a massive desk and a multitude of crude wooden chairs. Slater pulled out
a chair for her, and she sat down as regally as she could manage,
pulling off her rough leather gloves and letting them fall into her lap.
She felt Slater's eyes, and she looked up then looked quickly away.
He had seen the blisters and calluses on her hands. The colonel took his
seat behind the desk. He was an elderly man, whose gentle blue eyes
seemed to belie his position as a commander of such a post. His voice,
too, was gentle. Tess thought he was genuinely grateful to see her
alive, even if he had never met her before.
'Would you like coffee, Miss. Stuart? I'm afraid I've no tea to offer
you' -- 'Coffee will be just fine, thank you,' Tess said.
She hadn't realized that there was another man in the room unt'd a
s'dent young corporal stepped forward to bring her a tin mug of black
coffee. She thanked him and an awkward moment followed. Then the colonel
sat forward, folding his hands on the desk.
'Miss. Stuart, Lieutenant Slater informs me that you have claimed that
it was not Indians who set upon your band.'
'That's right, sir.'
'Then who?'
'White men. Hired guns for a man named yon Heusen. He is trying to take
my uncle's property and' -- 'He'd have men attack a whole wagon train to
obtain your uncle's property? Think now, Miss. Stuart, is that logical?'
She gritted her teeth. Slater was watching her politely. She wanted to
kick him.
'It wasn't a large wagon train, Colonel.
We've had good relations with the Comanche in our area, and my uncle
wasn't afraid of the Comanche! We were traveling with a very small
party, a few hired hands, my uncle-'
' Maybe, Miss. Stuart, the Indians weren't Comanche.
Maybe they were a stray band of Apache looking for easy prey, or
Shoshone down from the mountains, or maybe even an offshoot of the
Sioux'--' No Indian attacked that wagon train.'
Tess swung around. Jon Red Feather had come into the room. He helped
himself to coffee, then pulled up the chair beside Slater. He grinned at
his friend, then addressed the colonel.
'I'm sure that Miss. Stuart does know a Comanche when she sees one, sir.
And it wasn't Apache. Apache usually only scalp Mexicans--in
retaliation.' He turned and smiled at Tess.
'And I can promise you that what was done was not done by the Sioux. A
Sioux would never have left Miss. Stuart behind.'
A shiver ran down Tess's spine. She didn't know if Jon meant that the
Sioux would have taken her with them--or that they would have been sure
to kill and scalp her, too. The colonel lifted his hands. Even with Jori
corroborating her story, he didn't seem to believe her. Or if he did
believe her, he had no intention of helping her.
'Miss. Stuart, I have heard of this von Heusen. He has big money, and
big connections, and I understand he owns half the town' -- 'Literally,
Colonel.
He owns the judge and the sheriff and the deputies.'
