CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ikimopii-sap-soksistsikó,Chief Sits-in-the-cloud, had already begun the council when Gray Falcon entered the chief's tepee, and, passing behind those already seated, he found his place next to Eagle Heart. Eagle Heart gave him a brief nod.
Gray Falcon was in time to receive the passing of the sacred pipe, which was sent along to him by Eagle Heart. Taking the required smoke from the pipe, Gray Falcon in turn handed the pipe along to Yellow Wolf Pelt, the warrior seated next to him.
When the smoking was finished and the pipe had made its way back to the chief, he set it down in a place of honor, there upon a stone put there for this very purpose. Now with the smoking done and a silent vow to speak only the truth, the council commenced. The chief began the conversation, saying, "Many of our people—women and children, as well as warriors—were gravely injured today in the attack. Many valuable horses were captured, and some of our warriors have left camp to bring back our horses, if they can. You"—the chief indicated Eagle Heart—"must remain in camp to help those who are injured. Your wife will be necessary to assist in this, also. You"—here the chief paused to point at Gray Falcon—"would usually be required to help the injured, also. But, I fear you might be obligated to find the trail of the Crow warrior who took your wife's friend."
Gray Falcon nodded, surprised yet undaunted by the discovery that A'sitápi's friend had been taken in the raid by a Crow warrior. Scouts would have discovered this fact, but none were duty bound to do more than report it back to the chief.
Their chief was continuing, and he said, "The white painter who came amongst us remains uninjured; he was able to set the image of the fight onto his mystery canvas, although the faces of the enemy are not easily distinguished or known to us. It is assumed the painter will wish to rescue his woman, and you"—again the chief pointed to Gray Falcon—"might wish to accompany him, since these white men seem to become lost without an Indian to guide them."
Gray Falcon nodded.
"Now, our scouts tell us the enemy has divided into three different groups—the Crows, the Assiniboines and the Crees. We thought at first that only the Crows and Assiniboines had made the attack, but we soon discovered the tracks of many Crees, as well. If any of you wish to track them and try to capture back your horses, I would ask you to stand up now, so we can determine how many warriors will be gone from camp. Many of you might be required to remain here, since we must keep as many men in the camp as we can, in case there is another attack. Ah, I see there are twenty of you. It is good."
The council continued for only a short time after this and was soon over, allowing those who wished to leave to do so. As soon as the council ended, Gray Falcon came up to his feet and followed Eagle Heart out of the chief's lodge. Most of the men who had been part of the council had already left, the twenty Pikuni warriors who had shown their determination to follow the enemy war party were standing apart from the rest and were already deep in conversation.
Gray Falcon joined those warriors, listening to their plans. Yet, he held himself back because he was not intending to become a part of their ranks to go to war. Instead, his duty would be to track the man who had stolen his wife's friend, and, if he could, to rescue the woman.
He would consult the Crow scout, Strikes Fast, since it was a Crow warrior who had stolen the woman. Before this, however, Gray Falcon needed to confer with the Pikuni scout who had found the woman's tracks. From there, he and Strikes Fast could make their own plans on how to best rescue the woman.
But first, where was the painter? Where had he been when the Crow warrior had taken his woman? And, since a man's first duty is to defend his home and family, why hadn't he come to his woman's defense?
In truth, Gray Falcon hoped the painter would not accompany them. White men were, more times than not, cumbersome when a Pikuni man was intent on trailing another Indian, since great caution and silence were to be strictly maintained. An unwise move or even a whispered word could alert an enemy warrior to the presence of trackers.
Gray Falcon turned away from the war party and spun around only to discover his wife had followed him and was standing behind him. He was fairly certain she would not be aware of what he planned to do, since all communication so far had been accomplished in the Blackfoot language. And, he certainly didn't intend to inform her of his intentions.
Nevertheless , he wondered: why was still she here? Shouldn't she have gone with her sister back to their lodge? Or, if not that, shouldn't she have left with his own sister, Itsiiy-Aakíí?
She, however, informed him of her intentions immediately and said, "I am coming with you."
He frowned at her and said in English, "You are not. Men go to war, not women."
"I will not stay here," she said, and though her voice was soft, her determination was evident in every word she spoke as she continued, "If you are to take up the war trail, then I will, too."
His frown deepened. "You are not coming with me, and I am not going to war. My friend the Crow scout and I are going to try to rescue your friend."
"Good, it is what I had hoped you might do," she said. "It strengthens my resolve to come with you."
"Then you must unstrengthen it."
"I will not." She spoke back to him as only a non-Indian woman would do, and she said, "Sharon is my friend, and she wouldn't even be here and in this trouble if it weren't for me. It's my fault this has happened, and I must be allowed to come with you. I must help."
Momentarily, he shut his eyes and drew in a deep breath, letting it out in a long sigh. At length, he opened his eyes and said, "If you were to come, you would be in the way. You could cause us much trouble because you do not know how to scout or how to go to war. And, what would you do if we were to be attacked? Also, you could cause us to make errors, and my attention would be on you and keeping you out of trouble, and I fear this is a difficult enough task when all around you is peaceful, without adding the rigors of scouting and possible fighting. No, you must stay here. I will ask my sister to explain this to you further and to take care of you while I am gone."
"I don't need to be taken care of!"
He laughed and shook his head. "Perhaps I should have said she will need to use all her cunning to keep you here."
"Please, don't do this. I am obligated to come with you. Please let me."
He glanced quickly at the other members of the war party, content to see no one was watching them. A little more firmly, he muttered, "Saa,I cannot allow you to come with us. You must stay here, and, until we discover if you and I made a baby last night, you arenot to go to war." These last words he said slowly, yet he emphasized each one. "You know you could be carrying a babe. And, being aware of this, it is your duty to stay here. Do not talk back to me any further about this. Already the war party is preparing to leave, and I have yet to find the Crow scout, Strikes Fast."
"But—"
"Do not cause me to worry about you.Isskán!" Catching a glance of his sister, Itsiiy-Aakíí, he motioned her to join them, and, when she stepped up close enough so he could speak to her, he said in the Blackfoot tongue, "I would like you to keep my wife company while I am gone. Her friend is missing, and my wife wishes to come with us on a scouting mission. I cannot allow it. I would like you to care for her and keep her here in our camp. Would you do this for me?"
Dutifully, she nodded, and, seeing this, he at last calmed himself, drawing in a deeply needed breath.
