"Find a way to make it safe!" She glared at Luke. "Furthermore, I won't live in a house that was built by the hands that murdered my brother!"
Luke was about to say something, but upon seeing the strain in her face, he bit back his angry retort. The woman was obviously feelings the effects of her advanced pregnancy. He had no intention of causing her further distress.
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Lucy. " He glanced at Peter, who made no effort to argue with his wife. Luke dropped the handles of the sod cutter, spun on his heel and walked away.
Maddie's stomach gripped into a tight knot as she drove the wagon along the rutted road leading to the Eldridge camp. Even Matthew seemed to sense her anxiety, and he sat by her side watching her, his eyes full of worry.
In an effort to ease his concern, she smiled at him. "See if you can see your father."
It was a bad idea, this seeking Luke out, with the purpose of trying to pretend that nothing had happened between them. Lord, what
did
happen?
One moment he was making love to her, and the next… Even if he found her lacking in some way, surely he had to know it was her first time. She tried not to think of last night. For Matthew's sake, if not her own.
She pointed to the little prairie dogs that stood upon their endless mounds and yipped at the wagon wheels. Matthew in turn pointed to the two hawks that circled overhead.
Matthew had been entrusted with the wicker basket that contained smoked meat and fresh bread, and he held the basket on his lap, shifting it from time to time as if to distribute the weight from one leg to the other. She smiled approvingly and then directed her gaze to the road ahead.
Her stomach fluttered nervously as they drew near their destination. Her head began to ache. She pulled on the traces until the wagon rolled to a stop. She couldn't face him. Not now. Maybe later.
"I've changed my mind, Matthew. I don't think it's a good idea to bother your father while he's working."
Disappointment crossed Matthew's face, and she felt guilty for spoiling his fun.
"I know what we'll do. We'll find ourselves a spot and have a picnic. Just the two of us. I think there's a stream not far from here." She gathered the traces in her hand. "Giddyup." They traveled a short distance up the road. "Look for a buffalo trail. Lefty said the trails always lead to water."
She and Matthew were so busy watching the herd of buffalo grazing peacefully on either side of the road, they failed at first to notice the Eldridge camp to the right, almost hidden behind a grassy knoll. Neither was prepared for the sudden appearance of a horseman thundering toward them.
Maddie pulled the wagon to the side of the narrow road to let the horse and rider pass.
It wasn't until the horse veered off and galloped in another direction that Maddie realized it was Luke. He was riding so hard, she feared something might be wrong.
She called to him and when he kept going, she shoved her fingers into her mouth and whistled. Matthew covered his ears to block out the high-pitched sound. All around them, hundreds of prairie dogs yipped in protest and dived for cover. A large buffalo lifted his head and bellowed. Even Rutabaga whinnied and pawed the ground.
Maddie had been so busy watching Luke, she failed to notice Lucy. It wasn't until Maddie heard the woman's hateful, angry voice that she was aware of Lucy's presence.
"Murderer!"
Startled by the woman's rage, Maddie glanced anxiously at Matthew. The boy's face paled. He turned to Maddie, his lower lip quivering. It was obvious he was trying to say something.
Maddie ran her hand across his forehead, hoping to wipe away the shadow of frustration centered there. "I know, Matthew. You don't like people saying unkind things about your father. Don't pay any attention to what they say. You and I know that your father is not a murderer, and that's all that matters, right?" She coaxed a faint smile from him, before tugging on the traces to pull the wagon forward. "Lucy! May I talk to you?"
Lucy turned and trudged, head down, toward the covered wagon and tent that made up the Eldridge camp. Maddie was about to give up and turn back when she noticed Lucy stumble.
"Stay here, Matthew." She jumped to the ground and raced to Lucy's side. Peter, who had been standing next to the unfinished soddy, hurried toward his wife, but Maddie reached her first. "Are you all right?"
Lucy was on her knees, her hands on her middle. "It's just a sharp pain. They come and go."
Peter reached his wife's side and, balancing himself on his one leg, tried to comfort her.
"We better get you back to camp," Maddie said. "Do you think you can walk?"
Lucy nodded. "I think so. The pain is gone."
Maddie helped Lucy to her feet. "Hold on to my arm."
By the time they reached the tent, Lucy was almost faint with exhaustion. Peter watched Maddie help Lucy onto the cot. She then stepped outside the tent to quiet down the children, who had seen their mother being helped to the tent.
"Your mother's going to be fine. She just needs to rest. Where's the drinking water?"
Jamie pointed to a wooden bucket beneath the wagon. Maddie found a tin cup and filled it. "Stay outside now."
She ducked through the canvas opening of the tent and handed Peter the cup of water. Peter sat on a campstool and lifted the cup to his wife's mouth.
Maddie waited for Peter to leave Lucy's side. "How do you feel?"
"The pain is gone. I'm tired, is all. The baby isn't due for another month."
"If you'd like me to stay, I'd be happy to."
Lucy glanced away. "That won't be necessary." Her voice had a definite edge, and Maddie decided not to press.
Still, she was reluctant to leave. There were so many questions Maddie wanted to ask her. Lucy seemed to hold the key to Luke's past. Even so, she couldn't take the chance of upsetting her further. Her questions would have to wait until she saw Luke.
Luke was nowhere in sight when Maddie and Matthew arrived home later that afternoon. Since his horse was gone, she assumed he was in the fields.
Picking Bones sat in her usual place in the shade of the tipi. Despite the heat of the day, the old woman had her red shawl wrapped around her. Maddie knew it would be a waste of time to question her about whether she'd seen Luke. Other than an occasional outburst, the woman still refused to communicate with the three of them.
"Take her some water, Matthew. That's a good boy. Make sure it's fresh from the well."
Picking Bones' tireless vigil never failed to amaze Maddie. It had been nearly a month since the old woman had first appeared. She had become so much a permanent fixture that Maddie and Luke had grown quite accustomed to her presence.
Before entering the soddy, Maddie stopped to puzzle over a dark cloud in the distance. She'd heard stories of Kansas cyclones. But there was no wind; in fact, the air was so still it seemed like the entire earth held its breath.
What a strange land this is,
she thought. Shrugging off her concern, she walked inside the soddy to finish the chores she'd put off earlier. So many confusing thoughts crossed her mind, it was hard to concentrate on what she was doing.
Murderer.
The word kept hammering at her. Lucy had called Luke a murderer. But so had Red Feather, although at the time she thought he was talking of white men in general. Now she wasn't so certain.
Murderer.
It couldn't be true.
Murderer.
Not Luke Not the man she had come to love.
She covered her ears in an attempt to drown out her thoughts, and when that failed to work, she busied herself with chores, rushing about the little soddy like a one-woman cyclone.
She was so absorbed in trying to keep busy that at first she failed to notice how dark the room had suddenly become. It wasn't until a strange humming sound filtered through her consciousness that she flew to the window to investigate.
She peered outside, but couldn't see what was causing the strange noise.
Matthew ran into the house, his eyes wide, his mouth opening and closing in a desperate effort to speak.
"What is it, Matthew?" She ran to the door and stared at the huge, humming cloud that swooped across the land, extending as far as she could see.
She rushed outside and looked straight up. Hail began to fall, pelting the ground all around her. She raced back to the house, but the crunching sound beneath the soles of her boots made her halt in mid-step and stare at the ground in disbelief and horror.
Chapter 26
Grasshoppers! They were everywhere. Thousands upon thousands of grasshoppers!
Dazed and disoriented by the swarm of darting insects, Maddie staggered toward Matthew, who stood frozen in place, his eyes wide with fear.
"It's all right, Matthew."
She waved her arms to ward off the insects, then pushed Matthew inside the house and slammed the door behind them.
Her apron was covered with grasshoppers. With a cry of alarm, she quickly pulled her apron off and tossed it out the door
Matthew stood rigid. His body started to tremble. Desperate to prevent the impending tantrum, she quickly pulled him to the table, grabbed the writing tablet used for his sums and shoved it in front of him. "Write, Matthew!"
Matthew took the pencil from her.
"Write!"
He had no words for his fear. Somehow she knew this, and taking the writing implement from him, she drew a grasshopper. She handed him the pencil. This time, he needed no further encouragement. He drew one grasshopper after another until the page was covered. The look of fear and wildness had left his eyes, and Maddie knew the danger had passed.
She nodded her approval as he scribbled over his picture, then began erasing the grasshoppers. In his own small way, he had found a way to control his fear.
No sooner had the one problem been resolved, then a worrisome thought occurred to her. The crops. Lord have mercy. What would the grasshoppers do to the crops?
"Stay in the house, Matthew. I'm going to look for your father." His head snapped up and he grabbed her arm.
"Don't be afraid." She hugged him and dropped a kiss onto his forehead. "The grasshoppers won't hurt you if you stay inside." He searched her face, and apparently satisfied that she spoke the truth, turned back to his drawing.
She reached for her shawl and wrapped it over her head, leaving only enough of an opening to see. "I'll be back soon."
She stepped outside to a humming sound that was almost deafening. The air was filled with darting insects. Picking Bones rushed by, her red shawl over her head. Maddie ran after her and grabbed her by one frail arm. "Go inside the house. You'll be safe there." She pointed to the soddy, but the woman shook her head and continued on her way.
Thinking it pointless to argue with her, Maddie ran to the wagon and, swallowing her distaste, brushed her arm over the seat to rid it of the moving mass of grasshoppers.
Flying Hawk galloped up on his pony. "Where Picking Bones?"
Maddie waved her hand frantically to keep the insects away from her face. "She's heading back to camp." It was necessary to shout to be heard over the sound of flapping wings and dropping bodies. "How do you get rid of
these things?"
Flying Hawk grinned. "Cook over fire. Taste good."
Maddie grimaced. "I'm serious, Flying Hawk. The crops. We've got to save them."
"No save crops." He raced off in one direction, Maddie in another.
Luke's initial disbelief soon turned to horror as hordes of grasshoppers dropped from the sky like hard-driven hail. Before he could fully register the significance of what was happening, the ground around his feet was covered.
Running between rows of corns talks, he pulled off his straw hat and waved it. The horde of insects continued to drop around him, latching on to every blade of grass, every leaf, every last square inch of sod. He tossed his hat aside and pulled off his shirt. He whipped the shirt back and forth through the air in an effort to save his precious stalks.