Then came the loud boom, the sound as explosive as if a lightning bolt had struck the sacred circle, a place encased in light upon a mountain top, high above the prairie floor. It was as though the sound had originated from the Creator, who was intervening in the affairs of men. The fight between Eagle Heart and the Crow scout ended as abruptly as it had started.
All four men stopped and stared at the place from which the sound had originated. Instantly, Eagle Heart and the Crow scout took flight, sprinting toward the sacred circle. And, while they ran toward the trouble, McIntosh fell to his knees, then he dropped to the ground.
"Did ye see that thing in the woods?" asked McIntosh. "Is this land filled with monsters?"
Gray Falcon hadn't understood the words, for he hadn't then spoken the English language. But, he did now.
"It be big… It must be a monster. What kind of land be this? Are these creatures numerous here? If so, 'tis not safe to live here." No sooner had he spoken these words than he had fainted.
Without pausing to bring understanding and meaning to the past, the scope of Gray Falcon's dream shifted, and, instead of a forested mountain top and the sacred circle, the scene in his mind turned into the familiar landscape of Fort Union, and there stood the womanly figure of A'sitápi's mother.
She held a handkerchief to her eyes, and, looking directly at him, said, "Marry her, Gray Falcon. I have sent her to you to keep her safe. Love her. Did you really think I had sent her there to you, expecting her to return to St. Louis? She must not marry this man who has ruined our family. There is something so very wrong with the man, and I know he is not mentally stable.
"Marry her, Gray Falcon. She loves you. Since you came into her life, she has loved only you. Keep her safe and away from the danger here."
The image faded.
Still seated in the cross-legged position of prayer, Gray Falcon opened his eyes. But, he was blind to the beauty of the early-morning sunrise exploding into the colors of pink and red upon the distant horizon. For a moment, he replayed the images from his dream.
Of course. Why had it taken the Creator to cause the truth to be known to him? A'sitápi's mother, knowing what was in her daughter's heart, would never have approved of A'sitápi coming into Blackfoot country and straight into his arms without knowing she would never return.
He should have suspected as much. What he hadn't known before and what he knew now was this: A'sitápi's mother was hoping for a marriage between himself and her daughter, not the opposite. Indeed, A'sitápi was safer here than in the village of St. Louis, and perhaps Fort Union, also.
Because he had come here in prayer, hoping for enlightenment, Gray Falcon knew these were truths given to him from Sun, the Creator.Hánnia, there could be no other interpretation to place upon his dream, since this form of prayer was the age-old way in which the Creator communicated with His people, the Indians of the Plains.
He'd had little sleep this night, for it had been dark and in the wee hours of the morning when Gray Falcon had climbed to the top of this butte which was out of sight of the fort and his people's camp. Having begun his prayer in the sacred way, and, having acknowledged the four directions as well as the Creator, he had prayed with his pipe held upward toward the heavens. He had spoken to the Creator, asking for guidance—for him, for A'sitápi and for her family.
And, the Creator had shown him the truth, sharing with him what had happened to bring about such a drastic change in A'sitápi's father. And, he at last knew the real reason why A'sitápi was here.
The Creator had brought her here and to him so he might protect her. She was in danger from this old man, and the danger to her would be less if he, Gray Falcon, were to marry her. In this way, Gray Falcon could take away the old gambler's ability to coerce her into a forced marriage.
At last, he grasped the truth of her—and now his—situation. It didn't mean his task would be any easier, since A'sitápi thoroughly believed her parents would come to harm if she didn't act and tie herself to an old man she could barely tolerate. Nevertheless, Gray Falcon's own plan to seduce her would remain the same. Indeed, he intended to tease her relentlessly until, at last, she would have no option but to say "yes" to him.
Finishing his prayer and leaving behind the offering of his beaded choker in appreciation for this vision, he propelled himself upward onto his feet. And, he couldn't help it—he found himself grinning from ear to ear.
