"Are you certain it is the coulee I am in?"
"Yes. The snow here is already deep. I do not wish my horses to lose their footing, so they and I must climb down to you slowly, one step after another."
"I understand. Should I keep talking to you with my mind?"
"Yes."
It was a slow, tortuous climb down the incline. But, at last, he and his ponies managed to step onto a more level ground and found her lying there before him. Indeed, he almost stepped on one of the wolves who had come to surround her. He then said to her with his mind only, "I am here, but you must continue to speak to me silently and with your mind, for I must construct a shelter for us. Do not let yourself sleep. Stay awake."
"Very well. Should I continue to talk, then?"
"Yes. Can you see me?"
"No. The swirling of the snow is too thick."
"I am going to bend down toward you. Do not fear me. I am going to feel your body for injury. I shall try to touch your arm, your leg and your spine."
So saying, he bent toward her while the wind blew the snow around them. Reaching out to her, he felt underneath the blankets placed over her and ran his hands along her right arm and right leg. He said in Blackfeet, "I believe both your arm and your leg might be broken. I cannot feel your spine at this moment. I will need to move you carefully into a shelter, where I can determine if you have broken bones or if your muscles are merely strained."
"I don't understand you," she said in English, but he was aware of the concept of what she said anyway.
He nodded, then realized the snow was so thick, she couldn't see the movement. He repeated his words, but with the mind-to-mind talk only. Then he told her, "I must make us a shelter and a travois so I can move you without further injury. Do you understand?"
"I do."
"I have a warm buffalo robe to place over you to keep you as warm as possible. Stay close to the wolves and allow them to share the robe while I make a shelter and a travois to carry you. You have only to reach out to me with your mind if you need me. Thank you, my friends. My family. Please stay with her a little while longer. And, even when the storm passes, please stay close to me if you can. I might need your help again."
Only then did he rise to his feet, and he soon left to build a shelter that might keep them warm against the storm. And, it had to be quickly done.
CHAPTER THREE
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LAYLAH FELT A LITTLEwarmer, but she was still very cold. It seemed as if the temperature had dipped even further, causing her to wonder if the air in the canyon was well below freezing. She couldn't feel her fingers anymore and her toes were now following the same pattern as her fingers.
With her mind, she reached out to Eagle Heart and said, "I believe I am freezing to death."
He didn't answer. Was he still there? She panicked. "Eagle Heart, are you still here?" she yelled out in English.
"I have not left you," he answered without words. "I must secure a shelter. Keep awake. Do not freeze. It will be ready soon. Instead of the cold and snow, think of a fire and how warm you are as you sit beside it."
"I will try."
The communication dropped then between them, and she felt so sleepy of a sudden, she could barely keep her eyes open. But, she tried to envision a fire and its warmth.
She wasn't aware how long it was before she felt him beside her again. Carefully, and yet with manly strength, she could feel him lifting her onto some contraption that she thought must be made out of wood, for she could feel some of its branches beneath her. Then, she was aware they were moving through the spinning, heavily-falling snow.
But soon, a particular kind of tiredness closed in upon her.
"Do not sleep," he said, using his mind only.
"I must."
"No, do not do it. We are almost at the shelter. Keep awake. Speak to me, either with your mind or words."
"I can't."
"Yes, you can."
