A love between two very different men is put to the test. John Strobaw, a young mixed-blood, grows up in the relative security of a family farm after the Civil War. His mother raises her family as Americans, but his foster brother, Matthew Brandt feels his red blood more keenly and leaves to ride with Crazy Horse. John doesn’t understand the longing he feels for his absent companion until he has his first sexual experience with a man and he only thinks of Matthew. After the murder of Crazy Horse, Matthew makes his way back home. John fights hard against a growing lust for Matthew, but when he ultimately succumbs, he is lost to this handsome, dusky warrior. Just when the future looks bright, another suitor appears -- a handsome Cheyenne army scout, and trouble looms on the horizon.

Echoes of the Flute

My thoughts returned to Matthew as I remounted Wind. The jail wagon was nowhere on the road in front of me, yet fresh tracks showed on the road, so it must have survived the fire. Too concerned for their well-being to push the horses, I resisted the urge to canter and set off at a leisurely walk.


After about five miles, I topped a rise and saw the wagon halted on the road ahead. I turned back down the hill, dismounted, and walked to where I could watch with my long glass without exposing myself to the troopers’ view. They were replenishing their water supply from a small roadside spring. Sgt. Roscoe handed over a canteen to the white army deserter. He drank deeply and then squandered the rest by pouring it over his head. Roscoe was slow in the doing of it, but he brought Matthew a refilled canteen.


Chapter 90