T'on Ma (9 page)

Lana's second full day with the Apache was a brutal endurance test. The rough rope left deep, red, blistering sores around the back of her neck. Stumbling on the uneven ground early in the day, she had sprained her left ankle. Walking was painful, but better than being dragged.

Besides Christina and herself, the warriors also had a large remuda of horses stolen from raided ranches. She even saw one horse with a US Cavalry brand.

As Lana studied the band, their faces became more familiar to her. Some scared her, but there were a few that looked approachable. Thoughts of befriending one of them kept flitting across her mind. Maybe - just maybe - one of them would help her escape.

The more she thought about this, the more of an impossibility it became. She needed a bribe, and she had nothing, not even a locket, to trade. Even if someone did help her, how far would she get before the Apaches came back for her? And, then, what would they do to her?

When the raiding party took a rare break, Lana fell down to the ground and rubbed her throbbing ankle. The guard stood over her, looking down.

"Please," she begged. "Please." She pointed to her foot and then to a horse in the remuda. The Apache pondered over her request. She was only a woman; she should walk. However, how many rifles would they get for a lame woman? Making up his mind, he called over to a compatriot, who roped one of the horses and led it over. When they began moving again, Lana gratefully rode a horse, even though riding bareback was difficult. The rope still cut into her neck. Her hands were still tied. She was still a captive. But in a small way, her life just got better.

When the raiding party made camp that night, she and Christina were staked together again. Lana smiled at her in a greeting, but Christina turned away, angry that Lana got to ride and she didn't. Lana shrugged her shoulders and lay down to sleep, too sore and worn out to care.

Two Hawks and Nathan repeated their pattern from the day before. During the long hours on the trail, Nathan broached a delicate subject.

"Centas Yi. You love Lana?" When the warrior nodded, Nathan continued. "Does she love you?"

"Yes."

Nathan rode silently for a moment while he thought about this. Two Hawks saw the puzzled concern on Nathan's face.

"She is my woman. One day, my wife."

"Your

wife?"

"Why not? I'm a good hunter. She will never be hungry."

"Why not?" Nathan echoed. "Because you're not... Because she isn't..." He scowled, unable to finish his sentences in English or Kiowa. "She'll live with your tribe?"

"Yes."

"And she's agreed to this?"

That stopped Two Hawks. Lana hadn't agreed to anything. He just assumed that she would live as Kiowa. When she hadn't answered him about moving to his winter camp, he thought she was concerned about the timing and about leaving her family. It never dawned on him that she might not want to live as Kiowa. At least, not until now.

In answer, Two Hawks shrugged and nudged his horse to a faster pace.

When they finally stopped for the night, Two Hawks lay on his side to try to sleep for a few hours. Before he fell asleep, though, his thoughts went to Lana, worried about her. Knowing why she was taken captive was the only small comfort he got. As long as she did what she was told, they would not harm her. But he had to get to her before they reached Mexico. After that, it would be too late.

At noon the next day, Two Hawks held up his hand and reined his horse to a stop.

"What is it?" Nathan asked.

"Apache. There." He pointed to the horizon toward Double Mountain. Nathan looked but, at first, he could see nothing. Then he saw movement against the skyline. His frown deepened when he realized how many Apaches there were. And there were only two of them.

Through broken English, broken Kiowa and sign language, the two men devised a plan. Two Hawks would approach the Apaches in a gesture of friendship and ride with them until they camped for the night. Nathan would follow undetected. Then, at night, he would sneak up to the camp and wait for Two Hawks. Between the two of them, they would get Lana out.

Two Hawks rode almost an hour to catch up to the raiding party. He didn't want his horse to be sweaty, or want to look like he had hurried to find them. As he nonchalantly approached them, one rode out to meet him, gesturing with a rifle.

"
Hou,"
Two Hawks greeted him, his hand raised in peace. He spoke Apache because he had often traded with them.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing. Just saw your band and thought I'd stop by. See if you have anything good to eat."

The Apache chuckled at that. "No. But come on in, anyway." He knew Two Hawks only had a bow and arrow, no rifle. There was an understanding, a peace, between the two tribes, and Two Hawks would be made welcome.

As they approached the raiding party, Two Hawks scanned it for any sign of Lana. He saw the remuda first. Next he spotted Christina to the left, being led by a rope. As they got nearer, he looked toward the front and saw Lana. His heart leapt, making it difficult to hide his relief.

"You must be taking them to Mexico," he said, nodding to the horses and captives.

"Yes."

"They should bring good money. Enough for new rifles," Two Hawks grinned.

"Yes. If you help us, you might get a new rifle out of it yourself."

Two Hawks nodded, as if he was thinking over this invitation. "All right. I don't have a rifle, but I've always wanted one." The two men laughed. Two Hawks waved, then slowly meandered around the group, taking his time, talking to different braves as he met them. Eventually, he rode up to the brave leading Lana.

"Hou.
I'm Two Hawks." When the brave only nodded, he continued, "I thought I'd help you get to Mexico. Maybe get a new gun out of it."

"Good. We can use the help. There are a lot of horses this time."

"And some women, I see."

"Yes. But only two of them. One of them has blue eyes, though. She will bring a lot of rifles."

"Blue eyes? Where?"

"This one." The guard nodded over his shoulder.

"Can I see?"

"Why not? She doesn't bite. At least I don't think she does."

Two Hawks dropped back until he rode beside Lana. Reaching across, he took her face in his hand, looking at her eyes. Her captor turned around to watch his reaction.

"They
are
blue!" Two Hawks grinned back at him, relieved that Lana showed no sign that she knew him.

"I told you. Just don't try anything funny. We had to kill a man who tried to rape her. She won't be worth anything if she isn't pure." The man turned back around, concentrating on the path ahead.

At this news, Two Hawks looked at her badly bruised face and wanted to scream his rage while shooting arrows into all of them. But, if he did that, she would be dead for sure - right after they killed him. It took all he had to keep a calm head, to remain expressionless.

Whispering to her in English, he said, "I love you, Lana. Wait for night."

The third day on the trail found Lana dazed from fear, weariness, and hunger. Her mind wasn't focused. Her back and thighs were sore from riding bareback so long the previous day, but at least she wasn't in danger of falling off the horse any more.

They had been on the trail for several hours when someone rode up to her captor's horse. When Lana heard them talking, she paid no attention, her eyes unfocused on the horizon. But something in one of the voices caught her attention. She did a double take, afraid to breathe, when she realized the newcomer was Two Hawks. The next thing she knew, he was holding her face, looking into her eyes, telling her that he loved her.

She stared at him in disbelief as she whispered, "Centas Yi?" A single tear rolled down her dirty, bruised face.

Before Lana could say anything more, he rode away. She wanted to scream his name, to make him come back. Why had he left her? Confusion reigned, and she wondered if she had imagined him there. Twisting around, she looked for him. There he sat, laughing with an Apache, as if nothing was wrong. What on earth was he
doing?
She didn't understand. But wait. What had he told her? She shook her head, trying to concentrate.
Wait for night?

They covered a quarter-mile while she puzzled this newest development. Finally, Two Hawks' plan began to dawn on her tired brain. They would escape at dark. Until then, they both had roles to play in a dangerous game. She couldn't let on that she knew him. It might even help if she acted afraid of him. That way, whenever the time came, no one would be suspicious of him getting close to her.

They had difficulty avoiding watching each other. Two Hawks worried about how he would get her out with so many guards. Even with Nathan close by, he wasn't sure they weren't all just a few hours away from their deaths.

The afternoon crawled by too slowly to suit Lana. She had no idea what Two Hawks planned to do and hoped, desperately, that her hurt ankle wouldn't slow them down. At least, she reasoned, she would be a little more rested from riding instead of walking. His presence gave her renewed strength and a confidence that everything would be all right.

They stopped for one late afternoon break beside a pond, giving the herd a chance to drink. Two Hawks rode over to Lana under the guise of earning his rifle by watering her horse. When he reached for Lana to help her down, she began kicking and pummeling him with her fists, as if she feared that she was being attacked. Astonished, he put her on the ground and stepped back, while the Apaches around them broke out in laughter. She winced as she put weight on her left leg. Glancing up at Two Hawks, she winked quickly, and then made a point of glaring at him as she limped away under the warriors' watchful eyes.

Two Hawks turned around, leading her horse to the pond. He understood her little act and now he also knew that she was hurt.

Joshua Cooper hurried east toward Ft. Worth an hour after Nathan and Two Hawks had ridden off in the opposite direction. He turned once to wave at his wife and remaining two sons. He hated leaving them there alone, but there was nothing else to be done. With every mile he covered, he prayed he would run into Lt. O'Connell before having to go the entire distance to the fort. It would save so much time. And he didn't know how much of that Lana had.

When the sun set on his first day out, he decided to set up camp on high ground. It would give him a better lookout. Climbing wearily down from his horse, Joshua looked around his surroundings, nodding. This would do for his purposes. Turning to his right, he saw the glimmer of a distant campfire. He wondered. Army? Kiowa? Or more Apache? Indecision immobilized him. Then, deciding on a course of action, he got back on his horse and rode cautiously forward.

Whoever they were, there were several of them. He could see silhouettes against the firelight. Their voices carried across the prairie to him. They were speaking English! Joshua called out, making himself known. In a few minutes, a soldier led him to the lieutenant's tent, where Joshua shook hands with Liam.

"Thank God I found you!" he told the astonished officer.

"Why? What happened?" Liam frowned, knowing that it must be urgent.

"Lana. The Apaches have taken Lana."

"When?"

"Yesterday. We found where she'd been captured. Nathan and Centas Yi left today to go after her and I came for you. Can you help?"

Liam's jaws flexed at the news. "Yes. At least, to some extent. They're probably headed for Mexico, and we can't cross the border. But we'll do what we can."

Liam called his sergeant over. "Miss Cooper has been taken captive by the Apache. We ride at first light for Mexico. Get someone ready to take my message to headquarters."

"Yes, sir."

Once the sergeant left, Liam sat on his campstool and wrote his dispatch. Finishing that, he looked up at Joshua. "Who is Centas Yi?"

"He's a Kiowa warrior who has befriended us. We've done a little trading with his village. We were hoping he could help Nathan track the Apaches."

"I see." He looked steadily at Joshua in the lantern light. "You know, don't you, that the Apache and Kiowa are friendly with each other. Are you sure he can be trusted?"

Joshua paused before he answered, thinking back briefly on the few times he had seen Lana and Two Hawks together. He hadn't wanted to admit it then, but now, he had to. He had seen genuine emotion, respect, love, even, in the young warrior's eyes when he looked at Lana. Joshua nodded solemnly, "Yes."

"All right. Then I guess all we can do right now is get some sleep. I'll see you at daybreak."

"Goodnight, Liam. And, thank you very much for this. I'm almost out of my mind with worry." With that, Joshua went to get his bedroll and maybe, hopefully, to get some sleep.

Once Joshua left, Liam gave the dispatch to his sergeant and returned to his tent, blowing out the lantern and settling in for the night. But his mind wouldn't be still. Joshua wasn't the only one worried. Liam closed his eyes, only to remember Lana's luscious blue ones looking up at him in the moonlight. Where was she now? Was she all right? Were those blue eyes crying? Scared? Were they still even alive?

Two Hawks desperately needed a plan. Originally, he thought that he would simply sneak Lana out under the cover of darkness, while the camp slept. But now there were two women to rescue. He would have left the other woman behind, but knew that Lana wouldn't stand for it. So he had to come up with another plan, one where two men with two exhausted women, one of whom had an injured ankle, could escape so many warriors. By the time the band stopped and the campfires were lit, he had a solution. Now, he had to wait a little longer and then find Nathan.

Nathan followed the band as far back as he could without losing sight of them. He assumed that Two Hawks had gained successful entry into the raiding party since he hadn't seen any commotion. So far, so good.