Thank you lovely people for your kind reviews. I am amazed at how many people have already read the first chapter. I hope this gives you a little hope for Joe and his family.
Chapter Two
The texture against his skin felt all wrong. He couldn't define why because something about his senses wasn't working right, but he knew something was very wrong. The early morning sunlight crept through the ragged tent flap and he tried to determine where he was and reckon what day it was. As the light increased, he squinted against it. The light only intensified the pain that pounded relentlessly in his head. A low groan escaped and a hand appeared out of nowhere to rest against his chest. As Joe turned to focus on the face above him, his head protested against the movement and he groaned again. The words being spoken had a soothing tone, but he had no idea what any of them meant. He knew enough to recognise them as Shoshone, but beyond that, his mind was not keeping up. He squeezed his eyes shut in a vain attempt to force his mind to co-operate and vague flashes of memory filtered through. He'd been high up somewhere when he heard a scream. Perhaps he was up on the ridge chasing that puma that Hoss had seen last week. What he couldn't figure was why was Hoss screaming at him? Had the puma caught up to him? As that thought spiked through the fog, Joe tried to turn and see where his brother was. He needed to get his rifle and take a shot before that cat did some major damage to his brother. As he raised his hand to grasp at the rifle slung on the side of his saddle, he felt a searing pain rip through his body and he crumpled to the ground instead. How had that darn cat managed to get on top of him so fast? As he slipped back into the darkness, he had a brief thought that he was missing something important before his exhausted mind chose to shut down again.
The two women exchanged a look that spoke volumes and the elder of the two lifted the bowl again and went back to work. The young man who had staggered into their camp looked like he had been mauled by a cat and yet she knew it was not the case. The fact his clothes were soaked through and his boots and knees were slick with mud showed he had been in the river and his injuries had likely come from the jagged rocks underneath the water. As they gently peeled back the layers of clothing, she began to wonder how he had even managed to crawl free of the river, let alone walk to their camp. As she and her sister wiped at the bloodied gashes, their patient muttered in torment, but neither of them stopped. If the wounds were not cleansed of the thick river mud that caked much of his body, he would no doubt die of fever. As it was, she was not yet sure he would live anyway.
By the time they had cleaned away all of the mud, the bruising beneath was showing itself and both women were shocked by the extent of it. A dark purple shadow extended down one side and across his abdomen. The rib bones beneath the shadow shifted as she pressed on them and he bucked angrily under her hands. Another of the women entered the tent with a bowl of salve and between them, they began to apply it to the bloodied streaks. None of them had yet commented on the ugly bruised swelling over his left eye and Little Eagle wished that the tribe's medicine man would return soon. He would know what to do, but he was not there when she needed his wisdom most. He had left to gather supplies before the winter snow set in and had been gone almost half a moon. In his absence, she tried to think of what he would do and hoped that she had remembered well. The young man in her care was almost the same age as her son and she felt tears welling in her eyes as she considered what his mother would feel to see him in such a state. The words he mumbled made no sense to her ears, but a mother's heart knew a child's torment nonetheless. As they finished with the salve, she slipped a worn, but softened buckskin over him and settled back to watch. Without thinking, she reached out a hand to caress the top of his head and began to croon a song she had sung to her son when he was small.
Hoss knelt in the mud on the riverbank and strained to find the clues he so desperately needed. The rain several days earlier had washed away anything that could have helped them and he wanted to slam a fist into the mud in frustration. His father had dispatched teams of the ranch hands to comb both sides of the river with a fine-toothed comb. Roy had sent telegrams to any town that was downstream with the macabre thought that Joe's body could have washed ashore somewhere further down from their search area. Hoss squinted into the early morning sun and prayed for something to show up that he could follow. It seemed that the dark river waters had swallowed his little brother and refused to give him back.
Ben slumped in the saddle as he watched his middle son searching for clues to track. It had been too long and they all knew it. If Joe had been in the water for any length of time he would most likely have succumbed to exposure by now. They had no way to determine any injuries he would have suffered from the crossbar, but any injury lessened his chances of survival. He closed his eyes and tried to blot out the despair that threatened to unseat him. Anger welled up within him as he considered his own decision to allow Joe to stay behind. If he had just insisted, Joe would have been safe and well, riding out with his brothers and riding home again.
If only.
He knew he was being irrational, but he was too tired to stop himself from giving in to the ugly thoughts and he found himself struggling to breathe.
Adam had climbed up the ridgeline when Hoss had descended to the river's edge. He knew Hoss had the better tracking skills, but something kept drawing him upwards and away from the water. He would never be able to explain it, but he knew they were looking in the wrong place. If Joe was still in the water, if his body had snagged somewhere, Adam knew they would have found him by now. If he was still in the frigid water then they all knew they were looking for a body and it was no longer a rescue mission. His mind kept replaying the logic of the situation, but his heart kept arguing with his head. He'd seen his father gradually slipping into resignation that Joe was gone, but he could not bring himself to do the same. Joe drove him crazy at times, but he could not conceive of a world without his youngest brother in it. Despite Joe's nickname for him that he was a granite-headed stubborn man, he refused to allow the logic of the idea to settle within him and he pushed himself onwards and continued up the rocky slope. A small smile played at his lips as he considered what Joe would have to say about it, but the smile slipped as he found his thoughts dragging him elsewhere. The idea that Joe would never again insult him made his breath catch in his throat.
It was a good twenty minutes later that Hoss conceded defeat and declared he could not find any signs to follow. As he climbed towards where Adam was, he felt as if he had somehow failed his brother and the guilt weighed heavily on his mind. Ben didn't speak as he joined the climb upwards. He could not have expressed his thoughts anyway, but by heading away from the river, he felt he was betraying his son and walking away from him when he needed him most.
Adam turned away from his family, unable to make eye contact with either of them. He knew he would see resignation in their eyes and he hated himself for feeling angry with them. Joe was not dead and he would not accept that until he saw a body. Even then, he'd be having an argument about it. As he scanned the ridgeline, he caught a glimpse of smoke. He knew that Joe could not possibly have started a fire, but perhaps whoever it was may have seen something helpful. It was a long shot that he could not pass up and he nudged his horse forward without bothering to explain where he was going.
Ben nodded at Hoss and the two of them trailed along silently. Nobody had any better ideas and clearly Adam had something in mind. For the moment, Ben was out of ideas and rapidly running out of hope. By the time he noted the smoke, they were almost upon the small campfire. Two young Shoshone boys were crouched by the fire, holding several small fish on sticks over the coals. The smell wafted over and Ben felt a sudden pain in his chest as he recalled how many times he'd seen Joe do exactly the same thing. His son had been caught skipping school more than once as he and a friend had been enticed by a fishing hole on a hot summer's day. The boys turned as the horses approached, but neither seemed particularly alarmed to see the men coming towards them. They slowly stood up, but made no effort to run.
"Good morning's fishing?" Adam leaned forward over his saddle horn and nodded at the catch the boys were cooking.
"More than enough for my brother and me." Adam almost flinched at the mention of a brother, but noted the pride in the boy's voice. He was on the cusp of manhood as the Shoshone measured such things and the two of them were possibly out on a hunting trip to test their mettle. He could not stop the memories that arose as he considered taking both Hoss and Joe out on hunting trips and teaching them the skills he had accumulated over time.
"Speaking of brothers …." Adam found his mind racing as he watched the two boys. "We are looking for my brother. He's been missing for going on five days. I don't suppose you've seen anyone up this way?"
"Many white men track across the river."
Adam frowned in frustration as he considered the truth of that. Many men had been tracking back and forth looking for Joe.
"Yes, there have been. They've been looking for my brother."
The older of the two boys frowned as he glanced at his younger brother. He quickly schooled his features again and nodded towards the trio. "You will keep looking?"
It was more a statement than a question and Adam nodded. He would not stop looking until he was forced to. It was Ben who answered before he could find the words.
"I need to find what happened to my son … whatever that may be." The anguish in his voice was clear to all of them and the two boys nodded solemnly. Adam tipped his hat as the three of them rode away. Something about the two brothers tugged at him and he glanced back over his shoulder to see the two boys staring after them. The older one had not moved his hand from his younger brother and Adam felt a knife sinking into his gut. He had failed to be there when his brother needed him most.
"Ben, I wish I had a better answer for you, I really do." Roy gripped the rim of his mug and tried to hold his emotions in check. As much as he hated to do it, he had as good as signed Joe's death certificate. There had been no sign of him for any of the searchers who had been out for days. It was almost as if the river had swallowed him and was determined to keep her secrets.
The darkness had closed in once again and called the search to a halt for another day. Ben had dragged his sons back into town to compare notes with those who had also been out for the day. He felt helpless and angry that his son could have just disappeared and he clutched at his coffee mug as he stared into its depths. His prayers had gone unanswered as he had trudged across the muddy terrain alongside the river and he wondered why God was being so cruel. He'd faced death and loss too many times already, but there had been a measure of comfort and finality in holding those he loved in his arms one last time. He felt his fingers curl in frustration at the idea he would never again touch his son. Joe was always the most tactile of the family and would unconsciously reach for his father or his brothers when he needed to.
Ben glanced up to see Adam watching him and he considered his eldest son for a moment. Adam was the most restrained of his sons and he could generally keep his emotions in check. He was the last one to make physical connection with any of them and Joe's effervescence sometimes seemed to irritate him. Hoss was ever the one in the middle. His son's size belied a gentle heart and Ben was often astounded to watch him as he handled a frightened critter or a distressed child. Hoss had piggybacked his baby brother all over the yard and up and down the stairs more times than Ben could count. While he was often the butt of Joe's practical jokes and schemes, he loved his younger brother with all he had in him and Ben suspected it may be Hoss who would take his loss the hardest.
Ben dropped his face into his hand as he considered what Roy had declared. His son was dead and they may never find a body to bury. He felt himself sinking and it took all of his determination to keep himself upright. Nothing would ever look the same again and he wasn't sure he wanted to even try to face it.
Little Eagle smiled as her sister slipped inside with a steaming bowl of her favourite meal. It had been days since she left the teepee for anything more than relieving herself and her sister had scolded her for not taking care of herself. It was a peace offering and she smiled as she peered into the bowl and inhaled the aroma. No matter what anyone said, she had found herself unable to leave the stranger who had stumbled into her care. His features were so very different, but something reminded her of the handsome son she had watched walk slowly into the next world. His fevered words meant nothing to her, but the passion in his voice called up something within her. Her son was long dead and yet something about the young man she now cared for had tugged at her memories of him.
Grey Feather watched as her sister spooned food from the bowl and smiled in relief. Her sister had not slept in days as she hovered over the stranger and she was afraid of what would happen should the young man succumb to his injuries. She had wept silent and bitter tears when her sister's son had died at the hands of white men who thought nothing of Shoshone ways. Her sister had almost followed his spirit until two orphaned boys from another tribe had drawn her back into the world of the living. The fact the eldest one had knowledge of the white men's ways had grated on her and she had forbidden him to use the white man's words in her hearing. It wasn't until they had been with her for many moons and her heart had begun to heal that she allowed him to share of how he came by such knowledge. It stunned her to hear that white men had traded with his tribe and been fair in their dealings. It was not the way of things as she had seen them and yet her two new sons had shown her a new truth. As she finished the last of her meal, she wondered what her sons were eating for their evening meal. It had been days since they set out on the first of their manhood challenges and she felt both proud and secretly terrified. Her heart ached to see them both and she would content herself in the meantime with caring for the young man who slept fitfully beside her.