Tears filled her eyes, yet she nodded all the same.
"Well, Injun, what does the woman say? Does she prefer me, after all?"
Gray Falcon grinned. He didn't want to laugh, but the suggestion was so outrageous, he couldn't keep himself from chuckling, even if only a little. He shook his head and said, "I will assume you have the papers with you. Here." He took off his shell necklace and placed the chain in the center of the table. "Let us pretend these shells represent your papers and that you have placed them here to secure your bet."
"Anything you say, Injun." The evil one grinned without humor, then asked, "What do you now bet?"
"I bet this beautifulponyI recently won from you." He held up a stick representing the horse. Nodding at Maká'pato'si, Gray Falcon said, "It is your turn."
Maká'pato'si inhaled deeply, stuck out his tongue and, taking hold of the bowl, slammed it on the table several times, spinning it carefully.
A hushed quiet fell over the crowd as many of the bystanders strained toward the table to see the result. Bending forward, both men stared into the bowl.
"Soka'pii," said Gray Falcon. "I see five burnt sides. That is four each, or twenty. Five eye-sides up at two each, or ten; four concaves up, at one each, or four. You must give me thirty-four sticks for your roll, and I will place them beside your others. But, I see nothing else in this roll. Do you agree?"
"What about this one?" asked Maká'pato'si. Putting a finger into the bowl, he scooted one of the blue pieces of china forward—which had been white-side up—but now it was turned blue-side up. Said the evil one, "You forgot to include this piece of china, which is blue-side up. That's three additional points."
Without humor, Gray Falcon grinned at the man. "You seem to believe I am blind. But, I am not. Give me thirty-four sticks."
"Why, you cheat!"
"We will ask those who are here and are watching the game. Was the blue china piece white-side up on the throw or blue-side up?"
"Ksikksinaa!" This one word came from the lips of the bystanders.
"What did they say?"
"They confer; it was white."
"They say this only because you are an Injun like them."
"Perhaps," said Gray Falcon. "Or, maybe they, too, have eyes to see. Regardless, another rule of the game is that after the throw a man may not put his hands into the bowl and disturb the pieces. I will take the thirty-four sticks now."
Reluctantly, Maká'pato'si counted out the number of sticks and handed them to Gray Falcon. Taking three of the sticks away from the rest, Gray Falcon returned them to the evil one.
"Did I miscount?" asked Maká'pato'si.
"Let us see if you did or did not." Taking the sticks given him, Gray Falcon counted each one. There were now thirty-four, the proper number.
Gray Falcon met the evil one's stare, and, with eyes alone, they battled.
Maká'pato'si was the first to look away. He said, "It is your turn, boy."
Slowly, pretending he was unaware of his opponent’s tension, Gray Falcon envisioned the exact amount of points his roll would bring him. As Eagle Heart had instructed, this was the secret to success in this game.
Taking possession of theCos-soobowl, he banged the dish on the table several times, he, too, turning theCos-soobowl round and round. There. It was done.
Both men bent over and peered into the bowl.
Gray Falcon sat back, reading off the amount of his roll to the crowd at large. “The big claw is on end, or twenty-five; two red claws at four each, or eight. Three blue sides up, at three each, or nine. Four concaves up at one each, or four. It is a total of forty-six sticks.”
Maká'pato'si squinted, thinning his lips until they resembled a straight line. The crowd murmured in the background, and Gray Falcon carefully counted out the sticks to give to the evil one, watching to ensure the man set them all in their proper place.
“You must be cheating," Maká'pato'si complained. "How can you keep winning like this?"
"Perhaps I am lucky. Or maybe I have lived a good life. I think we are finished. You have nothing else of value to offer, I think.”
Maká'pato'si's eyes darted to the left, then to the right, as though he might find another possession he had forgotten about. At last he said, "Since I am the only white man here, I say the shotgun there against the wall is mine, and I will bet it against you."
