Chapter 16: Leonard’s Mistake
THE Indian driving the cart jumped down with an oilcan and soaked the cart’s hood with its content. A massive number of his fellow countrymen swished past on their sacred dogs, yelling and chanting war songs, and he raised his hands in salute. They were willing to die for their lands and Sitting Bull, and he admired their courage as well as their fierce battle cry. If only he could join them now, he thought, instead of burning the traitors first. If only he could jump on a sacred dog like every other person and attack the white invaders with his tomahawk, instead of driving a cart full of outcasts to their deaths. But the order had come from the chief, himself, and must be obeyed. Shaking his head, the man went back to his driver’s post.
“No, Steph, he’s not dead,” Matthew reassured his foster sister, who was still staring at Leonard’s form. “He’ll wake up very soon as normal as ever.”
“What do we do with him?” Stephanie cried. “He’s been so good to us.”
“We must send him home right now,” Matthew said, stretching his hand out towards Nora for the book.
“But I thought he would be in a better position to help us the rest of the way,” she cunningly pointed out. “Stephanie can go home instead.”
“I’m not leaving without you two,” the little girl objected.
“What’s that smell?” Matthew perceived.
“I think it’s oil,” Nora said, sniffing. Instinctively, she pointed at the cart driver’s butt, which they could see through the little front window before the iron bars. “He must have soaked the cart with oil! He’s gonna set it on fire.”
But the cart started moving again. The Indian driver had simply mounted his position before the cage and resumed the journey.
“We’re going uphill, I think,” Matthew said, breathing a sigh of relief. A terrifying cacophony of braying horses, exploding guns and fighting men could be heard in the distance.
“Maybe he’ll start the fire when he gets up the hill,” Nora presumed. “Hey,” she called out, banging on the front bars. “What are you going to do with us?”
“I’ll set the cart on fire and push it into the battle with you inside,” the Indian driver snarled, laughing at the prisoners. “That is when I must also join my brothers in the struggle for our land.”
“Yeah, sure you would,” Stephanie said.
“He just gave us more time,” Matthew whispered. “We should be happy about that.”
“We must leave now,” Nora whispered. “Before he discovers we took the book.”
“What about Leonard?” Matthew asked. “We have to send him home first.”
“No, we’re not sending him home yet,” Nora stressed. “Stephanie will have to go home instead.”
“No, she’s not going without us,” Matthew said.
“Yes, she is.”
“No, she’s not.”
“Yes, she is.”
“I’m not leaving without you two,” Stephanie whispered.
“Oh, stop being a baby,” Nora told her.
Matthew agreed with Stephanie. He knew why Nora wanted Leonard to stay back and that was very selfish of her. “We cannot make Leonard stay if he doesn’t want to,” he reasoned and Nora immediately reproached him with her eyes. “So let’s wake him up and see what he thinks about staying back.”
“That remains to be seen,” she snapped.
“What’s that smell?” Leonard suddenly asked them, sitting up and coughing inexcusably. “Nora?” he noticed. “Where am I?”
“You must stay with us, Leonard,” Nora began without explaining the situation to him. “You must help us find the others.”
“The others? What are you saying?” He was squinting. “Nora, about Tricia . . .”
“I know,” she assured him. “And I forgive you! Now, are you staying or not? Please, say you will.”
“What’s happening? Why the rush?” He noticed the other two in the cage with her. “What’s going on here? Why are you guys dressed so weird?”
Nora could not believe her ears.
The noise outside grew louder and more distracting. Sioux warriors going into battle on horseback came into full view from the cart’s open rear. Leonard could not believe his eyes. “HOLY!” he exploded and scampered back unconsciously. The Indian driving the cart screamed and careened off the galloping horse, and Leonard lost his head. “What’s going on?” he howled. “WE’RE DEFINITELY NOT IN A MOVIE!”
“We’ve gone back in time, Leonard,” Nora tried to explain, desperately holding on to her ex-boyfriend’s hand. “This is Native American territory.”
“Native American what?”
“We came here through that,” Matthew said to Leonard, pointing at the book in Nora’s hand.
“Through a book?”
“It will take us back home,” the younger boy quickly explained. “Just place your finger on your name on page four.”
“Matthew,” Nora snapped.
Smoke sipped in from outside and they realized where it was coming from.
“But we’re still going uphill,” Matthew noted with alarm. “He deceived us.”
“He’s gone,” announced Nora with a shaky voice as she stared at the riderless horse still pulling the cart. “He started the fire before he jumped off.”
“No—I think he was killed while starting the fire,” Matthew corrected.
“What are you saying?” Leonard asked them.
“The cart’s on fire!” Stephanie screamed. “We’re all gonna die!”
“Which cart? Which fire? Are you saying the—the cart’s on fire?” Leonard demanded, sitting up. “WE—WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE? God! I don’t know what to believe anymore,” he wailed. “Give me that!” and he pulled the book from Nora, feverishly skipping to page four. Nora grabbed his hand to stop him and for a moment, they both struggled foolishly.
“Leonard, don’t leave me!” she screamed, but her ex-boyfriend had already disappeared and she blinked at the coat still clenched in her fists.
“Coward,” Stephanie yelled, but they all knew the quarterback never heard that.
The cart turned on two wheels and started tumbling down the hill alongside the horse.
“Matthew!” Stephanie screamed as they were jumbled up round and round and round. The structure finally landed on its side. Gunfire was deafening. Men were shooting everywhere. Horses were whining and braying.
“Hold me,” Matthew told Stephanie and she did. They were stacked atop each other, but he found the book. Leonard must have dropped it when his name got too hot. Nora moved underneath him, so she was still alive. He grabbed her hand without any opposition from her and flipped the book’s pages to page four. “Let’s go get Fat George,” he announced.
“We’re still in the cage,” Stephanie cried after awhile, looking around her to verify her claim.
“It’s a different one, Steph,” Matthew assured her. He lay underneath her. “Looks—Looks like we’re in a ship, too.”
“But we’re still in a cage!” the little girl wailed.
They became aware of the vessel’s rhythmic rocking.