Mária Fehér said nothing, though she smiled.
Maximillian stood up and reached for the paper as though he meant to tear it to pieces.
But, Red Fox had expected such a move and countered it, banging the Easterner's hand onto the table at the same time that he, himself, picked up the paper and pointed to the misplaced dot.
"Come here, all of you. I wish each and every one of you to see this," said Red Fox.
With a disgruntled sigh, József Fehér moved toward him, joined by Poka'aki, George, Frederic, Mária Fehér and even Father De Suiez, who all crowded around and looked down at the document laid out upon the table. Red Fox pointed to the dot and said, "Look at where this tiny mark is placed. This paper you were all about to sign is a secret document this man from theEast had hidden in his room. It is the same as all of yours except for this single dot. Do you see it?"
No one said a word.
"Why, you! You must have sneaked into my room, like the savage you are!"
Red Fox ignored the man. All was now known.
Said Red Fox, "It means you and your family would have ninety thousand dollars less than what you had agreed with him was to be the amount he was to give you for the privilege of marrying your daughter."
József Fehér slumped down into a nearby chair, while Frederic looked pale beneath his more usual good looks.
"How did you find this, Red Fox?" asked the elder Fehér.
"I was guided to it by the Creator. He answered my prayers. I did not know what it meant. I only knew it was the only difference between your papers. It took George to show me what the tiny dot meant."
József was shaking his head. Then looking up at Red Fox, he said, "I owe you an apology, Son. You, who helped me to raise Briella; you who healed my wife’s horse and who saved Briella’s life in a buffalo stampede; you and Briella who saved my children and grandchildren from a war party. And now you have saved me from being cheated out of ninety thousand dollars. I can see now I have wronged you greatly and I am hoping you can find it in your heart to forgive me. In my defense, I saw what I was doing to be of my daughter’s benefit. Perhaps, I have been too caught up in the old world and its ways. But, I went too far...too far, indeed. Like my wife has already said, I am now ashamed of my behavior toward you, and I am truly sorry.”
Then, the elder Fehér looked at Poka'aki and said, "I apologize to you, too, Briella, for all the trouble I have caused you. I honestly believed I was doing the best for you. But, we…we live in different times, and strange times, I think. Neverwould I have thought a man of such high character could aspire to fool us all. Never was such a thing ever done in Hungary.”
Then, looking at Red Fox, he said, “How can I ever repay you for all you have done for me and for my family?”
Red Fox smiled. "You owe me nothing, almost-father, except perhaps your blessing on my marriage to your daughter."
"You have it, my almost-son. You have it."
And, when Red Fox glanced up at Poka'aki, he saw there were tears in her eyes, though she returned his smile.
"Welcome to the family, Son," said Mária Fehér.
"Thank you, Almost-mother. And, though my people hold a tradition that the two of us may not speak to one another, I must tell you this: I will never forget what you did for me and for my woman today. Never."
Mária cried, and, grabbing hold of a napkin, she wiped her eyes.
