Read Online Tender savage by Phoebe Conn - Free Book Online
Authors: Phoebe Conn
Tags: Indian Captivities, Dakota Indians
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preferred red men to white," he admitted shyly.
The Indian had been a handsome devil and his kiss a delight, but Erica was not about to reveal to Gunter that she had found scant difference between him and Mark. Instead, she smiled warmly at Gunter and assured him he need have no such worries. "This must remain our secret, Gunter, you understand that, don't you? Why the gossip about me would never cease if you told anyone what you
saw. You haven't told anyone, have you?"
"Oh nol" the astonished youth exclaimed. "I will never tell that story. I swear it."
"Good. I brought your sack of wood home. Don't forget you promised to carve me a cougar," Erica reminded him as she moved toward the door.
"No, I promised merely to try," Gunter called out, his spirits soaring now that he had learned she and the Indian weren't lovers, no matter what his eyes had told him.
"All right, you promised to try." Erica gave him a charming smile as she left his room, but she did not draw a deep breath until she had locked her door behind her. She sat down at her desk and reread Mark's letter several times, still hoping to discover some hidden admission that he regretted not marrying her. Since there was no such message she soon found her mind wandering to thoughts of the Indian. She took his claw from her podcet, and after tying it upon a red ribbon to make it look less fearsome, she hid it in the bottom of her stationery box. She then attempted to comp)ose a coherent reply to Mark, but she found the dashing Indian brave's stirring kiss surprisingly difficult to forget.
An amused smile played across the Indian's lips as he began the trek home. That he had taken a lock ot Erica's pale blond hair would provide proof for his friends that he had kissed her. As he followed the river upstream, he rehearsed increasingly lurid versions of the tale, beginning with the instant he had discovered her spying upon him and ending with their kiss.
He had gotten so late a start, when darkness fell he was forced again to make camp for the night. His dreams were filled with the sad sweetness of Erica's parting smile, and he awoke with her image still fresh in his mind. By the time he arrived home the next morning, he found for soine curious reason that while he had an intriguing romantic adventure to relate, he had no desire to share it. It wasn't like him to be so close-mouthed about his travels, but he described only the number of fish he had caught and how few animals he had seen, and his friends did not guess he had begun keeping secrets from them.
Two Elk scxjwled angrily as Viper sjDoke. "We no longer have good lands for hunting. The white men have taken them all. Now we must wait for them to give us money and food or we will starve. The trader Myrick will give us no more credit at his store. He says we can eat grass while he grows fat on the money we have paid him!"
"Were the annuity goods distributed or the gold we're owed paid while I was gone?" Viper asked with a skeptically raised brow. That question was met with bitterly voiced obscenities from his friends. He liked no better than they that the once proud San tee Sioux now had to depend for their livelihood upon the very white men who had stolen their land through unfair treaties. "I thought not. What news is there of the war?"
Two Elk lowered his voice and the small crowd that had surrounded Viper upon his return drew closer still. "When the Union Army is coming here to ask us to fight, it is plain the South is beating them badly."
"A promise of a full belly is not enough to make me want to fight for them," a young man called Growling Bear sneered.
"If the North loses the war, then we will never see our moneyl" Two Elk complained bitterly.
Squatting down in the dirt, the friends all wore similar expressions of disgust. Finally Hunted Stag spoke. "If the South wins, will they come here to make slaves of us?"
Viper laughed out loud at that question. "Not when they see what poor farmers we
The Indian had been a handsome devil and his kiss a delight, but Erica was not about to reveal to Gunter that she had found scant difference between him and Mark. Instead, she smiled warmly at Gunter and assured him he need have no such worries. "This must remain our secret, Gunter, you understand that, don't you? Why the gossip about me would never cease if you told anyone what you
saw. You haven't told anyone, have you?"
"Oh nol" the astonished youth exclaimed. "I will never tell that story. I swear it."
"Good. I brought your sack of wood home. Don't forget you promised to carve me a cougar," Erica reminded him as she moved toward the door.
"No, I promised merely to try," Gunter called out, his spirits soaring now that he had learned she and the Indian weren't lovers, no matter what his eyes had told him.
"All right, you promised to try." Erica gave him a charming smile as she left his room, but she did not draw a deep breath until she had locked her door behind her. She sat down at her desk and reread Mark's letter several times, still hoping to discover some hidden admission that he regretted not marrying her. Since there was no such message she soon found her mind wandering to thoughts of the Indian. She took his claw from her podcet, and after tying it upon a red ribbon to make it look less fearsome, she hid it in the bottom of her stationery box. She then attempted to comp)ose a coherent reply to Mark, but she found the dashing Indian brave's stirring kiss surprisingly difficult to forget.
An amused smile played across the Indian's lips as he began the trek home. That he had taken a lock ot Erica's pale blond hair would provide proof for his friends that he had kissed her. As he followed the river upstream, he rehearsed increasingly lurid versions of the tale, beginning with the instant he had discovered her spying upon him and ending with their kiss.
He had gotten so late a start, when darkness fell he was forced again to make camp for the night. His dreams were filled with the sad sweetness of Erica's parting smile, and he awoke with her image still fresh in his mind. By the time he arrived home the next morning, he found for soine curious reason that while he had an intriguing romantic adventure to relate, he had no desire to share it. It wasn't like him to be so close-mouthed about his travels, but he described only the number of fish he had caught and how few animals he had seen, and his friends did not guess he had begun keeping secrets from them.
Two Elk scxjwled angrily as Viper sjDoke. "We no longer have good lands for hunting. The white men have taken them all. Now we must wait for them to give us money and food or we will starve. The trader Myrick will give us no more credit at his store. He says we can eat grass while he grows fat on the money we have paid him!"
"Were the annuity goods distributed or the gold we're owed paid while I was gone?" Viper asked with a skeptically raised brow. That question was met with bitterly voiced obscenities from his friends. He liked no better than they that the once proud San tee Sioux now had to depend for their livelihood upon the very white men who had stolen their land through unfair treaties. "I thought not. What news is there of the war?"
Two Elk lowered his voice and the small crowd that had surrounded Viper upon his return drew closer still. "When the Union Army is coming here to ask us to fight, it is plain the South is beating them badly."
"A promise of a full belly is not enough to make me want to fight for them," a young man called Growling Bear sneered.
"If the North loses the war, then we will never see our moneyl" Two Elk complained bitterly.
Squatting down in the dirt, the friends all wore similar expressions of disgust. Finally Hunted Stag spoke. "If the South wins, will they come here to make slaves of us?"
Viper laughed out loud at that question. "Not when they see what poor farmers we
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