T'on Ma (5 page)

"This is too dangerous," he finally spoke. "Someone will get hurt if you don't stop this insanity now!" He took a few more steps and then stopped to ask, "What did her father do?"

"He yelled at me."

"But he didn't try to shoot you?"

"No."

"You are
very
fortunate!" With that, Many Deer stormed out of the lodge, looking for Gray Dove. Maybe the boy's mother could talk some sense into him! After a few minutes, Two Hawks left as well, deciding that hunting would be better than staying in camp close to his father.

When he got home late that afternoon, his mother and sisters were busy preparing a small feast. "What's going on?" Two Hawks asked, looking at all the food.

"We're having guests tonight for dinner," his mother explained.

"Who?"

"Corn Flower and her family," his youngest sister, Shy Bird, informed him.

"Oh." He sounded completely disinterested, making his mother frown. It was the only thing she could think of to try and stop his madness.

"Corn Flower is very beautiful and very skilled," Gray Dove commented to no one in particular as she sliced turnips. "She is going to make someone a wonderful wife. Did you see the moccasins she beaded for her brother? They are magnificent!"

"I suppose you've talked to Father about this morning," Two Hawks surmised. "And this is all for my benefit." He gestured to the food.

"Not just for your benefit, son. If there is trouble with the white woman's family, our whole village will suffer. The bluecoats will come. You need to remember that."

Two Hawks gritted his teeth and went into the lodge. His mother was right. He
knew
she was right, but it didn't stop how he felt.

Corn Flower arrived with her family a short while later. The young woman wore her elk-tooth dress, which was supposed to have magical powers, making the young man of her desire unable to resist her charms. As the two families sat around the fire, making polite conversation before the meal, Corn Flower held something out to Two Hawks.

"I made this for you," she said quietly.

He accepted the knife sheath she handed him. Some of the most intricate design work he had ever seen covered it.

"You did this?" he asked. When she nodded, he praised, "This is very good.
Very
good. Thank you." He took his bone-handled knife out of its old sheath and carefully put it in his new one.

The two mothers exchanged hopeful glances and then passed out the food. After the meal, which included much teasing and story telling, Two Hawks got a silent signal from his father and, reluctantly shrugging his shoulders, stood up.

"Would you like to take a walk?" he asked Corn Flower.

"That would be nice."

They walked together into the night, neither speaking for a long time. "That was a good meal," Corn Flower said in the face of his prolonged silence.

"Yes. It was." They continued walking silently for a few more minutes.

"If you're not going to talk to me," she complained, "then why did you ask me to walk with you?"

"For our parents. They seem to think you and I should be married."

Corn Flower ducked her head down at that, embarrassed and hopeful at the same time. "What do you think?" she finally asked.

"I don't know. I think you prefer Iron Crow. I know I prefer someone else."

That bit of news stunned her. "Who? Little Tree? Wind in Hair? Who?"

"You don't know her."

"I don't
know
her?" Corn Flower felt really puzzled now. "She's not from our village?"

"No. She's not even Kiowa."

"What?"
Corn Flower stopped and turned to face him in the dim light. "Not Kiowa?"

"She's the one with the blue eyes," he finally admitted.

Corn Flower took one step back in astonishment, her mouth opened in disbelief. "Blue eyes!" She stood there looking at him, searching his face for any sign of insanity. "She's bewitched you, then," Corn Flower concluded. That had to be it. There was no other reason why Two Hawks suddenly didn't want her any more.

Two Hawks just laughed and shook his head.

"Husband, I want to talk to you about something," May said quietly, once they had gone to bed. Joshua rolled over and put his arm around her shoulder while she snuggled against his chest.

"All right," he kissed the top of her head. "Talk."

"We need at least two buffalo hides for this winter, but three would be better. I need to make blankets out of them. Can we trade with the Kiowa?"

"I see." He lay there silently for a moment. "And what do you propose we trade for these hides?"

"I've got all of that blackberry jam I made up. I bet the Kiowa would like that."

"But that's
my
blackberry jam," he whined, teasing May.

"I'll hand you a jar when you ask for a blanket come January."

"Let me think on it. I'll let you know in the morning."

"All right, honey. Good night."

The next morning, at breakfast, Joshua looked at Nathan and asked, "Do you know how to get to the Kiowa camp?"

"Yeah. I've seen it while I was out hunting."

"All right. We need to do some trading - blackberry jam for buffalo hides. You'll have to show the way."

"When are we going?" Nathan asked.

"Right after breakfast."

"Can I come?" Jake asked eagerly. He was dying to see a Kiowa camp.

"No. You stay here with your ma and sister."

"Wait a minute, Joshua," May stopped him. "I'm not staying home alone with both you
and
Nathan gone."

"Then what do you propose, wife?" He sounded irritated.

"That we all go."

"No! Too much could happen."

"Too much could happen if we don't go, too," she reasoned. "At least this way, we'd all be together. Besides, it's not like they don't know us. We've traded before."

"What about her?" He nodded toward Lana. "That's the
last
place she needs to be."

May looked across the room and studied her daughter, considering the risks. "She'll be with us, Joshua," she finally said. "She won't leave my side once. I promise."

Joshua searched May's face. He had seen that stubborn expression many, many times and knew he wouldn't win this argument. "All right." His doubtful sigh expressed his reservations. "Get ready."

Jake jumped to his feet, so excited he could hardly stand it. Lana looked at both of her parents, unable to believe what she was hearing. First, they tell her never to see Two Hawks again, and now they're taking her to where he lived.

"I'll get the jam, Ma," Lana volunteered as she rose from the table.

They spent two hours walking to the Kiowa camp. Nathan took them straight to the bustling village, where they arrived by midmorning. Joshua, Nathan and Paul led the way into the middle of the camp. There, the Cooper family waited. Camp dogs barked and growled at the strangers and their strange smell while young children clung to their parents' legs and stared wide-eyed at the pale people.

Broken Man watched their arrival with great curiosity before he walked over to greet them. He bent over and said something to a young boy, who quickly ran off with an important duty to perform.

Leading them all to his wife's tipi, Broken Man motioned for Joshua, Nathan and Paul to enter, but barred Jake, May and Lana from the lodge. They were to wait outside by his fire. Broken Man's wife hurried back into camp when she heard the commotion, and walked warily past the two women and boy as she went into her lodge. Stepping outside a few moments later, she motioned for them to sit down around the fire.

They had no sooner gotten settled when Crying Fox sprinted across the yard, having been summoned to the impromptu trade. Ignoring the women and boy, he bent over and went in.

A moment after that, Two Hawks rode into camp and slid off his horse, also hurrying to Broken Man's lodge. Seeing Lana stopped him in his tracks. He stared first at her and then at her mother.
What are they doing here?
he wondered. As he walked to the lodge, he looked at Lana, but she wouldn't look up, afraid of incurring her mother's wrath. He, too, bent over and entered the tipi.

It would take some time observing the amenities before actual trading began. Lana clutched the basket of jam in her hands as she studied the camp to pass the time.

It was all May could do to keep Jake still. He desperately wanted to join in the game of stickball being played by several boys his age at the edge of the camp. When the rawhide ball came rolling toward them, a young Kiowa ran up to get it and motioned for Jake to join them.

"Can I, Ma? Please, can I?"

"It's 'may I.' And, yes. You may." May smiled as her youngest leapt to his feet and ran to the game.

It was then that Lana noticed a beautiful young woman staring at her with an odd expression on her face. Lana turned her head, pretending not to see her. But it didn't do any good. She could feel the woman's eyes boring holes in her. Finally, she said something her mother.

"That girl keeps staring at me and I don't know what to do. I don't want to start trouble."

"I've noticed that, Lana. Be still and ignore her. Maybe she's just curious."

"I hope so. But she looks mad."

Corn Flower hurried to her mother's tipi when she heard about the white family in camp. Standing beside the lodge with her mother and sisters, she glared across the yard at Lana.

So, that's the one with blue eyes. Water Woman. Huh! She doesn't look so beautiful,
Corn Flower thought to herself. But, in spite of all that she told herself, she couldn't quit staring. What did Two Hawks see in her, anyway? Deciding to get a closer look, she grabbed her younger sister by the arm and, together, they walked over to Broken Man's lodge.

Standing a few feet in front of Lana and May, Corn Flower silently continued to stare. After a moment, Lana had all she could take. She set the basket down and rose to her feet.

"Hello," she said without smiling. "I'm T'on Ma. Why are you staring at me? I don't like that!"

"Lana," her mother warned. "Be nice."

"Ma, she doesn't know what I'm saying." Lana kept looking at Corn Flower while she spoke.

"Maybe not. But she can hear your tone of voice, same as me."

Corn Flower heard the challenge, saw the expression on Lana's face. She deliberately leaned in close to look into those blue eyes. Only a few inches from Lana's face, she pointed to Lana's eyes. Lana pushed her hand away, frowning. Corn Flower straightened up, indignant, and pushed Lana's shoulder.

"Don't touch me!"
she warned Lana.

"Don't you shove me!" Lana ordered, pushing her back, harder. Even though neither woman knew the words of the other, the meaning was crystal clear.

Corn Flower let out a startling trill and lunged for Lana's throat. Lana balled up her fist and socked Corn Flower in the face, just like Nathan had taught her. Corn Flower went flying backwards.

Men, white and Kiowa alike, spilled out of the lodge, alarmed at the commotion. Corn Flower jumped to her feet and rushed at Lana, who was only too happy to retaliate. Broken Man hurried to Corn Flower and held her by the arms. Two Hawks dove for Lana and grabbed her by the waist just as she leapt at her opponent.

Corn Flower screamed epithets at Lana, swearing she would scratch her eyes out even if it were with her last breath.

"Let me loose!" Lana struggled to get out of Two Hawks' grip.

"Lana!"
Her father's stern voice stopped her. When she became quiet, Two Hawks cautiously stepped back, waiting to see if she was going to lunge at Corn Flower again. Corn Flower's mother came running at the first sign of trouble and now led her fuming daughter to her lodge.

"What is this all about?" Joshua demanded to know.

"I'm not for sure, Pa," Lana said, shrugging her shoulders. "She wouldn't quit staring and then she came over and pointed at my eyes. That's when we started fighting."

He shook his head and looked at his wife. "I
told
you you should have stayed home."

"Can we talk about this later?" May asked.

With everyone's attention elsewhere, Two Hawks caught Lana's eye and winked at her. He'd learned enough from Corn Flower's yelling to understand what had happened.

Once everything quieted down, Broken Man gestured for the men to go back in and finish trading.

"Let me have the jam," Nathan said to Lana. When she handed the basket to him, he leaned in and whispered, "Try to be good for
five
more minutes. All right?"

She stuck her tongue at him and flounced down to sit by her mother.

Nathan wasn't far wrong on his timing. Within ten minutes, the men emerged from the lodge, all satisfied with the trade. Three prime buffalo hides were placed at Joshua's feet. The blackberry jam was carefully stashed away for the next great feast.

When Joshua picked up the first fur-covered hide, he frowned. Even though it only weighed about twenty pounds, its bulk made it difficult for one person to carry. Two of them were needed to carry one hide on the two-hour walk back home. Joshua wasn't sure if his wife, daughter and youngest son could manage.

As Joshua considered their predicament, Two Hawks led a horse up to them. Picking up the first and then the second hide from the ground, he put them across the horse's back. He motioned for Joshua to do the same with the third. Once those were tied down, he started leading the horse southeast toward their homestead.

"I guess he's going with us," Nathan remarked. "He doesn't have to. I could bring the horse back later."

"You could," Joshua agreed. "But I think we've done enough damage here for one day. I don't want to make them angrier." He scowled at his daughter with these words. She meekly hung her head, knowing she would hear more about her behavior later.

In order to minimize her father's anger, she kept as far from Two Hawks as she could during the trek home. But Joshua couldn't stop them from watching each other with hungry eyes.