ts center. He realized that
it must be from this pool that the stream of water poured down into the
Great River. And the drops of water falling from the Turtle fed the
pool. The true source of the Great River was the Turtle spirit's heart.

Owl Carver had told him of the Turtle. After Earthmaker he was the
oldest and most powerful spirit. He had helped to create the world and
to keep it alive.

Scarcely able to believe that he was actually looking upon the Turtle,
Gray Cloud lifted his gaze and saw that all manner of beasts and birds
occupied the ledges on the ice-crystal mountain. All creation was here.
Trees--maple, ash, elm, oak, hickory, birch, pine and spruce--clustered
on the mountainside, roots somehow drawing nourishment from the ice.

He said, "Father, I thank you for letting me come here."

Instead of answering him, the huge reptilian head swung to one side. He
followed the gaze of the yellow eye.

A man was standing near the Turtle's head on one of the ledges. He was
tall and thin. His eyes were round and blue, his face white. A pale
eyes! What would a pale eyes be doing here in the lodge of the Turtle?
The man had long black hair streaked with gray, tied at the back of his
head. His thin figure was dressed in a blue coat, pinched at the waist
by a black leather belt with a sword and a pistol hanging from it. His
white trousers were tucked into shiny black boots that came up to his
calves. Seeing the sword, Gray Cloud thought this man must be one of the
long knives, the dreaded pale eyes warriors.

The man was looking at Gray Cloud. His face was narrow, with deep lines.
All the pale eyes Gray Cloud had seen had hairy faces--thick mustaches
growing under their noses, and sometimes beards that spread out over
their chests--but this man's face was clean. His nose was large and
hooked like a hawk's beak. Gray Cloud saw that the man was weeping.
Tears were running down his creased cheeks as he stared at Gray Cloud.
The look in those blue eyes, Gray Cloud realized, was not sadness, but
love.

Returning the man's gaze, Gray Cloud felt a warmth in his own chest like
the heat suddenly rising from a fire that has taken hold.

"I have brought you to hear a warning," said the Turtle, his voice
shaking Gray Cloud's very bones. "You must carry my words back to my
children, the Sauk and Fox." As the Turtle spoke, another huge drop
splashed into the pool, to add itself to the Great River.

"Evil days are coming for