Chapter 9 #2
Glancing at her now, with the moon directly overhead and the firelight casting light and shadows over her face, he sometimes forgot that this woman was somehow involved with himself and with his people, and that it was his task to discover her exact part in his drama.
Instead, he found himself imagining how her skin would feel beneath his touch. Would it be pliant, soft, warm? Or would it be moist due to the heat of the land?
What would she do if he were to tell her how bewitching she appeared to him? How much he enjoyed these evenings spent with her?
Would she laugh and turn away? Or would she lecture him on the proper manner in which to address a woman?
“Mr. Hawk?”
“Hmm? Yes?” He glanced up at her, only to catch her frowning at him.
“You haven’t been listening to me, have you?”
“I always listen to you.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Then tell me what I said.”
“You said that the symbol foremost is ‘one’, the symbol under it is ‘two’, and the one under that line that you have drawn is ‘three’.”
“Yes, that’s right.” She gave him a warm, though speculative glance. “You already know how to add, don’t you?”
Swift Hawk placed his hand over his mouth, the common Indian expression of surprise. Pulling his hand away, he pretended innocence. “How would I know how to add? Do not the whites refer to me as a savage? And is a savage not a stupid animal?”
“Never mind what people say. You do know how to add. I know it.”
He paused for a moment, smiled at her, and without answering her question, said, “Perhaps I should answer you in this way. Is it not true that you tell me that one and one is two?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“But is it always two?”
“Of course it is. I can prove to you that it is.”
His grin became wider. “Can you? But, consider this, I can prove to you that it is not always true. Sometimes one and one equals three.”
“Pshaw! That’s impossible.”
“Is it? Then let me tell you how this is. Miss Angel, what would I have if I take one pony from the plains as the first pony to my herd? Then over a year’s time, I add another pony to my herd?”
“Why, you would have two ponies, of course.”
“Would I? Are you certain?”
“Of course I’m certain. It’s elementary.” She held up two fingers. “You see, one plus one is two.”
Swift Hawk sat back, placed his own fingertips together and pretended to study them. Then, glancing up at her coyly, he said, “And yet sometimes, it is three.” He sent her a mock frown. “It is hard for me to understand how you would not know this.”
“I wouldn’t know it, sir, because it simply can’t be.”
Again, he grinned. “Ah, but what if one of these ponies were male and the other female? Do you not know the facts of life, Miss Angelia?”
“The facts of life? I…I…” She stopped. She stared at him for several minutes. Then, shutting her book, she sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. “Tell me, Mr. Hawk, how much mathematics do you know?”
“Perhaps I know how to count all two hundred of my ponies that are in my herd.”
“You have two hundred ponies?”
He nodded. “In my herd, in my village.”
“Then you don’t really need me to teach you, do you?”
He didn’t answer.
“Well, if you are so knowledgeable already, why did you agree to our bargain?”
Swift Hawk took his time answering, for in truth, he needed time in which to think.
So long did he contemplate his answer, there was not another sound to be heard in their camp but the crackling of the fire, the mumblings of the merchants in the background, the crickets, the locusts and the ever-blowing wind.
At last, he said, “Miss Angelia, I agreed to your bargain because you needed my help, and I am here to help you. If you could also aid me in what I must accomplish, I would welcome that. Indeed, in some manner, I fear that I do need you. Perhaps it is to learn any of the white man’s ways that I do not already grasp. I do not know.”
The angel furrowed her brow. “Oh, yes, your purpose. This is not the first time you have mentioned this to me.”
“Yes, that is true.”
She glared at him. “And…?”
Silence.
“What is this cause that drives you, Mr. Hawk? If I am to help you, don’t you think I should know about your problem?”
He gazed away from her as he once again became lost in his own thoughts. Should he tell her? Should he share with her exactly who he was and what he must accomplish?
Or should he keep his reserve? Watch her? Wait?
After all, even amongst the Cheyenne, there were few who knew his real mission in life, few who understood who he truly was. Most thought he had simply been orphaned by his own tribe at a young age, and that he had been taken in by the Cheyenne to be raised.
Only the Cheyenne medicine man, his friend, Red Fox, and he, himself, knew the truth. Swift Hawk had learned at an early age that the fewer people who knew, the better. For most, including his own people—those who held to the spiritual way of life—did not believe.
No, only those who could help, only those who were in some way concerned or connected with his people, should know of the burden of his responsibility.
Was she the key to unlocking the slavery of his people? Was she really the one who could help him?
It was this uncertainty that kept him silent, that had him uttering, “Sometime, perhaps. Maybe there will be a time in the future when I will tell you why I am here, and the purpose that I bear.”
The angel paused, although she stared straight at him.
Over the flickering firelight, their gazes met, held.
Some quality, some emotion that he could not at once define, passed between them.
Though Swift Hawk felt his response to her to the very depth of his soul, until he was certain, he would remain silent.
At last, she breathed out softly and whispered, “Perhaps you will tell me at some distant time, then, for I must admit that I am curious. Indeed, looking upon you now, I fear that whatever your secret is, it must be something that plagues you greatly.”
Swift Hawk nodded. “That it does, Miss Angel. That it does.” He hesitated, his look at her serious. Planting a smile on his countenance, he changed the subject. “And now I will tell you my understanding of mathematics.”
“Oh, really? This should prove interesting. But please, do lead on…”