White Feather

By George M. Goodwin

When the love of his life is taken by raiders in the night, and the home they had worked so hard to build is burned. Web Mason knows only one thing, he has to track the men who took her. No matter where they go or how long it takes him. Although he could never have imagined the search he was in for, or the amount of help and kindness he would receive from strangers. One stranger most of all. All he knew was he had to find White Feather.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pale Horse Publications
• Release date: May 31, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224568307

George M. Goodwin

George was born in 1960 in Jefferson County Alabama. The fifth of nine children, eight boys and one girl. The family was raised poor, but not poorly raised. At home, George was taught morals, ethics and respect. Reading, writing and arithmetic at school. Love, honor and obedience to God at church. He grew up on John Wayne movies, country music and the writings of Louis L' Amour, Robert Louis Stevenson, H.G. Wells and Jules Verne.  

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

The Night Raiders

Web Mason was awakened by the rain falling on his back. It wasn’t a heavy rain, but looking at the ground around him he knew it had been. Something else came to him, flooding his sense of smell. it took a few seconds, then suddenly he knew it was smoke. He staggered to his feet, and turning, he could see that the barn was completely burned and as he turned the other direction, he could see that most of his house was burned as well. The rain must have come in time or it would all be gone. Dragging his left leg, he started for the house. He called her name as he did so. When there was no answer, he called louder and moved faster. He had to find her, but at the same time wasn’t sure if he could handle what he might find. The porch and the front of the house was gone, it had burned away completely. As he stumbled through the carnage, he saw that the door to the bedroom was closed. Fear clutched at his throat making it almost impossible to breathe. He seemed to recall last night and that they were just about to get in bed. He could have closed the door as he came out or maybe she had closed herself in there when the house caught fire and went out the window that opened to the back of the house.

Chapter 1

Opening the door, he could see that the room was destroyed, but not by fire. Somebody had overturned the bed and table. Clothes were strewn about and a chair hung half in and half out of the window. She was not in there, though. He searched what remained of the house but she was nowhere to be found.

As he went out on the back porch, he caught his reflection in a piece of mirror hanging over a water basin that he used for shaving. He stared into it at himself but could not believe his own eyes.

On his head someone had tied a horse tail of long black hair. His face had been painted up like an Indian on the warpath, although the rain had made it streak and run into some nightmarish mask. He pulled away from the mirror and sat down on the top step. His mind came back to him slowly, and as it did, he started remembering bits and pieces of last night. He looked at his leg and saw his pants leg was bloody. He tore the horse tail wig from his head and started to tear off a piece of his shirt to bind his leg, then realized he wasn’t wearing one. He also had no boots on, only socks and pants. As he started to rise from the step, he heard the sound of a horse and wagon pulling up out front. Someone was calling his name and he could hear them coming through the rubble.

The back door opened and his friend Jim Masters stood there. Web are you okay? Jim asked.

I saw the light of the flames from my place and headed this way. I sent my boy to tell some of the others, too, Jim said, pulling a bandanna from his back pocket. "Sit down, Boy, you’ve been hurt.

As Jim tore the pants leg back, he could see it was a bullet wound.

Lord Almighty, Boy. What happened here? asked Jim. Then he looked up and asked Web, where is she? Where is White Feather?

I don’t know, he told Jim. I was looking for her.

When Jim finished with his leg, Web got up and went down the steps and along the wall. He hoped to find her footprints under the window or leading away from the house. The rain had washed out everything, if there had ever been anything. As they came around the house, another wagon was coming in the yard. More of his neighbors, Bob Upton, Mark Turner, and Jim’s son, Ben. The wagon came to a stop and they climbed down and walked over to him.

"Web, we came as quick as Ben told us. What happened? Are you and White Feather okay?

At Web's request, Ben went in to what was left of the house and found him a shirt and his boots. He also brought some things to clean up and better bandage Web's leg. The bullet had gone through his calf, it was painful but it had not hit bone. Ben then asked, Mister Mason, what’s that in your hand?

Web looked down, not even realizing he held anything. This, he said, holding up the wig for all of them to see, this was tied on my head when I came to, somebody had also painted me up like an Indian wearing war paint or something.

This was no accidental fire, then, said Mark.

No it wasn’t, said Web. And whoever did it took White Feather with them.

No tracks or prints? asked Bob Upton.

None we could find around the house, said Web. I guess the rain wiped them out. Bob, didn’t you use to track for the army?

Eight years, Bob answered. You want me to have a look around?

Would you please? asked Web.

While he was gone, they cleaned his leg and bandaged it. Then they searched through the rubble, trying to find some clue as to who those men were. They found nothing, not a thing to tell them who might have done this.

Bob came back about a half hour later. Web’s thinking was starting to clear somewhat by then, as well. They had discovered that he had taken a hard blow to the back of his head, too. Bob told them he had found where four horses had been tied under a tree.

It looked like they were there for a while, he said. They must have watched the place until they were sure you’d gone to bed.

Well, that makes sense, said Web. Only they were a little too quick. I had taken off my shirt and boots and was sitting on the edge of the bed. Then I heard something out at the barn. I picked up my pistol and headed out there. As I came out the door, I saw fire in the barn. I made a couple of steps out on the porch and something hit me in the head. Must have given me a concussion or something. I kept going in and out after that. I remember hearing them come for me, and that’s when they tied me in a chair.

"I came to once and heard White Feather scream. I tried to go to her but blacked out again before I could get free of the chair. I faintly remember them tying that wig on me and painting up my face. They kept calling me squaw man and saying how if I wanted to be an Indian so bad they would help me. They must have taken White Feather out the back door because I don’t remember seeing her. Two of them untied me and was taking me out the front door. One of them let go of me and turned to throw a torch back in the house.

When he did, I tore loose from the other one and as I started across the yard, that’s when I was shot in the leg. I fell hard and must have hit my head again because the next thing I knew, the rain was beating on my back and woke me up.

Bob said, well, I can’t tell you much more. The rain washed out their tracks soon after they rode from under the trees. I will say that one horse was carrying heavy, like two people, and that they headed west.

Mark Turner walked up from the barn just then, and said, Web, I don’t think they were western men.

Why do you say that? asked Jim.

They burned the stock, said Mark. No western man would do that. Especially horses, he’d turn them out then fire the barn.

They all nodded in agreement, men of the west placed a different value on his animals than people in the east. In the west, a horse wasn’t just an animal you owned. In many cases a man without a horse was as good as dead. They were a trusted friend to a cowboy or farmer.

I need a horse, said Web. I have to get after them now or I’ll never find them.

Alright, said Jim, lets go to my place, we’ll get you a horse and some gear. Bob, you and Mark go home and get what you need and meet us there. I’m west of here so it’ll be in the right direction." They climbed in their wagons and took off for home.

At eleven o’clock, they were ready to leave Jim’s farm. Ben wanted to go, but Jim asked him if he’d stay behind to watch the place and care for his mother. This was his