AllFreeNovel
Share Us
A slight frown creased his brow. “I must tell you that my warriors’ reaction to that description was what I expected,” he said. “When I told them of the golden hair and blue eyes, they thought of someone else whose hair and eyes were those colors.”
“Custer,” Mary Beth said, her eyes wavering.
“Hecitu-yelo, yes, Custer,” he said, lifting a log and sliding it into the flames.
“Did that truly make a difference?” Mary Beth asked warily.
“Not after I reminded them that this was a child, not a man with a likeness to Custer,” Brave Wolf said. He sighed. “My warriors are even now searching for your son.”
“You did not include yourself in the search,” Mary Beth said, searching his eyes. “Why?”
“I must stay close at hand for my brother in case he takes a turn for the worse,” Brave Wolf said, his voice drawn.
“Then it is not because of me . . . because you thought I might flee if you were not around to stop me?” Mary Beth asked guardedly.
“No, it was not because of that,” Brave Wolf said, his eyes now searching hers. “I was gone long enough during my council for you to leave . . . and you did not. You now understand the dangers of being alone, away from my protection. I am glad that you do.”
“Yes, I do understand, but, Brave Wolf, I wanted to be with those who searched for David,” she said, her voice breaking. “I wanted to be there when my son was rescued, if he is rescued. Surely he is terribly frightened without me. The sooner he sees me, the better it will be for him.”
“It is not safe for you to accompany my men on this search,” he explained softly. “You see, it might turn into a raiding party, as it was when you were rescued from the renegades. It may be nece
ssary to fight to get your son.”
“I hope they can get him without a fight,” Mary Beth said, shivering at the thought of her David being put in still more danger.
“If your son is found, my warriors will do everything within their power to see that he is not harmed,” Brave Wolf said. “Please do not worry. All is being done to save him.”
“Thank you so much,” Mary Beth said, stifling a sob behind a hand. “You have been so kind to me.”
“You do not deserve what fate has handed you,” he said. Then he looked toward the entrance flap when a soft voice spoke from outside it. The words spoken were in Crow, so Mary Beth had no idea what the woman was saying.
“At my request, food has been brought for us,” Brave Wolf said. He rose and went to the entranceway. He held the flap aside as a beautiful young Indian maiden entered. She carried a wooden tray of food. From what Mary Beth could tell, it was a combination of meat, fruit, and bread.
Dancing Butterfly smiled up at Brave Wolf, then walked past him and without a nod or a hello to Mary Beth, acted as though she wasn’t even there. She set the tray opposite the fire from Mary Beth, then smiled once more at Brave Wolf and left.
Brave Wolf had seen how Dancing Butterfly had behaved toward Mary Beth and was embarrassed, for both Mary Beth and Dancing Butterfly. His clan’s women were normally kind. But he must remember that none of them had seen a white woman up close, especially one who sat in their chief’s lodge.
He knew that a keen resentment toward Mary Beth was running rampant among his people. All knew that he would soon bring a woman into his lodge as a wife. He knew that none would want this wife to be white.
But if he, their chief, did choose a white woman, which he now hoped to do, his people would have no choice but to accept his decision. His word was final in all things.
“I apologize for Dancing Butterfly’s rudeness,” he said. He took the tray and placed it beside Mary Beth, then sat down with the tray between them.
“Never has Dancing Butterfly seen a white woman in her chief’s lodge,” he explained. “It is something she does not understand, or like. By not speaking to you or looking at you, she was pretending you are not here.”
“I’m sorry for the resentments your people feel,” Mary Beth murmured. “I wish things hadn’t happened to cause it, but there are greedy white men who behave toward your people just the same as Dancing Butterfly acted toward me. They do not see your people when they look at them. What they see is what they can steal from them . . . the land, the animals, the streams and rivers.”
“Hecitu-yelo, as it has been since that first bullet was fired upon my people,” Brave Wolf said sadly.
“Yet you still seek the peaceful ways with the white community,” Mary Beth marveled. She nodded a silent thank you when he gave her the wooden tray of food. She took a piece of meat from it, then handed the tray back to him. “Will you still be this peaceful if the cavalry comes and . . . and . . . attacks your village?”
“I seek peace, but I have been appointed as chief to protect my people,” he said, taking a piece of cooked rabbit, then setting the tray between them. “I will do what I must to keep my people free of harm. Under normal circumstances, life for my people is such a simple one. You see, the Crow economy is based on the availability of game and edible foods. Both game and plant foods are abundant in the Crow country. Men are responsible for hunting game, women for curing it. Do you not see how easy it would be for my people to exist as they have for generations if whites would allow us the same existence as our ancestors?”
Mary Beth took a bite of meat, chewed and swallowed it, then turned her eyes back to Brave Wolf. “I understand what you are saying, but, Brave Wolf, you know that President Grant will be out for blood after what happened at the Battle of the Little Big Horn,” she said guardedly. “Although your clan played no role in the terrible battle, you could be accused of it.”
“I am friends with the Great White Father in Washington, so he will send an order to all forts here in Montana land not to include my people in his retaliation,” Brave Wolf said.
Yet in his heart he knew that at a time like this, the President might forget their friendship and see him as no different from any other Indian.
