by Don Berry
"Mister Siwash," Wallace offered.
"I didn't get the name just exactly," the lieutenant said dubiously. "Cockahatty or something like that."
Vaughn came running up then, looking worried, and Joe Champion was just behind him and I saw Eb Thomas bouncing like a rabbit down the beach.
"Ben, what's going on here?" Vaughn said. "What are these men doing here? Indian Jim said—"
"It's the Yam Hill crowd," I told him helplessly. "They say they came to discipline the Killamooks."
"Disci—for what?"
"Lieutenant Anderson." The military introduced himself politely. "Surely you can see that we can't let this murderer off free or your lives will be menaced from now on."
"I thought they hung him up to Yam Hill," Vaughn said, bewildered.
"This here's what you call his complice or somethin'," Wallace explained. "We're fixin' to hang him, too. Then you boys'll be safe." He got a big kick out of making us safe, and laughed and laughed.
"They're after Cock Hat," I said.
"Oh, god." Vaughn looked at me for a long moment.
"Where's Sam?" he said finally.
"I haven't seen him."
"Listen," Wallace said, poking my chest with his thick finger. "That little feller's the only one o' you boys got any guts at all. Why, wasn't for him you could of all ‘ been massacreed in your feather beds, like the lieutenant says."
"Where is he?"
"Oh, he's around," Wallace said negligently, grinning.
"Listen, Ben," Vaughn said. "For christ's sake, find Sam and talk to him."
"You find him," I said. "I'm going to talk to Kilchis."
"Jesus, I can't talk to Sam, you know that."
"Find him and hold him, then," I said. "I got to see Kilchis." I started away from the lieutenant toward Kilchis' lodge, across the clear space that separated the ring of rifles from the village.
"Wait a minute," the lieutenant said. "There ain't nobody allowed in them houses."
"Did you tell the tyee what you're here for?"
"`We didn't get the chance. They all run to into the houses when we came," Anderson said. "One of the boys' guns discharged, by accident."
"Scared as birds, they was," Wallace said. "Boy, they run. Bang, bang! 'n' off they go. I want to see a couple o' them Siwashes dance on the air a little bit."
I gave up talking and started back toward the tyee's lodge.
"Hey, come back here, Judge!"
"Shoot me," I said. I know they wouldn't, but I had a bad chill when I heard Wallace mumble, "Hell, why not?"
I turned around, but he was just grinning at me with his rifle butt-grounded and I went on.
"Kilchis!" I hollered when I got near the lodge. "It's me, it's Ben Thaler!" There was no answer for a moment. I had a terrible creepy feeling with all those, rifles pointed at my back and held by Yam Hill boys.
Finally I heard a voice from inside the lodge say; "Chako."
I stooped down and pushed the skin flap away from the door and went inside. It was so dark after the brightening dawn light I had to stop to let my eyes get used to it. I guess I had expected to find the Killamooks all huddled inside terrified. The women and children were toward the back, silent, but certainly not panic-stricken. What really scared me was the men. They had slightly lifted one of the planks that formed the wall, raising it against the withe binding and propping it open. Through the crack a good dozen rifles rested. I bent down and peeked through the slot and I could see every one of the whites, standing out in full view like shooting marks.
Vaughn was gone, but the lieutenant still stood talking to Wallace. It would have been finished in ten seconds if Kilchis gave the word to fire. What made me shiver was that a minute before I'd been out there myself, covered by one of these same rifles.
The lifted board let in a long flat shaft of light, striping the dark faces of the young men and making a broken line of white on the sand of the floor. Kilchis stood behind his men, and the light made a slash of brightness across his legs. There was too much brilliance, the eye couldn't hold both the brightness and the dark, shadowy lodge. After looking out the firing slot I was half blinded again, and couldn't make out the expression on Kilchis' face as he stood watching me.
I thought of half a dozen things to say and all of them sounded so stupid that I finally blurted out, "Are you going to shoot them?"
"Not if they leave my people alone. What are the Boston soldiers doing here?"
"They've come—they've come for Cock Hat."
"Cockshaten has done nothing to them. I want peace here."
"We all want peace—"
"Soldiers are not for peace. They are for war."
"Kilchis, I don't know what's happening here—"
"The Boston soldiers come and catch the people bathing in the morning and shoot their guns and point them at us. They frighten the people. I want them to go away. You tell them."
"Just don't shoot, Kilchis. We can work this out, we can do something. But as soon as someone is hurt, there is no stopping."
"We are not sullics here. The Boston soldiers are like the sand. It I kill these there will be ten thousand tomorrow. I know all this. I want them to go away and we will live here in peace. Have we ever hurt your people that there was no payment? Estacuga has been punished, he is dead, the runners say so. That is finished."
"We can get it settled between us, Kilchis, we must talk openly—"
"What there was, was between Bay people and it is settled now. We live in peace with your people, Vaughn and the man who lives in the tree and even Tenas Sam. We have never done harm. You live here and you do not bother my people except for Tenas Sam when he comes at night. But he is sullics, mad, and not to blame. Why do they come and point their guns and say they will kill us?"
"Kilchis, I don't know. We must talk about it, or there will be killing, by mistake."
"I will talk, I do not want more killing in my Bay."
"We must have Cock Hat here to talk also."
He was silent for a moment. "Cockshaten is not in the Bay. I sent him to Nestucca to trade. This was a long time ago, when you judged Estacuga."
One of the young men turned and said something rapidly in Salishan, and Kilchis questioned him briefly. He turned back to me.
"Klakwun says Cockshaten has returned, in the night. He is in another lodge."
"Bring him to talk, Kilchis."
"The Boston soldiers will kill him."
"No, Kilchis, it can be settled. I promise you no one will be killed. Bring Cockshaten to talk and it will be over soon and the Boston soldiers will go again."
He thought about it, frowning. His massive face twisted in a grimace that was frightening, like the folding of a mountain chain before your eyes.
"I will bring him, then," he said finally. "You must tell the Boston soldiers not to shoot me when I come out."
"All right." I was feeling almost with relief.
`When I lifted the skin flap and went out, half a dozen rille muzzles swung to point at me. It was still early in the day, but my shirt was already pasted to my back with sweat. I was in such a state I didn't even feel anything in particular at the sight of all the muzzles. Wallace was cheerfully suggesting that they set fire to the lodges and shoot 'em like rabbits when they came out.
"Well, Judge," the lieutenant said, "You're a courageous man, go right in there with those savages."
"You're pretty courageous yourself, Lieutenant," I said. The men to either side of us were listening attentively.
"There's about a hundred of them savages in that lodge, and every one of 'em has a rifle trained on a white man's belly."
The lieutenant looked around him, wide-eyed, and panicky, and finally hollered in a wavering voice, "Get into cover, you men!"
Those who had heard the conversation had not waited for his order. I never saw so many men wanting one tree.
In a few seconds everyone but myself was crouching grimly behind whatever cover was nearest. I was b
oth furious and disgusted.
"For christ's sake!" I hollered, "if they was going to shoot you they'd of shot you! Oh, god, you stupid-" I stopped. It did no good to holler at them. Nothing did any good.
I explained to the lieutenant that Kilchis was going to bring Cock Hat for a talk, and he cheered up a little. Peace—parleys with Indians on the warpath were just his style. He gave the order not to shoot, and I called for Kilchis to come out.
He stooped through the door and walked off toward another lodge without even looking at us, standing straight and striding in the early morning sun like a real king. He didn't even bother to see if there were rifles pointed at him or not. I don't believe I even respected a man so much in my life as at that moment. And I was ` damn glad he was on our side. Once we got the Yam Hill crowd out of here we could settle back down.
After a few minutes he reappeared at the door of the other lodge, with Cock Hat following him. The two of them came up to the lieutenant. Kilchis offered his hand to shake. Lieutenant Anderson looked at it.
"There is blood on your hands," the lieutenant said.
"There will be no shaking of hands until the blood is gone." I wondered where he had read that.
Kilchis said nothing, not understanding English, but his jaw moved and I could see he was angry at the refusal.
"Is this the man?" Anderson said, pointing at Cock Hat.
"Hell, I don't know," Wallace said. "I just come to hung him, I wouldn't reckanize the bastard. He'll do good as any."
"Yus," said a voice behind me tight with strain.
"That's him. That's the murderin' savage right there."
I hardly recognized him. His face was even thinner than the first time I'd seen it behind his gray window. His eyes were haunted and circled with dark, and his hair flew wildly in all directions. He held his body stiffly and bent slightly forward as though about to dive, and his fists were knotted tightly at his sides.
"Sam," I said. "What in god's name have you done?"
He didn't even look at me. He kept staring at Cock Hat with that crazy wild stare, the whites of his eyes showing all around the pupils.
"Yus, that's him. Hang him, now."
"Sam!" I looked over his head at Vaughn, who had come up just behind. Vaughn looked dazed, and only half aware. His eyes were frightened and he spread his hands loosely in a gesture of helplessness; he had tried.
"Well, now, all right," said the lieutenant, regaining . some authority in his voice. "Listen, I want your people out here where I can see them. I want no sharpshooting. Leave their guns behind."
`
"He don't speak English," I said. "Tell him in the Jargon."
"I never learned that beastly tongue," Anderson said with a certain pride.
"You been here for—"
Vaughn interrupted to translate for Kilchis, who stared at the lieutenant for a long moment. Then he looked at me, and I nodded. Finally he made a quick, resigned gesture with one hand and silently went to his lodge. One by one the young men came up, glancing apprehensively at the armed whites.
"Put down your arms," Anderson said. "We come in peace. The Great White Father in Washington has sent us to—"
"Forget it," I said. "None of them speak English. The oration's wasted. And they ain't got any arms, can't you see that?"
"Don't they have an interpreter even?" Anderson said.
"The Sioux always had an interpreter."
"Maybe they like speeches better," I said. "Listen, just forget about the newpapers, will you? This is real."
"Yeah, hell," Wallace said. "Let's hang him and get it done with."
"You're the first sonofabitch I'd hang," Vaughn snapped. "We got to live with these people. You can go home and rot in Yam Hill, we got to live here."
"What the hell's so special about here?" Wallace said, looking around. "Just a dumpy little bay is all, what the hell's so special about here?"
"Now boys," the lieutenant said. "We're here to do a job, not argue with each other. Mister," he said firmly to Vaughn, "a man'd think you didn't need help, you talk so big."
"Oh, jesus christ," Vaughn said. He covered his face with his hand, dazedly. "My god," he muttered. "You don't know what you're doing."
"We know what we're doin'," Wallace said, and roared with laughter again. "We're a hangin' Mister Siwash in the m—o-o—r-ningI" It was a little song that amused him.
"Mr. Howard," Anderson said. ‘"You're sure this is the man?"
Through all the conversation Sam had continued to stare at Cock Hat, who simply looked at the ground.
"Yus. That's him. He killed the preacher's family."
"Sam, think what you're doing," Vaughn pleaded.
"Think what you're doing!" Sam gave no sign he'd heard.
"Lieutenant," I said. "Listen. This is a private quarrel. We can settle it ourselves. We been through all this one time, it's all settled. Cock Hat didn't have nothin' to do with it, he was fifty miles away."
"That ain't what the other Mister Siwash said," 'Wallace broke in. "Afore he lost his voice entire, that is."
"That's right, Judge," Anderson said to me. "That other fellow admitted it. This here Cockahatty was in on it, too."
"Admitted it, admitted it to who?"
"T' me," Sam said. "He tol' me. He said, Cock Hat done it, too. He tol' me."
"Sam, Sam, you're lying!"
Finally he turned to look at me, and his face was totally without expression, even the wildness was gone.
"He confessed. He tol' me," he repeated. "Cock Hat was in on it, was him as killed the woman. Raped her, he did, raped her and killed her."
"The dirty beasts," Anderson said.
"Bunch o' damn murderin' rapin' bastards," Wallace muttered. "Hang the sonofabitch high and short. Watch him dance. He won't rape no more white women. Cut his balls off and make him eat 'em."
"You can't defend a man who's done that to a white woman," Anderson said, his face dark. "And if that other Indian confessed to it—"
"It's just Sam says he did," Vaughn said. "It's just Sam's word, and he wants this man's woman. That's the story right there."
"Well—" The Lieutenant hesitated. "Anyhow, Mr. Howard's a white man, and I think we can take a white man's word, can't we?"
"I heard it, too," Wallace offered encouragingly. "Ain't that right, Howard? Hell, I wasn't more'n fifty 'r a hundred yards away when you was, ah—talkin' to Mister Siwash on the rope." He laughed, but the lieutenant didn't catch on."
"You see, Judge, there's two men as heard! it. I—I will admit there's some funny things about this case, but you can see how it looks pretty bad for this here boy."
Vaughn was explaining everything rapidly to Kilchis. The tyee frowned and said in the Jargon, "Cockshaten has done nothing, this was all settled before when you judged Estacuga."
"He done it," Sam said. "Raped her and killed her. He's got to hang." He turned to the lieutenant, almost pleading. "You got to hang him, you got to hang him."
"Oh, we'll hang him all right," Wallace said. "Ever'body's just talking up a big wind first, like to get ready."
"God damn you and your Yam Hill crowd!" Vaughn said. "Why don't you go home and leave us alone?"
Wallace laughed. "Hell, it'd be a cryin' shame t' make this whole trip for nothin'," he said. He looked at Cockshaten and the smile drained from his face, leaving his cheeks slack above the blackness of his thickbeard. "I come t' see Mister Siwash hang," he said evenly, "and I ain't goin' home afore I do. You chicken—liver little boys best stay out of this or somebody's liable to get hurt."
"Yus," Sam said. "Yus, stay out of it. You, Vaughn. You, Ben. You stay out of it."
Suddenly Vaughn wheeled to me. "Ben—tell them! That's it, you tell them! You saw Cockshaten, and he was going to Nestucca. You can prove he didn't do it."
"Christ," I said, "I never even thought—things're goin' so fast—"
Sam twisted to me, faster than a fox. He lunged out and grabbed my shirt front, shoving me back sev
eral steps with the violence of the movement. He pushed his faire up close to mine and his eyes were bright and feverish.
"Tell them, Ben," he whispered, and his voice was like the distant thin rasp of a saw. "Tell them, and I'm gone tomorrow. You know, Ben, gone. No ship. You can't build her without me. It's through. You back me up or it's all through?
"Sam, don't—"
"`Well, Judge," the lieutenant said impatiently. "How about it? I mean, if you say so, that's all there is to it. That is a crazy kind of business anyhow, I don't understand it . .
He went on babbling a little more, but I didn't hear him. Sam suddenly snatched his hands away from my shirt front and stood rigid as a wire, staring up at me. At that moment the hot fire circle of the sun cleared the Coast Range peaks at the east and the blinding new light flooded into my eyes. I could see nothing, my vision drowned in the hot golden flare. I was cut off, suddenly alone in my mind.
"Listen," Anderson's voice came faintly. "What are you two whisperin' about? Judge, if you can prove this boy didn't do it, just say the word and we'll let him loose, but I want to get this thing over with."
I could feel the warmth of the sun on my face, and I couldn't take my eyes away from the brilliance, as though the shock of it had paralyzed me. Queer, amorphous shapes in red and black swam back and forth in my mind, and all I could think was that the terrible impact of the sun was like the beauty of the Ship, it burned and burned.
"Come on, Ben," Vaughn said. "Tell them."
"Tell them, Ben," Sam said into my ear. "Tell them you don't remember?
At last I looked away from the sun, but when I turned my eyes down to the dark ground the flaring, blinding image still floated somewhere, more real than the earth and sticks.
"I don't remember," I said.
NINE
1
There was a long silence. I tried not to think.
Finally Wallace muttered, "Take him," and there was a small shifting movement and the Yam Hill boys closed in around the two Indians like a fist.
"Now hold on here a minute," Anderson said. "Seems to me as how there's some doubt here and I don't want to go rushing off with something that ain't perfect and legal."
"Listen, what the hell you want?" Wallace complained.
"There's two white men as says he did it and nobody as says he didn't. I mean, what the hell do you . . ."
