The Mystery of the Moonlight Murder Read online

  Before he went under again he could hear the frantic screams of Summer and Elmer, who were running along the river bank, trying to keep up with him. When he bobbed up again, John felt he was imagining things. Each time he was pulled under the water then spit up again, he saw a different scene as the dominance of the river carried him along. At one point, with the bright sun and water in his eyes, he imagined he saw the shape of a man on a horse galloping beside him.

  ***

  André Dumont listened again, stopping his powerful horse. Yes, there was no doubt that the voices he had been listening to had changed to screams. He impelled his large bronco to race toward the sound, the new pace exhilarating for the strong steed.

  The forest path was a blur of greens and browns as horse and rider tore past the trees and the canopy of shade, into the strong light and beside a wide section of the river. To his left he quickly took in three horses standing by the edge of the forest near the river—a Pinto, and a light and darker brown pair of broncos. Farther down the river he could make out two children, a boy and a girl, running alongside the water, screaming. He clenched the sides of his horse firmly, demanding more speed as he moved faster toward them, his eyes scanning the

  currents of the river. Then he saw the bobbing head of another child, a boy, and directed his horse to run as close to the side of the river as possible. As soon as the horse drew past the flailing boy, Dumont slowed his stallion slightly and leaned sharply toward the river and jumped.

  John didn’t know what had grabbed him by the shirt, but he had no strength to resist. He could vaguely hear a voice, telling him that everything was fine and not to struggle. John was tired enough to be calm, and could feel himself being moved along on his back, his eyes squeezed shut because of the sun. Then John felt strong arms pull him out of the river and onto dry land where he was placed gently on the warm grass. He felt so thankful that the ground wasn’t moving or pushing him anywhere he didn’t want to go. He loved it for its stillness.

  The same hands that had dragged him now forced him onto his side, as water spewed out of his mouth and he could hear the voice of his brother and Summer, sounding worried and anxious. He could hear a man’s voice, too, asking him to look at him, asking him to respond to his question. What was the question? It was so difficult to focus. “John Diefenbaker, can you hear me?”

  John slowly opened his eyes for the first time with full consciousness, staring up at a concerned-looking André Dumont. Elmer and Summer were leaning over him too, asking similar questions.

  “I hate swimming,” John finally said.

  Elmer and Summer cheered and hugged him and Dumont offered him a hand to help him to his feet. John then lapsed into a coughing fit as his lungs forced out the remaining water.

  The Métis man looked down at John with his blazing eyes from his full height, wiping his wet hair down so it was slicked back on his head. “This is a powerful river. You were very lucky,” said André.

  John nodded. “Thank you very much, Mr. Dumont. I don’t know what happened.”

  “We were play wrestling and we got too close to the current and then…then all of a sudden you were gone,” said Elmer, hanging his head. “I thought you were going to die.”

  John shook his head and assured his brother he was going to make it.

  Elmer and Summer turned towards André. “Thank you for saving John,” Summer said respectfully. “Oh, you’re cut…on your arm,” she said, pointing.

  “It’s nothing,” dismissed André. “I did it on a rock when I jumped in. I’m sure it will heal just fine.”

  Summer offered him some of the ointment she had in her bag but he declined politely.

  “If you are all well now, I shall take my leave.”

  John, Elmer, and Summer all thanked him.

  John had a hundred questions for him as he watched, yet

  there was only one thing that came out as André began to walk away.

  “We saw you with Chief Five Hawks!” John blurted.

  André stopped and slowly turned on his horse.

  “What you saw was a meeting for freedom, for fairness. These are words Prime Minister Laurier knows nothing about, sitting in his tower in Ottawa,” André said, bitterness creeping into his voice.

  When he only heard silence, André spoke again.

  “You will benefit in the end, all of you. I recall our last conversation, John Diefenbaker. Tell me, do you think the Cree are treated fairly…or the Métis?”

  “Well, n-no,” began John.

  “Do you think it was fair to the Métis in the Battle of Batoche when they captured Louis Riel and drove my uncle into hiding in Montana? “But…”

  “And do you think it was fair that Poundmaker and Big Bear, two of the finest Cree leaders ever, were sentenced to prison terms when their main crime was starving at the hands of a government that could not care less?”

  “No, but that was more than twenty years ago and…”

  “Then what about right now, right here, John? Do you think it was fair that River’s Voice had all thirty of his fox and beaver pelts stolen from his own shed, only to find out they’re in someone else’s barn? And then he gets accused of murdering the thief?”

  “No, but…” started John.

  “But what?” challenged André, slowly aiming the nose of his horse toward John, Summer and Elmer. John remained silent.

  “History lives, John. What you saw on the reservation was leadership in action. Compassion. There’s change in the air. I hope you will be a part of it. Now go home and get some rest.” The well-toned bronco nodded its head a few times as if to indicate his impatience. André tipped his hat toward them, turned, and rode his horse deeply into the nearby woods. He was then out of sight, but not out of mind, of John, Elmer, and Summer.

  ***

  They discussed what to tell Father and Mother on the way home. Elmer felt they should only mention having seen André Dumont at the reservation and admit to taking a quick dip in the river. John weighed everything in his mind. He considered Elmer’s idea but his stomach immediately began to feel wracked with guilt at leaving out the major detail of almost drowning, and being saved by André. On the other hand, he would probably be grounded, forced to stay on the homestead for at

  least a week, if he told them everything. He likely would not even be allowed to ride Skipper. And then how would he help Summer’s father?

  “I think the bigger picture is to be able to help Summer’s father,” said John in conclusion. “So we should go with Elmer’s idea…for now.”

  “Yes!” said Elmer, stabbing his fist into the air from atop Blue. The horse sighed as if annoyed from too much excitement.

  “I said for now, Elmer. I don’t feel right about not telling Father and Mother everything eventually. We need our freedom now in case we get some more clues to investigate,” John explained. “We only have four days, remember, before…” John’s voice trailed off.

  “Before my father is sent to trial,” Summer finished. “You can say, John. I know what will happen.”

  “I just have a feeling we’re going to figure this out,” said John. “Don’t give up, Summer. We haven’t.”

  ***

  “You did what? Did I just hear you say you went swimming… in the North Saskatchewan?” William asked in disbelief.

  John nodded. Elmer and Summer were slightly behind John, looking at the ground.

  Their clothes had essentially dried off from the long ride back, but it was still obvious from their wretched state they had been drenched in water.

  “It’s my fault. I was the one who made the decision,” said John. “I wasn’t thinking.”

  “You’re darn right you weren’t thinking. I have half a mind to ground you for the rest of the summer for a stunt like that.” Mary looked equally livid but bit her tongue while William spoke.

  “As the eldest, you should have known better, John. The trip for you to Langham tomorrow is cancelled…”

  “But
…”

  “Don’t interrupt!” William said forcefully.

  John knew his father was very angry because it was rare that he had ever seen him this upset. However, John was even more upset with himself. He should have known better and his parents were only concerned for their children’s safety.

  “You will stay home tomorrow and get some extra work done with me,” said William, “while Elmer and Summer can go with Mary to help out.”

  “But you’re both expected to do your share,” he added, as Elmer and Summer nodded in agreement swiftly.

  “Then all three of you can put some time in doing extra chores tomorrow as well,” added Mary, anxious to contribute to the scolding.

  John was disappointed about missing the trip to Langham, but he knew it could have been far worse. Right now he felt desperate for information that would save River’s Voice and yet he didn’t know where to turn. He only knew he had three days to help prove his innocence.

  ***

  “Got any tonight, Mister?”

  The train belched coal-fueled smoke into the dark night and groaned during its brief stop. A scowling, older rail engineer looked at the three boys in front of him, his grizzled features formed from a lifetime of hard travel along the railway.

  “It’s a bit late for you kids to be out, isn’t it?” he snapped. “I’m busy. We’re only in Borden for five minutes, then on to Prince Albert.”

  “Come on,” said the tallest of the three boys. “We came all the way here to see them. We know this is the right train. My cousin works for the Canadian Northern Railway and he told me this is the train the prisoners always come in on. We’ve never seen real prisoners before.”

  “Yeah, well your cousin has a big mouth,” said the engineer. The boys didn’t move, their eager faces staring up in anticipation.

  “Fine,” the engineer relented. “If it will get you kids out of

  here, let’s get this over with. I’ve only got three tonight so there’s not much of a show.”

  He muttered to himself as he picked up his lamp and marched over to a dark brown train car and grasped the metal lever. The boys followed close behind, so they could see clearly. With a heave the heavy door slid across. The old CPR worker stood there, arms crossed.

  “Satisfied? Now can I get back to work?”

  The boys blinked. “You mean you’ve only got two tonight, right, Mister?” said the same boy.

  The engineer scowled. “What are you talking about, boy?” as he walked to their position to look into the train car. “If you’re looking to provoke me tonight, it just might work.”

  For a moment the engineer was stunned. He shoved the lamp farther into the train car, as two blinking prisoners stared back. As he moved the lamp around, he could see the empty handcuffs hanging from the steel bar and began to shake his head slowly back and forth as the other two prisoners began to laugh menacingly.

  “No, no…not him…” the old man said, looking terrified. Suddenly he grabbed the tallest kid by the shoulders and bent down to look at him closely, his frightened green eyes wild in the summer night.

  “Run boy. All of you, run! And don’t you stop until you reach home safely, you hear?” he warned fiercely.

  The boys nodded, shocked, and ran as fast as they could, sneaking glances behind them at the old man.

  “Breach! Breach!” the engineer screamed, running to find his colleagues on the train.

  Chapter 11

  The Warning of the Red Coats

  “I thought we agreed you would stay out of sight,” the tall man said sternly, standing beside a figure lying on his back near a fire pit. The tall man held a metal coffee mug and stared down into the dull embers.

  “I have!” said the other man gruffly.

  “Come on, how long have we known each other?” said the tall man. “Since school days! I know when you’re lying. You were seen at Taggart’s General Store. I have a source who confirmed this. You were also seen at the hotel at least once. We can’t have this, you know. You’ve got to stay hidden.”

  The man on his back said nothing. A smear of white stars cast only a small amount of light. The moon, too, was weakened in its cycle. On the ground, only the dying coals of the latest fire barely pulsed. Otherwise the camp site was shrouded in darkness.

  The taller man then picked up an object that he did not recognize.

  “What is this? Did you steal this?”

  “So what if I did?”

  “Keeping items is not part of the plan. That is not what this is about!”

  “Hey, I have to profit from this, too!”

  The tall man shook his head. “Not this way. You can wait for success a little longer. And if you don’t want to wait,” said the tall man with an edge in his voice, “I will find someone who can.”

  The man lying down raised his head slightly. “You know, I know a few things about you, too.”

  The tall man extended his coffee mug and poured it onto the fading embers, extinguishing them. “And you will take them with you…to your grave.”

  ***

  There is an old prairie joke that says the land is so flat you can watch your dog run away from home for three days. Although that might be an exaggeration, there was no doubt it was fairly easy to see anyone approaching. With field after field of nothing but flat or gently sloping land, it was difficult to sneak up on anyone. That’s why John, William, Ed and Elmer were not startled early the next morning at the sight of two Royal North West Mounted Police officers in their scarlet red tunics on

  horseback, coming up their laneway. They had watched them get closer for quite some time and worked until they arrived.

  John wondered silently if they were here because of something to do with River’s Voice. His heart felt like it was in his stomach as he kept working and thinking, trying to figure out other reasons they may be visiting again so soon. So much had been going on in such a short period of time he could barely process everything at once—their neighbour is murdered, their friend is imprisoned, a prairie fire almost destroyed their home and yesterday John almost drowned. Now, the police were visiting the homestead again, thought John.

  “This better not delay getting to Langham,” William muttered to Ed.

  Ed nodded then replied, “It won’t.”

  John couldn’t picture anyone stopping his mother’s butter sales plans, even though she couldn’t go herself now. His mother had banged her leg on the woodpile last night, creating a painful bruise in the process. William had convinced her to stay home and let Ed be the butter salesman for today, while still taking Elmer and Summer with him for help. She didn’t slow down for much, which meant that agreeing with this idea was a big deal for her. John would remain on the farm and help William out, while Mary would get some rest for her leg, if she could only agree to stay off of her feet and rest it. She knew that delaying the trip wasn’t an option, or else the butter would spoil,

  and she certainly didn’t want that to happen.

  John was working alongside his father to mend a hole in the chicken coop while Elmer was helping Uncle Ed in the vegetable garden. Only Summer and Mary were in the house at this time preparing breakfast and didn’t know the police officers were approaching.

  Soon it was obvious that Sergeant English and Constable Wood were the visitors. Sergeant English was pointing his finger in a wide sweeping motion towards the blackened prairie area. Constable Wood was nodding. They seemed to be discussing the impact of the fire the Diefenbakers had narrowly escaped, thanks to a quick response and a lot of team effort.

  William stood up straight and stretched his back, dropping his tools beside him.

  “Good enough, John. We’ll tend to this later.”

  “Mary!” yelled William when he had first seen them approach. “We’ve got company.”

  Mary appeared in the doorway. After taking one look at the two officers coming in the distance, she went into action, with Summer’s help, preparing coffee for the arrivals.

&
nbsp; “Yes, sir,” said John, happy for the break and unsure of how he felt seeing the police. As the officers approached, John realized that this would be the perfect opportunity to make sure they knew about the big debt Hans Schneider owed to Max Taggart’s store.

  “Father,” John said quickly. “I couldn’t help but overhear you and Mr. Taggart talking about the debt Mr. Schneider owed to the general store. Do you think it’s a good idea to see if the police know about it?”

  William frowned at John. “Actually, I was already planning on telling them about it. I hope eavesdropping is not a regular pastime for you, either.”

  “No, sir, sorry Father,” said John, relieved that the police would know about Mr. Schneider’s debt.

  When John heard the officers talking about the fire’s path, he realized that perhaps they were simply here to check up on people in the area.

  Ed and Elmer had already left the vegetable garden and were cleaning up. John could hear Elmer, trying to engage his mother in conversation when she was busy. That was his first mistake. “Mother, the police are here!”

  “Yes, I can see that Elmer, with the two eyes the good Lord gave me.”

  “Oh.”

  Choosing a new topic for the sake of conversation was his second mistake.

  Mother, will we ever get a telephone?” asked Elmer.

  “A telephone!” Mary snorted. “What are you thinking, boy? What do you think I’d need with a telephone, to do as much yakkin’ as you do?”

  “Well, I was thinking…”

  “Can’t say I believe you were thinking at all. Now, since you’re here, full of ideas as usual, why don’t you fetch me a basin of water. And don’t spill any.”

  “Yes, Mother,” said Elmer, sighing.

  William, Ed and John walked closer to the officers, who were dismounting. They tied their horses to a makeshift tethering post near the barn and then greeted one another.