"Oh, but I do. You may stay with me as long as you do what I say. If you are going to do nothing but argue, then follow the directions I gave you. Travel south until you reach the Mohawk, then follow it east to the trading post."
Alanna had seen that same intractable expression before, and knew Hunter meant what he said, but she was already so badly frightened his threat scarcely mattered. "Do you expect me to willingly be your slave?"
It was just that type of insolence to which Hunter had objected, but Alanna was clearly too tired to leave their camp, let alone return to the trading post on her own. "I have no need of a slave," he scoffed, "but Blind Snake might. The Abenaki treat their captives very badly. If you leave me, be careful he doesn't catch you."
Alanna had not thought to ask to what tribe Blind Snake belonged, but an Abenaki was the last Indian she would ever want to meet. Her hand started to shake, and she dropped the berry she had been holding. Hunter picked it up and handed it to her. It was another thoughtful gesture that didn't match his words.
"I can't eat anymore."
"You must. Without food, you won't be able to keep up with me."
As obnoxious as Hunter was, Alanna was positive he was a far better man than Blind Snake could ever hope to be. Still, remaining with him was a choice she was forced to make out of desperation. "No, I feel sick already. If I eat anymore, I'll be ill for sure."
Hunter scooped up the berries she had left, and set them aside. "I'll save these for morning."
That morning Elliott had been alive, but he would never see another sunrise, and Alanna was overcome with sorrow. He had known her so well, and had loved her in spite of her faults. She doubted she would ever find another man who would always be so wonderfully supportive. She did not even want to look. "The Abenaki have cost me a great deal," she murmured softly.
"The authorities will never find Blind Snake to punish him, but I will. Elliott's death will be avenged."
He sounded so confident, Alanna took his remark as a promise rather than a boast. "Have you killed men before?" she asked.
"Only in the Ohio Valley, and I took no joy in it. That was war, though, not a matter of revenge."
A flurry of wings as the birds nesting in the nearby trees took flight, caused them both to jump in alarm. Hunter rose and offered Alanna his hand, but he shook his head to warn her to be silent. She stood and then reached down for her shawl. Hunter took her hand and led her around the blackberry vines and into a cluster of maple trees. The low branches of one provided a natural ladder, and he gestured for her to climb up into the tree.
When she had been small, she had scamped up trees as easily as Byron and Elliott, while Melissa had never even been tempted to mimic her brothers' boisterous antics. It was the memory of those happy, sunlit days that gave her the strength to tuck the back hem of her skirt into the front of her belt to form a billowing pair of pantaloons. With her shawl again tied around her waist, she accepted Hunter's help to reach the first branch, and from there it was easy to move on up where the thick foliage provided the perfect hiding place. It wasn't until she looked down and found him backing away, that she realized just how precarious her perch truly was.
Hunter waved to her, and then circled around to the spot where they had been resting to hurriedly restore it to its natural state. In the gathering dusk, long shadows filled the forest, and he slipped soundlessly from one to the next. He heard Blind Snake's laughter before sighting him, but his respect for his adversary grew when he saw how easily he had tracked them. Apparently tiring of their sport, the Abenaki and two of his kind were making camp for the night at a spot Hunter had considered and then bypassed. Blind Snake and another brave each had muskets, while the third was armed only with a bow.
Knowing they had to be as tired as he, Hunter considered attacking them now, but in the twilight he might easily miss his first shot, and that would bring the three men down upon him. He would have eagerly taken that risk had he been alone, but Alanna's safety also had to be guarded. Biding his time, he waited and listened. He thought he knew enough of the Abenaki tongue to follow their conversation, but the men were chewing strips of smoked venison, which slurred their speech, and often teased each other with expressions he didn't recognize.
Only gradually did he become aware that they considered pursuing him and Alanna an amusing pastime. They talked about him and his female companion as though they were deer or some other game. They argued over how they would treat them once caught, but not wanting to hear their gruesome plans, Hunter returned to the tree where he had left Alanna. He dared not call out to her, and swiftly climbed up where he could whisper and be heard.
He took a firm hold on her arm to catch her should she faint, and told her what he'd found. "The Abenaki would never have gotten this close if I could have covered our trail. There are three of them, and they'll fall asleep soon. I'd slip into their camp and slit their throats, but I don't want to leave you to face them alone, should I fail. We'll have to go. We'll walk in the stream again, but I'll leave it to create a false trail. By morning, we'll be miles from here."
"Do you think they found the grave?" Alanna asked.
"No, or they would have mentioned it. Elliott's body is safe, but we aren't. Take care climbing down."
Having never climbed trees in the dark, Alanna had considerable difficulty following him back to the ground, but finally managed it without mishap. Her knees felt weak, and she doubted she could go very far. "Couldn't we hide right here? In the morning, if they go west, we can head back to the trading post."
"And if they catch us, we'll die! Let me decide what is best. Your ideas are foolish." He reached for her hand and, jerking her along,
found the stream where he moved with his usual graceful stealth, while she tripped and slipped along behind him.
The blackberries she had eaten provided so little in the way of energy, Alanna was soon gasping for breath. Hunter's stamina was apparently inexhaustible, and he turned to scold her. "Hush, you're making too much noise."
Alanna thought she was doing remarkably well, and refused to allow him to intimidate her. "Must you run? It's so dark I can't see anything but your back, and not knowing where to step makes following you extremely difficult."
"Then see how you like traveling alone for a while." Hunter stepped off the trail and stood still a moment to let his moccasins sink into the mud. "Keep following the stream. I'm going to leave a false trail before catching up with you."
Alanna dreaded the thought of picking her way over the mossy stones alone, but now knew better than to ask him if he actually planned to meet her farther up the stream. Once she had caught her breath, she started off without comment. The day had been as terrible as the one on which Melissa had died, and it did not seem that it was ever going to end. She focused her attention on the moon's fragmented reflection in the water, and tried not to slip and fall while Hunter was still close enough to ridicule her for being clumsy, but she had several close calls before she was out of sight.
Hunter stomped around to make certain Blind Snake would find his footprints, and then walked off into the woods. He continued for half an hour before finding an outcropping of rocks which made a perfect place to disappear. Now moving with far more caution, he turned north, then back west to again find the stream. Once in the water, he traveled as swiftly as the current, and in a matter of minutes caught up with Alanna, who was bent over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
"We'll soon reach the southern foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. They won't be able to track us through the rocks, and even if they could, we'll have the advantage of having a well-protected camp and can defend ourselves. Come on, we still have a long way to go before dawn."
"Dawn?" Alanna repeated weakly. "I can't take another step."