Wilderness Double Edition #8 Page 7

  Had Nate been able, he would have plucked one of the sparkling dots of light down and made a wish on it, a fervent wish that all would go well once he arrived home. He lacked solid reasons for believing there would be trouble, yet he couldn’t shake a persistent feeling that he was making a mistake. This in itself was disturbing, especially since the Leonards were treating him so nicely, even Elden.

  The big change had first been evident shortly after the incident at the defile. Elden had become a paragon of courtesy, never once sassing Nate or whining. Then, that evening, Elden had volunteered to water their horses at a nearby spring. It was as if the man had undergone some sort of mysterious change that had transformed him into a whole new person. Nate didn’t know what to make of it.

  Selena was another matter. On more than one occasion Nate had caught her in the act of studying him. Always she had smiled sweetly and acted as if nothing out of the ordinary was taking place, but each time there had been an odd quality about her gaze that troubled him. He’d tried convincing himself he was reading something into her attitude that wasn’t there, yet it still upset him.

  “I must be touched in the head,” Nate said softly to himself, and grinned.

  “I wouldn’t say that.”

  The voice was so close behind Nate that he inadvertently jumped, then whirled. Selena Leonard stood a few feet away, grinning coyly.

  “My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “I was deep in thought,” Nate said while marveling at how quietly she had approached. Rarely did anyone take him by surprise anymore, and for a rank greenhorn to do it was unsettling. “I thought you’d be sound asleep by now,” he added to change the subject.

  Selena moved nearer and folded her arms across her bosom. “I tried. But after all that has happened to us, I’m afraid I don’t sleep as soundly as I used to.”

  “Give yourself time. You’ve been through a lot.”

  “If you only knew,” Selena said enigmatically. She stared upward, her smooth features flawless in the lunar glow. “These mountains of yours certainly are beautiful.”

  “That they are,” Nate wholeheartedly agreed. “It’s another reason I decided to stay here instead of returning to civilization. A grimy chimney is a poor substitute for a mountain. And a city park is no comparison to the wide open spaces of the Rockies and the prairie.”

  “Point well taken,” Selena said. “You have the heart of a romantic, I see.”

  “I just read a lot of Cooper when I was younger,” Nate said lamely.

  “James Fenimore Cooper? You like him also?” Selena gave a soft laugh. “What a remarkable coincidence. He’s one of my favorite writers, has been ever since I read The Pioneers.”

  “The one I like the most is The Last of the Mohicans,” Nate divulged, and almost took a step backward when she snatched his hand happily.

  “Mine too!” Selena exclaimed. “How extraordinary! We must have more in common than would be apparent or we wouldn’t have similar literary tastes. I wonder what else we both like.”

  “I have no idea,” Nate said. He was too polite to note that she was making a bigger fuss over Cooper than was warranted. “But I would doubt we have very much in common. Men who live here for very long change in ways you couldn’t possibly appreciate.”

  “Are you referring to all those quaint words you use now and then, like ‘chawing’ and what have you?”

  “That’s part of it,” Nate grinned. “Mountain men do have a colorful way of talking, and once a man gets the habit it’s hard to break.” He nodded at a white peak close by. “But I meant a different kind of change, one that takes place deep inside. Live in these mountains long enough and you’ll never look at the world the same way again.”

  “How interesting. Tell me more.”

  Nate suddenly realized she still held his hand. He disengaged it gently and placed it behind him, bracing his palm against the tree trunk. “I don’t rightly know if I can do it justice with words,” he said. “There are some things in life a person has to experience to know what they’re really like.”

  “I’d like to learn,” Selena said, and gave a sigh that caused the top of her dress to swell dramatically. “One of the reasons we came west was our desire to see new sights, to experience what few others ever had.”

  Nate tried to conceive of Elden being invested with the spirit of curiosity and adventure, and couldn’t. “Would you care to hear our story?” Selena asked.

  “If you care to tell it.”

  “To be honest, I’m surprised you haven’t inquired before this,” Selena said. “Surely you’ve wanted to know?”

  “Whether I did or didn’t doesn’t count,” Nate replied. “Out here folks mind their own business. It’s considered downright rude to go sticking your nose into the personal lives of others unless someone offers up information.”

  “What an admirable custom,” Selena said. She turned to survey the forest to the south so her back was to him as she said, “Well, allow me to explain. My brother and I come from a well-to-do family. Neither of us has ever had to work for a living, which you might think would be a blessing, But it isn’t.” She paused. “With so much free time on our hands, we can never find enough to do. We spend most of our days bored to death. As a result, we’re always ready to see new sights, to know new thrills.”

  “Which is what brought you from New York,” Nate said when she stopped.

  “Yes. We’d read and heard so much about the frontier, we decided we should pay it a visit and see if it was as exciting as everyone told us it would be.”

  “At times it can be a little too exciting if a body isn’t real careful.”

  “Truer words were never spoken. We hired boatmen to take us up the Mississippi to the Missouri, and from there we traveled deep into the plains. We fished, hunted buffalo and antelope, and generally had a fine time.” Her voice dropped. “Then came the day of the storm.”

  “What happened?”

  “It was the most terrifying spectacle I have ever witnessed,” Selena said gravely. “There we were hiking on the prairie after buffalo, when out of the west swept enormous black storm clouds. They were on us before we could get back to the boats. There was no place to hide, no place to run. Somehow we became separated from our guides.” She clasped her arms together and shuddered.

  “If you’d rather not talk about it,” Nate said to be polite.

  “I’m all right,” Selena assured him. “I’d just never seen a storm like that one. The rain was so heavy we couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of our faces. The wind bowled us over several times. And the lightning! It struck all around us without let-up for over an hour. There was nothing Elden and I could do except curl up in the high grass and hope for the best.” Selena turned. “It was a miracle we weren’t killed. When the storm moved on, we got up and called out to our guides but they didn’t answer.”

  “Why not? You couldn’t have drifted that far apart.”

  “We hadn’t,” Selena said. “We didn’t understand their silence either until Elden found their bodies.” The corners of her mouth twitched. “A bolt of lightning had hit right between them and killed them both instantly.” She looked into his eyes. “Have you ever seen a man charred to a crisp, his flesh blistered and black, his hair and clothes all burned off, his face like something out of a madman’s nightmare? It was utterly horrible.”

  “I can imagine it would be.”

  “We had nothing to bury them with. There was nothing we could do but head back to the river. But we hadn’t gone far when a group of riders appeared on the horizon. None of our party had horses, but we had been told there were trappers in the area who did.”

  “So you figured they were friendly,” Nate said.

  “Yes. We yelled and jumped up and down to attract their attention. The next thing we knew, we were surrounded by a pack of screaming fiends. The Bloods, you called them. They tied our hands, threw us on two of their horses, and headed westward. We’d sti
ll be in their clutches if not for you.” Selena smiled gratefully.

  “I’m glad I could help,” Nate said. He stifled a yawn and realized he was now tired enough to fall asleep. Straightening, he had in mind suggesting they both turn in so they would be well-refreshed come morning, when the discrepancy in her account rooted him in place. “Didn’t you just tell me the Bloods put you on two of their own horses?” he asked.

  Selena seemed to tense slightly. “Yes. Why?”

  “That’s mighty strange. You see, two of those horses were shod, and I figured they must have belonged to Elden and you.”

  “You mean to say Indians don’t shoe their mounts?”

  Nate laughed. “They sure don’t. Few of the tribes know anything about working with metal. That’s why they like to trade with the whites so much, to get all the things they can’t make themselves.”

  “I didn’t know,” Selena said almost in a whisper. Then she glanced up and grinned self-consciously. “We learn something new every day, don’t we?” She paused. “As for the horses, all I can tell you is what happened. The Bloods had two extra mounts with them, and they were the animals we were put on. I have no idea where the savages obtained them. Is it important?”

  “Not really. They had to have stolen them from some other whites,” Nate said.

  “I hope they didn’t kill anyone doing it.”

  “Did you see any of the warriors carrying fresh scalps tied to their lances or around their waists?” Nate asked.

  “No.”

  “It’s odd they—”

  Suddenly Selena Leonard unexpectedly hurled herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Before he could organize his wits, she was clinging to him and sobbing pathetically. Her moist tears trickled down his skin, her warm breath fanned his throat. “Selena?” he said, his voice unusually hoarse, but she ignored him and kept on crying. Not wishing to be rude, he simply stood there and let her express the grief that had built up inside her. She was pressed tight against him, and he could feel her heaving bosom. After a while, he was disconcerted to find his body growing warm and his cheeks flushed. “Selena?” he repeated rather gruffly.

  “Yes?” she answered, and sniffled loudly.

  “I think you should get ahold of yourself,” Nate advised.

  “I’m sorry.” Selena pulled back and dabbed at her face with a sleeve. “It’s just that I’ve been through so much, and Elden hasn’t been much help.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry for,” Nate said. “I understand completely.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Now why don’t we turn in? A good night’s rest is just what we both need.”

  “Whatever you want, Nate,” Selena said throatily. “Whatever you want.”

  ~*~

  Winona King saw the ominous bulk of the menacing grizzly move toward her and she released the leg of the doe, raised her flintlock, and took two steps to the left to put herself between the bear and her son. She pulled back the hammer and tried to take hurried aim, but the inky murk at the bottom of the ravine prevented her from telling exactly where to shoot to strike a vital organ. As a result, she hesitated, unwilling to risk merely angering the beast.

  Zach appeared at her side, his own rifle elevated. “We’ll fight it together, Ma,” he declared.

  “I want you to run,” Winona said.

  “The son of Grizzly Killer doesn’t turn tail from a dumb old bear.”

  Pride welled up in Winona’s heart. She saw the grizzly stop a dozen feet away and heard its heavy breathing. There wasn’t enough space in the ravine for them to try and go around it, and retreating might provoke a charge.

  All she could do was stand there and wait for the bear to make up its mind whether to attack or not. If it did, they’d each be able to get off a single shot, and if neither ball proved fatal, the brute would rip them to pieces in a mad rage.

  “Try and keep it off us,” Zach said urgently. “I have an idea.”

  “What?” Winona asked, but the boy was gone, darting out of sight behind her. There was a thud, then a whole flurry of blows, as if Zach was beating the deer carcass. She would have glanced around to see what he was doing, only the grizzly suddenly advanced a few feet. Winona perceived the outline of its massive head, swinging ponderously from side to side, and she listened to it sniffing the air. Sighting down the flintlock, she tried to locate one of its eyes.

  “Almost done,” Zach called out.

  Bothered by the flurry of movement and sound, the grizzly growled, then suddenly reared back and rose onto its hind legs.

  Winona had to tilt her head back to see the top of the monster. Its teeth shone dully in the darkness, and she thought she saw its tongue dart out and in. Pointing the barrel at a spot between the teeth, she prepared to fire if the bear took a single step further. It made no sinister gestures, however, and only stood there sniffing.

  “Got it, Ma!” Zach cried, dashing around. In his left hand he held his butcher knife, in his right a haunch off the doe. He took a stride and waved the piece overhead. “Here you go, bear! This is what you want!” Then, drawing back his right arm, he hurled the haunch as far as he could. It landed with a thud to the left of the grizzly. “Let’s pray this works,” he said.

  The clever ruse impressed Winona. She wondered why she hadn’t thought of it, and she watched with bated breath as the beast dropped onto all fours again and turned to examine the haunch. Everything depended on what the grizzly did next.

  Grunting and rumbling, the bear ran its nose up and down the meat. It shifted once to regard them balefully, then it took the haunch in its iron jaws, spun almost gracefully for a creature so gigantic, and bounded off, slanting to the right once it was out of the ravine. Brush crackled and snapped as the grizzly plowed into the forest. Within moments the noise of its passage had faded to silence.

  “There is no time to waste,” Winona said, laying hold of the doe. “The bear might come back for more.”

  “I didn’t know what else to do,” Zach said. He grabbed a leg and helped her drag the remainder of the body off. “Pa always says if you can’t outfight an enemy, you should outsmart him.”

  “You did fine,” Winona said, her ears pricked to catch the faintest sounds. When grizzlies wanted to, they could move as silently as the wind. She must stay vigilant all the way back to their cabin or risk being set upon before she could so much as lift her rifle.

  Neither of them spoke. Resolve lining their features, they refused to stop, not even when the cabin loomed out of the night before them. Winona went straight to the door and threw it open. With Zach’s assistance, she carried the carcass inside and placed it on the wooden counter. Lighting a lantern was her next chore. Then, moving swiftly, she slipped the cradleboard off of her shoulders so she could check on her daughter.

  Evelyn was asleep, her dainty hands curled under her pointed chin, none the worse for wear for having been out in the cold for hours.

  Winona placed her daughter on the bed. Zach, without being bidden, was kindling a stack of wood in the fireplace. She went over and draped a hand on his arm. “There was no time to say more back in the ravine, but I want you to know that what you did was very brave and very wise, my son. Your father will be happy to hear. And I will tell the story around the campfires of our people so the Shoshones will know our son is already well on his way to being a mighty warrior.”

  The boy lit up like a miniature sun. “There’s no need to do that, Ma,” he said, but his tone belied the statement.

  “Nonsense. The other mothers are always boasting about their children. I can do no less for mine.” Grinning, Winona reclaimed her rifle. “I will see how the horses are doing and be right back.”

  “Watch out for that dam bear.”

  The reminder was unnecessary, since the grizzly was uppermost on Winona’s mind. She dreaded the thought of the brute trailing them home and later on possibly tearing into the pen or trying to break inside the cabin. Nor were her fears farfetched. Grizzlies had been known to e
nter cabins and lodges before, usually with disastrous results for the occupants. Once, many winters ago, a particularly vicious bear that had plagued her tribe for many moons tore through the side of a lodge in the middle of the night and made off with a little girl who had been sleeping in her mother’s arms. The mother’s head had been ripped off.

  So Winona had the flintlock cocked as she stepped to the southeast corner of the structure and scanned the enclosure Nate had built for their horses. All the animals were present except Nate’s stallion. To be safe, she made a complete circuit of the pen and the cabin, pausing often to attune her mind to the rhythm of the woodland. All she heard was the sighing of the wind, the rustling of trees. The grizzly, evidently, was gone.

  Flames were crackling in the hearth when Winona entered, closed the door behind her, and set in place the heavy wooden bar designed to keep out unwanted intruders. She pulled down the leather flap covering the expensive glass pane Nate had installed in the window just for her benefit, then stripped off her robe and hung it on a peg on the wall.

  Zach was staring intently into the fire, immersed in reflection. He heard her approach and turned. “Anything?”

  “We’re safe. If the bear should come around, the horses will let us know.”

  “Too bad Blaze isn’t here,” Zach said, referring to the gray wolf cub he had found wandering in a blizzard over a year ago and raised as a pet. Initially the cub had never strayed from Zach’s side, but the more it had grown, the more independent it had become, and now it spent two out of every three days off in the wilderness.