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He looked over at several of his elders who were sitting beside a large outdoor fire. They did not seem perturbed by nature’s teasing.
These elders were the wisest of all of his Bird Clan except for his Shaman grandfather. Wolf Hawk noticed that several of them seemed to be watching the river.
Mia’s eyes followed Wolf Hawk’s. He was looking with concern toward Shadow Island, which was hidden from sight by the same low-hanging fog that Mia saw there so often.
She gazed up at Wolf Hawk, but said nothing, only waited…
Chapter Twenty-five
I will have my revenge,
I will have it if I die
The moment after.
—Spanish Curate
A small longboat was making its way down the Rush River. The name MIA painted on both sides of the boat revealed who the true owner was, yet it was two men who eagerly drew their paddles through the water.
“We cain’t be all that far away now, Jeb,” Clint said as he squinted against the sun and looked along the shore for the first signs of the rocky beach that fronted the dilapidated fort.
“I think it was asinine coming back here so soon,” Jeb growled out. “And what the hell is going on? Did you see those waves that came out of nowhere a short while ago? Did you see some of the trees swaying on shore? If I didn’t know better, I’d think we just experienced an earthquake. If so, we’re damn lucky.”
“Yeah, it’s kinda spooky, if you ask me,” Clint said. He looked over his shoulder and then straight ahead.
“I think we should turn around and go back to St. Louis,” Jeb said nervously. “We were almost there and then you get the stupid idea of comin’ back for the pelts before I know we should. I’m afraid what we just experienced, the water shaking and all, is a warning of some sort from those two young braves’ spirits.”
He visibly shuddered. “I can feel ’em even now, all around me,” he said. “I’ll never forget the look on their faces and their death stares as we came upon them in the traps.
“We should’ve took ’em outta those traps and carried them far away and hid ’em, or just dropped their bodies in the river where no one’d ever find them,” Jeb grumbled. “But no. We left ’em there for their people to find. Surely even now revenge lies heavy on those people’s hearts. If they catch us comin’ back here to get those pelts, it’ll be our scalps that’ll be hangin’ on scalp poles.”
“Oh, shut up,” Clint snapped, his eyes narrowing with anger. “Just keep that paddle goin’. We’ll get those pelts and head back to St. Louis. No one’ll ever be the wiser that we came here again. Those Injuns don’t have eyes in the backs of their heads and they sure enough had no idea the pelts were hidden at the fort.”
“I’d just feel better if we’d stayed headed for St. Louis, not here,” Jeb said. “But now that we are almost at the fort, let’s get it done and over with. Work harder with that paddle, Clint.”
“The dumb savages,” Clint said, laughing throatily. “They had a treasure so close at hand and never knew it.”
“My one regret is abandoning that scow,” Jeb mumbled. “Once we reached St. Louis we could’ve got a pretty penny for that thing. Now? It’s just sitting there where we left it onshore for anyone to come and take, free and clear of any cost.”
“Just stop your bitchin’,” Clint said. “Sometimes I think I’ve got a woman as my companion, not a man. Bitch, bitch, bitch. That’s all you do anymore.”
“Look!” Jeb said, stopping and using his paddle to point out a part of the land that he recognized. “See that? Don’t you recognize that huge pile of rock? I remember it sits close to the fort. I figure some Englishman and Frenchman built that as a marker to those who might be trying to find the fort.”
“Yep, I see it, we’re almost there,” Clint said. “I’m just about droolin’ when I think on all of those pelts we’re gonna rescue and take to St. Louie. Think of the money, Jeb. Jist think of the money we’re gonna get from those pelts.”
Suddenly Jeb cried out with fear, his eyes widened when the water began to thrash, tossing the boat from side to side.
“Lord, Jeb, what’s happening?” Clint cried as he dropped the paddle to the bottom of the boat so that he could cling to the sides with all his might.
He gazed heavenward and gasped when he saw geese screeching overhead and scattering in all directions. Then he cried out in fear as he watched the riverbanks quiver and shake. Fish leapt from the heaving water.
“We’re gonna die!” Jeb screamed as the riverbanks began to crumble and cave in, tumbling into the water.
Then suddenly everything became strangely still.
All of the crazed movements ceased.
Clint and Jeb, whose hearts were pounding wildly in their chests, watched as whole chunks of the banks along the river now tumbled into the water. The splash was so fierce on both sides of the river, both Clint and Jeb became afraid that the boat might capsize.
