Free Russian Amerika by Stoney Compton Page A

in Mother Russia for decades.

    Although skilled forest hunters and trappers, they would also kill their mother for a ruble. More often than not, they were the collectors of the Czar's share of half a man's yearly production.

    "We have to split up now, they can't follow everybody," Slayer-of-Men said.

    Samis, the woodsman, grinned at the Dená.

    "Why not just shoot these people rather than leave them to those animals?"

    "We won't leave you. We're just going to separate into smaller groups."

    After a quick consultation, the Dená strike team broke into pairs and hurried over to the released captives. Wing and Claude came up to Grisha.
    "You and the soldier are going with us, now," Wing said.

    Nik looked troubled. "Would it be possible for me to go with-"

    "Either get in front of me or be rear guard," Wing snapped.

    "By all means, lead."

    Grisha had no idea which direction they took. He glanced back once at the camp, but the forest had already swallowed the others. He could hear Nik behind him, muttering under his breath.

    He wondered how many were following them. Didn't matter, he decided, they would deal with the problem when they had to.
    11

    On the Tanana River Trail

    Muscular Boris Crepov earned the name "Bear" from fellow promyshlenniks , who more closely resembled the ursine race than their own. Shaggy headed, his beard spanning from mid torso nearly to his black, distrustful eyes, he moved quickly through the forest despite his almost twometer, wide-shouldered bulk. Following the Dená trail wouldn't have proved challenging to a St. Petersburg courtier.

    The thought made him grin.

    They don't know we're behind them. They think we were all killed in their hellish maskirovka. They have no idea that we were patiently waiting for the word, or how quickly we moved out .

    The mixed force of Cossacks, promyshlenniks , and Imperial Army rangers had been chosen for speed and woodcraft. At the last minute the general in charge of the mission had ordered the tank and regular infantry to accompany the ranger force. "Insurance," he said.

    Insured to slow them down ! Crepov thought contemptuously.

    The Cossacks had wanted to charge into the construction site. Bear Crepov knew better. He'd already been at two such sites in the past. There would be nobody there and the Indians always left a maskirovka -deception.

    When he asked those he guided for a volunteer, six Cossacks and two army rangers stepped forward, growling. He chose the biggest Cossack and instructed him to look in every building, to carefully examine the whole area for fool traps. Through his binoculars he saw the man snatch up the Kalashnikov in the middle of the square and wave triumphantly before he and all the buildings around him were blown to fiery pieces.

    That slowed both the Cossacks and rangers down and they no longer questioned Bear as the obvious expert-in-place.

    "Now you see what they are capable of," he told them in his rumbling voice. "The Dená Separatist Movement are not your normal fish-stinking Indians-not only can they kill, they like it as much as we do."

    The tourist camp burned to the ground. Crepov didn't care about that. There were plenty more convicts at Tetlin Redoubt and villages full of lazy Indians to be inducted into service for the Czar if needed.

    Only twilight stopped their pursuit. Crepov knew they were close but he didn't want to stumble over them in the dark.

    Just before the sky bled to gray, his belly clock woke him at the final edge of blackness. He kicked his six men out of their blankets and gave them a few minutes to prepare their departure. Then he went over to where the six Cossacks snored and farted. He prodded the foot of their sergeant, Tulubev.

    "There is game to be hunted, my friend."

    The Cossack sergeant reared up from his blanket with a knife in his hand.

    "Don't ever touch me without first asking permission. I heard you coming and recognized your lumbering tread, otherwise you would now be