Cherokee listened wistfully as Iron Knife told him of his white love, Summer Sky, and their three little children. How he wished he could find that kind of happiness with Silver, but he couldn’t ask her to marry an almost blind half-breed who might never completely regain his sight.
Iron Knife reined in. We are on the edge of the town you described. I’ll leave you here, my friend.”
His big form was only a blur to Cherokee, but he held out his hand and the other took it. I ron Knife, I’m much obliged for saving my life. If I can ever do the Cheyenne a favor, I’ll do it.”
They shook hands solemnly.
Iron Knife said, Will you be all right, Cherokee, if I leave you here? You are welcome to return to my people.”
Cherokee shook his head. I have partners here and there’s a doctor who might be able to help me. And if my sight ever returns, there’s Silver.”
Iron Knife said. I understand. Good-bye, Cherokee. Maybe we will meet again sometime.” He turned and rode away.
Cherokee saw only the blur, and listened a longtime to the sounds of the Appaloosa stallion’s hooves. He was more scared than he was willing to admit, afraid that he would be a burden to Willie and Bill. And suppose Silver saw him on the street before he could find Doc and ride out of town?
He took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and rode slowly into Buckskin Joe. The buildings were only a blur to him and there were few people on the quiet street. What had happened to the noisy boomtown? Cherokee had to pass the Nugget and he was dreading it. When he rode past, he realized suddenly there was nothing there but a pile of blackened rubble. He reined in, worried and confused.
Cherokee?” A familiar male voice. Cherokee Evans, is that you?”
He turned his head at the sound of a heavy man climbing down from a creaking buggy. Doc? Doc Johnson?”
Why, if you aren’t a sight for sore eyes! We thought you might be dead in the War!”
Cherokee dismounted carefully, turned toward the voice, and held out his hand. The other took it warmly. Doc, what’s happened? Where’s everyone? Where’s Silver?”
Doc peered into the man’s face. What was wrong here? Cherokee’s eyes looked blank, as if he weren’t really seeing him. Cherokee, is there something wrong?”
I—I’ve got a problem, Doc.” He looked as if he was reluctant to talk. ”Let’s get off the street; I wouldn’t want Silver to see me.”
How much should he tell the big man? Sure, we’ll go up to the house and Emma will—”
No, let’s go to your office. I need your help. And on the way, I want to know what’s happened to the Nugget and this town.”
It dawned on Doc suddenly as Cherokee stood there that the man was at least partially blind. Here, I’ll tie up the horses, then you take my arm and we’ll go to my office. Silver’s not here anymore, Cherokee. She left town.”
What happened?” There was both anguish and relief in his voice.
How much should Doc tell? The man was evidently almost blind from the war wound, why break his heart, too? There was an epidemic, Cherokee; your Silver was quite a heroine. In fact, the boys named a mountain for her, Mt. Silver Heels.”
Cherokee smiled and repeated the words softly. Has a nice ring to it.”
Doc grunted in agreement. Most of the town, including her bartender, died and the rest of them fled. We had to burn the Nugget after we used it for a hospital. Buckskin Joe’s slowly turning into a ghost town.”
Al’s dead and Silver’s gone? Where?”
Doc led him into his office and the other man sat down. No one knows, Cherokee. She was from someplace back East, maybe she went back there. Some folks say they’ve seen her about dark out here in our cemetary putting flowers on the graves, but who knows?”
Cherokee leaned back in the chair and sighed. As pretty as she was, she’s probably a big star somewhere or she’s married some wealthy man.”
Maybe.” Doc had already decided he wasn’t going to tell Cherokee about Silver’s scarred face. Since he was blind and would probably never cross her trail again, let him keep his memory of the great beauty she had been.
Doc examined him, then shook his head. Cherokee, I wish I could tell you something, but I’m just a country doctor. That wound at the base of your skull affected some nerves that have something to do with your eyes.”
Cherokee cursed under his breath. I can barely see forms, tell daylight from dark. Whenever I look around, I see misty rainbows around everything.”
You may get better and you may not. I wish I could tell you something else; but only time will tell. Maybe one of those fancy doctors in a big place like Denver could give you more hope.”
I have a hard time even doing something simple like rolling a cigarette.” Cherokee put his face in his hands. I’m no good to anyone this way.”
Doc thought about Silver. It seemed ironic somehow—she had fled because she didn’t want anyone to see her ruined beauty and the man she loved was almost blind. If Doc had any idea where she was, he would try to get them together again.
Doc rolled a cigarette and handed it to Cherokee, then lit it for him. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You can still handle a shovel, can’t you, if someone tells you where to dig? Those old partners of yours are getting pretty feeble. I imagine they’ll be glad to get you back.”
Cherokee took a puff of the cigarette and grinned. Yes, of course. How are the old rascals anyhow?”
Haven’t seem them for a while, but then they only get into town when they run out of supplies. Come to think of it, an old friend of theirs was in town a couple of weeks ago or so, and asked directions out to their claim.”
Oh?” Cherokee stood up. I think I’ll go on out there myself, Doc.” He hesitated. Would you mind . . .”
Of course not.” Doc jumped to his feet. I’ll get a saddle horse and tell Emma where I’m going, then I’ll ride out there with you.”
They rode out to Mosquito Gulch.
Careful, Doc,” Cherokee cautioned when Doc said they were almost to the gully. Old Bill has always been so afraid of claim jumpers, he’s liable to shoot first and ask questions later.”
I remember!” Doc said, thinking of the time Silver had been shot. Hallo! Hallo! It’s Doc and Cherokee!”
No answer. They waited a long moment, then shouted again. Still no answering shout.
Doc pulled at his mustache. I’ve come out to see them once or twice in the past, they always come running when they hear my shout. Let’s ride on in.”
Doc had a strange feeling that something was wrong because he saw no curl of smoke drifting in the direction of the cabin. Up ahead on the trail, he saw what looked like a bundle of old clothes. I see something, Cherokee.”
He dismounted and walked toward it, dread rising up in his heart. Oh my God.
Doc, what is it?” Cherokee dismounted.
It’s Willie, or what’s left of him.” Doc knelt and looked at the old man. He—he’s been dead awhile, I’d say.”
Dead? What the hell—?”
The cold up here in the hills has preserved the body. Looks like he’s got marks on his throat.” Doc took a deep breath. I’d say he’s been garroted.”
Dead? I can’t believe it. Who would hurt a harmless old man?” Cherokee’s rugged face was a mask of grief.
I don’t know. Maybe we’d better get up to the cabin and see about Bill.”
Cherokee remounted. Who would do something like this? Doc, describe the man who was in town looking around.”
As they rode up to the cabin, Doc described the big, bearded man. Maybe it’s just a coincidence, Cherokee, maybe it happened after he came and left.”
Maybe. I hope Bill’s all right.”
Doc didn’t say anything. The cabin looked deserted, no smoke drifting from the chimney and the door stood open. He dismounted cautiously and went around back. The little burro appeared to be out of hay and water.
Doc?” Cherokee yelled behind him, Doc?”
Get down, Che
rokee,” Doc sighed and pulled at his mustache. I’m afraid of what we’re gonna find inside.”
It was worse than he’d expected, old bloodstains everywhere. Evidently, old Bill had put up quite a fight before he died. The scent of death hung over the place even though the November air was cold.
Cherokee stumbled through the door. The smell told him what his eyes saw only dimly. By damn! Not Bill, too!’
Doc knelt by the pitiful, scrawny body and looked at the marks on it. I reckon that stranger was to blame, Cherokee. I’d almost swear Bill’s been whipped to death and that man wore a silver-handled whip on his belt.”
Cherokee swore and banged his fists against the wall. And I’m blind and can’t do a damned thing about tracking the bastard down!” He felt his way to a chair and flopped down on it, his shoulders shaking.
Doc looked around at the few things of any value in the crude cabin. Why would anyone want to kill that harmless pair?”
Cherokee roused himself. Doc, look and see if the woodpile’s been disturbed. That’s where the boys keep their gold. Never could get them to use a bank. It was in a couple of little Indian beaded bags they’d traded for.”
Doc went out to look. You’re right, Cherokee. The woodpile’s a mess. I reckon that’s what the dirty bastard was after. And to think I gave him directions to get up here! If I had only known . . .”
You mustn’t blame yourself, Doc,” Cherokee said gently. I just wish I knew where he’d gone and had my eyesight back, good and clear, for a few minutes. Now we’d better bury them. I can still see well enough to help bury my old pards.”
They finished up the task and rode back into town, taking the little burro with them.
Cherokee, what’ll you do now? With Christmas coming, I hate for you to be alone. You’re welcome to stay with me and Emma.”
No, I’ve got a little money in the bank here, enough to get me by awhile. There’s no reason to stay in Buckskin Joe. Too many sad memories around here now. You give the burro to some kid. I’ve got to find out if there’s any hope for my eyes.”
You’ll be going to Denver then?”
Cherokee nodded. If you’ll help get me to the bank and to Haw Tabor’s to buy some clothes, then put me on a stage.”
Doc stood looking after the stage as it pulled away. Yep, Cherokee Evans had enough grief and problems to deal with. He knew he’d done the right thing—not telling him about Silver. After all, he would never cross her path again. Let him live with his memory of her flawless beauty.
Cherokee stepped off the stage in Denver. All around him was a blur of passing people and horses. It was frightening not to be able to see clearly although it did seem to him that his eyesight was improving daily.
Shine, mister?” a small boy’s voice inquired and a small hand pulled at his coat insistently.
No.” Cherokee shook his head impatiently at the small blur by his side. With such impaired vision, how could he find a doctor or even a hotel room?
Please, mister. I haven’t shined a pair of boots all day.”
Cherokee paused. You got folks?”
No, I look after myself. Shine?”
I tell you what I’ll do. I don’t see very well, so I’ll pay you to help me get around. You know this town?”
Do I? Anyone’ll tell you Keso knows everyone, can tell you anything you want to know.”
Keso, huh?” Cherokee smiled. Is that Indian?”
He could sense the hesitation. You got something against Indians, mister?”
Nope, I’m a half-breed myself. Cherokee, they call me.”
I’m Cheyenne. My name’s really Poh’Keso. It means Fox.”
Cherokee didn’t say anything. The boy must be just a stray, claimed by no one. His mother might even have been one of the many Indian girls who hung around forts and settlements like Denver to work as whores for the soldiers. I tell you what, Keso, I was just about to have some dinner and I’d buy yours if you’ll take me to a good cafè.”
You mean inside at a table?”
Cherokee winced. Obviously the kid was used to eating scraps from the back of the restaurants. Inside. Let’s go.”
The child took his sleeve. I know everything about this town, boss, you just tell me what you need.”
First we eat, and then you find me a doctor, okay? One that you know is the most successful.”
And off they went.
But that doctor told him about the same thing that Doc had. The wound was healed but there must be some nerve damage. His sight might improve, but there was no guarantee Cherokee would ever regain his sight completely.
Sunk in gloom, Cherokee let Keso lead him to a cheap hotel on McGaa Street and then he paid the boy and told him to come back early in the morning.
But it’ll be Sunday. There won’t be much going on.”
That’s okay. We’ll eat and you can take me around town.”
Are you gonna stay in Denver, boss?”
Keso, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I just don’t know.” He collapsed across the bed and heard the boy leave quietly. What was he going to do? His money wouldn’t last forever and he couldn’t just sit here, hoping his eyesight would improve. If he could see, he’d go looking for that big, bearded man with the whip Doc had described. He was helpless! Helpless without his sight!
In sheer frustration, Cherokee rolled over and pounded his pillow with his fist until he was exhausted and dropped off into a troubled sleep. He dreamed of beautiful Silver. She ran from him, laughing and looking back over her shoulder, teasing him to follow her. And when he tried, he stumbled over something and fell. Come back . . . come back, sweet darlin’ ...
When he sat up in bed suddenly, there was enough light streaming into the room to know it was morning.
True to his word, the little street urchin came back to take him to breakfast. Later on the street, Cherokee asked him, Do you really know everything that goes on around here?”
In this section of town I do.” He sounded confident, almost cocky.
I want to know if you’ve seen a new man in town, big, bearded, maybe looks like a buffalo hunter.”
There’s lots fit that description.”
This one has been partially scalped and carries a silver filigreed-handled bull whip.”
There was a long moment of silence.
Keso, didn’t you hear me?”
Is this hombre a friend of yours?” The child’s voice sounded hesitant.
Hardly! You seen him?”
Sure, he gave me a good kick when I first held his horse down at the Elephant Corral. I even know his name—Jake Dallinger. When a real mean’un shows up, everyone remembers him.”
Jake Dallinger,” Cherokee said thoughtfully, now why does that sound familiar? Do you know where I can find this man?”
Sure. I’ve seen him coming and going a lot the last couple of days from the Duchess’s Palace.”
What’s that?”
A tough place, boss, you don’t want to go there. They cheat at cards and there ain’t anything you can’t buy if the money’s right.”
Cherokee cursed his blurred vision. It was a little better, but not much. What would he do if he came face to face with the man who had murdered his partners? In the shape he was in, Cherokee couldn’t challenge him to a showdown. At least walk me down there, Keso, so I’ll know about where the place is.”
It ain’t open this early, boss.”
I don’t care. I just want to know about where it is.”
He put his hand on the boy’s thin shoulder and they walked along the busy street. Cherokee hoped that to a casual observer, it wouldn’t be noticeable that he couldn’t see.
Wagons creaked past in the muddy street. A dog barked somewhere.
Boss, we’re almost there.”
Very faintly, a high, sweet voice drifted on the crisp autumn air. In fact, it might have been the breeze singing through the mountains. Cherokee paused, transfixed, listening.
Boss, not yet, we still got a
little way to go.”
Cherokee started walking again, but his whole attention was on the voice that grew louder as they approached.
’Tis the last rose of summer left blooming alone, all her lovely companions are faded and gone . . .”
Silver’s favorite song and Shawn O’Bannion’s, too. In fact, it had been one of the most popular songs of the War.
Keso guided him and stopped him, announcing they were across the street from the Duchess’s Palace. Are you all right, boss?”
Cherokee couldn’t answer, he felt so overcome as the singing continued.
I’ll not leave you, lone one, to pine on the stem. Where the lovely are sleeping, go sleep thou with them ...”
Silver. It couldn’t be anyone but Silver. Of all the people he hadn’t expected to find in Denver was the girl he loved. Buy why not? A beautiful star like her would naturally gravitate toward a rich, boomtown to open a new saloon.
He managed to get control of himself. Keso, is the saloon named for a woman?”
Sure.”
What’s she like?”
The Duchess? A real looker! Men always turn when she goes by.”
It had to be Silver, all right.
Boss, she ain’t for you.”
Keso, did I say she was? I was just curious, that’s all.”
She’s got plenty of money, I reckon, and this big saloon. Something else, boss. She’s got a kid who looks part Indian.”
Cherokee thought his heart would stop. How—how old is this child?”
I donno. A little girl. I’ve seen them on the street sometimes, but more likely the kid’s with her governess.
Cherokee did a quick mental calculation. Could the little girl be about three years old, you think?”
Quicksilver Passion Page 26
