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Worst of all, Megan was nowhere in sight!
Panic filled her, and she dropped her bags and the rifle and ran from the porch, crying Megan’s name.
Then she almost fainted from fear when more than one flaming arrow flew past her, slamming into the barn, which soon caught fire.
“Megan!” she screamed as she ran in the direction of the open gate. Sudden whoops and hollers filled the air, while the sound of horses’ hoofbeats rumbled like the thunder of a horrendous summer storm.
Tears rolled from Shirleen’s eyes at the realization that Megan was gone. Oh, Lord, surely she was dead, and Shirleen was living her own last moments of life.
Suddenly she stopped, frozen stiff, when the Indians, their faces painted with black and red war paint, rode out of the shadows of a great stretch of trees just beyond her fence.
She watched, wild-eyed, as their horses leaped over the fence and thundered toward her.
The last thing she knew was paralyzing fear for Megan. Then a club hit her across the back of her head, rendering her unconscious.
Behind her, and on past her yard, fires raged as the nearby homes and barns were set afire by the flaming arrows, while people Shirleen had grown to love as much as brothers and sisters fell, one by one, at the hands of the murdering, heartless renegades.
And then there was silence.
Chapter Three
More firm and sure the hand
Of courage strikes,
When it obeys the watchful
Eye of caution.
—Thomson
> Blue Thunder and Gray Eyes and Blue Thunder’s warriors rode across the land. They were searching for any signs of the Comanche renegades led by the fierce and fearless Big Nose. These renegades were giving the Comanche people a bad name, leaving a swath of bloodshed behind them wherever they rode. But Blue Thunder had a more personal reason for wanting to hunt them down. He had reason to believe that they might be the ones responsible for the brutal rape and killing of his lovely young wife, Shawnta.
After Blue Thunder had lost sight of the tracks he had been following, he wasn’t certain where to look for Big Nose. The renegade was known to change his hideout often in order to keep anyone from finding it.
Blue Thunder and Gray Eyes had agreed that they would ride until dark today, and if they didn’t find Big Nose, they would resume the search tomorrow.
They were determined not to give up. Blue Thunder would not rest until he knew whether Big Nose was the one who’d killed his wife, and Gray Eyes had vowed to rescue his warriors.
Suddenly Blue Thunder drew rein and stopped his steed, followed by the others. Ahead, all could see the huge billows of black smoke not far away.
“There are no villages near here, so what is burning must be a white settlement,” Blue Thunder said. “Hakamya-upo, come. Let us go and see if there are any survivors.”
They rode hard toward the smoke.
Soon they discovered three cabins aflame, where settlers had lived in close proximity to each other.
They rode onward and stopped close to one of the raging fires. The sight that met their eyes made Blue Thunder’s stomach churn with disgust.
He swallowed hard and looked away from the dead bodies. Those who had came today and ambushed these white people had not stopped at killing the women, but also their children, who lay scattered on the ground.
And all had been scalped.
Blue Thunder did not have to take a closer look at the women to know that they had been raped, for their skirts were hiked up past their waists, leaving their lower bodies exposed.
“There are no men,” Gray Eyes said as he sidled his horse closer to Blue Thunder’s. “The coward renegades took full advantage of the innocent while their men were away.”
“The men, even the sons, are more than likely at the trading post, unaware of what they will find when they return,” Blue Thunder said, his voice full of loathing for whoever had done this.
