Chapter 10 #2
He waited for her to say more, but when she did not, he reached out a hand to her. “Scouting only sounds difficult to you because you are not familiar with it. Once I describe what we do, and you have done it, you might like it.”
She shrugged his hand away. It appeared she did not favor hearing about scouting at the moment. She turned her face away from him.
He rocked back on his feet and brought his arms to his sides.
“I understand you’re upset, but this is the way in which we must travel.
Something has happened that makes me believe I must be more cautious than usual.
I bear a lifelong enemy who I have reason to think is close by.
I must not be surprised by him. Besides, it is summer, a time of war parties, revenge and a warrior’s thoughts of love.
If we are attacked, I will defend us, but if we are ambushed, I will probably be killed and you taken captive, or perhaps, depending on the situation, you too might be killed. ”
She listened, bobbing her head as though in agreement, but she was silent for so long, Grey Coyote began to wonder if she had heard him. At length, she commented, “I see your problem.”
Grey Coyote, sensing she at last understood what was at stake, said, “Ito, come, let us gather our things. I will cache my robe, my lance and anything else we cannot carry.”
She pulled away from him. “How far is it from the forest to the trading post?”
“Less than a half moon. Perhaps three, maybe four days.”
“That is all?”
“Hau.”
“Very well. Let me ask you this also: If we were to head straight to the trading post from here, how long would it take us to arrive there?”
“From here?”
“Yes.”
“But I cannot go there first,” he said. “The trading post is also within enemy territory, and if I am to ensure our safety, I must make more arrows before we go there. This particular post is not considered a secure place.”
“I do understand, but please indulge me. How long would it take?”
“We would travel eight, nine, perhaps ten days.”
“I see.” She took a step back away from him. “Much less than if we journey to the forest first.”
“That is true, but—”
“Well, that’s that then, isn’t it?”
Grey Coyote relaxed too soon, for she continued, “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“I have only this day realized we must be extra cautious. Plus I did not want to upset you.”
“But you knew I would be upset.”
“I did.”
“I think… I don’t know what to say. I’m surprised. Badly surprised.”
“I understand. It is possible you look on this as a hardship, for it would appear to me that the white woman is not used to walking. But you will soon become accustomed to it.”
“Will I?” she asked. “And white women do walk, but not hundreds of miles…and carrying things as well.”
Having no response to make to this, he remained silent.
“Well, as far as I’m concerned, if we don’t go by horseback, we don’t go at all. Perhaps we should stay here for the rest of our lives.”
He decided to ignore her comment. Instead, he gazed at her carefully. “This would be good to stay here forever…if we both did not have a duty to perform. You know we must go.”
She exhaled on a sigh. “Yes, yes, I do know. My duty…and yours. And you’re right. We cannot really stay here. It was just…” She shrugged.
He nodded. “A dream?”
She turned her face aside but said nothing.
“Ito, come, it is good, for you have grasped what is at stake. I understand, too, that you have been—”
“Do you? Do you understand me, really?”
Eyeing her cautiously, he turned reticent.
“Fourteen years ago,” she continued, “I was sent away from home and put in the service of another. Fourteen years ago, my life changed. I no longer had a home to call my own. My parents were dead. But recently I have discovered I should never have been sent away. It was all a mistake.”
His brow narrowed, but he remained silent.
“Don’t you see?” she asked. “For the first time in years, I have an opportunity to set the past straight. Something which has always been mine is awaiting me. I have only to reach out and take it. But the chance to do so is fleeting. I must act quickly, and I must act now.”
He stirred uneasily.
“So, Mr. Coyote, if you truly understand what is happening with me, and you mean what you say with all your heart, then you will know why I must now insist that, Mother Nature aside, you must use the wood which is here for your arrows. As far as I am concerned, your need has become very great indeed.”
Grey Coyote didn’t respond. Never did the gap between them seem wider.
In his own mind, he tried to understand why she was upset.
Although he had explained it to her earlier, he realized she did not share his viewpoints about life, or about the earth and the care which a man must show Nature.
For if his wife did comprehend this fully, she would know what she asked of him was a sacrilege.
Little Sunset continued to speak. “To my way of thinking, you have two choices. The first being this: Use the material here to make your arrows and then take me to the trading post; the second would be to leave the wood here for Nature to use, but bring back the horses so we can journey to your woods in a timely manner.”
He swallowed hard, knowing what he must say. “I can do neither.”
She spun away from him, presenting him with the loveliest of profiles, which he did admire, but…
“Of course,” she pressed on, “there’s always the third possibility.”
“A third? And what is this third possibility?”
Crossing both arms over her chest, she glanced at him over her shoulder.
“Get the horses back and then take me once again to the Minnetaree village. It must be only a short distance from here, isn’t it?
Perhaps Mr. LaCroix is still there, and if he is, maybe I could convince him to proceed as we had originally planned.
In this way I will only have lost a few days—wonderful days,” she added, “but only a few.”
Grey Coyote shook his head. Again she did not understand. He could not go back; he could only go forward. “If there is one thing of which I am certain, it is that Scout LaCroix will be gone.”
“Gone?” She turned to face him. “But we’ve only been here a short while. What if he were delayed? What if he arranged to play another game in the hopes of earning back what he’d lost?”
“Because his presence was not welcome there in the village. He has, in trade, cheated those people. It was my host, alone, who would bear his company, and my host, once he saw that Scout LaCroix was cheating at the game of Cos-soo, was not happy. No, Scout LaCroix will be gone.”
“Then I could hire someone else.”
“You might be able to accomplish it,” said Grey Coyote. “But there is a problem.”
“Oh? And that is?”
“I cannot take you there.”
She grimaced up at him. “But it would only put you out of your way by a few days, wouldn’t it?”
He shook his head slightly. “I cannot go back.”
“Of course you could.”
“Hiya,” he said. “I, too, must act quickly. I, too, have little time left. And there is reason for me to believe the means to the end of my duty is near. Therefore, I must move ahead.”
“Oh, I see.” She frowned, sighed, and said, as though to herself, “Then there’s only one action left for me to do. I don’t like it, I might perish in the undertaking, but…” She took another deep breath then glanced up at him. “I must go. If not with you”—she spoke softly—“then on my own.”
He stared at her hard. “You are right. You might perish if you do this.”
Her response was odd, for she smiled at him, although her look held little happiness. “But, Mr. Coyote, the decision is up to me to make.”
“This is true…”
“Good.”
“Usually. But because you are my wife, I cannot let you do this. I am responsible for you.”
“No,” she said. “No, you are not.” When he was about to say more, she held up her hand. “I know that in these past few days, we have considered ourselves married. You have thought it, as I have too. And I have enjoyed it, very much.”
“I too.” He ran the back of his fingers over her cheek.
She gazed away from him, ending the contact.
Straightening her shoulders, she continued, “We have always known, no matter how much we didn’t wish to think of it, that there would come a time when we would have to part, for we have been well aware of our duties, and we have known we each one follow a different path in life. ”
“Hau, what you say is true.” He stretched out his hand to let his fingers trace the slim outline of her neck.
This time she let his touch remain, though she drew in a shaky breath. “And, we have also known our time together might be short.” She glanced up into his eyes, her look uncertain but also determined. “Mr. Coyote, what I’m saying is this: I think the time has come for us to part.”
“Hau, I know this is the direction of your thoughts.”
“Yes. Just as I cannot force you to act in a way which is not in your nature, you cannot force me to go against my own, either. If I miss the opportunity presented to me, it will never be available to me again. And I’m not sure I could live with myself, knowing I failed.”
He nodded slowly. “I understand this very well.”
“Good, then if you do, you will agree I must return to the Minnetaree village at all possible speed, for I believe I might still be able to hire a guide there.”
“Hau.” He dropped his hand. “I do understand. But come, let us talk of this some more before you do this. You are upset, and our wise men caution us to never make a decision when the mind is troubled.”
“I disagree. It is a fine time to make a decision.”
“But you do not know this land,” he countered. “Nor are you aware of the safe ways to cross it. Stay with me, and once I have completed my task, I will take you to this village of St. Louis. Perhaps it will not be as quickly as you would like. But I will see you there.”
She nodded. “And how long will it all take? How many months—or moons—would be required to get me there?”
“I do not know.”