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Show TV Listings, April Page 8 1985 1 1, were coming towards me; could hear more than one animal. scampered into the rocks above the trail, a club in one hand and a knife in the other, waiting for the approaching horses. had no idea who might be coming. It couldnt be the main Ute tribe. They had gone east and north well over a week ago. It couldn't be Red Leafs captors, either. There was no sensible reason why they would turn around and come back, not after stealing Red Leaf and the horses. First to come into sight was a bay mare, with ears forward, trotting down the trail without rider, saddle, pack or halter. Immediately behind her, another horse came into view, a roan stallion carrying an Indian rider whom immediately recognized as Brown Wolf. There was a quiver of arrows on his bare, back, a bow in his right hand, reins in the left. He was alone with the two horses, returning from his raid on the Commanches. Apparently his companions had been killed or were returning on a different trail. had to get one of those horses from him. In the Ute camp he had been my enemy. He wanted Red Leaf too, and had it not been for me, she would probably have become his squaw. had humiliated him in combat by driving him off with a porcupine skin, then had outbid his offer for Red Leaf with an offer of 15 horses. Would he give me the horse, just because I asked? had nothing to trade. Or would he take the opportunity for revenge and try to kill me? It occurred to me that it might be wise to just leap upon him, by surprise, and kill him. Instead, just stepped out into the trail and nodded a cool greeting. He pulled his horse in and looked around in surprise, as if he expected me to be leading a bunch of warriors in an attack on him. He didn't trust me any more than trusted him. The only thing I had in common with Brown Wolf was the love both of us had shared for Red Leaf. While there was probably no way he would just give me a horse for my own benefit, perhaps he would be inclined to help Red Leaf. Hopefully his love for her was not yet forgotten. I motioned for him to follow me down the trail to the abandoned camp. showed him the four stakes, the blood stained thong, the track belonging to the big Indian, and explained what had happened. He listened quietly, an occasional grunt to indicate he understood. When finished telling what had happened. I asked him for a horse. He looked at me for a minute, then jerked free a short rope that had been tied to the side of his saddle. He quickly fashioned a loop in one end, caught the bay mare, slipped the loop over her tongue and lower jaw, and motioned for me to climb up while he held her still. I leaped upon the mare, thanked Brown Wolf with a grim nod, slapped the mare on the rear with the free end of the rope, and headed up the trail. I hadnt gone far when heard a noise behind me. Turning to look back, I saw the roan stallion and Brown Wolf following me. Apparently his love for Red Leaf was more than I had supposed. The young brave who had been my mortal enemy a short time earlier was now my companion, I I I brave, strong, and certainly not inclined to give female favors to uninvited warriors. Figuring she would fight her captors, forced myself to run even faster. Without weapons and horses, not only would it be tough to catch up with Red Leaf and her captors, but there didnt seem to be much could do if found her. thought about heading west to Gosiute country, getting a horse from Ike, and getting him to come with me in the search for Red Leaf. knew he would do it. But valuable time would be lost if went after Ike. Perhaps a storm would come along and wipe out the trail. Then we would never find her. No, had to stay on the trail, traveling as fast as possible. Eventually I would catch up, and when did, would somehow figure out a way to free her if it wasnt too late. It was in the afternoon of the second day when came upon the place where Red Leaf and her captors had camped the first night. There were cold ashes from the abandoned fire, I I I I I broad-shouldere- I lunged forward, racing down the mountain, tears streaming down my I cheeks at the hopelessness of the situation. Red Leaf needed me now, but it would be several hours before could reach the camp, probably too late. Who were those mounted riders? I Probably the Commanches. What would they do to Red Leaf? Maybe she was already dead. Would they torture her like the Utes had tortured the Commanche boy? How could be so stupid, to leave her alone and unprotected in this wild, cruel land? I I I I Chapter 41 By the time I reached camp, our wickiup was reduced to nothing more than a pile of warm ashes. There was no sign of Red Leaf, our horses, or any of my belongings. Kicking among the ashes found the I d remains of the elk carcass from which Red Leaf had been making jerky. cut away a huge chunk of the roasted meat and wolfed down a few bites, having long forgotten my fast, knowing I would need strength for what I supposed to be a long journey ahead. A few minutes later, was trotting along the trail of the four horses carrying Red Leaf and her captors. The trail headed south and east toward the mouth of the canyon later named Spanish Fork by the Mormon pioneers. My legs were weary and my feet bruised from the race down the mountain, but knowing I would have plenty of time to rest when it was too dark to see the tracks, refused myself the luxury of a needed rest. As loped along, hoped Red Leaf would have the good sense to be agreeable with her captors, even friendly to the point where they would be persuaded to keep her as a squaw rather than torture or kill her. This was the only sensible way she could buy time, until conditions were right for me to get her back. But as I thought about it, realized that she probably would not be agreeable to them. That was not her nature. I remembered her independence in shunning other suitors, especially Brown Wolf, when she had humiliated him by refusing to touch the slain deer he left near her tepee. remembered her boldness in racing horses against me across the grassy prairie, and her lack of fear when I left her alone at the wickiup while hunting or embarking on my vigil to Timpanogos. She was I I I I I I I I I I I pawed-u- I where the horses had been tethered to nearby trees. Looking about for anything that might have been left behind, suddenly discovered four stakes that had been driven into the ground to form a foot rectangle. The earth and grass in the middle of the rectangle was matted and packed. Rawhide thongs were still tied to two of the stakes. There was blood on one of the thongs, but none on the ground that could see. My heart was thundering with a I four-by-eig- I had never felt before as I I I looked at the four stakes and imagined the cruelties that had been inflicted on my Red Leaf there. With a tight grip on the handle of my knife, I longed to kill, maim, and even torture Red Leaf's captors. My earlier aversion to the cruelties inflicted by Indians on other Indians had vanished. For the first time since had come to the Rocky Mountains, felt the things I had often despised in my red brothers. hungered and thirsted for vengeance. longed to inflict the most cruel tortures possible on Red Leaf's captors. The mildness of white man's justice, of fair trials and jail sentences, seemed revolting and inI I I I adequate. Indian justice was swift and cruel revenge. Beside one of the stakes I discovered the largest Indian track had ever seen, almost as big as Ike's. It was different from any I had ever seen in that there was no stitching on the inside. Apparently the moccasin was made from a wrap around pattern requiring stitching on only one better-- I side. Whoever the big Indian was, and whatever tribe he belonged to, figured would kill him first chance got. didn't find any other human footprints, just plenty of horse tracks. Just as I was leaving the abandoned camp, heard the clatter of hooves on stones up the trail. They I I I I I e I I rage hand-to-han- d eight-hors- turf, and fresh manure p d I I I sharing a common purpose to save Red Leaf and destroy her captors, especially the Indian with the big foot. It would be good to have Brown Wolf on my side. Suddenly the chances of successfully rescuing Red Leaf were a lot better than they had been. Chapter 42 There was little conversation between Brown Wolf and I as we followed the trail left behind by Red Leaf and her captors. We pushed the horses hard across the open stretches, but usually dismounted and led them up the steep inclines in an effort to conserve their strength. The bay mare was the quickest to tire, while the roan stallion always seemed eager to push ahead. We were headed east towards the Green River. Late morning of the second day we came upon the second camping place of Red Leaf and her captors, where they had stayed the previous night. We were gaining on them. There were plenty of moccasin tracks in the sand around the cold ashes where the fire had been, including the big track. Brown Wolf figured they were probably Commanches because of the wraparound style of the moccasin pattern. I remembered the rectangle of stakes at the previous camp, and looked for a simiar pattern. To my relief, there was none. Red Leafs captors made no effort to hide or disguise their trail. They knew the Ute tribe had gone north and east to hunt buffalo, and they apparently thought they had captured all my horses. They knew that on foot could not keep up with their forced march. was grateful for my good luck in stumbling upon Brown Wolf. During the afternoon the lay of the land began to look familiar. I guessed that Ike and might have passed this way when we had stolen the 34 Commanche horses. The wind was at our back all afternoon, blowing up a storm from the west. Our unspoken concern was that the storm would wipe out the trail we I I I were following. We were winding our way along a small stream, broken here and there with beaver ponds, when it started to rain. Just a sprinkle at first, but by nightfall we were in a downpour. Not wanting to bother trying to build a fire in the wetness, we crawled under the protective branches of a big fir tree and buried ourselves in a warm blanket of pine needles, enjoying snatches of restless sleep while waiting for the dawn. Our biggest worry, of course, was how we would be able to follow the trail once the heavy rain had washed it away. figured we were probably 'getting pretty close to the Green River. How would we know if Red Leaf and her captors followed the river upstream or downstram, or crossed to the other side? Even though they couldn't be more than a half-daahead of us, finding their trail again I y would be tough. I wondered what kind of night Red Leaf was having. Was she protected from the rain? Was she still being abused by her captors? To what extent had they tortured her? Was she still alive? In the darkness of the night removed the medicine bag from my neck and fingered the contents. I |