Chieftain (Historical Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

neither to the left or the right. The insolent attitude of his princely body, the aloof expression on his cruelly handsome face, made Maggie shake her head ruefully.
    This notorious half-breed was in for his share of misery at Fort Sill.
    And he would dish out plenty as well.

Four
    A rmed soldiershad ridden out to intercept the arriving Comanches and their young leader who, through courage and initiative, had attained the statue of honored war chief among his People. The soldiers were aware that Shanaco was revered and respected despite his frequent absences from his tribe.
    He was a rarity.
    While a white captive woman giving birth to a warrior’s child was not that uncommon, it was rare that a half-breed would rise to the prominence of respected war chief and recognized leader.
    Shanaco had managed such a feat and he had done it by demonstrating unfailing bravery and superior intelligence. He scoffed at the idea—whispered by the whites—that his success as a leader was due to his mixed blood. His white blood. It was said that it made him more intelligent than his fellow tribesmen.
    It was not so. Other full-blood warriors had wholly proven themselves at an age as young as Shanaco.
    Two armed blue-clad troopers quickly moved into position, closely flanking Shanaco, as if afraid he might bolt and run. He said nothing, did not turn his head to look at either of them. Behind Shanaco, the rest of the Comanches remained silent. They said not one word, but looked straight ahead, as did their leader.
    The crowdstared at the new arrivals, realizing that this was a momentous occasion. History was surely being made on the rolling plains of the Oklahoma Territory.
    The last of the warring Comanches had finally been forced to surrender. Feared through the years by the Spaniards, the Mexicans, the Texans and finally all whites everywhere, these conquered adversaries were riding into the fort to lay down their arms forever.
    Maggie frowned, annoyed, when she no longer had an unobstructed view of Shanaco. She strained to get one last fleeting glimpse of the notorious chieftain, then turned and left.
    Her thoughts once again returning to her students, Maggie made her way back through the crowd and headed directly to the post’s supply depot to pick out needed articles for her classroom.
    The long possession of arriving Comanches continued. Shanaco, riding between the two uniformed troopers, appeared to be docile, with only a hint of implied defiance in his silver-gray eyes.
    Shanaco had every intention, for his deceased grandfather’s sake, to be on his best behavior for as long as he stayed at Fort Sill. Which would not be long.
    A month. Sixweeks at most. He’d stay only until the tribe was settled.
    Directly behind Shanaco rode the young men, the brave, strong warriors of the band. Behind the proud braves came the elder statesmen of the tribe, dressed in their finest for this sad occasion. Many wore black war paint on their faces and clutched shields and tomahawks.
    After them came the women and children, mounted on the travois ponies, dragging their meager belongings behind them.
    Last came the pony herd, numbering less than two hundred. The tribe’s young boys skillfully kept the horses bunched in long columns.
    The entire band—men, women and children—numbered no more than a hundred. All were totally silent as they surrendered forever the freedom that had always been theirs.
    The crowd watching was just as silent. A pall had quickly fallen over the proceedings. The whites had just cause to hate the Comanches—and most did. But even some of those felt a twinge of compassion for these once-powerful Lords of the Plains who would now be nothing more than dependent children, looking to the government for every morsel of food they put in their mouths.
    The somber cavalcade rode across the dusty parade ground, passed completely through the fort and turned north toward the unfinished icehouse. There the receiving troops dismounted