Blue Thunder (22 page)

Blue Thunder was about to leave for the
meeting when Dancing Wolf called to enter his wickiup. “Enter,” he
gave permission. The stranger was dumped unmerciful on the ground
before him. Blake ran in, and his wife stood, immediately curious
at what had befallen the stranger.

“What happened?” She ran over and a wordless
cry escaped her when seeing the unconscious man. “Jason, Oh, God,
it’s my brother!” She fell to her knees and cradled his injured
head. With tearful eyes she looked, searching for answers. “Who did
this to him?!” she wailed.

His wife’s cousin knelt by her and said
without meeting her gaze, “I’m sorry Melissa. I should have told
you the truth, that we had traveled together to find you. But I was
afraid that I might not get out alive and I was hoping Jason would
stay hidden until I knew for sure that you and I were truly
safe.”

The stranger moaned.

“Husband,” she tried again. “Why was he
rendered unconscious?”

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Her golden eyes darkened with some emotion
he did not care to speculate and Blue Thunder was sorry it had to
come to this. He knew a man was hiding in the woods, one of his
sentries spotted him the day after Star Gazer’s attack. No one
could stay so close to the camp and not be discovered. But he had
spied on the man himself and noticed that the stranger was no older
than the other white youth, and he also observed the resemblance to
his wife.

She had told him of a brother who went off
to fight in the Civil War. He was wearing a uniform jacket, which
made Blue Thunder assume this was the sibling. The young stranger
was no threat to his people, so he left him alone and hoped this
Blake would tell the truth. He didn’t want to be the one to tell
Moon Glow until he knew for sure that it was her kin.

“Answer me?” she snapped, not letting go of
the question and she made no attempt to hide her irritation. “Why
was he knocked out?!” she cried.

Blue Thunder shrugged but apologized. “I am
sorry, my wife,” he spoke to her in Anthabasian so Blake wouldn’t
understand. “But it seems that your brother had been hiding out in
the woods and your cousin thought it was not important enough to
tell you this. I did not think that it was in my rights to inform
you something this Blake wanted kept a secret. He should have told
you. Your brother is not hurt badly,” he nodded to his wife’s
brother who was slowly coming around.

“Blake?!” she snapped and squinted her eyes
at her foolish cousin warning him that he had a lot of explaining
to do. Blue Thunder knew that leer; he had seen it so many times.
It was a look of forbearing.

“Oh, my head,” he moaned out loud.

“Jason, honey, it’s Melissa. Open your eyes.
Please, are you all right?” Her hand went to smooth his unkempt
hair off his face when she tenderly touched the puckered skin on
the side of his face. “Oh!” she gasped, “Oh my darling brother, who
did this to you?”

Again she questioned Blue Thunder with her
demanding eyes and he raised his hand in defense of what she was
insinuating. “My worriers only knock him out, that....”

Blake piped up then. “I should’ve have said
something before. It’s a scar from the war, cuz.”

Blue Thunder knew this whole incident had
grated on his wife’s nerves to no end. And he

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was worried about the child she was
carrying. Moon Glow kissed her brother’s face and he could see that
she couldn’t contain her anger and blubbered, “You w-were very
s-stupid to pull a stunt like that; sneaking up on a red m-man. I
am glad that you are alive and here but---”

“Sis?” Jason blinked. The pain in his skull
seemed to be more intensified in his blind eye. He was afraid to
open his good one, fearing what he might see. When he did, his
sister was sitting on his blind side and he had to move his head
slightly. The move shot another pain thorough his head. “Ow,” he
whimpered. “What hit me? I feel like a mountain fell on my noggin.”
Finally, Jason lifted his head slightly and tried to smile. “Still
the same old sister,” he said tongue-in-cheek. “I risked my neck to
save you hide and what thanks do I get. Clobbered and then lecture
by the one who means more to me than my life.”

A tear splashed on his nose and the next
thing he knew, she was hugging him to her bosom. After she wept for
awhile, soaking his coat and shirt, he asked to be helped up.
That’s when the big Indian lifted him and sat him on a pile of
furs.

“I am Blue Thunder, your sister’s husband.
She is loved by me and my people as I had explained to Blake. I am
sure your head will heal before your pride.”

What could Jason say, the Apache was
right.

He, his sister and his cousin spent hours
speaking. It was then Jason told her of his loss of sight in his
right eye and his harrowing experience in the battle field.

“Sis,” he began his story by trying to
explain a few things that might let her understand the war better.
He knew he was being technical, but it was a fact. “Sis,” he
repeated and swallowed the lump. “There were three basic kinds of
combat troops; infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Since I had no
horse, I was one of the infantrymen who fought on foot. We all had
our own weapon. We were far the most numerous part of the Civil War
army and were chiefly responsible for seizing and holding ground.”
He said it with pride. “Men were put next to one another in a line,
to move and shoot together.”

“Kinda crazy,” interrupted Blake. “In fact
the whole damn war is damn ludicrous.”

Jason snorted, “How would you know. The fact
was the muzzle-loading muskets were only capable of being loaded
and fired about three times a minute. Therefore, we were nothing if
we didn’t stand in a line, and I for one felt safer knowing I
wasn’t alone. Beside, I was told by a

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captain that there were two reasons for this
technique, my smart-ass cousin. I hope I’m not boring you with this
information but just in case you decide to join when we return to
the south, it might save you smart-ass!”

A snort was heard.

Jason continued. “The first reason allowed
soldiers to concentrate on their firing with our rather limited
weapons; second: it was almost the only way to move troops
effectively under fire.” His sister touched his scar knowing he had
to talk about it and she let him. His sibling was smart, she knew
he needed more time to erase the pain.

She gave Blake a telling glance but he
didn’t take the hint and said, “Why did you join Jason? You’re only
a few months older than me. We both haven’t touched a razor to our
face.”

There was a long brittle silence and that
got Jason’s dander up. “You should ask such a question again?” he
warned, then sighed with exasperation.

“Aw, cuz,” Blake tried to redeem himself and
though his cousin had asked him this many times before, Jason never
answered him but he didn’t have to then or now. Why had any boy or
man joined whether voluntarily or not? The south had to win! Then
Blake said, “Tell your sister how you were injured.”

Jason hung his head. “It’s too awful for
details, Blake. You know that.”

In a low, tormented voice, his sister said,
“Tell me. I need to hear it all.”

At first Jason wasn’t sure that he would,
but he did.

“We charged up a hill and both men on either
side of me were hit. Some men panicked and ran from the line making
other soldiers loose the adeptness to combine fire efficiently.
Even more critically, officers rapidly lost the ability to control
the men. An explosion nearly deafened me. Stunned, I stood frozen
in time. The boy, Ozzie who was beside me was lying there by my
feet with half his face missing. Another explosion and I hadn’t
felt the pain until someone shoved me to the ground, then my vision
blurred and I touched hot blood on my temple that left stickiness
on my fingers. I could hear shouting all around me but it seemed
distant, jumbled. Another explosion ripped the air, and I could
hear the screaming chaos and painful cries but I couldn’t see for
all the blood in my eyes.”

Melissa gasped.

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“My lungs filled with smoke and with limited
vision I lay there on the hard cold ground. Someone fell over me
and cursed; he probably thought I was dead. I could’ve been for all
I knew,

since I couldn’t see a blasted thing. I
thought I had gone to hell.” He almost laughed at that comment.
Hell would have been a welcoming place to where he was. “I tried to
stand but I couldn’t or wouldn’t, I’m no longer sure but it didn’t
matter. My world went black.”

Melissa took his cold
hands in hers and squeezed, assuring him that she was there and
that she loved him. He went on. “When I awoke I was in a hospital
tent. My head hurt like the dickens and there was pitiful moaning
all around me. I tried to sit but a hand held me down. I asked the
typical question, “What happened?” The medic told me that they’d
tried to save my vision but the damage to the octave nerves was too
server. I also learned that on May 10
^th
, Stonewall Jackson had
been killed.”

Together, his sister and he wept tears of
sadness for their parents and all that had happened. Then they
cried tears of joy for the happiness of finding one another
again.

That afternoon the council voted to accept
Melissa as Blue Thunder’s wife, Moon Glow, after Dasodaha spoke on
her behalf. Melissa was nervous all day after her husband told her
that his father would be joining them for a meal. She wanted
everything to be perfect, but drove her husband crazy with her
pacing and fidgeting.

“Father will not bite,” he gave her a
reassuring hug. “I know he has treated you coolly in the past; he
tried his best to hate you but failed. He has great admiration for
a woman who could save my hide,” he teased.

Later, Dasodaha sat in their wickiup; it was
the first time her husband’s father had come to visit in their
dwelling. The fire snapped and sizzled, casting shadows on the
wall. Hot flames

reflected in the old chief’s dark eyes. She
wiped her sweaty palms against her dress as she watched him eat.
She gave her husband a sideways glance, wishing she could calm the
butterflies in her stomach. She picked at her meal, watching the
two men finish theirs. Finally, Dasodaha grunted, telling her he
was ready to speak. Placing her unfinished meal by her side, she
sat like a child waiting for a stern lecture.

“Apaches have bent laws before,” he spoke,
breaking the silence. “My son has much love

142

for you and I am proud
that I will have a grandchild. I am pleased to have Moon Glow as
daughter-by-marriage.
Hon
Dah
.”

Melissa knew the word for welcome and her
heart sang that she had finally been accepted. Although he never
came right out and said he was sorry, there definitely was an
apology in those kind words. She was so happy and touched that she
threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. Not
sure if she had offended him, she pulled back quickly. He gave her
an understanding grin but looked uncomfortable.

“Blue Thunder, tell the chief that I’m proud
to be his daughter-by-marriage.”

“No need, he can see it in you light eyes,
my wife.”

The following day, Star Gazer brought her a
gift of his own for the woman who saved his life. “Oh, Star Gazer,
these are magnificent” She accepted the long-legged deerskin boots.
The legs reached up to the thigh and she knew that they were folded
below the knee to form a pocket where she could carry a knife.

“Soon it will get cold in the mountains,” he
informed her.

She nodded speechless and ran her hands over
the smoothness of them. “I will cherish them always.” She sat to
try them on and marveled how they fit so perfectly. He grinned
sheepishly and confessed that Blue Thunder gave him one of her
moccasins.

She laughed. “I had been looking for the
mate for days, you rascal.”

His face reddened under his brown skin.

143

TWENTY-NINE

Blake became very close with Star Gazer. The
young brave couldn’t join in the games, and walked with a slight
limp with a walking stick he carved. In time, he and Jason soon
learned the Indian ways. His cousin had barked that he could take
care of himself claiming that he’d survived a bloody Civil War. But
then, Blake teasingly reminded Jason how easily it was for a red
man to sneak up on him. Red-faced, his kin conceded admitting that
a little knowledge wouldn’t hurt. They were soon skilled in
tracking, archery, and trick riding and would be able to defend
themselves in the wilderness.

Star Gazer presented Blake with a leather
thong on which hung one of the grizzly’s large claws. On the claw
was carved a small star, with the word Savvy inscribed. Blake was
made a blood brother and he hugged Melissa who was tearfully
looking on. She gave him a buffalo blanket to present to Daphne for
the baby, along with a letter of love. He left the village before
the camp moved deeper into the valley. Jason decided to stay behind
for a spell; he had his good eye on a pretty little maiden from the
Chiricaha clan.

On the trail, Blake thought back to the day
Jason first noticed the pretty Indian girl from a distance. They
were practicing archery when his cousin’s arrow completely missed
its mark. He

looked over to see Jason staring at the
maiden. She was tall and strongly built, with broad hips and
shoulders. Her beautiful countenance exhibited an expression of
good nature, though she appeared shy when she noticed that she was
being watched. She wore a short skirt of buckskin and long-legged
moccasins that turned up at the toes.