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“That was not part of the deal,”
protested Sawatis.
“If you don’t like it, then get your own
dogs. I go with
these.”
Sawatis frowned in frustration at the
speaker. She was a young Dene
girl, probably no more than fifteen years old, if
that. A damned good-looking girl,
he had to admit, but a girl nonetheless.
“I should just take the dogs,” he
said.
“Go ahead, but you won’t be able to handle them,” the girl
retorted. “They answer only
to me and my father.”
“What the Hell is this,” asked
Lemaire. “You got your own
specially trained sled dogs?”
“I raised every one from a pup.
They will only do what I or my father
asks. You want the dogs, then
you take me with you.”
“Look, Asha or
“Ayashe, interrupted the girl, “It’s
Chippewan. It means ‘little
one.’”
“You don’t look so little to me,” Lemaire said giving her
a meaningful look.
Ayashe blushed, although her light brown skin disguised her embarrassment
to a certain extent. In truth,
she was a very attractive young woman, with jet-black, waist-length hair
and doe-like brown eyes. She
was wearing a light blue high-necked cotton dress that highlighted her slender
developing figure. Although still a girl in form and demeanor, one day, it
was clear she would be a woman of extraordinary
beauty. She had reached her adult
height of five-feet six inches, but her small breasts and girlish temperament
showed that she was still a few years away from full
maturity.
“Let’s not worry about names,” said
Sawatis. “We’re in
a bit of a hurry. We need the
dogs today, not tomorrow.
That’s why we can’t wait for your father to guide
us.”
“I told you,” said the girl.
“I can guide you.
I’ve been handling dogs all my life, and these animals know
me.”
“You don’t understand.
Where we are going might be dangerous, and we can’t afford to
wait for a girl. We need to move
fast.”
“I don’t know about the danger,” answered Ayashe, “but
I do know that I can keep up with you.
If I can’t, then you can just leave me
behind.”
“Damn,” said Lemaire.
“You’d think $500 would be enough money to give us dogs
of our own.”
“I would never sell my dogs.
Only the fact that you’re offering so much money even makes me
consider renting them. That and
the fact that the hunting and trapping has not been good this
year.”
Sawatis sighed.
“Alright. You handle
the dogs. But don’t say
I didn’t warn you. If anything
goes wrong you’re on your own.
How soon can you be ready?”
The girl grinned with undisguised
pleasure. “I’ll get
changed right now. You get your
gear and by the time you’re back here the dogs will be harnessed and
ready to go.”
Sawatis and Lemaire strode away from the tiny woodland
cabin. “You’re sure
that’s a good idea? Asked Lemaire.
“That girl is just going to slow us down, and I don’t like
the idea of placing her in
danger.”
“Don’t worry. I’m
going to run her so hard that she’ll quit after half a
day. Then we’ll have the
dogs, and she can snowshoe back to
Lemaire nodded. “Good plan.
Let’s get going.”
He broke into a jog as he headed toward the
Lemaire was ready to collapse from
exhaustion. He had been breaking
trail through deep snow and desperately needed a tea
break. Up ahead, Ayashe was gliding
across the surface of the snow like an
angel. She hardly seemed to sink
into the white powder at all.
“Thought you said we’d run her into the ground in half a
day. We’re two days out
and I’m almost finished. She
hasn’t slowed a bit.”
“Guess I was wrong,” replied
Sawatis. “Got to admit that
she can really handle those dogs.
Without her we would be miles
back.”
“What are we going to do if we catch up with Featherstone and the bullets
start flying?”
“Guess she’ll just have to take her chances on that
one. We don’t have much
choice. If Larra is in trouble,
we want to get to the other side of the lake as fast as
possible. The girl is helping
us do that. Even though I don’t
like taking her, I have to admit she has made a
difference.”
Lemaire just shrugged. He was
just as impressed by the Dene girl as was
Sawatis. But he still didn’t
like the idea of placing her in danger.
Still, if Larra’s life was at risk, then it was a chance they
would have to take. After all,
they had done their best to keep the girl from
coming.
Ayashe looked back over her shoulder.
She was having more fun than she had had for quite
awhile. Being part of this adventure
was a lot better than sitting in school listening to Sister Mary drone on
about the lessons of the Bible.
Also she was a little concerned about the way Brother Luke looked
at her. It was almost as if…
No, the Brothers were celibate.
Surely he couldn’t be thinking
that.
She thought of the $500. Her
father would be very proud of her.
It had been a very tough year for the two of them, especially after
her mother had died. It had been
difficult going to school and looking after the house and dogs as
well. After a time, she had just
stopped going. She knew that
this was a mistake. Her only
chance of really improving her life was to get a good enough education that
she could get out of
With luck she might find a man who was not given to alcohol
abuse. She knew there were such
men, like her father, but already most of the eligible bachelors living near
Lemaire’s shouting roused her out of her
reverie. She stopped and saw
that he was signaling a tea break.
The man had warmed up to her since they first started
out. His attitude two days ago
had bordered on hostility, but now he was almost
friendly. She knew that she had
rankled both men by insisting that she come along, but she had shown that
she could keep up with them, and as she had boasted, she was an expert dog
handler.
She sat down next to the small fire Lemaire was
building. “How far do you
think we’ve come?” she asked.
“Should be seeing the lake today,” answered
Sawatis. “Then it’s
easy going across the ice. We
should be there by tomorrow.”
“Then what?”
“Then, little one, you stay out of the
way. Things could get very
nasty.”
“You haven’t told me who is out
there. Who are you
chasing?”
“My boss. We’re pretty
sure she’s in trouble. And
that is all you need to know.
I’m not paying you to ask
questions.”
Ayashe opened her mouth to ask another question anyway, but Lemaire interrupted
her. “Drink your tea and
save your breath,” he said handing her a
mug. “We’ve still got
a few hours to go before night.”
Ayashe drank her tea. She could
see that she was not going to get any more information out of the two
men. Still, it was an improvement
over the first two days when they had refused to even talk to
her. Draining her mug, she got
to her feet and went to check the dogs.
With any luck they might make the lake early and then they would make
really good time.
“What do you think?” asked
Lemaire. He and Sawatis had been
studying the camp for about half an hour.
“Well, we know Larra was here, because her plane is
here. My guess is that she and
Melissa are in the tent, but it’s hard to
say. It is possible they could
be dead. You’ve got a pretty
good vantage point from here.
I’m going to circle around to the other
side. If we hit them from both
sides we might have a chance against their superior
firepower.”
Ayashe sat with the dogs. She
had been ordered by Lemaire and Sawatis to stay with them and something in
their faces told them that it would be no good to
argue. She wondered what they
were up to. They had come straight
across the ice, making very good time, but as soon as the shore of the lake
was visible, they had veered in a wide arc as if they were avoiding
something. Then they had stopped
behind a low ridge and crept off leaving her
behind. They had been very secretive,
refusing to even acknowledge her
questions. And so she sat, bursting
with curiosity, but for the moment doing as she was
asked.
Melissa groaned as the thug got off her.
Since her rape and torture by Featherstone and Stoddard on the previous
day, she had been visited by every man in the
camp. Their sexual appetites
seemed inexhaustible and she had been taken again and
again. Larra had been left alone,
although she had been forced to watch Melissa’s
degradation. Featherstone considered
her too beaten up to act as the camp whore, and wanted her to rest so that
she could recover enough to act as a
guide. Apparently, although he
would not admit it, the Englishman had run into an obstacle that he could
not easily overcome and wanted Larra’s
expertise.
As her last “customer” exited the tent, another man came
in. It was
Stoddard. Melissa gritted her
teeth and prepared for a particularly painful
rape. The man was a
monster. Simply having sex was
not enough. He had to make sure
he hurt her every time he took her.
This time, however, he was in the tent on an
errand. “Get up,” he
ordered. “Untie your
friend’s ankles and bring her
outside. You know what
for.”
Melissa did know. Each day at
two in the afternoon and again at
Melissa had to help Larra
walk. She was too badly beaten
to make the trip by herself. And
then both women were herded back to the tent, where Melissa’s servicing
of the men could continue once again.
Shivering violently, Melissa helped Larra back to her bed and wrapped her
in her blankets. She seemed to
be healing rapidly, but was quite exhausted, hardly able to place on foot
in front of the other. Melissa
had asked for Larra’s pack and to her surprise, Featherstone had allowed
her to have it, after checking it over for
weapons. The girl remembered
how well Larra’s special healing ointment had worked on before and had
found a small jar of it in the pack.
She had applied it to all of Larra’s wounds and bruises as well
as to her own. She had been amazed
at the sensation of warmth and well-being that had swept through her body
when she had applied it. Whatever
it was, it certainly felt good.
She finished tucking Larra in and returned to her own
bed. Stoddard, who had accompanied
her and Larra, was waiting for her.
Already, he had his belt unbuckled and was dropping his
pants. Melissa
sighed. It was going to be a
long painful two hours.
At that instant a sharp report sounded from
outside. Then another, followed
by confused shouting and the unmistakable sound of rifle
fire. With a look of surprise
on his face, Stoddard hastily pulled up his pants, grabbed his coat and ran
out of the tent.
“Got him,” muttered Sawatis.
Although the range was a bit extreme he had opened fire
anyway. The sight of Melissa
and Larra forced out into the freezing cold, naked before Featherstone’s
entire company, had filled him with rage.
He had taken up a secure position and opened
fire. His first shot had taken
his target right in the head.
From the other side of the camp, Lemaire had also started
shooting. And then all hell had
broken loose. Featherstone’s
men had a lot more firepower than he and Lemaire
did. Automatic rifle fire was
poured toward his position. It
was at that point that he congratulated himself on having the presence of
mind not to get too close to the camp.
If he had, he almost certainly would have been killed.
Back in the camp, Featherstone swore.
“How many do you think there are?” he asked
Stoddard.
“Not more than two. If there
were we would have lost more than just three
men. But they are good
shots. Three shots, three
men.”
“Well, what are you going to do about
it? We can’t just sit here
and let them pick us off.”
“Don’t worry, boss.
We’re throwing enough lead at them to keep their heads
down. I’ll take three men
and circle around the one to the east, and then we’ll deal with the
other one.”
Sawatis hunched down behind the snow-covered
rock. Several bullets whined
by just over his head. He
couldn’t move from where he was and he knew that he was being
outflanked. At least three men
were circling around him to the north.
If he moved, he would be seen and gunned
down. And if he stayed he would
be boxed in and then it would be only a matter of time until he was
killed. Lemaire couldn’t
help him. From the sound of all
the firing, the big Metis was having troubles enough of his
own.
Stoddard, smiled grimly. He was
almost in position. The
son-of-a-bitch who had ambushed them was most
amateurish. He should have picked
a spot from which he could retreat.
Now he was going to pay the price.
Raising his arm he signaled the two men with him
forward.
“Jesus!” Stoddard
exclaimed. One of the men with
him crumpled to the snow, blood streaming from a wound in his
leg. Where the hell had that
come
from?”
“Jesus!
Get back!” he yelled as
another bullet ricocheted off a rock next to his
head.
Melissa helped Larra pull her clothes on.
They were alone in the tent and she had taken advantage of the opportunity
to untie Larra’s hands and feet and help her out of the
bed. “Come on,” she
said, pulling Larra toward the back of the
tent. “This is our
chance.”
Larra nodded. There was no point
in wasting time or energy in talking.
Melissa lifted the flap at the back of the tent, and she crawled out
into the open. Outside, it was
already getting dark. Melissa
delayed following for a few seconds, stuffing a few extra items into
Larra’s pack and then she joined
Larra. No one seemed to be watching
the back of the tent. Crouching
low, and holding Larra’s arm, Melissa climbed the slope behind the
tent. Once over the top, they
would be screened from everyone in the
camp.
Sporadic firing made Melissa jump, supposing that every shot was aimed at
her, but somehow she and Larra made it
unnoticed. Both women flopped
down in the snow. “Now where
do we go?” asked Melissa.
“Up the ridge.” answered Larra.
“The same place Featherstone was going when you
escaped. “I think I can
make it.”
Melissa nodded. She did not bother
to ask why. She supposed Larra
knew where she was going. Placing
her arm under Larra’s she helped her up the
slope.
“Well done, little one,” Sawatis
said. “If you hadn’t
shown up I’d probably be dead, and Jean
too.”
Lemaire nodded. The distraction
provided by Ayashe had enabled him to get away in the
confusion.
“If it hadn’t been for the poor light, I’d have gotten all
three of those men,” Ayashe replied.
“I’m a better shot that
that. Now, would you mind telling
me who they are?”
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