T'on Ma (8 page)

* * *

"Joshua, have you seen Lana?" May asked as she walked out to meet him in the yard late that afternoon.

"No. She's not back yet?"

"No. She left early this morning. I expected her back long before now."

"She's probably out daydreaming again. You know how she gets."

"I know. But she wouldn't stay gone this long. I'm worried."

"All right, May. Nathan and I will go looking while there's still light."

They came back two hours later, empty-handed. It was too dark to continue searching.

"I wonder if she's at the Kiowa camp?" Nathan speculated as he opened the door and walked in.

"If she is, there'd better be a good reason for it," Joshua growled, following him.

Looking anxiously behind them for Lana, May hurried over from the fireplace. "Did you find her?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. It just got too dark."

"No! Something's wrong. You go back out there and find her!" May commanded as she jabbed her finger toward the door, frantic.

"Honey, we'll have to wait until morning," Joshua explained quietly as he reached for her. "We'll miss her trail otherwise."

Stepping away from him, she cried, "My baby is out there all alone, hurt, or worse. You
can't
quit!" Her husband's sad eyes finally reached her. Her voice softened. "You can't quit." This time, she let Joshua wrap his arms around her while she broke into tears.

"We'll find her, May," he whispered into her ear. "We'll find her."

* * *

By first light, Joshua and Nathan began the search on horseback again. Within two hours, they found Lana's basket. They also found signs in the patches of dirt that someone had been dragged down to the river. At the river, the horse tracks were plain to see. There were also the scattered beads. Nathan picked them up and put them in his pocket.

Joshua's jaws flexed as he studied the evidence. "This is gonna kill your ma."

"Let me go to the Kiowa camp," Nathan volunteered. "Maybe they know something."

"All right. But then you hurry back."

"Yes, sir." Nathan turned north while Joshua turned east, toward home.

Nathan made good time to the camp, cantering most of the way. As he came near, he called for Two Hawks, Broken Man and Crying Fox. They were the only Kiowa he knew.

Crying Fox came out of his lodge, curiosity clear on his face. Seeing Nathan, he nodded and walked over to him.

"I need Centas Yi!" Nathan jumped off his horse.

Crying Fox motioned for Nathan to follow him. In a matter of seconds, they stood in front of Gray Dove's tipi, Crying Fox politely coughing.

Many Deer stepped out, surprised at seeing Nathan.

"Centas Yi?" Nathan repeated.

Two Hawks followed his father out of the lodge and looked questioningly at Nathan.

"T'on Ma is gone. She's been captured." Nathan gestured toward the southwest and shook his head. He was surprised at Two Hawks' understanding without the need for sign language.

Two Hawks jerked his head around to stare at his father. "Who would take her?"

Nathan pulled the beads out of his pocket, showing them to the Kiowa. After one look at the colors, Two Hawks grabbed some of them out of Nathan's palm and threw them violently in the air.

"Apache! She's been taken by Apache," he growled. "I'm going!"

"Wait!" his father stopped him. "We have a pact with the Apache. Don't start trouble over a white woman. Let the soldiers take care of this." He jabbed his finger at Nathan.
"He's
her brother. Let
him
go. We're moving camp soon. You need to stay here."

Two Hawks looked in disbelief at his father. Many Deer couldn't really expect him to stay behind and let her be taken, could he? In answer, Two Hawks ducked back into the tipi and emerged a few minutes later, ready to travel, light and fast.

As Two Hawks jogged toward the horse herd, Nathan ran up beside him and stopped him. "I'm going, too," he announced as he pointed to himself and then at Two Hawks.

Two Hawks studied him for a moment and then nodded. Within five minutes, they were both mounted and on their way. Nathan managed to convince the impatient warrior to stop by the house to let his parents know what had happened.

* * *

"Pa!" Nathan yelled as they rode into the yard over an hour later.

"Yeah!" Joshua hurried outside along with the rest of the family.

"Centas Yi and I are going after her. He says Apache got her."

"Oh, no! Please, no." May held her apron up to her face, her worst fears realized.

"Why don't you go find the lieutenant, Pa? Maybe he can help, too."

"Why don't I go with Centas Yi?" Joshua countered. "It's too dangerous for you."

"Who is the lieutenant going to listen to? Me - or Lana's father? And, as for dangerous, I don't have a wife and kids. You do."

"All right, son." He conceded to the logic and then turned to May. "Get them some food. I'll get a canteen."

Within ten minutes, Nathan had food, water, a blanket, and more bullets and powder for his rifle. As Two Hawks waited on his horse, May walked over to him and, laying a hand on his knee, looked up into his face.

"You bring T'on Ma back to us. Please."

He understood her words as well as her eyes. Nodding once, he touched his heart, letting her know he would bring her back or die in the effort. "I will find La-nah." May was so upset, she didn't even wonder at his English.

The two young men rode out in the early afternoon, desperate to make up lost time.

Chapter 11 - A Very High Price

Lana spent an uncomfortable first night with her captors. They tied her, sitting up, to a tree. Something in the trunk stuck in the middle of her back, making sleep almost impossible. One of the Apache took pity on her and offered her water and some of the foulest tasting 'bread' (she had no idea what else to call it) that she had ever eaten. But it would have to do. After most of them had settled down to sleep, a second Apache walked over to stand in front of her, staring contemptuously down at her. He took another step closer and leaned over. Lana wondered what he wanted, but someone called him back before she ever found out.

Lana spent the next day in the same fashion as the previous afternoon. Only now, her family and Two Hawks knew she was in trouble. Now, Two Hawks was on the hunt. If she had only known...

Lana trudged behind the horse, walking slightly to one side. Falling once, she was dragged several yards over grass, rocks and thorns before she managed to make it back on her feet. They would not stop for her.

Trying to keep her spirits up, she silently talked to herself, her face and tongue still swollen from the kick she received the day before.

You know, it could be worse. This could be August with no water and nothing but a hundred degree heat.
She took a few steps.
I wonder if they know I'm gone?
Tripping, she caught herself and kept walking.
Of course they know I'm gone! They knew last night
. After a few more weary steps, she thought,

So, that means Pa is on his way. Goodness, I'd hate to be them when he finds us.

She smiled secretly to herself at that. Pa's temper was rare, but a thing to be marveled at when it erupted.

I am so thirsty!

She licked her dry lips wistfully.

What I wouldn't give for some lemonade right now!

Looking at the back of one of her captors, she continued.

I wonder if he even knows what lemonade is? Probably not.

Then, in order to keep from driving herself crazy, she began designing a new dress - a new dress for a party. No. A dance. Yes, a new dress for a dance. Picking out colors and laces and buttons kept her mind busy for a good long while.

Nathan expected Two Hawks to slowly track the Apache band and was surprised when, instead, he took off at a steady lope, as if he knew where the Apache were going. They traveled at this distance-eating pace for quite a while before Two Hawks stopped to rest and water the horses.

"You seem to know where we're headed," Nathan said as he slid down from his horse. Two Hawks just nodded once, not understanding everything he'd said. Nathan frowned. They needed a way to talk to each other. Pointing to his horse, he said, "horse."

Two Hawks looked at him and then the animal. When Nathan repeated it, he nodded and told him the Kiowa word for horse. Nathan then pointed to his gun and said "Rifle." Two Hawks gave him the Kiowa equivalent and then admitted, "Your sister teach me English."

"She did? When?" Nathan's brows furrowed as he realized his sister and Two Hawks had spent time together, even after her father's warning.

"Many times," was all Two Hawks would say.

Thus began the rudiments of Nathan's lessons in Kiowa and Two Hawks' continued lessons in English. It helped pass the time while the two men rode in a southwesterly direction, stopping only when the horses needed to. Their first night on the trail was Lana's second.

At sundown, her captors stopped, but rather than dismount, one of them rode ahead and disappeared into a ravine. A few minutes later, he returned and waved them in. Lana's arms were once again jerked forward, sending her aching, bruised legs into motion. She put her hands against the horse's flank to keep from sliding down the side of the steep ravine. Eventually, though, they made it to the bottom.

Lana surveyed the scene. Several more Apache braves, at least thirty, milled around their makeshift camp. To one side, a white teenage girl sat alone, tied to a stake. Her dress was torn, her light brown hair a mass of tangles. Besides Lana, she was the only other female there. She didn't look up when the latest arrivals came into camp.

Lana's captor led her to a small knot of warriors, where she waited. For what, she didn't know. In a few minutes, the knot broke apart and one of the men walked over to her. Grabbing her chin, he roughly lifted her face to inspect it. His expression held a glint of interest when he saw her blue eyes. Nodding once, he let her chin go and walked around her, closely inspecting her build, height, overall health. Without a word, he pointed to the other girl and then walked away.

Lana's guard led her to the stake and tied her there. It was a relief to sit down. "Hi. My name is..."

"Sshhh!" the girl hissed a warning.

"Lana," she finished in the softest of whispers as she tried to speak without moving her lips.

The girl finally looked at her, her face expressionless. A bad purple-black bruise covered one side of her face. Lana imagined that it matched her own.

"What's your name?" Lana risked asking.

"Christina."

"Do you know where we are?"

"Hell." Christina looked down again in complete despondency.

Campfires were lit as the night fell. The women ate the unpalatable bread again. In spite of her circumstances, Lana was glad that she was no longer alone. She looked over at Christina, wondering why she was so quiet. She had never seen shock like that before.

The brave who had approached her the night before came back again. Looking over his shoulder to make sure no one watched him, he knelt beside Lana. His leer made her skin crawl. Pulling out a knife, he cut the end of her rope tied to the stake and led her out of the camp, up the ravine, behind a large boulder. Lana didn't know if screaming for help would get her killed. Once they were out of sight, he threw her to the ground and said something she didn't understand. But his intentions became clear when he lifted his breechcloth.

Lana took a deep breath and screamed, hoping someone would get there in time. As the brave fell on top of her, she turned her head and closed her eyes, waiting for the worst. He didn't move. When she opened her eyes, she saw four moccasined feet standing beside her. Someone lifted her attacker off. As they did so, she saw the arrow sticking straight out of his back. A pair of hands lifted her from the ground. An Apache grabbed her rope and led her back into the ravine, tying her to the stake again. Drawing her knees to her chest, Lana held her head in her hands and, for the first time since her capture, let herself cry.

"You're lucky," a man's voice said above her. Looking up, she saw the Apache that had "inspected" her earlier, and assumed that he led this madness. "If we hadn't stopped him, you'd be dead by now."

"Why
did
you stop him?" she asked, surprised that he spoke English so well.

"Because you're worth more than ten of him," Dark Fist explained.

"What?"

"You still don't understand?" He laughed derisively. "Those blue eyes of yours will bring a very high price in Mexico. A
very
high price. We'll get twice for you what we get for her." Dark Fist nodded at Christina and then walked away, leaving Lana with that chilling revelation.

"Dear God in heaven," Lana said out loud, "please protect us."

"Pray all you want," Christina murmured. "Won't do no good. Even God's afraid of
him
." She spat in Dark Fist's direction.

Lana looked over at Christina, wordlessly studying her. Lana wasn't ready to give up to that kind of despair - not yet.

Two Hawks and Nathan rode into the night for a few hours before stopping. They brushed down the horses and hobbled them to graze. Nathan pulled out some of the food his mother had sent and offered half to Two Hawks. The Kiowa took it and sat on the ground next to him.

"Why?" Nathan asked. "Why are you doing this?"

"La-nah. I love La-nah." He spoke in stilted English. He didn't know all the words he wanted. So, he continued in Kiowa.
"She is my woman. When we find her, she will live with me as my wife."

"You know trail how?"
Nathan asked in broken Kiowa.

"It's an old trail to Mexico."

Nathan didn't understand all of what was said. But he knew enough. Finished with his meager meal, he lay down on the ground and fell into exhausted slumber. Two Hawks allowed them four hours of sleep before they were back on the trail.