In a moment set out of time, he devised a plan. He knew that the buffalo do not see well; they follow the leading cow in front of them, creating little paths within the stampede.
Poka'aki was slightly ahead of him, and he counted at least three or perhaps four rows of buffalo between her and himself. All he had to do was to kill the buffalo on his left and take its place in the path behind the cow ahead of it. He would do this two or more times until her pony was on his left.
Reaching down to pull his rifle from its case, he found the case empty.
Empty? Without a gun to clear each pathway to his left, how was he to get to her?
Quickly, he reached behind him, his hand lingering for a moment over his bow and arrows. With the gun having taken the place of the bow and arrow for most Pikuni men, the quivers were seldom worn anymore. However, today he had placed bothupon his back, thinking to kill an animal quietly with the bow and arrow rather than announce where he was by the boom of a gun.
Pulling the bow from its quiver, as well as many arrows, he placed all but one arrow into his mouth, and, holding them with his teeth, he fitted the first arrow to his bow. He took aim.
Whish!The arrow went in well below the ribs, straight into the heart of the buffalo. The animal made only one more jump before it went down. With his knees, Red Fox guided his pony into the downed buffalo's place. He did the same with the next buffalo, taking its place.
Only one more row of the bulls and cows, and he would be next to her. But, her horse was now plunging about madly, making it difficult for Poka'aki to stay her seat.
But, what was this? What was wrong with her saddle?
How could it have come loose? And yet, with another plunge, the saddle flew back onto the rear of the pony. Worse, Poka'aki had lost her grip on the animal's mane and was desperately holding on to the horse's neck. All it would take was one more jump and Poka'aki would fall from her horse and be trampled.
His heart stopped for a moment. But, he was only one pathway and a jump away from her horse. Quickly taking aim with another arrow, he shot at the closest buffalo to his left directly behind its ribs to its heart, and, as the buffalo went down, Red Fox and his pony took its place. Then, by whacking his bow on his horse's flanks, he came to be even with Poka'aki. She was falling off her horse!
Reaching out to his left, Red Fox caught Poka'aki by the waist and pulled her up onto his own mount, laying her crosswise in front of him.
Because the sharp horns of the buffalo were closing in around him again, he didn't have a moment to set her upstraight. Indeed, he knew his horse, with its double load, could not long keep pace with the frightened buffalo, especially since Red Fox sensed his pony was winded. However, using his bow, he kept the animal in step with the buffalo, despite his pony fighting for breath. Then, taking up his bow again, he positioned another arrow to the bow, took aim and felled the buffalo to his left.
He did the same with his remaining arrow, taking down the next buffalo to his left, and then all his arrows were gone. All he could do now was to force his horse into the remaining two rows of buffalo to his left, one at a time. Saying a prayer beneath his breath, he forced his pony into the next pathway of buffalo.
Only one more row of the stampeding herd remained, but Red Fox's pony was clever and worked his way to the side again and into the pathway to the left. Then Red Fox steered his pony to the left again, out of the stampede.
Free! At last, we are free!
Red Fox turned his mount again to the left, putting some distance between them and the stampeding buffalo. He reined his horse to a stop beneath a quivering pine. Jumping to the ground, Red Fox pulled Poka'aki off the pony, and when she would have collapsed in his arms, he held on to her tightly, pulling her closely against him.
He could feel her sobs at his shoulder, and he tightened his grip on her, saying in a low voice, "It is over. We are alive. We survive."
She was crying, and in between gasps, she whispered, "I would be dead now if not for you."
He didn't know what to answer in response, and so he said only, "Come, you can sit beneath this tree and recover your breath while I go to find your brother. We must report what we have found to our chiefs."
"No! Do not let me go! I beg you, do not let me go!"
With her face against his shoulder and she standing so close in his arms, all of his energy suddenly focused on her instead of their narrow escape from death. Indeed, all of his pent-up emotions and the joy of his success were centered upon her and only upon her. And, for a moment he thought he had not only escaped death this day, but he might have found the white man's heaven, as well.
How long was it now that he had loved Poka'aki? All those years ago, when her brother George had asked him to tutor her in the ways of the plains, who could have predicted he would fall in love with the girl? Certainly, he hadn't foreseen it.
But, he had, indeed, surrendered his heart to her. However, she was younger than he by seven winters. And so, he had waited for her to grow up before turning his mind toward the idea of approaching her father with many horses and asking for her hand in marriage.
In all these years, he had held himself back from declaring himself to her. He knew she liked him well enough, but so beautiful was she, he was a little afraid of her: fearful, he was, of her possible rejection of him. Or worse, she might agree to marry him simply because they were friends.
Even now, breathing in the sweet, yet fragrant scent of her, he remained silent, doing little more than savoring the moment.
Leaning her head back a little, she looked up into his eyes and, in a whisper, declared, "I am to blame for this. I almost killed you, and me, too. And, I…and I… I love you, Red Fox. I do not wish to leave this world without you knowing how I feel about you. Indeed, I think I have loved you since the day you first came here to tutor me, although I didn't know it then. Since I have known you, I have been of the opinion of you being the handsomest of men; you, with your black hair, always so neatly braided and your dark mysterious eyes. Always, you have appeared before me dressed in your best buckskin clothing, andwhen there have been times you have had to take off your shirt, I…I…have wondered what it might feel like if you were to hold me, to press your lips against mine.
"But, you are older than I and much taller, too, and I have had to wait to grow up a little. But, I have always looked upon you with the idea in mind that one day you will come to love me. And, if I were to have been the cause of your death here today, I do not believe I would ever be able to forgive myself, not even in the hereafter."
She loves me? All this time she has loved me? She has even lusted after me, if only a little?
This couldn't be real. He swallowed hard, gulping.
