Midnight and the Apache

 By Octavia B. age 10

# Midnight and the Apache

FORT APACHE, ARIZONA 1881 

 15 Year Old Riley Prescott was out with the horses once again. He was in Midnight’s stall talking to His  Horse. “Ya know, Midnight, I’d rather be out here all night with you, than be inside,” Riley said. 

 He was on night duty, because horse-loving Apaches raided the fort every so often. Oh, how they love to raid! And that kept Riley’s pa and the soldiers on their toes.

 "It's hotter than blazes here in Arizona,” he said. "I really hope the Apaches don’t raid again. Well, I better get outside Midnight," Riley said. Midnight snorted his opinion.  

 Riley went outside. Ten minutes later he heard a frightend whinny. Riley ran inside the barn and saw at least a dozen Apaches. By then the other guards were at his side. They all ran inside and roused the other soldiers out of bed and told them Apaches were raiding again. 

 “Quickly Pa, they're taking all the horses!" But once they were outside most of the horses were gone. 

 Riley ran inside the barn and looked in Midnight’s stall. He wasn’t there. They took him, Riley thought! “Pa! come here quick!” Riley hollered. “Midnight is gone!” 

Pa came running. “M-Midnight i-is gone,” Riley stuttered. “They took him Pa!” Riley said 

 “There, There son,” Pa said. “We got some horses while the apaches were running away,” Pa told Riley.

 "But he’s gone!” Riley said.

"Hey Riley, how ‘bout this?We’ll send out a search party to recover all the horses ‘kay?” Pa said.

 "Uh-huh I’ll go," Riley said.

“Good! Good!” Pa boomed. "It’ll take a little while to get ready," Pa said .

                                                            _____________

     “Oh, pa we're never gonna get them. I can’t see them anywhere!”  Riley complained.

“Wait, what's that?" Riley asked and pointed to something black in the distance. 

“I don’t know. Let's go see what it is” Pa said. 

As they moved closer they could tell it was a horse. Riley was the first one to notice it was Midnight. "Midnight!” Riley hollered. Midnight gave a labored whinny. 

Riley ran over to Midnight and said, “Midnight what's wrong!” Then Riley   saw what   was   wrong. Midnight was abandoned, sweaty, and gasping for breath. Riley caught his breath at what he saw. The apache ran Midnight half to death, Riley thought.

Pa and the rest of the unit ran right behind Riley, but Pa sent the unit ahead. “Pa can’t we drag him back please, please?”Riley pleaded, but deep in his gut he knew that there was no hope for Midnight. 

The Apache knew that we were too close on his tail, so he had no time to put the poor beast out of its misery, Riley thought. 

Pa let Riley have his say, but Pa knew, just like Riley, that there was no hope for Midnight. Pa offered Riley the rifle, but he couldn’t do it, so Pa did it for him. Riley never wept so hard in his life. 

After that he turned his back on being a little boy. He forgave Pa for shooting Midnight, and forgave the unknown Apache.