Woman of Courage (30 page)

Buck felt bad about leaving the women and baby alone but was sure they’d be safe with the Flatheads. They were out of fresh meat, and he’d hoped to bag a deer. He hadn’t been so lucky, though, but he did get a few rabbits. Since Amanda wasn’t feeling well, she needed nourishment, and of course Mary needed to eat well in order to feed Little Joe properly.

As Buck headed back to their camp, he thought about Amanda. Her ways were odd, and she couldn’t seem to stop talking about God. But there was something about the way she looked at him—something in her tone of voice. It was almost as though she were calling to him. Calling him to something he didn’t understand. Calling him somewhere he didn’t want to go.

Guiding his horse to a stop, Buck dismounted and headed for a small lake nestled in the forest. He was in need of a cool drink, and a quick swim would help clear his mind.

He tied the horse to a nearby tree, removed his shirt and leggings, and flung himself headfirst into the water. A few long strokes and Buck was in the middle of the lake. He turned over on his back and gazed up at the clear blue sky, dotted with puffy white clouds. It was a peaceful day, a time when his mind should have been at rest. But a multitude of thoughts had been troubling him ever since the white woman entered his life.

Floating effortlessly on his back, he closed his eyes, but a shrill cry in the sky overhead brought Buck’s eyes open in a flash. Circling directly above was his red-tailed hawk. The bird’s wings were outstretched, and it glided effortlessly, down, down, down, until it came to rest on the branch of a pine tree growing on one side of the lake.

Buck turned over, and swam quickly toward the shore. By the time he reached the shoreline, his hawk had flown to another tree. The flutter of wings, so close Buck could feel the gentle breeze, caused him to inhale sharply. Was his winged friend trying to tell him something?

Buck reached out his hand, and the beautiful bird landed on his arm. “What say you?” Buck whispered. “Have you a message for me?”

As suddenly as the hawk had appeared, it was gone, flying upward toward the sky.

A feeling of disappointment flooded Buck’s soul as he watched the bird disappear. But as he looked down, he spotted a perfectly shaped red feather lying at his feet. It felt like a reminder that Buck’s place was with his winged friend.

He bent down to pick it up, stroking it gently against the side of his face. “There’s only way I can get the white woman out of my mind. I must take her quickly to the Spalding Mission and hurry back to my home in the Rockies.”

A
manda felt concern when a low moan escaped Silver Squirrel’s lips.

“Her time is getting closer,” Mary said. “Soon she will deliver baby.”

“Is everything all right?” Amanda asked, trying to imagine what it felt like to experience the contractions Silver Squirrel was having. “She seems to be in so much pain.”

“Everything seem normal,” Mary responded. “Take longer for some.”

Just then, another Flathead woman entered the tent. She said something to Mary, and Mary nodded.

“Who is she, and what does she want?” Amanda questioned.

“Her name Basket Woman. She came to help.” Mary poured some water from an animal skin into a small wooden cup, then she helped Silver Squirrel sit up, placing several buffalo hides behind her back. She held the cup to the expectant woman’s lips and told her to drink.

“Katsa-yah-yah,”
Silver Squirrel murmured.

“What did she say? Amanda asked.

“She say
thank you
.”

Basket Woman made a low, guttural sound, and motioned for Amanda to move aside. It was obvious that she didn’t want her anywhere near Silver Squirrel, so she quickly did as she was asked.

It’s just as well
, Amanda thought.
It wouldn’t be good for Silver Squirrel or her newborn baby to get my cold
. She seated herself on a mat on the other side of the tent and picked up her Bible to read. She couldn’t do anything for the laboring woman in a physical way, but she could certainly pray for her to have an easy delivery.

Time seemed to drag by as Silver Squirrel fought each passing pain, and Amanda continued to pray. Listening to the agonizing moans coming from the laboring woman was beginning to cause her concern. It was hard not to wince, but Amanda hid her feelings and offered reassurance each time Silver Squirrel looked her way.

Basket Woman went out of the tent and came back to give Mary fresh water, a pouch of freshly crushed herbs, and several handfuls of tree moss, which Mary explained was to staunch the flow of blood that would soon be forthcoming.

Silver Squirrel was crouched in the birthing position now, and Mary had coated the young woman’s loins with bear grease. When Silver Squirrel gave a mighty push, followed by another, Amanda caught sight of a tiny dark head, about to enter the world. She held her breath as the new mother pushed again, and Mary, with hands outstretched, caught the slippery babe.

With the agility of a mountain lion, Basket Woman quickly cut the umbilical cord, cleaned the infant, and draped it across the new mother’s stomach. It was a girl—a healthy-looking, copper-skinned girl with a set of lungs that equaled any cat’s shrill cry. The newborn’s head of black hair, still wet from the birth, was thick, just like Mary’s little boy.

Amanda swallowed against the lump in her throat, thinking about the miracle of birth. In an instant, another human being had made an entrance into the world. How could anyone deny God’s hand in something so precious, so astounding?

She glanced at Silver Squirrel, wondering if she was happy she had a baby girl, and was surprised to see the young woman’s face screwed up in what appeared to be more pain.

Suddenly, Basket Woman scooped the baby off the mother’s stomach and handed the squalling child to Amanda. Not knowing what else to do, Amanda grabbed up a small piece of rabbit fur and wrapped it snugly around the infant. What was wrong with Silver Squirrel? Was she in pain from the afterbirth that hadn’t been expelled yet?

Silver Squirrel let out a piercing scream, and Mary positioned herself in front of the young woman once more.

Amanda watched in shocked fascination as another dark-haired baby made its lusty entrance. “Twins,” Amanda murmured, almost reverently. From the size of Silver Squirrel’s pregnant belly, Amanda had figured she was having quite a large baby. Now, her size made sense, with the new mother giving birth to two precious babies.

“Its-welx!”
Silver Squirrel cried. She turned her head and spat on the ground.

“What did she say?” Amanda questioned.
Why doesn’t Silver Squirrel look happy? She has two babies, and they look perfect to me
.

“She say, ‘Huge monster,’ ” Mary replied.

Amanda had no idea what was going on, but what she saw next, horrified her.

Basket Woman mumbled a few words, grabbed the baby from Amanda, and held it next to the other baby. Silver Squirrel squinted her dark eyes as though in deep thought, then, with an agonizing moan, she pointed to the first baby that had been born. Then Basket Woman placed the baby in the crook of her mother’s arm, scooped the other infant up, and promptly left the tent.

Amanda sat there, mouth open and heart racing. Where was Basket Woman going with the other baby? Was this some sort of a ritual when an Indian woman had twins?

Silver Squirrel’s eyes were closed, no doubt from exhaustion, and her tiny daughter had begun nursing at her breast.

“What is going on, Mary?” Amanda asked.

Mary slowly shook her head. “Its-welx, the huge monster, has come. Flatheads believe evil spirit left Silver Squirrel bad omen.”

“What omen?” Amanda asked. “Certainly you can’t mean having two babies is a bad omen.”

Mary nodded, frowning deeply. “They believe when two babies born, one stays, the other dies.”

Amanda covered her mouth as she gasped. “Dies? Are you saying they plan to kill the other twin?”

“No kill. They take baby to woods and leave her. Baby’s spirit will be taken soon.”

“Her spirit? Taken by whom?” Amanda asked incredulously.

“Child will die from hunger or be eaten by wild animal,” Mary replied. “It is the way of their people.”

Amanda leaped to her feet. “They can’t do that, Mary! It would be murder, and murder is wrong in God’s eyes!”

“What you gonna do?”

“I am going to save that baby!” Amanda said with determination. “I cannot allow something like that to happen to another human being—especially an innocent child who just came into the world.”

Amanda had respect for the Indian ways, but she didn’t understand all of their strange customs. It was hard to condone anything that hurt a human or an animal, but with this one omen affecting twins, she simply could not look the other way. The innocent baby had no one to defend her, and Amanda didn’t care if it was the tradition of this tribe or not. She was determined not to let anything happen to that darling infant girl!

C
oughing and gasping for breath, Amanda ran through the campsite, looking frantically for Basket Woman. It was incomprehensible to think they would actually leave a newborn baby in the woods to die. She stopped and held her head as a dizzy spell came and went. Amanda knew she wasn’t over her sickness, but finding that baby was more important than her own health right now.

Blinded by her tears, Amanda stumbled along but saw no sign of Basket Woman.
What am I going to do, Lord? Please help me find that baby
, she prayed, nearly choking on the sob rising in her throat.
Why are You setting so many trials before my path?

Someone touched Amanda’s shoulder, and when she whirled around, she was surprised to see Buck. “Where are ya going, Amanda?” he asked, tipping his head.

Amanda threw herself into his arms and sobbed. “Oh Buck, I am so glad thou art here!”

“What’s wrong, and why ain’t ya resting in your tent?” he asked, taking a step back, while holding Amanda at arm’s length.

Amanda swallowed hard, fighting against another tirade of tears. She was so upset by this that she’d used the word
thou
instead of
you
. “Silver Squirrel had twins, but she’s only keeping one. They—they are going to take the other twin to the woods and …” Amanda hiccupped on a sob and starting coughing. “They think it’s a sign that some huge monster has come,” she added after she’d gotten her coughing under control.

“It’s sad,” Buck said, “but this is the way of their people.”

“That is what Mary said, too, but it’s wrong. Leaving the baby in the woods for some wild animal to eat is murder!”

“There ain’t nothin’ we can do about it, and the Flathead people are leaving today, so you’ll have to let it go.”

“Let it go?” Amanda clasped Buck’s arm, wondering if he was crazy. “I can’t do that. I need to save the baby! Please help me find where they took her.”

Buck shook his head. “That would anger the Flathead people. They’re doin’ what they think is best, and it wouldn’t be appreciated if we interfered.” His forehead wrinkled. “Besides, what would you do with a baby?”

“I-I don’t know,” she stammered, watching as Buck turned and scanned the area, putting a little distance between them. “Maybe Mary would take her.”

“Think about what you’re sayin’,” Buck said. “Mary has Little Joe to care for, and she has no husband to help out.”

“But she’s going home to her family,” Amanda argued. “Surely they would help her raise both babies.”

Buck folded his arms in an unyielding pose. “Let it go, Amanda. There ain’t nothin’ you can do. Now go back to the tent and rest. Ya look like you’re about to collapse.”

Amanda couldn’t deny his judgment, but she couldn’t get rid of the image of Basket Woman taking that innocent baby out to the woods and leaving it for dead. With God’s help, she would find the strength to go to the woods by herself and search for the baby, because it was obvious that she wasn’t going to get any help from Buck. What kind of a person was he, to let something like this go as if it meant nothing? Maybe she had figured Buck all wrong. If he thought this practice was okay, and could just let it go, then showing him the way to Christianity was even more important. But Amanda was beginning to doubt she could ever reach Buck, and that thought made her feel empty.