And now his mother did want Hawk to kill them. Men that he had for so long admired and wished to be friends with again?
He had decided today to observe Proud Heart and Strong Wolf for several days, then decide what he must do, the promise to his mother lying heavily on his heart and mind.
For now, he wished to see where Strong Wolf was going with the lady. He would hurry from the butte, and then stay his distance so that he would not be noticed.
It was strange to be there now, with Strong Wolf so close, and not be able to greet him as a friend greets a friend. He was playing the role of an ardent enemy, and Strong Wolf wasn’t even aware of it.
It didn’t seem fair.
Hawk was remembering back to the time when everyone thought that Strong Wolf and Doe Eyes would be married once they grew up to be of marrying age.
Only they had seemed to know why that had never happened. It had never been explained to anyone.
He did know, though, that there had been a strain between Strong Wolf and Doe Eyes since both were around ten winters of age. Something had happened then to change their feelings for one another. After the unknown incident, Strong Wolf and Doe Eyes had avoided each other like they were worst enemies.
Hawk’s loins ached over missing Doe Eyes, feeling that he had thrown away his future only to please his mother!
As each day passed, he saw the foolishness of the promise he had made to his mother, a mother who most saw as wicked!
Chapter 17
When we have run our passion’s heat,
Love hither makes his best retreat.
—ANDREW MARVELL
Hannah breathed in the morning air as she rode toward Strong Wolf’s village. To prove her devotion to her brother, she had stayed home for several days, and assisted him in every way possible.
Her brother had even begun instructing her about the ledgers, which she found boring.
Hannah had also stayed home these past few days to get her thoughts straight on how she felt about Strong Wolf. Yes, she loved him. She adored him.
But to have made love? To have given herself to him so easily?
She knew that she should feel ashamed, but no matter how long or hard she had thought about it, no shame had entered her heart.
Her love for Strong Wolf was pure. It was right. Loving and making love with him was a part of her newfound freedom that she had fought so hard to achieve. And she would not deprive herself of it!
She ran a hand over the rough material of the denim breeches that she had chosen to wear today for her outing. They were Chuck’s pants that he had worn years ago when he was much thinner. Luckily he had not thrown them out. The pants well defined the curve of her hips and thighs. In fact, they fit her a mite too snug. But the length had been perfect, for she and her brother were of the same height.
She had also chosen a red plaid flannel shirt from her brother’s closet, and a wide-brimmed Stetson hat. When she had walked into the dining room for breakfast, and had leaned over to kiss her brother, he was able to see just enough with his failing eyesight, that she was all spruced up like a man.
Chuck had surprised her by agreeing with her outfit. He said that dressing like a man might make things less dangerous for her while she took her daily ride on her horse. She would be less a target for men who might have been without a woman for too long. Settlers were moving into the area daily. Some were men whose wives had died while on the long journey. Others were bachelors.
He had gone as far as to encourage her to wear a gun and holster.
Smiling, she patted the pistol at her right hip, then slid her hand down to rest on the butt end of the rifle where it lay snuggled within its walls of leather, sheathed at the pinto’s right side.
Flicking the reins, she rode onward. She held her face up to the warm sun. The breeze was refreshingly cool. The sky was a turquoise blue.
And then Hannah became aware of the sound of a horse coming up from behind. She looked over her shoulder and tensed when she quickly recognized Colonel Deshong, flanked on each side by soldiers. She had to believe that he was also headed for Strong Wolf’s village, for she was almost there.
Begrudgingly, not wanting to be bothered with the colonel again, Hannah wheeled her pinto around and stopped. When the colonel and his two soldiers reined in beside her, she smiled smugly. She said nothing as the colonel’s gaze swept over her, then gave her a wondering stare.
Hannah removed her hat and ran her fingers through her long golden hair. “I can tell you aren’t used to seeing a woman wearing breeches,” she said, laughing softly.
“No, can’t say that I am,” Patrick said, a slow smile tugging at his lips. Again his eyes roamed over her.
“Are you on your way to Strong Wolf’s village?”
Hannah’s eyes narrowed warily. “Yes, and you?”
“Yes,” Patrick said, squirming uneasily in his saddle.
“You were there only a few days ago,” Hannah said, their eyes locking. “Do you make it a habit to visit this often, Colonel?”
He smiled again. “Do you?” he said ruefully, his eyes dancing.
Hannah’s jaw tightened. “I’ve come to see Strong Wolf’s horses,” she murmured.
“I believe that was your excuse the other time I saw you there,” Patrick said, still staring at her in an amused manner.
“Excuse?” Hannah gasped, relieved when suddenly Strong Wolf appeared on horseback as he came around a bend in the road, riding toward them.
She broke away from the colonel and rode to meet Strong Wolf, drawing tight rein as he drew rein beside her.
At first Strong Wolf stared at her, obviously stunned by her attire. Slowly his eyes moved over her.
Then he gazed into her eyes, touching her with them as though they were a caress. “I was on my way to see you,” Strong Wolf said thickly. “Too many days have passed since we were together.”
“I . . .” Hannah said, interrupted when Colonel Deshong and his military escorts came and drew rein beside them.
“Patrick?” Strong Wolf said, forking an eyebrow. “I did not receive word that you were coming for council.”
“I sent none,” Patrick said, his expression solemn.
Strong Wolf gazed from Patrick to Hannah, then back at Patrick. “Come,” he said, gesturing with a hand toward his village. “We will go and have council. Patrick, I am curious to see what has brought you to my village again so soon. Usually many sunrises pass before you wish to have another council with Strong Wolf.”
“Yes, but I had a need much sooner than that this time, Strong Wolf,” Colonel Deshong said, his uneasiness revealed in how he fidgeted with the horse’s reins.
“Then, come,” Strong Wolf said, nodding. “We shall have our council.”
He turned his dark eyes back to Hannah. “Come also,” he said. “You will once again be a part of my council.” His eyes again swept over her attire, obviously puzzled by it.
Then they rode off together.
When they arrived at his village, all but the two military escorts entered Strong Wolf’s lodge. They became comfortable in chairs before the fireplace where a fire burned. Hannah watched the ritual with the long-stemmed pipe as it was passed from Strong Wolf to Colonel Deshong, and back again to Strong Wolf, who then set it aside on the hearth.
“Now, tell me what has brought you once again to my lodge where you are always welcome for council,” Strong Wolf said to Patrick, folding his arms across his chest.
Ignoring Hannah’s presence, Patrick rested his hands on his knees, the knuckles whitening as he clasped them there. “I am embarrassed to have to admit to you that we are low on supplies at the fort,” he said, his voice weary. “There is a cholera epidemic upriver. The riverboats are no longer getting through with supplies. They aren’t allowed to, fearing the spread of the dreaded disease.”
“Cholera?” Hannah gasped. She stared over at the colonel. “Is Saint Louis plagued with the disease?”
“No, it’s th
e smaller towns downriver from Saint Louis,” Patrick said.
“Thank God,” Hannah said softly.
“We’d best hope the disease doesn’t reach as far as Saint Louis,” Patrick said solemnly. “The result could be catastrophic.”
Hannah shook off a chill that encompassed her at the thought of her family being in possible danger. She hugged herself, then tried to relax and listen as the colonel explained to Strong Wolf why he was there.
“Strong Wolf, my men are in dire need of meat,” Colonel Deshong said. “The men under my command were trained to be soldiers. That is where their skills lay. Not in hunting. Do you think your warriors might go on the hunt and bring us some deer at the fort? I . . . we . . . would be forever grateful.”
There were a few moments of strained silence. This request seemed to be an unusual one, for Strong Wolf’s eyes had lit up with surprise as the colonel had spoken it. Strong Wolf rose from the chair and stared a moment longer into the fire.
Then he turned and gazed at the colonel as Patrick rose slowly from his chair. Strong Wolf placed a hand on the colonel’s shoulder. “My friend, many deer will lie at your doorstep this very day, before the moon chases the sun from the sky.”
Heaving a great sigh, Colonel Deshong smiled broadly. “You are a true friend,” he said. “I will repay you, somehow, for your help.”
“Payment comes in continued friendships and freedom of councils between two friends,” Strong Wolf said, then walked the colonel to the door and opened it. “You will have deer meat on your table soon.”
“Thank you,” Patrick said, giving Strong Wolf an affectionate hug.
Colonel Deshong then left the lodge and rode away with his companions.
Strong Wolf went back to Hannah and took her hands in his as she rose from the chair. “And you will come on the hunt with me and my warriors?” he asked, surprising Hannah.
“I’d love to,” Hannah said. “But is it all right? Are women allowed on the hunt?”
“You are allowed because I am the voice of my people,” Strong Wolf said thickly. “Also, this hunt today is not for my people’s cooking pot. It is for the white man’s. So I see no taboo in having you join the hunt.”
“Strong Wolf, I’m amazed at your generosity toward the colonel,” Hannah said as they stepped outside together. “First you gave permission for a road to pass through your property. Now you have agreed to send your warriors out on a hunt for meat for the soldiers.”
“What one gives, comes back twofold,” Strong Wolf said, chuckling.
Then he turned her to face him. He placed his hands at her waist, his eyes raking over her, again looking at how she was dressed.
“A woman in man’s clothes?” he said, his lips tugging into an amused smile. He gazed into her eyes. “How is it that you wear such clothes?”
“A whim of mine, I guess,” Hannah said, softly shrugging as she smiled devilishly at him.
“Whim?” Strong Wolf questioned, forking an eyebrow. “What is this thing called ‘whim’?”
“A notion, a sudden desire,” Hannah said, finding his innocence in these sorts of things so refreshing. “Like it was a whim on your part to allow me on the hunt.”
They both laughed, then she stood back and watched as Strong Wolf gathered enough of his warriors to make a successful hunt, Proud Heart among them.
Then Hannah was in awe when Strong Wolf came to her and placed protective leggings over her denim breeches, made by tying a piece of animal skin around them.
“These are worn to protect against prickly bushes in the forest,” he said as he and his men placed the same protective coverings around their legs.
As a young brave went for Strong Wolf’s and Hannah’s horses, Strong Wolf went inside his lodge and grabbed up his bow and quiver of arrows.
When they left the village on horseback, Hannah was honored to be with Strong Wolf, and glad that none of his warriors appeared to resent her presence. Proud Heart was riding on Strong Wolf’s right side, she the left.
She sidled her horse closer to Strong Wolf’s. “Thank you for letting me come,” she said softly. “Will you also allow me to kill a deer, myself? I am skilled with firearms. As a child, my father taught me well the art of shooting.”
“We shall see first how many deer offer themselves to us today,” Strong Wolf said. “You see, my woman, we are like our brothers the wolves. We hunt the deer, but we do not kill them all. But we do take what we are allowed to take, because if there are too many deer left alive to fend for themselves, they will starve. We only thin out the deer population with our hunt, so that the Deer People will be stronger and their children’s children will survive to support our own future children.”
“You speak of things with such depth and knowledge,” Hannah said, in awe of how he saw things and the rules by which he lived. “I would have never thought about what is best for the deer population. And I doubt that many white people do. They should learn from you, Strong Wolf, your people, the true knowledge of the hunt.”
“A deer is not just an animal,” Strong Wolf further explained. “All things have a living spirit within. Everything, even animals, have guardian spirits of their own.”
“You have to be so much more aware of things for the welfare of your people,” Hannah said, thinking about how easy things were for the white people. “I so admire you and your people.”
“It has been this way since the beginning of time for the red man,” Strong Wolf said. “And when the white man came and took the forest animals in such numbers, it became even harder for my people.”
She became aware that even while he had been talking, his eyes were on the ground, as were his warriors’. “Are you tracking a deer?” she asked, trying to see what they saw among the dried, rotted leaves on the forest floor.
“Yes,” Strong Wolf said, without looking her way. “Our quarry is a buck with several antlers and much meat on it. He will be the first kill for my friend, the colonel. Hopefully the buck will lead us to more like him.”
Hannah followed alongside Strong Wolf as the trail led to a high ridge. And then they swung to the east, away from the wind, so that the wind would not carry their scent toward the deer.
They made a wide half circle, then came out above where the buck was feasting on the leaves of a tree below them.
“We will dismount here,” Strong Wolf said, nodding over at Hannah, then nodding at Proud Heart and his warriors as they each dismounted. “And now is the time for us to clear our minds. Do not think of the deer as we approach it. A deer hears a hunter’s thoughts if his thoughts are on the deer.”
Hannah’s heart thumped wildly within her chest as she yanked her rifle from its gun boot. She watched Strong Wolf and his braves clasp onto their bows, then followed beside Strong Wolf as they moved stealthily through the thick stand of birch trees.
She occasionally gave Proud Heart a nervous glance as he would say something softly to Strong Wolf. She was too proud to ask what was being said. When Strong Heart wanted her to be included, he would include her despite Proud Heart’s interference.
Strong Wolf held out an arm, stopping everyone. “We will wait for the deer to come up the trail again,” he whispered to Hannah, the others seeming to know without being told. “He is just down bow range. He is alert to all sounds. We must now wait in silence.”
Hannah nodded. She gripped the rifle tightly, her eyes watching the narrow trail that led up from the ravine where the deer was taking its time eating.
Strong Wolf said a quiet prayer to himself, asking the deer to forgive him, then drew an arrow from his quiver. He notched the arrow on his bow and drew the string back as he heard the deer’s feet shuffling along the trail.
Strong Wolf held his breath as he waited and watched.
Hannah’s eyes were wide. She had also heard the deer approaching. She could even now hear the deer breathing!
When the deer came close enough, Strong Wolf let out his breath and loosed his arrow.
The two arrows dove straight into the middle of the deer’s side, just above its front leg.
Hannah’s fingers felt frozen to the gun. She couldn’t pull the trigger. She was in awe of how quickly the arrows had sank into the deer’s body. She watched the deer take one leap, then tumble to the ground.
Hannah ran beside Strong Wolf as he went and knelt down beside the deer. The buck heaved a heavy sigh, then shuddered and died.
Having never before been this close to a buck such as this, Hannah was in awe of its size. She reached out and touched the antlers, then pulled back her hand when Proud Heart hoisted the deer over his shoulder and carried it to his horse.
After the deer was secured on the horse’s back behind the saddle, they repeated the search and kill until six deer were downed.
“That should be enough meat for the white men’s table,” Strong Wolf said as he secured the last kill on the back of his own horse. “Let us now deliver what we have promised.”
The journey back to the fort was silent and full of reverence. The hunt was a time of solemnness. Respect to the dead had to be paid.
The wide gates of the fort were open when they arrived. They rode on inside and drew tight rein before the colonel’s cabin.
Shirtless, Patrick came outside. A cigar hung from the cormer of his mouth. His eyes danced when he saw the deer. “And so you did it,” he said, giving Strong Wolf a quick smile. “You actually did it.”
“Did I not say that I would?” Strong Wolf said, dismounting. He loosened the ropes around the deer that lay across his horse’s back.
“You did in one afternoon what would take my men a month to do,” Patrick said, chuckling. He watched Strong Wolf lay the deer at his feet, then stepped around the deer and clasped his hands on Strong Wolf’s shoulders. “Thank you, my friend. Thank you.”
Strong Wolf nodded.
Patrick lowered his hand to his side and stepped back as the other deer were placed on the porch.
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