Outcast by Gary D. Svee

Author:Gary D. Svee
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781453293997
Publisher: Open Road Media

CHAPTER 8

Standish stepped shivering from the outhouse. He peered at the stars. Not so bright, now. The sun was preparing to poke over the horizon. He walked toward the barn, his eyes seeking the faint path.

The barn door opened without a sound, and Sally nickered. Standish smiled. “I know I haven’t been giving you the attention you deserve old girl. Maybe we can go for a ride this afternoon.”

Sally nodded. She would like to go for a ride. He gave each horse a bucket of oats and walked out, leaving the door open. He walked back to the cabin, feeling good about the morning, about the good breakfast he would have.

Standish stopped fifty feet from his cabin door and shook his head. He must be hungrier than he thought. He imagined the scent of frying bacon. He ran this tongue across his teeth to see if his sense of taste as well as scent was teased. He took two more steps and stopped. It wasn’t his imagination. It was Arch. It had to be Arch. Who else would be in his cabin so early?

Standish slipped through the morning air to a window. The window was dusty. He hadn’t cleaned it because he thought it might reduce the chances of a flash of light that would reflect the presence of his cabin to a stranger. Someone was sitting at his table. Thoughts dark as the night ran through Standish’s head. If one of them was waiting in the cabin, the others could be hiding in the darkness.

He stepped back to the window. The intruder’s head barely reached the top of the chair. Arch. It had to be Arch, but they might have caught Arch. Maybe they were using him for bait, a yellow-bellied grasshopper to catch Miles Standish. But why would Arch be eating if he were being held prisoner? Stupid question. If the cabin were on fire, Arch would still take time to finish his breakfast.

Standish shivered. Cold this morning, and it wouldn’t be long before the sun cracked the horizon. Better to step into the cabin than to be caught outside in daylight. He stopped at the door, took a breath and plunged in. He stood in the middle of the floor, eyes darting about the room.

Arch looked up from the table. “If you’re so diddlydee hungry, why didn’t you come earlier? I fixed you breakfast but you dawdled so, and I couldn’t see any reason to waste good food, so I.…”

Standish growled, “Arch, what the…he…helter…are you doing here?”

Arch’s face curled into conjecture. He nodded. “Helter. That’s a good word.”

Standish’s teeth gritted, the sound carrying to Arch. “You got a toothache or something? Ma keeps prairie cone flower root. That’ll take the hurt away. Helter of a remedy for toothache.” Arch turned back to his breakfast.

Standish’s words rumbled from deep in his core. “What the…helter are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

Arch shook his head. “Ain’t night. Day’s a’burnin’ out there,” Arch cast a speculative look at Standish.

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