CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
The game was now in its twenty-ninth hour. Gray Falcon was well aware of the night coming on darker and faster now, due to the shortening of the days. Outside, thunder boomed and lightning struck the ground within the fort, as though to remind all those present that he, Gray Falcon, could control and use its force. The torrential rain had come after the lightning strikes had begun, and it was now pouring down from the heavens as though it, too, were seeking vengeance.
A blaze burned and sizzled within the fireplace, having been lit by the Indians. However, outside of this fire, only two other candles were burning within the room. They rested upon the table, thus allowing those who were either playing or watching the game to follow each player's throws. The Indians had temporarily fixed the hole in the roof, and the constant patter of the rain outside had become a backdrop to the highly charged game taking place within Fort McKenzie's trading room. But, to Gray Falcon, the rain was a welcome noise.
Only the Pikuni people remained, and the excitement in the room was rising, for the evil one was losing, and desperately. Indeed, after squandering his horses and his wagons, he had wagered his clothing, and he sat now without his shirt, his chest matted with hair, and this—together with his long, scraggily hair—made him appear as if he were part bear. He still wore his pants and shoes, although they were now the possessions of Gray Falcon.
Word of the game had spread throughout the encampment and, a short time ago, a crowd of people—twenty to thirty Pikuni men and women—had swarmed into the trading room, crowding around the players.
Such was to be expected, for entertainment like this was rare; usually only a man who was rich in relatives or a drunken fool would risk a game ofCos-soo, since one of its strictest rules was that the game had to be carried out to its end, the end of it coming about when one of the men lost everything. But, although Gray Falcon now held most of Maká'pato'si's wealth, he didn't yet have the evil one's most important possession: the contract.
It was Maká'pato'si's roll. Nary a sound, outside of the rain beating upon the roof, could be heard. Nervously, Maká'pato'si clutched the wooden bowl as he spanned his fingers around its polished rim. So tightly did he grip it, his fingers were white.
After a moment, Gray Falcon said, “From where I sit, you had best put up another of your possessions if you wish to stay in the game. I see no other way for you to gain back all you have lost.”
Maká'pato'si’s lip turned up, and he snarled. “The game is not yet over, so do not rush me, Injun. I am not a beaten man. There is still a thing of value I have."
"Oh?" asked Gray Falcon. "And, what possession is it you speak of?"
Maká'pato'si's eyes flashed with hatred for a moment before he smiled at Gray Falcon as though he, the evil one, were clever as the owl. At last he said, "Why, my woman, of course."
"Your woman? Where is this person?"
"Why, she is standing behind you. You say she is your wife, and yet I hold papers that make her mine. Do you gamble with me over her?"
Gray Falcon smiled, but there was an error in the evil one's thinking. Gray Falcon was quick to comprehend it, and he said, "Do you see you do not hold her or possess her? She is mine; she stands with me, and I will fight to the death any man who says differently."
"And yet," countered the evil one, "the law says I own her."
"Whose law? You are not in the white man's country. You are inmycountry, and you may only bet with those things you truly possess. But, I will allow you to set the white man's papers on this table, since these are in your possession. However, you are not permitted by the rules of the game to gamble with a woman you never have had, nor do you have her now."
"Very well," said Maká'pato'si a little too quickly. "I will gamble with these papers I hold."
"They must be the papers my woman's father signed."
"They are."
"Soka'pii,I must see them."
"Good. This is good," purred Maká'pato'si. "They are in my room. If I may go to my room, I will get them and bring them here."
"There is no need. I think your tongue speaks true when you say you have them. Once the game is finished and I have won them from you, then I will see them. You will take me to them."
A'sitápi leaned down, and, placing her lips against Gray Falcon's ear, she whispered, "Husband, don't let him do this. Even if he loses the game, he will quickly grab the papers and flee. Or, if you go with him to his room, he will try to kill you."
"I know."
She murmured, "All right. But, if you do intend to escort him to his room, I will go, too. Do not tell me to stay here. I will find a way to go with you."
He sighed, then said, using only the language of sign, "I know. If you wish, you may come."
"What?" she asked in sign. "You do not forbid it?"
He breathed in deeply. "My wife," he signed, "I have been in error in keeping you from doing what you think is right and proper. Perhaps, if I am wise, I can learn from my mistakes. My wife, hear me. I am beginning to trust your instincts."
A'sitápi frowned, then in sign asked, "Truly? I thought you would be angry with me for disobeying you and trying to find the fort on my own."
Using sign, he replied, "How can I be angry with you when it is because of you I have finally come into my power? The Creator tried to show me when I first met you five winters ago, that we were tied together. However, back then I did not understand. But, when I beheld you in danger this night, I suddenly understood my power. And, because I had to act in your defense, I knew exactly how to use the Creator's gift; it is a knowledge which has eluded me all these years I have lived…until this very moment. I freely admit before you now: you are wise in ways I am not. But, right now I am in the middle of a desperate game, and the prize I wish to have has finally been offered. Do not be fooled," he continued, "I know the evil one will do all you say he will. Come with me if you must, but know I would wish you would stay here and out of the way of harm."
