Return of the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks

Author:Lynne Reid Banks [Banks, Lynne Reid]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy & Magic
ISBN: 9780385234979
Google: EKHUVWPu1VEC
Amazon: 0375855238
Barnesnoble: 0375855238
Goodreads: 156770
Publisher: Yearling
Published: 1980-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

The Troops

The boys ate lunch decorously downstairs, so as not to arouse suspicions, though it was sheer agony to leave the attic bedroom when so much was going on. Little Bear was absolutely in torment, they could see, and though Omri, for his part, was in no hurry to send him back, he felt they must do something as soon as possible to further the plan.

Omri’s parents were full of the party they were going to that evening. Adiel and Gillon were going to the movies and were arguing fiercely about which one. Gillon was carrying on a side argument with his parents about the desirability of hiring a video, which, he assured them, would save far more than it cost in the end. Parental reaction to this excellent idea was, as usual, automatic and negative.

All this could not help seeming ridiculously trivial to Omri, with so much on his mind.

They had been out to the model shop before lunch. Omri had taken along one of his books on Indians and tried to find the ones who were dressed in the distinctive Iroquois clothes: floppy leggings with feather decorations, moccasins gathered around the ankles, a sort of sporran-thing hanging like an apron from the waist, turkey feathers in a band around the forehead. Only, there weren’t many like that. It was extraordinary what a variety of Indian costumes there were, and the model shop had what appeared to be representatives from a dozen tribes.

Omri knew how bitter the hatred between warring tribes could be. The Algonquins, for instance, were the Iroquois’s mortal enemies—it would be no use bringing any of them. But since there weren’t anything like enough that he was sure were Iroquois, Omri had bought some others he wasn’t sure of, in the hope that Little Bear would recognize them as belonging to some friendly Indian nation who would agree to help the Iroquois in their hour of trial.

Patrick, book in hand, was at another shelf, looking at English soldiers of differing periods. He wanted to find some who might have fought the French in America. Omri wasn’t keen on bringing any white men into it, but Patrick said they were in it already.

“I bet they’d handle modern weapons better than a bunch of primitive Indians, anyhow.”

Omri told him not to be so racist, but when Patrick found some that looked right, according to an illustration in the book, Omri made no objection to buying even one mounted officer. The horse, a handsome black, made him much more expensive.

The whole lot—about fifty assorted Indians and five soldiers—set them back over ten pounds, which for Omri was two weeks’ pocket money. Patrick chipped in, though he hadn’t brought much.

So now they had this bagful of potential allies for Little Bear and the boys couldn’t wait to get started. As soon as lunch was over, the rest of the family scattered and the house became quiet. On the way upstairs, Omri said, “Do you think we dare bring them outdoors?”

“I want to start putting things in the cupboard,” said Patrick.

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