66

The Territorial Superintendent’s Office

Dr. Steck was delighted. “I hadn’t expected you back so soon. This is exactly what we need. I’ll go to the telegraph office with this right away. You’ve done a great job.”

“Well, thank you, sir. I really had the Indians’ help getting these. Can’t say I can take all the credit.”

“How’s that?”

“I’ll tell you the whole story sometime,” Will promised. “But now I’d like to get some sleep.”

Dr. Steck accompanied him to the Sangre de Cristo to get him set up in a room. “I’ll order you a bath and a rubdown,” Steck said as they were waiting at the front desk. “You deserve it, young man.”

“Thank you, sir.” Yes, Will looked forward to a repeat of that luxurious experience. He, too, thought he had earned it.

That evening, he went down to the Yellow Rose Cantina to let Joel know he was back in town and have a bite to eat, then enjoyed another sensuous massage. Clean, and with all the tension worked out of him, he slept soundly for the first time in days.

In the morning, Joel was there to resume the language lessons. Later Will went to see Dr. Steck and learned that the messages had been sent. The Superintendent had already heard back from his friend Jack Osborne that the news that Carleton had been defrauding the government and keeping much of the Indian money for himself had infuriated Osborne’s contacts in Congress and in the War Department.

“The federal envoy to the Territory dispatched a military courier to Fort Sumner this morning to order Carleton to report back here immediately for an investigation of the sale of Indian lands. The envoy thought that was more within his jurisdiction than the fraud charges.”

“It also looks like a charge that could have arisen here in Santa Fe,” Will observed. He’d begun to realize that if Carleton knew what had really happened, he might retaliate against the Diné. “Thank God, Carleton thinks I’m dead.”

“Well, young man, that’s another charge perhaps we should levy against him—attempted murder.”

“Let’s just get him out of Fort Sumner. And get the Diné back to their homeland.”

“I doubt this action will have much effect on the Indians. Though maybe a new commander at the Bosque Redondo may be better at caring for their needs.”

“But, please sir, the reason for all this is to get the Diné back home.” Will worried that his efforts might come to naught after all. “That’s what’ll bring peace. You’ve got to see that!”

“Perhaps you’re right, young man. I’ll certainly convey that message. You did a yeoman’s job, you deserve to have your say.”

“It’s not my say, sir. The Indians deserve to have their lives.”

“Well, yes.” Steck dropped his eyes. “Well, not much for you to do now. You can take a rest. It’s all in the hands of federal prosecutors.”

Afraid the white government just wasn’t going to understand, but hopeful Changing Woman’s advice about strategy had been right, Will did take the opportunity to rest. The second night of his stay at the hotel, he again got a massage. He was beginning to feel a bond with the Indian masseur. The man, who was called Ganado Mucho, was indeed a Navajo. He spoke no English and only a little Spanish. Will used the small vocabulary of Diné words he now knew. Ganado Mucho smiled, but didn’t respond and Will decided to respect the man’s silence. He was in awe of his strength and his awareness of the human body. Ganado Mucho was certainly not a Two-Spirit berdache. If anything, he was overly masculine. But there was a deep spiritual calm about him. Will imagined he, like Hasbaá, must be dear to the Holy Persons.

During the first week, Will took his Spanish lessons, did a little work for Dr. Steck at the federal offices, filing and recopying documents, and helped out at the Solis General Store. He was pleased to see that Joel and Jose had continued their partnership in the trading business. Joel also helped out at the store to acquaint himself with good business practices and to make extra money to deposit to his bank account.

By the end of a week, Will had grown used to the pattern of living in the hotel and working at his couple of jobs. During the second week, however, everything changed again.