Courting Morrow Little: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page B

wherever he was,
remember her calling him lily-livered and stomping upstairs
to the room they shared? It seemed he'd always given in to her
whims, letting her use the fireflies like a night-light by their bed.
But by morning they were mere bugs in a jar, hardly the ethereal
creatures they'd been the night before.
    Joe's voice seemed to saw into the silence, ending her reverie.
"There's been some talk of a prisoner exchange, he was saying,
pausing at intervals to puff on his pipe. "Some chiefs and soldiers
at Fort Pitt are hammerin' out the details:"
    Listening, Morrow felt the same bewilderment she always
did when they discussed her long-lost brother, torn between
covering her ears and eavesdropping. She finally succumbed to
the latter. Returning to the hearth, she sat down opposite Good
Robe, nearly drowning out the men's voices by the creak of Ma's
old chair as it pitched to and fro. But her foot came down at
Joe's next question, and her rocking ceased. "Seen them two
Shawanoe lately?"
    Pa seemed to take his time with the answer, but already Morrow was straining for it, a deep dread knotting her insides.
    "Not since last winter," Pa said.
    "They been comin' for years now and I still ain't seen 'em'

    "You're always away hunting or on some other business, Joe,
otherwise I'd send for you"
    "Well, somethin' tells me they ain't no ordinary Indians'
    Pa leaned back in his chair-she could tell by the squeak
and the grunt of it. His voice was thoughtful. "What makes
you think so?"
    "Them fancy gifts they bring. That horse they give you last
fall's the finest I've seen this side of the Cumberland"
    "I nearly refused it," Pa admitted. "With all the horse stealing between here and the Ohio, I'm still a bit befuddled as to
whose horse I have"
    Joe chuckled. "Only a fool would refuse such a prize. Besides,
the Shawnee don't take kindly to bein' told no'
    Pa paused a moment. "I've often wondered who they are myself, why they keep coming back. I didn't see the son for a long
while and feared he might be dead given all the trouble. But then
last winter he was with his father again. I don't think they mean
us any harm, though they rattle poor Morrow considerably"
    Joe chuckled. "She's rattlin' age, I reckon. One thing I can say
for the Shawanoe, once you've done 'em a good turn, they ain't
likely to repay it with evil. You've likely befriended the whole
Shawnee nation and don't know it:'
    "Humph." Pa's doubt could be felt clear into the cabin.
    "I ain't just speculatin' either. I got reason to believe the Shawnee whose son you saved years ago is a chief of the Kispokos.
That's the warrior sect of the tribe' He paused as if to give Pa
ample time to take it all in. "The past couple of years I've been
hearin' about one of their headmen crossing into Kentucke
to rendezvous with a white man. I believe that white man is
you.
    "Have any idea what his name is, Joe?"
    "Matter of fact, I do."
    Morrow leaned forward in her chair as Joe mumbled some thing unintelligible and commandeered the conversation once
more. "But just so you don't think he's payin' a social call, I hear
he's keepin' an eye on the settlements. Either way, you've earned
his respect, and that means a lot in these troubled times'

    Joe's reassuring words did little to ease her. Morrow glanced
at Good Robe, whose dark head was tilted toward her chest,
eyes closed, the baby tucked to her breast. Was she still weary
from the birth? Morrow hoped Joe had sense enough to canoe
her downriver today and not make her walk all the way.
    As the conversation on the porch wound down, Joe came in
and roused his wife. Morrow gathered up the coffee cups and
banked the fire for breakfast while Pa stood at the door and
saw the couple off.
    "The rain's a welcome change, he said. "I think I'll leave the
doors open for a spell:"
    At his words, the flicker of fear in her heart seemed to flame.
Holding back a sigh, she wandered to the front porch and looked
at