FAITH
FAITH (after an idea by Nesciri)
"There she is." Lou pointed at the woman
and gulped a bit. Lou eyed Yellow Crane and for the first time really saw her.
Yellow Crane wasn't much taller than she but she had a hard, dangerous way about
her that made her appear much more formidable. Her long black hair hung down
past her waist. Her arms were skinny and her skin weathered. There was nothing
soft about this woman. She hesitated to approach this strange creature that
was the cause of so much misery and trouble.
Jimmy and Cody did not suffer under the same apprehensions
that Lou did. Both quickly dismounted from their horses and half-ran up to the
woman who did not see them approach until the last second. By then, though it
was too late. Cody and Jimmy each had one arm and they were not letting go.
"Lady, you're coming with us." Cody spoke
firmly and they started to drag her back to the horses.
"I believe you are mistaken. I am not going
with you now or ever." Yellow Crane twisted and tried to squirm out of
their strong grasps. Yellow Crane was surprised to see Running Buck's friends
again so soon after her last appearance. She had recognized the looks of fear
on their young faces when she had called the spirits to curse them and she thought
they might still be cowering on the hill where she left them.
"Our friend is dying because of you and you
are going to stop it now," Jimmy growled.
"Oh, so Running Buck is dying, eh?" Yellow
Crane cackled gleefully and her voice became sweet and loving. "My dear
boys, you misunderstand. That is the way it should be. I control the spirits
and it is good to see that they are obeying me." She paused before continuing
gleefully, "And how about you, are your spirits ready to surrender?"
Yellow Crane smiled triumphantly. She had won. Running Buck was as good as dead.
Jimmy looked in her eyes and there was something
missing there. He couldn't put his finger on it at first but he realized that
the thin line between lucidity and insanity was missing. "You are coming
with us or we will hogtie you and drag you back to Sweetwater." For the
first time since she began to play this game, she felt a flicker of fear. She
didn't want to return to Sweetwater as a prisoner. She needed to maintain her
position so that she could continue to manipulate these people. If they gained
physical control of her, her strategy would be dealt a severe blow.
"What is going on here?" a high-pitched
voice called out. Cody and Jimmy turned to face an angry woman. She had garish
red hair that made her pale face seem even pastier than it really was. She wore
a plaid violet silk dress with a frilly white lace collar that overflowed her
neckband and reached her thickening waist. She seemed out of place at the fort.
Her nostrils flared with anger and her hand shook while she held a little matching
parasol that had a gold tassel on top. "I said, what is going on here?"
the woman repeated this time stomping her boot clad foot a little bit.
"We're just trying to convince this woman that
she needs to come with us," Cody answered sarcastically. He was in no mood
for having to explain himself to a nosy busybody.
"This doesn't concern you," Jimmy said,
backing Cody up.
"Yes, it does. Yellow Crane is my friend and
she is not going anywhere with the likes of you." The woman's eyes swept
over the dusty riders and the disgust in her face was obvious. "If you
don't let her go, I'll call my husband's men to come take care of this little
problem."
"Pardon me for saying so ma'am, but you sure
have a funny way of picking your friends," Cody's voice was soft but he
wasn't going to let this woman threaten them.
"Are you going to let her go or do I call the
soldiers to convince you otherwise?" she said with an arrogant toss of
her head.
"I guess you're gonna have to convince us otherwise,"
Jimmy said calling what he hoped was a bluff.
The woman stormed off toward the offices. Cody and
Jimmy weren't sure what to do but they quickly decided to try and get Yellow
Crane on a horse. Just as they started to drag her toward Lou and the waiting
horses, three soldiers rapidly approached them. "Boys, there a problem
here?" one of the soldiers called out.
"Yeah, this woman needs to come with us. She
made a friend of ours sick and she can help him," Jimmy said trying to
sound as convincing as possible.
"That's a lie. My little potions could never
do anyone harm. Please, Officer, I'm just a poor crippled woman trying to earn
a living."
"You boys got some proof?" Jimmy grimaced
a little before he shook his head no. He hated to admit it, but no one would
believe such a story as theirs. What was he going to tell the soldier? That
Yellow Crane had put a curse on them and that Buck thought his spirit was gone?
It sounded idiotic. "Boys, let her go now. Unless you have some proof,
there's nothing I can do. Until then, I don't want to see you back here."
The soldier put a hand on his holster and the other two did the same.
Jimmy and Cody realized they had no choice but to
release Yellow Crane. When they let her go, she stepped over toward her rescuer's
side and smiled at the boys as if she just met them at a summer dance. The two
walked away toward Lou in disgust.
"Thank you Matilda for putting a stop to that
little show," Yellow Crane said rather gratefully.
"It really was nothing, Yellow Crane. After
what you did for me, it was the least I could do."
"By the way, that old lover of yours bothering
you any?"
"Not now…not after what you did to him. I doubt he'll be bothering anyone soon. I mean how could he…with such a vital part of his anatomy missing." The two women put their heads together and laughed.
