Free Miss Annie And The Chief by Joany Kane Page B

forcibly take my father's land. I will not sign this
treaty.”  
    “You are
breaking the peace, Chief Red Hawk.”   Mr. Murphy retorts.   “Do you
want to be at war with the United States Government?”
    “You only want
peace if it is on your terms,” the chief proclaims.
    “This is a
generous treaty. You tribe is dwindling.   You do not need the amount of land you have now.   We do.”   Mr. Murphy counters.
    “It does not
matter to you that my people have lived on this land for as long as the stories
have been told?”
    “Times are
changing, Chief.   You need to
change with them.” Mr. Murphy says smugly.
    “We have been
changing ever since you came to our land. We used to be as many as the stars at
night.   Now we are few.   We used to be strong and swift, and
now, you bring us whiskey and disease.   We used to have life, liberty and happiness.   You continually take those inalienable rights from the
Indian. I would rather die a free man on my land than live a life of dishonor.”   Chief Red Hawk defiantly leaves the
proceedings.
    One of the
commissioners approaches Annie and Mark.   “You better get him to sign that treaty or else we will forcibly remove
his people from the land.”
    Annie hurries to
Chief Red Hawk.   “Chief Red Hawk.”
    He is so angry
he ignores her.   Red Hawk hops on
his horse, not once looking at Annie.   He rides off.
    In the Colorado
wilderness…
    Chief Red Hawk
rides away from the fort.   He meets
up with the angry, hostile Arapaho warriors. One of the warriors tells the chief
what happened.   “The white man
killed Little Raven and Prairie Turtle. For no reason.   We're hunting them.”
    “I will join
you. There will be no treaty. There will be no peace.”   Red Hawk rides off with the warriors.
    At Fort Mills…
    The two wounded
cavalrymen make it back to the fort.   They hurry to find Captain Caldwell who is with Annie. “Captain, the
Arapaho opened fire on us. They killed five men, sir.”
    “Did you provoke
them?”   Mark asks.
    “No sir. They
were riled up about something. I've never seen them so angry.”
    “Call the men to
attention, we're riding out after the warriors.”
    Annie touches
Mark’s arm.   “Captain, may I have a
word?”
    Annie motions to
talk to Mark in private.   He joins
her.   “This, I think, has something
to do with Chato.”
    “What happened?”   Mark asks.
    “He killed one
of the Rush brothers last night. They know it was him.   A posse is after him.”
    Mark lets out a
sigh.   He knows that an act like
that can start a war, and it appears it has.   “How do you know this?”
    “I guess I'm
more like my aunt than I ever imagined.”   Annie replies with a touch of remorse.
    Mark tenderly
touches her cheek. “That's one of the things I love about you.” He emphasizes
the word love.   Their eyes lock for
a moment.
    Mark breaks the
moment and heads for his horse.   Annie calls to him.   “Please
be careful...Mark.”  
    She says his
name with such tenderness and love it consumes his soul.   He returns to her.   “That's the first time you've said my
name.”
    “I’ll say it
everyday if you want.”   Annie’s
misting eyes pleading for him to be careful, to return to her alive.
    “I want that
more than anything.”   Mark declares
as he kisses Annie, a deep, loving kiss, not caring who sees them.  
    As his men have
assembled, ready to ride, Mark gives Annie a warm smile, trying to add a bit of
positivity to the serious moment.   “I look forward to taking you up on that offer.”
    Annie watches
him ride away from the fort with his company.
    In the Colorado
wilderness…
    The warriors,
along with Chief Red Hawk, ride hard through the country, hunting the Rush
posse, while the cavalry, led by Captain Caldwell and some of the scouts from
Annie's class, ride hard through the country tracking the warriors and the
posse.
    The warriors
find the posse.   They engage in
battle.   The cavalrymen