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“Yes, I arrived after you,” he said, smiling amusedly. “I was drawn to you, and to the smoking of unknown fires.”
He helped her on her horse, then mounted his own. They rode off, side by side, in a slow lope.
“You have referred to the smoky haze back at the small pond as the smoking of unknown fires,” she said, glancing over at him. “What causes the smoke? Who sealed up the cave?”
“No one knows where the smoke comes from or how or why the cave was sealed up with boulders,” Strong Wolf said, resting a hand on the butt end of the rifle sheathed at the right side of his horse. “It is a place of mystery. Perhaps in time, the mystery will be unfolded to us.”
They rode onward, talking and becoming more acquainted.
Then, to Hannah’s surprise, she was riding past Strong Wolf’s village. Although most lodges were log cabins, there was also a scattering of bark-covered wigwams, surely housing those who would not let go of their past so easily.
“The one side door on our lodges opens to a room with an earthen floor,” Strong Wolf said, when he noticed Hannah studying them. “There is a fireplace, and comfortable furnishings. Clustered together, we have fifty permanent lodges.”
“It is quite impressive,” Hannah said softly. “But I am surprised to be here. I was so involved in talking with you I had not noticed that we had strayed this far from the road,” She paused and gazed questionably at Strong Wolf. “Did you lead me here purposely?”
“Yes, I wished for you to see how peaceful it is at my village as my people move around doing their usual chores,” he said. “I wish for you to become more and more acquainted with my way of life, for one day I hope that it will also be yours.”
Hannah’s lips parted in a low gasp, and her cheeks flamed with color.
He planned for her to marry him.
And why should she be so shocked? she wondered to herself. Everything he had done while with her had pointed to the fact that he cared for her this much.
And she cared deeply for him.
But marriage? Could she truly leave her way of life and marry an Indian? Did she care this much for him, that she could enter another world so different from her own?
And then again there was her brother. Chuck depended on her. How could she let him down by leaving him? It was apparent that he was no longer able to function alone.
“You have grown quiet,” Strong Wolf said, his eyes wavering into hers. “Does the thought of marriage to a Potawatomis warrior who will one day be chief leave a bitter taste in your mouth?”
Alarmed by how he had taken her silence, Hannah sucked in a wild breath. “No,” she quickly said. “How could you even think that?”
“A woman’s silence can sometimes speak more than a woman’s words,” Strong Wolf said.
“Please only pay attention to my words,” Hannah said, reaching over to touch his arm. “Sweet man, you know how I feel about you. But as I said before, I need time. There is so much in my life right now that troubles me. My brother. I so fear for my brother.”
“If he would send his foreman away, much in his world would be better,” Strong Wolf said, covering her hand with his. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, then released it so that she could grip her reins more securely again.
“I know,” Hunnah said softly. “But sometimes he is even more stubborn than his sister.”
“You are stubborn?” Strong Wolf said, his eyes dancing into hers. “I will enjoy learning all of your traits.”
He then looked away from her and gestured toward his village with a wide sweep of his hand. “Can you see, my woman, the village I am so proud of having established?”
“Yes, and I see it as quite industrious,” she said as she watched women at work in large fields of corn.
His eyes followed hers. “You see the women?” he said. “They are magical in their growing of corn. There is always much corn bread, corn stew, and cornmeal. The women are sowing beans and squash today around the hills where the corn is already growing.”
“I never realized the garden area was so large,” Hannah said, turning to look at Strong Wolf. “Yet I see small gardens next to each home. What is planted there?”
“With plows and hoes furnished by your government, my people grow not only corn, beans, and squash in the fields, but also peas, potatoes, pumpkins, and melons in the smaller gardens next to their homes,” he said. “But corn is our principal field crop.”
“And who cares for your personal garden?” Hannah asked, her eyes wide.
“Since I have no wife, nor a sister, my people loan me women to care for my crops,” Strong Wolf said, smiling when he could almost read her mind, thinking that should she marry him, she would have to labor hard from day to night.
“Do you mean to say that the men never help in the gardens?” Hannah dared to ask.
