Sundance 5 by John Benteen

Author:John Benteen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: battle of the little big horn, the wild west, john benteen, pulp western fiction, frontier western fiction, general custer, jim sundance
Publisher: Piccadilly Publishing

Chapter Seven

Slowly, reluctantly, Jim Sundance awakened from deathlike sleep. As he opened his eyes, a hand shook him vigorously. “Sundance. Hey, Sundance.”

The face above him was seamed and weathered, blue eyes glinting with good humor beneath abundant hair once brown, now going silver gray. “Benteen,” the Captain said. “That’s me; remember? Wake up, there, fellow. General Custer wants to see you.”

Slowly, painfully, Sundance shoved himself erect, and now it came back to him, a series of disjointed impressions. The ten-mile ride through the blizzard back to the fort, his belly full of warming brandy, a fresh, strong horse beneath him, Barbara, wrapped in additional robes, riding alongside. Even with the alcohol, it had been an ordeal; he had a vague recollection of the stockade of the fort looming high above them in total darkness; another bugle blowing somewhere; then warmth, blessed warmth, and hot food. After that had come the pain, as frozen hands and feet and cheeks thawed out. Fortunately, fatigue and brandy had blunted most of it, as the post surgeon worked tirelessly over him. Now, as sleep peeled away, he was alert again. He looked around at the small, neat room.

“You bunked in with me,” Benteen said. “The lady stayed with Mrs. Custer. She’s all right, no more the worse for wear than you—no fingers or toes lost, saints be praised. Your stallion’s okay, too, except he’s giving the geldings a hard time, rules the roost in the stables already. Now, on your feet, man. The General is a waspish sort, doesn’t like to be kept waiting. Especially by you; I understand the two of you’ve had run-ins before.”

“We have.” Sundance swung out of bed.

Benteen ran thoughtful eyes over the scarred, muscular form. “Judgin’ from the looks of those wounds you’ve taken, a lot of people have had run-ins with you. Hardcase, eh? Anybody that dared to travel through that blizzard must be a damned hard case. Thought for a while there we wouldn’t make it back either. Had no business being out in the first place, but Custer insisted we make that patrol.” He walked to the window, drew back a curtain. Sundance saw a blue sky, high sun, deep snow glistening on the parade ground beyond. “Have a hunch he hoped I’d freeze out there, then he wouldn’t have me to worry about.” Benteen turned, grinning. “He and I have had our run-ins, too. He hates my guts.”

Sundance saw his buckskins and his wolfskin jacket lying on a chair; he began to dress. “Custer and me, we’ve got different theories about soldiering,” Benteen went on. “He goes for the headlines, I like to get the job done and done right. Well, no matter. Be rid of him for a while, soon. He’s going east on furlough. Maybe he won’t—”

Sundance cut in sharply. “Where’re my guns?”

“You’ll have to ask the General. He ... ‘appropriated’ your weapons, sort of.” Benteen went to a stove in the corner, poured a cup of coffee from a pot there. “Here, drink this.

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