Miss Annie And The Chief (5 page)

“That would be
fine. Thank you, Chato.”
 
Annie
agrees.

Mark gives Annie
a courteous nod and a tip of his hat as his kind gaze and smile linger for a
moment.
 
“I look forward to seeing
you tomorrow, Mrs. Landon.” Mark says with deep sincerity.

*****

Chato drives the
buggy on the road back to Beaver Creek.
 
Annie sits next to him.
 
A
horse gallops up from behind.
 
Chato stops the buggy.
 

Annie turns and
sees that it is Chief Red Hawk on the horse.
 
The sight of him startles her.
 
Chief Red Hawk looks at Annie once, deeply, and then
converses with Chato in Arapaho.
 
The Chief looks at Annie again before he gallops away.

“What did he
say?”
 
Annie inquires curiously.

“He asked what
you were doing at the fort and I told him you were the new teacher.
 
He said he wants you to teach him.”
 
Chato relates.

“Teach him
English?”

“He knows
English pretty good. Not so much some of the meaning. He wants to understand
the wasichu.
 
He said he saw you in
a vision many moons ago and that when he saw you yesterday, he knew the Great
Spirit was honoring his vision.”
 
Chato informs Annie.

“The Great
Spirit?”
 
Annie asks regarding
another name unfamiliar to her.

“You call him
God. We all honor the source of creation, just named different.”
 
Chato tells her.

“Will the chief
be joining our class?”

“No.
 
He wants me to bring you to the
village.
 
You are to teach him
there.”
  

“We should
report this to Captain Caldwell.”
 
Annie says.

“Please honor
this request, Miss Annie. There is an important pow wow coming soon where white
eyes from Washington will be bringing a new treaty to sign. The white eyes have
not honored the treaty the Arapaho have already signed. This concerns Chief Red
Hawk greatly.
 
He wants to be able
to talk clearly with the white eyes from Washington and better understand the
journey they have been on with the hope that he can make them understand our
journey.”

Annie turns and
watches the chief ride out of sight, intrigued by his conscientiousness.

The rest of the
buggy ride into town is quiet.
 
Chato parks the buggy by the theatre.
 
He helps Annie out.

“Thank you,
Chato.”

“You're welcome,
Miss Annie.”

“You have very
good manners, Chato.”
 
Annie
shares, impressed.

“Your aunt
taught us.”

“I’ll see you
tomorrow.”
 
Annie says before
entering Selma's place.

Chato waits
until Annie is inside.
 
He then
approaches the saloon.
 
He peeks in
the window and catches Clara's attention.
 
He hurries down an alleyway near the saloon.
 
He waits for a moment.
 

Clara
approaches.
 
She stops and locks
eyes with Chato.
  
They hurry
to each other.
  
They double
check to make sure no one is around.
 
Once they are sure they are alone, they embrace.
 
A passionate, hopelessly in young first
love embrace.

Inside Selma’s
house Annie takes a seat at Selma’s desk.
 
She opens her books to prepare for her next class.
 
She notices a letter addressed to her
near the corner of the desk.
 
Annie
picks up the letter and reads it...

"Dear
Annie, I know that it's been months since I've written, but so much has
happened, I have so much to share with you. I've met a man. A remarkable man.
He has honest eyes, you can see his character when you look into them. He is
just and honorable, though many choose not to see it. I met him when I was
riding out to the fort to teach my class to the Indian scouts. Yes, I'm
teaching Indians, not Christian children.
 
And it is a blessing. I've been learning just as much from them as I
think, as I hope, they are learning from me. We all have much to learn from the
Indians and should take the time and accord them the honor of understanding
their way of life. Though vastly different from ours, it is still valid. I know
I am a different woman than the person you once knew. This place and the people
that I have been privileged to know have shaped me in ways I never could have
imagined. I pray that when we meet again your love and acceptance of your aunt
will not waiver."

*****

At dinnertime
Annie enters the jail carrying a picnic basket.

Selma stands in
the cell, acting out a fairy tale scene to the enraptured marshal.
 
Neither Selma nor the marshal notices
Annie.
 
Annie listens.

"...Then
the princess ran to the door and opened it, and there she saw the frog, whom
she had quite forgotten. At this sight she was sadly frightened, and shutting
the door as fast as she could came back to her seat. The king, her father,
seeing that something had frightened her, asked her what was the matter. 'There
is a nasty frog,' said she, 'at the door, that lifted my ball for me out of the
spring this morning: I told him that he should live with me here, thinking that
he could never get out of the spring; but there he is at the door, and he wants
to come in."
 
Selma dramatizes
with the proper amount of theatrical flare.

“There ain't no
way a princess would live with a frog,” the marshal gripes.

“Not until she
kisses him.”

“Why on god's
earth would she kiss a frog?”
 
He
asks incredulously.

“So he'll turn
into a prince.”

“That makes no
sense.”

“This is a fairy
tale, not real life.” Selma sighs, exasperated by the marshal.

“Well, it ain't
something I'm going to want to see, I tell ya that,” the marshal huffs.

“The fairy tale
shows are a big hit in Boston and New York.”
 
Selma boasts.
 
She finally spies Annie who has been standing there bemused by the
sparring.

“Annie!! You're
still in town?!” Selma beams.

“The capt'n must
have gotten to her,” the marshal grins at Selma.
 
He then looks at Annie.
 
“He was making an awful lot of inquiries about you last
night.”

Annie, feeling a
blush coming on, ignores the comment.
 
She looks at her aunt.
 
“I
thought you might be hungry.”

“I'm
starved.
 
Whadaya got?”
 
The marshal answers.

So you're
staying?
 
Selma asks, not
interested in food at this moment.

“I'm teaching
your class.”
 
Annie informs her
aunt.

Selma extends
her hand through the cell bars.
 
“Thank you.”
 
Annie takes
Selma's hand and affectionately grasps it.

*****

The next morning
Fort Mills is bustling with activity.
 
Cavalrymen come and go on horseback.

Annie stands
with Captain Caldwell outside of one of the buildings discussing the encounter
with the chief.

“Foolish
idea.”
 
Mark shakes his head.

“With all due
respect, Captain, I don't think it is.
 
The chief is willing to prepare himself for his meeting with the men
from Washington. I think that is commendable.
 
You yourself spoke of the need for understanding between
us.”
 
Annie declares.

“I agree with
your assessment but I am worried for your safety.
 
Traveling to the village could prove troublesome and I am
suspect as to why the chief doesn't want you to have an Army escort.”

“Aunt Selma
explained that having Chato escort me would show the Arapaho that we trust
them.”

“That is
true.”
 
Mark agrees.

“I wish to go,
Captain.”
 
Annie says with near
complete conviction and only a hint of trepidation.

“I don't want
you placed in any position that could potentially bring you harm.”
 
Mark reveals with more meaning than
just a cavalry captain concerned for a citizen.

“I honored your
last wish not to go.
 
Now I hope
you will honor my wish to go.”
 
Annie asserts, with a kind smile.

“I can't argue
that.” Mark returns the smile as he locks eyes with Annie.

*****

Chato drives the
buggy through the picturesque Colorado wilderness.
 
Annie sits next to Chato.
 
She looks nervous. The Arapaho village comes into view.
 
Annie is awestruck by the sight.
 

Once the buggy
reaches the village, Chato whoa’s the horse.
 
He gets out and helps Annie out.
 
The Indians in the village regard Annie with caution.

Chato motions
for Annie to follow him.
 
“This
way, Miss Annie.”
 
He heads for a
large teepee located in a tranquil area of the village.
 
Annie follows.
 

Chief Red Hawk
stands by the teepee.
 
He is a
magnificent sight.
 
He has dark
penetrating eyes, strong cheek bones, a muscular, sinewy body and eagle
feathers tied in his long jet black hair.
 
His chest is bare except for a buffalo bone breast plate.
 
In stature alone he commands
respect.
 
He is a man of noble
dignity.
 

He looks
directly at Annie.
 
“I am Red
Hawk.
 
Chief of the Arapaho.
 
Your name is Miss Annie, this is true?”

“Yes, it is
true.”
 
Annie smiles politely.

“The white eyes
from Washington will be coming to meet with the Arapaho.
 
They want to change the treaty we have
signed. They want to take more land. I want you to teach me what I need to know
to make them understand that this is the land of my father, and his father. I
cannot lose it,” the chief tells Annie.

“Chief Red Hawk,
I'm not sure that what I know could help you in negotiating with the Indian
agents.” Annie replies.

“Some moons ago
I had a vision. In this vision I saw our way of life changing. In this vision I
saw you. I saw you teaching me,” the chief reveals.

“What would you
like to know?”

“What does
negotiating mean?”
 
He asks.

“It means two
parties try to come to a mutual agreement over a matter that needs
settling.”
 
Annie informs the
chief.

“Parties
meaning, the Arapaho and the Great White Father in Washington,” the chief
figures.

“Yes.”

“Deciding on the
fate of our land.”

“Yes.”

The chief
becomes animated in his response.
 
“We have been negotiating with the white man. The negotiating harms us,
not them. Now they want more negotiating.
 
More harm will come to us with negotiating.
 
I don not like this word negotiating.”
 

The Chief sees a
furrow in Annie's brow.
 
A
satisfied smile crosses his face, which catches Annie off guard.
 
“See, you teach me already.”

Once the first
lesson has ended, Chief Red Hawk walks with Annie to the buggy.
 
Chato helps Annie up into the
buggy.
 
Red Hawk observes this
interaction between Chato and Annie.

“What is this
that Chato has done?” The chief asks.

“He helped me up
into the buggy.”
 
Annie tells him.

“Why?
 
Are you not able?”
 

“Chato was being
polite.
 
The white man helps the
white woman when he can.”
 
Annie
enlightens the chief.

“I wish to try,”
the chief demands.

“Then you must
help me out of the buggy.”

“You are helped
down as well?”

“Yes.”

In one swift
powerful move, Chief Red Hawk grabs Annie and pulls her out of the buggy,
holding her close in an embrace.