Paloma and the Horse Traders Read Online Free PDF Page B

fold them if I show
you how?”
    Soli nodded. Paloma sat her on the bench at the
table and folded one napkin into a square and then folded it again.
She repeated her actions, then Soli put her hand on Paloma’s arm,
stopping her. As Paloma watched, her daughter folded the next
napkin. The corners didn’t match exactly, but she handed it to her
mother, the fear gone from her eyes because she was
busy.
    “ Exactly right,” Paloma said, and
kissed her cheek. “Finish these for me, and Sancha might have a
treat for you.”
    She left her daughter with the stack of napkins
and carried Claudio to the room he shared with his sister. After a
dry diaper followed by a long cuddle, she put him into his crib,
where he snuggled and then slept.
    Sancha took food to the men on the parapet, and
Perla bullied Paloma into eating a big bowl of posole she
didn’t really want, not with her queasy stomach. Paloma ate as she
was bid, not certain if her nerves or the new baby were to blame.
Eckapeta shook her head at the offer of food, which made Paloma
smile to herself, because Perla didn’t bully the Comanche
woman.
    “ Who is Great Owl?” Paloma asked
after she swiped the last scrap of tortilla around the bowl—maybe
she’d been hungry, after all.
    “ He is a troublesome warrior, never
content to be under Kwihnai’s eye, no matter how light the
control,” Eckapeta said. She leaned closer. “It is said that he and
his warriors even killed some Kiowa, our close brothers on the
plains. This is not done.”
    “ You … you recognized
him?”
    “ Yes. He wears the headdress of a
great horned owl. His horse wears a similar face mask. I am not
certain which is more frightening.”
    Such an admission from the bravest woman she
knew sent a chill down Paloma’s arms. She sighed, wishing Marco
would materialize suddenly. “Would that we knew what was going on
in Santa Maria.”
    “ I have noticed that trouble has a
way of making itself known. Be patient.”
    As sundown grew near, two riders carrying
Spanish lances approached from the direction of Santa Maria. Emilio
brought the news himself, as he ushered the soldiers into the
kitchen. Perla wordlessly pushed food toward them before they even
delivered their message.
    Eyes on the bowls of steaming posole ,
the corporal wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He gave
Eckapeta a wary look, then turned his attention to
Paloma.
    “ Señora Mondragón, where is your
husband? We have an urgent matter.”
    “ He should be arriving in Taos
today. He went to the great fair.”
    “ Dios! We need him here,” the
corporal continued, evidently also thinking that the juez de
campo would appear if summoned.
    “ Tell me what has happened in Santa
Maria,” Paloma ordered. “My friend and I saw something while we
were at the river today.” She gestured to the table. “Try the
tortillas.”
    The corporal and private needed no more
encouragement. The corporal ate quickly, then put down his spoon.
“Some horse traders on their way to Taos were set upon by
Comanches.” He glanced at Eckapeta warily, as a child might observe
a strange dog. “The … the Comanches killed one of the traders
and got away with a few horses, but the private here wounded one of
them.”
    S uch initiative would astonish Marco ,
Paloma thought, looking at the younger man with some respect. “You
captured him?” she asked the private.
    He glanced at the corporal, as though seeking
approval to speak. “Yes, señora. I brought him back to the
garrison, where he is now imprisoned.”
    “ The others?”
    “ They could be anywhere, and that is
a worry,” the corporal said. He turned his attention to Paloma. “We
need someone to interrogate the Comanche and thought maybe,” he
lowered his voice, “this woman might help.”
    “ What about the horse traders?”
Paloma asked. “Surely someone among them speaks
Nurmurnah.”
    “ They don’t want to waste a minute
on their journey to Taos, and Comanches can be