Savage Skies (25 page)

Both children were silent for a while as they stared at one another; then Little Bee saw the doll that she had brought earlier for Megan and went to it. She picked it up, walked eagerly to Megan, and put it into her arms.

“I have brought this doll for you to keep,” Little Bee said sweetly. “I have one just like it. Do you want to see it?”

Megan had never been shy, and now she went to Little Bee just as the other child picked up her own doll.

“See?” Little Bee said, still smiling. “My doll and your doll are alike. They could be sisters, just like you and I could be sisters.”

Shirleen was stunned by what Little Bee had said. In fact, once Shirleen married Blue Thunder, Little Bee and Megan would be sisters!

“The dolls are different from any I have ever
seen,” Megan said, gazing intently at the one in her hands. “But I like it. It is cute. Thank you, Little Bee.”

“Do you want to play dolls with me?” Little Bee asked eagerly. “I play dolls all the time with my friends. Will you be my friend?”

“Yes, I want to be your friend, and I would love to play dolls,” Megan replied happily.

Shirleen was amazed at how quickly the two children were bonding. Their skin and hair color were very different, but to most children, such things were meaningless.

Adults would shun those of a different skin color. Even Shirleen had been guilty of that from time to time. She had always heard only bad things about Indians, but now she realized there were bad white people, just as there were bad red-skinned people, like the renegades who had come and killed her friends.

The two women and the two little girls feasted on the food that Bright Sun had brought for their breakfast. The children often giggled as they ate, filling Shirleen's heart with joy.

But then a realization vastly different from these lovely moments came to Shirleen's mind. At this very moment, Speckled Fawn was sitting vigil at her husband's side, alone, sad, and possibly afraid for her future.

Shirleen had heard Speckled Fawn worry aloud more than once about what might happen to her after her husband passed away.

“I would like to go and check on Speckled Fawn, if you wouldn't mind sitting with Megan
for a while,” Shirleen said. “I would like to take her some of this wonderful breakfast food, too.”

“You go to her,” Bright Sun urged, already on her feet and carrying the tray to the closed entrance flap. “Take this. I had planned to take her food later, but now is alright.”

“Thank you,” Shirleen said. She bent low and kissed Megan. “I will not be gone long. Have fun playing dolls, okay?”

Megan smiled and nodded, then seemed not even to notice when Shirleen left the tepee.

Shirleen went to Speckled Fawn's tepee and quietly spoke her name outside.

Speckled Fawn came and lifted the flap, nodding for Shirleen to come inside. She motioned toward a thick pile of pelts.

Shirleen sat down, and when Speckled Fawn sat beside her, Shirleen handed the tray of food to her.

“I am not hungry,” Speckled Fawn said, ignoring the offering.

“But you must eat,” Shirleen softly encouraged, feeling oddly out of place with Dancing Shadow there so close, so quiet, dressed in his finest attire for burial.

“Food is the last thing I wish to think about,” Speckled Fawn said as she gazed lovingly at Dancing Shadow. “These are my final moments with my husband. I just can't eat.”

“I have come to see if you are alright, and to bring you food,” Shirleen said, slowly rising.

She swallowed hard as she gazed at the old, silent man.

She had seen many dead people before, lying in repose in their coffins just prior to burial. But seeing a dead body was never easy.

“Thank you,” Speckled Fawn said, not rising to walk Shirleen to the entranceway. “I will remain here, keeping vigil at my husband's side until his burial.”

“I understand,” Shirleen said, then hurried away.

Outside, she stopped abruptly, her mind suddenly on Blue Thunder. It was known that warriors sometimes died while on the hunt. Killing buffalo could be a dangerous pursuit.

She shook such worries from her mind and hurried back to her tepee.

Her thoughts went to Earl, and she wondered briefly how Blue Thunder could have forgotten about him so quickly. Surely Earl would be leaving on the riverboat today or tomorrow, depending on how high the river had risen.

If he got away. . . . !

No, she would not think about that.

The most important thing was that Megan was finally with her, safe and sound, rescued from her brutal father!

I'll tell you how the sun rose . . .
A ribbon at a time.

—Dickinson

Blue Thunder and his warriors had arrived just in time to see the paddlewheeler pulling in to its mooring place. They had hidden themselves and watched as several people walked across a wooden plank from the ground to the riverboat.

Blue Thunder's eyes looked carefully from person to person as each took his turn walking over the plank. The water splashed noisily against the sides of the boat, and lapped much higher than usual against the shore.

A few women screamed with fear as they inched across the plank, while others remained as long as possible on dry land, almost too afraid to move.

Blue Thunder watched the men who had also stayed behind, waiting their turn as they politely allowed the women to board first.

Thus far he had not seen Earl Mingus among
the men, yet he could see in the distance more men coming from the fort. Most of those men were uniformed soldiers, with only a few civilians among them.

These were the ones Blue Thunder kept his eyes on. Disappointment flooded his senses when he could not spot Earl among the men.

But still he and his warriors waited and watched, until suddenly a shrill whistling sound came from the boat. Everyone who had been waiting a turn was aboard, and the plank was now being hauled onto the ship.

Black smoke came from its huge smokestack, and the paddlewheels began turning, sending even more water pounding against the embankment.

The paddlewheels began turning more quickly, with water splashing from them, and the boat inched farther out toward the middle of the river. Soon it had made its way back downriver, becoming harder to see as it went farther and farther, until finally it could not be seen at all.

“The evil man did not board the riverboat,” Proud Horse said as he sidled his horse closer to Blue Thunder's. He glanced at the fort, then into Blue Thunder's eyes. “What do we do now? Where should we look for him?”

“My friend, you are trusted by the soldiers stationed at the fort, so I suggest that you go and very carefully question them about this man,” Blue Thunder said tightly. “Of course they will want to know why you ask, so you
can say that he had stolen a valuable horse from your corral. They will ask you how you knew it was he who did this, and you will tell them you saw the man on your horse when you were in the fort the other day. Tell them you did not question him that day because you had to make certain the animal was yours. Say that you returned home and saw that the steed was gone, and that you now hold him accountable for the theft.”

“That sounds like a good enough story to be true,” Proud Horse said. “These white men look down at us, but they secretly envy our freedom. We are not held to the same rules as they. If they disobey, I have heard that they are thrown in a terrible place, where rats gnaw at their bare feet. Sometimes they are even shot. It is not the way we do things at our village. Rarely do any of our warriors complain about life as we live it.”

“There is one warrior who tests my patience more than others, yet he still makes certain that he does nothing to cause his banishment from the tribe,” Blue Thunder said, thinking of Black Wing and the spiteful, challenging look in his dark eyes when he openly disagreed with his chief.

“I know which warrior you are referring to,” Proud Horse said, frowning. “But Black Wing has done nothing yet to cause him to be banished from our people.”

“He will never go that far, for he has a wife and children to consider,” Blue Thunder said,
staring unblinkling at the fort. He reached over and placed a gentle hand on Proud Horse's shoulder. “You are dependable in all ways, my warrior, so go and see what answers you can get from the white-eyed pony soldiers about Earl Mingus.”

“It is the same as done,” Proud Horse said, reaching up and clasping his hand on Blue Thunder's shoulder.

Then Proud Horse wheeled his horse around and rode in the direction of the fort.

Impatient that he would have to wait for answers, Blue Thunder sighed heavily.

He dismounted, as did his warriors, then tethered his horse to a tree and walked away from the others to have a moment of privacy.

As the others dutifully waited, Blue Thunder walked farther and farther into the trees, where the thick layer of fallen, damp leaves made strange, spongy sounds beneath his moccasined feet. As he walked deeper into the forest, he suddenly got a faint whiff of smoke coming from ahead.

Curious, he walked more stealthily, his feet as quiet as a panther's paws as he moved farther into the trees. He was keenly aware that he was leaving the protection of his warriors behind him.

Yet he could not stop now that he had come this far. The smoke spiraled upward through the treetops ahead, as he could hear the faint sound of voices, and then throaty laughter.

He realized now that he was not approaching a cabin, but a campsite.

And the voices were all masculine.

He looked over his shoulder, toward where he had left his warriors and his horse, where his rifle was secured on his saddle. Although his arrows were still in his quiver, the only other weapon he had with him was a sheathed knife.

Realizing how alone he was, and knowing the danger he could be in should those at the campsite be enemies, he started to turn back, but something made him continue on a bit farther.

When he came to a clearing, he leaped back into the shadows of the trees and found himself looking at his worst enemies—the Comanche renegades and none other than Big Nose.

Blue Thunder could not believe his luck that he had happened upon the very renegades he had been hunting for so long. Though he now knew they were not the ones responsible for his wife's death, they had definitely committed countless atrocities.

Blue Thunder knew he was gazing upon a madman who was perhaps worse than any other. Big Nose and his renegade followers had surely gotten trapped on this side of the river by the higher waters. Blue Thunder was fairly certain that their hideout must be on the other side of the river, for he had never been able to find any trace of them on this side.

His heart pounding, he knew what he must do. He only hoped that he wasn't discovered before he reached his warriors. Even one wrong step onto a twig, or an alarm sounded by frightened birds scattering overhead, could spell his doom. If the renegades caught him there, alone, he would either be killed instantly or tortured terribly before dying.

Carefully, stealthily, he ran back in the direction of his warriors.

He doubted that the renegades would be going anywhere soon, for the river was treacherous now, its current much too strong to be crossed on horseback.

He would have time to return to their campsite with his warriors. He would finally avenge those people whose lives had been ended by the heartless renegades.

Breathing hard because he had run so hard and fast, Blue Thunder finally caught sight of his warriors, who were still waiting for Proud Horse's return.

He was as anxious to hear about Earl as he was to finally stop Big Nose and his renegade friends. But he could only fight one evil person at a time.

It was Big Nose who would be the first.

Wherever Earl Mingus was, he could not hide forever. Blue Thunder would never stop until he had avenged his wife's death, and the torture Shirleen had been put through at the hands of that evil, golden-haired man.

Finally reaching his warriors, Blue Thunder
stopped to catch his breath before telling them what he had seen.

One of his warriors realized that Blue Thunder needed a drink, and handed him a buckskin bag of water.

Blue Thunder nodded a thank you and eagerly took a drink.

When his thirst was quenched and he could breathe easily again, he quickly told his warriors whom he had seen.

“One of you stay behind to tell Proud Horse where we have gone. The rest of you, come with me,” Blue Thunder ordered. “Secure your horses and grab your bows. Leave your rifles behind, for this must be a silent kill. I do not want the pony soldiers at the fort to know what we are doing. And we are going by foot. We will surround the renegades, and this time make absolutely certain that Big Nose does not escape as he has in the past.”

The warriors all did as he told them, leaving one behind to tell Proud Horse where they were. The rest then followed Blue Thunder until they were close enough to the campsite to hear the crackling of the fire, and the loud, obnoxious voices of the renegades. One by one they took their places to surround the campsite.

Without giving any warning, they began firing arrows from their bowstrings, not giving the renegades any chance to fight back.

Soon Blue Thunder stepped out into the open and stood over the dead body of Big Nose, while his warriors went from renegade to
renegade to make certain they were silenced forever.

Victorious, the warriors came together and let out loud whoops as they thrust their bows into the air over and over again.

Blue Thunder felt proud that he had finally put an end to the man he had loathed for so long. Big Nose and his companions would never terrorize the people of Wyoming again.

He gazed down at Big Nose and at the arrow that protruded from his chest. It was Blue Thunder's arrow.

He then gazed at Big Nose's open eyes, which were locked in a death stare.