Katie was running back to the house to catch her Ma. They had all decided to go out on a picnic since it was a beautiful sunny day. For someone reason, no one had grabbed the pie that was cooling in the window. Rebecca had doubled-back to get it, and then suddenly, Andrew remembered that he had accidentally knocked it out of the window. Katie ran back to tell her Ma before she got too far. Unfortunately, her Ma was an incredibly fast walker, and almost impossible to catch. Her Ma always blamed it on nearly twenty years of trying to keep up with her Pa. By the time Katie caught up to her Ma, she was out of breath and her Ma was all the way back to Andrew and Mima's house. She was talking to a strange man who was standing in their front yard. She was just about to call to her, when the man reached out and grabbed her Ma by the arm. Her Ma struggled and tried to move away, but the man grabbed her firmly. He lifted her Ma, kicking and fighting and threw her over his shoulder. Katie stood shocked, unsure of what to do next. She stood torn between running for help and running to her Ma. She could see the glint of gun tucked into his belt, and thought rushing in unwise. She tried to remember all the things her Pa and Israel had told her.
"Hunters spend a lot of time listening and watching, Katie. You would make a good hunter because you are so quiet." Israel had told her.
She scrunched down behind a bush and watched. The man took her Ma around the side of the house. Katie followed. A wagon stood waiting and the man tied her Ma's feet and hands and put her in it - or tried to. Her Ma kicked and fought him. He had put a cloth in her mouth, so no one could hear her. Frightened, Katie watch her mother struggle against the stranger. Finally, he reached out and struck her Ma. She stopped kicking then. He threw a blanket over the top of her, and climbed up. Katie watched as the wagon rolled away.
She ran then. First she ran into the house and grabbed Andrew's rifle and shot bag. She took her jacket and scribbling a note that she left on the kitchen table, she ran to the barn. Using the fence, she climbed up onto the back of Midnight, Andrew's horse and rode off, following the tracks of the wagon.
The tracks followed one of the main roads that led into the center of Philadelphia, but then veered off and into the woods. Midnight was fast and she clung tightly to his mane. It became harder to follow the tracks as she got deeper into the woods, and eventually she had to climb down and walk holding onto his mane. She knew she had to move quickly because she would be unable to follow the tracks when darkness fell. She stopped when she could see an empty wagon in the distance. She could see no one near it. Leaving Midnight behind, she continued cautiously on foot. The only thing left in the wagon was the blanket. With rising fear, she checked the ground for tracks.
"When you are trying to read tracks, the best thing you can do is go slow. Lots of times folks wind up walking right over the tracks that they are trying to see. Think logically about the direction you would go, if you were the animal you were tracking and look for tracks there." Her Pa had told her.
She started at the back of the wagon, knowing that someone would have had to pull her Ma out of it. She saw them there. It looked like at least three or four people, barefoot. It was clear they were dragging something - her Ma. She grabbed the blanket that was in the back of the wagon and ripped a strip of it off. Ripping a smaller piece of it off, she tied it to a nearby tree branch and continue to follow the tracks. Moving forward carefully, she left pieces of the blanket tied to trees and bushes, marking her path. Hopefully, someone would follow it.
She rested the rifle across her arms, just the way her Pa did, as she followed the trail. She knew that whoever she was tracking would likely stop at nightfall, and she figured she might catch up with them then. So far, the tracks weren't difficult to follow. Near dusk, she began to hear voices and knew that she was getting close. She remained hidden and crawled slowly along the ground toward the sound. She stayed still and listened carefully. Shawnee. She recognized the language, but didn't know what they were saying. As darkness fell, she could see their fire in the distance. Continuing to crawl along the ground, she moved closer to the fire and the voices. She was able to remain hidden behind some bushes and a small pile of boulders. Peering through the bushes, she could see them: twenty or so Shawnee. She looked around desperately for her Ma, and then she saw her - still bound sitting on the ground, tied to a tree just outside the camp itself. Her head was down, but she couldn't tell if it was because she was asleep, hurt, crying or just looking down. Katie sat and watched.
"It takes a lot of waiting. You have to be patient. If you move to fast, an animal will see you, and you'll scare them off." Her Pa had said.
"What about Indians?" She'd asked.
"If you see Indians, you get Pa or me." Israel had told her. "We'll take care of 'em."
She wished her Pa was here now. Slowly she tried to make her way around to the other side of the camp, so that she could get closer to her Ma. On hands and feet, she backed away from their camp, and then cut a path around to the opposite side of the camp. Crawling along the ground again, she moved in closer. She found a good hiding spot just to the left of her Ma. She could hear voices now.
"I made a promise to your son, and now I am keeping it." An angry voice said.
"You are Rising Dawn? Israel was right." She heard her mother say. "You are a very short man."
She heard him hit her, but didn't see it. Her Ma didn't cry out. Peering through the thick grass in front of her, she could see her Ma lift her chin and glare at whoever stood above her.
"He said you were fierce." The voice said laughing. "But have no fear, I've tamed a wildcat in my lifetime."
Katie rolled over onto her back and stared up at the darkening sky. She tried to think. She knew there was no time to go for help. This was a problem that she was going to have to solve. She needed to come up with a plan. She wished she were clever like her Pa. She wished Israel were here with her. He would know what to do.
Rising Dawn had walked away from her Ma. She could see the back of him, speaking to some other braves. She crawled still closer to her Ma, and softly, hoping that only her Ma could hear, she let out the soft whistle of an eagle that her Pa had taught her. Her Ma's head turned suddenly. She called again, and her Ma nodded her head slightly. Katie smiled feeling strangely powerful. They had no idea she was there, but her Ma did. Together, they'd think of something.
"All God's creatures sleep. That's a good thing to remember too. Sometimes you can catch something just 'cause it fell asleep. It'll make you look like a victorious hunter, but really you were just lucky that a mean ole bobcat got tired." Her Pa had said.
She waited knowing that even Shawnee sleep sooner or later.