"Evildoing? Are you telling me you think I am evil because I have asked for your help?"
He inhaled deeply and sorted through his thoughts before uttering, "Not you, nor what you have asked of me. It is what youhave offered me as the pay you would give me if I help you. This pay is evil."
"Pay? Evil?" She cried out the words before she burst into fresh tears, then she spread her hands again over her face as though she didn't wish him to see the effect his words had upon her.
Her actions caused Stands Strong's heart to open up a little to her, and he offered her an explanation, whispering, "Since my people have known the white man, he has brought us friendship and many beautiful goods we value. But, he has also brought with him a wicked thing, and we have stood horrified at the white man's attempt to exchange this evil for the quality of hides and furs he obtains from us."
"I do not understand. What did I offer you that you find evil?"
"I will tell you, though it is not my place to utter these words to a woman who is also a white person. But, so as to understand you better, and you, me, I will say to you what many of my people speak of to one another about certain white traders. What I tell you is true; the white man brings whiskey into this country and steals the Indian's mind and spirit by means of this brew, causing the Indian warrior to commit war on his friends, as well as his family. A man whose mind has been stolen by the white man's brew cannot be long without it, and such a man has been known to kill his wife and his own children when his spirit and his mind have been taken by this whiskey."
With her lips shaking, she uttered softly, "I am sorry to hear about this, Mr. Stands Strong. Believe me, I am sorry, indeed. But, please, I have not offered you whiskey in exchange for acting as a scout for us."
"Your tongue speaks true. This you have not done."
"Then, why are you angry with me?"
He paused as he tried to keep control over his mind and the urge to still utter bad words to her. At last, he felt he could speak with only a little resentment, and he said, "There are storiesbrought to us by Indians west of the Backbone-of-the-World Mountains, those who once lived close to the Everywhere-water. A few of those Indians were able to escape from either death or enslavement brought to them by the white invaders. They have told us stories of these trespassers to their land, who, when they first arrived, said they brought peace, yet who begot death to the Indian people or made slaves of those they did not kill. The scatterings of those few who were able to get away have made their home with us or with a few of the tribes on the west side of the mountains. And, from those few people we have learned of the terrible golden rock and how, because of desire for this rock, the invaders' spirits have been stolen. This white aggressor acts like a man under a spell—one cast by a demon spirit. And, if the captured Everywhere-water-people do not willingly work in the underground caves owned by their attackers, the white man either kills them with his deadly weapons or he enslaves them by forcing them to dig in these caves that he calls 'mines,' where the evil rock lives. Because of this golden rock, whole tribes who once lived next to the Everywhere-water have been wiped away by this spiritless invader and his guns. Real Indian men of those tribes fought these intruders. But, because Indians had not the guns nor the means to fight back equally, they lost these battles. And, as they had known would happen, they were killed.
"Of course," Stands Strong continued, "we have seen the golden coins the traders carry and which they value, but we did not know of the demon's spell which has been cast upon the rock. It is from the tribes who once lived close to the Everywhere-water that we have learned of this rock and its immoral power over a human being. Those Everywhere-water people have told us to beware of the invaders who carry this spirit-killing and evil rock. And, Miss Czanna, you offered this rock to me tonight."
Looking at her, he saw her eyes were opened wide, and she gasped before she said, "I am very, very sorry to hear these stories, Mr. Stands Strong. I have not known of these Indian people, norhave I had any knowledge of the white invaders of their homeland. But, please, I must ask you, do you think I am like these trespassers you speak of who are trying to steal your spirit?"
Stands Strong hesitated to respond, since the truth might cause her more grief. However, at last he answered, but with a question, and he asked, "What else can I think?"
No sooner had he uttered the words than she again broke into tears, hiding her face once more within the folds of her hands. He waited patiently for her to regain her composure, and, as the night sank deeper and deeper into the shadows and still she wept, his heart softened for her plight and a thought took hold of him. Could her reaction to his words, if it had been a true response, offer him proof of her innocent and genuine intentions? Indeed, could he have been wrong to decide her actions were meant to lure him into evildoing?
But, contrarily, couldn't she be using her tears to soften his heart while hers remained hard?
At last, she calmed herself enough to say, "Mr. Stands Strong, I don't know what to do. I…I don't understand this country or its people and their moralities."
As though she hadn't cried enough, she broke anew into tears, and this time in response to her, Stands Strong leaned forward, stretching out his arm to her and taking her hand into his own.Ha'ayaa, be her tears real or not, he could not sit in front of her and do nothing.
He said, "Maybe I have been wrong."
She placed her other hand over her face and hiccupped.
As softly as he could, he asked, "Will you tell me about what is in your heart? I fear I do not understand your wishes concerning me, and I do not know why you so urgently need my help."
It took much time for her to compose herself. However, he patiently waited until at last she murmured, "Where I come from, no one gives service to another without coin being exchanged. This is why I offered it to you."
Using the hem of her dress, she wiped the tears from her face and brought up her head as the dark brown of her eyes met his. She sniffed a little before she continued, whispering, "In my country, service performed for another is never given without some pay being exchanged. You see, in my homeland, nothing is free and available for general use. Indeed, one must have coin to obtain shelter and to obtain food and clothing. Sometimes food is given in exchange for service performed, but it is more common to offer another person the silver or gold coin. Some men accumulate more of these silver and golden coins than others, and they live very well. But, some men do not have the means to accumulate the pay they need to provide food and shelter for their families, and so they fight amongst themselves for what they must have. Perhaps this explains why the white man wars so greatly with one another: so he might obtain the golden coin.
"You see," she went on to say, "in this country of yours, the gold and all else is free, and if a man can find what he needs, he can live well. But, in my country, the gold and even the silver coins are not free, nor is anything else free, save the air and water. I don't know if this be true, but it seems to me it has always been this way.
"But, please, Mr. Stands Strong, I have only offered you the gold or silver coins because I need your help and I know of no other way to obtain your assistance other than by asking you to take what I have to give, which is coin. Do you see? It is important that I give you something of worth for what I ask of you. The truth is, I have nothing to offer you but coin."
For a moment, Stands Strong sat stunned into silence. Could it be true? In the world where she came from, was nothing free for all to use? Did not the Creator make the world and his creation for all peoples to have and to use?
Quicker than the flash of an instant, he understood—not the complexity she spoke of—but rather, he recognized her innocence.She had offered him what she had to give—something she felt was valuable.
Áa,he had been in error to condemn her without speaking to her first. But, was there any wonder he and she hadn't understood one another? His people were as different from hers as the mountains were to air.
At last, Stands Strong muttered under his breath, "Wáíai'taki tsaahtao'."
"I beg your pardon? I did not properly hear you."
Stands Strong shook his head as if to dispel the thought. In truth, he had no words to speak in response to the concepts she proffered, and so his mind had turned toward a quality shedidhave to give.
