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His trust, his long looks, his concern, told her he did care for her. Perhaps she had been wrong to mistrust him. Perhaps his intentions were good, and he would return her to her own world as soon as he could.
She looked over her shoulder at the warriors, who were now on their steeds, then glanced down at where the fire had been burning through the night. The cooking food had dripped grease into the flames, emitting tantalizing aromas that even now made her mouth water.
The fire was out. Dirt had been kicked over the fire pit to make it look as though no fire had burned there. The blankets were rolled up and tied on the horses. They were ready to set out again.
They rode across level land and hollow hills. White antelope lifted their heads above the grass as they rode past. The mountain slope was now not far away.
Finally able to eat, Mary Beth nibbled the meat from the bones of what she surmised was a roasted rabbit. At last her belly seemed comfortably full again. She hoped this meal would last her until Brave Wolf saw the need to stop and eat again.
She was sure he would not stop again for hours. She dreaded the long day which lay ahead of her.
The sun was now up and getting warmer by the minute. Back in Kentucky, this season would be called Indian summer.
She gazed heavenward and sighed when she saw golden eagles soaring above her, their wings spread wide. When they were lost to sight, she looked back at the ground. The remains of the rain lay in puddles where there was no grass.
The horses splashed through them and loped onward.
Suddenly Mary Beth stiffened. Fear raced through her as she heard the loud, distinctive roar of a bear.
Brave Wolf grabbed an arrow from his quiver and quickly notched it to his bowstring.
They traveled onward at a much slower gait until the bear came into sight a short distance away, straight ahead of them. Mary Beth froze with fear as Brave Wolf raised a hand in a silent command to stop.
As everyone held still, the large bear lumbered past them, oblivious to the fact that it was being observed.
Mary Beth waited for Brave Wolf to shoot, and was surprised when he didn’t.
“Aren’t you going to kill it?” she whispered to him, hoping the bear would not hear her.
“I never kill needlessly,” Brave Wolf replied softly. “The bear has not seen us. It is minding its business. So shall we mind ours.”
“But when it sees us, we will be his business,” Mary Beth argued. “We will be his meal, especially if you have this strange notion that you shouldn’t kill it.”
“If it becomes a threat, I will not hesitate to send an arrow into its heart,” Brave Wolf said, frowning at her. “But until he is a threat, be still and just watch.”
“But he doesn’t have to see us,” Mary Beth said. “Surely he can smell us.”
“Not while the wind takes our smell away from him,” Brave Wolf said. “Relax. It is best that you let me do what must be done, if it is required.”
Mary Beth nodded and swallowed hard, still gazing anxiously at the bear.
Brave Wolf brought his horse closer to Mary Beth’s. “Do you see how the bear’s head is down?” he asked, having decided that if he explained things to her, she might understand better.
Mary Beth nodded.
“That is an indication that he is looking for rodents and insects,” Brave Wolf said, again watching the bear. “See how he occasionally flips over a slab of rock? I imagine he is looking for ants to lick up.”
“Ants?” Mary Beth said, shuddering. “How horrible.”
She stiffened when the bear began walking toward them on all fours in a strange swaying motion, not looking forward but from side to side.
Then the creature suddenly stopped.
Mary Beth saw why. There were some remains of a dead deer partially hidden amid the tall grass.
The bear rolled the carcass over, sniffed it, then began to dig a hole with its sharp claws and large paws. To Mary Beth’s surprise, it soon buried it find.
The bear then used its large paws to scrape the dirt over the deer, totally covering it.
