“If you’re asking if I repeat things, I don’t.”
“I supposed as much.” She cleared her throat. “As you know, I’m duty-bound to uphold the commands of the Lord, but on the other hand, as a woman I understand her problem.”
“Her problem, ma’am?”
“Nancy Durler’s. I think she’s about to run away from her husband.”
“Did she tell you as much, Miss Prudence?”
“Not directly, but I know all the signs. You see I knew a girl, once, who ran away from a man she couldn’t live with. She’s tried to atone for her sin for years, but adultery is a terrible cross to bear.”
“Oh? This, uh, other gal we’re speaking of ran off with another man?”
“Yes. He deserted her in Baltimore six weeks later and I’m afraid, uh, she went a little crazy. She took to strong drink and, well, other men. I’m afraid she sinned rather badly.”
“It’s understandable, ma’am,” Longarm said compassionately.
The girl continued, “Well, suffice it to say she found the Light in time to save her soul. You understand I only know a little of her story, but the way Nancy’s acting reminds me of when … this girl was about to ruin her life.”
“I’ll take your word for it that another woman would know such things. But there’s nobody hereabouts fixing to run off with Nan Durler.”
“Oh, I thought … well, if she doesn’t run off with anyone we know, it’ll be someone, sooner or later. She doesn’t just look coldly at her husband. She looks right through him, as if he wasn’t there. She’s told me she hates it here and, Lord, I don’t know what I’m to do!”
“You might try minding your own business, no offense intended, ma’am. I like Cal Durler. I like his wife, too. If I knew how to stop what might be happening, I’d be the first to try.”
“Perhaps if you had a word with him, man-to-man.”
Longarm smiled. “What am I supposed to say? ‘Look here, old son, your woman is fixing to light out on you?’ He’d either laugh or bust my jaw, and in the end, what could any of us do? You didn’t have a woman-to-woman with Nan yet, did you?”
Prudence shook her head, forlornly. “I’m afraid it should only light the fuse. My next-door neighbor … I mean the next-door neighbor of this poor, sinful girl I told you about, tried to warn her what a mistake she was making, and it only made her leave a couple of nights sooner than she’d intended to.”
“There you go. There’s nothing either of us can do. So let’s just hope it’s a passing notion.”
The deputy thought this might be a convenient place to change the subject, so he asked, “How are you coming with your Bible lessons?”
“I think the Indians are laughing at me behind my back. They enjoy the music and coloring books, but they don’t seem serious about learning the Word,” Prudence said, with a touch of disappointment in her voice.
“Well, you’ve only been here a short while and at least it keeps ‘em sober. If you really want to make friends hereabouts, spend a little time buttering up the older squaws. Anyone can draw a crowd of kids to a Bible meeting.”
“I’ve invited everyone. But the adults are so cold and reserved.”
“I know. They’re used to us taking ‘em for fools. You might start by asking questions, Miss Prudence. Most folks are proud to share what they know with strangers. Asking a body a question shows you think he or she might know something you don’t.”
“I see what you mean, but I don’t know what sort of questions I should ask.”
“Ask the squaws about medicine herbs. Ask them how to cook something.”
“I tasted some Indian food. It was awful.” Prudence wrinkled her pert nose.
“Takes time to develop a taste for pemmican and such. But asking a cook for a recipe beats complimenting her on her greasy stew and, hell, you don’t have to use a Blackfoot recipe.”
She laughed. Her little face was fetching in the lamplight as she said, “I’ll try it. I’m not getting anywhere with that big drum I brought.”
He grinned at her and excused himself to go out front and see what Rain Crow had to say. He found the Indian with the Durlers. Rain Crow hadn’t found anything, as the girl had told him.
Longarm asked, “Where’s Yellow Leggings? Did he go on home?”
Rain Crow shook his head and said, “No. I expected to find him here. We split up to search for sign and agreed to meet with you here for further orders. He should have ridden in by now.”
Longarm looked at the moon and said, “Getting late. We’d best go see what’s keeping him.”
Calvin Durler opined, “Yellow Leggings has always been slow-moving. He’s probably coming in at a walk. Why not give him a few minutes?”
“He’s had a few minutes. We’ll ride out and save him riding in all the way. Come on, Rain Crow.”
The Indian waited until they were well clear of the agency before he asked, “How did you know I was worried about Yellow Leggings?”
“Didn’t have to know. I worry enough myself. Any idea where your sidekick might have gone?”
“He rode east along the tracks to see if there was sign on any of the cuts you mentioned. I scouted north for a few miles until the poor light made me think I was wasting time. I thought he would be waiting for me at the agency.”
