Read Captive Trail for Free Online Page B

something across to her, using hand motions, but the signs weren’t intelligible. Taabe stared at her blankly. The woman placed the lamp on the table, held up a finger, and backed toward the doorway. She went out, leaving the door open. Taabe wanted to rise, but knew she couldn’t.
    She waited, her heart pounding. Something had happened. What was the woman trying to tell her? Would she have smiled like that if Peca had appeared at the door?
    A moment later, she heard footsteps and low voices. One was that of a man. Taabe grasped the edge of the blanket and pulled it up to her chin, over her soft white gown, and peered over the flimsy shield.
    The woman appeared in the doorway, with a tall white man behind her. She stepped inside, extending her hands and speaking rapidly. Taabe blinked, uncomprehending, and looked into the man’s face. Maybe he was the head of the family. She thought she might have seen him before, but she didn’t know where. Was he the one who had found her?

    Ned looked helplessly at the injured woman. The right side of her face was a mass of bruises, ranging from deep purple to yellow. Her matted hair hung about her shoulders, and her blue eyes radiated terror.
    “You don’t understand a word I’m saying, do you?” He turned to the nun. “Has she said anything, ma’am?”
    “I am Sister Adele. Mostly she has slept, but Sister Natalie coaxed her this morning, and we believe we have her name. Tah-bay-wy-poo.”
    The injured woman frowned at the words, her gaze darting between them.
    “We’ve fed her and bandaged her ankle,” the nun said. “I was going to look at it again this morning, but it pained her so much, I left it alone. We don’t know if she has other injuries. We thought it best not to disturb her too much, so long as she seemed peaceful.”
    “I don’t know what to tell those people out there.” Ned sighed and turned his hat around and around in his hands. “We can’t ask her questions.”
    The nun nodded. “It is too soon. Perhaps if they came back later …”
    Ned shook his head. “They want to get a look at her today. They think they’ll know if she’s their daughter, and maybe they will. I wish we could tell her what it’s about, though, so she wouldn’t be frightened.”
    He took a step toward the bed, and the young woman cringed away from him, toward the wall. She grimaced and closed her eyes.
    “She’s in pain,” Ned said. “This isn’t the time to bring strangers in to ogle her.”
    “No,” the sister said. “But if she is their child, they have a right to know.”
    “You don’t speak any Comanche, I suppose?”
    “None at all. Do you?”
    He shook his head. “All right, I’ll go get Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham.”
    He went out into the mission entrance. The couple waited in the sitting room just inside the door.
    “She’s awake. If you folks want to come with me, I’ll take you to her. Just don’t expect too much. She doesn’t understand English, and she’s in a lot of pain.”
    Mrs. Cunningham rose. “How badly is she injured?”
    “The nuns aren’t sure. Her face is bruised. That and her ankle seem to be the worst of it. She’ll have to stay off that foot for several weeks.”
    The couple followed him silently along a narrow hallway, from which several curtained doorways opened. The final opening on the right had a wooden door. Ned paused before it. “They’ve cleaned her up some, but not completely. They wanted to let her rest.”
    “All right,” Mr. Cunningham said.
    Ned stood aside, and they entered the small chamber. Sister Adele was leaning over the bed, holding a cup of water to the injured woman’s lips.
    “Oh my.” Mrs. Cunningham put a hand to her mouth.
    Sister Adele turned and said softly, “We have washed her once, but we haven’t washed her hair. She needs to rest and heal. Tomorrow, if possible, we will bathe her.”
    While she spoke, the Cunninghams stared at the woman on the bed, and she cowered against the wall,