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“Sounds like he was cut off.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.”
“And what is the gold he’s talking about?”
Bixie walked to them as she chewed on a slice of bread spread with honey. “De gold be at de far up end of dat canal runnin’ betwixt doze fightin’ armies.” She bit a large oval out of the bread.
John looked at Bixie and said, “You can see a canal?”
Eddie said, “Its right where she said. I can see it through the telescope. But not with my naked eyes.”
Bixie smiled and walked away, saying over her shoulder, “Dere be other ways tah see besides peekin’ tru doze brass telescope tubes, brave soldier man.”
Billy chuckled and said to John, “That little pixie is something, ain’t she?”
John said, “Bixie reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago.”
“Who was she?”
“A Creole. We met in New Orleans right before the war. She helped me recover from a dueling injury and we became friends. She could see things...”
“Was she a witch?”
“No. She practiced Voodoo, though.”
“Were you and her a couple?”
“No, it wasn’t like that. We were friends. She was older than me by a good bit. But we got along, had great talks, laughed together, things like that. She helped guide me. I probably would have stayed in New Orleans, except the war broke out. I returned home and enlisted in Virginia, fought through the entire bloody mess, then when I got out, I went into the Arizona Territory to hunt for gold. I found Apaches instead. Have you ever encountered Apaches, Billy?”
“A few times. When they weren’t on the warpath, I found them to be good people.”
“So did I. Never blamed them for fighting for their land, either. But when it came to me or them, I had no choice. I will tell you, it was nip and tuck several times. It was like fighting ghosts, the way they would appear out of nowhere, fight, then disappear again in the blink of an eye.”
“Did you know any of them personally?” Billy asked.
“I met Cochise and Victorio, both exceptional leaders. Either of them, had they been born white, would have made great Presidents. I was friendly with a warrior named Kaytennae. And I knew Geronimo, who was a courageous fighter, but someone you could not trust to tell the truth. White people think he was a chief, but he was not. He was a war shaman, and an excellent one, probably the best one the Apache ever had. He was also someone that I never turned my back to. Of course, that was because I was a pinda-likoyee, a white-eyes. He wasn’t that way with his own people.”
“You speak Apache?”
“Some, and Spanish. That was often spoken along the border. And I speak some Creole.”
Billy said, “I grew up in the border area, so, same here; Apache and Spanish. No Creole. Did you ever see the Louisiana lady again?”
“I never returned to New Orleans. Always thought about going to see her, but never seemed to make it. She died eighteen years ago.”
“What was her name?”
“Marie Laveau.” John sighed, then said, “I never expected to see her like again, and yet, here travelling with me to another world is a spiritual marvel, a small island girl who is every bit the presence of Marie...and maybe even more. The more I am around her, the more I think that Bixie Cottontree is a powerful friend in ways we cannot even imagine.” He shook his head and chuckled, “Sometimes I ramble.” John looked out the window at Mars and said, “I’m going to get things ready for when we land. How much longer before we touch the surface?”
“We have another full day, maybe a little more depending on the terrain when we approach.”
“And the danger down there.”
“Yes, and the danger.”
John left, and Billy turned his attention to the red planet, all the while not forgetting Fu Manchu and his singleships coming behind them in the ether.
[ 54 ]
