Part 31 (1/2)
”There's no hope!” she whispered.
Jon set his hands on her shoulders.
”Courage, Tess. There is every hope. Nalte's little sister begins her p.u.b.erty rite today. The rite goes on for four days. The woman over there will be her sponsor. She is of impeccable character, and she will stand for the sister. The man there with the buffalo horns upon his cap and the white eagle feathers, he is the shaman, the medicine man, and he will add the sacred religion to the ceremony. The girl is dressed for her role as White Painted Woman or White Sh.e.l.l Woman, a sacred maiden and one of the most important of the Apache supernaturals.
She will pray to the sun. The dancers with the headdresses, they are the Gan, or Mountain Spring Dancers.
It is an expensive ceremony, but Nalte is a great chief, and he has supplied much for his sister's rite. The Gan dancers symbolize the four directions.
They are elaborate.” Tess watched the dancers as they prepared for the day.
They were painted black and white, and they carried huge fan racks and wore buckskin kilts. They carried wands. On their arms were trailers made of cloth and eagle feathers. Their huge masks had false eyes. The fan racks portrayed snakes and other creatures.
She s.h.i.+vered, grateful that Jori was there to a.s.sure her that the dancers were involved in a ceremonial rite and were not preparing for war. She looked into his green eyes and realized that he had kept talking to ease her mind from worry, and she was grateful to him.
”He must be furious to be disturbed today!” she whispered.
”He is not disturbed. He will make his decision quickly,” Jon told her.
An Apache warrior emerged from Nalte's tent. He spoke briefly with Jori and took Tess by the arm.
”Jon!” she cried.
”Go with him,” Jon ordered her.
”He isn't going to hurt you. I'm wan led with Nalte. And you are not.”
She didn't want to let Jon out of her sight, but he moved away resolutely, and she had no choice but to accompany the warrior who took her by the arm.
Seconds later she was thrust into an empty tepee. The fire that had burned in the center was nearly out. On rocks beside it were corn cakes and dried meat. She hadn't been told she could, but she was alone and she was starving, so she helped herself. She had barely bitten into the food when she became so nervous she couldn't chew. She set the food down and began to pace.
After a while she sat again and looked sadly at her tender and torn feet.
They would never be the same again.
Moments later, she heard a rush of air. She catapulted to her feet, staring toward the opening of the tepee. Jamie was coming in. She gasped softly, then raced toward him, flinging her arms around him.
He quickly untangled himself, staring fiercely into her eyes.
”We're going to get out of this. If you can manage to behave.”
”Behave!”
”Listen to me!” He shook her so hard that she felt her teeth rattle.
Indignantly she tried to jerk away from him, but his grip on her was firm and he wasn't letting go. ”You're hurting me!”
”I'm hurting you! We're in the midst of a fiasco like this” -- ”It wasn't my fault!”
His jaw twisted hard.
”I know. It wa~ mine. For being so d.a.m.ned determined to try to understand you.
She felt the color drain from her face. The planes of his face seemed very lean and hard. He was more bronze, tauter. There was a fresh scar upon his cheek. She wanted to touch it tenderly, but he was holding her with too great a vigor. And the smoky anger in his eyes told her he did not want her touch.
He had come for her. He had survived both yon Heusen's guns and his fight with Chavez to come for her. But now she realized that he had come only because he considered himself responsible for what had happened to her. She paled, trying to pull from his grasp, but he wouldn't let her.
”The p.u.b.erty rite for Nalte's sister will last four days. He will not attend to any other business during that time. Jori and I are to be his guests. You are to stay here, do you understand me?”
”Just stay here ... for four days?” she whispered.
”Can't I be with you?”
He swore, vehemently.
”You were purchased, Tess! d.a.m.n it, don't you realize that? And not for your talents with a newspaper.”
”Jamie, don't you start with me” -- ”No, don't you start with me,” he said heatedly.
”You can manage yourself, and you can manage a lot, and you probably are a d.a.m.ned good rancher and newspaper woman. But if you try anything here, Tess, we'll both probably die. Do you understand? We're walking a very narrow line here. I've tried to explain von Heusen to Nalte.
He has a sense of honor; there is a chance he will return you. But I can't do-any of this if you interfere. Do you understand?”
She wrenched free of him at last. His hands fell upon his hips and his hat brim tipped over one eye, yet she could still see the silver glint in the other. She swung around and walked with her shoulders stiff and straight, then she sat Indian fas.h.i.+on upon a blanket roll. She mustn't let him see how hurt she was.
He didn't say anything else to her, but started to turn to leave. She couldn't stand that, and called out to him.
”Jamie!”
”What?” he demanded impatiently.
”What” -- She paused, licking her lips. ”what happened to Chavez?”
”He's dead,” Jamie said flatly.
”And the Comancheros” -- ”The Comancheros never saw me,” he said.
”But if we're going to get out of the mountains, we're going to need an Apache escort. So don't create problems.”
”Me!” ”You,” he said succinctly, and he was on his way out again.
”Jamie!”
”what now?”
She hesitated a second.
”Thank you. Thank you for coming after me.
Thank you for risking so much.”