he trading post, so I'm going north rather than east. I won't get us lost, but you must stay right with me. If we're fired on again, get down and take cover. If I'm hit, don't look back. Go south until you reach the Mohawk, and follow the river back to the trading post."
Elliott's head and arms were dangling down Hunter's back, but Alanna was certain she could focus her gaze on the Indian's legs rather than her poor cousin's body. "I understand. One of us has to survive to see that the men responsible for killing Elliott are punished!"
"The man's name is Blind Snake. Did you get a good look at him?"
Alanna nodded. His was a face she would never forget. He had been laughing when he had fired the shot that killed Elliott.
Hunter didn't waste another second before starting off at the fastest speed he could make. Had Elliott not already been dead, he would soon have expired from his wound, for Hunter made no effort to carry him gently. They were only minutes ahead of men he knew would not only mutilate Elliott's corpse as Alanna feared, but do far worse things to them while they were still alive.
Chapter 18
Moving at a slow, even jog, Hunter stayed well away from the trail and cut his own path through the forest. Trying her best to keep up with him, Alanna held her side when it began to ache, and did not even consider begging Hunter to stop so she could rest. She did not understand how the Indian could maintain his steady pace mile after mile, when Elliott's body had to be growing increasingly heavier. Either he was incredibly strong, or through some Indian trick he was able to ignore the weight of his burden. Whatever enabled him to maintain his constant, measured step, she admired him enormously for it.
Fearing Blind Snake might be following close behind, she sent a furtive glance over her shoulder every few minutes. Smoke had come billowing up from the fires Hunter's flaming arrows had sparked, and she prayed that mischief had bought them the necessary time to escape. No more shots had been fired at them, and while she wanted desperately to believe that was a good sign, she knew Blind Snake might only be waiting for them to slow down and present an easier target. He was Indian, too, after all, and unencumbered by the weight of a dead body, wouldn't he be able to follow them no matter how far they went, or cleverly they attempted to fool him?
When Hunter finally slowed to a stop on the banks of a small creek, Alanna clung to a spruce sapling and struggled to catch her breath. "Are we safe here?" she was finally able to ask.
She looked exhausted, but Hunter knew they had not even begun to test their endurance. "No, but we're leaving a trail even a child could follow. We must walk in the water to hide our tracks. Take a drink, but only a small one. From here, we'll go a mile or so upstream, and then look for a place to bury Elliott. We can disguise the fresh grave with leaves and branches, so it won't be disturbed."
"My aunt and uncle will want Elliott's body brought home."
"Then it is a shame they are not here to carry him." That bitter retort had leapt from Hunter's lips without forethought and he instantly regretted his sarcasm. "Later, when we are safe, I'll come back on horseback, or with others who can help me carry him to the trading post. For now, we'll just have to bury him as best we can."
Hostile one minute, thoughtful the next, Alanna didn't know what to make of Hunter, but she was too tired to object to his plan, and when he stepped into the middle of the creek, she followed. The water was icy cold. She had worn riding boots for travel rather than kid slippers, and she was now grateful she had made such a practical choice. The moss-covered stones at the bottom of the stream were slippery and slowed their pace, but she still came dangerously close to falling several times before they left the water.
Hunter chose a spot where they could step out onto a rocky bank to avoid leaving footprints along the muddy shore, and she followed carefully picking her way to make the most of his efforts to hide their trail. He took them perhaps a hundred yards into the forest, before he lowered Elliott's body to the ground. Unable to look at her dead cousin, Alanna turned away quickly, and then felt horribly disloyal.
Hunter noted her shudder, but hid his own. He broke off a leafy branch from a sugar maple and pointed back the way they had come. "I'm going to use this like a broom to scatter the leaves and hide our tracks. Sit down and rest, while I'm gone."
"You promise to come back?"
Despite her obvious terror, Hunter did not understand how she could doubt him. "Had I wanted to abandon you, I would have done it when Elliott was killed. I'd not have carried his body all this way just to please you." Thinking her daft, he left shaking his head, and sprinted back over the ground they had just covered.
Hardly reassured, Alanna sat down and leaned back against the maple. Weary, she bent her knees to provide a resting place for her cheek. She missed Elliott terribly, and she did not know how she was going to return home without him. How would she ever find the words to tell her aunt and uncle that they had lost another child? She and Elliott had allowed his parents to believe they were following their wishes and coming to New York in an effort to persuade Hunter to raise his son, when that had not been their true purpose at all. Begun with a lie, their trip had ended in tragedy, and she could not help but feel she was to blame.
When he returned, Hunter offered no words to bolster her courage before searching briefly for a suitable branch to use for a digging stick. He sharpened one end into a point, used it to loosen the soil, and then scooped out the dirt with his hands. It was hard work, but he wanted to create a hole of sufficient depth to discourage not only Blind Snake, but predators as well from disturbing the body.
"Is there something I can do to help?"
Hunter shot her a disapproving frown. "Just stay out of my way."
Feeling very small and helpless, Alanna huddled down into herself. She was lost in the forest with an obstreperous Indian she trusted only slightly more than Blind Snake, and she was horribly uncomfortable with him. She knew she ought to be thinking of what to say when they buried Elliott, but no matter how poetic a tribute she might devise, he had been so dear to her, the moment would be heartbreaking, and she would not be able to speak. Lost in her own misery, she waited for Hunter to tell her what to do.
Remaining alert to danger, Hunter paused periodically to listen to the soft rustling sound of the gentle breeze passing through the canopy of leaves overhead. The shrill cries of birds defending their nests created a constant din, accented by the noisy chatter of squirrels. Their arrival had briefly disrupted the natural harmony of the forest, but it had soon resumed at full volume. Hearing no other break in its rhythm, Hunter continued to dig until he had excavated the hole to a depth of nearly four feet. He then climbed out and shook the loose dirt from his buckskins.
He gathered fresh pine boughs to line the bottom, and then bent down beside Elliott's body. He removed the gold signet ring from his right hand and tossed it to Alanna. "You'll want to keep that. I want you to have his knife, too. You'll need it should we become separated."
Alanna tried on the ring and found it felt secure only on her index finger. When Hunter handed her Elliott's knife, she threaded the sheath through her belt, and prayed she would never have occasion to use it. She watched him remove the handkerchief from Elliott's pocket, but the young man had had nothing else with him. When the Indian sent her a questioning glance, she shrugged slightly. "The rest of his belongings are still at your house."
"I'll use his handkerchief to cover his face."
"Wait, use my shawl instead."
Hunter stopped her before she had untied it. "You'll need it tonight for warmth. The handkerchief will have to do."
Unable to watch him lower Elliott into the ground, Alanna got up and took several steps away. Her cousin had been a fine man, and he shouldn't have died so young. "You said you'd seen Blind Snake in the Ohio Valley," she called over her shoulder.
"Yes, he might have killed Elliott then."