Chapter 4

When it was time for the dance, I got my horse out and hitched it to the sleigh. Rocky handed Atea into the back seat, and I got in beside her. Rocky handed Mable into the seat beside him. Reaching the church, several people went up the steps to the entrance.

“Kid,” Rocky forgot to call me Matt, but I ignored the slip. “Wait here with the ladies while I settle the horse and sleigh in the rear out of the wind. I’m glad you left a small amount of hay for him. I’ll be right back.”

Mable was saying hello to people as we approached the entrance. Atea had a bulky buckskin coat over her clothes, and I had a long sheepskin coat. No one had seen us before, and people were curious about who we were. No one was asking, though. Rocky was soon there and guided Mable up the steps.

The sand was loose on the marble steps, and Atea slipped. I grabbed her before she fell, gathered her into his arms, carried her up the steps, and deposited her inside the entryway. There was room to hang all the coats. Rocky took his off and helped Mable remove hers. I did the same for Atea and hung my jacket over hers. We now went down the stairs to a large common room.

It was crowded near the stairs until we entered and reached the seats on the sidelines. I was taught to dance by my folks at a young age, and I was comfortable and looking forward to the night’s festivities. Atea, though, was shy and nervous with everyone looking at her. She stood out because she was a stranger and dressed nicely.

Mable pulled her close and did understand her feelings. “The music will start in a few minutes. Matt, do you dance both the squares and the rounds?”

“Yes, for the first round, I will try to teach Atea a few steps if it is a waltz.”

“If she has trouble, I can show her how. I’m not as tall as you so it might be easier for her.”

I looked where the band was setting up; there were two fiddles, a base, a concertina, a guitar, and a horn. We sat and waited for the dance to begin. There were people of all ages, many being kids, many younger, and some my age.

“Atea, look at that Mom teaching her child the steps to a waltz dance. It looks like that is the first time the girl has been here.”

“It is so many steps. I’ll never learn them.”

“I’ll show you how when the music starts. That is a big help because music has a beat that tells you when to take a step. The square dances usually have four couples in the set. A caller sings out the next move coming up. Most people who like square dances know most of the calls and help those first learning what move is coming up. At first, we will watch.”

“Okay.”

We sat and watched the people coming in. Once in a while, someone would stop and speak to Mable. Atea was very interested in observing the crowd and how they acted. I sat quietly and observed. I was watching Mable and Rocky together. Rocky is a medium-sized man, and women consider him handsome, with graying hair in the temples. Mable was taken with him, and I could tell she was romantically interested.

Mable appeared to be slightly older, but who knows her age? She was wearing quality clothes, and I couldn’t see her living with us in a shack on the mountain.

Atea was examined closely by the acquaintances stopping by to speak to Mable. Atea was pretty and dressed attractively with her red moccasins and red half-top on her shoulders. I was tall, gangly, and had wavy hair. I thought I was ignored.

That was okay. One thing I was surprised at was that Rocky when introduced by Mable was using a different name of Sedgewick instead of the one he told me was his name of Noland when I told him mine was Abbot. Was this his real name?—I’d have to ask. Nah.

When the music for the first dance began, I guided Atea to the back of the room, out of the way where the bulk of the dancers were. It was darker here, and I could give Atea my full attention. “Let your mind absorb the music and sway with it.”

“Kid, you mean like listening to an Indian drum?”

“That is what I mean. Okay, it is for the man to lead the woman. You will be walking backward, and I’ll be moving my body. There are tiny indications of when to move your feet. That’s because I am giving you a sign to move that foot out of the way where I’m going to place my foot. I don’t want to step on you.

“If Rocky had warned us earlier about attending this dance, we could have practiced at home. Indians dance using the drum and other instruments, so Atea it shouldn’t be strange to you. If we come to another one, we will be ready for it. Tonight is to enjoy the music.”

“Kid, I see people all almost hugging. They are so close.”

“Those dancers are most likely married or are in love. My parents danced that way a lot.”

“Do you want to dance that way with Atea?”

“I don’t think it appropriate for brother and sister to dance that close.”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“Maybe, someday, Atea, when we are older.” Atea and I sometimes got our steps together, but I did step on her toes. We practiced for two dances and returned to our seats for the last of the set, just watching.

A square was announced; Rocky guessed he wouldn’t dance this time. “Mrs. Orkins, would you be my partner?”

“Oh, I would love to. Do you know how?”

“Some of the calls I do. My parents went to dances often and I went with then when I was very young. It was a lot of fun.”

“Good, there is a set waiting for a couple my husband and I used to dance with.” Mable took my hand and we dodged between the different sets forming. “Hi, Willy and Ruth, I saw you come in. Not much like old times, is it? Young Mr. Jenkins asked me to dance, so here I am.”

“It is so good to see you, Mable. Is this your first time out since becoming a widow?”

“Almost.”

The caller shouted, “Honor your Partner.” We soon circled, swinging partners, allemande left and rights, promenades, and doe se doe’s.” Every move in the squares was performed during the three-dance set, and I had a great time.

When I returned to where Rocky and Atea were sitting, he exclaimed, “I didn’t see one mistake in all the dances. Mable, did you have fun?”

“I sure did; it was like when my husband was alive. Matt is an accomplished dancer. Maybe we will waltz before the night is over.”

“I certainly will, and my pleasure.”

Atea and I moved down near the corner where we could be out of the crowded floor, and I continued to teach her. It wouldn’t be many dances before she would get the hang of it; anyway, she was enjoying herself, and that was the point.

When people were leaving, I went outside and found my horse and sleigh; Mable, Rocky, and Atea came out as I pulled in front of the church. It was still cold, but it felt like the weather was changing and would be warmer by the time we woke tomorrow.

Atea and I were sleeping in one bed, and I think Rocky and Mable had the other room. I was surprised that I was supposed to sleep in the same bed as Atea, but Rocky said it was okay. “The two are considered sister and brother, sleeping in union suits.”

Atea and I were tired, but she wanted to make some comments, “Kid, one time you held Mable differently when you danced? Other couples were holding their squaws the same way you held her. Everyone gave you more room. You did take up a lot of room on the floor, and everyone clapped when all six of you ended the dance alone in the middle of the floor.”

“Atea, my Ma taught Pa ballroom dancing and they enjoyed it. You could hear the fiddles mostly. Mable and I swooped and swayed to the music. Mable said she was startled when I bowed to her, led her out, and took a different stance. I wouldn’t have done it except I heard her tell Rocky that she and her husband danced that way when there were violins in a band.”

“Kid, you know many things I will never know how to do.”

“Maybe we will be together long enough so I can show you some of these things. I am not learning much new up on the ranch, either. This dance was a good experience, and I was glad to see people doing the same things I remember doing. Someday, I will decide I will have to leave and catch up on what is happening in the world.”

“Kid, my name is Atea. Did you know that is the name of a feeling, not a thing? The Indians named me that because of the way I acted. It must have been because I missed Karen’s Brave when he didn’t return. I think it is what you call sad with tears in your eyes.”

I was silent, thinking about what Atea had just shared about who her father was. I was confused. Rocky, I assumed that he had the story straight from Karen through sign language and the few words she knew of our language. Maybe the story he told was more of the truth, and Karen wasn’t the mother of Atea after all. Atea must be as confused as I was.

Tired as we both were, there was no time to think about it tonight. The cold bed warmed, and Atea was soon asleep, grasping my hand with hers. I didn’t sleep well, and we shifted during the night, so sometimes we snuggled tight and sometimes I loosened but I was soon in her clutches again.

Morning came, and we had breakfast and headed home. Before we left, Mable asked me to look at her broken Buggy wheel. Two new spokes, one felloes and two felloes clamps would fix it. I would tend to this sometime before she must drive it in fair weather.

Rocky and I discussed what a great time we all had on our trip to town, “Kid, I’ve invited Mable to visit us come, warm weather. I’m proud of my little ranch and would like her to see it.

“I don’t know about you, but I think Atea needs more schooling than you and I can give her. Mable said Atea was such a beautiful child that having her live with us men wasn’t right. I’m supposed to convince Karen to let Atea stay in town and live with Mable.”

“Rocky, it will be a lonely existence with not having Atea with us,”

“Kid, you’d agree, though?”

“Yes, I would agree, but I don’t know whether we can get Atea to agree. The first thing is to find out the truth about her origin. There seems to be some question about it.”

“We’ll find out. Karen said she was half-Indian, sired by a white trapper. Then something was said that she was a found baby near her dead parents, rescued by a Brave of Karen’s to raise. What’s the truth of it?”

“I don’t know. Karen loves the child either way. Now that Atea can speak enough of our words, we’ll have her ask Karen, or maybe not, what the truth is.”

“Rocky, I’m getting the hang of their Indian talk, and I can understand what they are saying. I feel that Karen already wants Atea to understand her side of her white heritage. It may be because she is of white blood. There is no doubt that her being out in the weather so much makes her darker than someone living inside.”

“Work on it, Kid.”

Through the winter, we visited Mable, staying over two nights each time. I managed to repair her buggy wheel, and Mable found lacquer to match the color of the spokes and felloes, so the repair was unnoticeable. It was a long trip, so we did not often travel there.

Spring arrived, and Rocky searched for buyers for his steers. Another ranch offered to combine our herd with theirs for the drive to market. Rocky had to help on the drive, leaving Karen, Atea and I to oversee the ranch for the ten days he would be gone.

Atea and I were now talking and understanding what we were saying without trouble. Sometimes, to get across what we meant, we would slip into Indian speak to clarify the meaning. I had lived on the ranch for eleven months and had known Atea for nine months. For ten days, I moved into the tepee. I had a pallet near the grandfather, with Karen, her papoose, and Atea on pallets across from mine.

The grandfather told of his life, which Atea interpreted so I could understand. I still coached Atea on her reading. Mable had given her some books to read. Most of these had a scene or person engravings on a few pages, so it wasn’t long before she made sense of the story.

Atea and I rode around the range every morning to see how the cattle were doing. Consistently, I wore my shell belt and weapon. I worried that some whites or Indians would come in and take the cattle or might even kill us. This fear went back to when my father was shot and killed. I suggested that Karen, grandfather, and the papoose head into the woods to hide if possible if that happened.

Atea, with Karen and Jack who most usually I was with, would put up in the cabin. Atea was to go into where Rocky and I slept, grab the shotgun, point it toward the door, and fire one barrel if someone followed her inside. I was afraid, and with her being so light of weight, if she held the weapon to her shoulder, the kickback would break her shoulder. I told her the best way would be to keep it tight to her side and point it while bracing herself. I did have her fire the shotgun once after I had demonstrated. It set her back some but didn’t knock her off her feet.

“Atea, I will do my utmost to protect you, so please only do this as a last resort?”

“Kid, if it ever comes time when we are in danger, I can do this.”

“Atea, I hope it never comes time when you have to.” We rarely spoke of danger and troubles. However, we were ready to take them on if trouble did show its ugly face.

On May 3, I had lived at the ranch for one year. The Indian Grandfather died—Alive one day and gone the next. Atea and I took him onto a nearby mountain and dug him a grave. There was nothing remarkable about the place. Atea said she had described it to Grandfather, and he said that was a good place for him to rest.

We put him onto the mule and transported him to the site. There was some dirt, but it mainly was detritus from the surrounding rotten ledges. There was a field of flowers below from the East for him to view. We believed he had a good, long life.

Mable had no children and loved having Atea stay for extended visits. She bought her clothes and styled her thick brown hair. I worried Mable wouldn’t continue with what I was working so hard to educate her. Mable didn’t let us down. She taught her how to write, and her hand became much better than mine.