Heavy Storm paused, but at last said, "It is, perhaps, bad news I bear to you. And yet, I fear I should tell you what I discovered in the Flathead village."
"Bad? How bad is this news?" asked First Rider.
"At first," said Heavy Storm, "I had thought it might be a good discovery I made. But, upon returning to our people, I now believe what I have to tell you is not very good after all."
First Rider didn't respond. Instead, he gazed out upon the prairie where the women were working, all three of them happily chattering back and forth. Premonition took hold of him and First Rider knew this "news" would be life-changing, and not necessarily for the better.
Clearing his throat, Heavy Storm said, "Prepare yourself to hear what I have discovered."
First Rider nodded but didn't speak.
"As you might remember," began Heavy Storm, "the Nez Perce are an over-the-moutain tribe, and because the paths up and over the Backbone-of-the-world Mountains are treacherous even during the best of conditions, to bring war into these west-side camps is rare. But, I was called to do it…for my brother. It was our misfortune that we did not escape the deep snows on the far side of the mountain, and we were lucky to find our way tothe Flathead camp, where we were warmly welcomed. And so, we wintered in their camp."
"It is good."
Heavy Storm hesitated, and First Rider noted his friend's gaze lingered on the women who were still sitting upon the prairie, working together to sew a lodge covering. At last, Heavy Storm said, "I saw your sits-beside-him woman there in the Flathead camp."
First Rider's stomach dropped. But, he said not a word, at least not right away. Perhaps Heavy Storm was mistaken. At last, First Rider asked, "Did you say you saw my sits-beside-him woman? In the Flathead camp?"
"I did."
"Are you certain it was she, Tsistsaki?"
"I vow this to you: she is there, alive and well. She even recognizedme and spoke my name, calling to me. It was definitely she."
Silence followed Heavy Storm's words. And, it was at some length before First Rider could find his tongue. But, at last he asked, "Have you told Tsistsaki's father this?"
"I have not done so because I was unable to rescue her. Although I spoke to her and arranged to steal her away and bring her back to our people, when I went to the place where we were to meet, she did not appear there. Oddly, though I asked about her and described her to the Flathead people, no one seemed to know her. It was as though she had disappeared."
"Could it be the ghost of Tsistsaki?" asked First Rider.
"She was no ghost. I saw her. I spoke with her."
First Rider nodded, and the undivided attention he had been giving to Otahki rebounded, like a whip, upon himself. A heavy silence ensued between the two men until, at last, First Rider said, "It was in the moon of heavy snows, when I met an Assiniboine scout who told me Tsistsaki had died, there in hiscamp. Her Assiniboine husband followed her in death. Long did I grieve for her. Sad though I was, I came, at last, to find the one who is now my woman, and since she has come into my life, I have known happiness as I never knew it before."
Heavy Storm nodded. "Perhaps the one who died in the Assiniboine camp was the other Pikuni woman, Runs Ahead Woman. Do you not remember she also was taken in the same raid, and she was not found?"
"I do remember this," said First Rider, frowning.
The quickness of his mind had always been a strength First Rider rarely considered important. But now, considering the future ahead, he knew he had to ask Heavy Storm for a simple indulgence.
"My friend," he began. "I must beg a favor from you, and it is this: will you allow me to tell Tsistsaki's father of your discovery?"
Heavy Storm paused for a moment, but at length said, "I will. It is, after all, a family matter."
First Rider nodded. "Soka'pii. Iiksoka'pii.Come inside my lodge where we will smoke together. And, in my pony herd is a young gray mare, a gentle animal. I give you this mare in appreciation of the knowledge you have shared with me."
"Áa,we will smoke," said Heavy Storm. "But, I have no need of your young gray mare. The war trail has given me many additions to my pony herd. Keep your gray mare. And, may the Creator guide your tongue when you speak of this to the woman who has brought happiness back into your life."
First Rider nodded and looked away. A deep silence ensued between the two men.
At last, Heavy Storm asked, "Although the whites have strange ways and take no more than one wife, perhaps she will agree to be your second wife?"
First Rider smiled, but it was a sad, inward smile. All he said was, "Perhaps."
****
Evening had, at last, come to the prairie, though there was little darkness in the sky above. In truth, during the season of Home Days, the full blackness of night would not come upon the land for a while yet; sometimes the night delayed appearing until the break of a new day.
