CHAPTER 20
Jamie thought Lieutenant Tyler looked a little nervous as they approached the rise along with Preacher. That was understandable. Tyler had never dealt with the Indians, had never even seen any close up except the ones who had been killed during that battle with the Pawnee.
Tyler didn’t flinch, though. He walked with Jamie on his right and Preacher on his left. Most of the Crow warriors displayed hostile expressions as the three white men came up the slope and stopped facing Broken Pine.
Preacher said, “Broken Pine, this is Lieutenant Hayden Tyler of the United States Army. Lieutenant Tyler, Chief Broken Pine of the Crow people.”
Tyler nodded and said, “Chief Broken Pine, it is an honor to meet you.” He glanced at Preacher as if waiting for the mountain man to translate what he had said.
“I speak your tongue,” Broken Pine said. His face was impassive, as if carved from stone. “I need no one to tell me your words.”
“Oh. Ah . . . Well, that’s good. We can talk to each other and understand.”
“What I do not understand is why you attacked a peaceful hunting party that meant you no harm.”
Preacher said, “It wasn’t the lieutenant who did that. It was another fella, a sergeant named O’Connor. I reckon he spotted you and the others and lost his head. He thought you were hostiles.”
“Because all Indians look the same to white men,” Hawk said.
“To some white men, maybe,” Jamie responded. “But I can tell you right now, Sergeant O’Connor and I don’t see eye to eye on much of anything.”
“Nevertheless,” said Tyler, “the sergeant is under my command, and I apologize for what he did, Chief Broken Pine.”
“I am not your chief,” Broken Pine said. “You do not have to call me that.”
“Regardless, I’m sorry for what happened. Your man who was wounded . . . is he going to be all right?”
“It seems so.”
“I’m glad to hear that. The soldier who was wounded isn’t badly hurt, either.”
Broken Pine just gazed coolly at the young officer, as if to indicate that he didn’t care what happened to Private Jenkins.
Jamie was glad to see that Tyler was smart enough to just let that pass. Instead, Tyler went on, “My commanding officer and I have been sent here to speak with you, Broken Pine. I thought that we would have to visit your village in order to do so. Perhaps this meeting, as unfortunate as it was when it started, will prove to be a good thing after all.”
“You come to ride into our village without being invited?” Broken Pine shot back at him. “That is the same thing as attacking it.”
Jamie said, “We would have sent a small party and asked for permission to speak with you. Most of the soldiers would stay outside the village.”
Maybe Lieutenant Davidson would have done that, and maybe he wouldn’t, Jamie thought even as he spoke those reassuring words. It was entirely possible that Davidson would have just bulled in with the whole troop and started a battle that would have wrecked the whole mission and gotten a bunch of them killed. With Davidson, it was hard to say.
So in that respect, it actually was lucky that they had run into Broken Pine and the other Crow out here on the plains. They might not even have to go to the village in the foothills if they could persuade the chief to come with them back to Fort Kearny.
Jamie went on, “Now you can speak with our commander . . . our chief ”—he tried not to grimace when he referred to Davidson that way—“here instead of having to wait until we arrive at the village.”
Broken Pine immediately dashed that hope. He shook his head and said, “We will not talk here. Any important talk will be in the village, where all the elders and warriors can take part.”
“I’m not sure that’s necessary—” Tyler began.
“If Broken Pine says that’s the way it’ll be, then that’s the way it’ll be,” said Preacher. His tone made it clear there wouldn’t be any argument.
“Of course,” Tyler said with a quick nod. “But at least, now we can travel to your village with you when you return.”
Broken Pine frowned. Jamie sensed that he didn’t like the idea but didn’t have any reasonable way to refuse the suggestion. After a moment, Broken Pine nodded and said to Tyler, “The soldiers will stay back. You may ride with us, and this one.” He nodded toward Jamie.
“I’m not sure how Lieutenant Davidson will feel about . . .” Tyler’s voice trailed off, then he nodded agreement, too. “It will be as you say, Broken Pine. But I will have to talk to my commander first and make him understand.”
Broken Pine turned away, saying over his shoulder, “Do as you wish. We still must hunt buffalo. The herd will not have gone too far before stopping to graze again.”
Preacher said, “I’ll come with you, Broken Pine. Jamie, you’d best stay here and make sure everybody knows how things are gonna be.”
Jamie regretted missing out on the buffalo hunt, but he knew Preacher was right. Lieutenant Tyler might need his help in dealing with Lieutenant Davidson.
Because if there was a way of ruining what had turned out to be an improbably lucky encounter, Edgar Davidson could probably find it.
* * *
“Absolutely not! I refuse to allow some filthy red savage to dictate terms to me!”
That was exactly the reaction Jamie expected when Lieutenant Davidson heard what Broken Pine had said. Davidson stood beside one of the wagons with his hands clasped behind his back, trembling slightly with what could only be outrage. His cap’s strap was tight under his chin, and his mouth was a grim line turned down at the corners in disapproval.
“Lieutenant, I don’t reckon we have a lot of choice in the matter,” Jamie said. “Getting Broken Pine to agree to come back to the fort with us is crucial to this mission. We have to do things the way he wants.”
“You have no authority here, MacCallister.”
Tyler said, “I agree with Mr. MacCallister, Lieutenant. Things could have gone really badly today, but instead we have a chance to salvage the situation and even turn it to our advantage. We can’t press Broken Pine too much, though.”
Jamie nodded and said, “He’ll get his back up and dig his heels in if we’re not careful. He’s used to giving the orders.”
“So am I,” Davidson said. “And I’m an officer of the United States Army, not some dirty primitive.”
Jamie shook his head and said, “You’ve got to stop thinking like that, Lieutenant. It’s not going to do any of us any good.”
Davidson sniffed and turned his head to look at the other man who stood there beside the wagon with them.
“What do you think, Sergeant O’Connor?”
“What do I think?” O’Connor repeated. “I think we ought to clap that damn redskin in irons, drag him back to the fort, sit him down with that treaty in front of him, and tell him to sign it or we’ll blow his brains out. Sir.”
Davidson cocked an eyebrow at Jamie and Tyler, smirked, and said, “That does sound like an extremely effective way of accomplishing our mission, doesn’t it?”
“You do that and you’ll have an Indian war on your hands,” Jamie told him bluntly. “And the blood of every soldier and every Crow who dies will be on your hands, too, Lieutenant.”
“I believe we’d be better served by using restraint,” Tyler added. “Broken Pine seemed like a reasonable man. If we treat him reasonably—”
“Riders coming, Sergeant!” one of the guards shouted to O’Connor.
The four men beside the wagon turned to look as other members of the troop responded to the warning as well. Clutching their rifles, men hurried to the side of the temporary camp where two riders on Indian ponies were approaching.
“Better order the men to hold their fire,” Jamie said as his keen eyes took in the situation. “Those fellas look like they’re bringing us some meat.”
Davidson hesitated for a second, then nodded to O’Connor, who bellowed, “Hold your fire!” The sergeant looked like giving that order put a bad taste in his mouth. The troopers who had raised their rifles lowered them, although some seemed reluctant to do so.
As the riders came closer, everyone could see that they were dragging a couple of buffalo hides piled with haunches cut from the animals’ carcasses. Jamie recognized one of the warriors as Hawk That Soars, Preacher’s half-Absaroka son.
Hawk lifted a hand in the universal signal for peaceful intentions as he and his companion came to a stop. If being faced with dozens of well-armed soldiers who might be a little trigger-happy worried him, Hawk gave no sign of it.
“As a gesture of friendship, Chief Broken Pine of the Crow has sent us with this fresh meat, so that your men may enjoy it,” Hawk said in a calm, steady voice. “Jamie MacCallister and Lieutenant Tyler will join us in the morning when we start back to the Crow village. The other soldiers will follow at a distance of no less than half a mile.”
Davidson stalked forward and said, “I will decide how we proceed. I am First Lieutenant Edgar Davidson, and this is my command.”
Jamie eased up behind Davidson and said quietly, “Might be a good idea to thank them for those buffalo haunches, Lieutenant. That’s the polite thing to do.”
Davidson’s head snapped around toward him. The lieutenant glared for a second, then turned back to Hawk and the other Indian.
“Tell Broken Pine that we appreciate the fresh meat. When we reach your village, I would be most happy and honored to sit down and discuss matters with your chief. Do you understand what I’m saying? Can you convey this message to your chief?”
That was a ridiculous question, thought Jamie. Hawk obviously understood and spoke English as well as any of them. Davidson was just trying to demonstrate his superiority—and his contempt for the Indians.
Hawk didn’t even acknowledge the veiled insult. He just nodded and said, “I understand and will tell Broken Pine.” Jamie was impressed by the young warrior’s restraint and dignity.
Hawk turned his pony, as did the other warrior, and they galloped off, leaving the fresh meat on the buffalo hides lying on the ground.
Davidson snapped his fingers and then gestured toward the hides.
“Corporal Mackey, deal with that!” he ordered.
“Yes, sir!” Mackey responded as he hurried forward.
Davidson looked at Jamie and asked, “How long will it take us to reach the Crow village from here?”
Jamie considered for a moment, then said, “Might get there day after tomorrow, especially since we can follow Broken Pine’s party and won’t have to hunt for the village.”
“Good. I’m ready to conclude this mission successfully.”
Jamie hoped it turned out to be that easy . . . but he wasn’t going to hold his breath waiting for that to happen.