Bloody Trail (21 page)

“
If he’s Cherokee,” Goodson
maintained doggedly.

“
And if he’s white?” Billy
asked.

“
Then he won’t be losing body
parts or skin,” Goodson responded affably. “Only his
freedom.”

A few moments passed, and Billy, Spike and Rob
rose one by one to turn in. Goodson and the quiet officer who had
not spoken all evening left the clearing to keep watch until
midnight when they would awaken the men who would relieve
them.

Charley and the other two Cherokee officers
played a game of dice, drinking a last cup of very strong coffee
before turning in.

Derrick had been waiting for the chance to
talk to Carson privately. He stood up and walked over to where his
friend sat on a flat rock. So many years had passed. He and Carson
had been friends, those first ten years of their lives, born within
a week of one another. When Derrick’s father had announced he was
moving their family to Kansas, Derrick had thought he wouldn’t be
able to bear losing Carson.

But the days had slid into weeks, months
rolled into years. His life in Indian Territory seemed far away, as
they’d made a new life in Wolf Creek. And then, the War had come,
robbing him of his father, his brothers and his self-worth,
eventually.

Now…he stood over Carson, looking into his
upturned face. To be reunited with a friend, and to gain a brother
as well… He’d never even suspected, but the resemblance between the
two of them was undeniable proof in itself.

If what Carson said was true, if they were
brothers, that meant…his father had never been his father. The man
whose death he’d felt he had to avenge, had committed acts to do so
that still kept him awake at night, had been no blood relation to
him at all. The lifelong teasing from his older brothers had also
been true. He had been ‘different’ and they’d never missed a chance
to tell him so.

His mother…his thoughts turned to her, and
Carson must have immediately seen it in his expression.

“
Come sit. I’ll tell you what I
know.”

“
Lotta years—” Derrick sat on the
ground beside Carson, just within the fire’s far-reaching
glow.

“
I know, Derrick. But it doesn’t
change the past—what happened between our father, and our two
mothers.” He stopped and extended his arms, as if encompassing the
world. “And the end result.”

“
Your father—”

“
No. Our father.” Carson’s gaze
bored into Derrick’s. “He was in love with your mother, Derrick. He
told me so. And she was in love with him. But they both had
other…obligations. So, when it began to become obvious to others
what had happened, your mother’s husband seized the political
issues in Kansas as a reason to move your family north.”

Derrick was silent. He couldn’t help but think
of the way his father had treated him over the course of his
lifetime. “Different.” Even “cruel.” His mother had intervened time
and again until he’d asked her to stop. Now, it made sense. Now he
understood everything.

And he was going to tell her so as soon as he
got back to Wolf Creek.

“
Convenient for him,” Derrick said
bitterly. “And if it hadn’t been for us running into you here, I
guess you and I never would have been reunited. And I never would
have known the truth.” He fell silent a moment. “Moving to Kansas
cost him his life. The Jayhawkers killed him.”

“
I’m sorry, Derrick. I thought you
did know, by now—about us. I never thought your mother wouldn’t
tell you. I just believed you knew about me, but didn’t want to
acknowledge—” His voice trailed away.

“
My Cherokee blood?” Thoughts of
Charley’s earlier remarks and his unreasoning anger at them washed
over him.

Carson nodded. “That, and—your ‘other
brother.’”

“
No.” Derrick’s voice was quiet.
“I don’t know why she didn’t tell me. Especially now that—her
husband is gone.”

“
She must’ve had her
reasons.”

“
Where are you now?” Derrick
asked, changing the subject.

“
I moved up to Tahlequah last
year.” A smile crossed Carson’s face. “Do you remember Jackson
Ellis, our cousin?”

Derrick grinned. “Little ‘tag
along’?”

“
He’s Deputy Sheriff over
Tahlequah District now.”

“
He’s just a kid!”

“
Twenty-two. He was appointed last
year.”

Derrick shook his head. The years had somehow
come and gone more quickly than he’d realized. “I can’t believe it.
Seems like we all had to grow up fast, doesn’t it?”

“
Too fast. When will you be
heading out?”

There was an urgency in Carson’s tone that
Derrick didn’t mistake. He understood the question beneath the
question.

“
First light. But Carson, I’ll be
back. Soon as we wrap this up tight, I’ll be back. We’ve got lots
of catching up to do.”

Carson nodded. “Tahlequah. If I’m not there,
find Jackson.” His voice was low and warm. “You were not forgotten
among our people, Derrick. There is still a place for
you.”

****

Just as the sky began to turn gray, Derrick
strapped the last of his gear in place and said a final goodbye to
his brother. He was surprised to see Marshal Goodson walking toward
where the five Wolf Creek men had gathered.

“
Mind if I ride along with
y’all?”

Derrick had wondered how Goodson would handle
the issue of a vigilante posse that had crossed into his
jurisdiction. Now, he knew. He shot a quick look at
Spike.

“
Reckon we can always use an extra
gun, Marshal,” Charley said. “Be glad to have you.”

Goodson nodded. “Figure we’ll kill two birds
with one stone. You’ll get an extra gun and I’ll keep y’all legal.
I can see by the looks of you men you ain’t goin’ home ’til we see
this done. This way, we can all have what we want. We’ll get rid of
this scum and do the world a favor. I don’t want ‘em in my
territory any more than y’all want ‘em back in Kansas.”

“’
Preciate your honesty, Marshal,”
Spike put in.

“
And your gun,” Billy added with a
grin.

“
Let’s get after it, then.”
Derrick turned his horse southward, with a final goodbye salute to
the Cherokee officers.

****

They reached the foothills of the San Bois
Mountains by mid-afternoon that day. The terrain was rough and
wild—and dry as Derrick could ever remember having seen it. But
there was a heaviness to the air that more than hinted at the
promise of rain.

They were closing the distance on Danby’s men.
Though Derrick knew where their Demon’s Drop hideout was, they rode
with caution. Charley had mentioned he didn’t think Danby’s outfit
knew they were still being followed, and it made sense that they’d
believe the Kansans would not have pursued them this deeply into
Indian Territory. As arrogant as they were, at this point, and so
close to safety, pursuit wouldn’t be at the forefront of their
minds. They were probably already figuring how they’d spend the
money they’d stolen. But still, Derrick didn’t want to take any
chances.

Charley had told Derrick something else as
they’d ridden side by side earlier that morning.

“
When the shootin’ starts, McCain,
you can set your sights on any of ‘em ’cept that tall, lanky
redheaded bastard.”

“
Frank Davis?”

“
Yep. I know him by name for a
special reason. An’ like I say, he’s all mine.”

Derrick had thrown him a sidelong glance.
“Care to tell me why?”

“
Be glad to. The son of a bitch
killed my brother’s son.”

Though Charley’s tone was as calm as if he
were discussing the weather, Derrick understood that it was
Charley’s way of being able to talk about something so
deep.

“
Cudjoe wasn’t really my brother
by blood, but we’d grown up together, and we was of a close age,
though he was a bit older. Never let me forget it, either.” His
voice softened as he remembered. “Got into all kinds of scrapes, we
did. Fought the U.S. Marines together in the Everglades. When my
father was killed in what white folks called the Second Seminole
War, Cudjoe took me in and watched over me.” Charley gave a faint
smile at the memories. “But after Osceola got taken and we got
captured and ended up in these parts, him and my boys was killed in
the fighting when we joined with Opothleyahola and broke for
Kansas.

“
I took his son, Sango, to live
with me. We were with the Union forces at Centralia. That red
headed bastard killed Sango. Cut off his head with a sword.”
Charley met Derrick’s eyes, a questioning there that Derrick had to
answer.

Derrick shook his head. “I know those things
happened on both sides. But I didn’t ever cut any man’s head off,
myself. Just like I never skinned any man alive.” He gave a
decisive nod “That wasn’t my way. And you know that’s true. I had
held back at Centralia, I wasn’t in the thick of it when you
Yankees came charging in to the rescue, so I don’t know what all
happened there. But I’m sorry for your loss.”

Charley seemed to be sizing him up
again, trying to look into his mind. Finally, when Derrick thought
the subject was closed, Charley spoke again.

“
It ain’t just Sango’s death I’m
after him for. He was one of the ones shootin’ at me and the other
survivors, McCain. Just a little bit later, when your
men—”

“
Not my men,” Derrick corrected
hotly, tired of Charley’s assumptions, sick of this talk of the
War. “Remember, I got shot and was left for dead that day, same as
you did.”

Charley nodded, took a few seconds to form his
answer.

“
Yes. We was both left for dead
that day, McCain. But Sango was mine to watch over and keep safe. I
didn’t do that. I failed, and he was cut down by Davis. He was
young. Hadn’t even seen sixteen summers yet. It was just a few
minutes later when you and me met, if you can call it that. And
just before we broke for it and they shot us, I recognized that
bastard. I heard Danby call him Davis. I aim to kill him for what
he did, and if I’ve got time, I plan to make it slow and hard on
him.”

It seemed to Derrick that Charley’s dark face
twisted briefly in emotion, although it may have been a trick of
the light. “I couldn’t avenge my sons. I never even seen them fall.
But Sango, I seen who killed him. And I can be the blood avenger on
that red-headed son of a bitch.”

Derrick flexed his hand around the reins he
held. “Well, fact is, I want him, too.” He figured he might as well
just let Charley know where he stood. “Davis was the one who shot
me that day.” His hand moved quickly across his chest, and Charley
gave him a quick glance. “Today, I’ll see him and raise. He’s goin’
home dead.”

“
Seems we both have old wounds to
heal, and both need the same remedy. Which one of us will get it, I
wonder?”

Derrick glanced back at the other four men.
“Whichever one of us sees him first, I reckon. He’ll be stiff
before tomorrow, either way.”

****

“
Hey,” Billy called.

“
Fool kid,” Charley growled,
stopping to wait for Billy and the others to catch up to
them.

Derrick grinned, drawing up, too.

“
How much farther is this
hideout?” Rob asked. “Got any idea?”

Spike looked around them, his head turning as
he quartered their surroundings. The going had gotten rougher as
the hilly trails became steeper, the horses’ footing
trickier.

Charley glanced at the sky. “Plenty of
daylight left. And I’m betting we’ll catch ‘em in the next hour,
maybe two.”

Rob took a deep breath. “I’m ready to get this
over with.”

“
So are we all,” Spike said,
resettling his kepi on his head.

Rob gave Spike a disgusted look, but didn’t
say anything more.

“
We’re not far off, now,” Deputy
Marshal Goodson said. “But we’re not equipped to follow them much
farther. Once they get holed up in these mountains—”

“
Well, I ain’t afraid of ‘em,” Rob
said quickly. “Bunch of bastards. Ridin’ in and doin’ what they
did—”

“
You’d better be afraid, son,” the
marshal responded. “If they’ve done what you say, and if they’re
part of Danby’s riders, they’re a force to be reckoned with. I hope
you live through this. You’re young. Maybe, comin’ out on the other
side of what we’re facing will allow you
some—understanding.”

Billy and Rob had both been too young to march
off to war, Derrick thought. Neither of them were afraid…yet. But
the fact was, there was only one way up this mountain that wouldn’t
take more time than they had before Danby’s men got too far ahead
of them to catch. He saw the look that passed between Spike and the
marshal. They’d be damn lucky to ride back to Kansas, all of them,
without leaving any of their group dead. He turned his horse back
toward the trail, and they started off again in the stifling
heat.

CHAPTER
TWELVE