Maklin swore and jabbed a finger at Lexington. “
“It was the Lord’s idea for us to come here, not mine.”
Maklin nodded at the girl’s remains. “The Lord should be right pleased with Himself.”
Sister Amelia swung toward him. “This makes twice now you’ve taken our Maker’s name in vain. I won’t have it again, do you hear?”
“Be at peace, Sister,” Lexington said.
“I can’t help it, Elder. He has no faith, this one. He slanders us and he slanders He who made us.”
“How about you, Brother King?” Lexington asked. “Do you blame us for Sister Benedine’s death as well?”
“You should have sent someone with her,” was all Nate said.
“If I had, we would have two bodies to bury.” Lexington raised his arms to his followers. “Heed me. Brother Simon, you and Brother Bartholomew build a coffin. Keep it plain. Use pine and pitch. Sister Barclay, we’ll need refreshments. Sister Amelia, spread the word that we will conduct the service right after the sun goes down.”
“You’re holding a funeral?” Maklin said.
“Oh, goodness, no. We celebrate life, not death. Our service is a loving testament to Sister Benedine. We are committing her spirit to the care of the Lord. Both of you are invited.”
“No, thanks,” Nate said. “We should get back. Jeremiah Blunt is waiting to hear if we’ve found the Valley of Skulls.”
Lexington grinned and wagged a finger at him. “Ah, ah. The Valley of Skulls is no more. We call it Second Eden now, remember?”
“Calling a hog a cow doesn’t mean it will moo,” Maklin said.
“How is that again?”
Maklin turned to Nate. “Let’s get the hell out of here. Another minute of these lunkheads and I’ll bust a vein.” He lashed his reins and trotted off.
“What on earth is the matter with him?” Sister Amelia asked. “He has acted bitter toward us from the moment we met.”
“I don’t rightly know,” Nate said, and lifted his reins. “I should catch up. Nice meeting you.”
“Go with God,” Lexington said.
Maklin had slowed and was scowling at the world and everything in it. He glanced around as Nate came up but didn’t say anything.
“Well?”
“Well, what?” Maklin growled.
“What was that all about?”
“I told you. Do-goods like them raise my hackles. They go around with blinders on and want the rest of us to do the same.”
“That’s all there is to it?”
“What more do you need?” the Texan retorted. “Damn it. You saw how they are. Smiling all the time. Prattling on about how we’re all brothers and sisters and the rest of that hogwash.”
“That’s cause to hate them?”
“I hate stupid, and they are as stupid as hell. The first war party that finds them will put an end to them right quick.”
Nate had to agree. He told the Texan about their detest for weapons.
“There. See? Not one damn gun, they said? If that isn’t stupid I don’t know what is.”
Nate mentioned that Maklin had acted the same way toward Wendell and his family.
“So? That dirt farmer was just as stupid. He deserved to be rubbed out just as these Shakers do.”
“No one
“Maybe I did and maybe I didn’t. I don’t recollect.”
In a flash of insight, Nate saw the truth. “You’re not fooling anyone. At least not me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Nate didn’t answer.
“If you think I care, you’re wrong. I don’t care about anyone anymore. Not after Na-lin.” Maklin pulled his hat brim lower. “That’s when I learned my lesson. That’s when I realized how wrong I was. I used to believe, yes. I used to think just like Wendell and Lexington. Oh, I didn’t go around quoting Scripture or praying every damn day, but I believed there was a God and there was a purpose to all of this.” Maklin shook his head. “Not anymore. Now I know better.”
Nate thought of Winona and how he would feel if anything were to happen to her.
“You saw that dirt farmer. You saw what the Pawnees did to his wife and his kids. Look me in the eye and tell me there’s a God of love somewhere that watches over people. Look me in the eye and tell me something like that makes sense to you.”
“I…” Nate began, and stopped.
“I didn’t think so. Where’s the love in a woman having her intestines cut out? Where’s the love in a little girl having her nose and her ears hacked off? Where’s the love in a grizzly tearing the leg off someone?”
“I don’t have all the answers.”
“Hell, if you’re like me, you don’t have any.” Maklin glowered at the sky. “I take that back. There’s one answer I have. The answer to the biggest question of all.” He paused. “There’s no God. There never was. There never will be. We made God up. We had to. Otherwise the intestines and the noses and ears and legs would drive us insane.”
“I think you’re wrong,” Nate said. “I can’t prove it, but there has to be more to all this.”
“More how? That if we die and go to heaven it makes all the rest of it right?” Maklin shook his head. “No. I refuse to be fooled. You want to believe, go ahead. But I’m telling you. If you’re right and I’m wrong, if there really is a God, then either God doesn’t give a damn about us or He’s plumb loco.”
On that they lapsed into silence.
The wagon train had covered a lot of ground since they left. Jeremiah Blunt was happy to hear they had found the Valley of Skulls, but he wasn’t happy about the rest of their news.
“I was afraid of this,” the captain said gravely. “When Arthur Lexington looked me up in St. Louis to hire me to deliver supplies, I tried to talk him out of his venture. I warned him that it was entirely possible he would get himself and his followers killed.”
“How did he take it?” Nate asked.
Blunt colored pink. “He told me that if I was as devout as I claim to be, I’d have more trust in the Lord.”
“I need a drink,” Maklin said, and walked off.
“Remember my rule,” Blunt said after him. “Not on the trail. Whiskey and work don’t mix.” He turned to Nate. “So tell me. This Pawnee who blames you for his uncle’s death. Kuruk, isn’t it? He speaks English, does he?”
“As well as you or me. Other languages, besides.”
“Where did he learn them?”
“From a missionary, I think. Other whites have visited them, too. Major Long. Zebulon Pike. They’ve had a lot of contact with whites.”
“Didn’t the Pawnees send a delegation to meet with the president in Washington?”
“President Jefferson, yes.”
“Do you suppose this Kuruk can write as well as read?”
Nate shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. Why are you bringing all this up?”
“While you were gone, our wrangler was killed and some of our horses were run off,” Blunt revealed. “Come with me. I have something to show you.”
The body was in the last wagon, wrapped in a tarp. Blunt had it hauled out and set at Nate’s feet and unwrapped the tarp himself. “Notice anything?”
Carved into the dead man’s forehead were the letters
