The Coming Storm (12 page)

Years ago, he’d never have thought himself capable of putting together this kind of spread. In fact, the few years he’d worked as a cowboy when he’d been a young man had persuaded him that such a career was not for him.

He had taken that confidence with him when he moved from civilization and settled into fur trapping. He liked the freedom and liberties such a life gave him, but then God had gotten ahold of him, drawing him in for a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the Bible, and Bram’s entire life had changed.

At age forty-seven, Bram was in the prime of his life, as far as he was concerned. He had a wonderful wife, two beautiful children, and the home he’d always wanted—well, at least it soon would be the home he’d always wanted. He remembered seeing a large, lush plantation when he was a boy. The people who lived there were friends of the family, and the house had left a lasting impression on him. With six large marble columns and three stories of living space, the Hamilton Hills mansion was a monumental achievement in architecture. Bram had determined even then to one day own something just as beautiful.

Easing back in the saddle, Bram again surveyed the land around him. It was all his, for as far as the eye could see. A blessing from the Lord, to be sure. And because the Lord had blessed him, Bram in turn had tried to bless others. It made him feel as though he had finally accomplished the very best in life.

The horse shifted nervously and Bram glanced around to see Levi Sperry. He smiled and waved the young man over. Levi had been with him since just before Dianne and her brothers had come to live with him. He liked the young man, for Levi was industrious and hardworking. He could usually figure out a solution to difficult problems without having to be led by the hand like some of the ranch hands.

“Did you manage to round up the rest of those strays?” Bram questioned. It was almost time to push the herd to winter pasture, and Levi and some of the others had been out all day looking for any cattle that had wandered away from the rest of the animals.

“I have about twenty down in the canyon. I was figuring to see if there were any up there in the trees. Sometimes they get up in there.”

“Sure thing. I’ll help you look,” Bram said, swinging his mount in the direction of the forest. “So have you heard back from Charity and Ben?” The couple had been on the wagon train with Bram’s sister and her family. Ben and Charity had taken Levi, who was an orphan, under their wing until they got to Virginia City. Bram had encouraged Levi to ask his former guardians to come to the area and start a church, as Ben was a pastor. It was the final thing missing in his Montana utopia. He even thought he might offer the old homestead up to the pastor and his wife if they should agree to come.

“Nope, haven’t had a letter yet. I’ve sure been praying Ben will say yes.”

Bram nodded and gave the horse a bit of free rein. “You and me both.”

“Will we build a church for them if they come?”

“Absolutely. You know that piece of land down where the river bends, just to the east?”

Levi nodded.

“Well, I figure that would make a good place. Not too far from some of the other folks in the area. Maybe we’ll get a sense of community if we all go to meeting on Sunday mornings.”

“We could just spend all day Sunday together,” Levi said, moving his horse ahead of Bram’s. “Miz Charity once told me that in the old days, they’d sometimes get together at someone’s farm—if the area had no regular church. They’d put the word out and get folks from as far as twenty miles away. They would all come to service and bring food for the day. They’d have a big picnic after services and then Ben would speak again after everyone had taken their fill and the children were sleeping in the afternoon sun. Sometimes folks would repent and then they’d do some baptizin’ too.”

“Well, we could certainly do that,” Bram said. “If they want to get started before first snowfall, however, they’d be welcome to hold the meetings in our new house. Oh, and I doubt we’d want to be baptizing anyone this time of year. The Madison is a mite chilly.”

Levi grinned and reined back on his horse, cocking his head to one side. “I hear something. I’m betting one of those young bulls found his way in here. I’ll scout him out.” He urged the horse forward.

Bram brought his own mount to a stop and listened. He heard nothing at first, but then the sound of rustling in the brush made him confident Levi had been right. Maybe there were two or three head wandering around, searching for the last bits of green grass. He nudged his horse with his knees and headed down the path in the opposite direction from Levi. He’d circle around and help.

His mount moved with little urging for several yards, but then he whinnied softly and halted. With nervous little side steps, the animal made it clear to Bram that something was amiss.

He pulled his rifle from the scabbard. It was probably nothing; this horse had always been a little skittish despite his much deserved name—Brimstone. In his early days with Bram, the horse had been almost impossible to break. He was all, as Bram had declared, “hellfire and brimstone.” Even now, no one but Bram rode the seventeen-hands-high bay.

Bram squinted to look down the trail in first one direction and then the other. He heard rustling in the undergrowth of the forest but figured it to be the strays. Easing his hold on the reins, Bram started to put the rifle back when the horse grew more agitated.

“Easy, boy. What is it?” He patted the gelding’s neck, but the animal wanted no part of it. Tossing his head back and forth, the horse made it clear that he wanted out of this situation.

Bram pulled back on the reins and clicked softly. Brimstone calmed just a bit, but then without warning, the reason for his nervousness became all too clear: a grizzly, perhaps the same bear they’d had trouble with for the last few years, charged out of the woods and headed straight for them. The horse reared wildly, emitting what could only be described as an unpleasant scream. Bram tried to get off a shot, but the horse’s unstable back was no place for calculated shooting. Losing his hold on the gelding, Bram fell off backward.

The rifle flew from his hands and landed several feet away. Bram tried unsuccessfully to scramble for the firearm, but it was too late. The grizzly was upon him.

The first searing bite was the worst. Screaming in agony, Bram felt the bear’s jaws nearly sever his right leg. He tried to wrench away from the iron grip, but there was no chance of escape. Bram spotted the rifle and stretched to reach it, but the bear readjusted his hold and began shaking Bram from side to side.

Forcing himself to sit up as best he could, Bram began beating the bear’s nose with his fists. The grizzly let go of Bram’s leg and for a moment just stared at the man. A low growl rumbled from the animal’s throat and built into a heinous roar. A dizzying pain traveled up from Bram’s leg to his chest. He gripped his chest just as the bear charged again, this time barreling into Bram with a force that felt like a runaway ore cart.

Slamming into the ground, Bram hit his head hard against a rock. As he fought to keep from losing consciousness, Bram heard Levi yelling and firing his gun.

Good,
Bram thought as he faded away.
Levi will take care of everything
.

Dianne finished separating the last of the milk and cream, then covered the crocks with clean cloths and tied them securely Her last order of business was to climb down into the root cellar, taking each crock down to the cool, even temperature of the hand-dug shelter. After delivering the last crock, she was just about to churn some butter when she spotted a rider in the distance. Her heart quickened. Maybe it was Cole.

She shook her head. Cole would never come from that direction. Still, a rider was approaching. Dianne left thoughts of the cream behind and walked to the edge of the barn. Pressing a hand to her forehead, Dianne strained to see who it might be.

He looks to be dragging something behind him
. Then she realized the shirtless rider was Levi. What in the world was he doing? He was supposed to be out bringing in the strays.

Dianne waved as he rode closer. She walked past the barn and out to the edge of the fence. “What are you dragging?”

Levi cupped his hand around his mouth. “It’s Bram! He’s been attacked by a bear!”

Dianne felt the blood drain from her head. For a moment she felt dizzy and reached out to take hold of the fence. They’d been worried about grizzlies for the past few weeks. As the weather had turned cooler and the first snows were on the mountains, they knew the bears would be eating as much as possible to fatten up for their winter hibernation. Bram had even warned the women to carry a gun if they went very far from the house, because there were signs that a rogue bear had been coming in close at night.

“I’ll get help!” she called back.

Frantic, Dianne ran first to Faith and Malachi’s cabin. Faith seemed startled by Dianne’s breathlessness. Panting, Dianne declared, “Uncle Bram’s hurt. Levi’s bringing him in. We’ll need help to get him to bed.”

“Be right there. I’ll get Malachi.” Faith ran toward the blacksmith shop while Dianne turned back to the house.

“Koko! Koko!” she called out as she ran into the entryway There was no sign of her aunt. “Koko, come quickly!”

Dianne ran into the front parlor and then into the dining room. “Koko!”

“Goodness, Dianne, you sound as if the house is on fire. What’s wrong?” Koko asked as she came around the corner from the pantry.

“It’s Bram.” Dianne watched as Koko put her hand to her mouth. The look on her face was one of pure horror. “He’s been attacked by a bear. Levi’s coming in with him on a travois.”

Koko pushed past her niece. Dianne raced after the older woman, but Koko was far quicker and beat her to where Levi was dismounting.

“Oh, Father in heaven, please help my beloved,” Koko prayed as she reached down to touch her husband’s bloody face.

Dianne touched Levi’s bloody arm. “Are you hurt too? What happened?”

“I’m all right. This is his blood. We were rounding up strays in the trees just past the canyon. Bram went one way and I went the other. I heard him holler and came as quick as I could, but he’d already been attacked. I knew I couldn’t get him up on my horse, so I threw together a sled with dead branches.” He pulled away from Dianne as Malachi approached. “We need to get him to bed. He’s almost lost his right leg. I cinched his thigh to slow the blood flow.”

“I’ll get my healing kit,” Koko announced.

Dianne motioned to the three cowboys who’d gathered to see what was going on. “You three run upstairs to the first guest room. Bring the bed downstairs into the small parlor. Hurry.”

The men raced for the house as Levi and Malachi unfastened the travois. “Let’s get him inside.”

Dianne went to the door and held it open. “Take him to the dining room. I’ll clear the table.” She pushed past them and reached the room only steps ahead of the men. With one sweeping move she pushed back the tablecloth and knocked the candelabra from the table. “Put him here.”

Levi and Malachi deposited the bloody body on the table Dianne grimaced as she forced herself to look at her uncle’s leg Levi had wrapped the leg in his shirt. The blood had soaked through and drenched everything around it. She felt her stomach pitch but forced the contents to remain down.

“Can we save the leg?” She looked to Malachi and then to Levi. Faith entered the room, bringing a large pail of water.

“I think it will take the divine hand of God to save his life,” Levi replied matter-of-factly.

A gasp came from the doorway and all turned to see that Koko had returned.

Shaking her head from side to side she cried, “No! He can’t die! He can’t die!”

Dianne had never witnessed anything so hideous. Bram’s leg, although still attached, had been crushed and pulverized by the fierce jaws of the grizzly. He never regained consciousness while they worked on him. This worried Dianne, but she honestly didn’t know if it was a bad or good thing.

The day passed into evening and then they all lost track of the hours. Dianne never left Koko’s side, and Koko never left Bram, who was now lying motionless in his bed in the parlor.

“I kept dreaming about him getting hurt,” Koko said solemnly. She gently wiped Bram’s forehead with a cloth.

Dianne nodded. “I remember.” She glanced at the clock on the mantel and found it was nearly daybreak. Everyone else had gone to bed. Faith had even taken the children with her back to their cabin, telling Jamie they were on a great adventure. The boy seemed delighted. Especially when Faith allowed him to bring his little bow and arrows that Takes Many Horses had given him.

“I just wish he’d wake up.”

Dianne shifted and rubbed her stiff neck. “Mama always told me things were worst at night. When we kids would take sick, she said the fevers would increase with the sunset. She said Grandma always told her the heat of the sun went right into the body.”

Koko nodded, never looking away from her husband. “The Real People would say the same thing.”

Dianne hadn’t heard Koko talk about her Blackfoot relatives in a long time. They called themselves the “Niitsitapi”—the Real People—believing themselves separate and completely different from other tribes and whites. Perhaps speaking of them now would help Koko to think about something other than her husband’s injuries.