe reaches safety. It will not be easy and many of us may not make it.”
“That is true.” Raven nodded. “My friends Wahlitit and Sarpsis Ilpihlp have already pledged that they will die against our tribe’s enemies on the same day.”
“I am glad we have had this talk; made things right between us. I have had a vision that I may be killed and—”
“Don’t even say that,” Raven snapped, “it is bad luck. You have always had good wyakin, you will live to raise many sons with your woman.”
Raven was a boy yet. Bear could see that this talk of death was making his brother increasingly uncomfortable. “Perhaps you are right, it is bad luck to even think about this vision I had of a warrior’s death.”
“Bear ...”
“Yes?”
His words came in a rush as if he didn’t hurry to say them, he might never mention it again. “More than anything, I want to be as brave a warrior as you and our dead father. You saw how I panicked out there when you needed me.”
“You have not been in as many fights as I have,” Bear said loyally. “You will learn.”
“I fear that when I am needed most, I will do what I did that long-ago day. I fear I will turn and flee like a frightened rabbit, disgrace myself; let everyone down.”
“You are older now.” Bear put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I have faith in your honor.”
Raven bit his lip. “I suppose even I won’t know until that moment I must make that choice; whether to run, or stay and sing the warrior’s song.”
Bear waited. It was the custom that if the dying warrior didn’t complete his dirge, his closest friend could return to that spot and finish it. Then all the world would know of his heroism because the wind and the wolves would pick up the strain and carry it across the endless land; across all eternity.
“Now you make me uneasy, little brother,” he said, trying to make light of Raven’s somber words. “We aren’t going to die; we are going to live to be very old men and watch many grandsons play around our tipis. Come, we waste time. We must finish our task and return before anyone knows we’re gone. The tribe moves out at first light.”
“You don’t tell Willow you leave?”
Bear hesitated a long moment, slowly shook his head. “She must not know the secret for her own protection. If she knows of my task, she will worry and ask questions I cannot answer. Besides, she may already be asleep and I can go and return before she knows I’m gone.”
They turned and walked toward their horses deep in the shadows where Joseph and a few elders waited with the heavy travois of gold.
Raven said as they walked, “Do you have any ideas of where to hide this treasure?”
Bear nodded. “I am thinking of a place across a river, near a lake. There’s a strange-looking rock that will make a good marker. Only you and I will know where this great treasure is buried. Of course, that puts us in danger; it is something white men would lie and kill and torture to discover!”
Fifteen
Willow came awake and looked around in the darkness of the tipi. Where was Bear? She had become so accustomed to sleeping in his arms that she slept poorly alone.
The dim small campfire lighted the lodge enough to reaffirm what she already knew; he was gone. Somehow, she knew hours had passed. She remembered now that he had taken Raven aside to discuss something. What was it that Bear felt he could not trust her to know? Was he reassessing her loyalty to the Nez Perce people? That stung her to the quick.
Lieutenant Warton. She had seen him at White Bird Canyon and possibly he had seen her. Could that have anything to do with this? Maybe Bear had gone to meet with him to discuss returning her to the whites; he might do that if he were worried about her safety ... or her ability to stand up under adverse conditions.
Willow sighed and scolded herself for a silly fool. Here she was jumping to all sorts of senseless conclusions when no doubt there was a very simple explanation. She would ask and he would tell her the truth; it was no big thing.
She heard a noise outside their lodge and lay very still. As she watched, Bear entered and laid down in his blankets on the other side of the fire with a tired sigh. She was tempted to let him know she was awake and ask him where’d he’d been, yet she wasn’t certain this was the time to confront him. How she hungered for his embrace; his kisses! Once he’d taught her passion, she yearned to be in his arms every night. Damn this taboo about a warrior lying with a woman before battles!
At dawn, as she fixed food and began taking down her lodge, she paused and looked at Bear. “Did you not sleep well?”
“Why do you ask?” He didn’t look at her.
“Nothing; you look tired, that’s all.”
Bear shrugged. “I slept like a rock; you imagine things, woman.”
So he wasn’t going to tell her. Willow was both disappointed and angry. At that point, she almost screamed out that she knew he had been gone most of the night, but resisted that temptation, fearing the worst. Besides, even as she tried to decide, he stretched, began gathering his weapons. “We can only hope that the soldiers will let us go in peace now.”
“You know better than that.” She paused in packing up her iron cooking pots.
“I didn’t tell you that the lieutenant was killed in the fighting; does that bother you?”
Willow shrugged, “I am sorry for all the deaths; even Lieutenant Warton’s. At least, I won’t have to worry that he will try to take me back to the whites.”
“You would be safer among them, you know.” His voice was soft and he was looking at her with such tenderness, it brought a lump to her throat.
Yet, she wondered now if perhaps he would have ridden out to meet with the soldiers; make a deal? Even if he loved her very much, he might try to use her to save his people. Would General Howard promise not to pursue them any further if the reverend’s ward was returned? She didn’t even want to think about it. “Where will we be going?”
“Down the Clearwater River, I think,” Bear said as he reached to help her with the heavy lodge covering. “If the army won’t give up their chase, we have talked about trying to make it to some of the friendly tribes in moosmoos illahie; buffalo country.”
“Montana?”
He nodded, “Or even go to Canada, join up with Sitting Bull.”
“That�
�s over a thousand miles,” Willow said, “maybe fifteen hundred or even more, since we’ll have to take crooked trails along rivers and through mountains.”
He looked at her. “I know how far it is, Willow, it was my suggestion. It’s not too late for you to return to the whites if you have any regrets.”
“Maybe I’m not the one with regrets,” she snapped before she thought.
His rugged face furrowed in puzzlement. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I—nothing. Is Joseph aware of how hard it would be on the old ones and children to try this impossible thing?”
“His wife has a new baby herself, remember? But she is a Nez Perce woman; she will follow her man anywhere.”
Bear must be having second thoughts about her ability to live as one of them; there was no doubt about it. “Go gather up your horses,” she suggested, not looking at him. If he had changed his mind about her, she didn’t want to know about it. “I have things to pack and you’re in my way. Besides, I promised I would help the children with their lessons before we left.”
“There will be no time for that,” he answered as he turned to go. “Besides, perhaps it is foolish to teach them the white man’s road. Maybe the soldiers will kill them rather than treat them as equals and let them live in peace.”
She didn’t answer as he strode away. Stubbornly, Willow vowed that she would not give up her task. It was important to teach the children; they were the hope of the future.
The sad-eyed toddler, Cub, wandered by, whimpering.
“Here, here.” Willow picked him up and held him close, wondering where his mother was. They’d heard nothing of her since she’d slipped away to the settlement and had been left behind. He put his dark head against Willow’s shoulder and smiled. Willow patted him. If Rainbow didn’t return, Willow wasn’t certain what would happen to the toddler. The old grandmother wouldn’t live forever and his plump little aunt wasn’t old enough to raise him alone.
Atsi showed up just then. “Oh, there he is; we’ve been looking for him.” She held out her arms, but the boy seemed reluctant to leave Willow’s embrace.
Willow handed him over with a sigh. “Better hurry, Atsi, we’ll be pulling out in a few minutes.”
“You think my big sister will ever catch up with us?” She looked worried.
Rainbow was probably sleeping with some soldier at this very minute, or passed out drunk, Willow thought, but she only said, “Maybe she will. Now, get a move on; we’ve got a lot of distance to cover; we wouldn’t want to be caught out along a march by soldiers.”
Back at the fort, General Howard pulled at his beard and faced the officers and the white scout who had just reported in. “If I weren’t a reverent man, they’d hear me swearing all the way to Washington!”
“Sir,” Captain Perry began.
“I don’t remember giving you permission to speak,” Howard rolled his eyes heavenward as if wondering why he had to be saddled with such incompetent officers. “I will expect a full report, however. Word has already leaked out that we’ve lost a third of our men in this encounter at White Bird Canyon with a handful of ragtag Indians who are armed with not much more than bows and arrows.”
Deek Tanner lounged against his desk and laughed. “They’re pretty well armed now, General, they’ve got all them weapons and cartridges they took off the dead soldiers.”
General Howard paused and looked at him. Deek wasn’t scared of officers. He was just a scout; he could quit any time he wanted.
General Howard paused and took a deep breath. “Be that as it may,” he said, “the press has gotten wind of this and you can just bet a bunch of them will be coming out here to cover it. They’re calling it the worst military disaster since Custer’s Last Stand. I’ve already had a wire from President Hayes and he’s not too happy.”
Deek took a chaw of tobacco and watched the officers sweat under the general’s glare. It didn’t make him no never-mind about the dead soldiers; all he was tagging along for was to find that Nez Perce gold. He was certain if they were fleeing the area forever, they’d take that with them.
“I’ll assume command of the troops myself,” Howard grumbled, “and I’ve already called for reinforcements. Obviously, this is a harder job than I thought it would be.” He looked over at Deek. “Any idea what the Nez Perce plan is?”
Deek spat tobacco juice into the spittoon and scratched his greasy beard. “One of them nontreaties who changed his mind and came back to our side, claim they may be heading for Montana or even Canada.”
“Canada?” Howard snorted. “Impossible! Why, they only have a handful of fighting men, but lots of old people, women, and children. Just getting across that mile-high Lolo Trail through the Bitterroot Mountains would be a miracle.”
“Ain’t you a believer in miracles, General?” Deek said.
General Howard’s face softened and he reached to pick up the Bible on his desk. “I think I saw a few during the Civil War. Just supposing they could get across that treacherous trail; where would they go?”
“They might just join up with Sitting Bull,” Deek said, “and them Mounties aren’t about to let a foreign country come across their borders. That old queen feels she must protect her subjects.”
Howard shook his head. “Besides being impossible, it’ll be brutal; most of them won’t make it. Why would they take that kind of risk?”
Deek looked at him and grinned. “You got thousands of men killed in the last war to give Negroes their freedom, and you have to ask why the Nez Perce would try this?”
Howard sat down in his chair and closed his eyes. He appeared to be praying. The room was very quiet except a fly buzzed through the open window and back out again. A board creaked as the weary young officers standing at attention shifted their weight. Outside, one recruit called out to another.
“I have my duty,” Howard said finally, so low that Deek had to strain to hear him. “I may not like it; I may not want to do it; but I have my duty.” He stood up now and sighed. He looked weary and old, Deek thought, the Civil War had taken a toll on him. “Gentlemen,” Howard said, “as soon as we can get fresh supplies and reinforcements, we’re going after the Nez Perce. At ease. Anyone have any comments?”
The young officers relaxed a little.
“Sir,” said Captain Perry, “I’d like to go pay my respects now to Lieutenant Theller’s wife.”
The general nodded agreement. “You didn’t bring back his body?”
The captain shook his head. “We were lucky to get out alive ourselves. We thought when we return to that area, we’d bury them all.”
Billy Warton brushed the curl back off his handsome face. “Sir, the reverend’s ward; those savages still have her.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, sir, I saw her up in the rocks. No doubt the poor thing was trying to reach us to be rescued. During the last of the battle, I saw that big warrior, the one they call Bear, gallop over, sweep her up on his horse and carry her back to the Indian camp.”
Damn the kid, Deek thought, all Billy could think of was humping that beauty. The treasure was a lot more important. With gold, the lieutenant could buy any whore he wanted. Once again, Deek imagined himself stuffing big gold nuggets in his pockets, his shirt. He saw himself so loaded down with heavy nuggets, he could barely walk. The thought cheered him.
Howard pulled at his beard. “All right; we’ll see what we can do to rescue the unfortunate young woman when we go after the Nez Perce.” He nodded curtly. “You’re dismissed, gentlemen. We leave as soon as we get reinforcements. I want this thing ended before the newspapers make too much of it and embarrass both the War Department and the President.”
Deek looked back as he and the officers left Howard’s office. The general sat clasping his Bible. He had his eyes closed as if struggling with a great dilemma.
Billy Warton was in a fury as he and Deek walked toward the barn. “Blame it all on us, will he? Those Nez Perce are good fighters!”
<
br /> “They have a lot to lose.” Deek shrugged.
Billy remembered now how Willow had looked silhouetted against the coming dawn, her black hair blowing in the wind, her slender figure outlined against the light. His groin tightened at the image. “I was so close,” he muttered, “I almost could have rescued her.”
Billy imagined her being ever so grateful as he swung her up on his horse. He would take her out somewhere and make love to her, rut on that soft, warm body until his lust was satisfied.
“Maybe she don’t want to be rescued.” Deek picked a louse out of his beard and popped it between dirty nails.
“What do you mean by that?” Billy glared at the man, regretting ever teaming up with him, but Deek Tanner had been raised by Indians, and he was the only one who really knew the country, which might be useful in finding that gold.
“Wal now, Lieutenant.” Deek grinned. “I looked back over my shoulder as we rode away from that canyon and she was reachin’ up for that big Injun to lift her. She didn’t look like she was tryin’ to escape.”
A knot formed in Billy’s belly and he hated Tanner for the image that came to him of the lovely Willow spreading herself by some lodge fire, that dark, muscular warrior riding her, using her for his pleasure. “I need a drink.”
Deek chortled, evidently pleased that he had caused Billy so much misery. “That’s the ticket; how about a woman, too?”
“A woman?”
Tanner nodded as he led him into the barn. “That little slut, Rainbow, got left behind when the Nez Perce pulled out. You know anyone can have her for a drink.”
“She’s still here?” Billy took a deep breath of the sweet scent of hay as his eyes grew accustomed to the darkness. “I figured by now, she would have caught up with them.”
Deek grinned, showing yellow teeth. “Let’s say, she ain’t in no condition to leave.”
Tanner led Billy over to an empty stall. Billy leaned over and looked in. Rainbow was tied up there with a gag in her mouth. She looked up at him with wide eyes. Billy felt his groin tighten. She wasn’t Willow, but she’d do. “You got some whiskey?”
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