Tykota's Woman (Historical Romance)

by Constance O'Banyon

  "No!" cried one brave.

  "You are our chief!" said an Old One.

  "It was your fathers wish that you lead us," Mangas said, standing. "You were raised to do this. Would you go against your father's wish?"

  Tykota held up a hand for silence. "Know this. I would die for my people, but it has become clear to me that I cannot live for my people."

  Mangas shook his head. "Do you say this because you want to be with the white woman?"

  "No, old friend. The white woman has gone from my life forever. But it was she who made me see that I am more like the white race than I am like the Perdenelas. I want what is best for all of you and your families. Coloradous is the best man to stand where I stand."

  There was a murmur among the warriors and the Old Ones. At last, Batera, the most senior of the tribe, spoke. "We have waited a long time for a wise chief to lead us. By your actions today, you have proven that you are both wise and worthy. It is you we want to lead us. We believe that as the years pass, you will become less white and more Indian."

  Tykota was touched by their loyalty. "I honor each of you. I wish I could be the chief you deserve. But that man is my brother.'-'_

  Tykota walked among the council and spoke to each one individually, convincing them that Coloradous, and not he, was the one they should honor.

  Sadness hung heavily in the chamber when at last Tykota spoke to the guard at the door. "Bring in my brother."

  Coloradous had not been in the council room since the night his father had stripped him of all honor. He did not know why he had been called now. There was a worried frown on his face as he stood before Tykota.

  "I have questions to put to you, my brother. I will ask you to answer them with a true heart."

  Coloradous nodded.

  "Will you always put the good of the people before any wishes you might have for yourself?"

  Coloradous was more puzzled than ever, but he did not hesitate. "Yes. Always. Why do you ask?"

  "Think carefully before you answer me, Coloradous. Would you be willing to stand in my place if it was for the good of the Perdenelas?"

  Coloradous shook his head, his gaze pained. "No, brother. I have never wanted to stand where you stand. I am content to do what little I can to help our people, but not as their chief."

  "If it fell to you to lead the people, would you do it with truth and wisdom? Would you make any sacrifice in your life for their good?"

  Coloradous frowned. "What are you asking of me? I love you, my brother. I would never do anything to harm you."

  Tykota reached up and removed the leather headband with the golden eagle and slid it over Coloradous's head. "It is my wish, and that of the council, that you become chief of the Perdenelas."

  Coloradous reached up and removed the headband, handing it back to Tykota. "No, never! It was our father's wish that you be chief. I honor my father, and I honor you."

  Tykota clasped his brother's arm. "You may very well be one of the wisest chief's the Perdenelas will ever have."

  Coloradous was stunned into silence as the warriors and the Old Ones gathered around him.

  Tykota smiled. "Have I your word that you will look after my sister and see that she becomes the wife of the warrior who has her heart?"

  "Yes-but-"

  Tykota placed the headband of the chief around Coloradous's hair once more. "I honor you as chief. Your word is law, and I will obey."

  Makinna watched the servant pack the last of her clothing and close the trunk. She glanced around to make certain she hadn't forgotten anything, but the room was as clean as it was impersonal, and she had left nothing behind.

  She and Adelaide were moving to a hotel until they could decide what they were going to do.

  Going down the stairs, Makinna saw her sister close the front door. Adelaide's face was ghostly white as she turned to Makinna and held out a folded piece of paper.

  "It's a telegram for you. They always mean bad news. The last telegram I received was that my husband had died."

  Makinna was afraid to reach for it for fear it did contain bad news. "You read it. I can't."

  Adelaide's hand was shaking as she unfolded the paper, and her voice trembled as she read.

  Please come. You are needed.

  Adelaide raised her head. "It's signed Hannah Silverhorn."

  Makinna placed a hand to her heart to stop the furious beating. "Something is wrong with either her or Tykota." She took the telegram and read it as if it would reveal its secrets to her. "Oh, something is terribly wrong!"

  "Let us make arrangements to return to Texas at once. Mrs. Silverhom would never have sent such a message unless she needed you desperately." She ran through the house, calling for the housekeeper. Then she turned back to Makinna. "We will send her a telegram telling her we are coming, and we will take the noon stage tomorrow."

  Tykota bid his sister farewell, and he could see that she was fighting to keep from crying. "Marry your young warrior, and be happy, Inea."

  "I will miss you."

  He touched her cheek. "Name your first son after me."

  Inea nodded and turned away as Tykota mounted his horse. Mangas had insisted on accompanying Tykota, while Coloradous rode with them as far as the twin peaks.

  The brothers dismounted and stared at each other, both knowing that an old wrong had been righted.

  "I never wanted it this way, Tykota. You were the chosen one."

  Tykota smiled. "Sometimes the chosen one is the wrong one, my brother. You are the one who should have been chief all along."

  "Will you return?"

  "I believe I will for visits." He gripped his brother's arm. "My only sister and brother are here. I will want to see you from time to time."

  "Will you marry the white woman and settle down at Biquera?"

  "I do not know, Coloradous. But I will try. For if I do not find her, I will be empty inside." He looked at his brother. "Have you ever felt that way about a woman?"

  Coloradous smiled. "For a very long time. Before I was disgraced and sent from the village, I wanted to make her my wife. She loved me and would have come with me, but her father would not have it-he wanted her to marry a war chief. And I did not want her to share my disgrace. She never married, and I hope it is because she still loves me."

  Tykota smiled. "I believe her father will have a change of heart. He will crow if his daughter marries the chief of all the Perdenelas." Then Tykota became serious. "I will need to reveal to you the sacred treasure."

  Coloradous turned away. "This is hard for me, Tykota. Our father showed you the treasure."

  "And I am revealing the secret to you."

  Coloradous turned back to his brother. "There is much that I must do to establish my right to be chief, so I cannot leave the valley just now."

  "I know. At next full moon, meet me at the cave where our father took us as boys."

  "The treasure cannot be there. I have explored that cave, and there are but the two caverns."

  Tykota smiled. "Things are not always what they seem."

  Coloradous nodded. "I will meet you there."

  Tykota mounted his horse. "Until then, my brother. I know the people will prosper under your wise guidance."

  Coloradous reached up and placed a hand on Tykota's arm. "I want to warn you to watch out for Santo. He was making threats against you. I do not know if he will do anything, but a man eaten up with anger is not to be trusted. We know this from our brother, Sinica."

  "Have no concern, my brother. I have no fear of Santo."

  "Do not dismiss him so easily. In his eyes, you denied him the woman he wanted and drove him from the tribe."

  "I will look out for him."

  The two brothers looked into each other's eyes and saw love and respect reflected there. "Take care, my chief," Tykota said, smiling. He turned his horse, and he and Mangas rode out of the valley and into the desert.

  The sun was low in the west when Tykota swung to the ground and spoke to Mang
as. "We will camp here for the night."

  Mangas dismounted and took the reins of Tykota's horse before he spoke, following him up the mesa. "Why do we come this way? This is the place where Sinica died."

  "I need time to think, so I am going to a cave two days' ride from here. You cannot go with me, but tomorrow you can ride on to Biquera."

  Mangas staked out the horses while Tykota stood at the edge of the mesa remembering the last time he'd been there. He touched the mesquite tree where Makinna had been tied that day, and he remembered that he had died a little when he'd killed his own brother.

  Later, when they sat before the campfire, Mangas spoke. "I still think of you as my chief, and so will many of the others."

  "You will think of me as such less and less as time passes. Coloradous will make a much better chief than I."

  "That may be so, but my heart does not accept anyone but you to stand in your father's shoes. When do you want me to leave?"

  "In the morning, old friend. I will be gone for a while, and I must show Coloradous the secret of the treasure."

  Mangas nodded, but his mind was troubled. He knew that Coloradous was a good warrior, and his heart was true, but Tykota would have been the greatest chief that the Perdenelas had ever had. "I will do as you say. But what will I tell your white mother?"

  "Tell her I will be home soon."

  Mangas met Tykota's glance. "Do we stay at Biquera?"

  "I do not know."

  "I have grown to like it there. I have my own dwelling, and I have become accustomed to the white man's comforts."

  Tykota's eyes were troubled. "I do not know where the future will take me."

  "You want the white woman for your wife."

  "Yes. But she is gone, and I do not know where to find her."

  Mangas stood up. "I am an old man. I am going to my-"

  A rifle shot rang out, and Tykota watched Mangas lurch backward as if some unseen hand had jerked him against the cliff wall. Tykota ran to him and knelt beside him. He had been shot in the chest!

  Mangas spoke in a whisper. "You cannot save me." He grasped Tykota's arm with a bloodstained hand. "Save yourself."

  Tykota fell to his stomach and crawled toward his rifle. Grasping the weapon in one hand, he cocked it and glanced back toward Mangas. Fighting to contain his rage, he inched away from the campfire and into the shadows just as a bullet whizzed past his head.

  "Santo!" he called out, knowing who the shooter was. "Do you hide like a woman, or will you face me like a warrior?"

  He was met by silence.

  "Show yourself!"

  This time his answer was a bullet ricocheting off the side of the stone cliff. From the direction of the bullets, Tykota gauged that Santo was hidden in the clump of sage bushes to the left of the mesa.

  Cradling his rifle, he crawled back to Mangas. Blood had spread over his chest and onto the rock face of the mesa. "Mangas, I believe it is Santo. I am going after him. I will come back for you."

  The old man raised a hand and let it fall limply by his side. "Go from me. Save yourself, Tykota."

  Tykota felt grief rip through his heart. Anger coiled within him, and his gaze went to the horses. Touching Mangas's limp hand, he crawled toward his horse. He slid onto the mare's back and, keeping to the shadows, rode quietly down the slope.

  When he was clear of the mesa, he urged his horse into a gallop. Bending low over the animal's neck, he headed for the place he was sure Santo was hiding.

  Tykota did not hear the bullet that tore through him, knocking him off his horse. He landed hard on the ground and rolled down a small hill. Pain made it hard for him to breathe, and he felt warm, sticky blood run down his shoulder.

  He raised his head in time to see Santo standing at the rise, his rifle aimed at him. "If only the Perdenelas could see their great chief now, Tykota. They would know that I am greater than you, because I have slain the dog, Mangas, who trails after you, and I have killed you."

  Tykota clutched his own rifle and fired. The bullet struck true. Santo tumbled down the hill and lay beside him.

  He jerked Santo up, cursing, "You are not fit to lie even with dogs. You hide in the darkness like some wild animal."

  But Santo did not hear Tykota's words. He was already dead.

  Tykota managed to stand, and, using his rifle to lean on, he made his way up the hill and pulled himself onto his horse.

  Each step the horse took caused Tykota's wound to throb and bleed. He wanted to go to Mangas but he knew he could not make it. Nor could he lift his old friend's body. He pointed his mount in the direction of the cavern and slumped forward into unconsciousness.

  The moon was low in the sky when Tykota woke. He groaned and sat up straight on his horse. His mouth tasted like metal, and his shoulder hurt so fiercely that he gritted his teeth to keep from crying out. The bullet was still in him, and there was no one to remove it. Even his food and waterskin were back at the campsite. Struggling to stay upright, he urged his horse forward. He had to make it to the cave.

  Then he shook his head at his own befuddlement. Coloradous would not be at the cave until the full moon, and that was three weeks away.

  No one else knew where to find the cave.

  He slumped forward, not afraid to die-death had no sting for him. But he would have liked to see Makinna just once more.

  Makinna stepped down from the stage, surprised to see John Kincaid. He offered her his arm and smiled. "Didn't your sister come with you?"

  Makinna nodded, turning to watch as Adelaide stepped to the ground. She glanced back at John and saw the warmth creep up his face. She had little doubt John was in love with her sister, or certainly well on the road to it.

  "Can you tell me how Mrs. Silverhorn is?"

  "I saw her just this morning, and she was doing fine."

  Makinna drew a relieved breath. "When I got the telegram, I was afraid she might be ill."

  "No, ma'am. She's fit as ever."

  "Then I wonder why she asked me to come."

  "She didn't tell me, ma'am. You'll have to ask her when you get to Biquera."

  Makinna was puzzled and a little frightened.

  What if something was wrong with Tykota?

  John held out his other arm to Adelaide, and she blushed prettily as she placed her hand there. "You look as pretty as a summer rose, Mrs. Johnson," he said, smiling. He glanced over at Makinna. "And so do you, Miss Hillyard."

  Makinna laughed softly and raised the hem of her gown to climb the wooden steps to the stage office. "Thank you, John."

  He touched his hat and grinned. "You ladies wait here in the shade while I bring the buggy around and load your trunks."

  After he walked off, Makinna looked at her sister's flushed face. "He's in love with you."

  "Do you think so?"

  "I'm sure of it."

  "I must be awful to be thinking about another man with my husband so recently buried."

  Makinna glanced up at the deep blue sky, where high, thin clouds were scattered across the heavens. "Love seems to pick its own time, Adelaide. We, as mere humans, seem to have no control over that emotion whatsoever."

  "You don't think I am wrong to care for him?"

  Makinna glanced at John, who was just getting out of the buggy. He was rangy and a bit gruff, but she had seen the softness in his eyes and heard the gentleness in his tone. "No, I do not think it is wrong. Here in Texas people seem to be always reaching out for life. They're a breed apart from the rest of the world. They have their own rules, and they go by those, not what the rest of the country expects from them."

  Adelaide nodded toward John. "He is wonderful, isn't he?"

  Makinna laughed. "Yes. Yes, he is."

  Adelaide looked at her sister. "Oh, I know he isn't as magnificent as your Tykota, but, to me, he is the best of all men."

  Makinna was taken aback. "Tykota is not mine." Then she smiled sadly. "But as for you and John Kincaid, well, if love is true, it will find a way," Makin
na said, repeating what Tykota had said to her.

  "I am almost afraid to love again. I was mistaken when I married Tom."

  "Then give yourself time to know John. There is no hurry." She moved toward the buggy, where John had just stowed the last trunk. "Let's go. I want to find out why Hannah Silverhom sent for me."

  Tykota had used up his strength climbing the hill toward the cave. He was so thirsty that his throat was parched, and his shoulder throbbed. The mouth of the cave seemed a long way off.

  He gritted his teeth and stood erect. With the last bit of strength he had, Tykota climbed higher, his gaze set on his final goal. At last he reached the overhanging ledge and stopped to catch his breath. He was weak and shaky, and he wasn't sure he had the strength to go on.

  He was so close to water, and yet his strength was ebbing away. Drawing on his innermost determination to survive, he made it over the ledge and into the cave. He stumbled toward the narrow pathway to the inner cavern. He fell forward into the water, closing his eyes as the cool water washed over him. He turned his head into the stream that trickled over the rocks and drank thirstily.

  Then he fell to the floor of the cave and closed his eyes.

  Hannah Silverhorn was waiting on the veranda when they arrived. Makinna quickly got out of the buggy and ran up the steps to her.

  "Are you all right?"

  "Yes, my dear," Hannah said, slipping an arm around Makinna's waist. "There's nothing wrong with me."

  "But your telegram-I was afraid you were ill."

  "I'm sorry if I caused you concern." She smiled at the young woman and kissed her cheek. "It wasn't for myself that I contacted you. It's Tykota."

  Fear whitened Makinna's face. "Has something happened to him?"

  "I believe Tykota's malady is more one of the heart."

  Makinna watched her sister approach, then turned back to Hannah. "I don't understand why you would ask me to return if no one is ill."

  "Don't you, my dear?"