The Five Dollar Mail Book 3: The Road Home

21: Code Talker

Cover painting by Angela Taratuta. Chapter artwork of Jesse by Diego Candia. All graphics by me.

Book 1: The Green, Book 2: Lynch's Boys, Book 3: The Road Home, and the Riders & Kickers Anthology are available on Amazon under the name Regina Shelley. So if you hate waiting for chapter posts and/or want a more polished read, the finished product is available now.

It seemed crazy even to Jesse that as terrified as he was, that as hard as his heart was pounding inside his chest and in his ears...the one thing that kept coming up in his mind was the bright, wounded sorrow in Still Water Woman's brown eyes when she'd looked at him back in the lodge. He'd quit imagining how it might feel being burned to death, or being scalped, or being shot full of arrows, or any of the other countless hideous ends he'd imagined that his fate might be. All he could think about was how surprised he'd been at the hurt in her eyes, at the aching loss he'd seen there. He didn't know who she'd lost or how, but her pain was as evident to him now as the hacked, shorn remains of her hair.

Regardless of how he was being treated now, this woman and her little sister had saved his life, had brought him into their home and pulled him back from the pearly gates even as they believed him to be their enemy. And no matter how this ended, he knew the last thing he wanted to see in her eyes was suffering.

He stepped out of lodge, feeling Eagle Bone's hand on his back, shoving him forward into the dark, fire-lit camp. He could smell roasting buffalo, and his stomach rumbled with hunger. Ahead of him, Two Elk limped across the camp, and Jesse followed, staying close. They'd untied him, but Jesse had a strong suspicion that Eagle Bone would be delighted if he tried to run. Because then it would give him a good excuse...

He watched the slim, slightly bent figure ahead, wondering at the colorful robes and tinkling of dentalium shells woven in the man's long silver hair. Who is he that he's dressed like that? He felt vulnerable, cut off from the safety of Still Water Woman and Runs Laughing and the warm lodge filled with golden light. He shivered as the cool night air settled into his borrowed clothes.

"Where are we going?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as steady and casual as he could.

"His Horses," Two Elk said.

"Uh...what?"

"His Horses has something he wants you to see."

His Horses is someone's name, he realized after a brief, confused beat. "He has something he wants me to see?"

He faltered, confused, and Eagle Bone gave him another rough shove. Jesse gritted his teeth against the angry retort that was forming in his throat. No. Shut up, Farm Boy. You don't need your tongue cut out or your throat cut. This ain't back in the cave. You actually have allies here, so don't mess that up. He took a deep breath, focusing on the camp and the sounds and the people around him.

Women were cooking around fires, and the lodges were lit from within, glowing softly in the cool, blue darkness. Stars wheeled overhead behind the tufts of ragged silver clouds that were rolling across the face of the sky. He drank in the sights, wondering if he were coming to the end of his life and wanting to savor what was left of it as much as he could.

They came to one of the larger lodges. The door flap hung open before them. Two Elk glanced behind him and gestured Jesse to follow him.

Inside, it was warm, and the smell of cooking buffalo meat was strong and tantalizing as an old woman fretted around the fire, cooking. The light from the fire in the center of the lodge flickered across the painted liner surrounding the interior and the lodge poles rising up to the open smoke hole. A man sat by the fire, leaning on one of the many backrests flanking the fire pit. He was tall and lean, his stern face deeply etched with years and weather, and his long hair was heavily streaked with silver and gray.

He's the chief. And this is where they figure out what they're going to do with me. His heart had started pounding again.

The old man gestured them to sit. Warily, hesitatingly, Jesse walked forward and eased himself to the floor as the old woman handed him a brimming bowl. "Thank you," he said in Lakota, making the sign as he said it. She paused, her eyes bright and twinkling in deeply wrinkled face, and he saw a pleased smile curl her lips.

The old man Jesse assumed was His Horses grunted approvingly. "This is the captive of Runs Laughing?" he said in English, looking Jesse over.

"Yes," Two Elk said, slurping from his bowl. Eagle Bone sat down beside him, taking the offered bowl from the old Chief's wife. "She found him near death on the riverbank."

Jesse glanced around, then raised the bowl to his lips, taking a tentative sip. It was warm and rich, tasting of fat and meat, and he forced himself not to guzzle it all down at once.

The old chief nodded, and handed an envelope out to him. "Can you read the white man's words?"

There was quite a few things that Jesse had thought might happen during his visit to this lodge that would not have surprised him in the least. This was not one of them. He put his bowl down and took the battered envelope, watching His Horses warily.

"Yessir." His voice was trembling slightly. He fought to steady it. "I can read well enough."

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