The Beauty of the Days Gone By

The thought for The Beauty of the Days Gone By first came to maine portion driving crossed Texas erstwhile my 2 boys were small, aft immersing myself successful the affluent Southwestern histories of Anglo settler children taken captive by Native American raiding parties. Many of these children not lone survived, but learned the skills and lifeways of their captors, often becoming afloat assimilated into the cultures that had erstwhile seemed utterly foreign.

Set against the brutal post-Civil War Texas frontier, the caller pairs the beingness and times of legendary plainsman Charles Goodnight with a tragic Indian captivity communicative unfolding during the Texas Indian Wars. It opens successful 1866 connected a sun-drenched agelong of West Texas prairie, erstwhile the Terry brothers are playing adjacent their household ranch and a Kiowa warfare enactment abruptly descends. Their begetter returns to full devastation—his location successful flames, his woman Sally mortally wounded, and his 2 boys carried disconnected into captivity on with 5 different women and children.

In this excerpt, Sam, his younger member Charlie, and their Aunt Wilma are the lone remaining survivors. They look an all-but-impossible choice: hazard everything connected a hopeless nighttime escape, oregon stay successful captivity and pin their hopes connected a rescue that whitethorn ne'er come.

–Jason Stone

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They’d been dozing successful and retired of slumber for the adjacent hr erstwhile Wilma crawled backmost beside the fire. She laic down betwixt them and tucked her hands nether her armpits and curled up successful a shot connected her broadside facing Sam. He was pretending to beryllium asleep. She closed her eyes and erstwhile she opened them a small portion aboriginal Sam was looking astatine her. She was crying and her eyes glistened successful the moonlight. He reached retired and placed his manus connected her shoulder.

Are you okay?

Yes.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and took a heavy breath.

Listen to me, she whispered. I’m getting retired of here. Tomorrow night.

Sam didnt accidental anything.

When we thin the horses, we’re going to necktie that dun mare retired distant from the camp. I privation you to spell with me.

Sam was picturing it and reasoning of the pony he’d choose.

Wilma was pulling astatine a tiny clump of godforsaken writer with her escaped manus and she fto the stems driblet and past she picked them up again. She watched him to gauge his reaction.

Sam was watching the tears watercourse down her face. I dont know, helium said.

She looked astatine the Kiowas dormant connected their blankets. Look astatine them now. We tin gaffe distant portion they sleep.

But . . . but what astir Charlie?

Wilma started to reply but stopped herself. She raised up and looked down astatine Charlie. His rima was unfastened and helium was breathing deeply. He twitched successful a dream, saccharine small boy.

We cant permission him, said Sam.

But Sam, I dont deliberation helium tin . . .

Yes helium can.

He’ll clasp america back. Our lone accidental is to gaffe retired and thrust for help. I cant spell alone.

I cant permission my member alone.

It’s our lone chance.

He’ll ne'er marque it by himself.

Yes helium can.

Tears welled up successful Sam’s eyes. You tin spell connected if you privation to, helium said. I understand.

You’ve got to travel with me. I request you.

I’m not going unless helium comes with us.

We cant hazard it.

Sam laic there, thinking.

We’ll thrust done the stream truthful they cant way us. We’ll instrumentality with your begetter and the Rangers.

Sam watched her and she closed her eyes and past rolled over. They said nary more. He looked astatine the swarm of stars shimmering backmost astatine him, drifting ever truthful slowly. A puff of upwind stirred the writer and cooled them and past it was gone. He rolled implicit and past backmost again and yet settled connected his broadside nudged up against her. Her backmost was turned to him and her eyes were unfastened again. Then she could perceive him sleeping.

When they rode retired that greeting a crisp upwind blew chill and particulate churned the skyline and the aboriginal sunlight shimmered successful and retired of a dependable enactment of slow-moving clouds dancing crossed the canyon state that fed from the Llanos similar immoderate godlike beacon peering down from the heavens arsenic if to question thing that needed to beryllium saved. Hint of moisture successful the air. Sam was watching the rim of the occidental escarpment wherever a acheronian cloudbank was gathering connected the skyline and helium knew the upwind was astir to change.

They rode down into the broader reaches of the Palo Duro and the lukewarm airy of aboriginal greeting began to pain the distant walls successful a kaleidoscope of yellowish and reddish and orange. They reached the vale level astatine noon and waded a sandy-braided watercourse connected the rise, sheets of rainfall connected the Caprock looming soundless and acheronian and abdominous dollops of acold rainfall present blowing down slantwise successful the windgusts to the north. The Kiowas nudged their mounts guardant with the mutterings of thunder; and raindrops sprinkled the dust, peppering the riders’ faces and the slick coats of the horses and arsenic they rode the saccharine odor of rainfall connected the prairie consumed them.

They took structure from the tempest nether a agelong grove of cottonwoods and wrong the hr the norther had passed and the prima came beaming upon a steaming and dripping land. Sam slouched connected the equine and looked agelong retired upon this country with his hollow eyes. Shivering, exhausted. The entity laic axenic and bluish and a chill adust upwind hissed down upon them from the plains. The horses splashed fetlocks done the mud and h2o stood successful small pools each astir the desert, glistening ripples of metallic successful the blustery gusts of wind. He took successful the scenery arsenic if it was each a dream. He kept a mindful oculus connected his brother. He thought agelong and hard astir Wilma’s program of escape.

They acceptable campy that day connected the sand-laden floors among a bid of constrictive slot canyons that dropped from the rims of the bluish escarpment. The captives led the horses retired to graze and began to stitchery h2o and cod brushwood for the fires. Bands of sunlight filtered into the canyon done the breaks successful the fast-moving clouds and their footsteps crunched softly arsenic they talked among themselves.

When Charlie sauntered disconnected a ways Wilma pulled Sam speech to confer unsocial and she outlined her thoughts astir the way backmost to their location and urged him to fly with her successful the night. She told him that everything was going to beryllium alright and to get hydrated due to the fact that he’d request it to prolong himself connected the agelong journey. They knelt down by the h2o and drank and they whispered logistics and drank immoderate much and aft a portion Charlie returned to articulation them. Sam arose and placed his feet successful the chill watercourse and stared backmost toward the mode home. They stayed determination for a agelong clip without talking and possibly Sam was reasoning astir what mightiness hap if they were caught. But what were their chances if they escaped?

Late that evening it was wide and chill and they were curled up beside the occurrence incapable to sleep. Wilma studied the stars and listened and waited. One of the Kiowas walked to the brushwood and pulled his breechclout speech and pissed and went backmost to bed. An hr passed. When the fires yet faded and each was quiescent Wilma nudged Sam and they began to cautiously crawl distant from the camp. Sam stopped and roseate to his feet. He looked backmost astatine Charlie, curled up connected his broadside successful a heavy sleep. His rima was unfastened and determination was drool connected his cheek. Sam watched him, thinking. There was nary upwind and the acheronian nighttime seemed hollow arsenic if each insignificant sound would echo successful the void. He whispered thing to himself, past helium turned and went on.

They crept on for abbreviated distances, crouching down, lying inactive and listening, crawling quietly, a fewer feet astatine a time. They did this for a agelong clip until they had made their mode to the horses. Wilma whispered to the stallion and enactment her enactment to its chemoreceptor arsenic she bridled it with easiness and past began to mildly locomotion it backmost down canyon distant from the camp.

Sam slipped the fell thong spot into the mare’s rima but erstwhile she riled helium instinctively fto it go. He glanced backmost astatine Wilma and past backmost astatine the sleeping camp. Then helium enactment his caput down and his hands connected his knees. Dang, helium whispered. Now what.

He acceptable disconnected connected ft looking backmost toward the camp, tiptoeing to a harmless region and past breaking into a trot. When helium caught up with her she looked backmost astatine him and helium was crying.

What happened? she whispered.

He didnt answer. He looked backmost toward the camp. He sniffled and wiped his eyes.

Sam, spell backmost and get the mare.

He conscionable stood there. He bent down and grabbed a fistful of writer and fto it drop. He looked backmost astatine her.

We’re going to beryllium okay, she said. I promise.

She was looking backmost up the canyon implicit his caput toward the camp. Shadows moving. Probably the flickering of the fire. So quiescent connected a starlit night. When she looked backmost astatine him helium was stooped down with his arms retired and hands clasped together. She bent her near limb and placed her ft successful his cupped hands and lightly grabbed the mane and pulled herself up arsenic helium lifted. He kept looking backmost astatine the camp.

Go connected without me, helium said.

No. I cant spell alone.

Yes you can.

No.

Now Wilma was crying. She wiped her eyes and looked retired implicit the country, the gradual and glistening contour of the watercourse flowing successful the moonlight. Sam stepped back. He was wary of the remuda following. There was a gust of upwind and rustling successful the campy and helium thought helium heard a voice. He began to dilatory locomotion backward and helium told her to beryllium cautious and she told him to beryllium strong. She nudged the equine astir and started it connected a locomotion down the streambed but she heard thing and looked back. She could spot thing rising acold down him from the campy and past the lad turned and hurried back. She said thing nether her enactment arsenic if to code him directly. Then she pulled the bridle and enactment her heels successful the equine and started it astatine a trot delicately crossed the soil until they became tiny and past smaller successful the lonely godforsaken acheronian until they dissolved everlastingly into the night.

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Excerpted from The Beauty of the Days Gone © 2022, 2026 by Jason Stone. Reprinted with the support of the publisher, Atlantic Monthly Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic, Inc. All rights reserved.