He had to admit that he was not a lover of white people, but he did not hate them enough to kill and ravage their women.
He had learned to keep his distance from white people, except for those he dealt with at the trading post at Fort Dennison.
He would only attack whites if they attacked him first.
If at all possible, he avoided war.
“This is the work of Big Nose,” Blue Thunder announced. He shook his head. “And it seems he has gotten careless this time. The cabins and barns are still burning, so he cannot be far from here.”
“Ho, that is so,” Gray Eyes said, smiling smugly. “Let us follow the tracks. We shall surely find him soon.”
Blue Thunder dismounted.
He studied the various tracks, and then followed some to a fence that had been ripped out of the ground. From there, many tracks of both horses and people on foot came together.
He looked quickly over at Gray Eyes. “He has taken captives,” he said, frowning. “Perhaps that is why we saw no white men. They have all surely been taken captive.”
“The horses from all three homesteads are missing,” said Proud Horse, one of Blue Thunder’s most loyal warriors, as he ran up to him.
“And so they not only took captives as their spoils of war, but also mitasunkes, horses.” Blue Thunder nodded. “I would have thought they would only want mitasunkes. Taking captives is unwise, for it will not only awaken more hatred against the red man, but it will also slow Big Nose down.”
Gray Eyes bent to a knee and studied the footprints. “Ho, the white captives are made to walk, not ride,” he reported. “That will slow the renegades.”
“He has made one mistake after another today,” Blue Thunder said. He slowly kneaded his chin. “I wonder if it is on purpose. Or has he finally made an unwise decision?”
“Why would he do this on purpose?” Gray Eyes asked, slowly standing.
“He might want to lure those who will follow into a trap so that he can have more captives,” Blue Thunder suggested. “I think it is time that his plans are foiled, no matter what they may be.”
Blue Thunder turned and gazed again at the death and destruction all around him. He swallowed hard as his gaze fell upon the dead women.
He went to the first one and then another and lowered the skirts of their dresses over their nakedness, trying to give them some dignity in death.
He then ran to his horse and leaped onto its back. “Let us ride!” he shouted, a fist in the air.
He lowered his fist and gave Gray Eyes a slow smile. “Today we will not only find the white survivors, but also the warriors who were taken from your village,” he said.
Gray Eyes nodded, his eyes filled with flame; then they rode off, side by side, with Blue Thunder’s warriors following behind them.
As they rode off, the smoke still spiraled into the sky, and Blue Thunder looked over his shoulder at the devastation left behind by a demon who had no heart, and surely no soul.
“Big Nose, I know you did this. I will find you and you will pay for your heartless ways, not only toward whites, but to all,” he whispered to himself.
He looked straight ahead, the renegades’ tracks leading him onward. The sun was now making lengthy shadows of the trees, and the cool breeze of late afternoon had sprung up.
His jaw was set tight in his determination to find Big Nose. The other times he had searched for him, his efforts had been in vain.
But today?
Ho, today, he felt confident that Big Nose had become careless, careless enough to finally be stopped!
Chapter Four
All’s to be fear’d,
Where all is to be lost.
—Byron