He guided his horse through tangled underbrush and out into the open, his form barely visible before he heard shouting.
“There he is!”
“Don’t let him get away!”
“Shoot to kill! That bastard renegade will only make more trouble if he slips away from us!”
Even from this distance Black Hawk recognized Jubal Desmond’s voice on the last comment. Some of the soldiers shouted war whoops and began firing their pistols as they charged their horses up the hill toward him. What had happened! Why were they coming after him?
Bullets whizzed past him, and he turned his horse and kicked its sides, charging toward wooded hills to the west, soldiers hot on his heels.
Twenty-nine
Katy remained in her hiding place, rigid with terror. Who would believe her if she told them Jubal was the one who had killed Seth and not Black Hawk? Did she dare say anything? If Jubal got wind that she had witnessed the murder, would he come after her? Kill her? Maybe rape her like he’d raped Lucy and then send her downriver to other bad men?
After seeing him ruthlessly plunge his knife into Seth’s heart, she was too afraid of Desmond to make her presence known until she was sure all the soldiers were gone. She had kept quiet when one of them said they had looked everywhere for her. She had seen a worried look on Jubal’s face then, and her heart had pounded with terror when he looked all around the corn crib, his eyes resting on the back wall for a moment. Had he seen her? Would he know she had witnessed the murder?
She had watched men wrap Seth in a blanket and carry him outside, and she’d heard someone order another to throw the body over his horse. “Harkins, you and Private Smith take this man to the church for burial,” someone had ordered. “I want everybody to report to Fort Yates after the Indian girl and the dead body have both been delivered. We’ve got to check with Colonel Gere about what to do about finding the other daughter, and if and how he wants us to go after Black Hawk.”
“Yes, sir,” someone replied. “Throw the body over the back of my horse, Jenkins.”
Katy had waited several more minutes, stiff from standing behind the boards all night waiting for Lucy. What had happened to her sister? Was she all right? She was glad that at least Many Birds would get help. She had waited awhile longer, but it had seemed hours before she finally heard someone order the rest of the soldiers to mount up; then suddenly a few of the men began shouting.
“There he is!” someone yelled. She’d heard gunfire! Who were they shooting at?
“Don’t let him get away!”
“Shoot to kill!” Jubal shouted.
She had heard several horses riding off then, more shooting. All the while she struggled against a need to burst into tears of terror. She had seen so much horror since last night… the vision of Many Birds’s naked abused body lying on that bed haunted her, poor, innocent Many Birds, who had trusted her. Maybe the authorities would arrest her and Lucy, thinking they had a part in tricking Many Birds to come to the house. Then there had been the long, dark night of terror, with rats crawling over her, while she watched Seth, sure he would wake up and find her any moment. Finally, morning had come, and so had Jubal Desmond. She had never seen anything as awful as that man plunging a knife into Seth’s chest while Seth reached up, grasping at him in what must have been a plea for mercy. She hated Seth, but in that one moment, she had actually felt sorry for him. She had thought about yelling for Jubal to stop, but maybe he would have used that big knife on her!
Finally, the tears started to come. She made herself move, slowly pushed away the loose boards and climbed out from behind the wall. She didn’t bother to grab the money Lucy had hidden there. It didn’t matter now. All that mattered was survival, and what she was going to tell others. She brushed cobwebs and dirt from her hair and clothes and walked on stiff legs toward the spot where Seth had been killed. She felt filthy and smelly, for while waiting behind the wall she had wet her pants during the night.
She decided she had to go to the house first, wash and change. Then she had to decide what to do next. Go to the Army? To Miss Gibbons? Find Lucy? Run away? She didn’t want to go anywhere without her sister. Should she tell on the sergeant? Would anyone believe her? She stared at the spot where Seth had been killed. There was still blood in the dirt. It was then she noticed something else… something shiny. She wiped at her tears, smearing more dirt on her face, then knelt to study the object. It was a button, a gold button that belonged to an army uniform. She picked it up, realizing this could be her proof that she had seen Jubal Desmond here, that Seth had grabbed at his uniform in a desperate attempt to stop the man from killing him. Surely she had to tell. Miss Gibbons loved Black Hawk. She couldn’t let Black Hawk get blamed for something he didn’t do. Was it Black Hawk the soldiers had chased after?
Maybe he would get away. Then she would never have to tell the truth. The thought of accusing Jubal terrified her. She knew how mean the man could be. Everyone would be ready to believe it was Black Hawk who had killed Seth. If they didn’t believe her story, and Jubal was let go…
She clutched the gold button, shoved it into the pocket of her dress, and headed for the house.
Black Hawk rode at a hard gallop, still confused. The soldiers knew he was unarmed, yet they were firing at him! He leaned forward to create less of a target, opening his horse into a full, desperate run across open land. He could feel the soldiers behind him and had no way to defend himself if he was caught, except with his knife; but a knife was worthless against rifles and pistols. He cried out when a bullet slammed into his upper right shoulder, but he continued to cling to his horse’s mane, as the animal sensed it must keep running.
He was not sure how far he had gone, how many minutes had passed. His horse was breathing hard now, and Black Hawk could feel the animal’s sweat against his legs and arms. If he ran the faithful Appaloosa this hard much longer, it would kill the animal.
The pain in his shoulder intensified, and he knew he was bleeding badly. He felt his horse beginning to slow, even though it was trying hard to stay ahead of the soldiers. The animal was getting older. In the old days, every warrior had many horses, some for hunting, some for making war, some for the racing games, and always young horses to train for whatever purpose they were needed. All three of his horses were getting older. He needed new, young horses, but wild ones were few in number now, and the government made sure no Indian owned too many horses. Horses meant power for the Indians, a way of escape.
He deliberately slowed the Appaloosa, refusing to ride it to death. The soldiers would have him, one way or another. He felt them coming closer, and he slid off his horse, afraid that if they shot at him they would hit the animal instead.
“He’s wounded!” someone shouted. “Hold your fire, men!”
Horses surrounded him, and someone walked up and kicked him over onto his back. He looked up at Jubal Desmond, who stood over him, pointing a pistol at his head.
“Make one move, Black Hawk, and I’ll blow your brains out!”
Black Hawk looked around him, seeing that he was surrounded by six bluecoats.
“Back up, Sergeant!” someone else ordered. A man Black Hawk had never seen before stepped forward, wearing a lieutenant’s uniform. “Get up, Black Hawk. We’re taking you to Fort Yates.”
Black Hawk rolled to his knees, holding his right arm with his left hand. “Why… are you doing this?”
“What?” The lieutenant came around and yanked Black Hawk’s knife from its sheath. He studied it a moment, noticing some traces of blood near the handle. “For God’s sake, man, you must know you couldn’t get away with killing Seth Bridges. The man was lying there drunk and unarmed. I know how it must feel to know what he did to your sister, but—”
“Seth Bridges is dead?”
Lieutenant Hart frowned, sensing that Black Hawk truly was surprised. “What did you expect? When you bury a knife in a man’s heart, he’s going to die, Black Haw
k.”
Black Hawk grimaced with pain, his breath still coming in pants. “I… killed no one.”
Hart held out his knife. “Seth Bridges was stabbed to death, and there’s blood on your knife.”
Black Hawk frowned. “That is from a rabbit I cleaned last night. It is not human blood. I tell you, I did not kill Seth Bridges! Why would I have shown myself to you if I had? I was waiting on the hill. I decided to let the soldiers arrest Seth Bridges. I did not want any trouble. I just wanted to take my sister to our grandmother. That is why I was riding down the hill toward you.”
“You lying sonofabitch!” The words came from Jubal. “Everybody knows what a renegade you are, and we all heard you threaten Seth’s life. And when you saw us, you turned and ran!”
“You were shooting at me!” Black Hawk growled. “And I was unarmed! I did not know what else to do!”
“You rode off before the rest of us back there at the schoolteacher’s house, and you got here first!” Jubal accused. “And nobody else had reason to kill Seth.”
Black Hawk moved his dark, all-knowing eyes to look at the one person he hated even more than Seth Bridges. “I know one man who had reason to kill him.”
Jubal reddened. “What the hell are you saying?”
Black Hawk looked at the lieutenant. “Who found Seth’s body?”
Hart looked confused. “Why, the sergeant here did.”
Black Hawk just nodded. “Just as I thought.” He looked at Desmond. “The sergeant here had as much reason to kill Seth Bridges as anyone.”
“Why, you—” Desmond pistol-whipped Black Hawk across the side of the head before anyone could stop him. “You filthy, lying Indian!” he roared. He raised his pistol again, but the lieutenant grabbed hold of his arm.
“That’s enough, sergeant!” He ordered two other men to pick up Black Hawk and throw him over his horse. “Tie his wrists and ankles together underneath so he can’t go anywhere. We’ll have the Army medic look at him when we get him to Fort Yates.” The man turned to Jubal. “What was that all about?”
Jubal rammed his pistol back into its holster. “That bastard hates me because I was at Wounded Knee, where he lost his wife and kid, that’s all. Ever since then he’s been trying to cause trouble for me, making up lies, accusing me of helping whiskey smugglers, saying Seth Bridges and I were into smuggling whiskey together. He’s just looking for a way to turn the suspicion on somebody else, Lieutenant. For God’s sake, I’d never shove a knife into somebody who’s lying there helpless! But Black Hawk would, and we all know he went to that farm with the intent of killing Seth Bridges! Look at that big knife he carries. The bastard killed Seth. Anybody can see that. The blood on that knife isn’t from any damn rabbit. It’s Seth Bridges’s blood! The Sioux have to be shown that they can’t live the old way anymore, taking their vengeance whenever and wherever they like! Black Hawk’s got to be hanged or sent off to prison! Things will be a lot more peaceful around here once he’s gone.”
The lieutenant sighed, looking down at Black Hawk’s knife again. How could anyone doubt that the man had killed Seth? It was the nature of a man like that to kill first and think about it later. It was a way of life for the Sioux. “Let’s get him to the fort,” he told the others. “Johnston, you go tell Reverend Phillips what has happened here. Miss Gibbons will probably be gone with Many Birds by the time you get there. I told Brady to have her go with him to the girl’s grandmother’s village. Maybe the reverend can gather some people together and go back to the farm to try to find Seth’s other daughter. She must have a hiding place nobody knows about, or maybe she ran away, after what she saw yesterday and all. We need to find her. We need both the girls’ testimony in this.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jubal mounted up, still feeling a little uneasy that Katy had not been found, and worried about what she and Lucille might say about him. He hoped they had sense enough to keep quiet. Maybe he would visit Evelyn Gibbons later, just long enough to get a good look at Lucille, and Katy, too, if they found her by then. He’d make sure they knew by his eyes that they’d be wise to keep their mouths shut. “I’d be glad to go back and try to find the other daughter, Lieutenant,” he volunteered, anxious to get to the girl before anyone else did.
“That’s not necessary, Sergeant. We’ll leave that to the reverend and his people. Let’s get going,” he ordered. “We have a lot to report to Colonel Gere and Agent McLaughlin, but we’ve got to walk these horses awhile after that chase.”
They got under way, a bleeding Black Hawk draped over his own lathered horse. Jubal eyed him, hoping maybe he’d die from loss of blood before they ever reached the fort. That would be even better than a hanging. He wouldn’t have a chance to defend himself, or say things better left unsaid. He had intended to kill him, if he could have got close enough without the lieutenant seeing him. He told himself that Black Hawk had no defense, that there was no possible way he could get out of this. Even if Lucy and Katy told about the whiskey smuggling and what he had done to Lucy, those things were a far cry from murder. He could claim Lucy was lying, that she was willing. After all, everyone at the dance had seen her walk off alone with him. And there was not one whit of evidence linking him to Seth’s whiskey smuggling.
Yes, by God, he was in the clear, rid of Seth and soon to be rid of Black Hawk. Not one soul would believe Black Hawk was not the one who had killed Seth.
Evelyn ducked her head against a heavy wind that had come up midmorning. Her heart was heavy for Many Birds, who lay in the back of the wagon that Private Brady drove to the village where Dancing Woman lived. She had left Beverly with Lucille, who was sleeping from a dose of laudanum when she left. She had been too weak to do much talking so far, and Evelyn was worried about Katy. Had she been found yet? Lucille had not stayed awake long enough to tell her where the girl was hiding. She was anxious to talk to both girls about what was really going on at Seth’s house.
Her mind reeled with worry, not just for the girls and what might have happened to Katy, but also for Black Hawk. Private Brady had told her that when he left with Many Birds, Seth Bridges still had not been found; but he thought he’d heard gunfire after he left with Many Birds. Poor Little Fox was beside himself with worry when she had left, and she felt torn, realizing that he needed her, and so did Lucy and Katy, as well as Many Birds… and Black Hawk himself, if he was still alive.
Who had been shooting at whom? Had Seth Bridges been found dead? Were the soldiers after Black Hawk? She did not want to believe he might have killed Seth. She’d been so sure he would realize killing the man would go entirely against the vision. Had a white man died just like Night Hunter had predicted? If Seth was dead everyone would think Black Hawk had killed him.
And what had happened to Katy? Brady said they still had not found her when he was there. They had called for her, but she did not answer. Was the child capable of killing Seth herself? Perhaps she was, if driven too far, if threatened with rape. Maybe that was why she was still hiding, or maybe she had run away.
She ached to go to the agency and find out what had happened, but she knew Black Hawk would want her to first go with Many Birds to Grandmother. Poor Many Birds, such a sweet, pretty, innocent young girl, saving herself for a worthy husband.
How could the morning turn from such blissful happiness to such agony so quickly? Last night with Black Hawk had been like magic. They had lain and dreamed about the day when they could at last be together every night, openly, happy in their love for each other. They had enjoyed breakfast with Little Fox, after which she had prepared for church. Now everything was in turmoil. She prayed Seth had not got hold of Katy, that by some miracle she would be found and she and Lucille would have some information to help put Seth Bridges behind bars for a long time.
They made their way through the village, and Evelyn could tell by the way some of the Sioux looked at them that they already knew what had happened to Many Birds. Word traveled fast among these pe
ople. Most likely one of the Indians who lived near the church and had heard about Lucy and about Many Birds had already ridden into some of the villages to tell others. In the old days, the Indians often sent messengers throughout the villages by horseback to deliver news.
“I’m a little nervous,” Private Brady told her. “Maybe they’ll take their anger out on us.”
“No,” she assured him. “They have too much respect for me. They’ll wait to hear what Black Hawk wants to do about this. For now they know Many Birds needs their support. The women will help her.” Her heart ached for Many Birds, who had become violently ill from all the whiskey Seth had forced into her. Now she simply lay staring, refusing to speak, filled with horrible shame for what had happened to her.
The cold air hung eerily quiet. No one from among the sullen onlookers said a word, and even the dogs were silent. A few flakes of snow fell, but they softly melted on the still-unfrozen ground.
“There is her grandmother’s tipi,” Evelyn said to the private, pointing. The old woman was already standing outside waiting, her eyes showing the inner pain she suffered over what had happened to her precious granddaughter. Evelyn felt ashamed that it was one of her own kind who had done this terrible thing to Many Birds. Why hadn’t the girl told them she had been seeing Katy and Lucille? They could have warned her never to trust Seth, could have found some other way for her to continue her friendship without having to go into Seth’s house. How cruel of Seth to urge the girls to be friends, then use that friendship to get his hands on Many Birds. What he had done would leave Katy and Lucy feeling responsible for the rape. Many Birds had grown to trust them. Seth had used their friendship to lure the poor girl into the house, had deliberately sent his daughters away so he could be alone with Many Birds. If only she had known that yesterday, when she stopped and talked to the girls on her way back from the trading post. She could have gone to the farm, kept Many Birds from going there. If… if… There was no changing any of it now. She felt guilty herself for not having done more to get Katy and Lucy away from Seth.
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