By Way of the Rose Read Online Free PDF Page A

sturdy man spurred his horse toward the fray. He rode up quickly behind them and jumped from his horse. His uniform was that of a general and his presence immediately stopped the gruesome display.
    “What do you two think you're doing? Give that child back to its mother this instant!”
    “Just having a little game, General Fields, sir!” The young soldier grinned. “Ya know, Injun toss.” He snickered through his gapped teeth.
    “You call that a game? You are a sorry excuse for a man, much less a soldier! You're relieved from your posts, the both of you! Hand the child back to its mother and leave here, now!”
    “Dirty savage,” The renegade snarled as he thrust the baby at its mother. He looked at the general, “There, now are you happy?” he glared. His face looked like a rotted potato with a large sausage crammed in it for a nose. “You ain't nothing but a damn Indian lover! I knew we needed somebody else in charge. I'll be glad to go. Won't have to put up with your Indian-lovin’ ways no more! Maybe you need to be visited in the middle of the night by a lovely bunch of your precious Indians on the war path.” The General took out his pistol, pointed it at the man and said, “You've got to the count of three to ride out of here and don't ever let me see you again!”
    “Good riddance.” Jacob pulled the reins, spurred his horse and galloped away.
    The general pointed his finger at the younger soldier. “That fella wasn't anything but blasted vigilante trash! But you, son, you're supposed to represent the U.S. Army when you wear that uniform!” His eyes shot fire. “That uniform means something, boy! And since you can't respect it any better than that, take it off this minute and you get out of here, too!”
    “B— but, General Fields, sir! I— I... ”
    “I said get down from that horse, take the uniform off, and leave!”
    The soldier hobbled away, humiliated, in his red woolen underwear and socks.
    The tall, stout general picked up the boy's uniform, jacket and boots and walked over to check on the infant as its mother held it close. “Your baby seems to be fine.” He smiled warmly at her.
    Weeping, she nodded her head as she stammered, “Thank you, for your mercy for saving my child.” Her dark eyes glistened with tears of mixed sorrow and of joy. The general wrapped her in the soldier's coat.
    “That'll help a bit.” He tipped his hat to her as she walked on, soothing her little one.
    Just as the general mounted his horse another fuss broke out farther up the line and he quickly rode off toward the commotion.
    Daniel and John watched as an old Indian woman with long white hair collapsed. She shivered under her blanket as she bowed her head to the ground. “All hope is gone,” she wailed. “It's all gone.” An unkempt, flabby soldier with his jaw full of tobacco came and stood over her and spat next to her.
    “Get up and get in the wagon, you lazy savage.” He grabbed her by the arm. “Get out of my sight!” She slowly stood, then walked, hobbling and shaking, towards the wagon. The man suddenly cut into her back with his horse whip and chuckled coarsely at the way she flailed backwards and cried out before hitting the ground.
    Daniel grabbed John's arm. “Let's get out of here. This is something we shouldn't have to see.”
    “No! We have to do something.” John jerked his arm free. “Those kinds of men are what we need to shoot, not innocent animals!”
    “There's nothing we can do. There's no sense in watching it because we'll be arrested if we interfere or shoot at them. Come away with me. We can pray for them. Our hands are tied.”
    “Why, Poppa? Why are they doing this? I don't understand. That was just a baby they were hurting... and that old woman didn't do anything wrong to be whipped for! I don't understand! Why can't we help them?”
    “There's two of us and many of them. Who do you think will win, John?”
    “Sampson slew a whole army with the jawbone of an ass