Knife Point: Chapter 1
by Tami B.
Disclaimer: The following work has been written solely for the enjoyment of fans and not for monetary profit. The rights to the characters initially created for the Daniel Boone series belong to 20th Century Fox and Fess Parker. All other characters are of the author's own creation. No copyright violation is intended.
The foot race had only one clear leader, Israel Boone. He was smiling his way all the way through it. Close behind him were Mingo, Daniel, and Yadkin. The little boy concentrated on getting to the cabin first and pumped his legs even faster. He leapt over downed trees and rocks with ease except for one particular large tree. Strategy dictated that he slow up and climb over it. He did so, and once he was over it, he was on the run again. The longer legged men behind him jumped over it as if it was hardly there at all.
Just ahead, Israel noticed a small sinkhole and veered around it. Mingo wasn’t so observant or lucky. He stepped right in it, lost his balance, and fell to the hard earth. Daniel and Yadkin immediately stopped to check on their friend.
“Are you hurt bad, Mingo?” Daniel asked, squatting beside him.
Mingo rolled to his haunches, began massaging his ankle, and grimaced. “I do not believe so, Daniel. It should be fine in a few minutes.”
“Well, Mingo, you’ve just made sure Israel beat us,” Yadkin said with a grin as he pulled alongside of Daniel. “We may never live it down once he spreads the news all over Boonesborough. I think you owe us a Blue Thunder to make up for our loss.”
“Yad, it was never your intention to win the contest in the first place,” Mingo said, continuing to massage his ankle. “Now, you are taking advantage of my unfortunate circumstance in order to solicit a free drink.”
“Yep and I don’t see anythin’ wrong with that. It’ll go a long way to restorin’ our pride.” Yadkin countered. He then turned in the direction as he heard the clattering of hooves.
Coming into their view was a woman riding atop a chestnut mare. Her flowing sandy blond hair trailed behind her. She stopped the horse in front of them and dismounted.
“Virginia?” Yadkin asked in disbelief. Then he looked at Daniel, who was coming to his feet.
“Hello, little brother,” Virginia said, smiling. She quickly moved towards him.
Yadkin took a few steps to meet her. Then he embraced his sister. “What in the devil are you doin’ here?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” she asked, taking a step away from him but keeping her hands on his upper arms. “I’ve come to visit you, Carolina E. Yadkin. Why, I haven’t seen you in a month of Sundays. I looked for you at the fort, and I met a man called Cincinnatus who told me all I had to do was ride this trail and you’d be on it somewhere. And here you are.” She hugged him again and then looked him over once more. She stopped at his face and began to stare. “When did you grow that mustache? It makes you look like Pa -- or Aunt Mabel. Well, it makes you look like them when they were alive. You definitely don’t look dead.” She laughed. Then she peered around his shoulder and broke out in another smile. “Dan’l? Is that you, Dan’l?”
“In the flesh,” he replied.
She ran to him, hugged him soundly, and then stepped away from him, looking him up and down. “Why, Daniel Boone, you’re still the handsome man I remember. How’s Becky? And Jemima?”
“They’re both fine,” Daniel answered.
“How many young ‘uns you have now? Four? Five?” Virginia asked.
“Besides Jemima, we have a boy named Israel.”
“That’s all?” She watched as Daniel nodded his head. “Want more? I’ll give you three or four of mine.” She laughed again and Daniel joined her. Then her eyes fell to Mingo still sitting on the ground. “And who do we have here?”
“Virginia, allow me to introduce you to our friend, Mingo,” Daniel said, leaning down to pat his friend on the shoulder. “Mingo, meet Yad’s sister, Virginia.”
“Well, pleased to meet you, Bingo,” she said. She extended her hand to him.
“Virginia,” Yadkin admonished. “His name is Mingo, not Bingo.”
“Oh, my apologies, Mingo,” Virginia said.
“It is quite all right, dear lady,” Mingo told her. “Welcome to Kentucky. You bring a ray of sunshine to our land. Did you really ride all this way to visit your brother? He rarely receives visitors.”
“Yes, Virginia, what really brings you here?” Yadkin asked. He crossed his arms over his chest. It was clear that he wasn’t pleased by his sister’s arrival.
“Besides my horse, you mean?” Virginia chuckled at her own joke. The others did the same with the exception of Yadkin. “The truth of the matter is that I have always wanted to see ‘the dark and bloody ground,’ so I upped and made my way here.”
“And where are your husband Paul and the young ‘uns?” Yadkin continued his interrogation.
“At home,” she answered. “I told Paul I had to see you, the Boones, and Kentucky. And I told him that I would be back…eventually. Don’t fret, Carolina, the girls will look after their pa.”
“It’s not them I’m worried about,” Yadkin admitted. He had a feeling that his life was going to be totally disrupted by the presence of his sister; so it was himself he was concerned about.
“Virginia, do you mind if Mingo rides your horse to my cabin?” Daniel asked. “It’s just a little ways down this trail. He’s hurt his ankle.”
“Not at all, Daniel.” Virginia knelt beside the Cherokee. She turned motherly as if attending to a small child. “Do you mind, Mingo, if I take a look at it?”
“If you feel it is necessary,” Mingo muttered.
“I do,” Virginia said. She pulled back the top of his moccasin and saw that his ankle was slightly swollen. She manipulated it with her fingers. “Oh, it’s not too bad, but you don’t need to be walking on it. Daniel, you do have liniment at home…?” She angled her head up to see Daniel nod and then looked at Mingo. “We’ll have you fixed up in no time. Carolina, bring the horse to Mingo and help him get on it.”
With a shake of his head, Yadkin did as she ordered. “Lord God in Heaven,” he mumbled with his back towards his companions, “what sin did I commit that you’d punish me by sendin’ my sister?” Chagrined, Yadkin took hold of the reins, thinking his happy life was over until his sister went back home.
Israel brought a bucket of water into the cabin as his mother had commanded and placed it on the table. Then he pouted. His victory was a hollow one since the other contestants had obviously dropped out of the race. “Ma, I’m going back to look for pa,” he announced.
“No, you’re not, young man,” Rebecca told him. “He’ll be coming. In the meantime, go to the garden and bring me some carrots.”
“How many?” he asked, bringing up two fingers. He watched as Rebecca held up both hands, all ten fingers extended.
“I’ll help him, Ma,” Jemima said from the alcove. She grabbed a tin container from the shelf and headed towards the door.
“Race ya!” Israel yelled and made a mad dash for the door.
“I’m not racing, Israel,” Jemima told him. Then she turned towards her mother and rolled her eyes. “Ma, he’s simply impossible.”
Rebecca smiled at her as she shucked a cob of corn. Then she shucked a few more cobs. Afterwards, she took the bucket and poured the water into a large black pot. Next, she added the cobs of corn and then proceeded to the fireplace. At last, she set the pot over the fire.
“Becky, that’s no way to fix corn,” a voice said behind her. “You gotta add bear fat to give it any kind of flavor at all.”
Rebecca was startled at first, but then she turned to see a grinning Virginia standing behind her. “Virginia!” she squealed and ran to greet her.
Virginia met her halfway and squealed as well. Then they embraced. After they separated, Virginia looked Rebecca over as she had Daniel. “Becky, I am envious. You are simply radiant, absolutely radiant. You’re more beautiful than when I left North Carolina for the colony of Virginia with my newly wedded husband. When was that?” Virginia paused. Then she answered her own question. “It must have been eleven or more years ago.”
“I think you’re right,” Rebecca said. She looked past Virginia just then to see a limping Mingo enter the cabin with Daniel at his side and Yadkin bringing up the rear. “Mingo, what happened to you?”
“Never mind him, Becky,” Yadkin said as he leaned his rifle against the wall by the door. Then he grinned. “He was his usual clumsy self and stepped into a hole in the ground. Because of him we lost the race to Israel.”
“He’s not hurt badly,” Virginia added. “Liniment is all he needs.”
“I’ll get it.” Rebecca moved to the alcove to retrieve it as Mingo sat down on the bench.
“My, what a fine cabin,” Virginia said as she looked around. “All snug and cozy. You’d think you’d be overrun with young ‘uns in such a warm place as this. I have seven of my own who fill my cabin.”
“Seven?” Yadkin asked in surprise. “The last time I heard it was four.”
“Well, Carolina E. Yadkin, you haven’t seen me or my family for eight years,” Virginia remarked. She watched as Rebecca applied the liniment to Mingo’s ankle. Then she turned her attention back to her brother. “You just upped and stopped visitin’ us or you would’ve known how many more times you’ve been uncle-d.”
Yadkin mumbled, “I didn’t want to know I’d been uncle-d again.”
“What’d you say, Yad?” Daniel asked as wry amusement spread across his face.
“Nothing you’d be interested in,” Yadkin said. He then took a seat at the table.
Still smiling, Daniel addressed Rebecca. “Do you reckon we got enough supper to feed everybody, Becky?”
“More than enough,” Rebecca answered, “since I had planned on Mingo and Yad staying anyway.” She rose after bandaging Mingo’s ankle and made her way back to the alcove. “And Virginia being here is an added treat.”
Resting his chin in the palm of his hand, Yadkin mumbled again, but this time he kept his thoughts to himself. ‘Yeah, a real treat. I’d rather be treated to a burning stake.’
“Ten!” Israel shouted. He then rose to his feet. He had been kneeling in the garden pulling up carrots. Hannibal, his pet goose, was beside him. The animal stretched its neck to steal a carrot from the boy’s hand. Israel swung them away from his pet. Then he placed the carrots in the tin container with his dirty hands. “That’s all we need. Ma said to get ten.”
Jemima came to her feet and dusted herself off. A movement in the distance caught her eye. It looked like a man, but he was walking away from them.
“Whatcha lookin’ at?” Israel asked. He came to stand beside her and looked in the same direction as she.
“Just a man, but he’s not coming this way,” Jemima said. “Come on, Israel. We better get the carrots to Ma.”
“Race ya!” Israel ran out of the garden as fast as his legs would carry him while Jemima just shook her head.
Not long afterward, Israel stormed into the cabin. “I won again,” he announced. Then his eyes landed on his father sitting at the table. “Pa, where were you? What took you so long?” The boy went to stand beside him.
“It was Mingo,” Yadkin answered for Daniel. “He stepped in a hole and hurt his ankle. We had to stop runnin’ just to take care of him.”
“Don’t matter,” Israel said. “I still won the race.” He grinned broadly. It was then he noticed a stranger in the cabin. “Howdy, I’m Israel. Israel Boone. Who are you?”
“Virginia. Virginia Garner,” she answered and approached him. She held out her hand, which he shook after he had wiped his hands on his pants. “I’m Carolina’s sister.”
“Carolina?” Israel scrunched his face in confusion until he figured out who ‘Carolina’ was. “Oh, you mean Yad.”
“That’s right,” Virginia agreed. “Israel, from what I can see you look like an exceptional boy. I have one at home about your age. As a matter of fact, I think I have two or three about your age.”
As Jemima entered the cabin, she heard the laughter. She wondered what was so funny, but before she could find out, Hannibal started to charge inside. She held him at bay with her foot and pushed him outside. “Silly goose,” she said.
“No, it can’t be!” Virginia shouted when she saw the young lady come through the door. “Is this little Jemima?”
Rebecca nodded with a smile on her face.
Jemima remained by the door. She didn’t know the woman who so obviously knew her. She tried placing her, but couldn’t recall having met her. “Hello,” she greeted.
“Jemima, you don’t remember me because you were no more than four years old when I left for the colony of Virginia.”
“She’s Yad’s sister,” Israel chimed in and then looked in Virginia’s direction. “Do you have one at home her age too?”
“Yes, I do,” Virginia answered with a chuckle. “I may have four or five your sister’s age.” She then addressed Jemima. “You are as beautiful as your mother. The boys must be falling at your feet.” Jemima looked embarrassed. Immediately, she moved to take the carrots to her mother.
“Dan’l, Becky, you better keep an eye on her. She’ll be married before you know it,” Virginia said. “I’m hoping a couple of mine are married by now, or will be by the time I get back home.” She laughed and the others joined her as well except for Yadkin.
Their arrival at Yadkin’s small cabin just after dark brought a look of dismay to Virginia’s face. Overgrown weeds were everywhere. The cabin door hung crookedly. Shingles were missing from the roof. The walls were in need of chinking. She imagined the inside looked as bad as the outside. “Carolina, how can you live like this?” she asked.
“Very well,” Yadkin answered grumpily. “And don’t you start gettin’ ideas of cleanin’ up around here. I like it just as it is.” He dismounted from her sister’s horse.”
“I’m not *thinkin’* of cleanin’. I am cleanin’,” Virginia said as Yadkin helped her to the ground. “I won’t live in a pig sty while I’m here.”
“Then why don’t you go back home?” Yadkin asked.
“Don’t get surly with me, Carolina E. Yadkin,” Virginia admonished. “I know you’re already feelin’ crowded, but you can put up with it. I’m your sister.”
“Why didn’t Paul keep you at home?” he groused.
“He didn’t have a choice,” Virginia answered. “I told you before, as I told him, that I had to see you and the Boones, and I was goin’. So, I lit out and here I am. Despite the way you’re actin’, I know you’re glad to see me. Besides, you should be thankful I didn’t bring the whole family.”
“Believe me,” Yadkin said, moving towards the cabin. “I’m very grateful for that.”
Once inside, Yadkin lit a candle using a flint and steel. Then he used that candle to light a few others.
“Just as I expected,” Virginia said. “It’s worse inside than out.” She looked at the horrendous amounts of accumulated dust. The only two chairs in the one room cabin were in need of repair. Tools, beaver traps, and other assorted items lay strewn all over the floor.
“If you don’t like it-“
“I know,” she interrupted, holding up a hand. “I can go back home. Or…” She smiled at her brother. “I can clean it.”
“No,” Yadkin said, coming to her side and looming over her. “You won’t clean. You’ll leave everythin’ just the way I have it.”
She reached up and tugged on his mustache. “You are so very cute when you’re angry. I love you, dear brother.” After placing her hands on his shoulders, she kissed his cheek. Then she patted his arm. “Right after breakfast tomorrow mornin’, we’ll clean this place like it has never been cleaned before. I want you to fix that door, chink the cabin, and fetch some firewood.”
Yadkin sighed and decided to make no more argument. His sister was going to do what she wanted and he was powerless to stop her. He couldn’t throw her out, or send her home until she was ready. As she said, he’d have to put up with her. It wouldn’t be all bad, he decided. She was a good cook.
The following morning Yadkin awoke to the smell of coffee and oatmeal with hint of honey in the air. He rose from his sleeping place on the floor and walked three steps to the table where Virginia was pouring coffee into mugs.
“Good mornin’, Carolina,” Virginia greeted him with much cheer. “It’s goin’ to be another lovely day.”
“A day best spent huntin’,” Yadkin said, sitting at the table. Then he picked up his mug and drank from it.
Virginia shook her head. “We’re goin’ to clean the cabin, remember?”
“Don’t you ever think of nothin’ else?” Yadkin asked wearily. “You were the same when we were kids. Always cleanin’, you were, or always telling’ everybody what to do.”
Ignoring him, Virginia brought out an object wrapped in a cloth that had been resting on the seat beside her. “I brought you a present.”
“A present? For me?” Yadkin asked with a broad grin.
“Open it.” She sat beside him as he did so.
After pulling the folds of the cloth back, Yadkin gazed at the handcrafted hunting knife. He held it up and looked it over. “It’s a fine piece,” he said with admiration. He tested the weight of it in his hand. “Good balance.” He ran his finger lightly over the blade. “’Pears like it’s made with blue steel.”
“It is,” Virginia concurred. “Paul made it, and I insisted he only use the finest blue steel around. Look at the handle.”
Yadkin took hold of the blade and turned it over to peer at the carved handle where his name had been etched, giving it a distinguished and beautiful appearance. “Paul did a great job. Thank him for me when you see him. And thank you too.”
“You’re welcome,” Virginia said. “Now, eat your breakfast. We have a lot to do today.”
He placed the knife on the table and began to eat. He was in the process of figuring out how to get out of cleaning when Virginia placed the tip of his new hunting knife on his chin.
“If you’re thinkin’ about gettin’ out of workin’ today, think again,” Virginia said, sounding sinister.
“You wouldn’t really cut up your brother, would you?” Yadkin asked.
“I would,” she replied, “if you don’t help me.”
“Then I reckon I’ll help you.”
“I thought you would,” Virginia said, setting the knife back down on the table. She slapped Yadkin hard on the back and then laughed.
“It’s a shame when a man is held at the point of a knife,” he replied, “by a woman no bigger than you are.”
“You forced me into it, Carolina. I saw that look in your eye. You know the one.” She paused before continuing, “The one that says ‘I’m headin’ for the woods’. And when you’re in the woods, you don’t come back for quite a spell.”
He calmly ate the last two bites of oatmeal. Then he gulped down the rest of his coffee. “You mean like this?” He made a mad dash for the door, grabbed his hat, rifle, and powder horn, and was out the door.
Virginia took chase carrying the new hunting knife with her. “Carolina E. Yadkin, you come back here!” she called out, shaking the knife in his direction. She hadn’t realized that she was standing thigh deep in the weeds.
He ignored her and kept right on running into the woods.
“Brothers!” She turned on her heel and stomped back towards the cabin. As she did, her feet became entangled in the weeds and she fell. The knife went flying out of her hand and landed point down in the grass. After righting herself, she retrieved it, gathered her skirts, and resumed her angry march into the cabin.
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