Westward Dreams (16 page)

Jack had been cleaning a cell.  He came out from the back and saw Owl.  “Hi, Uncle Owl,” he said and then saw that Owl was handcuffed.  “What’s going on?”

They filled him in and dispatched him to go get Marcus.  Mitch warned him against going to the Indian camp just yet.  He made Jack promise to come back to the office as soon as he told Marcus the situation. 

Sammi tried to become emotionally detached from the situation as she took Owl to a cell and locked him in.  She couldn’t look at Owl because there were tears in her eyes.  When she went back out front, Mitch had left to go to the Watering Hole.  She sat down and used the time alone to get her emotions under control.

Marcus’s heart pounded with trepidation as he rode beside his nephew into town.  He didn’t doubt that Owl was telling the truth.  His brother’s moral code didn’t allow for any dishonesty, either in himself or others.  There were huge ramifications caused by his actions, however.  The fact that he was Lakota was going to cause major issues.  Marcus’ instincts told him that things were going to become very volatile in Dawson.

Hannah winced as Marcus examined her.  Her left eye had swollen shut and her head pounded.  Her neck hurt to turn it and bruises from Clive’s strong grip had appeared.  A dark bruise had also begun on her right cheek. 

As Marcus treated her, his own fury grew.  He had been taught by both cultures that women were to be respected not abused.  He thought about Owl and knew that if someone had attacked Claire that way, he wouldn’t have hesitated to defend her.  Marcus could well understand his brother’s frame of mind at the time.

Hannah said, “I’m fine, Marcus,” in a hoarse voice.  Her personal clothing had been covered in Clive’s blood so she now wore an extra nurses’ uniform that she kept at the office.

“No, you’re not.  You have a slight concussion.  I want you to go home and rest.  Do not come to work for the next couple of days.  I’ll come by tomorrow to check on you,” Marcus said.  “You need to put cold compresses on that eye, too.  I’ll get someone to stay with you.  I’m also giving you a couple packets of willow bark to make into tea.  It tastes horrible, but it’ll help with the pain.”

Marcus had also noted that her upper arms showed bruising from where Clive had grabbed her when he shook her.  He wrote careful notes about all of her injuries in the chart he’d started for her.  It was important to include everything that might be of use later on.  Marcus knew there was sure to be a trial and this evidence would be crucial.

Hannah nodded.  “I want to see Owl.”

“I don’t know that that’s a good idea,” Marcus said even though he understood her need to do that.  “You need to go home and rest.”

Hannah looked at him with her one good eye and said, “Just for a few minutes.  I can’t rest until I know he’s all right.”

Marcus said, “Ok.  Only for a few minutes.  I’ll go with you and then have Jamie take you home.”

“Thank you,” Hannah said.

Owl sat cross-legged on the cot in his cell.  He leaned his back against the wall and kept his eyes closed.  All of his thoughts were centered on Hannah.  He needed to know how she was.  He wasn’t worried about himself at the moment.  All that mattered to him was her welfare.

Marcus and Hannah entered the sheriff’s office and were greeted by the three officers.  All of them were shocked by Hannah’s appearance and angered on her behalf. 

Mitch said, “Hannah, are you sure you want to see him tonight?  Maybe tomorrow would be better.”

Hannah said, “I need to see him, Mitch.  Please.”

“All right,” Mitch said and walked with Hannah back to the row of cells.

Hannah saw Owl sitting on the cot with his eyes closed and tears gathered in her eyes. 

“Owl,” she said softly.

His eyes opened and he was off the cot in seconds.  Owl reached through the bars to take her hand in his.  His dark gaze travelled over her bruised face and black eye and rage filled him again as he took in her battered appearance.  “Are you all right?” he said and squeezed her hand lightly.

Hannah said, “I’ll be all right.” 

She looked down at his hands, which held hers so gently, and couldn’t reconcile them with the hands that had taken a life.  Hannah had known they were strong, but until now she’d never truly associated them with violence.  The fact that Clive was dead brought home to her the fact that Owl was experienced with using deadly force.  As a medical professional, Hannah was sworn to help save people, but her feelings about Clive being dead were muddled. 

He nodded.  “I’m sure Marcus is taking good care of you.  Hannah, please don’t be afraid of me.  All I knew was that he was hurting you and I had to protect you.”

“I know.  You would have never done anything like that without being provoked, but Owl, some people aren’t going to see it that way,” she said as she held his hand tighter.

Owl said, “I know.  I don’t know how this works in the white culture, but in mine, it would be decided quickly.”

Hannah said, “I can’t think about any of that right now.  I just can’t.”

He raised a hand and brushed his fingers over her left cheek where there were no bruises.  “Go home, Hannah.  Rest.  I love you,” Owl said.

She pressed his hand against her face and then kissed his palm.  “I love you.  I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Ok,” Owl said and watched as Mitch led her out of the cell area. 

Marcus appeared next.  Seeing his brother behind bars caused his stomach to clench.  They clasped hands and Marcus said, “Always causing trouble, huh?” in an attempt to joke.

Owl gave him a small smile.  “That’s me.  Is she really all right?”

Marcus nodded.  “Yeah.  She has a slight concussion, but she’ll be ok.  Don’t worry; we’ll take good care of her.”  He switched to Lakota.  “Owl, this is very bad.  You realize that don’t you?  There will be a trial, but I don’t know how fair it will be.”

“You mean because I’m Lakota.  I figured as much.  How long does it take to get a trial?” Owl said.

“I don’t know how long it’ll take to get the case to trial at the district court.  It could be next month or three months,” Marcus said.

“That long?  Why can’t the people decide?  That’s what we do.” Owl said.  He referred to the tradition that when someone murdered another, the guilty party was given to the family of the victim to replace the deceased family member.

  “It doesn’t work that way in white culture.  His family isn’t going to want anything to do with you other than killing you.  No, a jury trial is the only chance of--‘” Marcus couldn’t continue for a few moments as the portent of what he’d been about to say hit him.

Owl understood and said, “It’s ok.  You don’t have to say it.  If that is to be my fate, so be it.  At least Hannah is safe and that scum will never bother her again.”

Marcus composed himself and said, “I’m going to fight to prevent that from happening. We’ll get you a lawyer.  I’ll go tell Black Fox tonight what’s happened.  They’re not going to be able to interfere with what’s happening here or else the situation is going to be very dire for everyone.”

Owl nodded.  “Give him a message from me.  Tell him that I am begging him to keep our people from doing anything stupid.  There doesn’t need to be any more violence than there already has been.”

Marcus nodded.  “I’ll do that.”  His heart was heavy as he left his brother and prepared to go talk to their other brothers.

              News about the events of that night spread throughout the area like flames burning through a piece of paper.  It was all everyone talked about.  Hannah had wanted to go to see Owl the next morning, but Jack had come to her house to warn against seeing him until further notice.  Mitch had once again deputized Luke and Seth because Clive’s family was stirring up trouble and they’d had to guard the sheriff’s office overnight.

              The sheriff was put in a tough situation because his officers were close with Owl and while he trusted them, it was a conflict of interest.  He firmly instructed them that they couldn’t think of Owl as their friend or uncle at that moment.  He was a prisoner and would be treated like any other.

              Joe came to the office to talk to Mitch about the situation.

              “Ya’ll realize how much trouble this is gonna cause around here, right?” Joe said.

              Mitch gave Joe a hard stare.  “Yeah, I’m aware.  I’ve been dealing with it all night.”

              Joe shook his head.  “I’m not just talking about Clive’s family.  That we can handle.  I’m talking about Owl’s tribe.”  Joe lowered his voice.  “If he’s found guilty and hanged, I’m not sure what they’re gonna do.  We’re friends, but I don’t know if I can keep them from retaliating.”

              Mitch sat back in his seat and looked at Joe with new concern in his eyes. “Do you think they would?  I mean, Marcus is their brother, too, and like you said, a lot of us are friends with them.”

              Joe said, “I don’t know, but I’m going to go talk to Black Fox, leader to leader.  I’ll let you know how I make out.”

              Mitch followed Joe to the door and locked it after he left.  Sammi’s eyes filled with tears.  “I got a bad feeling about all this.”

              Mitch said, “Yeah, me, too.”

              Hannah went to work a couple of days later.  Her head still hurt a little, but she wasn’t dizzy and she could see out of her eye again since the swelling had mostly gone down.  Marcus greeted her.

              “Good morning,” he said.  “I hope you’re prepared to be bored.”

              “What do you mean?” Hannah said.

              He sighed and said, “I’m Owl’s brother and you’re being courted by him.  There are a lot of people steering clear of us at the moment.  Yesterday I had five patients.  That was it.”

              Hannah sat down in the other chair in Marcus’ office.  “I hadn’t even thought of that.”

              Marcus’ laugh was not a happy sound.  “Yeah.  Me, either.  I’m not closing up, though.  I’m not going to hide or let this keep me from helping people.  Even if only one person needs me today, at least I was here to help them.”

              Hannah admired Marcus’ dedication to the townspeople.  She hoped that they would remember all of the times Marcus had been there for them.  “I’m not going anywhere, either.  Clive tried to kill me.  While I don’t agree with taking a life, sometimes there are circumstances where it’s unavoidable.”

              Marcus nodded.  “I agree.”

              Hannah grew nervous as she contemplated asking Marcus a question.  “Has Owl ever killed before?”

              Marcus didn’t hesitate to answer.  “Yes.  He killed the Cherokee brave who murdered his wife and child.  Owl doesn’t kill indiscriminately, Hannah.  Clive is dead because you were in imminent danger, not because Owl didn’t like him.  You have to understand that.  I’ve known him since I was seventeen and that’s the only life outside of Clive’s that he’s ever taken.”

              Hannah was relieved.  “All right.  Thank you for being honest.”

              “You’re welcome.”

Hannah rode home that night in misery.  After she and Marcus had closed the clinic, she’d stood and stared down the street at the sheriff’s station for a little while.  It hurt that she was so close to Owl and couldn’t go see him.  Her heart ached for him and she wanted to hear his voice and touch him.

She wasn’t paying much attention to her surroundings as she dismounted and led her horse to its small pasture and let it free.  Turning around she screamed when she saw someone standing near her.

“Hannah, it’s just me,” Black Fox said in Lakota.

Hannah could have hit him.  “You scared me to death!”

“I’m sorry.  I should have been louder,” he teased her.

Hannah laughed a little.  “Come inside with me.”

The Indian chief followed her into her house.  In the kitchen, he stopped her and examined her face as he tipped her head up.  His expression was dark as he released her.

“This man who hurt you deserved what he got,” Black Fox said.

“I don’t know about that, but he was going to kill me.  I don’t blame Owl for what he did,” Hannah said.

Hannah offered Black Fox something to eat or drink, but he declined any refreshments. They sat down in the parlor and Hannah smiled as she looked at him.

“I never imagined an Indian chief sitting on my sofa,” she said.

Black Fox smiled at her.  “I never imagined having white people sleeping in our tipis, either, and yet…”

She said, “That’s what makes all of this complicated.”  She told him about how the townspeople were avoiding the clinic.

“I was afraid of something like this happening on both sides.  How is Owl?” Black Fox asked.

“He’s ok, I guess.  I haven’t been able to go see him yet because of all the trouble in town.  Mitch thought it was best if I stayed away for a little while,” Hannah said.  “Jack would probably be the best person to ask about him.”

“I can’t do that right now.  I can’t have anything to do with Silver Ghost’s white family for a little while,” Black Fox said. 

Hannah could see how much it pained the chief.  “What about Marcus?”

“That is a difficult matter I must deal with.  I won’t be able to come back here again, either, but is it all right if I send Raven to get updates?  They won’t realize where he’s coming to since he will use a different route every time,” Black Fox said.

Hannah was alarmed.  “Isn’t that dangerous for him?”

“No.  The children his age are not kept a close watch on, so it is easy for him to slip away.  He does it all the time, so they won’t think anything of it.  He’ll come after dark,” Black Fox said.

“Of course he can come,” she said.

Black Fox nodded.  “No one knows about this but He Who Runs.  I must go.  When you do see my brother, tell him we are all thinking about him.”

“Of course,” Hannah said.

Marcus sat on his porch whittling.  It helped to ease his worry over Owl at least for a little while.  Claire and the children had gone to her parents’ for the evening, but Marcus had needed some time alone.  It was growing dark when he saw Black Fox walking down the drive.  Alarm bells went off in his head because none of his Lakota family ever used the lane.  They always came by the trail that ran behind his house.

Black Fox jumped up onto the porch and sat in one of the rockers.  He held out his hand for the piece on which Marcus worked and Marcus handed it to him.  Black Fox smiled at the deadly looking snake his brother was carving and handed it back.

“I like it,” Black Fox said. 

“It’s for Brown Snake.  His birthday is coming up soon,” Marcus said.  “What’s wrong?  Why did you come by the road and not the trail?”

Black Fox sighed.  “The council has voted and you are not to come to camp at least for now.  Depending on what happens, it may be for good.”

Marcus’ eyes rounded as what Black Fox said sunk in.  “What?  They can’t do that!  I’m
on
the council for God’s sake!”

Black Fox looked at him and said, “Not anymore.  I’m sorry.  I fought for you and tried to convince them that you are not the enemy, but they would not listen.”

“What about Aiyana and Anthony?”

Black Fox shook his head.

Marcus said, “So all of them, my entire Lakota family has turned their back on me?  Just like that?  After everything I’ve done for them and all we’ve been to each other over the years?  Why?  I don’t understand.”

Black Fox’s heart was breaking, but he owed Marcus an explanation.  “They see you as the reason for Owl being in this situation.  If you had not found us all those years ago and been allowed to live, our two cultures would not have become so close and none of this would have happened.  You also helped him become friendly with the town and he became involved with Hannah.  If they hadn’t become involved, he would not be in this situation.”

Marcus let out an angry laugh.  “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!  Let me come with you and talk to them.  Maybe I can talk some sense into them.”

Black Fox gave Marcus a hard stare.  “Silver Ghost, if you show up in camp, they will kill you.”

Marcus said, “Kill me?  Do they know that you’re here?”

“Yes.  I told them that I would come personally to tell you,” Black Fox said.

“Good.  You tell them that I said that they have killed me already with their rejection and also my wife and children because a huge part of all of us has died with this news.  Oh, and as a last courtesy, can you have someone pack up all of my belongings from my tipi and bring them here since I can’t go there?  They are mine and they are nothing more than thieves if they don’t return them.  You can tell them I said that, too,” Marcus said.

“I understand.  I will tell them and I will have your things brought to you.  I want you to know that you will never stop being my brother.  He Who Runs feels the same way,” Black Fox said.

“Thank you, chief,” Marcus said coldly.  “Get off my porch.”

Black Fox sighed again and rose from the chair.  He looked at Marcus, but his little brother was no longer in his chair.  He’d stood up and as Black Fox watched, Marcus sat the little wooden snake on the floor and stomped on it.  Without another glance at Black Fox, Marcus went inside his house and slammed the door shut.

Owl looked at Marcus.  “They did what?  None of this is your fault,” he said.  “It’s my fault.  I threw my knife, not you.”

They spoke in soft tones so that they weren’t overheard.

“I know that and you know that, but I think both cultures are going crazy right now.  Something needs to be done to prevent an all-out war,” Marcus said.  “I just wish I could talk to them, but Black Fox said that if I go to camp, they’ll kill me.”

“You’re kidding?”

“I wish I were.”

Owl sat down heavily on his cot and looked at Marcus.  “What did I do?”  Then he put his head in his hands and pressed his fingers against his eyes. 

Jack appeared.  “I’m sorry, but time’s up.”

Both of his uncles felt bad for Jack, too.  He was missing Sparrow.  With all of the upheaval this was not the time for them to tell her family that they were engaged.  None of the people who were friends with the Lakota tribe were allowed in the camp except Joe and that was only because he was the town leader and had official business there.

Marcus left the jail and went to the clinic.  Doc was there.

“Hey, there.  It’s good to see you,” Marcus said with a smile.

“You, too, son.  It’s a damn shame what’s happened.  I’m not upset with Owl or you for that matter.  Clive was never a good person and I’m not surprised that he attacked Hannah, actually,” Doc said.

“Thank you.  Your support means a lot to me,” Marcus said.

Doc nodded.  “I see that you don’t have much business.”

“Yeah.  We’re being boycotted,” Marcus said.

“And they’re all comin’ to me.  I’ve had all kinds of people out at the house.  I can’t handle it all and I’m tired of hearing everyone complain about you,” Doc said.

“I’m so sorry,” Marcus said and rubbed his tired eyes.

“It’s not your fault.  I’m gonna fix it.  I need you to come with me right now,” Doc said.

Marcus asked, “What are you gonna do?”

“You’ll see,” Doc said.  “C’mon.”

Marcus followed the older man as he walked down the street to the gazebo in the town square.  Doc marched up the steps and beckoned Marcus to join him.  Then Doc started yelling, “Hey, everybody!  I got something to say!  C’mon and get over here.  Let everyone else know.  I’ll wait.  Get everyone that’ll come out here!”

After fifteen minutes or so, there was a good crowd gathered.

“Now, I’ve been the town doctor for a good forty years give or take a few, and I helped deliver a lot of you.  I’ve patched you up, treated all kinds of conditions and whatnot.  I’ve been good to Dawson and Dawson has been good to me.  Would you all agree with that?”

There were murmurs of assent throughout the crowd.

“Ok, then.  This young man right beside me has done the same thing since he was about twenty years of age.  None of what happened the other night has to do with him and you're all actin’ stupid in shunning him and Hannah.  I’m retired folks so don’t keep comin’ to my house because he’s the town doctor now. You hear?”