Chapter 1
I rode for three years out west, to unknown territory, and the year was now 1786. The war was over for three years, and the colonists won. George Washington became the first leader, whom we called the President. The country now founded was now known as America. I wanted to find out what happened to my father, so I kept on riding further and further out west, and before long, I came across a desert. I decided that it was worth a look. After I rode in the desert, this time with food and water, for around a day, I decided to make camp and stay there for a week so that I could figure out where I was going to go with Midnight. I stopped Midnight, and went to look for materials for a small shelter. I was not gone for long when I heard a noise from behind me. I went back to the place where I left Midnight, but he was no longer there. In his place was a gang. I had my gun with me, and I reached for it. I was too late. One of them saw me move for it, and he shot me in my trigger arm. I tried to grab at my gun despite the bullet in my arm, but he caught me before I could. I did not stand a chance. He did not knock me out, instead, he dragged me over to the rest of the gang. There, I was tied up and gagged. We spent the night in the middle of the desert, and left the next day, I on Midnight, who ran off when the gang arrived and was captured later, my hands tied behind my back and blindfolded; lead on to somewhere I had no knowledge of. My arm was bandaged; the bleeding having been stopped.
After what seemed like hours, we stopped. I was lifted off of the horse and dragged into a cabin of some sort. I was set down on a bed, and the bullet was removed while I was blindfolded. I was lead into another room, placed on a second bed, and was hand fed food and water, and left alone, still tied up. I must have fallen asleep, for the next thing I knew, I was staring into the eyes of the leader of the gang; my father.
Chapter 2
“Why was it that you ran away from the gang in the first place?” he said to me when he saw that I was awake.
“You are the one who ran away!”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“After Ma died--”
“Ma?”
“Yes. Mother. After she died, you were the one on those long trips that you would never let me on. Who was there for school help? James. Who was there when I broke my leg? James. You were never there for my birthdays, James is my father. He was the one who raised me ever since Ma died. Same as Susanna!” I was going to say more, but he slapped me hard on the face before I could.
“Now listen here, boy! Don't you ever say anything like that to me again! Understand?”
When I nodded my head in answer, he left the room slamming the door behind him as he left. Just then, a shot of pain went up my arm and I cried out in pain. He must have heard it, for he was at my side the next minute asking me what was wrong.
“My arm.”
“Who shot you?”
“I don't know his name, but he is in your gang. He is the one who captured me; the reason why I am here.” I cried out once more in pain and agony, and was out cold.
When I woke up a week later, I was in a different place. My arm was not hurting me any more, but I badly wanted answers as to where I was, how I got there, and where my father and his gang were. I was to find out soon, for the door to the room opened and in walked Jack. Yes! Doctor Jack!
“Jack! When did you get here?”
“Nice to see that you are awake. Your father turned his gang and himself in just to save your life. Good thing, too. You might have been dead by now had he not brought you here in time.”
“What does he get for his crimes?”
“He gets shot by the nearby firing squad noon tomorrow. The gang gets hung. There was nothing that I could do about it. I am truly sorry.”
“Oh, that is alright. He was not much of a father for me anyhow. He was always off on a trip whenever I needed him the most. At least that was one good thing that he did in his life.”
“You could at least say goodbye to him. I think that that would by what God would want you to do.”
“That is true. Is it alright if I see him now?”
“I think that that would be just fine. I will take you.” he said smiling. I saw something in that smile, but couldn't put my finger just on what was wrong, and so I put it out of my mind, and we left.
He led me down a few hallways and one flight of stairs and we were outside. Judging by the position of the sun, it was high noon; my father was to die in twenty four more hours. Jack led me down a few more streets, and we were at the prisoner's holding stockade. Inside, it was damp, cold, and dark, and it also smelled musty and of mold. I felt really bad for the prisoners, for this would be the very last building that they would be in during their life. I said a silent prayer for them all.
After a few minutes, we came to a hallway and a row of cells. One of them was opened, and I was pushed inside and the door was shut tight behind me.
“Hey, Jack. What is going on?”
“You are part of the gang. You are to be hung tomorrow with the rest of them.”
“I am not apart of any gang though!”
“The judge says you are, and I have no choice but to believe him. I am sorry. I already have prayed for your soul. Good day.” and with that, he left me; alone. I was alone. I tried to think of what to do next, but found that I could not. So, I just sat there waiting for my life to end. It would have too, if not for Nathanial and Jacob.
Chapter 3
“Hello, there. What's this? A young man crying?” I heard a voice from behind me just a few minutes after Jack left me alone in my new home.
“Yes. I do believe it is. Wonder what crime he committed?”
“Do you suggest that we ask 'im?”
“Sure, why not?”
“Jacob, you don't go around asking the prisoners what they done to get themselves killed.”
“It don't 'urt to ask.” the one named Jacob said to the other voice. I turned around to see who it was that was looking at me, but there was nobody there.
“Up 'ere, lad! The window. Look at the window!” one of them said. It was then that I realized that there was, indeed, a window to watch the outside world go on about their lives as you rot away to nothing waiting for your death. I looked up, and saw two men that looked exactly alike except that one of them was just a little bit taller than the other. They looked to be around my age.
“Now that you can see us, what did you do?”
“Jacob, I told you not to bring that up!”
“So what if I'm curious?”
“Curiosity killed the cat!”
“I don't mind telling.” I said before an argument broke out between the two men.
“You sure?”
“Yes.”
“Well, go on then.” they said in unison.
“The judge says that I am apart of my father's gang when I'm not, and I'm to be hung tomorrow, high noon with the rest of the gang.”
“We are gonna get you out of 'ere.”
“What! Are you crazy, Jacob!”
“'es innocent, is 'e not?”
“That is what 'e wants us to believe! What would Mother say?”
“She would say, 'What Would Jesus Do?'”
“Well, for once in your life you are telling the truth. Right then, get a crowbar from the tool shed.” He was not gone more than ten minutes when he came back with one.
The smarter of the two got the bars from the window with the crowbar and they, together, pulled me out and helped me to a nearby cabin. They led me down a secret hatch in the floor of the first room and laid me down on a bed. I was fast asleep once my head hit the pillow.
When awoke, I had forgotten where I was. I tried hard to remember, and found I could not. I remembered being locked up by Jack. Crying. Two men who looked exactly alike. Crowbar. I had escaped my hanging. I knew not what time of day it was when I woke, but I figured that the officers and Jack would be looking hard for me. I hoped that they would not find me where I was. It was then that I realized that I was moving on a wagon, but with cabin walls. The hatch probably led down to an underground tunnel that had a wagon waiting. My guess was that the tunnel led out and away from the town, far away I hoped.
After about another hour or so of travel, the room stopped. I sat back down on the bed, and a hidden door opened and light came pouring in. I lay back down on the bed and made like I was still asleep, and the bed was lifted by what seemed like two men. The bed and I were carried somewhere, and set down. Footsteps ran away, the door opened and closed again, and I opened my eyes to the smell of a goose being cooked over a fire. I saw someone standing there, tending to it, and the figure turned to look at me. My eyes opened wide with shock, for there, staring at me was Rebeka Free Wolf.
Chapter 4
“Rebeka? Is that really you?”
“Yes, it is me, but who are you and how do you know my name?”
“Don't you remember me? William Northrup. Jack told me your name.”
“William! I thought you were dead!”
“I thought that you were dead! Who were those two men that got me out of being hung today?”
“Nathanial and Jacob. They help in this operation. You were gonna be hung today?”
“Yes. My father caught me and I fell unconscious, woke up in a doctor's office, and Jack locked me up saying that I was apart of the gang just because I was in their hideout. I was to hang noon today with the rest of them. What happened to you? Last I saw of you was when I was taken by that other gang when my father tried to capture us.”
“We escaped when you were taken. Doc died of a heart attack on the way to the nearest town. There was nothing Jack or I could do, so we left him behind. When we got to town, Jack seemed changed. We met the sheriff that first day in town, and Jack tried to put the blame of Doc's death on me. I was out of there before either of them could get at me. I have not seen him since.”
“How did you meet Nathanial and Jacob?”
“I was running in the desert, trying to find you, and I had no source of water or food. They just happened to be passing through and came across my unconscious body. I woke up in the very bed that you are in.”
“Where did they go?”
“Back to town so that they would not be suspected of helping somebody who was to die. They should be back in a couple of weeks. Maybe more. There is no telling when they find another one and bring him or her here.”
“How far out of town are we anyway?”
“Around three days.”
“Three days? I fell asleep three days ago. I was to die yesterday! My father is dead by now along with the rest of the gang!”
“No he is not.” a man's voice said coming from a dark corner in the room. I looked over and a figure came into the light.
“How--?”
“I run this operation. Whenever I get caught with a gang, Nathanial and Jacob get me out. I go undercover in these various gangs and make sure that we can be found. It was just by chance that Nathanial and Jacob found you and got you out of there alive. When was the last time you had a bath?”
“I last took a bath at Mary's house. That was three years ago.”
“Rebeka. Go and fetch some water, heat it up, and see if you can find any food around here.”
When she had left, Pa helped me take a bath for the first time three years, and I asked him where Midnight was.
“Who is Midnight?”
“Midnight is my horse. The one that I was with when I was captured by the gang.”
“The big black one?”
“Yes.”
“He ran away before we could get him in the barn.”
“Oh.”
“Don't you worry none. I will get you a new horse.”
“That is alright. He will probably turn up.”
When my bath was finished, Pa gave me some new clothes, for I had not changed since Mary's house the day I met Midnight. They were just a little loose, but comfortable. After a few hours, we heard a noise on the porch outside.
“Pa, did you hear that?”
“Yes. I will go and see who it is. You stay in bed. You must be tired.” he said, and before I could stop him he opened the door, and fell to the floor unconscious. I was just about to get up to see who it was, but I was too late, for they came in. Before I could get up, they showed a double barrel rifle aimed for my head.
“Don't you even think about that, boy. Just stay right where you are.” a voice said to me. I obeyed, and they tied me to the bed and tied my pa up in the only other cot in the room.
“What do you want with us? We have nothing to offer, so why don't you just leave?” I said, trying to be as brave as I could.
“Why don't you just mind your own business of why we are here, and be quiet, or I will gag you!” one of them, perhaps the leader, said. I said nothing more.
“Mason, you go and circle around the cabin, see if you can find their Indian friend! The rest of you, go search for food.” the leader said. I noticed that he sounded nervous, as though it was his first job of kidnapping or robbing. I took a closer look at him, and he looked younger than me! I would have found out more, but he came up from behind my head and blindfolded me.
A few hours later, I heard the door open, but it did not close. Two voices started talking.
“What are we gonna do now, Pa?”
“How am I supposed to know? The gang made you leader! I was just there.”
“I just need help. Please, Pa.”
“Well, if you want my advice, I suggest that we head over to the underground hide out nearby. We captured that just three days ago, and got them two twins tied up. Soldiers up there won't think of looking there considering they are out searching for the two escapes.”
“I guess you are right, Pa. I will let them know when they get back.”
“No you won't, son.”
“Why not, Pa?” It was then that I heard a thud as one of them fell to the floor. I felt myself being lifted off of the bed, for they must have thought that I was sleeping.
“We got ourselves the Indian. Where is Job?”
“I told him to go on home to his ma. He was much too young for this job, being thirteen and all.”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” I heard Rebeka's voice from near the cabin, followed by running footsteps toward the cabin.
“He's dead! You killed your own son!”
“He couldn't be trusted! He knew all the secrets of where we were going! We were gonna trade the three of 'em with the Ottawa for money and furs, weren't we?”
“Yes, but, the kid-”
“Never mind the kid. As far as anyone is concerned, he was never here! Understand? Good! Let's move out!”
Chapter 5
We were moving for what seemed like days, maybe weeks, until we finally stopped. Pa, Rebeka and I were thrown into a cabin, untied, and left there. We took the blindfolds off, and looked around. There was not much to see, for it was completely dark; no sight of any windows, just one door. All we knew was that we were on a deer skin floor.
“Where do you think we are, son?”
I started to say 'I've no idea', when I was interrupted by Rebeka.
“I know where we are. This is one of the trading posts. We will remain here until someone makes a bargain with the gang, and we live with the highest bidder.”
“Rebeka. Just answer me one question. What happened to Sunday and James? They left with you, but you did not mention their fates.” I asked suddenly remembering them.
“We got separated. I haven't seen them since. I am truly sorry.”
“That is alright. It was not you who distracted them, it was me. Since it was the middle of the desert, I doubt that they are alive now, especially considering that they did not have any food or water.” Before Pa could say anything to my remark, the door opened to reveal our captors with two other men, bargain hunters no doubt. They spoke a few words in another language, and the door slammed shut behind them as they left us three alone once again.
We all must have fallen asleep shortly after, for the next thing we knew, we were in a wagon once again. It felt as though we were off the road, but there was no way for us to tell, for we were blindfolded. After about an hour of riding, we stopped so abruptly that we fell against the front of the wagon, and it knocked me senseless.
When I came to, I was no longer blindfolded, but I was alone. There was no Rebeka or Pa. Instead, there were two Indian women in the room. When one saw that I was up, she left the room quickly and came back a few seconds later with a man who carried me to the chief of the village that I was in.
“Where am I?” I asked bravely.
“You are in Ottawa Indian village.”
“Where are my pa and friend?”
“There was only you left at the trading post.”
“Oh. What do you want with me?”
“My son die in fall during hunt.”
“What's that got to do with me?”
“You my new son.”
“WHAT?! I'M ALREADY SOMEBODY'S SON! YOU FIND YOUR OWN SON! ALL I WANT NOW IS M--”
“You are my new son!” the chief said slapping me hard in the face. He nodded to somebody behind me, and I was knocked out cold.
I stayed with the tribe for nearly a month doing all of their dirty work, still refusing to do it and getting beaten upon by Running Bear, a young warrior who, for some reason, was jealous of me as though he was Chief Egushawa's son. I never learned, nor wanted to learn, their language, so they told me what to do in broken English. Then, one night as I was turning in for the night, two familiar faces showed up in Egushawa's home. When morning came, I took a look at who they were, and stood in shock by their bed sides, for they were none other than Nathanial and Jacob!
The moment they woke up, their faces glowed with delight. They told me what it was that happened to them.
“We were on our way back to town when--” Nathanial started to say.
“When we saw a gang, and we--” Jacob interrupted.
“And we could not out run them and they caught us and we woke up here.” they said in unison which made me laugh for the first time since my imprisonment, and that caused Nathanial and Jacob to do the same. That was when Running Bear stormed in and beat us so hard, that we just could not take it any longer. We started beating on Running Bear, and knocked him out. We ran for our lives into the nearby woods.
After a few hours of hard running, we stopped to rest, and heard footsteps from behind us, and, by the sound of the running, I knew that it was Running Bear, and we started to run just as fast as we possibly could. We started to slow down our pace rapidly, and he was quickly gaining on us. Just then, we heard Running Bear cry out from behind us. I turned around just in time to see Running Bear dead with a knife pierced through his heart and a peculiar man standing over the body. I then got knocked out from a tree I did not see coming; dead to the world.
Chapter 6
When I woke up, I was in a small cabin on the floor. I could feel soft bear fur underneath me, and I opened my eyes to take a look around. I was in a log cabin and inside the cabin, there was a fire place with a pot of something cooking over the warm fire, one table, one chair, one bed, a pile of wood, animal furs on the walls with a grizzly bear's head, snowshoes, rifle over the fireplace, a long spear and a fishing net. I was the only one in the cabin, and I started to get up when I heard a noise coming from outside. The door opened to reveal a strange looking man. His hair and beard were both waist length and were salt and pepper color. On the top of his head, I noticed a coon skin cap, tail included. His clothes were that of grizzly fur, on his waist, he had a knife, possibly the one that killed Running Bear. His footwear was that of beaver skin boots, to keep warmth in, but water out. He also had strange eyes. They were two different colors, one blue, the other brown. When standing, he seemed to be around six feet tall or more, I could not tell. He was so terrifying to look at that I started to back up, but to no avail, for the wall was right behind me. He took one look at me, but did not speak. Instead, he went over to the fire with a bowl, and spooned out whatever was in the pot, put a spoon in it, and put it on the floor next to me, and left me to eat. It took me a little while to realize that it was a type of bear stew, and I ate gratefully. I fell asleep shortly after, now having a full belly.
When I woke up again, I was instead on the only bed, not on the floor like before. I looked around, and saw the bear of a man sitting at the table, his back toward me, eating from the same bowl and spoon that I used. I decided to at least find out where I was.
“Where am I?” When he said nothing, I went on, telling him who I was and telling him my story. With that, I hoped to get something out of him.
“My name is William Northrup. What is yours?”
He still did not speak.
“I am seventeen. I lived in London until I was thirteen, then was sold to a gang by my own housekeeper. I got away from them, and stowed away on a ship bound for the colonies, and as punishment, I was to serve in the British army, got captured after Breed's Hill by the militiamen, and became one of them to avoid punishment. Served under General Washington, and got shot by my own father. He and I never really got along with each other, well, up until recently anyway. I thank you for saving my life. I am very glad that you--”
“Stop talking. Rest now.” he said in the deepest, gruffest voice that I had ever heard in all my life. The voice was so intimidating that I obeyed immediately.
I woke up around a week later, and I was still on the bed, but with different clothes on, and I was alone; alone for only a minute or so, for soon after, he came in with more wood and another grizzly carcass.
“Bring me that knife on the table.” he said when he saw that I was awake. I did what he asked with no question. “Outside, you will see a hand pump with a bucket. Fill the bucket and pour it in the pot. We will have bear stew and coffee tonight for supper. And, you are welcome.”
“For what?”
“For saving your life.” Puzzled by his few, gruff words, I fetched the water and poured it into the pot. For breakfast, we sat down to a meal of bear meat, just that, but before we dug in, as the man put it, I started to pray.
“Father we thank thee for our food, for love, and friends and all things good. In your name, Amen.” When I looked up after, I caught a very puzzled look on the man's face.
“Eat up, William.” was all that he had to say to that one prayer.
After around one year we got used to each other, and I was able to lead Grizzly Sam, the man, to the Lord. During this one year, I grew to be around six feet or more, grew myself a long, black beard and hair, and was now twice as strong as Grizzly Sam. During out door work, one day, he told me his sad story.
“I was in the war as well, you know. I made it to captain before the bloodiest battle that I had ever seen between my troop and the Ottawa tribe nearby. It was Running Bear that did most of the killing of men, women and even children. I tried to go after him, but was knocked out cold by a passing Ottawa. When I came to, everyone was gone. I was the only surviver. My wife and seventeen year old son were both dead and scalped. I went to the mountains and came across a run down log cabin, fixed it up, and I have been here ever since then.”
“By yourself?”
“Yup.”
“Is that why you saved me, because your son was dead?”
“Yes. You look so much like him, and I just could not bear to let you die in bear country.”
Just then, we heard war cries coming from the nearby cabin, and smelled smoke. We rushed over to see what was going on, and we saw Ottawa Indians destroying the cabin; the cabin on fire. We rushed in the back door, and the Indians came in the front. I saw one of the logs holding up the ceiling come crashing down, and I chased the Indians away by grabbing up the long spear off of the wall before the ceiling came crashing down and hurled it at one of them, killing him instantly, and the others ran away. Realizing that Grizzly Sam was not with me, I rushed back into the flames and saw him crushed underneath the fallen log. I started to lift the log, but, despite my strength, I found that I just could not lift the log. I started to, but, over come by the thick smoke, could not save my friend. I rushed outside to save myself, and, right after I left the cabin, it came crashing down. I looked down and started to cry, and saw blood everywhere on my skin. My hands went up to my head, and came down again with more blood.
Suddenly, out of the fog came a horse whinny followed by trotting. I waited some more, and sure enough, out of the fog came a horse; a black one to be exact, but not just any black horse. It was Midnight! Overjoyed, I caught him, and weakly got on his back. He carried me out of there, but not before I got one last look at my home for a year and its builder, Grizzly Sam; in one day, the home of my best friend in the whole world became his tomb, right near his wife and son. As I went down the hill, and it disappeared from sight, it grew dark. I woke up briefly hours later to men's voices, though I could not tell how many there were, or what they were saying, and saw one of them capture Midnight. When I tried to stop him, I fell off of my high horse and it grew dark again. The last thing I remember was a group of three men carrying me into a cabin.
Chapter 7
When I woke, I could hear everything going on, but I could not respond, nor could I open my eyes. I heard some voices, and listened to what they were saying.
“Wow! Look at all those scars on his body! Looks like he's been through a war!”
“He can't be more than twenty.”
“No. Judging by the height and strength, he would have to be at least forty. What do you think Timothy?”
“I would say seventeen.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because of his face. He looks young still; grew up much before his time. Hey! Look at his eyes! Are those tears coming from his eyes?”
“Why, I do believe that you are right! Peter, bring me some water.”
“Hey! Whose in charge here?”
“I'm the nurse, so do as I say!”
“But, I'm the oldest!” the one called Peter protested.
“Knock it off the both of you! I'll get the water!” the one named Timothy shouted.
“Now you see what you did?”
“Just stop!”
“Why?”
“Cause he's waking up!”
“Oh.” Right when he said that, my eyes fluttered open and I was able to see the two men. One of them, Peter I think, looked to be around thirty-five standing at five feet three inches tall, with long, shoulder length hair, was clean shaven, had an Irish accent, was very muscular, and was hot tempered.
“Well, then. I guess we can ask you your name now.” Peter said.
“Don't you dare rush him! Let him get well first!”
“Fine! I'll just turn in for the night!”
“Don't you mind him none. He's always like that. Name's Obediah.” Obediah said after Peter left. Timothy entered in some time during the argument, though I know not when, he was so quiet, with the water and handed it to Obediah, who soaked a rag in it, and put it on my forehead gently, and I winced a little in pain.
“Now, calm down. I know that it hurts, but it hurts me more than it does you. Timothy, go and get some of Peter's clothes. They should fit him.” Obediah said pointing to me.
“But, what will Peter say to that?”
“Just tell him that it is for the injured. That should get him.”
“Yes sir.” Timothy said quietly.
“Now, then. Let me just fill up this tub of water, and I'll see if I can't get you cleaned up.”
“OBEDIAH! GIT IN HERE NOW!” Peter yelled from his room.
“WHAT DID I DO?”
“I am not loaning any clothes out to some stranger!”
“It is only until I can make some new clothes for him!”
“Well, alright!”
“Hungry.” I said weakly amidst all the yelling, but it still went on.
“Hey! Did you not hear that? The boy said something!” Timothy said somehow hearing my quiet voice during the argument, and they all came rushing back into the room to my bedside.
“What did you say?” Obediah asked reaching me first.
“I. Food.”
“Somebody get this boy some food!” When it came over, Obediah lifted up my head gently and hand fed me.
“Now, then. Who are you?” Peter asked impatiently when I had finished.
“William Northrup.” I said, my voice dry from lack of water.
“Give him some water and leave him be for another couple of weeks! He should be fine by then!” Obediah said, and sure enough, when the two weeks were up, I was feeling much better, but I was just too weak to walk still. I got a chance to know Obediah, Peter and Timothy. Timothy's parents were killed during the war when he was nine, and Obediah found him in the middle of a battle field and had been mothering him ever since. Timothy was quite and shy and still is athletic and had schooling, unlike the other two. Obediah may have looked like a heavy set man on the outside, but, get to know him, and well, he does all women's work driving Peter nuts! Obediah was also orphaned, but at age eleven. Peter was orphaned at the age of ten, and only knew farmer's work. Peter acted so much like Jesus' disciple in the Bible, that one day I flat out told him.
“Who is Jesus?” was all he had to say, and he was gone to do his work in the fields.
“Don't mind him, William. He's been that way since his Pa died. He knows who Jesus is, just won't admit it. See, his father was the one who taught him, and well, they were close. He died by a gang of thieves. They came at night, and started to steal everything. Peter's father was caught in the middle of it when he tried to stop them, and was shot. Died in front of Peter then next day. Peter was only ten,” Obediah explained to me when Peter had gone out of earshot, “Say, you haven't told me your story yet.”
“Well, I don't know.”
“Please, unless you'd rather not tell anyone.”
“Well, when you put it that way, I'll tell you all tonight at supper.”
“Well, at least I get to hear it, anyway. You want some more soup?”
“Oh, I'm full, but thank you anyways. I do, however, need to go.”
“Go where?”
“You know. Go.”
“Oh. There. Well, let me get you up, and we'll go.”
“Thank you.” He helped me up, and I held onto him as we went out the back to the outhouse. When I was back in bed, Obediah said that he just had to run to the town to do some shopping.
While I was alone in the cabin that day because Peter was at work, Timothy was hunting, and Obediah was shopping, someone came to the door and started knocking. I could not answer, it, but, for some reason or another, I decided to pull the sheets over my head. I knew not why, but I was glad that I did, for right after I did so, I heard voices from out on the porch.
“Nobody's here, just like I told ya, Matt. We can use it as a hiding place until the heat in town cools down, and we can move out.” one of them said.
“You were right about that. We can put the captives on that big bed in the front room if we can move it to one of the other rooms. Wait a minute! I thought you said there was nobody here!”
“There is no one!”
“Look on the big bed! Something's breathing! There it is again! Someone is on that bed!” the second voice said as he kicked the door down and headed straight for me. Light poured in, but I kept my eyes closed, to make them think that I was unconscious in the bed, for my scars and wounds were still very visible.
“Well, he's out cold, so we can put him in the room with the others. Hurry, now! Get moving! Move the big bed with him into the back room. If there is anyone living here with him, we'll soon find out.” the second voice commanded, as though he was in charge. I felt the bed that I was on lift up, and heard grunting as the men dragged the bed into Peter's room. 'Peter won't be too happy about that!' I thought to myself as his bed was removed, and the captives were brought in; the door closing behind them. Once I heard the door close and lock, I immediately opened my eyes, startling the other captives. I looked around, and recognized all but one of the captives! There was a woman whom I did not recognize, Rebeka, Pa, James, Jacob, Nathanial, Jonathan, Sunday, Charlie, and Jack. When I set eyes on the woman, Pa was embracing her.
Chapter 8
“Pa, who is this?” I asked wanting to know what this woman wanted with my pa.
“This, William, is your mother.”
“You told me she was dead! Of scarlet fever! You lied to me all this time?”
“I thought she was dead because she disappeared after you were born! She told me that she was kidnapped and held captive by these men ever since!” Now that I heard that, I studied her frail, pale body, and then I reached her eyes. They seemed to be studying my eyes; penetrating me with love, affection, and sadness. There were tears forming in her eyes as she rushed over to me and embraced me for the first time in her sad life, and on contact, I knew that it was my mother embracing me, for she embraced me out of love, nothing more, nothing less.
“What happened to you, William?” she asked me, tears falling down her skinny cheeks.
“I was sold by James to a gang, escaped, stowed away, sent to serve in the British army, captured, served in the Colonist army, shot at by Pa, put in jail, nearly burned in a fire, was poisoned by Pa, rescued by an Indian tribe, kidnapped by Pa, rescued by another gang, kidnapped by another gang, woke up in somebody's barn, given a horse, put on trial for stealing my own horse, captured by Pa's gang, escaped a hanging, got captured by another gang, sold to Ottawa Indians, ran away, fell unconscious in the woods, rescued by a mountain man, escaped a fire, was rescued by my horse and brought here, and I've been here ever since.” I explained in only two breaths.
“William! You shot at your own son! How could you?”
“I did not want to kill him, just wanted to get him on my side, but I could not seem to. I already told you that I worked undercover in the most unruly gangs, and I was trying to show him that. Forgive me, Martha. Please.”
“Oh, Will! I do forgive you!”
“So that is where you went after I locked you up in that prison! Nathanial and Jacob, you both told me that you had nothing to do with the two escapes! How could you?”
“Uh, Jack. I said nothing of Nathanial or Jacob. How could you possibly know that it was them that rescued me and my pa?” I asked realizing that I had never mentioned their name in my brief side of my story.
“Uh, well, mind explaining, boys?” Jack said calmly addressing Nathanial and Jacob.
“He is an undercover soldier...” Nathanial started.
“And is our pa. He told us about the both of you, said that he wanted you to be safe.” Jacob finished.
“Really? Jack, why did you not explain that to me in the first place in the room where I awoke?” I asked questioningly.
“Because there was a guard right outside the door, that's why.”
“Oh. I'm sorry, Jack.”
“That is alright. You just wanted answers from me.”
“Hey! Who are those men anyway?”
“Gang. They think that they own America!” my mother told me.
“KEEP IT DOWN IN THERE WOMAN!” the leader of the gang yelled through the closed door, “AND LET ME KNOW WHEN THAT BOY IS UP! I WANNA TALK WITH HIM!”
“He is up, Diablo!” my mother yelled back at him before I could stop her.
“WELL THEN BRING HIM IN BOYS!” he shouted at the other members of the gang. When they entered, I lay back down on the bed and made like I had just woken up, was scarred at all staring at me, and I pretended that I did not know them.
“Come here, Boy! Diablo wants to meet you! Move it move it!” one of them commanded in a Spanish accent as I was lead to the big room and pushed down on a chair at the table.
“Now then, what is your name, Boy?” Diablo asked me once I was seated down. When I said nothing, he got angry.
“I ASKED YOU A QUESTION! YOU WILL ANSWER ME! Fine, then! How old are you?” he asked when I still said nothing to the first question.
“Seventeen.” I said quietly as though I were scarred of him.
“Good. You will be the horse keeper. You will answer to Boy, and that is final. Have I made myself clear?”
I said nothing and he slapped me and asked me again as I slowly nodded my head yes.
“Very well then, Donaldson! Take him outside and show him the horses!” When we got outside to the horses, there was one big black horse that caught my eye. Standing at five feet high, was none other than Midnight, the horse who had saved my life twice! Forgetting my place, I rushed over to him and hugged him tight. I would have gotten on top of him and run away to get help, but Donaldson was on top of me and dragged me in while explaining to Diablo what I had done.
“Very well then, let him have the horse, if he can ride it.” Diablo said coyly not knowing that I was the only one who could ride Midnight. We were all lead outside, except for the other captives, and I rode Midnight. Once I got on, I let him know that it was me, and he knew just what to do after that. We galloped away at full speed before the gang could react to it. There was no horse that could catch up with me and Midnight, and I ran away to the fields where Peter still was at work.
“Peter! Peter!”
“What is it, William?”
“The cabin has been taken over by a gang and they have my parents, Rebeka, James, Nathanial, Johnathan, Jacob, Sunday, Charlie and Jack! You must help me!”
“Where are Timothy and Obediah?”
“They haven't returned yet.”
“Well then, William, help me up, and we will find the other two. Timothy is the one with brains, no offense.”
“None taken. I know that Obediah went to town, I know not where Timothy went.”
“Okay. I'll search for Timothy, you get Obediah. Don't you worry, William. We won't let them hurt your family and friends.”
“Which way is town again, Peter?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, William. It is out that way around a mile.” he said pointing in a Westerly direction.
“Thank you, Peter. Don't forget to find Timothy. Oh, by the way, the captives are all in your room.”
“I am gonna kill that gang if it's the last thing I do. Do you know who the leader is?”
“All I know is that his name is Diablo. Nothing more. Why?”
“That is the man who killed my father. This is personal.” When he said that, I said goodbye, I'll see you at the cabin as I quickly headed for the trading post in the nearby town for Obediah. I never made it beyond the nearby hill.
Chapter 9
Once I made it to the top of the hill, there was an enemy whom I never saw coming. The entire Ottawa tribe that had captured me earlier on was there. I know not what they were doing there, but I was not about ready to find out. They still had not laid eyes on me, and there was a bush nearby that was big enough for me to hide behind with out getting noticed. I made my way to the bush, still unseen, and crouched down with Midnight in tow. I watched their every move for around ten minutes, but it told me nothing. Just when I was about ready to head the long way into town, bear-like hands grabbed my shoulders and dragged me roughly over to where the chief was sitting. The one who dragged me over might have killed me if the chief had not stopped him from doing so. The chief signaled to his wife, and I was brought into the nearby tipi and given food and water, and, having not eaten anything for near three hours, ate gratefully. I must have fallen asleep, for the next thing I knew, I was moving, though not in a wagon, instead, I was slumped over the back of Midnight. I tried to move, to get off, but I found that I could not, for I was tied and gagged. I saw no one, only me and Midnight, but I knew that Midnight was being led somewhere, by somebody, but who, and where?
I mumbled a few words, asking where we were headed and who was it that was leading me, but I only heard silence and crickets chirping. The slow moving and the silence caused me to slip into a very deep sleep.
I woke up hours later on my back this time, no sign of anybody, not even Midnight. It was still dark out, so I stumbled along in the dark to see if there was anybody there. There was no one; no one except for a rattle snake I never saw coming. The sting of the strike on my leg was powerful enough to knock me down, and I scrambled along on the ground until I saw a light in the distance. I knew not where I was, but I hoped that I was safe. They must have heard or seen me, for the next thing that I could remember was that I was in somebody's arms; carried somewhere, then total darkness.
The next thing that I saw was a masked person dancing over me. He spoke in another language, so I knew not what he was chanting. The mask was that of an Indian medicine man and was blue. There was corn tassel for hair pinned somehow to the upper most corners of the mask. I tried to say a few words, but found that I could not. I knew not what happened next, or for the next few weeks, maybe months, for I plunged into complete darkness.
When I awoke next, there was an entire family of Indians staring back at me. I felt really cold, though I knew not how to tell them, so I grabbed at the nearest blanket, and one of them understood. She left the tipi and came back in just a few minutes with something, she said, that would keep me warm. I knew not what it was, but I was set down on it and carried into a hut. Inside, the room was hot. So hot that it made my blood boil. I later found out that the hut was called a steam room.
After a few more weeks, the snake bite in my leg slowly started to heal. I got to know where I was and what exactly happened. I was in an Indian village, though I can not remember which one it was now. I had made my way far enough away from the Ottawa tribe, yet close enough to an enemy tribe.
I remained with the tribe for one whole year, and, now eighteen years of age, had nearly forgotten the reason why it was that I had found them. My friends and parents. Where were they now? What became of them? Did they think that I was dead? If they did, how did they take it? These questions bothered me every day that I stayed with the tribe. Until one day, I decided to go to the chief. I told him why it was that I wanted to leave.
“A family is one of the most powerful things that you could ever have, next to friends. Go. White River will take you to where he found you.” White River was a young White man, my age exactly, found by the tribe and had lived with them ever since; forgetting his true identity. He and I became fast friends.
A day into the journey, I asked White River why he had never tried to find his family.
“I have forgotten who they were; what they look like; my own identity. How could I possibly know how to find them?”
“You make a good point. Is this where you found me?”
“Yes. Do you think that you could find your way from here?”
“No, considering I was half delirious when you found me and it was a year ago.”
“Okay then, I will go with you. You said that it was a small cabin near a hill?”
“Yes. And there were dense woods nearby. Also plowed fields. What is it?” I asked when he returned a puzzled look.
“Oh, nothing. It's just that, I seem to remember the place, although I have never been there after I lost my memory.” he replied.
“Were there three men, around my age?”
“No, but there was one. His name was Peter, I think.”
“He is one of the three who took care of me after the fire. He mentioned something of me reminding him of somebody who would be around my age right now, but it was before he met Obediah and Timothy.”
“Really? Did he say who it was?”
“No. Nothing after that. But, for that reason, he sometimes called me Alyron.” At that moment, White River had a look of remembrance, as though he was having one of his flashbacks that he got frequently whenever someone, unknowingly, said a word that would bring his memory back some. We stopped for around ten minutes while he remembered.
“I remember everything!” he said when the ten minutes were up, “I remember that I had a twin brother, in London, but was taken away from him with my mother when I was four. We went to the colonies and I was kidnapped there. Peter found me, rescued me, and I was taken from him when I was sixteen. I got knocked unconscious, and woke up with no memory in the village.”
“That is weird.”
“What?”
“When I was four, my father was talking at the door with someone, the constable, I think, and was saying that one of his sons, at the age of four, had vanished and he knew not where he was or his mother. I never told him that I had overheard. Do you think that--”
“We could be twins?”
“It is possible. We do look alike. Do we not?”
“You know something? I think that you are right! How old were you when you were taken from your mother?”
“Twelve.”
“That's strange.”
“What is?”
“I was twelve when I was taken from my home in London! Hey! Who's there?” I said, hearing a twig snap in the blackberry bush nearby the path we were taking. When I got no answer, I looked back at Alyron for an answer and gasped; no Alyron. Not even a trace. Alone. I was alone yet again.
Chapter 10
I searched frantically for my possible twin brother, but in vain. It was much too dark and I had no light to see. I knew that there just had to be someone nearby; I could feel his presence surround me, though I could not tell where he was. I decided that the best thing I could do for Alyron was to go on by myself, though I knew that the cabin and the people inside it, were probably gone by now, it having been a year since I last saw them all.
When I stumbled over to where the cabin was the last time I saw it, I stood on the hill, my mouth agape. What I saw was the cabin; people were living inside it. I ran over to see if I could get a better view of who lived in the cabin, but they must have seen me, for the next thing I know, I am looking at the barrel of a rifle aimed for my eyes.
“Who are you?” the holder of the gun said quietly.
When I did not answer quickly enough, he knocked me to the ground.
“Who are you?” he asked again.
“William Northrup.” I said weak from the blow to my head and the long journey I took on foot.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“I lived here a year ago.” My comment had shocked him somehow, for I was all of a sudden, on my back, and the air around me got black.
When I came around the next morning, there was a cold cloth on my forehead just over a bandage. I was the only one in the room, and was tied to a bed with a gag on my mouth, so I could not call out to anyone. The room that I was in was very small. There was only one bed, one table, one chair, and one very small fire place. This had been Timothy's bedroom. I waited in silence for what seemed like days before someone had finally come into the room. It was a woman. She was recently beaten, for she had cuts and bruises all over her frail body. I could not talk to her, for the gag was still in my mouth. I had not eaten a thing since before Alyron disappeared, and I could not tell her. She came over, took the cloth off of my forehead, replaced the bandage, and left with out a word.
Moments later, the man who knocked me out came in. He took the gag out of my mouth, and gently hand fed me.
“Now, then,” he said when I had finished. “What was it that you said about you being here a year ago?”
“Just as I said.”
“A year ago, there was a gang here. Do you know of that gang?”
“Yes. My mother, father, and all my friends were captives. I left in order to get help, and was bit by a snake and rescued by a tribe of Indians. I stayed with them ever since. I came back here to find out their fates.”
“I am a soldier from the army. Jesse Abernathy's the name. I was investigating the disappearance of the gang and it's captives. When you said that you had been here a year ago, naturally, I just assumed that you were apart of the gang. How did you get to be apart of that group anyhow?”
“Well, it is a long story.”
“We have all the time in the world.”
“When I was thirteen, I was taken from my London home by a gang who brought me to the colonies. I was shot at, and became close friends with Jack, the doctor who saved my life. When I got well again, I was sent to train for the British army, and was captured after Breed's Hill and became part of the many militiamen. I have since been kidnapped by my father's gang, shot at by my father, rescued by another gang, kidnapped, given a horse, nearly arrested for stealing the horse, let go after proving my innocence, kidnapped once again by my father's gang, arrested by Jack, rescued by my father, sold to an Indian tribe, rescued by a mountain man who was later killed right in front of me in a fire, and rescued by the three men who lived in this house at the time.”
“After this experience, how old are you? I mean, you look thirty or forty.”
“Seventeen.”
“Really? You are only seventeen?”
“Yup,” I said yawning.
“How's about you try to get some sleep. Rebeka will be in with breakfast in the morning.”
“Wait. Did you just call her Rebeka?”
“Yes. Rebeka Free Wolf. What? You know her?”
“She was one of my friends who was captured.”
“Well, don't think about that. Think about sleep. Goodnight, William.” And with that, he left me alone in the darkness of the room. I soon fell asleep despite my wonderings of ever trusting Jesse.
Sure enough, the next morning, Rebeka was in my room, but showed me no recognition. When I was sure that Jesse was not listening, I spoke.
“Rebeka. What happened to the others?”
“What others?”
“The ones who were captured with you in this very cabin?”
“How do you know of that?”
“I'm William.”
“That is quite impossible. William died a year ago.”
“How do you know?”
“He left one day to return with help, and we never saw or heard from him again.”
“I can prove to you that I am him.”
“How.”
“I can tell you who was there.”
“Ok, then. Prove it.”
“Ma, Pa, you, Jack, Nathanial, Jonathan, Jacob, James, Sunday, Charlie, and me.”
“How did you--”
“I already told you. I am William. Now, what happened to the others?”
“I know not. Soon after you left, they were taken elsewhere. I was left with Jesse.”
“I knew something was wrong with him. He told me that he was a soldier going after the gang. Now, I know I will never trust him.”
“What happened to you anyway?”
“I had already gotten to Peter, and was on my way to town for Obediah, when I got bit by a rattlesnake and rescued by an Indian tribe where I met my twin brother.”
“Rea--” She stopped talking when she heard Jesse arrive back with another prisoner. The prisoner was brought into the room I was in; unconscious. He was tied to another bed that I had not noticed before, and we were left alone. When I got a closer look at my new roommate, I found that I recognized him. He was older than me; it was Grizzly Sam.
Chapter 11
Grizzly Sam did not come around until the very next day. When he did, I decided to ask him some questions.
"How did you escape the fire? I thought you were dead."
"I don't know. The next thing that I knew, I was all alone in a room. It was a different room, but I later found out that it was with an enemy tribe of the Ottawa that lived nearby. They saw the whole thing, I guess they thought nothing of you and rescued me, though, if you could not get the log off of me, I knew not how they did it, but they did. They told me where I was, and let me leave once my strength returned. I did, and rebuilt the cabin, but not after marrying someone from the tribe. I was out hunting one day, and got captured by someone. Next thing that I know, I am here."
"The man who took you is a very bad man. He claims to be a soldier looking for a gang that was here a year ago, but he is apart of that gang. There must be a way to escape and find my friends and family."
"We will think of something. In the mean time, have you seen that girl here?"
"Yes, I know her. That, is what is left of Rebeka Free Wolf. She had been captured with me."
"Oh. Looks like she has been worked nearly to death."
"And beaten, unfortunately. Underneath all those bruises, there is a very beautiful girl whom I love dearly." We would have talked more, but Jesse came in after I said dearly, and started to beat on us. I realized that he was drunk, and with Grizzly Sam and I being a combined ten times stronger than him, we soon overpowered him and tied up his passed out body. We locked the door to the room behind us, and carried Rebeka out, it being she was weak with exhaustion. We carried her and more supplies back to the Indian village. Once we got there, I saw Alryon and ran over to him.
"White River! Where did you go after taking me back?"
"What do you mean? You left me!"
"How is that possible? I turned around for one minute, and the next, you were gone!"
"Maybe one of us took a wrong turn somehow."
"That is possible. Friends?"
"Brothers."
"You found out the truth?"
"Of course he did!" a voice that came from behind said, causing me to jump. I turned around, and there was Diablo, the gang leader who had captured us in the first place. I ran over to him to try and over power him, but found that I could not. He had either suddenly grew muscles, or I had been poisoned by Jesse once more, for the next thing that I knew, I was in the familiar black world.
When I came around, I was in a major sweat, and I saw hallucinations once more. I could see nothing else around me. The rest of the area was black. I saw my ma, pa, and all my friends, though the hallucinations showed me that they were all dead. I felt something cold and damp on my forehead, and the hallucinations soon left me. I knew not just how long I slept, just that I was alive and breathing. There was no one in the strange room with me, though I felt that there was someone nearby. I tried to get up, but could not, as I was tied down. I cried out, but to no avail, for I was gagged. I tried to undo the ropes that bound me, but, when I looked down, they were cold chains. I might have fallen asleep, for the next thing that I know, I was being shoved off of a wagon in the middle of nowhere, still chained and gagged, and the wagon left my side while I was still in midair. My head hit something, I knew not what it was, but it sure was sharp, for it knocked me senseless. I awoke the next day hearing an old woman singing and wagon wheels coming near. I must have been right in the middle of a road, for she stopped and came over to me.
"Now, what do we have here, Nigel? Looks like another one. Well, let's get him home, son." I was aware of being lifted gently off of the ground, heard some grunting, the back of the wagon latched, someone keeping me steady on the long ride. I was taken into a building of some sort, and the chains were removed by way of crowbar. I then fell asleep. I did not wake up until much later. An old woman was standing over a pot by the wood stove. I moaned, and she was at my bedside with in a few seconds with a bowl and spoonful of some liquid.
"Nigel, tilt his head up please, gently." she said. There was someone behind me who did just that, and my mouth was opened gently and the broth was poured down my throat. I nearly choked on it, for I had trouble swallowing. The woman knew just what to do. She put her pointer finger just so on my throat and helped me swallow. This procedure was done until all the soup in the bowl was gone. The taste of the soup reminded me of the bear stew that Grizzly Sam and I used to eat all the time, and tears began to stream down my cheeks.
"Now, now. What are those? Tears? My cooking isn't that bad, now is it?"
I answered her with more tears.
"Nigel, set him up so he can sit on his own and do your chores. The unseen person did as he or she was told and left us both alone.
"Now, then, boy. Why the long face?" She said as Nigel closed the door.
I tried to answer her, but a gurgle came out of my throat, and I found that I could not talk! I had no voice! Seeing my worried face, she comforted me and handed me what looked like a baby bottle full of some sort of liquid. She lifted it to my lips, and the foul liquid was forced down like the soup.
"I know that this doesn't taste too good, but it will get that voice back within a day. It is a secret family recipe. Drink it down. That's a good lad. I've used this treatment countless times when Nigel came down with the flu and pneumonia. Just you rest, and I promise you, that when you wake, that voice of yours will be back." she helped me lay down, tucked me in, and I was asleep.
I woke the next week, and sputtered out a few words.
"Tribe. Grizzly Sam. Rebeka. Diablo. Midnight. Where. Am. I?"
"Shhhh. Don't worry. You just have a fever. We'll bring that down in a jiffy. Nigel, fetch the water and the cloth for me, will you dear?" Nigel again left the room, and I sputtered out more words.
"Pa. Ma. Brother. James. Need. Help. Saving."
"Easy, there lad." she said pushing me back down when I tried to get up to rescue every body. "You're still much too weak to go anywhere. Don't you worry none. You are in capable hands. Thank you, Nigel. Now you may go to bed." she said as Nigel came in with the water. Once she went to sleep, despite my illness, I got out of bed, left them a note, and headed on my way to where I thought the village was, and headed out, yet again, on my journey. I was up all that night, though I knew not how, and was still up all morning and into the next afternoon.
I was walking in a daze by three that day. I was in the middle of the desert, and I thought I saw a village in the distance. I ran in that direction, though, when I got there, there was nothing. It had been a mirage. I fainted right away.
Chapter 12
I awoke to the sound of a heard of horses headed my way. I lifted my head up weakly and saw wild horses headed in my direction. I tried to get out of their way, but found that I could not. Something was holding me down. I let out a scream as they ran on top of me, and it got dark.
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found. Was blind, but now, I see."
"I just love that song, Nan. Wait a minute! Look! There in the road! It looks like a body! Looks bloody."
"He's a White, Shep! Do you know what they would do to us if they found a White body on us if we were to get captured?"
"But, Nan! He's still alive!"
"Oh. Alright. Help me get him into the wagon. Ma will know what to do with him."
"Can we keep him?"
"Why of course not! How could you think of such a thing?"
"I don't know. I just thought-"
"Unuh."
"He's waking up, Nan."
"I know! I've got ears too, Shep!" the person called Nan said as she bent down to get a closer look at me. "Can you walk, sir?" I tried desperately to move my legs, but found I could not. She saw my strain, and got Shep to help her get me into the wagon. I fell asleep when my head hit the soft blankets in the wagon. I did not wake until sometime later. When I did, I was staring at a black woman. She smiled when she saw my eyes flutter open, and fed me some sort of soup.
"Your fever's gone down. Just rest some more. I will wake you up when breakfast is ready." Sure enough, she did just that. When I awoke next, I was able to sit up by myself. I saw that we were all in a tent of some sort.
"Here's your food, just as I promised." She handed me the food, and I realized that she was black. "Now then, who are you?"
"William Northrup. Named for my father. Your's?"
"In good time. In the meantime, I want to hear just how you came to be near starvation in the middle of the desert." I told her my story, the shorter tale, and fell asleep once more.
"Well then, Captain William Northrup, I am not at liberty to tell you who I am just yet, but, I will tell you that you are free to go, as long as you don't tell a soul where you were. Promise me?"
"Yes, but, why?"
"Don't you know?"
"No, ma'am, I don't."
"You mean to tell me that you have never heard of slavery?"
I shook my head in answer, and she told me that it was the imprisonment of blacks. She escaped with her children, and made it to the Underground Railroad. She and her children were on their way to Canada when she grew ill. They rested, and it was a good thing too, for I would probably be dead if not for them. I never learned of her name, and I understood why she could not give it.
"I would probably just be a burden, so I will leave in the morning."
"I understand. I can provide you with some supplies and one horse, but that is it. Come with me, and I will show you the horse." When we got to the corral, I saw the horse that she was pointing to. It was a familiar black horse.
"Midnight!"
"What?"
"That is Midnight! The horse that I met in my journey! Where did you find him?"
"He came into camp just a few days after my kids picked you up. He kept on pawing at the ground, as though nervous, or searching for someone. Shep, my son, tried to ride him, but found he could not."
"That is because Midnight allows only me to ride him. I don't know why, but we just share a bond of some sort."
"Now that I can understand. We got a saddle and bridle from one of our other horses, and I think that it just might be the perfect fit." It was.
I left the next morning with Midnight and the few supplies given me after breakfast. Before I left, however, I asked her if she knew of an Indian village nearby.
"Why, I think so. Oh yes, in that direction. You can't possibly miss it."
"Thank you." I shouted to her as I rode off in the direction pointed. I never saw that family again.
Before noon the next day, I came across a village, though this was not the one that I was looking for. There were people, but I did not know if they could be trusted. Just in case, I watched them for the rest of the day into the evening. One of the warriors saw me, and got the attention of the others. Oddly, they soon caught up to me and Midnight, and I was dragged off of him. Midnight just kept on going. I knew he would turn up sooner or later. I tried to struggle from their grasp, but, despite my strength, I could not. I was soon dragged into one of their wigwams, and tied up. The position that they put me in was sitting down on the floor, my hands tied behind around a bed post. They left me alone for what seemed like days before I saw the chief. He came in by himself and sat down directly across from me.
"What is your name?"
"William White Wolf Northrup."
"You have a Seneca name."
"Yes, I know. I was captured by them and was allowed to choose my name."
"Welcome to the Osage village. I am Chief White Crow. The Seneca are my enemy. They pushed us out of our traditional lands!"
"Could you at least allow me to explain myself?"
"Go on."
"Thank you...."
Chapter 13
When I finished telling my adventure, he apologized for blaming me for his tribe's troubles.
"But, why were you watching us?"
"Because I did not know if you were friendly or not. I was looking for the other tribe, the name of which I forget."
"Where was the village?"
"Just over a hill, about a mile away from a cabin on the outer parts of the colonies. Why?"
"They are our sister tribe, the Natchez. How long did you say you were away from them?"
"Nearly a year."
"There was a massacre there. The few survivors scattered. I don't know who it was that survived, but I can at least show you the sight. We will leave immediately."
"Thank you, Chief." I said as he untied my hands and helped me get on Midnight. There was some sneer on his face, though he probably thought that I could not see it in the darkness of the night. I did see it however, and when I did, I took off. His horse was no match for Midnight. I ran off into the darkness and headed back to where I knew the tribe would be, waiting for me. I knew that they were not the Natchez, for during my training, we learned that there had been a massacre in 1725, not in whatever year this was now, for I lost track. I did not stop riding for almost two weeks before I hit my head on an overhanging tree when I reentered the territory. I was out yet again soon enough.
When I awoke, I was in a donkey cart of some sort. I was moving, though I did not see who was pulling the cart, for my feet were facing the back of it. The horse or donkey that was pulling the cart must have gotten spooked by something, for he reared up, tilting the cart up so high that I fell out.
"Oof!" I said when I hit the ground. The donkey cart stopped moving forward, and the person who had been leading the donkey headed towards me.
"Are you alright, lad? Sorry about that. Marie gets like that when she sees a snake in the road. Good thing that this one wasn't poisonous though."
"I am fine, I think. Where am I?"
"Oh. Sorry. Forgot. We are on our way to my house. Marie found you in the woods, and I got you in the cart seeing that there was nothing broken. My name is Joshabee Claney. What is your name?"
"I am William Northrup."
"Well, William, let's get you back into the cart. You should get some rest in there. There is a long journey ahead of us. Just sleep." he said once I had lain down in the cart of hay. I did as I was told, and before I knew it, we were there. When I tried to get up, my head nearly wanted to burst because of the pain. When Joshabee saw this, he helped me inside.
"By the way, how old are you?"
"Nineteen."
"You look as though you've been through a war."
"I have."
"Pardon?"
"I have been through a war. The Revolutionary War." Before long, I told him my story and we became good friends. After around a week of living with him, I knew that the best way for me to find the others was to leave on my own. I left a note for him the next day and headed out before dawn on foot, for Midnight was nowhere to be found. I went in search of the cabin, and found it miraculously. I noticed that there were people living there, and so, I left there and headed towards the village.
I got there at night, and I did not see anyone of my family or friends. I dared to go closer, and closer still, until I was within sight of the natives. They saw me and headed towards me. Knowing that they were friendly, I waited for them, until they started to run up to me with their tomahawks aimed at me. I tripped over a rock, and they overpowered me. I tried to struggle free, but to no avail. The warriors all carried me away. I was brought before the chief, and he immediately recognized me.
"William! What are you doing here?"
"Rescuing the others. What else?"
"I thought you were dead when you were taken away. The others left the next day."
"Which direction did they take?"
"Towards the cabin. Why?"
"Well, I do still feel obligated to find them."
"I do not blame you. Take any horse. You know the way."
"Thank you, Chief. I will leave in the morning."
"I do not advise that."
"Why not?"
"The warriors have been made corrupt. Go right when they fall asleep. White River will get you to safety."
"Again, thank you." Shortly after that, White River and I were reunited, and a few hours later, we headed out. We backtracked to the cabin, and once there made for the windows, for the lights were on. I saw that there were three men. All very familiar. I told White River who they were, and we got to the door and knocked.
"I'll get it."
"You always get it, and besides, I'm older!"
"Fine! You get it!" Before either of them could get it, Timothy came to the door and opened it.
"May I help you?"
"Timothy! It's me! William!"
"William? Hey, Peter, Obediah! It's William! He's back!" before he finished his sentence, I was lifted up in the air by all three of them. When I was set back down again, I looked behind me to let White River in, but he and the horses were no longer there.
"What are you looking at?"
"White River. He came with me, but I do not see him anymore. He once knew Peter."
"What was his English name?" Peter asked.
"Alyron. He had been captured by them and lost his memory until I showed up and described the cabin."
"Really? That was him?"
"Yes."
The celebration that we had lasted all night and I was given the very bed that I had been set down in that first night. I slept the best sleep that I had ever experienced in my life. During breakfast, prepared by Obediah, the next morning, we had the longest conversation.
"William, what was it that happened to you after coming to me? I thought that you went into town to get Obediah."
"I did head to town, but I must have made a wrong turn or something, because I ended up with a rattlesnake bite and in an Indian village. Alyron was there, is there now."
"Well then. We should help you find every one then. Where should we start?"
"I think that we should start with Grizzly Sam's cabin. That shouldn't be too far away, should it?"
"No. We can head out right now." With that, we headed out to the corral to get the horses that we were riding.
"That will do just fine." a voice from behind said once we got to the corral. We turned around, and saw the shortest man we ever saw. He stood there, gun aimed actually believing that he could take on every one of us. We laughed instead and got the horses saddled up. We rode off leaving the strange man behind. That had been a major mistake, for the next thing that we knew, we were all on the ground, a gang of men on top of us. We were dragged away from our horses and brought to another wagon. There were men already inside. Familiar looking men. I got a closer look and saw Jack, Michal, James, Sunday, White River, Pa, Nathaniel and Jacob! I could not believe my eyes!
"Jack, Michal, James, Sunday, White River, Pa, Nathaniel and Jacob! I thought I would never see you again!" I said glad that we were reunited at last. When I got a closer look at them, I saw that they were all dead. Horrified, I backed up into Peter, who looked just as horrified.
Chapter 14
We traveled on through the night with the bodies. We did not stop until midmorning the next day. When we did stop, I leapt out at who I thought was the leader as I had done with Michal, causing a distraction allowing the others to escape and get help while I was hog tied and carried in. I was set down on a bed and left for the leader to decide my fate. The leader came in the next day wearing a huge hat. He came in and ungagged me.
"Who are you, and what do you want with me and why are my pa and friends dead in your wagon? I demand an ans-" I was stopped by a swift kick to my side.
"You hold your tongue or you will be next!" that quieted me down really quick. "Now then, the reason you are here is because that is what we do! The reason your friends are dead is because they were dead before we even got to them. I don't know how they died, I just know they are dead."
"If you don't mind me asking, what year is it?"
"Why do you need to know?"
"The last year that I remember is the end of the war, and I don't know my exact age."
"The year is 1783." the leader said.
"That means that I must be..." I paused for a second, doing the math in my head, "nineteen." I said after a while."
"You don't look it."
"I can prove it."
"No! Now I must find your friends."
"Good, they escaped." I said under my breath.
"What did you say?"
"I SAID, GOOD, THEY ESCAPED!" Before I knew it, he was kicking me while I was still tied up. Darkness came over me when a kick was made to the head.
I did not wake until the next week, and even then, it was with a splitting headache. The leader was nowhere in sight, but instead, there was someone else in his place.
"Ah. Your finally up. You gave me a scare for a while there. I thought that she had killed you."
"She?"
"Abigail. The leader. We all came in not finding your friends, and she was kicking you nearly to death. We pulled her off, and she is now occupying your old cell."
"The leader is a she?"
"Yes, I thought you knew. Let's see the damage done to your head." he said, lifting my head up gently and examining it. "No harm done, just a slight lump. The swelling should go down within a week."
"What is to become of me?"
"You will be going to my place to recover, then, unfortunately, Abigail will have you as her personal slave."
"Why do you follow her?"
"She saved my life when I was a wee lad. The only life that I have ever known was with her."
"Oh. I am truly sorry."
"Ah. That's alright. Now then, let's get you into the wagon and we will be there soon enough." I fell asleep shortly after and the next thing that I know, I am in a new cabin, the man staring at me. He fed me some soup, and I was asleep soon after. The next thing that I remember was that I heard a short fight going on. I could not open my eyes or say a thing, much like the sickness that I had that first night at Peter, Obediah and Timothy's house. As I was remembering them all, the fight ended and I was lifted up, bed and all, and put in a wagon yet again. I could not open my eyes for quite some time, and when I did, I was in a very familiar looking place. I recognized it as Grizzly Sam's, but that could not be, because I had not seen a sign of Grizzly Sam for two years now, but sure enough, this was the place that I remembered. There was no one in the cabin that I could see, but within a few seconds, I was startled by the door opening up. I turned to see who it was, but, due to my recent head injury, the slightest move caused me to be unconscious yet again.
The next person that I saw was a stranger. I was still in Grizzly Sam's, or so I thought, for, when my eyes came into focus, I found that I was in a mountain man's home, but this was not Grizzly Sam's. I started to ask where I was when the stranger interrupted me.
"You are where you are. That is all you need to know." he said in a voice gruffer than that of Grizzly Sam's.
"What am I doing here?"
"My brother rescued you." Just then, another man walked in the room and ran the first one out.
"Sorry about that, boy. That was my really annoying neighbor who thinks that we are brothers even though we aren't. Welcome to the home of Alan Williamson. What is your name?"
"What am I doing here? What do you want from me? What did I do to you to make you kidnap me? What happened to my friends and family? Wh-" before I could finish, I was out cold, though I knew not how.
When I came around, I was in neither place. I was in a small tent, back with Nan, Shep and their mother. I tried asking them what they wanted from me, but the same thing happened. The next thing that I knew, I was reliving my entire life, seeing my birth, my kidnapping, everything, though from afar. I woke some time later screaming as though hot coals were being poured down my back. Someone came over to me, spoke in comforting tones, and I fell asleep yet again. I know not how long I had slept, but it felt like years. Looking around, I found that I was in a cabin, tied to a bed. I tried to get out of my binds, but, despite my strength, I found that I could not. I must have let out a grunt as I was doing so, for the next minute, there was the feeling of a cold cloth on my forehead.
"Easy there, boy. Settle down. You're in good hands." a woman's voice whispered against my ear. I tried to back away, forgetting about the binds, and she left my side and returned with a man who calmed me down.
"Don't you worry none, lad. Nothing is going to happen to you now." I allowed my eyes to close as I slipped again into unconsciousness. But again, I could hear all going on around me and could not talk or open my eyes.
"He's slipped into a coma. Where did you say you found him?"
"In the middle of nowhere. He looked as though he was a forty year old, but when we got him home, we shaved his beard and cut his hair and realized just how young he was. We bathed him and brought him here when his condition got worse."
"Very well then. Meg, have these fine gents pay you the normal price and usher them outside. There is nothing that they can do for him now."
"Yes, sir." the woman's voice said as she left with the two men. I heard the man sit down in a chair and pick up a book.
My eyes could not open for quite some time, and when they did, I saw the man sitting in the chair sleeping now, his book opened up on his stomach. I got up from bed, to leave as I had done before, but the floor boards creaked under my weight, and he woke up.
"Where do you think you are going in such a hurry?" When I did not answer, he called in the woman and she helped me back to bed. I tried to escape, but to no avail, for the doctor held me down while the woman forced some foul tasting medicine down my throat. I fell asleep shortly after.
Chapter 15
When I did wake from my slumber, I found that it had been a week, and the man was still in the room, though he was asleep on the only chair in the room. I noticed that I had restraints on my body, holding me down to the bed. This got me scarred, and I tried my best to get up, but found that I could not. All my grunting woke him up, and he had the woman put a cold cloth on my forehead. The man undid the restraints and helped me to sit up so that he could feed me. While he fed me, he explained everything.
"Two men had found you in the middle of a road and tried to nurse you back to health, but your condition grew worse. They brought you to me, and it was almost too late. You fell into a coma and woke up here. We had to restrain you so that you could get well. I will let you sleep before you tell me what happened. Now, can I trust you to stay in bed, or shall I restrain you again?" When I did not answer, he put the restraints back on and left the room. I fell asleep shortly thereafter.
I knew not just how long I slept, but when I woke, I was suffering in a delirium, for I tried madly to get out of my restraints, but it would not work. My strength was slowly regaining, and eventually, I got out of the restraints and nearly escaped from the place to find the friends and family still living somewhere, but the doctor heard me, and the woman, while I was being held down again by the doctor, gave me a shot in my arm, and I was soon out like a light.
When I woke next, I was no longer in my restraints, and the doctor was there. I tried to back up again, but was just too weak. He calmed me down, and had the woman feed me some soup. I was in this state for nearly a week before I was able to speak and tell the good doctor and the woman my story. When I had finished, the doctor had the woman go into town and fetch some people. She came back with the police.
"Is this the boy, Meg?"
"Yes it is, Officer."
"Doctor Matthew, take Meg into the other room. I wish to speak to William by myself."
"Yes, Officer."
"Now, then, William, how old did you say you were when you were kidnapped?"
"Twelve."
"And who was it that kidnapped you?"
"A gang hired by my father, although they did not know that Father was working undercover."
"And you were captured by the Militiamen at what age?"
"Either twelve or thirteen. I don't see why this is of any importance to you, sir."
"Well, William, the people that you speak of, this father of yours for instance, did he tell you that he was undercover?"
"Yes."
"Was he working on his own?"
"Yes. As I said, he ran his own operation."
"I see. And you want me to believe that story?"
"Yes."
"I am sorry, but I must have proof of some sort."
"Look in the clothes that Doctor Matthew took off of me when I first arrived. In the pants pocket, there is a journal of my adventures. I also have scars all over my body."
"Alright then. I do believe you now." he said when he saw the scars on my body. "I will make sure that you are free to go when you are well enough."
"Thank you, sir."
"I promise that I will grant you safe passage to the western territories so you can find your loved ones on your own, back where you began."
"Again, I thank you."
"Get some rest." When I woke up next, I was in a wagon. I was able to move around, and therefore went up to where the driver was. I asked him where we were bound, and he told me that he would be taking me to where the two men claimed to have found me. I would be able to find my way from there; alone.
"Don't worry none. You will be given a horse and supplies for your journey." he said as an afterthought. "You just rest, and I will wake you when we arrive. I did as I was told, though that time never came.
I woke to the sounds of a raid going on. The wagon's speed grew faster and faster, and I looked out the driver's area, but there was no driver. No horses even. I was on my way down a rocky slope, much like the one in my nightmare when I met Michal. Only this time, it was not some dream, it was real. I knew what to do, however, and I leapt from the back of the wagon and fell with a grunt. I started to roll faster and faster down a grassy slope, and I did not stop spinning even when I stopped. I was not unconscious, but, instead, I was stunned for awhile. When my world stopped spinning and I was no longer dizzy, I stood up and looked up the slope that I had just barely rolled down. What I saw, I did not expect to see. I saw a single person running towards me down the hill. I saw that he held a bow and some arrows, but I could not be to sure to trust him or not. It was either trust him and live, or not trust him and starve, for all of my supplies were destroyed in the accident. I chose the better of the two, and sat down to await my fate. When he got close enough to touch me, there must have been a second person, for the next thing that I knew, I was being hog tied to a young tree. They tied my arms to the tree first, near the top of the small tree, and my legs were next, near the bottom. They then lifted the tree up and one carried the bottom, my legs, and the other carried the top, my arms. I was carried in this manner, as though they were African warriors returning from a tiger hunt to their village. Except, where they were returning to was a cave of some sort. I was brought into the dark, and the pole that I was tied to was set down on two "Y" shaped sticks that were stuck in the ground, and I was around six feet above the ground. The two men left, and the leader that I was brought to came over and lifted a small stone, in between the size of a pebble and a medium sized rock, and pounded my head, not hard enough to knock me out, but hard enough to stun me. I felt as though I was unable to move as he untied me from the pole and carried me to my cage. It was a normal sized room, but there were bars on all four sides. I was set down on a cot, and fed. I was left alone and soon fell asleep in my new prison.
When I woke up, I was alone, so I got up and went to the door of my cage. I saw only one other person, and I decided to get some questions of mine answered.
"Where am I?" My voice startled the man so much that he jumped much like that of Doctor Jack when I had spoken to him that first time when I first arrived in America. In remembering this, tears came to my eyes. I soon wiped them away, not wishing to be asked why I was crying, for I did not wish to tell my story for it brought me memories like the one I had recently remembered that I did not wish to relive.
"I don't know. I am a prisoner myself."
"Oh. I am truly sorry. Forgive me, for I did not know."
"I do forgive you."
"How long have you been here?"
"I don't know, a couple months maybe."
"And you still don't know what they want with us?"
"No. Pardon my asking, but just how old are you?"
"Nineteen. I will be twenty next month."
"Nineteen? You look to be forty years old! What became of you?"
"It is a long story, and it looks as though our captors are headed this way. I shall tell you when the time is right."
"Yes. That would be good."
"You there!" one of the captors shouted.
"Me?" we both said together.
"No. The new one!"
"Yes?" I said as politely as possible.
"Come forward."
"I would, but I cannot do what is asked of me."
"And why not?"
"Because I do not have a key to get out of this cage."
"Well said. Here!" he said tossing me the keys to the cage. "Unlock yourself, William."
"Hey! How do you know my name?" I said unlocking my door.
"That is for me to know and for you to find out." he answered as I headed toward him, keys in hand. He led me down a hidden passage that led to more and more lit tunnels that I had not seen before. We went down through the tunnel on the far right and took a left into another tunnel which led to a door. The door was opened, and I was shoved into the room. The door was closed behind me, and I saw that there was one other person besides me in the room.
"Sit." he said, pointing to a chair. "You shall get some questions answered as will I." he said when I sat down. "You may start if you wish to."
"How did that guard know my name?"
"Do you not recognize your own friend?"
"What do you mean? I have never seen a man like him in my life!"
"Settle down, William. You mean to tell me that you do not recognize Jack?"
"Jack? Surly, you must be mistaken, for Jack is dead."
"No, I do believe that you are the one mistaken. For Jack is alive and well."
"But, how can this be? I saw him, my father, Nathaniel, James, Sunday, Michal, Jacob and White River dead in a wagon! Unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless I was delirious then, but then, where would Peter, Obediah and Timothy be?"
"Here." three unseen voices said as one. I turned to the voices, and I saw all three of them. "But, I-"
"I can see why you would be so confused, William." Obediah said. " Let me explain. When we got in the wagon, you said something about your eight friends laying dead right in front of you. We thought that you were joking at first, so we did not say anything to that, for there was nobody but us there. Then you started to cry, and we realized that you must have been seeing things. We were going to say something, but the wagon stopped, and you jumped on the first person that you saw. Well, that person tossed you on the side of the road, and left you there. They said something about not wanting anyone to know where we were.
When we got to their destination, we overpowered the two that took us, and ran off. We fell asleep somewhere in the woods that we had already passed through in order to find you. We woke up here, in one of these cages. I heard one of the men talking to another they called Doctor Jack. When their conversation was over, I beckoned the one called Jack over, and asked him if he knew you, and, when he asked me what was wrong with you instead of answering yes, well, I told him of you. It just happened that two of the other leaders had found you, and, having been told of your description, well, they let you live rather than kill you as they did to the soldier."
"Oh. But, what of the other seven? My father, Nathaniel, Jacob, James, Sunday, White River and Michal? The others that I thought I saw dead. Where are they?"
"That, none of use can help you with."
"And why not? Why can't we have a search party like mine?"
"First of all, yours was not a search party, it just happened. Second of all, do you even remember what they look like?"
"Why, of course!"
"Well, then, do tell us, so that we can see if we can find them like we found you."
"Well, I, uh, I-"
"See? It's been too long. I am sorry. We cannot help you. Just try to get some rest."
Back in my cage, on my bed, the realization hit that I honestly could not remember what the others looked like, even if I had spent a whole year with one of them, and my whole life with another two of them. I cried myself to sleep that night even though I was almost twenty years old, I let my emotions show.
Chapter 16
When I woke up, I saw that I had been moved during the night, to a different room. I was no longer in a cage, instead, I was in a dorm room type place. There were bunks all along the walls, and I shared the room with Jack, Peter, Obediah and Timothy. They were all getting up, and saw that I was up.
"You are now going to be one of the members of this club. There is one very special initiation, all that you have to do is capture one person by yourself without being taught how to or trained." Timothy explained.
"But, I do not want to do this."
"Why not?" Peter asked in his 'I'm older than you' way.
"Because I do not enjoy the thought of doing so."
"Does it look like we have a choice, Will?"
"Listen, you can either rot away and die in that cage, or join us." Jack explained to me.
"Personally, I know that as a fact, God would not wish for anyone of us to be doing this, so, I chose to rot away in the cage. I don't care what is to become of me, but it is my choice, is it not?"
"Well, yes, but how could you think of doing such a thing?"
"I am asking you four the same question, for you all know the ten commandments by heart. I am doing what I believe in, and not a one of you can stop me."
"If that is the way he wants it, then, so be it." the leader of the so called club said, suddenly appearing at the doorway of the room.
"But, sir,-"
"Do you question my authority?"
"No, but-"
"Good. William, come with me." I did as I was told, and was brought back to my cage. "I will let the others know that you will die in the morning and therefore, are to get one last meal before hand of your choice." I prayed all night that night, and ate my last meal gratefully. When my time came, Jack led me to the wagon I was to stand on. My hands were tied behind me, and the rope came around my neck. The roughness of it felt good, as I knew that I would soon be in a place much better than this. The wagon pulled out from under me, and I did not struggle, for I knew my fate. It soon got black all around me as I slowly met my end.
I woke in a beautiful place. The streets were golden, and I walked towards the pearly gates of Heaven.
"Your time has not come yet. You must first fulfill your purpose." Peter said when I met him at the gate. It got black once more and I woke in a much different place.
I woke in a bed of straw, my hands were still tied behind my back as I was bounced along. Why, the noose was still tight around my neck, and I began desperately to search for air. It got black once more as my air supply was still cut off.
I woke on a bed in a cabin. My throat burned where the noose had been. My wrists were bandaged, and there was one person in the room with me.
"jfalkdlajf." I tried to speak, but my throat just burning for more air.
"Shhh. Don't try to talk for at least a week or two. Just settle down. My name is Simon. Let me get some soup inside of you." he said, hand feeding me very gently. "You had me scarred for a moment there. I had thought that you had died."
I nodded slightly.
"You did die?" he said, now confused.
I nodded again.
"Can you write?"
When I nodded yet again, he handed me a slate board and a piece of chalk.
"What is your name?"
"William Northrup." I wrote.
"How old are you?"
"Near twenty."
"What sort of trouble did you get into with that gang of cruel men?"
"The story is too long for me to-" I did not finish writing, for I fell asleep. It took me about a week to figure out that Simon had rescued me by slicing through the rope that had been tied to a tree branch. He ran with his wagon so fast that I was able to land in the back of the wagon, and before the gang's heads established what had just happened, it had been too late, for Simon and I were already half way to his cabin. I could not find my voice still, but was able to write down my story by segment once a day. When I could still not find my voice after a month, Simon sent for a doctor. It was a good thing too, for when the doctor arrived, I was having a choking fit. I was shivering all over, and foam kept coming out of my mouth. The doctor gave me a shot, and I was out cold once again.
"William. Can you hear me? William, come back to us. That's it. There you go." a voice came from my dark coffin. My eyes cleared up, and I could see the outline of Simon. We were moving in the wagon, though Simon was in the back with me. "Doctor, he's coming around."
"Good. Give him another spoonful of that castor oil, as I showed you." My mouth was opened, and a liquid tasting and smelling even more horrible than that of the Seneca's treatment was poured into my mouth slowly. I was then forced to swallow it for my body kept on wanting to instinctively spit it out.
"Don't you worry, William. We are almost to the doctor's office. Do you remember what it was that happened?"
I shook my head after some thought.
"You had some sort of fit right when the doctor arrived. He gave you a shot, and poured castor oil down your throat, to soothe it. We both put you in the wagon, and you will receive more treatments at his home." Just then, the wagon stopped, and I was lifted by both men off of the wagon and into the doctor's office. I was set down on a bed and given more castor oil before the doctor looked at my injuries from my near hanging.
"Ah, here is where the fit came from. The feeding of food by way of the mouth built up, causing him to choke. The throat is still so swollen, that I will rub on an ointment to prevent the pain and you will have to be fed by way of a feeding tube. Do you understand what a feeding tube is?"
"Yes." I rasped, straining by saying that one word.
"No talking. Rest that voice. As for your wrists, the rope that bound them was tied too tight. For that, the same ointment with bandages. Simon, if you don't mind, I will need to keep William overnight for observation."
"I do not mind. I can just stay in the hotel across the way. Don't you worry, William, you are in excellent hands." he said leaving the room.
"Now, then, William, I am going to put the ointment on. This is going to sting. Would you like to be knocked out for the procedure?" the doctor asked when Simon left.
I nodded yes, not wishing for anymore pain. He gave me the shot, and I was out cold within a few seconds.
Chapter 17
When I came around, I was in a different room, and my wrists and neck stung. I must have let out a slight whimper in pain, for the doctor came in shortly after with the castor oil.
"How is our patient today?"
"Hurts." I said with a slightly raspy voice.
"Well, that is to be expected for another few days. Open up, here comes the castor oil." I took my treatment, though did not like it what so ever. "I know that you may not like the taste, but, it is all there is to take away the pain." he said when he saw my face.
"My pack."
"What pack?"
"That pack in the chair over there. That is mine. Where did you get it?"
"I honestly can tell you that I have never seen that pack before in my life."
"Could I see it?"
"Yes. Let me just get it." When he handed me the pack, I saw everything that I had in it the last time. Even my herb book. I opened the book to the page of pain medications that did not have a bad taste and pointed to the one that worked most effectively.
"Ashwagandha ayurvedic root extract? What does it do?"
"It is a tonic that helps to reduce inflammation in the throat. I have tried it before. How to make it is in the other book."
"Are you sure this will work?"
"Absolutely."
"Well, alright. I'll have my assistant, Rebeka, make it up for you. She will bring it in to you tonight. In the mean time, rest that voice of yours." I fell asleep shortly after he left me alone in the room.
I heard the door open, and sat up in my bed slowly for my new treatment. I looked over at the doctor's assistant, and nearly fainted. It was Rebeka Free Wolf! She did not recognize me at first, but, when she got closer and lit the single lamp in the room that was next to my bed, she too nearly fainted. She tipped my head up, and the soothing tea was poured down my throat.
"William, what happened to you?" she asked when my treatment was over. I told her in a raspy voice what had become of me, and asked her the same question.
"After you took me to the Indian village, it took me quite some time to recover from Jesse's beatings. Diablo took me away when I was healed up, and I overpowered him. I ran toward civilization, and collapsed. The doctor found me, and I've been working for him ever since then." We would have gotten caught up even more, but Simon came to get me and bring me back.
"Simon, I wish to have him for another few days, until his throat and wrists are completely healed up, if you don't object." the doctor said.
"Your the doctor. You decide what is best for my new friend." he said leaving the office. I was carried back to my bed, but someone else was occupying it.
"Sir, I must ask you to leave. If you'd be so kind." the doctor told the person in my bed. When the person did not get up, the doctor set me down on the chair and went over to the man. I jumped as I watched the kind doctor get choked to death, it being that I could not leave the room or call out. The man came over to me when that was done, and I tried to escape his grasp, but it did not work, for I was still much to weak in the legs to walk. I was dragged to the open window, and was tossed out. I landed on a bed of hay yet again, a blanket covered my head, and I was taken away from Rebeka yet again. When I tried to get up while the wagon was still in town, I was hit in the head by an object unseen.
When I came to, I was on a bed. There was no other person that I could see, but when I started to get up, a single hand came onto my shoulder and eased me back down. The owner of the hand came around to my bedside with a rope and that scarred me so much, for I thought that he was going to hang me. I started to get off of the bed but he stopped me.
"What do you think you are doing?"
"The rope. Scares me."
"What is that on your neck?" he said, now that my scar was visible in the flickering candle light. "Tilt your head up." he did it for me gently. "Now, don't you worry none. I was just gonna tie you up so you did not get out of bed." Then he saw my wrists, gently unwrapped the bandages, and saw the scars there too. "I'll be back soon." He left me there, sitting on the bed in a state of bewilderment and wonder of what was to become of me next. The door to the room opened, letting in some more light, and in walked who I believed to be the leader. He to examined the scars and told the guard to not tie me up, for he knew what it felt like to be nearly hung, and left the guard with me.
"What do you want from me?" I said in a now very raspy voice.
"Did you have some sort of medicine for that raspy voice of yours?" he said changing the subject. I wrote the ingredients and directions down and he made the tea at the wood stove in the room. He then helped me swallow it down, and told me to get some rest. But I would not have my question go unanswered.
"I asked you a question."
"What was the question?"
"What do you want with me?"
"Pedro, the leader, wants you because his boss, White Fox, wants you."
"Who is White Fox?"
"I do not know his real name, for that it the name that he goes by. Only he and Pedro know what his real name is. You will be meeting him tomorrow."
"How did you know where to find me?"
"Pedro was taught by his father how to track. We tracked you to the doctor's office, and waited until the right moment. You should get some sleep now." he said getting up from his seat and leaving the room. I soon fell fast asleep, the ashwagandha ayurvedic root tea having worked nicely, just as I had expected.
When I woke the next morning, the guard was ready and waiting for me with my tea. When I finished my tea, he helped me to where White Fox was. When I arrived, White Fox's back was turned towards me.
"Leave us, Annack." he said once I was situated in my seat. When the door closed behind Annack, White Fox turned around. He looked oddly familiar, but I just could not place him. He was old, nearly fifty or sixty I guessed.
"William, do you know who I am?"
"You are White Fox."
"Do you know my real name?"
"No."
"I will give you one and only one hint as to my identity. Susanna."
"James?" I said as a wave of recognition splashed over me.
"Yes. What happened to your neck?"
"You don't know? I was nearly hung. A man named Simon had rescued me and I was brought to a doctor's office. I was kidnapped by one of your men after the said doctor was killed right in front of my eyes." I said when he shook his head, no.
"Pedro! Come in here now!"
"What is it White Fox?"
"Who was it that was in the room with this boy when your men kidnapped him?"
"Me, sir. I could trust no one else to do the job properly."
"Annack! Come here at once!"
"Yes, White Fox?"
"You are to be made second in charge. Have Pedro executed in the morning for killing the doctor who helped save this boy's life."
"Yes, sir." Annack said excitedly, as though he had hoped for this day to come his whole life. When the two left the room, James and I were able to get caught up.
"After you left the cabin, William, to get help, three men came and rescued most of us. Rebeka was the one who did not escape Diablo. We did go in search for you, but could not find you. We did, however, find your horse, Midnight."
"Is he alright?"
"Yes. You may see him after I finish. We followed a man to a cabin in the mountains, which is where we are now."
"What was his name?"
"Grizzly Simon or something like that. Why?"
"Several years ago, Grizzly Sam had rescued me from the Ottawa Indians and brought me to this very cabin. I lived with him for a year before it was destroyed in a fire. Midnight carried me down to the other cabin, and well, you probably know what happened until you arrived. When I left that cabin, I did find Peter, and made a wrong turn into town to get Obediah. Midnight was stolen I think, and I got bit by a rattler. I stayed with an Indian tribe and headed back here when I was well. I was kidnapped by one of the gang, escaped back here, again, that was thanks to Grizzly Sam, and was taken by Diablo. I was in and out of unconsciousness for quite some time. I was sent to a Boston hospital, was on a journey with a soldier to find you guys, was kidnapped and died. I was not ready to die yet though, and I pulled through. Then, I was kidnapped by your men and brought here. Do you know what happened to Pa?"
"No, after we escaped, he went elsewhere, I think in search of you."
"Oh." My voice was getting raspy again, and James gave me some more tea, only a stronger dosage. I fell asleep in my chair right after, though I knew not what caused me to do that.
I woke up in another wagon. I looked around me and saw Annack sleeping on the floor.
"Annack! Wake up! Annack!" I whispered as loud as I could without letting the mysterious driver know that I was up.
"What is it, William?"
"Where are we headed?"
"Your guess is as good as mine." We both looked out the back of the wagon and saw that it was attached to another wagon. I saw that James was in the other wagon, looking just as confused as Annack and I were. We did not stop for another few miles, and when we did, I, as I had so many times before, jumped on the first person I saw in an attempt to rescue the friends who were with me. It worked yet again, and I was dragged inside and tied and gagged. I breathed hard as I was being tied to the bed, but I was gagged, and so could not talk and was being held down by two men. I fainted when they were done tying me up, and they must have seen the scars, for, when I came to, I was no longer tied up, but, rather, I was guarded by the two men who had held me down as I was being tied up in the same room that I had fainted in earlier.
"Where am I?" I asked, realizing that my throat was now completely healed up, minus the scars.
"You are in the cabin of Pedro."
"I already know what he wants with me then."
"You do?"
"Yes. I told his boss that he had killed someone right in front of my eyes."
"No. That is not why I want you, William."
"Huh? Who said that?"
"I did. At the door. Guards, open the door already!" the door opened, and I saw the man they called Pedro walk in. "Leave us! The real reason that I wanted you is because I took pity on you."
"What?"
"I took pity on you. You remind me of myself when I was your age."
"What? You were kidnapped at twelve from you London home in order to serve in the British army during the Revolutionary War too?" I said sarcastically.
"Let me explain. I was sold by my parents to work on a ship that was bound for the Colonies. I was a sickly child then, but I have healed considerably. I was captured by the militiamen and adopted by one of them. I later nearly died in a fire set off by a gang of men. My legs that I have now were handmade by a blacksmith who took pity on me. I became an apprentice to him after that, and was later kidnapped by a gang. When I refused to join them, they nearly hung me. I was rescued by the same man that rescued you, and that doctor I killed had nearly killed me with his medications. I was rescued by James later on and became second in command. Have you guessed what my real name is yet?"
"Charlie? Is that really you?"
"Yes, William, it is me."
"Do you know what happened to my father?"
"No. I am sorry in that respect, but, I did save your life."
"What do you mean?"
"The man who rescued you from the hanging was a member of the gang. He knew that he would have to call in a doctor eventually and he always called in the same one. That doctor would then have you stay overnight two nights in a row and then kill you with one of his medications. The medication that he was about ready to give you was a type of poison not found by the natives."
"How do you know all of this, Charlie?"
"Because he planted that bag."
"He planted my pack?"
"Yes, so that you would tell him what would be the best. At first, he would mix it up the correct way, and on the second night, right before he put you to bed, he would give you something different, though in the same container and form as the medication you would give him, leading you to believe that you were recieving the correct medication, when in fact, he would give you his own concoction of the medicine, and that concoction would have the poison mixed inside killing you the very next day. I know this, because it is what happened to Sunday."
"Sunday is dead?"
"I am afraid so."
"How long ago?"
"Three years."
"Oh."
"Cheer up, Will. Surely, you must have the faith that your father is still out there."
"There is just one thing."
"What is that?"
"When I was hung, I actually did die. I went up to the pearly gates of Heaven, and the Apostle Peter told me that I must first fulfill my purpose here on Earth in order to enter, and I still don't have a clue what my purpose is."
"We all will find that out, trust me. Now, I think it is time to sleep."
"Alright, Charlie." I fell asleep a few hours later.
Chapter 18
When I woke up next, I was still in the same room. Charlie came in just a few more minutes later with my breakfast.
"Charlie," I said in between mouthfuls of eggs and bacon. "Just answer me one question."
"What question would that be?"
"I know why you wanted me, but, why did you take Annack and James? Surely, you must have had a reason for it."
"I took them because they tried to keep you with them. They were following in the wagon that James was in, I caught them, and attached that wagon to the one that you were in. When you jumped on the first man you saw, we were all too distracted to notice that they were gone. By the time my men got you inside, it was too late. They had vanished."
"Oh. Well, are you going to be looking for them?"
"No. They will come soon enough if they really do care that much for you as you say they do. They will bring help."
"But, then, what will become of you?"
"Don't you worry about me. Even though I killed that doctor to save a life, I cannot prove it. They will hang me soon enough with your testimony."
"What if I convince them to drop the charges?"
"No. That would be against the law because I still am a cold blooded killer."
"Then they can hang me too."
"No. You did nothing wrong." Just then, the door to the room was kicked in and Charlie was seized. I was carried by two men outside and was put into a waiting wagon. Charlie was put into another one, and we both went in opposite directions. I saw that there were two others in the wagon with me, and saw that they were Annack and James when the light came in the wagon as we made a sharp turn in the road.
"What is to become of him?"
"Who Pedro?"
"No. Charlie."
"That was Charlie?"
"Yes, why?"
"You don't know this, but, Susanna and I did have a child. His name was Charlie. When he was a boy of three, he was kidnapped, and we never saw him again. You were born to a friend of mine, and I was hired by that friend to look after you. That friend moved to the Colonies."
"Are you telling me that I have a different father than I was led to believe all these years?"
"Yes. The man who we claimed to be your father is actually my brother. When your real father left, we devised the plan for my brother and his wife to fill in. We just did not realize that it would turn out this way. Charlie would have been twenty three today."
"But, he is."
"What do you mean?"
"Pedro is Charlie. He turned twenty three today."
"How do you know of this?"
"When I was on the ship, The Cay, the cabin boy's name was Charlie. He did not tell me his last name. I found out some time ago from Sunday that Charlie's last name was Barnaby. That is your last name, is it not?"
"Well, I never thought...Wait! Driver! Turn around! I must stop that hanging! He's my son!"
"Yes, sir." We got to the hanging just in time. The noose was around Charlie's neck and we were able to stop the hanging by having James drop all charges and pay his bail. We made it out of town when he asked James why he would do such a thing.
"Because, Charlie. You are my son."
"What? How can that be?"
"My last name is Barnaby. Same as yours."
"How did you find out?"
"William told me."
"William, how did you- never mind. I don't blame Sunday for telling you that."
"How did you know that it was Sunday who told me?"
"Simple. He was the only one that I told, and he fathered you."
"James, what did my real father look like?"
"Well, he wore a suit all the time. He was a very well established person in life."
"What was his name?"
"Samuel McGully."
"Do you know who my real mother is?"
"I wish that I did, but, I am afraid I do not."
"Oh." I said sadly.
"Don't you worry none, William. If he is still around this place, we will find him. I promise you that."
"Thank you, James. But, I don't want you to make a promise such as that. What if you cannot keep to that promise?"
"Don't worry. You will see." he said as we made it to Grizzly Sam's home. We walked inside and ate our supper of fried chicken, creamy mashed potatoes and fresh peas straight out of the pods. We finished our meal, and James showed me to my room. It looked as though the room was the old cabin, before the fire. It was big enough to be the cabin and had every single thing that had been there before in the same exact spots on the walls, on the floors and on the ceilings. Seeing this sight brought tears to my eyes as I pictured Grizzly Sam the very first time that I saw him, standing over Running Bear's body with the knife in hand. I pictured him reconstructing the cabin, log by log. I pictured him crying as he finished the cabin and extended it for a new family. I tried to picture him wearing a tuxedo on his wedding day, him clean-shaven with a slight hair cut, smiling as his new wife walked down the isle toward him, tears streaming down her pristine cheeks, but I found that, instead of crying like I thought I would be, I was laughing. I could not, in all my life, see Grizzly Sam wearing a tuxedo. The door to my room opened, and James poked his head in.
"Are you feeling ok?"
"Yes. I was just trying to picture Grizzly Sam in a tuxedo, and I failed."
"Ok. Just don't laugh to death." he said giggling as the door closed behind him. I fell asleep on my old bed laughing and crying, remembering the good old days when it was just me and Grizzly Sam. I remembered the first time he taught me how to fish. I ended up catching him instead! And then there was that one time when he taught me how to build a fire, nearly burnt the whole woods down. There were so many memories, that I had a hard time getting sleep that night. I must have gotten to bed at some point that night, for the next thing I know, light is pouring in my windows, and I decided to get a good look outside. I took a look, and saw a man being chased by the whole Ottawa tribe that had taken me as a prisoner. I decided to try and save this young man from certain death, put my bear skin clothes that Grizzly Sam had made me, and I was off. I snuck behind the group and took each and every one of them out silently. As I moved closer and closer towards the leader, the leader was getting closer and closer to the young man. I decided to catch the man in an element of surprise, and kill the leader so that he would let out a scream. It worked. The man turned around, kept on running, and hit a tree he did not see, for he was mesmerized by my appearance, standing over the leader's body, bloody knife extended. He was out cold within a few seconds. When I got close enough to touch him, I realized that he was a boy, no older than I had been when Grizzly Sam had first taken me in. I carried him all the way to the cabin and set him down gently on the floor, the same place that I had woken up in when Grizzly Sam had set me, all those years ago.
Leaving him alone, I went into where James, Charlie and Annack were.
"Well, it's about time you got up."
"I have been up. I was just taking care of something."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes."
"And what might that something be?"
"I just killed ten Ottawa warriors."
"And, why would you do a thing like that?"
"They were going to kill a boy."
"Is the boy alright?"
"Yes. He fell unconscious though. He should wake up in a few more minutes. He'll be scared half to death."
"How can you be so sure?"
"It had been the same with me, remember? He's no older than I was when I was running from Running Bear with Nathaniel and Jacob and Grizzly Sam had rescued me."
"That is true." Just then, we all heard a groan come from my room, and I quickly downed my eggs and dished out some more for the boy. I left the others to sit around as I nursed the boy back to health.
"W-where am I?"
"In Grizzly Sam's cabin."
"Are you Grizzly Sam?"
"I wish. I am actually William Northrup."
"Oh. Where is Grizzly Sam?"
"I don't know. Eat your food, now. Get well."
"Yes sir."
"Now, then, what did you do to rile up them Ottawa Indians?" I asked him when he was done with his meal.
"I escaped."
"Do you want to tell me about it?"
"Not really."
"What is your name?"
"David McGully."
"Your father, what was his name?"
"Samuel McGully. Why?"
"He is my father."
"How is this possible?"
"I will tell you later. How old are you?"
"Ten."
"Where are your parents?"
"I don't know. The last time I saw them, we were on our way to a cabin that Pa had built many years ago. He told me a story of a young man who he rescued from the hands of an Indian. He was in the middle of the story when we were attacked on all sides by Ottawa warriors. They took Ma and Pa and ran after me when they saw that I had escaped. I keep on hearing Ma's scream echoing in my mind." he said as tears started to stream down his cheeks.
"You need not go on any farther with your story if you don't want to."
"Thank you."
"Tell me, how old is your father?"
"Twenty one. He adopted me after marrying Ma."
"That can definetly not be right."
"What can't?"
"If your father was my father, then that would mean that he was only one year old when I was born, and that is quite impossible."
"That is true. But, I remember him telling me that in his family, the men, when they have a first born son, they name them Samuel McGully. Some tradition that was started by my grandpa. They called him Grizzly Sam. He came all the way from London with no money in his pockets. That had been why I asked you if you were Grizzly Sam. I have not laid eyes on him yet."
"Well, David McGully, I don't know about you, but in order for a ten year old to get well, he must get rest. Will you do that for me?"
"Yes. Goodnight, Grizzly Will." he said to me closing his eyes as the darkness familiar to me closed over him and he slipped into unconsciousness. Watching that happen was new to me and I nearly thought that he was only asleep. It is hard to tell the difference between the two, until you peer into their eyes. You must open them, and shine candlelight into their eyes. If there is no reaction to that, they are unconscious. If there is a reaction, they were just asleep. That I had learned from Doctor Jack, before he had become corrupt with Peter, Timothy and Obediah. I wondered where they were now. I had never thought about it until then, but I realized that I had never found out what became of them the day that I had died. Had they decided that what they were doing was wrong and left? What had their reactions been? Had they come after me and Simon? Or had they just stood there in amazement, staring after me for a few minutes before they came to their senses and began chasing after me? Or had they killed the leader before they left? I pondered over these questions before I finally decided that they could not be answered with me just sitting there like an ant on a log. I got up, put David's unconscious body on my bed, got him out of his damp clothes, gave him a bath, dressed him in some of my old clothes, tucked him in, put a cold cloth on his forehead, and went to the other room.
"I must find out what became of my friends!"
"What? Are you mad, William?"
"No. I must find them. And I must do it on my own."
"But, that's crazy talk! You can't possibly-"
"I am doing it for the boy. He told me where he last saw his parents. I will start there." I said taking up my weapons and heading out the door, allowing it to slam behind me. The others came after me, but I was too far ahead of them to allow them to catch up with me. Once out of sight, I began to run toward the hills. I did not stop until I heard a horse neigh in protest. I turned toward the neighing, and saw a familiar black horse. I saw Midnight being roped up by a group of people.
Chapter 19
"Hey! What do you think you are doing to my horse?"
"Your horse? This horse has terrorized my horse heard all week, and now I have claimed him as my own." the man with the rope spoke up.
"You won't get that far. Trust me."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because, as I said earlier, he is my horse. I've known him since I was a boy. I am the only one who can ride him."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Go on then. Prove yourself, and you can have the horse." he said after some thought. I did just that. I walked up to him, let him sniff my hand, took the hurtful rope off of him, got on him, and rode in circles around the astonished group of men.
"Fine. He's yours. So what?" another man spoke up. Before I could answer, Midnight noticed something, for he ran at top speed in the direction that I had come from. I circled around and ran in the direction that I had wanted to go, for the boy, and, satisfied that the group was not following me, headed off to possibly rescue two people, and hopefully find my fathers and mothers.
I rode all that night without a sign of a single soul. I kept riding still until noon. When I was about ready to give up and head back to Grizzly Sam's, I noticed wagon tracks in the sand. I followed them, not expecting to find anything. Sure enough, I was half way through the tracks, and still not a single person in sight. I was turning back when I heard a sound. It sounded like that of a sparrow, but it was a human voice. I headed in that direction and soon found them, two people, a man and a woman. The man looked to be about my age, with jet-black hair reaching to just below his ears. He looked as though he hadn't shaved his beard in a month, for it was all straggly and unkempt. His clothes were ragged and soiled, though, underneath all that dirt, I saw that they were gentleman's clothes, as though they had been imported from London. The woman was no older than me, with dark brown hair. Her skin was all soiled with the desert sand plastering against her face in the wind, stuck there by her sweat and tears as though they were some sort of paste holding it on. I did not notice a third person standing by the wagon. He was only half dressed. He also had some war paint on his cheeks and a tomahawk in his hand, raised above the screaming body of the young woman. The man was transfixed, as though mesmerized by the sight of it. I acted quickly. I pulled out my own tomahawk that I had fashioned at Grizzly Sam's and threw it at the man with the tomahawk. It knocked his out of his hand and, before he could react, I was on top of him, knocking him to the ground. I could vaguely hear the woman say, "Samuel! Do something! Samuel!" as I punched the Indian. Suddenly, an unseen knife that the Indian had concealed from me was now visible, and he tried to stab me with it. I would block his moves, though the blade would still slash my arms. I was able to wrestle the knife away from him, and, with my inhuman strength against him, he took off without his knife. I stood transfixed on him until he was out of sight with my blood mixing with sweat and sand plastered against my face. I fainted, right then and there with exhaustion and loss of blood.
When I awoke, the man and woman were both standing over me. The woman was getting water from a canteen that I had not noticed before, and pouring it on a cloth. She dabbed it on my knife wounds gently and saw that I had come around.
"Samuel, he is awake." she said to the man who had been lost in thought. "Are you alright, sir?"
"Yes, I believe so." I said trying to get up.
"No. Don't. I had to stitch you up some. You must stay still. Where did you come from?"
"I was on my way to find Samuel McGully's parents."
"What do you want with them?" the man spoke up.
"He is alright and he wanted them to be found."
"How do you know he is alright?" he said defensively.
"I saved him from a group of Ottawa Indians that were chasing him in front of Grizzly Sam's cabin."
"Did you just say Grizzly Sam's cabin?"
"Yes. He is a friend of mine."
"Are you the boy that he had rescued all those years ago?"
"If you are talking of William Northrop, then yes."
"You can't know how much my father has spoken of you."
"Oh really?"
"In all of his letters, he kept on talking of you. How you were doing. It got to the point where we were compelled to meet this mystery boy."
"Do you know what happened to Grizzly Sam?"
"No. I was just going to ask you the same thing."
"I haven't seen or heard from him since Diablo had overtaken me at an Indian village sometime ago. After I had found you two and brought you both to your son, I was going to go and find him, starting with the last place that I saw him."
"By yourself?"
"Yes. I have done it before. Where is my horse?" I said now noticing that he was not in my line of vision at the moment.
"Your horse is safe. I put him with the other horses. Who is Diablo?"
"He was the gang leader who had kidnapped my fake ma, my fake father and a lot of other friends."
"Huh?" he asked now confused.
"You want me to tell you my story don't you?"
"Yes, that would be helpful."
When I finished my story, he understood and told me that he wanted to go with me to find his father.
"I don't know. Those clothes are going to have to go."
"Don't worry. I have some others in this trunk."
"Are they the same as the ones that you have on right now?"
"Yes."
"Then, you need to get some clothes like I am wearing at Grizzly Sam's when we drop your wife off."
"Well, ok."
"Don't worry. It is only a day and night's ride."
"We can start in the morning then."
"Agreed." I said extending my hand. When he shook it, we ate our supper and fell asleep. I woke the others up when Dawn arose in all her grace and beauty, but before God kissed his plants with dew.
I got on Midnight, bareback, as both he and I liked it best, and led the other two out of the desert and to Grizzly Sam's. I first showed them their now conscious son and mother, father and son having been reunited in one heartfelt tear jerking moment, I handed Samuel some of Grizzly Sam's old clothes. When he was dressed in those clothes, I told him to go and pick a horse and to saddle up.
"Where are you off to now, William?" James asked.
"We must find out what became of Grizzly Sam, my fake parents and other friends."
"But you just got here, and you are allowing a city man go along with you? You must be out of your mind."
"The sooner we leave, the better."
"Then I am going with you." they all said as one.
"No. I need you all to stay here and protect Mary and her son from harm."
"You sure?"
"Yes, Charlie, I'm sure. We'll be fine. Don't worry."
"William, I'm ready!" Samuel called from outside. I grabbed some food and water and extra weapons and headed out with Samuel on the quest of finding my friends and false parents.
Chapter 20
It took us a few days to make it to the Indian village, and we reached there around noon on the third day. When we got there, I saw that there was no sign of gangs ever being there in the first place, so I rode up. I went to the chief's tipi and ran in. The chief looked up in bewilderment and couldn't place who I was at first. Then a smile came to his face, and we embraced in sweet reunion. When all the introductions were made, I asked the chief what had become of Diablo and his gang in the language that only he and I could understand at the moment.
"They left soon after you did. When they left, your two friends still here."
"They are?"
"Yes. They are in the tipi next to mine."
"May we go and have a look?"
"Yes." he said nodding his head. When we got there, Rebeka remembered me immediately, Grizzly Sam took a little bit longer and when he did, he jumped up and hugged me as though a father welcoming his prodigal son back home. When I stepped away from the hug, Grizzly Sam saw his son. They embraced in a much longer embrace. I left them be and talked with Rebeka. When I told her what became of me, she told me that when the doctor had died that night, and I had vanished, she ran to the village. She had been with Grizzly Sam ever since then. When she finished, the other two had stopped embracing each other, and I was able to ask some more questions.
"What became of my father?"
"He ran off after you when they took you away. I did not see him until a few nights ago."
"Where is he now?"
"He is in another tipi. I can take you to him now, if you want that."
"Yes. I would like that very much." She led me away, leaving the two Samuels to catch up with one another. I opened the tipi flap, and, sure enough, there he was, laying down on the ground. I nudged him with my foot, and he woke up.
"William. I must find my son."
"But I am your son!"
"William. I must find him before it is too late."
"Father! Listen to me! I am your son!"
"He has been like that since he stumbled in three days ago."
"If I only had my pack."
"Your pack?"
"You know. The one that had my book of herbs in it."
"You mean this one?" she said holding up my pack.
"My pack! Did you take it with you when you left the doctor's office?"
"Yes." she said handing it to me smiling. I opened the book and found what I needed to help my father. Within an hour, the herb worked.
"William? Is that you?"
"Yes, William."
"Why do you call me William?"
"That is your name, is it not?"
"But I am your father, and you will call me father."
"You are not my father. My father's name is Samuel McGully."
"How did you-?"
"James told me everything. How could you lie like that to me all these years?"
"I don't know."
"And all those voyages? Can you explain those?"
"I was always in search of your mother and real parents."
"And what of my brother?"
"What brother?"
"When Ma came here, she had a son. His name was Alyron."
"Alyron? How can that be possible?"
"He's in this village right now if you wish for me to get him."
"Please do."
"Rebeka, do you think that you could get White River for me?"
"Why do you want him?"
"He is my brother."
"Ok. I will be back."
"Thank you." She was back within a few minutes, and White River ran up to his father and they both embraced when I introduced them to each other. Rebeka and I left them alone and went for a walk together. We needed to clear the air of all bad memories that we both had encountered on this journey. We did not return until after dark, and there were some celebrations.
We danced, sang and played games the whole night long. The chief pulled me aside and told me that I was to have a new name.
"Your new name is Wolf Dancer."
"Thank you, Chief."
"No doubt that you will be having sons." he said pointing to Rebeka Free Wolf.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. That is why we are celebrating. When one young warrior of our village takes a young woman for a walk alone, then they are engaged to wed." I looked at my new bride to be in admiration. Her long, black hair dancing with her in the warm night air. I saw her laughter dancing with the flames of the campfire that danced against her smooth skin, and I knew that what the chief said was true. She and I were meant to be. Little did I realize that things would turn out the way they did.
When the celebrations were over and done with, I took Rebeka aside and told her what the chief had told me.
"I would be honored to be your wife, Wolf Dancer."
"Really? Great! When do we announce our engagement?"
"We already are engaged, silly!"
"Oh. Yeah. Right."
"We have to wait for the wedding ceremony to happen."
"When will that be?"
"In around a week."
"That soon? Wow. I can't wait for that day to come!" That day never came.
Chapter 21
In the middle of the week, we were getting everything and everyone ready for the big day when a man arrived at the village. It took me awhile to realize who it was, but by then it was too late. I saw him when he got closer. It was Diablo. He had come back to seek revenge. He did not come alone though, and he began to murder men, women and children. I hid until he thought that all was clear and I leapt out at him with my tomahawk extended. I was so close to killing him that one time, but I did not see the other man with him. He had a gun extended, and he shot me in the arm. I was strong enough, however, to get up and run like the wind on Midnight. He carried me away from my wife and friends. I was carried back to Grizzly Sam's unconscious yet again.
When my strength was yet again returned to me, I left for the village. When I got there, everything had been burned to the ground. When I saw that the gang had left and all was clear, I searched the bodies for survivors. The first body that I came to was Rebeka's. My grief overtook me, and I tried killing myself, but there was inner strength telling me what to do. The next body I came to was a young boy's, no more than five years old. I went over to all the bodies that I could find, and saw that Grizzly Sam's was missing. He was either burned up, or he had escaped. The last body that I came to was that of William, my false father lying next to Alyron's body. The chief and his wife were gone as well. I immediately buried them, and knew that what I was about to do was both wrong and stupid. I was going to get my revenge. I was about ready to leave, when I heard a groan come from behind me. I turned around, and saw a body that I had not seen yet. I went over to it, and saw that it was nobody from the village. He was unconscious, by the looks of it, and I carried him to safety.
I camped out in the woods with him for about a week before I learned that by taking him with me, I had made a very grave decision. It had been a trap, he the bate, I the mouse. I was trapped, and there was nothing that I could do about it. I had been hunting and had left the man by himself. When I came back, however, the man was no longer there. I stepped cautiously to where I had left him, where his indents were still formed in the underbrush. I looked around and saw nothing. Then, I felt a net come over me and I was dragged away. There was nothing that I could do about it now. I was dragged by an unseen force through mud, rocks, branches, leaves and even a stream or two until I could bear it no longer. I tried to get up, but was knocked back down, unconscious, by a low hanging branch.
When I came around, I was in a wagon, the beams holding the canvas up above me, I in a cage of some sort. I saw that it had been Diablo's trap, for he was in the wagon, smiling to himself.
"You thought you were so smart trying to get away from me like that! I have outsmarted you."
"You killed Rebeka."
"Yes, I know. You two were to be wed, is that right?"
"How did you know?"
"I have my ways."
"Why have you always kept me alive? Surly, if you had wanted to kill me, why have you not?"
"Simple. You have something that I want."
"What is that?"
"Life."
"I don't follow you."
"Of course you don't."
"Could you possibly explain?"
"When we get there, you will see."
"When we get where?"
"To my home and soon to be yours. Just get some rest. You look like you need it." he said closing some curtains that I had not seen before around my cage. I fell asleep with the gentle swaying of the wagon as my lullaby. When I awoke with Dawn, I was in a much cleaner place. I was on a feather bed of some sort, and there were curtains drawn around me. When I touched the beautiful white curtains, they felt like silk or satin. I drew them away, and saw that Diablo was sitting in the only chair in the room, a stuffed red dining chair by the looks of it. The walls were all white, and there were windows that let the sun come in, giving the allusion of a bright, clean home.
"Where have you taken me?"
"As I told you before, I have taken you home." he said setting a silver tray of food on my lap. He explained everything to me while I ate.
"I used to live in London, had a wife of my very own. I got her pregnant, and she left me when the baby was born. She had only wanted power and wealth, not babies. Not knowing the first thing of babies, I had a friend of mine take care of him while I went to the colonies to make a fortune. I did, though through some other ways of which I regret. My friends all came to know me as Diablo, though my true name is Samuel McGully. The friend that I gave the boy to was James Barnaby. I was going to send for my baby when the time was right, but I found that James had wanted my son to grow up not knowing me, and had given him to his sister and her husband. I found that they gave him a new name, for James' brother in law. William Northrop."
When he said that last bit, I nearly choked as I said, "I beg your pardon?"
"I am your father."
