The boy glared at him but nodded. “Yes.”
Gabe handed him the plate and fork, keeping the knife in his hand, and untied the leather strap around the boy’s wrist. The speed at which he devoured the food surprised everyone. Within minutes he handed the plate back to Gabe and wiped a sleeve across his mouth.
“Do you want more?” Gabe asked.
The boy shook his head, and for the first time, made eye contact with other others. The men had poured out of the bunkhouse at the sound of Bull’s voice, and stood around, not ready to leave until they’d learned more about the boy.
“What’s your name?” Bull asked again.
“Boy Who Runs Fast.”
Bull decided it best to remember the name and what it implied. “What’s your white name?”
“Billy.”
Bull looked at Gabe, asking without words what the sheriff wanted to do next.
“Billy, let’s go inside.” Gabe reached out a hand, which Billy ignored as he stood and walked through the front door.
“We’ll go in the study. Ginny, is there a place Billy can sleep tonight?” Dax asked.
“He’ll sleep in the same room with Noah and me.” Gabe planned to take no chances.
Luke, Dax, Bull, and Noah took seats in the study, followed by Gabe and Billy. There were still many questions needing answers, including the location of where he and the others lived.
“If you don’t need me, I believe I’ll turn in.” Doc Worthington turned toward the hall.
“Will you be around tomorrow?” Gabe asked.
“I can stay another day, if you’d like.”
“Thanks, Doc.” Gabe turned toward the boy. “Now, Billy, tell us where you’ve been living, and how many more are hidden in the mountains.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The men questioned Billy until they’d grown weary of hearing the same story over and over. He told them he’d escaped a Crow village months before and worked his way across Montana, heading west until the bad weather started and he realized he couldn’t go any further until spring. He decided to hole up in a cave above Luke’s house.
The men believed the only truthful part of the tale was his escape from the Crow camp. Each thought the rest to be pure hogwash.
They decided to start again in the morning. The boy’s fierce protection of the others gained the respect of the men, yet it also put Billy’s friends in danger. If he didn’t return, there’d be one less person to gather food and supplies.
The sun had begun to rise over the mountains in the east. Gabe sat at the kitchen table, watching over the rim of his coffee cup as Billy shoveled one spoonful of food after another into his mouth. He had told them he’d turned fifteen on his last birthday and had lived with the Crow Indians for almost three years.
“Why’d you decide to leave the Crow? Quite a decision for a lone boy to make. Seems you would’ve had others traveling with you.” Gabe had never been a lawman before agreeing to take on the sheriff’s job in Splendor. He’d been a colonel in the Union Army, making tough decisions and leading men into battle. The skills he learned during the war served him well in his new job—one he had no intention of keeping for long.
Billy continued to chew his food, ignoring Gabe’s question, hoping the lawman would give up. The boy didn’t know Gabe or his friends. When they had a goal, these men never quit.
“Is there anyone left to find food after we take you into town? You know, unless you lead us to the others, they’ll be left to take care of themselves. I hope none of them gets sick.” Gabe leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table and keeping his gaze trained on Billy. The last question caused the boy to squirm in his chair as his eyes darted around the room. Gabe knew the boy had decided to run.
The sound of chair legs scraping wood was the only warning as Billy jumped to his feet and ran toward the back door. Gabe let him go, knowing the others were ready to follow him into the woods. Last night they’d made the decision to allow him to escape, hoping he’d lead them to his friends.
“There he goes,” Noah said as Billy took off at a fast pace, dashing around the bunkhouse and into the trees beyond. “It shouldn’t take long for Luke and Dax to spot him.”
Bull nodded, then nudged his horse into a gallop, determined not to the let the boy get away.
Gabe came out the front door and walked toward the barn where Blackheart stood saddled and waiting. “Let’s go.” Gabe swung into the saddle and they followed the path Bull set.
Most people thought tracking someone in the winter was harder than other times of the year. Dax and Luke believed otherwise. The decreased foliage allowed them to spot their prey easier. They’d taken away Billy’s moccasins, providing him with boots he refused to wear. They hoped following bare footprints would be better than trying to track someone wearing moccasins. At least the lack of protection on his feet might slow him down.
Bull kept Billy in sight while staying as far back as he felt safe. He knew where Luke and Dax would be—on the exact path Billy had chosen to take.
“There he is.” Luke pointed as he and Dax moved farther behind the boulder shielding them from Billy’s view. “The boy sure can run.”
They followed him as he crossed Wildfire Creek, not thirty yards from Luke’s house. They noted the direction he took and waited for the others to join them.
“Fan out, fifteen yards apart, and follow him up the hill. One shot in the air when you spot the cave.” Dax moved across the swelling creek, Hannibal not flinching at the frigid water. Luke and Bull spread out to his left, while Gabe and Noah rode to his right. The five kept a steady pace, listening and noting any changes as they pursued their prey.
Billy squatted and looked around. He knew the men followed him, yet he didn’t dare stop. He had to warn the others before they were discovered and hauled into jail for stealing. His feet stung from the icy ground and freezing water, and Billy knew he’d made a mistake leaving without the boots.
As the wind swirled around him, he shivered and thought of Lydia, the woman who’d risked her life to help them escape. She’d been promised to a Crow brave, the one who’d pulled her from a burning cabin even as she fought him.
Her parents had died in the fire, which started over a disagreement between a neighboring Crow village and her father. A fire, Lydia had once told Billy, could’ve been avoided if her father hadn’t fired on the small band of Crow who approached their house. He’d panicked, shooting and killing a young brave.
The enraged Crow killed her parents, taking Lydia and her younger sister and brother captive. They’d come to the tribe a year before, two years after Billy and his sister. She’d been given time to adjust, then was told the warrior who saved her would become her husband. Lydia had no desire to stay with the tribe, become the bride of a man she didn’t love, and live her life away from the white world and the customs she knew.
Billy had learned of the plan to escape and confronted her, telling Lydia he and his sister would be going along. They’d snuck away from the village several months before while most of the warriors were away hunting. He still didn’t know how they’d stayed hidden from the Crow party which hunted them, but they had.
Along the way, they’d been turned away more times than he could count by farmers and ranchers who didn’t want to associate with whites who’d lived with the Crow. None would take the chance of sheltering the former captives or helping them back into the white world. Most gave them food and sent them on their way.
Billy now trusted few white men. He’d seen the pained expressions of the women, along with the disgust of the men, as they were turned away. They were relegated to a third world, one between the whites and the Indians.
He pushed away the painful memories and glanced behind him once more. Seeing nothing, Billy dashed up the hill, trying to stay below the tops of the sparse brush. The sound of a bird chirping had him crashing to the ground. The sound repeated a moment later, then stopped. He doubted it came from the men who f
ollowed him. He didn’t believe they’d know how to make calls similar to the ones used by the Crow warriors. Convinced it was nothing, Billy stood and ran as fast as his bare feet would carry him, up the hill, around a thick stand of pine, and slipped through a tight opening in the rocks, which led to a hidden cavern deep within the mountain.
“Got him,” Bull said, looking through the field glasses he always carried. “He disappeared into those rocks behind the stand of pine.”
“You’re certain he didn’t go around them?” Luke signaled Dax with the bird call they’d perfected as children, then slid off Prince, receiving an answering call from his brother.
“I am. He’s hidden in the rocks or in a cave we didn’t spot.” He slipped the glasses into his saddlebag, then dismounted as the others joined them.
The five spread out, approaching the rocks on foot, keeping watch around them. The sky remained clear and the bright sun now stood overhead, washing light through the tall pines.
“There’s no way in from this side.” Noah walked around from the right. “I checked as far as I could before the trail closed up.”
“Come look at this.” Bull’s quiet voice drifted toward the others, who followed it to see him staring at an opening between the rocks. “I think he slipped through here.”
Dax peeked through the slim gap. “There’s a large cave, but Billy isn’t in sight. I’m guessing there must be other tunnels. We won’t know until we go inside.” He looked at the others, knowing he, Luke, and Gabe were the only three who might fit through the opening.
Noah took a quick look and snorted. “I’ll stay out here, make sure no one gets past you.”
“I’ll stay with Noah. There’s no chance I’ll get through the opening without tearing off an arm.” Bull offered a slight grin as he took a position opposite Noah.
“You two ready?” Gabe asked just before he slipped inside, ripping a hole in the new shirt he’d bought for Christmas.
“Billy, we were so worried about you.” Margaret, his younger sister, ran up and wrapped her arms around him. At seven, she was the youngest in the group, was devoted to him, and was the reason Billy had stayed in the Crow camp for three years. She’d just turned four when they were captured. Her age and small stature never would’ve allowed her to escape before now.
“Lydia is still sick. She’s been vomiting, won’t eat, and feels hot. I don’t know what to do.” Lydia’s fourteen-year-old brother, Samuel, ran both hands through his long hair, then clasped them behind his neck. “Were you able to find anything to help her?”
Billy cast his gaze at Lydia. Her younger sister, Selina, sat cross-legged on the hard ground, gripping her sister’s hand, eyes full of worry. He looked back at Sam. “No. They caught me. I wasn’t able to get away until this morning.” He took a few steps toward Lydia, noticing her red-rimmed eyes. He felt his stomach clench as he turned back toward Sam. “We have to leave. I’m sure they’ve followed me.”
“Leave? Lydia can’t move and won’t eat. We can’t take her out of here.” Sam paced a few feet away, then swung back around. “What are we going to do?”
“You’ll come with us. We’ll help you.”
The deep voice got everyone’s attention as Dax walked into the cave, followed by Luke and Gabe. He didn’t stop until he stood over Lydia, looking down at her prone form. He dropped to his knees, causing Selina to scoot away, although she didn’t drop Lydia’s hand. He placed a hand on her forehead and shot a look at Luke.
“She’s holding her stomach and has a fever. We have to get her to Doc Worthington.”
“You’re not taking her anywhere.” Billy stepped between Luke and Dax, daring them to interfere. “She’s not leaving.”
Gabe strode forward, fixing Billy with a hard look. “She’s sick. Dax’s wife is a nurse, her uncle is the town doctor. They won’t hurt her, but you will if you insist on keeping her in this damp cave without adequate food and medical supplies.”
Samuel stepped forward, grabbed Billy’s arm and spun him around. “Lydia needs help. They’re offering and I think we should accept it.”
Billy scrubbed a hand over his face, his stomach knotting as his eyes settled on Lydia. He didn’t want to count on help from the type of white men they’d encountered over the last few months, yet these men hadn’t turned them away. They’d taken him into their home, fed him, and given him a place to sleep. Now they were offering their help again.
“You’re right, Sam.” Billy glared at Dax and took a step closer. “You’d better not hurt her.”
“She’ll be fine. You need to trust us.” Dax wrapped the blanket edges around her, taking care to keep her feet and hands covered. “Does she have a bonnet?”
Selina jumped up and pulled an old, worn bonnet from a leather bag, handing it to Dax. He fitted it over her head and tied the strings under her chin, catching her watching him.
“Hello, Lydia. I’m Dax Pelletier. This is my brother, Luke, and our friend Gabe Evans. We’re going to take you to a doctor.”
She closed her eyes and swallowed, not making any effort to answer.
“Gather your belongings,” Gabe said to the others while Dax prepared Lydia for the trip. “We have five horses, enough for everyone to ride double down the mountain.” He waited a moment and when no one moved, he grabbed a nearby blanket and tossed it at Billy. “You take this and whatever else you can carry. Now. Everyone else pick up what you need. We’re leaving as soon as Lydia is ready.”
Samuel, Margaret, and Selina scrambled to do as Gabe asked, grabbing their meager belongings and stuffing them into grimy sacks.
“You, too, Billy.” Gabe eyed the boy, not at all sure what to expect. He might leave with them or he might try to run. Gabe hoped he’d choose to leave. If he ran, they didn’t have enough men to follow him. Their primary obligation was getting Lydia to Doc Worthington.
Billy fought conflicting emotions, knowing he had just one choice. He’d never leave Margaret, and he’d formed a strong bond with Sam, Selina, and Lydia. He swung away from Gabe and began to gather what he owned—an old hat, an extra pair of moccasins, and a few other items still inside his worn, leather sack.
“We’re ready.” Dax lifted Lydia into his arms and caught Luke’s attention. “You go through the opening first, then I’ll hand her to you.” Both knew he’d never be able to make it through the slim gap holding her.
Gabe led the way through the tunnel, which opened into the first cave and passage to the outside. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one had stayed behind, and slipped through the opening.
“Noah, Bull…”
They appeared within seconds, both sets of eyes narrowing when they saw the group following Gabe.
“There are five, so we’ll double up. Luke is carrying a woman who’s ill. It might be best to have her ride with you, Bull.”
Bull nodded. He owned the biggest of the five horses, an easy-going roan gelding named Abraham—Abe, for short.
“Selina, you ride with Luke. Margaret with Noah. Bull’s going to take Lydia.” Gabe glanced at Samuel and Billy. “Samuel, you’ll ride with Dax, and Billy with me.”
“I’ll walk,” Billy bit out.
Luke handed Lydia to Bull, then glanced down at Billy’s bare feet, already bleeding from his trek up the mountain. “You’ll ride behind Gabe, either seated or tied to the back. Your choice.”
Billy shot Luke a killing look, then reached for Gabe’s hand and swung up on the back of Blackheart.
They moved at a slow pace down the icy slope, stopping a few minutes at Luke’s house, then onto the ranch. Every so often, Samuel would turn to look at Lydia nestled in Bull’s broad lap. The thought of losing her terrified him. She’d been the one to hold them together over their last year of living with the Crow. Compared to stories they’d heard of other tribes, the Crow’s treatment of them wasn’t harsh. They were worked hard from before sunrise until late at night. Unlike Billy, who’d been allowed to train with the young warriors and men
, Sam had been relegated to work alongside the women. He wanted to find a home in the world they’d been taken from and return to the customs of the whites.
Luke reined in next to Bull as they came to a stop by the barn. “I’ll help you with Lydia.” He swung a leg over Prince, helped Selina down, then reached up as Bull lowered Lydia into his arms.
“She sure doesn’t weigh much.” Bull slid from Abe and followed Luke up the steps to the house.
Doc Worthington opened the door and stepped aside to let the men pass. “Take her to the back bedroom where I’ve been staying.” He’d almost closed the door when it was shoved open, Billy pushing past the doctor to follow Bull and Luke, behind him were Sam, Margaret, and Selina. “Wait up,” he called before they disappeared down the hall. “You, too, Billy.”
“I’m going with them.” The hard edge of his voice almost broke.
“All of you will wait out here.” Charles focused on Billy, already knowing the boy didn’t back down easily. “I know you’re worried, but I can’t have anyone else in the room except for my nurse. Understand?”
“Her name’s Lydia. She’s my sister.” A boy he didn’t recognize spoke in a quiet, nervous tone. The slump of his shoulders told the doctor of the worry he’d been holding inside.
“What’s your name, son?”
“Samuel. This is my other sister, Selina, and Billy’s sister, Margaret.”
“I’ll do everything I can for her, Samuel. How long has she been sick?”
“It started last night after we ate the last of the food.”
The doctor glanced up to see Ginny standing a few feet away. “Can you find something for them to eat while Rachel and I check on Lydia?”
“Yes, sir. Follow me and we’ll get some food in you.” She watched as each took a reluctant step toward her, then walked the rest of the way into the kitchen. She scooped generous portions of stew into bowls, setting one in front of each, then sliced thick pieces of cornbread. “There’s more in the pot if this isn’t enough.”
Wildfire Creek Page 24
