Savage Winter

by Constance O'Banyon

  Windhawk’s eyes darkened. “First, I shall cut the heart out of the man. Joanna…I have not decided what will be her fate.”

  “My chief, if we do find Joanna, I hope you would hear what she has to say. This trouble would not have happened had you each talked to the other.”

  Windhawk’s eyes settled on his friend. “I know why you beg for my wife. Do you not think I have seen the way you look at her?”

  Gray Fox’s eyes didn’t waver. “There have never been lies between us, Windhawk. Your woman’s beauty and goodness touches my heart, but I would never dishonor you or Joanna by speaking of it to her. I would not say this to you now, but you forced me to.”

  Windhawk turned his back. “It would seem every man desires my woman. I would slay any man who touches her, be he friend or foe!”

  Gray Fox felt his anger rise. “You would say this to me? Have I not been as a brother to you? I would never betray our friendship, and you know this! I think you are a very jealous man, Windhawk. I do not think that a man should accuse his friends falsely!”

  Windhawk turned and swept Gray Fox with his dark eyes. “Just remember what I have said. I will have no man look at Joanna with love, not even you, Gray Fox.”

  “I believe you are not thinking clearly. I will overlook what you have said to me today because I know of your concern for Joanna.”

  Windhawk flexed his fingers and then doubled them into a fist. His eyes were grief-stricken, and Gray Fox could see that he was suffering.

  “Forgive me, Gray Fox. It is true I am not thinking clearly. If I allowed my mind to take over, I would be as crazy as the old man claims to be. I have let a woman do this to me. Never again will I permit anyone to cause this weakness which burns inside me.”

  At that moment both men heard a rider coming down the trail. They moved back among the cover of the trees and waited. Several moments passed before they recognized that the intruder was the old trapper.

  Farley dismounted and ambled over to Windhawk. “Our search is over! I just found out where Joanna is!” he said, grinning broadly.

  “Speak, old man!” Windhawk ordered, unable to curb his impatience.

  “It seems she is being taken back to Philadelphia by her uncle and Captain Thatcher.”

  Windhawk looked confused. “Where will we find this Philadelphia? Where is it?”

  “I know which trail they will be traveling. They left but two days ago. We should not have any trouble overtaking them before they reach the first white settlement. I was told there were four men, Joanna, and another woman,” Farley replied, feeling happy about the good news he was able to relate to Windhawk.

  Joanna was lying on a blanket, watching the mighty Missouri River winding its way across the valley. It wasn’t long until sundown. They had been forced to wait until the next day for the barge that would take them across the river.

  It would now be less than a week until they reached Independence. Joanna remembered very well when the wagon train she and Tag joined had passed through the streets of Independence. It had been a busy town thronged with trappers, bullwhackers, homesteaders, and mule skinners. It would be the first semblance of civilization as the white man knew it. The people who were traveling West often referred to it as the jumping-off place to the unknown.

  Joanna felt neither good nor bad about her plight. She was merely accepting the inevitable. Sometimes, she managed to push thoughts of her life with Windhawk to the back of her mind. It was too painful to remember all that had happened between them. Let the past stay the past, she told herself. What did it matter where she lived? She must put her old life behind her. She couldn’t allow herself to think of Windhawk or Tag.

  “A king’s ransom for your thoughts, Joanna,” Harland said, sitting down on the blanket beside her.

  “My thoughts aren’t even worth a poor man’s pittance. I was just watching the river; it has a soothing effect, don’t you think?”

  “How does it feel to be going home?” he asked, watching her face closely.

  She sighed. “It feels like nothing. Philadelphia is no longer my home.”

  “Joanna, I have been observing the way your uncle treats you. He seems kind and concerned about your well-being. I first had the impression that you feared him, but I see no evidence of fear in you now.”

  Joanna stared across the river. “It’s a strange world we live in, Harland. The ones we love can turn on us, and the ones we fear can become our port in a storm.”

  “I’m not following you,” he replied, puzzled by her statement.

  She turned her head and smiled at him. “It doesn’t matter; it’s not important.”

  Harland took her hand and raised it to his lips. “I hope you will always think of me as your friend, Joanna. I give you my word…I’ll never turn on you!”

  Her face lit up with a bright smile. “I have always considered you my friend, Harland.”

  Suddenly, Harland saw her face pale, and she grabbed her stomach. “Joanna, what’s the matter—are you ill?” he asked, reaching out to her.

  She started laughing hysterically, and he thought for a moment she was losing her senses. “No, I’m not ill,” she said, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand. “It’s just my baby. Windhawk will never know that the child he craved so badly will soon be a reality.”

  Harland felt his heart sink. “You are with child?”

  “Oh, yes, I’m very definitely with child.”

  “Does your uncle know?”

  “No one knows but me…and now you.”

  Harland was quiet for a long time. When he spoke, his eyes were shining with an earnest light. “Joanna, I’m sure you will remember I once asked you to become my wife: That offer still stands.”

  Joanna’s soft, violet-colored eyes rested on his face. “It’s not possible, Harland. You are, and always will, be my dear friend. I would never put you in the awkward situation of being a father to another man’s child.”

  He took her hand and raised it to his face. “Joanna, I love you. I have never stopped loving you, and I would be proud to be your husband as well as the father of your child. You have only to say yes.”

  Her hand drifted up to brush against his cheek. “Dear, sweet, Harland…don’t love me. My love is all used up. I doubt that I will ever know what it feels like to love a man again. In truth, I don’t want to.”

  He could read sadness and disillusionment in her lovely eyes, and he was sorry that she must have suffered a great deal. “Are you saying you no longer love Windhawk?”

  “I am saying that I have forgotten how to love.”

  “Who’s done this to you, Joanna? Did Windhawk mistreat you in any way?”

  “I don’t want to talk about me anymore. Tell me, how does it feel to be a civilian again?”

  Harland thought it best to go along with her change of mood. “It’s too soon to say—as you can see, I am still wearing the uniform.”

  Suddenly, Joanna stiffened, and Harland thought she had felt the baby again. “He’s coming, Harland! I can feel it deep inside. He doesn’t want me anymore, but still, he will come!”

  “Who’s coming, Joanna?”

  “Windhawk! My God, I wasn’t sure he would come, but I know now he will. We must flee!”

  Joanna’s uncle heard her raise her voice, and he came over to see what was troubling her. “Have you upset my niece, Captain?” his voice thundered out.

  Joanna stood up and grabbed her Uncle Howard’s hand. “Please, let’s not wait until tomorrow when the barge comes to cross the river. We must go now; he will be here before long.” Joanna’s voice came out in deep sobs, and Howard shook her, trying to calm her down.

  “What in God’s name has come over you, Joanna? What are you talking about?”

  “Windhawk will come soon, and none of you will escape his vengeance. You don’t know him; you can’t know what he’s capable of!”

  Joanna’s words caused Howard’s eyes to move to the dense tree-lined forest. “How do you know he
’s coming?” her uncle asked, feeling a prickle of fear like a knot tightening in his stomach.

  “I can’t explain it,” Joanna said, with tears running down her cheeks. “Just believe what I am saying, and let’s leave immediately!”

  Howard set her down and knelt beside her. “Joanna, get hold of yourself! We can’t leave now—the river is too deep and wide to swim the horses across. If it will make you feel any better, I’ll have Chester and Jim stand guard tonight.”

  Joanna buried her face in her hands. “No one can stop Windhawk. You don’t know him like I do…you don’t know him,” she sobbed.

  That night, because of Joanna’s outburst, everyone felt uneasy. Jim’s eyes searched the dark shadows, while his brother’s eyes were glued to the shoreline…they both wished it was daylight so the barge would come.

  Claudia was sitting beside Joanna and, for once, she was strangely quiet, while Howard and Captain Thatcher kept their guns handy.

  “What will Windhawk do to us if he comes?” Claudia asked, remembering with horror the Indian raid on the wagon train when her mother and father had been killed.

  “I don’t know. When he’s angry, one cannot anticipate what he might do.”

  “Did he…has Windhawk ever beat you?” Claudia wanted to know.

  “No, he won’t harm me physically…especially when he knows about the baby.”

  Claudia’s mouth gaped open. “Good Lord! You are going to have that savage’s baby!” She began to laugh. “Did you hear that, Howard? Your lily-white niece is going to have that heathen Indian’s baby! How about you, Captain Thatcher, do you still covet the fair Joanna?”

  Howard was on his feet instantly, and he towered over Joanna. “Is that right? Are you going to have a baby?”

  Joanna nodded, watching her uncle’s face lose its color. He seemed to be having a hard time digesting what she had told him. Finally, he looked down at her and spoke in a soft voice. “We shall just have to take better care of you, won’t we? Had you told me before about the baby, I would have seen that we stopped more often so you could rest.”

  Joanna was confused by her uncle’s attitude. He was different somehow, and she didn’t know what to say to him. Before, he had never cared about her comfort or her health.

  “My, my! Aren’t you the fatherly type, Howard?” Claudia said spitefully. “Perhaps you will want to be grandfatherly to the Indian brat when it’s born.” Claudia’s laughter grated on Howard’s nerves, and he gave her a heated glance.

  “I’ll not have—”

  Howard never finished what he was about to say because, at that moment, they heard Jim Boggs let out a bloodcurdling scream!

  Chapter Eleven

  Windhawk dismounted silently and motioned for Farley to stay with the horses to keep them from making any noise. Moving as quietly as a night shadow, he ducked behind a tree to scan the shoreline. Gray Fox dropped to his knees and parted a bush for a better view.

  Windhawk used sign language to point out the two men who were on guard, and Gray Fox nodded in understanding.

  Jim Boggs never saw his assailant. A hand reached around him from behind to be clamped over his mouth, silencing him. Windhawk drove his knife into the frightened man’s body with no remorse. To him, this man was among the number who had taken Joanna away from him.

  Jim Boggs’s body slipped to the ground. Windhawk had underestimated the time it would take the enemy to die, however. Removing his hand from the man’s mouth, he realized his mistake when the white man screamed out in agony. He knew the scream had alerted the others to his presence.

  He and Gray Fox faded into the shadows and watched as Chester Boggs ran toward his horse like a frightened rabbit, bounded onto its back, and rode away into the night. Chester knew Windhawk had found them! Not thinking of his dead brother or caring that he was leaving the others unprotected, he urged his horse to a faster pace. All that was on his mind was escaping Windhawk’s wrath!

  There was a full moon, and Windhawk’s eyes moved to the riverbank where he could clearly see Joanna. His eyes burned with hatred when he saw the long knife push her behind him to protect her and raise his rifle, ready to fire. Windhawk didn’t know who the other woman was, but he surmised the heavyset man was Joanna’s uncle.

  “Harland, run! Save yourself—it’s Windhawk!” Joanna cried, knowing that Windhawk would not hesitate to kill Harland, since he had always been jealous of him.

  “Stay low, Joanna,” Harland warned, as he moved cautiously over to the campfire and kicked dirt on it.

  Claudia sank to her knees and clasped her hand over her mouth. Now she was going to die, and it was all Joanna’s fault. If she were to die, her last deed would be to cause Joanna’s death as well, she thought bitterly. Suddenly, a great calm settled over Claudia. Yes, somehow she would destroy Joanna before she died. Joanna had told her that Windhawk was jealous of Captain Thatcher. She would use that jealousy to destroy Joanna!

  Howard Landon hit the ground and began to crawl on his stomach until he reached Joanna. “Get across the river. I’ll stay here and hold them off,” he told her, raising his rifle and squinting his eyes, trying to see who the attackers were.

  Joanna looked at her uncle with a fresh view. He knew he was going to die, and yet his last thoughts were about her safety. He had caused her too much pain for her to forgive his past misdeeds, but Joanna knew she couldn’t stand by while Windhawk killed him.

  Standing up, she looked toward the forest. “I am here, Windhawk! Let the others go,” she called out loudly in the Blackfoot tongue.

  Suddenly, Harland was caught from behind, and Joanna spun around to see Windhawk holding a knife at his throat.

  “Don’t hurt him!” she cried out. “It is me you came after. I will go with you, but allow the others to live!”

  “I will drive my knife through the heart of your white lover,” Windhawk hissed, applying pressure to the knife. Harland struggled to get free, but he was no match for the formidable Windhawk.

  Joanna’s Uncle Howard raised his rifle to fire at Windhawk, but before he could take aim he was caught from behind in Gray Fox’s vicelike grip.

  Joanna walked slowly toward Windhawk. “These people have done you no harm. Allow them to live—I came away with him of my own free will. Are you such a savage that you would punish the innocent?” She could see Windhawk’s face very clearly now, and she recognized the murderous glint in his eyes.

  Claudia could not understand what Joanna and the Indian were saying to each other, but she watched Windhawk’s eyes when he looked at Captain Thatcher and saw the jealousy and hatred that burned in the dark depths. She knew that now might be her only chance to get even with Joanna. Her hatred for Joanna was the uppermost thought in her mind; it took precedence over her fear for her own life. Not only would she get the chance to pay Joanna back for all she had caused her to suffer, but she could get her revenge on Captain Thatcher as well. Claudia only prayed that Windhawk could understand English.

  “Joanna, do you plead for Captain Thatcher’s life because he is the father of your unborn child?” she called out. Claudia didn’t know where her bravery came from when she boldly walked over to Windhawk. When he turned his dark eyes on her, she drew in her breath. Good Lord, he was handsome! she thought. He was like no man she had ever seen before. At the moment, he reminded her of a beautiful savage with all semblance of civilization stripped away. No wonder Joanna loved this man!

  His dark eyes raked Claudia’s face, and she felt as if her stomach were filled with butterflies.

  “What are you saying, white woman?” Windhawk asked in English. He was tensely waiting for her to clarify her statement, hoping he had misunderstood her meaning.

  Joanna could see what Claudia was doing, and she held up a warning hand to stop her. Didn’t she realize that if Windhawk believed her lies, he would not hesitate for a moment to kill Captain Thatcher?

  “Joanna told me she was weary of living with the Indians,” Claudia said, giving Joan
na a vicious smile. “She wanted to go back to her home, where her and Captain Thatcher’s child will be born. Would you be so cruel as to kill the father of Joanna’s baby?”

  Windhawk was silent for a long moment—suddenly, a loud animal sound ripped from his throat! Joanna saw his hand tighten on the hilt of the knife, and she gasped, watching him raise the knife over his head. She rushed forward and threw herself against him. Windhawk pushed her out of the way, and his eyes burned into hers with unleashed fury.

  Everything seemed to happen at once. Joanna’s uncle grabbed his heart and went limp in Gray Fox’s arms. Windhawk brought the hilt of his knife down on Harland’s head, and Joanna grabbed Windhawk’s arm. Harland crumpled at Joanna’s feet as Windhawk stared at Joanna coldly.

  “Kill her! Kill her!” Claudia screamed, running around like a madwoman.

  Windhawk’s eyes moved to the white woman, then back to Joanna. “If I slay this man, do I kill the father of your baby, Joanna?” he asked in English.

  Joanna was afraid that in Windhawk’s state of mind he wouldn’t believe her. He would kill Harland in an instant if he believed Claudia’s lies.

  “No,” she said, sinking down to her knees.

  “She lies!” Claudia screamed. “She lies to save her lover’s life. Joanna told me she was going to have Captain Thatcher’s baby!”

  Suddenly, the air seemed thick, and the only sound that could be heard was Windhawk’s heavy breathing.

  Joanna raised her head and stared into his dark eyes. “Kill me, Windhawk, but allow him to live. I am the one you hate,” she said calmly.

  She watched Windhawk slowly raise the hand he held the knife in. Joanna saw blood on his hand and knew that he had already killed tonight. She felt no fear as the knife began to descend toward her. She did regret that she would die with a lie between her and Windhawk.

  Gray Fox leaped across the space that divided him from Windhawk and grabbed his arm. “No! Do not act in haste, my chief! Do not do this thing tonight that will tear your heart out tomorrow!”

  There was a power struggle between Windhawk and Gray Fox. Joanna could see the muscles of both men’s arms were strained to the limit. Suddenly Windhawk wrenched his arm free of Gray Fox’s grip and threw the knife down. It landed right in front of Joanna.