Chapter Twelve

When Adam came back to the shack, he waited for her to tell him where to put his saddle. She pointed to the floor against the wall opposite her bed. “If I take you it will not be easy. You must live as the Shoshoni and the Aha macave; off the land. You must learn their ways. You must act like an Indian. This is the only way to pass the Army scouts unnoticed. Can you do that?”

“I can if you teach me.”

“We must go as husband and wife. The Indians accept me. This is the only way that the Shoshoni and Aha macave will accept you.”

Adam creased his brow. “You are Shoshoni and Aha macave. Why wouldn’t they accept you?”

“I have white blood,” she said, shamefully looking down and away. She turned away from him, breathed deeply then walked back to him, looking up into his face, her eyes warning. “You must do as I say. Our lives will depend on it.” He nodded. She motioned for him to follow her back to the barn, first looking surreptitiously out the door, then hurrying through the back door of the barn.

She began to gather everything they could carry on two horses. They had to travel quickly, light and unseen, so a pack animal was out of the question. “Someone will be here to take care of your horse, and your tack is safe in my home.”

“Won’t I be riding my horse?”

“No.”

He waited for an explanation that didn’t come.  “Why not?”

“Your horse will not survive in the desert. And your saddle will give us away. Have you ever ridden bareback?”

“Yes, but not for long.”

“Do you think you can for the whole trip? It would be better if you can.”

“I’ll manage.”

“You do not talk much, do you?”

“Not when I have nothing to say.”

“Practice talking. The Aha macave are talkers. You are not an emotional man?”

“I can be pushed to anger.”

She laughed. “Become emotional…with all emotions. The Aha macave are an emotional people. They consider it disrespectful to hold in emotions.”

“I thought you said we were going to avoid the Mo…the Aha macave.”

“I said we would try. I did not say we would be successful, and it is likely we will not. They will know where we are by the time we are ten miles out of town.”

“You seem more worried about the Aha macave than the Shoshoni.”

“My grandmother is with the Shoshoni, and they are not as…unwelcoming…as the Aha macave. The Shoshoni will find us first. When the white soldiers came to remove them from their land, they fought. Many of the Aha macave allowed the soldiers to move them, but there are still small numbers fighting to keep their lands.”

Adam watched as she gathered skins, blankets, leather straps, knives, several pokes of water, and strings. He noticed there were no pans, no coffee pot, no scabbard for a rifle, and when she pulled out two bows and two quivers of arrows, he got nervous. Still, he watched in silence. When she had everything packed into what looked like baskets held together with leather straps, she straightened up and without looking at him she said, “Come with me.”

They walked back into the shack, and she immediately went to the stove and started cooking. “You will sleep there,” she said, pointing to where he had laid his belongings on the floor on the opposite side of the room from the bed. She pulled salt bacon off the shelf, placing it in a pan to fry while she started beans and coffee. While the food was cooking, she opened a trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled out more skins. “Stand up straight so I can see you.” He obliged. “Turn around.” He did as he was told. She pulled several items from the trunk along with what looked like boots, and what he swore was a buckskin skirt. “Is your brother bigger or smaller than you?”

“He’s smaller.”

She pulled out more skins and laid everything on a small table beside the door then went back to the stove. “From this time on, I will not call you by your last name. You will be known only as Adam. If the Aha macave give you a name, you will be known by that name. You will call me Mike. Nothing else. Do you understand?” Adam nodded as she prepared two plates of food. She placed them on the table along with the coffee pot and two cups. “Come. Eat.”

He sat down at the table, and started looking for a fork. She watched him and waited for him to look up. “You must get used to eating with your fingers. The Aha macave and Shoshoni do not use forks. If you are eating meat, you may stab it with your knife.  Watch.” She dipped two fingers into the beans, holding the plate at her chin and shoveling them into her mouth.

“I get the feeling we’re leaving behind the comforts of home.”

She nodded at his plate. “Try it.”

He wiped his hand on his trousers, picked up his plate, and hesitated, then dipped two fingers into the beans as she had and shoveled them into his mouth. A look of dread took over his face. “Mesquite beans,” he said with a full mouth.

She looked disdainfully at him. “We will live on what we can find. There will be no bacon and no coffee, so enjoy it while you can. We will rest during the day and travel at night. You will not take your clothes…any of them…or your hat. Do not take anything in your pockets. I will allow you to take your gun, but it will be hidden in one of the baskets. It may be useful when we find your brother.”

After they had finished eating, Mike collected the dishes and washed them. She turned back to Adam who was just finishing his last cup of coffee for awhile, drinking it slowly, enjoying it. “We will sleep until dark.  Then we will pack the horses and go.” Adam went to his saddle, laying out his bedroll on the underside. “Sleep on the floor, not your saddle. You will be sleeping on the ground. Get used to it.”

He breathed heavily, wondering what he had gotten himself into, raising his eyebrows and nodding to himself, thinking he had no choice. When he stood to remove his gun belt, he looked at her and sucked in a breath of embarrassment, turning around at the same time.

She had removed her pants, stripping down to nothing and had begun to remove her shirt. She turned and stood, looking at his back. “You must become accustomed to this as well. You will bathe with my family and you will sleep in my lodge. Otherwise, you will be left alone and will be killed and I will be…pursued. I cannot protect you any other way.” Adam stood with his hands in his back pockets unwilling to turn around. “Do you want to find your brother?”

“Of course I do.”

“Then turn around and remove your clothes.” Adam stood, thinking this through. This was uncomfortable…he would never think about looking at an unclothed woman under any circumstances but marriage…and maybe in a brothel.  But, if he was going to save Joe, it appeared he had no choice. He decided he’d keep his eyes on her eyes and by doing that, he wouldn’t really be…looking. He slowly turned around, found her, and looked at her eyes.

She watched him and laughed. “A gentleman, I see. You need to forget your upbringing and act like a man. If you don’t, you will be laughed at and exiled, if not killed. You will not cast your eyes upon another woman with desire. You will not sit next to another woman. You will not offer another woman food. You will not speak to another woman unless talk is started by her man. You will not help another woman outside of my family in any way. Do you understand?” He nodded. She walked to the table next to the door and pulled out some of the skins she had placed there earlier. You will wear these.” She threw a handful of skins to him…buckskin pants, a breechcloth, a long white shirt and belt, and a pair of buckskin boots. You will dress in this, and only this tonight.”

“What about…?” he said, moving his eyes away and crooking his jaw.

“My people do not wear under clothes. I will tell you what else you need to know tonight. We must rest.” With that, she closed the curtain in the only window in the cabin and lay down on the bed, turning away from him.

Adam undressed down to his drawers, hesitated for a moment, looking back to see that she was still turned away, and then dropped them and lay down to sleep.