Page 73 of Red Hawk's Woman

There were no foreign prints here, no enemy he could find in evidence.

In vain, he searched the camp more thoroughly for signs of a foe. There was nothing.

Nothing, except for a boulder that was cracked, as well as one impression in the ground where the earth had been torn apart, as though the dirt had been pulled up by a white man’s plow. But that was all. There was nothing more to show the story of what had happened.

Rising, Red Hawk knew it was useless to try to find more clues in the camp. He had best find the others. Perhaps they could make better sense of this.

Their trail headed toward the water, which was almost a half a mile away. Slowly, carefully, he followed their path through the short prairie grasses.

Soon, arriving at the stream, he saw that none had lingered here, but had set off downstream. Much harder to track, but not completely impossible. Luckily for Red Hawk, one of the women had remained close to the shore, leaving an occasional footprint.

About a half mile downstream was evidence that they had paused. Farther along, they had continued, until at last, off in the distance, Red Hawk saw them. Camped for the moment beneath a large cottonwood, they looked a decidedly disheveled, disgruntled bunch. Quietly, he approached them.

One of the women screamed, and a shot was fired directly at him. It missed.

Haiya! This was discouraging. Not because someone had fired at him, rather because whoever it was had missed. The white men were terrible shots.

He called out, “It is I, Red Hawk. I have come in search of you. I have only returned from scouting. What has happened here? I can make no sense of what I have seen back at your camp.”

“Scouting, huh?” This came from John Owens. “A likely story.”

Red Hawk didn’t respond. It was not in his nature to defend his honesty, one way or the other.

“Maybe you can tell us where our esteemed leader Miss Effie is,” growled John Owens.

“Miss Effie is safe. I left her in a place where she would not be harmed.” Then, because hunger can often cause a person to be antagonistic, Red Hawk asked, “Has anyone eaten their morning meal?”

This elicited more response from them. Even the women spoke up with a hearty “No.”

“Before we talk about the night which has passed, perhaps it would be well to eat. I have some dried meat I will share with you,” said Red Hawk. “It is not as robust a breakfast as to what you may be accustomed, but it will give you enough strength to think clearly. Then we might discuss what happened before returning to camp.”

“I’m not going back there.” This comment came from Madeline.

Red Hawk chose not to respond. Let them gain strength from nourishment first. Then he would question them.

Stepping into their midst, Red Hawk removed his bag from around his shoulder, withdrew the jerky from it and handed the bag to Lesley. “Do you think you could fill this with water from the stream?”

She nodded and set off to do as bidden.

Offering the food around, Red Hawk waited. When at last they each one appeared to be more nourished and in perhaps a better frame of mind, Red Hawk queried, “What happened here?”

“We were attacked,” spat out Carl. “Where were you?”

It was a fair question, and Red Hawk answered at once. “Since we have started on this trail, I use the night to scout. Because we are not well armed, it is important I look for signs of enemies, and if I see something that might harm us, to set a path around it. Last night Miss Effie decided to accompany me so she might more easily understand my duties.”

Both Henry Smith and Carl Bell nodded, neither adding a comment.

John Owens was not to be so easily swayed. “What good would accompanying you do? What need does the manager of this expedition have of learning the duties of a scout? If she is the director, then she should have been here to go down with the ship.”

“Father!” cried Lesley. “Please.”

Red Hawk eyed John Owens severely. Gone was the elder’s congenial veneer. In its place was the hostility Red Hawk had glimpsed upon first acquaintance. At length, Red Hawk said, “Miss Effie had every right to accompany me last night. Since we must first reach the excavation site before any work can be done, it is her duty to ensure we get there safely. This group is not well manned, and any wandering war party could take advantage of us. It would be irresponsible to remain uninformed of what lies before us.”

Again, Carl Bell and Henry Smith seemed to comprehend this without question. But once more, John Owens had a differing viewpoint. “Tell me, if what you say is true and you scout through the night, when do you sleep?”

“Whenever I can—usually that is a few hours in the early evening.”

“Humph!”