He smiled at her and tried to communicate with her in a different way, adding a little of the English language he knew, and as he signed, he said, "I…medicine man. Bullet…out…must…come. You…leave. Medicine man…try…heal."
"I cannot leave me own father," she murmured softly. "How do I know thee will not try to kill him?"
It took First Rider a little time to understand her words, but at last he did, and he said, "He…live. Not…kill. Try…heal."
She began to cry. Again she shook her head.
However, First Rider didn't give up, at least not yet. He offered his hand to the girl, palm up. When she didn't take it, he slowly took her hand and placed it in his own. Then, looking down into her eyes, he said, "Must…try…bullet…to get. You"—he pointed with his finger to a place close to the springs, yet far enough away so he might do his work—"there…sit. You…watch."
She bit her lip. "Thou will not cut him open?"
"I…not," First Rider answered. Still holding her hand, he said, "Here, come. I…take you…good…sitting…place."
She nodded.
At last, gaining her agreement, First Rider helped her up onto the edge of the springs and, patting her hand, again grinned at her. He said, "No…talk…no…come…between. Watch…only."
Again she nodded.
And, seeing it, First Rider turned back toward the girl's father.
****
Since First Rider had returned from his duty to stand guard the previous night, he had been praying to Sun, the Creator, having taken on the duty as a medicine man because the white man's daughter had begged him to save her father's life.
As First Rider prayed, he offered up the smoke from the sacred pipe and asked for the Creator's help, begging Sun, the Creator, to have pity upon him, as well as upon the man Henrik. Once his prayers were done, he left his best eagle's feather as a gift for the Creator. Indeed, First Rider had personally beaded the feather's hollow shaft, and it was an item he treasured. It was now given to and belonged to the Creator.
Though he had only attained the age of twenty and three snows, First Rider had long been known to be a healer to his people. Even as a child he had possessed the "power."
It was said he had attained this healing touch from the Big People. He had been told by his mother and his almost-father, Chief Chases-the-enemy, about how, when only three winters in age, he had been taken by a Big Person and had been in companywith her for many moons before his almost-father and his mother had been able to rescue him.
Because the Big People—in particular, the women of this tribe—were sacred to the Creator, these people had long been recognized as being endowed with a power to heal. So, all the chiefs of his tribe, as well as the older medicine men, had assumed the Big Person, a female, had somehow given some of her power to him.
First Rider didn't remember. He only knew it was he who, even as a child, had often been called upon by the medicine men to heal others when all else had failed. He had so far in his young life been successful and thus had garnered a reputation for himself as a medicine man. And, although he had the "gift" of being able to take objects from within a person's body, he rarely used the skill. It wasn't usually required of him to call it into practice. And, indeed, he wasn't certain exactly how he was able to do it.
But, the man Henrik required he use this faculty tonight because the bullet was lodged into the man's breastbone, thus it was situated too close to his heart, and if not removed, the man would likely die. This, First Rider knew, having set his hands upon the man to "see" the wound in the white man's body.
However, First Rider wished the girl would go away instead of remaining where she was at the shoreline, so that he could work upon the man without an audience. Indeed, he might fail, and if he did, her father, Henrik, would eventually die from the wound.
If they took the man Henrik to Fort Benton, the white men there would surely seek to cut Henrik open in order to remove the bullet. But, First Rider was certain that if done, this man, because of his weakness, would perish under the knife.
Although First Rider made it a practice to not attend to an injured person while another looked on, and though he wished it were different, this one time he would allow the girl to remain. Upon touching the white girl's hand, he had become convinced shenot only would not interfere, but she would aid him in some way, though he was uncertain how she might bring this about.
And so he began. Beating his sacred drum, he sang the medicine song given to him in his long ago past…most likely the source of it being the female from the tribe of Big People. Again he didn't remember. He only knew the song had come to him upon his first attempt to heal another.
It was different from other Pikuni songs. Its rhythm was similar to the regular beat of other medicine men's songs, but this chant was particularly different and strange. The notes, though in rhythm, were misaligned, were high and then low, and even the words First Rider used he didn't understand. He only knew whatever they meant, they were sacred.
He sang and he sang, always beating his drum. The song went on and on until, at last, he felt ready to try to remove the bullet, and he stopped his song. But, upon ceasing his song, he heard it still, and it was then when he realized someone else had been singing along with him, only at a higher pitch.
It is the girl, still vocalizing the medicine song.
Glancing up at her, he smiled, then waded to the shoreline where she sat. Facing her, he took up the rhythm again and beat his drum as his voice joined hers, amazed to hear the girl reciting the strange words to the song, also.
His attention was so caught up in the need to heal this man, he didn't stop to wonder how this young, white girl knew these strange words well enough to sing them with him. He only considered how her voice, added to his, aided him in healing the man.
Then, without fanfare or any warning at all, he felt his shadow, his very being, touch hers. There it was. For a moment set out of time, he understood her, and he knew she understood him. Indeed, he could see clearly how alike they were to each other.
Does she know she could be a healer?
