Two Wolves Dancing, page 23
“I don’t know.” Chelly called Alina, “Come out from under the bed. We are going to get you out of here.” When the child wriggled out from her hiding place Chelly took her hand and pulled her into the bathroom.
“Can you get her into the tub?” Marc asked.
“Yes, but there isn’t much length after that.”
“I’m going to pass the shotgun through the window. It’s simple to use.” He rattled off instructions. “First, close the bathroom door and stuff some towels under it to stop any abrupt air current from escaping.” He kept talking.
“Wait a damned minute. I’m trying to close the door. It won’t close over the chain.”
“Damn it. Is there a door between Alina’s room and the kitchen?”
A minute later Chelly climbed on the rim of the tub lifted herself up and stuck her head out the window. “I don’t want Alina to hear this but there is a wire running through the doorway and it’s connected to a lump on the windowsill in the bedroom.”
“Very carefully and gently, close the door over the wire. Don’t tug it in any way. When you put the towels under the door don’t touch the wire.” Without answering, Chelly was gone from the window.
“Great. Thank you, love.” Chelly said, obviously talking to Alina. “Okay. Found the towels.”
Marc heard running feet.
“What’s next?” she asked.
“Did you stuff the them under the door?”
“Yes. Next.” Nerves made her voice sharp.
“Have her step into the bathtub and make sure the chain reaches the outer wall.” He waited. There was no sound. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“She has no shoes on. I’m putting another towel over the glass shards in the tub.” Once again she balanced on the rim of the tub and stuck her head out the window. “Marc, are you sure about this?” her voice wavered.
“Yes. Now do it.”
“Come here Alina,” she said. The child sat on the floor, hands covering her face, sobbing quietly. Her eyes were scrunched shut.
“It’s going to be okay sweetheart. Trust me. Open your eyes.” Alina did as she was told.
“Up you go.” Chelly helped Alina over the rim of the tub. She felt the child’s body tremble.
“I’m so scared Chelly.”
“I know but this is going to work and we are going to get you out of here.” She pulled Alina to her chest to comfort and reassure her.
“Chelly, what the hell are you doing? We don’t have all night. Let’s go.” Marc’s gruff voice pulled Chelly back to the task at hand.
“Okay. She’s sitting down in the tub and the chain on her ankle just makes it to the outer wall. Now what?”
“Tell Alina to close her eyes, turn her head away from the gun and cover her ears.”
“I wish I had something to wipe the sweat out of my eyes,” she muttered.
“What?” Marc asked.
“Nothing. My mouth feels like the Mojave Desert.” Marc heard shuffling. Again, Chelly’s face appeared in the window.
“Marc, my heart is hammering so hard I’m afraid it’s going to stop. My hands are shaking. I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Yes, you can. Take some deep breaths and follow my instructions exactly.” He waited while Chelly tried to breathe her way to calm. “Do this Chelly. It’s our only chance and I’ll walk you through it step-by-step.”
She breathed deep, stepped back and out of the tub.
“Slide forward, Alina.” Chelly pulled Alina’s left leg up and balanced it on the rim of the tub. She saw that the position and the pull on the chain were hurting the child. “You’re being very brave. It will be done in a minute.”
She stopped looking at Alina and picked up the shotgun.
“This thing has two triggers. How long is it?” she asked.
“About 28 inches. Set yourself outside the tub to a comfortable position and distance. Keep the ends of the barrels against the wall. Is the chain heavy?”
“No. It’s pretty thin,” Chelly answered.
Marc rolled his eyes up and whispered a thank you to the heavens. “When your distance is set, use the barrel to lift the chain. When you have the chain in place, put the butt firmly against your shoulder.”
“I have it pressed between my ribs.”
“No. Don’t do that. Do exactly as I tell you.” Marc’s voice was firm. “First place the end of the barrels against the chain and press it firmly against the wall. Tell me when that’s done.”
“Okay. I’m outside the tub, Alina is lying down with her eyes closed, face turned toward me and her hands over her ears.”
“Good. Hold the grip, that’s the part just past the stock, with your firing-hand; that’s the hand you write with. Use your other hand to hold the wood part under the barrels. Pull the gun butt snuggly into your shoulder keeping your hands in the same position. When you fire there will be a kick so you must have the butt firmly against your shoulder or you’ll get hurt. Keep the links pressed against the outside wall. Let me know when you’re ready to fire; I’ll move away. The slugs may penetrate this flimsy wall. Hold the gun firmly with both hands and squeeze both triggers at once. It will probably knock you backward so be sure there is nothing behind you.”
Chelly mopped the sweat from her eyes. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” she muttered.
“Do it now.” Marc’s voice was clear.
Her finger inched toward the triggers, but she was distracted by the exotic tune Alina hummed. She relaxed the tension of her body and needed to reposition the gun butt.
Taking a deep breath, she called out. “I’m ready,”
Chelly squeezed her eyes closed, turned her face away and said a silent prayer.
Saying his own not-so-silent prayer, Marc sprinted away from the cabin.
***
The blast was deafening.
The slugs blew a hole in the outer wall of the rickety old cabin.
“Marc, where are you?” Chelly screamed.
He moved back under the window and yelled, “Did it work?”
“Yes. Here she comes.” Alina appeared in the window.
“Push her harder and hurry up.” Marc grabbed Alina and tugged her out of the window. They both landed on the ground. Not waiting to see if she was okay, he bounced up again. “Chelly, let’s go.”
“I’m trying. My arm hurts from the recoil.”
“I know but you have to hurry.”
Marc’s anxiety increased her fear. She forced her upper body through the small window; it was harder coming out than going in. With no help to push her up and through, Chelly relied on the strength of her arms to propel herself up and out of the opening. She got one arm out and Marc grabbed her and pulled hard. Again two bodies ended up on the ground. Chelly screamed from the pain in her arm.
Marc didn’t waste time. He picked Alina up in one motion and threw her over his shoulder, grabbed Chelly’s arm and dragged her upright and forward, pushing her hard toward the car. “Run, damn it. We need to get away from here, fast.” It felt like forever, but it was only minutes.
Chelly ran, but her feet felt stuck to the ground like they did in her nightmare. She struggled, panted and wheezed from fear and the exertion, even though the car was only twenty feet way.
CHAPTER 48
1871
Great Eagle looked up at the sign. The TALLIADOR FAMILY SAVINGS BANK with its bold black letters above the door. The bank was half-way up the broad street leading to the capitol building. You have done well for yourself, my friend. He tied his horse to the hitching post, walked into the bank and looked around, but didn’t see Antonio. Covered in dust from the long trip, he felt the suspicious glances from the men and women in the bank.
“It’s been a long, long time, Great Eagle. Too long I’d say.”
Great Eagle turned. Antonio stood behind him, hand outstretched in greeting. The two men embraced. Bank customers tried not to be obvious, but they stared at their respected banker and a dust covered Indian.
Great Eagle looked around. Without speaking his eyes asked the question.
Antonio announced: “Ladies and Gentlemen, this man is my friend. Together, we served President Jefferson Davis until the war’s end.” Bystanders didn’t seem to know how to react. Two men standing in the doorway moved forward.
“Good work, men,” one of them called out. Others in the bank either smiled and nodded or turned back to their own business. The two men who offered congratulations moved to one of the tables, near Antonio and Great Eagle. They made a show of pulling money out of their pockets while they eavesdropped on the conversation.
“Tonight at nine, meet me at the river. We’ll dig it up and finish the business we started.”
Great Eagle nodded. “My people are desperate. This will relieve their suffering, but I almost gave up hope…”
Antonio nodded. He understood. They shook hands.
“We will catch up tonight,” Antonio said and returned to his business.
***
The two men hovering nearby left the bank, said a few words to each other then split up. The shorter one followed Great Eagle. Two hours later he joined his friend at the bar and ordered a drink. “Had to be careful. Couldn’t get too close. Indians have a nose for this stuff. I didn’t want him to know I was following. He’s camped near the ferry on this side of the river.”
“Wonder what they’ll dig up?” the other said.
“Whatever it is, we follow Talliador. Maybe we kill the Indian and hold the banker for ransom. Let’s get out of here and hide. There’s an old abandoned mill at the end of town where we can see up the street. When the banker locks up and leaves we’ll follow him.”
As planned, at nine, Antonio rode past the old abandoned mill to meet Great Eagle. He wore work clothes instead of a banker’s suit. The would-be thieves tracked Antonio and Great Eagle over an obscure pontoon bridge down river and into the wooded area on the south side.
* * *
The light from the full moon made travel easier, but even if it hadn’t Antonio knew the route to the boulder; it was etched on his brain. The thieves followed at a safe distance.
“The place hasn’t changed,” Great Eagle said, looking around.
“I made sure of that. I bought the land to secure our secret.” They dismounted, took out their shovels and walked to the spot in front of the boulder. Great Eagle moved left, struck a match and examined the tree trunk for initials.
“It’s here.” They dug in silence and in the safety of darkness. When they were halfway to the chest they stopped and reached for their canteens.
“Let’s rest,” Antonio said. The two men sat on the ground.
“How did you start your bank?” Great Eagle asked.
Antonio told his story. He explained how he found work in a town dominated by whites, but lived among the newly freed slaves. “One day, a man came in and asked my boss for credit. She refused him. That night, I found him sitting on the side of the path when I went home. He changed my life.”
Antonio explained how after helping Jake Parker he helped others find work or start their own businesses. “Once my little bank in the black community was doing good I decided to open another branch on the white side. How ‘bout you?”
Great Eagle began with the shock of seeing his people’s horrid living conditions when he returned to Indian Territory. He told Antonio of his conversations with the clan leaders, his marriage and his grief when his wife, Galilani died in childbirth, leaving him with the care of his son and newborn daughter.
“I will use my share of the gold to help my people. It’s a long hard road for us to recover after the war split our leaders and our clans. We couldn’t win. Our villages were attacked by both the North and the South.” Antonio murmured words of understanding and commiseration.
“I want all the children in our village to have better lives. I want them to go to the missionary school and get good educations.”
***
Using hand signals, the two thieves communicated as they watched and listened. The taller one drew his knife and made a slicing motion across his own throat.
Antonio and Great Eagle resumed digging, unaware that they weren’t alone. The shovels hitting rocks and their grunts throwing dirt out of the hole were the only sounds in the quiet night until the waited for thunk, when their shovels hit the top of the chest. They stopped, looked at each other and hit the chest again: thunk, thunk.
“We’ve got it,” Antonio said. They brushed the dirt away from the top and dug around the sides to make room for their hands. Antonio jumped out and got the long rope from his saddle. He threw one end down to Great Eagle who threaded the rope through the handle on one side then across the top and through the opposite handle. Taking his end of the rope he lifted himself out of the hole. They tied the rope ends to their saddles and eased the horses backward, pulling the heavy chest out. Their whispered commands and the horses snorting with exertion were the only sounds.
Crouched low, the killers waited until the chest was out and set on the ground.
They sprang at the same time. The shorter man angled around and got behind Antonio; the taller of the two reached Great Eagle, grabbed his hair and pulled his knife across the Indian’s throat in a flash.
The thieves’ actions were sudden and immediate, but Antonio’s reaction was faster. He reached for the gun hidden under his shirt when his head was yanked back. Faster than the knife could finish its work, he fired over his head, point blank into his attacker’s face.
Great Eagle’s assassin didn’t have time to react. Antonio fired into his chest, then jumped sideways and fired two more shots into both assailants. When they were still, Antonio dropped down beside his friend. He lifted Great Eagle’s head onto his lap. “Be still. Let me stop the bleeding.”
Great Eagle tried to say something. No words came out only the gurgling sound of blood pulsing out of his neck and into his lungs, choking him. Antonio tried to hold Great Eagle’s neck wound closed, but it didn’t work. He watched his friend’s life ebbing away. Great Eagle grabbed Antonio’s shirt front.
“I know what you want. I will help your people.” The sound of labored breathing stopped. Antonio wasn’t sure if his friend heard him as Great Eagles life drained away with his blood.
Antonio sat there for a moment, not sure what to do. He hugged his friend to his chest and rocked back and forth. He looked down. His shirtfront was soaked with a mix of Great Eagle’s blood and his own from the slice on the side of his neck. For the first time, he became aware of the pain. Antonio pressed his hand against the painful cut and waited; he gagged from grief and shock.
He looked at the bodies of the thieves. He wanted to empty his gun into them. “I’d like to wake you up and kill you again.” His voice was raw in his own ears.
Self-preservation took over. “Gotta move fast now. Don’t know if anyone heard the shots,” he whispered, as if Great Eagle could hear him. Antonio emptied the trunk, piling the treasure on the ground. He removed the rope then shoved the chest back into the ground before grabbing the blanket from Great Eagles horse. Physical and emotional pain almost made him fall. Gently he wrapped his friend’s body in it. Aloud, he whispered, “I don’t know your burial customs or prayers my friend, but in my tradition I will pray that God has mercy on your eternal soul. Till we meet again.”
Antonio crossed himself. He pulled off his bloodied shirt threw it into the hole, jumped in and pulled Great Eagle’s body toward him. Reverently, as if laying a child to rest, he placed his friend on top of the trunk. Tears and sweat commingled as he lifted himself out to complete the burial. Using his shovel, he first scraped up the blood soaked dirt and threw it atop Great Eagle’s body then filled the new grave.
Satisfied that it was camouflaged, he stuffed the saddle bags with the treasure waiting on the ground then loaded them on the horses. He pulled the animals behind the boulder.
What should I do with the other two? He would have preferred to leave their bodies in the clearing for vultures and other animals, but reason overruled spite. The wooded area was ten feet away. Antonio dragged the bodies of the dead murderers into the brush.
He didn’t waste time looking for their horses. Instead, he pulled the newly filled bags off his own and hoisted the thieves’ bodies over the saddles. Taking his shovel, Antonio led the horses with their dead weight in a northeast direction where he came to another small clearing. He yanked the bodies down to the ground. “No need for you to stand with that ugly load on your backs,” he muttered to the animals.
Possessed of super human strength, Antonio dug another hole. When it was deep enough he rolled the bodies unceremoniously into it. “May you both rot in hell.” He buried them in a frenzy throwing dirt and rocks on top of them. When the burial was complete, he forced himself to take the time to camouflage the grave, brushing the dirt and covering it with rocks, branches, sticks and twigs.
Antonio felt his first real fear when he returned to the boulder. Did anyone hear the shots? Hidden by the trees he reloaded the gold laden saddlebags onto his horses and stood still. He waited and listened. The sounds of his pounding heart and ragged breathing accompanied the quiet nighttime sounds of the cicadas and the hoot of an owl. The occasional rustling of small animals caught his attention; he held his gun at the ready.
Time elapsed. His breathing slowed. He forced his legs to walk forward. Antonio knelt beside the area where he buried Great Eagle and said a final prayer. Then he went in search of the thieves horses. When he found them he searched their saddles. There was nothing to identify the riders.
Antonio led the horses to the road and checked that there was no one around. He took their guns from the saddle scabbards, pointed them north and smacked their hind quarters, sending them on their way.
***
It was four in the morning when Antonio arrived home exhausted and filthy. He tried to be quiet unsaddling both horses in the barn, but it was hard to be completely quiet when the saddlebags were so heavy. He covered them with hay at the back of the stalls, brushed the horses and gave them water and feed. Fatigue made his legs weak and he moved like an old man. He hadn’t taken two steps into the house when cold, hard metal was shoved in his back.
