The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,208

that there was a lot of blood on the side of his head, that his pants were undone and that he reeked of liquor. Also, that the young woman looked scared out of her mind. She knew the Arapaho shared their women and before this, had given no thought to whether the women had been in on the decision. But she thought about it now, and recognized the panic in the Indian woman’s eyes. She remembered how scared she’d been when Howe had died of a heart attack, and had it not been for Eulis, would have probably been hanged. Despite her fear of Indians, she felt a greater bond—that of woman to woman—and pointed to the man at their feet.

“Did he hurt you?” Letty asked.

Little Bird’s eyes widened. She knew enough of the white man’s words to get by, and unconsciously put a hand to her breast, feeling the tenderness where the man had grabbed her as he’d shoved her to the ground.

Letty’s eyes narrowed in anger as she looked down at the man again. Then she looked up.

“My name is Letty.”

Little Bird touched her chest. “Little Bird.”

Letty pointed at the man.

“Is he dead?”

Little Bird nodded soulfully.

Letty brushed off the palms of her hands.

“Then I reckon we’d better get rid of him. Need some help?”

Little Bird couldn’t have been more surprised by the offer, but she was too desperate to refuse. She nodded once.

“All right then,” Letty said. “You take one arm. I’ll take the other. Got a place in mind to put him?”

Little Bird pointed up the path.

“Cave. Bear sleeps in winter.”

Letty frowned. “Reckon the bear is in there yet?”

“Soon,” Little Bird said.

“Then we’d better get at it,” Letty said, and together, they began dragging the man up the path.

By Letty’s best guess, it had taken the better part of thirty minutes to reach the cave, but she had to admit that once there, it was the perfect hiding place—almost as good as the grave where they’d buried the real Randall Howe.

When they started inside, she had a moment of hesitation, fearing that a bear would already be occupying the spot, but to her relief, it was empty. They dragged him as far back into the cave as they could see to go, then dropped him like a hot potato, and made a run for the light.

Once outside, they were almost giddy with relief, and Letty found herself grinning at her co-conspirator.

“It is done,” Little Bird said, and then sat down at the side of the path, covered her face with her hands, and began to weep.

Letty knew the feeling all too well. She knelt beside her, and then tentatively touched her shoulder.

“Hey… Little Bird… it’s over. No need to cry now.”

“Afraid,” Little Bird said.

“Yeah, I understand. But I won’t tell.”

Little Bird looked up. Tears were hanging on her lashes like dew on the grass.

“It’s our secret,” Letty said. “You know secrets?”

Little Bird shook her head and frowned.

Letty sighed. “It’s something that two people know, but do not tell.” Then she pointed to the cave, then to herself. “I know.” Then she pointed at Little Bird. “And you know.” Then she closed her fists, as if holding something tight. “But no one else knows. Ever.”

Little Bird’s eyes widened as she thought about what the woman had said and pointed to the cave.

“No talk more ever.”

“Right,” Letty said, and then held out her hand. “Come on. Let’s head back down. I need to find wood for a fire.”

Little Bird almost smiled. “I, too, make fire.”

“Well, then,” Letty said, somewhat surprised to realize how similar their lives probably were. “Let’s go.”

Little Bird got up, tore a limb from a small bush and began brushing out any signs of their passing as they retraced their steps. It wasn’t until they were back where they’d first met up, that they stopped and spoke.

“There’s my wood,” Letty said, and began gathering it back up in her arms.

“I go,” Little Bird said.

Letty nodded. “Goodbye, Little Bird.”

She eyed Letty thoughtfully and finally smiled.

“Secret,” she said.

Letty smiled back.

“Secret.”

Little Bird lifted her hand in a gesture of farewell and disappeared into the woods.

Letty gathered up the firewood she’d dropped and headed for camp. By the time she returned, Eulis was up, reviving the embers of the dead fire with the last of their kindling. When he saw Letty coming back into camp with the firewood, he grinned.

“Wondered where you were. Thought you might have gone fishin’.”

“Nope. Just getting wood for the fire,” Letty said. “I reckon it’s