Slocum and the Spirit Bear (9781101618790) by Jake Logan

moment to admire her beauty.
    â€œThere’s streaks of it here and there,” she said. Her fingers wandered along his ears and through his hair. Before Slocum could make sure she was still on task, she told him, “There’s a lot more back here. Didn’t see it before because your hair was covering it and it mixed with some dirt and such. Let me get you cleaned up.”
    Using some water from a canteen, she wet the kerchief and proceeded to wipe away the trail dust as well as the stuff that had been smeared on him. “Whatever this is,” she said while rubbing vigorously at the side of his face, “it’s sticky. Almost like tar or some kind of syrup.”
    â€œThat’d be the worst-tasting syrup I ever heard of,” Slocum said.
    â€œIt sure would. I imagine it must feel pretty good to get this stuff off of you.”
    â€œIt does. I’m feeling a lot better than before. You were right about putting this leg up.”
    â€œI’m amazed you rode all the way back with that kind of injury. I knocked my shoulder out of joint once and nearly passed out from the pain. Even after it was put back right again, I was still dizzy for a few hours.”
    â€œThis wasn’t nearly as serious as that,” Slocum told her.
    Ever since the wagons had gotten moving again, Slocum and Theresa had been rocked back and forth within the confined space. The boxes and furniture around them creaked or groaned every now and then, but had been packed too tightly for them to worry about it falling over. As she looked down at him, the wagon rolled over a particularly deep rut in the trail that knocked her off her balance. He took advantage of the moment by wrapping her up in his arms once more and pulling her on top of him. Since she was lying mostly on her side, there was no danger of her inadvertently jabbing his leg.
    â€œIf I talked harshly to you when I was climbing into the wagon,” Slocum said, “it was just for the benefit of the others.”
    â€œOh. So everyone else benefited from watching you act like an ass?”
    He laughed and settled into the bed a bit more. “I can only imagine what everyone was saying after they heard that howl and saw me and Ed ride off the way we did.”
    â€œWe’ve been through a lot since we all left our homes, John. We’ve seen and heard worse than that. When the wagons caught fire and Peter Bourne was caught in the flames. He . . . it was . . .” She closed her eyes and drew a steadying breath. Nestling within Slocum’s embrace comforted her enough to go on. “It was terrible. But that howling . . . was strange.”
    â€œI thought so, too. I just didn’t want anyone else to get rattled. Bad enough you heard the gunshots.”
    â€œSince you don’t know who or what was out there, I take it those shots didn’t hit anything?”
    â€œThey did. I don’t know how many, but some were hit.”
    â€œAnd what about the howling? Just some crazy man trying to frighten us like you said?”
    Slocum stared at the tarp stretched above him, but was clearly seeing more than just the thick, weathered material. “The ones that attacked us were men. They wore some sort of cloaks or something with leaves and dirt stuck to it. I didn’t even get a good look at any faces, but I could feel it was a man beneath all of that mess. I couldn’t check each of them. I don’t even know for certain how many there were. I just don’t know if I’d call them crazy.”
    â€œThey sound crazy to me.”
    â€œThere was a method to what they were doing. They might not have gone about things in a way I know, but they were able to sneak up on me and Ed when both of us were out there looking for anything out of the ordinary. Even now, I’d swear to the Almighty himself that there wasn’t anyone in that field beforehand. They had to be out there,