Cedar Woman (14 page)

“
Co
m
e,”
Peter
begg
e
d
,
“let us
go
now
to
m
y
m
o
ther’s
hous
e
. E
v
er
y
on
e
is
t
h
ere,
a
n
d
t
h
ere will
b
e fry
b
read
and
c
o
r
n
, ra
bb
it
p
ie,
b
e
rry p
ud
d
i
n
g,
and
….”
Pete
r
’s
vo
ice
faltered.
A
fraid
o
f
sc
a
ri
n
g her o
f
f, he b
i
t his
t
on
gu
e
.
Be q
u
iet!
h
e
a
d
m
on
i
s
h
e
d
h
i
m
s
elf.

Peter
b
e
nt
to
t
a
ke
h
e
r
s
u
itcase
f
r
om her
ti
n
y
ha
n
d
.
As
he
d
id
s
o
,
he ca
u
g
h
t
t
h
e
sl
i
g
h
t
,
ev
o
cati
v
e
sce
n
t
of
wild
sa
g
e.
Straig
h
t
e
n
in
g
,
h
e
a
g
ain t
r
ied
to catch
h
er
e
y
e,
b
u
t
M
a
r
y kept
h
e
r
s
h
i
n
ing he
a
d ben
t
.

“
Co
m
e,”
he
r
e
peated,
and
ag
ain
t
a
ki
n
g her elb
o
w
in his
h
an
d
,
lead
h
er
t
o
h
is
1
939
Ford
p
ickup,
in
h
e
r
ited
f
r
om
h
is
f
at
h
e
r
,
a
n
d
now
b
a
d
l
y r
u
st
e
d
a
n
d
d
e
n
t
e
d
.

Hel
p
ing
h
er
i
n
to
t
h
e
tr
u
ck,
its
u
p
h
o
lstery
torn
and
s
m
el
l
i
n
g
of
du
st, and r
un
n
i
n
g
a
r
o
un
d
to
t
h
e dr
i
v
e
r
’s
sid
e
,
Pe
t
er
h
o
p
p
e
d
in
a
nd
st
a
rted
t
h
e eng
i
ne.
V
e
ry s
o
o
n
,
t
h
is
w
o
m
an
w
o
uld be
his.
His
b
o
dy gave
an involuntary
sh
udd
e
r
as he
p
l
aced
the
t
ru
c
k
in
ge
a
r
a
nd
drove
away
from t
h
e stati
o
n.
Peter S
po
tted Ea
g
l
e C
a
tc
h
e
r was alrea
d
y
d
ee
p
l
y in
lo
v
e.

Reva
wa
l
k
ed to
the
tru
c
k as
it
c
a
m
e
to
a
creak
i
n
g
st
op, dust
b
ill
o
wing
arou
n
d
t
h
e cab
and
b
ed
as t
h
e tires
d
u
g
i
n
to
t
h
e lo
o
se
d
i
rt
o
f
t
h
e rese
r
v
a
tio
n.
She
s
m
il
ed
at
M
ar
y
, gazi
n
g de
e
p
l
y
i
n
t
o her s
oo
n
-
t
o
-
be da
ug
h
ter-
i
n-l
a
w’s glisteni
n
g
,
b
ro
wn
e
y
e
s
.
Op
e
n
i
ng
t
h
e
car
do
o
r
,
Re
v
a o
f
fer
e
d
t
o help
M
ary
o
u
t
o
f
t
h
e
tru
c
k.

Mary
accepted
the
old
e
r
woman’s
h
a
nd
and
gra
s
ped
it
firmly.
She is
as
frighten
e
d
as a
bi
r
d
w
h
o
sees
t
h
e
s
h
ad
o
w of t
h
e
h
a
w
k
,
Reva
t
h
ou
ght to
h
e
rself.

“
Co
m
e,
Cuwitku
,
¹³
I
have
a
p
l
ace
for
you
to
change,
an
d
then
you will
b
e
we
d
.”
Re
v
a
n
o
d
d
e
d
,
as
if
to
reaffirm
to
h
erself
t
h
e
v
erity
o
f
what

she
was
ab
out
t
o
say, and
s
m
iled.