The Indians reined in at the top of a ridge surrounded by large boulders, between which a lovely view of the open plains came into sight.
A shame she couldn’t enjoy it.
White Eagle dismounted. He helped Anna down and set her in front of him, and it was then that she took in his large frame. She only came to his chest, and his broad shoulders hovered over her. She arched her head back to look up into the warrior’s captivating eyes. They were like none she’d ever seen.
He stared down at her, his gaze tracing her features with no evidence of emotion. Unable to bear his unrelenting stare, she looked past him at the trees and turned sideways to rub the soreness from her neck and shoulder as a means of occupying herself.
“Do you ache as much as I do?” Beth came to stand by her as White Eagle led his horse away.
Anna nodded and tried to put some order to her hair, resisting the urge to rub her aching backside.
“We’re blessed they didn’t make us walk.” Beth hugged herself. “Indian women usually have to walk, while the men ride the horses. And the length of time they made those poor horses gallop, they must be in a hurry.”
“Of course they are. They just kidnapped two women.”
Beth took Anna’s trembling hand. That’s when Anna noticed Beth’s hands trembled as well. “The Lord is with us. We mustn’t forget.”
Anna nodded, but all she could think of was how often she’d prayed in the past, how often she’d trusted in the Lord. But He had never rescued her. And now look at the mess she was in. God always seemed to disappear when she needed Him most.
Time to change the subject. “What I don’t understand is how I could have fallen asleep. It makes no sense at all.” It had been easy to relax into White Eagle while the horse galloped. It made the ride smooth, rather that jostling her around when the horse trotted.
Pinching her lips together, Beth studied White Eagle. “I think it’s because you know in your heart he won’t hurt you.”
“How can you say such a thing?”
“Just look at him. He watches you with a sympathetic eye.”
Anna glanced over at White Eagle. He looked away, and she looked at the ground.
“He feels sorry for you,” Beth whispered, continuing to study him. “I’m sure of it.”
The man had just kidnapped her. How could he possibly feel sorry for her? Wishing she could make her hands stop shaking, she tried to keep her hair out of her face. She turned to look for her carpetbag when two Indians came near with two small bags. They opened the cloth sacks and dumped out several turtles at her and Beth’s feet.
Anna jumped back, staring at the black and yellow shells.
“Food,” one of the Indians said with a thick accent.
Anna didn’t take her eyes off the turtles, waiting for scaly heads and arms to appear.
“They’re prairie turtles. I think they expect us to prepare these to eat,” Beth said.
Anna shivered. “Then maybe they can fetch us a rabbit or a chicken. I’ve never touched a turtle before. Let alone eaten one.”
White Eagle set a circle of stones to prepare a fire. From his shoulder strap, he pulled off a small horn and took a sheath from its end.
Anna backed away from the turtles, but to her surprise, Beth picked two up in each hand. “Might as well get started.” Beth motioned to her, still visibly trembling. “You just rest a while. I’ll take care of it.”
Anna couldn’t let Beth do everything alone, so she stepped forward to pick up the remainder of the turtles. She could only manage one, despite its small size. The softness of its bottom shell made her arms weak. As she took slow, cautious steps to where White Eagle prepared the fire, she stared intently around the edges of the yellow and black shell of the reptile. What would she do if it poked its scaly head out? She should be brave like Beth. She lifted her chin, searching for the courage she lacked.
To her horror, head and arms popped out. She squealed, and the warriors around her grabbed their weapons. She jumped back and dropped the reptile, fluttering her hands before her and wiping them off on her skirt to rid herself of their feel.
As the warriors became aware that there was no actual danger, she froze in place and looked up at their dark faces, readying herself for whatever wrath they chose to inflict.
To her surprise, they laughed, but the warrior with spotted owl feathers who’d been the most startled grabbed her by the hair and shouted words she didn’t understand. White Eagle stood and shouted at the man. He released her.
She ducked under the warrior’s arm, scurried away, and slumped onto a large rock.
Running Cloud hadn’t reacted to the commotion and stood in the background with arms folded, watching Beth.
“Help,” the Indian with elk antlers as a weapon said to Anna and pointed at Beth.
How was it so many of them spoke English? She rose and took a cautious step toward Beth. She had to be strong. She had to be brave. Brave like Beth. But she froze when she saw Beth pulling on one of the scaly necks; it made her think of snakes, and her knees went weak.
“We’ll roast them,” White Eagle said to Beth. A small flame flickered as he made a fire from his horn.
All the Indians watched Anna.
“Make food,” the one who’d grabbed her said in his thick accent, a deep frown pinching his face as he glared at her.
Anger stirred. It sparked helpful embers of courage. “I should be in Denver City right now, not here in the middle of nowhere preparing turtles for supper.” With that, she turned and sat on the nearest rock, hugging her knees and trembling. Even if it meant her life, she couldn’t bring herself to touch another turtle.
The men mumbled to one another, and she distinctively heard one say, “Lazy woman.” They obviously weren’t pleased with her outburst. She was a coward, and shame swept through her. What would they do to her now? Would they beat her, kill and scalp her? She hugged her knees tighter and glanced out over the golden plains. If only she were there right now.
White Eagle spoke in a firm tone in that unusual language of theirs, and the men fell silent.
However, a few Indians mumbled, motioning toward Beth and nodding their approval.
Anna wished the ground would swallow her whole.
~*~
Anna couldn’t sleep. The thought of turtles and snakes crawling on her caused even the slightest rustle of wind against her skin to make her jump. Since she’d refused to eat, her stomach growled, and she shivered as she stared up at the stars. Their beauty took her breath away—they looked close enough to touch. Never had she seen anything so wondrous. God’s creation never failed to amaze her. She reached up to the tiny diamonds, imagining she could take hold of one between her fingers.
Lord, where are you?
The blanket of stars stretched forth, and she pushed up on her elbow. Over the ridge, she saw the plains of Colorado Territory. Distant lights dotted the flat horizon.
A city.
The moon illuminated just enough light for her to see details of the sleeping bodies. The men formed a circle and surrounded her and Beth around the low flickering fire.
White Eagle leaned on his elbow, watching her. Her breath caught. The moonlight outlined his arm, emphasizing the muscle there, and his painted face never turned away from her. Surely he’d feel embarrassed and look away, or he planned on starting