CHAPTER NINE
They had slept then in one another's arms throughout the next day, not leaving the place of their honeymoon until the day's night was fully upon the land. First Rider had explained to her why this time of day was the only real safe time in which to travel upon the prairie: it was because one could be easily seen from the surrounding tops of cliffs and buttes, regardless of their distance.
First Rider and Liliann had teased one another physically and had continued to make love to one another in between long stretches of sleep. At last, though, as the sun was setting in the west, they made preparations to leave this spot, one she would always remember.
Dried meat and water was their meal, since making a fire—which could be seen from the high ledges of the prairie—was out of the question.
It was well into the evening of the next day when they at last caught up with Red Fox and Stands Strong, First Rider's friends having built their camp close to the Sun River, or as the Indians called the river, The Medicine. And so, Liliann glimpsed her first sight of the white man's post at The Medicine.
As Liliann sat within their tiny camp, she had to admire both Red Fox and Stands Strong for their lack of animosity toward her because she had joined their scouting party. There were no knowing looks at her, and certainly there was no joking about what she and First Rider had been doing the previous evening.
That First Rider now referred to her as "his woman" was enough for them, and she became the fourth "scout" in their party.
But, time was marching forward quickly toward evening, the best time in which to scout. Thus, they all four had to move along. As they broke camp, Liliann noted how the men worked to make it appear that their small camp had never existed, burying any traces of the fire and brushing the ground so as to ensure no footprints were left. With a last look at the camp, they moved along. Then, each one of them taking his horse by its reins, they walked toward the saloon.
They secured their horses in the forested bottom of a shallow coulee, where, having hobbled their ponies, Liliann was startled when First Rider's two friends bent down to the ground and began to move forward in a full belly crawl.
First Rider turned to her, and, taking a lock of her hair between his fingers, he whispered, "Go with them…I must. Important for me…discover…weaknesses…of…Óom Maká'pato'si Wayákiitoo…Evil-spirited-used-to-be-husband."
"Thou means Ernest?"
He nodded. "Aa, Stuart…Maká pato'si. Evil Spirit."
"Where does thou wish me to be when we approach him, then?" she asked in a whisper.
"We?" he signed.
"Of course. Whither thou goes, I will be goin', too."
Looking down at her, he grinned, then signed, "I would like you to stay here with the horses. You must remain as far away from the saloon as possible because you do not yet know how to be unseen. But, there is little danger for us because we can make ourselves invisible to the white men."
"Oh," she answered with her lips alone, there being no sound with the word. "But, why must I be stayin' here? Tell me what thou wishes me own self to do, and I will be doin' it."
Leaning his head down to hers, he kissed her lips, then, lifting up slightly, he murmured in a low voice, "On…stomachs, we crawl. Injured you are. Moving over ground, your clothes tear…leave behind…proof we here. No good."
So enthralled was she at the delicate touch of his lips on hers as he spoke, she thought she might agree to most anything he asked of her. But, not this. She was too worried about him remaining alive to be left long apart from him.
And so, in response to him, she kissed him sweetly and purred, "Then, if this be so and me own clothes tear easily, let me be wearin' thy shirt. Especially since thou be wearin' only breechcloth and moccasins."
She could feel his lips pull up into a grin. "Do you have skill…how be invisible? Make no noise…not be seen? While learn…about enemy?"
"Nay, but I will try."
"Not good…enough."
"Thou must realize"—she touched her lips gently to his—"where thou goes, there I be goin', too. I will be followin' thee, whether thou wants me to or not."
He sighed, then kissed her again before raising his head, and he mumbled, "Come, if you insist. I help you…into shirt and leggings…moccasins, too. But, must promise you do as I say. If not, you not go again. Do you…promise?"
"I promise," she said. And, she followed him into the bushes lining the pine-forested bottom of the coulee. There he proceeded to first undress her amidst the many caresses he gave her up and down her body—with particular attention paid to her breasts—until at last it was done, and she stood before him in his shirt, leggings and her boots. And, because his scent was imbedded into the clothing, she felt as though she had stepped into a kind of heaven where she was surrounded by his invigorating, balmy aroma.
"Good," he signed. "Looks good."
She laughed. "If this be the way thou dresses me, I be thinkin' thou should have the chore of doin' it every day, right enough."
"It…no chore," he signed, grinning at her. "Happy am I to do it…every day, if wish it…you do."
She shook her head, but grinned along with him, nonetheless.
