6
As Abagail sat on the deerskin mat given to her by Skenan, she looked out upon the beauty of the world before her, seeing the orange, green, red and golden leaves in the forest, and smelling the crisp scent of the moist autumn air. The atmosphere of the cave had changed from a wet, earthy smell to one hosting the aroma of the corn Skenan had cooked last evening. Added to the fragrance of the corn was the meat of a deer, the animal Skenan had shot with bow and arrow.
Abagail, who was used to the duty of skinning and cutting up the meat brought in by the inn’s hunters, had helped Skenan skin the deer. Thus, in little time the savory smells of corn and meat replaced the more earthy scent of the cave. However, last night she noted it was Skenan who had done most of the chores of cooking, allowing her to rest.
And so, their evening meal had been simple, but delicious. Even now, she could smell the savory fragrance of the meat being dried over a small smokeless fire.
At present, it was late afternoon and she was seated toward the front of the cave, though a little to the side of its opening, sitting the watch while Skenan slept. Skenan had sat on guard last night through the morning and the earlier part of the afternoon. But, before he had allowed her to take over this duty, he had given her his musket, had shown her how to load it and shoot it, cautioning her to aim well because she would only have one shot before the weapon needed to be reloaded.
She knew, too, that she was to awaken him at once if she saw any signs of men, be they friend or foe. And so, she would do as he had asked. But, for this present moment, there was nothing except the gentle breeze of the wind wafting through the colorful autumn forest, and she let her mind stray to the events of the previous day.
Again, Abagail’s mind turned to her plight. She didn’t know what she would have done had Skenan not found her and aided her. Even with the coins in the pocket of her apron, she would have been lost on how to survive until she reached Fort Stanwix. Indeed, what good were coins when what one needed was how and where to find food from the land? It was a skill she didn’t possess.
She sighed as she considered her position in this world, and she cried a little as she realized she was only one step above slavery. Truly, she was an indentured servant and would remain in this status for the next four years, having already served one year of her contract.
Thinking about her life so far, she realized she would be three and twenty or perhaps four and twenty years old when the obligation would be fulfilled. It wasn’t too old of an age, indeed. Yet, it was beyond the time period when women usually married.
She closed her eyes for a moment, willing the tears to go away. She was nineteen, already of an age when most women were married. And yet, she ached to find a man who would love her for all his life; a man who would be a good husband and who would love and protect her and any children they might have. But, given her status in the world, she doubted this would ever happen.
Warming to her subject, she dreamed a little of the man she might choose to spend her life with. She knew the kind of man she would look for and would like to marry. In doing so, she almost lost her seat upon the rock where she sat as she realized the man she might choose would look and act like Skenan.
Handsome and strong, Skenan was yet gentle with her. He spoke to her kindly and had even used a salve he had made from the willow tree to heal the wounds upon her back.
But, he was an Oneida Indian, a man who would most likely never wish to take her as a wife. Nor would she wish to become married to him, an Oneida Indian. But, she was certainly attracted to him, as well as touched by his kindness.
And why shouldn’t she be attracted to him? After all, the man had saved her from a terrible fate…hunting dogs and men with probable orders to drag her back to the inn.
Although—and this was important to her— he had only come after her at the request of Mr. Wilson. Had he chanced upon her, would he have acted in the same manner?
Well, it didn’t matter. He had found her; he had saved her, and he was caring for her, doctoring her, cooking food for her, even dragging boughs from a fir tree to the cave so her bed would be comfortable. For himself, he made do with little more than the skin of a deer against the cold cave floor.
What did Skenan think of her? She considered he was also curious about her, even arguing with her about her status, stating his opinion that no man could own another, and, thus, she should be free. But, this was probably because he didn’t understand the chains which bound her…her contract.
But, what did he really think about her? As a girl? A woman? He was certainly gracious and good-hearted, but so he might be with any woman.
Upon this thought, she decided to turn her mind to other interests. But, her attention came again and again back to him. And, her thoughts wandered.
With his good looks, he was probably a much-sought-after young man. In truth, she imagined many a young woman of the Oneida tribe would like to share his life.
And, so it should be. After all, the women of his tribe were more like him than Abagail was, if only because he and those women would share the same views of life.
Again, Abagail sighed. Well, at the very least she had a model now for the man she might hope to marry in the future, if, indeed, any man would have her at the old age of four and twenty.
As she gazed out at the crisp red, orange, gold and green autumn colors, she thought the trees were screaming at her to be noticed, so vibrant were they. She breathed in, taking in a whiff of the crisp autumn scent as well as the meat as it was being dried; as she did so, she relaxed.
It was a beautiful sunshiny day outside, and the pale blue of the sky was in sharp contrast to the bright autumn colors. Looking up, her eyes traced a white cloud drifting across the sky, causing her to wonder if God knew of the troubles she had.
With so many people in the world, and they each one with their own interests in life, she—
Crack!
She heard the noise outside, although it hadn’t been loud. Glancing outward, she beheld a sight she had hoped to never see: a bear—a big black bear on all fours—was tramping through the woods, and his direction was right toward this cave.
Was this cave the bear’s home? And, if this were so…
Beneath her breath, she prayed, “My dear Lord, what am I to do? Help me.”
The first action she had to take was to stand up, then she had to position her musket at her shoulder, aim at the animal and shoot. But, hadn’t she heard the hunters say that even a bullet would not stop a bear?
She let out a gulp. She had never killed anything in her life, except perhaps some insects. But, if she couldn’t kill the bear coming in her direction, it would surely kill her.
Should she run back into the cave and awaken Skenan? No. He was sleeping and she must let him recover his strength, since he had been awake continuously for over twenty-four hours.
Tremors raced over her body and her hands were shaking as she held up the gun, trying to point it at the animal and—
“Your aim is off,” said a deep voice from behind her. “You will have only the one shot and then you must reload the gun, and before you can do it, the bear will be upon you. Perhaps there is another way. This is a black bear, and they sometimes will scare easily. We might try to do this before we shoot it.”
“Is this possible to do?” she asked as she almost collapsed. Thank goodness Skenan had awakened.
“I have seen it done,” he answered. “I think we should at least try to do it.”
Quickly, he took out his bow and an arrow from his quiver, and before she could stop him, he paced forward, out of the cave. And, there he stood, an arrow to his bow, awaiting only the opportunity to send the projectile flying.
Why hadn’t he taken the musket she was still holding?
She could barely believe her ears when Skenan started shouting at the bear with words she didn’t understand. But, the bear ignored him, as though it considered Skenan to be little more than a buzzing bee.
And, when the shouting seemed to do nothing to alter the bear’s path toward the cave, Skenan lifted up his hands, including the bow and arrow and brought them up over his head. Then he screamed at the same time, but, again, Abagail had no idea of what he was saying. When this caused no effect upon the bear’s behavior, Skenan started growling loudly, and, with bow and arrow now pointed directly at the bear, he paced forward, one step at a time.
The bear stopped and looked at Skenan as though considering this turn of events. The bear did nothing at first, but then it growled right back at Skenan, the sound of its scream more terrifying perhaps than an enemy’s cry, because at least an enemy warrior’s behavior could be predicted.
Not so the bear’s.
It was a terrifying sight to behold as both man and bear shrieked at one another. And, then the bear slowly, carefully, closed the distance between it and Skenan.
Loudly, Skenan growled and snarled at the bear, his voice thunderous and ominous. Again in reaction, the bear stopped, sniffed at the air, but then plodded on forward on all fours.
Startled out of fear, Abagail picked up the musket and aimed it at the bear. But, she’d never shot at anything in her life. What if she shot Skenan instead?
As she debated what to do, she saw Skenan pace right up to the bear. It was either the most courageous act she had ever seen or the most reckless. Coming in close enough to the bear, Skenan stuck his face right into the bear’s, which was now only a few inches away from him. Skenan snarled, snapped and growled at the creature as though to tell the bear that he, Skenan, was the more dangerous of the two of them.
But, the bear held its ground and yowled right back at Skenan.