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Her eyes and head darted around the forest as she wobbled to remain balanced on her good foot. “Indians are nearby?”
“More than likely. Their reserve must be somewhere in the area if they’ve performed a shaking tent ceremony here recently.”
“You said they seek power. To do what?”
He shrugged. “Could have been that the shaman had a vision or dream, or someone’s lost something or someone valuable. The shaman will perform the ritual and request assistance from the spirits to guide him in the right direction.” Sam didn’t mention to Ivy that it was often used to help rid their enemies. He didn’t think it necessary to alarm her unduly. He hadn’t heard of any disputes in this area for decades.
“Can we go now, please?”
This time he focused on the terror in her eyes. “You have something against Indians?”
“I’ve heard they’re savages. Unmerciful and barbaric.”
Sam made a disbelieving face. “Isn’t that what you also heard about bounty hunters?”
Her eyes flashed to his face, the fear in them momentarily doused. “They kill without mercy.”
“If they kill, it’s because they have a reason. The white man has invaded their land and forced them to succumb to a lifestyle unfamiliar and unwanted. If you’ve got no qualms against them, they’ll leave you be. Most natives are peaceful and generous people. Just like any other man.”
She frowned, but didn’t comment.
“The good news is there should be a town nearby.”
“Fort William?”
He shook his head. “Won’t be a very large town, but hopefully they’ll have some horses we can rent.”
They left the structure and pushed further through the bush until they reached a ridge overlooking a valley and a large body of water.
Ivy’s eyes narrowed against the bright sun. Using a hand to shield her eyes, she gazed out at the aqua colored lake. “Is that Lake Superior?”
“Nope. Nepigon Bay. If memory serves me right, there should be a river emptying i
nto it a couple miles ahead of us and a village just west of that.”
Sam glanced up and noticed the sky turning dark. Storm. He cursed his bad luck and wondered if they would reach shelter before the sky opened up and drenched them with rain. He moved quicker than he knew Ivy could handle, but he didn’t need her freezing from hypothermia on top of an injured leg.
Behind him, he heard her feeble attempt to keep up. Too proud to protest or complain. If she had been any other woman, he might have been impressed. Hell, truth was, he wouldn’t have cared. Women didn’t generally get under his skin. Except his mother. And this one.
An hour later, they met up with the railroad tracks again as they came in from the south. They followed them for about a mile when suddenly the forest dropped back to allow a river to cut a path through the unrelenting wilderness. The sight that welcomed them had Sam coming to an abrupt halt.
Next to him, Ivy gasped, “Oh Mighty Jesus.”
Sam lifted his Stetson then shoved a hand through the front of his hair and grumbled, “Damnation.”
A bridge spanned a good seven hundred feet across the wild river below.
“How do we cross?”
He hesitated only a second. “We walk.”
“What?” she exclaimed, taking a step back. “Absolutely not!”
“We’ve got no other choice.” He eyed the narrow gauge of the tracks and grimaced. “There’s nowhere to cross down by the river. The rapids are too violent to even risk crossing.”
“I have no intention of crossing that.” She pointed an angry finger at the bridge as if it were his fault it lay in their path.
He turned and looked at her over his shoulder and realized her eyes were actually round with fear rather than anger, their icy blue depths having turned slightly darker. He took a nice long deep breath before glancing back at the huge wood and steel construction. The river beneath ran wide and north and he had no idea how far they would need to travel before coming across a more decent crossing. If any, for that matter. For all Sam knew, this was the one and only crossing.
