Sun Hawk took a single step after her. “Where are you going?”
“To get the food. A wife’s first duty is to cook for her husband.”
At that moment Sun Hawk could have argued with her, but he didn’t. She had agreed to be his wife. There would be time for proving his love later. For now he had to finish laying the fire so that his wife could cook for him.
Case rode into Fort Apache unable to imagine why General Crook had summoned him again so soon. Only yesterday Case and a cavalry detail led by the general had returned from a month-long campaign hunting down a band of Chiricahua who had left San Carlos and were attempting to join Geronimo. Luck had been with them and they had captured part of the band, but the others had escaped and were probably already in Mexico. Geronimo’s followers were growing in number, and Crook estimated the total number of braves, women, and children to be nearly a hundred by now.
That seemed like a small number in light of the superior forces Crook was amassing against Geronimo, but it was more than enough to wreak havoc and create panic among ranchers and townspeople throughout the southern half of the territory.
Unfortunately, Crook had been unable to move against Geronimo directly. Faced with administrative problems of pacifying the reservation Apaches and cutting through the red tape involved in persuading the Mexican government to allow his troops to cross the border, the general had been completely stymied.
162
Constance Bennett—Moonsong
[ e - r e a d s ]
That was why Case was so puzzled about the reason Crook had sent for him. Even if authorization to move into Mexico had come, it would take at least a week to mount an expedition.
Quelling his curiosity, Case presented himself to the general’s aide and was ushered in immediately.
“Case, thank you for coming so quickly,” Crook said, inviting him to sit by pointing to a chair. “Please convey my apologies to Mrs. Longstreet for dragging you away from her so soon.”
“Libby understands.”
Crook smiled, betraying his fondness for Case’s wife. “I’m sure she does.
She’s quite a remarkable lady.”
“I agree, General,” Case replied solemnly. “But you did not ask me here to discuss my wife.”
“Quite right.” Crook’s smile was replaced by a frown as he looked down at the enormous stack of correspondence and dispatches that had been awaiting him on his return. “It seems there’s been some trouble with the Mescaleros who were being transferred to the Rio Alto.”
“How many refused to go?” Case asked, understanding the source of the irritation in Crook’s voice. The general had learned of the transfer yesterday almost the moment he arrived at the fort, and he had been furious.
Crowding the Mescaleros onto the Rio Alto was absurd, and Case had no doubt that the commander of the Department of the Border had already lodged a complaint.
Crook looked at the dispatch from Captain Haggarty. “Forty-two in all, including those who disappeared before the forced march began and those who have vanished during the march.”
This was bad news, but not unexpected. “They will join Geronimo.”
“Of course they will, but until I can get down into the Sierra Madre to root Gerry out, there’s nothing I can do but twiddle my thumbs and handle problems like this one.” He tapped Haggarty’s report. “It seems that one of the captain’s soldiers was knifed to death without provocation by a Mescalero woman named Skylark.”
It was clear from Crook’s tone that he didn’t believe the military version of the account. Case didn’t either. That was not what captured his interest, though. “That’s an odd name for an Apache. I’ve never heard anything like it before, even among the Mescaleros.”
“One story at a time. I’ll get to that one in a minute,” Crook grumbled, leaving Case mystified as to what he meant. “It seems that after the woman was caught and questioned, one of the braves helped her to escape, seriously wounding one of the guards.”
“Only one guard?” Case questioned lightly.
163
Constance Bennett—Moonsong
[ e - r e a d s ]
Crook’s mouth twitched at the corners. “My sentiments exactly. The brave was obviously a prudent man whose only thought was to get the woman away from her captors. I know Captain Haggarty, and I shudder to think of the kind of treatment this Skylark would have received at his hands.”
“I know Haggarty, too,” Case replied. The captain was an arrogant imbe-cile with an ugly sadistic streak, but Crook didn’t need Case to tell him that.
“The brave probably saved the woman’s life.”
“Agreed. Certainly I can’t sanction what the brave did, but I can’t say I blame him, either. At any rate, a thorough search of the Caliente Mountains where the cavalry was camped yielded no trace of either of them, and Haggarty is requesting that I launch a full-scale expedition to track the couple down. In lieu of that, he asks for permission to do it himself once he gets the Mescaleros to Rio Alto.”
“We both know that would be a waste of time. They’re probably across the border in Mexico already.”
“Quite possibly. Unfortunately there is a horrible complication to what should be a simple story.” Crook picked up a packet of letters. “This was also waiting for me when I arrived. It is a petition for the release of a Miss Skylar Templeton from the Mescalero reservation. It seems that the young lady is a full-blooded Apache by birth, but she was raised by a white family in New Mexico, educated, and legally adopted.”
Case felt his heart turn over in his breast and he hardly dared to breathe.
Was this what his dreams about his sister had been leading him to? “The two women—Skylark and Skylar—are the same,” he said, trying to keep his voice from betraying the hope that blossomed inside him.
“I would guess so,” Crook replied, “though Haggarty made no mention of the fact that the one he called Skylark was an anglicized Apache.”
Without realizing it, Case fingered the simple medallion that hung around his neck. “If Skylar Templeton has a white family, how did she end up on the reservation?”
Crook glanced through the letter he’d received from Miss Rayna Templeton and gave Case the pertinent details, then threw the paper onto his desk in disgust. “This is a complete travesty. That poor girl was ripped away from her family and is now living a nightmare, thanks to Sam Whitlock. He didn’t need my permission to countermand his own order. He could have put an end to this two months ago, but he was too peeved with the reorganization to do it. He ought to be horsewhipped.”
Case couldn’t have agreed more, but the reasons why this had happened were less important than righting the wrong. Knowing Crook as he did, Case understood now why he had been called here. “You want me to find them, don’t you, sir?”
164
Constance Bennett—Moonsong
[ e - r e a d s ]
Crook smiled at him. Case’s insight was only one of the things that made him so valuable. “Yes, I do. I know that you’ve only just returned, but I’d appreciate you handling this. If anyone can pick up their trail, you can.”
Case nodded. If the couple had joined Geronimo, this would be a very dangerous mission. Even if he could locate the band in Mexico, the renegade might kill him without allowing him to explain the purpose of his mission. But the danger meant nothing to Case. The odds against Skylar Templeton being his sister were enormous, but he could not rest until he knew the truth.
“Their trail will be too cold to follow,” he told Crook.
“I know that, but you can go where I can’t and find information that would never be available to any white man, let alone a soldier.” He handed Case the packet of documents he’d received from Rayna. “Look these over. They contain information that might be useful to you. Frankly, if I were Miss Skylar Templeton, I’d be far more interested in returning to my home in New Mexico than going on the warpath with Geronimo. It could be that she’s headed home even as we speak.