Starfish_ A Novel - James Crowley [60]
Lionel saw the sneering grin and coarse black patch as Jenkins flashed across the chimney’s fissure. There he was, smashing and breaking his way across their lodge.
Lionel’s fear turned to anger. He wanted to attack Jenkins where he stood for what he had tried to do to his sister, but thought better of it. Lionel knew he had to get out of there. He had to find and warn Beatrice. He had to warn Mr. Hawkins, Junebug, Corn Poe, and even Tom Gunn.
“Jenkins, Sergeant Jenkins.” Lionel heard a familiar voice entering the lodge. He looked toward the door and saw that it was the captain who addressed Jenkins, and he did not sound happy.
“What on earth is that boy doing bound, Sergeant Jenkins?” the captain demanded, hooking his thumb to the yard where Barney now stood under guard.
“I consider him a hostile, sir,” Jenkins answered.
“A hostile?” the captain responded in disbelief. “That’s preposterous. He’s only a boy.”
“There were plenty of ‘boys’ who went hostile during the campaign,” Jenkins said in a rather matterof-fact tone.
“The campaign is over. It has been for some time. As a matter of fact, Sergeant, I can’t quite recall your being there.” The captain turned to the other soldiers who stood in the doorframe. “I want that boy released immediately. And see to it that he’s cleaned up and fed.”
The other soldiers scurried, leaving Jenkins and the captain alone in the lodge.
“And where have you been, Sergeant? You were supposed to scout ahead and return to report to me. That was over two days ago,” the captain growled.
“Why, we were right on their trail, sir. I thought it best under the circumstances to continue the pursuit. If I hadn’t been forced back to meet ya here, I’d bet my last silver dollar I’d have them horse thieves in custody already.”
“That is not the issue,” the captain shot back.
“You were under orders, and I’d be within my rights to relieve you of your duties.”
Lionel watched the captain circle the room. He looked older. He looked tired.
“I want a full report when we return to the post,” the captain continued. “Your conduct is suspect and highly unorthodox.”
“Aye, Captain, as unorthodox as it may be, I’ve been charged with the return of stolen property and the apprehension of horse thieves, and that is what I intend to do.”
“That you were,” the captain countered, “but you will do so under my command and in a manner befitting a solider. Is that understood, Sergeant?”
Jenkins spat on the floor and moved toward the door.
“Sergeant, is that understood?”
“Aye, Captain. Clear as crystal. Now, sir, beggin’ the captain’s pardon, I’d like to continue the search. I believe them perpetrators to be in the immediate vicinity.”
Jenkins gave the captain a halfhearted salute and then left. Lionel sat silently watching as the captain returned the salute to no one, and then continued to examine the lodge. He wandered over to the chimney and stood dangerously close to where Lionel was hiding.
Lionel wondered if he should reveal himself and try to explain to the captain what had happened and why he had taken Ulysses. Lionel liked the captain and was sure that he missed the big horse. He wanted to let the captain know that he had continued to care for the horse in his absence.
But the captain turned and walked abruptly out the door, leaving Lionel to consider making a run for it and trying to lose the men in a break for the Great wood. This seemed unlikely, as the voices of the soldiers had spread out from one side of the meadow to the other. Lionel could hear Jenkins’s voice above all of the others as he barked orders urging his men to prepare to continue their mission of returning the captain’s horse and apprehending those responsible for its theft.
There had to be another way. Lionel ran his hands down the contours of the chimney’s piled river rocks and felt tufts of hair from the wolverine among the cobwebs and dust. There was a steady flow of air on