Hawk.”
Jeremy nodded. “I had forgotten some of them.” He straightened in his saddle. “We’d better get back before Mother sends the whole bunch of them to find us.”
Wolf’s Blood laughed. “It would not surprise me.” He rode off ahead of his brother, and Jeremy followed, beginning to feel free of all the guilt that had plagued him for so many years. How sad that only now were he and his brother feeling close, after all those years of growing up here on the ranch together. It hurt to think of all the lost time, all the things they could have shared. He decided he had also better have a good talk with young Jason, another brother he hardly knew.
He rode off after Wolf’s Blood, who had already disappeared over a hill. Just as he crested the hill, his brother charged back over the top, letting out a war whoop and coming close enough that if he’d had a tomahawk he could have whacked it across Jeremy’s neck and killed him in an instant. The sudden appearance nearly scared Jeremy out of his saddle, and Wolf’s Blood rode past him laughing, then turned and rode up beside him.
“You see how easy it is? An Indian can hide from soldiers without even using trees and rocks. Our uncle, Swift Arrow, says that is how it was for Custer. Thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne were camped just beyond the hills, and Custer did not even know it! They swooped down on him before he had a chance to run. How I wish I had been there!”
He rode ahead again. “I’ll bet you do,” Jeremy muttered. The Custer massacre had been only eleven years ago, and now all Indians were confined to reservations.How quickly their lives had changed. No wonder so many of them drank and committed suicide, or so he’d heard. He did not doubt it. He hadn’t asked Wolf’s Blood about it because he knew it would upset him. Thank God Wolf’s Blood had remained strong, had stayed away from whiskey, as their father had always warned them to do.
He watched his brother ride down to the ranch, thinking how true it was that a whole way of life was over for the Cheyenne and a new one was beginning. He felt an odd ache in his heart. For all his joy at being close to his brother at last, he could not help but wonder if he would see him again after this reunion. He decided he would stay as long as possible. To hell with the responsibilities awaiting him in Denver.
Seven
The entire family sat around a campfire, little Abbie sleeping in her mother’s lap. It was a time of perfect togetherness Abbie knew they might never again see. It warmed her heart to know Wolf’s Blood and Jeremy were at last close. There seemed to be only one problem to master now, and that was Carson Temple.
“We are all here for you, Margaret,” Abbie spoke up. “And you, too, Morgan. I already know you’re having problems with the man who bought the Tynes property. I think the whole family should know what is going on. Maybe we can help.”
Margaret frowned. “How do you know about it?”
“Zeke told me, and he was right to do so. I can read you like a book, daughter of mine, so I asked Zeke what was troubling you.”
Margaret cast her son a scolding frown. “I didn’t want to dampen the reunion or worry you. Morgan and I will find a way to handle Carson Temple.”
“Temple is a sonofabitch, to put it bluntly,” Morgan put in, bitterness in his deep voice. “He hates Indians and Negroes. I have a feeling he’s part of that group of men who call themselves the Ku Klux Klan. They’ve created a lot of havoc for Negroes in the South since the war, what with murders and hangings. I don’t understand everything about it, but enough to know it’s pretty bad. I think Carson Temple is one of them. Althoughwhether he is or not, he hates people with dark skin, and he wants this land, wants the riverfront property we own, wants the good grassland. Most of all he’s just a man who can never own enough land, a man who is never satisfied with what he already has. He enjoys
Jeremy nodded. “I had forgotten some of them.” He straightened in his saddle. “We’d better get back before Mother sends the whole bunch of them to find us.”
Wolf’s Blood laughed. “It would not surprise me.” He rode off ahead of his brother, and Jeremy followed, beginning to feel free of all the guilt that had plagued him for so many years. How sad that only now were he and his brother feeling close, after all those years of growing up here on the ranch together. It hurt to think of all the lost time, all the things they could have shared. He decided he had also better have a good talk with young Jason, another brother he hardly knew.
He rode off after Wolf’s Blood, who had already disappeared over a hill. Just as he crested the hill, his brother charged back over the top, letting out a war whoop and coming close enough that if he’d had a tomahawk he could have whacked it across Jeremy’s neck and killed him in an instant. The sudden appearance nearly scared Jeremy out of his saddle, and Wolf’s Blood rode past him laughing, then turned and rode up beside him.
“You see how easy it is? An Indian can hide from soldiers without even using trees and rocks. Our uncle, Swift Arrow, says that is how it was for Custer. Thousands of Sioux and Cheyenne were camped just beyond the hills, and Custer did not even know it! They swooped down on him before he had a chance to run. How I wish I had been there!”
He rode ahead again. “I’ll bet you do,” Jeremy muttered. The Custer massacre had been only eleven years ago, and now all Indians were confined to reservations.How quickly their lives had changed. No wonder so many of them drank and committed suicide, or so he’d heard. He did not doubt it. He hadn’t asked Wolf’s Blood about it because he knew it would upset him. Thank God Wolf’s Blood had remained strong, had stayed away from whiskey, as their father had always warned them to do.
He watched his brother ride down to the ranch, thinking how true it was that a whole way of life was over for the Cheyenne and a new one was beginning. He felt an odd ache in his heart. For all his joy at being close to his brother at last, he could not help but wonder if he would see him again after this reunion. He decided he would stay as long as possible. To hell with the responsibilities awaiting him in Denver.
Seven
The entire family sat around a campfire, little Abbie sleeping in her mother’s lap. It was a time of perfect togetherness Abbie knew they might never again see. It warmed her heart to know Wolf’s Blood and Jeremy were at last close. There seemed to be only one problem to master now, and that was Carson Temple.
“We are all here for you, Margaret,” Abbie spoke up. “And you, too, Morgan. I already know you’re having problems with the man who bought the Tynes property. I think the whole family should know what is going on. Maybe we can help.”
Margaret frowned. “How do you know about it?”
“Zeke told me, and he was right to do so. I can read you like a book, daughter of mine, so I asked Zeke what was troubling you.”
Margaret cast her son a scolding frown. “I didn’t want to dampen the reunion or worry you. Morgan and I will find a way to handle Carson Temple.”
“Temple is a sonofabitch, to put it bluntly,” Morgan put in, bitterness in his deep voice. “He hates Indians and Negroes. I have a feeling he’s part of that group of men who call themselves the Ku Klux Klan. They’ve created a lot of havoc for Negroes in the South since the war, what with murders and hangings. I don’t understand everything about it, but enough to know it’s pretty bad. I think Carson Temple is one of them. Althoughwhether he is or not, he hates people with dark skin, and he wants this land, wants the riverfront property we own, wants the good grassland. Most of all he’s just a man who can never own enough land, a man who is never satisfied with what he already has. He enjoys
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