Fort Larned (10 page)

   The Cheyenne regrouped out of range for another assault. The troopers formed their skirmish line, reloaded their rifles, and waited. Bohanin's left wrist was covered with blood and he couldn't reload his revolver. Collier finished reloading for him.

   "Can they do better than that?" Collier asked.

   Bohanin grimaced with pain. "I don't hardly see how." He took the pistol from Collier and stood. "Here they come again, gentlemen! Make every shot count!"

   Nell placed Annie on the ground beside her and took Goldsmith's rifle. Goldsmith struggled to help control the child and nurse his head wound.

   "You might as well shoot for me, Mrs. Baker. I can't see for the blood!" he said as he crouched near her.

   "I'll do the best I can!" she yelled. Her hands were trembling so badly that she could barely aim the heavy weapon.

   They opened fire and the Cheyenne broke to the sides at a greater distance than before. The open ground around the circle of willows worked in favor of the troops. The men dug in and waited for the next charge.

   Nell tried to help Goldsmith with his wound, bandaging it tightly. Bohanin rolled back his shirt sleeve to reveal his shattered wrist. Collier helped him brace and bandage the wound with his leather belt.

   Sergeant Crossly knelt beside him. "We've lost seven men, Lieutenant. We've got four more wounded."

"Ammunition?"

"Plenty, sir. Probably five hundred rounds plus powder and ball for the revolvers."

   "Tell the men to dig in and wait. Make the wounded as comfortable as possible." He turned to Collier. "What about the woman?"

   Collier cut his eyes to Nell. "She's fine."

   Bohanin smiled and leaned back against his dead horse. "She's got sand. I'll give her that. Did you see her take up that rifle during the second charge? She held the line like she served with the Fifth Michigan."

   "Yes, sir. She's one hell of a woman!"

Cheyenne crawled as close as possible and shot at any movement. The troopers were dug in and the Indian smooth bore fusils managed little damage. Collier took a position behind Bohanin's mount and tried to get a bead on a brave with his buffalo rifle. He was able to get a good sighting on a brave getting a little too close. The Indian came to his knees to get a good shot. Collier waited for the right moment to shoot. After several minutes, the brave rose to fire a shot. Collier rolled him with the Remington when he exposed himself.

   A rousing cheer broke out as the warrior fell. Several congratulated Collier on his shooting ability but Collier remained grim-faced. After several minutes, Collier caught a brave attempting to change positions. The sniping slowed.

   They divided rations among the company after dark. Nell fed Annie and helped Goldsmith. He was suffering and his condition gradually worsened. Bohanin's wrist was causing him significant pain. The bleeding was controlled and he bore the pain stoically.

   The situation was not good for several wounded. Two were in great pain. One was a young trooper named Fainsworth who had joined the army for the adventure because he was too young for Civil War service. Another young man had received a bullet wound in the belly. His fate was certain. He asked for someone to write a letter to his folks but he passed out before Crossly could get to him. He died before midnight.

   A private named Jib had a painful knee wound. Sergeant Crossly did not leave his side throughout the night. Nothing was available for the pain. Jib's only recourse was to endure and hope that he wouldn't lose his leg at the fort.

   Collier went to Nell once darkness allowed for more movement and, at her insistence, examined Corporal Goldsmith. Goldsmith was feverish and incoherent. The bullet had struck him above his left eye and had exited in front of his ear.

   "What do you think?" Nell asked quietly.

   Collier shook his head. "He's lucky to be alive. I just don't know. Head wounds are tricky."

   She sat back against the willow and sighed. "He was so wonderful. He and Corporal Carver did everything they could to protect us. I don't want this brave man to die." Her eyes became teary.

   "They're good men. All of them." Collier said as he readjusted the support for Goldsmith's head.

   Bohanin moved next to Collier. "Someone's going to have to go for help. I'm sending Private Shoop. I want you to cover him for a ways to see that he gets clear."

   "Yes sir, when will he go?"

   "As soon as he gets around. If he makes it, we should be relieved day after tomorrow."

   "I don't think Corporal Goldsmith can make it that long," Nell said.

   Bohanin cut his eyes to Goldsmith. "He's tough. You'll be surprised how much he can take. With the care that you've given him, he'll last quite a long time."

   Shoop, a youngster of slight build, brought his horse. "I'm ready, sir."

   Collier grabbed his Remington. "Wait till I get into position on the other side of the pond so I can cover you." He moved carefully around the small depression, then crawled out of sight in the partially moonlit night.

   After a while, Bohanin told the trooper to mount. "Ride for the Pawnee and follow it east, boy. You should be there by midmorning or early afternoon, if you're lucky. You know the state of our condition. I figure there are at least three hundred Cheyenne out there. We're dug in and can probably hold this position for a while." Bohanin held tightly to Shoop's sleeve. "We're depending on you."

   "I'll do the best that I can, sir."

   Bohanin slapped Shoop's horse on the rump. "I know you will, private. Good luck!"

   The horse moved out with Shoop low in the saddle and galloped into the darkness.

   Nell watched him. "He seems so young."

"He's old enough, Mrs. Baker. I can't think of a better man for the job."

   After several minutes, Collier returned and crouched next to Bohanin. "He's away. I'm sure he made a clean break."

   Nell sighed, "God be with him."

   Bohanin stared into the darkness. "Yes, ma'am. God be with us all."

***

Goldsmith became delirious late in the night. Nell and Collier worked to keep him as cool as possible with wet compresses. Goldsmith babbled about drums, holding the line, and reloading his musket.

   "What's he saying?" Nell asked.

   "I reckon he's back in the war. Wherever he is, it's a long ways from here."

   "I wish we were."

   Collier held her closely. "I know. We all wish that."

   "I'm sorry. I don't want to be a complainer."

   "Hell, woman, you've been excellent. A man couldn't ask for more courage. I love you," he said softly.

   "I love you." She drew herself close, wanting him, fearing that she may never have another chance to be with him.

   Goldsmith went into convulsions. Nell hadn't seen a fever convulsion since her sister had smallpox when she was young. It terrified her.

   Collier dampened more cloth and Nell tried to apply compresses. Goldsmith shook so badly that his body seemed to rise from the ground. After several minutes, it stopped. A rattling sound came from Goldsmith's throat as he died.

   Collier drew the blanket over the corporal's face. "He's gone. We've lost him."

   Nell wept softly. Collier consoled her.

   Bohanin came to them. "I thought he might make it. Too much to hope for, I guess. He was a fine soldier."

   Annie stirred and kicked at her coverings. Nell smiled as she looked into the little girl's face in the moon light. Her features hardened and she turned to Collier. "Lane, I need some help reloading my revolver."

The defenders watched the sunrise through hollow, exhausted eyes as they huddled behind their dead mounts or shallow rifle pit. They did not see the Cheyenne throughout the night. Bohanin's troops played a waiting game, each afraid that this would be the last sunrise. No matter what advantage they had in firepower, their numbers were too small to face many more determined assaults. Nell rested beside Collier as they watched for movement. Bohanin wrote in his duty book, determined to leave a record of the engagement.

   Shortly after sun rise Elk Heart dressed in a war bonnet and with a coup stick in hand appeared just out of rifle range on his stallion. The stocky, powerfully built Cheyenne raised the coup stick effortlessly into the air and repeated a phrase in his native language.

   "What's he saying?" Bohanin asked Collier.

   Collier didn't answer as he tried to make out the phrases.

   Nell looked into Collier's face. "Lane, what is he saying?"

   Elk Heart spun his stallion majestically and rode away.

   Collier cleared his throat. "He said . . . 'another day."

   "What was that?" Bohanin asked.

   "Another day." Collier answered.

   "Another day? What the deuces does that mean?"

   Collier swallowed hard. "I'm not positive, sir. I think they're giving it up." He gave Nell a grin of relief.

   Bohanin shook his head. "They're giving up! Just like that? Hell! Why would they do that?"

   "I don't think they have that much more to gain. I think that fellow was their war chief and they're calling it quits."

   A cheer broke out among the troop.

   "Quiet! Quiet, damn it! No one move! Don't do anything stupid! Collier, that doesn't make sense. They've got us. Surely they know it's just a matter of time."

   "They're Cheyenne. They do not fight like we expect them to. I think that they feel they've made their point and they're moving out."

   "Oh, God. Can it really be over?" Nell asked.

   "Yes, I think it's over."

    They stayed in place throughout the morning. At noon, Sergeant Crossly and two troopers went forward on foot to look for sign. An hour later they returned and reported that the Cheyenne were gone.

   Bohanin was unsure. He suspected a trap. He sent two riders on the only surviving mounts to Fort Larned bring relief in case Shoop had failed. By mid-afternoon he changed his mind and allowed cooking fires.

   They ate roasted horse meat that night. Spirits were high but they never dropped the guard. A relief troop of cavalry rode into the camp at midnight. Private Shoop was at the head of the column looking tired and proud.

   Captain Joe Davis stepped down from his horse. Bohanin tried to salute but Davis took Bohanin's good hand, shaking it vigorously. "Damn! It's good to see you people alive, L. J.! They've kicked hell out of us all over this section and I feared the worst!"

   Davis cut his eyes to Collier and Nell. "And you two . . . You've been through some kind of experience! God! It's good to see you all!"

   The troop rounded up its belongings and left as quickly as possible. Davis wanted to get back to the fort without delay. The fort was badly undermanned and he was afraid that the Cheyenne would hit it before he could return.

   By midday, the column returned to Fort Larned. Nell and Annie were escorted to Captain Davis' quarters and greeted by Mrs. Davis. She was a stout, attractive woman and expressed sympathy for Nell.

   Nell didn't know how to react. It had seemed so long since Nathan Baker had been a part of her life. Collier and Annie were her life now. Nathan had been dead less that a week but that part of her life was gone and she did not wish it back. She realized that in spite of the horror, the pain, and the fear that she had more to look forward to than ever before.

   Mrs. Davis had a bath drawn for her. It was wonderful. Just being able to wash her hair seemed like a gift from heaven. The post surgeon, Dr.Whitehead, came by and examined her head wound. He was a heavy set man with a faint smell of liquor about him.

   "I'm afraid you're going to have a scar but your hair will cover most of it," he said as he examined the wound. "There is really little that I can do."

   She smiled. "I'm happy to only have a scar from it all."

   "Surely, madam, surely," Whitehead said.

   "What of Lieutenant Bohanin?" Mrs. Davis asked. "How's he faring?"

   Whitehead shook his head. "I'm afraid that the Lieutenant is going to lose much of the movement in his hand. He has a badly shattered wrist."

   "And the man with the leg wound?" Nell asked.

   "I believe he will lose it. We'll know for sure by tonight."

   Nell turned her attentions to Annie after the surgeon left. She was in for a good head washing and bath. Mrs. Davis found a dress that was too large for her but it was the best the post had to offer. Mrs. Davis said that she would get material in the morning and make a pair of simple dresses.

   That evening, they ate at the Davis' quarters. The hot meal with fresh bread from the post bakery, eaten on fresh linen and China, seemed the first civilized meal that Nell had eaten in ages. Nell asked about Collier but Captain Davis gave him only a passing comment. He seemed more concerned about how she was going to get back to Missouri.

   "I'm sure the Methodist Church in Ellsworth can help find the little Annie's relatives," Mr. Davis said. Annie can stay with us until they can make arrangements for her care.

   "Annie has been very well cared for," Nell snapped.

   Mrs. Davis was surprised. "Of course, my dear, I was not suggesting that you didn't do a wonderful job with the child. I was just saying that arrangements should be made for her welfare."

   "I believe that I should have something to say about Annie!"

   "Surely, young lady, you don't intend to keep the child yourself. I mean . . . how could you provide for her care under your circumstances?"