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“Chief Thunder Horse,” he said, hating the trembling in his voice. He was very aware of the heaviness of that large, copper hand on his shoulder.
“What are you doing here?” Thunder Horse asked, his voice stern, his anger obvious. “And where is your horse?”
“I . . . I . . . left my horse and buggy back yonder,” Reginald breathed out, pointing.
“Why?” Thunder Horse asked, his eyes narrowing angrily. “And again, what are you doing here? You know that you are not welcome on our land.”
“It doesn’t belong to you anymore and you know it,” Reginald said quickly, then wished he had not spoken.
But he didn’t like hearing the savage claim something that was not his. It was only out of the kindness of the president that these savages were still in this area on land that belonged to the United States. Personally, he could not wait to see the last of this pack of wild, flea-covered savages.
He wanted to scream out that his cousin had no place among such savages, to demand to know why she was there in the first place. Had she been abducted?
Oh, surely she hadn’t come here of her own volition.
Would she have truly chosen this sort of life over what he had offered her?
He cursed himself silently over having forbidden her to play the piano, for it seemed his reaction to her playing had precipitated her departure.
But he couldn’t mention Jessie to this savage, for to do so would be to tip his hand . . . to reveal that he was trying to find a way to claim her again as his!
Thunder Horse found it unbelievable that this tiny, sweating man could stand before him and speak so coldly about whom this land did or did not belong to. Thunder Horse wanted this man out of his village. He couldn’t stand the smell of him, or the sight!
“You still have not said why you are here, or why you chose to walk instead of ride into my village,” Thunder Horse said dryly.
“I walked because I wanted to get into the village instead of being stopped as I was last night when I tried to come and talk with you,” Reginald gulped out. “If I came in my buggy, it would have made too much noise. I felt that once I got inside your village, I would be able to get a few moments of your time to plead my case.”
“And that is?” Thunder Horse asked, stunned to learn that this man had came last night to try to speak with him and no one had told him about it.
He was also surprised that this man had been able to elude his sentries. He had sneaked through the forest, where the trees were thick and the shadows dark. Thunder Horse had to correct this weakness in his defenses by making certain his sentries were placed among the trees, too.
“Thunder Horse, may I go to your lodge with you, where I can sit down while we discuss my situation?” Reginald asked, his eyes pleading through the thick lenses of his glasses.
Just the thought of this man being in his private lodge, where Jessie even now sat waiting for Thunder Horse’s return, made him shiver with disgust. Jessie had heard the wheezing and coughing before anyone else. She had been aware at once that Reginald was somewhere close by.
“Say what you have come to say and then return to your home and never come here again,” Thunder Horse said tightly. “You know that you are not welcome here, or else you would not have sneaked around like a frightened skunk to request time with this chief who sees you as evil and worthless.”
“Alright, then, I’ll say it and leave,” Reginald replied. “Thunder Horse, I have come to beg for mercy. Please stop the nightmares. I . . . I . . . haven’t gotten any decent sleep since they began. You know that you have the power to stop them. Please, oh, please, I beg of you.”
He shoved his hands into his front suit jacket pockets and pulled out many shiny gold coins. He thrust them toward Thunder Horse. “Here, take these, and there are many more in my pockets,” Reginald said, wheezing almost uncontrollably.
“Lord, Thunder Horse, what else can I do to make you understand the severity of the situation?” Reginald said, a sob lodging in his throat. “Please, oh, Lord, please, take the coins. They can buy you a lot of supplies. Hand me a bag. I’ll fill it with these and all the others I have in my pockets. I . . . just . . . need a decent night’s sleep.”
Thunder Horse’s jaw tightened. He gazed at the coins, and then raised his eyes and glared at Reginald.
“No, no payment,” he said. He gestured with his hand toward the forest. “Return to your horse and buggy, for you see, little man, there will never be any forgiveness from my people. Your life is what you made it to be; now live it.”
“Forever?” Reginald choked out, unaware that the coins were spilling from his hands as he dropped them to his sides. “I will be forced to have . . . these . . . nightmares forever?”
“Forever,” Thunder Horse said firmly. “You disturbed the peace of our sacred cave forever. Leave. Do not return.”
Reginald was struck dumb by Thunder Horse’s refusal to have mercy. He stared up into the chief’s dark eyes.
And then a rage filled him that he had never felt before. He leaned into Thunder Horse’s face. “You will pay for this,” he growled out. “I will find a way. I’ll go to the authorities and tell them what you’re doing to me. They will come and force you and your people to go to the reservation now, not later.”
“You know what will happen if you do this,” Thunder Horse said, a slow smile quivering across his lips.
“What . . . will . . . happen?” Reginald gulped out.
