CHAPTER 40

"Everyone is wrong! I will never be with someone I do not love. I will dance in front of Taime and find another way," Kiowa retorts.

"Even if you dance, do you think Naukolahe will show himself? Why do you think he left Taime with us?"

"I do not know. Taime is just a bundle with a painted stone in it. The Hopi have this story about the creation of Indians. Tawa is a god who grows and creates. Look around you. Can you not see all that grows? Would you rather hold a bundle in your hand or seeds that will grow?"

"Nephew, I love you dearly. Listen carefully to what I am about to say. Never! Ever! Repeat those words to me or to anyone else in the tribe. You are sure to lose favor. Ever since Taime was delivered to us by the Apache man who married into our tribe, everyone believes in its power."

"I do not know what I believe anymore."

Paw puts his hand on Kiowa's shoulder. "Believe in your power!"

"How can an Apache man marry in, but a Hopi girl cannot?"

"Does your Hopi girl have a great power she can offer the tribe?"

"No, not that I know of."

"If she did, wouldn't she have already used it to protect her father?"

"Yes, of course."

"There is your answer. She has no power. She's just a weak girl who will be tasked with cleaning animals, washing dishes, watching over children, and helping elderly."

"A slave? That is not what I would want for her."

"Kida would have to give her permission for a second marriage. As first wife, she could say no and burn Anoki at the stake."

"If Anoki has a baby before Kida, she would surely burn her at the stake." Kiowa states mournfully.

"Do you want to take that risk? Once you bring the Hopi girl to the village, her life will never be the same. And knowing Kida's wrath, she would put the fire out and start it over for days at a time. Just to teach you a lesson. That is what I see. What is your plan besides the dance?" Paw asks.

Kiowa's shoulders slump.

"Later tonight I was going to jump in the river and float down to her."

"And then?"

"I would steal a horse and we would move to the north until we reached the everywhere waters."

"I see. What would you do then?"

"I would build a canoe and sail us far away from all of this!" Kiowa says, waving his hand over the tribe. His thoughts flash back to Kida. "Has Kida told the other girls that she will cut them if they come near me?"

"How could you hear this but not hear that she loves you?"

"I didn't hear it. I just figured it out. The girls smile and wave at me. They have presents, but they keep a safe distance."

"That did not seem odd to you? You have enough furs to cover ten of them and enough meat to feed all of them. Is one wife really better than all of those wives?"

Kiowa shakes his head. "You are teasing me, Uncle."

"Maybe just a little, but the truth is this, no matter who you seek to be with, Kida will not make life easy for you. She will challenge them and scourge them with fire if she can. If she can catch you and marry you, she will."

"Then my plan is best."

"Think, Kiowa. Why is my name Paw?"

"Because anything with paws, you can find."

"Can Kida not follow two trails leading north?"

"What am I to do?"

"You need an answer to a riddle. The pieces you have now are Kida, Makes Trouble, the tribe, Anoki, her mother, her father, and me."

"I don't think I can carry all those pieces. I only want Anoki in my tepee."

Paw laughs. "When you take a woman, her parents will never let her go freely. She is not a horse that runs wherever you lead. You will take her family as well. And we are not pieces you bring into your tepee." He presses his hand to Kiowa's chest. "We are pieces inside your heart that come together for you."

"Kida is not in my heart."

Paw laughs and puts his arm around Kiowa. "Your mother does not know how to speak to Onendah. Probably she is taking her time thinking of a gift for him."

"Why would she bring him a gift to do his duty?"

"If someone asked you for a favor, would you not want something in return?"

"Of course."

"We must find a gift for Onendah or he will think us bad company. Until I can find out what he wants, you must promise not to run from us, Kiowa. You would break my heart. Your mother's heart. And, eventually, your own heart."

On the first day of offerings, Paw delivers ten beaver furs.

"I thought you might like to have these in the coming winter months. They will keep your feet, hands, and head warm. How is your health these days?"

Onendah glares through the slight opening in his tepee flap. He sucks his teeth and squints his eyes.

"Both are good," the medicine man grumbles, letting the tepee flap close.

I must have brought the wrong gift. Paw rubs the back of his neck and wonders what else Onendah might need. I cannot know what an old man needs. I'm going to go watch the slaves lift the great cotton timber pole. I bet my best horse they can't do it without crushing one.

Later that night, at the campfire, Two Moons beats a slow, steady beat on his drum.

"What did Onendah say?" Kiowa asks with great anticipation.

"He said he needs us to come back tomorrow. Old men have great needs." What could that wise old owl need? Worse yet, how am I going to get it without my best horse?

The second day, while the tribe gathers materials for the sweat lodge, Paw brings six otter furs.

"What do you think of otter?"

"These furs are soft and pleasing to my old bones."

Paw sees his opportunity to ask for an audience, but he is cut off just as he opens his mouth.

"What I could really use are some silky mink furs."

Because mink is a highly prized fur, Kiowa and Paw have to travel a great distance to find them.

"Of all the times to lose a bet, you chose the moment I need you most?"

"You do not have to remind me, Nephew. My bottom is sore riding this…this thing!"

"That ugly beast is what you get for being such a fool. All my life you tell me to plan for this and plan for that. What was your plan when you lost your horse?"

"I did not have one, and this is the only animal my friends would lend me. Let this be a lesson to you."

"Hee-haw! Hee-haw!" Even Paw's donkey seems to laugh at him.

"I could walk faster than that monster," Kiowa growls. Every moon that passes by is one less moon Anoki and I will have together. How could my uncle be so foolish?

In just a few weeks, the two catch as many mink as they can find. They trade for the rest, which takes another week.

"Uncle, there must be a better way. The sun dance is delayed and the tribe must be angry. We are nearly at the time we would have danced anyway."

"The medicine man's powers are great. My magic isn't anywhere near as strong as his. It would be like comparing an ant to a grizzly bear. He renews our power. In his vision, he was a shaman. He passed the test, and now we are all indebted to him."

"You make new fears rise in my heart."

"Why?"

"What if my vision tells me to be a shaman?"

"Why would your vision do that? You are already a warrior. In my vision you were a warrior."

"Two Moons says that no one can have a vision for you. You must have your own."

"It would be terrible for you to be a shaman. No one would let you out of their sight. You would spend your days casting spells. Searching for magic. Trapping souls. It is a hard life."

When Paw returns to Onendah's hut for the third time, the old man awaits him eagerly.

"Come in! Come in! What have you brought me now?"

Onendah leads him to an empty floor space. He points at the cold dirt.

Paw sits down.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

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