Chapter 3: Help in Unexpected Places
As it always seems in the mountains, another ridge proved to be still between them and their destination. Closing in on the smoke, revealed a cabin in the distance seemingly occupied by the steady smoke rising from the chimney.
With the valley opening into a wide treeless expanse, and their iconic red serge peaking through their navy woolen coats, there was no easy way to sneak up on this cabin. Still, Nathan nodded to Gabriel in silent communication, and the two separated—taking their own paths towards the cabin. This made them into dual targets instead of merely a singular one.
As they rode down into the valley, movement at the door caught their attention. A woman stepped out with long, dark tresses that reached down to her hip. Her copper colored skin was a stark contrast to the white linen dress that she wore with a leather belt around her middle. Her feet padded softly in moccasins with small beads decorating the edges. She raised her hand in greeting with warm brown eyes crinkling at the corners.
"M'aam?" Nathan greeted. "I'm Nathan Grant with the Northwest Mounted Police, and this is my partner Gabriel Kinslow. We are looking for a few men that may have passed through here."
"Ah. Come. Sit down. We talk."
A man joined her at the door with his hands clearly resting on the doorframe—it was a casual stance that posed no threat. He was fair-skinned with sandy colored hair mostly hidden under a bright red stocking cap. He wore both a buckskin jacket and matching pants lined with fringe on the sleeve down the pant leg.
Nathan and Gabriel nodded to the man who nodded and smiled back, but otherwise said nothing. The Mounties tethered their horses to the front porch railing and followed the couple inside.
The cabin was slightly larger than the one he and Gabriel had stayed in last night. It had a larger bed that was covered in brightly colored woven blankets and large animal skins.
A bearskin rug laid before the hearth of the wood burning stove which had a cast iron coffee pot steaming on top of it. A roaring fire was contained within a wood burning stove and its warmth could be felt from the moment she opened the cabin door.
The man in the red cap returned to the stove where he spooned a bit of yellowish grease into a blackened skillet. After a few moments, the air was filled with the savory scent of goose fat melting. The man poured in a plate full of sliced potatoes, and Gabriel's stomach growled loudly.
The woman—recognizing the sound—smiled warmly at Gabriel before turning to the man and speaking, "Pierre, peux-tu cuisiner assez pour nos invités?" She took two mugs from the cabinet and filled both with coffee percolating from atop the wood stove.
"Oui." Came his simple reply.
The woman handed each Mountie their steaming mug. They had never been more grateful for mountain hospitality. Nathan and Gabriel glanced at each other in silent conversation putting together the pieces about this couple.
"Parlez-vous… anglais?" Gabriel tried—looking to the man at the stove. The man turned around and shook his head, looking pleadingly at his wife to intervene.
"I speak English…. Pierre, eh, no," the woman replied with a smile. "I am… Ayamis …Cree people," She said with pride in her eyes, and a hand to her chest as she said the name Cree.
Nathan took a sip of his coffee which was rich and smooth—thoroughly warming him from the inside. "Pleased to meet you. Thank you. This is very kind of you. Are you both alright from the snowstorm?"
Ayamis smiled at his concern. "We are ok. Pierre is good cook." Pierre turned from his skillet at the sound of his name and gave his wife a tender wink before turning the sizzling potatoes again and sprinkling them with salt. He slid the potatoes to one side of the skillet and broke a few eggs on the other.
"M'aam, have you seen two men here? We saw them last on horseback."
"Yes. Angry men. Came for food. Before storm." She made a pistol gesture with her hands indicating that they had been here asking for food at gunpoint. Rather than seem afraid, a wry smile crossed her face.
"Do you know which way they went?" Gabriel asked curiously, pondering her expression before taking another sip of coffee.
She nodded and pointed towards the western ridge. Nathan and Gabriel sat straighter and made a motion to head out to continue the search when Pierre brought steaming plates of fried potatoes and eggs to the table. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, and still hungry from their meager half-breakfast this morning, the Mounties relaxed again temporarily into their chairs with their minds at war with their stomachs and manners.
"Please. Eat." Ayamis encouraged as Pierre brought them forks. Nathan and Gabriel readily accepted and shoveled a few forkfuls into their mouths with a delighted groan—which brought a contented smile to Pierre's face.
"Men won't get far." Ayamis told them confidently.
"M'aam, you saw them yesterday you said? They could be any direction by now I'm afraid." Nathan mused as he continued to quickly eat.
"Not after tea. They slow now." Her mischievous smile returned, and her husband slid an arm around her waist in smiling support.
Nathan and Gabriel glanced at each other nervously and then at their coffee mugs. Ayamis laughed at their dilemma.
"No. No. No. Just coffee for you. Angry men get tea." She and Pierre exchanged a knowing glance and chuckled together.
"What kind of…tea?" Gabriel inquired with a raised eyebrow while toying nervously with his coffee mug.
"Milkweed…and dandelion tea. They want food… we give food and drink. They have…how you say?…. mauvaise nuit…Bad night." She and Pierre both laughed now at their retaliation.
Nathan's eyes flared in recognition. They were given a native laxative tea. Bad night indeed. "How much did you give them?" he asked as the corners of his mouth upturned in a smile at their creativity.
Ayamis smiled and shrugged nonchalantly as she poured her own coffee. She took her time before saying with a satisfied smirk, "Strong tea."
Pierre smiled lovingly at his wife before he noticed their guests had stopped eating, suddenly skeptical. He gestured to eat with a sympathetic smile. When Gabriel and Nathan were reluctant to budge, he took a clean fork from the countertop behind him, sampled a forkful of potatoes from their plates, and put it in his mouth chewing and swallowing. "Iss ok."
Sensing the dilemma, Ayamis spoke up, "Just potatoes. We help you." She gestured for them to eat and reluctantly they did.
Pierre returned to the stove making up a plate for himself and his wife. He placed her plate in front of her and added, "dites-leur où trouver la cabine mon chérie." He sat down at the table himself and started eating.
"Ah. Yes. The cabin is in next valley. Pierre checked this morning. Still there. Snowed in." She seemed amused with herself as she ate a bite of her eggs.
"Thank you both for your help and for breakfast. We need to go get them before your tea wears off." Nathan set his fork down and stood, looking to Gabriel who was just finishing his last bite.
"Je viens aider." Pierre stood as well, though his food remained half eaten.
"He says he is coming with you." Ayamis looked deeply into the Mounties eyes gauging their response.
"We couldn't ask him to do that. It could be dangerous." Nathan shook his head slightly as he looked at Pierre.
"C'est ma montagne." Pierre stated firmly.
"He says 'this is my mountain.' He show you the way."
Nathan and Gabriel eyed each other in a silent conversation. His local knowledge could prove to be useful, but they didn't want to risk his safety. Nathan nodded to Gabriel.
"He would have to stay back and hidden while we approach the cabin," Gabriel negotiated with the woman.
She turned to her husband who was already pulling on his boots—readying himself to leave. "Mon amour, ils veulent que vous restiez en arrière et caché quand ils arrivent à la cabine." Pierre nodded and Nathan and Gabriel nodded back, accepting his agreement.
"Thank you again for your kindness. Breakfast was delicious." Nathan smiled at the couple as he patted his stomach.
Pierre nodded, pleased, and turned to his wife cupping her cheeks in his now gloved hands. "Je t'aime tellement." He kissed both of her cheeks.
A light blush crept across her face at the display of affection. "Je t'aime aussi, Pierre. Fais attention." She whispered.
He nodded and held his fist to his heart in a promise. Nathan and Gabriel turned towards the cabin door to give the couple a moment. Ayamis slid her hand in Pierre's and walked the men to the cabin porch—hanging back at the door. Nathan and Gabriel untethered Newton and Apollo as Pierre rounded to the back of the cabin retrieving his horse.
"Take care of him." She quietly implored of the Mounties.
"We will, M'aam. Thank you." Gabriel promised.
After a few minutes, Pierre emerged from behind the cabin atop a painted horse with light brown patches and icy blue eyes.
The men turned their horses, and with a last wave to Ayamis on the porch, the Mounties nudged their horses forward towards the western ridge. Pierre hung back for just a moment, placing a kiss on his finger tips and holding his arm out in a wave to his beautiful wife. At the sight of her smile, he turned and caught up with the navy coats before him.
The horses climbed the slightly icy slope which was wet from the late morning sun. Cresting the ridge, a small cabin could be spotted nestled in the trees at the deepest corner of the valley with wisps of smoke still trailing through the air above the chimney.
The wind had blown several large snowdrifts around the cabin insulating it effectively from the morning melt. A black horse with white patches stood grazing in the distance near a caramel colored mare. The horses roamed freely in their enclosed pen, unsaddled, and behind the cabin.
Ducking back behind the ridge and out of the line of sight of the cabin, Nathan withdrew his pistol reloading it fully. Gabriel followed suit, and the men were pleased to see that Pierre had packed his long rifle as well. Nathan motioned silently to Gabriel and Pierre that they would split up and approach the cabin on three separate sides coming down through the cover of the trees. Seemingly understanding, all three men moved into position.
At Nathan's signal, they descended in sync down into the timber. They rode quietly with only the sound of their heartbeats and hooves in their ears. Reaching the forest edge, Nathan tethered Newton to a sturdy pine branch and waited for the sight of Gabriel and Pierre.
The sound of an owl drew his attention to his left. He spotted Gabriel just inside the tree line with one gloved hand still curved around his mouth as he let out another hoot. Nathan hooted softly in response drawing Gabriel's attention.
Taking note of the Mountie's communication tactics, Pierre imitated his mare's snort. Both Mounties triangulated his position instantly, and gave him a barely imperceptible nod before they all disappeared again in the trees.
Three sets of eyes watched the cabin closely searching for any movement or acknowledgement of their presence. The horses moved around out back, but the cabin remained quiet.
After a few moments, a shadow inside quickly passed by the window and threw open the door. Alarmed, Nathan and Gabriel clutched their pistols training it squarely on the man.
He was a tall, but portly fellow with short dark hair. He clutched his stomach in pain as he jumped off the porch and hurried towards the woods before emptying the contents of his stomach. Gabriel's eyebrows narrowed and his lip curled up in disgust at the unexpected proximity he now had to the man. He had apprehended criminals for years, but this was a first.
Creeping soundlessly through the woods making up the remaining distance in seconds, Gabriel tackled the man from the side as he still stood hunched over. Gabriel held the man's arms firmly behind his back. He let out a quick, "Riii" before he was muffled with Gabriel's gloved hand over his mouth.
Although he now had a scraggly beard after a week on the run, the man was undoubtedly Steve Barrett—the older of the brothers and the stronger of the two. He struggled against Gabriel's grip, but between the unexpected ambush and weakness from a long sick night—he was surprisingly easy to handle for his size.
Pierre padded quickly through the woods appearing at Gabriel's side, offering rope from his saddlebags and whatever help he could with the prisoner. Recognizing Pierre from the cabin, Steve recoiled in Gabriel's hands trying to put distance between himself and the Frenchman.
Amused, Pierre quietly offered his assistance to Gabriel and stuffed a handkerchief in Steve's mouth wrapping it with a small rope as an effective gag while Gabriel handcuffed him and tied him to a tree.
Content with the restraints, the men returned to their positions to wait for Ritchie to appear. Several minutes passed before a tall, but much thinner man scowled out the window. He was the clear leader of the operation and what he lacked in brawn, he had an abundance in brains. The man had cunning cleverness in spades—which had proved to make him difficult to track. Ritchie saw no sign of his brother, so he stumbled out onto the porch yelling.
"Steve?! Ya' alright?" He took another stumbling step before he supported himself on the porch railing peering into the woods. "Steve? Where y'aaat?" Instinctively, he reached for his revolver when the sounds of several clicks along the tree line instantly put him on high alert.
"Ritchie Barrett, you're under arrest for the death of Constable Folliard and the theft of Standard Bank." Nathan's commanding voice was like steel as he stood from his crouched position behind a spruce tree. He revealed himself in the clearing with a pistol centered right on Barrett.
Ritchie froze as he considered his options.
"Stand down Barrett. We've got your brother already. Put your gun down and your hands up, and this can all be over." Gabriel appeared at the tree line also pointing his pistol dead center on Ritchie. With narrowed eyes and a steady hand, Gabriel was clearly all business and ready to pull the trigger.
Glancing between the Mounties, Ritchie put one hand up and held his revolver off to the side slowly setting it down on the porch. "Aiiight. I'm puttin' it down." Nathan continued to approach the porch, leaving the safety of the trees behind, while he kept his pistol pointed directly at Barrett.
Ritchie almost had the revolver on the ground when his other hand slid behind his head to pull out a hidden rifle from behind his back.
"NATHAN LOOK OUT!" Gabriel yelled from his vantage point at the trees—catching the glint of the rifle as Ritchie turned. Gabriel fired his pistol, catching the man in the shoulder, before Gabriel ducked back behind the pine.
Nathan fired a shot at Barrett, striking his right arm, before the Mountie dove behind a nearby snowdrift. Crawling quickly on his hands and knees to keep his head below the snow and out of sight, Nathan crawled behind a large boulder, catching his breath.
"Aaaaggghhhh!" Could be heard from the front porch though Ritchie was nowhere to be seen.
Movement in the forest caught Nathan's eye, it was a flash of red that was none other than Pierre's red stocking cap. Pierre was creeping soundlessly through the trees to check on Nathan. With a quick wave that he was ok and uninjured, he gestured back to Pierre to flank the other side of the cabin nearly opposite Gabriel.
An angry voice rang out from the porch again. "I ain't going back to prison! Steve, where y'aaat?"
"You should've thought about that before you shot an officer then! We've got him. He won't be talking. You're surrounded. Come on out." Gabriel called out from behind the pine—not risking being seen by Barrett.
The unmistakable sound of pistols being cocked and loaded filled the air. Silent seconds stretched on like hours while everyone waited for someone to make the next move.
A log fell off the top of the woodpile on the porch before Ritchie stood, exposed for a moment, before he made a running attempt down the steps in the direction of where Nathan had fallen.
Three rapid fires put an end to Ritchie Barrett with smoking guns in the hands of Nathan, Gabriel, and Pierre. It was over. Gabriel and Nathan approached with their weapons drawn as the revolver fell at last from Ritchie's hand, and his eyes turned to glass. Pierre stepped out from his hiding place behind the spruce to join the other men and see for himself that the threat had passed.
It wasn't the resolution they had hoped for, but it was finally over. A muffled sorrowful moan from the woods relayed that Steve was aware of his brother's choice as well.
The Mounties were quiet as they processed the events—already turning over in their minds if anything could have been done differently. A twig snapping turned the men's attention to their right as Ayamis stepped out of the woods with a revolver held down casually at her side.
Pierre shook his head with a warm smile—knowing his wife's tenacity, but thankful to see her safe and alive. He teasingly called out, touching his ears and then shaking his finger at her, "Tu n'écoutes pas!" (You don't listen).
She dropped her revolver in the snow and ran to his arms. "Je ne quitte pas mon mari!" (I don't leave my husband). She cupped his face with tears in her eyes before kissing him deeply.
Nathan and Gabriel smiled at the scene before turning their backs to give the couple their moment. It was a moment that stirred a longing in their own hearts to have a woman to return to when the battle was won. Catching Gabriel's eye, Nathan slyly smiled, "Don't kiss me."
Gabriel rolled his eyes and huffed. "Don't worry. You're not my type."
They both laughed to themselves as only friends can—cutting the harrowing tension of the last hour. They turned towards their prisoner in the woods, preparing to officially inform him of his brother's death. Though from the sniffling sound before them, they suspected that he already knew.
"Steve?" Nathan addressed the man with bloodshot eyes and tears streaming down his face. Gabriel untied the rope holding the gag. Steve's head dropped lower, but he didn't make a sound.
"Steve…Ritchie…" Nathan started.
"I saw." Steve replied curtly begging him with his eyes not to continue. Nathan acquiesced and nodded solemnly—leaving the man to his grief.
It was a part of their jobs that never got easier—informing the families of their loved one's passing. It was a different kind of hard to inform the family that the person died by your own hand—no matter how justified it may have been. Nathan was grateful that Steve didn't need the explanation.
A somber silence passed among those in the valley. There was a mixture of emotions among the group—relief, thankfulness, exhaustion, grief, and even regret. There was plenty of work to be done before they could pack up and leave this fateful valley, but one thing was certain for Nathan and Gabriel—they were grateful to finally be heading home.
A/N:
Fun fact: The Barrett Brothers were named for my childhood best friend Stacy Barrett. It was my mom's idea that my bad guys be named after my softball coaches over the years. Which, ironically, is Steve Barrett (Stacy's dad) who was my travel ball coach from 11-18years old, and Ritchie Richardson was my college softball coach at Olivet Nazarene University. Julie Folliard was my high school varsity coach so she was mentioned as the ill-fated Constable Folliard. (Writing is fun. Ha!)
I wanted my couple to be a historical French trapper/voyageur with the red cap and a Cree woman. Apparently it was common in the region for Cree women to marry the French trappers with most Cree men having multiple wives due to low male population from battles. I liked the thought that they had found love and not just convenience. It is also historical that the Cree women were often translators for both Mounties and trappers during cases.
Ayamis's personality was inspired by Jael in the book of Judges (Bible) better known as the woman who drives a tent peg through Sisera's skull while he slept. She was a strong woman who literally killed a tyrant with hospitality. A strong tea seemed right up her alley. (I tried to avoid the poop jokes this time!) PS- Milkweed is highly poisonous. It would have been a bad night.