"Yep, she weren't no girl though, she was well past her prime."
"Be that the truth or not, it don't have any bearing on my story. I once tried to talk to her, found her alone by the river. When I tried to find out who she were, she stared at me blankly just as the little princess done."
"You ain't thinking she is like the princess? That redhead was as crazy as a bedbug."
"No, the princess ain't crazy. She sure is a pretty little thing. Don't appear to have been mistreated, least not so as it shows."
"Yeah, well it ain't likely they left her untouched. I 'spect by tomorrow we will have to tell her we took her away from two Injuns. Won't be too long before she will question how she is dressed."
"I reckon the best thing will be to start out for the cabin early tomorrow morning. It ain't good for her being out in this rain."
Mara slept peacefully that night, and when she awoke the next morning her stomach reminded her she had not eaten in a long time. Jake was frying bacon, which smelled heavenly to her. Standing up, she stretched her arms over her head and then walked over to Jake and sat down on a blanket he had placed there for her.
"That smells good, Jake, but how do you happen to have pork?"
"It ain't pork, Princess, leastwise not the kind you mean. This here's wild boar."
"Whatever it is, it makes my mouth water," she told him, smiling brightly.
"You can have all you want, and some nice flapjacks to go along with it," Jake told her as he turned the bacon to brown on the other side and dished up the golden-brown hot cakes for her.
Mara ate every bite of the three hot cakes and six slices of bacon, while Jake looked on like a mother hen.
"Where is Zeke?" Mara wanted to know as she helped Jake clean the cooking pans and handed them to him to pack away in a leather pouch.
"He is loadin' the packhorses, all except one. We want you to ride. It's a far piece to the cabin and you don't look like you could walk it."
"I think I am strong, Jake," she told him lifting the heavy pouch that contained the pots and pans to prove it.
He grinned at her and took the pouch from her and slung it over his shoulder with ease. "You are strong in the only way that counts, princess. You have my respect."
"I am glad, Jake, but what have I done to gain your respect?"
"I know about people, and since I first saw you I knowed you were special, and ain't nothing happened since you woke up to change my mind."
Zeke returned and threw dirt on the campfire. When he was satisfied it was safely out, he gathered up the remnants of the camp and shoved them into a leather bag, then turned to Mara. "We ain't got no lady's saddle, princess. Think you can ride astride?"
"I do not know, but I will try."
When she reached the horse they intended her to ride she walked around the animal speculatively. Jake bent down and laced his fingers together to give her a boost up. Mara placed her foot in his hands, threw her leg over the horse and settled down on its back. "It seems second nature to me, Jake," she said as she urged the horse forward in a walk.
"I reckon the nice ladies of the town wouldn't approve none, but I won't tell them if you don't, princess."
"Jake why do you and Zeke call me princess?" she said, watching him trudge along beside her. Zeke walked on the other side of her, leading the packhorse.
"Well, you ain't got no name as far as you know, and it just seemed right that you be called a princess."
Mara frowned, "Is it not strange that I do not know my name? That does not seem like something one would easily forget."
"Give it a day or so, you will remember, or I'll be a cross-eyed mule."
Mara smiled at the vocabulary of the two brothers. They were tough outdoorsmen, and yet with her they had been kind and considerate. She had no fear of them; the only thing she feared was not remembering who she was. It was a lovely day, the sun was shining warmly and the birds were singing. She saw a whitetail deer dart among the trees just ahead of her. When they reached the cabin there would be time enough to ask Jake and Zeke to tell her all they knew about her, and how they had come to find her.
"Zeke, how far is it to your cabin?"
"We should be there by last light tomorrow, barring trouble."
Mara nodded her head. She had no past and no future; for now her whole world revolved around Jake and Zeke. She knew no one else.
They stopped around noon and Mara dismounted and walked around to stretch her legs. Jake offered her a slice of sourdough bread. She hesitated a moment, noticing Zeke was drinking out of the leather skin. She wondered if there would be enough for her to wash her hands in.
"Zeke, would you mind if I washed my hands if I only used a small amount of water?"
Zeke looked taken aback for a moment. It had been a long while since he had been in the company of a woman, and most of the women he knew were from some Indian tribe or other, and were willing to swap their favors for a pretty trinket. They had never been too clean, and he had not minded overmuch.
Jake's loud laughter boomed out, as he doubled over with mirth. "See, Zeke, I told you there was other uses for water besides drinking."
Zeke gave Mara a lopsided grin. "Take all the water you want for washing, little princess, and don't let Jake goad you into thinking I don't never take a bath. I had me a bath . . ."
"Go ahead, Zeke, tell her when's the last time you took you a bath," his brother challenged, trying to suppress his laughter.
Zeke scratched his beard in thoughtfulness. "Does swimming in the water count as a bath?"
Mara's laughter startled both brothers. The sound of her laughter seemed to dance on the wind, and Jake and Zeke thought they had never heard anything half so nice. She was so beautiful, and they both felt it was their duty to look after her and protect her since they had saved her from the two savages.
"Zeke, I think you could count swimming as a bath without soap," Mara said wiping her eyes. Both men watched as she poured water into her hands and splashed it on her face.
After they had eaten, Jake lifted Mara onto the horse and they renewed their journey. They did not slow their pace the rest of the day, and that night when they set up camp Mara helped Zeke prepare the food, while Jake gathered wood and built a fire.
Soon all three of them sat down to a plate of beans and beef jerky. Once again Mara became nauseated after she had eaten a portion of the food. She tried to hide it from Jake and Zeke, but they noticed she had not eaten half the food on her plate and decided it was because she was overtired. Jake spread the blanket under a tree for her to lie on. Soon after she lay down she felt better and fell asleep.
The two brothers sat by the fire drinking the thick black coffee and talking in hushed tones. Every so often their eyes would wander to the golden-haired girl, who appeared to be sleeping.
"She sure is a sweet little lady," Zeke told his brother.
"Yep, she don't complain and carry on. She is lost and don't know who she is. We are strangers to her, and yet she smiles that sweet smile of hers, and it just melts my heart."
"Jake, she ain't no ordinary woman. You notice how fine she talks?"
"Yeh, she is a lady, born and bred. Someone, somewhere wants her back real bad." Jake scratched his thick white beard. "I intend that she gets back to those that she belongs to, so she will be looked after and cared for."
"Like taking her to the settlement. We can't go till she is stronger."
Jake nodded his head in agreement as he stood up and poured his remaining coffee back into the pot. "Best we get some shut-eye, but be wary. I got a feeling them Injuns weren't alone and they might try to track us to get her back."
"Jake, did you recollect anything strange about them two Injuns we killed?"
"I didn't pay too much mind to them once they was dead. What you mean?"
"They was tall, taller than the Sioux. Thinking back on it, they was different from any redskin I ever saw."
"Your imagination always was a mite farfetched."
"It weren't my imagination this time, Jake. Have you paid any heed to how the princess is dressed?"
Jake shrugged his shoulders. "She ain't dressed too different from any Injun maiden," he stated matter-of-factly.
"I was watching her tonight as she was setting beside the campfire. That beading on her buckskin dress picked up the firelight. Now I have seen gold before, and unless I miss my guess them beads is gold."
"You are crazier than a right-side-up opossum, Zeke, ain't no Injun got no gold. And if he did he wouldn't give it to no woman."
"You just look closely at them beads tomorrow and see if I ain't right. I think you will find I am right, and if I am ... I don't know what kind of savages we were dealing with." Zeke's observation caused both men to feel uneasy as they drifted off to sleep that night. Each kept a loaded gun by his side and jumped at any noise.
6
I reach upward like a twisted vine.
I say a silent prayer, help me gracious father,
Find that which is mine.
Mara looked at the cabin sitting in a glen surrounded by dense woods. It did not appear very large, and somehow looked as if it had not been lived in for a very long time. The weeds were knee-high as she walked to the front door. Jake opened the door for her, and Mara was immediately hit with an unpleasant odor. Trying not to show her distaste, she entered and looked about her at the disarray. Reluctantly she walked over to the wide fireplace. There were two small cots, a wooden table and four chairs, and along the wall was a small cupboard and a wooden stand that was stacked with dirty dishes and pots. A huge iron pot hung from a hook over the fireplace, and, from the odor that pervaded the room, she could tell the pot contained spoiled, leftover food. Mara stepped away from the pot so she could put some distance between herself and the offensive smell.
"It ain't much to look at, princess," Jake told her, looking about him with his hands resting on his hips.
Mara tried to find something positive to reply and she searched the room. "It has nice wood floors, Jake."
She saw the windows were shuttered and walked over to unlatch them. Pushing the shutters wide she breathed in the fresh air.
Zeke entered and placed the animal pelts down in a corner that was already piled high with pelts. "You are to make yourself to home, little lady. It ain't fancy, but me and Jake call it home."
Mara placed her hands on her hips and turned around in a circle. "What it needs is a woman's touch."
"There ain't never been a woman inside this cabin," Jake told her as he unhooked the pot containing the offensive odor and carried it out the door.
Mara eyed the two cots and wondered where she would be sleeping.
Zeke seemed to read her mind and nodded at the wooden ladder that led up to the loft. "We can make you comfortable up there. With a little fixing up, it won't be too bad, I reckon."
Mara nodded her head, and then scanned the room, not knowing where to start cleaning first. There was so much to do before the cabin would be clean enough for human habitation, she thought. She did not say this to Zeke, however, not wanting to hurt his feelings. It was too late in the day for her to get much accomplished. If she could only clean the cooking area it would help some, she thought.
"Zeke, would you bring me some water?" she asked, eyeing the pile of dirty dishes.
"You want it for drinking or bathing?"
"I want it for washing dishes," she said as she stacked the dishes together.
By now Jake had returned and both brothers looked about the cabin, as if seeing it for the first time, observing it as it must appear to a fine lady.
"Guess it could do with a bit of sprucing up," Zeke said.
"It won't hurt it none to have a good cleaning," Jake spoke up. "Zeke, do you recollect if we ever had a broom?"
"Nope, I don't think so. Never needed one before."
Mara smiled to herself. Already the two brothers were becoming important to her. They spoke in soft tones, and she could read kindness and concern in their eyes. She could not imagine either of them ever raising his voice in anger. "Zeke, the water," she reminded him.
The light was beginning to fade when Mara finished washing the stack of dirty dishes. Zeke had disappeared up the ladder to the loft where Mara was to sleep, and Jake had broken a small branch of a tree and was trying to sweep the floor with it.
Mara looked at him fondly, thinking that he was stirring up more dust then he would ever sweep out the door with the branch. Opening the door to the lower cupboard, she saw that it was well stocked with a large tin of lard, flour, cornmeal, coffee and sugar. Evidently the brothers liked to eat well when they were in residence, she thought.
She was not aware that Zeke had come up behind her until he spoke. "If you are too tired to cook, I will do it," he volunteered.
She looked at him, total confusion written on her face. "I do not think I know how to prepare food. If I did, I have forgotten."
Zeke picked up her hands and turned them over. He noticed they were delicate and well shaped, soft hands that had never labored. "There ain't no callouses on these hands," he said.
Jake leaned his makeshift broom against the wall and came over to stand beside his brother. He took Mara's hand and inspected it. "You ain't never done no hard work, but that don't surprise me none. I knew when I first heard your voice that you was a real lady. Most probably had servants waiting on you."
Mara felt tears of frustration gathering in her eyes as she tried to remember who she was.
"I do not know, Jake. I do not know who I am."
"It don't make no never mind, little princess. Zeke and me will take care of the cooking, and as far as you knowing who you are, I bet you will wake up one morning and tell us your name and where you live." Jake took her by the shoulders and led her to the table, where he sat her down. "You just rest. Me and Zeke will cook you up something nice and hot to eat."
Mara lowered her head to the table in total misery. She sat there the whole time the brothers were preparing the meal. Every so often they would look at her with concern, but she did not notice. She was searching her mind, trying to remember anything that would tell her who she was. It was frightening—the blank void of her mind would reveal no clue to her past life.
Dinner that night consisted of fried fatback and eggs. Jake told Mara that he had bought the chickens some years back, since he had a fondness for eggs. He had turned them loose in the woods since he and Zeke were gone most of the time and could not tend them properly. The chickens had thrived. They roosted in the trees at night, and to his surprise had multiplied. The only problem was finding the eggs, which the chickens hid in various nests among the underbrush.
Mara found she was hungry and the fresh eggs tasted delicious. Jake and Zeke watched in satisfaction as she ate two eggs.
After dinner she insisted on clearing the table and washing dishes, while Jake brought in more wood and Zeke tended to the horses. By the time Mara had finished the last of the dishes Jake and Zeke were seated by the fireplace. Zeke filled his pipe with tobacco and lit it. The room took on a cheerful glow as Mara sat down on one of the wooden chairs, warmed by the fire that glowed in the fireplace. She had discovered that although the days were hot, the nights could turn quite cool.
Once again Mara's stomach felt queasy, but she tried to ignore it. She was not aware that the two men were watching her as she picked up the fringe on her doeskin dress and studied it in the bright firelight. She frowned. Why was she dressed so strangely? She ran her hand over the soft doeskin, then she studied her moccasins. She was dressed as an Indian!
Looking at her hands she saw that they were white. She picked up a tress of hair and saw it was golden in color. Raising her head to Jake she gave him a questioning look.
"I am not an Indian. How is it that I am dressed as one? Jake how . . . where did you and Zeke find me?" she said, beginning to panic.
The two brothers exchanged glances. "It ain't no use you fretting over anything, little princess.
We will talk on it when you are more rested," Zeke told her.
"No, tell me now. I have to know, can you not see? It is as if I have no past. I was born the day you found me. I have to find out who I am."
"Well," Zeke said, taking a puff on his pipe and blowing out a smoke ring and watching as it floated upward. "When me and Jake found you, you were with two big Injun bucks. They were fighting over you. Me and Jake shot and killed them."
Mara swallowed convulsively. "I was a captive of Indians?"
"It would appear so," Jake spoke up, wishing they had not had to tell her how they had found her.
She looked down at her doeskin dress with new understanding. "Is that all you can tell me?"
"Yep," Jake said. "There ain't no more to tell. That's all we know."
"You was in a faint or something and me and Jake took turns carrying you," Zeke added.
Suddenly Mara remembered the golden medallion she had placed in her shoe. The two brothers watched curiously as she removed her moccasin. She held the medallion up to the firelight watching the way it shimmered.
"Do either of you know about this?" she asked.
Zeke reached across and took the medallion. "I ain't never seen the likes of it before. It's gold," he said, handing it to Jake to inspect.
"Yeah, it's gold, all right. Look, it has some kind of markings on it. It ain't English. I can't read, but I know writing when I see it. Can't be no Injun writing. It might be a clue to your past, princess," he said, handing her back the bright object.
Mara held the golden disk closer to the fire so she could see what was written on it. "It is Egyptian hieroglyphics," she said immediately. She strained her eyes to read the tiny markings. "It says: 'I will seek where I belong.' What can it mean?" she asked in a puzzled voice. For some strange reason she feared the medallion. Her hands were shaking and the golden disc dropped to the floor.
"How could I know what was written on it? Why can I read and understand hieroglyphics?
Savage Splendor (Savage Lagonda 2) Page 8
