Wilderness Double Edition 16 by David Robbins

Author:David Robbins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: survival, the rockies, piccadilly publishing, hawken rifle, david robbins, survial, american mountain men, early american frontier
Publisher: Piccadilly

WILDERNESS 32: THE WESTWARD TIDE

One

They were young and in love and nothing else mattered.

Zachary King and Louisa May Clark rode side by side along the south bank of the Platte River, the morning sun warm on their backs. In the slender cottonwoods and tall oaks that lined the waterway dozens of birds merrily chirped, while frisky squirrels arced from branch to branch in dizzying leaps. A grazing whitetail doe lifted her head to warily regard them.

Presently, a startled rabbit shot from a patch of undergrowth and bounded off in great leaps. The young couple hardly noticed. They had eyes only for each other, their arms extended, their fingers linked.

Zach King was so happy he could whoop for joy. They were finally on their way home after a harrowing visit to St. Louis. In a month or so, they would be back in the Rocky Mountains, back where they belonged, back with his folks and friends. As soon as they got there he would set to work building a cabin, a place of their very own where they would start their own family. He couldn’t wait.

Louisa Clark wasn’t thinking of their future so much as the immediate past. She knew they had been lucky to get out of St. Louis alive, and it troubled her deeply that her own kin, those who were dearest to her heart, had turned against her and tried to tear her away from the one she loved.

Lou had been aware, of course, that there were those who disliked Zach for no other reason than the accident of his birth. His father was white, his mother a Shoshone. That made him a half-breed. And for reasons she couldn’t quite fathom, many whites and Indians alike hated ‘breeds. Hated them with a ferocity bordering on madness.

To Lou it made no difference that Zach’s mother was an Indian. He was as fine and handsome a man as she had ever met. So what if red blood flowed in his veins? Wasn’t all blood red, when it came right down to it?

The snort of Zach’s bay ended their tender interlude. Facing forward, Zach spotted tendrils of smoke spiraling skyward about a quarter-mile ahead. It was a campfire. Given the amount of smoke, he reasoned that whites were responsible. And as he had so recently been reminded, to his bitter sorrow, whites often spelled trouble. “Let’s swing to the south a ways,” he suggested.

“Who do you reckon it is?” Lou asked. Her main worry was hostiles. The Arikaras had been acting up of late, and wouldn’t hesitate to kill two lone travelers.

“Doesn’t matter,” Zach said. “I say we play it safe and fight shy of them.”

“Whatever you think is best,” Lou said, reluctantly letting go of his callused hand. As they reined their mounts, she found herself admiring the square jut of his jaw, his piercing green eyes, his raven-hued braided hair. Like her, he was dressed in buckskins and had a powder horn, ammo pouch and possibles bag slanted across his chest.

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