Chapter 24
The fire had burned low, leaving only fiery coals giving off faint light under the starry sky.
Blade lay on his back, hands behind his head, and his black wide-brimmed hat tilted over his eyes.
Next to him, on her bedroll, lay Dakota, tucked in under her coat and blanket.
The nights were getting colder with each passing day, and soon enough, fall was going to turn to winter.
Africa and Riot were tied to a nearby juniper tree for the night. Blade still didn’t think it was necessary, but it made Dakota happy, so he did it anyway. After traveling all day, the horses didn’t seem to mind not being able to roam freely.
Dakota shifted in her sleep, mumbling something incoherent. Sometimes she spoke in her sleep, and he could make out what she was saying, but other times it was just random words or mumbles. He had teased her about it on occasion, but she didn’t think it was very funny.
Blade turned toward her, allowing himself to really look.
She was beautiful. He didn’t understand how he had never noticed it before.
Her long black hair was loose and draped over one side of her face.
She looked peaceful when she slept. During waking hours, he only allowed himself glances, but now, under the stars, while she was sleeping, he could fully appreciate her beauty.
He wondered what she would think if she knew what he was thinking, how he felt.
Maybe one day he would be brave enough to tell her. The idea scared him more than anything in the world. If she didn’t feel the same, and she had given no indication that she did, it could ruin their friendship, and he could lose her forever.
As he watched her, his eyes started drifting closed.
He didn’t hear the Indians as they approached.
It was Africa’s low snort that pulled him out of his slumber.
Blade lay still, listening, wondering if he had imagined it.
The night was quiet around him. Then came another noise, some shuffling. Somebody was there.
Slowly, Blade reached for one of his knives. He slept with his gun belt on, refusing to leave himself vulnerable. He listened again—more shuffling. It was coming from where Africa and Riot were tied up.
There was no way of knowing what was out there with them.
It could be bandits, Indians, or even coyotes.
Either way, he needed to act fast. Blade removed the knife, passed it to his free hand, and drew another.
Ready to attack, he spun around and pushed himself to his knees.
Three figures were closing in on the horses.
The dying embers of the fire provided just enough light to make out that they were Indian men.
Blade didn’t hesitate. He flung the knife in his hand toward the leading man.
He wasn’t aiming to kill them, although he wasn’t sure whether a knife would scare them off.
He should have chosen his Colt. A gunshot would have worked much better, but over the years, he had learned that it was necessary to be stealthy when you didn’t know what threat you were dealing with.
The knife flew past the man, just missing his nose and lodging into the tree beyond. All three turned in Blade’s direction. Luckily, he was fast and had already drawn his Colt and had it pointed at them.
Behind him, he could hear Dakota stir.
“Don’t move,” he instructed.
Dakota stirred again. “What’s going on?”
“Three Indians trying to steal Africa and Riot.”
Within a flash, Dakota was at his side, rifle in hand.
One of the Indians seized the opportunity to try and grab Africa’s reins.
Nobody touched his horse. Blade fired. The .
32 slug went right through the man’s hand, taking flesh and bone with it.
He screamed, scaring Africa, who spun sideways and kicked the Indian.
He was flung back, landing on the ground with a loud thud.
Blade got to his feet and marched forward. One of the Indians reached for his gun.
“Don’t even think about it,” Blade demanded, his finger on the trigger, ready to fire.
The man hesitated and then lifted his hands in surrender. In front of him, the other Indian lay on the ground, groaning. Getting kicked by a horse hurt a lot at best, but it could be fatal.
“What do we do with them?” Blade asked when Dakota took her place next to him.
“I don’t think they wanted to harm us,” she replied.
“We didn’t,” one of the Indians said quickly.
Dakota let out a long breath. “We should let them go.”
Blade wasn’t so sure about it, but he wasn’t evil enough to simply kill them when they had no intention of actually harming him or Dakota.
“All right,” he agreed. “You two take your friend and leave, but if you try anything, I will shoot, and I won’t miss.”
“Thank you,” the same Indian who had spoken earlier said. “We’ll go.”
Blade took a few steps back, allowing them space to pick up the injured man. He didn’t trust them, but he was giving them a chance. He kept his Colt pointed at them just in case. Luckily, they weren’t small men and managed to lift their friend without too much effort.
“Go on,” Blade instructed. “Get out of here.”
The Indians hurried off, going as fast as they could while carrying another man. When they vanished into the shadows of the night, Blade turned to Dakota. “We can’t stay here now; we’ll have to go.”
Dakota nodded. “I figured as much. You want to keep watch while I pack up our things?”
“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”
Dakota rushed off, and Blade quickly untied the horses and led them closer.
They were calm again, used to shots being fired in close proximity to them.
It didn’t take Dakota long to pack up their things and load them onto the horses.
Blade helped while keeping an eye out for any movement.
He had dealt with Indians before. They didn’t care much for the law or for white men.
Soon enough, they were back on the road again, leaving the campsite behind.
If the Indians came back, they wouldn’t be there. They would be tired the next day, but that wasn’t anything new. They would find a safe place to set up camp early, have a warm meal, and then get the sleep they needed to carry on.