"And they did so?"
"Yes, my daughter. And so now they are on their way to visit us for brides. The Jaguar scout who ran ahead to advise us said they will arrive this day when the sun makes tiny shadows at our feet."
Star hastily slapped more mud on her face. "Do not worry, Mother! No Jaguar will offer for me." She waved a hand dismissively. "Not the way I am dressed and muddied!"
"Your disguise as an old woman should protect you," her mother agreed. "And I will stay close to you, too. We will be two old women together."
"I hope they will make their choices soon. I do not wish to hobble around for long."
"I pray to the Great Spirit that it will be so," said her mother grimly. "But we may have to be patient." Her worried glance indicated that she thought Star lacked that particular womanly virtue.
"Remember: keep that fur over your head. Walk like a bent old woman. Snort occasionally. If one of them chances to speak to you, refuse to look him in the eyes. And I will give you a man's spear to drag around. Use it as a cane and poke at things and people with it. Do anything that you think will discourage a Jaguar man."
"Snort? Drag around a man's spear? Poke people? Mother, you have lost your senses!"
"Better to lose my senses than to lose my daughter."
"Oh, Mother. It cannot be as bad as that!"
"I hope you are correct, my daughter," answered Blue Jay grimly. "I truly hope you are correct."
Chapter Two
When the lone Jaguar runner had announced that his people were on their way to the Badger camp, he had said they would arrive when the sun was at its highest. It was that time now and all Star could see was her tiny shadow. No Jaguars. She yawned and straightened.
"Bend," hissed her mother in warning.
"Oh, Mother, there are no Jaguars. They are late, and perhaps they may never arrive. Perhaps they found some other people to scareuh, protect." Star felt foolish wearing the furs over her head and mud on her face. "None of the other young women have to wear"
"Hush!" warned Blue Jay. "Their scout has alert ears, like an owl listening for a mouse. And he may be watching us even now." She glanced in the direction of Echo's tent where Echo's old wife plied the Jaguar scout with ripe red berries.
''Oh, Mother."
"Hunch. Look old," was her mother's only reply.
Having nothing better to do, Star hunched over again, though not as far as she had the last time. Bending for a long time hurt!
"Here," said her mother, handing her an old wooden spear shaft with a missing tip.
Star practiced walking around slowly, using it as a cane.
"Much better," said Blue Jay with satisfaction. Star was staring at the ground so she could not see her mother, or anyone else. Just feet. She straightened a little.
"They are coming." Blue Jay shuddered.
Star's heart sped up. The dreaded Jaguars! At last! She took a quick peek.
They did not look so fierce. She counted the large, leather-clad men whose long black hair hung straight down their backs. She noted that each man carried a spear. There were as many of them as she had fingers and toes.
She unbent a little more to get a better view and heard her mother's sharp hiss, so she stayed frozen at the new level. The pain in her back made her feel truly old.
Star craned her neck to listen as the Jaguars spoke with the Badger headman, Echo. After polite preliminaries were dispensed with, the Jaguar headman said, "We want six women."
Echo looked taken aback. "Claw, we do not have six women to give you." Echo's voice, though shaking, was quiet. "We Badgers number few people. If we were to give you six women of
joining age, why, we would have no women for ourselves!"
Star hoped Echo would not give away any Badgers to these strangers.
"We have gifts," another Jaguar spoke up. He stepped forward. His leather tunic was dirty and his black hair was tangled. Star frowned at the ground. Who would want to marry a Jaguar? Not she.
Echo said nothing to the offer of gifts and the uneasy silence lengthened. Star peeked upward. Claw, the Jaguar spokesman, a tall, thin man with a protruding stomach, was surveying the gathered Badgers. "Where are your women? I see only old people and little children. And few men," he added in a menacing tone.
It was most unfortunate, thought Star, that the Badger men had chosen this morning of all mornings to go antelope hunting.
"Most of our women are married," said Echo. "And they have children."
"It is good that Badger women are fertile," acknowledged Claw. "That is why they are in high demand by my men."
"We can give you two women," said Echo. "They are beautiful and young. They will give you many children."
"Let us see them." Claw's voice was eager.
Echo coughed and signaled two waiting Badger mothers. The mothers came forward, each holding a shy daughter's hand.
Star straightened a little more, and gave a sidelong peek to see who the young women were. She smiled to herself when she saw the first one.
That one needed little encouragement from her mother! Her round face was smiling, her plump body jiggling under her well-tanned leather dress as her mother led her forward. It was Fawn, a middle daughter in a family of six girls. Her mother, Doe, despaired of ever finding enough husbands for all six of her daughters and no doubt saw this as an opportunity sent by the Great Spirit to relieve her of yet another marriageable girl. Doe's remaining unmarried daughters were all too young to give to the Jaguars.
Doe gave Fawn a push in Claw's direction. Star straightened a little more and saw Claw grin at the young woman. Then his expression became serious.
"Who else?" he demanded. "Move aside. Let us see her."
The young woman propelled forward by her mother tried to hide her face in embarrassment. A twinge of pity welled in Star. It was Elk Knees, a recent widow. No Badger hunter had offered to join with her because of her sharp tongue. It was rumored that she had killed her husband with unkind words, but Star knew it was not true. He had suffered a hunting accident. Evidently Elk Knees's family feared that no Badger man would ever promise for her.
"She looks young and strong," said Claw approvingly.
Echo smiled.
It is true, thought Star. Elk Knees is comely, as thin and strong as a young cottonwood. The Jaguars should be satisfied. Now if they would only go home!
"We are very pleased with the two women you have offered, Echo of the Badger People. But I must tell you, we want six Badger women. No more, no less." Claw's words were stern as he held up six fingers.
"Wewe have no more women."
The Jaguars milled together, discussing Echo's words. From their deep droning buzz, Star knew they disliked his answer.
Star risked another peek at the Jaguars through her long, ash-covered locks. None of them noticed her and she felt free to study them as they talked about what to do. The Jaguar men were taller than Badger men. They had long legs and broad chests. Her eyes roved over them. They all had long black hair and wore tanned leather tunics and trousers. Jaguar women are skilled in the decorative arts, she thought, for several of the tunics were painted with deer and elk designs, a jaguar's natural prey.
One man had his broad back to her. He sported a wide-winged falcon design on the leather stretched taut across his shoulders. As she stared at him, he swung around, and she saw his face. Her breath caught in her throat. His eyes were black, his face strong-jawed. He would have been truly handsome if it were not for the long white scar that slashed from the corner of his right eye to his unsmiling mouth.
He has suffered, she realized, stirring suddenly. When she saw his eyes surveying the watching Badgers, she dropped her gaze. Her heart pounded. It would not do for that man to notice her. It would not do at all!
"We come to your people for women," Claw said. "We have done this many times. We share grandchildren with you." He named two Badger women who had gone to live with the Jaguars. Star recognized their names. One was Echo's sist
er; the other was Fragrance, Blue Jay's cousin.
"Yes, and we never saw them again," muttered Blue Jay.
Star stared at the ground. Not to see her family again! Marriage to a Jaguar sounded very lonely. She was relieved she had accepted Camel Stalker's suit.
"You seem to have forgotten our agreement, Echo," said Claw sternly. "We agreed that you Badgers would give us brides in exchange for protection against the Fish Eaters."
"I remember our agreement very clearly," said Echo. "But we have few young women. If we give you any more, we will not have any women for ourselves."
"Six is not so many," argued Claw.
Star gazed once again at the broad-shouldered falcon man she had seen. He was standing, legs apart, calmly surveying the clustered Badgers and Jaguars. He seemed to care little about what went on with the negotiations as he lazily surveyed her people. His long black hair waved in the breeze. She suddenly wondered what it would be like to touch him, to caress those thick black locks.
"Bend," hissed Blue Jay.
Star dragged her eyes away from his rugged face and forced herself to stare at the ground.
Three of the Jaguar men grouped around Claw spoke in low tones. Finally they separated and
Claw said, "We would like to stay at your camp for this night. We are weary from our travels." His bland face gave no hint of deceit, but Star was suspicious.
Echo shifted uncomfortably. Star guessed he wanted to deny the request and was searching for a polite way to decline. If the Jaguars stayed too long, they would soon realize there were more Badger women than those gathered at the fire.
But Echo shrugged helplessly and the Jaguars took his silence for assent. They dispersed through the camp, carrying their belongings and looking for flat places on the grass to set up their tents.
It was to be a longer stay then, thought Star in dismay. If they were going to stay only overnight as Claw had said, they would not bother with erecting hide dwellings.
The Jaguars set up their tents and rolled out bedskins. Star straightened a little.
"Bend," hissed Blue Jay.
The Jaguars finished, and Star relaxed. She and her mother could return to their own home and stay there until these intruders left.
But now that the Jaguars had completed their task, they began prowling among the Badgers and searching the Badger tents!
A Jaguar stopped and peered into a dwelling. A surprised yell came from inside. The man hastily withdrew and wandered on to the next Badger abode.
Several Jaguars were clustered around one particular Badger tent.
"Bend," ordered Blue Jay. "They are getting close to finding"
A heavyset Jaguar pulled back the flap and reached inside. "Ho!" The Jaguar and several of his fellows laughed heartily. "Look!"
"Oh, no," moaned Blue Jay. "Her mother should have hidden her in the cave or smeared her with mud as I have done."
Star caught her breath, watching as the Jaguar jerked a young woman from the tent. Her long black hair hid her face, but Star recognized the thin form of Chokecherry.
Star bit her lip and ducked her head. Chokecherry had wanted to marry Finds the Marten, Star's silent suitor. Star had thought it a good match because Chokecherry never stopped talking. But the Jaguar held her so tightly that Chokecherry was struck silent with fear. Now Finds the Marten would not be her husband. Instead, she would have a Jaguar man.
Out of the tent crawled Chokecherry's mother. "My daughter is very ill," she moaned, wringing her hands and getting to her feet. "You must let her rest in our tent!"
A brawny young Jaguar pushed her aside, entered the tent, and dragged out a second young woman. Star looked away before she could see who it was.
"Sageflower," whispered Blue Jay as Star kept her eyes on the ground and leaned on her cane.
"Oh, no," muttered Star. Sageflower was a close friend of Chokecherry's so Star was not surprised that they had hidden together. Sageflower was a sweet, delicate young woman, a favorite in the
Badger camp. "Not Sageflower!"
"She is very ill, too," Chokecherry's mother proclaimed loudly. "They are both very, very ill!"
The Jaguars ignored her.
Star suddenly felt grateful for the mud and ashes on her face and in her hair. Blue Jay had known to do the best thing for her, after all. She leaned a little more onto her cane.
The two frightened young women, looking pale but healthy, were led away from the hide dwelling. A thick silence, marred only by the low keening of Chokecherry's mother, descended upon the Badger camp.
The Jaguar spokesman strutted up to Echo. "So, you think to hide your women? That is not in the spirit of friendship between our people. Not at all!
"Claw looks very angry," whispered Blue Jay in a shaking voice. "And he is mistaken to say that we are friends. Friends do not fear one another like we fear the Jaguars!"
Star squeezed her eyes shut. What would happen now?
"These women are already promised!" insisted Echo. Indeed, Star knew that Sageflower was promised to Echo's son, Wolverine. "There was no need to show them to you. They each have a mate they will join with very soon!"
"Not soon enough," said Claw. "They will have new mates. Jaguar mates. Put them over there with the other two brides!"
Star's heart fell. It was truly most unfortunate that so many Badger men had gone hunting that morning and were not here to defend their brides.
Suddenly she felt a hard grip on her shoulder and found herself peering into a cruel Jaguar face. "Who is this?" demanded the man. It was the one with food streaks on his leather tunic and dirty, tangled hair. At close range he stank. Star opened her mouth, but no words came. She swallowed and tried again.
"She is just my old sister," rang out Blue Jay's alarmed voice. She knocked the Jaguar's hand off Star's shoulder. "Leave her alone!".
The intruder glared at Blue Jay, and Star feared for her mother's life. Then with a shrug and a dismissive glance at Star, the Jaguar turned away. Star's heart slowed to its natural rhythm.
"We will give you gifts for these two women," Claw was snarling at Echo. "We do not steal them from you like the Fish Eaters do!"
"I have not forgotten our agreement," retorted Echo sharply.
Star peeked up and saw the two headmen glaring at each other.
"Down," whispered her mother.
It was unusual for Echo to sound angry. He had been chosen headman by the Badger People because he was so calm. Star guessed that he was angry about the loss of his son's wife, because Sageflower was truly a loss. Wolverine would be heartbroken.
Claw sauntered closer to Echo. Star watched him halt a handbreadth from the Badger headman. "We are taking them," gloated Claw. "You may keep the gifts or not, as you see fit. But we are taking the women!"
The hiss of Echo's indrawn breath told Star he did not like it. Her heart beat faster. She watched Echo sidestep the Jaguar. Echo paced in a circle, searching the crowded area.
"Do not bother to look for help," said Claw with a sneer. "We have more men than you do."
Echo turned back to his tormentor and stood toe-to-toe with the Jaguar. "You cannot have our women!"
The Jaguar laughed. "You cannot stop us."
Careful to stay bent, Star peered up at them. The two men glared at each other; then Echo's shoulders slumped and he turned away. He had given up. Her heart thundered. If the Badger men would not fight for her and the other hidden women, then she had only the mud and her own cunning to protect her!
Chapter Three
The Jaguars had been in camp for two days, and Star was desperately hoping they would leave soon. Her back hurt from bending over but her mother would not let her linger in their tent because the Jaguars had not given up; they stopped and searched the dwellings thoroughly again and again. So far they had found one more woman, Pine Woman, a lively, dimpled maiden who had been hiding in a cave.
The five captured women stood in a little knot, guarded by two hefty Jaguars. Sobbing mothers hu
ddled around them. Gifts had been offered, but that pretense was as thin as an old worn fur; the Jaguars were stealing the women and no one could stop them.
Star leaned on her cane and wondered where she could go to straighten her back. She was very tired of walking around hunched over. The mud on her face had dried, cracked, fallen off, and been replaced many times, because Blue Jay insisted she wear it always, even at night. Star's hair was buried under the gray ash and her scalp itched. Blue Jay took every occasion she could to pile on more ashes.
But Star had to admit that their efforts had proved successful. Not a single Jaguar had sought out the filthy old woman who hobbled about on a cane.
She often shuffled over to the trail that led to the river, keeping out of sight of the camp, waiting for the Jaguars to leave.
As she hobbled slowly down the trail one afternoon, she wondered where Camel Stalker, Wolverine, and the other Badger hunters were. What was taking them so long?
Well, she thought bitterly, when they finally do decide to return from whatever antelope hunt they are on, they will find I am the only young woman left in camp!
As she shuffled along, Star wished she could get word to the Badger hunters to return and rescue her and the other women from the intruders. Their lone headman, Echo, could do little to stop the Jaguars.
Ah, Camel Stalker. How she wanted a husband, a hearth of her own, children of her own. Her mother loved her, true, and she could always dwell with her, but Star did not want to grow old and live with her mother. She wanted a man. Someone to love and share her life with. Camel Stalker would do well as a husbandif he ever arrived to rescue her.
A copse of cottonwood and aspen bordered the river. The thick screen of trees hid the water from camp. As soon as she knew that no one could see her, she straightened a little and her muscles relaxed in relief. The closer she got to the river, the more upright she became, and the faster she walked. By the time she reached the river, she was running.
She tossed the furs aside and splashed into the water. Ah, how cool and cleansing the water felt on her legs and arms. She put a hand to the small of her back and stretched. How good it felt to straighten! She bent and splashed some of the refreshing liquid on her face. She washed off the dried mud so she could feel her skin once again. Later she would replace the black ooze, but for now how fresh the water felt on her skin, how cool!
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