Miss Annie And The Chief (8 page)

This story
shocks Annie, her eyes misting at the thought of such brutality.
 
“Most white people are not that
barbaric and cruel, Chief Red Hawk. And justice does matter to many of us. Aunt
Selma says that every orchard has a barrel of bad apples.”

“This is true
with Indians. The Shoshone are a barrel of bad apples. Some warriors even in my
own tribe if they could would kill.
 
Let us hope the white eyes coming from Washington are not a barrel of
bad apples.”

“Let us
hope.”
 
Annie encourages with a
smile.

Red Hawk picks a
flower and hands it to Annie.
 
“What do you call this?”

Annie takes the
flower.
 
“A flower.
 
Thank you.”

Red Hawk isn't
sure why Annie's thanking him.
 
“Why did you say thank you?”

“Because you
gave me this flower.
 
When a man
gives flowers to a woman it's taken as a kind gesture.
 
Often it means the man is fond of the
woman.”
 
Annie explains.

“I only wanted
to know its name,” the chief admits.

“All flowers
have different names.
 
There are
roses, and daisies, tulips…”

Red Hawk cuts
Annie off.
 
“What does ‘fond’
mean?”

Annie stops and
thinks about how to answer.
 
“It
means that you like someone. You have tender feelings for someone.”

Judging by the
blank look on the chief’s face, she doesn't think Red Hawk gets the
meaning.
 
Annie continues to walk,
studying the flower Red Hawk handed her.
 
Being unfamiliar with the flower, she wonders if it has an official
name. “I'm not sure what kind of flower this one is, but it is very pretty.”

Annie feels a
tap on her shoulder.
 
She
turns.
 
Chief Red Hawk has picked a
handful of flowers and hands them to Annie.
 
She is touched by this gesture.

“Thank you very
much.” She smiles.

“What does very
much mean?”
 
He asks.

“It means that I
am especially grateful for your kindness.
 
This gift of the flowers is very special and I am most pleased by your
thoughtfulness.”
 

The chief smiles
warmly, his eyes locking with Annie’s.
 
“You’re very much welcome.”

*****

Chato drives the
buggy into town with Annie seated next to him.
 
There's a big commotion near the saloon.
 
The Rush Brothers are target shooting
cans as other cowboys watch them and place bets on whether or not the Rush
brothers can hit the targets.

Glen, the
biggest ass of the brothers, hurries over to the buggy, shooting his gun and
stopping the buggy.
 
“How about I
buy the little lady a drink.”
 
He
drunkenly slurs at Annie.

Annie ignores
him.

He becomes
louder, impatient, anger starting to flare.
 
“I said, how about I buy the little lady a drink. “

Glen looks at
Chato and then glares are Annie.
 
“What are you doing with an injun?”

“He's more of a
gentleman than you'll ever be.”
 
Annie states defiantly.

Annie’s snub and
response infuriates Glen. “He's gonna be a dead gentleman.”
 
Glen cocks his gun, aims it at Chato.

Mark, dressed in
his uniform, rides up on his horse.
 
He hurriedly comes between Glen and the buggy.
 
“Move on Glen, before I take your gun away.”

Glen
laughs.
 
He re-holsters his gun.
“Yes sir, Cap-i-tan.”

Mark hollers to
the men to break it up.
 
“Target
practice is over.”

“We can do
whatever the hell we want, there ain't no crime in shootin' cans.” Carl snarls.

Mark is not at
all intimidated by these jerks.
 
“Either you settle down and stop shooting in the streets or I escort you
out of town. It's your choice.”

Dick attempts to
cock his gun at Mark. In a flash Mark draws both his guns and has them aimed at
two of the brothers.

The Marshal
walks over to the ruckus with his riffle aimed and ready to shoot. “You all
heard the captain, break it up.”

“Don't get
yourselves in a lather.”
 
Dick Rush
informs the marshal.
 
The Rush
brothers and their drunk pals head back into the saloon. The marshal follows
them.

Mark turns to
Annie, his eyes filled with worry and concern.
 
“Are you okay?”

“I'm glad you're
here.”
 
Annie says with heartfelt
meaning.
 
She smiles tenderly at
Mark.
 

Mark’s eyes
widen.
 
Her answer and the deeper
meaning her heard in her words touch his very core.
 
Their eyes lock.
 
Chato smiles at the connection between Mark and Annie, which is broken
when they hear the scout let out a sigh.

 
“I'm glad to be of service.”
 
Mark says as he tips his hat to
Annie.
 
His words are laced with the
same deeper meaning as Annie’s words.
 
Before he rides off, Mark notices the small bouquet of flowers Annie is
holding.

Later in the
day, inside Selma’s house, Selma and Annie continue to work on hand sewing the
red costume. They hear a ruckus from outside.

“Oh no, is that
the Rush brothers?”
 
Annie asks,
worried.

Selma
listens.
 
Then smiles.
 
“I don't think so.”
 
Selma stands up and heads outside.
 
Annie follows.

The women look
down the street and see a small parade of colorful wagons heading for the theatre.
 
The show people are arriving with much
song, dance and fanfare.

Folks come out
of their homes, businesses and the saloon to watch the spectacle.
 
The entertainers perform for the
crowd.
 
They're dressed in costumes
- straight out of Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales.

The Rush
brothers stand outside of the saloon hooting and hollering for the show people.
Clara stands with the other saloon girls.
 
Clara spies Chato across the street.
 
She catches his eye.
 
There are too many people around, so Chato and Clara only steal a small
smile.
 
But Glen notices.
 
And glares with hatred.

The festive parade
of wagons and entertainers stops in front of the theatre.
 
Selma rushes to greet the
entertainers.
 
They all greet each
other like dear, old friends.
 
One
performer, a male performer, dressed in costume, his face covered with a
partial mask, gives Selma an especially affectionate hug.

Annie looks a
bit overwhelmed by the noise and festivities.
 
Mark, keeping an eye on the Rush brothers, joins Annie.
 
“Good evening, Mrs. Landon.”
 
He stands with her his imposing posture
lets all around know that he will do anything to protect her.
 
Which she appreciates with a smile.
 
“Good evening, Captain.”

Selma separates
herself from her entertainer friends momentarily to join Annie and Mark.
 
“Hello, Captain.”
 
Selma says brightly.

“Good to see you
out from behind bars, Selma.”
 
Mark
ribs.

“There will be a
ticket at the box office waiting for you.”
 
Selma tells Mark.

“Thank you, I
appreciate that.”
 
Mark responds.

“I hope you don’t
mind sitting with Annie.”
 
Selma
teases with a twinkle before rejoining her theatre friends.

Mark locks eyes
with Annie.
 
“I don’t mind at all.”

*****

At Fort Mills
the next day Mark and Chato load a wagon with supplies.
 
They head out to the Arapaho village.

At the Arapaho
village Mark and Chato unload supplies, including blankets, handing them to
Indian women and children.

Chief Red Hawk
approaches.
 
He stands near
Mark.
 
“Aho, Captain Caldwell.”

“Aho, Chief Red
Hawk.”
 

“Have you given
flowers to Miss Annie?”
 
The chief
inquires.

“I have
not.
 
Why do you ask?”
 
Mark wonders, confused.

Chief Red Hawk,
looking rather cocky, "hmmhps" and walks away.

As Chato drives the
wagon away from the village, heading back to the fort, Mark, seated next to
Chato, looks confused.
 
“Chato, why
would Chief Red Hawk ask if I gave Mrs. Landon flowers?”

“He gave her
flowers yesterday.”
 
Chato tells
Mark.

“Why?”

“She has been
teaching him manners.
 
She taught
him that when a man gives a woman flowers that means he feels tenderness for
her.”

*****

It’s opening
night.
 
Beaver Creek bustles with
life. Townsfolk line up to go into the theatre. The Rush brothers stumble out
of the saloon and stagger toward the theatre.

Chato and Clara,
thinking they're not being watched, take each other's hand and hurry down the
alley.
  
Glen has watched them
and a look of pure hatred crosses his face.
 
His two idiot brothers drag him along toward the theatre.

In the backstage
of the theatre the performers ready themselves.
 
Annie is with Selma helping her adjust her costume.
 
Selma is dressed like little red riding
hood.
 
“How do I look?”
 
Selma asks.

“Red.
 
And dazzling.”
 
Annie answers.

“You do know,
Annie, how very proud I am of you.
 
You've endured more than most and yet you've willingly shared your gifts
with such an open heart and an unflappable spirit.
 
It's been a joy to see.”
 
Selma tells Annie.

“This is your
night.”
 
Annie encourages.

“I'm glad you're
here to share it with me.”
 
Selma
gives Annie a hug.

“I am, too.”
Annie shares, with heartfelt honesty.
 
A couple of the performers motion to Selma that they need her.
 
“I better let you finish getting
ready.”
 
Annie says before heading
for the lobby.

Annie mingles
with townsfolk in the lobby while folks purchase their tickets and head into
the performance hall to find their seats.

Mark
enters.
 
He's dressed in a tailored
suit, clean-shaven, looking unbelievably dashing.
 
He holds an overwhelmingly large bouquet of wildflowers.
 
Annie turns and sees him.
 
Their eyes lock.
 
He joins her and hands her the bouquet
of flowers.

“Thank you,
Captain.
 
Aunt Selma will be
touched by your thoughtfulness.”

“The flowers
aren't for her.
 
They're for you,”
he tells her.
 
Their gaze is
intense, as is the longing. The sound of piano playing breaks the moment.

Mark gives Annie
his arm and escorts her into the performance hall.
 
They take their seats.
 

The show
begins.
 
The performers act and
dance out a bawdy version of Little Red Riding Hood.
 
Selma is wonderful.
 
Roy's festive piano playing gives the performance buoyancy.
 
The marshal is in the audience and
actually loving the show.
 
The wolf
is also wonderful and Selma seems to have a great time on stage with the actor
in the wolf's costume.

The first act
ends.
 
The audience applauds.
 
The actors take a bow and leave the
stage.
 
“If you'll excuse me,
Captain, I'd like to find my aunt.”
 
Annie says to Mark.

“Certainly.”
 
Mark stands up.
 
Annie leaves, flowers in hand.
 
She goes backstage.
 
No Aunt Selma among the
performers.
 
No wolf either.
  
She thinks she spies her aunt
leaving through the backdoor.