Bittersweet Ecstasy Read Online Free PDF Page B

man of his age, a man alone. “This story is long and it takes much energy. Be patient, for I am no longer a young man.” Inherently he had slipped into the Indian speech pattern.
    Shalee held silent while he gathered his thoughts and settled himself near her. She could see him, touch him, hear him, and smell him; yet, his reality and presence were hard to accept. His age and fatigue were noticeable, but he was still very appealing and robust. Had it actually been over forty years since they had last seen each other? she wondered, for it did not seem that way with him sitting here beside her and talking so calmly. How could she be angry when he was alive and had returned home?
    Powchutu explained how Jeffery Gordon had tricked him into a meeting that bitter day in January of 1777, and had beaten him senseless. “I knew I was going to die that day, but I prayed to the Great Spirit to help me seek revenge, to help me find a way to protect you from Gordon. My head was in agony and I couldn’t move or speak. Evidently I didn’t appear to be breathing, because Gordon believed he had murdered me. It seemed like from far away I heard him giving his men orders on how to get rid of my body. When his men realized I was alive, they substituted the body of a trapper they had robbed and killed earlier that day. Lucky for me, that dead man had my size and coloring, and his men were greedy and dishonest. They exchanged our clothes, stuffed me in a crate to be sentdownriver, then dropped that tree on him and Gordon’s ex-whore several times. Since his face was crushed beyond recognition and he had on my clothes and belongings, everyone was fooled. The Great Spirit protected me that day.”
    As Powchutu halted for a breath of air, Shalee recalled Moses’ words that awful day: “Both they heads was crushed flat!” She had never viewed the body; she had been told he was dead and had been handed his possessions, then had never seen or heard from him again. She asked, “But why did Jeffery let you live? What happened to you afterward? Why did you keep your survival a secret?”
    “Gordon never knew his men betrayed him. They saw a way to make some extra money by selling me to a ship’s captain. I was shanghaied. White slavery, it’s called. They were working with a man named Frenchy behind Gordon’s back. Just about every time they robbed some man, they sneaked him downriver to be sold like a slave instead of killing him like Gordon ordered. I was hurt bad, hardly alive, so I don’t know why they even fooled with me, unless they didn’t realize how bad off I was. They took me to a doctor’s house near New Orleans to be tended until the next Spanish ship arrived. When I came to, I didn’t even recall my name until fourteen months later. You can’t imagine my shock when my past—my identitythundered back inside my head one night. I still can’t believe the awful things I did during those emptyheaded months. As soon as my memory returned, I hurried to St. Louis as fast as I could, terrified for you all the way. After I frantically tracked you back to Gray Eagle’s camp and tepee, I was forced to accept the truth about you two. You had a son and looked happy, so I didn’t intrude. I thought it was best for you, and especially for Gray Eagle, to believe I was dead, so Ireturned to New Orleans to make a new life there. I never knew you had learned the truth about Gordon’s treachery. If Gordon hadn’t been dead by the time I got back, I would have cut him into a thousand pieces. I’m sorry I put you through all that anguish.” His dark eyes lowered in guilt and shame. They were moist when they lifted and locked with hers again.
    His voice quavered when he continued. “By the time I recovered my memory, all of our lives were different. I realized Gray Eagle had survived my evil, had tracked us, slain Gordon, and recaptured you. I could tell things had worked out between you and Gray Eagle. You were safe and happy, and that was