Page 20

The pipe was lit, and after taking a puff, First Rider blew the smoke up toward the Creator, then down to the earth and lastly to the four directions.

Only when this was done and the pipe had been passed between the three scouts did their council begin.

Although Otahki was also present, tradition did not usually include her participation.

First Rider began the discussion using mind-speak only and said, "I do not believe Stuart is aware he is being followed."

Both Stands Strong and Red Fox gave a brief nod of agreement.

First Rider continued, "He has gained many supplies in this white man's settlement.

He may need more before he travels farther, requiring him to make a path through the mountains to the west and to his home at Fort Connah.

Or, well-supplied or not, he might simply follow the Big River south to the gold fields.

It would be the easiest path for him to take. "

"I agree," Red Fox said in mind-speak. "We must watch him closely, and if he goes south and west, we know he goes to Fort Connah. But, if he sets his path south along the Big River, we know he plans to go to the gold fields without resupplying his goods at Fort Connah."

"Yes," agreed First Rider in sign. Then, using the mind-speak once again, he added, "Whichever way Stuart goes, let us plot a path ahead of him and place barriers in his way, but let us do it in such a manner that it will seem to him as if the causes are natural.

We do not wish him to know he is being deliberately slowed down. "

Both Stands Strong and Red Fox nodded.

"My woman, Otahki, will accompany us and I will speak to her privately on what she is to do to remain unseen. But, as you know, she is injured and is not to take part in our plans."

Stands Strong and Red Fox silently acknowledged this to be true.

First Rider continued to communicate in the same way and said, "Let us discover which path Stuart is to take, and, knowing this, we can find the best places to construct the barriers. We will counsel again before leaving The Medicine."

With the fire having burned out from the pipe, First Rider tapped the tobacco on a rock on the ground, thus ending council.

****

Signaling his wish for her to follow him, Liliann fell into step behind her husband.

He led her a short distance away from their camp to where a large clump of short red willows and taller black willow trees lined the Medicine River.

Once they were deep within the cover of the trees and out of the view of the others, First Rider turned around and took her into his arms, bringing her in so close, she could feel every muscular and hard contour of him.

Then, bending down toward her, he began to shower her face, her lips, her cheeks and her eyes with one kiss after another.

He whispered, "Captivated…am I to…you. Wish I to…hold you…always." He brought her in even closer to him and hugged her, bringing his head down to rest his chin upon the top of her head. He inhaled deeply, then said, "Your scent…sweet…I cannot breathe it…enough."

"I feel this way about thee, also."

Again, he took in a deep breath. Then he said, "Fear…I have for you. You not know…enough…to be…unseen when we scout. I fear….I fear…"

"Tell me, then, my husband, what thou wishes me own self to do. I shall do as thou say."

He nodded. "Beg you…listen…real good," he whispered.

"Doing this…you…be safe. Scouts…look, but not seen…

ever. If scout seen, it…means failure…it bad.

Tribe depends…on scout finding enemy…buffalo…

game. Reports…what he sees…back to chiefs.

Scout does not kill…or steal or talk to enemy… unless enemy try…kill him."

Liliann nodded, and, looking up at him, she smiled. And, as she did so, his arms tightened around her. Then, he brought his head down to kiss the top of her head before saying, "Come…we sit. I tell you how…be wolf."

"A wolf?"

She felt the nod of his head.

"Wolf…best hunter in my…country. Never hungry. Wolf…numbers great… They go…unnoticed. Can look at wolf…not see him, though he there. So, too…a scout."

"But, how?"

First Rider held up a finger. "Listen," he whispered.

"We go by tree in bushes. Sit." He pointed toward a large black willow tree a short distance away from the river.

It was surrounded by an accumulation of scrub brush and berry bushes, though, at present, there were no berries hanging from any of the branches.

Taking her hand, he led her to the place he had indicated, and then they stepped through the dried-up growth.

And, so withered and dry were the bushes, they pulled at her clothing, leaving cloth behind.

Seeing it, First Rider disentangled each bit of cloth, placing the bits in a bag over his shoulder.

At last, they reached the tree, and he pulled her down with him as he sat beneath the overhanging branches of the tree.

He placed her in front of him, and, sitting on the ground knee to knee, he began by using sign, saying, "We will use sign only because what I am to tell you is known only to the scout.

" Then he smiled at her and signed, "Welcome to the world of tribe's wolves. "

****

So well had First Rider schooled her into the ways of the tribal wolves, it was now clear to Liliann that Ernest was heading south toward the gold fields, and she hadn't needed Stands Strong's statement about Ernest's intentions to confirm her first impressions.

Yesterday, as they had sat there sheltered within the pines, First Rider had, indeed, indoctrinated her as well as possible into the realm of the tribal scouts.

And, considering she had known nothing about this skill until he had enlightened her, her head felt as though it were spinning with all these newly discovered skills.

And, though she understood what she was to do, she had not yet put all the precautions and stealth into practice, and, in truth, she wasn't certain she could do all he had asked of her.

For one, how was she to stop thinking when near the enemy?

She had discovered from First Rider that all life is able to detect a man's thoughts, and, this being so, in order to remain unseen a scout must not think when an enemy is too near.

For another, she was to use only abbreviated sign or the mind-speak when in enemy territory.

Abbreviated sign? What was this?

There was more. A man's tracks could show the man's thoughts, could even display his physical well-being or his sicknesses.

There were even waves in the air, similar to the circular waves in a pond when a stone is thrown into it, which could be felt by the scout so he could be alerted in advance of possible dangers.

But, her most important duty he had told her was to remain silent and unseen. How she was to do this, she didn't know. But, she would try; it was all she could do.

After a few days of following Ernest, they being unseen from the tops of surrounding hills, it looked to her that First Rider had been correct about what he had thought would be Ernest's destination.

Apparently, Ernest had recouped enough of his losses at Fort Benton so as to make the journey to Fort Connah—which was quite a distance north and west of The Medicine—unnecessary.

Additionally, not having to make the long and treacherous journey through the Backbone-of-the-world Mountains toward the fort would also lessen his travel time to the gold fields.

Ernest was, at present, journeying during the day and sleeping at night; it was the complete reverse of the Plains Indian war parties' schedule.

For stealth reasons, a war party usually trekked over the prairie at night and slept by day.

Although there was danger in Ernest traveling alone and being clearly visible upon the Plains, there was also the safety factor of keeping an opposite traveling schedule from most war parties.

Liliann had listened earnestly to First Rider explaining a fundamental understanding of how to scout Plains Indian–style: they missed nothing in their awareness of the environment around them.

Using the sun and its position in the blue overhead, they carefully studied every trail and every footprint.

They could see when Ernest had given in to a "call to nature," they knew when and where he had eaten his meals, and, they could plot where he would be within the next few days by his trail pattern, thus making it easy to set barriers into his path.

Indeed, they seemed to know more about the man than perhaps the man knew about himself.

And, by being attuned to his strengths and his weaknesses, they were able to play to his physical disadvantages. For instance, they knew more about the health of his soul than she might ever know about another person's spiritual well-being, perhaps including her own, as well.

First Rider had pointed out various aspects of Ernest's spiritual weaknesses: the way he set up his camps each night and the manner in which he left his camps in the morning showed he cared nothing for the life around him.

It was there in his disregard for the living, breathing desire to live inherent in all things alive: he killed without need of food or clothing; he set traps to kill for food or necessities but forgot to trip them before he broke camp, thus disabling or killing a life without need.

This weakness could be used against him.

Also, she had discovered through First Rider that, although Ernest pitched his camps in the brush or tree growth near the Big River, he did not bother to hide the evidence of his fires when he left the camp, nor did he brush over his steps, a necessity in this country, and especially for a man alone and in an environment where the young men of all the tribes were often on the war path.