stones. “I’ll be good, I promise,” he begged again.
Marty saw the color of Red Shirt’s face start to deepen. It was obvious he was fed up with the coward and wanted him to shut up. But , he also knew that the woman was related to him somehow , so didn’t want to draw blood, or at least any more than Number Two had already brought forth with his quick, right cross to the jaw lesson in manners.
Marty spoke up both for and to him, “Grant, you might want to curb your tongue there before my friends decide that it might make a good pendant, eh?”
Grant gulped then subconsciously sucked in his lips, protecting what was inside. Cutting out tongues was one of the Indian tortures he had heard about. His pleas we re falling on deaf ears anyway— these red men didn’t speak English. Maybe they’d have pity on him because of the girl and his nephew. Yes, he’d give his sister to the Indian and the baby, too, for a while at least, and then maybe they’d let him go. “Eh, hem,” Grant cleared his throat aloud, trying to get Red Shirt’s attention.
He got it all right. Red Shirt walked purposely over to Grant, still lying obediently on his back, and glared at him. However , this time the Indian in charge did not put his foot on his prisoner’s throat. He knew that he had the white intruder’s complete attention and grinned as only a victor on the verge of causing extreme pain could. He would make this coward endure more of the same punishment he had used earlier for tormenting the woman. Red Shirt kicked dirt and gravel into Grant’s face then backed away, issuing the order to his men: bury him.
The two braves scouted the area for wood and returned to Red Shirt with three pieces to use as the rough material for shovels. Number Two made short work of the timber with his hatchet, paring down a handle and flattening the other end for a spade. The Young One had found a suitable site and was removing the larger stones from the area, setting them in a pile for future use. Number Two handed a roughly hewn digger to both The Young One and Marty , then began digging.
Marty took the crude spade and worked just a fervently as the other two. He didn’t know the exact details of Grant’s punishment, or execution, but he knew that if he didn’t help with the process, he might be stuck right next to him in the pit they were digging. He wasn’t fond of Rachel’s brother by any means , but these braves probably were going to make him suffer before they killed him outright. Grant might have a chance of survival if he was smart and strong... and could shut up. “Oh, well; too bad, so sad,” he commented as he pulled out another shovelful. “Can’t say he didn’t deserve it.”
Marty looked away from his task. He and the other two laborers had been working diligently and hadn’t taken a break. It wasn’t punishment for them , but wasn’t an easy job either. Number Two grunted a short command that seemed to say, ‘that’s enough— let’s stop for a drink.’
“Sounds good to me,” Marty said aloud and followed the other two to the trees where Red Shirt, Rachel , and Junior were seated. Rachel was nursing her baby and chewing something at the same time. It appeared Red Shirt had given her some jerky for her breakfast.
Rachel picked up the canteen with her free hand, took a drink , and then smiled at her benefactor. He was a nice man and she hoped she would be able to stay with him. Grant had been telling her about New Bern and their cousin for four months at least. It was always two more days. She was beginning to doubt that there even was a relative in New Bern. However , she did know that New Bern was more than two days away. S he wasn’t trained in navigation; had never learned how to use the stars to guide her, but did know that they had passed the same areas several times on more than one occasion.
After they had lost their home , Grant didn’t want to settle anywhere. All he wanted was to use her and her
Marty saw the color of Red Shirt’s face start to deepen. It was obvious he was fed up with the coward and wanted him to shut up. But , he also knew that the woman was related to him somehow , so didn’t want to draw blood, or at least any more than Number Two had already brought forth with his quick, right cross to the jaw lesson in manners.
Marty spoke up both for and to him, “Grant, you might want to curb your tongue there before my friends decide that it might make a good pendant, eh?”
Grant gulped then subconsciously sucked in his lips, protecting what was inside. Cutting out tongues was one of the Indian tortures he had heard about. His pleas we re falling on deaf ears anyway— these red men didn’t speak English. Maybe they’d have pity on him because of the girl and his nephew. Yes, he’d give his sister to the Indian and the baby, too, for a while at least, and then maybe they’d let him go. “Eh, hem,” Grant cleared his throat aloud, trying to get Red Shirt’s attention.
He got it all right. Red Shirt walked purposely over to Grant, still lying obediently on his back, and glared at him. However , this time the Indian in charge did not put his foot on his prisoner’s throat. He knew that he had the white intruder’s complete attention and grinned as only a victor on the verge of causing extreme pain could. He would make this coward endure more of the same punishment he had used earlier for tormenting the woman. Red Shirt kicked dirt and gravel into Grant’s face then backed away, issuing the order to his men: bury him.
The two braves scouted the area for wood and returned to Red Shirt with three pieces to use as the rough material for shovels. Number Two made short work of the timber with his hatchet, paring down a handle and flattening the other end for a spade. The Young One had found a suitable site and was removing the larger stones from the area, setting them in a pile for future use. Number Two handed a roughly hewn digger to both The Young One and Marty , then began digging.
Marty took the crude spade and worked just a fervently as the other two. He didn’t know the exact details of Grant’s punishment, or execution, but he knew that if he didn’t help with the process, he might be stuck right next to him in the pit they were digging. He wasn’t fond of Rachel’s brother by any means , but these braves probably were going to make him suffer before they killed him outright. Grant might have a chance of survival if he was smart and strong... and could shut up. “Oh, well; too bad, so sad,” he commented as he pulled out another shovelful. “Can’t say he didn’t deserve it.”
Marty looked away from his task. He and the other two laborers had been working diligently and hadn’t taken a break. It wasn’t punishment for them , but wasn’t an easy job either. Number Two grunted a short command that seemed to say, ‘that’s enough— let’s stop for a drink.’
“Sounds good to me,” Marty said aloud and followed the other two to the trees where Red Shirt, Rachel , and Junior were seated. Rachel was nursing her baby and chewing something at the same time. It appeared Red Shirt had given her some jerky for her breakfast.
Rachel picked up the canteen with her free hand, took a drink , and then smiled at her benefactor. He was a nice man and she hoped she would be able to stay with him. Grant had been telling her about New Bern and their cousin for four months at least. It was always two more days. She was beginning to doubt that there even was a relative in New Bern. However , she did know that New Bern was more than two days away. S he wasn’t trained in navigation; had never learned how to use the stars to guide her, but did know that they had passed the same areas several times on more than one occasion.
After they had lost their home , Grant didn’t want to settle anywhere. All he wanted was to use her and her
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