Grail Quest Read online

  “He not harm us. Maybe not enemy.”

  “Maybe. But more’n likely he clubbed me rather than Coyote. Before we learn he is an enemy for sure, I’d like to know who he is. We must ask Leahna about him.”

  “Yes. She must tell us. I ask her.”

  Back at the cave Leahna acted calm as though nothing unusual had occurred. After we drank some tea and munched on hardtack, Moyock began signing to her again. They had developed some common words between them but not any that would cover this inquiry. They palavered for some time with Moyock appearing confused and distraught. “I not understand. I think she say man is Coyote.”

  “Her dog is named after her mysterious consort?”

  Moyock palavered some more. His expression screwed up his face. “No, I think she say man is Coyote. Coyote is man.”

  What on earth did she mean? Watching us, the dog sat beside her. Whenever his name was mentioned, his tongue lolled out like he was laughing. I felt like killing it. “She doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  I lingered in the cave until my eyes became accustomed to the gloom. Maybe she didn’t know what the Grail was. Or perhaps it was a difference of terminology. To make sure it wasn’t in the cave, I prowled around poking into crevices, and fumbling through her hanging things. She didn’t pay any attention to me. Moyock hung around outside looking for Coyote.

  Almost through with my search I spied a small shelf well over my head. I stood on tiptoe to reach it, and now got Leahna’s attention. She hurried over to watch what I was doing. As my hand clutched an object on the shelf Leahna screamed, “No, no, no, mine!” She rushed up to take a small silver crucifix away from me. I didn’t resist and she clasped it to her heart. Hearing her voice Moyock entered.

  “She is guarding a cross,” I made a peace sign to calm her down. “Ask her about it.”

  “My uncle, last to die, give it to me. Last thing from my people.”

  “Ask her if she is a Christian.”

  “My uncle say, long time ago, people worshiped God in sky. I don’t know why man is on cross. Mean something to Coyote.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Coyote tremble when he see it. I not know why. He afraid, so I use to control him. Must do what I say when he see it.”

  “Coyote is gone a long time.” I said. “Where does he go?”

  She mumbled something, and Moyock said, “she thinks maybe hunting rabbits. I don’t think she knows were he is.”

  “When will he be back?”

  She just shrugged and waved her hand around like she didn’t know. She resumed working on a deer hide, scrapping the fat and flesh off the inside with a flint blade.

  I told Moyock we should pull our canoes farther up on the shore, around the wall out of sight of anyone on the river. Our location may not be a fearsome sight to everyone in the neighborhood. We were too late. The canoes were gone. I cursed unknown thieves loud and long. “Good thing we’d carried our other belongings up to the cave. We may be stuck here.”

  “Yes, now we have another mystery. Who would take them?”

  “Until we find out, we’ll have to keep Leahna and Coyote company longer than I intended.”

  Moyock asked Leahna who could the thieves be?

  “Many people go up and down river in canoes. I watch them from on mound. Anyone bold enough could take them. Someone not afraid our ghosts.”

  Now what? I came looking for the Grail. The Welsh had it. Except for one survivor descendent, the Welsh were gone. I doubt that she had it. Didn’t even know what it was. If it was here, it would be in the cave, and I knew it wasn’t. “Moyock, we’ve got to sit down and think on a course of action. See if you can get any more details from Leahna about the flight of the Mandan, as she called them. Also, we need to know more of her language, and she of English.”

  For the next few days, in between living chores, the three of us sat and exchanged words. Leahna said, “Uncle told me word drifted back Mandan crossed a great river. Now live in peace beside another great river.”

  “Do you know how far away they are?”

  “Don’t know. Maybe many moons.”

  When Moyock and I were alone, I said, “Have you seen anything of Coyote?”

  “Not for several days. I haven’t missed him.”

  “Me neither. Considering the way he hung around at first, and obviously followed her instructions, his absence seems strange. I’m still puzzled why she called her lover Coyote.”

  Moyock mumbled and grumbled to himself, then, “I think he is a witch .”

  Moyock’s insight stunned me. I began shivering as though a cold wind was blowing up my back. “Do you think she knows?”

  “If man and dog are same…she must know.”

  “We need to talk to her again.” Language was still a problem and I didn’t know if she was touchy about her lover. Figuring that women were pretty much the same regardless of tribe, we proceeded cautiously. “Coyote dog is still gone,” I ventured.

  “Yes.”

  “Do you expect him back?”

  She Shrugged. “Yes. Sometime…”

  “You also call your lover Coyote.”

  She frowned and sighed. “Same, same.”

  “Lover Coyote gone long time too. Will he come back?”

  “Yes. All time come back.”

  “Do you know where he is, and when he’ll come back?”

  “Come back when he want to. Now he with other girl. Leahna only one girl. He have many girl.”

  “Hold on! There are other girls around here?”

  “Many places. Other tribes up and down river. Coyote can have all girls.”

  “Huh? What do you mean.”

  “All girl like him. He give great pleasure. Not give baby.”

  “How can he do this? Do not men want to kill him?”

  “Yes. Men mad if they see him. Can’t see him. Can’t kill him. Coyote change shape. Can be man, can be Coyote, can be bird, maybe snake.”

  Moyock and I looked at each other. I blurted, “Zounds! He is a witch! A shape-shifter! That’s why he is frightened by the crucifix!”

  Both of us sat stunned. Recovering first, Moyock said, “Tell us more about Coyote. How he do these things?”

  “He magic person. Do many things. Play jokes, do silly things, sometimes he fooled by girls, find game, teach people to plant corn, pleasure girls, sometimes make it rain.”

  “Is he a god?”

  Leahna thought about this question. “He like God. Cannot be killed. No one worship him. Sometime he foolish.”

  “Does he ever cause harm? Hurt anyone? Since we are different could he harm us?”

  “Not harm people. Some time make mistake, cause hurt. Not on purpose.”

  “He’s certainly a different kind of witch, if he is one,” I said to Moyock. “Now that we know what he is like, I’m going to be very uneasy when he is around.”

  “Yes. Always first time for trouble. Who knows with witch?”

  “Getting to know her the last few days, I’ve ignored our greater problem. What do we do now? Do we go back to Jamestown? Do we stay here, or do we push on to find the Mandan? We lost our canoes,” I said. “If we want to go west, to find the Holy Grail, we have to get them back…or ones like them.”

  “Leahna. The people you see in canoes. Are there villages near here?”

  “Some people near. I not go there. They kill my people. Maybe they kill me. Maybe they think I witch. Not true.”

  “A day and a half back we stayed one night at a large village of Cinsy Tribe. We didn’t see any others on the way down here. Are the other villages down river?”

  “Not far is falls. Coyote say many people live by falls.”

  “Too bad we’re not on speaking terms with Coyote. We could learn a lot from him.”

  Leahna said. “When he come back I ask him to talk to you.”

  “Can he change back to man anytime he likes?”

  “I think so. He change back when he want to pleasure me aga
in. Maybe only Coyote-Man at night. Maybe only Coyote-Dog when sun up.”

  “I was struck from behind during the day. Dog could not do. Must have been Coyote-Man. Did you not see him then?”

  “No. Not see him hit you.” She blushed and hesitated. “He not hit you. You not see me in woods. You might be bad for me. I hit you.”

  Thanks for the headache, I thought. “That’s a relief. I didn’t want to think a dog could do it. Can you get Coyote to talk to us…before…or after…he wants you?”

  “I hold charm. He must wait. Do what I want. Charm scare him. I not know why. After pleasures me he not stay around to talk.”

  To Moyock, “I want to find the Holy Grail, so we need to hunt for the Mandan. But we’ve got no canoes. Without them, we couldn’t carry our trade goods and supplies. Before we make any definite plans we need to talk to Coyote.”

  “He might not want to help us.”

  “You go to Mandan. Take Leahna with you. I can help. Not want to stay here…alone.”

  Moyock stared at me. “I think she can help. I wonder how you will treat her.”

  Pretty cool for a fifteen year old kid. “Why do you say that?”

  “You always look at her. You maybe jealous of Coyote. If you don’t mind self, could be big trouble.”

  “Admittedly, I don’t intend to play second-fiddle to a phantom.”

  “Hah. How you outwit witch?”

  I felt like smacking him one. “When I need to, I will.”

  After two nights when Coyote had not returned, I began to hope he wouldn’t. In the meantime, I might as well take over his pleasure duties. When I was sure that Moyock was asleep, I slipped out of my bedroll and crept over to where I thought Leahna was laying. Feeling around in the dark my hand found the edge of her pallet. I lifted her cover enough for me to slip in with her.

  “Hanhh? Squire? Squire? What you do? ”

  I slipped my left arm under her shoulder. I slid my right hand up to cup her glorious breast. “Coyote not come back. I pleasure you now.”

  “You pleasure me? No! No! You not do!”

  Now I let go of her breast and slid my hand down to part her legs. When I got between them and she could feel my stallion she screamed, “ NO, NO! YOU NOT DO! ”

  At the same time she twisted partially out from under me and slammed her knee into my testicles! OOOOHHHHHOOWWW! Now it was my turn to scream! In excruciating pain I doubled over. With her feet and hands she pushed me off of her pallet.

  Moyock hollered, “Squire, Squire, What happened? Are you hurt?”

  He couldn’t see the action in the dark. I grunted for him to stay where he was. When the pain subsided enough, I crept back to my bedroll. I knew I wouldn’t get to sleep for a while, and doubted if anyone else could. “I’ll recover,” I whispered to Moyock. All I could do. When I thought I had control of my voice again, I said, “Why you hurt me, Leahna? Coyote gone. I pleasure you.”

  “NO! You put bone-thing in me! Give me baby. NO, NO! I not want baby.”

  “You not fear Coyote give you baby?”

  “How Coyote give baby? He not use bone-thing. He only give girls pleasure.”

  “You keep saying that. What does he do that is so great?”

  “I told you he magic. He have magic girls love.”

  “I don’t know what you talk about.”

  “Humph. You have to learn. You learn his way, maybe you pleasure girls. Maybe not. You not have tongue like Coyote.”

  I nearly chocked. Did she mean Coyote gamahuoched her? That’s where her pleasure came from? Stunned by the implication of her words, I felt light headed. “Do you mean he not use his ‘bone-thing,’ as you call it, only his tongue?”

  “Yes. Only for girls. Not for wife-mate. Not do it after any man has ‘bone-thing’ in her. Then Coyote use ‘bone-thing’ in squaws.”

  So he only pleasured maidens but rogered wives. Then despite the intense sexual pleasure she had enjoyed, does Leahna still have her maidenhead? I sure wanted to find out…for myself.

  “Since he can be man or animal, can he pleasure girls when he is animal?”

  “He say so. Not with me. Maybe with some girl. He want to with me. Charm stop him. Must do what I say.”

  This is so puzzling. A coyote witch goes around ‘frenching’ young girls, virgins only. But what for? “What pleasure does Coyote get from pleasuring a girl?”

  “His ‘bone-thing.’ It squirt hard. He say it feel good. Girl must not let squirt get on her leg.”

  “And if it does…does she have baby coyotes?”

  “No. You foolish. Girl cannot have puppies.”

  “Even if he pleasures a girl when he’s an animal…and his squirt gets on her leg?”

  There was a long silence. “No, no, no! You not say that! I not know. You be quiet. I not know. Do not ask. Go…to…sleep! ”

  That seemed like a good idea. Eventually my mind calmed and I slept. In the morning I wondered if I’d been dreaming…having a nightmare. No, pain lingered in my scrotum. If everything else was a dream, her swift knee was not.

  Moyock wanted to know what happened in the dark. I told him.

  “Huynh. I think you lucky she only knee you. She plenty handy with hatchet you gave her.”

  He had a good point. She also had a crude copper knife. Conquering her maidenhead was going to require some finesse. I decided a temporary retreat was in good order. In our society an abject apology was due. How about with a savage maiden? After she got up I stood in front of her at a small distance. Then I bowed and said, “I sorry for what I do. I apologize.”

  With an eyebrow raised, she glanced at Moyock. He hand signaled something that must have mollified her. She didn’t say anything. With a smile she just turned and walked outside.

  Later that day Moyock and I discussed moving on. He said, “We need to get canoes.”

  “Indeed. Perhaps we can walk back to the Cinsy tribe we passed on the way down. Probably take day and a half, two days.”

  “I think tribe by falls closer,” Leahna said. “Not far to walk. Maybe only one day.”

  “How do you know if you haven’t been there?”

  “I don’t go there. Coyote say it not far.”

  “Well I hope that rascal turns up soon. We could use some definite information.”

  “Humnf.” Moyock said, “I don’t think you want see him.”

  He was right. The thought of him made my lip curl. Leahna says he can not die. But has anyone ever tried to kill him with a bullet? If he comes after Leahna again, I’ll sure find out.

  I made up packs for Moyock and me to carry on our backs. For food we carried some dried deer meat and some hardtack biscuits. I was reluctant to part with any more wool cloth. What we carried for gifts and trading was small knives, tobacco, two hatchets and some beads for the ladies. I carried my flintlock and had Moyock carry my pistol in his belt under his shirt.

  Early in the morning we set out walking along the shore of the O-Hi-O. When we could hear the noise of a falls we soon saw signs of habitation. Fortunately the village we approached was on the north side of the water. As we approached, a small party of men came out to meet us. Since they didn’t act surprised or frightened, they must have known we were about. Word must have traveled down river from the Cinsy tribe.

  They returned our peace and friendship signs. Then they invited us to sit in front of the largest wikkiup. Using signs, so that he could translate between me and the warriors, Moyock learned a few of their words. These people said they were the Unilah tribe. After I distributed tobacco to the men and some beads to women, we had a smoke. They invited us to eat.

  Now I broke out a hatchet, showed how sharp it was, and offered it to Chief Otisco as a gift. Next I invited the Chief’s wife to look at one of the small knives. Moyock explained to her how it could be used for paring, and would last a long time before wearing out. Excited, She ran off to tell the other women about it.

  Chief Otisco said, “Why you carry hard stick. I see no
blade. It look heavy. Maybe not strong to be club. What use is it?” Since I didn’t want to show them what it could do, Moyock said, “Among White Men, his stick, you call it, is symbol of White Chief’s authority. His totem. When they see it, other White Men do what he say.”

  While we seemed to be on friendly terms, Moyock mentioned that our canoes drifted off and we had to replace them. Our hosts exchanged some looks that told me they already knew. I explained, “We camped by a huge red-haired girl. We think a witch at the ‘fort’ cast a spell on the canoes. If they drifted here, we hope none of our good friends caught the ghost sickness in them. If we return with the canoes, red-haired girl will make witch take curse off.”

  This tale caused some consternation and excited talk which Moyock couldn’t follow. Some of the councilmen around me muttered among themselves. Whatever was going on signaled me to be alert. A heated argument broke out between the Shaman and a younger man. Chief Otisco ordered them apart. Turning to me, he wanted to know who the witch was. “Tell him the witch is called Coyote.”

  “Hmmmnnn. We see red-haired girl on hill. She make bad noise, wave arms, maybe she witch too.”

  That answer caused some more general alarm. Chief Otisco continued, “Why you not fear ghost sickness?”

  “We fear ghost sickness. The witch gave us ghost sickness. We nearly died. The red-haired girl made him cure us. Once cured, we can’t catch it again.”

  Then the young man who was arguing with the Shaman pushed past him and ran at us.

  “Maybe big trouble Squire. Young buck took canoes. He thinks you lie. He not sick.”

  I jumped to my feet and demanded, “Who calls White Chief Squire a liar?”

  The young man sprang towards me. He dashed his spear into the ground in front of me. Then arms akimbo he taunted, “I, Berserk Beaver say you speak with forked tongue! No ghost fever in my canoes!”

  No one had to tell me that I faced a deadly challenge. No hesitating…I grabbed the spear…broke it over my knee. With a contemptuous sneer…I threw the pieces aside. Matching his stance…I looked him in the eyes…swaggered up close in front of him…He didn’t flinch…I decked him with a right to his jaw.