words in books. This gave Famous Shoes an idea. He might go and stay with Pea Eye for a few weeks, and ask his woman if she would teach him how words got into books, and how to know one word from another, simply by its tracks. It should not be too different from knowing each animal or lizard by its tracks. It might be that Pea Eye's woman could explain words to him, and even help him understand the ways of the god of whites. Among his people, the Kickapoo, respect for the gods caused most people to behave well, at least to behave well most of the time. But the same did not appear to be true of whites, most of whom behaved as if they knew no god and had no guidance stronger than their own passions, when it came to deciding how to behave.
When he found Pea Eye's track, in the little creek on the Quitaque, Famous Shoes saw that Pea Eye was about a day ahead of him. He knew that, as a traveler, Pea Eye was rather lazy. He was timid about snakes, and did not really like to move around in the darkness, which was necessary if a man wanted to cover much country. Also, once Pea Eye went to sleep, he didn't wake up quickly. Thus, though Pea Eye was mounted and had a day's start, Famous Shoes reckoned to catch him somewhere near the Clear Fork of the Brazos. And he did.
He walked quietly into Pea Eye's camp early one morning, when the stars were still out and the moon was about to go to sleep. Famous Shoes did not like to disturb anyone, so he sat quietly until Pea Eye began to stir. As was common with whites, Pea Eye had made a much larger campfire than was necessary. Several coals were still glowing. Famous Shoes fed twigs and small branches to the coals, until the fire itself woke up and burned again.
When Pea Eye heard the fire crackling, he managed to open his eyes. Famous Shoes sat beside the campfire, looking at him. He was a tiny old man and was wearing the same dirty bandanna around his head that he had been wearing the last time Pea had seen him, several years before.
'Would your woman help me learn to read?' Famous Shoes asked, to get the conversation started.
'Well, more than likely,' Pea Eye said.
'She's been meaning to teach me, but I've got so much farming to do that I ain't learned yet. I know my letters, though.' 'I will go home with you, then,' Famous Shoes said. 'We can learn to read together.' 'You sure did slip in quiet, didn't you?' Pea Eye said. 'I guess if this was the old days and you was a Comanche, I'd be scalped by now.
'There's coffee there, if you want to make some,' Pea Eye added. Famous Shoes was not a Comanche, nor a bad Indian of any kind, and he himself was in no danger of being scalped. The thought made him feel so relaxed that he figured he might just doze for another minute or two, while Famous Shoes made coffee. He did doze, but when he finally woke up, the sun was in his face and he had the feeling he might have dozed for more than a minute or two. A jackrabbit was cooking on the fire, and he himself had certainly not provided any jackrabbit. Famous Shoes must have caught one, skinned it, and cooked it, a process that would have taken more than a minute or two, although the old man had always been efficient, when it came to camp chores.
'If you are chasing somebody, I don't think you are going to catch up with them, unless they are crippled,' Famous Shoes said. 'When you eat this rabbit, we should go.' 'Okay, you can come with me,' Pea Eye said, hastily shaking his boots, in the hopes of emptying out whatever bugs or scorpions might have crawled into them during the night. It would have been safer to sleep with his boots on; but when he did that, he got cramps in his legs, often such bad cramps that he had to get up and stamp around in order to loosen the cramps.
'The thing is, we'll have to put off the reading lessons for a while. I ain't headed home,' Pea Eye said. 'I'm going to look for the Captain. I got a late start, and don't have no idea where he is. You'd be the perfect compa@nero because you could track him if we ever cross his tracks.' 'He likes to keep his money,' Famous Shoes said. Captain Call had never paid his scouts very liberally. 'I'm not sure he would pay me, if I help you find him. He might think I'm too old to need money.' 'It wouldn't be his money, though. He's working for the railroad now,' Pea Eye said, uneasily. 'There's a Yankee with him. I expect the Yankee would pay you.' Pea Eye did remember that the Captain, though respectful of Famous Shoes' great skill in tracking, thought the man put too high a price on his services. There had been more than one dispute over money, and in the end, Famous Shoes stopped tracking for the Rangers.
Memories of this old conflict made him feel uncomfortable, and just when he had been enjoying a feeling of comfort, the first he had experienced since leaving Lorie and his children. It would be nice to travel with Famous Shoes; he didn't mind doing the cooking, and he would be a great help in locating the Captain.
Still, there had been that friction, in the past. The Captain might not be altogether pleased to have him show up with Famous Shoes.
'Where do you think the Captain is?' Famous Shoes asked.
'On the border, somewhere,' Pea Eye said.
'He's supposed to catch a bandit named Joey Garza.' 'Oh,' Famous Shoes said. 'Maria's son.' 'Whose son?' Pea asked.
'She is a woman in Ojinaga,' Famous Shoes said. 'Joey is her son. I think he went bad.' 'I guess he did,' Pea Eye said.
'Charlie Goodnight says he's killed over thirty people. If Charlie Goodnight says it, I expect it's true.' 'I was in Ojinaga when the Federales killed Maria's first husband,' Famous Shoes said. 'She is a good woman, but she does not have good luck. I'm afraid the hard sheriff will kill her someday.' 'What hard sheriff?' Pea Eye asked.
'Does the woman live in Texas or Mexico?' 'In Mexico, but the hard sheriff doesn't care,' Famous Shoes said. 'He kills many people who live in Mexico. He wanted to hang me once for stealing a horse, although I don't ride horses.' 'Why'd he think you stole it, then?' Pea Eye asked.
'I was eating part of it when he caught me,' Famous Shoes replied. 'A snake bit the horse on the nose, and its nose closed up and it died.' 'I'd need to be half starved before I'd eat a snake-bit horse,' Pea Eye said.
'I didn't eat its nose,' Famous Shoes said. The whites, even nice ones like Pea Eye, had absurd prejudices. The only danger the dead horse had caused him came from Doniphan, the hard sheriff.
Doniphan had marched him back to Presidio, meaning to hang him, but a fire broke out and burned up the saloon and part of the church.
Doniphan had been afraid that the fire might burn his jail. It was a windy day, with smoke blowing everywhere. In the smoke and confusion, Famous Shoes escaped. It was Maria Garza who had given him a little jerky, so that he might hurry back to the Madre, where the hard sheriff would never come.
'Where'd you get this rabbit? I didn't see one all day yesterday, or I would have shot it,' Pea Eye said. It was a tasty rabbit. He thought about the border. It was far away, and he had to pass through some bleak country, too. It would be real handy to have a traveling companion such as Famous Shoes, a man who was adept at catching game, and cooking it too.
