Wolf Shadow’s Promise (26 page)

All this had been part of their plan, even to the pursuit that would follow. But these three “bandits” would be back again, under the cover of darkness. The fire had halted the whiskey train for a time, perhaps doing some damage, but the schooners would soon resume their course toward the medicine line if nothing more were done.

No, tonight the Wolf Shadow and his cohorts would have to finish the job, ensuring that this whiskey train never reached Fort Whoop-Up, at least not with its terrible cargo intact.

 

Doubling back in the evening, they found a buffalo herd two or three miles from the valley where the whiskey train had entrenched itself for the night. Earlier, both Moon Wolf and Alys had observed the caravan, noting that the prairie schooners had suffered fire damage mostly to the wagons themselves and their canvas covering, the contents of the wagons seemingly undamaged.

The schooners had now formed a sort of corral, as was the usual custom. It made disabling them harder, for the train would be guarded with firepower from within.

Sitting atop a nearby butte, the three of them—Alys,
Moon Wolf, and
Makoyi—
basked beneath the soft glow of a golden sunset, the last rays of day turning the burnished prairie to the tawny color of white gold. High above them flew an eagle, while below them grazed a vast herd of buffalo. In truth, little more could be seen below them except the buffalo. The coulees, the valleys, even the flat prairie were alive with the creatures.

Thus, the three of them sat, contemplating what they might do next, but mostly doing no more than gazing about them, at the wonder of nature—at the mountains in the distance, the plains all around them, the herd of buffalo quietly grazing. How beautiful it was…, and occasionally Moon Wolf would utter, “
I-tam-ap-i
,” meaning happiness or being perfectly content.

At length, after the sun broadcast its departure from the sky, filling the heavens with screaming pinks and hot reds, Moon Wolf turned to Alys, saying, “This herd gives me an idea.”

She gazed back at him, raising an eyebrow.

“
Aa
, yes,” he said, “I think that the buffalo down there might be able to damage that caravan, in a way the fire could not.”

Alys, lazily observing the rise of the full moon in the eastern sky, looked down upon the land to the west of them, which at the moment looked black almost to the horizon, covered as it was by the vast buffalo herd.

“How would you do it?” she asked.

He jerked his head to the left. “If I approach that herd and start into it as though I am about to kill some of them, I believe that I can make them stampede and, as you can see, that caravan would be in their path.”

“Moon Wolf,” she touched his arm, “is that wise? Look at that herd. It is immense and there is only one of you. Besides, the buffalo might run in an opposite direction and leave the caravan unharmed.”

He acknowledged her with a nod. “That is true. No one can tell for sure where the buffalo might run. But still it might work, and it would be easy to do. Come,” he said, getting to his feet. “I will paint myself and my pony for this raid while I tell you more of my plan.”

“But I'm not sure I approve—”

“Come…”

 

Moon Wolf stood before her, his body nude except for breechcloth and moccasins. Black stripes streaked across the whole of his body, while plastered on his face was a look of grim determination. No amount of pleading had changed his mind about this.

“Would you have me stay here for fear that something might go wrong?” he had asked her when her appeals had begun in earnest. “If other people were to learn of this, that I even listened to you, they might tell you to start fitting me with dresses.”

She shook her head. “I don't think so, for I would tell no one of it,” she had countered.

But he would not be held back, nor, it appeared, could he be reasoned with. He said, “You will stay here with
Makoyi
while I ride into this herd and drive the buffalo toward the whiskey train.”

“So you have told me several times,” she acknowledged, “but what I don't understand is why, if you are determined to go down there and there is nothing I can do to make you stay, why must I remain here?”

“Would you have me put you in great danger?”

“Why not? You are putting your own life in jeopardy.”

“That is different. I am a man; I am expected to do what I must in order that I secure the safety of others. But with the run of the buffalo, anything is possible. I have been trained, since the day I could sit a horse, to ride into the buffalo herds and select out the finest of them. It is some
thing I have done often. You, however, are not so experienced. And so you will wait here, as will
Makoyi
.”

Alys didn't reply, setting her lips, instead, into a straight line. She was certain that while Moon Wolf spoke with a great deal of wisdom and had, of course, her best interests at heart, his ordering her about and telling her what she could and could not do did not sit well with her. She persisted, “I would go with you, all the same.”

He grimaced before he drew in a deep breath, proffering, “I would ask that you not do this. I will need someone to wait here in case I am not successful. Also, if you do not stay here,
Makoyi
will go with me and I would rather he stay here. He might set the buffalo to running in the wrong direction.”

“But—”

Moon Wolf held up a hand. “I will need all my cunning about me this night in order to get this herd into that camp. I would prefer not to worry about you, too.”

Good, simple logic. What argument could she give him against it?

She could think of none at the moment, and so it appeared, at least temporarily, that she had no choice but to agree. She muttered a curt, “All right.”

In return he gave her a sympathetic grin. “Do not look so sad,” he encouraged, “this is as it must be.” He drew level to his horse and jumped on it, while she arose and came to stand beside him, taking his hand into her own.

She said, “You will be alert to any danger?”

“
Aa
, this I can promise you. But come, this is not a time for sadness. If we are successful this night, this whiskey train will not make it north of the medicine line. It is a good thing.”

“Yes,” she agreed, smiling up at him shyly. “It is a good thing.”

He leaned down to her, placing his cheek against her
own and, running his fingers softly over her skin as though he were wiping off the paint left there, he reassured, “Do not worry. I have ridden into the buffalo herd many times.”

“I know, but—”

“Come, if we succeed in removing the whiskey sneakers from our land, we will be able to live together in peace. This is something worth having, is that not right?”

“Yes, but—”

“Little Brave Woman, listen to me. I promise you now before the Above Ones, that if I am successful this night I will not rest until I find a place for us; a place where we can live our lives without the prejudice that surrounds us There must be a place such as this and if necessary, I will spend my life finding it. This I promise you.”

She gave him a weak smile and glanced up at him, then away, before saying, “That was very beautifully said, Moon Wolf, and I accept your vow. I know it was spoken from your heart. And though I understand you well, I would still come with you.”

“Not tonight,” he insisted. “You know what to do if I do not return?”

Resigned, she bobbed her head. “I do.”

He kissed her then, a slow, lingering caress. One she would have liked to continue. But he drew away much too soon and said, “Know that I have always loved you.”

“And I, you.”

He straightened up in his seat and, with a quick jerk of his knees, set his pony into motion, guiding it down the butte, leaving Alys behind and, along with the wolf, watching.

“I don't know about you,
Makoyi
,” she muttered under her breath as she watched her man ride away, “but I have a bad feeling about this. I wish we'd never found this herd.”

Makoyi
sat up on his haunches and looked wise for the
space of a moment, finally whining and putting his head down on his paws.

Moon Wolf had barely been gone a few minutes before she saw him charge into the herd, splitting the buffalo apart and driving a few thousand of them straight down upon the valley…and the whiskey train.

She watched him with something akin to awe. The darkened edges of night had finally fallen around them; the full moon, having already arisen, painted the landscape in shadows, while it, like a luculent globe, remained the single source of light.

She could barely see, yet she remained aware of when the buffalo started into a run. Slowly at first, but then with more and more vigor as they sensed the danger, the buffalo began to bolt in the general direction of the caravan. Never had she witnessed so close at hand the vigorous power of these shaggy and ill-shaped beasts. The sound of their thundering hooves as they picked up speed was deafening, while the force of their weight caused the ground around her to quake.

And there, in the thick of it, rode Moon Wolf, guiding his trained mount in and out of the herd, rousing them on into a more dashing run.

That the men in the whiskey train would hear the approach was without doubt. But this, too, had been anticipated. It had not been a part of Moon Wolf's plan to kill these white men, simply to disable their wagons.

Alys held her breath. She could no longer make out the figure of Moon Wolf. She sat up quickly, brought out her saddlebags, and fumbled in it until she produced a pair of binoculars.

Focusing on the spot where she had last seen him, she stared, and stared.

Where was he? Was he all right?

She changed her focus to the head of the pack. Assur
edly, there he was, out to the side of the herd, driving it forward.

She watched for several long moments, not letting Moon Wolf out of her view.

Soon, she noticed that the forerunners of the herd had reached the outskirts of the encampment. She could barely make it out from where she sat, but that didn't stop her from her self-imposed vigil.

Onward those buffalo loped, onward toward the camp, until finally they spread out upon it and began threading their way through it, winding around the whiskey schooners much like a stream of water might around an island.

Suddenly a shot fired, the noise sending the herd into confusion. Some of the animals tried to stop, bunching up and causing one of the caravan wagons to fall over. Soon another wagon collapsed.

Makoyi
arose and, pacing back and forth for several seconds, came to sit down upon a ledge, where he ruffed the hair on his neck and immediately began to howl.

At the same time, an awful feeling took hold of her. Where had that shot come from? Surely not from Moon Wolf, for he carried no gun.

Who then? What an irresponsible thing to do, to fire a shot into a herd already frightened.

Premonition struck. Someone had been shooting at Moon Wolf. She knew it. Had they made their mark?

No. Please, dear Lord, no, she prayed.

Jumping up, she sent a quick look to
Makoyi
, who was howling all out of control. She said, “Quit it, we are going to go and find him. But I will need your help to guide me to him, for there is still a herd of buffalo between me and Moon Wolf.”

Makoyi
stopped his howling to stare at her, and she continued, “If the shot occurred close to the bull wagons, there might be other problems, too. For there will be those who
will want to kill our man. Still, we must go and find him and hope for the best.”

With her words, the wolf came up onto his feet and began pacing back and forth, whining and glancing alternately at her, back at the buffalo, to her again. She spoke to the animal anew. “Yes, we need to get to Moon Wolf. You are going to have to guide me,
Makoyi
, for I do not know how to find him.”

Makoyi
gave a yelp as though he understood every word and trotted off, coming back and looking at her, trotting off again.

Alys ran to her pony and mounted, cautioning the wolf, “Do not run so fast that we cannot keep up with you.”

Makoyi
was already away, however, and Alys, leaning down to her pony, prayed, “Let him be alive. Just let him be alive.”

 

Alys was to learn that her mount was indeed one of those special ponies trained for the buffalo run. He seemed to know exactly what to do.

Alys, however, was not so ready for him. He darted into the buffalo herd with an abandon that had her closing her eyes before she gained the courage to take control and guide him back away from the main rush of the buffalo, keeping her pony close on
Makoyi
's trail.

“Find him, Wolf,” she encouraged as the animal again came into sight.

So far they had stayed to the same side of the herd as Moon Wolf had. What if they needed to get through to the other side? What if Moon Wolf had ridden off in that direction? How would she do it?

It would have been impossible. The buffalo still charged through the valley, following their leader wherever he might take them.

Makoyi
suddenly ran ahead, out of sight, quickly re
appearing, then running ahead again, doubling back.

“Have you found him, Wolf?” Alys pressed her mount on.

Suddenly
Makoyi
ran a little farther away, sat down, and howled.

Had he found Moon Wolf?

Alys dismounted, being well to the side of the buffalo, and, on foot, ran as fast as she could toward the spot.

Sure enough, Moon Wolf lay on the ground in front of her, the tall grasses all but hiding him. Was he unconscious? He made no movement, nor could she detect the rise and fall of his chest. Either he had passed out or…dear Lord, no, he couldn't be dead…