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"Oh my, would he hurt Sasha's baby?"
"I do not know. I thought I knew him, but I didn't. None of us did. And he is right, this will hurt both Black Wolf and Nakota."
"Oh yes, it will! Nakota is already so upset with Big Knife about them poisoning his father. Now to take his sister."
"The thing is, it's already been a month. She's been gone a month now. No telling what shape she is in." Minola cried. "Or if… "
"Do not worry so much, Minola, worry can kill you. Surely, Nakota and Black Wolf will get to the bottom of this."
"Yes, but they have been after him for a long time now and they have not captured him. He is cunning, but not too smart. Still, he is not captured yet."
The children ran outside yelping in play, "Stay close," Matooka told them.
They nodded.
Minola sat staring at nothing, then when Matooka laid a hand on her arm, she looked up. "Sasha was so happy about the baby. And Black Wolf could not be prouder."
"Yes, both of them were." Matooka nodded. "We must think good thoughts."
"You are right. Sasha is a smart girl and she might out smart him."
***
But when Bear Paw found Black Wolf and Nakota they were at scouring the caves of the mountains looking for Big Knife.
"Bear Paw, what are you doing here?" Black Wolf asked as soon as he spotted them.
Bear Paw hung his head as Nakota approached them too.
"I have bad news and it is urgent."
Black Wolf looked at him with surprise. "Bad news, well spit it out."
"I'm afraid they have taken Sasha captive." Bear Paw told them.
"Who has taken her?" Black Wolf demanded his eyes widening with shock as he came closer to Bear Paw.
"We suspect it is Big Knife. She was picking wild berries on the south side of camp she never returned. When we went to look for her, we found the berries strewn on the ground. There was no sign of her. And it has been a while as I only came back to camp as you know."
Nakota shot Black Wolf a frown and saw the distress on his face. "No!" Black Wolf shouted. "I will kill him; I swear I will kill him with my bear hands." He raised his fists to the sky, as a tear rolled down one cheek.
Nakota too was stricken. They both stood there and took leave of their senses for a moment. It was a long moment before either Nakota or Black Wolf could speak. Both men fisted their hands and cried out.
Bear Paw saw how upset they were and turned away as he realized the pain they shared. "We figure it was Big Knife, he's the only one that has a reason or thinks he does."
Black Wolf nodded, his muscles tensing in his shoulders and back. Nakota looked at Bear Paw, "Is Matooka alright?"
"Yes, so far." Bear Paw told them. "Minola will stay with her and the children."
"Then go back and stay with Matooka, the children and Minola. He is after our family. Protect them, get several men to help you. Stay with them until we return."
"What are you two going to do?" Bear Paw nodded.
Black Wolf drew breath, "He has left us no choice, we are going to find him and kill him. If we fail," Black Wolf walked up to Bear Paw once more and put his hand on his shoulder. "It falls to you to take care of Big Knife."
Bear Paw nodded slowly as he looked from one to the other. "I am sorry I brought you such bad news, but we figured he might try to use her as a shield."
"How long ago did he take her?" Black Wolf asked his breathing labored from withheld anger.
