Again she nodded and turned around to retrace her steps, her pony following behind.
When Strikes Fast came up beside him, Gray Falcon signed, "Together let us put up a shelter here beside the waterfall, one that will disappear into the cliffs so our women will be as safe as possible. Once done, I will ride in as close as I dare to the Pikuni encampment. I will leave you here to stand watch and to guard the women. I should return in a few days. If I do not, assume I have fallen and seek a better ground where you can defend my wife, my sister and my wife's friend."
Strikes Fast inclined his head briefly, and Gray Falcon turned to pace toward his wife. Coming up beside her, he used the gestures of sign to say to her, "I am leaving Strikes Fast here to defend this place while I scout ahead. I leave you in charge of the other women while I am gone. Stay hidden, stay secure and out of sight. I will return here in a few days. If you are attacked, it is your duty to hide yourself and the other women. Do you understand?"
"I do," she signed. "But, I want to come with you."
"Do not argue with me about this," he cautioned. "I need you here, and I must know you will direct the other women if there is a need. In this way, you will help me to not worry about you…or them."
Bending, he placed his forehead against hers and put his arms around her in a hug. "I am depending on you doing this."
"Yes. All right."
He then whispered in her ear, "I love you. I will always love you."
"I know, and I return your love tenfold. Indeed, my admiration of you is so intensely felt, it sometimes brings me to tears. You are to come back to me, Husband. You are to come back to me."
"I will," he said, bending down farther to kiss her. "I will."
****
Gray Falcon rode hard through the rest of the night and the early-morning hours, and when the reds, pinks and grays of the sun peeped up over the eastern horizon, he kept his path within the convenience of the boxelder, cottonwood and red cedar trees lining the cliffs. There was to be no stopping simply because the light of day had come upon the land. He would know as soon as possible what this danger was and why Eagle Heart was continuing to warn him in the language of the spirit-speak.
It was mid-afternoon when he became aware of another human being in the environment; he knew at once it was an Indian, not a white man. Perhaps it was Eagle Heart. Without giving himself or his position away, he asked in mind-speak, "Who goes there?"
"It is I, Eagle Heart, of the Pikuni Nation. Who is asking?"
"It is your friend, Gray Falcon."
Instead of acknowledging him, Eagle Heart asked, "Is your wife with you?"
"She is not. I heard your warning and have left her, my sister and her friend under the protection of Strikes Fast. They are a good day's ride from here."
"Soka'pii. There is danger for her within the walls of Fort McKenzie. Many of our people have decided to leave camp and have packed up their belongings and are now gone from there."
"I understand. What is the danger?"
"Our wives' father, their mother and an old trader have arrived at the fort. They have brought three other white men with them, perhaps to help them accomplish their ends, whatever those might be. I have discovered much about our father-in-law during these last few days, and my wife learned from her mother that our father-in-law and the older trader have come to steal your wife from you. Of course, I set out at once to warn you, but before I left camp, I saw the old trader look at my own wife with lust in his eyes. I now believe it is in his heart to steal my wife, also. And so, I have brought her and my son with me in my quest to find you. Although I do not fear my father-in-law nor the old trader, I am well aware of the danger to my family were I to leave them without me to defend them."
"Áa,you were right to leave camp and bring your family with you," answered Gray Falcon in the mind-to-mind talk. It is only through your diligence I became aware of the danger. It is good you have warned me. Also, I can now see where you are. I will come to meet you, and, once we are together, we should leave this place at once. The white man may yet ride out away from the fort in search of me or you." Gray Falcon dismounted and strode forward on foot, his black-spotted Appaloosa following behind him.
Soon he discovered Eagle Heart and his family, and he was relieved to observe they all three looked to be in good health. Gray Falcon took the initiative and stepped forward. He signed, "Let us hasten away from here and, cutting across our trail many times, arrive at the place of safety where Strikes Fast guards the women. Once there, we should all counsel together."
"Soká pii.It is a good plan. You lead. We will follow."
