Sweet Savage Heart (16 page)

Travis met her steady gaze and responded, “No. I was tricked. I must slay the man who betrayed and
dishonored me.” Travis felt as if his personal history was almost repeating itself. Once more the Indians were accusing him of treachery, and again he was innocent. But this time there was more at stake than his life and honor. He inwardly raged against the false charges and his vulnerability, but he was touched by the lack of doubt in her eyes and voice.

When Travis repeated how he had checked the items, then explained that the trader had cheated him by switching them, she knew he was telling the truth. “I will ride with him, my brother. If he lies, I will slay him for my people.” She watched the effect of her words on Travis.

Black Hawk shouted, “No! I will ride with the white dog and guard him. You are a woman. Do not seek to protect your new mate.”

Wild Wind whirled and shouted back at the nettling warrior, “I am only a woman, but my arrow and knife find their targets more times than yours, Black Hawk! If he has shamed and tricked me and my people, it is my right to slay him. We are joined only in words, and false words can be broken. If you ride with him, I am sure he will not return alive. As does White Eagle, Wild Wind looks white. Only she can enter the white dog’s trading post and watch him for tricks. My people need guns and supplies to battle the white-eyes. I joined to him to obtain them for my people. Now I must help him replace those stolen by the evil white dog. Until his words are proven good or bad, his mate lives under this shadow of suspicion with him.”

“You cannot ride with me, Ra… Wild Wind. It is too dangerous. The trader will expect my return for justice. He will be waiting to trap me. I will need twenty warriors, Lone Wolf. Guard my father friend and wife carefully. I will return for them in five moons.”

“Who is this father friend, and where does he camp?”
she asked.

Instead of replying, Lone Wolf ordered his braves to capture Nathan Crandall and to bring him to camp. He was not surprised when Travis warned them not to injure the old man. “He will be safe for five moons, White Eagle. On the sun of the sixth moon, he will die and my sister will join to Black Hawk, if you betray us again.

“No, my brother. If I am freed, I will join to RidesLike-Thunder as you promised,” Wild Wind announced, declaring her rejection of Black Hawk, whom she had rashly believed she could easily enchant and master. She was astonished at the clever way in which the warrior had concealed his dark side from them. If anything happened to her new husband, she would not remain here!

“So be it,” Lone Wolf concurred, to Black Hawk’s fury.

Wanting to give her courage and hope and having a desire to annoy Black Hawk, Travis ignored the eyes watching them as he took Wild Wind’s hand and smiled at her. He entreated confidently, “Do not worry. I will prove my honor and words and return for you soon. You are my wife and you must trust me.” She nodded and lowered her gaze, and he knew it was to shield her emotions from him and the others. Travis was not given time to await Nathan’s arrival and speak with him. Instead he was soon riding off with the band of warriors to seek Chambers.

It had required enormous self-control for Wild Wind not to hug him and kiss him farewell. She had nodded understanding and her agreement with his words, then had squeezed his hand tightly to let him know she believed him and would be waiting eagerly for his return.

After watching Travis and the warriors ride away, everyone went back to their tasks but Wild Wind and Black Hawk, who remained where they were until the band was out of sight. The jealous warrior scoffed, “Be
careful of the evil fires of love and passion, Wild Wind. If they burn too swiftly and wildly, they will leave nothing of you but blackened coals. You are a fool to trust him. He is bad, and he has gained control of your will and wits. If you are rash, the eagle’s claws will tear your heart and life to pieces. He did not wish to join to you. Lone Wolf demanded that you leave as his mate, not his whore. What is an Indian wife to a white man? Only a lowly squaw to warm his mats until he grows weary of her.”

She glared at him and retorted, “The only evil here is within you, Black Hawk. Think of your people, not your wicked desires. You make a fool of yourself before our people and you blacken your face with shame. I will wait for his return, then go where he commands. It is as I wish, and so it shall be. You will see,” she declared smugly.

Near the trading post over two days later, Travis pointed to a lone cottonwood in the distance and told the leader of the band, “If I do not show my face by the time the sun reaches the top of that tree, you must attack the post and take the guns. If I am slain in the battle, tell Lone Wolf what happened. My friend will teach the Oglalas how to use the white man’s firesticks. When the training is over, he is to release my friend and my wife to return home.” He impulsively removed his
wanapin
and handed it to the silent warrior as he said, “Give this to Wild Wind… if I die.”

Buffalo Slayer took the necklace and gazed at it. It was a circular medallion made of sacred red stone. Upon its surface was scratched a war eagle in flight, one talon clutching a thunderbolt and the other one tightly grasping two broken shafts of an arrow. Around the eagle’s neck was suspended a smaller medallion with symbols of the War Bonnet Society. Buffalo Slayer lifted
curious eyes as Travis snapped the reins of the harness and headed the wagon toward the trading post.

Once inside, Travis was angered to discover the extent of Claude Chambers’s guile. He explained his problem to the new man in charge, who accepted no blame or responsibility for the treachery. And no amount of reasoning could sway the man’s unfavorable decision. He would not even honor the receipt for the items already purchased. Travis did learn that Chambers and his two cohorts had not left the post until yesterday morning and were heading for St. Louis.

“Yore quarrel is with Chambers, son. I can’t take my time and money to exchange damaged goods you bought from him.”

Travis returned to where the Indians were waiting for him. “At dark, we go in and take what’s ours. Post some guards, Buffalo Slayer,” he gravely advised, hoping to avoid more trouble and another delay.

Travis began pacing with unnatural impatience, musing that darkness could not arrive quickly enough to suit him. He knew he had no choice but to steal the guns and ammunition, or Nathan would be dead and Rana would be lost to them.

Finally, when all seemed quiet in the small settlement near the trading post, Travis cautiously returned to the large, sturdy wooden structure.

“We’re closed,” a voice called out without opening the door. “Come back in the morning.”

“It’s Bill Saunders. I’ve got a deal for you, a thousand dollars.”

The bolt was moved aside and the door opened slightly. “What’s your deal, Saunders?” the man inquired eagerly.

Travis held out a leather pouch and shook it, making the emptied bullets sound like clinking coins. “A thousand and those useless guns until I can track down
Chambers and retrieve my money for the exchange. You’ll have the money, plus those guns to exchange for another sale. I’ll need twenty rifles to arm my men to go after him. Deal?”

The man pondered his offer and his blank expression. “And what’s to keep you from not coming back after you catch Chambers, if you can?”

“The fact that I need eighty rifles more than I need the money Chambers swindled out of me. I’ve got a wagon train of green settlers sitting practically helpless three days’ ride from here. The quicker I can track Chambers and get my money back, the sooner I can arm my people and be on our way to Oregon. You won’t be sorry for helping us,” he coaxed. “I’ll pay you a hundred dollars for your help and trust.”

The man seriously considered the lucrative deal. Finally he shook his head and replied, “Sorry, son, but it ain’t wise to trust a desperate stranger with so much of my stock.”

Travis sighed loudly and grimaced. “I was afraid you wouldn’t be obliging.” He drew his pistol before the man could slam and lock the door. Pushing the man inside, he bound and gagged him, then rendered him unconscious to prevent a witness to his actions. When a voice called out from the other room, Travis rapidly reacted. Without making a sound, he hurriedly concealed himself near the door to the adjoining storeroom. When the man entered the dim area to see why his boss had not answered him, Travis carefully struck him over the head and he too fell unconscious. Then he went to the door and gave his signal.

As quietly and swiftly as possible, the gun and ammunition crates were exchanged. When the warriors attempted to take more than Travis had purchased, he halted them, saying, “The man who cheated us left. Our battle is with him. We steal nothing from the innocent.
You must take the goods to Lone Wolf while I track and punish the man who betrayed me. I will return in a few moons.”

“We are at war, White Eagle. We need many guns and bullets.”

“If we take more than I paid for, Buffalo Slayer, the new trader will send the white soldiers after thieves. The wagon is heavy and must travel slowly. We do not have time or enough warriors to battle many soldiers. Even in war, men must have honor. If they come after thieves, we could lose everything.”

The warrior gave Travis’s words deep thought. He smiled and nodded. “We will do as White Eagle says. He is cunning.”

Travis wrote a message on the slate, telling the owner he would return soon with the money to pay for the guns and ammunition. He placed the two men where they could not free themselves or send out an alarm for at least a day, then set the slate within the men’s line of vision. All he could do was pray the owner would accept his claim.

As silently and stealthily as they had approached the secluded area, Travis and the warriors departed. At a safe distance, Travis advised the band’s leader to cover their trail and be careful. He knew that the supplies in that wagon meant Nathan’s life and Rana’s freedom. Taking his
wanapin
from Buffalo Slayer, he smiled. “I will return to Lone Wolf’s camp for my friend and wife after the white man is punished.”

“What if the white man or soldiers capture or slay White Eagle?”

Travis inhaled deeply. He knew he was lingering in this perilous Hunkpapa area too long, but he could not allow Chambers to get away with his treachery. “If the Great Spirit does not protect me on this journey, do not let Wild Wind join to Black Hawk. Make sure Lone Wolf
remembers his promise to release my friend and his… my wife.”

“Buffalo Slayer will give White Eagle’s words to our chief.” The warrior smiled, for he comprehended this man’s feelings for Wild Wind.

Travis watched the wagon and the warriors ride away into the darkness and prayed they would reach the Oglala camp within the time limit. As he galloped off in the other direction, visions of Rana filled his mind. He was sorry she was not his wife under the white law that ruled Nathan Crandall’s life, for he knew that Nathan would not see their joining as a binding reality. Yet, if there was one truth he knew, it was that he wanted Wild Wind with all his heart and might, and he prayed she felt or would soon feel the same.

Four days had passed and Wild Wind was becoming more edgy with each new sun. She was disappointed and annoyed that Lone Wolf had postponed his joining day until her predicament could be settled. Joining to a half-blooded stranger and traveling so far away from all she knew and loved was intimidating. She wondered, What if White Eagle were not pleased with his Indian-raised wife? What if she could not adapt to this new existence and people? What if something happened to him once they were far away? She hated doubting herself or him, but such feelings could not be suppressed. If only her suspicions would vanish. One more day, she thought anxiously, then quivered in anticipation.

She had not been allowed to visit the tepee where the man with silvery yellow hair and eyes the color of a stormy blue sky was being held prisoner. He was kept under guard but was treated gently. The way the white man watched her from a distance, she wondered if he blamed her for his friend’s perils. She wished she could speak with him, to see if she could learn more about White Eagle and his lands. Sometimes his intense blue stare unnerved her; sometimes its tenderness reached out to her. Sometimes his face frightened her…

Wild Wind continued her chores, entrapped by deep thought, just as she was trapped by the unexpected events of the past few days. She knew Lone Wolf was hoping White Eagle could avenge himself and prove his words. She wished he would discuss the alarming matter with her, but he refused. At times he was stern and cool, and at other times he was very kind and warm. She sensed that his feelings were as confused and as tormented as hers. He had been offered a way to help his people, only to have the glorious near-victory threatened by betrayal. She could tell that Lone Wolf realized his leadership would be questioned because he had trusted the white man, that he would be humiliated for being fooled by him and for trading his sister for useless goods. She had grasped the heavy responsibility he carried, and it had mellowed her feelings toward her brother. She had tried her best not to upset him with words and actions. But this waiting and not knowing was eating at her poise and increasing her tension.

On the last moon, she had tried to convince Lone Wolf to carry out his joining to Myeerah, hoping her friend could distract her Indian brother and bring joy into his eyes once more. She had offered to stay with friends to give them privacy. Lone Wolf had told her he could not think of personal and selfish matters at such a critical time.

Whenever she observed Lone Wolf visting with the friend of the man who had made trade for her, she would discover herself praying that White Eagle would return and save his friend’s life and her brother’s honor. She had come to accept the reality of what the trade goods could do for her people. Yet she worried over the dreams her Indian brother had revealed to her, wondering where her new path would lead her if White Eagle returned alive. She recalled her own fearful dreams of the evil white man with dark hair and eyes, and she begged the
Great Spirit to make them only bad dreams and not visions of moons yet to be.