The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,219

it in her to do the deed. So now she knew.

She took the skinning knife from the mantle and started for the door, pausing but a moment by Eulis’s bed.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “Don’t bother getting up. I’ll see myself out the door.”

She laughed aloud at the absurdity of what she’d just said, and then choked back another sob. There were things to be done, and she was burning daylight. She laid another stick of wood on the fire, and headed for the door, taking care to carry the rifle when she left.

She’d lost track of the days that had come and gone. All she knew was that she was so weary from lack of sleep that she’d begun hallucinating. The clean snow around the cabin had either been used up, or stomped down by the mules. It had taken everything she had to make it to the falls, and now she staggered back into the cabin with a bucket of fresh water. She looked toward the fireplace and then froze. For a second, all she could see was the wolf that she’d killed, only it wasn’t dead anymore. It was standing near the fireplace, snarling at her all over again.

She screamed, then stumbled, and fell over the doorsill, going face first onto the floor. The water spilled as she busted her lip. When she rolled over and looked up, she realized that it wasn’t the wolf, but the skin.

She had cured and stretched it like Eulis had shown her, spending hours scraping the hide before the fire. It galled her that, even in death, its spirit was still strong enough to scare her.

But, she reminded herself that it was dead and she wasn’t, so she lay where she’d fallen, too exhausted to care that she was lying in water. Finally, she exhaled on a sigh as she rolled over and stared up at the raftered ceiling. After a few moments, she closed her eyes.

The scent of sickness filled the room. The pox on Eulis’s body had begun to break and run, and the stench was not unlike that of something rotten. She’d tried so hard to keep him alive, but she didn’t think it was going to happen. She’d quit praying to God right after she’d skinned the wolf, and tossed the carcass out into the meadow for scavengers to devour. The way she figured it, she’d committed too many sins for God to hear her now, and Eulis was going to pay for her mistakes. She was helpless to save him, and since God wasn’t answering any of her prayers, Eulis was doomed.

“You’re gettin’ wet.”

“Like I don’t know it,” Letty muttered, then opened her eyes and screamed. “Eulis! You’re awake!”

“You’re still wet,” he mumbled, then closed his eyes.

She jumped to her feet and ran to him, feeling of his forehead and then his cheeks. His skin felt damp and clammy, and he wasn’t as hot as he’d been. Could it be? Was it possible? Was the fever breaking? Was Eulis going to live after all?

“Eulis! Eulis! Can you talk to me?”

“Water.”

Letty grabbed his cup and then lifted his head enough that he could swallow without choking. To her overwhelming relief, the water actually went down. It was only one small swallow, but for a man who hadn’t done anything more than breathe in and breathe out for days, it was a miracle.

As soon as she lowered his head, he passed out. But this time she didn’t care. She stripped off her wet coat, took the broom to the floor and used it like a mop until the water she’d spilled had worked its way between the floorboards into the dirt below. Then she ladled a bowl of elk broth into a cup to let it cool. When he woke up again, she was going to get some of it down him or die trying.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a spoon coming toward him. He opened his mouth in reflex. The warm broth slid between his lips onto his tongue. He choked and then swallowed to keep from choking again.

“What’s that smell?” he murmured.

“Yourself,” Letty said. “Pox stinks.”

“I am rotting.”

Letty spooned another bit of broth into his mouth. This time he only choked once.

“Up. Raise me up.”

She wadded up her coat and used it to pillow his head.

He immediately moaned, and quickly closed his eyes. The bed was spinning one way, the room the other. It was too