Twenty-one
Tess began to buck wildly. This thing on top of her, this thing that was suffocating her was a man! It was a man who stank of uncured hides, tobacco spittle, and smoke.
"No!" Tess tried to holler as she opened her eyes. "No!"
It was Blueball. His giant frame was so heavy on top of her that she couldn't get enough air into her lungs to scream loud enough for anyone to hear her. She grabbed a handful of his wiry beard and yanked, trying to kick herself free. In a moment she knew she would faint from lack of air and then she would be powerless to fight off her attacker.
Tess managed one squeak and Blueball clamped his beefy hand on her mouth. "Hush, puss. Ole Blue won't hurt ye. Just gimme a ride," he whispered in her ear, his breath hot and putrid. "I got to be better than that redskin, and if I like ye well enough, I jest might take ye under my wing. Travelin' with an army can be rough business. You'll be in need of a man like myself to protect yer purty red snatch."
"Get off me," Tess managed from under his hand, still struggling beneath him. Oh God, won't anyone help me, she thought frantically.
But who would help her? The scouts didn't care what happened to her. Obviously they assumed she'd been soiled by a heathen. And Raven couldn't help her because he couldn't hear her. And even if he could, he was powerless, tied to the tree the way he was.
So outsmart the stinking bastard, Tess told herself. Don't give in! Don't let him win; don't let him beat you. You've come too far. You've survived too much.
Knowing she couldn't outfight him, Tess forced herself to let her body go limp beneath the giant of a man. As she relaxed, she heard Blueball chuckle.
"There you go, luv. I knew you'd see it my way." She felt him fumble with his leather leggings. "Give ole Blue a chance and you might just enjoy the ride." He looked down, frustrated with the leather tie of his leggings.
The man's rotting teeth stunk so badly that Tess feared she'd be sick. She turned her head away from his mouth ever so slightly. "You . . . you want me to do that?" she asked, trying to sound like she meant it.
Blueball looked at her. She could see his craggy face by the dim light of the glowing campfire. He broke into a grin. "Yes, indeedy. You and I, we might get along jest fine, puss. Always had me an itch for a redhead."
Tess slid her hand between his chest and hers. He was still lying flat on top of her so that it was still difficult for her to breath. "Can't quite reach," she said softly, feeling the hilt of the Mohawk knife she still carried hidden beneath her linen shirt. "Could . . . could you shift a little?"
"Hehehe," he chuckled. "A wild one, ain't ye, puss?" He gave her breast a hard squeeze as he shifted his weight to one side.
In a single motion, Tess slipped her knife out of its leather sheath and into the soft flesh of his groin.
Blueball bellowed like a enraged bear as Tess scrambled to get out from under him.
"Holy Christ! Holy Christ!" Blueball moaned, rolling on Tess's mat.
The scout sleeping closest to her leaped up from his bedroll, his rifle in his hand.
"Sweet Jesus Christ, she's cut my balls," Blueball shrieked. "Get her!"
By now Sky had somehow sensed the commotion and awoken to find Tess leaping to her feet.
The child screamed in fear.
Tess knew she couldn't run. She knew she couldn't leave Sky behind.
The bloody knife still in her hand, Tess threw out her arms to the child to come to her. Sky came dashing toward her just as the scout brought the barrel of his rifle down on Tess's right shoulder.
Sky screamed. Tess went down on one knee in agony.
"The knife!" Blueball called from where he lay on Tess's sleeping mat clutching his groin. "Get the futterin' knife before you lose your cock, Jesse!"
Tess was numb with pain, but all she could think of was Sky and what would happen to the little girl if these men killed her.
Tess signaled for Sky to go back.
Sky halted, shaking her head, her face still sleepy with innocence.
Tess felt her attacker's hand on her shoulder. She made another frenzied hand motion.
This time, Sky took a step back.
The man behind Tess knocked her face-first onto the grass. Flattening his body over hers, he grabbed her wrist and began to pound it into the ground trying to make her let go of the Mohawk skinning knife.
"No!" Tess screamed. "No!"
The attacker hit the heel of his hand against the back of her head, pushing her face into the grass. Tess squeezed her eyes shut as the pain in her right wrist became so agonizing that it went numb and the knife fell from her hand.
"Got it!" her attacker shouted. "I got the knife!"
"Look out," Blue bellowed back. "The redskin!"
Before Tess could lift her head from the dirt she felt the impact. Someone had leaped onto her attacker's back.
Raven? Was it Raven? It couldn't be! He was tied up. But what other redskin could Blue mean?
Tess's attacker was knocked off her back and she scrambled to get free of the fighting. Flipping onto her backside, she scooted backwards.
Sweet God, it was Raven. She didn't know how he'd managed it, but he'd broken free and was now rolling over and over in the dirt, fighting hand to hand with the scout.
Tess wiped at the blood that was running from the corner of her mouth, wondering vaguely where it could have come from. Sky appeared out of nowhere, throwing herself into Tess's arms.
"Get im! Catch the red bastard before he kills Jesse!" Boeing shouted from the far side of the campfire. "Jesus, how did he get loose?"
By now the other scouts were awake and bounding for their weapons.
Raven and Jesse rolled over and over again with first Raven on top, then the scout.
"Shoot him!" Blueball called from where he still lay.
"Christ, no!" Boeing ordered. "You jackasses'll shoot Jesse!"
Clutching Sky, Tess watched in fear as Raven battled her attacker. The scouts were circling the two brawling men, trying to get a hold of Raven so they could pull him off the scout called Jesse.
Tess had to stifle a scream as Jesse rolled Raven into the burning coals of the campfire and red sparks flew. She smelled the scent of singed hair as Raven fought his way out of the flames and certain death.
"Grab 'im! Grab 'im," one of scouts shouted as another man tried to catch Raven's moccasin.
Sky covered her eyes, clutching Tess. Tess wondered if she should run. Maybe she and Sky could get away. But how far could they run? The pain shooting down Tess's right arm made her wonder if Jesse had broken a bone in her shoulder with the rifle barrel. How far would she be able to run with broken bones and a child? How could she run knowing these men might murder Raven at any moment?
A scout finally managed to catch one of Raven's feet. Another scout caught the other.
"Haul 'im off! Haul 'im off," Boeing ordered above the din of the shouting men and Raven and Jesse's grunts of pain.
Slowly the two scouts pulled Raven off Jesse. Raven fought them every inch, but they had the advantage.
Tess leaped up as the men dragged Raven on his back toward the tree he had been tied to.
"How the blasted hell did this happen?" Boeing demanded.
Wincing with pain, Tess slowly made her way toward Boeing. "He . . . he attacked me," she said, knowing her voice wavered. "Blueball, he was going to try to rape me."
Boeing shot an angry glance at Blueball who was now sitting up, staring at the bloody leather at his groin. "That right? You tried to mess with her, Blue?"
"Jesus," Blueball moaned in tears. "I think she cut one of my balls off. Come look, Jinx. I can't. I can't do it."
Boeing strode toward Blueball. "I said did you try to mess with her after I tole you there'd be no futterin' on my patrol?"
Blueball just rocked back and forth clutching his injured parts.
Boeing looked back at Tess, frowning. "All right, so the woman tried to save herself. Serves him right, the stupid bastard."
"Sweet Jesus, Portius," Blueball moaned. "How can you say a man deserves to have his nuts cut off?"
Boeing looked to his other men who were now trying to subdue Raven who was again fighting in earnest. "So how did he get loose? That's what I want to know. The girl do it?"
"No!" Raven shouted. "This man broke free. You will not touch her. No man will touch the equiwa."
Boeing glanced at Tess, leaning on the butt of his rifle. He ran one hand through his tangled dark hair. "This redskin sweet on you or something, woman?"
Tess's breath was coming in short spurts. She was so frightened she could barely think straight. "I don't know. He thinks I'm his," she said, cutting a quick glance in Raven's direction. Please let him realize I've lied to them, she thought.
Boeing looked back at Raven. The scouts had him pinned to the tree and were now wrapping a thick cord of rope around his torso and around the thick tree trunk.
"You want us to kill 'im?" Jesse jerked a musket from another man's hand. "Let me do it. I'll shoot 'im between the eyes and take his scalp back to Braddock. There's men offerin' a hefty price for an Injun scalp!"
"No!" Boeing shouted, grabbing up his weapon to bead in on the scout. "You make one move toward my prisoner and I'll blow you to hell and back, Jesse."
The scout froze immediately.
"Now put it down," Boeing directed. "And back off. I said I was gonna take the red bastard to Braddock and that's what I'll do. He can hang 'im or put 'im to work but it'll be the general's choice."
Tess glanced up into the sky, murmuring a prayer of thanks.
"You got the red bastard tied securely this time?" Boeing went on.
"Think so," one of the scouts responded. "Course Jesse thought he was tied well enough, too."
"Shut your face before I shut it for you, O'Connel!"
"That's enough!" Boeing shouted. "Now back off all of you." He made a quick movement toward O'Connel. "Now!"
Finally the men backed themselves toward the dying campfire.
Tess heard Boeing heave a sigh. "It's going to be daybreak in a few hours. Now you jackasses had best get some sleep because I aim to push onto Braddock come first light." He walked over to Blueball. "Can you walk?"
"I don't know, Portius," he whined. "It's awful bad, awful bad."
"Guess we'll be leavin' you behind then, friend."
"Jesus, Portius. You got no heart."
"Get yourself cleaned up, Blue."
"Hey there, Blue," Jesse called from where he was taking a seat near the fire. "Guess we'll have to start callin' you No Nuts, eh?"
The other men burst into guffaws of laughter and Tess breathed a little easier as she walked into the shadows to wait out the darkness. She didn't dare look to Raven, but she knew he was watching her from where the men had left him tied to the tree. She wanted to run to him, to throw her arms around him. She wanted to feel his lips on hers.
"Thank you," Tess whispered beneath her breath, clutching Sky to her side. "Don't pay any attention to what I said, or even what I thought. I love you Raven of the Lenape. And I always will."
Late that afternoon the scouts led Tess, Raven, and Sky into Braddock's camp. Tess was as awestruck by the number of soldiers, wagons, and cannon assembled as she was by the utter disorganization of the army.
As Boeing had explained to her, his voice laced with amusement, General Braddock's forces consisted of thirty-two hundred men, and six hundred baggage horses. They were attempting the formidable task of cutting a twelve foot wide road the distance of one hundred and ten miles to the French-held fort called Dusquesne. Laborers cut down trees, moved boulders, and used block and tackle to get the heavy cannon up steep embankments. Boeing guessed that the army was making about three miles a day, if that.
The moment they entered the encampment, which was actually moving by the hour, Tess and Raven were separated. Tess watched as Raven was dragged away under heavy guard. Boeing led her and Sky toward a baggage wagon being driven by a short stocky man with a wool hat pulled down over his face. Across the side of the wagon, painted in faded whitewash, was the name of the hauling company the man worked for. Tess noticed part of the word Annapolis scrawled on the rough-hewn planks.
"Yo, Marty!" Boeing shouted, waving his musket.
"Whoa, whoa there," the man called, pulling the horses to a halt. The wagon creaked to a standstill. "That you Boeing?" The man called Marty pushed back his hat and glanced down at the scout. "Thought for sure the Injuns would have your scalp this time, made a tobacco pouch out of yer possibles."
"Nah. Not me. Too fast and too smart for the little red buggers." Then he did an odd thing. Boeing winked at the man. "Say, I want you to do me a favor, Marty?"
"Depends on what it is."
Boeing pointed to Tess. "Picked this woman up in the woods. A redskin had her and I rescued her."
"Well ain't you the hero."
He grinned. "Keep an eye on her. She's got a man willin' to pay for her return and I aim to collect on it jest as soon as I can. I don't want her wanderin' off."
Marty looked down from his wagon seat. "You got a name?" he asked Tess gruffly.
Tess watched Boeing walk off, his musket propped on one shoulder. "Tess, I'm called Tess." She pulled Sky against her. "And this is Sky. She's deaf, so she can't hear what we say."
"This ain't no place fer a lady and child." Marty pulled a long-stemmed clay pipe from inside his fringed leather tunic and reached for a tobacco pouch on the wagon seat. "Is it true? Was you captured by Injuns?"
Tess nodded as she looked up at Marty. There was something strange about him that didn't quite fit. His hair was cut to chin length. He had a broad face with apple red cheeks, but no beard stubble. He was hefty and short. But were those breasts Tess saw beneath his clothing? Was he a she? Tess wasn't certain, but she knew one thing, if Marty was a woman, she was the ugliest woman she'd ever seen in her life.
"But the Indians didn't hurt me," Tess explained cautiously. "No one hurt me. It wasn't until the scouts came along that I was really afraid for my life."
Marty tamped a wad of tobacco into the bowl of his pipe. "Portius tells me you got someone lookin' for you."
Tess lowered her gaze. "So he says."
"Ole Portius Boeing, he ain't a bad man. A little rough. But he ain't bad in his heart. Not like some of the others 'round here."
Tess's gaze met Marty's. She was a woman, Tess could see a woman's compassion in her nut brown eyes. "He brought me here against my will. I could have gotten home on my own. Now I'm two days farther away than before."
Marty twisted her mouth. "Just like a man, though. Thinks he knows what's best for the womanfolk. Truth is, he don't know a polecat from a piss ant." Marty spat a wad of tobacco over the far side of the baggage wagon and pushed the stem of the pipe between her lips.
Tess had to smile. She'd never met anyone like Marty before, a woman who was more like a man, but she liked her. Instinctively, she knew she could trust her if she could just look beyond her odd ways.
"Glad you can join me 'til they do find your man," Marty went on. "Could use a little company. I got no one to talk to most times but Rosa, and she and me, we just don't see eye to eye on most things." Marty pointed with the stem of her pipe. "You'll meet Rosa after a spell. She's what they call a washin' woman 'round here." Marty chuckled over some private joke and then eyed Sky. "The girl child's skinny. Think she could eat a little bean soup? Made it fresh with a hunk of possum."
Tess looked at Sky and handsigned. "Are you hungry?"
Sky nodded and signed back.
"She says she is." Tess looked up at Marty who was climbing off the wagon seat. "Bean soup would be good. Sky's been through a lot these last two days. Her mama and papa were murdered, and then Boeing and his men brought us here."
"I ain't much with littl'ins." Marty walked back along the side of the wagon. It was covered crudely with a dome roof and a sail canvas stretched over it. The tailgate was down on the back and a small campfire burned in a large, shallow, metal pan on the end. Above the coals on a spider was a steaming stew pot. "Movin's slow with those men cuttin' a road through this wilderness. But we do move a tad. I like to keep a fire goin' so I can have me a cup of sassafras tea if I take the notion."
Marty picked up a wooden trencher out of a basket just inside the wagon. She ladled a generous portion of bubbling bean soup and added a slice of bread She handed a wooden spoon and the plate to Sky.
The little girl took the food and nodded, making the sign of thanks.
"She says thank you," Tess interpreted.
Marty watched the little girl eat. "I know what she said. I ain't stupid." She lifted the ladle. "You want some?"
Tess shook her head. "No thanks. But I want you to know I appreciate your being kind to us. Sky needs a place to be safe until I can get her out of here."
"Yeah, well we women got to stick together on this frontier, don't we? I know I ain't much of a woman by the looks of me, but I still got a woman's heart, and I still know what it is to pain over a man's doin's."
Tess stood there beside Sky and Marty as the little girl ate, taking in her surroundings. The wagon was just one of many wagons on the narrow road cut crudely through the forest. Tree stumps, uncut grass and weeds, and rocks cropped up here and there along the mountain ridge they traveled across. There was one wagon to the left, its driver asleep on the wagon seat.
As far as Tess could see in front and behind there were baggage wagons crammed into the tight space. The forest walls were so close that they seemed oppressive in the late afternoon heat. Men in buckskins and soldiers in uniforms wandered everywhere. Horses neighed. Somewhere ahead and around a bend in the crude-cut road Tess heard the sound of a foreman as he commanded men to heave-ho on some heavy object. Tess found it difficult to believe that this was the fierce army Na-Kee and his men intended to fight against at the side of the Frenchmen.
Tess looked at Marty. "Marty?"
"Yeah?"
"The man I came in with . . ."
Marty chewed on the stem of her pipe. "The redskin?"
"His name is Raven."
"He your man?"
When Tess didn't respond, Marty went on. "Look, it don't matter to me. There's been women in these parts that have settled with 'em, more than most realize. And there's plenty of whites, trappers and such that's took up squaws for wives. I ain't like a lot of 'em. I got no grudge against the red man." Marty brushed her short-cropped hair with her hand. "Long as he leaves my scalp on my head."
"I need to know where they've taken him. What they've done with him. They accused him of burning out Sky's cabin and murdering her parents, only he didn't. I was there, I know it."
Marty shook her head with a gruff laugh. "Too bad these men don't care. The way they look at it, you're a redskin, you're guilty." She eyed Tess. "What kind of Injun is he?"
"Lenape—Delaware."
Marty gave a low whistle. "The Delaware went with the Frenchies. That ain't good news for your man."
"Boeing said he thought they would use him for an axeman. He said the army needed more laborers."
"What they need is Indian scouts and fighters. The Frenchies got hundreds of 'em. Seems some of the officers insulted redskins that meant to come along on this lark of Braddock's. Cherokee and Catawba was suppose to show up. They gave 'em a whole heap of bribe gifts; vermilion paint, scalping knifes, brass kettles, even silver gor-gets, though I can't for the life of me figure what the Indians want with the English trappings."
"But they didn't come?"
"Not yet. And our men are gettin' jumpy about it. They don't want to be comin' on a party of Injuns in these woods here."
"Marty, I have to get Raven out of here. He needs to be back in his village where he can look after his people. We come upon any Delaware, and they find him among the English, they might torture and murder him. He could be considered a traitor."
"You ain't gonna be able to get him out of here, I can tell you that. It can't be done. But just the same, let old Marty look into what's up with yer man. Ain't a thing that don't happen in this march that I don't know about it." She gave Tess a pat on the arm as she walked away. "You jest don't worry none about it. I'll see what I can do. Meantime, you'd best climb into that there wagon and see what you can find to cover up them long legs of yours. You walk around here lookin' like that in front of these horny soldiers and you'll be defendin' your virtue day and night."
Tess watched Marty weave her way through the congestion of wagons and carts until her hat disappeared in the sea of men, uniforms, cannon, and horses. "So," Tess said to Sky, who was still shoveling the bean soup into her mouth with the zeal only a child could possess. "Let's see what we can do about some clothes, shall we?"
Sky just nodded her head, her black braids swinging, and went on chewing.