The Fiery Cross

by Diana Gabaldon

  "Still," Jamie said, biting thoughtfully into the rescued biscuit-half as he looked at his grandson, "Perhaps we'll souse him in the creek a bit. We dinna want the pigs to smell the honey on him."

  A faint qualm of unease went over Roger, as he realized that Jamie was in fact not joking about the pigs. It was common to see or hear pigs in the wood nearby, rooting through the leaf-mold under oaks and poplars, or grunting blissfidly over a trove of chestnut mast. Food was plentiful at this season, and the pigs were no threat to grown men. A small boy, though, smelling of sweetness ... you thought of pigs as only eating roots and nuts, but Roger had a vivid memory of the big white sow, seen a few days before, with the naked, blood-smeared tail of a possum dangling from her maw as she champed placidly away.

  A chunk of biscuit seemed to be stuck in his throat. He picked Jernmy up, despite the stickiness, and tucked him giggling under one arm, so the little boy's arms and legs dangled in the air.

  "Come on, then," Roger said, resigned. "Mummy won't like it a bit, if you get eaten by a pig."

  FENCE POLES LAY piled near the stone pillar. Roger dug about until he found a splintered piece short enough for convenience, and used it to lever a big chunk of granite up far enough to get both hands under it. Squatting, he got it onto his thighs, and very slowly stood up, his back straightening one vertebra at a time, fingers digging into the lichen-splotched surface with the effort of liffing. The rag tied round his head was drenched, and perspiration was running down his face. He shook his head to flick the stinging sweat out of his eyes.

  "Daddy, Daddy!"

  Roger felt a sudden tug at his breeches, blinked sweat out of his eye and planted his feet well apart to keep his balance without dropping the heavy rock. He tightened his grip and glanced down, annoyed.

  "What, lad?"

  Jemmy had tight hold of the cloth with both hands. He was looking toward the wood.

  950 Diana Gabaldon

  "Pig, Daddy," he whispered. "Big pig."

  Roger glanced in the direction of the little boy's gaze and froze.

  It was a huge black boar, perhaps eight feet away. The thing stood more than three feet at the shoulder, and must weigh two hundred pounds or more, with curving yellow tushes the length of Jemmy's forearm. It stood

  with lifted head, piggy snout moistly working as it snuffcd the air for food or threat.

  "Shit," Roger said involuntarily.

  Jemmy, who would normally have seized on any inadvertent vulgarity and trumpeted it gleefully, now merely clung tighter to his father's leg.

  Thoughts raced through Roger's mind like colliding freight cars. Would it attack if he moved? He had to move; the muscles of his arms were trembling under the strain. He'd splashed Jern with water; did the boy still smell-or look-like something on the pig's menu?

  He picked one coherent thought out of the wreckage.

  "Jem," he said, his voice very clam, "get behind me. Do it now," he added with emphasis, as the boar turned its head in their direction.

  It saw them; he could see the small dark eyes change focus. It took a f ew steps forward, its hooves absurdly small and dainty under its menacing bulk.

  "Do you see Grand-da, Jem?" he asked, keeping his voice calm. Streaks of fire were burning through his arms, and his elbows felt as though they'd been crushed in a vise.

  "No," Jernmy whispered. Roger could feel the little boy crowding close behind him, pressed against his legs.

  "Well, look round. He went to the stream; he'll be coming back from that direction. Turn round and look."

  The boar was cautious, but not afraid. That was what came of not hunting the things sufficiently, he thought. They ought to be gutting a few in the wood once a week, as an object lesson to the rest.

  "Grand-da!" Jemmy's voice rang out from behind him, shrill with fear.

  At the sound, the pig's hackles sprang suddenly erect in a ridge of coarse hair down its spine and it lowered its head, muscles bunching.

  "Run, Jem!" Roger cried. "Run to Grand-da!" A surge of adrenaline shot through him and suddenly the rock weighed nothing. He flung it at the charging pig, catching it on the shoulder. It gave a wbuff! of surprise, faltered, then opened its mouth with a roar and came at him, tushes slashing as it swung its head.

  He couldn't duck aside and let it go past; Jem was still close behind him. He kicked it in the jaw with all his strength, then flung himself on it, grasping for a hold round its neck.

  His fingers slipped and slid, unable to get a firm grip on the wiry hair, stubbing and sliding off the hard rolls of tight-packed flesh. Christ, it was like wrestling an animated sack of concrete! He felt something warm and wet on his hand and jerked it back; had it slashed him? He felt no pain. Maybe only saliva from the gnashing jaws-maybe blood from a gash too deep to feel. No time to look. He thrust the hand back down, flailing blindly, got his fingers round a hairy leg and pulled hard.

  The pig fell sideways with a squeal of surprise, throwing him off its back. He hit the ground on hands and one knee, and his knee struck stone. A bolt of

  The Fiery Cross 951

  pin shot from ankle to groin, and he curled up involuntarily, momentarily paralyzecl from the shock.

  It The boar was up, shaking itself with a grunt and a rattle of bristles, but fac'ing away from him. Dust rose from its coat and he could see the corkscrew tail, p. A second more, and the pig would turn, rip Xoilecl up tight against its rum

  ces. He grabbed for a rock, but it tim from gut to gullet, and stamp on the pie

  Iburst in his hand, nothing but a clod of dirt.

  .1. The gasp and thud of a running man came from his left, and he heard a breathless shout.

  c7ulach Ard! Tulach Ard!-"

  The boar heard Jamie's cry and swung snorting round to meet this new en',N: emy, mouth agape and eyes gone red with rage.

  Jamie had his dirk in his hand; Roger saw the gleam of metal as Jamie dropped low and swung it wide, slashing at the boar, then danced aside as it charged. A knife. Fight that thing with a knife?

  You are out ofyourfucking mind, Roger thought quite clearly.

  not," Jamie said, panting, and Roger realized that he must have

  11 "No, I'm

  spoken aloud. Jamie crouched, balanced on the balls of his feet, and reached his free hand toward Roger, his eyes still fastened on the pig, which had paused, kneading the ground with its hooves and clashing its teeth, swinging its head back and forth between the two men, estimating its chances.

  "Bioran!' Jamie said, beckoning urgently. "Stick, spear-gie it to me!" Spear ... the splintered fence-pole. His numbed leg still wouldn't work, but he could move. He threw himself to the side, grabbed the ragged shaft of wood and fell back on his haunches, bracing it before him like a boar-spear, sharp end pointed toward the foe.

  ccTuiacb Ard! "he bellowed. "Come here, you fat fiickcr!"

  Distracted for an instant, the boar swung toward him. Jamie lunged at it, Stabbing down, aiming between the shoulder blades. There was a piercing squeal and the boar wheeled, blood flying from a deep gash in its shoulder. Jamie threw himself sideways, tripped on something, fell and skidded hard across the mud and grass, the knife spinning from his outflung hand.

  Lunging forward, Roger jabbed his makeshift spear as hard as he could just below the boar's tail. The animal uttered a piercing squeal and appeared to rise straight into the air, The spear jerked through his hands, rough bark ripping skin off his palms. He grabbed it hard and managed to keep hold of it as the boar crashed onto its side in a blur of writhing fiiry, gnashing, roaring, and spraying blood and black mud in all directions.

  Jamie was up, mud-streaked and bellowing. He'd got hold of another fencepole, with which he took a mighty swing at the rising pig, the wood meeting its head with a crack like a well-hit baseball just as the animal achieved its feet. The boar, mildly stunned, gave a grunt and sat down.

  A shrill cry from behind made Roger whirl on his haunches. Jemmy, his grandfather's dirk held over his head with bot
h hands and wobbling precariously, was staggering toward the boar, his face beet-red with ferocious intent. "Jem!" he shouted. "Get back!"

  The boar grunted loudly behind him, and Jamie shouted something. Roger had no attention to spare; he lunged toward his son, but caught a flicker of

  952 Diana Gabaldon

  movement from the wood beyond Jemmy that made him glance up. A streak of gray, low to the ground and moving so fast that he had no more than an impression of its nature.

  That was enough.

  "Wolves!" he shouted to Jamie, and with a feeling that wolves on top of pigs was patently unfair, reached Jemmy, grabbed the knife, and threw himself on top of the boy.

  He pressed himself to the ground, feeling Jernmy squirm frantically under him, and waited, feeling strangely calm. Would it be tusk or tooth? he wondered.

  "It's all right, Jem. Be still. It's all right, Daddy's got you." His forehead was pressed against the earth, Jem's head tucked in the hollow of his shoulder. He had one arm sheltering the little boy, the knife gripped in his other hand. He hunched his shoulders, feeling the back of his neck bare and vulnerable, but couldn't move to protect it.

  He could hear the wolf now, howling and yipping to its companions. The boar was making an ungodly noise, a sort of long, continuous scream, and Jamie, too short of breath to go on shouting, seemed to be calling it names in brief, incoherent bursts of Gaelic.

  There was an odd whirr overhead and a peculiar, hollow-sounding thump!, succeeded by sudden and utter silence.

  Startled, Roger raised his head a few inches, and saw the pig standing a few feet before him, its jaw hanging open in what looked like sheer astonishment. Jamie was standing behind it, smeared from forehead to knee with bloodstreaked mud, and wearing an identical expression.

  Then the boar's front legs gave way and it fell to its knees. It wobbled, eyes glazing, and collapsed onto its side, the shaft of an arrow poking up, looking frail and inconsequential by comparison to the animal's bulk.

  Jemmy was squirming and crying underneath him. He sat up slowly, and gathered the little boy up into his arms. He noticed, remotely, that his hands were shaking, but he felt curiously blank. The torn skin on his palms stung, and his knee was throbbing. Patting Jemmy's back in automatic comfort, he turned his head toward the wood and saw the Indian standing at the edge of the trees, bow in hand.

  It occurred to him, dimly, to look for the wolf It was nosing at the pig's carcass, no more than a few feet from Jamie, but his father-in-law was paying it no mind at all. He too was staring at the Indian.

  "Ian," he said softly, and a look of incredulous joy blossomed slowly through the smears of mud, grass, and blood. "Oh, Christ. It's Ian."

  THE VOICE OF TIME

  S LIZZIE HAD No MOTHER to see to her proper "fitting out" _' marriage, the women on the Ridge had grouped together to pro-

  f? s, and knitted stockings, with a Avide things like petticoats, nightgown

  few of the more talented ladies piecing quilt blocks. When a quilt-top was completed, everyone would come up to the "Big House" to see to the actual quilting---the laborious stitching together of quilt-top and backing, with whatever might be available in the way of batting-worn-out blankets, stitchedtogether rags, or wool-combings-laid in between quilt-top and backing for warmth.

  I had neither great talent nor great patience for sewing generally, but I did have the manual dexterity for small, fine stitches. More importantly, I had a large kitchen with good light and enough room for a quilting-frame, plus the services of Mrs. Bug, who kept the qudters well supplied with mugs of tea and endless plates of apple scones. rs. Evan Lindsay had We were in the midst of quilting a block pattern M

  pieced out in creams and blues, when Jamie appeared suddenly in the door to the hallway. Caught up in an absorbing conversation about the snoring of husbands in general and theirs in particular, most of the women didn't notice him, but I was facing the door. He seemed not to want to interrupt, or to attract attention, for he didn't come into the room-but once he'd caught my eye, he jerked his head urgently, and disappeared toward his study.

  I glanced at Bree, who was sitting next to me. She'd seen him; she raised an eyebrow and shrugged. I popped the knot-jerking the knotted end of my thread up between the layers of fabric, so it wouldn't show-stabbed my needle through the quilt-top, and got up, murmuring an excuse.

  "Give him beer to his supper," Mrs. Chisholm was advising Mrs. Aberfeldy. "A great deal of it, and well-watered. That way, he'll have to wake to piss every half-hour, and can't get started %T the sort of rumption that shakes the shingles loose." " "I tried that. But then when he comes

  440h, aye, Mrs. Aberfeldy objected.

  back to bed, he's wantin' to ... mmphm." She flushed red as the ladies all cackled. "I get less sleep than I do with the snorin'! " d me by Jamie was waiting in the hall. The moment I appeared, he grabbe

  the arm and hustled me out of the front door. g on the "What-" I began, bewildered. Then I saw the tall Indian sittin

  edge of the stoop.

  954 Diana Gabaldon

  "What-" I said again, and then he stood up, turned and smiled at Me. "Tan!" I shrieked, and flung myself into his arms.

  He was thin and hard as a piece of sun-dried rawhide, and his clothes smelled of wood-damp and earth, with a faint echo of the smoke and bodysmells of a long-house. I stood back, wiping my eyes, to look at him, and a cold nose nudged my hand, making me utter another small shriek.

  "You!" I said to Rollo. "I thought I'd never see you again!" Overcome with emotion, I rubbed his ears madly. He uttered a short bark and dropped to his forepaws, wagging equally madly.

  "Dog! Dog-dog! Here, dog!" Jemmy burst from the door of his own cabin, running as fast as his short legs would carry him, wet hair standing on end and face beaming. Rollo shot toward him, hitting him amidships and bowling him over in a flurry of squeals.

  I had at first feared that Rollo-who was, after all, half-wolf-saw Jemmy as prey, but it was immediately apparent that the two were merely engaged in mutually ecstatic play. Brianna's maternal sonar had picked up the squealing, though, and she came rushing to the door.

  "What-" she began, eyes going to the melee taking place on the grass. Then Ian stepped forward, took her in his arms, and kissed her. Her shriek in turn brought the quilting circle boiling out onto the porch, in an eruption of questions, exclamations, and small subsidiary shrieks in acknowledgment of the general excitement.

  In the midst of the resulting pandemonium, I suddenly noticed that Roger, who had appeared from somewhere, was sporting a fresh raw graze across his forehead, a black eye, and a clean shirt. I glanced at Jamie, who was standing next to me watching the goings-on, his face wreathed in a permanent grin. His shirt, by contrast, was not only filthy, but ripped down the front, and with an enormous rent in one sleeve. There were huge smears of mud and dried blood on the linen, too, though I didn't see any fresh blood showing. Given Jemmy's wet hair and clean shirt-not that it was, anymore-this was all highly suspicious.

  "What on earth have you lot been doing?" I demanded. He shook his head, still grinning.

  "It doesna signify, Sassenach. Though I have got a fresh hog for ye to butcher-when ye've the time."

  I pushed back a lock of hair in exasperation.

  "Is this the local equivalent of killing the fatted calf in honor of the prodigal's return?" I asked, nodding at Ian, who was by now completely submerged in a tide of women. Lizzie, I saw, was clinging to one of his arms, her pale face absolutely ablaze with excitement. I felt a slight qualm, seeing it, but pushed it away for the moment.

  "Has [an brought ffiends? Or-his family, perhaps?" He had said his wife was expecting, and that was nearly two years back. The child-if all had gone well-must be nearly old enough to walk.

  Jamie's smile dimmed a little at that.

  "No," he said. "He's alone. Save for the dog, of course," he added, with a nod at Rollo, who was lying on his back, paws in the air, squirming happily under Jemmy's
onslaught.

  The Fiery Cross 955

  "Oh. Well." I smoothed down my hair and re-tied the ribbon, beginning to think what ought to be done regarding the quitters, the fresh hog, and some sort of celebratory supper-though I supposed Mrs. Bug would deal with that. "How long is he staying, did he say?"

  Jamie took a deep breath, putting a hand on my back.

  "For good," he said, and his voice was full of joy-but with an odd tinge of sadness that made me look up at him in puzzlement. "He's come home."

  IT WAS VERY LATE indeed before the butchering, the quilting, and the supper were all finished, and the visitors finally left, charged with gossip. Though not so much gossip as all that; Ian had been friendly to everyone, but reticent, saying very little about his journey from the north-and nothing at all about the reasons behind it.

  "Did Ian tell you anything?" I asked Jamie, finding him temporarily alone in his study before dinner. He shook his head.

  "Verra little. Only that he had come back to stay."

  "Do you suppose something dreadfiil happened to his wife? And the baby?" I felt a deep pang of distress, both for Ian, and for the slight, pretty Mohawk girl called Wakyo'teyehsnonhsa-Works With Her Hands. Ian had called her Emily. Death in childbirth was not uncommon, even among the Indians.

  Jamie shook his head again, looking sober.

  "I dirma ken, but I think it must be something of the kind. He hasna spoken of them at all-and the lad's eyes are a great deal older than he is."

  Lizzie had appeared at the door then, with an urgent message from Mrs. Bug regarding dispositions for supper, and I had to go. Following Lizzie toward the kitchen, though, I couldn't help wondering just what Ian's return might mean to her-particularly if we were right in our suppositions about Ian's Mohawk wife -

  Lizzie had been half in love with Ian, before he had left, and had pined for months following his decision to stay with the Kahnyenlkehaka. But that was more than two years ago, and two years can be a very long time, especially in a young person's life.

  I knew what Jamie meant about Ian's eyes, and knew for certain that he wasn't the same impulsive, cheerful lad we had left with the Mohawk. Lizzie wasn't quite the timidly adoring girl-mouse she had been, either.

  What she was, though, was Manfred McGillivray's betrothed. I could only be thankfiil that neither Ute McGillivray nor any of her daughters had been present at this afternoon's quilting circle. With luck, the glamor of Ian's return would be short-lived.

  "Will you be all right down here?" I asked Ian, dubiously. I had put several quilts and a goose-down pillow on the surgery table for him, he having politely rejected Mr. Wemyss's offer of his own bed and Mrs, Bug's desire to make him a comfortable pallet before the kitchen hearth.

  "Oh, aye, Auntie," he said, and grinned at me. "Ye wouldna credit the places Rollo and I have been sleeping." He stretched, yawning and blinking. "Christ-I've no been up past sunset anytime this month or more."

  956 Diana G,

  Pn

  "And up at dawn, too, I expect. That's why I thought you might be better in here; no one will disturb you, if you'd like to sleep late in the morning."

  He laughed at that.

  so Rollo can come and go as

  "Only if I leave the window open, he likes. Though he seems to think the huntin' might be good enough inside."

  Rollo was seated in the middle of the floor, muzzle lifted in anticipation, his A low rumyellow wolf-eyes fixed unwaveringly on the upper cupboard door.

  bling noise, like water bumping in a kettle, issued from behind the door.

  111111 gie ye odds on the cat, Ian," Jamie observed, coming into the surgery, "He's a verra high opinion of himself, has wee Adso. I saw him chase a f

  ox, last week."

  "The fact that you were behind him with a gun had nothing to do with the fox's running away, of course," I said.

  "Well, not so far as yon cheetie's concerned," Jamie agreed, grinning. "Cheetie," Ian repeated softly. "It feels ... verra good to speak Scots again, Uncle Jamie."

  Jamie's hand brushed Ian's arm lightly.

  "I suppose it does, a mbic a pheatbar," he said, just as soffly. "Will ye have forgot all your Gaelic, then?"

  " 'S beag 'tba fbios aigftar a bbaile mar 'tba fear na mara bo. " Ian replied, without hesitation. It was a well-known saying: "Little does the