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First Rider was wide awake and alert when the first rays of the sun finally presented themselves upon the eastern horizon. Otahki had slept a little, and he had let her. The rest of their lives depended on what he observed this day, as well as what he did.

A few women stepped outside their lodges, and, as he had already known they would do, they set to work at once. He watched every one of them carefully.

But, then he observed a being he did not know was here in the Flathead camp, and, placing a hand over Otahki's mouth, he urged her to awaken.

When she gasped and her eyes fluttered open, he lowered his hand and pointed to a figure, there in the camp; it was a white man dressed in black—a Black Robe.

Was it Father d'Gallo? The same Black Robe who had reportedly been staying in the Nez Perce camp?

He smiled. This was a pleasant surprise.

He signed to Otahki, "This is good."

And she responded back in sign, saying, "Yes. It is very good."

By now, more and more men, women and children were moving around the camp, but still First Rider could see no sign of Tsistsaki. The sun had begun its climb higher and higher into the blue when First Rider glimpsed a woman who walked in the same manner as Tsistsaki.

Gaining Otahki's attention, he pointed toward the woman, and, in sign, he asked, "Is it she?"

Otahki frowned, shaking her head and then rubbing her eyes as if those actions would give her a better look at the woman's figure. But, she signed, frowning slightly, "I do not know."

Then the woman began to pace directly toward them, as if being guided to them by an unseen source. And, as she came nearer and nearer, it became clear to First Rider that he was looking at Tsistsaki.

She was alive. Indeed, she was alive.

But then, again in a manner as though guided by an unseen hand, a man emerged from the same lodge as Tsastsaki and paced toward her, he holding a child of perhaps two or three winters in his arms. He called to her, but what he said remained unknown to both Otahki and to First Rider, since neither of them spoke the Flathead language.

Tsistsaki turned toward the man and smiled at him, accepting the child from him. Then, leaning down toward her, the man placed his head against hers and put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

It was obvious: the man was Tsistsaki's husband, and the child was theirs. And, the smile she gave to the man, as she touched his face gently, was enough for First Rider to know she loved this man.

This was the reason she had hid from Heavy Storm. It was why the entire tribe had pretended to have no knowledge of her.

First Rider felt like jumping up and saying to her, You are free! You are free from the fear of being taken away from those you love!

But, of course, he didn't. Instead, he grasped Otahki's hand and grinned at her. He signed, "They love. They are a family."

She smiled in response, then signed, "I am so happy, so very happy. Does this mean we are still married?"

He signed, "Of course. And, with Black Robe…in camp…no need go to Nez Perce. You get peace now from the bad man, Maká pato'si."

As she gazed up at him, her face glowed with such happiness he could barely restrain himself from taking her into his arms and kissing her.

How beautiful is my woman. My woman, she is.

****

They stayed where they were for the rest of the day, watching, waiting through the evening hours when friends were visiting back and forth. It was only when the lodge fires were dying down that they belly crawled back to the timber where they had made their camp.

Still speaking to one another in sign alone, Otahki asked, "What do we do now? Go quietly home?"

"Not yet," he answered in sign. "I have a duty I must honor."

"A duty?" she signed. "Are you thinking to still bring Tsistsaki back to the Pikuni camp?"

"Perhaps," he signed, and when her expression fell and she looked down, he placed his forefinger under her chin and brought her face up so she could see his hands, and he signed, "Do not fear my intentions.

I have no wish to bring Tsistsaki back into my life.

But, I have a plan; one given to me by the Creator. Take courage. Will you do this?"

She nodded, though there were tears in her eyes.

And, leaning in toward her, he kissed her, then he signed, "I cannot speak of it, because this plan I have is given to me by Sun, the Creator. Now, I must prepare. We leave in the morning to go into the Flathead camp. Remember, we cannot return home until you speak to the Black Robe."

"Aye," she whispered. Then again, "Aye."

****

On foot, they set out the very next morning, having slept very little during the night.

Liliann was stumped. All night long, she had watched First Rider fuss over his medicine pipe, cleaning it and adorning it with feathers hanging from its stem.

Then, from one of his bags he had extracted a long cord of tobacco, and placing both the pipe and the cord into a buckskin wrap, he had set it aside and appeared to be, at last, satisfied.

He had also found and decorated a single stick with feathers, and had decorated a beaded ring he wore upon one of his right fingers.

Though neither of them had brought a change of clothes, they cleaned those they wore as well as they could.

Then, braiding each other's hair, she placed some reddish paint on her cheeks, while First Rider adorned himself with a feather attached to the back of his head, in addition to masculine earrings and a beaded, looping shell necklace hanging down over his white buckskin shirt.

Then, standing up from their tiny camp within the timber—he first, and in the lead—they walked toward the Flathead encampment.

They were met by several Flathead scouts and warriors, most of whom wore expressions of wonder at the Pikuni man leading a white woman behind him. And, how they stared at her.

Had they never seen a white woman? Liliann was to learn later that this was, indeed, the first time they had ever beheld a white woman, and because of her unusual pale hair and deep-blue eyes, instead of asking First Rider his purpose in coming so far to visit them, they instead made a clear path for them, while their leader led them into camp and directly to the chief's lodge, as was customary.

No one inquired about Liliann's or her husband's purpose in coming to their village.

Indeed, so startled did the scouts and warriors appear to be, they quietly followed First Rider and Liliann into camp.

The leader of these scouts and warriors opened the entrance flap of the chief's tepee, and ushering First Rider and her in, he showed them where they were to sit, which was to the right of the chief.

The chief, a man of perhaps fifty years, looked up at them and said with sign, as well as broken words in the Blackfoot tongue, "Welcome, medicine man of the Pikuni, whom I remember well from last summer.

And, welcome to the woman with him. My lodge is your lodge while you remain with us.

" The chief then called one of his women to him and, with a few words and sign, which Liliann could see, bid her to leave and ask a person amongst their tribe to come and act as interpreter.

The chief's woman hurriedly left the lodge to attend to the task he had given her.

Then, said the chief in sign, as was custom, "Let us take up the pipe and smoke it." As soon as this was done, the chief asked, again using sign, "How may I help you, medicine man of the Pikuni?"

First Rider answered in sign, saying, "I have come here bearing a peace pipe to you because I would ask a favor of the great Flathead Nation.

" He then unrolled his pipe along the rope of tobacco, and giving them both to the chief, he signed, "I am happy to see you again, Chief Black Bull.

I remember well our friendship from last summer.

I have come here to the great Flathead Nation and am escorting this woman because she has need of a Black Robe.

The favor I would ask is if the Flathead people might bring the Black Robe here so this woman might speak with him. "

The chief, summoning another of his wives to him, bid her to find the Black Robe and to bring him to the chief's lodge. The woman left quickly on the errand.

Then, smiling at First Rider, Chief Black Bull signed, "Thank you for these gifts. I am very happy to receive them. We have long been without tobacco and have been using only the red willow bark to smoke in our pipes. May I smoke it now?"

"Yes.The gift is yours."

The chief then bid one of his male children to come to him and asked the child to go on yet another errand for him. And, like the others, the child left in a hurry to attend to the request.

Soon other chiefs came to the lodge and were bid to enter, and once they were seated, Chief Black Bull signed to these men, "You might remember this medicine man of the Pikuni from last summer.

He has brought us a precious gift, and I wish to share it all with you.

He has brought us a peace pipe and a rope of tobacco. "

Looks of joy, and words of what must have been praise passed between the men, and soon whatever substance had been in their pipes was dumped onto the ground, and as the chief filled the pipe with the new tobacco, his hands were shaking.

The pipe was passed around the lodge, and no sooner had all smoked it when the entrance flap was thrown back and the personage of the Black Robe entered.

Meanwhile, Liliann became aware of a crowd gathering around the outside of the lodge, and so curious were the onlookers, they held up the bottom of the chief's tepee, trying to look in, perhaps, to see her and the Pikuni visitor.