Chickadee by Louise Erdrich

Author:Louise Erdrich
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins

FIFTEEN

AT THE MERCY OF TWO STRIKE

“I will not stir,” said Two Strike. She sat on a rock and sharpened each of her knives on another rock. She stared into the distance. So did Animikiins and Fishtail. After a time, the air grew dark and cold. Fishtail made a fire. Animikiins took out some dried pemmican. They ate. They slept. They woke again, and waited. Two Strike kept a lookout while the two men hunted. The air grew dark and cold again, and Fishtail built up the fire. Animikiins roasted the rabbits he’d caught. The three ate, slept, and waited again by the rock.

At first there was just a dot on the horizon. It was a curious dot. After it appeared, it disappeared. Then after a time it appeared again. The dot seemed to go forward, then backward, to enlarge and shrink. It wavered and sank out of sight. When it finally got big enough so that the watchers could tell it was a man carrying a large load, Two Strike growled.

“Something is wrong here,” said Animikiins.

“Let’s find out,” said Fishtail.

The three ran toward the strange figure and soon reached Babiche, who staggered beneath a tremendous weight. His brother was on his back, groaning and half conscious. The huge canvas mail sack was at his feet.

For all of his other faults, Babiche had two fierce loyalties. He had carried his brother, then the mail sack, then his brother again, whenever he could not walk. Somehow, as the result of this extreme effort, the two brothers and the mail sack had continued along the trail.

“Merci, mon dieu! Merci beaucoup!” cried Babiche. “Come help me my friends … and, ah!”

Suddenly he recognized that Two Strike was not a man. Not only that, but she had a knife between her teeth and two knives in her hands and was running straight at him. In a flash the words of Orph Carter rang in Babiche’s head and he sank to his knees.

He dumped his brother on the ground and put his beefy hands in the air.

“Pardon! Pardon!” he cried.

In a bound, Two Strike reached him and loomed over him. Animikiins was right behind.

“Where is Chickadee?”

Babiche’s eyes welled with tears.

“What do you mean? Chickadee? You want a little bird? I haven’t seen one!”

“Gaawiin, you lying son of a skunk,” said Two Strike. “We want the boy you stole. Where is he?”

“Boy?” Babiche gave a frozen grin.

On the ground, Batiste had stopped groaning. He was pretending to be dead.

“If you don’t answer me right now,” said Two Strike, “all the knives come out!”

“Oh yes, now I remember,” Babiche blubbered. “The boy wanted to go with us.”

Animikiins grabbed Babiche around the throat and lifted him with one hand.

“We took the boy!” Babiche gasped. “Awee! I admit this! But my friend, you have two. Both the same! Could you not spare one?”

Animikiins could not help his hand from squeezing. His desperation was the boundless desperation of a father who loves his son. Behind them, Fishtail restrained Two Strike from using at least three of her knives on Babiche right then.

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