My Kidnapper Wears a Feather in His Hair

Chapter 2

"Rise ‘n shine everybody! Get together quick, we’ll be moving in an hour! We’re burning daylight.”

Ella heard hooves growing faint. She opened one lazy eye. Katie and Conor were already up; Conor was taking care of the horses and Katie was making a small breakfast. The fire glowed brightly against the dark sky.

Burning daylight, Ella thought. We can’t burn daylight if the sun’s not even up!

Ella unwillingly sat up and put on her shoes. Almost immediately she felt the sores from the day before, though her body seemed to be getting adjusted to the rickety rides.

“Good mornin’ Ella. You seemed to be sleepin’ hard.” Katie didn’t look up from the pan she was frying eggs in.

“More like hardly sleeping.”

“Why’s that?”

Ella wasn’t sure she should tell Katie about the Indian she saw. If she told Katie, then surely the whole train would know and people would be panicked. Indian attacks rarely happen along trains, but Ella knew people still felt a bit of fear for the chance that one might occur. No, Ella wouldn’t cause an unwanted panic.

“Ella, is everything alright? You look like you have a thorn in your side.”

“I’m fine Katie,” Ella quickly mustered a smile, though she feared it would be transparent. “I guess I’m just not used to all the open sky above me at night, that’s all.”

“If you say so.” Katie looked unsure, then went back to the pan.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. Ella tried to avoid conversation, especially with Katie. Katie wasn’t schooled but she knew when people weren’t telling the truth. Ella had figured this out, as well as her husbands rare smiles over the last four days.

The plains grasses faded into dirt and dust as the day wore on. By noon Ella felt as if she would drown in her own sweat. She was glad to have had a bath the night before.

The night before. When she saw an Indian. How did she not notice him coming? She could’ve spotted him ten miles out! But it was dark, and she wasn’t expecting to see anybody else, most definitely not an Indian.

Ella was sitting in the back of the wagon, cutting an apple for lunch. The rocking of the wagon made it almost impossible to keep a steady hand. BUMP. Ella gasped. She stared, dumbfounded at her hand. She watched as ruby red blood started to trickle from her palm, enveloping her hand in red. She vaguely noticed her eyes brimming with tears from the pain.

Drip. Drip. Drip. Three drops of blood fell from her hand and landed onto her skirt, staining the blue cloth scarlet.

“Ella dear, could you pass me the bread? Ella?” Katie turned around from the bench and gasped. “Good Lord child, what happened! Give me your hand. Don’t it hurt much? From the tears in your eyes I can guess that it does. Let me have a look. Oh well now, it ain’t so deep, just deeper than a scratch. Pass me that cloth over there and the water jug. I’ll get’cha all cleaned up child.”

Ella sat like a young child as Katie worked on her hand. She winced when cold water was poured into her wound. Katie ripped a piece of cloth and wrapped Ella’s hand tightly.

“Alrighty, there ya are dear.  Should heal up real quick.”

Ella nodded. Katie smiled and went back to the bench to sit next to Conor.

Ella stared obliviously at the rolling scenery as the wagon stumbled along. Her mind was void of everything but the previous night. She had never seen a live Indian before. She never thought she would. Of course she knew of the possibility, the West being shared by the natives and pioneers alike.