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“I believe no one will ever find Neal Geary,” White Fire said solemnly. His eyes wavered into Flame’s. “And, yes, I believe your father is responsible for his disappearance. Who else would want him dead? The Indians, the Sioux and Chippewa alike, saw him as a good friend. He fought for both their rights. And if a voyager or anyone else, for that matter, had come across this cabin during their journeys and wanted to steal from it, do you think they would have left any of this, especially the rifle and clothes?”
He frowned. “No, whoever came and saw the need to do away with Neal did just that and made sure no one would ever discover his body,” he said.
His eyes filled with a sudden rage. Recalling the gentleness of this man who seemed now to have disappeared off the face of the earth, White Fire slammed a fist on a table. “I will find a way to make things right for this man,” he shouted. He looked at Flame. “Even if he is your father, Colonel Russell will have to pay for this, for I know, without a doubt, that he is responsible.”
“I’m sorry,” Flame said, swallowing hard. “I’m sorry that I am kin to a man who is so heartless, who would go to any extreme to get what he wants.”
White Fire turned to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “That includes you,” he said, his eyes searching hers. “Do you see now why you can never allow him near you? We must find somewhere to hide you until Colonel Edwards—”
He stopped in midsentence. His eyes brightened. His lips quivered into a smile. “Colonel Edwards,” he said, dropping his hands to his sides. “We will ride to Colonel Edwards’s fort and inform him of our latest find. Also, that is where you will stay until your father is stopped from any more wrongdoings.”
“But surely Colonel Edwards is aware already of the agent’s disappearance,” Flame said softly. “Wouldn’t the agent frequent that fort as well as Fort Snelling?”
“Each fort is appointed their own agent,” White Fire said. “So, no, he would have no cause to notice Neal’s strange disappearance.”
Flame drifted into his arms and clung to him. “I’m suddenly so afraid,” she said, her voice catching with the fear inside her. “If Father is capable of out-and-out murder, what if he finds us before we reach Fort Parker?”
“Just don’t think about it,” White Fire said. He held her for a moment longer, then eased her from his arms. “Take Neal’s rifle. We need as much protection as possible.”
Flame nodded. She grabbed the rifle, then ran from the cabin with White Fire. After mounting her horse, she gripped the rifle with one hand and grabbed her reins with the other. With the skill of a man, she rode off with White Fire, the rifle resting on her lap, her eyes constantly searching around her for any sudden movements.
After they were many miles downriver from Fort Snelling, White Fire sidled his horse closer to Flame’s. “Are you all right?” he asked, studying the paleness of her face. “Should we stop?”
“I do feel somewhat lightheaded and dizzy,” she murmured. “I . . . I . . . get this way if I don’t eat at regular intervals.” She laughed awkwardly. “I guess my body is telling me it’s time to eat breakfast.”
“Can you ride awhile longer, until we find some bushes heavy with berries?” White Fire asked. “Except for animals and fish, there’s not much else to eat out here in the wilderness and we don’t have time to go on a hunt.”
“Yes, I can make it,” Flame said, nodding.
She fought the continued dizziness, then was relieved when he pointed to a thick cluster of blackberry bushes that stretched out along the embankment of the river.
The sun warm, the breeze gentle, they dismounted and went and fell to their knees beside the blackberry bushes. Flame placed her rifle on the ground. They both plucked and ate one berry after another, the taste sweet and tantalizing as the juices melted down their throats.
Suddenly there was a commotion behind them.
They scrambled to their feet and turned just in time to see Flame’s father and several soldiers step out into the open, their firearms aimed toward them.
“Father!” Flame gasped, paling. “How did you . . . ?”
“We caught sight of you a short while ago,” Colonel Russell snarled out, his eyes on White Fire as he talked to Flame. “We waited for the right moment to surprise you.” He laughed throatily. “You played right into my hands by stopping. It made it much easier than to accost you while you were on your horses. This way we don’t have to make chase.”
“Father, why . . . ?” Flame stammered, then winced and screamed when two soldiers ran to White Fire and grabbed him, one on each side, holding his arms in tight grips.
Flame turned and, wide-eyed, stared as White Fire’s rifle was yanked from the gunboot at the side of his horse.
Colonel Russell brushed past Flame. He stopped and glared into White Fire’s eyes. “You’ll be sorry you ever set eyes on my daughter,” he barked, placing his fists on his hips. “I arrest you this morning, ’breed, for abducting my daughter.”
“No!” Flame cried, paling. She ran to her father and grabbed him by an arm. She yanked hard to draw his attention.
When he turned and glared at her, she pleaded with him with her eyes. “You know he didn’t abduct me!” she cried. “You can’t arrest him for something he didn’t do!”
“You’ve been gone a full night with this man,” Colonel Russell said flatly. “That, alone, is cause for this man’s arrest. I’ll have him hung for raping you, if nothing else!”
Her knees weakened with fear. She realized now that she was dealing with a man who could be classified as a lunatic. Flame took an unsteady step away from him.
“You . . . are . . . insane!” she gasped out. “Absolutely insane.”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t arrest and hang this man,” Colonel Russell said, flailing a hand in the air. “You’ve been gone for a full night. Because of this man, you didn’t return home. I would never allow anyone to think that you were with him willingly.” He lifted his chin and his eyes narrowed. “The utter shame of it, Reshelle.”
