Savage Dawn

by Cassie Edwards

  It was hard not to wheel his horse around and go after her.

  Suddenly he saw the wolf that he had saved from its terrible injuries. It was elusive, but seemed to always be near, somehow, staring at him with its mystical, yellow eyes.

  And then, as always before, it suddenly ran away into the darkness of the trees.

  Eagle Wolf’s eyes searched for the wolf a moment longer, and then he set his full attention on returning home.

  Today he had lost two beings that he had grown to love.

  The woman.

  And the wolf.

  He hoped someday he would see them both again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  As the morning brought its sweetness to the land, with birds singing and the sky so blue and peaceful, Sam Partain sat in his saddle. His gang surrounded him as he paused in the shadowy depths of a forest of birch trees.

  From this vantage point, Sam could see a small settlement in the distance.

  He knew about it. This was a settlement of Mormons. He had never been there before, but he had heard about it.

  He had thought long and hard about where Nicole might go when she found Tyler City burned out. He had concluded that she would be too afraid to go to the mountain to hide, for she had to know that the Navaho were entrenched there in their stronghold.

  What woman wasn’t afraid of Indians?

  And since the nearest fort was so far away, Sam had surmised that she would surely go to the closest place to find sanctuary.

  Yep, he might even now be looking at that very place.

  He cackled to himself as he thought about the men who lived in Mormon towns. Did they not make it a practice to take more than one wife?

  Now, if given the opportunity, who wouldn’t want Nicole as one of those wives? He had admired her beauty in St. Louis. She was petite and beautiful, with fiery red hair that hung down to her waist.

  Sam laughed throatily as he recalled how clear she had made it that she had no interest in good ol’ boy Sam Partain. Well, soon she’d have no choice about associating with him.

  “Do you think she’s there?” A voice broke through Sam’s thoughts.

  He turned and gazed at his right-hand man, Ace Koontz. “I’d bet my bottom dollar on it,” Sam said, snickering.

  He stroked his scraggly golden beard as he again looked at the town called Hope. “Yep,” he said thickly. “She just might have gone to those Mormons for help. Well, there’s no time like the present for this ol’ boy to find out.”

  “Want us to go with you?” Ace asked, tilting his head slightly sideways as he was wont to do.

  His black hair hung to his waist, and his skin was sun bronzed. At a distance, he might be mistaken for an Indian. But up close, his sea blue eyes showed that he was a white man.

  “Naw, not yet, anyhow,” Sam said, tightening his hold on his reins. “I’ll go in, sololike, and ask whether that pretty thing is there or not.”

  “How are you going to get them to give you answers, you bein’ a stranger and all?” Ace asked as Sam turned to look into his eyes once again. “If’n she saw the massacre, might’nt she have warned those people not to trust anyone who comes to ask ‘bout her?”

  “I know what I’m doin’, so shut yore mouth, Ace, do you hear?” Sam said. He almost reached out to slap Ace, but stopped short of doing it. He had more things on his mind besides reminding one of his men that he was the boss.

  “Sorry, boss,” Ace said, tucking his head, so that his pointed chin almost touched his chest.

  “I’ll be leavin’ you now, boys,” Sam said. “Sit tight. I shouldn’t be long. If she’s there with the Mormons, hiding out, God be with them, for I won’t bat an eye over killin’ ’em all in order to get that pretty thing all to myself.”

  He laughed throatily as he broke away from his men and rode out into the clearing. He galloped off, leaving his gang hidden among the shadows of yellow-leafed birch trees.

  He knew it was best that he go alone. A lone rider wouldn’t seem suspicious to the townsfolk.

  Anyway, he hoped not.

  If Nicole was there, hiding, would they be able to keep this truth from Sam?

  Only time would tell, and he would soon have his answers, because a man was riding toward him even now, a rifle in his right hand, his horse’s reins in the other.

  The man’s face had a suspicious look as he gave Sam the quick once-over, stopping his horse a few feet from him.

  “You are riding toward Hope,” the man said guardedly as he glared at Sam. He sat stiffly in the saddle in his black suit, and his face displayed a very neatly shaped red beard.

  “Nice to make your acquaintance,” the man then said, yet did not offer a handshake.

  “My name’s Aaron,” he went on. “Aaron Smith. What’s yours, and do you have a reason to be headed in the direction of Hope?”

  Sam didn’t have a chance to answer before another black-suited man rode up and positioned himself beside Aaron.

  “What’s he got to say about being headed toward Hope like he has business there?” the second man asked as he glanced over at Aaron, and then back at Sam.

  “He hasn’t said, Jeremiah,” Aaron replied.

  “Now it’s your turn to talk,” Jeremiah said smoothly as he gazed intently at Sam. “Where you headed? Where you coming from?”

  Jeremiah looked past Sam, searching for the possibility of other riders who might be this man’s traveling companions.

  “Yep, I was headed for your fine town, and for a reason,” Sam said tightly. He looked past both men at the women, men, and children who had congregated at the edge of town. They were anxiously watching what was happening.

  “What is that reason?” Jeremiah prodded.

  “I’m looking for a woman who was supposed to arrive in Tyler City to join her ma and pa,” Sam said, trying to look innocent. “You see, I’m a friend of her pa’s. I was gone when the tragedy struck. If you don’t know ‘bout it, let me explain. Someone came while I was away from town and killed off everyone. I am the lone survivor. Well, I was a close friend to Walter Tyler and his wife, and I knew that Nicole was supposed to arrive there any day. I did not find her among the dead. I thought she might have come to you for help and you might’ve offered to take her in.”

  Sam frowned at Jeremiah. “Did it happen that way?” he asked thickly. “Did my friend’s daughter show up here, frightened to death, and all?”

  Jeremiah was a very astute man and knew a liar when he saw one. He could tell by the way a person’s eyes moved as he told the lie.

  This man’s eyes had shifted nervously from Jeremiah over to Aaron and back to Jeremiah. He was ner vous about what he was saying, too nervous for it to be the truth.

  And there was a hint of evil in his gray eyes.

  Then it occurred to Jeremiah that this man might be one of those who’d killed everyone in Tyler City. And if this was one of those murdering men, perhaps the others were hiding somewhere close and waiting for him to come to them with answers.

  Jeremiah knew that the lives of all of the people of Hope might depend on him being able to keep calm in the face of danger. He had to say all of the right things to make this man ride away, and leave him and the others in peace.

  “I don’t know of anyone named Nicole,” he said tightly, knowing that sometimes lies were necessary. This was one of those times. “But I hope you find her. It is terrible that so many people died in such a way. It would be sad if this girl is lost now, too.”

  “And so you haven’t seen her, or heard of her?” Sam persisted. Jeremiah shook his head.

  “Well, then, gents, I’ll be on my way,” Sam said. He gave both men a half salute. “Thanks for your time and trouble.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Jeremiah said, breathing more easily now that the stranger had wheeled his horse around and headed back in the direction whence he had come.

  Aaron wiped beads of sweat from his brow, and Jeremiah did the same. “That was a close one,” he said, hi
s voice crackling with the fear that still had him in its grip.

  “Way, way too close,” Jeremiah agreed. He turned back toward Hope, and set out with Aaron riding beside him. “Aaron, that man was lying through his teeth. We must post more sentries around our town. We can’t take chances.”

  He looked slowly over his shoulder, then gasped and grew pale when he saw Sam Partain reach a thick grouping of birch trees. Several men on horses came out of the shadows to join him.

  Jeremiah scarcely breathed as he waited to see in which direction those men would ride.

  When the men headed away from Hope, Jeremiah sighed with relief. Then he put his heels to the flanks of his horse and rode more hurriedly toward the town, Aaron following him.

  After arriving in the town, and explaining to everyone the possible danger, Jeremiah had one more thing to say to them. “Be wary of this man who came today. He walks in sheep’s clothing, but is in truth a man of Satan!” he shouted, as the men began scattering in many directions, their hands now clasped tight on their rifles.

  Wanting to see about his own family before going to take a guard post himself, Jeremiah went and gathered his wives and children around him and ushered them back to their house.

  He bent on a knee as he held the children close while his wives looked on, their eyes filled with tears of fear.

  “That man of Satan asked about that nice lady who rode the stagecoach with us,” Jeremiah explained softly. “No one knows where she is, or if she is even still alive. I pray that those men don’t find her. They do not have anything good planned for her—that is certain.”

  To himself he was thinking that he hoped Nicole was still alive and that he could find her someday. But not now. It was too dangerous to think about searching for her again.

  He still wanted to have Nicole as his third wife. She could give him beautiful, strong sons, he was sure.

  His two wives would not want him to take another wife, yet they knew better than to argue. His word was law in his household.

  But…where could Nicole have gone? Would those men find her before Jeremiah felt it was safe enough to go and look for her again, himself?

  He just could not get her out of his mind, or blood, no matter how hard he had tried. If she was still alive, he wanted her, and…he…would have her.

  But only if that group of bloodthirsty men didn’t find her first!

  Chapter Fourteen

  As Eagle Wolf entered his village, he felt a wonderful sense of homecoming. When everyone saw that it was he, they came running toward him.

  He had always known the love his people felt for him, but the proof of it touched his heart. It was in everyone’s eyes, their outstretched arms, their shouts of happiness. They were overjoyed at his return and that he had survived.

  As he rode slowly onward, he saw that a new tepee had been built close by the spot where his home had sat before he had set fire to it.

  He smiled a quiet thank-you to his people, then went onward. When he reached his newly erected tepee, his brother stepped suddenly from the lodge.

  Eagle Wolf dismounted and stepped toward Spirit Wolf, to embrace him. But his brother walked past him without a greeting, without a smile, his head hanging low.

  It ate into Eagle Wolf’s heart to know from his brother’s sulking attitude just how much he had hoped Eagle Wolf would not come back.

  With Eagle Wolf’s return came the end of Spirit Wolf’s own temporary reign as chief. It was oh, so obvious that Spirit Wolf had wanted to remain his people’s chief forever.

  He had surely even prayed that Eagle Wolf would not return.

  Their people now also witnessed the behavior of one brother toward the other. Some gasped in horror as they watched Spirit Wolf disappear into his own lodge without speaking a single word to his brother.

  Wanting to break the awkward silence, Eagle Wolf handed his reins to a young brave, who took his steed away. Eagle Wolf faced his people, who stood there with love for him in their eyes and smiles.

  “My people, it is good to be among you again,” Eagle Wolf said, taking the hand of a small child, a young boy of five winters who gazed lovingly up at him. “The disease that made me so ill, and killed my wife, was not smallpox, but instead a white man’s disease called measles. I survived. I am well. I will now resume my duties as your chief.”

  “What is this thing called measles?” one of his warriors asked as he stepped closer to Eagle Wolf. His eyes moved slowly over his chief, taking in the fading red spots on his body. “How do you know of it?”

  “A woman found me when I was feverish and stopped to care for me,” Eagle Wolf said, purposely not telling them that this woman was white, or that she had found her way inside his heart. “She explained to me that the red spots were measles, not smallpox.”

  “What woman?” another warrior asked. “Where is she now?”

  Although it was not his habit to ignore questions asked him by his people, Eagle Wolf did not want to talk about Nicole Tyler. He did not want to reveal to his people that she was white.

  “Is it not enough that I am with you again, and that I am well?” Eagle Wolf asked.

  There was a strange sort of silence brought on by his obvious reluctance to speak any more of this mysterious woman. To break the awkward moment, he turned and gazed at the large, new tepee.

  “This is a very fine lodge,” he said, lifting the entrance flap and looking around inside before entering.

  What he saw made his eyes widen. He had not expected to see any belongings in the lodge since everything he had owned had been burned.

  But what he saw had nothing to do with him at all. Although there were only a few items, he recognized them as the possessions of his brother and his wife.

  He turned and looked questioningly at the warrior closest to his side.

  “Your brother and wife were moving their belongings today into the tepee that was built for you, my chief,” Three Bears said uncomfortably. “No one questioned him because he was at that time acting chief.”

  Three Bears looked over at the tepee where Spirit Wolf had gone, and then at Eagle Wolf again. “His lodge still stands, yet it would have not been his by evening. By then all of his belongings would have been in the tepee that was built for your return.”

  “He did not expect my recovery,” Eagle Wolf said thickly.

  “Seems not,” Three Bears said. “I believe he prayed that you would not return. He is a brother who should no longer be called a brother. He never should have had the title of chief, not even for a short while. Chiefs are chosen for wisdom and high character, and Spirit Wolf has neither.”

  Eagle Wolf listened to those words with an aching heart. He loved his younger brother, but was not proud of him.

  He nodded at Three Bears, to let him know that he had heard him and respected his feelings, but Eagle Wolf needed time alone now, for he had much to think about.

  After stepping into his new lodge, he again looked slowly around at his brother’s belongings. He knew that there was only one thing to do. He began by taking one item and then another and tossing them outside on the ground, as his people watched, silent.

  As each thing was thrown from his lodge, Eagle Wolf became angrier and angrier at Spirit Wolf. His brother had proved his disloyalty and lack of love.

  Eagle Wolf was disappointed, but glad that he knew of his brother’s betrayal. No longer would he be made a fool of by a brother who felt nothing but jealousy toward him.

  When everything had finally been cleared from his lodge, Eagle Wolf went inside, alone.

  He was dispirited as he sat on a mat before the freshly made fire. The firelight now shone brightly on a face that revealed his shock over the truth of his brother’s feelings toward him. He felt a disappointment in Spirit Wolf that would surely stay with Eagle Wolf until death.

  Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted. One by one, his people came to him, speaking his name outside his lodge.

  And when he went and held the entra
nce flap aside, he saw each one’s arms heavy-laden with gifts for him.

  There were clothes, blankets, food, and even a newly carved bow, as well as a quiver of arrows. One little girl handed him her doll made from corn husks, a small blanket wrapped around it.

  And after those gifts from the heart were all taken into his lodge and put into place, more food arrived, this time stacked high on platters.

  There was his favorite…mutton stew, with corn cooked in it, and so many other delicious things made by the women of his village.

  Before settling down to eat, Eagle Wolf stepped from his lodge where his people were gathered. They had gone to great lengths to prove that they still were loyal to him, and loved him.

  He quickly noticed that his brother’s belongings were gone from the spot where Eagle Wolf had tossed them.

  He supposed his brother had hurriedly come and gotten them while Eagle Wolf was inside his own lodge.

  “How can I thank you all enough for your love and loyalty to me?” Eagle Wolf asked. He looked slowly around the crowd. He was touched deeply by the love his people had shown him. He would always remember this moment.

  “No thanks are needed,” Three Bears said, giving Eagle Wolf one of his most vivid smiles. “Your return to us is all we could ever want.”

  “I will remember today and what you have done for me, always,” Eagle Wolf said, getting a quick glimpse of his brother as he momentarily drew his entrance flap aside in order to look at Eagle Wolf, and then disappeared again in his lodge.

  Eagle Wolf smiled at his people, then turned and went back inside his tepee. He sat down and began eating the delicious food that had been prepared for his homecoming.

  As he ate beside the fire, his legs crossed at his ankles, he could not help thinking about Nicole and worrying about her.

  He could not help wondering if she had found a safe haven.

  Or was she still wandering, alone, lost and afraid?

  He made himself push her from his mind. She was not his concern.

  He was home with his people, where he belonged. All of his attention should be on them and on them alone!