Man of Justice
I do not own The Big Valley or any of the original Barkleys.
Chapter Fifteen
Jarrod stirred once more and opened his eyes. His eyes focused on the roof above his head and he looked around...only later would he learn the structure he was in was called a wigwam. Again, it all came back to him and he sat up. He looked down at his bare chest and reached out for his shirt. Shock waves ran through him as he realized his shirt was gone. Panic filled him as his eyes searched for his shirt. Only when the man who had brought him into the village walked into the domed shaped structure was his attention drawn to something besides the missing piece of cloth.
Straight Arrow sighed internally, though his face was as readable as a stone wall. He knew Horse Breaker only meant to honor his dead son and, normally, to give him a son to replace the one he'd lost would be considered a great gift. But a white boy? Would he be able to adjust to life in the Shoshone village? What about his family? If only he knew the white man's language, if only the people in his village knew it, someone could have talked to this young boy and find out where he was from and if there was a chance his own father would be looking for him. Knowing there was no one who could communicate with the lad and knowing the Modoc would kill them both if he, Straight Arrow, refused Horse Breaker's gift, the man walked over to his new son holding what looked like to be a loin cloth and belt; a pair of moccasins were in his other hand.
Without thinking, Jarrod pulled the blanket higher and pulled back. Straight Arrow wanted to take the young man in his arms and assure him he meant him no harm, but that was something that time would have to teach him. He dropped the items next to Jarrod, pointed to himself and then to Jarrod before he turned and walked out of the wigwam. Jarrod got the picture. While he still wore his pants he was to get rid of them… as the man wanted him to dress the way he was.
Straight Arrow who was well known and respected in his village as a kind, patience, gentle, yet strong and firm, spiritual man, wasn't surprised when a good half hour passed before Jarrod walked out of the hut looking very much out of sorts. "Kim." Straight Arrow motioned for Jarrod to follow him. Soon the two were walking though the village. Jarrod could feel the eyes of everyone upon him. There were young boys who looked to be Nick's age working with older boys and women working around open fire pits. Before Jarrod knew it he was standing in front of another home that looked to be a bit larger than the others he'd seen.
Jarrod sucked in his breath as a very important looking Indian emerged from the structure before him. The gentleman had to be close to six feet tall. If Jarrod had known the language, once the man started talking, he would have known the man was the medicine man. He would have also known the chief was sick, hence the reason the trip to the medicine man first. He would have also known the man was asking Straight Arrow who he, Jarrod, was.
*"Neah-en-doo-ah." Straight Arrow answered as he glanced at Jarrod, simply stating that the boy was his son.
Lightfoot didn't know what he thought of this new development. Their people knew how Straight Arrow had not only grieved the day their enemies had killed his wife, but how his grief had only been made worse by the death of his only son, Fists of Iron. *"Ka-nung-en." Lightfoot looked at Straight Arrow with a confused look upon his face telling him he did not understand and waited for an answer, one that he could comprehend.
Straight Arrow went on to explain that "the boy before them" had been taken during a Modoc raid and that, rather than kill him; Horse Breaker had brought the white child to him as a gift, to replace his lost son. He laid his hand upon Jarrod's shoulder which made Jarrod cringe inwardly, but out of fear for his life kept his mouth shut and remained standing stiffly.
When the two men finished talking, Straight Arrow led the boy he had now accepted as his new son down to the river. Jarrod didn't know what to think as the man pointed to the river and said, *"Pah-gotch-o." Was he calling the river Pah-gotch-o? The man repeated the word only this time he pointed down the river to where a young man could be seen in the river washing himself. He then repeated the word, pointing to the water and to Jarrod. While Jarrod didn't understand the Shoshone's language, he got the picture. He looked around. The men and women were going about their business as if nothing unusual was happening. Jarrod gulped and prepared to bath.
At this point in the story, Nick stopped and doubled up his fists as he hissed. "Two weeks shy of his fourteenth birthday and he had to walk around with nothing but a loin cloth and moccasins and bath in a river where the whole blasted village could see him. Land sakes, where was his privacy! Oh don't get me wrong, Jarrod and I had done plenty of swimming buck naked with the other boys. And father taught us to swim that way too, but Jarrod would have died of pure embarrassment of having to bath in front of women and girls. Plus he was always the neat one! He would never come out of his room in his long johns, let alone walk around half naked, like that!" He stepped away from the barn, stooped over, picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could. Jarrod's first wardrobe… or lack of it… along with his first bath experience was something Nick had not known about until he, Nick, was almost twenty-three.
While Heath was reeling from being told that Jarrod had gone from being taken by the Modoc to being given to the Shoshone, along with his "new attire", he was not surprised to learn that Jarrod had to bath in public while living with the Shoshone. He knew it didn't surprise Nick either. He knew it was just the thought that a boy from one culture had had to go through the shock of adjusting to another one that was upsetting this brother. Thinking his brother might need a break from talking, Heath spoke up. "I can wait for the rest of the story if you want to do something else."
Nick turned around and looked at Heath. He could see the curiosity burning in his eyes. "No." he straightened his shoulders as he saw Audra exit the house and head for the stable. She looked rather upset. "I suspect she's heard a part of the story too, I might as well tell you everything now and get it over with.
00000
* Shoshone words used in this chapter. For book reference see Chapter Fourteen.
Kim=Come
Pah-gotch-o =Wash
Neah-en-doo-ah=My son
Ka-nung-en= I don't understand.