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In delicate form and Grecian face—
A beautiful, incarnate song,
A marvel of harmonious grace.
—PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE
San Carlos was crowded with shoppers. Outdoor markets lined the streets. They displayed beautiful, colorful shawls, jewe
lry, and vegetables and fruits.
The carnival tents had been pitched at the edge of town. People were crowding in and around the tents, the smell of popcorn and sawdust filling the air with their competing aromas.
The carnival sideshows drew the most attention as the performers on small platforms just outside their tents tempted people with a portion of their shows. After enough tickets were sold, they would perform their entire show within the private confines of their tents.
Some men, young and old alike, tasted the forbidden view of a naked woman who was tattooed from head to toe, a large, winding snake wrapping itself around her body.
Kaylene was in her own private tent. The audience crowded in and stood around the roped-off area where she was performing. She was petite and beautiful. Her green eyes were sparkling. She wore a short skirt that shamelessly showed a good portion of her legs above her knees. The deep cleavage of her breasts was revealed where her drawstring blouse swept low in front.
Kaylene held her head back and laughed as she rode her large and stately black panther around the circle, a sparkling, gold-sequined rein gripped in her dainty, tapering fingers.
When Good Bear saw the carnival tents, and the crowd of people rushing toward them, he was not able to hold back his excitement of possibly seeing, for the first time in his life, what a carnival truly offered.
Gripping onto Little Sparrow’s hand, he sneaked away from the other Kickapoo women and children and rushed toward the tents with the crowd. Little Sparrow was as intrigued and willingly went with him.
Elbowing his way through the crowd, Good Bear’s eyes widened as he went from tent to tent to see what sideshows were being offered in each. The smell of the popped corn made his stomach ache with hunger, yet something else that quickly drew his attention made him forget that he, nor Little Sparrow, had taken time to eat, as they had gone from house to house, selling the chilies.
His heart beat like wild thunder within his chest as he pushed his way to the front of the crowd and gasped at what he saw. The tattooed, naked lady, with the monstrous snake coiled around her body, was gesturing toward the crowd with her hands, trying to lure them into buying a ticket, to see her private show.
When the lady’s eyes met Good Bear’s, and she smiled seductively at him, he experienced the first stirrings of a man. His gaze lowered. He gulped hard and felt his face heating up with a blush as he stared at the woman’s large, thick breasts. He was so intently staring at them, he was not aware of anything but the hungry ache inside his loins.
He did not feel Little Sparrow slip her hand free.
He did not see her turn away from him and push her way through the crowd of people.
Excited and intrigued, Little Sparrow moved slowly from tent to tent, then went from stand to stand, to see the beautiful ceramics that were for sale. One in particular caught her eye. It was a horse with small, sparkling sequins glued all over its body.
She tilted her head one way and then the other, taken by how the sun reflected on the sequins, sending off rainbow colors.
“You like the horse?”
When Little Sparrow did not respond to John’s question, he placed a hand on her shoulder.
Feeling the hand made Little Sparrow jump with alarm. She turned wide and questioning eyes up at the man, then watched his lips as he spoke to her.
“Do you like the horse?” John Shelton asked, an evil gleam in his eyes.
Little Sparrow did not respond right away. She stared at the man, studying him. He was tall, with thick, dark eyebrows over severe, unfriendly dark eyes. He wore colorful clothes, his red satin shirt casting a sheen on his pockmarked face. She stared at his thick, black mustache, and then looked again into his eyes. Their coldness caused a shiver to race through her flesh.
Having always been taught not to befriend strangers, especially men, Little Sparrow ran away from the man and past a ticket stand and ducked quickly into a tent. The crowd of people were applauding as they stood in a circle around the tent.
Intrigued anew, the man forgotten, Little Sparrow pushed her way to the front of the crowd.
She stopped and stared as she stood at the roped-off area. She had never seen anything as wonderful, as intriguing, as the lovely lady riding the beautiful panther. Little Sparrow had always loved animals.
She was unaware of eyes on her, and didn’t realize that she was being stalked, until a large hand suddenly grabbed her arm and whisked her away.
When she looked up and saw that it was the same man who had spoken to her earlier, she tried to wriggle free of his grip.
