The Whippoorwill Trilogy - Sharon Sala Page 0,241

a duck’s back.

“Well now,” she said again.

The pup wagged its tail once, like a soldier wagging a white flag of defeat, then sat down without taking its eyes from her face.

Letty eyed the dead snake, cursed the horse she was going to have to retrieve, and then squatted down until she was eye level with the pup and offered her hand. To her delight, the pup reached out a paw, as if it understood what was meant, and together, they exchanged a handshake.

It was a silent, but irrevocable understanding. Without another word, Letty stood up, shifted her rifle to her other hand and started walking toward what was left of the snake.

No longer cowering, the pup followed at a hasty trot, confident that no more begging was needed. Letty frowned, and then glanced up, eyeing the direction in which her horse had gone.

“I don’t intend to walk all the way back to the valley, so let’s go get that blasted horse.”

It took the better part of an hour, but she finally caught her mount, led it back to the new home site, dropped the snake into the saddle bags, and tossed it across the horse’s back. The horse did another neat little side-step and rolled its eyes as it looked back at Letty.

“It’s dead, so get over it,” she said, grabbed the saddle horn and mounted in one smooth motion.

She looked down at the pup, took a piece of deer jerky from inside her pocket, and dropped it on the ground. The pup ate it quickly and looked up at her for more.

“If you’re a mind to follow me home, I reckon I can furnish a bit more to go with that.”

The pup seemed willing, and when she rode away, it followed.

By the time she got back to the cabin, the men were deep inside the mine.

She took the snake out of the saddle bags, turned the horse out into the corral, and then headed for the cabin. She paused at what passed for their smokehouse long enough to cut off a large chunk of fatback from a crock inside the door, then turned around and handed it to the pup.

It took the meat from her fingers with all the delicacy of a gentleman, and then held it in its mouth until she gave the pup permission to eat.

“Go ahead,” she said. “You’ve earned it.”

The pup immediately flopped down and began chewing on the meat. Letty leaned the empty rifle against the door of the smoke house, knowing Eulis would have to reload it for her tonight. She sat down on a stump and waited until the pup was finished.

As soon as the pup had swallowed the last bite, Letty stood. The pup followed suit, waiting for a signal as to what to do next.

“Okay now,” she said. “Let’s skin out that snake.”

By the time Eulis came home for supper, the pup had been doused with axle grease for mange and fleas, and was chewing on the leg bone of an elk that they’d butchered over the winter. A fine stream of smoke was coming out of the chimney, and the skin of the rattlesnake was nailed to the side of the house.

Eulis watched the men mount up and ride off, and then headed for the cabin. It wasn’t until he came around the side of the house that he saw the pup lying on the doorstep between him and Letty.

The pup growled softly beneath its breath.

Eulis frowned. “Ease up, fella’. I live here.”

The pup got up and sniffed Eulis’ feet, then picked up his bone and moved off to the side of the doorway.

“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” Eulis drawled, then looked up and saw what she had nailed to the wall.

His flesh crawled as he eyed the snake skin, stunned by the size, and the knowledge that, once again when he was too far away to help, Letty had been forced to save herself. He was torn between pride in her ability to bounce, and a feeling of inadequacy. It seemed that she was always two steps ahead of him.

He looked down at the pup, taking note of the prominent ribs and the careful application of axle grease and frowned.

“Exactly what part did you play in all of this?” he asked.

But the pup had nothing more to say.

Eulis shook his head as he opened the door. The scent of cooking meat and baking bread met him as he entered.

“Something sure smells good,” he said, as he