And besides, Raymond had undoubtedly promised them that he would do everything he could to effect their release. They had good reason to trust him, but the grim looks on their faces told Rayna they had little hope that he would succeed.
An eerie silence had settled over the encampment, and as Rayna tried to help the Mescalero women prepare for the journey, she saw a kind of sad bewilderment and resignation in the old faces and deeply burning anger in the younger ones. Only Tsa’kata seemed unsurprised by the tragic turn of events.
Her ancient eyes held a spark of fire that betrayed her dislike of all whites, even the ones she had lived among most of her life.
As the shock began to wear off and the deadline grew nearer, the unearthly quiet of the camp turned into utter confusion. The Mescalero began bringing their belongings to an area Captain Greenleigh had designated. Gil returned with the wagons, one shaded by a canvas canopy, the other heavily laden with supplies.
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The captain had deployed his men so that they formed a semicircular perimeter around part of the camp, and several soldiers had gathered near the wagons to “assist” the Apaches. All of the ranch hands had their own horses, and there had been a brief disagreement over whether they would be allowed to take the animals with them. At Meade’s insistence, Greenleigh had finally relented on this one point, and the men had gone off under heavy cavalry escort to collect their animals from the corral behind the encampment.
The tepees were stripped of their outer coverings, and by the time the deadline expired, the Mescalero camp looked like a barren valley littered with the bleached bones of some prehistoric animal. The soldiers grew impatient with their slow-moving captives and began throwing their bundles unceremoniously into the supply wagon. When the braves finally returned, mounted on their horses, the soldiers herded the women toward the canopied wagon.
Rayna was too angry to even consider crying as she helped Gatana climb into the wagon, but next to her, Skylar was valiantly fighting the crippling weight of her emotions. Mary Long Horn was weeping openly as the two Apache women embraced, and the tears were nearly Skylar’s undoing.
“Everything will be fine, Mary,” Skylar promised, stroking the young girl’s hair. “You’ll be back here soon.”
“I do not think so,” Mary replied, raising her head from Skylar’s shoulder.
“I will never see you or my home again.”
“You mustn’t say that,” Skylar told her sternly. “You must be strong.”
Lapsing easily into Apache, Skylar told the girl it was her responsibility to help care for the old ones.
Though Rayna understood little of what her sister said, she was amazed at the transformation in Mary as pride overcame her fear.
“Come on, squaws, get in,” one of the troopers said gruffly, giving Mary a shove that nearly sent both her and Skylar stumbling into the wagon gate.
Outraged, Rayna shouldered her way between her sister and the soldier, forcing him back a step. “Stop that! There’s no reason for brutality. She’s just a frightened young girl!”
“Sorry, miss, but I got orders to get these squaws loaded so’s we can pull out, and that’s just what I’m gonna do.”
“Then do it without pushing anyone around,” Rayna snapped.
“It’s all right, Miss Rayna,” Mary said quickly. “I’m ready to go.”
With Skylar’s help she scrambled into the wagon and Rayna stepped back, looking around. Mary was the last. The braves were mounted, and all the women were in the wagon. Raymond and Collie were some distance away conversing with Captain Greenleigh and Major Ashford, and from their ges-50
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tures, Rayna guessed that her father was making one final attempt to change Greenleigh’s mind. He didn’t appear to be having any success. Nothing was going to stop this travesty.
“Rayna, I have to speak with Consayka,” Skylar said, moving toward her sister.
But the trooper’s patience was gone. “Oh, no, you don’t, squaw,” he said, grabbing her arm as she moved past him. “There’s been enough lollygagging.
Into the wagon, now!”
“What?” Skylar gasped, straining against his rough grasp as Rayna whirled toward them.
“You heard me, squaw. Get in the wagon.”
Incensed, Rayna flew toward the trooper and gave him a stout shove that sent him stumbling back a pace just as Skylar wrenched her arm away. Her ceremonial dress tore at the shoulder, and the trooper was left with a handful of beaded fringe.
“You keep your filthy hands off her, soldier!” Rayna said hotly, stepping between them.
Disgusted, the trooper hurled the buckskin fringe away and made another grab for Skylar. “I got my orders, miss.”
“Your orders don’t include my sister!” She brought her fist down hard on his hand and rammed her elbow into his ample midsection. He buckled over with a soft “whoof,” and Rayna whirled toward her sister. “Get out of here, Sky. Go to Papa quickly!”
“But—”
“Go!” Rayna gave her a push, but by that time other troopers had seen the tussle and stepped in, blocking her path. One of them grabbed Skylar and propelled her back toward the wagon.
“What the devil’s going on here, Gless?” Corporal Lawton demanded of the trooper who was rubbing his stomach and glowering at Rayna.
“That squaw won’t go into the wagon, and that one punched me,”
Gless replied.
“He was manhandling my sister,” Rayna said, moving toward the corporal who was holding Skylar. “Now, let her go!”
“Sister?” Lawton looked around in confusion. “What sister?”
“This one, you oaf!”
Though her eyes were wide with fear, Skylar tried to keep her voice even.
“Rayna, please, calm down. Considering the way I’m dressed, I’m sure this must be very confusing to these gentlemen, but if we explain—”
“You ain’t explainin’ nothin’, squaw,” Gless said. “You’re goin’ in that wagon with them other heathens.” After shoving Rayna out of the way, the trooper snatched Skylar away from the corporal and propelled her roughly toward the wagon.
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Acting on outrage and instinct, Rayna lunged toward Gless, her hand moving unerringly toward the revolver holstered at his waist. Before anyone could react, she had the Colt pressed firmly into the nape of his neck. “You let her go, you bastard, or you’re dead,” she said softly.
The dangerous quality of her voice might not have been enough to stop Gless, but the sound of the hammer being cocked and the feel of the warm steel on his neck was more than sufficient to freeze him where he stood.
Around her, Rayna heard the sound of other guns being drawn and cocked, and these, she knew, were leveled at her. She didn’t move an inch.
Someone shouted for Captain Greenleigh, but that made no difference to Rayna. Her only objective was freeing her sister. “Let her go, trooper.”
“Rayna, stop this!” Skylar cried, wincing against the pain of Gless’s brutal grip. “They’ll kill you!”
Lawton stepped forward. “Miss Templeton, please put that revolver away before someone gets hurt.”
“Corporal, the only one who’s going to get hurt is this trooper if he doesn’t let my sister go this instant,” Rayna replied without taking her eyes off Gless.
“Skylar is not a Mescalero, and no one is going to take her off Rancho Verde.