The Indian Ring (15 page)

The reason that tree stands have always worked for hunting deer is because prey seldom look up in the trees. Most animals and humans will look all around them but never remember to look up above for danger. The two gunmen
below were about to learn an expensive lesson. They came directly below the tree stand after fifteen minutes of scouring the ground looking at Eagle's tracks. One of them finally spotted Joshua's boot tracks running to the base of the tree.

Joshua whispered to Sammy, “Stay back out of sight.”

Both men followed the tracks right to the tree and looked up the trunk, and straight into the broadly grinning face of Joshua Strongheart, holding two cocked weapons pointed at the two would-be killers.

Strongheart said, “Howdy, boys. I've been waiting for you. I have been wanting to send Robert Hartwell a message. You can deliver it for me.”

•   •   •

It was well after dark when the horses of the two gun hands rode into the circle of light of Hartwell's camp, which had lookouts all around the tight perimeter. Both men were gagged with their scarves, both were wearing only their long johns, both were missing their boots, clothing, hats, and guns, and both were tied backward in their saddles. Hartwell looked at both men, and they each had the deer-staring-at-torchlight look on their sweaty faces.

•   •   •

Sammy had trotted next to Eagle for a mile, and they had come to his mule grazing near a creek. He was now mounted up and riding alongside Strongheart. They rode along slowly through the darkness.

Strongheart said, “Earlier, I told you to stay back, because I do not want Hartwell knowing you are helping me.”

“Believe me, Strongheart,” Sammy replied. “I understand.”

“Mule man, huh?” Joshua replied.

“Nope,” Sammy said. “I have a nice big chestnut Thoroughbred I travel on, but I always use a mule when I'm hunting deer, buffaler, or bears. They pack a lot better.”

Strongheart said, “We're heading east. Where are we going?”

“Ohio,” Sammy said with a grin.

Joshua said, “You don't have any gear or anything.”

He saw Sammy grinning in the moonlight.

He said, “We're not going tonight. I'm taking you to a safe house tonight.”

They rode for hours mainly through woods, and Strongheart found himself impressed with this unusual man. He moved easily through the darkness and showed he was clearly a man of the wilderness.

After he escaped and fled the horrible plantation he was raised on back in North Carolina, Sammy made it west to Charlotte, where he met a member of the Underground Railroad. Eventually he was smuggled to Cleveland, Ohio, where he was given housing, a little money, and a job in a steel factory near where the Cuyahoga River met Lake Erie, which was like the ocean to Sammy. Later, he made it out west, where he worked as a cowboy on several cattle drives. Then he tried his hand as a mountain man trapping beaver mainly in the Wind River Range. Following that, he journeyed to California, where he prospected for gold in several places. The whole time, he thought back to how much he had been helped by the Underground Railroad, and it kept drawing him back.

They rode for hours and came upon a very large house with a number of barns and outbuildings. There were many flowers around the house and a vegetable garden. In the moonlight, Joshua could tell this big property was well taken care of. Right below the house was a bubbling creek, a dam,
and a large pond, the surface rippling in the moonlight. In the middle of the pond was a large island covered with trees, and cattails were clearly visible around the edges.

Lanterns were lit in the big house when they rode up. The front door opened and a man came out holding a lantern. Joshua and Sammy dismounted and Sammy took his reins and led both the horse and mule to the man.

He said, “Buck, this is Mr. Strongheart. Please take his horse to the safe place, put up hay and feed for him. Let Mr. Strongheart get his saddlebags and rifle.”

Joshua nodded at Buck and said, “The name is Joshua.”

The short, stocky black man smiled and waited for Strongheart to take his rifle, bedroll, and saddlebags. He led the two equines away toward the barn complex.

Strongheart said, “Is this your place?”

Just then, the door opened and a ravishing brunette woman walked out the door, also carrying a lantern, and wearing a very expensive long gown, which could not hide the curves. She glided down the steps, and it was obvious there was an immediate attraction between her and Strongheart. He had not had feelings like this since Belle died. She stuck out her hand, and he shook it, noticing the softness and the firm handshake.

“Brenna Alexander,” she said. “Welcome to my home, sir.”

He smiled, doffed his hat, and said, “Joshua Strongheart, ma'am.”

She said, “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Strongheart. Hi, Sammy.”

Sammy removed his hat, smiled, and replied, “Hello, Brenna. Sorry to come so late, but it's a Railroad problem. We need to hide him and his horse for a while.”

“Joshua, please, ma'am,” Strongheart said,.

She replied, “Okay, Joshua, and please call me Brenna.”

He nodded. She led the way up the porch steps and into the mansion.

She said over her shoulder, “We can discuss it over breakfast, but for now let's get him hidden and rested.”

She led the way through the massive great room and into the library. Sammy walked over and reached up inside the fireplace and pulled a hidden lever. One of the bookcases popped open, and he swung it out like a door. They entered and went down a stone stairway ending in a long, dark, cold passageway. She led the way for what Joshua figured had to be at least four hundred feet, and they came to another stairway. They ascended, she opened a door, and they landed in a small room in a comfortable cabin. Joshua was amazed and impressed.

She lit another lantern and a wood-burning stove with kindling already in it. There was a coffeepot on the stove. She took it over to the sink and pumped water into it from a pump handle in the sink.

Smiling, she said, “This will be your home for a while, Joshua. It even has its own well, and this cannot be seen from anywhere. Only chimney smoke when there is no wind or breeze.”

Joshua smiled and shook his head, saying, “I'm dumbfounded. Where is this located?”

She said, “Did you see the island in the moonlight?”

“Yes, I did,” he said, “You mean we are on that island?”

Brenna grinned, “That passageway is under the floor of the pond. My father had it excavated when he created the pond and built all this. This cabin has shuttered windows and there are trees and vegetation blocking the view of the cabin. You will be free to relax here. Many runaway slaves were hidden out here and nobody ever discovered the
passageway or the cabin. I purposely have no boats on the shore. You'll be safe here until we move you, Joshua.

“That stove heats the place nicely, but there is a fireplace over there as you can see, if it gets too cold. There are two bedrooms and you can pick and choose your room. We will talk in the morning. You both need sleep now. Sammy, do you want to sleep in the other room or the main house?”

He said, “I'll bunk here, Brenna. Obliged. I'll see you in the morning and explain everything.”

Strongheart fell asleep when his head hit the pillow and awakened the next morning totally refreshed. He really did feel safe here. It was a natural feeling, not something artificial. He also could not wait to see Brenna in the morning light. He found the outhouse and then explored the tiny island, emerging on a small path to the pond apparently made by occasional deer who would swim to the island and back.

Since he was on the side opposite from the house and outbuildings, he slipped off all his clothes and dove into the cold water. He swam for a few minutes, and rubbed his body down with his hands. Emerging from the water, he shook himself off like a dog and squeegeed his body with the edge of his hands. He stood there by the pond shivering but exhilarated and let the warming morning sun dry him a little. He pulled his clothes back on, promising himself to wash them after breakfast. There were flowers all over the little island, and he picked some, making a bouquet for Brenna, hoping she was single. He had not seen a ring the night before. Sammy was already gone, presumably to the big house.

He went in shaved, brushed, dressed, and found a lantern and made his way under the pond back to the big house. He walked in and found Sammy, Brenna, Buck, and another woman, presumably a maid, all sitting at the large dining table
in the dining room. There was a big spread of food on the table with eggs, pancakes, ham, fruits.

Brenna got up and walked over to him, saying, “Good morning, Joshua. I trust you slept well.”

He smiled and handed her the flowers. She blushed and smelled them.

“Just thought you might like these, ma'am,” he said.

She replied, “Thank you so much. I love all of these types of flowers. Let me put them in a vase, and I'll be right back.”

Joshua shook with Sammy and sat down to breakfast.

Sammy said, “Morning, pardnuh. I tole Brenna all about ya and what yer up against.”

Brenna returned with the flowers in a nice vase and placed them on the table. She smiled at Joshua and marveled at how good-looking and strong he was.

“Joshua, thank you so much for the flowers. That was very thoughtful and kind,” she said. “Please enjoy the breakfast, and if you don't mind, we will talk about your situation while we eat.”

The group ate and talked, and then Strongheart walked outside with Brenna. She showed him her flower garden and vegetable garden as well.

He said, “You live here alone?”

She smiled demurely, saying, “No, the help lives here with me.”

He said, “I am sorry. I am being forward but should have simply asked you if you are married or not.”

She grinned, “No, Joshua, I have not married yet. Are you?”

“No,” he replied. “I was engaged and very much in love, but she was murdered some time back. It took me a while to come to terms with her death, but I have.”

She responded, “I am so sorry. Did they catch the assailant?”

Tight-lipped and looking off at the trees, he said, “No, I did.”

She said, “And . . . what happened?”

“He saw the error of his ways.”

“You killed him?” she asked.

“Yes,” Strongheart answered.

He waited for her response. He was not used to Easterners and wondered if he would get a lecture about not seeking revenge.

She smiled and said, “Good for you. I would hope that someday a man would love me enough to want to avenge my death if I came to a violent end. I would love to know some man would hunt down and punish my killer.”

“I personally believe a man in love should,” Joshua responded. “If he is capable of doing so.”

“You are indeed an unusual man, Joshua,” she said. “Most men are afraid to even utter the word
love
, yet you are not afraid to speak freely of it.”

Joshua replied, “William Shakespeare said, ‘Who could refrain that had a heart to love and in that heart courage to make love known?' To me, Brenna, if you're going to be a man, you often have to prove yourself. You have to conquer fear and do what is right. To me, that includes being courageous enough to speak thoughts that most keep hidden in their hearts.”

Brenna felt her heart beating in her ears and thumping in her chest. She was flustered.

“My, Joshua, you even quote Shakespeare,” she said, red-faced. “You seem quite the poet yourself, but you seem so, so . . . Well what I mean . . . On the other hand, you strike me as a man who could indeed kill any murderer that you choose to hunt down. What a combination!”

Strongheart said, “I am simply a man trying to do what is right. Tell me, Brenna, how did you come to live here?”

She said, “My father made a tremendous amount of money, a fortune, actually, shipping goods on the Great Lakes. He left it to me, the only child. My mother died when I was very small, and he left me to go home about ten years ago. He also worked very hard on the Underground Railroad before, and after, the Civil War.”

Strongheart said, “I am very sorry for your loss. It sounds like you and your father were very close.”

She said, “Yes, we were. My father spoke out very fervently and passionately against slavery and racial discrimination. He also told me if God blesses you with a lot, you must give to others, or God may take away your blessings. That was why he got so involved in the Underground Railroad, and I am of the same mindset.”

“I always thought the Underground Railroad was a great thing,” Strongheart said. “But until yesterday I had no idea that it still existed.”

Brenna answered, “It must exist. There are so many fools in this world. Some are very narrow-minded. I grew up almost believing that annual death threats are a way of life for a person.”

They walked along and Strongheart seemed to be thinking long and hard on something. They stopped, and she sat on a stump surrounded by beautiful greens and a few wild flowers.

Joshua said, “You reminded me of something that occurred in my childhood. I was a young boy, and we had a very tough schoolmarm, plus my mother made me study and read all the time. I tried to be nice to everybody in school and out.”

He grinned, adding, “If I didn't treat everybody nice, my pa would have tanned my hide.”

The Pinkerton went on, “I was at school, and we got to
go outside and eat lunch on warm sunny days. There was this little girl named Rebecca, with red hair and lots of freckles, and I sure was sweet on her. So were most of the boys in the school. I picked some daisies one day and handed them to her, while she sat on a bench with three other girls. She got a mean, nasty look on her face, and slapped the bouquet out of my hand. I was shocked and hurt, I guess. Then, she said, ‘I don't want no flowers from no red-skinned blanket nigger. My pa said yer a smelly half-breed.”