Chapter eight
WeeLassie brayed lightly when she saw Mano making his way to the valley floor. Neetz turned and looked up at him . She smiled as Mano waved to her.
Staying in the cave was making him antsy, he needed to get out and do something. He needed to get more comfortable with the alder crutches. The path from the cave to the valley floor looked to be a good challenge. Not overly steep, it was less concerning than Mano expected. He made it down in just a few minutes.
To his right, Mano could see the upper end of the valley, a perspective shielded from the cave where he had been staying. There was a cavern, no more than ten or twelve feet high, at the head of the draw. Mano entered it and noticed the dampness of the air. There was a deep pool at the rear, a small trickle from the wall behind keeping it full. Along one wall were shelves holding dozens of various sized canning jars, their tops sealed with wax. Meats, vegetables, fruits and jams filled the jars.
Along another wall sat tools; shovels, picks, axes, hammers, wood saws; the items one could find on virtually any wagon traversing the land of the Apache. For every need Neetz or Cimmaron had, there was a tool for the task. Mano smiled in appreciation. Even the Chapparal ws not this well equipped.
Mano returned to the mouth of the cave as Neetz approached. She held several ripe apricots in her hand, one of which she offered to the hobbled Mexican. It was juicy, and flavorful.
'Umm " Mano sighed as he took his first bite. 'This tastes as good as the ones from Casa Montoya."
"It should." answered Neetz, wryly. The look made Mano tilt his head back and laugh.
" You want for nothing here, Senora Fitzgerald. I have wondered why you didn't leave this country after you were freed, but now I see. You have carved out a life here, just as the Cannons and the Montoyas have.'
"Aye" agreed Neetz "The years with the Apache were... diffcult..., but I grew to love this country, and Cimmaron did, too. When he brought Lark and me to this place I knew it was home. There was no other place I wished to go. There is a price to pay to live in this land. Me son is paying the cost as we speak, but it is a price decided by others, a price Cimmaron is willing to pay."
'You do not seem worried, Senora. You seem at peace knowing Cimmaron might not return."
" I do not worry. My faith gives me that gift, but, aye, I would like to see the killing stop. Perhaps one day one of those boys will get the better of me son. I choose to not live for that day. I choose to live for this one. Come, my friend. Let me show you me garden."
The two walked the perimeter of the valley for several hours, the man on crutches moving with ease. At all times Neetz was attentive, constantly looking to the rocks above. It was an acquired habit, one borne by all who lived in this uncompromising land. Mano noticed he was doing the same thing.
After circling the valley, the two stood just inside the mouth of the cavern, saying little. WeeLassie let out a small bark and Mano saw Neetz stiffen. She took several steps toward the burro as Mano followed her. Suddenly , the animal let out a loud, alarmed bray.
"Montoya!" exclaimed Neetz, looking above him.
Mano turned and looked up, only to see the bottoms of two moccasins falling from the sky. A rifle butt smacked him in the head and he fell to the ground.
His eyes fluttered as his mind tried to register what had just happened. Mano's head was throbbing and Neetz was on her knees, bending over him. An Apache stood behind her, holding a rifle pointed at the two people on the ground.
"'Get up!" ordered the Indian.
Neetz ignored him, looking at Mano and examining the cut caused by the rifle butt. She removed the bandana from the fallen man's neck and dabbed at the blood running down Mano's forehead.
"Get up!" repeated the Indian.
Neetz helped Mano to his feet, handing him one crutch as she rose. Immediately the Indian knocked the crutch away with the barrel of his rifle. Neetz grabbed Mano to help him keep his balance.
"You, move over there" the Indian barked at Neets, gesturing with the firearm. Neetz did not comply.
He was young, painfully young, thought Mano. Thirteen, maybe fourteen years old, his baby face still smooth and unmarked. He acted confident, but there was an undeniable skittishness in his movements and his tone.
"I told you to move, woman ! " he hissed.
Again, Neetz didn't budge. Calmly she looked at the man- child and asked him, "Does your mother know you are here?"
The question caught the young Apache off guard. This was not a question he had even remotely considered. He wavered, and then regained his bearings.
"Do not speak to me of her, woman. I am a man, not a boy. I do not need the permission of some squaw to be here." he answered, trying to convince himself as much as Neetz. "Now , move!"
Even though there seemed to be more conviction in his words, Neetz remained standing , supporting Mano.
" You go home." Neetz admonished. "You put that gun down and you go home and become a man. You grow and take a wife. Have children and live to become an old man. You do this now."
The young Apache flinched, clearly understanding the words but unable to comprehend why he was hearing them. The look on his face was easy for Mano to read. "I am a man! I have a gun! You are supposed to do what I tell you ! You are supposed to fear me !"
The young man took a step toward Neetz, placing the muzzle of the rifle against her neck.
"Move!' he shouted.
A high pitched sound came from WeeLassie who was standing ten feet away. It was a sound Mano had never heard an animal make. It was a distressed tone, plaintive and yearning.
Neetz brushed the rifle barrel away from her body. "You must go" she said to the Apache . "You must go now, before Cimmaron returns."
The name struck a nerve, making the man-child even less sure of himself. Again he ordered Neetz to move, his voice louder and higher than before. The pitch of WeeLassie's lament rose in volume as well. It was making the hair stand up on the back of Mano's neck.
'Tell that foolish animal to shut up " he ordered, "or I will kill it."
He began to swing the rifle in the direction of the burro before realizing Mano would be able to grab the gun. He pointed the muzzle at Mano with as much menace as he could muster and looked back to Neetz. He pushed the side of her head with the barrel and the pitch of the burro rose another level. The tension in the air was palpable.
The Indian had reached his limit. He grabbed Neetz's long hair and threw her at Mano's feet. It was the last mistake he would ever make.
Before Neetz hit the ground, WeeLassie charged. With full force, she planted her long face directly in the center of the Apache's back. As he shot forward, Mano grabbed the rifle, one hand on the barrel, the other on the stock. He spun on his one good leg forcing his back into the chest of the smaller man. With one push. Mano freed the rifle.
He turned to face the Apache but there was no support from the broken leg. He collapsed on top of Neetz as the Indian fell on top of him.
WeeLassie reared up on her hind legs and drove her front hooves into the bottom of the young man's ribs. He let out a scream and tried to regain his footing. Again, the burro's sharp hooves drove him to the ground. He got up on his hands and knees and tried to scramble away from the animal. WeeLassie bit hard on the back of his neck. The Apache got to his feet, but his head was held down in the vice-like grip of the burro's jaws. His arms flailed uselessly as he twisted to escape animal's bite. Whe he finally freed himself streams of blood poured from the wounds.
The Indian was now facing WeeLassie. She charged and slammed her face into his chest, sending him flying. He landed on his back but could only use his arms to shield himself from the onslaught of her hooves. His right forearm was broken in two almost immediately. He screamed when he saw his hand flopping helplessly, the hand connected to his elbow only by muscle and skin.
WeeLassie's hooves cotinued to slam the young man's body until she bent down and grabbed him by the throat. The strong little burro shook him like a rag doll. Once, twice, a third time, she violently swung him until his body went limp. WeeLassie carried the dead boy out about twenty feet before giving him one last, vicious shake. She released the body and it plopped to the ground, inert.
The small burro turned and faced Neetz, her ears down, her head and neck lowered. The animal showed its teeth as it walked toward the woman, its posture seeming to be one of apology, Mano thought.
" Do not move, Montoya, " Neetz whispered. "She does not yet know to trust you."
The burro approached Neetz until it stopped a few feet away. As Neetz stood motionless the animal began sniffing her, beginning at her feet and rising to her breasts. The animal walked completely around the woman checking every bit of her body. When WeeLassie reached the front of Neetz , she stopped and placed her head and face against Neetz's midsection. Neetz reached her arms over the animal's head and neck to keep her balance. The burro began to bray, a mournful cry.
"There, there," comforted Neetz as the animal continued. "Do not cry little one. All is well. I am well. You are well."
The braying continued.
" It is time to go play. WeeLassie"
Immediately. the braying stopped. One ear rose and turned toward the source of the word.
"You go play." repeated Neetz.
The animal's other ear rose, turned, and focused. Neetz slapped the burro on the rump, but it didn't move. With greater force she slapped its rump again. "Go play, little one!"
WeeLassie kicked her rear legs before jumping up with her fronts. She repeated the jump several times before walking back out in the field. She went to the lifeless form and sniffed it. She prodded it several times with her nose before going off a few feet further. She lowered her head and began eating, without a care in the world.
Neetz retrieved Mano's crutches as each person assured the other that they were fine. Neetz turned and walked out to the dead boy in the grass. Mano followed her slowly, the crutches often sinking in the still wet ground. By the time he reached Neetz, she was already kneeling in prayer. They heard a bleat from WeeLassie and turned to see Cimmaron running down the trail to the valley.
Neetz arose as Cimmaron approached, giving him a tight hug as he arrived. The three people gazed at the Apache.
'They get younger every year." Neetz said quietly.
' Aye, Mum. Such a hurry to grow up and they ne'er do."
Cimmaron studied the corpse. "WeeLassie?" he asked. Neetz nodded .
Cimmaron gave Mano a look which asked, "Do you see what I was telling you of WeeLassie?"
Mano's eyes said "Yes."
" Come," Neetz said to the two men. "Let us rest our spirits for a bit. I will make something to eat before we begin our work. Come, let us return to the casa. I can attend to your wound much better there , Montoya."
The three returned to the cave, Mano struggling ever so slightly with the incline. The young Apache had taken an odd route to the valley, Cimmaron told them, which was how he was able to get past him. Cimmaron thought the young man was bright. Mano could see that the Kiliwa took no real joy in the death of the young Apache.
Although no one had a real appetite, they all ate a bit of the food Neetz had prepared. Mano offered to help Cimmaron with the boy's body but the Indian politely declined the offer. It was his task, and his task alone.
From the cave, Mano watched as Cimmaron dealt with the dead Apache. He placed the wooden pack on WeeLassie and then removed the clothes from the corpse, rolling them into a tight bundle which he secured with the boy's headband. After tying the Apache's legs and arms together, he swung the lifeless form onto the pack. He balanced the load on the small burro, then he cinched it down tightly. Cimmaron retrieved the dead Apache's rifle and a shovel, which he tied to the pack. At length, the man and burro headed toward the far end of the valley where they disappeared into a seam in the rocks. Half of an hour later, Mano saw them on a ridge a mile away before they descended from sight.
Mano remained seated until the skies darkened. Neetz offered to make something to eat but neither had much interest. Neetz joined Mano, seating herself in the rocking chair.
"Cimmaron will find a spot and bury that young man. " she offered. "Then he will take his things down to the boy's pony below. He will tie the clothes and the rifle on the animal and send it on its way. When it shows up at camp the men will see the riderless horse and they will see the rifle. They will understand that the rifle was sent by a man who does not fear their guns. They will understand that it is Cimmaron who has returned their horse, to show them that he has no need for their possessions.
The boy's mother will see the riderless horse and she will not understand. She will not understand why she does not get to see her boy take a wife, and to bring her grandchildren. She will not understand why he needed to do such a foolish thing. She will not understand this need of men to kill each other."
Mano sat silently and listened. He could see the tears well in Neetz's eyes. He could sense the memory of Lark.
Mano rose and took his crutches. He hobbled back to Neetz's room and took the rosary from her jewelry box. As he returned to his seat, he removed the beautiful amber rosary from the inside of his jacket.
Going over to Neetz, Mano guided Cimmaron's stool to her side, using his crutch. Awkwardly, he lowered himself down until his left knee touched the floor. He handed Neetz her rosary without making eye contact.
Mano made the sign of the cross.
With his left hand he gently grasped the Crucifix. He gazed out to the desert sky and spoke..
"Creo en Dios Padre, Todopoderoso'"
"Creador del cielo y de la tierra" joined Neetz's voice.
"Y en Jesucristo, su unico Hijo, Nuestro Senor..."