by Tim Tingle
“I am sorry, Mother,” Sarah whispered. Her mother patted her cheek and the two fell asleep.
Ten minutes later, her mother slipped her hand over Sarah’s mouth.
“Sarah, wake up,” she said. “Stay very quiet. I think you got your wish.”
Sarah started to speak, but her mother held her hand over her mouth.
“Shhh. Just listen.”
Sarah nodded.
“If you scream or say anything, you might get him killed. Lift your head and look through the window.”
Sarah rolled over and looked through the cabin window. Danny Blackgoat met her gaze.
Sarah wanted to shout. She wanted to wave her arms. She wanted to dash through the door and hug her long lost friend. She did none of these things.
Instead, she bit her lip to keep from hollering. She blinked her bright eyes and smiled the biggest smile of her life. Danny waved at her. He pointed to the window and lifted his palms. Mrs. Grady rose to her knees. She carefully lifted the window.
“Do not do anything,” Danny said. “I do not have long. Mr. Grady is alive. He and a friend of mine, Rick, are near. Your men have two knives. They are captured, too. They are here. They will wait till the wagons leave the fort. Then they will escape. Do not try to escape. But know that Mr. Grady and I will be there for you.”
“Thank you so much,” Mrs. Grady said. “It’s so good to know my husband is alive.”
Sarah leaned close to the window and whispered, “Good to know you are still alive, Danny Blackgoat.”
“We will rescue you both. That is my promise to you,” Danny said. “Now I have to go. Do nothing. Just wait.”
As suddenly as he appeared, Danny was gone. Sarah’s mother put her fingers to her lips. Sarah nodded. She and her mother were so excited that they lay with their eyes wide open for half an hour. When they finally returned to sleep, they dreamed of happier days on the Grady ranch.
Danny crept from the cabin to the canyon wall. Grady’s men stood tied to the wall with the sacks over their heads.
“It’s me again,” Danny said to the men. “Mrs. Grady and Sarah are safe. They know the plan.”
Danny stood at the bottom and stared at the steep wall before him. As he looked above, he was struck with a new problem.
“I was so worried about climbing down the wall,” he said, “I never thought about getting out. I can never climb up this wall. I have to find another way.”
Grady’s men said nothing. They had their own plan.
Danny circled the fort, staying in the shadows. When he came to the wooden fence, he looked for any crack in the logs large enough for him to slip through. He spotted a tree covered with leaves.
Maybe I can climb the tree and jump over the wall.
He walked slowly beneath the tree. A long limb stretched over the fence of the fort. Danny didn’t hesitate. He grabbed a lower limb and pulled himself up the tree trunk.
He was only a few feet from the top of the fence when he heard a low growl.
GRRRRR!
He tried to lift his leg and leap over the fence, but sharp teeth bit into his pant leg. He shook his leg, but the teeth gripped tight. Danny looked down into the mean eyes of a large black dog. He shook his leg again. The dog waved back and forth, clinging to his pants. Danny lost his grip and fell to the ground.
“Who’s there?” someone shouted from the cabin. Danny recognized this voice.
“Nooo,” he moaned. “Not now!”
Carrying a lantern high above his head, Manny stepped through the cabin door.
“What did you catch?” he said to his dog. “Killer, you got something?”
Killer stood over Danny. His face was six inches away. His teeth were sharp and his growl was low and mean. Danny knew that if he moved, even slightly, Killer would jump for his throat.
“Look what fell from the sky!” Manny said. “Don’t I know you, boy? Didn’t you lie to me and get my men killed?”
He kicked Danny in the ribs. Killer barked and looked to Manny, waiting for the order to attack.
“Down boy,” said Manny. “This one is mine.”
Danny wrapped his arms around his ribs and rolled away.
“Don’t move till I say you can!” Manny shouted, kicking him again. “I can get good money for a young, strong man like you. But you can be my slave first. And if you’re still alive, maybe then I’ll sell you.”
Manny knelt down and turned Danny’s face to his. “You should have killed me when you had the chance,” he said.
Those were the last words Manny ever spoke.
Chapter 20
The New Manny
Manny fell forward, his shirt covered in blood. Danny rolled away as his body struck the ground. The dog leaped for Danny but stopped in midair, jerked backward by a leash.
“You didn’t think we could stay tied up, did you, Danny?” Greg said. While the dog growled and snapped his jaws, Greg gripped the leash around his neck.
“How did you know I was here?” Danny asked.
“We followed you, to make sure you were safe.” Two more men stepped from the shadows. “Here,” Greg said, handing the dog over, “tie this dog’s mouth tight shut and leash him to a tree.”
“Where are the other men?” asked Danny.
“They’re close by,” Greg said, “guarding the front of the cabin. Now we have to find a way out of the fort. We can’t wait till they’re ready to sell us. Everything changes now that Manny is dead.”
Danny glanced at the dark puddle around Manny’s head.
“It was him or you, and that was an easy choice to make,” Greg said.
“Thank you,” Danny said in a quiet voice.
“You’re welcome. Now, any ideas?”
“I would never do this, but it might work,” Danny said. “Everyone knows Manny by his hat. It’s a dark night. You can wear his hat. Your shirt is dark, like his. Maybe tie his red bandana around your neck. Manny always wears it. We could all ride in the back of a wagon. The guards at the gate would never try to stop Manny.”
The men looked at each other. Finally, Greg spoke.
“That’s a big risk, riding a wagon right under their noses. But let’s do it. No time to wait.”
The men kicked dirt over the bloody ground. They rolled Manny on his back and removed his hat and bandana. “What should we do with his body?” a man asked.
“Toss it over the fence so they won’t find it right away,” Greg said.
Suddenly, a light appeared in the cabin. Greg reached for a stone at the base of the tree. He crept to the corner of the cabin. One of Manny’s men, dressed in a long sleeping shirt, stepped to the front porch.
“Manny?” he called out. “What are you doing?”
“Here,” Greg said, in a rough voice.
“That you, Manny?” the man asked, stepping around the corner. He was met with a stone to the side of his head. As he slumped to the ground, two men caught him and dragged him behind the cabin.
“No time to wait,” Greg said. “We can’t hide everybody. Tie him to the tree and let’s find a wagon.” In ten minutes a wagon with two young horses appeared, driven by Grady’s men.
“I’ll drive,” said Greg. “Everybody get on. Let’s go!”
“Wait!” Danny said.
“What is it? We have to go.”
“Not without Sarah and Mrs. Grady,” Danny said. “Give me five minutes. If I’m not back, go without me.” Danny wished he could take back those words as soon as he spoke them.
He dashed across the grounds, hoping the guards at the gate would not spot him. When he reached the cabin window, he knocked softly. Mrs. Grady looked up.
Danny peered through the window. The guard was asleep on the far wall. Mrs. Grady saw the fear in Danny’s face. He waved his hands at her, and she lifted the window.
Danny took her by the arm and leaned close to her ear.
“We go now,” he said. Mrs. Grady touched Sarah and gently put her hand over her mouth.
They guard rolled over and snored loudly, but he didn’t wake up. When Sarah and Mrs. Grady were standing beside him, Danny hurried to the shadows of the wall and motioned for them to follow. Sarah gasped when she saw Manny lying in a pool of blood.
“Climb on,” Greg said. “Danny, sit behind me, but don’t let them see you.”
As they neared the gate, Greg pulled Manny’s hat low over his forehead.
“Manny,” a guard shouted. “Todo esta bien?”
Greg coughed and waved at the guard as the wagon passed through the gate. “Umm,” he muttered, nodding his head and coughing into his fist.
The guard said nothing.
“That was too easy,” Danny thought.
The thought had barely crossed his mind when a loud shotgun blast shattered a wheel of the wagon.
Chapter 21
Farewell to the Old
The wagon toppled on its side. Sarah screamed and the men scrambled to their feet, climbing through the rear of the wagon. A guard holding a lantern ran through the gate.
“We’ve got ’em now,” he shouted. “They don’t have any guns.”
The loud crack of a rifle cut the air. Danny rolled to his feet in time to see the guard clutching his leg and falling. The lantern fell away and his shotgun flew from his hand.
“Danny, get his gun,” Greg shouted. “Men, stay together. Use the wagon for cover.”
Danny dashed to the fallen guard and took his rifle. As he turned away, another guard came through the gate on horseback.
Pow!
As the guard rode into the light of the lantern, another shotgun blast sent him falling to the ground. Danny looked up to see Rick and Mr. Grady, kneeling behind a boulder and aiming their guns at the gate. Soon a pair of Manny’s men dashed through the gate to the fort. Two gun blasts later they joined the other fallen men, rolling in pain.
Who controls the gate controls the battle, thought Danny. Manny built the fort so there was only one way in and one way out. We have already won!
Less than half an hour after the firing started it was over.
A voice called out from the tower overlooking the gate.
“Hold your fire! Manny is gone. Nobody has to follow his orders anymore. Leave us alone and you can go.”
“We need a wagon and horses!” Mr. Grady shouted.
“We will bring you both. Let us take care of our wounded, and we’ll bring you a wagon and two horses.”
Soon a wagon pulled by two strong horses rolled through the gate. Several of the guards hurried to their wounded friends and carried them inside the fort.
Rick hitched the horses to the new wagon. They soon pulled away from the fort, with Rick driving the wagon and Grady seated beside him. Some of Grady’s men rode horses and some rode in the wagon with his family.
“Can we trust them?” Grady asked. “Will they leave us alone?”
“We can never let our guard down,” said Rick. “But I think they’ll let us go. If the truth be known, they’re probably as glad to see Manny gone as we are.”
They rode in silence until morning.
As the red rays of dawn colored the sky, Danny took a tiny pinch of corn pollen from his pouch and whispered his morning prayer. He closed his eyes and tossed the pollen from the rear of the wagon. A small gust of wind carried the pollen dust east, to the rising sun.
Sarah stretched her arms and sat up.
“Danny Blackgoat, are you here?”
“Yes,” said Danny.
“Can you get us something to eat? I’m hungry.”
“Sarah,” said Mrs. Grady, “why are you asking him that?”
“Well, Mother,” Sarah replied, “Danny rescued us from the fort and all those guards and slave traders. Bringing us something for breakfast should be easy!”
For the first time in a long week, the Gradys laughed. When the laughter settled, Rick looked at Mr. Grady and spoke quietly.
“Where do you want to go, Grady?”
“You need to get back to my ranch,” Grady said. “Your supply wagon is there. They’re probably waiting for you at Fort Davis. Isn’t that where you were headed?”
“That seems like a lifetime ago,” said Rick. “Yes, I’ll get my wagon. But your home is burned. What do you plan on doing?”
“I still have my family and my men,” said Grady. “And I don’t think we have to worry about Manny’s men for a while.”
“Mr. Grady?” Danny spoke from behind the wagon seat.
“What is it, Danny?” Grady replied.
“If you want to rebuild your house and stay on the ranch,” Danny said, “I’ll help you. I can stay at the ranch for now and Rick can take me to see my family when he passes through. That would be safer for me than hiding out by the fort.”
Mr. Grady and Rick looked at each other without speaking. They shared the same thought: This young man understands more than he should for his age. Their eyes shone with admiration for Danny Blackgoat.
“I will need to ask the lady in charge,” said Grady.
“That would be fine with me,” said Mrs. Grady.
“I’m not talking about you,” Mr. Grady said. “I’m talking about Sarah.”
Once more, soft laughter filled the wagon.
Sarah took a deep breath before replying.
“Let me think for a minute,” she finally said. “Danny Blackgoat can stay with us on one condition.”
“What condition?” Danny asked.
“No scalping!” Sarah shouted. “I don’t want any haircut, from you or your grandmother.”
“I’m not telling my grandmother what to do,” Danny said.
“Good thinking,” said Mr. Grady.
“You’re learning,” said Rick.
In the silence that followed, Danny thought of his family. My grandfather was right. I am too close to death. I wish I could be with them again, leading my sheep to the spring at Canyon de Chelly.
His thoughts followed the rugged road of the past year. They stopped when he remembered his old friend. I hope Jim Davis is safe.
Jim Davis was safe. Even after Danny Blackgoat had escaped Fort Davis on a stolen horse, no one had suspected Jim Davis of helping him. He had the trust of the officers at the fort, and he was the best carpenter they’d ever seen.
“We’re going to miss that old man,” said the officer in command. He held a telegraph in his hand.
“Jim Davis is being transferred to Fort Sumner,” he announced to his officers at their morning meeting. “I hope he gets along with Navajos.”
About the Author
Tim Tingle is an Oklahoma Choctaw and an award-winning author and storyteller. Every Labor Day, Tingle performs a Choctaw story before Chief Gregory Pyle’s State of the Nation Address, a gathering that attracts over ninety thousand tribal members and friends.
In June 2011, Tingle spoke at the Library of Congress and presented his first performance at the Kennedy Center, in Washington, DC. From 2011 to the present, he has been a featured author and storyteller at Choctaw Days, a celebration at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian honoring the Oklahoma Choctaws.
Tingle’s great-great grandfather, John Carnes, walked the Trail of Tears in 1835.
In 1992, Tim retraced the Trail to Choctaw homelands in Mississippi and began recording stories of tribal elders. His first book, Walking the Choctaw Road, was the outcome. His first children’s book, Crossing Bok Chitto, garnered over twenty state and national awards and was an Editor’s Choice in the New York Times Book Review.
As an instructor at the University of Oklahoma, Tingle presented summer classes at Santa Fe, New Mexico. Fueled by his own family’s survival on the Trail of Tears, he became fascinated with the Navajo Long Walk, and the Danny Blackgoat series came to life.
PathFinders novels offer exciting contemporary and historical stories featuring Native teens and written by Native authors.
For mor
e information, visit:
NativeVoicesBooks.com
Danny Blackgoat, Navajo Prisoner
Tim Tingle
• 978-1-939053-03-9
• $9.95
• 160 pages
Tribal Journey
Gary Robinson
• 978-1-939053-01-5
• $9.95
• 120 pages
Thunder on the Plains
Gary Robinson
• 978-1-939053-00-8
• $9.95
• 128 pages
Available from your local bookstore or you can buy them directly from:
Book Publishing Company • P.O. Box 99 • Summertown, TN 38483 1-800-695-2241
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