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Several large canoes rested on the banks of the river, along with one small one, which was Dorey’s. Dorey dragged her canoe into the water as Twila watched.
Twila’s voice wafted up to Lavinia as she asked Dorey to keep an eye out for her pappy. The girl added hopefully that maybe he was not dead at all, but hiding somewhere in the Everglades.
Lavinia was glad when she heard Dorey tell Twila that she was not going to travel
as far as the swamp, but only a little way downriver to smell the tropicalflowers that grew not far from the plantation grounds.
Lavinia saw Twila wipe tears from her eyes as she watched Dorey paddle away. Then she turned and walked with lowered eyes back toward the house.
Lavinia wanted to go outside and comfort Twila, but although she knew that Hiram should be gone for some time, she did not want to take the chance of his suddenly appearing and finding her well enough to have left her bed.
For now, it was best that she still play this game, but she knew that it couldn’t go on much longer.
She must never allow herself to forget that Hiram was not as stupid as he seemed!
Chapter Seven
I love those who yearn for
The impossible.
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
The morning sun streamed through the open door of the lodge where Joshua lay on a thick pallet of blankets and furs. He was healing quickly from the wound made by the poisoned arrow.
Chief Wolf Dancer had just brought him some warm soup made from turtle meat and was sitting beside him.
Warmed by the soup, and feeling thankful that he was alive, Joshua gave Chief Wolf Dancer a wide, toothy smile. “Thank you for saving my life,” he said, although he had already thanked the young chief many times. “I wish my wife and daughter were here with me. They are not safe while they are at the plantation with dat evil man. If he would shoot his very own brotha’, who is to say what he might do to mere females who are helpless to protect themselves. With me no longer there to work in the tobacco fields, he might decide that both my wife and daughter are too worthless to keep around. He often gripes about how much foodhe has to feed the slaves. Now he might choose to stop feeding my family altogether.”
“I will find a way to bring them to you,” Wolf Dancer said, pausing when two young braves came to the door and peered inside. He went outside to them. “What is on your minds this morning?” he asked, looking from one to the other.
“Can we go exploring today in our canoe?” Running Bear asked, speaking for himself and his ten-year-old brother, Deer Shadow, who stood beside him. “When we asked our mother, she said to ask you. As our chief, you say who can and who cannot leave our island.”
“I see no harm in your going a short distance,” Wolf Dancer said. He placed a gentle hand on Running Bear’s shoulder, which was already showing muscles even though he had only eleven winters. “But remember not to venture too far from the safety of our island.”
“We promise,” they said in almost the same breath. “We understand the danger.”
Running Bear looked past Wolf Dancer. “How is the black man faring?” he asked, gazing up into Wolf Dancer’s eyes. “We heard he was shot with a poisoned arrow. Is that true?”
“It is true,” Wolf Dancer said, frowning. “And so you see why I warn you not to travel far. Although I know who shot him and do not expect the madman anywhere near our village, I still warn you to be careful. Take your bows and quivers of arrows. Do not hesitate to use them if you find yourself in danger.”
“We can even shoot a white man?” Deer Shadow asked, his eyes wide with wonder.
“Only if he threatens you with a weapon of his own,” Wolf Dancer said solemnly. “But I do not expect such a thing will happen or I would not give you permission to leave our village.”
He patted both boys on the shoulder, one at a time, smiled, then gestured with a hand toward the river, where the young braves’ canoe was moored with the others. “Go,” he said, smiling. “And if you find more turtles, bring them home for your mother’s cook pot.”
Deer Shadow frowned. “I have never enjoyed taking turtles to eat,” he said. “They seem so defenseless.”
“If you want to grow up and be strong like the warriors of our village, you must not think that way, for food is what sustains our people,” Wolf Dancer replied. “Turtle meat is one of our people’s favorites. It is necessary for you to gather turtles for their meat. Do you understand?”
Deer Shadow humbly lowered his eyes. “Yes, I understand,” he said meekly. He looked quickly up at Wolf Dancer again. “I want to be a skilled hunter and to make you, my chief, proud. If that means bringing home turtle meat, I shall do it.”
“That is good,” Wolf Dancer said. He gently patted the boy on his shoulder. “Go. Tell your mother that I have given permission for you to leave the village, but do not stay away from your home long. Your mother will worry.”
“We will be gone only long enough to enjoy ourtime on the river and then return,” Running Bear said, sliding an arm around his younger brother’s shoulders. He gazed into Deer Shadow’s dark eyes. “Come, brother. We must tell our mother, and then we can do as we planned.”
As the young braves looked into each other’s eyes, Wolf Dancer thought he saw some silent communication between them, as though they had a plan that they were not sharing with him.
