Wild Thunder (13 page)

Strong Wolf held out an arm, stopping everyone. “We will wait for the deer to come up the trail again,” he whispered to Hannah, the others seeming to know without being told. “He is just down bow range. He is alert to all sounds. We must now wait in silence.”

Hannah nodded. She gripped the rifle tightly, her eyes watching the narrow trail that led up from the ravine where the deer was taking its time eating.

Strong Wolf said a quiet prayer to himself, asking the deer to forgive him, then drew an arrow from his quiver. He notched the arrow on his bow and drew the string back as he heard the deer's feet shuffling along the trail.

Strong Wolf held his breath as he waited and watched.

Hannah's eyes were wide. She had also heard the deer approaching. She could even now hear the deer breathing!

When the deer came close enough, Strong Wolf let out his breath and loosed his arrow.

Proud Heart loosed his, the others standing back and only observing. Their time would come when the next deer was spotted.

The two arrows dove straight into the middle of the deer's side, just above its front leg.

Hannah's fingers felt frozen to the gun. She couldn't pull the trigger. She was in awe of how quickly the arrows had sank into the deer's body. She watched the deer take one leap, then tumble to the ground.

Hannah ran beside Strong Wolf as he went and knelt down beside the deer. The buck heaved a heavy sigh, then shuddered and died.

Having never before been this close to a buck such as this, Hannah was in awe of its size. She reached out and touched the antlers, then pulled back her hand when Proud Heart hoisted the deer over his shoulder and carried it to his horse.

After the deer was secured on the horse's back behind the saddle, they repeated the search and kill until six deer were downed.

“That should be enough meat for the white men's table,” Strong Wolf said as he secured the last kill on the back of his own horse. “Let us now deliver what we have promised.”

The journey back to the fort was silent and full of reverence. The hunt was a time of solemnness. Respect to the dead had to be paid.

The wide gates of the fort were open when they arrived. They rode on inside and drew tight rein before the colonel's cabin.

Shirtless, Patrick came outside. A cigar hung from the cormer of his mouth. His eyes danced when he saw the deer. “And so you did it,” he said, giving Strong Wolf a quick smile. “You actually did it.”

“Did I not say that I would?” Strong Wolf said, dismounting. He loosened the ropes around the deer that lay across his horse's back.

“You did in one afternoon what would take my men a month to do,” Patrick said, chuckling. He watched Strong Wolf lay the deer at his feet, then stepped around the deer and clasped his hands on Strong Wolf's shoulders. “Thank you, my friend. Thank you.”

Strong Wolf nodded.

Patrick lowered his hand to his side and stepped back as the other deer were placed on the porch.

Patrick then gazed at Hannah. A small smile tugged at his lips. “And so you also joined the hunt?” he asked.

“I watched,” Hannah said, stiffening.

Strong Wolf and his men mounted their steeds. The colonel gave Strong Wolf a salute, then Hannah wheeled her horse around and rode beside Strong Wolf from the fort.

When they rode a short distance, Hannah wheeled her horse to a stop. Strong Wolf stopped beside her, motioning for his men to go on without him.

“I must get back home,” Hannah said, reaching a gentle hand to Strong Wolf's face.

“We took much time hunting when, if not, we could have been together in the privacy of my lodge,” Strong Wolf said, taking her hand and kissing its palm.

“There will be another time,” Hannah said, feeling the sweet stirrings of need at the pit of her stomach. “But for now, I must put my brother's needs first.”

“Go,” Strong Wolf said. “But soon we shall be together again, alone.”

“Yes, soon,” Hannah said.

Her insides stirred sensually when he reached over and placed a hand behind her neck, and then leaned and kissed her.

When he moved away from her, Hannah's insides were trembling. When he rode off, she watched him for a moment, then looked in the direction of her brother's ranch.

She looked at Strong Wolf again.

Suddenly she rode after him.

When he heard her approaching, he looked over his shoulder and gave her a knowing smile. He wheeled his horse around and waited for her.

Words from my eyes did start—
They spoke as chords do from the string.

—J
OHN
C
LARE

 

 

 

Tiny and several cowhands under his supervision sat on horseback on a butte watching a young Potawatomis brave fight off bees as he climbed a tree to get at the bee's hive of honey.

Tiny chuckled, finding it amusing as first one bee stung the young brave, and then another.

“He's a persistent son of a bitch. ain't he?” Tiny said, glancing over at Clem, who sat on a horse beside him. “We'll just wait for the young savage to do the dirly job of gettin' the honey. Then we'll take it from him and bring it back to the bunkhouse.”

He could already taste the honey. When the cook served biscuits the next morning, they would have the pleasure of spreading honey on the thick gobs of butter!

“I ain't never seen anythin' like it,” Clem said as he idly scratched his whiskered chin. “Honey ain't worth all of those stings.”

They were surprised when the boy jumped to the ground, went to his pony, and got an ax.

“Well, I'll be damned,” Tiny said, leaning forward to take a closer look. “He's goin' to cut down the whole damn tree to get at the honey.”

“He'd better be prepared to run, that's all's I can say,” one of the other men said, chuckling. “When that hive falls to the ground with the tree, bees are goin' to scatter everywhere.”

“I think we'd better go on our way ourselves,” Clem said, spitting over his left shoulder. “I don't want no bees to come after me. Honey ain't worth it.”

“Aw, you're just a yellow-bellied coward,” Tiny complained. He gestured with his hand. “Go on home like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs. Who cares? But don't you go askin' for honey for your biscuits tomorrow.”

Clem's eyes wavered, then he set his jaw firmly and stayed in place.

The boy labored hard for the next half hour or so. Then suddenly the tree started leaning first one way, and then the other. There was a creaking sound as it swayed.

Then the young brave stepped quickly away as the tree fell to the ground. Bees flew everywhere from having been disturbed, but Wind on Wings was not disheartened. He stepped among the bees and fell to his knees where the honeycomb lay temptingly on the ground.

Frustrated, the bees returned to the hive, buzzing frantically around it as Wind on Wings ran to his pony and placed the honeycomb inside his parfleche bag and sealed it.

Smiling triumphantly and ignoring the bees that had followed him to his pony, Wind on Wings swung himself into his saddle and rode off.

But he didn't get far. Tiny and his men soon blocked his path, giving Wind on Wings more of a fright than the dozens of bees ever could. His eyes wide, he reined in his pony and stared from man to man.

“Little savage, what' cha got there?” Tiny asked, inching his horse closer to Wind on Wings's pony.

Wind on Wings straightened his shoulders, to show that he was not afraid. “Let me pass,” he said, now realizing that he should not have gone so far from his village alone.

His father had warned him. His father had reminded him of what had happened to Bird in Ground. Wind on Wings had ignored the warning. Bird in Ground was always getting into some sort of trouble. Wind on Wings scarcely ever did.

Now he had taken one chance too many, leaving his own hunting grounds to follow the bees. Like a bear who was tempted by honey, so was Wind on Wings. Nothing tasted as wonderful!

But he was on land that belonged to the white rancher. He was trespassing, and knew that he might have to pay dearly for his carelessness.

“Tsk, tsk,” Tiny said, mockingly shaking his head back and forth. “Seems you cut down a tree that belongs to my boss. And why? For that honey you have in that bag on your horse.” Tiny reached a hand to the boy's wrist and squeezed it tightly. “Give me that honey, you stupid brat.”

“Yes, the bear tree belongs to white man, but the honey is
mine,
” Wind on Wings said, lifting his chin defiantly. “I fought for it. I won it!”

“Like hell it's yours,” Tiny said, sneering into the young boy's face. “Give it up, or else.”

“It is mine!” Wind on Wings said, crying out in pain when Tiny twisted his wrist backward.

Tiny nodded at Clem. “Get the damn honey,” he ordered.

Clem didn't budge from his saddle. “Boss man wouldn't like what you're doin',” he stuttered out. “Tiny, we managed to not get caught after beating up that brave the other day. We're takin' too much of a chance by accostin' a second brave. I say let the kid have his honey and we go on our way. We're supposed to be trackin' down a stray cow. Not humiliating a young brave.”

Tiny released the boy's wrist and slid out of his saddle. He went to Clem, grabbed him by the collar, and yanked him to the ground. He doubled a fist and hit him. “Now, do as I say, or you're fired!” he shouted.

“I
quit,
” Clem moaned, rubbing his sore jaw. He scrambled to his feet. “You son of a bitch, I hope Chuck figures you out soon, or his whole ranch will suffer for it. I wouldn't blame the Potawatomis if they came and burned down his entire place!”

“Get outta here,” Tiny said, pointing to the road. “And if you breathe so much as one word to Chuck, I'll hunt you down until I find you. I'l1 thrust a knife in your ribs. Do you hear me? Not one word to Chuck.”

“All I want is to get as far away from you as I can,” Clem said, grabbing his hat. Plopping his hat on his head, he glared at Tiny for a moment, then swung himself into his saddle. “You tiny son of a bitch, I hope you get caught and are thrown in jail. Hangin' ain't good enough for the likes of you. I hope you rot in
hell
.”

He rode off.

Tiny stared after him, then turned to the other men. “Do I have some help here, or do I have to fire the whole lot of you?” he shouted.

The men dismounted and surrounded the child's pony. Tiny reached for the boy's wrist, yanked him from his pony, and shoved him to the ground. One foot on his chest, he nodded to the parfleche bag. “Carl, get the damn honey,” he said to one of the cowhands. “Jess! Baldie! Come here and help me with the kid.”

Tiny placed his fists on his hips as he glared down at Wind on Wings. “You had no right to cut down that tree,” he snarled. “You have no right to the honey.”

“Is . . . honey . . . this important to you?” Wind on Wings stammered, wincing when Tiny ground the heel of his boot deeper into his abdomen. “Take it. I will go home. I will tell no one what you did today.”

“You'll not rat on me, huh?” Tiny said, laughing sarcastically. He looked from Jess to Baldie. “Let's show him what we do with kids that rat on people so's he'll think twice before doin' it.”

Tiny offered the first kick to the boy's side. Jess and Baldie followed with their kicks.

Then Tiny knelt down over the boy and doubled up a fist. He hit him until he lay unconscious on the ground.

“I think we went a mite too far this time,” Baldie said as he took a shaky step away from the child. “Tiny, he looks dead to me.”

“Naw, only knocked out,” Tiny said, shrugging. “Let's get the honey and get outta here. Serves the savage right for trespassin' and destroyin' property.”

Tiny grabbed the parfleche bag from the boy's pony. After securing it to his own horse, he took one last look at the boy, then rode off with his men, laughing boisterously.

Wind on Wings groaned as he tried to open his eyes to see. But they were swollen closed. Struggling up from the ground painfully, he reached blindly for his pony. When he could not find him, he gave a soft whistle.

The pony came to him and nudged him gently in the side. Even this hurt Wind on Wings, even though his pony had done this countless times before to prove his loyalty to the young brave.

Wind on Wings moaned as he pulled himself up into his saddle. Then he reached for the reins and nudged his pony in the side with his bare knees. “Shadow, take me home,” he said in a strained whisper.

The pony turned in the direction of his village. Bleeding, bruised, and bee-stung, Wind on Wings swayed back and forth in the saddle, his head hung. He had to stay alert until he reached his home so that he could be safe again.

Breath & bloom, shade & shine—wonder,
wealth, and-how far above them—
Truth, that's brighter than gem,
Trust, that's purer than pearl.

—R
OBERT
B
ROWNING

 

 

 

Hannah rode beside Strong Wolf into the outskirts of his village. She had decided that she would stay for a short while, then return home.

She had begged Chuck not to worry about her if she was gone longer than he wished. He understood now that she loved Strong Wolf and that she was torn between needs—between two men and their needs for
her
.

Feeling eyes on her, Hannah looked over at Strong Wolf and caught him watching her. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, laughing softly.

“Do you see my lodge up ahead?” Strong Wolf said, gesturing with a hand toward it.

Hannah looked away from him and gazed at his lodge as they slowly approached it on their horses, then looked over at Strong Wolf again. “Yes, I see it,” she murmured. “We will soon be there.”

“We will soon be together there,” Strong Wolf said, his eyes dancing into hers. “My woman, the lodge is boring now when you are not a part of it.”

Hannah smiled shyly and looked toward his lodge again, an eyebrow lifting in wonder when she found a woman now standing at Strong Wolf's door, watching their approach.

Strong Wolf caught sight of the woman also. “Lotus Blossom?” he said, taken aback by how she stood there now, tears streaming from her eyes. He slapped his reins, nudged his horse in the flanks with his heels, and hurried to his lodge.

Hannah came up behind him, dismounted, and went to his side as he placed gentle hands on the beautiful Potawatomis woman's shoulders.

“What has happened?” Strong Wolf asked as Lotus Blossom gazed up at him with tears.

“It is my son Wind on Wings,” Lotus Blossom said.

Her husband came suddenly up behind Strong Wolf, then stepped around him and stood at his wife's side.

“Our son arrived home bloody and bruised, and only half-conscious,” Black Bear muttered. He doubled his hand into a tight fist and lowered it to his side. “It is
again
the work of white men.” His eyes filled with angry fire as he glared at Strong Wolf. “This must be stopped!”

“A name,” Strong Wolf said, his spine stiffening. “Did Wind on Wings give you a name of who did this to him?”

“He knows
no
white man's name,” Black Bear said venomously. “I have taught him to stay far from them. Until today, he listened to the warning of his father.”

“
Where
did this happen?” Strong Wolf urged.

“He said nothing about who or where,” Black Bear said, folding his arms angrily across his chest. “It is the same as with Bird in Ground. He has been frightened into silence.”

“How can we know who to go after if your son does not speak out and tell the name of the guilty party?” Strong Wolf said, frustrated.

“All my son said, to possibly help in our search for those responsible, is that they stole his parfleche bag from him,” Black Bear said.

“Why would white men want his parfleche bag?” Strong Wolf said. “They can get them by trade cheap at the trading post. Why would they beat your son only to get a partfleche bag?”

“Because it was filled with honey that Wind on Wings took from a bear tree,” Black Bear uttered.

“Oh, now I see why this was done,” Strong Wolf said, slowly shaking his head back and forth. “It was not so much a need of a parfleche bag,
or
honey. It was to have an excuse to batter one of our children.”

“Find a man with a parfleche of honey, and you will find the man who led the attack on my son,” Black Bear said, then placed a comforting arm around his wife's waist and led her back to their lodge where their son awaited their gentle care.

Hannah placed a hand on Strong Wolf's arm, drawing his attention. “Do you think Tiny did this?” she asked, seeing how even the name made Strong Wolf's jaw tighten.

“He and countless others who look to the red man as savages could have done this,” he said. “It is hard for me to see how they can label the red man savages when they who do this today are the true savages!”

Strong Wolf's warriors surrounded him, some on foot and some still on their horses. He handed out the instructions on how to search for the ones responsible for having done this today. He explained about the parfleche bag of honey!

Strong Wolf went to his horse and grabbed the reins. Hannah followed. “Please let me go with you,” she asked, her eyes pleading up at him. “Perhaps I can help in some small way. If Tiny is found with the parfleche bag, I would like to be there in behalf of my brother. I would love to have the opportunity of taking the man to Fort Leavenworth. It would delight me to see him locked behind bars.”

“If we find the men responsible for the child's beating, they will not be taken immediately to the fort,” Strong Wolf said heatedly. “My people will first have an opportunity to get vengeance in their own way, for I truly believe that when we find these men who did the dirty deed today, we will also find the men who attacked Bird in Ground.”

Hannah gazed at him for a moment longer, wondering what sort of vengeance would be used against the white men, then hurried to her horse and mounted it, thinking that whatever the men got, they deserved. She now knew that she took her life in her own hands every time she rode alone in the Kansas Territory. Anyone who could be this vicious against children, surely would have no qualms against attacking a lady, and raping her.

She shuddered at the thought, then rode out of the village with Strong Wolf and his warriors. She knew to watch for a freshly cut tree. From there they would follow the tracks, which hopefully would lead them to the ones responsible for the young brave's attack.

Strong Wolf attempted to follow the tracks of Wind on Wings. He became disgruntled and disappointed in the young brave, for the tracks led away from Potawatomis land. That would mean that his attack had occurred on Chuck Kody's property.

Strong Wolf had not stressed enough to the young braves
not
to venture away from the land of their people. If they did, they only tempted ridicule! Even senseless beatings, for to so many white men an Indian was something nonhuman!

“Aren't we now on my brother's property?” Hannah suddenly asked as she sidled her horse closer to Strong Wolf's.

“Yes. And the young brave's tracks led this far. They go farther still on your brother's land.”

“Then, that means that perhaps it
was
Tiny,” Hannah inferred.

“The only way of proving it was, is to find the parfleche bag of honey on his horse,” Strong Wolf said, glancing over at her. “And, I am sure, whoever stole the honey made sure not to carry it on his steed for long, knowing that if he was caught, he would pay for what he did to the young brave.”

Strong Wolf drew a tight rein and turned to his men. “Our search stops here!” he shouted. “The same as Wind on Wings, we are trespassers. We must return to land that is ours.”

Hannah looked ahead and saw a tree that lay across the ground. Bees were still buzzing around the fallen hive. She could see some traces of honey dripping from it.

“There is the tree,” she said, then turned to Strong Wolf. “It must be the tree that Wind on Wings told us about. See the bees buzzing around the hive?”

Strong Wolf s eyes narrowed as he stared at the tree, then at the hovering of bees. Then he gazed at Hannah. “Still we must retreat off land that belongs to your brother,” he said thickly. “I will not give your brother's cowhands an excuse to accuse the Potawatomis of going back on treaties that were signed in good faith. This is your brother's land. One of our young braves crossed upon it. He destroyed your brother's property when he cut down the tree. He meant to steal the honey he so eagerly sought. It is only best now to return to my people.” He reached a hand to Hannah's cheek. “It is best that you go on to yours.”

“No, I wish to stay with you,” Hannah said, her eyes wavering. “Strong Wolf, I feel responsible for what happened to that boy today.”

“And why would you?” Strong Wolf said, lowering his hand away.

“Because it was on my brother's land that the young brave was so badly injured,” Hannah said, lowering her eyes.

“Had Wind on Wings obeyed his elders, he would have not been in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Strong Wolf said. “The blame falls solely on the one who went against orders.”

“Still I wish to stay with you,” Hannah said, her eyes pleading into his. “The sun is still high in the sky. I have time.”

“If you wish, come,” Strong Wolf said, then wheeled his horse around and rode off, Proud Heart at his side, the warrior, dutifully following.

Hannah rode quickly to Strong Wolf's other side.

The ride back to his village was steeped in solemn silence. Hannah's thoughts were on Tiny, and how she would again try to urge her brother to fire him. Surely her brother couldn't condone what Tiny did today, and she was almost certain that it was he who had caused the bruises and cuts on the young brave.

“You are quiet,” Strong Wolf said as he gazed over at Hannah.

“I'm thinking about the cruelties of life,” Hannah said somberly. “There is so much I don't know, and perhaps never will.”

“Yes, it is the same for me, and I am looked to as one who knows much about life, because I am my people's leader who will one day be a proud
chief,
” Strong Wolf said, his eyes weary. “But one must learn to live a day at a time and let things work out as they will, hopefully well enough to survive until the
next
day.” He paused. He nodded. “Yes, it is hard, this thing called survival.”

His heart skipped a beat when he saw movement up ahead, and then discovered who was suddenly there, awkwardly in the path because he had not moved quickly enough to get hidden.

“Hawk?” Strong Wolf stammered out, drawing a sudden tight rein. His horse came to a halt. Strong Wolf stared at the man he knew from his other homeland in Wisconsin. Hawk! Chief Buffalo Cloud and Star Flower's son Hawk, with his hawklike features that emphasized his wide, dark eyes.

Hawk's heart sank to know that he had been discovered. He had followed Strong Wolf and then had circled around. He had thought that he was far ahead of Strong Wolf, when in truth, he came out right in his path!

Knowing that he had no choice, Hawk rode up to Strong Wolf. “And so we meet again,” he said.

“And so we do, but what are you doing here, except to spy on me and my people, and also Proud Heart who you have been urged to believe is your enemy!” Strong Wolf growled. He nodded to his warriors. “Seize him! You see him as I do, as our enemy! His mother threatened long ago to avenge her brother Slow Running's death!”

Proud Heart rode up beside Hawk and leaned into his face as Hawk's hands were tied behind him. “And so your mother sent you to do the dirty work?” he hissed. “She sees that my death, and Strong Wolf's, is even more important than my powerful chieftain father's? Than Strong Wolf's powerful chieftainship? Well, she was wrong to send you to do the dirty work.”

Strong Wolf peered into Hawk's eyes. “How long have you been here spying on us?” he asked angrily. “How long have you been hidden like a frightened snake coiled in the grass close to my village?”

“Strong Wolf, I . . .” Hawk began, but he was stopped when Proud Heart gave a yank on his horse's reins and led him away from Strong Wolf toward their village.

Strong Wolf sighed and his shoulders grew limp as he gazed hopelessly to the ground. “If not one thing, it is another,” he mumbled. “Why can't there be love and peace among men? Why?”

“Who
was
that?” Hannah finally had the chance to ask. “Was he here to kill you and Proud Heart?”

“I am not sure what his true plans were, Hannah,” Strong Wolf said as he softly nudged the flanks of his horse to urge it into a soft lope. Hannah kept up beside him. “Hannah, Hawk has never been one to cause problems. The fact that he is here, I am sure at the orders of his mother, surprises me.
And
I am certain that he would not be here unless ordered to come. His place is with his people, as mine is to be with mine.”

“He is not Potawatomis, then? Nor Chippewa?” Hannah said, trying to follow Strong Wolf's logic.

“No, he is Sioux,” Strong Wolf said softly. “His mother, Star Flower, is wicked to the core. She has tried to make her son as wicked.”

“What about his father?” Hannah prodded. “How does he feel about all of this?”

“Chief Buffalo Cloud is a fair, kind man,” Strong Wolf said solemnly. “He married Star Flower because she is a temptress in her loveliness. After their marriage, I am sure he discovered her true self.”

“But why didn't he leave her?” Hannah said softly.

“Because her beauty outweighs her evil in the eyes of her husband,” Strong Wolf said, recalling the exquisite features of Star Flower.

They rode on until they reached the village. Hannah dismounted and stood back and watched, stunned when Hawk was tied to a stake in the center of the village after not being able to deny why he was there, on Potawatomis land.

“This is not something I wished to do,” Hawk pleaded as his buckskin shirt was ripped from his chest. “It was my mother! How could I refuse her? Because of me she has a barren womb!”

“That is why you came to avenge your uncle's death?” Strong Wolf said incredulously. “Because your mother made you feel guilty over her not being able to bear her husband any more children?”