A Lady's Midnight Adventure

 By Hannah N., ate 15

#4 Midnight and the Apache

 “Martha Lynn Prescott! Just because we are in the wilderness does not mean you can forget you are a young lady. That is what your name means after all.” Mrs. Crook was always chastising me for being ladylike. Sometimes my name is like a curse. It seemed as though Georgia Crook’s only enjoyment at Fort Apache was bossing me around. I sigh and sit down on Midnight carefully. And painfully.

          “The reason I was standing on my horse, Mrs. Crook, is because I accidentally sat on a cactus yesterday, therefore it hurts to sit.” My statement was just scandalous enough to silence the Major General's wife. Excusing myself, I walked the gelding over to the barn, slid off, and put him back in his stall, hoping Riley wouldn’t realize his horse went on a mid-morning ride. As I walked back to the house, which was really just a small cabin, I saw Riley working with the fort’s yearlings. Lucky.

          Later, I went out to get Riley for supper. “Come on, if we eat fast you can teach me another trick!”

          “Are you sure you want to, after yesterday?” He replied.

          “As long as you don’t teach me any sitting tricks, I think I'll be fine,” I retorted. “Now let’s eat.”

          Father and the patrol still had not come home when I went to bed. I wasn’t worried, and neither was Riley, but I could tell that our mother was. I could hear Riley trying to comfort her through the thin walls of the house. I fell asleep to the sound of whispers.

          In the middle of the night, I awoke to the sound of thundering hooves and shouts. As I ran out of my room, I saw Riley and Mother already in the kitchen. “Riley, what's going on?”

          “Apaches,” he replied, looking out the window. I could tell he wanted to go outside, but Mother’s firm hand on his shoulder kept him in. I knew I could do nothing, so I turned and walked back to my room.

          The next morning, Riley burst into the house as I was cooking breakfast, making me jump. I watched in horror as the pancake that was on my spalala flew across the room and landed directly on Riley’s head. To my surprise, Mother started to laugh. Her laughter was contagious, and by the time Riley started talking, I was giggling too.

          “Thanks a lot,” my brother scowled. “Just what I needed to start a horrible day.” Mother and I stopped laughing and glanced at each other.

          “How many horses were took, I mean taken?” I asked, watching Riley go into his room.

          “12, including Midnight!” He yelled back at me, slamming the door behind him.

          Mother and I shared another glance. No wonder Riley was in a bad mood. MIDNIGHT WAS GONE! And there weren't enough soldiers at the fort today to successfully chase after them. But what if… No, that would be too dangerous, Riley would never agree. But maybe…

          After breakfast, I followed my brother outside. He looked around, then turned to me.

“I have an idea,” he said almost in a whisper. “But it’s pretty dangerous. Will you help me?”

          I smile at him. Siblings think alike sometimes. “Only if I can go. Pa said Midnight is my  horse too.” When Riley opened his mouth, I quickly tried to convince him I should go. “I can ride and shoot as well as you can, Riley, you've seen me. Besides,  I know some apache, and I could ask Ela to come with us. Please, Riley?” I could tell by Riley’s face that he was thinking.

          “I suppose that an Apache scout would be helpful,” he said slowly. “Fine, you can come.”

          I hugged Riley tight, and with a whispered ‘thank you’, ran off to find my friend. Ela was the daughter of an Apache scout named Grey Wolf, and had been my friend since I first moved to Fort Apache. She taught me some Apache language and culture, and I taught her about Jesus, a fair trade in my opinion.

          “Ela! Do you and your father want to go on a ride with me and Riley,” I yelled as I ran up to her house. Ela was sitting on the steps in front of her house, but when she saw me, she jumped up, excited.

          “I will have to ask, but I am sure it will be all right with my Father. Wait out here for us.”

          As I waited, I wandered to the side of the house to see Ela’s pet goat. After playing with him for a few minutes, I heard the door open and walked to the front to greet Grey Wolf. With a smile and nod, He acknowledged me, and got right to business.

          “You and your brother will be allowed to ride our two other horses since yours was stolen. That is what we are going to retrieve, is it not?”

          “That it is, Grey Wolf,” I replied. I always seem to have better English when I am around him. “Thank you for your generous offer, I am sure Riley will also appreciate it.” Speaking of Riley, there he was, loaded down with both our saddles and saddlebags, along with his rifle and my horsehair whip that I had just finished making a couple weeks ago. Grey Wolf walked to meet him, and they turned toward the paddock where the scout’s horses were held.

          In ten minutes, we were all ready to go. As Grey Wolf and Ela were talking to the private at the front gate, Riley and I ran back to tell Mother that we were going on a ride with Grey Wolf and Ela that may take a few days. It was not a total lie, but not exactly the truth either.

          Grey Wolf quickly found the tracks, but it took a few days to catch up to the raiders. By now, we were up in the mountains, and it felt like we were never going to get our horses back. On the evening of the third day, we finally found the camp. There were a few teepees, and in a box canyon were the stolen horses.

          “Now that we know where the horses are, we should get some sleep,” Grey Wolf suggested. We couldn't have a fire so close to the warriors, so we ate some beef jerky and dried apples, then rolled out our bedrolls. In the middle of the night, Riley shook me awake.

          “Marty, wake up. I have an idea!”

          I groaned as I sat up. “I’m listening.”

          In the starlight, I could see my brother grin. This can’t be good.

          “There’s a few places on that canyon wall where a horse could get through and down. If we could get into the canyon, we could stampede the horses through the camp and run them to the fort.”

          I suppress the urge to laugh. Is my brother delusional? The canyon walls were very steep. If Riley tried it, then it was very possible that he, his horse or both could fall to their death. But he looked serious.

          “As long as you’re set on a death mission, at least let me follow you, big brother. Then I can at least tell Mother and Father I tried talking you out of it.” I really don’t like being the more responsible sibling, I told myself as I struggled to get out of my bedroll.

          Riley had already saddled both of our horses, and we left quietly so we didn't disturb our friends. Aided by the moon, we followed a faint trail up to the canyon. At the top, we could clearly see the horses and the Apache camp. I turned around in my saddle and with a smile, pulled out my whip from my saddlebag. Riley laughed quietly and grabbed his rifle, then moved to the other side of the canyon. With a nod of his head, we nudged our horses down the steep canyon wall. Racing down the canyon, we tried to stampede the horses by yelling, shooting in the air, and cracking the whip. About three fourths of the way down, I looked over just in time to see Riley’s horse stumble and fall.

          “Riley!” I yelled, and tried to maneuver my horse over to him.

As I got closer, he yelled, “Don’t slow down, and hold your hand out!”

I immediately knew what he was talking about, but was worried. We had only tried this particular trick once, and we both ended up in a heap. Bracing myself, I stuck my hand out and hauled Riley onto my horse.

          “Find Midnight, I’ll jump on,” he whispered in my ear.

After finding the gelding, I lassoed Midnight and gave the rope to my brother as he jumped on. At this point, we were out of the canyon and nearly at the camp. I heard my name, and when I turned I saw Ela and Grey Wolf coming down to meet us. All of a sudden, I felt a woosh of air and saw an arrow fly inches before my face. All at once, arrows and bullets were flying everywhere. Without a need to communicate, Ela and I started to round up the horses while Grey Wolf and Riley fought off the Apache raiders. I witnessed one horse fall as Ela and I ran them through the camp and into the woods. After about ten minutes, we slowed the horses down in a clearing.

          “Marty, listen,” Ela gasped. Above the breathing and stamping of the horses came a faint bugle call. The calvary was coming.

          After making sure my friend could watch over the horses by herself, I went through the woods back to the camp, which is where I was certain I would find my father. When I got there, I noticed that about four cavalry officers were circling around a horse and… Riley?

          I jumped off my horse and raced to the circle, praying that Riley was alright. Just as I was about to break through the circle, a hand grabbed my arm and spun me around.

          “Hey, slow down Mart,” Lieutenant Barker smiled at me for just a second, then grew serious. “Riley was hit by an arrow in his leg, but he’s alright.”

          I sighed with relief, but as I looked around I noticed something wrong. “And Midnight?” Lt. Barker’s face was all I needed to see to know the awful truth. I started to sob.

          I don’t remember when my father came to comfort me, but when I stopped crying, he was holding me in his arms. “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning,” he whispered. My favorite bible verse was very appropriate for this adventure. I heard a noise and saw two sergeants walking towards us carrying Riley on a makeshift stretcher.

          “Are you mad at us, Pa?” Riley asked.

          “I was at the beginning,” Father answered, “But I think you got your punishment.”

          I sighed. “Can we go home?”

          In no time, I was living a dream I had for years. I was riding at the front of the calvary column, going home.