Chapter 2
Late in the night Mingo was aroused by the call of an owl. He came instantly awake and rolled silently several feet to his right. In the faint starlight he could see the woman tied to the tree, her eyes open and searching the dark forest.
He crawled laterally several more feet, then lay flat in a small depression thirty feet from his bait. Hours before he had lain in the little creek, then rolled in the thick layer of forest duff to mask his own sweaty body odor. Now he lay hidden, waiting for her accomplices to show themselves. The night sounds ceased as something moved silently through the trees. Mingo slipped his knife from its sheath inside his boot. With his right hand he grasped his rifle tightly.
A man waded through the forest shadows to the woman's side. Mingo could see the glint of the steel knife blade as he bent to cut the ropes that bound her. Mingo silently leaned his rifle against a nearby tree and shifted his knife. Jumping to his feet, he was behind the man before the warrior could completely turn to defend himself. Mingo moved his body with the other man, his left hand grasping the other man's hair. The pull exposed the other man's throat. Mingo's knife pressed against the Creek's carotid artery.
Stabbing backward with his knife, the other man attempted to embed his knife in Mingo's chest. But the Cherokee slipped to the side and the blade slid off the buckskin of his vest, slitting it but doing little damage to Mingo's body. Mingo pressed his knee in the other warrior's back and pulled on his hair. Ribs cracked ominously.
"Be still, or I will break your back." Mingo's voice was harsh with anger. The other man froze, his back arched painfully over Mingo's knee. Mingo dragged the warrior behind the tree, placing the trunk between himself and the direction the man had come. Pulling hard on the man's hair, Mingo caused the warrior to fall over backwards. Instantly the Cherokee pushed his knee into the other man's chest, allowing all his weight to press down.
Meanwhile the woman was kicking hard against the forest floor, trying to loosen her bonds. Mingo leaned around the tree and whispered in her ear.
"Stop thrashing or I will kill this Creek."
She stopped instantly, the tone of Mingo's voice offering no doubt to his sincerity. He turned his attention to the prone Creek under his knee. The man's knife hand was pinned beneath his body, his breath coming painfully as Mingo's knee continued to press hard. Mingo leaned over and spoke softly.
"Put your other hand behind your back."
When the Creek complied, Mingo indicated that he should roll on the ground. Then Mingo pushed the man's hands between his tight Creek belt and his body. Bending, he raised the other warrior with his left hand while his right kept the knife against the other Indian's throat. As they rounded the tree an arrow whistled through the darkness and embedded itself in the Creek's heart. He crumpled at Mingo's feet.
In a fluid motion Mingo dropped the dead man and cut the woman's bonds. Pulling her behind him, he snatched his rifle and pack. They ran several minutes until they came to the edge of a cut bank. Mingo glanced over the edge, then pushed his captive onto her rear end and shoved her over the edge. He followed seconds later.
They slid and rolled twenty feet down the embankment. Mingo leaped to his feet and grabbed the woman's hand before she could run. He dragged her behind him several more miles, then pushed her under an overhanging rock just as the dawn was lighting the sky.
She lay panting and gasping. Mingo wedged himself beside her in the small space, then turned to look over his shoulder. She was bruised and dirty, her arms scraped from her struggle against the bark of the tree, her dress torn over the left shoulder. The look in her eyes brought compassion from her Cherokee captor.
"He was your brother?"
Tears flooded her eyes as she nodded. Mingo patted her shoulder in sympathy. Then he reached down and pulled his water bag from his pack. He handed it to his captive with a small smile.
"Here, I know you're very thirsty. Drink." She looked steadily at his dirty face as she swallowed a mouthful of water. Tears continued to flood her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. She handed the bag back to him and closed her eyes.
"Give me back my belt before you sleep, please. You'll be more comfortable and so will I."
Silently she untied his belt from behind her head, unwound the length from her neck and handed it to him. Then she sighed deeply, turned her back to him and fell asleep.
In the mid-day heat Mingo slipped from the rock crevice and dropped to the ground, rolling several feet before coming to rest beneath a dozen berry bushes. He listened carefully, then slid backwards farther into the protection of the trees. He slowly stood, stretching his arms above his head and pushing his tall body up onto his toes to stretch his long legs. His joints snapped and popped in relief. He pulled his water bag from his pack and took a long swallow of the warm leathery water. Then he dropped to his knees and crawled to the rock overhang to check on his captive.
He could see that she had rolled onto her back as he vacated the narrow ledge. Her deep regular breathing indicated that she still slept. Mingo scooted back to sit screened by the berry bushes while he waited for her to waken. She would be less of a danger to him if she was rested. As he sat, his mind reviewed the past fifteen hours.
She awoke an hour later and lifted her head. Mingo whistled from the berry screen and she turned her head to look at him. He beckoned and slowly she slid over the rock to sit on the edge. She shook her head and then stood. Mingo slid forward to grab her hand and pull her into the brushy enclosure. She blinked at him and sat. Silently he offered the water bag, and silently she drank.
Mingo leaned close and whispered. "We won't move until dark. I'm sure that your accomplices are hunting us. Are you willing to tell me now why I am being hunted?"
She stared at him and did not respond. He sighed and pursed his lips. "Very well, I'll tell you my theory. It may entertain you and make the time pass more quickly. You are dressed as a Creek but you are at least half white. For some reason you do not wish me to return to Menewa with my report of the council proceedings. I surmise that you do not wish the tribes to unite and accept the American settlers, for some reason yet unknown. You don't wish to kill me, but are trying to gain some knowledge from me. Am I right so far?"
Mingo's black eyebrows lifted in a taunting gesture. The woman's eyes sparkled with anger, but she refused to answer. Mingo saw the expression, nodded and continued. "You called me a traitor, an epithet that has puzzled me for several hours. But I think I may have solved the riddle. I assumed you meant that I was a traitor to my Indian blood for carrying a message of unity with the whites to my Cherokee people.
But just a few moments ago I realized that you may mean I am a traitor to my white blood, in which case a whole other realm of possibilities opens up before me."
Beside him the young woman inadvertently twitched. The small gesture was not lost on Mingo, whose smile grew with the knowledge. She turned her head to hide her eyes, but Mingo had seen the verification of his suspicions in the large brown orbs. He sat hugging his knees as the afternoon slipped toward sunset. Beside him the woman sat silently, her arms hugging her own knees and her back turned to her Cherokee captor.
As the afternoon waned Mingo sat listening to the wildlife around him and pondering his new perspective. There was a missing piece that troubled him, but he couldn't get his mind to grasp it. Over and over he replayed the past eighteen hours in his mind. Suddenly his head snapped up just as the Creek woman beside him turned to face him, a question plain in her eyes.
"Who killed my brother?" The question hung in the air as Mingo stared into her wide brown eyes. The same question had just formed in his mind. Quickly Mingo pulled her down beside him and dragged her after him as he crawled a hundred yards diagonal to their berry thicket. Leaning close, he whispered a question in her ear.
"Can you climb trees?"
She nodded and he whispered again. "That same question just occurred to me. I am going back to check the arrow, if it is still there. Whoever killed your brother may have already removed it." He saw the distress in her eyes and continued. "I will place your brother's body safely in a tree. I will do all that I can. I promise you." He turned to go and then swiveled back to face her again.
"What is your name? I feel awkward trying to evade killers without knowing who is running beside me." His attempt at humor helped to dispel the dark grief that he saw in her eyes. She gave a little smile and replied. "Viviane."
His dark eyebrows rose and his eyes widened in surprise. She nodded. "Yes, the other name for Nimue. My father liked the Latin meaning for the name."
Mingo nodded. "Lively. I can see his reasoning. Now, Nimue, I hope that you realize I won't let you imprison me inside a tree or under a rock." His smile was warm and he patted her shoulder encouragingly.
"I knew that. Unlike Merlin, you don't seem to be senselessly smitten with me."
"I am a cautious man, Viviane. Carelessness can be a fatal flaw."
She nodded and swallowed hard as she thought of her brother. Mingo saw the reflex and patted her shoulder again. "I should return before daybreak. If I don't, run to Chota. It's two days run to the northwest. Menewa will give you shelter."
Viviane nodded again, then reached out and touched Mingo's dirty face. "Be careful. I don't want to be out here alone, facing someone who may kill me. I'm afraid." Her confession strengthened Mingo's resolve and he nodded, looked up at the darkening sky, and gestured to a tall, leafy elm nearby.
"Let me boost you up that tree." He reached down and pulled her to her feet. As they walked he reached into his pack and gave her the remainder of the jerky and his water bag. Then he bent down, cupped her foot in his hand, and tossed her strongly toward the lowest branch. She caught it and pulled herself into the tree. She waved silently and Mingo strode soundlessly into the forest and disappeared from her sight.
