Once at the springs, they had set up a camp within a patch of willow trees and had been ensconced there since. They were not far away, however, from Fort Benton. But, none of them were in a rush to go there. Rather, they had all agreed to allow as much time as possible for Henrik to recover, knowing this was needed if he were to live.
Stands Strong heard a sound and looked down toward where it had originated, seeing First Rider climbing up to this rise above the prairie.
As soon as his friend was level with him and had come down to rest upon his belly beside him, Stands Strong asked, "How is the man?"
"He has only awakened once. But, he is breathing more easily now."
"Soka'pi, good," said Stands Strong. "Has dripping the healing water onto his lips aided him?"
"Perhaps," answered First Rider. "But, he is weak, and I begin to fear he may not recover."
Stands Strong nodded, then said, "The injury to his leg will heal whether the bullet is removed or not, but the damage done from the slug lodged in his breastbone may not heal without taking it out. We might consider moving along to the fort because it is said the white man has ways of taking bullets from a man without killing him. Although, I fear the journey to the white man's fort might cause the man's death. Have you tried your touch upon him to see if the bullet might be drawn out using your special medicine?"
"I have not," answered First Rider. "I fear his daughter will not leave his side and, as you know, I cannot perform the task while she is near."
Stands Strong nodded, his brows drawn together in a frown. "This is to be understood, and it is good we answered her plea to help her father. Still, if you cannot perform the medicine power you have, he might not live. Perhaps I should ask Matsowá'p to speak with her almost-sister and try to persuade the girl to let you be alone with him. All our people know you have the healing touch, and I think you should at least be given the chance to try to extract the bullet without the need to use the white man's butchery. If, even after your ministering to him, he remains as he is, do you agree we should take him to the white people at Fort Benton?"
"Áa,I, too, agree with all you have said."
"Soka'pi. Then, I will try to speak to Matsowá'p yet this night." Stands Strong sat up, ready to give the watch over to First Rider, but before he left, Stands Strong said, "I have not seen nor heard an enemy. But, be on your guard, my friend."
"I will. However, before you go into camp, I would ask if you might try to work your own medicine upon the ill man?"
Stands Strong did not reply. Instead, he frowned. Then he said, "As you know, I am no longer the owner of the medicine I once thought was to be mine."
"I do not know this," said First Rider. "Once a man has been given his medicine by his animal helper, it is his to use."
"You speak truth, my friend, and it would be so if my animal helper, the white bear, had given me her power. But, she did not. There were no ceremonies given to me, no special songs she taught me, nor did she share any of her bear medicine with me. And, as you know, my shadow never found her in the spirit world despite my going on several quests to find my medicine. She aided me once when I was little, but she has never come to me again. Nor has any other animal answered my plea to become my helper."
First Rider didn't speak for several moments. After a time, he said, "And yet, you have great medicine. I see it in you; I feel it is there within you."
"You honor me, my friend," responded Stands Strong. "Perhaps what you see or feel in me is the medicine I should have gained from my father, who was the inheritor of the medicine ways from his father before him, and so on. There is a long line of medicine men in my Lakota family so old no one knows who was the first to bring it into our bloodline. But, whatever should have been passed along to me was not. And so, I have set aside my desire to be welcomed into the same profession as my father.
"However, there is hope," Stands Strong went on to say. "Perhaps one day, my son—if I sire one—will be the possessor of this, my Lakota inheritance. But, as for my own quest to become a medicine man, I have put it aside. The duty of scouting is, for me, a happy and worthy obligation. It is enough."
"And, you are the best scout we have."
Stands Strong nodded, then before he crawled down the bluff, he said, "Be on your guard. There may yet be an enemy war party close to us, and one who is looking for a fight with the Pikuni."
"Áa, I will do so."
****
It wasn't until the next evening when First Rider considered he might try to remove the bullet from the man Henrik. But first, he would have to take the man's young daughter in hand and locate her elsewhere. Stands Strong had, indeed, asked Matsowá'p to speak with her friend.
Yet, the girl continued to remain where she was.
Glancing briefly at the girl, First Rider hesitated to approach her. He already knew from experience that she didn't speak the sign language, nor did she understand the Pikuni tongue. And, his own knowledge of English was poor, at best.
Returning his regard back to the girl's father, First Rider observed the man hadn't moved since early morning. Grass Woman Springs was shallow at this time of year, which had allowed them to lay the man Henrik down with most of his body in the water while his head rested upon the pool's grassy shoreline.A few days earlier, First Rider had placed his own buffalo robe beneath the white man's head to aid in his comfort.
But, the young girl needed to leave him to his work, and, because of her, First Rider had not been able to use his medicine upon the man. Yet, respecting her rights, he hadn't approached her to try to communicate, fearing it might be an impossible task. Yet, the time was now when he needed to test his medicine and see if he could remove the bullet from the man without the need of poking him or letting the white man cut him open. He would try to speak to the girl.
To this end, he found himself wading into the small pool, and, coming up behind the yellow-haired girl and tapping her lightly on the shoulder, he tried to communicate by means of sign language what he required of her.
But, she didn't understand, and she merely shook her head, a sign First Rider had seen the white man was fond of when he meant to say no.
However, since First Rider required the girl to give up her vigil for a while, he tried to communicate once more, his hand motions a little slower. He had to bring her to understand she must leave and allow him to work his skills as a medicine man upon her father. The young girl, however, merely shrugged her shoulders.
